8 Week Update

Happy 8 weeks Zaney Boy! (And happy 200th post!)

This week I managed to break apart the lens to the very nice camera that my parents let me borrow to take Zane's weekly pictures. (Go me!) It was the cherry on top of a very long week. His 8 week photoshoot was taken with my iPhone. He was such a mover and made a BUNCH of adorable faces but unfortunately most pictures had blurred limbs. This was the best one of the bunch. Hopefully next week we'll have the lens fixed and can get better quality photos of our boy again.

Work has left me emotional and exhausted. I'm hoping I'll get the chance to update about how work is going but in addition to stealing time away from my handsome little man, working is also making blogging just about impossible. :/

Zane is doing great, though and that's something to be super happy about. Our boy is growing and had a big time growth spurt this past week. He's moving a ton, smiling at people us and sleeping very well. Last night he went down at 8:00pm after his bath and didn't wake up until 1:00am. After a diaper change and a feeding he went right back to sleep. This mama is grateful as it is now 4:00am and I am getting ready for work.

The prints we ordered of Zane's newborn photos have arrived so I'm hoping I'll get the chance to share those with you soon. For now, it's off to work....

Seven Week Update

Happy Fourth of July everyone!

Week seven has been a busy one. I'd love to talk all about it but unfortunately, work + growing baby boy = one tired mama. I hardly find the time shower, so the blog has been getting neglected. I can see now why the majority of mama blogs I follow are written by stay at home moms. It's a lot easier to write posts when you can find ten minutes here, and fifteen minutes there, to work on it. I spend eight hours a day at a computer doing work and I would happily trade it for even thirty minutes of blog time!

Without having the time to get too much into detail, I will say that our little guy is getting SO big. We weighed him just yesterday and he's now at about 10.5lbs! Our little chunker. I love it! He's still eating like a crazy man and thankfully my milk production is still keeping up with his demands. I find time at work to pump at least twice. Today I'll have to pump three times since I start work an hour earlier.

Although he still fits into his newborn diapers we have packed them away because he has outgrown their absorbancy. We have a heavy wetter on our hands, which is no surprise given the amount of milk he takes in! The prefold that we loved so much were getting soaked the second we put them on him. (We once had to change him three times in about seven minutes. No exaggeration there!) And I'm sad to see the Lil' Joey's go. They were so adorable and so trim on his tush, but unfortunately they just couldn't hold up. Though they last longer than the prefolds, Zane gets them pretty soaked as well. They are significantly heavier when we take them off of him so it's at least great to know that they are still holding quite a bit. Just not enough, though. Now that we're putting him into his one size diapers by BumGenius and Kawaii Baby (we have yet to try out his one size Grovia or FuzziBunz Elite) we are changing him less frequently, he is staying much more dry, and we haven't had any issues with leakage. We have ordered some more one size diapers for our stash so I will try to get a fluff mail post up once they arrive and a review once we've tried them out for a bit.

Well, that's all I have time for!!! Bah! (I'm quickly writing this at 4:30am before getting ready for my 6:00am clock in time.)

Six Week Update

Where to start with week six?! Zac and I had been warned that week six would be a challenging one. One person even described it as 'hell week'. They weren't wrong. Babies are due for a nice growth spurt at week six and as you can imagine this causes them to get pretty hungry and quite fussy. Zane is falling right in line. His fussiness began week five and hit an all time high this week. (Or at least we hope it's an all time high!) We've nicknamed our little man "Tiny Tyrant". He's quite demanding this week and we're doing our best to determine what he wants and meet his needs. Sometimes it takes us a little longer to figure it out and Zane isn't happy about it. Poor baby!

One thing about growing is that it makes Zane a hungry boy. This is fantastic! We want our little man to grow big and strong. This week he started to cluster feed. Being a breast fed baby this meant a lot of extra work for me. We had gotten used to Zane eating every two hours and nursing for forty five minutes to an hour. This left me with an hour to attempt to get things done in between feedings which felt like a lot of work and left me pretty tired.

