Postpartum

Since it's been one month since I've given birth I guess it's time to do an update on me.

I gained 29 pounds during the 41 weeks and 1 day that I was pregnant. That's 4 pounds more than I wanted to gained, but still 1 pound under what I realistically wouldn't mind gaining. Yay!

Honestly I have no idea how much weight I lost with the actual birth, but being that Logan was almost 8.5 pounds himself I'm sure it was a decent amount. I finally got around to weighing myself about a week later and I had 10 pregnancy pounds left! Woohoo! Well, as of today I still have those last 10 pounds :-( I think it has something to do with me grazing all day. Oh, and that Easter candy doesn't help either. I haven't done any exercising either, so I'm hoping when I start in 2 weeks (as long as I get that okay from my doctor) that will help kick those pounds to the curb.

With all of that being said here's what that looks like.



Before:
Check out that basketball!


2 Weeks PP:
Sorry they are so dark and shadowy. My hips are definitely holding some of that weight! Love those love handles!

I was able to squeeze back into my normal jeans, but I have to be careful what top I wear because hello muffin top!


Pouch is still very much there.

1 month:
Still got them love handles.


Pouch is shrinking a bit, and my hip bone is starting to come back! Yay!


Now it's time to get my butt in shape :-)

1 Month

Logan,

Today you are one month old! I can't believe my baby is a month! I also can't believe how much you have changed.

You were always alert, but you are even more so now. You can focus on faces and things, and especially love looking at the ceiling fans. You laugh-smile since you haven't figured out how to actually laugh yet and love to make faces.

You just moved into your own room (still in the pack and play bassinet) and have been a wonderful sleeper. The first few weeks you would only sleep if you were being held, then we moved you into our room during daddy's Spring break and you learned to sleep on your own, so I'm super proud that you can sleep in your own room. I think it was harder on momma then you. You're even learning to entertain yourself when you wake up. You were babbling to yourself and smiling. I love your big, gummy smiles and wish I could capture the feeling behind them with the camera.

You have been sleeping a longer stretch of 4-4.5 hours before your first middle of the night feeding, then another 3 hours or so, which I am loving!

From our home measurements you are about 22 1/2 inches long and 10.2 pounds. So you are definately a growing boy from the 21 inches and 8.45 pounds you were at birth. Which makes sense since you were eating 2 hours up until a day or two ago. Now you'll throw in a few 2.5 hours or 3 hours if you're sleeping.

Logan, you have been such a joy and blessing to have you in our lives. You're such a pleasant, mild mannered baby. You love to play and be center of attention and aren't afraid to let us know when you are bored. I love watching you explore and take everything in. I love seeing daily changes in you, like your eyelashes growing and your peach fuzz turning into 'real' hair. I love how you prefer to be held upright, or to stand just so you can see more. I also love your little cuddles when curl your legs in and snuggle up on my chest.

I can't image my life without you and I can't wait to see the man (and teenage and little boy and toddler...) you grow into.

Love always,

Momma

My Day

For the past almost 4 weeks my days have looked the same. Doesn't matter what day of the week (or weekend) except for minor details, my day is identical to the day before and the day to come. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining at all. I love my new routine, it's just different from my weekday for the past 5 years that consisted of waking up late, rushing out to work, spending 8+ hours there and coming home, only to do it again tomorrow.

So this is what my day looked like one day last week:

5:30 - baby wakes up to eat
6:00 - back to bed
6:30 - baby wakes up, luckily Kevin's on break and cuddled up with him so I could sleep
7:50 - breakfast for baby
8:30 - diaper and outfit change
8:40 - momma eats, kitties eat, baby plays in bouncy seat
9:00 - floor time, cats think they need to play too
9:30 - crying begins, needs a diaper change, fills diaper as we walk up the stairs, on to outfit 2 for the day
9:50 - time to feed the babe again
10:20 - little man is out for the count, time for the swing and momma to get some work done (brushed teeth, washed face, floors swept, mail sorted, litter box emptied, half bath cleaned, dishes washed and away, counters cleaned, kitties loved)
11:50 - feed time again!
12:20 - diaper change and play on the floor mat - rolled from tummy to side to back (first time!) and get frustrated when couldn't roll back
12:50 - First cry fest of the day
1:20 - Babe finally fell asleep on my chest
2:15 - Wake up to eat
2:45 - More floor time
3:00 - Friend drops off food, clean up mess the cats made
3:15 - Diaper change, another cry fest
3:45 - Eat snack, not sure what I did for the hour to be honest
4:55 - Feed baby
5:30 - Spit up, diaper change
5:45 - Feed kitties, Eat dinner, entertain baby
6:45 - Feed baby
7:00 - Mummum and Grandpa visit
8:55 - Feed the baby
9:30 - Get baby (and self) ready for bed

