35 Weeks

I had an appointment today, so here's a little update on our  Monday milestone:

 

35 Weeks

Maternity Clothes:  I still think she must be awfully high b/c regular jeans are still fine... sometimes I don't even feel like I need the rubber band trick going on.  I am enjoying my maternity t-shirts though (regular fits, but it's nice to have more selection now that the maternity ones don't swallow me whole). :)

Movement: Anna Reaghan has had some very active evenings.  Several times her movements were SO big and so stretching they hurt and catch me off guard.  I've had to remind her she can't push her way out of the front of my stomach.  No can do.  Thankfully, she is still head down even though she's moved so much and switched which side her back is angled toward.  The doctor said Anna Reaghan has her spine out also which is the most optimal positioning.  Please stay that way!

Sleep: With both of my pregnancies, sleep hasn't been a huge issue.  I have nights now and then of pregnancy insomnia (more this time than with Asa), and I have to move around to find a comfy spot but it doesn't take terribly long.  If I have to get up in the night for the restroom, it's usually just once and not until 5 or 6.

Preparation:  Her room is soooo close to being ready. That is VERY exciting.  Today on the way back from my appointment, I picked up what I wanted to make a bow holder for Anna Reaghan's hair clips.  I think I'm mostly done prepping her room and need to move on to Asa's birthday party.  I just have little details left for her:  washing her bedding, sterilizing pump parts and a few bottles just in case, finishing touches in her room, and making sure my pack and play plan for our bedroom will work. :)

Prayer requests:  Please pray for the transition to a family for 4 for all of us!   And the usual labor and delivery things:  quick enough (hopefully faster than Asa's), smooth, no complications, nursing goes well, going home fast, speedy recovery, that my doctor would be in town :), and especially that MY HUSBAND would be in town (he has business across the country just before I turn 37 weeks and again just before I'm 38 weeks).  In MY mind, the optimal time is 40.5-41 weeks (my mom will be here by then to wait with us and would be available for Asa--she'll come whenever I go into labor if it's before then).  But I know God's timing was perfect with Asa, so I'm *trying* to trust that it's just as perfect for Anna Reaghan's arrival. :)

10 on Friday

This week included a LOT of unpacking, necessitating the late edition of our weekly update. :)

1. Mom came up on Monday and helped me unpack All.Week.Long. She is the BEST! We got Asa's room situated first, followed by the kitchen (those were the two rooms I had most unpacked before her arrival), then the guest room/basement, living room, and finally our bedroom. Almost EVERY box is unpacked!

2. I still feel like our stuff is just at some random vacation house, but at least I'm surrounded by things that are familiar!

3. As you saw on the video from Monday, Asa L.O.V.E.S. his walking toy! LOVES! The grin of satisfaction on his face when he is walking is *priceless.* Oh my goodness, I just want to eat him up!

4. I am starting to get a mental picture of the lay of the land here.. names of the streets I will use the most and starting to get a feel for how they intersect. Thankfully we really are close to basically everything I "need," and all the shopping is quite close together as well.

5. We succeeded this week in getting me a library card--yea! The library ladies were very kind, and I am hoping Asa & I can start going to "Babies & Books" on Monday mornings this month and meet some other moms and babies at storytime!

6. Matt's car is officially all registered for Ohio.

7. Our house CLOSED! PRAISE THE LORD! It is ONLY Him! I mean, seriously, 3 weeks from the MLS relisting to close?! No repair requests from the buyers?! I have a give HUGE props to our Realtor, Craig Wilburn (PLEASE call him if you are in Gainesville; he is WONDERFUL!!!) and we are just so thankful for the Lord leading us to him, his wisdom, his honesty about the market, and his sensitivity to our situation.

