Sunshine!

Could there possibly be anything sweeter? That is my 2 month old sweetheart!

I can't believe how fast the last two months have flown by. I know I keep saying that time is flying past, and its such a cliche for a new mom to say that, but it is truly getting away from me! I went to Costco last week for work and got so jealous of the moms out with their babies! I wanted my little guy with me. Its like a delayed reaction from going back to work I guess, but its really got me down. I miss him so much during the day, its damned distracting!

Other than my distress at leaving my baby everyday, things are going pretty well! We are busy with social stuff every weekend and Carson does so well with meeting our friends and hanging out! He is gaining weight properly and pumping is going as well as I can hope. He is laughing and cooing and smiling, I absolutely love it! He is the light of my day!

Crazy 8!

How the heck did 8 weeks go by so fast? My sweet little boy is going to be 2 months old next week, and it seems like we just had him! I just can't believe it.

We are getting through the weight gain issues, and my supply is doing great, so Carson is doing great! He is getting a good 3-3.5 oz at each feeding and he is now 9 lbs 1 oz and 23 inches long! So breastfeeding is finally going well!

I went back to work this week as well, and Carson started with his sitter. So far so good, the first 3 days went well! We are really getting into a great schedule with him now and I love it! I hate leaving him at the sitters though, I just want to stay home and cuddle him and make him smile! But I stay so busy at work and with my pumping breaks the day goes by really fast! And he gets along great with our sitter, so that gives me some piece of mind.

We joined a gym this week! Here begins our journey to getting our bodies back! I am excited to get started, and excited to see some results. It rained all week though, so we didn't get to go, didn't want to get Carson out in the rain to go to the gym.

That's our life in a nutshell right now. Work, baby, sleep!

When you're smiling...

Oh when you're smilin'....keep on smilin'
The whole world smiles with you
Ah when you're laughin'....keep on laughin'
The sun comes shinin' through

-Louis Armstrong

Beautiful baby smiles :) = lovelovelove

On a positive note...

After that totally negative post...

This kid is sleeping through the night! We are getting a consistent 6-7 hours every night for the past week! Hell yes!

And here is a video of his adorable self having some fun:

One month photo:

(taken by me)

Newborn photo:

by: Megan Noonan Photography

Breastfeeding drama [my breast needs rest]

Well we are learning and learning on this breastfeeding thing. After our meeting with the lactation consultant, we felt very confident in our ability to feed our baby. Once we got home it was a different story. Its so much harder at home for some reason. And I honestly thought I had a really good grasp on what I needed to do. I think we are still latching incorrectly at times, and he only gets a full 3oz at my first morning feeding when he's gone 6-7 hours between feedings. At his other feedings he's getting 1.5 - 2 oz and we are having to supplement to make up the difference. The worst part of this supplementation is that we are supplementing with pumped milk....pumped milk that comes from each of these feedings. If I am pumping enough to finish the feeding, why isn't he able to pull it out on his own? It has to be something with my latch. He is only effectively sucking part of the time it seems.

I am pumping 15 minutes after every feeding and another 15 minutes in between feedings. I am also taking fenugreek and eating oatmeal 3 times a week or more, as well as trying to have a couple of dark beers during the week, all to try and get my supply up. Granted, it hasn't been a week yet, but it is frustrating all the same. I would like to be able to feed my baby w/o having to break out a bottle of breastmilk. At the rate we are going I don't know what I will do when I go back to work the first week because I won't have any extra milk pumped! Its honestly making it more stressful, so I am trying not to think about it since that will probably effect my supply too.

My one complaint about Potomac Hospital stems from this issue that we are having. They have little to no breastfeeding support available for new mothers. I feel like if we had had help with latching and technique from day one, I wouldn't be suffering the supply issues I am now.

This site has been particularly helpful to me in these struggles:

Breastfeeding Videos

as well as:

kellymom

Fabulous 5!

Well we are a little over 5 weeks post partum and I think we are getting the hang of things...at least I thought we were...

We took little C to the doctor on his one month birthday and discovered that he had still not gained his birth weight. Frustrated and concerned we headed home with the resolution to call a lactation consultant. We set up an appointment for the following Wednesday and began supplementing with formula in the meantime, hoping to get his weight up to an acceptable level, as well as upping his feedings from every 3-4 hours during the day to every 2 hours.

Got to the consultant today and we were pleasantly surprised to find out that he has gained his birth weight and then some. He went from 8lb 4oz to 8lb 12oz in a week! Finally! But the little guy is still long and skinny; I guess we aren't destined to have a super chubby baby! He just keeps getting longer and longer. I think he will be on the taller side like my side of the family...I am 5'9, my brothers are 6'2 and 6'3 (give or take a little).

