Happy Two Months, Ira!

Two month stats:

Weight: 12 pounds, 9 ounces (75th percentile)

Height: 24 1/4 inches (95th percentile)

Clothing Size: You wear pretty much all 6 month clothes - some 3 month outfits barely work if they're shorts, but if they have long pants or sleeves, forget it!

Two Month Milestones & Highlights

March 31 - Your first Easter! We took you to church for the first time at Central in your Easter bunny john johns from Neta's. You behaved really well (i.e., you slept the whole time) through the whole service.  Though of course you waited for a really quiet moment to poop the loudest poop in the history of poops. The lady sitting next to us looked over at me like she thought you might have exploded.

We had lunch at our house with Mimi, Poppa, Nana, and Pa-Pa (and you did a lot more sleeping).

April 4 - The first time you did something other than sleep through a shopping trip! Daddy, Mimi, and I took you to Walmart and you loved it! You looked around at all the fun colors (and people) for about 20 minutes.

April 9 - It was Daddy's 26th birthday, so we went out to dinner at Longhorn as just a little family.  You slept the whole time and were (thankfully) super sweet in your ring sling, even though it seemed like we got the side eye a lot for bringing a baby to Longhorn.

(Also, all of your hair on top has fallen out and you look like a little professor!)

April 10 - We put you in your Bumbo seat for the first time!  You seem a little confused by it but you like it.

April 12 - We went to the lake while Daddy worked all weekend...and I am calling this the beginning of The Smiling Era!  We had maybe one or two teeny weeny smiles from you before but at this point, I think you have smiled every day.

April 23 - I decided you were too big for the newborn carry in the Moby anymore, so we moved to carrying with your legs out.  I think we're both more comfortable than we were with me stuffing you in there like a sausage, but it makes me sad that you're getting so big so fast!

You've started sticking your tongue out at us when we stick ours at you and you think this is hilarious!  I love it too and can often be seen stupidly sticking my tongue out in your general direction. 

You still sleep about one good 4 hour stretch between midnight and 4am and otherwise, you're up about every 2 hours.  You're still sleeping in the Rock 'n' Play because I tried putting you in the Pack 'n' Play but it was a superfail because all you do is spit up in that thing.  All. Night. Long.  And then you wake up cold and wet and pitiful and it just doesn't work out.  I plan on keeping you in the Rock 'n' Play until your tail is just too big for it!!

You still get a bath in your plastic bath seat in the big kitchen sink every night, which you love.  There is never any fussing in the bath!  

We try to go out and do something every day, whether it's Target, Walmart, the grocery store, or out to eat.  I wear you in the ring sling and you either look around if there are fun sights to see occasionally, or you (more likely) take a nice long snooze in the sling while we're out.

I still love you more every time I look at those big cheeks!  I never knew a little person with little fat rolls could make me feel like my heart would explode!

Why your baby needs a fluffy butt!

I just finished some cloth diaper laundry, which got me thinking that it's about time to do a cloth diaper post.  I really do wish someone had given me a nickel for every horrified look or remark of, "Oh you just wait and see," when I told them I was going to cloth diaper.  Some people (people who didn't have kids, but even more likely, people who did) would say, "Yeah, that'll last about two days."

But I am about the most hard headed person you will meet, so even if it involved going down to the creek and beating them on a rock at sunup every morning, I was determined to do it.  Cloth diapering and breast feeding were two issues I just refused to budge on - I'd do it or die.

And both of them....have turned out to be SO much easier than I ever dreamed.  Breast feeding is a post for another day, but cloth diapering is equally easy and fantastic.

First of all, Ira tends to have somewhat sensitive skin, so I hate to imagine what his poor little butt would look like in plastic pants with all the chemicals and whatnot in them.  There is nothing better than feeling a fuzzy fleece diaper lining and knowing that that's what your baby has on his little hiney.  We used disposables in the hospital, and I do not miss them a bit for that reason!

Back in the days where he was going through 15 diapers a day, we did have a little teeeeeeny tiny bit of redness, but it was easy to clear up with California Baby diaper cream and Earth Mama Angel Baby cream.  And just think - if you were pooping 15 times a day, I'm pretty sure your butt would be a little red too.

Well sure, I can sell you on the fact that fleecy hineys are much more comfortable and cute than plastic butts.  But most people think cloth diapers involve pinning dishcloths on your baby in an origami fashion.  That is SO not the case!  We use pocket diapers, and if you can use a disposable, you can use a pocket diaper.  You stick the diaper under the baby and snap it on...ta-da!

