Babies bring with them a whole new life

It's Friday night.

Brett is on his computer working on a contract for a friend.

Dateline or 20/20 is on TV.

I am blogging.

Baby boy is in bed.

We had KFC for dinner.

The dogs are cuddled up next to us.

I am enjoying a cold Berryweiss.

This my friends is our new life - I couldn't be happier.

Owen is 1 month old

WOW! How time flies when you're having fun and we truly are having fun! Owen is a dear sweet baby with an old soul. He has these thoughtful looks about him that you can tell he is pondering the world from a baby's perspective.

When we got home from the hospital, Friday May 13 (it hadn't donned on me until just now that it was Friday the 13th!), we were lucky enough to have my mom with us for the next week. My Dad arrived Sunday which made things even better.

They were there to pick up the pieces and help us out with all the tings we couldn't or didn't want to do. My mom even cooked us dinner and made us eat at the table while Owen was sleeping and she ate in the next room. It was our "date night".

When Owen was discharged from the hospital, his bilirubin was high so we had to go to the pediatrician the very next day to retest. It was still quite high and he was ordered to be put on phototherapy which was delivered that night. I knew he was fine, but as a new mom, I was worried just the same.

He also needed to be supplemented with formula because my milk was not in (but came in only a few hours after talking to the doctor and me having my first of many new mom melt downs) and because he needed as much nourishment as possible to flush his system. So on Saturday night, Owen because our "Glow Worm", "Glowin' Owen", and "Mellow Yellow". We continued to have to take him to the pediatrician/ hospital for check ups and heel sticks. He was on lights until Tuesday at noon and had his last heel stick on Wednesday when we were finally in the clear. He actually had two heel sticks Wednesday because a tech at the hospital dropped his sample form the morning and we had to go in for what would be his 7th stick. Insert 2nd new mom minor melt down). After that things were all up hill and by his two week appt. he had gained a whole pound from his birth weight!

Life in our household has changed but not entirely. We have not let Owen rule the world but have continued on with our daily life only on a baby's schedule not ours. While we might like to be at Starbucks at 8:00 on Saturday morning we might not make it until 11 now. That's just fine by us. Our first trip out actually was to Starbucks and the French Market and Brett and I played the part. Parking on the street right in the middle of Wheaton, we COULD NOT open the stroller. All we did was laugh and it finally popped up! Another milestone was when his belly button fell off at 2 weeks and 3 days old. It was right after a bath and I cried that he might as well be heading off to college.

Owen is a great baby and has put himself on a bit of a schedule. He's not totally predictable yet and I don't always know if when I put him down he will stay down or will be up for a snack in 45 minutes, but he is so pleasant to be around. These last few days he has had some fussy spells, but I think he is just actually more like a "normal" baby that the perfect one we have had for these last few weeks. Lucy and Tucker love him no matter what. Tucker comes to find me any time he cries, even just a little and Lucy is always there to nudge his toes if he's in his swing or kiss his head if I'm holding him.

We started cloth diapers this week which has been interesting. There are pros and cons. I love that we are saving our family money by not spending over and over on boxes of diapers. They are a little gross and he has some diaper rash, but I think we can manage.

And here we are, one month into a family of 5 and loving every second of it!

Owen's Birth Story

*A few things first - i actually wrote this post a looong time ago. However, putting pictures in on our Mac is giving me troubles so I basically didn't want to deal with it which is why this is several weeks late. Also, this post is long and detailed. Don't say I didn't warn you.

So he wouldn't be member of this family if he simply decided one day that it was time to enter the world and all went smoothly. Nope, leave it to us to spend 27 hours in the hospital before we welcomed owen!

Monday, May 9

This was day 3 of my "no baby maternity leave" and I felt tired. Not just "I don't feel like doing anything tired" but rather I don't have the energy to pick myself up off the couch tired". I didn't think anything of it other than I was about 10 months pregnant and carrying around just a liiiiiiitle extra weight. I also during the day starting have addition thin discharge (sorry if this is TMI) but again I didn't think much of it because that is normal this late in pregnancy. I did manage to make a to-do list for the week which included multiple errands, a hair appt., a grooming appt. for Tucker among other things. Denial about having a baby much?

Tuesday May 10

At about 2 and 4 am I woke up feel wet (again, sorry if this is TMI). Not enough that our sheets were wet so I woke Brett and asked him what he thought. Well, in the middle of the night you can all imagine that his response was "Go back to bed and we'll see how you feel in the morning." So I did.

