Finally a GOOD Bath!

So up to this point Aiden has pretty much NOT enjoyed his baths AT ALL. We tried it in his tub - and he HATES that. Then we tried in the big tub with Mommy. That went just fine, really, but takes more time. We tried the shower - which went pretty well, actually. But I would rather take my showers before he's awake so I have time to actually get ready afterwards. Then I thought we needed to try his bathtub again... We put a couple hand towels in it before him - making it a bit softer for him. He gets startled REALLY easily, and when he would move in his tub, it scared him. So - I tried it and crossed my fingers.................

And it worked! We had an enjoyable bath! The only part he didn't like was going from the water to the towel. And who does like that? It's cold! Since he did so well in the bath, we let him stay in while we played with the water some to get him used to it. He even got some water on one of his eyelids - no fussing! And got then got some in his mouth and seemed to really like that actually (but we didn't want to do that intentionally b/c who knows if he peed in there......)

Here are some pictures of the successful bathtime. (We're not showing the x-rated ones...) ;) We'll save those for when he brings home his girlfriend...................

He really liked when we poured water over his head and his belly! We are SO thrilled that we found a way to help him enjoy bathtime!!!

Little Ryan

At the risk of sounding like Chandler Bing...Could Aiden BE any more like his Daddy??

We all know that Aiden looked like a mini-Ryan from the beginning. No kidding. So many people have commented on this - some even suggesting Mom was a mere carrier for 9 months (come on - I did more than just that!) BUT he had a couple things from Mommy - the dark hair and skin. Well, he really could have gotten that from either of us b/c Daddy's mom has the dark hair and skin, too. She even said that Aiden looked like what she expected Ryan to look like when he was born. But Ryan came out with lighter skin and red hair that eventually turned blonde. But I'll take credit for the dark stuff b/c that's really all I have going for me! ;)

B-U-T................

Now Aiden's hair has suddenly taken a turn towards looking a tad reddish! And his skin - well, the jury is still out on that one at this point.

And in case you're wondering, yes, Aiden looks JUST like Daddy's baby pictures and nothing like Mommy's. Here is the proof...

Mommy and Daddy as babies...
and

Aiden
Nothing from Mama!

We joke that maybe he's got my personality.... Hmmmm - that could be trouble!

And for the fun of it, here is the comparison with big brother, Camden...

There is a little resemblance between the two. But Aiden is still definitely a LITTLE RYAN!

What could have happened...

...did happen.

Today I had my 6-week check-up with my OB. Big day for me b/c I had to get somewhere on time with Aiden by myself. I think I should be able to deal with it all after all that happened today. (Maybe I'm giving myself too much credit, but we did go through a lot...)

First, I manage to get up early to actually shower. By the time I'm getting out, Aiden is fussing (which means he recently woke b/c he wasn't REALLY crying it out). We had a decent morning. Got him dressed, fed, and back to sleep for a short nap so I could get ready. In time to leave ON TIME, I wake him to change his diaper and feed him again. He wasn't hungry, so we skipped that. While changing the diaper, he peed on his outfit. (I was even holding something over to absorb the pee, but somehow some got around it.) So, we change the clothes and the diaper. Then he poops. Big time. Another diaper change.

We're in the car, leaving "on time" (five minutes after the goal, which was really a few minutes early - always have the goal be early so you can sometimes actually be on time!). My mom calls and we're chatting a little. I'm about turn on to HWY 55 from High House (for those of you from the area), look at Aiden in the mirror while stopped at the light, and see him spitting up EVERYWHERE. Stop at Starbucks parking lot to wipe up what I can, and we're back on the road.

The car does not put Aiden to sleep. So he's awake the whole drive to Chapel Hill - and does ok. A couple miles from the office, he starts screaming. Get to the office, it's pouring, so Daddy (who is meeting us there) parks my car while I get us inside. I want to change Aiden's outfit - but the two I have packed (for situations such as this, of course) in the diaper bag...are TOO SMALL! (I even thought yesterday that I should put bigger outfits in there - but obviously I hadn't done it.) So, he's stuck in a spit-up decorated outfit while I nurse him and proceed with the dr visit.

We then need to stop at a store before heading back home. It is still POURING. I get us in the store ok. Coming out - I discover that while you can fold the stroller with one hand, you cannot put it in the trunk with one hand. I try a few times while holding the umbrella with my other hand. Eventually I give up, put the umbrellla down, and use both hands to put the stroller away, thus getting SOAKED. But the stroller is in the trunk.

Oh, it's also much colder than I anticipated (b/c I didn't know it would rain like this today), so Aiden is in a onesie. (But we do have a big blanket, so he's not cold, thankfully.)

Get home, change diaper and clothes, feed, and leave to get Camden from school. Once again, Aiden is a happy camper in the car. Until we get in the carpool line. We're lined up in the street since we're not early, though. And it's still pouring. So I try everything I can from the front to calm him. After ten minutes of him screaming - by the time the line is moving - he is falling asleep while I am driving...with my right arm reaching back to stroke his face.

So, let's see...we dealt with...
wetting his outfit and then dirtying his diaper both right before we leave.
spitting up on the way.
pouring rain + car seat + umbrella + stroller.
crying while in the car.
nursing while out.

not sure what else there is! oh - no sun in the face since it's raining. thankfully! we actually have some screens for this but haven't put them up. one is a shade that clings to the back. i tried unsuccessfully to put this up last night, so i was thankful it was not sunny (could have done without the tons of rain, though).

Oh the joys of having an infant, huh? ;) Oh, and on top of all of this, I woke up with an extremely sore throat this morning. I feel like my throat is on FIRE! But I suppose it could have been worse, right? And we did survive. Aiden is taking a very good nap and will most likely (as usual) wake up to nurse right when I'm sitting down to eat. ;)

Missing Daddy :(

Ryan had to return to work this week. We have LOVED having him at home for the last SIX WEEKS! He's gotten to spend so much time with Aiden, and he was a great help to me, too! But reality has hit, and it's back to work he goes. Aiden wasn't too happy about it...

(Ok...so he's really mad about the fact that Mommy cleaned out his nose b/c he was so congested,
but we can still say it's b/c Daddy is back at work...)

Visitor!

MaMaw Sharon took a couple days off to come and visit us. She was here when Aiden was born, but this is the first time she's seen him since he was at the hospital. We all had a great time. She took Camden and a friend to see the new Star Wars movie (poor MaMaw!! She's a trooper!), and she bought Aiden some really cute clothes and got us an Ergo carrier that we were planning on getting to use with Aiden. It was great to have her here. It's been really hard being so far from family - especially since Aiden has arrived!

Picking up MaMaw from the airport

While MaMaw was here, Camden also had his first soccer game of the season. They had been rained out of the first two, and they finally got to play! (They won, in case you're wondering.) :) This was also Aiden's first time to the soccer fields. He, of course, slept through the majority of it, except to wake up and eat.

No picture of Aiden in the new Ergo carrier yet, but here is one of him in the new Moby wrap we also got. This allowed me to actually cook a whole meal. :)

Look at those lashes!

