Milkface

That’s what I call the look that R gives me when he finishes a meal. His cheeks are full like a little chipmunk. His eyes are closed and all you see are these long lashes that extend for miles. It reminds me of these cherub faced angels I’ve seen on a Hallmark card. If he is particularly satisfied with his meal he’ll even bust out a smile or two. At least I like to think that’s why he is smiling. I’m exclusively breastfeeding and it’s hard, so maybe my thoughts are a way to pat myself on the back.

Yesterday R had his 2 month checkup and shots. It only cost me 10 bucks. Gotta love insurance. It was my first solo doc visit with R. When the doc came in he just stared—she called him serious, and said he looked mature and acted like a much older baby. He finally smiled at her. She held him while I put all the paperwork away and she talked to me about the next milestones I should look for. I really like her bedside manner. It puts me at ease and I don’t feel like I have to yell out questions as she backs out of the room. We’ll see her in two months for more vaccinations and his 4 month checkup.

This was the office visit game plan:
1. Ask the nurse to give R Tylenol as soon as we check in the room.
2. Ask if it would be okay to give R a bottle during the shots.
3. Ask for some time in the room so that I could finish bottle feeding/and or comfort breast feed if need be.

It didn’t go according to plan because for one, we had to wait over an hour for the appt. By the time R went into the room he was hungry,so I had to feed him in there while we waited for the doc. I was so frazzled getting the milk together that I forgot to ask for the Tylenol right away (the nurse gave it to him after his shots). After the shot the only comfort R really wanted was to be held by me while I told him how brave he was and how proud I was of him. He did get the Tylenol after the shots. While I was putting his onesie back on he made the weirdest cooing sound I had ever heard him make. It was a cross between a yelp and a slur. I think it was the drugs finally hitting him. I Guess he is going to be a lightweight like his mama.

Milestones to look for until 4 month appt- rolling over, tracking items across the room , better head control, enormous amount of weight and height growth.




He received 2 Bugs Bunny Bandaids. His onesie said "Little Tough Guy"

2 Month Eve

On the eve of Royce's 2 months he sits in his swing full, happy, and cooing away, busily kicking off his Ellen show abajam blanket. Meanwhile Mr. Blog is out picking up our Thai take-out from one of our favorite restaurants. When he returns we'll be dining on cashew nut chicken, pad see aew and a sampler of appetizers. Today was a lazy family Sunday of sleeping in , a mama cooked pancake breakfast, and family naps . I loved it. Family life is beginning to fit more and more.

The events of his birth still play in my mind like clock work. What I did on his birthday, how I reacted, how I asked his dad to rub my back in the evening thinking I was just dealing with pregnancy pains... only to find out later that I had been in the early stages of labor all along. What I thought before would be an unrepeatable event, ME giving birth and being pregnant, has actually become a sea of what ifs and we'll sees. What would his life be with a brother or sister? How would our lives be with another baby? Could I do it all again? Don't get me wrong. I do remember the trauma and the pain I went through but the wonderfulness of this thing called parent hood is melting my hesitation away. To go through all of that was horrible but to be rewarded with my beautiful and ever changing baby boy is priceless.

I can officially say that I no longer feel like I'm on the outside looking in. Instead of empathizing with parents I understand where they are coming from. That's a switch. I replay various parent/child scenarios from the past in my mind and can realize how they reacted that way. I even remember the big to-do people were making about Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes when they had Suri. People questioned them and asked if the baby was even real, just because they chose to keep her inside awhile. Now, as a new parent, I completely understand. Can we say germs anyone? Coughing, sneezing, and hovering paparazzi around a new baby. No thanks. We've even kept our own baby looked in his castle so to speak. So far The most people he has been around at once has been at the doctor's office. That is by choice. We are waiting for his first round of shots before we acquaint him with the outside world. His 2 month appt. will be Wed. so we'll see what happens then. I'm dreading the shots as much as if I were getting them myself.

The Many Faces of Royce

I've just been told that I don't update this blog nearly enough with pics of the baby so here goes:


The Thinker



The Scream (reminiscent of some painter)




I call it--Look into my eyes, you'll want to give me milk




Just Happy



Royce as the Hulk!



