Tuesday, August 19, 2014

3-4-5 months

Wow, this summer has flown by! I definitely haven't been on this blog as much, but it's been nice to just be in the moment with friends and family. We have been super busy with family vacations, weddings and get togethers but I've also had lots of time to just lay around cuddling my baby and I have cherished this time we've had together. I'm off to work in a few weeks and Ben will be off to the Nanny's so we're in for some big changes around here. Over these past few months-it's been amazing and so much fun to watch our little guy grow. 

3 months:


Weight: 13lbs 5oz

What's new:

This month, Ben had lots of quality GG time, as I went back to work the last two weeks of school and they hung out together. I was of course very sad to leave my boy, but it helped knowing he was in such good hands with his GG. 

He started sucking his thumb

And had lots of quality family time!








4 months:


Weight: 15 lbs 12oz

What he was up to:
Ben was a traveler this month! He went to Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard an loved it! He was such a good boy, going with the flow, smiling at new faces, and hanging out at the beach! 






5 months:

Weight: 18 lbs 8oz

What's New: Ben is on the verge of sitting up-his muscles are getting stronger each day. He can roll over front to back and back to front easily now. When on his belly, he can lift his head and chest up 90 degrees and can look up at someone standing over him. He's become much more observant and will turn to look at noises he hears and people who walk in the room. He smiles easily at anyone he sees, and is generally a happy, happy boy!

Sleeping: baby Ben will sleep through the night on occasion, but it's not a regular thing at this point-which is totally normal! He'll usually sleep 8pm-2 or 3am and then up again around 6-7am for the day. 

Eating: we're still going strong with breastfeeding. Ben is growing and gaining weight at just the right pace, which I'm so, so proud of! It was really hard in the beginning but to see him grow and become so big and strong-it has been well worth it. 

Best moment: everyday Ben does something super adorable that makes our heart melt. His latest swoon worthy moments have been watching him with friends and family. He is so easygoing and makes everyone smilie around him. He loves going on adventures and gets bored if he's sitting in one place for too long. He loves putting anything and everything in his mouth. 

Cringe-worthy moment: while on a plane traveling cross country from Boston to San Francisco, Ben was sitting on Nick's lap and had a huge poop explosion! It was such a mess :/ and poor nick was covered in it, it was quite the adventure trying to clean him up and in the airport bathroom!

What I want to remember: our trip to California and how Ben was such a great traveler and how awesome he was on the plane. 







Friday, June 20, 2014

Hallelujah

Let this date go down in the books-Ben slept through the night last night!!


That is all.

Love,

One well rested (and a little engorged) mama

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

2 months

Okay so it's a little closer to 3 months, but this little man is keeping me pretty busy!

Here's what life is like for Ben at 2 months:





Age: 2 months in top pick, 10 weeks 4 days in bottom pic 

Height: 23 1/2 in

Weight: 12 lbs 2 oz

Likes: laying on his playmat each morning and playing with his 'animals'. Also, laying on his changing table and looking at his animal mobile. He still loves his baths and totally mellows out when he takes them. 

Dislikes: Ben hates tummy time, it's pure torture for him but he is getting better at it and building muscles though because he can now lift his head up and look around. 

Sleeping: it still varies day to day-but he'll usually give us at least one 4-5 hour stretch. 

Eating: still exclusively Breastfeeding! One of my biggest accomplishments so far as a mom!

Best moment: it's hard to pick just one! He is developing such a personality and will smile at us when he thinks we're being funny which is seriously the cutest thing. It's also been pretty great seeing grown adult turn to complete goofballs to try and make this little guy smile and laugh-he's pretty worth it though!

Worst moment: omg so yesterday I had a huge mom fail! I went to clip Ben's nails because those things were like daggers. I had scratches all over my chest and he had a few little scratches on his nose-it was time for those claws to go...so I pick up the nail clipper and start with the thumbnail. Well I missed-terribly! I ended up cutting a chunk of skin! He immediately turned bright red and started screaming, tears streaming down his face-and this was a scream I hadn't heard yet-he was clearly in pain. So I grab him quickly, use a tissue to apply pressure and then start bawling right along with him-I had just mauled my son. It was so traumatizing...thankfully Ben was over it about 10 mins later and we're good now-but oy that was rough!

What I want to remember: when Ben first wakes up, the whole house is quiet and it's the wee hours of the morning. He is usually laying in his crib and making these happy little content noises that are just the sweetest thing. I then walk over to his crib, show him my face and say 'good morning' in a soft voice. He looks at me and gives me the biggest smile like 'oh good, it's you' and it seriously just melts my heart. I just fall more and more in love each day!