8. Speaking of which, thanks to the housing market we were upside down on our mortgage. Lovely, right? When we realized just *how* upside down, there was a lot of frustration. I admit it is/was frustrating that we pay our bills in full and on time, but other people's foolish borrowing and lending practices precipitated this housing crash. However, how about this for God's provision? We really wanted to try to have a baby a year before we did, but we felt God was telling us to wait. Among MAAAANY other things God has mercifully revealed as pieces of that puzzle about WHY He had us wait, me teaching an "extra" year allowed us to save my income that year, which cushioned our savings in a way that allowed us to afford selling our home in this market. Unexpected, but surely His provision. We Are Thankful!

9. Asa had his first "sick" doctor's appointment today. He'd had a shallow, wet cough for 2-3 days that quickly became a deep, dry, croupy cough last night. :-( I was worried how it might progress over the weekend, so we called a doctor and they kindly worked us in this afternoon. While Asa is not horrible (and thankfully the cough loosened up today, though I expect it to worsen at night again), the doctor said he is not 100% and prescribed some oral steroids to help clear up the croup. I am sorry to see my sweet boy not feeling well and hear the awful, barking cough I know so well myself from my asthma, but I cannot help but praise God we made it 11.5 months before Asa had a "sick" doctor visit! How amazing is that?! (and YEA mommy's milk!!)

10. We heard back from the metabolic geneticist, and one level of his latest round of tests (right before we moved) is still elevated. He said it suggests a B12 deficiency, so I will call him Monday to get the specifics, but in general we'll complete a month of double his B12 intake and then see where things are. He didn't sound alarmed, so I'm glad we know a hopeful "treatment." We'll be praying the increased vitamin load resolves the deficiency, but I'm thankful to have the expert involved and leading the way. :)

stay tuned for a bonus post this weekend! And I promise, I really will take pictures now that the house is coming together!

Happy weekending!

Adventures in House Selling

Our house has been on the market about a week. This is a BIG trusting time and area for me. For us. We know the housing market, while making small rebounds, is not optimal... far from optimal. But God has called and made a way to Ohio, so we are following!

Last week we had our first showing. In my head I had been planning for how I would handle such a thing. Clean up last minute items. Make sure everyday towels are stashed. Vacuum. Quickly run a duster over major surfaces. Put the crate on the lanai. Put the dog in the car. Get Asa into the car.

For a first run, it wasn't too bad. There were a few mishaps, but nothing we couldn't recover from.

First of all, I forgot to grab a leash. I need to stow in the car one of the cheap through-the-loop leashes our vet sends Sammy home with when she boards with them. The funniest part of the experience was that Sammy got a little anxious as she rode shotgun, and she managed to turn on my hazard lights as I drove down to TCBY (my time-wasting location of choice for this first go-round) less than 5 minutes from our house. When I tried to get Asa out of the back seat, Sammy first tried to squeeze between the driver's seat and the door to get to me/outside. She didn't fit, so then she hopped between the front seats and started to barrel right over the carseat! I stopped her from smooshing Asa (she was about to step on him to get outside), and she went back and tried her driver's seat/door space maneuver. She still didn't fit. :) But I was able to sneak Asa out of the carseat and shut the door before she realized she was still too big to fit through there. Then Asa and I went inside to get me a cone (yum! Welcome back dairy-- I have missed you so!). I planned to eat on a bench outside so Sammy could see us. Apparently that made matters worse. I was sitting eating my cone with Asa on one knee when I noticed my hazard lights on... again. Sammy was pacing back and forth across the front 2 seats. Then before I knew it, they were off again. How considerate of her to turn them back off. :) THEN, my car alarm went off! Samantha managed to step on the unlock button, triggering the alarm. So now I'm trying to hold my cone, Asa, dig in my purse, find my key fob, and turn off my alarm! I finally got smart and got Asa's stroller out of the trunk (again, while holding my cone and Asa! Acrobatics were generally involved) so I could strap him in it and have a hand free. Of course at that point, once I actually had a hand free, Sammy chilled out in the car and there was no more excitement. :)

I learned a few things to apply the next time we vacate the house for a showing. But it was certainly a fair first try. :)

Most of all, please pray with us that our house sells SOOOOON!!