So....good news! We are dealing with thrush again, but we will get through it! One day at a time! We are also starting to get longer periods of alertness and he is smiling and cooing a bit :) I am loving being a mommy; its such an adventure, and my little guy is such a sweetheart!

This mommy also made a trip to the doctor in the past week for our post partum checkup and got the all clear to exercise! Its good to know I am healing just fine and even better to know I can start working out and getting back into pre-baby shape. I even went for my first jog/walk yesterday and man am I out of shape!

Stationery card

Hello Baby Boy Birth Announcement

Turn your favorite photo into a birth announcement.

View the entire collection of cards.

RAWR!!!

It means " I LOVE YOU " :)

I love you too my little lion!

3 Short & fast...

3 weeks old and practicing the 5 S's :

Taken from : http://www.drphil.com/articles/article/274

(I take no credit for the below article)

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The 5 "S's": How to Turn on Your Baby's Calming Reflex

1. Swaddling: Wrapping makes your baby feel magically returned to the womb and it will keep your baby from flailing his/her arms. If not done correctly, the baby may cry even harder. Remember to swaddle snuggly. Loose blankets may be a choking risk. Also, don't overheat your baby. (Babies should never be sweaty and flushed.)

2. Side/Stomach: Newborns are easier to calm when they're lying on their side or stomach. This triggers the calming reflex by imitating your baby's position in the uterus. Lying a baby on his/her back can sometimes trigger a falling reflex and make your baby feel insecure. Keep in mind the side/stomach position is great for calming crying, but babies should only sleep on their backs.

3. Shhhh: "Shhhh"ing your baby imitates the sound he/she heard in your uterus, which was as loud as a vacuum cleaner. Place your mouth two to four inches from your baby's ear and make the "shhhh" sound. It must be loud enough to match the sound of your baby's crying, or he/she won't hear it.

4. Swinging: Rhythmic moving imitates the jiggling your baby felt inside the uterus and activates the calming reflex. Ways to use motion are: baby slings and carriers, dancing, infant swings, rocking, car rides, bouncy seats.

5. Sucking: Putting a pacifier, finger or breast into a baby's mouth satisfies hunger and turns on the calming reflex.

For more information about Dr. Karp and his techniques for calming crying babies, go to www.thehappiestbaby.com.

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These rules save our life at times. Carson is doing great though! I can't believe 3 weeks have already passed!

PP Survey!

How far along were you when you had your baby? 39 weeks 6 days

How long was labor? 19 hours, 1 hour pushing

Total weight gain: 50lbs

Total weight loss since: 33lbs

Back into your own clothes yet? Tops yes, bottoms almost!

Did you get stretch marks? Nope

Did you deliver vaginally or by c-section? Vaginally! 16 hours w/o a working epidural! I got some blissed out painfree time in the last 4 hours and for the pushing!

Best moment this week: Starting to get into a real routine I think!

What I miss about being pregnant: Not much honestly! lol

How big is baby: 8lbs 7oz at birth...8lb 4oz at first pediatrician visit

Baby's temperament? Content and happy, fussy from 7pm - 10pm

What I am looking forward to: Sleeping through the night and working out!

2 Weeks Post-Partum - Learning the ropes!

Ok, so we are a few days over 2 weeks...We are figuring things out though I think!

Two doctors appointments later and we have been battling thrush as well as mastitis, but we are getting through it one day at a time. Thankfully my milk supply has yet to be effected! Poor baby had a painful tongue and I had some painful boobies, but we are tough cookies! He is latching with much better consistency, and we are even doing bare boob without the shields sometimes! He's a little piggy sometimes though, nurses 30-45 minutes at times, and finishes in a milk coma his face covered in milk!

We have started using cloth diapers during the day, finishing off the disposables at night and when we go out during the day! I love using the cloth dipes! Right now we are using prefolds with Real Nappies covers and they are working beautifully for us; love his fluffy butt :) We might try some AIOs at some point, but I've got 8 dozen prefolds and a dozen covers, so for now we are okay. The AIOs might actually be used mainly for day care and outings I think.

Speaking of going out, this kid is a trooper! He has been drug all over Woodbridge, and he does so with minimal fussiness and sleeps most of the time we are out. We went to a Borders yesterday and stocked up on books for our little guy! BD reads to him as much as possible, and it actually seems to calm him.

OW BOOBIES!!