The sticking point for most people though, even if you're still with me to this point, is the washing of the diapers.  Everyone says, "Oh, you must use a service, right?"  Well no, because a) a diaper service gives you those dish rags that you put on your baby with the origami folds and b) because then I'd be spending probably more money than I would on disposables.

Here's how we do it.  All pocket diapers have microfleece inserts that basically look like a big, cloth maxi pad.  They're nice because they absorb everything and keep any liquids inside the diaper.  We pull those out (just so they get nice and clean), and toss that and the outer shell of the diaper into a metal trash can with a waterproof, washable liner.  When we're ready to wash, we shake the whole thing into the washer, add some Rockin' Green detergent, and press play.  That's it. No spraying, scraping, or beating on a rock in the creek.  Close the lid on the trash can and you'll never know it's there.  Your house will not smell, your baby's room will not smell, your neighbors will not call the EPA to report a sewage leak.  Promise.

At this point, you're wrinkling your nose and saying, But you're putting POOP in your WASHER.  Let me get real with you for a minute, y'all.  I think most people who haven't had a baby, or haven't had a teeny tiny baby in awhile, forget what baby poop is like.  We picture putting our own poop, or our dog's poop, or something in between, in our washer.  Yes, that would be horrible and nasty and just plain wouldn't work.  But really, if your baby doesn't eat solids, pretty much all of it is going to be liquid and it's going right into that microfiber insert.  If there's anything left on top, it's really thin and liquid-like too.  Not to mention, your baby's poop is just digested milk - it really doesn't smell.  We might hear him poop, but that's the only way we know...you could be holding him in your lap and not smell it.  And let me assure you, with some hot water and a heavy duty wash, you will not have poop in your washer for long.  I have been washing diapers almost every single day for 5 weeks and some change, and I have yet to see poop in there, pull anything out that smells or looks like poop, or have any issues at all.  If you're willing to wash your own sweaty underpants in your washer, I promise your baby's diapers are not that much worse, and they probably smell better.

We either line dry the diapers because it takes out any stains, and because it makes me feel like a pioneer woman, or we toss them in the dryer on low for an hour. And there you have it - fluffy, clean diapers, ready for your baby's butt.

Our favorite diapers when he was a teeny tiny newborn baby were Charlie Bananas, because you can adjust the leg elastics and they fit him almost immediately for that reason.  I still like those, but my only complaint is that the pocket opening is in the front, so it tends to be wetter up there when you have to pull out the insert.  I find myself reaching for our Just Simply Baby diapers a lot, because they fit really well and I like how the snaps are configured.

Oh, and I almost forgot - we use cloth wipes too!  My mom got some printed flannel and made us some super cute ones.  I keep a spray bottle with a few squirts of Diaper Lotion Potion mixed with a lot of water on the changing table.  I usually just squirt his butt directly with it, or maybe wet the wipe a tad if I need to.  It gets tossed right in the can with the dirty diapers, just like you would with a disposable setup.  I love them because you truly can use just one of them and the job is done.

We even use cloth when we're out, because it's honestly easier than swapping over to disposables to go out for a few hours.  I just keep a smaller wet bag in my diaper bag, a few cloth dipes, and I pull the insert and toss it and the diaper in my wet bag if we're out.  Then I shake it into my diaper pail at home and wash the wet bag right along with the diaper laundry.  I do use disposable wipes if we're out (though I don't love them), because it's easier than carrying a spray bottle that could potentially leak.

So next time you see cloth diapers on zulily (which is where most of ours came from), get yourself a few and try them out.  I promise, this doesn't just work for me because I'm supermom - I am the most disorganized person you've ever met.  Laundry is perhaps my most hated chore, but mainly because I hate folding and putting away clothes.  Diaper laundry is my favorite because it's all diapers, they all get tossed in my changing table, and it's so satisfying to have a whole load of clean, cute diapers.  Even PB, who is really not a crunchy hippie like me at all, will get out a diaper and give you a whole demo if you come over because he likes them so much more than disposables.  Even my mom, who was the world's biggest skeptic, especially when it came to the laundry part, will tell you it's no big deal...she's even joined in on my diaper-buying addiction.