Worth the Wait

G-Ma came to visit this weekend. She was planning to come last weekend, but snow predictions in TN kept her wheels spinning, so to speak, for an extra week. Asa has changed and learned so many new things since we were in TN for Christmas. He didn't have any teeth then, and now he has TWO! It was fun to show her all of his latest and newest tricks. :) And even though waiting an extra week to see her was a bummer up front (though keeping her safe was #1), now we have one LESS week between this visit and her next one. :)

Asa showed G-Ma all sorts of fun things, like his new Christmas toys, pulling/pushing up to his knees, getting closer and closer to a real crawl, his new favorite scrunchy nose face and sniff, both of his teeth, and how to eat like a big boy (oh my!). Our doctor asked us to increase his solid foods while we figure out some things that are a little off with his metabolism, so G-Ma arrived just in time to see us increase to offering solids twice a day. It took about a week of coaxing before Asa became willing to eat from a spoon (and eat anything but milk). He didn't like cereal + pumped milk, but bananas were pretty convincing. :) In order to get some cereal in him as well, our pediatrician said we could add apple juice. So he has been having apple juice mixed with rice cereal + banana twice a day since Saturday. The rice cereal and bananas had him stopped up pretty well, so we switched to oatmeal cereal instead. It's less binding, has good fiber for keeping things going, and he can totally handle the less runny consistency now. He has no problems swallowing the solid foods... you just have to convince him to take them!

G-Ma arrived at the end of a week with lots of running around for Asa. To sort out the metabolism issues, we've been trying to have blood drawn for a couple tests. Trying being the operative word. One day, we got to go to the lab three times! We ended up going to a different lab where they were able to get a line their very first try (praise the Lord!). Now we are waiting on a few more results and a couple follow-up tests to narrow down exactly where things are going. We praise God our doctor said Asa's development is perfect and that he's even reaching milestones early. We just need to figure out why all the milk Asa's been eating hasn't been helping him increase his weight a bit more typically. We love our pediatrician, and she has been wonderful. The two weeks of working to sort this out since our last well visit make me so very thankful (all over again) that we switched pediatricians. She has been incredibly available to us with answers to questions, results of tests as they come back, etc. She's even called us back after hours twice when she couldn't call during normal hours on busy Fridays. We will actually be seeing her tomorrow for a follow up as we continue to dig into smoothing out Asa's growth.

Stay tuned for videos and pictures of Asa eating his big boy food and some changes around the house.

And what's a post without a cute picture of Asa?

Another Week Down...

... so I made it through my second week of just Asa and me. :) I have to say, at moments it felt like we were just barely making it though! Before I get into that, we have exciting news that Asa received his social security card! Woo hoo! :) Now for a bulleted list of the week:

• Monday you decided to boycott naps! I know you're only 5 weeks old, so I don't really expect you to take a perfect nap every feeding cycle. But it's so obvious from the times you DO nap that you desperately need them! It was a fight all day to get you to sleep more than 15 minutes. And every time I tried to lay down was exactly when you would errupt into screams again. We were sooooo glad when Daddy got home at 5:30!
• Tuesday you decided naps were still out of style. You were definitely overtired by this point, having not really napped in 2 days. I did get one nap out of you though in a very interesting day. Out of desperation and curiosity, I popped you in Harmony's sling and started vacuuming. Some leaves had been tracked into the living room, and I wondered how the white noise of the vacuum would affect you on top of that. I sat you up in the sling and within minutes the vacuum had you sleepy enough to be rubbing your eyes. I leaned you back in the sling and you were out in no time. I vacuumed the entire house, just to be sure you were realllllly asleep. :) Then we both leaned back on the couch for a rest (you still in the sling). It was GREAT.
• Wednesday we went to the consignment store to get ourselves our own sling. :) I found one, but was missing something else... when I went to pay for it, I could not find my driver's license! UH OH! We searched my purse, car, pants pockets, etc. but to no avail. Instead of hunting around more and becoming more frustrated, I decided to just make an appointment at the DMV for a replacement. Thankfully, the DMV here is great about getting you in as close as possible to your appointment time.
• So Thursday, our day that was supposed to NOT have an outing, became DMV day! It could not have been less painful--praise the Lord! VERY in-and-out with all the DMV people asking how old you were and telling me what a handsome baby I have. :) I couldn't agree more. ;) They did retake my picture, which I wasn't expecting, so I'm SO glad I pulled my hair into something other than a pony tail and put on something besides a t-shirt... just in case. ;)
• Then we went to Daddy's work to see him! He was "on call" in case we had to wait awhile at the DMV or you were very fussy (it's right by his work). We didn't need him to come to the rescue then, so we went to see him after we were done instead. A few people who hadn't seen you before got to see you this time. And the doc control ladies marveled that you still have all your hair. :)
• On Friday we drove to the SW side of town to Miss Sheli's to see your newborn photo proofs and pick them up. They are WONDEFUL! We placed an order for a few enlargements, and they should be here soon. She held you while I looked through the proofs, and you were very sweet. You do NOT like the carseat when it's not moving, so I was glad she offered to hold you! I had brought our new sling in case you were fussy.
• Friday the rest of the day you were very fussy again. And then Friday night it seemed your colic broke through--even the swaddle blanket couldn't keep it at bay. Daddy, Gma, and Auntie Joy were a huge encouragement as Mommy talked to all of them in tears wishing she knew how to ease your frustration and exhaustion. You FINALLY crashed to sleep after a couple hours of crying (not constantly--we were holding you and checking on you if we did try putting you in your crib) and then slept FOUR hours. Mommy had to wake you up to eat, and was glad you ate well because she was quite uncomfortable after you going that long and skipping her usual pumping session due to how late it was when you finally went to sleep. She had to wake you for each of your feedings that night.
• Saturday morning you got to take a little rest with Daddy while Mommy got in one more sleep for the morning. Later, I went to the grocery store for the first time in weeks. No really, since before you were born! Daddy went to get his phone reactivated (the screen had stopped working so he got a replacement), and you took a nap in your sling... to the sound of a vacuum Mommy found on iTunes. I played the 3o second "song" preview for you over and over and it lulled you to sleep. I need to ask Daddy if we can purchase that "song." ;)
• Lastly, your friends Nate, Melissa, and Caleb brought us over some pizza for dinner. YUm! Mommy's was actually cheese-less, because we learned earlier this week that you are not ready for dairy yet! It was still really good. :) And you got to see your buddy Caleb. It will be so fun to see you two cooing and rolling and crawling around... in no time, I'm sure!
• That's our week and weekend so far. Tomorrow, you and I MIGHT make it to some part of church! Wouldn't that be amazing?! We're going to see how the night goes and when your feeding's fall, but we're hoping to take you. :)

Milestones:
*You have noticed the bird mobile above the rocking chair in your room. You noticed the crib quilt hanging behind the rocking chair, too, and loved to stare at all the animals on it while you were eating.
*You grabbed Mommy's hair for the first time! Thankfully, you didn't pull. ;)
*You held onto a toy! Yea for you!


Thanks everyone for keeping up with us! Please keep praying for pockets of sleep (and peace and energy when those pockets are lacking), for Asa to eat and grow well, and for wisdom for us as we learn new things about sweet Asa all the time!

Week 3

Asa turned 3 weeks old on Tuesday. How can it be? He'll be 4 weeks old this coming Tuesday and ONE MONTH old on Thursday!! That is just CRAZY.

I'm 3 weeks old!

After Asa's frantic pace early in the week, he seemed to settle back down. I honestly can't tell you for sure if it was a growth spurt or just some off days. I wish sometimes Asa had a little headband with neon lights that would light up saying "GROWTH SPURT" or "TUMMY HURTS" or "JUST FUSSY." I hate that I can't read his mind. :) Matt's a biomedical engineer--don't you think he ought to be able to come up with some amazing device so we'd know exactly what Asa needs even in these early days when we're still learning so much about him?? :) I'll have him get on that right away. ;)

Am I not ADORABLE??

