Two Weeks of Liam

My little man is two weeks old today!! The craziest/most wonderful two weeks of my life. I've learned so much...I still have so much to learn!

Tomorrow Keith has to go back to work...and let me just say, I will greatly miss him around here!

 He was been amazing. AMAZING. Did I say amazing?

He's seriously blown my mind with awesomeness.
From the day we came home from the hospital, he's been literally the picture perfect husband & father. He's done the dishes, dusted, vacuumed, done laundry, cleaned bathrooms, taken out trash, etc. etc. every single day...

All while waiting on me hand and foot! He makes me food/brings me water while I'm nursing and constantly asks if I need anything. (I am constantly nursing)

He has changed almost every diaper.

He is the king of swaddling. (but seriously.)

Sometimes the only way Liam calms down is when Keith carries him around outside & gives me a little 'break'.  

Anyway. You get the point, so enough bragging...you've come to see Liam!

Weight: Maybe a little over 8 pounds?

Height: We have his two week appointment this Wednesday where we'll find out his exact height and weight...but my, my, that boy can EAT, so I'm sure he's grown.

Clothing size: Newborn. We've tried putting him in some 0-3m, but he absolutely swims in them. 

Diaper size: Newborn

Feeding: I have no idea how much he's eating, but I do know that he loves to eat! His longest feeding was a little over an hour...Normally, he eats every hour and a half-two hours, and he'll feed for about 20 minutes at a time.
Sleep: I try to fill his belly as much as he wants/as much as I can during the day so that he sleeps really well at night, and so far it seems to be working great. He consistently sleeps about 5-6 straight hours, wakes for about an hour to eat, then goes back down for 3 more. I am so grateful!
Milestones: Nothing major at this age, except he does seem to be focusing his eyes a little more.
Adventures: We went to a pumpkin patch this week, mostly for mom & dad to get some cute pictures. That was a total bust. Horrible. We hated it, and I'm sure he did too, we left after maybe 20 minutes. It was so so hot. Like, over 80* and hardly any clouds. We might try again next year when he's old enough to actually enjoy it and we're not as worried about heat stroke :)

Grandma Pfost (my mom) is here right now, so he got to meet her for the first time too!

OH! And we did his newborn photoshoot on Monday (that seems like so long ago!). Those cute pictures will be coming soon!
Mommy and Daddy could not get through the first weeks without: Tons of burp cloths, flannel receiving blankets, & muslin swaddle wraps. We keep some in every room!

And each other.

[still working on the birth story. it takes me awhile to get all the deets just perfect. :)]

One year in Hawaii!

Keith and I have been marveling over the fact that we moved to Hawaii exactly one year ago today! I absolutely cannot believe that it has been that long already.

To get to see the world with the man I love has been wonderful beyond my wildest dreams....and now, we have added another little adventurer to our family, and we can't wait for him to see the things we get to see. 

 

 I am in love with these two men. I love our little life and I would not trade it for a single thing.

One week with Liam

Liam is ONE WEEK old today!

WOW! Can I just say the cliche thing that all parents say.... I can't believe how fast this time has passed! 

This week has been a whirlwind of emotions for us...becoming parents and everything that goes along with it. Sleep deprivation, realizing life is no longer your own (and being completely okay with that) and falling utterly & absolutely in love with a tiny human being. 

This week, we've been peed on, pooped on, and barfed on. 

We've done more baby laundry than I thought possible, and learned to never become too attached to an outfit...it will probably be changed in an hour or so.

We have laughed more than we've ever laughed....Every day this little bitty boy keeps us on our toes and laughing! Just right when we think we've got something figured out, he changes it up and throws a kink in our best-laid plans. 

Though we've obviously had a few bumps (and always will!), our transition has been relatively smooth overall. We've come together as a team to tackle every hurdle we've faced, and I am so grateful for the man beside me.... I literally could not do it without him....

In addition to falling in love with my son, I've fallen more in love with my husband this week. It has been a wonderful privilege to watch him become a father.

And to think, he and I get to love this boy together for the rest of our lives...

too good, too good.

A

a few more of my favorite pics of the week.
just because. :)

For Liam's one week birthday, we took him for his first walk on the beach. :)

Coming soon:

We are in the process of writing Liam's birth story to share with everyone!!

Liam Greyson

Born early Sunday morning, October 14, at 3:46 a.m. after 24 hours of labor and 2 hours of pushing.

Meet Liam Greyson Pope.

7 pounds, 12 ounces, 21 inches long.

We fell in love from second one.

truly, madly, deeply.

We are loving each precious moment with him, and praying with all our might that they don't go by too quickly.

Please don't grow too fast, little treasure...

 

40 + 5 & no baby yet....

Well then. 

Here I am, 5 days past my due date. 

Still very much pregnant.

No major signs of labor yet.