Even if you just use them part of the time, or decide to try them, you're saving money and you're keeping yucky plastic diapers out of landfills.  Even if you have an older baby, it isn't too late!  They adjust so well that they'll fit Ira until he's potty trained (assuming that happens before, say, third grade).  I plan to reuse my diapers if we ever have more babies, so they may even pay for themselves another time over.  They're well worth the money and they're some of my favorite baby items!

Happy One Month, Ira!

Happy one month, Ira!

One month stats:

Weight: 10 pounds, 1 ounce (50th percentile)

Height: 23 inches (95th percentile)

Clothing Size: 0-3 months, though some 6 month outfits fit you too.  None of your newborn clothes fit at all!

One month milestones:

March 2 - First pediatrician appointment with Dr. Chan, where you weighed 7 pounds, 11 ounces.  Also saw your first few snowflakes!

March 3 - First walk up and down the Alley in your Moby wrap (you slept the whole time).

March 6 - Had a lactation appointment and you weighed 8 pounds, 3.25 ounces!  You ran your first errands with me and Mimi, to the bank and the cloth store.  It was your daddy's first day back to work and we visited him at the fire department!

March 8 - We took newborn pictures of you at home!

March 13 - You had your two week pediatrician appointment and you weighed 8 pounds 12 ounces and were 22 1/4 inches long.

March 16 - You took your first stroller walk around the neighborhood (but you slept the whole time!)

March 20 - You had a cardiology appointment to check on the heart murmur they found when you were born.  Dr. Hurlong said we had nothing to worry about, and that you are perfectly healthy.  We took you to your first restaurant dinner at Bonfire with Mimi and Poppa to celebrate!

March 21 - You went to Pancake Day at the Boys and Girls Club and you were customer #2600!

March 26 - We ran errands all by ourselves for the very first time.  I almost had a heart attack, but it worked out fine!

You love to take baths, and didn't even really seem to mind the chilly sponge baths we had to give you while you still had your umbilical cord stump.  You especially love to have your hair washed!  Now we give you baths in the big kitchen sink.  We started with a plastic bath seat and have just moved on to the Blooming Bath that Mimi got you, which you really seem to like.  Sometimes, you get so relaxed in the bathtub, we think you're going to fall asleep!  

You usually eat every 2 to 3 hours, even at night.  Sometimes, you let me sleep from midnight to 4am or so, and once you even gave me 5 hours!  That definitely is not the norm though - usually your longest stretch of sleep at night is about 3 1/2 hours.  After that, we are usually up every two hours or so.  Right now, you sleep in your Rock 'n Play next to our bed.  You've never slept a wink in your crib!  You tend to turn your nose up at things most babies seem to like, such as your bouncy seat.  I have now nearly broken two toes on it, so maybe you sense my hostility toward it, but at any rate, you start wailing to see a manager as soon as I put you in it.  Until the last week, you haven't really tolerated your swing either.  Now that you've discovered that it has a mirror where you can look up at yourself, you seem to like it a tad more. I still can't put you in it for more than ten minutes without hearing a lot of loud complaining though!

You love to sleep in the car and the Moby.  I wear you all the time, because we both like it.  We started out wearing the Moby, but it's a pain in the butt to tie it, especially when we're out and about.  We mainly use that for when I'm trying to tackle the to-do list at home.  I can't bear to leave you in your Rock 'n Play while I run around the house - I much prefer to have you with me.  Mimi made us a ring sling and I finally figured out how to use it a few weeks ago, and now it's our favorite when we are out running errands.  It's easy to get you in and out, or change your position for nursing and use the tail as a cover.  We are getting good at that, and we have nursed while walking around Harris Teeter and Lowe's now!

I love to read you stories, especially with your Hallmark story buddies (Watson is our particular favorite so far).  You also like to watch Baby Einstein videos on the iPad with us - when you listen to the music and watch the images, you start panting and waving your arms, and your eyes get so big!  You also like to look at pictures with lots of circles and bright colors, either ones that Mimi drew for you or things I look up on the iPad to show you.  You have started noticing Peggy Sue and Brenda Lee and you smiled at Peggy Sue yesterday!  You love to hear anyone sing, even my terrible self, and we make up songs to sing to you all the time.

Everyone told me it would fly by and I didn't know what they meant, but now I do.  It feels like we were in the hospital having you about ten minutes ago.  I can't believe you're a whole month now.  

We love you so much, sweet buddy!

