Theo :: Four Months

Yikes - talk about being behind on this! But no matter how far behind I get, I'm going to catch up. I don't have these monthly updates for Noelle, and falling off the blogging bandwagon when I got pregnant with her is still one of my biggest regrets. Thankfully, I take notes throughout the month and I did start this post shortly after he turned 4 months, so it shouldn't be too difficult. So here we go! Theo turned 4 months on October 25.

 

Stats -

Weight: 16 lbs, 10 oz - 85th percentile (I seriously thought he'd be off the charts here. I mean, check out those tree trunks we're calling legs!)

 

          

Length: 25.5 in (give or take) - 75th percentile 

Theo can still wear most 3-6 month clothes but is definitely fitting into 6-9 months things. They're roomy, but not voluminous. 

I seriously don't even know where to start. This month has flown by as we have settled into life as two parents working full time. I wasn't as great with note-taking this month because I'm tying so hard to be with my kids "in the moment." And after they go to bed there is a whirlwind of activity to get things ready for the next day. So forgive me for the following jumble of thoughts. 

I swear life with this kid is just one giant growth spurt. The week of October 7 he ate like crazy at Lori's, but went back to mostly normal that weekend. One day that week he ate 21 oz!!! This is just insane and I actually had to put my foot down with Lori about how much he should be eating. My freezer stash is not going to last long, I can already tell. She, of course, is convinced we are starving him, but I just laugh off her passive-aggressive comments because I know she means well. I am just being incredibly stubborn about breastfeeding this time around and I don't want to supplement with formula if I don't have too.

Time for a huge, huge tangent.

Here's the thing about that: we supplemented with Noelle from the very beginning and my milk supply just never stayed where I needed it to. And unfortunately, I just didn't push myself hard enough to keep it going. And you know what? Noelle is a perfectly healthy and wonderful 4 year old (going on 13). But for some reason, I am super guilty about the whole situation and I think that is behind my drive for breastfeeding with Theo (that, and it's just going SO WELL this time).

Theo, like many babies, eats much differently with the bottle vs. the breast. He could take down 6 oz a feeding from a bottle if we let him. And Lori, bless her heart, would be all too happy to let him do this. Now, I do not have low supply, but I am not a milk machine either. During my second week of work, my body suddenly switched from hormonal milk control to baby-led milk control. Meaning, I was producing based on Theo's daily needs. And I don't think he noticed this change at all. At home, he still ate the same number of times and was always happy and full after each feeding. At daycare, however, he was chowing down like nobody's business. This meant my freezer stash did take a huge hit. And because my body was producing based on his needs and his needs weren't changing at home, i was not pumping enough during the day to keep up with him. Try as I might to get Lori to give him smaller feedings, she insisted that he was screaming after 4 oz bottles and only settled down after she gave him another ounce or so.

I am so conflicted in this situation. I want to believe Lori, but it's so difficult when i routinely (as in every time) pump between 3 and 4 ozs each session. I know the pump isn't as efficient as the baby, but i know the difference is not that much. And i tried everything to pump more during the day. I'm taking 9 fenugreek pills a day, I'm drinking Mother's Milk tea every day, i tried pumping more often, i tried oatmeal, lactation cookies...you name it, I've tried it. Not much changed, but Theo was still happy during the evenings and on the weekends.

And that is where my big problem with supplementing lies. If my baby really, truly needed more food, i would supplement in an instant. But because I know he is just fine with me, it just makes it that much harder. I don't want to rush in to solids, and we're skipping cereal, but part of me can't wait to get there in hopes that he'll drink less milk and I won't have to supplement.

So we'll see how things go. Every day I'm trying to break down my insane wall of stubbornness to make myself understand that it will be ok if we have to supplement a couple of ounces a day. I mean, c'mon! 2 ounces out of probably 25-30 a day is really nothing to be upset about. I actually unsubscribed/unliked a few breastfeeding pages on Facebook because I felt it was just making me feel worse. While my ultimate breastfeeding goal is at least one year, I have changed my mindset to see each day without formula as a goal reached. I also have to remind myself that even if i have to supplement here and there, it will in no way alter my ability to breastfeed for as long as i want.