So that's a glimpse into my new, very repetitive life. Some days are easier, some rougher. Sometimes we run errands, sometimes we stay in our PJ's all day. I must say that it's funny how something so tiny can totally control your entire day.

3 Weeks

I can't believe my baby is 3 weeks old already! Where is time going???


He is such a joy to call mine.


He's definitely a momma's boy, but he's also daddy's little sidekick. He's such a cuddle bug. It makes it a little challenging during the day to get stuff done since he doesn't like to be put down. And at night too because who can get a really good sleep with a baby on your chest?

I just moved his bouncy seat downstairs this week and it's been a lifesaver! He'll actually stay in it without whimpering for someone to come love him. At night I think he's finally *crosses fingers* learning to sleep at night and has slept through the past 2 nights except to eat every 2-3 hours. It has been glorious!

He loves his hands. I think they are his favorite right now. It's super cute when he actually finds just the thumb, and less noisy then the slurping on the fist. :-)


I love my blond haired, blue eyed, perfect little man. I don't even what to think about the day when I have to go back to work and leave him behind. I'm praying God reveals his plans for our future sooner than later so I don't have to be away from my baby for too long.

*I don't have time to fight with my computer to edit photos, so sorry for the raw pictures

Birth Story - Another Perspective

I just realized I missed a huge part of Logan's birth! Kevin.

I was so caught up in what was going on with me that I forgot to mention how awesome he was through all of it. How supportive, what an awesome coach and loving husband. How he massaged my back to help me through and gave me sips of water when my mouth got so dry I couldn't even swallow. I couldn't have asked for someone better.

Check out his account of the birth here and here and here.

Birth Story Part 4 - The Finale

Okay so it has taken me an entire week to write this! I guess that's what happens when you have a lot to write down and a two week old who's going through his first growth spurt.

Check out part 1, part 2 and part 3 if I've missed them.

Since it was the middle of the night, we had to enter through the ER. A girl from labor and delivery came down to get us, and I opted to walk rather than taking a wheel chair. Things weren't that bad! I didn't realize how slow I was moving until the girl had to keep stopping or slowing down for us to catch up.

This time there was no triage for monitoring, we were taken straight to a room. The nurse left so I could get changed into the gown and Kevin made a comment that 'it's like we're on vacation or something.' Haha, maybe for him, but I don't consider being in a hospital a vacation. I guess the room reminded him of a hotel or something.
I was just super excited that within hours we would finally be meeting our little one! (And I would no longer look like I swallowed a basketball)

Around 3 am I was hooked up to the monitors and checked. Everything looked good and I was at 4 cm and 90%. Woohoo!!! Once they were sure that everything was alright they unhooked me and we were free to do what we wanted. We decided to once again hit the halls. It's amazing how long the loop seemed to me this time around opposed to Wednesday. It seemed to take forever just to complete one lap. Shortly after the first lap we ran into Dr. Delaney, apparently she had another patient there as well, so she would be back and forth between the two of us.

By the time we finished our 3rd lap I was done. I didn't want to exhaust myself and I was hurting. I decided that it was time to hit the shower. I think I spent half the time in the shower. The warm water felt so good and relaxing, I don't know if I would have been able to do it all natural if it wasn't for the time I spent in the shower.

