Baby Swag we Love

Inspired (as usual) by Missie's blog, I thought I'd put together my own list of "stuff we adore" now that we're home and in some kind of routine...


The Moby - Not all kids like it, but mine adores it.  He gets to snuggle into my neck and be upright, I get two free arms, everyone's happy.  It's not awful on my back, either.  I foresee this being our savior on the plane next weekend.

 

The Wubbanub - It's the binky that my son adores, attached to an adorable stuffed animal.  What's not to love?  We have the ducky and the pony, but I'm already salivating over more of them.  I love that he's starting to actually hold onto the stuffed animal - it gives his hands something to do other than gouge his own eyes out (a favorite pastime) and it allows him to at least attempt to stuff it back in his mouth when it falls out (occasionally successful).  On the mommy front - it's easy to find in my purse or in the dark. 

 

Aden & Anais Swaddle Blankets - I knew I loved these before I met them.  They come in 4-packs and they're a bit pricey, but don't be discouraged.  We have at least a dozen of them, and we adore them.  They're unbeatable for swaddling - they're HUGE without being bulky and a little bit stretchy - I can get a pretty fantastic swaddle going with these suckers.  Aside from the obvious swaddle perfection, they're awesome for so many other things too - they can keep me from giving the world a show when I nurse in public, they cover and add padding to the random places I sometimes decide to change the boy, they go under the boy in the swing/RnP/bouncer/whatever in case of a blowout, they provide a light cover over the carseat when I don't want the world's germs in there, and I'm sure there are many more uses waiting to be discovered.  We love these.  Have I mentioned how much we love these?

The "easy swaddle" options - We like the Woombie and the Swaddleme.  The woombie is a peanut-shaped marvel of modern science, great when Aidan's wearing warm, fleecy jammies and I don't want to cook him in a warm fleecy swaddleme.  I just zip him into the straitjackety comfort of a woombie and he's a happy man.  The swaddleme is perfect for when he's sleeping in just a t-shirt and I want to give him a nice warm swaddle.  It's also a tighter swaddle than the woombie, good for when he's really losing his mind and in need of containment.  I love having both of these options.  They're idiot-proof.

 

 

Eat, Sleep, Poop journal - we all have our favorite ways of tracking those things that the pediatrician expects us to just KNOW off the top of our heads for those first few insane weeks.  I'm old school.  I love this journal.  We started out tracking when and how much we fed him and how many wet and poopy diapers we were getting.  We don't care much about diapers anymore as we head into week 4, but we definitely still care about feeding and are starting to try to track sleep patterns too.  

Rock n Play Sleeper - Aidan's current resting place.  He loves being upright, so this bed was made for him.  It's the perfect height for sitting right next to my bed, too.  I can reach over and cover him up, or grab him for that lovely middle-o-the-night feeding.  Easy to rock, sturdy, and the boy likes it.  No complaints here :)

Baby Jogger City Mini - We love this stroller.  The carseat adapter works great, our carseat snaps right in and rides nice and high.  The stroller is super light and very maneuverable.  I have nothing but the highest praise for this thing.  We have the child tray (for later), the cooler bag, and the universal parent console.  Very happy with all of our accessories so far.

We've also had some product preference emerge.  

- We prefer Huggies wipes over Pampers.  They're thicker and easier to rip in half (we use half a wipe to cover "the fountain" while using the other half to wipe his still-tiny butt.)

- We prefer Pampers diapers over Huggies.  Huggies just seem so oddly-shaped.  So far, no leak problems with either, so really, I can't complain.

- We prefer My Brest Friend over Boppy for breastfeeding.  It's a stupid name for a great product.  Gives mommy some back support, too.  We do still love our Boppies (we have two) for lounging around in.  We're thrilled that we have both :)

My big boy is gaining like a champ!

Aidan and I went to visit the Lactation Consultant today.  It was a really good experience, actually.  We weighed him (holy crap, more on that later) before and after a feed.  He likes to eat (and has no problem getting) 2oz per feeding.  And yes, this information is useful to me.  We also worked on some positioning that will make things more comfortable for me.  It was an hour well-spent.

One of the things that I was nervous about since I decided to breastfeed was his weight.  Is he getting enough milk?  Is the milk caloric enough for him?  In a word - yes.  In two words - Hell yes.

Birth Weight: 5lb15oz
Discharge Weight: 5lb10oz
9 days old: 6lb2oz
11 days old: 6lb4oz
22 days old (today): 7lb6oz. 

Holy moly!  Clearly, he's getting plenty.  I'm proud of him and proud of myself for being able to give him what he needs.

Way to go, Aidan!  Mommy thinks you're doing pretty great!

Three Weeks Old!!!

My precious little boy is THREE WEEKS OLD today!  I can't believe it's been three weeks already.  I need to get on the ball with some more pictures.  He already looks so much older. 