These run in the family...lucky us! ;) Camden has super-long, dark lashes, too (and so do I). Here are a couple pics showing off those lashes.

Just had to share!

ONE MONTH :)

Actually, Aiden turned one month on Saturday - yes, that was five days ago. We took some pictures to celebrate him growing so much. With Camden, I took pictures each month, and I will continue that with Aiden. It's such a great way to show how they grow! I take it with the same pose each time, so you can really see the difference. :) Here are Aiden's one month photos...

And this one just cracks us up....

It's hard to believe he is a month old already!! By Saturday, he had smiled for mom a couple times and is listening more intently to things like rattles. (By today, daddy has also seen his wonderful smile, too!) He watches us so closely when we're talking to him - especially when he is nursing. He has grown so much in his first month, too! He gained over two pounds and two inches!!

Paci Hater and a Good Night's Rest

I know I am posting a lot of blogs all at once. It's not that I haven't had the time to blog... I have had some time here and there (during naps mostly), but it's the motivation to spend that time actually doing something productive that has been lacking! I would rather take that time to sit down and relax! But my to-do list is growing, and blogging is one of the easier, less taxing things on the list, so that's what I'm getting to now (the rest can wait, right?).

I mentioned before that Aiden isn't a big fan of the pacifier... That's a bit of an understatement. We were trying to use a certain kind to begin with. One of those paci's that aren't as bad when it comes to his mouth and teeth coming in (the one we chose was the orthopro). We rejected the one the hospital gives out to breastfed babies (the soothie) for various reasons, but we brought it home with us just in case. Aiden never really liked the orthopro; he took it on a few occasions but usually fought it. We didn't want to even encourage the use of one at all, but this kid has a strong need to suck. Very strong!

Aiden's face when given the orthopro pacifier...

We finally caved and tried the soothie. And he took it. He doesn't love it, but he will take it from time to time. And actually, I usually have to convince him to take it (and I'm not loving that I'm encouraging it, but he sometimes NEEDS it). I had thought since I was breastfeeding, he would take it better from others, but it seems he does the opposite and takes it better from me.

Until lately. The last two days, he has downright refused the thing, no matter how tired he is. If I let him, he will nurse when full just to go to sleep (and then spit up what won't fit in his little tummy). That's where the paci comes in. But these days, as soon as it touches his lips, he gets downright MAD, yells, and gives this look like he couldn't be more offended!! Man, he does NOT like that thing! So yesterday, I had to cave some more and nurse more than normal, more than he needed... Any helpful tips with this are welcome. :)

***

Last night we did something a little different before bedtime. I have tried to massage Aiden after bathtime before, but he also hates bathtime, so he isn't very relaxed and ready for anything (other than nursing, of course). But I massaged him before bed last night, and he seemed to be ok with it. We had a much calmer time getting to bed. He didn't fuss as much during the diaper change and he went right to sleep after eating. (The last couple nights he's had a hard time staying asleep once put in the bassinet.) But GET THIS - he slept from 11:15-3:30!!! WOW! In case you can't do that math, that's FOUR HOURS AND FIFTEEN MINUTES!!! Of course, when he woke up, he pooped - and if he gets a diaper change in the middle of the night, it for some reason means he has to stay awake longer than normal, so instead of nursing and going right back to sleep, he stayed up for AN HOUR. But hey - I figured I would give the kid a break this time since he slept for so long at once. I was shocked!! Wonder if the long sleep time was a fluke or will continue.... We shall see!

Oh, we also got these new blankets to use for swaddling, since Aiden sleeps so much better when swaddled (and is getting too big for some of his blankets to be used for swaddling). We used them for the first time last night at bedtime, and they are great! Love them! They are made by Aden & Anais - find more info here. Totally recommend these blankets!

Four Weeks News

Yesterday Aiden was FOUR WEEKS OLD (yes, already!!). We had a doctor appt to check out his jaundice and make sure he was getting over it. Last week he was still yellowish in his face and eyes, and even though he looked fine by yesterday, we figured we would leave that diagnosis up to the professionals instead of assuming he was fine.

So to the doctor we went. First of all, when Aiden was weighed - he came in at 10lbs 13oz!!! That's just over two pounds more than he weighed at birth! Ryan and I had noticed that he looked a lot bigger, but we were surprised he was that much bigger! Since Aiden still has his cold that he picked up last week, they checked all that out, too. And then, even though we all agreed that Aiden did appear to be over the jaundice, they did a heel prick to draw blood to be sure. The dr wanted to do this only because it will be another 5 weeks before Aiden is back, and it's best to be safe. We agreed.

Now, in the hospital, poor Aiden had this done to him THREE times. He did fine then. He sucked on Daddy's finger and hardly fussed, even though they take a good amount of blood and have to squeeze his heel to get it all out. (He came home with bruises on both heels, and the marks from the prick just recently completely went away...) But THIS TIME he did not take it so well. He screamed the entire time, his face going so, so red. We hated it. The lady drawing the blood hated it. And obviously Aiden hated it. But Mommy swooped in to nurse him and save the day right after they were done! And (a reminder of why I really like this office), they found an extra exam room for me to use to nurse him and take our time. And the results came back a little later - Aiden was right in the middle of the range they want him to be. So that was good news. And no more heel pricks!!!

Some other big news... My cousin Michelle had her baby yesterday!! :) I won't be able to see them until Christmas, but I can't wait for Aiden and little Cody to meet! I was talking to my mom, Mammaw Melly, on the phone about it and put her on speakerphone so Aiden could hear her. He was listening so intently! It was fun to see him so focused. And then it seemed like he was on the verge of smiling...

When we got off the phone, I swear, he smiled twice!! Each time, he smiled quickly, and then just as quickly frowned in a way that looked like he was scared. (I'm wondering if he was scared b/c I was so excited!!) The downside to this.... Ryan and I have both been saying we hope that Ryan can see the first smile. We knew it could happen any day, and Ryan still has a week and a half left at home before going back to work. When this happened, Ryan also just happened to be out of the house! He had left to get Camden from school, so they both missed it (just barely, too)! And of course, it hasn't happened since... Hopefully soon!

Eating and Sleeping

So our new schedule these days is completely of Aiden's making (for the most part). And it can change in an instant if he so desires. We have found that to be very true...

Aiden has been a great eater and sleeper from the start. But things do change from time to time... He started out sleeping no matter what was going on around him. You could pass him around, pick him up, put him down, talk, laugh, make whatever noise, and the child would sleep right through it. To keep this up, he takes his daytime naps in the living room. I did this with Camden, and he's always been a great sleeper! Seems to work pretty well. There have been some changes, though. Lately, he wakes up easily after we lay him down. We think he is out, and five minutes later, those eyes are open wide! This is ok during the day but a little frustrating when it happens in the middle of the night, especially when it keeps happening, which has been the case a couple nights. (Hopefully that won't become a running trend!)