We love you bubba man!

Motherhood

Ever since I was a little girl, I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up-a mom. I played house with my cousins and friends every chance I got, and I was always the mom. 

As I grew up and got married, the dream became more and more real. I couldn't wait to hold a baby in my arms, a creation of both Nick and I. 

After some of the struggles we've faced, I can without a doubt say that I cherished this Mother's Day. It was truly a special day just because I got to spend it being what I always wanted to be-a mom. 



Love you, little man. Thanks for letting me be your mom-it is my best role yet!

Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Ben's First Easter

For us, Easter is a time to spend with friends and family. So, we packed up and headed down to CT for Ben's first road trip. It was a huge success-we went to a wedding, Ben spent time with his Nana and Pop, and he met his great-grandparents. It was a busy, but special weekend. 

Ben with Grandpa and Gigi!

Ben laughing with uncle Dave

Our first Easter as a family of 3!

Ben meets his great-grandmother, Awny

Ben and his great-grandfather, Papa

Our first road trip as a family of 3 went great! Hopefully there will be many more to come! 

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Benjamin: 1 Month Update

I can't believe it's already been a month since this little guy made his entrance into the world and changed our lives forever. 








Age: 1 month

Height: 22 in

Weight: 9 lbs 12oz

Likes: Now that the weather is finally getting nicer, we've been heading outside for daily walks. Whether in his stroller or carrier, he loves the fresh air. Ben also loves bath time. He can be screaming and crying and when we put him in a warm bath, he instantly chills out-he is going to be such a water baby this summer! 

Dislikes: Sleeping at night! Ben loves his naps during the day, but is not fond of sleeping at night...

Sleeping: Sleep-what's that?!

Eating: Breastfeeding was rough at first-really rough-but things have gotten better since seeing a lactation consultant. It feels like we're finally getting the hang of it-and he's gaining weight which is the most important thing!

Milestones: This week Ben's really started to focus on faces and objects hanging in front only him. He is getting so strong-practicing holding his head up and kicking! He's almost given us a smile a few times-we can't wait to see it!

What I want to remember: Everything!! I'm such a sap to begin with, but motherhood has really amped that up! Lately, Ben's been wrapping his hand around my finger like he's holding my hand-it's the sweetest thing. Also while feeding, he'll reach his hand up like he's giving me a hug-it makes my heart just melt!

Benjamin,

It's been so much fun watching you grow this month-can't wait to see what the next month brings! You are such a joy in our lives and we love you so very much! 

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

Benjamin Walter's Birth Story

So since Benjamin is almost a month old, and I'm finally adjusting to this whole no-sleep thing, I figure it's about time for me to sit down and write his birth story-before I forget all the details!

Thursday, March 6th started out as any normal day. I was feeling good and was about a week away from my due date. I had finished up most of the work that I wanted to and my long term sub was in my class shadowing me for the week. Everything was going according to schedule. In fact, the day before I had an OB appointment where my midwife urged me to have Friday be my last day of work, so I could take some time to relax before the baby's arrival. I didn't quite agree, and planned to work right up until my due date, but as you will soon see-Ben had plans of his own...

So that day had been going as usual, I had just finished my lunch and picked up my two 2nd graders to work with. Well, about halfway through our lesson, around 12:30, I felt a little gush and excused myself to use the bathroom-my sub was in the room with my 5th graders. I was pretty sure my water had just broken. So, not knowing what to do, I ran down to the 5th grade teacher that I work with. She then brought me down to the nurse, who had me call my doctor and Nick. At this point, I still felt fine-just a lot of nervous anticipation. So, I said my good-byes to my students and fellow teachers and drove back home, still feeling perfectly fine. The midwife on call suggested that since my water had broken, I should come in that afternoon so they could check for blood or meconium.



At home, I had Nick make me a big pasta lunch so I could fuel up. I also took a bath-so I could shave my legs-priorities people! Then I just relaxed, ate some pasta and made a few calls to my parents and in-laws just to give them a heads up of what was going on. Once 3:45 rolled around, we finalized our hospital bags, packed up and headed in to get checked out. We arrived to the triage area of labor and delivery around 4:15. Here things started to pick up a bit, and I started having mild contractions. I was hooked up to a monitor and told that I could probably head home to labor after an hour or so of monitoring. They were monitoring my contractions and the baby's heart rate to see how he was handling the contractions.