On Saturday, Zane began to cluster feed. He nursed at 1:30pm, then again at 2:30pm, and 3:30pm and every hour on the half hour for the rest of the evening until his bedtime routine started just after 8:00pm. His feedings still lasted about forty five minutes or so which only left me a fifteen minute rest between each nursing session. Talk about exhausting. On Sunday this started at 2:00pm and continued again until bathtime.

Yesterday was the fourth day of cluster feeding and it began once Zane woke up at 6:00am. By this time I was unbelievably exhausted and didn't know if I could do it anymore. I have also been trying to pump and get a nice stash together for when I go back to work. Pumping during the cluster feeding has been just about impossible. I tried a few times to pump while feeding Zane and when he squirmed he would push the pump off. After his sixth feeding yesterday I was pooped. It was just after 11:00am and I couldn't imagine continuing on for the next 9 hours. I finally gave in and had Zac feed Zane from a bottle while I pumped. I pumped every time that Zane fed to make sure that my supply didn't take a dip, but my pumping didn't last for as long as Zane's nursing sessions would. This helped me keep a bit of my sanity and still allowed me to add to our frozen milk stash. I'm grateful that Zac had the entire day off and was home with me. I'm not sure what I would have done if it was just me.

Eating as much as he is, Zane is going through quite a few diapers. Prior to the cluster feeding, Zac and I were doing diaper laundry and making wipes every other day. The last few days Zane's diaper pail has been filling up daily which means daily washing. Thankfully we have our wash routine down (turns out I had the washer on the wrong setting before) so the diapers get clean without needing an additional wash. It's not a huge deal having an extra load of laundry to do but we do look forward to going back to washing diapers every other day. 

In addition to being super hungry, Zane is also much more fussy than he has ever been. This week if he wasn't sleeping or nursing, he was screaming. It can wear you down when that adorable little face gets so red, that tiny body stiffens up, and that loud crazy cry echoes through the house. On Monday the exhaustion and Zane's screams started to get to me and I needed a break. Zac saw that I was getting tears in my eyes, handed me the car keys and our Target shopping list, and told me to get out of the house for a little bit. It was my first solo shopping trip since Zane was born. I have to admit that I lost my sleep deprived mind. Even though I had a list, I grabbed a cart and just started shopping. When I hit the register I immediately woke up and snapped out of my haze when the register read $357. Needless to say when I got home I sorted through my pile of goodies and created a very big "return" bag. 

Zac and I tried several things to help make him happy and some things just didn't work. Zane had a lot of gas so we tried what we could to relieve him of the pain. We pumped his legs, massaged his belly, and rubbed his back. He seemed to really like the Superman hold.

These days we look forward to a little after Zane's 8 o'clock feeding when we start his bedtime routine. Just after this feeding we get the bath started. Zane's first bath was not an enjoyable experience for him. He screamed at the top of his lungs and raged the whole time. The second time around, he cried only when we wet his head and washed his hair. As the saying goes, the third time was a charm. The sound of the water seemed to calm him and he was very relaxed during the whole bath. Even while I washed his hair he just looked around and didn't make a peep. He stayed calm once he was wrapped up in his towel and even allowed me to massage him with some lotion before diapering him up and swaddling him. It's especially great that he gets so calm during bathtime because most evenings Zac is at work and I give Zane his bath by myself. Afterwards he goes to bed just fine. 

We've heard that week seven should be much less difficult than week six. Zane should finish cluster feeding and get back on a regular routine. He should also be a much happier little man and THAT is something we look forward to. He's such a sweet, expressive little guy and we hate to see him upset. I hope to get more of these cute little faces than a pouty lip or a scream.

Today not only marks week six for Zane but also the end of my maternity leave. Tomorrow is my first day back at work. Tonight I'll be laying out my clothes, packing my pumping supplies, and setting my alarm instead of listening for Zane. (He is a pretty reliable alarm clock!) In the morning, Zac will be giving Zane his first bottle of the day while I sit in the parking lot of my work pumping before heading in to get my eight hour shift started. The longest I've been away from Zane up until now has been forty five minutes. It's definitely going to be a rough day and I hope it goes by quickly. At least I know that Zane will be with his daddy all day and I will have bathtime to look forward to when I get home.

