Del is recovering and Keaton is growing...

Del is home and recovering from his surgery. He is on 3 different medications and 2 of them are pills that are a little difficult to give to him. We are hiding it in bread and so far he seems to swallow it ok. Taking him out to the bathroom is another story...I have to try and hold a baby and carry Del out because he can't go up and down steps. I just want my baby boy to recover quickly because I have a hard time looking at him hobble on 3 legs. Here are a couple pics of my little guy. They had to shave his leg for the incision. : ( We made a little house for him and he will be stuck in it for the next 12 weeks!!

Tuesday we had our 2 week pediatrician appt. Keaton now weighs 7lbs. 10oz. Doctor was VERY pleased with the weight gain and told us to keep doing what we are doing. I was afraid to tell him that I switched to formula...I thought he would give me some lecture but he didn't. He didn't have a problem with it and said that I need to do whatever is best for the family. It was nice to hear that and it made me feel better. Anyway, Keaton also grew in length...he is now 21 inches (up from 19 when he was born, however birth measurements aren't always the most accurate). Dr. said Keaton is very healthy and he was happy to see him so happy. Next appt isn't until 2 months...I will be anxious to see what he weighs then. Keaton is sure eating a lot right now...he must be going through a growth spurt. He's eating every 2-3 hours and sometimes taking 4oz. He mostly takes 2-3oz but he sure likes to eat.

I Lost How Much?!?!?!

I decided to weigh myself yesterday and I couldn't believe my eyes!!!!! I am 18 lbs. LESS than I was when I first got pregnant!!! I LOST 18 POUNDS, HOLY CRAP! I am wearing some old clothes that I NEVER thought I would get back into. Thank you gestational diabetes, even though you were a huge pain to deal with while pregnant...you do have a positive side! And yes, I did get my peanut butter cup blizzard from DQ just days after giving birth. It was HEAVEN!

Keaton is doing so well!!! Erik and I have a great routine down for sleeping. Erik sleeps up in our bedroom from 10pm-2am so he can get some good sleep while I sleep down in the living room with Keaton in the pack n play. We then switch and I go upstairs from 2am-6-7am (ish) and Erik comes downstairs with Keaton. Keaton is sleeping about 3 hour clips right now (which is great for only being 1.5 weeks old) so we are feeling pretty rested. WAY better than what we were getting when I was nursing. Switching to formula has been the BEST decision for us and I really feel much better about it. He is way more happy and content now. I know that he wasn't getting much of anything while nursing. He was always crying for more to eat and I couldn't give it to him since my milk was not coming in. I love to see how happy he is now. Erik and I caught a HUGE smile on his face yesterday when he started to fall asleep. It was the cutest thing EVER! I wish I had a picture of it but hopefully I will catch one soon.

Here are some pics of me post pregnancy and a couple of my little boy. Enjoy!

Feeling Guilt

Erik and I made the decision to switch over to all formula last night after MANY discussions about what to do and after talking to other friends/family about it. I spent many days/nights crying over this and trying to figure out what to do. It was an extremely hard decision and I really hope I made the right choice. Keaton was just not getting enough from me and he seemed way more content with the formula supplementing. I breast fed him for the last time yesterday afternoon and bawled knowing that I was making the switch. I know I will feel better about it in a couple days but right now I feel nothing but guilt. I know I will still be a good mother it is just hard to make these decisions. I was formula fed as a kid and was very healthy growing up. It's a shame that the world seems to "look down" on women who do not breast feed because that is half the reason I feel so much guilt. Maybe I am "giving up" too fast but I really needed to make the switch for many reasons. My emotions are playing a role in my decision as well. I was spending HOURS crying every day over the breast feeding issues and the demand it was putting on me. I really need to do what's best for the family and I feel that this is the best choice....once the guilt goes away. I hope everyone can understand my decision and not "look down" on me for it. I honestly feel that breast feeding is not for everyone and even if he isn't getting the most perfect form of nutrition, he will still be a healthy baby boy by the love and nurture I will give him all of his life.