I've had some contractions here and there...in fact, last night I was just sure I was going to wake up in labor, I went to bed in so much pain. But no. I woke up feeling fine.

Speaking of labor, right now Keith is in the kitchen making me 'red raspberry leaf' tea. The neighbor, who had a baby 6 weeks ago, gave some to us as it's rumored to be a 'natural' labor induction method. I just googled it (seriously people, what on God's green earth would we do without professor google?) and apparently it 'should be in every pregnant woman's kitchen'. This article says so, so it must be true. How have I not heard of this earlier? Well, all I can say is, if it's gross, I'm not drinking it. 

Update, 10 seconds later: It's good! With sweetener, of course. I'll drink three cups and Liam is sure to be born on 10-11-12 after all!

Hmm, now what other 'natural labor induction' methods are there?

Well, first of all, there are only a few that the actual doctor told us might work. Sex and walking are two that I remember her mentioning. 

There is actually a chemical in sperm (prostaglandin) that is the same chemical in a drug doctors give women to help soften the cervix. 

So. Yeah. Let's just say, ladies, that husbands all over the world are suddenly more than willing to lend a hand and do whatever they can to be helpful. 

Also, can I just say for the record how much someone 40+ weeks does not feel like walking? I mean, I'll do it, and I have, trust me, but not with much enthusiasm or vigor. Plus, who wants to go into labor exhausted? 

I plan on being well rested when I go into labor. Fresh out of the shower, with a new face of makeup. I also plan on not sweating or messing up my hairdo when I'm in labor. 

Would you like to hear my plans on how my newborn baby won't have any diaper blowouts, and will never be fussy or irritable?

Here are some other labor induction methods that I've heard of, though from what I've read, none of them are medically-proven. According to WebMD, whattoexpect.com, etc., if your body isn't ready to go into labor anyway, none of them will work. (I mean, obviously).

Castor Oil. (this is one I will absolutely not, under any circumstances, be trying) I've heard of drinking castor oil to bring on labor before. What I did not know until recently was that castor oil is a laxative. Uhhmmm....yeah, ok, trying to push out a baby while simultaneously being stricken with a bad case of the runs sounds pretty gruesome to me. 

Cohosh? What the heck is that?!  

Evening Primrose Oil. Said to help the cervix thin and dilate. You can take it in capsule, or actually just rub it right onto your cervix. (Because I rub my cervix all the time, don't you??)

Spicy Food. Definitely got called out as a myth by one of my midwives. But I like spicy food, so I'll keep eating it.

Nipple Stimulation.. ? Yes. Indeed. It has been said that nipple stimulation releases oxytocin, which brings on contractions. It's also been said that nipple stimulation can cause contractions to be extra long & extra painful contractions. No and No.

Anywho, needless to say, there aren't many methods I'm trying or am willing to try. I am really hoping that this little dude decides very soon to just come on his own!!

I will say that I really, really don't want to have to be induced at the hospital. Obviously there's only so long we can wait, so if it comes to that I'll do what I have to, but it's not even close to being my favorite option. Mostly, I don't like the idea of having to get a pitocin drip at all.  

 

'The use of pitocin does not, however, duplicate the natural progression of labor. Pit induced labors have longer, harder and more painful uterine contractions....'

http://www.birthresourcenetwork.org/resources/54-pitocin-the-whole-story-

 

Ugh. Sounds awful. And then of course, there are risks of induction to baby as well, most of which I really don't like reading about. I'm not a worrier-type, and I'm honestly not really that worried about it, (everything in life comes with risks, right?) it's just not ideal in my mind.

Tomorrow I have an appointment and I'm going to have my membranes stripped.

I know a few people who've gone into labor soon after having this done...even one girl who's water broke as they were doing it!

So....fingers crossed!! 

 

40 weeks, 3 days...still...pregnant...

Well! Here I am, three days past my due date and still pregnant! I never had a 'guess' or prediction or whatever as to when our baby boy would be here, (like many other people did!) but I will say, I definitely expected him to be here by now! But he's not. Fashionably late. :) And we are just trying to wait patiently. This just goes to show you that life simply cannot be planned.

My next Dr. Appt. isn't even until Friday, nearly a week past my due date! (I tried to get in sooner, but that was all they had!) I'm really hoping he's here by then, but again.... practicing patience. 

 A friend pointed out to me that if he's born Thursday, his birthday will be 10-11-12. That would be neat!

This past weekend was *possibly* our last weekend as 'non-parents' (though I think I've said that about the last three weekends....haha) and I will say, this has been the most relaxing, enjoyable weekend we've had in a while! I think part of the reason was because we have everything done! No huge items to check off our to-do list. Car seat is in the car, bags are packed, & every nook, cranny & crevice of our house is cleaned. Keith even cleaned out the garage & backyard spotless.