Welcome to the world, sweet baby!

Well, as you might have guessed, I won't be doing a 39 or a 40 week pregnancy update, because my sweet little buddy Ira made it into the world one week before his due date!  I am so in love with this little boy, sometimes it makes me cry just to look at that precious little face.  I loved being pregnant and feeling little baby kicks - but I never could imagine feeling this way about this little ball of sweetness now that he's here.  Of course now my sweet baby love is almost a whole month old and I'm just now posting his birth story - but I couldn't get it together enough to post weekly pregnancy updates, did y'all really think I could manage to get my life together with a newborn?  Yeah, we are still in the stage where it's pretty much a big deal to get both of us clean, fed, and dressed.

I feel like so much of the whole birth experience and our hospital stay is already such a blur, and I can't believe he's almost a month old now.  But I've been working on this post since he was about a week old, so hopefully I can capture it the best I can!

If you hate reading about dilation and contractions and all that stuff, you might want to skip down to the pictures I'll post at the end.  I generally wasn't a big fan of it either before I got pregnant, but then I got fascinated with other people's birth stories, and honestly I just want to remember it for myself!

On Monday night, February 25, I started having some contractions.  I had a meeting at school and had contractions that started to pick up a little more than my usual end-of-the-day Braxton Hicks.  I remember sitting at a table in the media center talking about contractions with Ms. Hinton and Ms. Spencer that I work with, and showing them how my belly was standing out from the rest of me when I contracted.  I wasn't really hurting, but I definitely did notice that there seemed to be more than usual.  I had a post-observation meeting with one of the assistant principals after that and he joked with me that I could go have my baby now that that was out of the way.

Phillip worked that night, and I had been texting him, telling him that I was sure it was nothing but that I hoped I wasn't going to go into labor that night while he was at work.  I had contractions all Monday night that woke me up, though they just felt like bad cramps.  I still wasn't sure that this was going to lead to real labor.  I knew when I got up and had some bleeding though, that today or the next day it was probably going to happen.

I showered and went to work anyway, thinking I'd probably go to work and labor all day and then hopefully have a baby Tuesday night or sometime Wednesday.  I was contracting all day at work, at the rate of about one every four minutes by mid-morning.  I really didn't want to tell anyone because my plan was to just ignore it for as long as possible and act normally to get through early labor.  They still weren't really hurting badly, just like bad cramps.  I was still able to walk and talk through contractions, though I might have gotten a little snappy or still.  By the end of the day, I was starting to have concentrate a little more on them, sort of a level of pain like if you have a stomach virus and your stomach is cramping.  I honestly wasn't expecting him to come a week before his due date though, so I had lots of loose ends to tie up, like a meeting at work that I needed someone else to cover later in the week. I really didn't have a choice, I had to tell folks what was going on...I think my nesting instinct was all focused on work.  Everyone was hollering at me to go home, but I knew that we still had a ways to go, so I tried to stay as long as I could.  I signed out during my planning (which we're allowed to do) at the end of the day and decided to go ahead and go home.  The contractions were picking up in intensity and I was starting to get quieter through them.

I got home around 2:30 that afternoon, and Phillip was home with me. Phillip had taken his cousin to pick up his car from being serviced and got home right before I did.  I stayed in my work clothes for awhile and just relaxed at home, feeling the contractions pick up more and more.  I was still doing fine, just taking each one as they came.  My mom and grandmother showed up a little later in the afternoon and were sweet enough to come over and clean up around our house.  They vacuumed and mopped, did laundry and washed dishes.

I decided to get in the shower and wash my hair since I hadn't washed it that morning, and since I knew that would help me get through contractions.  I was to a point where I could barely talk during them, and I definitely didn't want to answer questions.  Time is kind of a blur to me at this point.  When I was in the shower, I remember thinking that I was okay and could probably do this for a good while longer. I got out, dried my hair at Phillip's encouragement since I didn't know how fast things would move after that, put on some sweatpants and tried to relax.  Tried being the key word - I was surviving, but honestly I don't even have much memory of what was going on outside my little labor world at that point.  Phillip was running around the house, washing the dogs because we were thinking we might take them to a friend's house to dog-sit at that point, Mom was still there cleaning and such, and I was just wallowing around between the couch, the floor, and leaning on the coffee table.