On a side note, Del tore his ACL the other day and now needs surgery on Tuesday. I didn't know a dog could injure their ACL but apparently it is very common in toy breed dogs. So my baby boy goes under the knife on Tuesday with a 12 week recovery period after. He must stay confined in a crate for 12 weeks only coming out to go to the bathroom. Can you believe I can not hold and sleep with my baby Del for 12 whole weeks?!?!?! It will be so tough because he will be crying and whining to come out all the time. I feel so bad for him. When he tore his ACL the other day, I bawled my eyes out!!!!! He let out a big yelp and I turned around and he was laying on the floor trying to get up. I didn't know what was happening so I started freaking out. Once Erik got him on his feet he was hopping around on 3 legs. He is unable to use his back left leg at all and drags it around to walk. My poor poor baby! This should be interesting when it comes time for his long recovery period. Taking care of a newborn AND a dog after a major surgery should be fun. I hope it goes well for both me and my little Del. : (

Week One

Well, we have a little over a week down already! We are enjoying every second with him. He has his days and nights mixed up right now and sleeping a lot during the day which is hard for feeding. He is wide awake during the night so Erik and I are not getting much sleep. We are taking shifts right now so we can each get some type of sleep. Keaton had his first pediatrician appt last Friday and he lost a couple ounces so the doctor wanted us to supplement with formula to help gain that weight back. My milk doesn't seem to be coming in enough so I may have to switch to formula...we shall see. We had a follow up appt on Tues to check his weight and he did gain a couple ounces but not as much as the doctor wanted to see. I'm trying to feed him as much as I can (every 2 hours) but he sleeps so much and I can't get him interested. The formula supplementing does seem to work better so like I said, I may have to switch to formula...whatever will be best for Keaton.

I've been getting lots of flowers and gifts delivered to the house which is always fun to get. My friends and family have been very supportive this past week checking in to see if I need anything, bringing food over, or just sitting with me to keep my company. Today is the first day on my own (Erik has a full day of work outside the house) so I hope it goes well. He is sleeping right now and probably will for awhile since he didn't sleep at all last night.

I'll leave you all with a couple pics from the week. I hope to update again soon. Thanks for thinking of me!! : )

HE IS HERE!!!!!!!

SURPRISE!!! Keaton Thomas made his arrival into the world Monday July 13th at 7:11am weighing in at 7lbs. 1.8oz and 19 inches long. He is the most beautiful little guy ever...Erik and I are so in love!!!

Sunday July 12th at 10:25pm my water suddenly breaks as I am falling asleep in bed. I immediately jumped up (to avoid a big mess) and ran to the bathroom. It was a HUGE gush of water and it just kept coming out for a good 10-15 minutes. As I was trying to clean up a bit, Erik called the doctor and she wanted us to get into the hospital right away and we met my mom there. We arrived at the hospital around 11:15pm and got all hooked up as well as had an exam to see how far along I was. At this point I was about 3cm and 90% effaced. I got set up in my room and labored for awhile however the pain was getting rather unbearable close to 2am. I really thought I could handle the pain but it was intense to say the least. I asked for the epidural and it was HEAVENLY!!! I HIGHLY recommend getting one. I fell asleep for a few hours and the midwife came in around 6am to check me. Right away she said the head was right there and I was very ready to push. I was shocked that I was ready to go so fast and so was my mom and Erik. They got everything ready to go and I started pushing around 6:30am. It only took a couple pushes and Keaton Thomas arrived at 7:11am. It was a pretty quick and painless birth (after the epidural). The staff at Holy Spirit are AWESOME!!!! They helped me every step of the way and gave me great tips for breast feeding...which is going very well by the way. He was nursing within minutes after he arrived.

Both Keaton and I are doing well and I hope to have more updates for you soon. : )

It's the State Puff Marshmallow Man...

YIKES! This is what happens when you are in your final weeks of being pregnant!! UGH!

And this is the only pair of shoes that fit me. Makes for some LOVELY outfits, let me tell ya!

Car Seat Inspection

Erik must have super human strength because the people from "Safe Kids" who inspected our car seats could not get over how perfectly both of our seats were installed. Every inspector had to come over and see for themselves...lol! Erik took his car over on Tuesday and I took mine today (we couldn't go together due to work conflicts) and he failed to mention to me how awesome he did at installing the seats. He just told me that he did a pretty good job and he passed. The inspectors knew that I was coming today so they were prepared to see another perfectly installed seat. As soon as she tugged on my car seat she said, "Oh you must be Erik's wife!!" I didn't know what that meant at the time so I hesitantly said, "Yes, why?" They all went on and on about how they rarely EVER see a perfectly installed car seat, in fact 4 out of 5 car seats are not installed properly, but Erik was the winner for the best car seat installer because our seats weren't budging one bit. He definitely put all his weight and strength into it when putting the seats in last week. WAY TO GO HUN...I'm so proud!!!! LOL!