Ok, huge weight lifted from my shoulders in putting that out there...I know I kind of hijacked the monthly update, but let's be serious...if I hardly have time for the update itself, how will I have time for a separate post :)

Back to the growth spurt-like behavior - Theo's sleep went to crap that week also as he was up at least twice a night to eat and would only sleep if he was being held. Finally, on October 14 we decided to try some sleep training aka cry it out. CIO never worked for Noelle, so we were hesitant to try it with Theo but were at our wit's end. That first night it took about 40 minutes with us going in every 7 minutes or so to pat and reassure him. Since then, it's been going really well! He still fights it some nights, but we usually just have to go in once.

And whether it was due to CIO or not, he gave us two nights in a row of sleeping ffrom 9:30pm - 6:30am!! That was on October 18 and 19, and flukes though they might have been, we very much enjoyed it :)

Wearing his finest onesie to celebrate his first full night of sleep!

The drooling has been insane this month. He is going through shirts and bibs like a mad man. I actually noticed a bump on his gum a few days before he turned four months, but his doctor said it was just a pre-teething thing. She can tell that the teeth are on their way, but they still have a bit to go. 

Noelle is as enamored as ever with her baby brother. She can make him laugh and smile so easily and she loves that just as much as he does. He follows her all over the room and loves to watch her dance around.

Firsts this month:

First Halloween - We had some pre-Halloween events, but his first Halloween is actually in his fifth month. We went to Discovery World for a members-only trick or treat event, the Zoo for Boo at the Zoo. Unfortunately I have no pictures of Theo from either event because he pretty much slept the entire time, both times!
 

First trip to the pumpkin farm - a cold and dreary day. Theo slept in the Ergo the entire time!

Loving this wild ride we're on! 
 

Theo :: Three Months

                                       

                                  

I wish he didn't have pants on in his 3 month photo. I think the size of his chunky thighs is a huge difference!

Theo's third month saw the biggest changes in personality and development so far! It's such a shame to have to go back to work just as my baby is getting more and more interactive!

And that's as good a segue way as any for one of the biggest events of the month: my return to work. Even before I was pregnant I often heard women say that with number two they could barely wait to get back to work. While I definitely wasn't that excited, I was a little less anxious this time around. And I absolutely felt a lot less guilt. Don't get me wrong, I still cried in the weeks leading up to my return, I just cried a little less than I did with Noelle. 

                           

On the (semi) dreaded first day back, I was a lot more relaxed than I thought I'd be. Which obviously had nothing to do with the 4200 emails I had waiting for me! Yikes :) Thankfully I didn't have to do much as everything had already been taken care of by my coworkers. We had also moved to a new building while I was on leave so it was fun to walk around and say hi to people as I acclimated myself to my new surroundings. Working in HR means you know just about every employee so there were a lot of catch up chats and baby picture viewing!

One of the main things that made my first day easier for me was that Bryan stayed home with Theo. There was an unfortunately timed stomach bug "outbreak" at Theo's new daycare, so we chose to keep him home. Knowing Dad was there to ease Theo into the transition set my mind at ease also. I wish we would have planned this from the start and I now tell every pregnant woman I know to do this!

I settled into my new role as a working mother of two pretty easily and there have only been a few minor hiccups. I thrive on to do lists and schedules, so I've done well with getting as much as possible done the night before and my routine hasn't varied much. This drives Bryan crazy as he needs a little spontaneity, but I keep telling him that, for a little while, our jobs are just to make sure our household keeps up and is functioning. It won't last forever and before we know it we'll have two independent kids who won't need as much "work". And we will be so sad about it!

Going back to work obviously means child care for the kiddos. We are so lucky that Noelle's school has a child care onsite so we do not have to worry about transportation midday. I drop her off at school at 7:45 and after a few days of "weaning" she waits in line by herself (with friends and teachers of course) while I continue on. She's in class from 8:00 until 11:00 and then goes to child care until Bryan picks her up around 4:15. We've had a few struggles with this transition, but overall she's doing very well. 

We're trying something different with Theo - an in-home daycare. It's going really well so far and I hope to find time to write a post sometime after we've been going for a while to talk about the differences between in-home and a (great) center. 

So what else has been going on?

--Our little guy laughed his first laugh at 9w5d and we captured this little video. 

Which I can't get to load right now...argh!