He loves stretching out his legs and practicing putting some weight on them.  He loves tummy time when it happens on mommy or daddy.  The floor - not so much.  But on our chests, he holds his head up and looks around - up and down, side to side, all with the trademark Aidan Shields look of shock on his face.  Allow me to refresh your memory -

He's a really easygoing kid.  He likes eating, he likes sleeping, and he likes snuggling into mommy's neck.  He hates being buckled into his carseat but he always sleeps in the car.  He loves his boppy and his RnP.  He's getting used to his bouncer and swing.  He's awesome at eating out and excels at being cuddly and adorable.

I can't wait to see what next week brings :)

My 2w PP checkup

Aidan and I returned to Lankenau today, for the first time since we were discharged.  It was my 2 week blood pressure check. 

The visit itself was disappointing - my blood pressure is still really high, so I continue to be stuck on these meds until my next checkup in a month.  I hate the pills - they make my asthma worse, they upset my stomach, and they make me sleepy - just what I need right now, right?  But even on the pills twice a day, my BP is still "elevated" - so I guess right now I really do need them.

It was nice to bring Aidan in to meet Dr. Belden though.  I realize they're all required to say this, but it was still nice to hear everyone say how adorable he is.  Because, I mean, look at him.  He totally is.

We also stopped off at BRU to buy Aidan a little present.  Meet Ducky:

Aidan's Hospital Photos

Aidan's hospital pictures are in!  He was one day old when these were taken.  I swore to myself that I wouldn't get suckered into buying these, but Tom convinced me that it was totally worthwhile for our one and only baby.  I am so thankful that he did.  They're wonderful and I can't wait to be able to compare them to the 2-week-old pictures that Kingston took.

Looking at the pictures reminds me of all of our little "first few days" dramas that would otherwise be eventually forgotten.  When I see the picture of his little feet, I see the bandages from the heel sticks they did every three hours to check his sugars (always perfect).  When I see his 24-hour-old face, I see his poor little chin, chafed from learning to breastfeed.  Lansinoh solved this problem for us a couple of days later.  I didn't bring much to the hospital, but thanks to these pictures, I'll always remember that I brought a beloved Aden & Anais swaddle blanket and a warm hat that I made.  I'm eternally thankful that we had our own things for his newborn pictures.  Hospital-issue isn't so cute...

See Them All!

 

Happy Due Date, Aidan!

My due date is officially here!  My 2 week old Aidan helped us celebrate by peeing all over Daddy while Mommy attempted to sleep in.  I, for one, am impressed that Daddy lasted two whole weeks without being peed on!

It's been a fun week.  Aidan had his first Puj tub bath (pictures to follow), he met his honorary godmother, Josephine, he made his debut at the Nursing Mothers Alliance coffee group, and we nursed in the mother's room at Babies R Us for the first time.  Fun was had by all.

9 day doctor visit

Oh my god.  My little boy's umbilical stump fell off today.  He's 9 days old this morning.  He's growing up...  Stop it, Aidan! 

We had a good doctor visit today - Aidan needed to gain 6 ounces in 6 days, and he gained 8 ounces!  My little 6 pound, 2 ounce champ!  Way to go, little man!  I'm really happy that the breastmilk is working out so well thus far.  If only it weren't such a PITA to wake him up enough to eat...

Pictures!

Aidan is sleeping.  Mommy should be sleeping, but instead she's going through pictures.

Please enjoy these pictures from the day Aidan was born...
January 3, 2011

And these random camera phone pictures
Aidan, caught on Camera Phone

And these pictures from the rest of the week:
Aidan's First Week

Unrelatedly...

I wonder if my wedding rings will ever fit again.  I wonder when Aidan will grow into, and subsequently out of preemie sized onesies.  I wonder when NB sized sleepers will stop swallowing him alive.  I wonder if his current personality is really just the calm before the storm.  I wonder how I'll ever go back to work and leave him here all day.  I wonder if my cat will hate me forever for bringing this thing into our home.

One Week Old!

He's a week old.  Holy cow, where did the past week even go?! 

Aidan is amazing.  Every parent says that, I know.  But he is.  He goes to sleep smiling and wakes up excited to see what the world has to show him.  He's wide-eyed and curious.  Don't believe me?

The wide-eyes I get while nursing are great.  I have a picture, but it's probably not appropriate for blog consumption.

Aidan is more or less the spitting image of daddy, but I managed to sneak in the Dobrynski nose and mommy's mile-long fingers and toes.  I just keep thinking to myself - how did we make something so perfect?  He's happy and healthy, he eats like a champ and breastfeeding is working out great, he's (so far) laid-back and calm, and he doesn't even mind cold boob-juice.  I'm a lucky mama.

More updates to come - so much in my head that I want to get down - but you know the rule.  Sleeping baby = sleeping mommy.

Updates will be forthcoming, I swear!

