8 weeks

Lots to report this week:

First up an appt with Dr Daley. Liam was 12 pounds 14 ounces and 23 1/2 inches long.  That puts him at about 60th percentile for weight and 70th percentile for height.  He actually grew 4 pounds from his appointment at 2 weeks and  Dr Daley even said he expects him to be even higher next time (around 90th percentile) given his daddy's size.  I guess boobie milk is doing its job.  He got his first vaccines, the Hep B, DPT, polio, pheumococcal and Hib.  I'd say he did phenominal, only briefly crying when the medicine was pushed in and quieting down quickly.  We're doing tylenol today, per Dr Daley's recommendation, to help him with any pain and low grade fevers that might develop.
Liam met uncle Tony this week!  The two hit it off wonderfully and lots of 'man time' ensued.  Tony got here on Friday morning and didn't have to leave until early evening on Sunday.  We spent the weekend hanging around, going to the Oakdale chocolate festival and eating.  I will note that so far Tony hasn't changed a diaper so when Liam is older he can't say 'I changed your butt when you were little'. 

We tried out the Tummy Tub this last week.  Liam loves any bath and this was no exception.  It is a little harder to actually WASH him, it's more like a little hot tub, but how dirty do little babies get anyway?  It's not like they're playing in the mud or anything :)

Another first, the swimming pool!  With the weather and heat we have here in Cali I knew Liam needed a little pool to soak in.  Plus, we want him to be acustom to water and maybe even learn to splash a little before Chelan in July.  He was certainly apprehensive at first but ended up liking it once he knew mama was going to stay with him and in all actuality it really is just a cooler form of a bath.  How adorable is little man in his swim suit?  It's built in SPF 50+ and the one piece aspect means less pale skin to worry about burning.  I'd give his first swim a B+.  If I could get him into swim lessons I would, but crazy enough they don't start until 1yr down here.

I still haven't mentioned a wonderful new gift that nana brought down with her because I just finally got pictures to share.  It's a blanket for Liam made by Janelle who works with Mary. The boarder of the fleece blanket is stitched with Liam's name, check it out:

At 8 weeks postpartum the extent of my working out consists only of  bouncing on the exercise ball for several hours a day (Liam loves the bouncing and occassionally it's the only thing that will sooth him)  Here are the belly shots from this week: (coming once Dominic gets home and can take it)



Now for the upcoming plans this next week.  I'm headed back to work on Wednesday. :(  HUGE sad faces.  I have always been one to say that there is no way I couldn't work.  I really need a little out of the house/adult interaction.  Don't get me wrong, I haven't changed my mind, but I can certainly see why people do it.  I do enjoy watching his smiley face, getting to see him wake up from his naps happy and laughing, and love our time spent together while he's feeding.  Really there isn't anything I don't like about staying home except what I'm missing that's going on at work.  Maybe I'll cut back and drop my half day so I'd only work 3 days a week but that's not going to happen for a while.  In the mean time I am easing into working, starting back 2 days a week instead of 3.5.  This shortened schedule will last for an entire month before I have to go full time.  I guess we'll know for sure next week how I really feel about everything, until then please send lots of good thoughts my way.

postpartum recovery

We're at 6 weeks postpartum on Tuesday so I wanted to update on my progress. I'm feeling pretty good, probably about 90% of normal. There is still some minor pain occassionally with breastfeeding but that's mainly when Liam tries arching his back and pulling his head away to stretch WHILE feeding! Trust me, I've tried talking to him about it, but I don't think he really cares at this point. The other time it happens is at night. There are two culprits here, one is the fatigue (both mine and his) and the second is the fullness that occurs when he's gone 5-6 hours without eating. Since I would prefer him to sleep through the night there's nothing I can do about the length of time but I can be more persistant with getting him to latch on correctly every time.

My bottom feels fine and I think my tummy is going back to nonpregnant just wonderfully. I'm still not really doing much in the way of regular exercise.  What I am doing is going on walks and going to mommy and me yoga once a week.  Liam also loves to be bounced on the exercise ball so I've been doing quite a bit of that as well.  Here is the postpartum belly shots for comparison, the order is: first belly shot ever, final pregnancy shot from labor, 2 days postpartum, 10 days postpartum, 3 1/2 weeks postpartum, 5 1/2 weeks postpartum

4 weeks

I can hardly believe it's been a 4 weeks since Liam was born. 

We've settled into a bit of a routine around here with liam sleeping 3-4 hour stretches at night and playing for an hour or two twice during the day.  Play time around here includes tummy time on the activity mat, swinging in the swing, talking with mom or dad, watching and listening to scout in his crib, and just looking around the house.  Unfortunately we're still struggling with getting little man down at bed time but I'm really hoping that resolves itself in the next week or two so we're not so exhausted when I go back to work.  Since Dominic has been back at work I've discovered that Liam loves his Moby. We've stuck to the hug hold so far but I'm excited to try out the rest. This really is the easiest way for me to tote him aroud during the day because it keeps the weight off my shoulders. 