I think one part of the issue is eating. He always nurses to sleep, and now he's staying awake a bit longer during the day. When he nurses but doesn't go to sleep, he doesn't seem to know what to do! Should he keep eating? Should he try to sleep? Hmm... And then he has a harder time going to sleep without nursing. The pacifier (which he will take from time to time) might do the trick sometimes, but then you have to help make sure it stays in as he is dozing off. It's interesting to see how his patterns change from day to day.

One thing we have noticed is that Aiden might much rather sleep on his stomach and he certainly likes sleeping on his side. We only do this during the day where we are around him to watch him. But if we lie him on his belly, he sometimes goes right to sleep. We won't let him stay that way, but we will put him in the bassinet on his side, and he loves that. Maybe once he is rolling over on his own we'll find him becoming a belly-sleeper. That's where my vote is.

Now eating... That hasn't changed a whole lot. He basically wants to do it all the time! When he wakes, to go to sleep, when he's upset. It's soothing to him, will put him to sleep - he just loves it basically. It's what he does best.

When Camden first saw Aiden, Aiden was nursing. Camden looked a bit like he wasn't sure what to think of that, even though he knew it would happen. The next time Aiden was nursing, I asked Camden "What do you think about seeing this?" He was like I don't know... I thought for a second and then said, very matter-of-factly, "Well, kid, you're just going to have to get used to it." And you know what - HE DID. End of story. He's never acted uncomfortable about seeing so much of mommy since then! It's just how it is. I'm proud of how he's responded to that.

So back to Aiden and his eating and sleeping... I think I've noticed one thing that the kid likes... Eating and then sleeping WITH MOMMY. He does like to sleep on me, but this is different. In the mornings, he usually wakes sometime between 5:30 and 6:30 to nurse. We usually need to change his diaper around then, too. So, we might start to wake up a bit but then he decides to go back to sleep. I often think about staying up, actually getting a shower, etc, but I usually give in and sleep, too. So, since Ryan is up by now (he's been taking Camden to school since he's still home), I bring Aiden to my bed, nurse him, lie him next to me, and we both snooze for another couple or more hours. Ryan often says that between 6-9 is when Aiden sleeps the best. I think it's because he is next to me. I actually lay him fairly close to a certain area (think where he eats...), and I think smelling me helps him relax. If he starts to stir, I move him closer, and he calms right down. This morning, he slept for four hours! He never sleeps that long when he's in his bassinet! At first I thought being that close might cause him to wake sooner and want to eat, but it's seemed to be quite the opposite. And to get him to wake to eat this morning, I actually had to move away some and touch his cheek to get him to want to nurse. Hmmm.... But I can't do this during the night. I don't think Ryan would be willing to give up his spot next to me in bed.

Leaving on a Jet Plane

My mom left early this morning to go back home to KY. She was here with us for a total of three weeks. I must admit, when we first discussed her staying three weeks, I couldn't help wondering if the two of us being together under the same roof for three weeks would maybe be a bit much. But there were no arguments, no getting on each others' nerves, no needing extra space. The only problem seemed to be that the three weeks went by WAY too quickly!

I really loved having her here. She was such a BIG help in so many ways. At the hospital, she would get me juice all the time, hold back my hair when I was nauseous from the pain meds, she gave me foot massages, and just loved on all of us. At home, she continued to make sure I always had enough to drink and eat (esp when I was nursing), she still gave me foot massages, she was a great baby-burper, and she played with Camden lots to make sure he didn't feel left out. She made wonderful meals for us, including my very favorite meal ever. She reminded me to take it easy (b/c I have this tendency to take on more than I should and feel like I can do it all!). And it was just nice to have my mom with us to share the time.

Some of the things Mammaw Melly did with Camden. They played soccer about every day!

I know our home will seem a little bit bigger and quieter now that she's not here. I already miss her being here with us. Having Aiden and having family visit us has made me miss being in KY already. We knew this would be harder when we started having more kids. Camden had established strong relationships with everyone before we moved so far away, but this baby is coming into the world with his family hours away. We hope to be able to help him foster such strong relationships with them but know it will be more difficult being in different states. We already have a webcam to communicate via video with the grandparents - in hopes that this will help Aiden get to know them all better (versus just hearing their voices on the phone). My dad has one already, mom will be rushing out to get one as soon as she gets home, and we're hoping Ryan's parents will join us with this, too! Still, it's not the same as being so close to them all.

Anyone want to take any bets on how long it will take us to move back "home"??

Tidbits about our little Aiden

Every day we are learning new things about our Aiden. Here are a few things about him...

*He HATES having his diaper or clothes changed! It really gets him riled up!
*He has a birthmark on his left thigh
*He smells like baby - one of the best smells in the world!
*He can sleep through ANYthing! If it weren't for him passing the hearing test in the hospital, we might wonder... We place him in the living room during the day and go on as usual - nothing waking him up! (You can be holding him and cough, turn on the vacuum next to him, etc, and he sleeps away, never even flinching.)
*Even when we try to wake him, it's nearly impossible!
*He wants to nurse just about any time Mom is near and every time she holds him. If he smells me or I touch his face, he immediately wants to nurse.
*He sleeps much better if he is swaddled.
*He might fuss a tiny bit when we're swaddling him, but the moment we're done, he's content.
*He only really fusses at three times (well, four, kind of): diaper/clothes changings, sponge bath (we're wondering how a real bath will go!), and when he's hungry. Otherwise, he's calm and content.
*He does NOT like the pacifier! He will take it occasionally (we only use it when he wants to nurse but really is full - he likes the sucking action and it puts him to sleep). He makes the most terrible face when you try to give it to him!
*He might take the paci every now and then, but he sleeps better if he's nursed.
*He will nurse just for the sake of nursing, even if he's full. That means I have to be aware of that b/c he *will* throw up everything if he nurses when he's full.
*This kid is HARD to burp!!
*Aiden can be passed around while he sleeps and will just sleep through it all. I can move him from the bedroom to the living room or carry him around, and he stays out.
*He looks so much like his daddy!! He has Ryan's lips, nose, fingers, and toes. He does have mommy's skin color (more of a mix between mom's and dad's) and hair color. Like one of our OB's said, he's a little Ryan!
*He's not a spitter-upper (unless I let him eat more than he needs! Then it all comes up!). Camden was a big-time spitter-upper - meaning every time he ate, a bunch would come back out. So I really appreciate that Aiden is not one.

Basically, we have a pretty easy-going baby (so far)! He is just adorable, and we LOVE getting to know every little thing about him.

OUR Birth Story

Like we said in the last post, the c-section went very well, and we are now just spending the time falling in love with our little baby boy.

There is, of course, more to the story, and I finally have a little time to sit down and write it out (well, maybe bits and pieces here and there).