Brett woke up about 6:30 and got in the shower. He was to be in court at 9. I got up shortly after and let Tucker outside. I walked back downstairs to get Lucy out of bed and I finally had that "rush". Sort of. It still wasn't the amount that i expected so I went up and told Brett. I was supposed ot have my 39 week docr's appointment at 8:45 and part of me said just to wait and go to the appt. We decided to call though and within20 minutes the doctor called back and said that even if there was just a suspicion of my mebranes rupturing (AKA water breaking) that I needed to go to the hospital. Brett and i just smiled. As ready as we were, we were still walking around wondering what else we needed to take. I proceeded to get dressed and Brett changed from his suit to jeans. It was about this time that tucker came inside and we realized that he had rolled in something, most likely rabbit poop. So while I continued to get ready to go to go to the hposital for what could eb the birth of our first child, Brett gave the dog a bath. he then came downstairs and was looking for the different jeans he wanted, a pair more comfortable especially if he migt be wearing them for more than one day. I had done laundry the night before so they weren't totally dry. No problem, I threw them in the dryer and Brett and I stood in the kitchen drinking grape juice laughing at how we were waiting for his jeans like we had nothing else to do.

We arrived at the hospital at 8 am and were take to the triage room in labor and delivery. The first and easiest test for amniotic fluid came back negative. Of course. False alarm which is what deep down I really thought this was. So next came two more tests which were a little more invasive and hurt pretty bad. At this point while laying in the hospital bed, I had a pretty big "gush" something that felt a little more reliable and both tests cam back positive. My water had not fully broken, but the more likely case was that I had a high leak which is why I hadn't had a huge gush like I was expecting. It was about this time that I found out that my least favorite doctor was there. Great! He took a little looksy and feelsy and reported that I was in fact NOT dilated. Great again! So at around 9:30 am we were taken to our room in labor and delivery where I was told I could not eat (the last thing I had eaten was a root beer float the night before at about 7:30) and that the doctor wnated a report again at about 4 pm. Until then I was to walk around and "see what I could do on my own".

What a long day of walking circles around the nurse's station and watching the never ending marathon of Law and Order SVU. Brett and I made the most of it and the time actually wnt by pretty quickly. I did ha

ve to laugh that a few of the magazines that I had brought were Everyday with rachael ray and every single thing in the magainze looked delicious! It was during this time that my mom decided to fly here and we made arrangements to ahve her picked up at the airport by Sam and Natalaie (a huge thank you here for their awesomeness). I was also able to Skype with Ben which his friends found rather amusing.

At 4:00, I was no farther along and the contractions were still not getting stronger. The decision was made that I would get an IV at 9 pm and start pitocin at 10pm. Not really what we wanted to hear but they did say I could order dinner. I chose the blandest thing on the menu worried that if I ate too much i might be seeing it again later. The evening continued pretty much as the day had and my mom arrived arrived around 8:30. I got my IV, and we then tried to all take a nap before the pitocin started, not really knowing what would happen after that. Well it was shortly after the IV was started that "Code Red" was announced - over and over and over. Whatever it was it didn't affect us, but the constant announcement made sleeping impossible. At 10, the pitocin was started and soon after the contractions did too. This started a night like I have never had before.

Wednesday May 11

Very quickly my contractions were closer together and very painful. My mom was a savior in walking me through some breathing techniques but I eventually tried some medicine so that I could sleep. It worked for a bit but I finally gave in and got my epidural. As much as I kept thinking in the

back of my mind that I didn't want one, my labor was just lasting too long to do it without some big time help. It provided almost immediate relief. I was finally able to sleep! Until.....I don't know what time it was but two nurses rushed in and threw me into an oxygen mask because

my blood pressure was going down and it was affecting the baby's heart beat. They also rolled me on my side and propped me with a pillow which was supposed ot help. At 6:45, I woke up. The room was dark, Brett and mom were sound asleep, I was still in

oxygen and I could not move anything from my waist down. It was about this point that I started to freak out a bit simply because I felt so helpless. eventually the doctor came in and I was finally dilated to 10 cm. e however did not like how numb I was and ordered my epidural to be turned off. When I had some use of legs we would start pushing. This happened at 9:22 am. For the first few contractions, this thought entered my mind, " Really? This is it? This isn't so bad at all. The epidural is still working and all I feel is a little pressure. I can do this." Well, I never said those words out loud and pretty quickly after that I started feeling everything. Brett was a phenomenal coach and watched everything. I thought I wanted to watch and asked for the mirror to be brought over. I looked up one time and instantly said, "Take it away! Take it away! I don't wanna watch!". I do there were various points that I yelled, "get him out" and i also know that at one point I looked straight at Brett and told him this would be our only child. At 10:51 am the sweetest little boy entered the world and was placed on my chest. Brett was right there and looked at me for his name - I knew it would be Owen Anthony. It juts fit! The rest of the story is typical, the baby was checked out, we were given time to bond and the doctor and nurse took over the rest of the delivery stuff. It wasn't until after that I found out Owen was born occipital posterior - basically instead of coming out looking at the floor he cam out looking at the ceiling. 75% of first time moms end of with a c-section if the baby is in this position. I knew something was going on during delivery because the doctor had come in several times. It wasn't shortly before that we had joked with the nurse about the doctor not coming in until the last second to take all the credit. The staff however did an excellent job of not alert me to any trouble. They simply took care of what they needed to so that I could focus on my job.