Well nursing is ummm...fun. We are getting the hang of it, but now "favorite boobie" as we've named it, is painful, bruised feeling and I am running a fever. Awesome. So off we go to the doctor in the morning to confirm mastitis. Hoping since we are catching it early this won't kill my milk supply! Will update on this lovely development tomorrow!

Mommy-dom 1 week PP!

1 week post-partum - I LOVE MY SON !!

Carson is such a good baby! He eats good, he sleeps good, and he is such a sweetheart! We are still working through our latching issues, but he is getting better and better with each feeding! Just a quick little update because this mommy is going to take a nap since baby is sleeping!

Here are my 1 week postpartum photos. I can't wait to hit the gym!!

Carson's birthday!

Well I've been a little busy these last few days, because the new love of my life has arrived!

Mr. Carson Bryant Gilmore was born on July 15, 2011

8lb 7oz - 20in

On Thursday July 14, 2011, my mom and I decided we were going to walk this baby out of my belly! So we went shopping...again! Around 10 am I started having irregular contractions about every 7-10 minutes, so we kept walking! We shopped until late afternoon and the contractions kept up, though they were painless. Went home hoping to get things started further and ordered pizza and wings. Sat on my exersize ball all evening and ate dinner around 7pm. We went to bed slightly disappointed, since the contractions were not becoming regular or increasing in intensity.

Around 2:30 am I woke up to go to the bathroom and coming back, I felt a little gush. I stopped...took a step, and felt another gush! I was pretty sure my water had broken, so we woke up my mom and headed to the hospital to find out what was going on! We got checked in and checked out and by 4am it was decided that I was indeed in active labor and my water had broken. I was still only 1 cm and 90% effaced at that point, and I labored for 6 hours unmedicated before deciding to go ahead with the epidural since I was not progressing very well, I had only made it to 2cm. With the epidural place I kept waiting for things to get better, but the pain never really went away. I thought maybe I was being a wuss, or just hard to numb so I was breathing through contractions. With little progress at my next check we decided that Pitocin would be needed to speed things along for the sake of the baby and the drip was started. My pain went from a solid 6 or 7 to a hot 10+ within two contractions. I was in hard labor with no working epidural. Things went on like this until 4pm and they finally checked my epidural and found that it hadn't been working at all, it had slipped out almost immediately after being set. So after 15 hours of natural labor the anesthesiologist reset my epidural and I finally had some relief. My labor at this point had barely progressed to 3cm. After all the work I had suffered with my epidural failing I was starting to worry it had all been in vain and I was going to end up with a c-section. Not only that, my little guys heart rate was hovering around 200+

Thankfully with the with a working epidural in place and bumping up the Pitocin drip, my cervix progressed to 10cm within 4 short hours. After 19 hours of labor I was ready to push and feeling the urge. We waited 30 minutes to let some of the epidural wear off so I could feel my legs a little more and Carson was born in 40 minutes of pushing, with only a very minor tear (3 stitches)!

They placed him up on my chest and cleaned him, and I fell apart and just fell in love with my beautiful baby boy.The stress of the prolonged labor caused him to be purplish at birth and unable to show us his full lung capacity, just tiny squeaking cries, so they pulled him out of the room to get him crying for us. In no time he was screaming like a champ, but he was still breathing really rapidly, so they took him to the nursery and got his breathing under control.

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5 days later we have been to our first doctors appointment and my little man is perfectly healthy and doing great!

We have had some trouble with breastfeeding, mainly latch, not that his latch isn't good, just that it is hard for him to latch and he gets VERY frustrated. My little boy is not a patient one, but he comes by it honestly, because I'm not either! Its something we work on at every feeding, and he gets a little better each time.

To help him out I am pumping a small amount and giving him a tiny bit at the beginning of each feeding to get his sucking reflex going and give him a taste of what he is about to get, and its helping him tremendously! That and we are using breast shields currently, but we hope to get away from those eventually.

My recovery is going great as well, each day is a little better and I am already starting to feel myself again!

This is me at 39 weeks

This is me at 5 days PP

Active towards the end eh

Look at me becoming a model blogger close to the end!

I think its because I am so ready to birth my sweet little parasite haha. I'm on pins and needles these days! It is officially okay for me to go into labor now, my mom is currently on her flight here from Texas! C'mon baby Carson, lets get this show on the road!

I unfortunately started getting sick yesterday...stupid allergies, but maybe this is a partial sign of impending labor? Regardless, I feel like having him will ultimately make me feel better so I say its going to be a cure all!

Of course once Carson is here I will move onto a more mommy type blog and lifestyle blog that I had originally planned before this one became all about my pregnancy. One thing I am looking forward to immensely is blogging my weight loss / get in shape process!

Hopefully my next post will be as a new mom!