Five Week Update

Look who is five weeks old!

Zane had his one month check up today and we were happy to discover that he has put on weight and is growing. Such a relief to know that my milk supply is sufficient enough. He is now up to 8lb 5oz which is almost 2lbs above his birth weight. He has also grown 2 inches since birth which puts him in the 75th percentile for height. While he has gained weight he is still a slender little guy. He currently measures in the 10th percentile for weight but the doctor is not concerned about his growth. As long as he continues to wet at least 6 diapers a day, he is getting enough to eat. 

Zane also got the second round of his Hep B shot. He did a pretty good job. Yes he got upset and cried right after but he was quickly soothed and off we went to continue our day.
This week has been a fussy one for Zane and as a result has been quite a challenging one for Zac and I. It can be a bit frustrating when he is crying and we've tried what we think is everything to make him happy. Zac works during the evening so I am alone with Zane for six to seven hours in the late afternoon and evening. His fussiness tends to start at around five o'clock or so, just shortly after Zac leaves for work, and sometimes lasts until Zac gets home around eleven o'clock. Sometimes swaddling works, sometimes rocking him does the trick, and a few times he has comfort nursed. The doctor told us that evening fussines in babies Zane's age is normal and can continue to get worse until two months. (Yay!) He gave us several suggestions on ways to calm down our fussy boy and recommended using gripe water if needed.

While he loves his swing and bouncy chair, our little guy definitely prefers to be held. The Moby Wrap has come in handy for this. I'm able to keep Zane close and keep him calm while still being hands free to complete necessary chores and tasks. (It's difficult to write a blog post with only one hand free!) Zac loves the Moby Wrap, too. On the few occasions that the weather hasn't been too hot, he has taken Zane outside with him as he completes his chores in the yard. He has even gotten some skin to skin time with him a few times. The sight of Zac wearing Zane around is just so precious, I can hardly stand it.

We celebrated Zac's first Father's Day this weekend which was something pretty special. I was very appreciative of Zac's fantastic managers who gave him Friday, Saturday, and Sunday off. It was great having him home all day for the entire weekend. It definitely reminded us that we need to work on our long term goal of working from home together. It would be wonderful to be able to see each other on a regular basis and have the ability to be available to Zane.

It's been another wonderful week with out little guy. We can't believe how big he has gotten already and how quickly the time has gone by.

Four Week Update

Time is seriously going by too quickly. It's unbelievable to me that Zane is four weeks old and that my maternity leave is officially over in two weeks. *sigh*

This week we've started giving Zane some tummy time on his Boppy pillow to start building up the strength of his little neck. So for about five minutes a few times a day he sits tummy to pillow. We think he likes it.

Zane seems to be getting bigger by the day. (His eating schedule no doubt has something to do with it!) We're excited that more of his newborn clothes are starting to fit him. For a while we were limited on clothing options for him because of his size. While the clothes were all long enough for him, he was swimming in most of the onesies. Zac weighed Zane the other day using our bathroom scale and (if it's accurate) he is now up to just over eight pounds. He is still a long baby who doesn't yet have a round belly but we're glad to see that he is putting on some weight. His next doctor appointment is on June 19th so we'll have to wait until then to get the official word on how much he's grown.

I had my four week postpartum appointment this morning and I am now down twenty pounds since Zane was born. I am grateful to have lost that much so far, especially since I haven't been getting any physical activity other than walking around bouncing Zane and breastfeeding. I've gotten the okay from my doctor to start working out again so I can begin to work on getting rid of the other thirteen pounds I gained during pregnancy. After that I'll start on my goal of getting back to my pre-pre pregnancy self. The real challenge will be finding the time. After an eight hour shift at work, I'm sure I'll want to take in as much time with Zane before going to bed and starting all over again. I'm sure once we get settled into a routine I will be able to get twenty minutes here and thirty minutes there. No need to rush it.

In the meantime, I'll be focusing on pumping in order to get a good supply of milk stored up, and spending as much time as I can hugging, kissing, and loving my little guy!

Bring on week 5!

Three Week Update

Our little man is three weeks old today!