Since then the laughing has been sporadic but he is always doing those giant, open mouth silent laughs! Theo is super smiley in general and will flash his adorable gummy grin to almost everyone he meets. I'm wondering if this will change as he gets older, like it did for Noelle. I just don't remember Noelle being a smiley baby with non-family. Our nickname for her was The Observer because she was very aware of her surroundings, studying everything and everyone and soaking it in. With this, she wasn't always very interactive with strangers and would just stare at them. Theo is definitely the opposite so far!

Little man is also super chatty (definitely gets that from his mommy!). He is a babbling fool and loves it when we respond to him and hold a "conversation."

--The car seat is no longer referred to as the devil and does not garner instant screams from Theo. While he hasn't fully accepted his nemesis, the relationship is a lot less frosty than it was last month. Our ears are much happier for it. Oh, unless he's hungry, then there's no relief. 

--Theo also started sleeping a lot better about halfway through the month. I don't think it's a coincidence that it started happening around the time we started daycare. Lori keeps our little guy pretty active during the day and he eats really well also, which I'm pretty sure leads to a much better night's sleep. Theo is usually down for the night around 9:30, up sometime in the 4:00 hour and then again around 6:30. I really couldn't ask for a better sleep schedule at this point and am soaking it in because I know that everything, good and bad, is just a phase :) Noelle was an absolutely terrible sleeper until she was about 10 months old, so I'm perfectly happy with anything better than we had with her!

--I'm not sure where Theo is size-wise as he didn't have a doctor's appointment this month, but it's obvious he's growing. Most 0-3 month clothes don't fit anymore, especially shirts. He looks much less squished in 3-6 month clothes, although the pants are usually pretty long. He's like me and Noelle and has a long upper body, so the shirts are the first to get too small. 

--Nursing is still going amazingly well! It's actually gone a little too well in respect to introducing bottles. As in, we never really did. Oops. It's just so much easier to nurse him wherever we go than to give him a bottle and then have to pump. We finally made time to practice the bottle about 10 days (!) before I went back to work. I got my first night out with friends and Bryan took bottle duty. We tried a few more times before I went back and Theo struggled a little every time and it was very obvious that there was only one bottle he liked. The problem with that was that the one he chose was a Similac bottle that we got as a freebie with one of those formula samples they send you. 

Side note: I don't typically sign up for things so I have no idea how these companies always know you're pregnant. Some kind of pregnant lady radar or something...more likely that my info got sold by The Bump or Baby Center. 

Anyway, when I went to Babies R Us to buy more bottles, I found out that they had actually been discontinued and weren't available in stores. Even though the website said they had them.  Oh, and did I mention this was the night before Theo's first day at Lori's. Go us. So we decided to see if Theo would take a different bottle and bought a Dr. Browns and an Avent. No luck there for us or Lori. He was definitely a Similac man - kind of ironic, isn't it?! I jumped online and found bottles and nipples in slow and medium flow on Diapers.com. Bonus - they were super cheap because they were discontinued. We're hoping that if Theo gets to the point that the medium flow nipple is too slow for him, he won't be so picky and will accept a different bottle type. Again, this is NOTHING compared to our bottle struggles with Noelle so I will take it and be a happy camper!

--We took a mini family vacation to my parent's place up north in early September and enjoyed some relaxation.

                                 

                                  

                            

--Theo got his first cold this month, which was inevitable with Noelle going back to school. The worst of it was a runny nose and small cough and he was better after a couple of days. 

--I mentioned above that Lori has been keeping Theo plenty busy and one of the things she has been working on is getting him to look to the right. At his 2 month checkup our pediatrician noticed that Theo didn't look to the right very much and his neck had gotten a little stiff. We've been working on it and it's slowly getting better, although he still prefers looking left. 

All in all a great month full of ups and downs and lots of baby snuggles and smiles :)

                                 

Theo :: Two Months

Ugh--totally forgot to put in Theo's official two month pic and stats from his two month appointment!

14 lbs, 4 oz = 97th percentile - giant baby!

23.5 inches = 75th percentile 

I know it's cliche and I know I'll be saying it every month, but--two months already!!?? Pure craziness. 

Our little Theo is such a fantastic baby. When all is right in his world (i.e. well rested with a clean diaper and full belly) he is just the calmest and happiest guy. However, if any of those things require attention? Watch out. Also, even if allis right but we have been mean, horrible, safety-conscious parents who have buckled him into his carseat? World War 3. Thats right, Theo is officially a carseat hater. He has screamed entire car rides before and we have all gotten very good at ignoring it, because it's the only thing you can do. The crying is only remedied by taking him out of the carseat and holding him. Someone tell me this doesn't last forever. Please. But I can forgive this because a: he's adorable and b: this is what babies do. 

