Five Weeks

Last Saturday morning I went to a Fit Mamas Workout group I found online.  It was at Joanie Moser Park in Lewisville.  Emily and George met us there.  The instructor, also named Emily, is an ME instructor and has a 6 month old boy.  There were about 8 moms there with kids ranging from 4 weeks (Jane) to 14 months old.  We did a circuit type workout, moving our strollers from mat to mat and doing exercises with weights at each station.  Jane was wonderful and pretty much slept the entire time.  It was so great to workout again, but man did it kick my butt!  I might have overdone it a little bit, having not done that type of lunging and weightlifting in quite a while :)  I hurt so badly the next day!

After that I came home and Kyleigh and Alfred came by to meet Jane.  Terry, Anna and Bridge ended up stopping by at the same time so we had a full house.  That afternoon Seth and I were able to get away for our first "date" since Jane arrived.  Back in March, I bought a Groupon for a Couples' Massage class and scheduled it for a couple of weeks after her due date thinking it would be a fun thing to do.  Little did I know Seth would be having surgery that week also!  Anyway, it was nice to get away for awhile and Mom and Dad surely enjoyed keeping Jane for 2 hours.

Sunday morning we invited Terry, Anna, Drew and Danielle over to join us for our weekly walk to Starbucks.  T and A brought Audrey along so Bella had a buddy as well.  I'm sure it was quite a site to see 3 strollers, 6 adults and 2 dogs walking through Ardmore.  It was really fun enjoying our new normal with such good friends.

Susan Busch brought dinner on Sunday evening and then we headed over to the Frack's for bluegrass practice.

Monday I went back to the park to do another Stroller Workout with the Fit Mamas group.  The news came to film a segment for TV, so Jane might be a star.

Tuesday morning we went to Music and Movement at the Central Library and mom and Josh met us there.  It will definitely be more fun when she gets older, but it was nice to sing to her and have her exposed to the music.  That was also Jane's one month birthday so we did a photo shoot.

Wednesday Jane and I ventured out to our friend Natalie's farm with grandpa/Dama Kevin.  Jane just loves being outside.  For dinner we all went to Panera with the Tuckers.

Thursday we went back to Mommy/Baby Yoga and I weighed Jane at the Nursing Mother's Center afterwards.  She weighed 7 pounds, 13 ounces, which meant she has been gaining more than a pound a day since two weeks ago when I weighed her there.

Friday morning we left early for Ocean Isle.  It took us a little longer than expected to get there, but Jane was an excellent traveler.  She slept almost the entire way, waking up to eat once and making noise for a total of 1 minute.  Seth and I realized what it's like to travel with a baby.  It's a good thing Bella didn't go with us, because I don't think she would've fit!  Our Volvo was packed to the brim.

We ended the night at the rehearsal dinner at a house on the beach and Jane fell asleep off in the corner.

One Month

Four Weeks

Last Saturday morning Amanda came to visit and Saturday evening Aunt Camilla and Uncle Ted finally got to see her.  They also brought some frozen Brunswick Stew which we cannot wait to eat!  I also had the treat of getting a "back to school" pedicure with Beth and Serah while Seth stayed at home with Jane.  We introduced the bottle to her and she seemed to have no problems taking milk from the milk man :)

Sunday morning we walked to the Bagel Station and Starbucks with the dogs and Serah and Mat.  Betsy stopped by after that and then we spent the afternoon running errands.  Sunday night we had bluegrass practice and chicken pie at the Frack's.

For lunch on Monday Cheryl brought salads for mom and I.  Jane loved sleeping in her arms.

Tuesday Cindy came by for a quick visit.

Early Wednesday morning Seth had surgery.  Kevin came to pick him up at 6:45am and Mom came over to sit with me at 7.  I was a nervous wreck, but I tried to get a little bit of sleep while Mom took care of Jane.  Kevin sent frequent updates, which was so helpful.  Seth went into surgery around 10:15 and the nurse updated us once during the surgery and then we finally heard he was out around 12:45.  He was taken up to a room for extended recovery, while the anesthesia wore off and they gave him additional pain medicine.  They were released to go home around 4:30, so it was a very long day of waiting!

Here is Seth with his lovely ear bandage.  Dr. Maxwell was pleased with how the surgery went.  That night we were able to go to Kevin and Beth's for dinner as Seth had requested pork tenderloin, salad and potatoes.

Thursday we took it easy all day as Seth's equilibrium was really off and his pain was worse.  I was able to get out and go to Mommy Baby Yoga in the morning and we all were able to make it to the park that evening to get Bella some exercise, but Seth was feeling pretty rough.  He actually had me stop the car on the way home from the park, because he got so dizzy.  He had to get out and throw up in some random person's yard.  Poor thing!

Friday Mom came over to help watch Jane so that I could get our house cleaned up a little.  Serah came to take Seth and Bella to the park.  That was so helpful!  That evening Phillip, Wendy, Gabriel and Noah dropped off Pancho Villas for dinner.  We were exhausted from such a stressful week.


