Three week check up

Ashton had his three week check up last Friday. He’s doing great and weighed in at a hefty 8lbs, 13oz. The doctor said she couldn’t ask for more. He seems to be eating well, even if we haven’t perfected the art of breastfeeding yet….sigh….  Next check up and first round of vaccinations is in January.

Although he isn’t “doing” a lot yet, he does seem to have some favorite activities. Like wet farts when I’m changing his diaper. We went through three diapers before getting it right just a few hours ago. The distance that baby poop can travel is quite impressive. I think Ashton is trying to beat his best distance from a week ago that managed to create a stain on the carpet. Never even hit the bed. He also loves to turn his head from any burp cloth when spitting up. Oh, and this week’s new favorite (mostly J and my fav thing) is the front carrier. Oh, how I love the baby carrier.

We’ve gone out a couple times solo. I am starting to feel like a functioning member of the world again! I wonder if I’ll ever utter the words “I miss being pregnant”. Ashton and I went to Babies R Us today. He has also been to two restaurants and a fast food place….to the car dealership in Winston Salem….to Rocky Mount for Turkey Day…and of course, the pediatrician office several times. I still cringe at the thought of people touching him while he’s still building up immunity.

I’m temporarily giving up dairy to see if it helps us with gas and spit up in the evenings. (I already miss you, cheese) And, I think it is helping. There’s a strong family history of milk allergy on J’s side. This is strong motivation for me to not give up on the breastfeeding because I really do not want my baby boy on soy formula.

All in all, things are going well right now. He’s adorable and seems to be pretty content most of the time. I dread the nights a bit because he really does not like to sleep from about 11-5. I’m easing him into the crib and he has been in it a bit more at night….but if it comes down to no sleep and screaming versus 3 or 4 hours of blissful sleep, he finds his way back to the bed with me. I know everyone has their opinions…but my opinion is that he is not ready as an infant to “cry it out”. Especially as a breastfed baby.

We’ll be gearing up for the holidays and our big trip to Ohio. I wonder how much he’ll change in the next few weeks!?

Cute baby pics from his first bath!

Completely in love

There isn’t a lot of time in between feedings…but for a quick update:

-Five days in the hospital is way to (insert cusswords here) much

-Babies can cry a lot. And very loudly.

-First day at home was hard. Whew.

-Today is so much better.

-My husband is wonderful and is working his butt off to help

-I love this kid. So much.

Grandma and Grandpa Helmig are coming tomorrow to visit and help out for a couple days. I hope Ashton has as good of a day tomorrow as he is having today. Now for the fun part, some pictures!

It’s the final countdown!

The induction is scheduled for Wednesday. A week from today. That’s next week. Wow.

I’m pretty tired right now…will update when I have more brain capacity…..

Ready, set….

….and now we’re just waiting for the GO signal. Besides some of the little details, decorating and such, I think we are pretty prepared for the baby. 

The shower was awesome. The pictures, unfortunately, are not. The camera must not have been cooperating so we only have a couple that are somewhat in focus. We had wings, hamburgers, hotdogs, many side dishes, a mini keg of beer, and plenty of football on in the background. We were given really nice gifts! It was exactly what I wanted….a relaxed, co-ed, non-babyish get together. We sat on the deck until after 11pm, which is REALLY late for me these days. The entire weekend was perfect. J’s mom and sister flew in, we had a fabulous dinner on Friday night and a good time on Saturday.

Diaper cake

And…the furniture finally came in last weekend along with the rocker from Target. I heart Target…a lot…like enough that if I could only shop one place again ever, Target would be it. Target has a magical effect on J. Its like he’s almost happy to be spending money when he’s there. I’m painting some frames and shelves in bright colors to put up along with the tree next. I should have some spare time after this week.

And, no post would be complete without a doctor update. Today’s appointment was the big 36 week check up. I didn’t realize that I was going in for the full Monty today. But, I’m sure I’ll get used to that. Non stress test was good, tested again for multiple STDs and HIV (they test you twice for all of this stuff in NC!), strep test, and the highly anticipated internal exam. If TMI is not your thing, skip to the next paragraph……..I’m a fingertip dilated and starting to soften so yay me. It doesn’t really mean anything other than I’ll have a baby sometime most likely within the next six weeks. I’m “due” in four and probably won’t be going over six.