Yesterday we took Asa for a weight check. Overall the experience was rather frustrating, but there is great news! He weighed in at 8 lbs. 5 oz. which EXCEEDS his birth weight! PRAISE THE LORD!!! The frustrating part was that even though the pediatrician said we were free to not come back until his 2 month appointment as long as he made his birth weight, they made me talk to a nurse and nurse practitioner about his weight gain because it doesn't average out to an ounce/day (it's 3/4 of an ounce/day) and that is even though they said they wanted between 1/2 ounce and 1 whole ounce/day. So he's perfectly smack in the middle of that range, but they're still borderline unhappy. Anyway, we're switching a couple things up and we'll see how things go. The other good news is that Asa is already over 23" long! And along with that, he is getting too long for some of his newborn clothes that he used to swim in. I couldn't believe it yesterday and today when I put sleepers on him that used to be huge and now BARELY made it up past his shoulders. He is a long little boy! A week ago a nurse measured him and said he was 21.5" (and that the missing 1/2" from his birth measurement was due to his head rounding out after birth). So if you use her measurement, he grow over 1.5" in week!

Firsts: Asa had his first outing to a store this week. We needed to pick up some dog food for Sammy, so Mom and I took him out to do just that. He does well in the car as long as it's moving. We had to stop at a red light, and he did NOT like that. He was quite vocal about his opinion as well. But then it started pouring rain and the sound of the huge raindrops on the car calmed him down. I also aimed for every bump in the road--the driving habits that change once you have a baby in the back. ;)

Growth: Asa is becoming a champ at holding his head up. He's getting so big and strong! We also notice that he's scootching a little bit in his sleep. He and the sleep positioner are often at a slight angle when we go wake him to eat. He's starting to push up a little bit too when you have him up on your shoulder. He's smiling more and more, starting to look more intently in people's faces/eyes, and has cooed a tiny bit this week, too. :)

I can hold my head up, but sitting up is still quite a ways off... and that led to a little malfunction during my 3 week update pictures

We are praising God for our sweet, growing boy!

Prayer requests:

• for Asa's continued growth. I have started pumping for storage and to top him off during the day in an attempt to maximize his weight gain. I'm also taking an herb (fenugreek) that's supposed to increase milk supply in hopes of that aiding the pumping, etc. We're also taking a different approach in the pediatrician department for his 2 month check up. Please pray all of that goes well!
• Next week is my first week on my own with Asa during the day. Bible study friends have sweetly offered to bring meals a couple times next week which will be a huge help. And Mom has stocked our fridge, freezer, and pantry in the meantime. Please pray we are able to get some rest and have a good week.

That about sums us up! Thanks for keeping up with us, for your encouragement, and especially for your prayers!

Hindsight

I have decided hindsight is going to be a very big part of parenting. I think we'll realize so much looking back that we question in the moment.

How many more pushes til this baby is born? You only know looking back.
How many hours of labor will it take? You only know once it's done.
Why is my baby doing ______? Is it ______? We'll only know on the other side.

What brings this topic to mind? Asa has been topsy turvy today! I guess it really started some yesterday, but today he's woken up from every nap 10-15 minutes early. He's gone from 9 feedings (on average) during the day to 11. He is impatient nursing, gulping for milk and pulling off once he gulps all the initial let down. If I offer the other side then, he gulps that down and then pulls off/nurses (back and forth). So we switch back and forth a few times. All this when he HAD settled into a little routine of eating every 2-2.5 hours during the day and being woken to eat every 3-3.5 hours at night. We were so looking forward to him achieving birth weight so we could let him sleep longer at night and all get some rest. Ha. Rest? Not looking likely right now, Mr. I-want- to-eat-every-2-hours-or-less-no matter-what-time-it-is. He's just fussy and not himself! I know babies change all the time, especially just when you think you have them figured out. But it's so hard not to know for sure what's going on with the little guy! I'm so thankful Mom is here to reassure me. :)

We have no reason to think it's a supply issue. On top of Asa's symptoms, I drank 2 liters of water in less than an hour and was still thirsty and I've been hungry all the time the last two days. Lastly, Asa is 3 weeks old. The lactation consultant said to be on the lookout for a growth spurt around 3 weeks.