Visitors this week:
Amanda
Aunt Camilla and Uncle Ted
Betsy
Cheryl
Cindy
Phillip, Wendy, Gabriel and Noah

Three Weeks

Well another week has flown by.  This was a rather stressful one as we found out the results of Seth's ear scan and that he will have to have surgery.  He has a birth defect in his mastoid cavity and he has what looks like a cholesteotoma, which is a benign mass, growing and eating away at his ear bones.  Dr. Maxwell does seem confident that he does not have any nerve damage and will be able to restore much of his hearing.



On Sunday, we had our first family of 4 walk to Starbucks and we took her to Second Sundays of Fourth, a festival downtown.  It was bizarre taking her to this, as Seth and I have gone the last two months together.  Both times we went we talked about how excited we were to bring Jane to it and we wondered if she would be around/old enough to come to the August date.  It's hard to believe August is here and we are already doing the things we dreamed of with our little girl!



Monday, Jane and I went to visit daddy at work.  We ran some errands together and then I left Jane and Bella there while I made a quick trip to Target to buy a couple more packs of premie sized diapers.



Jane has grown so much this week.  On Tuesday she had her 2 week appointment with Dr. Stewart.  She weighed 6 pounds, 7.2 ounces, so it looks like she is gaining about an ounce a day.  He was happy with the way everything looks so unless we need something she shouldn't have to go back to the doctor until her 2 month check-up.  I can also tell this week that she is growing, because her tummy is busting out of the premie diapers this week.  I'm sure she can fit in the Newborn size now, but we will finish up the open packs since we have had any explosions out of the diaper yet.




On Thursday, I took Jane to Mommy Baby Yoga at the hospital.  She was the youngest (and cutest of course) baby there.  She slept through almost all of yoga, but it was fun to wiggle her arms and legs and sing to her anyway!  It will be nice as I continue to go to meet other moms and babies around her age.  After the yoga class on the 1st and 3rd Thursday of the month, the lactation consultants lead a new mother's class.  We sat around and asked her questions about breastfeeding and development and then at the end of class she weighed our babies.  Jane weighed 6 pounds, 10 ounces with her diaper on.  And then she screamed the entire way home from the hospital :)  Maybe 2 hours of outside activity was too much for my little peanut.



Thursday night I also had my first massage since early on in my pregnancy.  Wow, do I have some knots in my shoulders and back!  It was painfully amazing!




Friday I conquered my first walk by myself with Bella and Jane in the stroller.

Then I took Jane with me to Kate's house for dinner and she got to meet some more friends from school (Carey, Penny and Angela).  She loved being held by everyone and sleeping on Kate's beautiful bed!  Can you find the princess in the picture below?

It was so nice to get out and enjoy time with friends and Kate's food was delicious as always!













Visitors this week:
Courtney, Jonathan, Jules and Josh
Eric and Tracy, Ryan, Tyler and Madison
Kat and Andrew
Nanna and Pap
Amanda, Chris, Addie, Cara and Eva
GB and Dama
Serah

Two Weeks

Sunday was an absolutely gorgeous day and we all got to enjoy a picnic at Hanes Park.  We seemed to have the park to ourselves.  Seth played fetch with Bella, we ate Jimmy Johns and Jane took in all of her surroundings.

Heather, Morgan and Penny brought dinner.  Penny loved holding Jane herself, but she wasn't so fond of Heather holding her :)

Monday, Claire was in town and was able to stop by on her way to the airport to meet Jane.  I'm so glad she came early enough that it worked out, because I don't know if we'll get to see her again until Kelly's shower in November.

Tuesday night James and Paula brought us some delicious lasagna and got to meet Jane.  We had a wonderful time catching up with them.  We always have the best time with them, but wait too long to see them again inbetween!

Wednesday night Serah, Mat and Kevin were coming over to eat dinner when Andrew called and said that he wanted to bring by dessert to celebrate.  Both Danielle and Anna accepted new jobs and we all have had babies this year.  We had cake, ice cream and champagne.

Thursday night Seth had a Camel City Jazz concert and I wanted to go to dinner since Shannon was in town.  I dropped Jane off at GB and Dama's house and went to Silo at Reynolda Village with Kat, Andrew, Shannon, her brother and his fiance.  I was only away from her for less than 2 hours, but it was really nice to have a little bit of down time.

Friday was a very relaxing day.  That morning Kate and Kathy Gates came over for a quick visit.  Susan Metts, the art teacher from KES, also dropped a gift off while they were there.  It was wonderful catching up with them and talking about the new school year ahead (especially since I don't have to go back yet)!

Christin and Mary brought a delicious dinner by after work, but unfortunately Seth missed them and we didn't get any pictures.

That night, Joe and Susan came by and hung out for awhile.  It was so nice to see them and just chill.  Of course Bella loved the attention as well.











This morning we got up early and headed downtown to cheer on Pap, Jules, Court and Jonathan in the Mission 5K.  It was Pap's and Jules' first 5K and I could not be more proud!

Cheerleaders (Jane is passed out in the sling around Seth)

1st Time 5K Finishers

                                      

        

Pap coming up on the finish

The Tuckers

I love that Court and Jonathan are setting such a good example for Jules.  I hope Seth and I can do the same for Jane.

