Arrrrrr May 26, 2008

A few things-

Luke is starting to really teethe.  Before he would slobber and we thought it was teething, but this is starting to really get serious, folks.  We’re talking chewing on everything, fussiness, and overall growling and trying to shove everything in reach into his mouth.

We need to get his “6 month”, now 6 3/4 month pics taken…need to stop procrastinating!

How is my baby boy over 6 months old already, anyway?  Amazing how the time has gone by.  Really amazing.

He’s rolling all over and rotates different directions on his belly.  But his favorite thing to do right now is “ow’ “ow” “ow” on his hands.  Yes, he’s talented.

Pics May 8, 2008

Almost 6 months later. May 3, 2008

I can’t believe how fast the time has gone.  The last time I posted here, I was pregnant and fearing the near future.  I was so worried about the c-section, worried about Luke and making sure he would be healthy, worried about the changes that were getting ready to happen to my life.  Amazing how things have changed.  I still worry, of course.  I think that’s just my personality.  But things are just the way they are supposed to be.  Sure there were lots of changes and still are- but I’m so thankful for them.  Luke has turned our worlds upside down and there hasn’t been anything more or less that I’d ask for.

The beginning was rough.  Jason had to work the entire time I was home with Luke.  Literally, he went to work the day after I came home.  It was horrible.  Looking back, I had some postpartum depression going on.  I cried everytime he left me.  I cried everytime anyone would leave me.  It was just Luke and me.  Luke didn’t know what the heck was going on, and neither did I.  It was just the two of us at 3am…trying to figure out why were both crying.  LoL.  I can laugh now- because I survived it.  Jason helped as much as he could between all of his work hours.

I got to stay home from work until February which was WONDERFUL.   Work.   Ya know, I was soooo worried about my coworkers having too much of my work and being overloaded with it.  That priority went out the window as soon as I saw Luke.  Priority of work was gone.  I was able to stay home and just love him and learn him.  I have the very best boss I think I could ask for in Kara.  She’s a mom herself and so understanding.  I couldn’t ask for anything better.  She helped me realize that it was okay to let go of projects and work.  She also let me know that there has to be balance between work and family.

Now that I’m back at work, Luke goes to Julie’s.  Yet another blessing.  Julie has been so incredibly helpful.  Between her and my dad, i don’t know what I’d do without them.  My dad meets me downtown on Monday mornings and evenings.  He gets Luke and takes him out to Julie.  Then on Tuesdays, Julie meets me downtown in the morning and evening.  Wednesday, Julie meets me in the morning- dad meets me in the evening.  I can’t believe it’s actually working, but it is.  Julie is able to watch Luke and he’s able to be in her home and play/learn/interact with her boys.  I’m so lucky.   Even more lucky to know that Jason is home with him all day on Thursdays and Fridays.  Those are “Daddy and Luke” days.

So here I am, sitting downstairs, typing while Luke sleeps and Jason works.  Thinking about all of the milestones that have come and gone since the last blog.  The fact that I’m actually a mom- that Jason and I are “doing this” as we say.  Development wise, Luke is doing great.  He’s rolling all over, practicing sitting up, smiling all of the time, teething, and blowing raspberries like it’s his job.  His favorite toy is his jumperoo with his playmat coming in a close 2nd.

So this is where I’ll end this one- there are a lot of other things I’m going to talk about, but for now, I’ll leave it with this update and some pics.  I’ll be updating this more often.  I need to blog more so I’ll remember these things!!

Some More Pics November 9, 2007

And my favorite:

It’s a Boy! November 8, 2007

Welcome, Luke!

Luke was born on Tuesday morning. He weighed 7lbs 1.1ozs and was 19″ long. He’s such a tiny baby!

Baby and Mom are both doing great. I’m really amazed by how well April has recouped after her surgery. She hasn’t had any pain killers since about 24 hours after her surgery, and she feels great. She’s been a great mom to Luke so far!

I love the little guy. I just love holding him in my arms and watching him sleep. Hopefully he loves it too.

April and Luke will be coming home tomorrow. The past two days have been a whirlwind, between visitors and nurses and other hospital employees, it’s seemed like that door is never shut. And when you do get a second of peace, the phone rings!

Tomorrow has been designated an Immediate Family day, meaning just April, Luke, and myself. No visitors. No calls. Nothing. Hopefully we can get him transitioned into the house, and hopefully the cats will leave the poor kid alone.

Well, check the blog more often, folks. This is going to get good…

A day of reflection? November 5, 2007

Lots has happened since the last post-

I’ve found out that Luke is breech after having an ultrasound because I measuring 1 1/2-2 weeks ahead for months.  In the u/s, he was “frank breech” which means he is butt down, head up, and his little legs are straight up by his head.  After doing some reading, I’ve found this is the best type of breech baby to deliver, but alas, my doctor doesn’t want that and has scheduled me for a c-section.  There are risks with the baby’s oxygen supply if I try to delivery regularly.  Earlier this week I was very sad about having to have a c-section, but I’ve come to realize that it’s not just about what I want, but it’s about having him come here completely healthy without stress.  It’s just that I’ve often heard about c-section happy docs who resort to c-sections and not letting the mothers labor.  But bottomline is that my doctor is responsible for my health and the baby’s health.  He’s not responsible for meeting my emotional needs in this laboring experience.  And if he believes that a c-section will keep Luke safer, then that’s what has to happen and I need to “get glad” about it.

So I had this appointment on Thursday of last week and was told I was on his schedule for TUESDAY.  6 days.  And now here we are, Monday.  One day left…less than 24 hours and I’ll be looking at my son.  I can’t tell you the emotions that come over me when I think about it.  Literally, every emotion I can feel I’ve felt.  Scared, happy, nervous, excited, anxious…just to name a few.  On Friday I was showering and was thinking about the entire experience- what it would be like while I’m laid out on the table- what it would be like to hear his first cries, and having Jason there with me to experience it all.  I cried.  In the shower.  So yes, there are still a ton of hormones running through this body.

