Wes: 1 Month Old!

Wes

1 Month Old: September 25, 2012

Length: 23 inches

Weight: Last week you were 9.4 lbs, so probably a bit more than that!

Diapers: You can squeeze into our leftover newborns if I know you will be getting changed soon, other then that you are in size 1

Clothes: 0-3 months, you can't fit in any of your newborn stuff because you are too long.  Some of the 3 month stuff is a bit big, mostly because you are so skinny. You are long and lean :)

Likes: riding in the MOVING car (not a fan of stop lights), sitting outside, going on walks, looking at yourself in the mirror, laying on mommy or daddy's chest, eating, your paci,  you LOVE bath time and when Daddy gives you a massage after your bath!

New Things: You are focusing so much more on our faces, you follow an object with your eyes, you suck your thumb occasionally, you are starting to coo a lot, especially when you look in your mirror on your play mat :)

Dislikes: You sometimes get overly stimulated and tired around 7 pm, it is your "witching hour" and mommy really tries to get you to sleep before 7. Sometimes you fight it and then you get so upset because you are so tired. This is the only time you are fussy and it normally is avoidable so we are thankful for that! If you are awake you like to be able to see us, you are fine in your swing or bouncer as long as you can see what we are doing.

Sleep: Wes you are a wonderful sleeper.. I am thankful for this everyday and also know it could go away at any point. (please don't change this!) you nap in 2 and 3 hour stretches during the day. When you are awake I aim for about 50 minutes tops and then get you back to sleep.  You sleep in 3 and 4 hour stretches at night and sometimes even a 5 hour stretch! Since you love a paci so much if you wake up before the 3 hours I try to just give you that and most of the time you fall back asleep.

Crying: other then the "witching hour" we don't hear you cry very much. Of course you give a soft cry to let me know you are hungry or tired.. but as soon as Mommy gives you what you need you are quiet. Every now and then when we are at a stop light in the car you will scream for a minute or two but you calm yourself down.

Eating: You eat every 3 hours during the day and everything 3-5 hours at night, depending on how long you sleep. I didn't have to work really to get you on a schedule, you kind of did it naturally. I think you really like your schedule and that you can predict what is going to happen in your day. I notice if we are out and things change significantly you are more fussy that evening.

Pictures from this month:

You took your first car trip. We went to Burleson for Rich's 3rd Birthday Party.  Rich LOVES you.  He loves to look at you and gets the biggest grin as he says "Thats my little cousin, baby W!" (Rich says "w-les" so we taught him to call you Baby W. He tells you that he is going to teach you to play baseball and ride on the tractor with Pa- boy you are gonna have fun with him!!

We go on a walk after your morning feed, around 8 am.  I was worried how Lucy would do with the jogging stroller but she actually does really well.  Most of the time you stay awake and look around, but some days you take a little nap.

You have a wake time around noon where you really like to play on your play mat. You are in such a good mood you even happily have a few minutes of tummy time. Lucy loves to smell your diaper to see if your clean when you are laying on your play mat.

You LOVE your bath. We take a bath every night around 6:30. Daddy turns on the heater and warms up the bathroom, then you and mommy get in the bathtub. After you are finished Daddy gives you a massage with lotion and puts your PJ's on. You enjoy this process so much and Daddy really enjoys this time with you after work.

You look so cute in your hooded towels. Mommy and Daddy love how happy you are at bath time!

Last Tuesday we started going to a Mommy's group at the hospital. It is a breastfeeding group. You looked SO big compared to some of the other newborns..you are growing SO fast! You weighed 9 lbs 4 oz. We didn't get to go this week because you had a stuffy nose.

Daddy went on a Men's Retreat at the church last weekend. Grammy came and stayed with me and you! Before he left I pumped a bottle so Daddy could feed you, you loved it!

Just about every time you get in your car seat you fall asleep. I am thankful for this and hope it lasts! 

1 month old!