So it was very, very nice to just relax over this long, holiday weekend.

My due date was Saturday, & we decided to go out for breakfast just like we did the day we found out I was pregnant. 

We went and bought Liam a (very cute!) little owl humidifier, went mini-golfing, saw a movie, & had dinner with friends. (Actually, I lied, we saw two movies this weekend. Figured we may as well get them in while we still can!)

We went on several beautiful, relaxing drives, just riding around with the windows down & taking in the beautiful island scenery (I'll never get sick of it!)

We did lots of walking! Several malls, the zoo, a walk on the beach, even took the dogs to the dog beach! Trying our best to coax him out :)

We had a lot of good food, spent a lot of time together and with friends, and really just enjoyed ourselves!

If this does end up being our last weekend as a twosome, I'm very happy with it, & happy with the memories we made!

 

The humidifier was Keith's idea... I wasn't sure we needed one since obviously it's already humid here...but he was so excited about this owl. :) AND we are very glad we got it, we've tried it out in our room for a few nights and are seriously amazed at how much cooler it makes our bedroom at night. This one is a 'cool mist' humidifier & we got it from Best Buy.

Liam's 'first' zoo trip. We were racking our brains trying to think of other places to go that would involve walking & we settled on the zoo...

Liam got a very cute toy out of our trip. 

Since I got to 40 weeks, ( I wasn't sure that I would, or that I would be able to get a 40 week belly pic) I was able to do a few side-by-side comparisons. 

If you are pregnant...Do this!! You won't regret it! It's amazing to look back on, you won't believe the changes!

I still don't...

Now this one really surprised me! I really didn't think that two weeks would make much of a difference, but I can definitely see it! That boy is a-growing, even still.... TIME TO COME OUT!!! I am just prayyying, oh lordy, that I do not have a ten-pound baby.... pleaseohpleaseohplease!!!

And then of course, just for fun :) I remember thinking so much earlier how 'big' I was, and how I didn't think I could get any larger. HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! That's funny.

How far along? too far :)
Total weight gain: I think the final verdict is about 40 pounds.
Stretch Marks: Notta one! I am so thankful. (Though I've heard some ladies went their whole pregnancy without getting them, and then got some between weeks 40 & 42...comon LIAM!)
Maternity clothes? I can only wear either maternity pants, yoga, or skirts/dresses...there are a few regular shirts I can still fit...man....I am so excited to get my body back.
Sleep: I woke up twice this week literally COVERED in sweat. Like, dripping. Gross. I had to get a towel one night. And when I came back to bed, I could see little wet splotches of sweat on the sheets. I say again: gross. One of the joys of pregnancy, right ladies!? But I will say this...That cool mist humidifier HELPS! Big time! Since we put it in our room, I haven't been sweaty at night at all.
Best moment this week:  That amazing, relaxing weekend I talked about. Sometimes in life, you need to just have no plans, kick back, and see where the road takes you. Hard for me to do sometimes, because I am a planner and always like to be prepared, but I'm telling you, it's worth it!
Miss Anything?  Like I said...excited to get my body back and be able to wear some cute, regular clothes. Ahh..skinny jeans, how I've missed you!
Movement:  I want to say I read somewhere that the movement kind of slows down as the baby runs out of room...I suppose it's slowed down maybe a little, but right now as I'm sitting here, I swear he is taking both fists and just slamming them on my uterus like he's pounding on a drum.
Food cravings: Nothing huge. I did insist on going to this little bakery for donuts this morning.
Anything making you queasy or sick: aside from the thought of giving birth?
Gender: All I can say is, IT HAD BETTER BE A BOY!!!!!
Labor Signs: There were a couple times this week where I had very intense cramping & a few contractions. Once today I was doubled over in pain that took my breath...but just when I think maybe it's the start of something, it goes away.
And I have not lost my mucus plug yet. (If you don't know what that is...b/c I didn't before I was pregnant... well, google it.)
Symptoms: Swollen feet, swollen belly, tiny bladder.
Belly Button in or out? I don't even know what to say about my poor bellybutton anymore, it's just plain deformed. 
Wedding rings on or off? off! My hands still really aren't that swollen, but I don't want to take any chances.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy. More relaxed than I've been in so long.
Looking forward to: Tiny button nose. Picking out his outfits. 4 am feedings, just me and him. Seeing him in his little swing. Hearing his cry! Smelling his freshly bathed skin. Going on walks around the neighborhood. Trying out my Moby. Newborn Photos! Seeing his first smile. Knowing what color his eyes are. Watching him sleep. Being able to finally mother him outside the womb. :) :)
Showing: I'm sure people watch me suspiciously as I enter any public place to 
A. make sure my water doesn't bust on their shoes and
B. make sure they don't need to take me to the hospital!

I'M SO EXTREMELY PREGNANT!

Come on Liam! Ready when you are.....