While the pain is still fresh in my mind, giving birth to our son leave me speechless. I know all the cliches about motherhood and not understanding it until you experience it, but truly, to go through that experience with my husband and my mom right there was a priceless time in my life. And because of it, we have been blessed....

Welcome to the world Owen Anthony!

On May 10, we looked like this...

And on May 11 we looked like this...

Owen Anthony was born on May 11, 2011 at 10:51 am. He weighed 7 lbs 13 oz. and was 21 inches long.

His entrance into the world of course has an interesting story attached that I can't wait to share.

For now, we are so in love with our BB (Baby Boy, tricky, huh?)!

Meredith is leaving????

WHAT?????? So today is day 3 of maternity leave and I'm sitting here doing my FAVORITE thing to do in the morning when I am home - sit on the couch, cuddling with puppies, checking blogs, and watching the TODAY show. Well, Meredith Vieira, what are you doing to me? She just announced that she is officially leaving the show!!!! I do love Ann Curry, but Meredith, you'll be missed these next 6 months!

Now all we need is a baby...

It's official - I am on maternity leave. Yes it's a bit early but I'm hoping that BB allows me a few days (or at least until May 12 after say 2:30 when I should be done with my hair appt.) to relax and put my feet up. I swore that today I was doing nothing, and that's exactly what I did. Here's a run down...

• 6:30 am - got up and fed the dogs
• 7:00 am- took Brett to the train station
• 7:15 am - returned home, ate cheerios, a banana and a glass of milk
• 7:30 am - returned to couch to promptly fall asleep
• 10:00 am - woke up and had a glass of orange juice and watched I don't know what on TV
• 12:00 pm - fixed lunch and started watching the multiple episodes of Pregnant in Heels that I had a recorded
• 1:30 pm - talked to two of my best friends on the phone for the next 1+hours
• 3:00 pm - returned to couch to finish watching recorded episodes of Pregnant in Heels

Now this is my kind of day. Tomorrow will be more productive, but man this was fun!

Could I be a Fly Lady?

I remember years ago, when my family was first getting introduced to the Internet, my Dad checked our family email and there were hundreds of emails from a "Fly Lady". Apparently my mom had happened upon this web site designed to help "you" get control of your life, declutter your house and help you escape CHAOS (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome). Since then, on occasion, I have looked at this web site, "shined my sink" and then never got nay further.

I guess I should say that I L.O.V.E. for our house to be clean. I love to spend a day off work, cleaning top to bottom, and completely wearing myself out. Then, cleaning goes by the wayside until my next day off or the next time I know someone is coming over.Well, with a new baby on the way, I know those all day cleaning extravaganzas won't be happening. I also know that it will not be a top priority and ultimately whether our house is clean or not, it really won't matter. BUT, I still love a clean house and even more so am motivated to have a clean house to raise our baby in. A big issue is the dog hair. Lucy and Tucker, cute and lovable as they are, shed. A. LOT.

So, I am thinking that between now and the arrival of this little thing I am going to try to do more than shine my sink....we'll see.

Baby, Baby, Baby

I know I have been a bad, bad blogger. I really have no one or thing to blame except for myself. So let's see if I can catch you up on the happenings around here over the last few weeks.

Today, I am officially 37 weeks. I don't like the shirt I am wearing, AKA ugly maternity shirt saved until the end because now my belly is so large and in charge that shirts barely cover my maternity panel/ belly. So here is a cuter one from 35 weeks. Yes I am (much) bigger now, so we'll see about getting an updated one.

I made a Shutterfly book documenting our pregnancy. There's not a whole to it other than our weekly belly shots and random photos of a few things I took pictures of. It is however up to date and will be easy to print whenever I decide to do so. I would love the last picture to be of us leaving for the hospital because I figure the next book after that will be BABY, BABY, BABY.

Speaking of baby, BB still has no name. That's right folks - nameless. Everyone says we'll know the name when we see the baby, but I am doubtful. We still have a list of 9 :-)

I now see the doctor weekly and have been seeing a new doc who I L.O.V.E. First he has the greatest bedside manner of just about any doctor I have ever seen anywhere. He comes in and does what he needs to do, but then always sits down and asks about questions and concerns that I have. I love this because I don't like to feel rushed or intimidated.It also doesn't hurt that he is incredibly good looking and a very nice dresser. He reminds me of Prince Eric from the Little Mermaid. Not that I am into cartoonish looking men, but he has that same perfectly cut jawline. Brett even likes him, although more for his bedsdie manner than good looks. I have to see Dr. Needs-To-Retire tomorrow and I am not looking forward to it. He just seems impatient and doesn't make me feel like I can ask what I need to.