About halfway through this month he finally started staying awake and alert for longer periods of time, which everyone is loving. Noelle wants so badly for him to be more interactive and playful. These two will be best buddies, I'm sure of it. Theo absolutely loves watching Noelle. She is an entertainer and loves to dance and sing. Theo will just watch her and if she leaves his line of sight he starts to look all over for her!

He also likes to lay on his play mat and kick the octopus and turtle rattles that hang from it. Theo also loves looking at himself in the mat's mirror and gives big, gummy smiles to himself!

During Theo's second month we got out and enjoyed lots of things the area and summer have to offer. Although admittedly, Theo slept through most things :) Which is why many of these pictures don't always include him!

We celebrated my birthday at the end of July. 

We had Ott Family Field Trip Day. We went to Possibility Playground in Port Washington,

Bookworm Gardens (one of my favorite places) in Sheboygan,

and the beach at Kohler-Andrae State Parks. 

Theo had his first trip to the State Fair, followed a few days later by his second! He did not enjoy these outings (as if any infant would). It was too hot and noisy for his delicate sensibilities :) But his big sister sure had a blast!

Theo (and Noelle) took their first trip to Mimi and Papa's (my parents) up north house. Theo did a lot of this:

And a lot of this:

Throw in a few trips to the zoo, Discovery World and a restaurant here and there and Theo had a very busy second month!

Nursing is still going incredibly well. Theo nursed at all of the above places and it's amazing how relaxed we've been. Unfortunately that relaxed feeling does not always last. That gas/reflux issue I mentioned last month? It was back with a vengeance this month. After ruling out foods and before a call to the doctor, I really started to pay attention to our feedings. (TMI ahead) Since Theo was a few weeks old my letdown has been really forceful. I've had to cover the non-feeding breast with a cloth because milk would drip out like crazy and sometimes even spray while Theo was eating on the other and the same thing was happening. It was getting progressively worse and I finally put two and two together and realized my overactive letdown was causing Theo to gulp his milk really fast. Doing so would cause him to also cough, choke and gulp down a lot of air. A little Googling and some feeding time adjustments have pretty much solved our issue. And thank goodness because dealing with a screaming baby every night was really starting to get old. I give huge props to parents who have to deal with true reflux and colicky babies. 

As far as physical developments go, Theo is holding his own during tummy time. His neck strength is really great and I think that's partly because he hates to be held in a laying down position. He m.u.s.t. be held upright or he will start yelling. Noelle was the same way and I sometimes wonder if it's gas that's hurting or if they just like the view better that way. 

Theo has always liked standing and he his legs can "support" his body weight for about 3-5 seconds before going back to jelly. 

One of our favorite developments this month has been Theo's full blown smiles and his silent laughing. He gets this big open mouth grin and you can just tell he wants to give a big ole belly laugh! There has also been a lot of cooing and babbling and he really likes to talk to the ceilings and his playmat.

Life with two kids is still going really well and I'm truly surprised at how easy things have been. Not to say that it hasnt been hard and stressful at times, because it absolutely has. Nothing makes you feel as frazzled as when both kids are screaming at once but you can only help one at a time. Noelle's age and the fact that she is pretty independent and a great helper have been big reasons things are pretty smooth most days. But I'm definitely not naive to the fact that things will not be this easy as Theo gets older and becomes more demanding of our attention. For now though, we love seeing our family of four grow and develop!

Theo :: One Month

Well, we're already more than halfway through month two, but let's just move past that little item, ok? I've never been a good blogger so when you throw in a newborn, blogging falls way down on the priority list. Although I don't think he's technically a newborn anymore, so there goes that excuse!

Anyway, Theo's first month - just some notes and musings from the month in no particular order - here we go!

--Little man is super snugly and loves to be curled up in someone's arms, especially when sleeping. I don't think anyone minds this at all, but I'm sure that will change when we really need to get things done. 

--Theo is, of course, only awake and alert in very small chunks throughout the day. Bryan says he doesn't remember Noelle sleeping this much but I assured him she definitely did and that's it's very normal. 

