Milestones

• Grabbing my hair, hard!
• Holding his head up
• He has started smiling every once in a while!  It’s especially cute when he smiles after I give him a kiss.  I swear I’ve heard some giggles too.
• He is definitely more alert every single day.  He watches the mobile above his swing and watches me walk around the room.
• He is very in tune to our voices.  Sometimes at night I hear him fussing around, then I’ll talk for a few seconds and he settles right down.  But then of course a couple minutes later he fusses again.

Size: Wyatt was 8lb 7oz at birth, then went down to 7lb 7oz when we left the hospital.  Since it was more than a 10% loss, I had to breastfeed, pump, then feed him what I pumped.  Man was it rough!  He was slowly and steadily gaining.  But then something crazy happened…he gained 22 oz in 12 days!  The little squirt weighed in at 9lbs 12oz at his 4 week check up.  He is starting to fill in his Size 1 Pampers (we used newborn size until last week) and finally fitting well into his 0-3 clothing instead of swimming in them.  He’s a long baby, 23″!  He’s in the 95% percentile for length and 55% for weight.

Feeding:  Wyatt definitely loves to eat!  I feed him every 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours during the day.  I try to look for his hungry cues like lip smacking and rooting.  But sometimes he becomes cranky pants before I can get to him.  At night he is going from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours in between feedings.  I’ve been pumping once a day also (after the 1st morning feeding) and I’ve been storing for future use.  We introduced a bottle to him this week and luckily he takes is right down!  Jay gives him this one at the 4am ish time to let me get some sleep, woohoo.

Fun Facts

• Times I’ve been pooped on: 2
• Diapers a day: 11 – 16
• Bottles consumed: 3
• Times I’ve been peed on: too many to count

Sleep: Some days he sleeps more than others.  Today he has slept probably a little more than half the time in between feedings.   During the day I put him in the Rock n Play to sleep if he’s not sleeping on me.  Sometimes I put him in the swing to soothe him to sleep if he is extra fussy.  At night he is in the Pack n Play next to our bed.  Luckily at night, he sleeps pretty well… once we finally get him to sleep.  Each night I feed him between 9:30 – 10:30, then head to bed immediately after.  We swaddle then sway with him (or put him in the swing) until he falls asleep after each night feeding.  This soothing to sleep process could be anywhere from 5 minutes all the way to 45 minutes.  That gives me about an hour to 2 hours of sleep in between.  Let’s just say I never wake up rested!  But at least the little man does

Likes

• Hearing mommy and daddy talk
• Being in his swing
• Stretching when he’s done eating (so cute!)
• Being rocked
• Riding in the car
• Being pushed in the stroller

Tomorrow I’ll be posting about the postpartum side of things.  See ya then!

My story started at 3:00 PM on Tuesday, April 16th.  At 8 days past my due date, I arrived at the hospital for my induction.  We were quickly brought to a room in the labor and delivery unit, and they hooked me up to all the monitors.  Apparently I was already having contractions, about 12 minutes apart.  I couldn’t even feel them!  Around 5:00 pm, I took a Misoprostol pill, which is for ripening the cervix.

Jay picked up some Thai food (which happened to be my last meal for about 2 days) and we waited and waited.  Pill after pill, nothing much happening.  My contractions were getting closer together, and I was thinning a little.  But I felt fine.  After my 4:30 am pill, my contractions suddenly jumped to 1-2 minutes apart.  The nurse seemed a little concerned, but luckily my contractions started slowing down to 2-3 minutes apart which was fine.  Around 5:30 am, they got painful.  She checked me and I was 60% effaced and 1 cm dilated, ugh!  Time went by and contractions were excruciating.  Of course, it was also shift change at 7am which didn’t help my situation.  I was in horrible back labor, and Jay was helping as much as he could.  At 8am our new (and amazing!) nurse Heather checked me, I was at 3cm and 90% effaced.  I was quickly moved to the delivery room.

I was dying of intense pain during each contraction. It felt like my back was being ripped apart.  Jay was awesome and encouraged me to get the epidural stat, the nurse agreed.  But on a super busy day, the anesthesiologist just started another one.  At 8:45 am it was my turn!  I wasn’t worried about getting it at all, I knew the contractions were worse than anything a needle could do, and I was right!  After 20 minutes he was done with the epi, and the relief came, ahhh.  They also started pitocin at this point.  It was about 10 am when my water broke naturally.  I was so happy progress was happening!

I needed a couple of “top offs” on the epi, the anesthesiologist came almost as soon as i needed it.  I was checked every few hours or so, and was progressing every time.  My doctor, Lizellen, came every so often to check in on me too.  Luckily during this long wait, I was able to take a couple of short naps. My mom and sis made Jay and I company throughout the day. At 8 pm, about 12 hours after my epidural,  I was finally at 10 cm and 100% effaced.  It was time to push!  Luckily our nurse, Heather, took an extra half shift to stay with us through the delivery.