I was pretty nervous about the c-section, to be honest. Not the surgery itself but the spinal and the meds making me sick was worrying me. I hate getting shots - esp big huge ones in my back when I am only around strangers. But the nurses were awesome and did a great job distracting me, and the spinal wasn't all that bad - not compared to getting it in an emergency for my c-section with Camden. In fact, the whole procedure was so different this time b/c it wasn't rushed and I wasn't throwing up. It was calm and exciting, and I was able to be aware of everything going on. One time the anesthesiologist did have to remind me to breathe, though! I said, "I wasn't breathing?" Really thought I was, but I guess I was just so focused on listening to the doctors and nurses doing the procedure. So from then on, I paid close attention to every breath I took - while listening to the rest. I remember the doctor holding Aiden up so I could see his face over the blue sheet - right after she delivered him. I saw his wet dark hair, his red face, and his mouth open crying. It was really incredible.

Afterwards, I actually got to have Aiden with me. I even held him while I was pushed back into the recovery room and then got to nurse him immediately. With Camden, I didn't get to see him for a couple hours after the delivery, so this was a big deal to me.

There are many things we want to remember from that day and from the rest of our hospital stay - and honestly, some things we don't. There was a lot of good and also some bad. Nobody's story is perfect, right? Here are some pieces of our story...

CONS:

Like I said, no sickness from the spinal this time around. They gave me Zofran through an IV (this happens to be the same medicine I had been taking for the morning sickness, but it's much stronger through an IV and worked wonders!). Afterwards, for pain, I was given Percocet. Apparently, I react to some narcotics with severe nausea... So on day 2 (since I already had Zofran in my system during day 1), it hit again. They still hadn't taken my IV out, which was good, b/c I had to have two doses of Zofran given to me again. Same thing the next day. Day 4, though, saw me still getting sick (threw up a couple times - no fun when you still have staples in your abdomen!) even with the Zofran. So, when I ask for more anti-emetic (anti-nausea) meds, they gave me Phenergan, which knocks me out! I had also requested more pain meds, and the dr was ordering me something different. Well, the nurses didn't give me that, even though it was due - and I slept for over an hour. By the time I woke up, I was three hours past due for pain meds - and was in severe pain!! They gave me Vicodin, which is apparently slow acting (thanks, right?! seeing how I'm already late for the meds) and also didn't do a single thing for me! Then they gave me something else (Dilaudid), but it also meant I had to stay longer in the hospital to see how I reacted before they let me go home. (We got out at 7pm instead of 11am.)

On Day 3, Mammaw Melly noticed a rough spot on Aiden's little tushie. We were told to take him to the nursery to see the Ped (which should get him seen faster than waiting for the Dr. to come to us). FIVE doctors looked at the spot and couldn't tell what it was, so the on-call dermatologist came by when making rounds. She thought - maybe a birth mark (but we hadn't noticed this until just that day!). The main derm dr looked at it, too, and they still weren't sure. They ended up coming by the next day to do a skin biopsy on him. Yes, that means they had to numb him with lidocaine and take some of his tushie skin off to get a better look at what was going on. We wouldn't get a call until Monday (this was with a rush put on the results) and would come in later for a follow-up. Needless to say, we were pretty worried. They thought it would just be some inflammation and said it might be fibrous tissue hamartoma, which would be benign. The biopsy was to be sure. Scary stuff to hear when it's your newborn baby.

Day 3 we also find out that Aiden was a little jaundiced and that he would need to have his billirubin checked a THIRD time. He has a different blood type than me, so they said that's why he was already checked twice. We weren't told his results from the second test was so high until the day after...). So we had to wait to be discharged on Day 4 due to this, too. The poor guy came home with a bruise on one of his heel from all the squeezing they had to do from all these tests to get enough blood out for them. :( His levels did turn out ok enough to come home, though, with orders to breastfeed as much as he wanted and would.

Day 4 - supposed to be doing all this breastfeeding, which had gone tremendously well thus far. But he was sleeping ALL day this day - apparently another sign of the jaundice. So I was really engorged and not feeling all that well in that area! I had to finally get a pump and express my milk that way while the little guy snoozed away.

Before being discharged, the dr wrote the prescriptions for the new meds I would need. She said I could take two Dilaudid at a time, though the nurse gave me only 1 - and I needed the two! The nurse later almost refused to give me the extra one before leaving b/c the doctors "orders" stated only one. She finally gave it up right when we were about to leave.

We had stated multiple times that Aiden NOT receive the Hep B vax while at the hospital - because we were asked multiple times. (We're not against vaxing but have a different schedule that is approved by his dr and will get the vax later on.) One nurse even asked us THREE times, as if she never heard it when we declined. When leaving, we are handed the paper to show all immunizations given, dates, dr signatures, etc. On it is written that he got the Hep B!!! Ryan did not take this lying down (I love him!) and demanded to find out why that was on there and that they make sure it was incorrect. The nurse wanted to smooth it over and say she was sure it wasn't - and it turns out he most likely wasn't (he was always with us except to be weighed each night, she says they write this on all of the papers before the child ever gets the vax - what a crappy procedure, huh? - we never saw any mark where the shot would have been, it was in the computer that we declined, etc, etc.). But there's no way to be 100% sure, is there? She had to admit there wasn't.

On Aiden's discharge paperwork, it is stated that his blood type is O+ in one place and A+ in another. We were told A+ (I am O+), but why would they have it written as two different types??? So what do we do? Well, we have to get him retested b/c who really knows which one is right?

The hospital staff made Aiden's first ped appt but made it with the wrong dr. Not a huge deal, but he had to see the other guy for the first appt and we had to explain a million times to everyone why he should see this other person the next time around. Just kind of annoying, but small compared to some of the other stuff we had to deal with.

I have a lot of sores from where the tape was around my incision dressings. The dr said my skin had been "burned" by it. I still have the marks - you can see where it outlined the tape. Not much fun. I also had to have the IV left in for much longer than expected due to needing nausea meds. Each time they used it, they had to flush it out. They eventually had to remove it b/c it was getting to be too much and was really painful. My arm is STILL numb from where all the fluids were in my arm next to the IV.

When leaving, we were given three prescriptions for me to fill (for pain and nausea). Two were pain meds - the Dilaudid and Motrin (800 mg). Even if I only took one Dilaudid at a time, they would only last a couple days - and no refills! We weren't sure if I was supposed to take both that and the Motrin together, so when we called on Monday, we were told I was really supposed to take the Motrin and then only take the Dilaudid as needed. I was not a happy camper! ONLY Motrin? Ha. We tried it that night, and it was the most painful night I have had (including at the hospital!!!). I'm annoyed they didn't give us these directions to begin with, either. Hmmm.... And I keep hearing from people, "You're taking Dilaudid? That stuff is GREAT!" Ummmm - maybe for you. I feel like it doesn't do a whole lot, to be honest.

I got quite annoyed with some of the nurses there - telling me to "cover him up!!" when I would uncover him some to help him wake up to eat (I do know what I'm doing!!), acting like I was crazy about being nauseous (until they saw me sitting next to the toilet and had my mother explain how white I got before I jumped out of the bed to make it there - and you don't typically "jump" anywhere after abdominal surgery...), the constant reminders that they do have lactation consultants and encourage me to take advantage if I need one (why would they think that when the baby was nursing better than most newborns - which they would then notice once they saw him), and other things, some already mentioned. I don't know how many times I rolled my eyes and thought - I DO know what I'm doing, you know. I didn't really say much b/c they were, after all, the ones giving me my meds and other special treatment I or Aiden needed.