An image we don't like to see too often-The Meltdown.

Time flies when you're in heaven

The cutest angel turned one month old yesterday. He also had his first outing at grandma and grandpas. We ate hotwings and watched Ghost Rider. He did really good. He slept most of the time and then my mom fed him with a bottle. He did pretty good with the bottle but then he was off looking for me again. They were surprised at how much he has grown and they had just seen him Tuesday! All in all we had a pretty good day.

!!!

Royce is almost a month old! He'll actually be one month old next week. I can't believe it. Where did the time go? Stupid mom (me), I actually thought he was one month old this week. I thought once he hit 4 weeks he was considered one month. I guess it's at the 5 week mark. It will be so weird to refer to him in months and not so much weeks. There is so much he can do now, I can't wait to see what the future holds. One thing he has been doing since oh about day 3, is trying to hold his head up on his own. His dad, me, and the rest of the family were amazed with his range of movement. I almost cried, but not tears of joy. I thought- he's trying to leave me and grow up too fast and he just got here. He's not supposed to be doing that yet! On a side note, when you pick him up he also tries to push off on you and jump up and down. Today we let him try tummy time on his Boppy and he did a pretty good job. He didn't cry and neither did I ;)



Starting out



Okay, what do I do next?



*This is kinda fun*



I'm outta here!



Foiled again...

For all who dare...

This was Royce's first time in a swing. Notice the clasped feet!



Its taken me 3 weeks to post my birth story. I've started and stopped writing my story numerous times over the last several weeks. I recently wrote to a co-worker about my experience and decided to use that as my post so here goes:

My labor and delivery was not what I expected. I ended up having rolling contractions so they did not stop, just one after the other. By the time I reached the hospital I was already 4 or 5 cm dilated so they admitted me that was at 1:30 am. I ended up delivering Royce at 8:33 a.m. When I was about 7 Cm's I couldn't take the pain any more, plus it was hard to ignore the suggestions of an epidural. I even tried sitting on the bouncing ball but that did not work . I went in with an open mind and just wanted to see what my body was capable of. Plus, side note I am a big baby when it comes to needles . I got an epidural. It did not work. I had to be re shot! I was hunched over a table for 45 minutes getting poked in the back, being told to keep still, and my contractions never stopped the whole time. I was in so much pain. I even called out for my mom. I guess it was bad b/c they allowed her to be in the delivery room even though there was a limit to how many were allowed in. I had planned on just having myself and my husband in the room :). By the time I was fully dilated the epidural started working. This was when I needed to feel to push, but instead I was numb. They had to bring out a bar I could place my legs on and a sheet I could pull on (almost like I was doing sitting crunches) for me to push the baby out. I did it though! After he was out I cried and cried. They cleaned him up and placed him on me.

The next day I started to get a mind searing headache. It felt like a combination of a hangover or migraine that I've heard about (I've never had one before). I told my nurse about it in passing but I didn't think anything of it. I thought it was just the after effects of giving birth. Plus, I was having painful lower back muscle spasms. I had a great nurse!! She was so concerned she called the anesthesiology department and arranged for them to come speak with me. I thought she was making a big deal out of nothing, but I was still grateful.

It turns out I developed what is known as a spinal headache. The hospital tried to correct it by hooking me up to an IV with caffeine and a salt solution for 24hrs but that did not work. They said I could try another option which is known as a blood patch and requires a third shot. It is very much like an epidural except some of your blood is taken out and pumped back into your spine. The after affects were that I could not hold anything heavier then the baby for 48-72 hours after and I had to spend the majority of my time lying on my back or else there was a chance it would not work. It was hard to do this with a baby but my husband, parents, and mother in law pitched in to help. I'm so glad the blood patch worked because I was given an example of someone who had to have the procedure done 4 times before the pain went away. I'm just starting to feel like myself. Whew that is a long story!

Guess who's here?

I couldn't wait to go to Bob's just for this photo! Hehe!



Okay, now for the blog world debut of Royce: