Week 1

Henry is officially 1 week old! I can't believe a week has already gone by. He is such a joy to our lives. I just love my little monkey!

Today we had our follow up pediatrician appointment to check his weight and thankful he is almost back to his birth weight coming in at 8lbs 6oz. Most babies gain weight back at an 80% rate and Henry is at 110%. This is great news as we get to scale back on the formula as the breast milk is more than doing the trick. As any new mom knows one of the hardest things out of the gate is when you breast feed you just don't know if you are giving your little one all the nutrients they need since you cant "see" what the intake is. When I found out he had lost a tad more than normal in weight I got really worried. It was such a relief to know things are headed in the right direction. Last night also marked the first night where I got 3 straight hours of deep sleep and Henry slept about half the night in his bassinet. I hope tonight is as good as I really need some steady sleep as I am fighting a head cold. I counted the total hours of sleep prior to last night and I had about 16 hours in 6 days - crazy when that is what most people should get in 2 days! Funny after that how refreshed you feel after 3 solid hours. As for his circumcision, it was really a pretty traumatic event for me. He is doing great and healing perfectly but the process is so disturbing and really hard to watch your little one go through.

As my last post mentioned yesterday marked our 2nd anniversary. My mom and step-dad watched Henry while Chris and I went out to dinner. It was really funny to watch them with Henry as neither one of them want to let the other one hold him as they want all the time they can get with the little guy. He is so loved it just warms my heart. Here is a pic of us as we were headed out the door. Yes, you can tell mom is exhausted by my eyes and Henry doesn't like the bright light in his eyes! But, hey you get the idea.... :o)

A moment with mommy before we headed out - love him!Here are a few more pics from today. Grandma Carol and I just couldn't help but fuss over him while he was sleeping -

Two Wonderful Years

Exactly two years ago today Chris and I took a vow to spend the rest of our lives together. I often look back on our wedding day and feel so blessed for such a wonderful celebration of our commitment and love for one another. It really was a spectacular day. We have so much to be thankful for this year and have just been given the best anniversary present possible, our little boy Henry. I so look forward to our journey ahead and our growing family. Tonight my parents are coming down to babysit Henry so we can go grab a bite to eat. We opted to stay close to home so we can get there and back without missing feeding time with Henry. Every day I am realizing more and more how very lucky we are as we have so much love and support from our families; it is absolutely incredible.

Here are a couple photos from our wedding at the Golf Club at Newcastle on January 27th, 2007.

"Firsts"

With the arrival of baby Henry we have had a lot of "firsts" this past weekend. Every day is a new adventure of learning and growing (him and us). He really is the greatest joy of my life. Even as tired as I am I have a hard time closing my eyes as all I want to do is stare at his beautiful face. This morning I had him laying in the middle of us for a few minutes in his infant positioner. He and Chris were fast asleep and all I could do was stare at them and smile. Chris woke up and looked over and I said "you two have the same profile." He looked at me and said "babe you really need to get some sleep." I think I need to take the advice of my husband as I am running on low fuel. So hard to pull yourself away from their every move.

Anyway, Saturday marked the first night we spent just the 3 of us. Things went really well and we all got some sleep. I am pretty sure I once again got the least amount of sleep but when you are the one breastfeeding their isn't a whole lot to do about that. Henry wakes up to eat every 3 hours or so for the most part. We definitely have a couple long hours in the middle of the night between feeding. changing poopy diapers, feeding again after being woken up after a diaper change and cuddled back to sleep. However, their is this new found adrenaline you get when you are a mom. No matter how tired you are you just kick in gear because you want to do the very best for your little one. Last night we were alone the 3 of us again and it also went well. I need to fine tune a few things as I am sure we could get a bit more efficient with a few things but overall we are adjusting well.

Here are some photos of Henry "firsts" this past weekend:

Bath time with each grandma:

Nap time with daddy:

And mommy - pardon the nursing shirt:

Enjoying his chair while the adults enjoy a yummy meal by Grandma Carol:

Meeting his Great Grandma Ardy:And, Auntie Robynn:

And, now for the not so fun part. Today we had Henry circumcised. I chose to not go in the room and Carol went in for me. He did really well but was definitely not a very happy baby after. It really just broke my heart. I feel so bad for him and a bit overwhelmed as now I have to make sure I take good care of his boy parts until it fully heals. I know this is nothing new but it is for me (us) and I can't help but feel heart broken for causing him some pain today that really isn't necessary. Anyway, he will soon be all better and we can forget this experience all together!

First Check-Up

We just got back from our first check-up for little Henry. Our pediatrician came to visit him both days in the hospital and we decided to go back and see him again before the weekend to make sure all the feedings are going well and just get the peace of mind that everything is a-ok with our new addition.

Henry is measuring at the average weight and head size and is in the 80th percentile for height; imagine that! He also has lost a little weight, just a tad more than the average weight loss for a newborn, but we are both really getting the hang of this whole breastfeeding process. Since he has lost some weight and my milk isn't in yet we are supplementing with some formula. He has no problem latching back on to my breast after a bottle feed so I say if it helps bulk him up and makes him happy then I am all for it! We go in for his circumcision on Monday and check back in with the peditirition for his weight gain on Wednesday.

As for mom and dad, we are so thankful to have all the help we have. My mom stayed the night with us last night and helped out so I could get some rest. I had only slept 30 minutes since Monday and really was on my last leg. I was able to get about a total of 5 hours throughout the evening/night yesterday and feel so much better today. Chris mom made us all dinner last night and is back here again making homemade chicken and noodles for us. Henry, Chris and I are so very lucky to have such a loving family. We are all spoiled rotten!

I keep getting asked about the labor process too. Overall, it went really well and I feel so proud of myself and Henry. We checked in on Monday evening around 6pm as I had been having consistent contractions since 1pm and given I was dilated to 4+ cm the doc wanted me to head into the hospital. Once we were there they confirmed I was about 5cm and in early labor. However, for most patience they would have sent them home until the contractions got closer together/more intense however with my level of dilation and antibiotics needed prior to birth they admitted me. The next several hours I spent walking up and down the halls trying to get my water to break and speed along contractions. At midnight the doc came to visit me again and we decided to break my water as I was now at about 6cm and still not progressing quickly enough. That triggered active labor and my contractions got a lot more intense. Definitely had to tap into the breathing techniques at this point. Given the size of Henry and the question of whether his shoulders were even going to fit through we decided to go ahead and get an epidural. After I started feeling the contractions after my water breaking I did not even question the desire of some drugs. Getting the epidural was not painless either but well worth it. The only problem I had from this point until pushing was the hormones for labor really triggered massive shivering. This happens to a lot of women and I was one of them. It was as though I was extremely cold but I wasn't. It took everything I had to manage them and not crack all my teeth. However at about 4:50am I was fully dilated and ready to push. The shaking seemed to settle down at this point. After an hour and 40 minutes of pushing Henry entered the world! I believe I had the best epidural as I could feel each contraction to help my labor coaches (Chris, mom and Carol) to get me ready to push each time. But the best part was that I could feel Henry come out but still numb enough to not feel the couple stitches I needed after. The entire time I could wiggle my toes and didn't lose feeling above my abdomen. The perfect cocktail! The moment when Henry entered the world was the most incredible moment of my life. The joy that overcomes you is unexplainable. Chris was just as choked up as I was. Truly the best day of our lives. I just can't wait to continue to watch him explore this new world and for us to all bond together as a family. I love my life!

Introducing....

Henry Daniel

Henry arrived at 6:32am on January 21st, 2009. He is 8lbs, 8 ounces and 21 3/4 inches long. Mom, Dad and Baby are doing great and will have a lot more details to share as soon as we catch up on some much needed sleep and learn our routine a bit. Until then here are a couple photos. More to come.....Thanks everyone for all the kind messages. We look forward to introducing you all to our beautiful son. The most incredible gift we could ever ask for. He is just perfect!

One Big Boy!

So I just got back from the doctor and have some new updates to share. But, first and foremost Henry is a healthy boy and still in the head down position. But, here's the catch....he is measuring to be about a 9 1/2 lb baby! You don't even want to know what words were flying through my head when I heard those numbers....yikes! The doc was able to get this estimate of weight by doing an ultrasound. It was great to get a last glimpse of him and see just how big he has gotten. This ultrasound was very different than ones before as you don't get to see one big picture of the entire baby. Rather you only see whatever body part is right below the wand (for example, the head or abdominen area, legs, etc.).

Based on his size and my due date we are looking at getting induced as early as Friday if he doesn't come before then. I am now dilated to 4+. The doc will be calling me this afternoon to see what appointments are open for Friday - Monday to be scheduled to get induced at the hospital. Since this is an "elective" inducement and not a medical emergency I would be the first patient to get bumped if necessary. So, even if I get put on the books for Friday I could very well be bumped if the birth center becomes really busy. I basically need a room, a nurse, and less than 3 inductions for my doc to be admitted. The reason we are looking to get induced is because I really want to try to avoid a c-section as much as possible. With him being so big I have about a 30% chance of having to go into a c-section anyway. But, we want to first try for a vaginal birth and then make the game time decision of whether a c-section is necessary. The doc thinks I have a really good chance of having a vaginal birth just fine based on my size and width of my pelvic bone. So, I am still very optimistic that this will all go smoothly but also know c-sections happen all the time and are absolutely safe to do.

Lastly, I know many of you have been following my decision to try to have a drug free birth. Well, based on the facts we got today that has gone out the window pretty darn fast! If I get induced I will have to have a drug called Pitocin, which basically takes you from 0 - 100mph in less than 2 hours for contractions. Not something you want to necessarily try without an epidural to help with the pain. Pitocin doesn't always do the trick either. But, usually when this doesn't work it's because the woman is not dilating. Since I am already dilated to 4+ we are looking pretty darn good.

Anyway, I will know more this evening. But, it is pretty safe to say that Henry will be here no later than early next week. Our anniversary is on Tuesday so we are really hoping we get to have him before then. But, I guess we can share our big day with the little guy...he's so worth it!

Weekend Rewind

I have been getting so many phone calls that I thought I would post an update as to Baby Henry's arrival. Basically, we are still waiting! I mean how long can someone be dilated to 4cm..seriously!?! But, I am still early so have no room to complain. He is getting big and his feet are really starting to do some damage to my ribs that's for sure. Overall, I am just getting more and more uncomfortable as the days go on but thankful that things are moving along smoothly. I go back to the doc on Tuesday (he is back from Hawaii so we can go into labor anytime now!) and will update you all then. Until then I will still have to say "it's not the call" every time I call one of the grandparents...really funny how anxious the family is getting.

As for our weekend, I tried to keep moving around as much as possible so gravity might help bring Henry to the world! Friday was my acupuncture appointment where we tried a few points to induce labor. I go back again on Monday so hoping it will help keep things progressing forward. We also went to see Gran Tarino (the new Clint Eastwood movie) and we both really loved it. I didn't expect to hear so many "slang words" but overall the story was great. Saturday was spent at our cousin Ryan's 6th b-day party at the bowling alley. I had so much fun with the youngsters and it made me even more excited to be a mom and show our little man all the fun hobbies we enjoy (we both have our own bowling balls!) Today my parents and I went to the Woodland Park Zoo as it was gorgeous outside and I wanted to do some walking around. I had no idea that there was a newborn Gorilla. It was really neat to watch her with her mama. She was very playful and climbed right on her moms back for a ride up the tree to sit in the sun. Really cute. Gorillas are by far my favorite animals to watch as they just have no manners at all and each have their very own attitude. I won't describe some of the things they were doing today but it always gets a good laugh out of the crowd, especially little kids who love to yell out loud exactly what they are seeing to their parents. Pretty funny. My parents have season passes to the zoo and frequently go there to get a good walk in. I look forward to sharing this experience with Henry some day real soon!