Where did that time go? Our first week was a blur with the daily visits to the doctor's office for bilirubin checks and now suddenly it is 5 weeks later.
Cashew is definitely different than Pnut. He has a completely different personality, the first part being he is addicted to "Mommy Smell". I tease that he has different types of narcolepsy (sp?). Mommy narcolepsy, car narcolepsy, etc. I also say that he goes into milk comas. I think it is just so dang adorable when he finishes eating, you sit him up to burp and he has this content look on his face and milk all over it and his head is just flopped to the side. But if you put him in the M@by Wrap against my chest he is OUT. I'm talking snoring, restful bliss OUT.
Pnut started first grade so my days are not as lounging as most would think. D went back to work after two weeks and my mommy carpooling duties began. It is not as bad as I thought it would be. I am pretty organized with getting Pnut out the door, especially since I don't have to get myself ready yet. Three more weeks and we will see how organized I am to get three of us out the door ready instead of just one. I will definity miss just throwing on a sweatshirt with my pj bottoms and some flip flops to take Pnut to school.
Pnut is now taking the bus home and we are "training"/teaching her to walk home. We live in a relatively quiet track and the bus stop is a little over a half mile from our house on residential streets. My daughter, let's say gently, lacks focus sometimes. At least she lacks focus on what she should be paying attention to instead of what she wants to pay attention to. Thus the "training". I wait different distances from the bus stop and she is learning to "walk with purpose" (as I tell my students who are tardy) from the bus, as well as to cross (gasp!) 3 streets by herself. So far she is at only crossing one street. I remember walking home (2 little blocks weren't so bad, but one of our blocks is equivalent to the two I walked home it seems) and staying in the house for like 30 minutes until my dad got home. Pnut doing this boggles my brain! Luckily 4 days out of the week she will get home around the time one of us does. Does everyone see me stepping out of my comfort zone with this monumental task? I think I am more nervous than Pnut.
Cashew is very trial and error. We have had many battles, that boy and I. Afternoon napping is the big one. Unfortunately because of sissy needing to be picked up right when my little old man should be relaxing into a nap, sometimes the timing gets screwed up and the nap doesn't happen until, oh, dinnertime, or an hour before he is due a bath and then hopefully to go to bed. I had one really bad day where I lacked sleep and Cashew just didn't want to nap at all. Let me explain nap. Though I love holding my son, nap does not equal ON me every time. I would like to, you know, eat or go to the bathroom, or just have a moment for me while he sleeps in his bed (or on my bed, or in the swing, or on the couch, just NOT on me for a minute), however he sometimes has other ideas and our battle begins. Sometimes I win, sometimes he gives in after a time.
I am learning him that is for sure. He does not have a set pattern. What worked one day doesn't necessarily work the next. Swaddling him in a blanket will only work for half the night, then he gets irritated. Sometimes he is a tummy sleeper, sometimes a back, sometimes propped on the nursing pillow. He also is not only gassy so we have to deal with trying to make him comfortable (I don't care if the doctor says he isn't hurting when he strains, uh, it DOES and I know it does, but that is for an entirely different blog), AND he has slight reflux so he will spit up slightly, not all the time (even while propped up) and if he hasn't been burped properly (which is a struggle as well) he will get the hiccoughs MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY! Deep, hollow hiccoughs that make you feel so bad for him because you know that it makes your stomach hurt just thinking about it.
But, he smiles in his sleep, and he even has laughed in his sleep (I know right?) He is starting to coo a little more and he has an ear splitting scream. When he is really mad he sounds like a possessed gremlin (you have to experience it, D thought I was crazy until he heard it). Pnut loves him and can calm him down better than us sometimes, not to mention it is AWESOME having her in the back seat to give him the paci if he is getting fussy. He is a cuddler and needs to be held very securely to go to sleep sometimes. He EATS well. He is a little over 11 pounds and you could say is is chunky, but he isn't. He is nicely filled out and sometimes when you look at him he still just seems small. His cheeks are just so darn kissable and I love when he tries to "eat" my face when I am kissing her cheeks. When we visit his soon to be daycare next door he sits and watches the little kids and there are a few of them that just love him to pieces already.
