7pm, 10pm, 1am, 4am, 7am

Hi-it's been a while since a Miles update.

The title of this post is in reference to the times Miles woke/ate last night. I am tired.

He's is getting really big! He was 12lbs 9oz at our 2 month check up. He's 11 weeks monday, so I am SURE he's gained a 1lb at least...Oh and he was 23 inches long. Only in the 40% percentile for size...Matt was a little disheartened about that, but I think he hit a growth spurt right after our appt.

He is sleeping a LOT better. Taking good naps and having up to a 7 hr stretch at night. (not sure what happened last night...)Unfortunately, that stretch is sometimes from 6pm-1am, in which I am awake some of it...but, I know there is sleep in my future at some point. I pray...

So, yeah, having a baby is so much more intense than I ever imagined. He's soo precious and innocent and just adorable. And yet, my whole life is different. I don't go anywhere w/o thinking about him or if he'll be hungry while I've run to HEB for 10 whole minutes. That too gets easier I think.

Ok, i got to get a nap while he's out. !

tummy time

This is Miles at 7am this am-he is holding his head up so high! He was cooing and smiling a lot this morning. His nails get so long and I am terrified to trim them-so he scratched his face and his dad clipped them after that. Our routine is getting established and making life much easier. Approximately, he gets up at 7am-eats and naps, up at 10am, repeat, up at 1pm and so on about every three hours...It is getting somewhat consistent ...Monday he slept 4 hrs at night. It was a great nights sleep!

Here he is swaddled and sleeping. So sweet!

Sarah came over Sunday and we juiced kale and greens. It was like a boost of B vitamin-if felt so good! I hadn't juiced since Miles was born because it just takes a while...

Today I, regretfully, took Miles to the Farwest HEB. It was our 2nd attempt at this store. His car seat doesn't seem to fit in the basket at all, so I carried him with the help of a sling. It was ridiculous. I should have just gone home...but I wanted to get some productive cooking done and needed supplies...Anyway like five people asked me why I was taking my small child out in the sleet, the lady in front of me unloaded my groceries onto the check out belt thing and I probably veered into a dozen folks as I tried to steer the cart with one hand. Oh brother!

But, I just finished chicken and rice soup with soda bread. It was a great cold weather meal! Ok for some reason I am trying to keep pace with my blogging husband:) that's all for now!

Miles-6 weeks old!

The bandage is from the skin tag removed on his ear.

Sleeping in the pre op room before his circumsicion.

the end of a smile.!

Ok, so I have totally lapsed on blogging. Matt just updated and inspired me:)

So, some general notes about birth to 6 weeks:

1. Breastfeeding was so.much.harder than I was prepped for! At our 3 day checkup, Miles had lost 12% of birthweight (more than the midwives would have liked), so we scheduled a checkup for two days later-more weight loss! Well that scared us into action. We met with a lactation consultant and started bottle feeding him additional breastmilk till he couldn't take anymore. I couldn't believe how scary it was to see him not gaining weight at first. He has, thankfully, made a good latch and I have finally learned to relax and we are getting the hang of it. I mean, I was so not ready for how hard that part was...

2. Sleep. everyone tells you to get it while you can, but like Mandy points out, no one can explain just how exhausting it is to have a newborn. I was waking up in complete delerium, not sure if Miles was in our bed, in his swing or crib. It was even worse when he wasn't in the same room as me-b/c I woke up startled instead of gradually as he made little noises...

3. Help. I don't even understand how anyone makes it through the first few weeks w/o help. My mom and sister pretty much lived here for two weeks and we had at least ten people brings us meals (sometimes more than once!). Matt handled some night feedings so I could get sleep and I still felt like a zombie despite all those aforementioned acts of kindness!

4. Crying and naps. Finally, my respite! I am learning to let Miles cry a bit when I know he's exhausted and just needs a nap. Before, I was unwilling to do so and so I carried him all day long and tried taking walks and wearing him in slings. They were good for then, but ulimately the boy just was not sleeping during the day for more than 20 min here and there. This made for a cranky boy and an exhausted mom.

So, Thursday I let him fuss for a while and almost instantly, he took a good long nap (and I did too!). I feel like we're making good progress. Starting a schedule and both getting good day time naps. what a relief.

5. I am not sure why blogging is easier for me in bullet points, but it is.

Being a mom is certainly so much harder and lonelier than I have ever imagined. But it is so worth it. I can't believe how much a I love Miles. I am reading Operating Instructions by Lamott. It is irritating and I can't stop reading it for some reason. I am just hooked on reading her infant son's progress.

Anyway, I cooked dinner for the first time last night and cooked again today. I can slowly feel my old life returning with an added bonus:)

a baby story...

Recap: We closed on our new home Friday at lunch time. Moved Saturday. Miles was born Monday Dec 14th at 8:20am.

Contractions started officially at 11pm Sunday night, but were increasing all day Sunday.
So, we were playing Yahtzee at 10ish and I was up after every turn, rolling my hips around and pretty uncomfortable. After Matt slaughtered me I said I better get to bed in case I had a baby the next day...So at 11pm we went to bed. I was up about every 10 min, moving my hips around, squatting, etc. Finally at 2am, sleep wasn't really happening due to the painful interruptions-so I called the midwives. Roswitha called back and said there wasn't much to do till the contractions were 5 min apart...drink a beer and get some rest she said.

So, I started trying to time them around 2:30. They were 4-5-8 min apart. So I figured I still had plenty of time till they got more consistent. Still, up every 5 min or so, rolling the pelvis, sitting on the toilet, moaning, walking around the house and reading up on early labor (maybe should have done that sooner?:) The beer made me feel nauseous.

