Wake at two months

Oh how would I describe this little one at two months? LAZY!  I never in a million years thought having a sleepy child would kill me. It is the bane of my existence to try and get him to eat because he would rather sleep his life away. He was 10 lbs and 3 ounces (7th percentile) for weight, 23 .5 inches (74th percentile) for height, and his head circumference was 38.7 cm (36th percentile) at his appointment. The doctor acted like he was fine since he looked over Nate and I an decided that we were small ha but I have been a little distraught  that he is apparently skinny. But I'll continue our 8 feedings a day with pumped supplementation (kind of random amounts at random times but usually an ounce after most feedings) and hope he gains weight still. I have been thinking that pumping and giving him a bottle was awesome because I could force him to eat whether he was awake enough or not but it has backfired a little and he gets frustrated sometimes when he nurses because he expects it to be easy like a bottle (seriously so lazy). Anyway, I'm just trying to figure him out day by day. He has lots of wet and dirty diapers and is alert and happy when he is awake so I know he's fine but hopefully month three is significantly easier since I hear that it is. He doesn't really have a schedule yet but goes to sleep around 11 pm and then I'll wake him up twice before about 8:30 am. Sometimes he wakes up on his own and just sits there and grunts and if I ignore it (which is tempting) he'll basically always go back to sleep but it doesn't do me any favors to ignore him since getting in 8 feedings in a 24 hour period is so hard to do since he takes about an hour to eat (people can't believe I wake my baby up at night still). But on the upside I do think he is the cutest person ever (lucky for him ha) and he is so pleasant anytime we're at a restraunt or church that I try to cut him a little slack lol.

He started smiling around week 6 and has even giggled (I think accidentally and in his sleep but I love it when he does it). 

Rolled from his belly to his back twice in a row two days after his two month mark which was probably a fluke but he did do it twice ha (hates tummy time that much).

Is constantly sticking his hands in His eyes.

Has started to love sucking on his fists.

Wears size 0-3 month clothes and newborn diapers.

Doesn't smile during bath time but doesn't cry anymore either.

Doesn't let me hold him in burping position very long before he wiggles himself down to a horizontal position so he can be more comfy (lol cracks me up, so dang lazy).

Still struggles with the bink so naps are a little bit of a pain since I don't feed him to sleep during the day.

Sticks, for the most part, to the basic schedule of eating, having awake time during the day, and then going down for a nap.

Here is a picture overload...

First time at church and yes, I really wish the photographer would have made sure my garments weren't showing but what do you do....

Even though he's not supposed to break the swaddle, it's cute when he does.

The face of a boy who just peed all over everything in th vicinity. 

Chillaxin...

What he looks like when I try to wake him up the many times he falls asleep eating.

The many expressions of wake...

Tummy time lazy style...

Watching dad's softball game.

Me trying to catch a smile from him.

Snoozin' during story time.

Cheesin' it up.

Figured out how to grab it.

We love our little Wakey boy...

Wake at One Month

'So everyone said time flies with a baby but I'm here to tell you that it does not ha. Don't get me wrong Wake is such a pleasant little dude but sitting around nursing him all day makes time stand still. He is such a nice boy though. He has never really cried hard and anytime he lets out a little cry I can pretty much immediately fix it by letting him eat, changing him, or putting him to sleep. He is such a sleepy little thing (gets that from me). I have pretty much woken him up to eat at night almost every time he has eaten and it is such a shame to wake up a sleeping baby. I keep saying that he would happily and silently die in his sleep of starvation if I'd let him. It takes a good hour for him to nurse because I constantly have to take him off me to wake him up by rubbing him, laying him on the ground, and even pouring a little cold water on his feet (that only happened once, don't call social services on me haha). So since he was taking so long to eat and he was so sleepy and having the right amount of wet and dirty diapers a day I was only getting in 6 or 7 feeding in a 24 hour period. Lactation had told me once he was having the right amount of diapers a day that I was fine to let him sleep for as long as he wanted at night. Well, I still didn't feel good about that so I ended up waking him up once a night to feed him anyway and really, I thought life was going pretty well but when I took him in for his one month appointment I found out he still weighed 8.2 lbs which was his birth weight and put him in the 8th percentile for weight. He was 22.5 inches long (90th percentile) and his head circumference was 427.7 centimeters (100th percentile). Anyway, I was super distraught he hadn't gained weight so they suggested that I supplement him with formula, I told them no and that I would supplement with pumped breast milk and the doctor was fine with that and told me to come back about two and a half days later to check his weight. So after adding two extra feedings in a 24 hour period and giving him an extra ounce of milk after each feeding in a bottle I came back for his appointment and he had gained two ounces. They told me to keep doing what I was doing and to come in to check his weight in a week. So since then that's the process I've been following. It takes him about an hour to eat, I pump immediately after he eats then again a half hour after he eats and then start his next feeding two and a hard hours after the start of the previous feeding so, needless to say, I'm exhausted. I feel like the only thing I do is feed him and pump and it's been really hard to fit in anything else. Although. I did get to go on my first run since delivering 4 weeks and 5 days post partum. I ran 3 miles just to test the waters and felt great and it didn't increase my bleeding so at exactly 5 weeks I ran 4 miles again (this is for my own record so I know when I feel good about running again the next time around) so I am totally out of the woods as far as my own recovery goes and it feels awesome. I was pleasantly surprised at how easy running was again. I was afraid that since I had to wait so long that it would be hard but it wasn't and it was so nice to get out again, it is seriously my cure all. Anyway, back to Wake... At one month he:

Has been able to roll onto his side since he was a week old.