Almost there!

How far along?: Almost 40 weeks :)

*Total weight gain: 50lbs

*Doctor's appt report: 90% effaced, 1cm(+) dilated, baby is at zero!

*How big is baby?: Watermelon! Doc estimated he will weigh around 7lbs

*Sleep?: Its getting really hard to sleep!

*How are you feeling physically? Things are getting rather exhausting! We are finishing up a kitchen & half bath reno, and everything just wears me out these days!

*How are you feeling emotionally?: Crying or laughing at the drop of the hat...feels like I'm on the crazy train lol

*Best moment this week?: It will be when my mom gets here tomorrow night...and then when Carson is born..he is SOOOOO coming out this week!

*Movement?: More rolls and body parts sticking out now than actual kicks

*Food cravings?: I crave sodas like crazy...its so bad! And ice cream!

*Labor signs?: Irregular contractions, lower back pain, & loose stool....eep! (and ewwww)

*What I miss: uhhmm....my pre-pregnancy skin, an ice cold beer, comfortable sleeping positions, energy!

*What I'm looking forward to: Birth!!

*Random Thoughts: Are we ready to have this baby??????????? I hope so! I'm a little nervous about being a mommy!

Next week!

I have turned into a horrible blogger as this pregnancy has progressed, but in my defense, we've been pretty busy getting ready for our little guy :) Here are some pictures of the latest happenings around here.

Me at 39 glorious weeks....ready to hold my baby boy :)

The nursery:

We have also been working tediously with contractors on our kitchen renovations! But I will wait and share those photos with you this weekend when it is closer to completion! I am definitely ready to have my house back to normal! All of the kitchen, dining, coat closet, and half bath is crammed into my living room .... it looks like an episode of hoarders in here!

As far as the baby, we had our 39 week appointment today and everything is looking wonderful! Baby Carson looks to be about 7lbs maybe 7.5lbs at birth; I am now 90% effaced and 1(+/-) cm dilated. Now waiting on my mom to arrive July 12th and efforts will double to get this baby out!!

First check! Woohoo!

Not fun, but we are 70-80% effaced and head is engaged at -2. No dilation yet, but hey at least there is some kind of progress! Ready for my mid July baby! :)

That is all.

36 weeks! Only 4 weeks left!

I am ready to meet this baby! And I am obviously behind on my blogging :)

Not much to say really at 36 weeks, baby is moving around like crazy, and looks like he is trying to claw his way out of my belly alien style! Its craziness!

We had our baby shower at work yesterday, it was very sweet and everyone got us some nice stuff! Today is our shower with our VA friends!

On other items, we did finally order our kitchen!! Oddly enough it will arrive the last weekend in June, meaning we will be installing it the week before Carson is due to make his arrival! Ha! Hopefully he stays put as long as he is supposed too :)

31 going on 32

31 weeks

Can I say that I am ready to have this baby? Because I am! I haven't posted in a while...so sorry for the delay, but we have been so busy with preparing for baby! Our nursery is ALMOST finished and I hope to post finished pics this weekend! Here are the letters for his wall and his closet dividers that I made:

We are getting so close, I can't believe it! Can't wait to meet the little guy! Will post a more detailed update with nursery pics, house pics, etc ASAP :)

Lots to update!

WOW. I've been blog-lazy lately! I need to get on the ball :)

Here is a short little recap:

We have finished our yard project, the nursery is almost finished, furniture is put together, and Carson is doing great! Can't wait 'til July!!

<3

More!!! I am on a roll!

WOW! I am on a roll this weekend! Here is an update on the garden project quickly in pictures:

Our house this fall, post trimming with bushes across the front...

BD chopping up bush roots!

Right side..

Left Side

No more hedges!

Tulip bed expanded...next step...stone border!

Side yard hedge trimmed

Trees removed along back fence..

Hedges around patio door removed...

Also removed hedges along the fence here.

There is still so much to do, but we knocked out a good bit this weekend! We are worn out :) Next weekend we are borrowing a trailer to haul all of the debris to the dump. Then we will be putting up the stone borders and planting the new plowers, as well as mulching.

Can't....stop....baby clothes...too...cute...aghhh!!

Looking back at my little wiener of an update just now I think I need to do a more substantial post :) as we have had a lot going on lately that's kept me from posting! So, we've been a little busy these days...what with shopping, working on the nursery, and we have taken on some big projects in our yard with spring on the way!

Our yard was a little sad last year when we first moved in, but we trimmed up the hedges and planted some tulip bulbs last fall in hopes for a prettier spring! Now we are expanding the tulip bed and taking out some of our hedges to create a prettier flower bed. Its a lot of work but I think its going to be gorgeous soon...Next we are tackling the backyard, taking out some bushes and pouring a patio. Here are some pics so far:

Mums coming back already!