I know there are still going to be so many adjustments to get used to in having a boy, but I'm good. My Cashew is already a much loved boy. From his family, to his friends, to his church family. I took him to choir practice this past week and he slept in the wrap the whole time. But it made my heart happy when I was getting out of the car beforehand and the accompanist for the choir arrived too. We said hello and I said, "I thought I would let everybody sing to him!" to which Mr. Real replied, "That's a good thing, he belongs to a lot of people in there." And he does! Cashew has been in choir since conception :) And we are so lucky to have SO many people love him, and his sister, so much.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
The Birth of the Cutest Old Man Baby :)
WARNING: There may be TMI for some of you in this (i.e. catheters, cords, etc) and it is REALLY LONG!
My last post talked about my choice to have a C-section. I never knew how ironic that post would turn out to be, because as it turns out, it was a blessing to have a C-Section.
D and I arrived on time to the hospital and entered triage to a silent room. There was no hustle and bustle, in fact when I mentioned it the nurse shushed me! :) I was put into a room, changed and they gave me my IV. My doctor had wanted me to have an entire bag and a half of fluid before surgery. That stuff is cold mind you and D and I laughed at how cold my arm got. The nurse made me laugh because she said the first bag wasn't going in fast enough. I was really calm during my two hours in triage. I wasn't able to update my statuses on FB, but I was able to text message so my friend J updated on FB for me. Yes, I am a crazy person about FB, I admit it!
Even when the anesthesiologist came in I was fine. He asked me questions which I answered. He explained different scenarios about what I should and should not feel (I was completely asleep for my last one). I was good, even making some jokes. Then the surgical nurse came and my gut dropped. D followed us and the nurse let him into the recovery room to wait for someone to come get him. I became a shivering, almost hysterical wreck. But not hysterical as in screaming. I just started crying silently, my nerves had set in quickly and I was trying to be calm. I prayed, I breathed, and I silently did what I was told. Then the nurse saw and immediately got super close and tried to reassure me. She told me I should be happy and that there was nothing to worry about, which I knew, but my nerves are a funny mess of emotions for me and it took me a little bit to calm down. Then the anesthesiologist did my spinal and I started getting nervous all over again! Cried some more, but settled more easily. They laid me down and everything started to go numb and I was so happy that it did. It is the weirdest sensation I have ever experienced. I did get sick a little from my blood pressure leveling out, but it quickly went away and I realized: I WAS LAYING ON MY BACK AND IT FELT MARVELOUS!
They brought D in just after they started giving me some oxygen. Unfortunately I started itching all over my face and could barely hold D's hand because I was itching my face (around the mask, my eyes, forehead, etc.) The anesthesiologist let me take the mask off and I believe he began to give me benadryl through me IV because I really became calm after that. The doctors were working and I thought at any moment Cashew was going to be born, but the waiting just kept on.
We didn't think anything was wrong, but we realized soon that something was taking too long. It turns out during my previous two surgeries things had shifted inside and my bladder was in the wrong place. Now I don't know anything about anatomy, but my doctor was concerned about identifying where my bladder was and making sure not to harm it. So they had to do some inflating my bladder with blue dye backwards through my catheter. That way if my doctor nicked my bladder he would know. That craziness lasted for almost an hour. My surgery started around 11:40am.
At 12:35 Cashew was born. It was so quick. One minute the room was fairly quiet, the next you could hear our little man crying loudly. Then the doctor said, "Oh wow. There's a true knot." Now, if you are "ER" fans you will remember that Carter's baby died in utero because of a true knot. It is where the baby has flipped and flopped around and created a knot in the umbilical cord. Carter's baby's knot tightened to the point of oxygen deprevation and the baby died. Cashew's knot was loose, but large. He also had a REALLY long cord. So, if I think too hard about what could have happened during a vaginal delivery I shiver a little bit.
Poor D almost couldn't go see Cashew on the warming table because it was across the room and on the other side of the curtain protecting him from see me all open and stuff. You know the whole road precaution about driving and oncoming traffic headlights are blinding you? Look at the lines on the road, that's what D had to do. A few minutes after he went over there the anesthesiologist asked if D wanted to see the knot, D said no, I said YES! So the anesthesiologist took the camera from D and took a picture of it for me :) D brought Cashew over and held him to my face so I could just nuzzle on him and kiss him. It was really nice to just feel him. D was crying a bit, which the nurse that had taken care of me while I cried was just floored over.
My procedure also included a tubal ligation so I assumed that is what happened after that. I had a lot of scar tissue from previous surgeries and as the doctors were working I started to feel more pressure and some of it was not very comfortable. As they continued to work and I said ow a few more times than the anesthesiologist liked, he finally said he was going to give me a sedative. D and Cashew were led out by a nurse, which I knew would happen eventually.