Hospital Food!! Ugh. Not just the taste of the food itself but how about the fact that they never got the orders correct? There were always two or three things missing. So I ate a lot of snacks and things others brought in on top of the meals there. Or Ryan would have to go to the cafeteria to get his meal and would get enough for me, too. Glad to be home eating what I choose now. :)

We chose to deliver at Duke b/c it is supposed to be the best place to be - we were somewhat disappointed with many things. Can you tell?

PROS:

I wasn't nauseous at all during the day of the surgery. That was quite a relief!!

I had awesome nurses, doctors, anesthesiologists working with me during the surgery. They made it a great experience for me!

I got to nurse Aiden RIGHT AWAY after he was born, like 15 minutes after he actually was pulled from my uterus. I got to hold him while I was wheeled from the OR to the Recovery room and then nursed him immediately. He was READY to nurse as soon as he was born and we had no problems whatsoever! What a blessing!

Everyone took the tushie spot very seriously. That was nice to see.

I got the pump stuff from the hospital for free b/c I needed it, so insurance covered it. It is to go with a machine but can also be used as a hand pump (which is all I would need anyway). It's also the brand I was going to use, and now we can take back the one we were given as a gift and get something else since we don't need two. Nice plus, I would say. Those things aren't cheap!

My hubby is awesome! He showered me once I finally had the bandages removed from my incision. He dealt with all the yucky stuff that I couldn't help and showed me more love than I would have expected from anyone. He also stood up big time to the nurse when we were getting discharged. That poor lady wasn't personally responsible for any of the stuff happening, but she got the brunt of it and had to deal with us for quite a while before we left. He knew I was getting upset, reminded me that he would take care of it all, and he did. He is really awesome, and I am so thankful for him.

My hubby stayed at the hospital the entire time! And this was without me asking him at all. His idea! His "bed" was not at all uncomfortable, yet he never complained. He WANTED to be there and played a major role in everything! He is going to be (and already is) an incredible father.

Ryan is also really on board with using the gdiapers after the whole tushie thing, even though the disposables didn't cause it. He doesn't want those nasty things on his bottom now (with the exception of the occasional 7th Generation diaper when needed), and he's also not so crazy about using those regular wipes, either. I think officially becoming a father has helped him to think more about what we do to our child (instead of just accepting what is traditionally done in our society) and try to do what is better for him.

One of the doctors (the one working with finding meds that didn't make me nauseous) was pretty funny. She said "let's get you out of here so you can deal with people who have some common sense" after hearing some of the things the nurses had told us (such as a nurse told me I could NOT have an ice pack to put on my incision site b/c it was not part of the doctor's orders!). She also saw the gdiapers and said, "Oh, these are those new biodiapers!" She thought they were really cool. :)

We also settled on our circumcision decision... This was a tough one. Both Ryan and I kept going back and forth. He was slightly more for at times, while I was more against most times. But we were both wishy-washy and were having the hardest time making a final decision that we were completely comfortable with. One dr said, "If you're not 100% sure about a surgery, you shouldn't do it." Another agreed and even said how she regretted doing a circ on her son (you usually don't hear regrets about that, and it was nice to hear). Neither of them were biased (even if this sounds like it) and supported either decision but agreed that we needed to be sure before doing either. So - we defaulted to our original decision - if we can't find a very good reason TO DO something like this, we simply won't. So we left with him being fully intact. The great thing is we both felt by this time that it was really the right thing to do. Like I told Ryan at one point, I'm not ok with us just compromising on this decision - we both need to agree on it whole-heartedly. It's not a minor decision, and we ended up seeing it the same way. That's a good feeling, and we're satisfied.

And of course - the best PRO is that we got the most amazing little boy out of all of this, making everything worthwhile!!! I would do it all over again 100 times and more.

Happy Birthday, Aiden!!!

Baby Aiden Joseph is here!!

The c-section went really well. They gave mom a bunch of meds for nausea (so I didn't vomit during the entire procedure like I did with my first), and that made all the difference! I was nervous about getting the spinal, but there were some AWESOME nurses, anesthesiologists, and doctors working with me, and they helped so much! We even got to do the surgery earlier than planned, which was great, too! It meant we got to meet our new baby that much sooner!

Aiden was born at 10:39am. He weighed in at only 8lbs, 11oz (we expected at least 9lbs, and compared to Camden being 11, this is small!) and measured 20in. long. We were surprised to see a head full of dark hair!! He wanted to nurse right away and took right to it - a pro from the start! He nursed as soon as we got into the recovery room (directly after the surgery was finished) and then went to have his first bath, have his glucose tested (which they do if the baby is over a certain weight - and he was fine each time they checked), etc. Other than that, he's been sleeping away!

Mom has been experiencing the expected pain after the c-section. But I'm not complaining TOO much since I remember how horrible it was to have this pain on top of the day FULL of throwing up when Camden was born. (Not a good mix with surgery in the abdominal region...) I'm taking some "good" meds, am not feeling much difference with them, but am keeping things in perspective. I did get a perfect baby out of this, after all. What's some pain, right? ;)

Camden has been so excited to meet his new brother. He waited anxiously for him to wake up so he could finally hold him! Daddy got to change Aiden's first diaper, which was, of course, dirty - and as he put on the new diaper, he peed into it - so he got to change it again! Aiden looks a lot like Ryan. I knew it ever since we saw the first ultrasound - Aiden has daddy's lips! :) We also think he has Ryan's toes and fingers. And we think he might have mommy's dark skin, but we're still waiting to be sure. He definitely has my dark hair, though!

Here are some of Aiden's first pictures. You can click on the slideshow to view them in the album if you prefer.



We'll give more updates later! Thank you for all the prayers and good thoughts. We are so very thankful for such a perfect baby boy!!!

Sunday through Today

Sunday was a big day here... My mom flew in to stay for a few weeks, and CAMDEN CAME HOME! Ryan drove to the meeting point to get him, since I can't go that far. Mom and I were at the grocery when they got in, and I came in the door saying "Where is my baby???" He came running into my arms and hugged and hugged (and hugged) me. What better feeling is there of your child running into your arms like that??? I can't think of anything!

Today is the big day... We're about to leave for the hospital! I wasn't sure how I would sleep last night, but it was pretty much the same as other nights. I think Aiden knows something is going down today, though. Last night he was moving like CRAZY! And oh man, the pressure!!! That was not fun. Really hurt, to be honest. I wasn't sure if he was trying to say - hey, I'm ready to come out of here! or hey, I'm NOT ready to come out! Hmm.... Like Camden said to him yesterday, ready or not! ;)

I woke up Camden this morning, and the first thing he did was reach over to my belly, patted it, and said, You ready to come out today?? Very cute. I think he's pretty ready to become a big brother! I can't wait to see them together!!