Around 5:30 I was hooked back up to the monitors and was at 6cm and 100%! Woohoo! I was still feeling good, well, I should clarify that I was feeling as good as someone in the midst of labor could feel. Of course that's when Dr. Delaney informed me that once I hit 7cm I would be able to tell because things would get more intense and painful. Great.

***This is where everything starts to blur together for me...***

And more painful in got. It was back to the shower. I had been informed that while the baby was facing the right way, he had his chin completely tucked to his chest, so instead of the top of his head coming out first, he had the back of his head. Dr. Delaney wanted me doing squats to try to get him to move. As difficult as it was, I did the squats. I was hooked back up for monitoring, and everything was still looking good, but he still didn't move his head. Right after being unhooked from the monitor, I had to make a mad dash to the bathroom, as my tummy decided it didn't like the grape juice and Italian ice I had earlier. They say your body empties itself before giving birth, so I guess it's true...I was just wishing that I was able to empty the other end (sorry for the TMI) because if you ask Kev I prolly spent the last hour or so before pushing saying that I just wanted to poop. lol.

Once my tummy calmed down it was back to bed since the contractions were coming to fast and furious for me to want to leave it. I was laying as far on my side as I could without being on my stomach to try and get him to shift positions. That didn't work either, but I was at the point where all I wanted to do was push!

So that's what I did. For almost 3 hours. Remember what I said earlier about his head? Yeah, he still had his chin totally tucked, and kept hitting it and getting stuck on my pubic bone. Luckily I didn't have the epidural so we were able to try any and every pushing position possible. My doctor jokes that she had me twisted up like a pretzel! By the time we finally got him past my bone, I was exhausted. I could feel that he was close, but I was just didn't have the strength. Time and time again I would hear them say how I needed one more big push and just physically couldn't do it. I could hear talk going on in the room, but was too focused to really piece together what was going on. I heard something about not being able to use the vacuum/forceps because of the way his head was positioned. At that point Dr. Delaney told me that if I wanted to have this baby my way, I'd have to "push my a$$ off".

So that's what I did. I guess years of playing sports helped to train me to pull out strength that has been long burned out, for one final sprint. Again, thanks to not having the epi I was able to feel how close he really was to making his entrance. I could feel him crowning! I did it!!! My baby was basically here! One (too) big push later and he was born!

I heard his little cry, saw this gray creature and heard, "it's a boy"! Within seconds a pink, quasi wiped down little babe was on my chest. The crying creased and we just stared at each. Totally love at first sight. So much so that I was unaware that I was hemorrhaging until they grabbed my hand to start an IV of pitocin to help me stop bleeding. I also had a 2nd degree tear, but none of that stuff mattered to me because I finally had my son in my arms! We were officially a family of 3!

Kevin immediately messaged our family in the waiting room that it was a boy. Technology is amazing because the first message on facebook about him was 4 minutes after he was born! Four minutes! Everyone wanted to know his stats, but it was a good half an hour later till he was taken to the other side of the room to be weighed and measured and bathed. Mr. Logan weighed in at 8 pounds 6.7 ounces and 21 inches long. No one guessed he would be such a big boy!

Little did I know that I had been mere minutes away from having a c-section. So close that they were actually prepping the room for me! I believe that not having an epidural and being able to feel what I was doing kept me from going under the knife. Apparently they only allow you to push for 3 hours as long as the baby isn't under any distress. Logan was born at 2:07, about 20 minutes shy of the 3 hour marker. They said he could be a poster child for good/healthy babies. Never once did his heart rate dip or spike, he passed all his test with flying colors and actually had the lowest bili rubin levels they have seen in years! I was told throughout my pregnancy what a good and healthy baby he was, but I just figured that was something they said to everyone, until I heard all the nurses at the hospital saying the same thing.

That's the best I remember, I'm sure I left out somethings, because even though I was in L&D for 12 hours the time flew by like whoa.

What I'm Loving Wednesday

I haven't done this in so long!

This is the baby edition...

• I'm loving my little man! Seriously! He is super awesome and I can't believe he's mine. I keep asking him if we can keep him. :-)

• I'm loving that last night he spent two solid stretches (over an hour) sleeping in his sleeper and not on me!
  