Most nights he is down for the night around 10:00 (only because that's the time we turn in). Of course in the very beginning we were going to bed almost as soon as Noelle was asleep around 8:30! He usually wakes up between 2 and 3 and again between 5 and 6. 

The first few nights at home were especially tough and he seemed to want to be awake for a good hour or two and then sleep for about 30 minutes. Thank goodness that's over (for now anyway)!

Also sleep related is that he does not fall asleep when put in his car seat or swing. With Noelle these two things were like magical sleep fairies and she'd be knocked out for a good two hours. Theo fights and fights sleep in both things and has screamed his head off for entire car rides. Really (I mean, really) hoping this changes. 

--Eating. Holy cats can this dude eat. From the very beginning Theo has latched on and nursed like a champ. The lactation consultant who visited me in the hospital said the nurses' notes indicated we were an "excellent" nursing team. I didn't even realize the nurses kept track of or even noticed this!

This category is probably the biggest difference from Noelle's infancy. Not only is Theo a nursing champ, but I am too! I'm so much less afraid/timid to nurse any time, any where. Here's a quick list of where Theo has gotten a meal. The library, zoo, Discovery World, the backyard, and walking around in the house while multi-tasking. That last one got harder toward the end of the month as he grew almost too big for me to hold in one arm. 

We also had a few nights during week 3 in which Theo exhibited colic or reflux like symptoms. They went away after a few days but, spoiler alert, they'll be back in month two. 

--Being a super eater means little man is growing like crazy. We've literally been watching him grow in front of our eyes. Another big difference from Noelle who kept that scrawny newborn look for a while because she wasn't gaining weight.  

At his one month check up on July 29 he was 11 lbs, 2 ounces and 23 inches. That's a gain of 3.5 lbs and 2.5 inches from birth.  Although I never really trust the length because a wriggly baby makes it so inaccurate. 

--During week 4 we started to get some 3/4 smiles that just melt our hearts!

All in all this first month has been awesome. Bryan stayed home from work for two weeks, and when it was time for him to go back, I didn't have a complete freak out like I did last time :) Things have just been so much smoother this time and we've been much more go with the flow. From my recovery to dealing with a newborn to dealing with two kids - there have been plenty of stressful moments for sure, but overall it's been fantastic! 

We love our little boy and life feels so much more complete with him here!

Theo's "official" one month picture. My smarty pants telling us he's one month!

Progression of a Belly

This isn't actually a real post, but I put together some belly pic collages a while back and wanted to finally get them posted.

 

  



 

I put the last three together separately because I think there is such an obvious change from week to week. Maybe it's just me, but I see a huge difference from 37 weeks to my very last picture at 39w 2d. Love it!

 

 

I technically took one last set of pictures two days before Theo was born. I just wanted to document what I looked like for my sake. Sorry for the butt shot, but I took a side, front and back shot with hopes to do another set when I get back to pre-pregnancy weight. I guess there's no real reason I did it, just to see the changes I guess!

 

 

Ok, last one - I promise! A classic beginning and ending comparison.

 

 

Post-Birth Story Notes

There were a few notes that I wanted to include in Theo's birth story posts, but I decided to just do a separate post - honestly, I knew I'd never get Part 2 of his birth story posted if I waited for myself to write up these extras! And this is proof enough - Theo is almost 3 months old and I'm just getting this posted. If there were a motto for this blog it would be: better late than never. Ugh. 

What's in a Name?: We had the easiest, and then hardest time picking out a boy's name - both with the same name. From the beginning we knew we wanted something that was like Noelle - somewhat unique (as in, not in the top 50-75 most popular names in the last few years) without being weird. 

I don't know how Theo popped into my head; I don't remember seeing or hearing it anywhere, but I knew I liked it. A lot. A few days later Bryan and I were discussing our criteria when he said he had thought of a name he liked. (Does everyone see where this is going? ;) ) He said Theo and I said "Are you serious!?" It was definitely one of those we've-been-married-too-long moments. 

So that was the easy part. 

The final name decision became harder, in my head only, when I started to question using Theo. I basically started to let others' opinions wear down my love for the name. When people would ask us for our name choices and I said Theo, it was met with one of three reactions:

1. Genuine like for the name. 

2. A comment about The Cosby Show. 

3. That fake approval of the name - "ooh, that's nice. Uh huh, I like that one." Liar. 

I would say reactions were split equally among those three. Unfortunately though, it felt to me like everyone hated it or made the Cosby comment and it really started to wear on me. So much so that I told Bryan I didn't really like it anymore and that we had to come up with a list of names to pick a new one. 