Today when we were on your playmat you kept talking to yourself as you looked in the mirror. It was so cute. I would put my head down in the mirror to and you would smile, it melted my heart.

Wes Patrick,

Your daddy and I cannot believe that you are ONE month old!  In ways.. the past month has gone by so fast.. in other ways it seems long because it is hard to imagine life before you!  We are so amazed at how fast you are changing and growing.  We are so thankful for God for blessing us with such a sweet, happy little boy.  We are so excited to watch you change and grow and cherish each moment. You are one LOVED little boy!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Wes' first 2 weeks

So I am going to do monthly updates for Wes.. but wanted to go ahead and do one for the first 2 weeks. He has changed so much already and I don't want to forget the beginning.

Wes Patrick,

It is so hard to believe that a little over 2 weeks ago you were still in my tummy. Our world has changed so much and your daddy and I can't imagine life without you.  We came home from the hospital on Monday August 27.  

In your car seat on the way home from the hospital... you slept the whole way!

Once we got home you hung out in your bassinet on your pack n play. It's in mommy and daddy's room and it's where you'll sleep your first few weeks.

You are very alert around 9-10 every morning and 6-7 every evening.

You are a smiler!! Every time I am rocking you, you get the biggest grins as you start to fall asleep. We showed the pediatrician this  picture and she couldn't believe you were smiling so big at 4 days old.

For your one week birthday daddy bought cupcakes. Your daddy is so in love with you! 

Taking your first nap in your crib.  You don't sleep in in that great at the moment because you wiggle around (in your swaddle sack) and wake yourself up.

Nicole came over and took your newborn pictures last Tuesday. You were a pro and we had so much fun taking them!

Your sister Lucy is already protective of you. When you cry in your sleep at night she whines at me to go and pick you up.  She loves to smell you.

You LOVE to take a paci.  This is a wubbanub. It is your favorite Mommy loves it because it helps the paci to stay in your mouth. The soothie pacifiers are the only ones you will take.

Your Daddy went back to work on Monday.  He has come home everyday for lunch and can't wait to hold you when he gets home.  I love watching his face light up when he has you.. there is nothing sweeter.  


I can only imagine how much more you will change in the next 2 weeks.  You are growing SO much already and I am already putting you in size 1 diapers at night.  At your 2 week check up you weighed 8 lbs 2 ozs and were 22 inches long.  You are nursing really well but sometimes are a bit fussy afterwards, I have learned I really have to work hard to get some good burps out of you- you are quite the gassy little boy!  You are a GREAT sleeper and sleep in 3 and 4 hour stretches each night-- sometimes you even give mommy a 5 hour stretch which is just heavenly!  You LOVE your bath and we give it to you around 7 pm each night. After that you have a bit of a "witching hour" as mommy feeds you before bed. You normally don't fall asleep until close to 9:30 but once you are asleep you stay asleep so that is good!  We love you so much Wes and can't imagine our world without you.  

