Ben Update

That's my little cutie! We call this "SuperBaby with his Crimefighting Pacifier".

So last entry, I mentioned that Ben had a cough. Well, it did turn out to be something - RSV, or Respiratory Syncytial Virus. Other than the cough, and maybe being a little sleepier than normal (and when is that a bad thing?!), Ben isn't showing many ill effects from this virus, though. We went back to the pediatrician on Wednesday, and she sent us home with a nebulizer for breathing treatments. Ben does not like them! Have you ever tried to hold an oxygen mask on a squirming infant? Yeah...not easy. So we faithfully gave him his treatments, and went back today. He's making a good recovery, and we're just supposed to keep up with the treatments and keep him hydrated. The virus should work its way out of his system in a week or two.

Also on Wednesday, Ben had his hearing test. For this test, we were led into a soundproof testing room. I sat in a glider with Ben on my lap, and the audiologist hooked up electrodes on his head - two on his forehead, and one behind each ear. She started with his left ear, and ran a whole series of click and sound tests with a computer, which gave her readouts of his brainwave response. I had to stay absolutely still (so he wouldn't wake up) and completely silent. My mom was in the room with us, and afterwards she said she wasn't sure how I did it! Halfway through, I turned him around and she tested the other ear. The whole thing took about 90 minutes.

The results were basically good. He didn't show any neurological hearing damage. He showed a little bit of conductive hearing loss, but she said that's likely due to fluid in his ears - could be fluid still leftover from birth, or fluid due to the RSV. We're bringing him back in to repeat the test in early June. If he passes that, then all is well. If not, then we'll be referred to an ENT for further testing. Either way, it's likely something that will either fix itself or can be fixed. Definitely good news, and such a relief!!

On the childcare front, we're hopefully working out a plan. We put in our application last November for the only independent/non-church-affiliated daycare center in downtown Dallas. We really, really like the place. We put all our eggs in that one basket. Of course, it's all dependent on timing, and when spots open up. Since there are only 8 spots in the infant room, it can be a waiting game. And that's what it has turned into for us. We're currently second in line on the waiting list - which means 2 kids have to leave the infant room (usually, to head to the toddler room, which they do around 1 year of age) before Ben will get a spot. At first, we weren't sure when exactly that would be. But after a frank conversation with the daycare director, wherein I told him that we were definitely interested in using their center, and we would be taking a spot as soon as it opened, he let me know that we're probably looking at mid to late July. So that's 6 or 8 weeks of a temporary situation. And we think we may have it figured out.

Branden will be switching shifts when I go back to work. He'll go to C shift, which works Fri-Mon, 10 AM - 9 PM. He'll be off Tues-Thurs, so he'll be with Ben those days. That just leaves Friday and Monday to figure out, assuming I work my typical workweek. My mom is off on Fridays, and she has agreed to watch Ben then. So for Mondays, I'm working with my boss/management to see if I might be able to work from home...or if I might just have to take that day off unpaid for a while. No word yet on how that will turn out, but I think we'll be able to figure it out, one way or another. So there's our plan!

It actually works out pretty well. I think it will be easier for me to go back to work (in 3 weeks - whoa) knowing that Ben will be with family for a while. Branden will get to spend a good amount of time with Ben, which he hasn't gotten to do much yet, thanks to working full-time and taking 4 graduate classes this semester. (Thankfully, the semester is over next week). My mom will get to spend some quality time with Ben, which I think she will enjoy (or at least, I hope so!). By the time he does go to daycare, he'll be almost five months old, and ready for some socialization with other babies. The only downside to the situation is that I won't get to spend much time with Branden for a while. We'll be working exactly opposite schedules, and won't have any days off together. If he takes a class over the summer (he's still working that out), then it would be Tues/Thurs evenings for five weeks - so during that time, I would only have one evening a week to see him. But, it's all temporary, and I have to remind myself that plenty of couples work opposite schedules (my sister-in-law and her husband, for example) and they manage to make it work. So I know we can too. Once Ben's in daycare, Branden will switch back to his regular shift, and we'll all have more time together. (And hopefully, once he graduates, either this summer or in December, he'll find a super-awesome professional planner job, and then he'll have real workday hours).

Phew...I had no idea this post was going to turn into a novel! I guess I had a lot to get out! Here's one more picture of our little munchkin...showing off his new talent, smiling! We don't get to see this very often...but it sure is a great reminder of what we're doing all this for. He is so worth it!

Today, I am not going to worry

Today, I am not going to worry...

About all the baby weight I still need to lose...or the weight I have to lose on top of that. 50 pounds in all.

About the call I need to make to my insurance company, to sort out various claims from Ben's birth.

About the ABR hearing test Ben has tomorrow, where we'll finally get the answers we've been waiting 6 weeks for.

About the cough Ben has, that I just took him to the pediatrician for. Okay, maybe I'll worry a little, but only if his blood test comes back with less-than-positive results.