At certain points, my contractions would come every two minutes, and at other times, I'd have a four minute stretch in between them.  Sometimes they'd last for a full minute, and other times I'd be done in 30-45 seconds.  They were still very intense, and I was feeling them all over my midsection at this point.  Every time one would start, it was like intense pain building all over my back, belly, and down into my upper thighs.

We really didn't know what to do at that point, because we had said from the beginning that we didn't want to go to the hospital too early.  Bradley teaches that you should go when your contractions are three minutes apart and one minute long for two hours.  There were times when I was way past that point though, and other times where I'd have a little break longer than three minutes, though things were definitely moving quickly.  Knowing that I had been having contractions for about 24 hours at that point though, we all thought I was probably going pretty fast at that point, since things had picked up so quickly.

Phillip actually called our Bradley instructor and she told us that we should think about going to the hospital with contractions that close together.  We loaded up in my Jeep with me sitting on a beach towel in case my water broke, and Mom driving separately in her car.  That was the most hellacious ride of my life!  Sitting up in the little front seat of my car was absolutely horrible, because I wanted to be up and moving or swaying or hanging on PB at that point in my labor.  I was having chills and sweating intermittently.  It was freezing outside but I kept rolling the window down because I was burning up.

I felt a lot better when we got out of the car, though I had a contraction in the parking lot as soon as we got there, and I'm sure I was a sight, standing there in the parking lot hanging onto Phillip.  We went inside, past the little old lady at the desk next to the elevators, who had the same reaction as if the little girl from The Exorcist had just come in with her head rotating on her shoulders.  She waved us up the elevator right away and we checked into triage about 6:30 that night.

Of course none of us thought about the fact that we were there at shift change and let me tell you, that triage room SUCKED.  As soon as they got me there, they wanted me to lie down on this little prison cot of a bed, put on a hospital gown, and wear belts on my belly to monitor Ira's heartbeat and my contractions.  I am sure that that is just what hell will be like.  Lying on my side was so not working for me, and I kept trying to get up on all fours, or stand up, which kept screwing up the monitor, so everyone kept making me get back in bed. The gosh darn hospital gown they had on me kept making me feel like I was going to catch on fire, so I kept ripping that thing off.

I finally told them I wanted to go to the bathroom, so I convinced my nurse to let me come off the monitor for a minute, and I made PB get a pillow and put it behind me on the toilet.  I definitely sprawled my big self out there, gown hanging off of me and monitor wires hanging around my neck.  I felt horrible, like I was going to throw up, and I kept shaking and sweating at the same time.  I had some fluid leaking and I was just the biggest (literally), hottest (also literally) mess you have ever seen.

They made me get back in the bed and on the monitor, and every time I had a contraction while lying on my side on the prison cot and shaking like a detoxing druggie, I would say I couldn't do it anymore. I was slamming out contractions left and right, shaking for the minute or so in between each one, and as a result, tensing up all my muscles.  I was so exhausted, I felt like I had to be close to having that baby. I had been doing this for 24 hours, right?

So the nurse, who was actually a friend of my mom's, checked me - and we were all shocked to discover I was 3 centimeters.  At that point, I looked up at PB and my mom and said, "I am DONE.  DONE DONE DONE.  I can do this at a 6 or 7, but not at a 3."  I just kept thinking that if it had taken me 24 hours to get to that point, and several hours of very hard labor, there was no way I had the energy to make it to a 10 and then push.  My mom and PB were both great coaches and kept telling me that I could definitely do it, but I was serious.

When my mom walked out to talk to my dad for a few minutes, I grabbed PB by the arm, looked up at him, and said, "I am serious.  I am done.  If I am going to get the meds, I want it now and not when I am at an 8.  I will not hold this against you in 20 years, it's not your fault, you have done a great job.  But I am done."

So my doctor came in, who happened to be my favorite doctor in the practice, and I told him I was done.  After I had made the decision, that was my only goal.  I just knew I had to make it to the epidural and I would be ok.  They moved me to a room, and I pulled the same sit-on-the-toilet routine.  I also brayed like a rabid moose for the duration of pretty much every contraction, because I was feeling like my entire body from the bottom of my ribs to halfway down my thighs was being squeezed in a vise grip.  I'm sure the entire L&D floor just loved me but I didn't give a crap if the pope was there, I was just trying to survive until I saw the anesthesiologist.

