8 Weeks

I've been so busy I forgot to get on here and post. Well, every time I thought about it something came up. That's life with kids. I'm sure you know what I mean!

Carson is doing great! We went for his 2 month check up today and he is in the 50% of everything. He is now 11 lbs 10 oz and 23 in long (I think). We have had a bit of an issue with breastfeeding the last three weeks. I think it is because he has reflux. There were a couple of days he wouldn't take the breast or bottle so I knew something was wrong. He is a great eater, usually eats in 5 minutes and is done. The doctor gave me a prescription for some reflux med so we will see if that is the problem. Funny thing is, as long as this has persisted he was actually up every hour or two last night to eat. Pretty sure he is starting a growth spurt. He can typically sleep 5-6 hours at night. I hope it doesn't last long...the spurt that is.

As far as development he is cooing and trying to talk and laughing. He is sooo cute. He has been doing most of that since 2 weeks! Yep we think he is a genius. HA
He likes to be on his stomach I have found out and I guess I need to put him there more often. The doc said his head was getting flat and especially on the right side. I noticed it after she said it. So, he is sleeping on his tummy right now...with me watching of course.

Carson loves the outdoors. Boy is he like his dad. I think he is going to take after Kevin more but have my calm personality! lol He's been the calmest of all the kids. He's already had to take the abuse of this brother and sister so I think by the time he can move, if he has a good memory, they are going to be in for a good beat down!

I can't believe 8 weeks have gone by already. His little life has brought us so much joy! I can't wait to see him grow each day!

Almost 6 weeks PP

I just can't believe it's almost been a month and a half since Carson was born. Man, it feels like yesterday to me. He is growing and is just a great baby. I know that God has sent him to us for some special reason. I feel his calmness and the present of the Spirit in him. He already wants to say so much. You look and talk to him and he already coos and smiles. He's been doing that since 2 weeks old. What baby does that that soon? It's just amazing to me.

Brady and Kendra are in love with him. It is great to see the love of brothers and sisters. Of course we have the occasional jealously and smacking on the head after rubbing it (lol) but for the most part, they are really good with him. I can't wait until Carson and Brady can play together. I think they will be best friends though they are already so different from one another. They will be teaching each other things (hopefully good!).

As for me, I am feeling great! I'm ready for the weather to get warm so we can hang outside. We've made so many new friends at church with kids I think this summer is going to be filled with many new adventures (one might be potty training Brady). What an adventure!

4 Week PostPartum Update

WOW! I can't believe that Carson is 4 weeks old already. It seems like yesterday I was pushing him out. He has been such a good baby and he has slept through the night (what I call it) since 2 weeks. CRAZY! GREAT! He is such a great baby. He pretty much only cries when he is hungry or wet. He is a wonderful eater and I guess that is why he is almost 10 lbs already. At the last doctors appointment he was 9.9 and that was on the 18th. I suppose I could weigh him on our scale here but I know he is eating well. I actually gave him a bottle of breast milk the other day because I was in a hurry and he took it, no problem. I also changed out his paci and it only took him a moment to go from one to the other. I'd say he is a pretty calm child. I think that is going to come in handy when it comes to his siblings.

As for me, I have gotten back into my size 5 jeans!! I'm so happy! It would be awesome to get back into the 3's because I have so many of those but in time. I will probably start the Zumba class at church soon. I need to just work on this tiny gut I have now. I did pamper myself today and bought a few new shirts. For some reason I seem to not have any shirts that fit me. I will definitely be doing some Spring cleaning this year and clearing out the closet.

My allergies seem to have gotten better or gone away. I am occasionally taking the allergy tincture and still doing the candida. I probably should continue the allergy each day but I seem to forget. I'm not so good at remembering to take things (pills and such). Mommy brain I guess. So, no hives or swelling since visiting Genesis and I pray it continues. I have to say that I will go there for anything I need medical related (not so serious that is) from now on.