About the fact that we don't have childcare lined up for when I return to work. We're second on the waiting list, but I found out yesterday it's unlikely we'll get a spot by June 1st, the day I'm scheduled to go back.

Today, I am not going to worry. I am just going to take care of my son, and myself, and relax on the couch with a good book, and maybe later, a movie. Today, I'm taking the day off from worries.

I'm sure they'll be waiting for me tomorrow.

A day in the life...

I have to give Stay-at-home Moms props. When they say being a mother is a full time job, they really aren't kidding! Here's a sample of what my morning has been like so far, starting with going to bed last night.

10:00 PM: Swaddle the baby, put him in the bassinet next to our bed.
10:05 PM: Baby won't sleep in bassinet. Bring him over next to me into our bed so I can get some sleep.
12:30 AM: Wake up. Take baby over to chair. Attempt to nurse. Baby won't wake up to eat. Go back to bed.
3:00 AM: Baby wakes up - TIME TO EAT. Change diaper, then go back to chair, nurse for 30 or 40 minutes.
4:00 AM: Try to put baby to sleep in bassinet.
4:15 AM: Baby finally falls to sleep in bassinet.
5:40 AM: Alarm goes off to wake Branden up. We talk briefly. Baby wakes up.
5:45 AM: Branden gets baby back to sleep in bassinet.
5:50 AM: Baby wakes up. I scoop him up and bring him to sleep next to me.
7:00 AM: Baby wakes up. TIME TO EAT! Put contacts in, go to bathroom, then feed baby.
7:35 AM: Hook baby up in bouncy seat so I can take a shower.
7:50 AM: Showered and dressed. Bring baby downstairs.
7:55 AM: Change diaper in baby's room.
7:57 AM: Baby poops in new diaper.
7:58 AM: Change diaper. In middle of diaper change, baby pees all over changing table and wall, and also manages to get diaper mess on his stomach.
8:00 AM: Haul naked, screaming baby into bathroom, holding him away from me so I don't get covered in pee. Put baby in bath chair, put bath chair in shower. Go get baby shampoo and towel.
8:01 AM: Give baby a bath.
8:05 AM: Rinse screaming baby off (he doesn't like the bath). Wrap him in towel and calm him down.
8:07 AM: Grab diaper, onesie, and portable changing pad and change/dress baby on the couch, since changing table is still covered in pee.
8:10 AM: Put baby in swing. Grab cleaning supplies and wipe down changing pad (and wall).
8:15 AM: Gather breast pump parts. Bring computer to table to watch TV on computer.
8:17 AM: Start pumping.
8:27 AM: Finish pumping. Clean supplies.
8:30 AM: Put waffles in toaster oven.
8:35 AM: Finally sit down to eat breakfast, after being awake nearly two hours.
9:00 AM: Write blog about crazy morning.

And now, of course, the baby is happily sleeping in the swing, and I'm exhausted, but too alert to go to sleep. So I'll publish this blog, and then finish watching my show. Maybe after that I can take a nap? We'll see...

Ben's First Month

I can't believe it's been almost a month since Ben was born...and I haven't blogged once since my announcement post on the 14th! I figured since we're approaching the one month mark, I should write a little about how the first month has been. Let's see how much I can remember!

On March 13th, when Ben was a mere 3 days old, we went to my Mom's house for our big friends and family Shower/Party extravaganza! Technically, I wasn't supposed to leave the house (or even be out of bed) according to my midwife's orders, but we had a bunch of family in town to meet Ben, not to mention all the friends who were planning on attending the shower. So off we went! Here's Ben, dressed and ready to go:

The party was so much fun (if a little exhausting), and we were blessed with so many great gifts. And I finally finished the thank you notes today!

The first week and a half of Ben's life was all about...doctor's appointments! We started off a 1-day appt with the pediatrician (who we love - so glad we made a good choice there). Branden took Ben to that one alone. On Friday, March 12th, our midwife stopped by our loft for a home visit. Monday the 15th, Ben had another routine pedi appt (his one-week visit). He was looking pretty yellow at that point, so they did a blood test to check his bilirubin levels. Turns out, they were very high, so they sent over some phototherapy equipment to help his body break down the bilirubin.

Tuesday the 16th, a follow-up appt at the pedi's office...then over to Baylor to get a blood test done to see if the phototherapy was working (it was). Here's Branden and Ben, waiting to see the doctor...

Wednesday, another pedi appointment and another blood test at Baylor - the results there were great, he was basically in the clear at that point! But of course we weren't done with appointments yet, as we had a 10-day appointment at the Birth Center to go to still (which was actually an 8-day follow-up). That was an easy one - they just took his weight, asked how we were doing, and then put his footprints up on the wall (and in our baby book). I need to remember to get a picture of that when I go back for my 6-week check up!



Things went much more smoothly after that week. It took Ben a while to get his days and nights sorted out, but we're doing pretty well with that now. We were also fighting with getting him to sleep in the bassinet - he just wouldn't do it, no matter what we tried. So for a few nights, we were doing whatever we could just to get him to sleep at night - including one night when I slept in the recliner with him on my chest. I finally had an epiphany when I saw how well he took to swaddling during his newborn photo session. We had been given a SwaddleMe wrap as a gift, but I hadn't thought to use it on him at night. That turned out to be the key to getting him to sleep anywhere other than in our arms or next to us! He just needed to feel like he was being held.