Apologies for being MIA this week but as predicted, Zane's third week was exciting and busy. As mentioned before, Zac's sister, Sarah, is expecting baby number two. This past weekend she came into town for her baby shower and Zane finally got to meet his aunt, uncle, and cousin. Zac's parents also arrived for the celebration and had their first chance to meet their new grandson. Zane had four days filled with love, kisses, and lots of attention.

We're glad that Zane finally had the opportunity to meet his Grammie and Papa. Zac's parents live about 8 hours away, so visits can be far between. We've sent pictures and videos their way since Zane was born but it's certainly not the same as seeing one another in person. The two will be headed to Vegas in a few weeks when Sarah gives birth to her new little man. They plan on making a stop at our place for a day or two on their way. It'll be nice to see them again and we're sure that Zane will love some more time with his grandparents. 

This week, Zane has definitely become more expressive. The faces he makes have both Zac and I laughing. Here are just a few that I was able to capture while Zane was waking up from a nap:

Zane's new feeding schedule has kept him satisfied this week and with the amount of diapers that we've been changing, we know that he is definitely getting enough food. While the schedule is great for Zane, it has left this mama exhausted. Yesterday was an "attempt to catch up on sleep" day. Our guests had all left, Zac had outside chores to complete, and I had nowhere that I needed to be except for home with my boys. The entire day consisted of feeding Zane and napping. We no longer set alarms for night time feedings. Instead we're letting Zane let us know when he's hungry. He seems to have picked up on the routine we created because he wakes up around the times that we set alarms anyway. After his final feeding at 11 we head to bed and have two feedings throughout the night before waking up for the day.

Physically, I'm feeling better and better. Unfortunately, I did have an emotional moment last night. The lack of sleep had gotten to me and on top of that, my lazy "catch up on sleep" day had me feeling like a bum. I hadn't gotten dressed all day, I didn't get a chance to shower, and I was beginning to smell like breast milk and spit up. Being that it's only been three weeks, I'm still not in my prepregnancy clothes which has left me feeling huge still. I broke down and cried for about 20 minutes and then laughed. Hormones are crazy! Today I was able to get dressed, do my hair, and even put makeup on. It might be silly, but it totaly made me feel like a human again. I also got a bit of sun since we had a few errands to run. Getting outside throughout the day, I've realized, is super important.

I'm still only down 18lbs since giving birth to Zane but I realize that it took me 9 months to put it all on so I should give myself at least that long to take it all off. Next Wednesday I am scheduled for my 4 week postpartum checkup so we'll see what my doctor has to say about my recovery.

This week, Zac and I plan to take Zane on his first restaurant outting. Sunday brunch sounds like a fun date. We're hoping our little guy is up to it. It's possible that we'll go on a few more walks around the neighborhood and perhaps venture to the park again. The temperature is supposed to get as high as 106 this week, so we'll have to see. If it's too hot, I guess I'll just spend most of my time indoors staring at this beautiful little face.

Two Week Update

Week two went by even more quickly than week one! I don't know how that's even possible. I guess time flies when you're having fun. Life has definitely changed since Zane came in this world and I can't even begin to describe how amazing it's been.

{Our little piano man.}

This week began with Zane going to the doctor for his one week checkup, a weigh in, and his circumcison. We were thrilled to discover that his growth was right on track. After the scare that he was losing weight, it was a huge sigh of relief to discover that everything was okay. We are still weaning Zane off of his formula supplements and are thankfully almost done with formula all together. Our little guy is down to one bottle feeding a day which is his 11pm feeding. This has actually been working out pretty perfectly the last few days. I feed him at 9pm and then head straight to bed, leaving Zac to feed him a bottle at 11pm. His next feeding isn't until 2am which gives me about four and a half hours to sleep. (Since Zac is already back to work I let him sleep during the middle of the night feedings.)That chunk of time is so wonderful! I try to nap with Zane throughout the day but it doesn't happen often so being able to catch up on sleep a little bit is incredibly important.