And that folks was the final item on our "to do" checklist so...we are completely ready for Keaton to make his arrival. YAY!!! It feels so good to be prepared (as prepared as we are going to be).

No News to Report

I had my OB appt this morning and they decided to WAIT until my next appt to do the internal exam and group B strep test. I'm actually pretty bummed because I really wanted to see what was going on down there and to see if I'm making any progress. Oh well...I'll have to wait until Monday then.

The good news is that the heartbeat was good, my blood pressure was excellent and no sugar/protein in my urine. Woohoo! Baby is still head down and moving all around. The midwife told me my cramping and contractions were normal so that does make me feel a little better. These cramps sure can hurt though.

I'll update everyone next week...

Week 36

The weeks keep flying by...only 4 more to go!!!! I honestly can't freaking believe it! I remember making the big grand announcement to the family on Christmas morning and now I'm just about ready to give birth....it's crazy! I'm so ready for this baby and so ready to be a MOM. We finally have everything organized and ready to go for Keaton's arrival (as organized and ready as new parents to be will be)...we are just enjoying these last couple weeks as the two of us. I know life is going to change big time so we are enjoying each other as much as we can. It won't be much longer now.

Tomorrow I have an OB appt (they are every week now) and this will be my first internal exam to see what progress I am making and to make sure he is still head down. I will also be getting my group B strep test done at this visit. Fun fun! I'm really anxious to see what's going on in there. I have a feeling that I've been making progress with all the cramping and pain I have been having....something HAS to be going on in there, don't ya think? I really hope so! Erik is amazed at how slow I am right now. I am normally a busy body, doing something every single second of the day but lately I sit/lay on the couch trying to ease up this cramping and ligament pain. Don't get me wrong, I would do all this over again in a second to have a healthy baby in my arms but sometimes the pain just gets to ya. I'm down the home stretch now and seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Another BIG thing I am looking forward to is GETTING OFF THE GD DIET! It's painful to sit at 4th of July picnics and watch everyone else eat the yummy summertime foods and especially the desserts while you nibble on some veggies and sip on water! I can't WAIT to have a few treats when this is all over. I can't wait to have that first spoonful of a peanut butter cup blizzard from DQ....mmmmmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about it. I can do it though...

The hospital bag is packed and ready to go. I only need to throw in a couple toiletry items once it is time to head out. I couldn't decide on what outfit to bring for Keaton's ride home so I packed like 4...LOL! I like to be over prepared so there is all kinds of stuff in the bag I know I will probably not need but it's better to be over prepared in my opinion. Next week I get my nails taken off!! : ( This will be a sad day for me! I've been getting my nails done for over 7 years now (every 3 weeks) but I don't want to scratch my little boy with my claws so I am having them removed...plus I will save a lot of money over the year. Let's see, I get my nails done about 17-18 times a year...so that is a savings of over $500 a year! Not bad huh?

Fetal Development
Your baby continues to put on weight by about 1/2 pound each week. Its no wonder the womb is becoming very cramped. Your baby is gaining weight quickly because layers of fat pile on and help in both body temperature regulation and developing his immunity in preparation for life in the outside world. You may find you are carrying your baby much lower now (or soon will be) as the baby drops into the birth canal, readying himself for birth. Your baby is about 19 inches long and weighs from 5.5 to 6.0 pounds. The vast majority of babies born now will live with little need for intensive medical treatment.

My Symptoms
- Fatigue
- Frequent urination (like every 45 minutes)
- Ligament pains
- Slight swelling in my ankles/feet
- TONS of cramping/contractions

36 week belly pic!

The Nursery Reveal

Ok, I know a lot of you have been asking about nursery pics...so here they are! Our blinds just got delivered on Monday and we put them up last night. I'm pretty much done with it but I may add a few things here and there over the next couple weeks/months. Let me know what you think!

This pic is as you enter the room.

The crib and right side of the room

The wall quote I got from "Uppercase Living"...love it!

The most comfortable chair ever! It both glides and reclines. I will be spending lots of time in this chair.





The left side of the room. The tall chest of drawers (filled with clothes) and the dresser/changing table.



The lamp on top of the tall chest of drawers. So cute!


The other window and a look into the wall in closet. Diaper stacker hanging on door.

The walk in closet with his cute little outfits (many more in the drawers)

The window


My awesome blinds! It is two blinds in one! It is cordless and this pic shows you how you can make it a black out shade (chocolate brown).


And this pic shows you how you can make it a sheer blind to let the sun in. Sorry for the dark pic, my stupid camera would not use the flash!