My mom has the kids this weekend! Another hooray! I feel so good that I get to spend some quality time with Carson. Mom will be bringing them back Monday and stay for a couple of days. It is such a relief when they are gone though I miss them so much. Brady is just...well, Brady. He is a 2 year old boy and good at it. I was just in need of some R&R. Breathhhhhhh....ahhhhhhhhhhhh.

Now, I'm going to rest while the baby is and then to feed and put him to bed.

Nite all

Two weeks postpartum: Oh the Hives

Last Wed. was two weeks pp for me and it started a new phase of getting over the delivery. I've been doing well dealing with the stitches and the fatigue. The baby is sleeping well and he is very good. However, my body has gone through something tramatic I guess and is lashing out. I have delevoped hives AND I'm suddenly allergic to pain medication. Go figure. It would be me that would develop these things.

I've had hives each day since last Wed. night...actually very early Thursday morning I think. I've had two swelling events of my lips. I figured out after taking Aleve yesterday (which I had not taking any pain meds since last Wed.) and having my lips hugely swell within 10 -15 min that I developed some allergic reaction to the pain meds. The first time it was ibuprofen.

This was really bothering me not knowing what was causing this. What could I be allergic to? I cut out things and hadn't done anything different since the delivery. Mom and I have chaulked it up to a hormonal change. I then did some research on Google and after reading and seeing a million plus hits for "hives after birth" I don't feel so bad now. Not that it makes the itching go away. I've been taking Benedryl for 3 days now and I think it was starting to affect my milk supply not to mention making the baby drowsy. So, I tried today not taking it. It was hard but I just kept applying Kengan water and Sarna on the hives all day.

I made an appointment at Genesis Herb Garden for tomorrow to have some testing done. I initially called them because of the eczema on my hands and feet. Now maybe they can help me out with something to cure or help the hives as well. A couple of the post from mothers who have experienced this said their hives lasted 2-4 months after delivery. I really hope that I don't have to deal with this that long.

I will update after seeing Debbie tomorrow. Hope she will have some answers.

Pics

The Big Day: Birth Story of Carson James

Tuesday morning Jan 26th I was browsing FB and suddenly felt very wet. I actually commented on Brandy Bells status about either having peed on myself or having my water break (I almost would have rather peed on myself). I figured out about 10 min later that is was my water that broke and it continued to leak throughout the morning.

I called the doctor, my mom and Kevin. Per docs orders, if it continued to really leak we were to go to L&D and if not, to keep my appointment that afternoon. Tuesday was my actual due date.

I tried to get things together around the house which was hard with water leaking out of me and I also had to contend with Brady. Kevin decided to come on home and my mom decided to come on down. I called a friend to see if she could pick up Kendra for us and keep Brady until my mom got here.

Kevin got home and we got stuff together to go to the hospital. Got Brady ready and took him to Sabrina's with our van. We left the house around 11 am I guess and headed to CMC North East hospital.

Side note: I had been having very mild contractions for several days

Heading into hospital I had my first contraction since my water broke. We got checked in and I was feeling great. Far cry from my last L&D experience. Walked back to triage. I think I found out I was only 1cm at that time. UGH.

We got into a room, met nurses, and began waiting, walking, and resting. Doc wanted to start Pit but I was not ready. We tried different positions and I even called my Bradley instructor to get some ideas, but we were doing everything natural we could. I labored through the night and decided to start Pit if at 7 am on the 27th I was not dilated any further. I wasn't...blaaah. Pit started and so did contractions, regular and hard. I labored with Pit for 5 hours...started asking for epi about 10:30 and got it about 12 noon. Relief. I honestly don't think I would have made it to the end without being exhausted without it. Twenty-six hours of natural and simulated (med) labor was enough and a great experience. The best thing I did was ask for the relief when I needed it. Side note: I was not at all disappointed that I didn't make it to the end unmedicated. I labored a long time naturally and that experience will always be mine. :-)

At 12 noon (when I got epi) I was 2-3 cm. At around 3pm, I was 3-4 cm and at 4:45 I was complete plus 2 station. He was coming out on his own! I pushed with my favorite nurse, MaryAnn, and a squat bar maybe 4 times and they called the doc. Yes, it was cool that I had an epidural and could still stand up enough to squat but not feel much. Awesome!! The doc came in, an alien encounter took place (as we called it), and I pushed maybe 4 more times and Carson entered the world!