{Our Little Tough Guy}

Zane's circumcision went very well. The doctor and nurse were surprised that he slept right through it. The rest of that afternoon and the days to follow, he slept pretty well. Zac and I had prepared ourselves for a miserable little man and were all set to hear some screaming, but Zane took it like a little champ. Diaper changes were the only time that we heard a peep out of him. Putting Vaseline on his wound was less than fun the first few days but once it started to heal a bit, he didn't mind that either. We think that we got pretty lucky with the way that Zane handled the whole thing. From what we had heard from other people, those few days following the procedure could have really been miserable.

{Big Yawn}

Just a few days ago, Zane's umbilical stump fell off. (Looks like our boy has an innie.) Since his little mister seemed to be healed pretty well from his procedure, we were all set to start cloth diapering full time again. It came just in time, too because we were just about to use the last disposable diaper we had left from the hospital. The pack of 40 diapers that we were given only lasted about three and a half days. At that rate we'd be buying two packs of diapers a week. We decided to check the price of the diapers while we were picking up some items at Target and found that they wer $10 a pack. Needless to say, the cost of those diapers were going to add up pretty quickly if we had decided to use disposable diapers exclusively.

For the last few days we've been able to try out all of the diapers in our newborn stash. The prefolds are, surprisingly, much easier to use than we had anticipated and are quite absorbant. For anyone who is considering cloth diapering and is on a tight budget, I highly recommend starting out with prefolds. For just under $70 we purchased 24 newborn prefolds and 3 covers. Considering that you'd easily spend more than this in four weeks of disposable diapering, it's probably the most economical cloth diapering option.

{My sleeping boys.}

Zane found his voice this week and started to get a bit fussy. Before this he had been quite content and we didn't hear much out of him (with the exception of outfit change time). We quickly discovered that Zane was going through his first little growth spurt and just needed to be fed more often. I was feeding our little guy every two hours after the time that he finished eating. Now I feed him every two hours from the time he starts eating. Zane nurses for about 30-45 minutes, so by the time he's done I have just over an hour until I feed him again. I'd be lying if I said that this feeding routine hasn't left me feeling a bit exhausted, but our Zaney boy is content and well fed and that's all that matters. Plus I love the time that I get to spend with my boy. The way he holds his hands while he eats melts my heart.

Zac has today off from work and we will be spending it together. Our morning started out with a walk to a nearby park. The day has been absolutely beautiful! Zane got his first bath in his bath sling, got all lotioned up, and is looking quite handsome. As you can see from the picture below, our tiny baby is still swimming in a lot of his 'newborn' sized clothes. We took a trip to Target today to pick up a few more outfits for him. They are still a little big but he'll grow into them soon.

As for my postpartum week two, things are still going great. (Read about postpartum week one here.) I'm feeling better and better with each passing day. The walks around the neighborhood and today's walk to the park have helped. I get my circulation going and the vitamin D is a plus. I'm down 18lbs now since giving birth to Zane. From what I've heard from my mama friends, the first 20lbs seem to just melt off but everything after that takes a bit of work. I've started to use an app called My Fitness Pal again. It was the app that I used a while back when I was working out and trying to get in shape. Back then I used it to count calories and make sure that I wasn't overeating. This time around I'm using it to make sure that I'm taking in enough calories. I know that breastfeeding can burn anywhere from 300-500 calories a day which is something that I can track using the My Fitness Pal app. By taking note of this I can be sure to make up for those calories later. Breastfeeding requires you to eat a little more and definitely drink a lot more liquids (which is something I've always had a hard time with). I feel better being able to keep track of my daily intake. I'll focus more on losing the baby weight once I get the okay from my doctor to work out again.

So what does week three have in store for us? Well, this weekend Zac's family will be coming into town for Sarah's baby shower. This will be the first time that Zac's parents, his sister Sarah as well as her husband Donnie and her son Grayson will be seeing Zane. It should be an exciting weekend!

One Week Postpartum

Zane's been here a week. (Read all about his first week here.) On my last pregnancy update I looked like this....

That was just a few days before Zane came into this world. At one week postpartum I'm now looking like this...

....and feeling GREAT! It's so nice to be back to a size that doesn't make me feel like a moose. (Though yes I still have quite the booty!)

I think I am probably about the size that I was at week 20 or 21.