They put a huge IV in my arm, which I barely even remember.  PB said later that the needle looked like a garden hose, which normally would have been horrifying for me, but I literally have no memory of it and I didn't care at all.  They told me I had to have a bag of saline before I could get my epidural, so I sat on the toilet shaking my arm in between contractions to try to move it faster.  Once I had made that decision, I figured I might as well get it as fast as possible.

The anesthesiologist came in, a lady in her 50s with longish gray hair.  That's about all I remember of her - I don't really remember her face and I don't even know what her name was.  They let PB stay, and he knelt on the bed in front of me and held my hands while I hunched over and waited for the epidural. I didn't care how big the needle was, I didn't care if it hurt, I just needed it in because I was so completely in that mindset at that point.

Once I had the epidural, I was able to lie in the bed and relax within seconds.  I still had the shakes, but I wasn't sweating so much, so I was able to lie under warm blankets and get my shakes calmed down some.  I was hooked up to the monitor, and it was amazing how much I didn't care about that after the epidural - beforehand, being hooked up to the monitor was akin to being on the rack because I had to be still.

My doctor came back in after that and checked me, and I had already progressed to a 4.  Time is still really fuzzy to me at that point, but I think it had taken me about an hour and a half to get to that point.  He looked at the monitor and said "You need pitocin about as much as I do at this point, so we'll just let you move things along on your own right now."  He did ask to break my water to get things going - I initially had wanted to avoid that, but it was clear to me we were having a baby within the 24 hour time limit of having your water broken, and further, it didn't really matter to me if that made contractions more painful because I couldn't feel any contractions at all at that point.  The monitor looked like a mountain range of contractions, but I didn't feel the first twinge.

  In about 2 1/2 hours, they checked me again and I had gone all the way from a 4 to a 7.  I was really exhausted by that point, but I was at least able to lay there and relax for awhile.  My parents, grandparents, and PB's parents all came in for awhile after I got my epidural, since I could tolerate seeing people at that point.  Everyone kept telling me to try to sleep, which I probably could have done from a pain standpoint, but I am not good at sleeping in a strange room that's also full of people, especially knowing I had a baby on the way, so I just stayed in bed and tried to relax.   At one or two points, my nurse came in and checked my monitor because Ira's heart rate was dropping.  That had been one of my greatest fears about the epidural and one of my reasons for trying to avoid it, but they just changed my position and everything was ok.  My nurse really wasn't an alarmist and it all worked out and Ira was just fine.  We kept going right along with just a little adjustment in the recline position of my bed.  By midnight, they checked me again and I was at a 10!

It took them about an hour to gather up all of their delivery equipment, but by 1:00 that morning, I was pushing.  PB and my mom and my awesome nurse, Tammy, were in there with me the whole time.  I don't really know if someone turned off my epidural or if it just wears off at a certain point, but I could feel my legs really well and could feel a lot of pressure at that point.  I could tell when I had contractions and tried to push as hard as I could through them.  I was still totally relaxed between contractions and pushing - a whole different person from who I was when I checked in.

I pushed for about an hour, lying in bed and holding my own legs up, and then we were ready to have a baby.  I pushed one more time and Tammy told me to stop while she called for my doctor.  At that point, I really really did not want to stop because I was feeling a lot of pressure and I felt like I could get Ira out in 2 seconds.

My doctor came shuffling in, taking his sweet time getting his gown on, and I was getting into the frenzied animal stage again because I felt like I was trying to hold the baby in and it just wasn't working because I wanted to push so bad!  I do remember saying at one point while he lollygagged around - "Dude, this is like when you're 10 minutes away from the house on a run and you REALLY have to poop.  Hurry up!!!"  He laughed - but he didn't really move any faster.  Of course, by the time he got there, a break in my contractions came, so we had to hang out for about 3 minutes or so and wait for another one.

It took another few pushes and we got Ira out! There were tons of people in the room but I really don't remember anything about it except reaching down to grab for him and Dr. Campbell putting him on my chest.  You would really think a baby who comes from such a messy process would be terribly dirty and smelly but he smelled like rainbows and unicorn farts and a lollipop forest.  He had these giant chipmunk cheeks and a little tiny mouth and I just loved him.  After a few seconds, they took him from me because he needed to be suctioned, but I had him back in a few minutes - no eye ointment or needle sticks or anything, just like I asked.

Mom helped me, and he was able to nurse right away, while Dr. Campbell stitched me up.  Honestly I have no idea what else was going on in the room at that point, because I was so completely exhausted and so completely in baby world.