Tulips making their first appearance

Pansies looking lovely this year

More tulips!

I plan to post some full before and after pics when we get finished and as the flowers come up and start to bloom!

Now for our baby boy, we had a great a/s yesterday! He looked great, and everything looked to be healthy and normal! He had his hands up by his face the whole time, even sucking his thumb at some points :) He kicked and stretched his legs out for us and got the hiccups before the appointment was through. Best of all (other than him being healthy..)we finally saw his precious face! Here are some pics from the scan:

Sweet baby boy...he's so handsome already!

Sucking his thumb!

Long legs

Making a fist...each hand

Now as far as the nursery, I'm sorry to say that we don't have any pics...but that's because it has barely been started...UGH. We got started and realized we had a lot more putty and sanding to do on the ceiling before we can finish painting it. So hopefully soon! My goal is to have it painted by the end of this month and set up!

Now while we didn't get the nursery done yet, we DID get some great bargains this weekend at Carters and Gymboree! At Gymboree we bought $250 worth of clothes for only $66! They were having an amazing sale :) Also bought him some basics and cute sale items at Carters on Friday...we practically stole the clothes we bought this weekend! I have a very hard time passing up such good deals!

22 Weeks!

How far along? 22 weeks
Weight gain/loss: 14 lbs (aghhh)
Maternity clothes? Belly bands save my life, but yeah I can't zip my pants good anymore!
Sleep? Really great this week! We got new pillows though lol
Best moment this week? A/s went so well! And we got to see Carson's sweet face finally!
Food cravings: Everything
Gender: Its a boy!
Belly button in or out? Its getting disturbingly shallow....eep
Movement: In the morning and at night a lot!
What I miss? Beer lately
What I'm looking forward to: Mom coming to visit this month!
Milestones: Beautiful A/s

Insanity!

I can't believe we are almost halfway through this pregnancy already! It will be 19 weeks tomorrow and the belly is definitely popping out!

How far along? 19 weeks (Saturday)
Weight gain/loss: 10lbs
Maternity clothes? Belly bands save my life, but yeah I can't zip my pants good anymore!
Sleep? Wake up to pee...and b/c I am uncomfortable!
Best moment this week? Baby kicked me several times throughout the day today! It was great!
Food cravings: At the moment? I want some homemade peach cobbler with ice cream!
Gender: Its a boy!
Belly button in or out? Its getting disturbingly shallow....eep
Movement: More frequent now!
What I miss? Beer lately
What I'm looking forward to: Scheduled the anatomy scan for March 11!
Milestones: He's kicking away!

I'm not really a huge fan of Valentine's Day....I love BD every day, as cheesy as that sounds :) He has been my support, the love of my life, and my best friend for the past 3 years (March 29). We've been through ups and downs, we've moved across the country away from everyone we love, we've gotten new careers, bought a home, and are now eagerly awaiting the arrival of our sweet little boy! Life has been so blessed. Even when we are down and lost and looking for something to light the way, we pull through together and push for success and grab it. So this is in honor of me and BD's sweet love! Sappy Friday it is!

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On other notes for this week...I have an update on my Grandpa. The week started with good news! The doctors decided that even though he is 81 years old, since he is in such great health other than the cancer, he was a great candidate for a combination of radiation and chemotherapy. The doctors even had some high hopes that it would be very successful.

Yesterday they went in for an MRI and EKG. He had the MRI and went over for the EKG, while they were doing the EKG they realized his heart was racing at an excess of 150 bpm and irregular. Long story short, he is now in ICU being monitored. He didn't even notice the difference in his heart rate; he didn't know anything was wrong.

Now I know he has lived a full, active life at 81 years, and he is even a cancer survivor (he beat bladder cancer several years ago), but any prayers and thoughts would be greatly appreciated! Right now we are just trying to stay positive!

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So for some good news, we had an appointment yesterday at 17 weeks 5 days and everything checked out great! Carson's little heart was thumping away at 150 bpm. I am up to 155lbs by the doctors scale, so I have put on close to 10lbs so far, which isn't too bad I don't think! We scheduled our next visit at 21 weeks 5 days and I am going to schedule our anatomy scan for the same time! Unfortunately our insurance won't cover the scan at our OB, so we will be calling a imaging center the OB referred us to.

We have all of Carson's bedding now and his furniture is ordered as well! I am hoping to get his room painted this weekend...if nothing get the ceiling painted and the walls at least primed!