Total Weight Gain: 33lbs (8lbs more than I wanted to. I really packed them on at the end.)

Postpartum Weight Loss: 15lbs  

Clothing: Still rocking the pregnancy jeans. They fit so comfortably over my belly which is still trying to firm up. (The first few days it felt like a waterbed!) I haven't tried on too many of my old clothes but I'm guessing that they probably fit like they did at 21 weeks. This week I'm cycling through three different nursing tanks until I decide to stop being lazy and look through my closet for clothes that will make breastfeeding easy.

Stretch Marks: Got away stretch mark free. :)

Sleep: Trying to get sleep when I can. Getting rest when Zane does isn't always an option as I try often find myself unable to sleep. At night I wake up pretty easily with Zane for feedings and tend to get to sleep again quickly.

Best moment of the week: Meeting my son. Seeing his face and hearing him cry for the first time changed me forever. He's so perfect!

Missing Anything?: I miss feeling Zane kick and get the hiccups.

Happy or Moody: Happy! With the exception of Zane's weight concerns, I've been a very happy lady. I'm definitely paying attention to my moods. I think being aware of how I'm feeling will help me catch signs of postpartum depression if they should arise.

Wedding Rings On or Off: Off. My hands are still a bit swollen, and the extra weight I'm still carrying doesn't help. My right hand is starting to get feeling again so the carpel tunnel seems to be fading. My joints and knuckles are still sore and achy.

Recovery: After seven days I'm feeling wonderful. (The human body is seriously amazing.) The first few days after having Zane I was obviously sore, achy, and tired. Thanks to Zac, I was able to stay in bed and rest. Walking around was difficult and our stairs were no fun. After 5 days I was back to walking around and feeling very close to "normal". The last two days I've run errands with Zac and have been able to keep up rather than waddling slowly behind him. Chores don't wear me out, though I don't have to worry about them because Zac is always two steps ahead of me. All cramping has ceased and I feel good. The only lingering pain is a sore back.

Postpartum week one has been pretty good to me. I'm definitely looking forward to getting my body back, not just to what it was right before I got pregnant, but what it was when I was actually in shape.

Before I got pregnant I looked like this....

I felt good at this size but there has been a time when I have felt better. Two years before that picture was taken, I was working out regularly, eating very well, and just taking care of myself. I felt amazing and I was super happy and proud. I'd love to get back to that....

It's not going to happen quickly. It's going to take a lot of hard work and dedication to get back to that but the work is worth it. Thankfully I have a great support system. Back when I was working out all the time and keeping up a well balanced diet, Zac was, too. We challenged each other, motivated one another, and held each other accountable. I miss our jogging dates in the park. Throughout my pregnancy our mini dates have consisted of vegging out on the couch and munching on junk food. I'm definitely looking forward to having fun healthy dates again.

One Week Update

Today Zane is one week old. It's a little crazy for us to think that it's already been a whole week since we went to the hospital but it has. It's definitely been an exciting and surreal week for us having Zane at home.

Zane was born on Wednesday night at 9:24pm. Since the hospital doesn't like to discharge newborns until they are 24 hours old and Zane was born so late in the day, we were told that we could probably anticipate staying two nights in the hospital. Zac and I weren't thrilled at the idea of being in the hospital for two days but having a private room where the three of us could all stay together made things a little better.

On Thursday we had a few visitors including some friends, my parents, the newborn photographer, and of course several nurses. We were happy to see that Zane's pediatrician was also on the list of visitors for the day. The doctor came by to see how Zane was doing and to fill us in on some things that we could anticipate in the first few days with our little guy. He also told us that our first appointment to see him would be on Saturday. Our first impression of the pediatrician was fantastic and we were happy with our choice of care. My OB also stopped by to check on me. He was happy to hear that I only had mild cramping and no serious pain to report.

Things must have looked great because he told me that I could be discharged as soon as the pediatrician gave word that Zane was fine to go. We were excited to hear a few minutes later that the pediatrician had already given permission for Zane's discharge. This meant that we didn't have to stay another night in the hospital! Taking Zane home and sleeping in our own bed sounded amazing! The nursing staff told us that there were a few more tests that Zane had to go through (a hearing assessment, check for risk of jaundice, etc.) before they could let him go. As long as we were able to leave that evening, Zac and I didn't care if we had to wait a few more hours to head home. 