I pushed and pushed.  Lizellen and Heather were giving me tons of encouragement.  “His head is just stuck a little bit, just a few more pushes to get him moving through the pelvic bone!”  Then a little more time went by… “His head is still having trouble, we will just need to help him through!”.  Then after about 45 minutes in, silence was more prevalent.  Between words of encouragement were the hints of c-section talk.  After an hour of pushing, Wyatt’s heart rate was going a bit too high during the contractions, then dropping just a bit too low for comfort… plus his head was not budging at all.  My doctor, Lizellen, said it would be better for us both to get a c-section.  Jay and I already discussed we would do what was best for the baby, and we agreed to the c-section.  After signing some paperwork I was wheeled away to get prepped and Jay put on some scrubs.  It was time for surgery.

The best anesthesiologist ever, Dr. Hatch, upped my epidural and explained everything that was happening.  It was him talking me through it which helped us so much!  I started shaking uncontrollably and he assured me it was normal.  The curtain went up, Jay came in, and the surgery started.  About 10 minutes went by, and Dr. Hatch explained I was going to feel tons of pressure and tugging, which was the baby coming out.  Boy did I feel it!  But it was not painful.  After a couple minutes Jay and I heard him crying, and we both started balling.  The doctors and nurses took turns saying “he’s adorable” and “he’s huge!”.  “Huge”?  I was expecting a 10 pounder at this point. Jay went to be with the baby and they started sewing me up (and vacuuming, which was the worst sound ever at this point).  Then I hear… “Born at 9:57 PM, 8 lbs 7 ounces, 22″ long, 14.5″ head”!

When Jay brought Wyatt over to see me it was the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.  He was gorgeous.  I was one proud mommy.  Jay left with him to go to the nursery (with my mom and sis in tow).  I had more stitching up to do.  Dr. Hatch was constantly reassuring me everything was okay and talking to me about his kids, which was a great distraction!  My shaking was so bad though at this point, that my neck was more painful than anything else.  I think it was about 20 minutes from when Jay and Wyatt left when my epidural was removed and I was rolled into recovery to be reunited with my family.  After being in the hospital for 30+ hours and 12+ hours of labor and a c-section, I never knew how utterly exhausted and happy I could be at the same time.

Wyatt was born on 4/17 at 9:57 pm. He weighed in at 8lb 7 oz and is 22″ long. The labor and delivery was very long and had lots of surprises. Birth story coming soon! Tomorrow I get discharged from the hospital and we can finally take our little boy home

Baby O’s Size: Jackfruit – about 20 3/4”, 8 lb

Baby O’s developments: Still getting bigger!

Currently Craving: Brownies and Buffalo wings

Weight gain this week: 0, (30 lb total)

Sleep & Dreams: Sleep has been the about the same… a lot of tossing at turning, and getting up about once nightly to use the bathroom. But after I use the bathroom I usually have lot of trouble falling back asleep.  Not fun!  Normal dreams except for last night, when I had a dream that the baby’s face was smooshed because he was in my tummy too long.  Not fun!

How I am feeling:  I feel SO done being pregnant already!  Last week felt like the longest week of my life.  Physically I am more tired and more swollen.  I get very uncomfortable at night with cramping and some back pain.

Evidence of Pregnancy Brain: Always forgetting my water bottle when I leave the house.

Movement: He’s still moving tons.  I’m doing kick counts for the hospital, and each one so far has been 10 movements in less than 5 minutes.

photo from Sprout

Appointments: Saturday I went for a Non Stress Test at the hospital. Amniotic fluid and heart rate was fine, so at least the baby is happy in there.  I had my 41 week appt with the midwife this morning.  I’m a little over 1 cm dilated and effaced more than last time.  We talked about induction, and I said I was ready as soon as possible.  They are going to schedule one for this week (most likely for Wednesday) and I’m waiting to hear back.  I hope he decides to come on his own first though.

Exercise: 1 official walk this morning (in the photo above), and did a lot of walking with mom and sis around the area to sight see.

Innie or outie: Getting close to outie status.

Stretch marks: None yet, woohoo!

Rings on or off: Off

Maternity wear: I feel like my wardrobe is severely dwindling.

Baby related purchases: Nothing new this week.

Days until due date: -7

My mom has been here since April 4th and yesterday my sis arrived from Denver to join us.  We walked around Fillmore Street in San Francisco and worked up an appetite.  We headed into Roam Artisan Burgers to get our fix.  They have a great  burger menu with a large variety of patty options.  You could get anything from bison to veggie.  I opted for a grass-fed beef burger with aged white cheddar, oil and vinegar slaw, and house sauce (similar to thousand island).  It was juicy deliciousness on a bun!

