Walks

My son loves being mobile. If he is awake, he has to be in motion some way, some how. I'm sure he'll have me chasing him when he's able to walk. Until then, he needs to be walked, bounced, vibrated, swung, rocked and taken for a walk. If not that, he loves laying naked and "talking" while laying on his changing pad. Today he was getting a bit fussy and, since I live in an apartment I had to grab the mail a few buildings down, I decided to take him for a little walk around the complex. Needless to say, he loved it so much that he snagged a little nap:

 Even though he's getting so big so quick [11 lbs already!] seeing his cone shaped head reminds me how tiny he still is. And as much as I hate living in the Florida heat, it's nice to take my son out in just his onesie instead of piling on the jackets!

One month?!

 

 I cannot believe a whole month [and two days] have passed since my son was born. Robby has completely changed my world and I wouldn't have it any other way. In the month he has been around he has already been to a wedding, celebrated 3 family member's birthday days, gone to many restaurants when Daddy and I are too tired to cook, and received tons of love from family and close friends. By two weeks old he reached one pound over birth weight and we have mastered the art of breastfeeding. His first smile while awake was February 8 and this was when he was laying butt-naked on his changing table...his favorite thing to do. His neck muscles are also developing so well. When he's being burped he loves to look around.

In the coming months I look forward to starting him on cloth diapers, watching him pull the cats tails, force me to chase after him [giving me a good workout], doing arts and crafts, and giving him a lot more kisses!

But for now I relish his chubby cheeks, his little hands on my chest when he nurses, his coos, and how adorable he is as he takes his naps in his farm chair.

A whole new world

I never could have imagined what being a new mom would be like. I've heard the stories, read the books, but nothing truly prepared me for parenthood. They say people don't change over night. That may be true...until you have a child. Going out is quite the adventure. In Robby's 3 weeks and one day he has made an hour long trip to and from Orlando, numerous restaurants, Target and Wal-Mart, and his grandparents and great-grandparents homes. Just about all of these trips have included changing diapers in the back seat of cars or public restrooms, and nursing in the backseat of cars, public restrooms and once while eating dinner out. Having a nursing cover is quite the blessing.
My husband, changing table, walls, floor and I have been peed on by quite a powerful stream and wet poo has made it's way sliding down the changing pad all over my son's back and also in a nice fresh batch of bath water. I've woken up to see my son's face next to a pile of spit-up. And let's not mention the evening time when we're trying to ready dinner and my son has a screaming fit where nothing works to soothe him [COLIC!].
My shirts have seen dryer days [breast milk let downs...] and my eyes have seen longer nights. Our family members have seen a nicer Marleena in the past as I now have become a crazy mother; sanitize your hands, don't don't his hands, don't kiss his face, if he's asleep stay away, you cannot carry him around in public, you cannot carry him if you've had alcohol, stay out of his face, if he's fussy/hungry hand him right back to mom. I know this new-mom phase will diminish but at 3 weeks old I can't stand the idea of anything happening to my precious baby [though I have clipped his finger while trying to clip his nails and my husband shot gripe water straight done his throat last night because the syringe is horrible.]

But at the end of the day it's all worth while. To see my son so calm as he nurses, and those moments that, while awake, he'll smile at me when I talk to him. He's the best thing that's ever happened to me.

Robby's Birth Story

These past 11 days have been a whirlwind. I am proud to say that I am the mommy of a gorgeous, healthy baby boy!