We were discharged from the hospital at 9:00pm and were just about home when Zane officially reached 24 hours on this earth. My older brother Michael was staying at our house so that our dog Jim wasn't alone and Zane was able to meet his uncle for the first time. 

We came home to find that my mother had spent Wednesday cleaning our house, doing our laundry, and making things comfortable for our return home. My dad had created this welcome home sign for Zane which we proudly displayed in the yard so that our neighbors could see our good news.

Our Thursday was spent at home. I stayed in bed for the entire day resting up, feeding Zane, and staring at his adorable face every waking moment. My sweet Zac waited on me the whole day. I seriously couldn't ask for a better husband. He is just....amazing. 

Zane had the chance to meet the final member of our family, Mr. Jim. Our beloved pup wasn't sure what to make of our newest addition. He sniffed at Zane without getting too close and kept looking at Zac and I with questioning eyes. 

Throughout the week Jim has become more accustomed to Zane. He comes running when he hears Zane cry and has been spotted several times perched on furniture looking over our munchkin.

Our week has been pretty good. It's a surreal feeling to look at Zane and remember that he's not just some baby....he's mine. I can't believe that this beautiful little creature is who I've been carrying around for the last nine months.

Little man got to meet some of my coworkers yesterday when I went in to add him to my health insurance. I haven't been to work in three weeks and it was great to see familiar faces. Zane got so much love. All of my coworkers were excited to see him. I have a really amazing work family. Yesterday was also the day that we took Zane to get his pictures taken by Tess. I am seriously excited to see how they turned out. She was able to get him in some cute positions and had some really awesome set ups.

We did have a bit of a scare this week. When we took Zane in for his three day checkup with the pediatrician on Saturday, he weighed in at 6lbs even. Since he was born at 6lbs 11oz, the doctor thought that he was getting close to losing more than the typically acceptable percentage of weight that babies lose in the first week of life. He asked that we come in again two days later so that Zane could be weighed. We discussed Zane's eating habits thus far and thought that perhaps my milk had not fully come in yet. The doctor thought that by Monday (at 5 days old) Zane should have stopped losing weight and be on the road to getting back up to his birth weight.

On Monday, Zac and I took Zane back in to the doctor to be weighed and were devastated to hear that he had dropped down to 5lb 12oz. He had lost another 4oz in two days. The doctor was of course concerned by the weight loss and started to go over our options to remedy the situation. Because of Zane's loss of weight and lack of peeing it was clear that he was not getting sufficient feeding with breastfeeding and the doctor told us that we would need to start supplementing every other feeding with formula. He said that it was possible that my milk was taking just a little longer to come in or perhaps I was one of those women who just doesn't produce enough milk to sustain an infant. Zane's next appointment was his one week checkup on Wednesday (today) and if his weight didn't increase by then we would have more serious measures to take.

I held myself together in the examination room, and even at the grocery store where we stopped right after Zane's appointment, but by the time we got home I was bawling. Post partum hormones combined with a lack of sleep and the news that Zane had lost almost a pound in five days left me exhausted with emotion. I felt like I was failing my son. My one job was to keep him healthy and happy and I was starving my poor boy. Not wanting to ever give Zane formula, I was crushed that we had to supplement his feedings. On the bright side, it was nice that Zac was able to have some bonding time while feeding Zane and allowing me a little extra time to sleep but I was still disappointed. Zac was so sweet and supportive and most of all reassuring. He reminded me that there were worse things that could be wrong and that if our pediatrician really thought that Zane was in any danger he would have been hooked up to an IV. Zac and I also got a lot of support from an old friend of ours who is a new mama herself. Kaitlen sent me the sweetest messages that made me feel so much better about the situation. Her words really made a difference and I hope she knows that. Her kindess didn't stop there though. She even dropped off dinner and dessert to our home. Seriously such a sweetheart.