The rest of the month has been filled with great visitors, a few trips to my mom's house, and many walks around downtown and trips to the grocery store. Ben absolutely loves being in the Baby Bjorn carrier, and he loves it best with Daddy.


On the 27th, we took a trip to downtown Fort Worth to have dinner with some friends and Branden's parents, who were in town for a dog show. We rode the TRE - here's Mommy and Ben, enjoying the ride:

Branden and I are starting to get the hang of this parenting thing. I know that many, many more challenges await us, and there will always be something new for us to figure out, so I don't want to sound overconfident. I'm merely pleased that things are going much more smoothly than they did those first couple of weeks!

I'll try to be a better blogger and update more frequently. But with an infant around, I make no promises! :)

Meet Baby Benjamin!

Introducing Benjamin James, aka Baby Citysaur. Born 3/10/10 at 6:24 PM. Weighing in at 7 lbs 15oz, 20 1/4 inches long.

I mentioned in my last post on Pregosaur that our midwife wanted us to kick start labor on Wednesday...well kick start we certainly did! We started out at 8:45 AM with her stripping my membranes. Then we did some nipple stimulation and took an hour power walk. At 11:30 AM, the midwife broke my water. We did more walking as we went out to have lunch and gather our bags at home, then back to the birth center. By the time we arrived back at the birth center at 1:30 PM, I was having contractions that were 2 minutes apart and was most definitely in labor!

Not the most flattering picture of me, but here we are, in the early part of active labor, just after arriving at the birth center. I did not look this good as the day progressed!

I won't go into the whole, explicitly detailed birth story, but I'll summarize from here. I labored for about 3 hours before pushing, exploring various positions including the birth ball, the shower, the tub, and hanging off the bedpost. About 4:30 or so, I went to the bathroom at the suggestion of the birth assistant, and I started to feel the urge to push. Pushing lasted about two hours, and was the most exhausting part of the experience. The only downside to not going into spontaneous labor was that Ben hadn't quite descended, so I had to work extra hard at getting him down. That part was difficult, because every time I'd make progress during a contraction, he'd slip back when I went to rest in between.

Eventually, after pushing for a while in the tub and hanging off the bedpost, I got into the bed to conserve energy. I almost had to go back to the bedpost, but when I realized they were about to make me get out of bed, I gave it everything I had, and he began to crown. And that's when things got serious.

Ben came out with the cord wrapped tightly around his neck. He was fine until right at the end, when his heart rate plummeted. When the midwife looked at me and said that we had to get him out now, and that I had to push without the help of a contraction, I knew she meant business. Even though I was beyond the point of exhaustion, I found the strength to get him out fast. They cut and clamped the cord from around his neck as soon as he crowned, and then a few pushes later, he was born. Daddy got to catch him, and he put Ben on my belly, but a split second later, the midwife whisked him away to the resuscitation table to work on him. He was born in distress - white as a sheet, depressed heart rate, elevated breathing and low body temperature. Daddy helped the midwife, and after 45 long minutes, he was finally up to snuff. They placed him on my belly and I fell in love!

Family portrait...that's my mom (Ben's Nana) in the pink, and Wayne in the picture. He couldn't be with us physically, but he was definitely there in spirit!

For more pictures, check out our Shutterfly site - click here.

Update...

On the Pregosaur blog. I'm lazy and didn't feel like posting it twice. :o)

Big Baby?

My midwife suspects that I'm growing a large baby. Hopefully not quite as large as the statue above, however.

Yesterday I had my 37-week check-up. According to some sources, I'm now officially full term. Other sources prefer to call that near term, and peg actual full term at 38 weeks. Either way you look at it, I'm pretty darn close to having this baby. And if you listen to my midwife, he's pretty much ready to come out!

Now, I do take this with a grain of salt, because any estimate of fetal size is a guess - perhaps an educated one, but still a guess. But yesterday at my appointment, after palpating my uterus rather extensively, the midwife told me she thinks Baby Ben is already approaching 8 lbs. We have a growth ultrasound scheduled for tomorrow afternoon - but again, I've heard plenty of stories of people who were told after an u/s they were going to have a large baby, and the baby ended up weighing 1-2 lbs less at birth than what they were told.

So, I'm staying calm and not getting up in arms about it. I'm going for the ultrasound, and am actually pretty excited about it. We've only had one other, and I honestly thought that would be it. So we're excited to get to see our son (and, you know, double check that he really is our son) one last time before delivery.

Due date is three weeks from today, and if this large baby thing is true, they'd like to see me go early rather than late. I wouldn't mind that either way, honestly. But since we're using a birth center, they won't be inducing any time soon. So it's still a waiting game, either way. Come on, (Big?) Ben! We want to meet you!