So, nursing mamas, does this sound like a growth spurt to you?? I have to add one last thing. At the doctor last week for his 2 week check-up, the nurse said he was 21.5" long and that his head shape probably rounded out more causing the discrepancy in length from his birth measurements (22"). I measured him today, and he is definitely 22.5" at least (he was a bit squirmy).

Alright, so if you have any input, that would be great. I think this is one of those things we won't know for sure about until after it's over. If he settles back down in a day or two and his voracious appetite slows, we can most likely check off growth spurt. Please pray for our stamina in the mean time! Also, according to our scale, he is 8 lbs. 3.5 oz. We are hoping to take him Thurs. to be weighed for the official okay from the doctor (have to go this week). Please pray that the scale we have is accurate and that theirs is too, so we can stop being pestered about his weight! :)

Thank you!

Quick Update

Just a quick update that we had some check-ups for Asa and Becca today. Asa had his 2 week check-up (how can he be 2 weeks old tomorrow??) today with Dr. G. He gained 5 more ounces in 7 days! Way to go, little guy! He has 6 ounces left until he's back at birth weight--he's gained back 2/3 of what he lost. Once he's back to 8 lbs. 3 oz. we can let him sleep at night! Woo hoo! :) We are supposed to go back next week for a weight check. Please be praying he makes that birth weight cut off--so he's growing well, so we're not asked to supplement again, and so we might all get a little more sleep. He has been fussy last night and tonight, so who knows if he'd really sleep if we let him. But he had a few stretches where he went right back to sleep after feeding. I'm pumping after I feed him--just the manual pump for now until we meet with the lactation consultant about the mastitis and a few scabs on some tears he made from pulling off--but that means we're collecting rich hindmilk that we're then feeding him later. We are calling tomorrow to try to see the lactation consultant Tuesday or Wednesday. That's a little daunting to me to be honest, but hopefully it will be someone nice like Holli was last Sunday, and I'm trying to look at it as any improvement in technique or coaching it best for Asa and me, not as though I'm not doing a good job if there's something we can improve.

Then we stopped by the midwives to see if the mastitis is improving. It's definitely not resolved. So, we're still doing warm compresses, massages, another round of antibiotic, one dose of diflucan just to make sure there's no yeast infection brewing, and a new ointment that I am loving so far. It's 10 times better than lansinoh--really richy and creamy and not sticky at all. We have laughed at how many pills I take each day now--my place at the time looks like my own little pharmacy. :) Please pray for the mastitis to clear up! I appreciate the peace of mind of having been checked out, though, and to know that there's no sign of abcess or anything. As a first-timer, it's hard to know what's normal, or at least normal for not normal (since mastitis isn't exactly par for the course). I did read that being anemic is thought to make a person more susceptible to mastitis. Lo and behold, I'm taking iron supplements because I lost quite a bit of blood during delivery and right after. It was like I was a party waiting to happen. :)

So, in short, please pray for Asa to finish gaining his weight back, that he would keep sleeping at night, for the infection to clear up, and for the lactation consultant appointment--that we could figure out how to finish healing these wounds. Nursing will be so different with no wounds and no mastitis! :) I can hardly believe it!

Stay tuned for Asa's 2 week picture tomorrow, and on Wednesday he is having his newborn photo shoot!

Lastly, we are SOOO thankful Mom is here with us this week with so much going on and Matt's first week back at work. Thanks to everyone back home for sharing her with us so graciously. There's no one like a mom, especially your own when you are a mom yourself! :)

Love,
The 3 of us :)