He was perfect. They placed him on my stomach and he stayed with me from then on. I did have a lot of bleeded after caused by my c-section scar on my uterus. The doctor had to really work on me to get it to stop but finally did. Kind of scary but I just prayed and knew it would all be alright.

Carson was born at 5:11 on Jan 27th. He was 20 in long and beautiful.

We left the hospital to come home less than 24 hours later. :-)

Today I have had it

The day started out with Kendra not going to school because she was up a lot during the night. She apparently was having bad dreams about Seymore...the elephant. Go figure. She is scared of Big Bird too. What can I say? Maybe we should not let her watch PBS. I was fine with her staying home even though Kevin has school tonight. That means that I have to contend with the kids all day and night pretty much. It's just a lot now that I'm 39 weeks pregnant. I love them and I want to be more patient...but I'm not there yet.

To make this short: Kendra was good, Brady was into everything - everything meaning the refrigerator. I had to clean up the kitchen floor three times...water, milk, spagetti sauce, and peas. He had the eggs out but thank goodness didn't open the carton. I'm beat. I've mopped the kitchen more times today than since we lived here I think and ran washes for towels as well. My body is worn out though I made it through the day and I didn't scare the kids...little screaming and more being blunt and calm. I think it has something to do with my sore throat again...happened after last chiro. visit too. Bummer but good things are moving out. I digress...tomorrow I am going out to buy a refrigerator lock. Geesh, everything in the house is pretty much locked up now. Kevin is afraid however about what he will find next to get into since all the stuff he is used to getting is now being locked. Me too!

Baby wise: moving still. I don't think he will be that big. I'm having some mild cramping and discharged has changed (TMI). Was very uncomfortable last night until I got on the couch. Baby was moving a lot and felt like he was trying to come out through my stomach. It wasn't fun. I have hemorrhoids already. Doctor said it is from the weight of the baby...great. Something else to content with while going through labor. Nobody tells you all this stuff when you're trying to get pregnant. I don't think I ever had any with Brady but then again, I didn't get this far along.

I go back to the doc. next Tuesday unless by a miracle (God, please.) I go into labor before then. This weekend would be great. In a hurry up and wait state -

Almost 39 weeks

Yeah, so I'm jumping ahead. I'm excited becuase I didn't make it this far with Brady but I'm also anxious about the unknown. I just keep praying and knowing that God will take care of everything- He brought us to this point.

Yesterday the baby was very slow to move. Today I have felt him a pretty good bit...not the kicks he was doing but more just moving around. I'm having some irregular contractions but they don't hurt...20 min, then 10 min, then maybe 40 min. I think my uterus is starting to prepare.

I'm extremely tired today. I got up and helped get Kendra ready for school and went back to lie down in bed. Though it is hard to sleep or rest when Brady is around. I think I am going to have a black eye from the number of times he threw his head back on my face while sitting with me. He can't seem to ever just sit down and watch cartoons. :-) I am going to try to rest as much as I can. I would like to take the kids to the park today when Kevin gets home. He has a half day of work! I love those days.

May God grace us with the presence of Carson James this weekend...if it is time.

Feeling Really Good

I'll start by saying that I feel really good today and I assume it is from the great night of sleep I got last night. I went to my chiropractor yesterday and she straightened out the crap going on in my head (cold) and helped me with the giant pain in my ars! :-) No not the kids or Kevin but the real pain I have been having. I'm wondering now why I have waited 5 months to go see her. Well, money but besides that...it was well worth it.