At 6am I was a mess-moaning so loud Matt would wake with each one, stroke me and tell me to try and relax as best I could. HA. He was helpful though, because at least I was focused on him and not the pain, entirely. I COULD NOT relax at that point, probably because I had, unknowingly, reached transition, where relaxing during contractions is no use... I was pushing with each one.

My water broke at 7:15 am and Matt called the ABC again. I got the phone and told Roswitha I felt like I needed to push with each one. She said, GET IN THE CAR! So, we pull up to the ABC at 7:45am and 5 pushes later, Miles is out at 8:20am. Oh MY goodness. It was so fast. I didn't even have time to get in the tub like I wanted.

He weighed 8lbs 4oz and was 21 1/4 in long. He has hair everywhere and Paul Boudreau lips:)

I am still pretty tired and have yet to really process the miracle of labor. But I know two things 1. it was really hard 2. I did it!

We are IN love with Miles. He is so.so. cute, even when his face is red mid-scream. He is sleeping now and I probably should be too. But today is Christmas eve and who can sleep this day away?! We are so grateful!

39 weeks

How far along? 39weeks
Sleep: up at least 3x/night
Best moment this week: getting a great deal on Craigslist for our new living room furniture!
Movement: some *tiny* contractions added to the usual feet and body parts jabbing at my sides
Food cravings: milk to quell heartburn! peppermints...which ironically make heartburn worse!
What I miss: my old wardrobe. I am seriously down to only a few shirts that make it over my belly and they are almost ALL black. I am not in mourning, just HUGE! I almost looked at Target yesterday, but cannot seriously justify buying ANY more maternity clothes at this point:)
What I am looking forward to: MOVING! Lord willing, this weekend.
Weekly Wisdom: I am going to get huge-well you know, so the boy can come out! Thanks to some Ina May wisdom, I've been re-encouraged that my body really was made to do this labor thing and I'll be up for task when it's time.

Some other books that have been helpful so far:
The Pregnancy Book: Month-by-Month, Everything You Need to Know From America's Baby Experts

On Becoming Babywise: Giving Your Infant The Gift of Nighttime Sleep

Birthing from Within: An Extra-Ordinary Guide to Childbirth Preparation

this one encouraged me to walk daily; it's pretty much the solution to every prego ailment:
Prescription for Nutritional Healing, 4th Edition

Of course, they almost ALL come at child rearing and birth from DIFFERENT perspectives, making it a bit confusing to know what's the *right* thing to do, but at the same time, I like reading about the extreme perspectives and knowing that we'll settle into whichever form of parenting and birth that works for us, ultimately.

I realized yesterday that the ABC folks are definitely attachment parenting, natural child birthing, non circumcising, co sleeping hippies! haha. Obviously, we share many of the same values or we wouldn't be having our baby there, but still, we are not that extreme.

We had an appointment with Roswitha yesterday and saw another Hope Chapel couple leaving as we came! Hope people LOVE the ABC:) I weighed in the same as last week, mercifully, since Roswitha doesn't miss a thing when it comes to weight gain! But, she was encouraging that I am still within their 'normal' range. I mean, what God-fearing, holiday party going American doesn't gain 5lbs during Dec anyway? For crying out loud! I wish everyone had to 'weigh in' every week during the holidays!

Ok, there is sort of malfunction w/ the camera at the moment...pics to come shortly.

38 weeks

So, its 38 weeks. Here's the update:



Weight gain: 32#



Cravings: pumpkin bread.



Physically: TIRED! I think I slept through the night a couple of weeks ago, but it's a distant memory. I've read/heard that my body is preparing for the 2 hr feedings by waking every two hours to pee. Great...using the eye cream early...



Emotionally: excited=to meet Miles. very thankful=for the new house! scared=of what labor will REALLY be like.



Next Prenatal Appt: Wed at 3pm, depending on when we close, this may change.



We hope to start cleaning by Thurs/Fri and have a great move (as in moving our bed and baby stuff:) Sat and Sun. Things are about to start happening fast! But, I am consicously taking it slow and packing up things very slowly, getting naps and walks in daily and eating lots of greens and smoothies, playing yahtzee and watching West Wing to force myself to rest!



And now we wait....

37 weeks

work shower: As you can see, I was stunned at all the gifts they gave me!

Here is Adina; we've been talking about babies for 9 months now!

opening gifts:

One of the professors; he's very excited about those shirts:)

Ok, updates:

1. We met with Joan for our 37 wk appt. last week. She suggested lying on my right side may help Miles turn the correct way and prepare for descent!

She also told me some exercises I should do to help his position: pelvic rocks, free style swimming and laying on a yoga ball...

2. We will own a house soon!

3. have I mentioned that my folks living room is FULL of baby stuff...

So, I swam with my mom for 40 min on Saturday and otherwise, have taken the holiday off of exercising...Yesterday I hit the treadmill for a slow walk.

In the meantime, I'm packing, making sure I've got the basic 'essentials' washed and ready should he come early. I just need to pick up a stroller this week with the rest of Babies R Us gift cards and then I am pretty sure the rest of the baby goods can wait...or will be handed down eventually.

Here is a fun picture of my morning ritual: the green goblin. I recently admitted to wearing ear muffs in the early am hours when I am concocting this drink in the garage; my mom insisted I show this to the blog world:):

I am trying not to smile here:

Ok, we have our next ABC appt Wed...stay tuned!