NOT Yet! ~ Update!

Went to the dr today and had an exam to check things out. While Aiden is way down there (I didn't need an exam to tell me that - I know quite on my own!), my cervix is not open. So the dr says I shouldn't be going early. That's very reassuring! :)

See you Wednesday, Aiden!!!

Not YET!

So it is exactly one week before the scheduled c-section... And for the past week, I have been worried over every single contraction I have. Maybe it's silly, but maybe not... In the past 2 hours and ten minutes, I have had 8 contractions. Not what I am wanting. Remember - we really want this guy to wait until next Wednesday before he arrives because Ryan will then get an extra 3 weeks off from work (paid!). I'm feeling the pressure in a number of ways............................

Please pray, send out thoughts, whatever it is you do - that this little guy can stay in there one more week!

More Than My Belly

I had a dream the other night. I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep, couldn't stop thinking. The dream wasn't directly related to Aiden being born, and I actually can't remember now what the dream was about, but I know it made me realize something I hadn't consciously been aware of.

I have been telling Ryan that I'm not sure I'm quite ready for the little guy to come out of my belly and into the "real world." It's not that I'm not ready to hold him and take care of him. I just love having him in there and with me all the time, with just me (yes, I'll admit that!). Right now, he's all mine, but soon I'll have to share him. We joke about that because once he's out, Ryan will get to take him, too. He'll tell Aiden through my belly, mommy will have to share you with me soon!

But what got me thinking this night when I woke up was the fact that, I have to share him with the world now, but in a different way. In my belly, I am the one taking care of him. I take care of myself, and he gets everything he needs through me. I know he is safe and healthy in there. He has everything he needs. Once he is out in the world, though, he is exposed to so much more. I'm not just talking about germs and such, though that's there, too. Other people can affect him, can do him good or harm, can teach him things, can expose him to all sorts of things. I'm not at all worried about Ryan taking care of him. I know he will be fantastic. But I have to think about how others will treat him, what they can and will do to him and for him. I have to worry about what he'll learn, what he'll eat, wear, everything.

The world can be a scary place, and now Aiden will be exposed to that instead of only experiencing the warmth and safety of my belly. He will soon be able to experience discomfort, pain, cold, hunger. There is just so much that can affect him once he's out of me, and there is so much to consider. I love having him in my belly and knowing that he is in the best place possible. Don't get me wrong, I'm not scared. Just as all you other parents, I want the best for my child. I want to know he's protected, he's happy, and that he's getting the absolute best he can possibly have. And soon it will take more than my body to ensure that.

Differences

They say that no two children in a family are alike. I think that pregnancy is the same way! There have been some similarities, but there have been a lot of differences between my pregnancy with Camden and this one with Aiden.

Yeah, I still got the severe morning sickness, but this time was worse, I do believe. Never had meds with Camden, though I remember how sick I was through month 5. Not a lot of fun to be dry heaving all day and have to cut back to part time at work b/c I couldn't make it in due to being so sick. But this time, it got too bad NOT to have any meds. I'm still on them. I've been wondering - do I really still need them even now? I've tried to go off a few times, even though I just take one pill when I get up now. But this morning, I forgot! I kept wondering why I was so nauseous when I ate the same thing for breakfast and then when I was still sick to my stomach before it was lunch time. Finally it hit me - didn't take your meds today!! So, yeah, still need them.

With Camden, I got these horrible, horrible leg cramps in the middle of the night - all the time. What a way to wake up, huh? This time, I kept waiting for them. I've had maybe two. I take measures to try not to have them, such as not stretching my legs when I wake up. I always feel that the muscles are so tight and am sure that if I stretch them out before I get up and walk around, surely I'll have a cramp. Not sure if that's made any difference, but I haven't had cramps like I did before. That's been really nice!

I also had heartburn like crazy with Camden!! I carried Tums around in my purse and popped them like candy all day long! I was prepared early on this time. I have some in the bathroom, in my purse, etc, etc. I think I have taken Tums twice! But I'm not complaining. At all.

I can't remember how often I had to get up in the middle of the night during the last pregnancy - to pee, of course. But I'm sure I did it plenty. This time - nope. I think I have woken up and had to go ONE time! Now, I do take measures to help with this, of course. I stop drinking after a certain time each night (or at least only take a few sips if I really need it). I go before I get into bed, and then I read until I'm falling asleep - and am sure to get up and make sure my bladder is as empty as possible before sleep comes. It seems to have worked. I've been thinking this for a while but was afraid to voice it and have my luck change! I think it's pretty safe to say at this point, though. It's been nice not to have to get out of bed in the middle of the night. I do wake up lots, but I'm one of those people that just can't go right back to sleep if I get up. So I am VERY thankful!!!

Weight gain... This one is a little funny to me. I have gained less this time around, but my ending weight is about the same with Aiden as it was with Camden. I started out about 20lbs smaller prepregnancy with Camden and ended up about the same. I wonder if a woman's body just knows where she needs to be or something like that. Hmmm.... Not sure.

I didn't get Braxton Hicks contractions with Camden, which is not abnormal with a first. And with this one, I started getting them at 13 weeks. That's been different for me. I get them all the time right now, but I can tell they're still just BH contractions. Every time I get one, though, I pay close attention to how long it lasts, how often it happens, etc, etc. I am so aware of every tiny little thing that happens to my body right now!

With Camden, I'm sure I had some back problems and sore muscles. But man, this time around it is killing me!! I am aware that much of it is due to some areas being out of alignment, after going to physical therapy for a while. My pelvic area is better over the last month, though it's a little worse now that he's moved down there and pushes on the bones more... My back, though - wow! Now that is just nonstop. That and the pain from my ribs being pushed out, too.

Sorry if it sounds like I went back to complaining there... Not intending to. But these are some of the major differences I have noticed from the two pregnancies. It makes me wonder how the third will be and what other differences I will experience. And yes, there will be a third (at least). ;)

I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane...

Ok, so not really - I'm not going anywhere on any kind of plane. But that song has been in my head for the past week.

All my bags are packed, I'm ready to go....

The hospital bags are all packed just in case - my bag, Ryan's bag, laptop, cameras, everything! All that's left is a few things I still use everyday, and I've got my list ready for that. What a way to make his arrival so REAL other than packing hospital bags. Wow! It also meant that, not only did I have to pack my things (or Ryan's or Camden's), but I had to get AIDEN'S things ready! I had to sterilize his pacifiers (b/c I want him having the ones I have picked out, not what the hospital gives the babies), get his going-home outfit, pack scratch mittens, nursing items I need, and some other little things.

Aiden's going home outfit is really special, sentimental. When Camden was born, my mom made his Christening gown, and he wore that home from the hospital. Of course, nobody expected him to be soooo big, so we couldn't even close the back of the gown! But he still wore it. Nine years later, it's still in perfect condition and waiting for Aiden to wear it home, as well. It will mean so much for him to be able to wear it just like his big brother did!

