une petite aventure

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Holt: 1 Month

Our littlest love turned one month old on September 7th. I know I'm repeating myself, but this has been the fastest, yet ironically the slowest month of my life. Here is what all has been going on in our world:

* We have effectively established a routine--yay!
* He has watched (well, slept through) his first Razorback game---Arkansas at Auburn. We lost unfortunately, but the first half was really good! Gotta start training 'em young!
* He had his first road trip--to Fayetteville to see his Aunt Hannah and Uncle Kirby. He LOVES car rides (we are really hoping it stays that way).
* We went to daddy's work and let him show Holt off to everyone last Thursday---our first big adventure out of the house to a public place.
* We went to the Growing Kids Consignment Sale (like Rhea Lana's)--our 2nd big public outing and momma bought some super cute outfits for fall!

Weight: We have a 10-pounder! I weighed myself with and without him, and he added a full 10 pounds to the scale! I think it's safe to say we are gonna have a big boy.
Length: Not 100% sure, but I'm going to guess 22 inches.

Milestones: *graduated to size 1 diapers when he was 6 days old *graduated out of newborn size clothes when he was 2 weeks old *he can hold his head up for several minutes in a row--mostly when he is up on your shoulder (still having a tougher time when on our tummy on the mat) *he has longer awake times and loves to look in the mirror *transitioned out of mom and dad's room to the crib at night

Sleep: So far, he sleeps very well! We officially moved him to his crib last Thursday (Sept. 4th) and he averages about 3.5 to 4 hours between feedings at night. Every now and he stretches it to 5 hours (and one night last week he made it 6!). Usually, he is in bed asleep between 10 and 11 pm, wakes up between 2 and 3 AM, and then gets wakes again between 6 and 7 AM. He goes back down after that and we officially start our day at 9 AM.

Favorite Things: *Bath/Shower Time---except when it's time to dry off. Then he gets cold and screams bloody murder *Eating *Playing on the playmat *Listening to music *Snuggling/Cuddling *His paci *Car rides *Walks *Looking in the mirror

Feeding: This kid eats LIKE.A.BOSS. Such a huge relief for me! I stressed over breastfeeding. It was extremely important to me to be successful---the benefits for both me and the baby are immeasurable. I read so many horror stories while pregnant about how hard it could be and so I became really anxious. However, we have been super successful since Day 1 and it is one of my absolute favorite things.

And of course I have to leave you with adorable photos of our little love...

my talented cousin took some newborn photos for us and made this adorable announcement!

Sophie takes her role as guard dog very seriously

Snuggle time with RoRo

Holt's first game day--WPS!

Our first day flying solo together

Visiting Daddy at work for the first time---he was so excited to show Holt off to everyone

This was our day on Saturday---not very fun, poor guy

Monday, August 25, 2014

Holt: 2 Weeks Old

I thought I'd give an update on our life with a newborn the past 2 weeks. (If you missed the Birth Story post, click here).

First of all, how has it been TWO weeks already?! It has been both the fastest and slowest two weeks of my life---I feel like we were in the hospital forever ago! It has been an adjustment getting used to our new normal, but I think we are starting to settle into some semblance of a routine. Praise the Lord that Daniel has been able to be home with us!

Mommyhood has completely derailed me--in an amazing way that I never thought possible. You really cant fully comprehend it until you experience it; this completely unconditional, all-consuming love for this little person that you helped create and carried for 9 months.

Sophie has done extremely well adjusting to having Holt home too. She completely adores him! If he cries, she comes running to see whats wrong. She is already protective of him and loves smelling him and being close to him. I am so proud of her! One of the sweetest moments was when we first brought him home--it was love at first sight for her.

We went for his 2-week checkup to the pediatrician on Thursday (the 21st). Love, love, love Dr. Wilkinson! Here is what's going on in Holt's little world:

Weight: 8 lbs. 11 oz. (not sure on the percentile?)

Length: 21 1/2 inches

Our boy is growing so much already! We don't go back to the doctor until his 2 month appointment--he will receive his first round of immunizations and this momma is already dreading that! It absolutely tears me up to hear him cry. So crazy how things change when its your own child--hearing other children cry has never bothered me, but my heart literally hurts when Holt cries.

Sleep: He has actually done really well. Most nights he sleeps 3-4 hrs between feedings and we have even had a couple where he has slept 5 hrs! We are trying to start a routine this next week so hopefully by the time he is a month old, he will sleep 5 hrs between feedings at night pretty consistently.

Favorite Things: Praise music--particularly the Sovreign Grace playlist on Spotify; his daddy--Holt loves it when D reads to him and he also loves it when he burps him; riding in the car--he has only ridden in the car 3 times, but he either sleeps or contentedly looks around; his playmat--now that he has more awake/alert periods we have been laying him on his playmat and he is fascinated with the mirror and all the shapes and colors.

Feeding: Feeding has gone better than I ever could've imagined (y'all know how I stressed over it). He eats like a champ. It gets a little exhausting for me at times, especially when we hit our first growth spurt at 10 days old and he ate every hour, but overall I absolutely love it.

AND....I'll leave you with some photos of our handsome little guy :)

I love when he smiles in his sleep

first big boy bath

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Holt's Birth Story

I am so excited to share with y'all the story of my son's birth. It truly was one of the best days of my entire life! Let me start with the days leading up to Thursday, August 7th.