So for a day and a half, Zac and I have been supplementing Zane's feeding with formula. We've noticed a great improvement in his eating and he's peeing much more frequently. Also, I think it's safe to say that my milk has now come in completely and I am so thankful.

Today we headed to the doctor's office because Zane was scheduled for his circumcision. (Poor guy!) We were led to a different examination room and Zac and I waited anxiously to see Zane's weight.....6lb 6oz! Zac and I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief. We were hoping that Zane would be at least 6lbs so to see the additional 6oz was incredible...too incredible....impossible really. The nurse thought it was a little crazy, too. Ten ounces in two days? The nurse was pretty skeptical so she decided to take Zane back to the examination room where he weighed in at 5lb 12oz. She re-weighed him on that scale and wouldn't you know it, the scale was not calibrated correctly. It turned out that Zane hadn't lost any weight when the scale showed that he was 5lb 12oz. Though we had worried and stressed for nothing, we were relieved that his growth was right on track. The doctor told us that we could start weaning Zane off of the formula feedings and get back to our plan of only breastfeeding. I could have cried with happiness. (Again...hormones!)

Zac and I accepted the situation as a small test for us and in our eyes we had passed. Yes we were both upset. I cried about it and Zac beat himself up for not recognizing that Zane wasn't peeing as much as he should, but we didn't lose focus. We talked to each other about it instead of getting frustrated with one another. We accepted advice and reassurance. Most importantly, we were flexible when our plans changed because it was necessary (or so we thought) to make sure that our son was healthy and growing.

The rest of today's appointment went pretty well. Both the nurse and pediatrician laughed because Zane slept through his circumcision. I fed him right before we left for the doctor in hopes that he would be calm and sleepy. Thankfully it worked out. Not only did he sleep during the procedure but he slept for most of the afternoon as well. I had to wake him each time feeding came around and he promptly went back to sleep when he was done eating.

This evening he woke up and became alert long enough for our first family walk. The weather was beautiful today. Instead of the heat we've had the last week, today was breezy and cool. We bundled up our little lovebug and tried out our stroller for the first time on a small walk around the block.

It's been quite a week. We can't wait to see what week 2 brings us!

39 Weeks

This post is a day early but as you can see from the board, I'm pretty impatient these days.

How far along? 39 Weeks

Total weight gain: 32lbs (Eek!)

Maternity clothes? Still only have maternity jeans. At this point I won't be buying any other maternity clothing though I am definitely running out of shirts to wear.   

Stretch marks? none yet! We're in the home stretch!! Hoping I'll miss this all together!

Sleep: Up until last night I was only waking up a few times a night to use the restroom. Last night was a different story. I could not sleep. Crazy dreams were keeping me awake. On top of that I got too hot which made my hands and feet swell and it's impossible to sleep when you're overheated, puffy, and uncomfortable.

Best moment this week: Realizing that this will be our last weekly update! We'll get to meet our Zane very soon.

Miss Anything? Still missing a lot of things! I've been feeling so big lately, I miss being able to sit up in bed without needing a little assistance.  

Movement: Little man is moving all the time. There are times when my belly is lopsided because he gets settled in a weird position. 

Food cravings: Still loving watermelon which apparently helps with my swelling. (Bonus!) The last few days I've wanted a hot dog and macaroni and cheese. I'll have to wait on the hot dog but Zac delivered on the mac and cheese last night. :) Happy lady.  

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing really.

Gender: Boy
Labor Signs: Menstrual like cramps on and off throughout the week. Thursday night I had some cramps that turned into sharp pains but eventually went away. Last night the cramps came back. Things are definitely shifting and getting ready.  

Symptoms: Still have swollen hands and feet. My feet are pretty puffy and sore making it uncomfortable to walk around.Is a runny/stuffy nose a pregnancy symptom? I don't have allergies and I'm not sick but I have to blow my nose all the time! Achey back this week, too. It's almost over.  

Belly Button in or out? In but flattening out.

Wedding rings on or off? The rings have been gone since week 29. Still dealing with carpel tunnel.

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!...when I'm not tired and sleeping.

Looking forward to: Meeting our little man, finally! .... wearing my wedding rings again, and having more clothing options!!!  (White is not my color these days!)