The baby was moving like crazy yesterday, before my adjustment and after. Today he is pretty quiet. I was getting worried this morning because he really didn't move much at all before 11 am. WOW. But once I got in the car he started moving about a little. I haven't felt the kicks on the right side like usual but I think he is just napping, kind of like I felt after my appointment yesterday. It just made me feel good. Maybe he just feels good. :-) After the kids go to bed tonight I'll try a kick count. I've just been doing so much today it is hard to realize his movements.

I also got a phone call back from our neighbor who is a massage therapist. I am thinking about having her come here while I'm laboring at home and do some massage. It will give Kevin a break and she is trained. Not in natal but she is talking to others who are. She is coming over in the next few days to do a test massage. Cool! Not sure we will use her but I thought it might be nice to have her on standby in case I feel the need. Not going through a normal labor before I don't really know what to expect. I don't know how I will want to relax. I do know that massage is the biggest form of relaxation for me so I wanted to give it a whirl.

So, hopefully any day now Carson will want to join the world. While we're waiting, I have an OBGYN appointment Tuesday, massage appointment Sunday or Tuesday and another chiro. appointment next Wed.

Full Term!

We are full term! YAHHHH!

Went to the doctor today and saw the NP. I only had a measurement and listened to the heart. I think I may get checked next week. I wasn't planning on it until I went into labor but I'm getting anxious.

I've had very few contractions, well until last night. I woke up a few times with my whole stomach tightening. I've had several today also. So, maybe there is actually something happening. I feel like nothing is happening and I'm getting so close to be term. The docs won't let me go over 41 weeks or maybe even 40 since I had a prior section. Though I want to have a natural labor, at this point I'm just wanting to see Carson's sweet face - however he gets here.

I've been sick the last couple of weeks and now my throat is starting to hurt pretty bad. I feel like I have been sick for months. I know God will help me through this all. I am just ready to have him here and to feel better.

On a better note, I found the bedding set that matched the nautical lamp we already had. It's been two years that I have been trying to find the perfect set for the nursery. On the clearance shelves at Marshalls there just happened to be a bedding set just sitting there. They usually don't carry that stuff and I had gone out that day looking to change to the whole room to match the bedding I already had...because none of the decor really matched it. Wow! I was shocked and also because I had a gift card and it was marked down to $39! A 6 piece baby bedding set and I only paid $20. Incredible. So, now I feel Carson's room is pretty much complete. I have to buy one more window valance and that is it. :-)

I'll posts pics when I get to it.

Welcoming in 2010: Baby being born

No not ours......

Kevin and I decided to stay in and watch a movie before the ball dropped. So, we have taken a liken to the "FREE" movies you can watch instantly on Netflix. We watched a doctumentary on the food additives and other stuff. I think it was called The Beautiful Truth. Pretty good. I think we are going to order the book from the doctor who was talked about in the movie. Then we took a break and with 1 1/2 hours until the ball dropped, we decided to watch another movie.

Earlier in the night while browsing through the instant play movies, I came upon the one that Ricki Lake produced. I know it sounds corny but I heard it was supposed to be really good. The Business of Being Born it's called. So, at midnight we were watching a baby come into the world. It was a rather interesting film. Kevin now thinks that he has to get all of his fillings out and we can't have our baby in the hospital...all after watching these two films. Both were enlightening. That's why we love to watch documentaries. Side bar: we didn't watch the ball drop but we did do the New Years kiss at 12. :-)

I want to state that after watching the Ricki Lake film, I do know more of what I am going to be prepared for at the hospital. I think Kevin does too and I also know what I am going to discuss beforehand with the doctors and how to get my needs and feelings across to them now. I have a birth plan and they have all read it but I want to make sure that they "really" understand our goal for this birth. God willing and us praying, we will be able to have our natural childbirth, complication free this time.

Only time will tell now what will be. I'm almost 37 weeks, full term! I'm getting excited and anxious wondering how this will actually happen. I'm relying on my faith in God that it will all work out just as it should. I know it will, even if what we want isn't in the cards. But a little prayer never hurt anyone (I hope!).