We also split the Fry Fecta, a combo of regular fries, sweet potato fries, and zucchini-onion strings.  I have to say, they were all perfectly cooked an seasoned.  The three of us quickly devoured them.

They also have house made sodas.  I decided to order the Meyer lemon version.  It was perfectly refreshing for the warm day.  A little sweet and a little tart.  Yum.

Today we are hanging out and waiting around for Wyatt.  Love this cute burp cloth my sis got for me.  Wyatt is already a gator.  Maybe some shopping will help move things along.  Hopefully my next post will be the big one!

Baby O’s developments: Getting a little bigger every day.

Currently Craving: Chocolate

Weight gain this week: -1.2 lb, (30 lb total)

Sleep & Dreams: Sleep has been the same… a lot of tossing at turning, and getting up about once nightly to use the bathroom.

How I am feeling:  Pretty much the same as last week, except I’ve been feeling a little more tired the past couple of days.  I’m having a little back pain and pelvic pressure, but nothing too uncomfortable. Mentally, I definitely feel done with being pregnant!  I want to meet my little boy already.

Evidence of Pregnancy Brain: Attempting to put clean cups into the fridge instead of the cabinets, yikes!

Movement: He’s still moving alot.  It gets a little uncomfortable when he squeezes into a ball on my right side, which happens at least once a day.

photo from Sprout

Appointments: I had my 40 week appt with the midwife this morning.  I’m 1 cm dilated but not really effaced.  She mentioned that the nurse wrote “39 weeks day 7″ and I mentioned that my due date was yesterday.  She clarified that my due date was actually today, April 8th.  I thought it was April 7th since the beginning, whoops! haha.  4/7 was the date on my first ultrasound, but 4/8 was the due date calculated using my last period (which is the correct due date).  Not a big deal at all, but I can’t believe I had it wrong this whole time.  I have an appt on Saturday at the hospital for ante-partum testing (if I don’t go into labor by then).  They are going to check baby’s vitals and amniotic fluid levels.  Then, if I make it to my 41 week appt we are going to set up a date for induction.  I hope Wyatt decides to make his arrival before Saturday!

Exercise: I walked 4 days last week for about 40 minutes each time.

Innie or outie: Getting close to outie status, but still pretty flat.

Stretch marks: None yet, woohoo!

Rings on or off: Off

Maternity wear: Sick of wearing maternity clothes already.

Baby related purchases: Nothing new this week.

Days until due date: 0

Jay and I, as usual, split a couple entrees.  First up was the Sky Hill Goat Cheese Ravioli.  I loved the little fried basil leaf on top, I wish they had a few more of those on there.  It was a good dish, but didn’t blow me away.  Maybe a different sauce would have complemented the ravioli better?  Jay makes the best sauce so I’m spoiled.

Next up was the Pork Shoulder Chop.  This was the best (and biggest) pork chop I’ve ever had!  It was incredibly juicy and packed full of flavor.  Jay is a huge steak guy, and said this was even better than steak.  The beans and bacon tasted great as well, but I think some of the beans were a touch undercooked.

A pregnant woman always needs dessert!  The server recommended the Sticky Toffee Cake with their vanilla ice cream.  It was incredible.  The warm cake had a heartier texture (probably because of the dates?) and had a wonderfully caramelized exterior.  The ice cream and the butterscotch sauce was the perfect compliment.  I could have eaten another one if it was put in front of me.

It was an amazing dinner!  Bungalow 44 has great food and service, and I hope to go back!  Next time I want to try their Kickin’ Fried Chicken.  What’s your favorite part of a meal… appetizer, entree or dessert?

Baby O’s developments: His nails are growing, they may even be past his fingertips.  He’s packing on the fat for the outside world.

Currently Craving: Burgers and lemonade

Weight gain this week: 1.2 lb, (31.2 lb total)

Sleep & Dreams: Sleep has been the same… a lot of tossing at turning, and getting up about once nightly to use the bathroom.  One of the dreams I remember the most was being with my sister at Chipotle.  We waited in line forever and then they told me they only had tofu left.  I was so mad!  I said, “don’t you see I’m pregnant and want meat?”.  They pointed out the tofu only signs all over the walls and I couldn’t believe I didn’t notice it.  Then I promptly left and said “let’s go to Burger King”.  The dream ended before I could eat anything.

photo from Sprout

How I am feeling:  I’m a little more uncomfortable than last week, but not by much.  I wake up with some back pain, but that quickly goes away once I start moving about.  I’ve felt a little nauseous and had a couple bouts of heartburn this weekend.  My back almost always hurts at night, but it’s usually not too unbearable.  I’ve noticed it hurts the most on the days I walk alot.  Mentally, I feel very ready for Wyatt to make his grand entrance.  I am so impatient!