Camden in his Christening gown that Mammaw Melly made

A Little Grumbling...Topped Off With GOOD Thoughts

So now that I'm in the "final stretch" things are getting even more uncomfortable. You other moms know what I'm talking about. I'm really trying to focus on the great experiences from the pregnancy, but I want to take just a moment to complain a bit. Then I'll be done with it. :)

• I am not sleeping well AT ALL, of course. I was getting these annoying leg pains when sleeping. Whichever side I was sleeping on, that leg would hurt, waking me up. I would turn over - which is nothing easy at this point!! - to the other side. The leg would stop hurting, but an hour later, I'm awake again from the other leg, the one I am now lying on. Back and forth all night. Waking up every hour or two just to switch sides. The dr said this was normal, actually - from pressure on my nerves from the baby weight. So I've finally found a sort of solution... I am not wedged between two pillows, one on each side, so that I am not on my back or my side (if that makes sense at all!). No more leg problems, but I'm still waking up every hour or two, and it's not really all that comfortable.

• My back is killing me! Nonstop. Upper. Lower. You name it - it hurts.

• Every time I move, I sound like it's the most difficult thing ever. I have to put so much effort into getting up, down, everything which means all this huffing and puffing and then big sighs once I'm done with all the work (yes, even from just getting up sometimes!). I can't seem to do anything without making a bunch of noise!

• Oh, and if I for some reason need to sit on the floor...just try to watch me get up! If Ryan's not around to help, getting up involves both hands, knees, and all sorts of struggling...

• Every time I move, I have a contraction. No, they're still Braxton Hicks - no labor (thankfully!) yet. But it's still happening all the time, it seems. My whole belly gets hard for a minute or so every time I bend or lean over, and whenever I do all sorts of things! Of course I can't bend much... It can be pretty funny to watch, I'm sure.

• Sitting down is even uncomfortable sometimes. Now that Aiden has moved down a bunch more, I feel like I'm squishing him at times! And when he moves, he'll move onto my bladder suddenly, then off again, on again... You get the picture.

• My belly is definitely outgrowing my maternity clothes at this point. I am constantly having to pull down my shirts to cover it all the way (that is - the ones that I can still wear, which are few).

• Every little thing I do is exhausting! Man - just fixing my hair does me in! Sometimes just standing for a bit has me feeling weak and out of it.

But none of that's stopping me!!! Regardless of how difficult every little thing seems to be these days, I still LOVE being pregnant! People are already assuming that I am anxious to NOT be pregnant anymore and that I'm just miserable. Well, sometimes I'm a bit miserable, I suppose - but I am certainly not anxious to not be pregnant! I am not going to wish away the last couple weeks when I know that once it's over, it's over. Yes, I can't wait to have my little boy in my arms. I still love him being in my belly, though. I get him all to myself and have him with me every second of the day. All I have to do is put my hand on my belly, and I can feel him moving around in there.

I can even watch him and feel him practicing his breathing! My belly will barely move up and down as he "breathes" in my tummy. It's really amazing!

I know I am going to miss being pregnant. I have been looking forward to it for so long, and nine months (well, it's really 10 now isn't it?) does go by so quickly! And I already know that as hard as pregnancy can be for me, I can't wait to do it again!

Totally fits!

So this is the card that Ryan gave me for our anniversary. I laughed out loud when I saw it because it totally fits me! Yes, I will stick out my tongue and go "pbth" plenty. ;) (Oh, he does his fair share, too! But it's all in good fun.)

Inside: Making faces behind the back of whoever's acting childish helps, too.

And yes, we both make plenty of faces at one another - we don't bother with doing it behind each other's backs, though! :)

I just thought the card was hilarious. Totally us!!

Happy 2nd Wedding Anniversary!!!

July 15th was my and Ryan's 2nd wedding anniversary. We celebrated the way we normally do (yes, I know it's only been two years, so it might sound silly to say "normally" but we did this the day after our wedding and for each anniversary since and plan on continuing...) - by having dinner at The Melting Pot.

Oh yummy. It was so good. I kept telling Aiden that he needed to move down to make room for all the food I was eating b/c I WAS going to eat it, regardless of how full I might have felt! Haha! There would be no stopping - especially once dessert came our way! It was a great night, and once again we sat in the special, intimate seating areas down "Lover's Lane" (yes, it's really called that), where we had curtains we could even close for privacy if we wanted, which we actually didn't use this year - it gets too hot in there if you do...(from the steam from the food, people!!! geez.... I can hear some of you making little comments about that already. You know who you are!).

Dinner at The Melting Pot in Durham


Yummy! Dessert!!!

And a couple wedding pics :)

Showered with (even more!) Baby Gifts!

This past weekend, we traveled out of town for the last time until the baby comes. I think Ryan's mom was a bit nervous having us so far away from home and me being 36 weeks, but it went well. The traveling wasn't too bad (the trip before was a few hours more driving, so this wasn't a big deal! Haha!), and we took it easy over the weekend. We went to Huntington for a baby shower where we got a lot of nice things. Someone even found some gDiapers for us! It was really cool. She said she heard we were having a "green" baby and gave us some of the gDiapers, some Seventh Generation wipes, and packed them in a reusable back from Whole Foods. I thought it was really cool. (And yes, we are having a "green" baby! And we do use the reusable grocery bags, too!) :)

We also got another homemade quilt, this one from Ryan's sister Rachel. I had no idea she could sew like this! It is beautiful!!! Here are a just a couple pics...

Rachel's quilt for Aiden


Me and Ryan with our moms :)

How do you make such BIG babies??

This was the first thing the nurse said to me today at the dr office.

We were in for our visit, with questions in hand (as always!), one of which was if they were going to try to estimate Aiden's size/weight. I know they can't know for sure and a guess is just that, but I am just so curious! I know he's not as big as Camden was when he was born b/c I am not showing that big. But I'm still big and am so curious as to how big Aiden will be. Since we had the cool lady and it was a really early appt (VERY early, so nobody else was hardly there), she said, let's go see! We did a quick ultrasound and got to peek in at our little guy! I was soooo excited!!!

Based on his measurements (head, spine, legs, etc), he is estimated to be 7.4 lbs right now, so she guesses he'll at least be 9lbs when he's born, considering I don't go into labor before the c-section is scheduled. So, yeah, he's not going to be as big as Camden was, but he still should be a big guy. The first thing she said when we saw him was that he IS big. "How do you make such big babies? And with you so small!!" I don't know, but apparently I do!

The ultrasound pics weren't that good and clear this time around. We weren't in for a long one, and he's bigger now, too. Plus, the good machines are at the hospital (where they do the routine ultrasounds). But here is one we got from today that shows his face. The white on the right side is his hair - looks like a crew cut (kind of like dad's hair, huh? haha!). You can see his eye with a little white line under it - that's his eye lashes. So cool that we can see even that. She tried to get a 3 or 4 D pic of his face, but he kept putting his arm over it, making it pretty much impossible. His head was so low down and turned to the back, so it was hard to get a face pic at all to begin with.