• I'm loving that I'm able to type this while eating pancakes I just made because he is content in his swing and I don't have to hold him. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE holding and cuddling with him, but when he doesn't like to be put down ALL day it starts to get a bit tiring.
  

• I'm loving all the support from friends and family. They have been super awesome in providing meals for us which has been a huge blessing. I swear we would be living on take out if it weren't for all of them.
  

• I am loving my husband and watching him be a dad. It's so touching to see father and son bond and watch Logan respond to his daddy.
  

• I love the fact that I can fit back into one of my pre-preggo pair of jeans! They are definitely more snug, but the fact that I can squeeze into them (and button them) less than 2 weeks after giving birth gives me hope to have a hint of my body back by summertime.

What are you loving? Head over to Jamie's blog and link up!

And I haven't forgotten to post the final part of my birth story, it's just super long and I have had a super hungry/fussy boy on my hands. It's almost complete though, so keep a look out over the next day or two. :-)

Saturday Morning Scene

So I'm linking up to my first Saturday morning scene hosted by Katie!

Logan will be 2 weeks tomorrow and I have been dying to set up a little photo shoot for him. He's been super fussy all week, so I jumped at the chance this morning to snag a few shots. They didn't turn out how I wanted, but they work.

Kobe checking in on his 'little brother'


Passed out! And he slept for an hour an a half like that! I may have to whip out the basket more often for a hands free afternoon. :-)

Birth Story Part 3

Check out part 1 and part 2 if you've missed them...

After a huge let down on Wednesday, I woke up Thursday morning with nothing. I think I had one mild contraction from the time Kevin's alarm went off at 5:30 until 8ish when I made the decision to go into work.

I really had to talk myself into it because I was embarrassed. I missed the past 2 days because I thought I was going to have a baby. But sitting at home is torture while waiting for something to happen. And boring. Everything was clean and I had already spent two days there and had run out of things to distract me. I didn't want to face anyone, especially their questions, but it was better than being home, and it would help me add one more day to my maternity leave.

A few people basically ignored me and just sent a sad smile my direction. Others made smart comments that if I didn't know them so well probably would have sent me running to the bathroom in tears. Although, there were a few times through out the day I had to fight back the tears. I think some people were secretly hoping I'd be back because there were so many things that people needed me to do for them. I guess it's lucky for them they got to take advantage of me one more day.

After work, Kevin and I went back to the mall. It's funny how boring it can be there. Walking around and around and stopping in the occasional store. We got dinner from Subway, where I may or may not have gotten in an argument with the guy at the register that we had a footlong even though the guy making the sub had cut it in half and put them in separate bags. Actually, I think we've spent more at the food court in the past week then we have the whole time we've been married. I guess that's understandable seeing that food is basically the only thing I can be shopping for anyways. I was days or hours away from not being pregnant any more, so maternity clothes are out, and I have no idea what shape/size I'll be post-baby, so I can't buy 'normal' clothes, and until we know if we have a son or daughter we can't buy baby clothes.

Friday comes and goes, totally uneventful. I'm super big and totally uncomfortable and have to pee all.the.time!

Then Saturday came. The third Saturday I've woken up thinking that this just might be my last Saturday to sleep in and be lazy. The second Saturday with no plans. Of course not having plans means we end up at the mall. I could tell something was going on with my body. I felt 'different'. I was more cramp-y and the contractions I had on Wednesday were back. But just like on Wednesday, they weren't progressing at all. As we were going to bed I remember saying that I felt like we were close. Kevin said that tomorrow would be perfect since it's still the weekend and he would still be able to get his maximum days off from work. As I turned off the light at 10pm I told my tummy that I would like at least 4 hours of sleep so I wouldn't be too tired.

A little after 1:30am I crawled out of bed to use the bathroom and casually mentioned to Kevin that I think my water may have broke. I had been lying in bed since midnight dealing with contractions. I knew that this was it. Kevin started to text family while I jumped in the shower.

By 2:30 we were once again walking up the stairs to the hospital...