Splish, Splash I Was Taking a Bath

Jane's first bath at home

One Week

How can one week drag on and fly by at the same time?  Seth and I were awake this morning around the 7:20am hour and I reminded him that she was being born exactly a week ago today.  How crazy!  I'm so proud of us for making it through our first week as a family of four.

Monday we left the hospital and got home around lunch time.  Our families had cleaned our house, stocked our fridge and left flowers and wine for our arrival home.  They have been so helpful!

The rest of the week was filled with doctor's appointments and trying to figure everything out.  We went to the pediatrician twice, Seth went back to the ENT and we visited the lactation consultants at the hospital.  I was so thankful that Seth was able to take the week off of work to be with us.  Even though we had a lot of extra hands, it was nice to have him here.  He has done such a wonderful job of keeping the house clean, the dog exercised and entertaining visitors.  He also had Andrew help him finish re-plumbling the basement yesterday (because that's what normal 1st-time dad's do during their first week with a newborn :))!

This morning we took Jane to Colfax to have her newborn pictures taken by Christina Evans.  I won a free session a couple of months ago and we could not be more lucky.  Christina was incredible!  Jane was precious!  I cannot wait to see the finished product.  The story behind the contest is a good one as well.  Christina had been gifted a set of new lights for her studio from a man whose wife passed away and she decided to "pass it on" by offering a free newborn session.  Now Seth and I need to find a way to pass it on ourselves.

Visitors this week:
At the hospital:
Our families
Steve and Ben
Justin
Drew and Danielle
Anna and Terry
Amanda, Addie and Eva
Emily
Joe and Susan
Mama Lou
Amy Zwiebel's mom
Dr. Pollard
Nell
Kate and Ryan
Josh and Kelsey

At home:
Kate
Serah, Mat and Nathan
Emily, Joe and George
Jeep and Aurelia

Jane's Official Due Date

Well, today was Jane's official due date, but I guess she wanted to be a July baby instead.  My sister kept telling me all along that the labor and delivery was not the hard part, but bringing the baby home would be the difficult part.  I continued to be petrified of labor and boy was I wrong.  She was so right.  This has by far been the most difficult week of my life.  I could not have ever even imagined how I could function on so little sleep and how much my body could handle.  I told Seth today that I would go through labor again in a heartbeat if I could trade it for one good night's rest.

There's Something In Her Ear!

Jeep and Aurelia came by today to see baby Jane and brought us some food from Salem Kitchen including some meatloaf, baked potatoes, and peas. We decided to eat in the den while we watched tv and Whit breastfed Jane. As we were finishing up, Whit leaned into the light and screamed, "Seth, there's something in her ear!" I'm normally the chill one when it comes to stuff like this, but given recent circumstances this response was at least expected, if not completely warranted. I've been experiencing ear problems for the past 2 months and the doctors haven't been able to find the cause, nor have I seen any improvement. My ear has been painful, I've had some nasty discharge, and I've lost much of the hearing on my right side. Surely our child is not experiencing what I've been gong through. Is it contagious? Is our daughter going to lose her hearing? Is it the same discharge I've been dealing with? Nope, it was just a piece of Whit's meatloaf.

Follow-Up with Dr. Stewart

We took Jane back to Dr. Stewart today and she had definitely gained some weight.  She was back up to 5lbs, 11.6 ounces and he was happy.  He was still a little concerned about her coloring so they pricked her foot (hopefully one last time) to check for Jaundice.  The test results came back negative so she doesn't need to go back until her 2 week check up.

Epic Diaper Change Failure

We ventured over to GB and Dama's so we could get out of the house for a bit and let them visit with Jane. They cooked us a nice dinner and afterwards, I could tell (smell) the baby needed a diaper change. I got this. I took our fancy diaper bag - complete with a fold-out, waterproof (remember this) nylon changing pad - upstairs and laid everything out on Serah's old bed. Just before we walked out the door to leave earlier, I ran back upstairs and grabbed an extra outfit just in case. I'm not sure why I did this, but I sure was glad I did. Jane had blown her diaper completely off with a poop so explosive it had sprayed all over the inside of her outfit. She hadn't pooped in 2 days and this was the wrath building inside of her. My commotion must have been a give away that I was in trouble and/or had no idea what I was doing up there because Whit soon entered the room and saw what was unfolding. She helped me get the one-piece outfit off Jane and we laid her on the changing pad. In our haste, we forgot the fabric top for the nylon pad and Jane began to pee. All over the place, but mostly onto her diaper which was laying splayed open and covered in poop in front of her. Maybe the room is slanted, maybe the bed is crooked, or maybe there was an indentation in the mattress, but the pee began to flow backwards toward her head, carrying the poop explosion with it. Within a few seconds, our child was completely covered in a indistinguishable mixture of poop and pee and I had no choice but to scoop her up in my arms and off the mattress before it was ruined. It was then that Jane had her first bath. It wasn't special. It wasn't pretty. It was mostly just me holding her under the bathroom sink watching poop wash out of her hair and off my arms and down the drain. There wasn't much we could do at that point but laugh and be thankful I had brought an extra change of clothes. Now we always carry a spare :)