Evidence of Pregnancy Brain: Adding and subtracting are giving me issues, haha.

Movement: Still squirming around alot!  Maybe I’ll be able to see a foot one of these days?

Appointments: I had my 39 week appt with the doctor this morning.  She said I’m opening on the outside of my cervix but not the inside.  At least something is happening?  She let me know that another patient last week with the similar progress as me (basically none) at 39 weeks, ended up having her baby at 39 weeks 5 days.  That gives me a slight glimmer of hope that he might at least be on time.  Besides all that, my blood pressure and baby’s heart rate were great.

Exercise: I walked 4 days last week for about 40 minutes each time, and one day did some weights at home.

Innie or outie: It’s pretty flat, but not an outie yet.

Stretch marks: None yet, woohoo!

Rings on or off: Off

Maternity wear: Getting sick of it!

Baby related purchases: Bought the Britax B-Nimble over the weekend.  We originally bought a Snap n Go for our lightweight stroller (when we don’t need the BOB), but the Britax B-Safe car seat we have is one of the only car seats it doesn’t fit, grrr. Luckily it was easy to return at Target.

Days until due date: 6

The servers always come around quickly with chips and salsa.  The chips are warm and crispy, and the salsa is super fresh.

We ordered some Chile con Queso to start with.  I needed to get my cheese fix!  It was ooey gooey melted cheese topped with crumbled chorizo and jalapenos.  It hit the spot.

With any of your tacos or burritos, you can pick your choice of meat.  They have alot to choose from.  The lengua scares me a little, but maybe I’ll be brave enough to try it one day (when I can have a couple margaritas beforehand, hehe).

We also split a California Burrito with carne asada, which has one unique thing that I’ve never had before in a burrito… French fries!  Jay isn’t a big fan of rice and beans in his burritos, so we subbed in lettuce instead.  I’m glad that we did, because then I would have been even more full. The only thing that I wanted to change was the guacamole, it was piled towards the end and wasn’t evenly spread out through the burrito.  But overall it was surprisingly amazing.  I see more French fry stuffed burritos in my future!

Baby O’s Size: Pumpkin – about 20”, 7 lb

Baby O’s developments: Wyatt is busy gaining weight and growing some hair on his head. He’s shedding the waxy layer on top of his skin in preparation for life on the outside.

Currently Craving: Fruity drinks

Weight gain this week: 1.6 lb, (30 lb total)

Sleep & Dreams: Sleep has been the same… a lot of tossing at turning, and getting up about once nightly to use the bathroom.  I’ve had lots of elaborate dreams lately.  It’s funny that in most of them I am pregnant.  But haven’t had had any “forget the baby” dreams for a few weeks.  I used to have them all the time.

How I am feeling: Still not too shabby considering I’m 9 months pregnant.  I only seem to get truly uncomfortable at night.  My hands swell up alot, especially after exercise.  I am starting to feel more cramping and pressure down there.  Hopefully Wyatt is making his way down.  It definitely feels like the waiting game now.  I’m sure from now until the time he is born time will be dragging.

photo from Sprout

Evidence of Pregnancy Brain: More like pregnancy clumsiness this week.  I’ve been dropping things left and right, and running into tables.  I have 2 nice bruises on my leg to show for it.

Movement: Still squirming around alot!

Appointments: I had my 38 week appt with the doctor this morning.  Still not dilating at all. I got my results of Group B Strep, negative!  Yay!  That basically just means that I can chill and labor at home for longer, and I won’t need antibiotics during labor.  If I make it to my 39 week appointment (which seems pretty likely), she will sweep my membranes if I’m dilated to see if we can start making more progress.

Exercise: I walked alot this week!  I aimed for about 45 minutes every morning on the treadmill.  Walking is supposed to be great for the baby to make his way down.  I also took Bella out with me for a lap around the neighborhood, but apparently she ate SO much grass that she ended up coughing it up the rest of the day.  That will probably be the end of taking Bella for a while.  I don’t want to spend my whole walk prying her away from the grass.  I have no clue why she likes it so much?

Innie or outie: It’s pretty flat, but not an outie yet.

Stretch marks: None yet, woohoo!

Rings on or off: Off

Maternity wear: Getting sick of it!

Baby related purchases: Nothing new this week, but we are still setting things up.  The BOB is next on the list.

Days until due date: Lucky 13

Last but not least,  the winner of my What to Expect Book Giveaway, Linzi! Congrats!