Birth Story Part 2

If you missed part 1, check in out here:

So we were walking up the steps of the hospital with feelings of excitement and anticipation. Was this it? Were we going to be enter these doors as a couple and leaving as a family? I had a feeling that we were going to be leaving sooner than we planned, but I so wanted this to be it.

We got set up in a triage room and I was hooked up to the monitors. Can I just say that I loved being able to hear my little ones heartbeat the whole time? It was fun to watch his heart rate while chilling it was in between 120's and 130's but whenever he was moving around it jumped up into the one 150's. So cool!

My last doctors appointment was a week ago and at that time I had nothing going on, no dilation, and my cervix was still hard and closed. I was praying that what I had been feeling the past few days were making some sort of progress. I had. I was at 2cm! Woohoo! Things were moving in the right direction!

They took me off the monitors and we started walking. We walked for almost an hour. That small loop around labor and delivery and maternity is fairly tiny and boring after awhile. Although seeing the cute itty bitty babies in the nursery made it a little better. :-) I was almost in tears when we stopped to look at them the first time. Soon one of those were going to be MY baby!

We went back to the room and got hooked up again. The nurse checked me and I was almost at 3 cm and 50% effaced. Things were progressing! My contractions were still steady coming every 3-5 minutes, but was still totally manageable. They gave us 2 options. I could be admitted and they could continue to monitor me every hour and I could keep walking the halls, or I could go home until the contractions strengthen.

Since I wanted go as natural as possible, I chose to go home. That way I could labor as much as possible at home and eat something because I was starving! the nurse said she would be surprised if I wasn't back there by nighttime.

Kevin dropped me off and went into work with me promising to call him as soon as things picked up. I cleaned a few more things around the house and tried to make sure that everything was in order as possible. Well Kevin's co-teachers and principle were shocked to see him in, so they sent him home to be with me. We decided to head back out to the mall to walk. The walking helped to stregthen the contractions a bit, but not to the point where I had to breath through them. When we got back home I took a nice warm bath to relax and hoped that it too would help things along.

No such luck. By the time we went to bed the steady contractions I had all day were fading away. My dreams of today being the day were crushed as I fell asleep...

Birth Story Part 1

It was Saturday. Not just any Saturday, THE Saturday! March 19th. The date that was estimated my baby would make his/her appearance into the world.

Not having a single plan for the day (because we were hoping to be in the hospital) we decided to head to the outlets to kill time and walk around. I messaged my mom to let her know and my parents met up with us for lunch.

I went to bed that night with hope that things would get started overnight.

I woke up Sunday morning in tears. It was the day AFTER my due date. I should be hold a sweet little baby in my arms, not waking up in my bed after a full nights sleep with an over sized belly and empty arms. I did not want to go to church. I did not want to go to our couples group after words. I didn't want to see anyone. Didn't want to face the 'oh, you're still pregnant?' or 'still no baby?'. But I went. And everyone was super supportive. I even shocked a few people who asked when I was due by being able to say yesterday.

Going into work Monday morning was painful too. It should have been my first day of maternity leave. I'll be honest that it was a tough day, and I had to fight off tears a few times.

We were just getting ready to sit down and eat when it happened. I felt my first contractions! I glanced at the clock just to see. Ten minutes later I felt another one. Then another one. After an hour I mentioned it to Kevin. The rest of the night they stayed about the same. I went to sleep with hopes that this was it. They would get stronger and closer and I would have a baby in my arms tomorrow.

After being up all night thinking about it, and counting contractions, I woke up exhausted. I was tired and didn't want to go into actual labor at work so I stayed home. I got a TON of cleaning and stuff done around the house. The contractions seemed to die off during the day though. When Kevin came home we decided to head to the mall since walking is suppose to help. It must have done something, because they picked back up. By the time bedtime came around they were coming every 3-5 minutes for awhile. I laid down thinking that I needed whatever sleep I could get.

I woke up around 4am with strong period-like cramps and contractions that were coming consistently at 3 minutes apart. At 6am I decided to call my doctor. She told me she'd call over to labor and delivery to expect me.

Ekk!!!

A little after 7am we were walking up the steps of the hospital...