Bryan still really liked Theo but agreed to keep an open mind toward other names. The only problem was that after looking through website after website, talking to people about names and even intently watching the credits of movies and shows, we had no other choices we loved. I only had three names in my boy list when we went to the hospital: Evan, Nolan and Theo. Evan was the only one I wasn't lukewarm about. Bryan hated it. 

Once the words "It's a boy!" came out of Bryan's mouth, we knew we'd have some decision-making to do. We decided to take out Nolan pretty immediately because it was too similar to Noelle and too popular. Everyone kept asking us his name and we would answer that we were still deciding. And every time Bryan would try to convince me to go with Theo. 

I finally told him that everyone's reactions had worn down the name for me. He yelled at me like any good husband would after his wife had just given birth and made me realize that it was no reason to not choose the name that I had once loved. I still had some doubts and for a little while thought that we had made the wrong choice. I even tested out calling him Evan that first day.  But in the end I fell back in love with the name and think it fits him perfectly!

Length of stay: I didn't realize I even had a say in how long we stayed in the hospital after the baby was born. It wasn't until a friend of mine posted a picture of her new family leaving the hospital before the typical two day stay that I started to think about doing the same. 

I decided pretty quickly that we would leave the hospital after only one day as long as everyone was recovering nicely. This is such a 180 from when Noelle was born. I had a full blown panic attack when it was time to leave the hospital and I would have stayed an extra 5 days if they would have let me! This time the unknown was not so unknown and I knew Noelle would do better getting back to her normal routine. 

Thankfully Theo and I both had amazing recoveries and we were allowed to leave the hospital after 36 hours. Even though we're all smiles in this picture, there was still a small amount of anxiety behind those sunglasses. 

Life with a newborn and a 3 and 3/4 year old: One of my biggest sources of anxiety  during my pregnancy was how difficult the transition would be to a family of four, especially in the newly born days. Honestly, it was one of the smoother transitions we've made as a family. I was just so much more go with the flow this time around. Bryan kept commenting on how relaxed I was in the hospital and when we got home and that he wouldn't even know I had just given birth. Physically and mentally I was just in such a better place this time around. 

It was so much easier to not fight the idea that I might have to stay glued to a chair or couch if Theo wanted to nurse every hour in the hour. Or if he wanted to wake up every two hours and stay awake for an hour - like he did the first night home. 

Knowing what to expect the second time around just made things easier overall. Now if it seems like things were all puppies and rainbows, they weren't. At all. We absolutely had our share of crabby bickering and freak out moments. I had some minor baby blues too, but we just took everything in stride. 

I will say that Bryan had some kind of crazy newborn amnesia. Dude could not remember *anything*. There were so many times I had to correct or remind him of something and he would have no recollection of it from Noelle's baby days. It was actually pretty funny and became a running joke in those first few weeks. 

Overall that first month went pretty smoothly and it has continued that way (knock on wood). Even the first week of my return to work has only had a few minor hiccups. I really hope this trend can continue, but I know things will get tougher as Theo gets older and more demanding. And to that I say, bring it on :)

Theo's Birth Story :: Part One

I'm rewriting from shorthand-ish notes I took on my phone throughout labor so apologies if things seem a little choppy.

On Tuesday night (June 24) I decided to get out of the house for a little bit for some me time. I went to the mall to walk around and get some Shopkick points. I texted my best friend and joked that I was determined to walk this baby out of me.   I had to run to Target after the mall and noticed (what I thought were) Braxton Hicks contractions. They felt a little bit different, but not enough that I though anything of them. I just thought I had overdone it walking around the mall. [Now that has to be a finalist for Most Pathetic Statement of the Year! Walking around the mall was too strenuous for me!]

I got home and went through Noelle's bedtime routine with her and did a few chores. I finally collapsed on the couch around 8:45. I noticed that I was still having the BH contractions so I drank some water and put my feet up. About half an hour later it finally started to dawn on me that these weren't just the same BH contractions I had been having the last half of my pregnancy. I realized that they were happening with more frequency and that I should probably pay more attention to them. 