Aiden's face at 35 weeks

She also measured my belly, and this time around I do not measure on target - I measure two weeks over (37). I have definitely noticed a difference in the belly lately, especially since I seem to be outgrowing my maternity tops! (Yikes!) And when Aiden moves around now, it can REALLY hurt! Not that I'm complaining. I'll take the bad with the good. :)

We also double checked...and Aiden IS still a BOY. Nice to know. :) Oh, and I really do think he has Ryan's lips.

Aiden's Official "DUE" Date

Officially, Aiden's due date is August 10th, but since Camden was sooo big (11lbs), the drs are going to do a c-section the week before. That size is too big to risk delivering naturally after I've already had a c-section.

So....we were recently told we would need to do the section between Aug 3-5, and we had kind of settled on the 4th. But then...Ryan's work interfered. They have a great paternity leave - he first has to take 3 weeks vacation (which is no problem b/c he gets plenty vacation time from Duke to begin with), and he is then given another 3 weeks paid paternity leave - giving him 6 weeks at home with our new baby (paid)!

BUT they just told him that the "qualifying event" (Aiden being born) must occur on or after he has been with Duke for 12 months. That 12 month mark - August 6th. Are we cutting it close or what?? So the drs say it should be fine to move the section back to the 6th. It's annoying that they can't be a little flexible with one or two days (or even allowing him to take extra vacation time to make up for it), but we are also grateful that the timing is as close as it is and that we *should* be able to make it.

Now we just have to hope and pray that I don't go into labor early... That would not be good! It would be great to have that 3 weeks paid time off! I was induced with Camden on his due date, not going into labor on my own before that, so I'm not too worried. But you never know!!

We still have yet to meet the dr that is on the schedule the 6th, so that is our next move - to meet with her as much as possible between now and then. If we don't like her, a dr we do know and like is on the schedule on the 7th. But this lady has much more experience and we've heard good things about her, so let's keep our fingers crossed. (She's actually booked with appts until the end of August, but I refuse to have a dr I don't know deliver my baby if I have anything to say about it - and I will have things to say about it.)

So - that's that. As of now, Aiden will be joining us on August the 6th at Duke Hospital. And I plan on TRYING to keep July as stress-free as possible and doing as little as possible so that I *hopefully* do not go into labor early!

***********

UPDATE - we have scheduled the rest of our dr appts since we will be meeting weekly from now on. And they managed to get us two appts with the dr that will be doing the c-section. :) I told Ryan ahead of time that I required meeting with her at least twice if she was going to be doing major surgery on me (I think that is quite reasonable of me to expect, too!), and he made that happen. We've heard she's a great dr, and she is one of the main ones at the practice, so we feel pretty good about her - and are looking forward to getting to meet her now.

Please keep us in your prayers that Aiden will stay put until the 6th! Some people have commented that I look like I have dropped some already - and looking at my weekly pictures and basing things on what I (and HE) feels like, I think I have some. I continue to get BH contractions, though they are a little stronger than what they were before (I've been getting them since week 13, though, so that doesn't really say much for now...). The little guy is definitely getting bigger. He's running out of room but still tries to move as much, so I'm constantly yelling "Ouch!" and trying to push him back in a bit so he doesn't hurt as much. And I'm starting to outgrow many of my maternity clothes (yikes! and I still have over 4 more weeks to grow!!!). But hopefully he will STAY IN THERE! :) I know I can't help it if he comes earlier, but I would hate for Ryan to miss out on those 3 extra weeks at home with his new baby!!!

"Mommy, I want to come HOME."

It's that time of year again where Camden has his BIG visit with his dad and their family. He goes to KY for 4 whole weeks, which is hard on mommy. He's always fine with it and has a lot of fun. This time has been a little different, though. He stayed a few days with my mother and his cousin (who is a year older than him) before going to his dad's, and he is getting an extra couple days at his dad's so that we will meet again on a weekend day (well, Ryan will b/c it will be too far along in the pregnancy for me to travel). So, instead of 4 weeks, it's really almost 5. When getting ready to leave him last week, he even said to me, "Why can't you stay?" I was surprised but didn't think much of it. I reminded him that Ryan had to go back to work the next day. He wasn't upset, though. Of course, I cried when we hugged and said our goodbyes, as we were pulling away, and for a while on the road. It's just such a long time away from my baby - and such a big distance, too.

Camden and I saying "Goodbye" for the next month. :(

The next night, Camden called me at 10pm, which surprised me. He kept saying things were fine and he just wanted to talk, though he never calls me - I always call. (I even ask him when he wants me to call him so that I'm not crowding him - even if it's hard to wait, though he usually asks me to call every or every other day.) But he finally admitted he was homesick. He said, "I want to come home." And I could soon tell he was crying, given away by his sniffles and me asking - is your nose running or are you crying? My child has NEVER been homesick in his life (and neither have I, so this is new to me in many ways). Hearing him so sad and crying on the other line just tore my heart into pieces. We both talked and cried for the next hour until he got off to go to bed. He kept telling me he wanted me to come and get him, he wanted me there, he wanted to come home. The hardest part was just not being able to do what BOTH of us wanted (of course I wanted to bring him home!!!) and knowing that he was far away, hurting - too far for me to be able to comfort him. I couldn't hold him or rub his back and sing to him while he went to sleep. I could only talk to him over the phone lines. This was definitely one of the most difficult conversations I have ever had with him - maybe it was the most up to this point even. For once, I looked at Ryan and said, "I don't know what to tell him. I don't know what to do to help him." And that is very hard for a mom.

He's doing better now. Sounds great when we talk and says that he's not as homesick, though he admits he's still a little homesick. I think it surprised him so much b/c it was his first time, and surely that made it harder on him and scared him some. He's getting older and is starting to see things differently, and perhaps that's part of the reason he suddenly got homesick this time. Sometimes it hurts me a little to know that I am missing him like crazy while he's having too much fun to think about missing me. But after this call, I know it feels worse to know he misses me and that he is hurting. It hurts me more b/c I can't do anything to fix it for him, and that's what I always want to do - to make it better. That's my job as his mommy.

Camden wanted a picture with my belly showing. :)
He's so sweet and is really excited about Aiden arriving.
He keeps saying, "I can't wait for it to be August already!"

Kentucky Baby Showers and Birthday Parties!

We took a trip to KY this past weekend. In two days, we had two baby showers and two birthday parties. It was Camden's actual birthday on Saturday, and big brother could not be overlooked. :) So after each shower, we had a party for him, as well. One of each at my mom's and then my dad's. It was so great getting to see everyone - a lot of family and many friends, some of which we haven't seen in about two years!! I wish I had been able to get more pictures of everyone and had more time to actually sit down and chat more. Being the person opening gifts and all, it was difficult to do that, though. I realize the big downside to having everyone get together is that it is so hard to actually get to spend much time with anyone, so I ended up seeing some people that I really wanted to see but not really getting to have time with them.

We got a lot of nice baby items we needed, many things from our registries and some nice extras, as well. Here are some pics of the weekend:



To see larger pictures, just click on the album and go to our picasa album.