A few weeks ago my husband and I went to a local Chinese restaurant. While there I had gotten a fortune cookie. The fortune had said "The next full moon will bring an enchanting evening". The next full moon at the time would be January 19th. This was 4 days after my due date. January 15th came and went. I understood that most first time pregnancies take a bit longer, but I was anxious. I met with my OB on January 18 and set a date for January 21 to be induced. I was upset though because I wanted my son to pick his own birthday. On January 19th, the full moon was out and I had gone to bed around 10pm. At 11:22pm I woke up with a sharp cramp. This was unlike any other pregnancy cramp I had. These continued through the next few hours and I could not sleep. I practiced my Lamaze breathing, which was working. By 3:30am the contractions were closer together so we were off to the hospital. Walking while contracting was so painful, the easiest way for me to breath through them was while laying down. When I was checked, I was 4 cm dilated. The contractions continued to shorten in time in-between and grow in pain. My intentions were to go through my entire labor with no medication. By the time I hit 6cm I had already been in labor for 7 hours. At this point I could no longer handle the pain. My legs hurt so much and I couldn't focus on breathing. I then made the decision to get an anesthesiologist in. While prepping for the epidural, my husband stood in front of me with the nurse. He got extremely weak and had to sit down on the floor. Because he nearly fainted, he had to watch everything from behind me. I could not feel the needle but the medicine shot a quick pain down my back. I was then given a catheter. After being given the epidural I was able to relax. I still felt pressure and watched my contractions on the screen, but no pain. It was expected that I would have a morning baby but once I hit 9cm, my contractions slowed down and I was starting to fall asleep. This is when a low dose of pitocin was administered. At 11:45am (just over 12 hours of labor) I was finally at 10cm and began pushing. My OB was in the hospital but had 3 other patients who came after me that he was also checking on. In the delivery room when I first began pushing was my husband, nurse and myself. It was so relaxing and between contractions we were talking and joking. Around 12:15pm my OB came in. My husband had my [lifeless] left leg and my nurse had my right. For some reason I had absolutely NO sensation in my entire left leg but when need I was able to move both legs. I was able to feel my son's head and they said he has my hair. At 12:33 I had my last push and my BIG boy was born. 8lbs, 9ou and 22 inches!! I couldn't believe it and I see now why I had gotten so many stretch marks and I was nothing but belly. About 2 hours postpartum I was asked to get up and try to use the restroom. I felt like a newborn animal learning to walk. My left leg was extremely shaky. By the time I got to the toilet I got very dizzy and fainted against the wall. I was alone. A few moments later my nurse came in to see how I was doing where I had fainted again. I then needed a wheelchair, my husband was worried and I was forced to lay back down in bed. Another hour went by and this time I was capable of getting up and using the bathroom. I was then wheeled off the my birthing suite where I spent the next 48 hours.
Breastfeeding was a challenge in the beginning. My breasts were very sore and getting him latched was very difficult. After coming home, my mother-in-law spent the first few nights with us. She helped me learn some tricks for my sore breasts, such as warm compresses and massages. At 11 days old my son is a master nurser. He latches on by himself and though the initial latch hurts for a moment, the feeding goes very well. If he is asleep and it's nearing a feeding time, my boobs will let me know by becoming Niagara Falls. Robby was able to reach his birth weight within one week. We are still waiting for his umbilical stub to fall out.
Here is my handsome little boy about a week after being born:

Two Days Until Eviction

In a few short days, maybe even hours I will have traded everything for love. Today, I am 40 weeks and 4 days pregnant. Yesterday I had a doctor appointment and made an appointment to have my son born on Friday, January 21. So far this was never the pregnancy I anticipated. I was told that first time mom's typically deliver up to a week late. In my hopes to have as close to a natural birth as possible I would really like for my son to pick his own birth day today or tomorrow. There is no going back if I enter the hospital Friday morning to be induced. I have tried just about everything [except castor oil] to naturally induce labor. On Friday, if Robby has yet to show, I'm sure I will be given Pitocin. This is a drug that helps get the body in gear and bring on labor. Unfortunately unlike natural births Pitocin will take you from 0-60 in a matter of minutes, making breathing techniques harder to achieve. I am determined to go Epidural free though. After decades of being around the risks and cons continue to outway the pros. However, if I am laboring for hours beyond belief and I have hit a point of unbearable pain then the Epidural remains an option.

So here's to hoping a easy natural labor soon or a very smooth induction Friday. Either way I will have a son this weekend. I can't believe it!

{photo credit: Rennie Ellis}

Do what YOU want to do

My Modern Met

My current babies

For the next few days these will be the only "babies" in my and my husband's life. In the top photo is our fat cat "Poutine", a well deserved name. In the bottom photo is our younger, fluffy cat "Panthro". When we first adopted her we swore she was a he, thus getting the Thundercats name. After discovering our mistake, we just kept the name.

Poutine was adopted from a local shelter. Her name was originally Ana and of the four rooms full of cat crates she stood out to me. Even as they were closing down for the night and the other cats were curling up to sleep, she knew she was going home so she stood right at the edge of her cage waiting for me. Panthro came from an old co-worker of my husband's. His female cat mated with a local stray. My husband couldn't pass up a free kitten to befriend our other cat so he brought her home.
I am not too sure how the furbabies will react to a new member in the household. Poutine, I think, will be more curious. Panthro might hide for a few days. I just hope they don't get too jealous!