I then woke up in recovery. I looked at the clock across the room and it said 2:30! D was there and so was my BFF Jill. As soon as I woke up, I wanted my baby and I got him. I was so shocked to see how much he looked like Pnut. So much so that they could have been identical. I immediately noticed all the hair he had, but I also noticed differences ( his lips are smaller, his ears are mine instead of D's). He had not a piece out of place.
My surgery had so many ups and downs to it, but there is such a large blessing in my decision to have a C-section. My doctor says my surgery was the hardest he has every done. I had lots of scarring, lots of bleeding (which upon blood work it was decided I didn't need to receive any blood), and then there was the bladder thing. The easiest part of my surgery was delivering Cashew. They did give me some general anesthetic, it is my assumption that because of the length of time it was taking my spinal was beginning to fade. Not to mention the next 24 hours of me receiving benadryl every hour because it seems I am allergic to the numbing agent they put in your back first before the spinal. I swear I thought I was going to scratch my skin off!
I held off on major pain medication for about 18 hours as well. I only took one shot and then everything was oral meds from then on.
Cashew is definitely different from his sister. He is a fussypants as I call him, but each day as he gets used to the world he is less fussy. He lets you know what he wants, but at the same time what he does and doesn't like. He definitly looks like his daddy. Oh my goodness does he look like his daddy. The hairline just does it for you. But he has this little old man look to him as well. He doesn't look like a baby, but a miniature adult. His eyebrows and eyelashes are so light or nonexisten that his face is just so gorgeous to me. When he sleeps on your shoulder his face looks completely like a baby, but when you lay him in the bed and look at him, it's the little old man face. When he is awake he has the brightest eyes and I can't wait to see what color they turn out to be ( our options are dark brown or light brown so not much mystery, but still).
I am so happy he is here. Pnut is trying to be a good helper and a great big sister. She has gotten better about not being so touchy. She really wants to help though so we are working our way through certain things. She started first grade yesterday so she is busy that way now as well.
It was a long journey to get our little man here. Lots of ultrasounds, no weight gain :) but lots of discomfort. I am happy to be in my bed again and be able to lay comfortably. My joints don't hurt anymore, my leg is no longer numb.
Cashew is almost two weeks old and I drove yesterday. Long trips are not in my future for another two or three weeks, but around town I am ok. No heavy lifting except my boy and maybe a gallon of milk. Thank you for all the prayers, visits, and meals! If you are looking for pics, please visit my FB, there are always new ones going up :)
My last post talked about my choice to have a C-section. I never knew how ironic that post would turn out to be, because as it turns out, it was a blessing to have a C-Section.
D and I arrived on time to the hospital and entered triage to a silent room. There was no hustle and bustle, in fact when I mentioned it the nurse shushed me! :) I was put into a room, changed and they gave me my IV. My doctor had wanted me to have an entire bag and a half of fluid before surgery. That stuff is cold mind you and D and I laughed at how cold my arm got. The nurse made me laugh because she said the first bag wasn't going in fast enough. I was really calm during my two hours in triage. I wasn't able to update my statuses on FB, but I was able to text message so my friend J updated on FB for me. Yes, I am a crazy person about FB, I admit it!
Even when the anesthesiologist came in I was fine. He asked me questions which I answered. He explained different scenarios about what I should and should not feel (I was completely asleep for my last one). I was good, even making some jokes. Then the surgical nurse came and my gut dropped. D followed us and the nurse let him into the recovery room to wait for someone to come get him. I became a shivering, almost hysterical wreck. But not hysterical as in screaming. I just started crying silently, my nerves had set in quickly and I was trying to be calm. I prayed, I breathed, and I silently did what I was told. Then the nurse saw and immediately got super close and tried to reassure me. She told me I should be happy and that there was nothing to worry about, which I knew, but my nerves are a funny mess of emotions for me and it took me a little bit to calm down. Then the anesthesiologist did my spinal and I started getting nervous all over again! Cried some more, but settled more easily. They laid me down and everything started to go numb and I was so happy that it did. It is the weirdest sensation I have ever experienced. I did get sick a little from my blood pressure leveling out, but it quickly went away and I realized: I WAS LAYING ON MY BACK AND IT FELT MARVELOUS!
They brought D in just after they started giving me some oxygen. Unfortunately I started itching all over my face and could barely hold D's hand because I was itching my face (around the mask, my eyes, forehead, etc.) The anesthesiologist let me take the mask off and I believe he began to give me benadryl through me IV because I really became calm after that. The doctors were working and I thought at any moment Cashew was going to be born, but the waiting just kept on.