In other news, this is my last week of work!

Furniture finally coming!

The furniture is finally arriving tomorrow and I’m excited to see it….

We also had our shower last Saturday and it was awesome. I’ll post updates when I have a few minutes in the evening when not falling asleep….

And, the twice weekly doc appointments are still going well. They have seen some contractions on this weeks’ non-stress tests. That doesn’t mean anything right now, but I’m still secretly dreaming of a last week of October baby….

Not stressed

Had the first of many non-stress tests for the baby today. It’s not so bad as far as doctor appointments go. They put me in a really cushy, comfortable reclining chair, leaned it allllll the way back, brought me ice cold water, and dimmed the lights after I was hooked up to the monitor. I got to listen to his heartbeat (which is a really comforting sound) for about 15-20 minutes and every time I felt him move, I had to click a button. The doctor that came in afterwards was really nice and took time to explain what they were looking for. He gave me an emphatic “Baby looks happy and healthy, we’ll see you Thursday” and I was on my way. It’s hard to believe that I have at least 12 more doctor appointments until I reach 40 weeks. The invasive appointments start in about two more weeks. Sounds so fun.

In other news, I had to hand over the pretend baby to Justin last night because I could not get it successfully dressed. I somehow managed to put the shirt back on inside out and backwards and left a pretty good amount of plumbers crack showing when I put the diaper on. That was pretty funny. I think it worried him a little.

34 weeks!

Random ramblings from pregnancy brain

Week 33! I’d have all these great recent belly pictures to post from my uncle and aunt’s visit except that I forgot to put the memory card in the camera. But, I was happily snapping away anyway. In my mind, they were really cute pictures.  I also tried to stamp an addressed envelope but put the stamp on upside down and on the wrong side. After checking where my doctor’s appointment was, I got in my car and promptly drove all the way across town to the wrong doctor office. You can see where I’m going with this. 

Ok, so this week in my doctor chronicles…our baby is completely average! According to the ultrasound, he is weighing in at 5 pounds which is the 50th percentile for this week. His heartbeat was around 149, he’s head down, (and will hopefully stay that way), and things are still looking good. And, I get to go back to the doctor on Monday. And, Thursday. And, every Monday and Thursday until I deliver. That’s not normal, but I’m considered a high risk pregnancy so we get lots of attention.

We got a couple pictures today which really didn’t show too much. 

This picture is his face. I have not seen a face shot yet that I could either make any detail out of, or didn’t kind of freak me out a bit. I can’t wait to see that sweet little face in person. I’m going to stare at it for hours.

 

Baby's face

 

And, for the third time…it’s a boy! The only picture that you can really make anything out of. Apparently, his testes have descended. He’s going to hate these pictures later in life. 

 

Still a boy

In other randomness….

My knuckles hurt every morning. And this is “normal”.  

I’ve developed an unhealthy obsession with Bolthouse Farms Pure Protein drink.

This blog has the craziest stories, check it out: www.itsababynotbrainsurgery.blogspot.com

Glucose Tolerance Test – Take Two

Bleh. I failed the first glucose tolerance test which means I have to go back and do it again…this time it will take four hours instead of one.  And, three blood draws instead of one. I have never given more blood in my life. I think I’ve had 15 vials or so drawn since I’ve been pregnant. I hope I pass this test on Thursday, or else I won’t be having any cake or ice cream for the remainder of this pregnancy. Goodberry’s will experience a significant drop in business!

Glucose drink-tastes like flat McDonald

Oh, and 10 more weeks and counting!!!!!!!  Woo hoo!

The Nursery

Yes, we obviously have some work left to do. The nursery is….well, completely empty.  It’s amazing how long it took to get the room this far.

Orange curtains!

Woody waiting on his buddy to be born

The inevitable belly shot

And the start of the THIRD TRIMESTER! (Some books say it starts at 27 weeks, some say 28…we’re going with 27) Yeah! I’m excited for our little guy, but you know, it will be nice to have a single resident body. 

And they say the camera adds ten pounds...

 

I knew that being short and having a short waist would make me look more barrel like…and I was right!