Moves his head really well from side to side and has a really strong neck I feel like

Gets the hiccups all the freaking time...

Fights he pacifier big time, we force it on him every nap because I've been trying not to feed him to sleep during the day but he spits it out so who knows if he'll ever like it...

Goes to sleep AWESOME at night. I wake him up, feed him, burp him for a couple minutes, lay him back down in the pack 'n play by our bed, and he goes right down. Nate hasn't been bothered with him at all which is nice because he needs to sleep for school.

Hated baths and his swing at first but has recently started liking both.

Grunts all the time and has for awhile, that's usually how I find out he's awake because he will grunt or I'll just happen upon him pleasantly just staring at a light and being quiet :)

Is the laziest eater ever and has to be woken up constantly during feedings.

Has never screamed bloody murder (he is probably too weak to cry because he wasn't gaining weight) hopefully he gets more energy soon.

Loves story time and watching Baby Einstein

Is so pleasant and nice...

Here are some pictures of his first month...

First time in his car seat, which he usually doesn't like at first.

Snoozing on the boppy, I never used it to nurse but it's good for story time.

After peeing all over Nate for the first time (we have had several incidents with this) haha.

After his first bath...

A little happier after drying off :)

Loves to stretch, it's actually our favorite thing he does (clearly he needs to get more exciting lol)

Hangin' with dad...

Some of his newborn pictures

So flaccid ha

First stroller ride, and kinda hates it...

Wake and grandma Mimi when she came to help us for a week, thanks mom!

His little sleep sack they gave us at the hospital and it has saved our lives. He hates to be swaddled until he figures out he loves it lol.

Before the Cards game, they won!

Hangin' out...

Crashed...

So tired...you'd think he had been the one up with him all night or something ;)

Crazy face

This is how he naps so we can keep he binky in his mouth...

Our first outing to the walking bridge to Indiana. He cried half way across so we didn't get to go the whole way but it was nice to get out.

The only way I've been able to nap during the day is by sleeping next to him on the floor and holding his binky in until he falls asleep. I don't dare nap when he sleeps on the couch since I'm afraid he'll suffocate so this is the alternative.

These last two pictures are how I will compare his size at each new month mark.