I kept track of them for about an hour and they weren't very regular or painful. It felt like a stomach tightening BH, but with more pressure on my back and lower abdomen. I also had to pee after just about every one and I usually had some "bloody show" as well. (You should probably just get used to the TMI factor. This is a birth story after all.)

After hemming and hawing with Bryan about calling the hospital - I didn't want to be that pregnant woman calling for every little uncomfortable thing, I finally called around 11:00 just to get advice. You have to remember that I had never been through this before because I was induced with Noelle. I really didn't know what to expect this time around. After a couple of phone calls back and forth with the nurse - and she having some back and forth with the on-call doctor - we decided it would be best for me to come in and get checked out with the understanding that they might send me home if its too early or false labor. 

We called my parents and told my dad to come on over, finished packing some last minute items and left home around 11:40. Now,  let me remind you that we had both been up since about 6:30 that morning. I remember telling Bryan that I really hadn't wanted my labor to happen at night because of the sleep factor and the inconvenience of everything. As if I had a choice, right? Silly pregnant lady. At this point I was starting to have to take a break and breathe through the contractions. They weren't too painful, but they were no picnic either.

Bryan finally got to realize his dream of rushing to the hospital. He has always said that the last time was such a let down because I wasn't having any contractions and there was no real urgency to get to the hospital for the induction. I'm glad I was able to make it more exciting for him this time around ;)

The nurse had called ahead so they had a triage room ready for me. At midnight the nurse who worked with us (Sara - absolutely loved her) started all of the questions while checking my vitals and getting me hooked up to things. I had been 3 cm dilated for the last two weeks so we knew that would be our starting point. The next course of action - be officially admitted or be sent home - would depend on if/how much I had advanced. Well, at exactly 12:15 Sara told me with a big smile on her face that we'd be having a baby today because I was already 5 cm dilated!!! She also said that my bag of water was very, very taut. 

Bryan and I couldn't believe how quickly things had advanced in the matter of a few hours and with very minimal discomfort and pain. Everything was so surreal to me and it was hard to imagine that this was really it and we were finally going to have this baby!

Around 12:30 I noticed that my contractions were already coming faster and were a bit more intense but still manageable. I had to interrupt any conversation I was having to breathe through them, but I wasn't pleading for any pain meds. I was glad that we had come to the hospital when we did. I had wanted to labor at home for as long as possible, but with the speed with which things were moving, it might have been a little close!

That all changed as the contractions increased significantly over the next hour. The pain level went to a 6 and so did my cervix! Bryan and I kept looking at each other with such disbelief over how quickly things were progressing. My induction made things so slow that it was really amazing to see what my body was finally able to do on its own!

I really wanted to last longer without an epidural, but the contractions were just getting so strong and I just don't have a high pain tolerance.  The nice man with the drugs came in around 1:45am and I immediately felt soooo much better. I have to say, that after two child birth experiences, I really don't get why everyone is so afraid of the epi process. Mine were both so pain free. I was really able to control my breathing through my contractions and I know that has a lot to do with it.

Ok, if I don't post at least part of this now, I'm worried I never will! Part two to come (hopefully) shortly. 

Trying to get a full body shot while Bryan parked the car. 

After finding out I'd be admitted!

Theo's Birth Story :: Part Two

When I left off at Part One I had just gotten the epidural and was feeling much better. 

Right after the epidural my nurse, Sara, left the room and came back in with another nurse. It took me a second to realize that it was a girl I'd been good friends with in high school! It was great to see her and have a familiar face around. She let me know that she'd be part of my nursing team - some people might find this uncomfortable, but pregnant women know there's no hiding anything at this point! After a quick catch up session I was given orders to rest up a bit. We were now at 2:00am. 

Bryan and I never fully slept but I was at least able to rest my body a bit. While we were resting there was a great thunderstorm going on outside. The blinds in my room were open a bit and I was able to watch the lightening and rain. The atmosphere of a thunderstorm - something I love - lent a little extra excitement to the situation!

I was fully awoken at 2:55 when I finally felt my water break. I buzzed the nurse and she came in to make sure the fluid looked good. It did, and she was also able to tell that there was a tiny bit of forebag left and just the tiniest amount of cervix. She let me know that I would start feeling an increase in pressure and to call her if it got to the point where the pressure made me want to push. It was at this point that they also called my OB and she decided it was time for her to come in as she was about a half hour out. 