Wes' Birth Story

On Friday August 24th Drew and I got to the hospital at 5 pm to begin the induction process.  I was REALLY wanting my sweet boy to come on his own and wasn't really looking forward to being induced.. but at 41 weeks I was so ready to meet him and didn't really care too much how it happened.  We packed up the car, told Lucy bye (she tried to jump in the front seat 2 times and I started crying...) and headed to the hospital.  It was rather uneventful and not how I thought we would be going to the hospital, since we were not actually in labor yet.  We got to our room, I changed into my gown, and it all started to seem a bit more real. My doctor had told me that when we got to the hospital they would soften my cervix using Cervidil, and then sometime early Saturday morning (around 5 am or so) we would start the Pitocin. The nurse put the Cervidil in (around 6:00) and my doctor came in to check on me for the evening. She said she expected me to have some cramping over night, but nothing major. If the pain got bad she had prescribed me some pain killers to be given through the IV and also an Ambien to help me get some sleep.  Drew and I watched TV and just hung out and listened to Wes' heartbeat (I had 2 monitors on my belly, one for this heartbeat and one for contractions.)  Around 9 pm I started feeling contractions but tried not to look at the screen or time them since I was sure it was nothing serious. Around 10 pm I asked Drew to turn the screen towards me and as I was having a contraction I saw the line bounce all the way to the top- whew! My mom came up to hang out for a bit and kept commenting on "when I had a big one" Drew reminded her that I knew when it was a big one-- I could feel it, ha!  Before my mom left (around 11 pm) I took the Ambien and went ahead and got the painkillers in my IV, my tailbone was killing me and I was having contractions every 8 minutes.  The painkillers felt great for about 30 minutes but then it seemed to fade away. I drifted in and out of sleep until around 2 am and was really hurting again. The nurse gave me more painkillers (I could have it every 2 hours) but once again it only helped for a short time.  At  4 am the pain was getting very intense and I asked Drew to call my mom to come back up to the hospital.  The nurse came in and was so surprised at how quickly I was progressing and commented that I might not even need the Pitocin. She decided she wanted to take the Cervidil out around 5 am to give my body a rest. After she took it out I was laying in bed, My mom massaging my feet and Drew helping me breathe slowly through each contraction. I kept commenting to my mom that I felt something coming out of me but she wasn't really replying. I said I might need to go the bathroom and when I stood up a gush of liquid came out-- my water had broke! The nurse came in and checked me and I was 3 cm. She said I could have the epidural now and I was ecstatic! ha :) I had to wait for the anesthesiologist for about an hour... the hospital was crazy busy with deliveries! That hour was VERY long and quite painful.  When the anesthesiologist came in he asked if I had any questions .. I quickly replied no and my mom and Drew left the room. My nurse was Cheryl and she was AMAZING. I was leaning on her while he put the epidural in, and during that time I had 4 contractions. It was so hard to hold still and breath through it but I kept reminding myself with each contraction that it could be the last one I feel. Once I finally laid back down and the epidural kicked in I was so relieved.  I closed my eyes and drifted in and out of sleep for awhile, I wanted to rest up so I would have energy when it was time to push.  From around 8 am to noon things went by so fast. Everytime the nurse checked me I had progressed so much more than she thought I would have and she was shocked. I never had to have the pitocin which was great! At 12 pm she said I was 10 cm and called my doctor.  I carried Wes very high and he refused to drop so even though I was fully dilated my doctor wanted to see him engage some more so I would not have to push for hours.  The nurse had everyone leave the room except my mom and Drew and we did some practice pushes before the doctor came in.  I remember them praising me as I was pushing and this made me want to keep up the hard work. I kept picturing forceps and the vaccuum thing in my mind and didn't want them to have to use these--- so I pushed with all my might. Around 12:15 my doctor arrived (she was so busy-- had already delivered SIX babies!) She kept telling me what a great job I was doing and I remember looking down and seeing Wes head. It was so amazing and I was so anxious to see the rest of my sweet boy. At 1 pm I heard those first cries and it was amazing. I couldn't stop crying as they sat him on my chest and I kept telling him how excited we were to finally see him.  It is amazing how much your heart grows in that instant. I nursed him and he did fantastic for about 20 minutes, then they performed his apgar and all the other things they have to do then. They brought him back to me after a few minutes and he got to stay with us for quite a while- about an hour and a half. Drew's mom and my dad came in to see him.  Wes did fantastic during our hospital stay, he is such a happy content baby and is nursing so well.  However-- his mommy was NOT the best patient. I lost a lot of blood during delivery- and was also anemic. When I tired to get out of bed a few hours after giving birth I fainted, and fainted 3 more times the next morning. After all of this excitement my OB decided it would be best to give me a blood transfusion. I am SO thankful she had me get one because after that I felt like a new person! My recovery was still kind of slow and I am just now really starting to feel like myself again- 2 weeks later.  Still having to take it easy and my body lets me know quickly when I have overdone it.