Monday, August 4th: We had my last doctor's appointment (see that post here) and decided to induce me bright and early on Thursday, August 7th.

Tuesday, August 5th: I rested ALL day. Literally. I think I maybe got out of bed to eat and go to the bathroom, but other than that I lounged around, watching TV and reading books. Plus, Daniel and I had our last date night to celebrate the final days of being a family of 2.

Wednesday, August 6th: At this point, I'm starting to get anxious and nervous with anticipation of the next day. My mom and dad, my grandmother (mom's mom), and my grandpa (dad's dad) all drove up to meet us for dinner. My other grandmother and my aunt (who took pictures for us!) also drove up later that night and stayed at a hotel close to the hospital. I maybe slept 2 or 3 hours.

Thursday, August 7th: Daniel and I woke up at 4 AM in order to be at the hospital by 5 AM. It was so surreal waking up that morning, knowing it was my last time to wake up pregnant.

5:00 AM--arrive at Labor and Delivery, get checked in, sign paperwork, etc.
5:30 AM--the nurse I LOVE starts my IV. We discuss how sad we are that her shift is almost over and she won't get to see my baby being born.
6:00 AM--she checks me and I've had no change since my last dr. appt (2.5 cm and 75% effaced). Then she starts the Pitocin to get my contractions going.
6:45 AM--my Dr. comes in and breaks my water. Y'all. I seriously disliked the feeling of my water breaking. TMI, but it felt like I was peeing myself over and over and over. Ew. The contractions really start to pick up at this point. Think of the most intense cramp you've ever had and then multiply that by at least 10. That's where my labor pains were centered and they were coming every 2-3 minutes. Luckily, my mom and Daniel were in there helping me breathe through them. They were so intense, I felt nauseous and I didn't really say a word for about an hour and a half.
8:20 AM--the nurse comes in to check me and I am a 4 cm--yay! I immediately request an epidural.
9:10 AM--I FINALLY receive it! I completely understand now why women say they want to marry their anesthesiologist. The epidural seriously changed my life.
9:30 AM--I feel the full effect of the epidural and my mom and Daniel tell me I'm a completely different and happy person!
10:50 AM--I very suddenly got nauseous and ended up being sick. It hit me like a ton of bricks. No fun.
11:30 AM--I get checked again and am still a 4 cm. So, I send Daniel and my dad to Chick-fil-A right across the street for them to eat some lunch. My mom and I reassure them that nothing will happen while they are gone--I mean, I've been at a 4 for three hours now.
12:00 PM--Holt's heart rate starts dropping. I can't personally see the monitor because it's behind a cabinet. BUT, I can see my mom's face. I can tell she is trying to be calm, but that something is seriously wrong. Three nurses come into the room, check me (still a 4 cm), put me on oxygen, and start flipping me from side to side, trying to move him around and get his heart rate back up. I start FREAKING out--in my head I'm imagining the worst possible situation and that we are going to have to do an emergency c-section to get him out. Plus, my husband isn't in the room!
12:20 PM--The nurse decides to check me because she thinks the monitor is indicating that his head is getting compressed during contractions (this indicates he has moved lower into the birth canal). She tells me I am an 8 CM and COMPLETELY EFFACED! She calls my doctor to let him know. Mom calls my dad and Daniel and tells them to get back to the hospital ASAP.
12:35 PM--Daniel makes it back into the room!
12:45 PM--My doctor comes in to check me and see what's going on. As he is checking me, he asks if I feel any pressure or an urge to push, to which I respond "No." THEN, he says, well that probably means you won't feel it, so let's start pushing. I am shocked and say, "You mean right now?!" He says, "Yep. You're complete. Let's get this baby out." WHOA. They start disassembling the bed and getting everything ready for Holt when he arrives. So, with my mom and Daniel's help, I start pushing! They lowered the dose of medicine in my epidural so that by the time I actually pushed him out, I didn't feel any pain, but I felt the pressure. I pushed for exactly 32 minutes.
1:17 PM--I'M A MOM! As soon as I saw him, I started bawling. They put him on my chest and I just looked wide-eyed at Daniel and said, "I just had a baby!" He was the most beautiful baby I had ever seen. And I was completely shocked that he had my blonde hair!

My doctor starts sewing me up (I got a 2nd degree tear---not bad for how big of a baby I just birthed) and they take Holt over to clean him up and weigh him. We asked my doctor how much he thought he weighed and he guessed 8 1/2 pounds. You'd think he had done this before because Holt weighed 8 lbs. 5 oz and was 21 inches long! We knew he was measuring to be a bigger baby, but whoa! I am SO thankful we did not wait another day (can you imagine??). After the doctor finished with me, we tried breastfeeding and he instantly latched on! So a HUGE thank you to all my prayer warriors out there---this was so important to me and I am happy to report we have been extremely successful.

The labor and delivery experience I had was truly amazing and if I had to do it all over again, I would do it the exact same way. Overall, I labored for 7 hours from start to finish. Can't beat that--especially with a first baby. The Lord definitely had His hand over all the events of that day and I am so incredibly grateful for this blessing He has bestowed upon us. It truly is the most amazing miracle I have ever experienced.

My Aunt Linda had the opportunity to capture the whole day on camera! So, OF COURSE I want to share a few of the moments with you (any excuse I have to share photos of my adorable little family, right?).