We didn't think anything was wrong, but we realized soon that something was taking too long. It turns out during my previous two surgeries things had shifted inside and my bladder was in the wrong place. Now I don't know anything about anatomy, but my doctor was concerned about identifying where my bladder was and making sure not to harm it. So they had to do some inflating my bladder with blue dye backwards through my catheter. That way if my doctor nicked my bladder he would know. That craziness lasted for almost an hour. My surgery started around 11:40am.
At 12:35 Cashew was born. It was so quick. One minute the room was fairly quiet, the next you could hear our little man crying loudly. Then the doctor said, "Oh wow. There's a true knot." Now, if you are "ER" fans you will remember that Carter's baby died in utero because of a true knot. It is where the baby has flipped and flopped around and created a knot in the umbilical cord. Carter's baby's knot tightened to the point of oxygen deprevation and the baby died. Cashew's knot was loose, but large. He also had a REALLY long cord. So, if I think too hard about what could have happened during a vaginal delivery I shiver a little bit.
Poor D almost couldn't go see Cashew on the warming table because it was across the room and on the other side of the curtain protecting him from see me all open and stuff. You know the whole road precaution about driving and oncoming traffic headlights are blinding you? Look at the lines on the road, that's what D had to do. A few minutes after he went over there the anesthesiologist asked if D wanted to see the knot, D said no, I said YES! So the anesthesiologist took the camera from D and took a picture of it for me :) D brought Cashew over and held him to my face so I could just nuzzle on him and kiss him. It was really nice to just feel him. D was crying a bit, which the nurse that had taken care of me while I cried was just floored over.
My procedure also included a tubal ligation so I assumed that is what happened after that. I had a lot of scar tissue from previous surgeries and as the doctors were working I started to feel more pressure and some of it was not very comfortable. As they continued to work and I said ow a few more times than the anesthesiologist liked, he finally said he was going to give me a sedative. D and Cashew were led out by a nurse, which I knew would happen eventually.
I then woke up in recovery. I looked at the clock across the room and it said 2:30! D was there and so was my BFF Jill. As soon as I woke up, I wanted my baby and I got him. I was so shocked to see how much he looked like Pnut. So much so that they could have been identical. I immediately noticed all the hair he had, but I also noticed differences ( his lips are smaller, his ears are mine instead of D's). He had not a piece out of place.
My surgery had so many ups and downs to it, but there is such a large blessing in my decision to have a C-section. My doctor says my surgery was the hardest he has every done. I had lots of scarring, lots of bleeding (which upon blood work it was decided I didn't need to receive any blood), and then there was the bladder thing. The easiest part of my surgery was delivering Cashew. They did give me some general anesthetic, it is my assumption that because of the length of time it was taking my spinal was beginning to fade. Not to mention the next 24 hours of me receiving benadryl every hour because it seems I am allergic to the numbing agent they put in your back first before the spinal. I swear I thought I was going to scratch my skin off!
I held off on major pain medication for about 18 hours as well. I only took one shot and then everything was oral meds from then on.
Cashew is definitely different from his sister. He is a fussypants as I call him, but each day as he gets used to the world he is less fussy. He lets you know what he wants, but at the same time what he does and doesn't like. He definitly looks like his daddy. Oh my goodness does he look like his daddy. The hairline just does it for you. But he has this little old man look to him as well. He doesn't look like a baby, but a miniature adult. His eyebrows and eyelashes are so light or nonexisten that his face is just so gorgeous to me. When he sleeps on your shoulder his face looks completely like a baby, but when you lay him in the bed and look at him, it's the little old man face. When he is awake he has the brightest eyes and I can't wait to see what color they turn out to be ( our options are dark brown or light brown so not much mystery, but still).
I am so happy he is here. Pnut is trying to be a good helper and a great big sister. She has gotten better about not being so touchy. She really wants to help though so we are working our way through certain things. She started first grade yesterday so she is busy that way now as well.
It was a long journey to get our little man here. Lots of ultrasounds, no weight gain :) but lots of discomfort. I am happy to be in my bed again and be able to lay comfortably. My joints don't hurt anymore, my leg is no longer numb.
Cashew is almost two weeks old and I drove yesterday. Long trips are not in my future for another two or three weeks, but around town I am ok. No heavy lifting except my boy and maybe a gallon of milk. Thank you for all the prayers, visits, and meals! If you are looking for pics, please visit my FB, there are always new ones going up :)
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