Friday was my last day of work- that was weird.  I felt like I was quitting my job.  People were coming and saying goodbye.  Some of them all teary-eyed.  I couldn’t bring myself to cry- it was like I was still in work mode and I just knew there was still so much to do before I was ready to go.  I really think the time will fly by while I’m off.  I know I’ll be back there in no time.

I spent the weekend cleaning off and on- trying to prepare the house for us to come home to.  I’ll finish doing some of that stuff today- well, all of it, I guess.  I just know I can’t come home to a messy house.  I’ll probably freak out!

So here I sit on the couch this morning- trying to find something decent on TV to watch (and being unsuccessful at that)- thinking about how different things will be in just a matter of hours.  And while I’m scared out of my wits about the procedure, I can’t wait to hold this little baby in my arms and look at his face, arms, legs, belly, butt, tiny toes, and little fingers.

34 Weeks Down…And a Recommendation October 10, 2007

So yesterday was April’s 34th Week. We were laying in bed and talking about how far along she was, and we both came to the same conclusion at the same time:

Luke could be here in two weeks.

My jaw dropped. I could be a dad in two weeks?! Holy cow. Two weekends. Only one Colts game! Two days off! Agh!!

There’s a lot of work to do.

Also, a recommendation for geeky parents like me. If you’ve ever heard Leo Laporte (who used to be the host of TechTV’s Call for Help and The ScreenSavers), you may want to check out his podcasts, if you’re into that kind of thing. There are about 10 different podcasts that he does, ranging from technology, junk food, and parenting.

The parenting podcast is “Jumping Monkeys”, and it is for “Parenting in the Digital Age”. They have tips, links to stuff on the net, and an interview with authors and things like that. So to check this out, go to the iTunes store and search for Leo Laporte. Jumping Monkeys should pop up. I love it. And the best part is that it’s absolutely free!

Leo’s cohost, Megan Maroney, who also worked at TechTV, has a blog by the same name, http://www.jumpingmonkeys.com/. If you check it out, let me know what you think. If you’re already a fan, let me know that too!

TWO WEEKS? Holy crap.

Baby Shower October 7, 2007

Had a lovely baby shower thrown by Julie Everyone was so nice and thoughtful!! I can’t believe all of the baby supplies we were blessed with. Everything from clothes, to his car seat and stroller, to a TON of diapers! Thank you everyone!

Me with everyone’s gifts:

The cake (it was a Sweet Pea theme!)

Some of my coworkers and me:

Julie & me:

Game time! This was a hilarious relay race- yes, I love shower games…I’m competitive.

Steph, me, and Angela

Family (my mom’s side):  My niece Hannah, Aunt B, Mom, Sister Sara, GM, and me

Doc Appt Today October 5, 2007

Had my regular check-up with Dr. Perkins.  Everything was looking good.  There was no more progression, the baby sounded good, and he said I didn’t need to come back for another 2 weeks.  That will be my last 2 week between visits-visit.  Then I’ll go to visits with him once a week.  There will also be an ultrasound to see how the baby is doing and to make sure he’s measuring correctly- the u/s is the 26th- I’m excited to see him again

I’ll be trying to complete the nursery over the long weekend (Optimedia is closed on Monday for Columbus Day- I love bankers hours!)   and get lots of his clothes washed from the shower.  Oh, I forgot to write about the shower- it was great.  There were lots of people here and they were so generous.  We’re very blessed and little Luke will have lots of cute clothes and nice things to keep him comfy.  The theme was “Sweet Pea” and everything was green- so fun!  I’ll post pics later of the shower.  There were only 2 games and they were great- one was this straw/pacifier game that was a relay race-  it was great seeing the girls all yell and get excited about passing a pacifier with a straw!   Julie did a wonderful job.

I’ll try to update this blog more often- especially since my time is running out until baby is here.  Hope everyone is doing well!

Little scare this week! October 4, 2007

Had to take a little trip to labor & delivery on Monday because little Luke apparently leaned against the exit button and I started to have some contractions.   They started up on Sunday and what I thought were just period cramps.  I took it easy that day and after about 3 hours, I called the after hours line and the doc called me and told me to just keep drinking water.  I did and they went away after a bit.  They came back that night and then Monday morning, so I called the doc’s office just to see if I could move up my appt from Friday to earlier in the week.  Instead, they told me to be safe, they wanted me to get checked out by labor & delivery- and my doc was there anyway on call, so on my way, I went.  Once I got there, I apologized all over myself to the nurse.  I felt like I was wasting their time.  They hooked me up to the little monitors and I had a contraction (what I thought was just the cramping) about 5 seconds after it was hooked up.  They left me alone with the TV and the nurse came back about 30 minutes later telling me I’d been having contractions every 8 minutes.  Who knew!

So she gave me a shot in my arm and fed me a turkey sandwich and I sat there watching more TV for a bit while the contractions slowed.  I got to see Dr. Perkins- he did an exam (FUN) and said that my cervix was still closed off on the baby’s side, so that was a good sign.   I go back tomorrow for my regular appt and he’ll check again to make sure there’s no more progress.  I’ve still been having some cramping, but it’s not as frequent as it had been (from what I can tell).

I must say the best part about the experience was getting a feeling for Dr. Perkins bedside manner- and hearing the baby’s heartbeat.  Its music to my ears- almost like he’s talking to me.  And I never realized all of the hiccups the poor kid gets!  He got them twice while I sat in there.

I can’t wait to meet him.     Ok, I can wait…but it’ll be cool to meet him