Baby Wake

So I was 40 weeks and five days when I went in to be induced with Wake. I had been dilated to a one since 38 weeks and hadn't progressed any further since that time so an induction was definitely needed. I got to the hospital at 7 pm on February 26th. The first thing they did was start my IV which I was SO afraid of (just because I put them in people doesn't mean they don't scare the crap out of me to get them). Anyway, I have awesome veins but it took them three tries to get it in and since it was an 18 gauge it almost killed me. After that they started me on Cervidil and said that the next step was just to wait until I started contracting and dilating. I didn't feel anything until about 3 am and the contractions started hurting me enough that I requested Statol (a narcotic) which was the only pain medication they said I could have (I am anti pain meds so I was hurting pretty bad at this point). She gave me 1mg and I was finally able to fall asleep but when my contractions came around again they were waking me up from my sleep so I requested the second milligram she originally offered me. That was a big mistake/best thing I ever did. The first milligram just made me super drowsy which was good but the second milligram pushed me over the edge and I had an adverse reaction. I could still feel the pain of the contraction but the Statol made me feel like what I can only imagine being drunk feels like but I was still in pain. So I was completely out of it, but still in pain and feeling so impaired that it scared me. Nate videoed me when I was out of it and I have to admit that it was pretty hilarious. I apparently get a British accent when I'm drugged but even though it was funny to watch I hated the feeling and, like I said, I remember being legitimately scared when I was out of it. Anyway, once the Statol finally wore off I was still in pain and since they weren't going to give me anymore narcotics because of how I reacted to it they decided to start my epidural even though they usually wait until people are dilated to a 5 to get it and I was a 2. That's why I say that getting Statol was the best/worst thing I ever did because even though it sucked it made me get my epidural sooner. The epidural really didn't hurt at all and after the eventful night I didn't even have the energy to be scared about it. The ONLY thing that sucked about the epidural was that they made me bend over to get it (obviously) and it's already hard enough to bend over when you're pregnant but add the pain of contractions while you're uncomfortably bending over and it makes for a rough time but it was quick and WELL worth it. I immediately went numb on both sides and I stayed numb without having to be re-dosed until after I had delivered which was awesome. I LOVED being numb. I was finally able to sleep and I didn't have to feel the catheter being put in or getting checked which, I might add, was the absolute worst pain I ad ever felt (worse than contractions). The doctor actually made me cry when she checked me before I had the epidural in so she promised I wouldn't get checked again until after I had, had it in (thank goodness). So it was smooth sailing after that other than the fact that I couldn't eat or drink anything. I, shockingly, did really good with the whole fasting thing for 24 hours and after that 24 hour mark hit I literally thought I would die of thirst and hunger. I had eaten tons of popcicles and even cheated by drinking a little water but seriously, I was done. At that point I didn't think labor would kill me but the starvation. Anyway, I got through it and was FINALLY dilated to a 10 at 1 am on Saturday, March 7th. It took me so long to dilate the doctor said that I almost had to have a c-section (I think everyone ALMOST had to have a c-section haha) but she did scare me for a little bit so I'm glad that I kicked it in gear soon enough to avoid that. Anyway, when they said it was time to get ready to push I, of course, freaked. I had been so worried about this huge life change for such a long time, even before I was pregnant. I DON'T do well with change so I was scared out of my mind. I was shaking uncontrollably and I felt bad that I wasn't very excited for this big moment because I was so afraid of how it would change my life and how much responsibility I would have to keep this baby alive. Anyway, Nate is always good to talk me through things and my friend Lindsay Whiting came because she wanted to take pictures of us during the delivery and she made me feel a lot better too since she had, had a baby recently too. It was nice to have her there since my mom and sisters weren't there to calm me down like they usually do. But I ended up pushing for about an hour and a half and I actually enjoyed that. It was exciting to hear that they could see hair and, honestly, it was a good workout haha. It was also SO nice to be numb so that I could just enjoy the moment pain free. As soon as he came out I felt nothing but extremely happy. It truly felt like Christmas morning and any fear I had immediately left. I thought that I would at least have to fight back tears when I saw him (I knew I wouldn't cry because I'm a little anti showing emotion) but I at least thought I would be fighting the tears back. Wrong. I was, like I said, just stoked about the whole experience and so happy that he was healthy, had hair, and was so cute. I can totally see how people get addicted to having babies because that was, by far, the coolest thing I've ever done in my life. Totally worth the gruesome 9 months and body destruction (that means a lot coming from me). Nate said that he had to fight back the tears when he saw him which I thought was crazy because the only time I had ever seen Nate cry was when he lost out of state basketball his senior year haha but apparently our son's birth was a close second to that in the emotion category lol. Like every new mom I was addicted to looking at him and was on cloud 9 but the exhaustion soon kicked in after they kept us in the hospital for two and a half days AFTER I had delivered. That was a HUGE mistake to stay that long. We were woken up like every hour by the staff and the rest of the time I was trying to get Wake to eat. He was a good eater from the beginning but it took a lot of time and energy to keep him awake long enough to eat. Nate and I were so exhausted that we didn't even have the energy to even think about trying to leave the hospital early so we were off to a bad start with a newborn. When we finally did get discharged Monday afternoon we were so ecstatic to be in our own space again and try to figure this little dude out. I felt bad for Nate at the hospital because he basically went hungry and had to sleep on this tiny, hard cushion so I cannot express enough how good it felt to be home. The first few nights at home were rough too though. I admit that I bawled every night for the first three night because I was so sleep deprived and overwhelmed. The worst night was the first when I was not only exhausted but I was worried about him not getting enough food and my stitches hurt so much that I thought that I had ripped them out and I literally couldn't hold him while sitting down and standing up from the couch which was, obviously, a huge problem because I had to do both to feed him. Anyway, I saw lactation the next day and she said he was acting weird about eating because my milk was coming in and he couldn't latch on like he used to because of the change so she told me to press down around the area in a window-shaped fashion right before I fed him and that helped a ton to reduce he firmness so that he could latch on. She also showed me how to look for his chin making deep dips when he ate so I could tell when he actually swallowed something versus when he was just sucking and that helped a ton too to put my mind at ease so that I knew he was actually swallowing. I also got my stitches checked that day and they ended up being fine so just for my own future reference, they just hurt that bad and it doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong haha. ANYWAY, we are learning everyday and it has definitely gotten easier but we still have a long ways to go learning-wise lol. Here are some pictures from his birth...

Me mentally preparing for this and making sure to close my eyes to keep from being more freaked out.

Nate giving me the, "Stop being so dramatic" face that I'm usually giving him haha.

Wondering what I had gotten into...

Them putting Wake on me for the first time and me being somewhat annoyed because I told them beforehand to clean him off before they gave them to me haha.

Favorite picture...He ended up being 8.2 lbs and 21.5 inches long.

Major cone head.

So freaking pleased with life...

Love swollen babies...

Also so pleased...

I don't know why but I LOVE this picture because when I think of what Wake looked like the first time I saw him, this is the face I think of. Captured perfectly.

Officially a family of three...