At around 6 o'clock, a nurse came in and told us that they had seen a deceleration in the baby's heartbeat during a contraction and I would have to be monitored for another 2 hours. They were sure everything was fine but it was hospital policy. So, Nick ran across the street to get some food and at this point my contractions had strengthened so that it was no longer comfortable to lay in the bed.  I moved to a yoga ball which seemed to help and Nick was great about rubbing my back and applying pressure during contractions.



At around 9 o'clock that night, a nurse came in and told us that we could either go home to labor or be moved to a room in the labor and delivery ward. With the way my contractions were going, I couldn't really imagine getting in a car, so we decided to get admitted.  The nurses who came in and out were amazing. They were all on board with my decision to try for a natural childbirth and applied counter pressure and used massage to help ease contractions. My parents had driven up and came to the hospital to check in on us. I couldn't really hold much of a conversation at that point, the contractions had gotten pretty strong. One of the midwives suggested we walk the halls to let gravity help things move along. So out we headed to the hall, and I remember thinking how long the hallway seemed, and wondering how I would ever make it to the other end. Nick was such a big help and gave me points of reference along the way-like trying to make it to the nurses station before stopping to rest. This was a huge help and gave me something to focus on.

After a few rounds of hallway walking, I came back to the room and my parents headed back to our apartment to help take care of Gertie. One of the nurses suggested that I take some medicine to help me sleep, so I could save up my energy for the big event. The medicine helped me rest a little, but I could still feel some of the stronger contractions, so every few minutes I would sit up a bit and work through them. Around 3am I had some really strong ones that I had to get out of the bed and move around. Some of the contractions were so strong at this point that I was practically begging Nick to get the nurse so I could get an epidural-I was losing strength and ready to give up on my goals, but Nick was so strong and reminded me of my plan and that I just had to get through this one. He really helped me focus on that one moment, rather than the hours of work I had ahead-which is all I could think of.



That morning, March 7th around 7am, I got into the tub to see if that would help with contractions. It definitely did, and I labored in the tub for a few hours. The jets felt great, and Nick would constantly pour water over my stomach during contractions which also felt amazing. I didn't know this at the time-I was pretty out of it, but my parents and in-laws had arrived and were in the waiting room. At around 9am, the midwife had gone out to the waiting room and told the parents that the baby would be arriving at around 2pm.

The next few hours are pretty much a blur. I spent most of the time in the tub, continuing to labor drug-free. I will say the jets in the tub, Nick pouring water on me, and the support of all the nurses and midwives definitely helped me through. I don't think I could have done it without the support of all those people. There were literally about 6 women in the room with Nick and I-we had the head nurse, nursing intern, midwife, midwife's intern, the baby nurse and her intern-it was a little crazy, but I was so focused and in my own zone, I didn't even mind. I'm not exactly sure what time it was-somewhere around 1pm where I finally felt so much pressure and the urge to push. I moved out of the tub and onto the toilet to labor down for a bit. After a few contractions they moved me to the bed where things really got moving.

At around 1:30, I started pushing. This was the most intense pain I've ever felt in my life. I was literally screaming bloody murder at this point, there were just the most gutteral, animal-like sound coming from my body-I honestly felt bad for other women in the wing at that time-they were probably like 'get me the epidural, stat!' During the pushing-it felt like one step forward and two steps back. I remember thinking during a few pushes that I had given my all and had nothing left to give and that had to be the push that got his head out-but nope. That went on for what felt like an eternity.

At one point the midwife looked at me and said, "Your face shows fear-do not be afraid, you can do this, you are going to meet your son in the next few minutes". That just helped me get to a totally new place. I knew what I had to do to get my son out of there. A few pushes later, Nick grabbed him under the arms and pulled him up onto me and we met our son, face-to-face. 



There are no words to describe this moment. It was truly the best moment of my life. After an hour or so of skin-to-skin time, our family came in. We introduced them to Benjamin Walter through cheers and tears of joy. And so begins this crazy journey of parenthood. We couldn't be happier!








Friday, February 28, 2014

Baby G's Nursery

Here it is-the nursery!! We put a lot of work into it and are SO happy with the final results. It's a small apartment bedroom that is also functioning as a guest room, so it was definitely a challenge to fit in everything we wanted. But in the end we're really happy with it and often find ourselves spending hours just hanging out in there, looking at his books, toys, clothes and just daydreaming about what little person will soon be filling the space. 
Baby G-we can't wait to meet you and introduce you to your little corner of the world xoxo

















Gertie's pretty pumped for her new roommate!! 

Whenever you're ready, little guy-your room is ready and waiting!! :)