Well, it only took about 20 minutes for that pressure to start! I was just about to push the call button when Sara walked in. The pressure was so intense and it actually felt like the baby was coming out! I actually freaked out for a minute because it seriously felt like the baby was just going to fall out! Ha! It was just more fluid and the rest of the water bag. Totally bizarre feeling!

There was a flurry of activity at this point as the nurses wanted to make sure there was no baby RIGHT behind this last bit of water bag. My OB was still on her way at this point, so they brought in the general on-call doctor at the hospital. She had me start light pushing at about 3:30. When it was obvious that the baby wasn't coming out this second, the doctor left and let my team of nurses take over. We took lots of breaks to see how baby was tolerating everything and all of the vitals looked good! And, of course, those lovely contractions that I could barely feel picked up speed and intensity as we went.

I kept pushing with every round of contractions. Unfortunately, even though   everyone was telling me I was progressing nicely, it was just extremely slow-going. I hit the wall of frustration around 4:45. Everyone kept telling me I was doing a great job and that baby was coming down really well, but I just wanted the result of my hard work sooner than this!

My OB, who had already been in a couple times to check in on me, came in around 5:00 to assess my progress and watch a few pushes. She determined that baby was no longer tolerating the pushing very well. The heart rate was dipping too low and for too long after each pushing session. That's when I got the bad news that they would have to use the vacuum. I immediately started crying and was so upset. Noelle also needed the vacuum and ended up in the NICU because of it. Everyone on my team was so wonderful and reassuring and really helped me get my concentration back. My OB explained that she only used the vac when she 100% knew it would make for a quick delivery. That made me feel better as Noelle's vac experience was very prolonged, which is a big part of why she went to the NICU. 

There was another flurry of activity as the nurses got the "baby station" ready and my OB worked with the techs to get everything ready for me. Once the doctor got everything hooked up it only took one more contraction to get the head out. We quickly found out why I hadnt been progressing as baby's cord was wrapped around its neck. Thankfully it was pretty loose so there was no major harm to baby. One more contraction and Theo Richard was born at 5:34am and measured 7lbs 10 oz and 20.5 inches!! 

This is going to sound weird, but I felt so relieved after the doctor said the cord was present around the neck  (and after we knew baby was ok). After now two not so great birthing experiences I was convinced that my body just wasn't made for easy or normal deliveries. It was  good to know there was an actual reason this delivery didn't go as quickly as I had hoped. With Noelle, there was never an obvious reason why her delivery took so long (3 hours, 45 mins of pushing ending with a vac assist). 

Ok, back to the action :) Bryan was still able to cut the cord - something he later said made him really nervous because the baby's neck was right there! No one said anything about the sex right away because it seemed as though Bryan was waiting for the doctor to say it and she was waiting for him to say it! He finally said It's a Boy! and we both started bawling! It was really only a second or two, but it felt like a minute. Sara told us later that we were her first crying couple since she started in October and she absolutely loved it! 

Because of the vac assist the baby couldn't come to me right away - which was tough because I wanted that skin to skin immediately. Thankfully everything checked out well and all testing showed there was no blood loss to the baby's brain. Finally my son was brought to me and Bryan and I spent a few minutes just looking at him and talking to him. Finally I brought him to my breast and little dude latched on right. away. This was exactly the end result I was looking for! I attributed my struggles with breastfeeding the first time around to not being able to have Noelle with me right away. It felt so good - just beyond words - to have this instant connection with my son. Even now, a month later, I can think back to this moment and still feel the rush if excitement and love we felt at his birth. We are blessed beyond words to be given this precious gift!

Yikes--birth did not make me photogenic, who knew?! ;)

Due Date

Yikes! This has been sitting in my drafts folder since early (and I mean early) Friday morning.  Might as well still put it out there :)

Well, today (actually yesterday at this point) is my due date. A date I was convinced I would see the wrong side of. But here we are, already working our way onto day 4 with a newborn

Theo has been such a calm baby and has only ever cried if I haven't been quick enough with a bewb or when having his diaper changed. But as soon as everything is right again, he's happy as a clam! Obviously I know this will not always be the case but I will absolutely enjoy it while I can. 

I have notes/plans to write his birth story, along with more on how things are going so far, but those will have to wait for another day. For now, a small photo dump of our first few days will have to suffice :)