Updates to come.  Aidan is amazing.

My weekend of fun and things.

Saturday.  You know, that day when I'm not supposed to have to be at the hospital?  Those are precious few these days.  I woke up feeling all kinds of motivated to get some contractions going.  We went grocery shopping and walked every aisle.  I vacuumed my apartment (again).  Put away the groceries.  Contractions were about every 10 minutes and a little painful - maybe a 4 on the completely arbitrary scale of pain that I've just made up.

And then, there was the bleeding.  And then more bleeding.  And then even more.  First time mama here, I was nervous, I called the on-call doc.  He said it was probably fine but that I could go get checked out if it would give me peace of mind.  It would, TYVM.

Tom got us to The Lank in 25 minutes flat.  A quick check revealed that everything was fine and I had not progressed one iota, despite a day filled with contractions.  Le unfair!  But the outrageously rough internal and the speculum exam promised more bleeding to come.  Joy.

I was discharged and went home.  On the way home, the contractions picked back up fairly painfully.  I went rather uncomfortably to bed, figuring that if I could sleep through them, they couldn't be that bad (I stand by this solid reasoning).

Fast forward to 4am.  Something is excavating my uterus with a rusty spoon.  I suspect that something is Aidan.  Contractions are every 6-8 minutes and very painful.  I try everything I can possibly think of to calm them down (I know.  I spent how long trying to spur them on, and here I am trying to calm them down?  But at this point, I have no faith that these are "real" and I haven't slept in 2 days and I just need a break).  Hot shower.  Hot bath.  Complaining to the girls.  Standing.  Sitting.  Lying down.  Nothing helps and I want to die, but I'm too embarrassed to call the doctor again.

After about 4 hours, I can't take it anymore.  I suck it up and call the doctor.  She tells me to head on down to the hospital to see if we're ready for a baby.  It takes us another hour to get ready to leave and make it to the hospital.  Humiliatingly, the SAME nurse from Saturday was still on duty.  She remembers me.  Of course.

10:30, we check in and I'm still 2cm/80%/-2.  Unbelievable.  I am in agony and NOTHING has changed.  At this point, the tears start flowing.  No, I don't want to be induced.  I quite honestly don't. But I haven't slept more than 4 of the last 48 hours, I'm in insane amounts of pain, and I just don't know how I'm going to survive the next 15 days.  Especially when the nurse tells me these painful ctx are likely to continue every day until I deliver.  I cried a lot.  Like, a lot.

At this point, I am given two options.
a) be sent home with sleeping pills.  Hope something progresses.
b) take a morphine nap and be rechecked in six hours.

I opted for the morphine nap, since I still really feel that something HAS to be happening, and do not want to go back home just to drive back here to be rechecked.  So - morphine shot in the ass, and a nap.  The contractions are still every 6 minutes or so, and I can still feel them, but the morphine takes the edge off and I am able to pass out in between them.  So I get some sleep, kinda.

Around 5, I woke up, because the morphine had clearly worn off.  The contractions are now every 4 minutes and even more painful.  I ponder my clearly imminent painful death for an hour until the doctor arrives to "oh-so-gently" examine me.  Success!  I am 3-4 cm, still 80%, but it's good enough for everyone.  I am staying, and I am having this baby!  Contractions are coming every 2-3 minutes and boy do they hurt!  I'm IV'd, and my fabulous nurse finds me some dinner (I now haven't had anything to eat or drink in 24 hours)

I decide to hold off on my epi for a bit.  I really want to walk the halls a bit first.  Ultimately, that doesn't work out.  By 9pm, I absolutely cannot take the pain anymore and am ready for the epidural. A quick exam shows that I'm 6cm (holy crap, I made it to 6 without my epi!?) and the anesthesiologist is summoned.  The fentanyl they gave me was FABULOUS and getting the epi was totally painless.  So far so good!

I slept on and off for a few hours but am too excited for any really good sleep.  Tom and I spent several hours talking about how excited we are to meet him, and what he'll be like, and who shares his birthday (Cicero - Tom couldn't BE more excited).  We finally nodded off around 1:30, but woke up at 3 for a quick internal.  8cm!  I can't believe my body's actually doing this on its own!  Topped off my own epi because I thought I might be feeling something.

5am brought another exam (9cm!) and the doctor decided to break my water.  Topped off my epi again (I love that glowy green little button) and I'm now sitting straight up (yay!  I'm beyond sick of lying down on my side), hoping gravity does its thing and brings that head down the rest of the way.  He's stubborn, this one.

7:30am and I was ready to roll.  10cm/100%/let's have a baby!  The funny thing was, I really didn't feel all that much pressure, and certainly no pain.  I figured I'd be pushing for days.  Instead, 19 minutes of pushing (which amounted to 4, maybe 5 contrax) netted me an amazing little boy at 8:08am.

Welcome to the world, Aidan Thomas!