A few weeks ago we were blessed to be given not one but two baby showers. One by my very good girlfriends and another by Brett's step mom and sister. I was truly overwhelmed by our friend's and family's generosity. I am not a "shower person" simply because I struggle when lots of attention is on me, but I had an absolutely fabulous time.

The same weekend of the showers, my very best friend (we've been friends since Kindergarten) and her daughter were able to fly in and spend the weekend with us. It was so great to see them and have them stay with us. It really made me miss them and wish we lived closer so that we could see each other more often.

The baby's room is done...almost. We have a last minute shopping trip that we'll take care of this weekend and we still need to decided on a glider/ chair for the room. I have been stressing and researching this for a while. My big dilemma? How much do we spend? I want something moderately comfortable if I am going to spending a lot of time nursing in this chair. However, I don't want it to be a major purchase because while I may spend a lot of time there at first, it won't be in the room forever.

I don't know if I have mentioned this or not, but I (Brett is totally on board but just said I have to tell him what to do) have decided to cloth diaper. I have been told on more than one occasion that I am nuts. That's OK. I figure that even if I do it for the 6 months that I will be home, it will be worth the benefits (not buying diapers, not disposing of diapers, and hopefully a baby that doesn't get a whole of diaper rash). We are lucky that there is a store specializing in cloth diapers in the same town that I work. Cute name - it's called Comfy Bummies. I bought a variety to start with and then we'll go from there. It's a trial and error thing when it comes to brands and types so we'll just have to see what works for us. I started the prepping process (washing the diapers a million times before using them) and tracked down a laundry detergent that is cloth diaper approved. S0, now we just need a baby to try these things on.

Saturday Brett "graduated" from daddy boot camp. He received a certificate that says that he can officially "change a diaper as well as he can change a tire". Cute, but I have never seen him change a tire :-) He also received a very cool camo shirt that he will be wearing for delivery.

Our bags are packed - for the hospital that is. I'm sure I brought a lot of stuff I won't need and will think of something once there that I forgot, but we are "ready".

So, we haven't just been sitting around, we really have been busy. As each day passes we get closer and closer and closer to the arrival of our sweet baby. I am nervous and overwhelmed and impatient and terrified and excited and I would be lying if I said I wasn't all of these things. But this baby will be here soon and I truly CANNOT wait any longer!!!!!!

I think I need a reality check because the month of March simply CAN. NOT. BE. OVER. I mean really? If March is over, that means it's April. And if it's April, that means that the very next month on the calendar is May. And May 17 is on that page in the calendar! WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!

Recently I have been extremely tormented inside. On one hand I want this little baby in my arms more than anything. I want to know that this baby is healthy and really, really here. On the other hand, I am simply not done being pregnant. I love it! I love knowing the baby is inside me and even when I grimace because there is a body part trying desperately to climb out of my belly button, I love every second of it.

This household has been nothing but productive recently. My parents and Ben were here for a long weekend and got lots of little projects around the house done for us. Brett has also been working super hard at checking off things on my ridiculous "Must be done before the baby gets here to do list". Thanks to Brett, the baby's room has a new paddle fan, the bathroom has a new floor, all of the doorknobs in the house have been changed (hooray for no more brass). That's not really all, but those are more of the ridiculous things I wanted done.

Brett has also ben getting ready for the baby by figuring out what all this stuff is for. Baby Bjorn tested and loved by Tucker!

While the family was here, my dad, Ben and Brett ripped out our shower downstairs and put in a bigger and better one. This was a necessity because the old shower was out of commission due to a leak in an undisclosed location. The other major accomplishment was taking the bed down in the spare room and getting the mattress and box spring all stored away. That means that our house no longer has a spare bedroom, but rather a nursery! Yep - a whole room dedicated to caring for a baby. The nursery is not done, but it is well on it's way and I am more than pleased with how it is coming along. Last but not least, Ben took some awesome pictures of Brett and I right before he left. These would be officially 32 weeks and 5 days pregnant and I have never felt better.

Is a post a post if it doesn't have pictures?

So I know I haven't posted in a while and it's not because there's been nothing to post. We actually have been up to a lot of things, many revolve around getting ready for BB. I also love to post with pictures and have been struggling to remember my memory card to download them. Anywho, I actually have lots to update and will soon. My parents and one of my brothers will be in town for a few days and after that I have sometime off for spring break. After that, I'll be sure to post - pictures and all!

Here's something though...Brett made Balsamic Steak with Radicchio a few weeks ago for dinner. We got the recipe from the Food Network Cookbook and it was delicious. It was our first time cooking with radicchio and eating it not mixed in a salad. It is bitter, which I did not realize, but was OUTSTANDING with this steak!