About 3am, my nurses had me cleaned up to some degree and had everything done to Ira that they needed to do.  Our family came back in, and got to see Ira, but I was so tired that I barely remember that.  He went to sleep and let me sleep until about 6am, when our nurse came in to check on us and we realized he had gotten cold in his little bassinet, so we had to be skin to skin under the heat lamp for awhile, which I didn't mind at all.

The rest of the time in the hospital for us was mainly attempting to rest, eating a lot of delicious fast food that people were kind enough to bring to us, and me enjoying the fantastic whirlpool tub in our room, which felt awesome after being so sore from delivery.

Above all?  I have the sweetest, most precious baby in the whole wide world.  There have been times where we've been tired and slightly overwhelmed, but every second was worth it.  My mom has helped me out so much, staying with me while PB works, doing chores, and answering all of my baby questions.  Overall, I have no idea how people do it without help, but it is an amazing, wonderful experience.  I feel like my entire life has a different purpose at this point, and I am so, so in love with him!

February 25 - 2 days before Ira was born!

Ira Franklin, born 2/27/13 at 2:01am - 8lbs, 6oz and 22 inches long - born at 39 weeks, 1 day

PB changing one of Ira's first diapers - right after he almost got soaked!

Ira's first day as an outside baby - Mama's looking a little worn out, but we are good!

Love this baby!

First car ride, on the way home from the hospital (and his first pit stop at Chick-Fil-A)!

36, 37, and eep...38 weeks!

*Doing an email post...to be edited with pictures later!* :)

 

Marination Time: 38 weeks, 3 days...we officially have a full term baby.  Crazy!!

Musings on the Weekly Photo: I feel like I've been about the same size for awhile now.  He's definitely dropped pretty low, which makes my hips and back complain a little bit. 

This Week's Produce Item: 

36 weeks - Honeydew

 

37 weeks - Winter Melon (whatever that is?)

 

38 weeks - Pumpkin!

 

Currently Craving: I think I've eaten pizza 5 times this week, no joke.  I can't get enough!  No real "cravings" though - just still loving to eat everything in sight because I am the ultimate fatty.

Weight: 172 last I checked, which puts me at about a 42 pound weight gain.  Wow.

Symptoms: Gettings lots of sharp pains on the lower part of my belly.  Mom thinks they're bladder spasms from our friend head butting me in the bladder.  I'm definitely slowing down some, and having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions.  Mom and I went for a walk yesterday and my belly was rock hard for a good five minutes of walking uphill!

Belly Button Status: Same old, same old. It's out. Also I have that lovely dark line up my belly and it's hilarious because it also makes a circle around my belly button.

Sleep Grade: I usually get up once, maybe twice now.  Rolling over in bed is a big process where I basically have to get on all fours and then switch to the other side.  Basically how  I would imagine an elephant would roll over in a lying down position.

Movement: I think he has one place on my right side (where his feet always are) that he likes to wallow his feet, it's funny.  Other than the fun bladder head-butts or maybe some mild shifting, I don't feel much else.  He's just too big for his little apartment in there,  I think. 

Appointments: I am going every week now - at 36 weeks, I was "very thin" (though the doctor didn't give me an effacement percentage) and he said he could feel the baby's head.  I had an appointment last week at 37 weeks and the doctor gave me some crap about how they would "go ahead and get me delivered at 39 weeks' and then sort of patted me on the head when I explained that I would rather chew broken glass than be induced.  I see another doctor today who tends to be a somewhat reasonable human, so maybe he won't make me get into the whole induction battle...we will see. Nervous!  Hoping this guy can just take his own course and come when he wants.  I also have another internal exam, so we'll see if we've made any progress in the last two weeks. 

Highlights of the Week: PB has started working his 24 hour shifts at the fire department, so the weenies and I have to get used to being without him every third night.  It usually involves watching a lot of things on the DVR I don't get to watch when PB is home because they drive him crazy, and sprawling out all over the king size bed.  Haven't really had many other highlights, just trying to get my head wrapped around the idea that we are going to have a baby soon.  I still haven't - it's insane!!!

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35 Weeks!

35 weeks (I think)....wearing my "man pants" and making frozen pizza just for me because PB was at work late.

35 weeks 2 days, before heading out to work

Marination Time: 36 weeks as of today - we are exactly one month away from our due date!

Musings on the Weekly Photo: Every time I think I can't get bigger....I get bigger. Wow.  I feel weird saying it out loud, because I'm afraid to jinx it, but I can't believe I don't have stretch marks on the belly yet.  I still have a whole month to get some though!

This Week's Produce Item: 

Baby's the size of a coconut this week!

Currently Craving: I have really been wanting candy.  Boss lady gave me a bag of Twizzlers for my bday (because she knows it's my favorite...) and all I want to do is snarf all of them down.  I think I might break down and do it soon. Otherwise, still eating lots of ice cream and ice cream sandwiches.  Also, discovered I can eat Pizza Hut pan pizza and still have rockin' blood sugar, so that's my favorite treat as of late.

Weight: I think we're at 168 now.  Wow.

Symptoms: Feeling lots of pressure this week.  Sometimes if I stand up too long I feel like a baby might fall out.  I know, I know, it isn't that easy, but that's what it feels like sometimes.  Itchy belly sometimes...still a little heartburn, still doing Zantac.  Think that's about it!  Piggies might be a tad swollen this week (but nothing you'd notice if you weren't me and didn't see them daily).

Belly Button Status: Same old, same old.

Sleep Grade: I usually get up once...that's about it.  Not too terrible.  I need to stop staying up so late and being a zombie all day though!

Movement: I feel him much less frequently now, though he does get the hiccups most every day (sometimes a couple of times a day).  If I feel him, it's little teeny punches or a sliding motion when he drags his feet around.  I think he's out of room for gymnastics in there.

Appointments: Had a diabetes appointment where they checked my a1c....aaaaaand it was a 4.9! So they told me that I'm fine, to go forth and enjoy my pizza and ice cream, and I don't have to come back.  WOOHOO.  I told them that at the OB's office too, so they can cut it out with all this extra mess about the diabetes.  Case in point, we had an ultrasound to check growth at our last appointment (even though I wasn't measuring ahead).  Ultrasound estimates that he's 6lbs 9oz at this point, though third tri ultrasounds aren't very reliable.  The doctor said he'd guess high 7s or low 8s at birth if he had to guess.  I go back this Friday, and we get to start checking on all those fun things like effacement and dilation.  I know those exams have absolutely no basis in science, but I'm kind of curious to know where we stand, whether or not it matters.  So Captain Curiosity over here is agreeing to the fun awkward exams. Makes it feel very real though - like this could be happening very, very soon.

Highlights of the Week: We have had two awesome baby parties this week!!!  I am the luckiest girl in the whole wide world.  

First, Jessica threw us a baby party last Friday night.  I had a pretty big list of invites, mainly because a) if you invite one person, that opens up a whole new "tier" of like 10 others that also need to be invited and b) I figured what the heck, because we only got maybe 30% turnout at my first shower.  We ended up with way more people than I thought we would and probably Jessica should have just locked the door and told me it was cancelled.  But she is awesome and threw the most fantastic party, complete with a firepit, delicious barbecue, cupcakes, and the most adorable blue and green decorations.  It rocked.  So many of our friends and work friends came, and I was out until after midnight - shocker.  I came home feeling like the queen of the world after that one!!!

And then yesterday, my coworkers threw me a surprise shower in the media center at school that just knocked me on my butt.  They told me there was a "training" after school and I of course was huffing and puffing about whatever nonsensical training we had to do.  A bunch of them disappeared during planning to go set up and told me they were going to a meeting with the principal.  I thought nothing of either of these things - I had no clue whatsoever.  They called me to the office beforehand, and had the secretary ask me a thousand questions about my maternity leave sub that I'd already answered....and still I had no suspicions.  I walked into the media center and everyone yelled "SURPRISE!" and I almost fell in the floor.  There was cake, cookies, games (complete with door prizes!) and so many awesome presents.  

(Please excuse my unwashed hair and lack of makeup....this was seriously a surprise.)

All in all, I have felt like the most loved girl in the world over the past week or two....it has been amazing.  It doesn't help that I am all hormonal and all of this makes me want to just tear up every time I think about it.  Week 35 has been awesome!

Oh, and finally, PB graduated from recruit school at the fire department!  We went to his graduation on Saturday afternoon.  We were all so proud of him!  And he looks darn cute in the outfit.....wait, there are those pregnancy hormones again.  But seriously!! :)