Milestones:
-Liam smiles at us occassionally.  You can't really 'make him smile' you just have to wait for it, but he does it AT us instead of just in his sleep now.
-He's still a boob man and hopefully will be for the first year of his life.
-Andrea visited today and we weighed him, he's at 10 pounds 2oz!!!
-Still wearing his NB and 0-3m clothes, although a few of the NB onesies are a bit snug and will be retired very soon.
-Eclair just ADORES her new brother.  She is extremely protective but occassionally gets a bit irritated at his crying.
-We went on our first family walk around our neighborhood.

Here are my 4week belly shots...still making progress but I noticed the shrinking has slowed down a bit.  I as at 144 pounds when Andrea was here on Monday.

Quick updates, bullet style

1. Nana and Papa (Mary and Tim) came with Gina for a visit with Liam.  He had a great time hanging out with them and we appreciated the extra help with feedings, cleaning, naps and meals.

2. Liam switched over to his BumGenius on 4/2 in the morning.  He was through with the meconium and that means we didn't need to lube up his bottom with olive oil anymore so we made the switch.  They fit him pretty good, he's currently around 8 pounds, maybe a little high in the rise but I'm sure that will remedy itself soon. 

3. Liam's cord fell off March 30th which means he was 1 week old.  It looks like he's going to have an innie right now but there is a little part at the top that may stick out a bit.

4. Liam LOVES bath time and we love the PUJ tub.  He's used it in the kitchen sink and the bathroom sink with success in both.  I think the best part is that his tummy and most of his chest stays covered with water which keeps him comfy and cozy.  I definitely think the tummy tub will be a good investment for the future since it keeps him covered too. 

5. I weighed myself again a few days ago and I'm right around 145 which is down another 5 pounds....I have done NOTHING to accomplish this.

6.  We're working with Liam to get him to bulk up.  He was down to 7#8oz at his one week check with the midwife and since that's 11% we needed to get him to gain.  I'm suspicous that maybe he wasn't actually 8#7oz at birth (less than 24 hours later at Dr.Daleys he was 8#1oz) or that with all the different scales we're not getting consistant readings because he seems like he's at least as big as he was.  In any case, on Tuesday after the appointment I started feeding him every 2hrs round the clock.  I also started pumping before our feeding sessions in order to get my supply up and to slow the letdown for Liam.  He had a tendency to be fussy at the beginning of feedings and we interpreted this to be related to the high flow of milk since it seems like my supply is more than adequate.  I'm guessing he's getting at LEAST 2oz at each feeding and likely more like 3-4...that's 24-48oz a DAY!  His follow up appt is this Wednesday and we'll know for sure how things are going then.

Getting back to pre-pregnancy form

I know it's early but I said I was going to be honest about postpartum recovery and it starts now.  Here are the reminder photos for you:

First pregnancy belly shot:

Last pregnancy belly shot taken while in labor:

First postpartum shot taken 2 days after Liam's birth: (that little line down my belly is from the lovely postpartum undies not a linea nigra)

I gained a total of 22 pounds during the pregnancy and my goal is to get back to 140 pounds by 3 months postpartum. I have started doing NOTHING yet. I want to give my body at least 2 weeks to recover before I start going on walks or doing anything.  I weighed myself today and I'm at 152 pounds which is down 10 pounds from my final pregnancy weight of 162, that's just from the birth itself!

Welcome to the world Liam Christopher Garguile!

Liam was born on March 23rd, 2010 at 1:42pm at home on our bed. He weighed in at a whopping 8 pounds 7 ounces and was 20 ½ inches long.

The down and dirty story:
Labor started at around 11:30pm the night before and within 2 hours I was waking up Dominic and calling Andrea, the midwife to come. By around 9am I was complete but just didn’t feel like pushing at all. After several failed techniques I ended up getting out of the tub around 11:30am and actually had Liam about 2 hours later. The entire labor and delivery was both the hardest and most rewarding thing I’ve ever done in my entire life. There is absolutely NO WAY I could have accomplished this birth without several things:

#1 DOMINIC! He pushed on my back for at least 6hrs straight and at one point I nearly dislocated his knee, he never said a word or complained one time the entire time I was laboring. I have the best, most caring husband in the WORLD. Sorry ladies, he ALL MINE.

#2 the tub- If I could have stayed in there for the delivery you better believe I would have, unfortunately I don’t think Liam would have been born for several more hours and the thought of being in labor any longer than I needed to be was just not appealing at that point. I would HIGHLY recommend laboring and delivering, if possible, in a tub.

#3 Andrea and her assistant Alecia- They were both so patient with me and let me whine/deny I needed to do something different for HOURS before gently pushing me to try something new.

Now, if you want the FULL story, i.e. graphic and filled with medical jargon you should continue below. If you are not into gory details, STOP NOW. Again, the following is filled with LOTS of TMI and particulars only a midwife/birth junkie would appreciate.

Full Disclosure, I was overdue 2 full days and was willing to start trying things to get labor going. I stripped membranes that morning in the shower (much easier said than done) and didn’t notice much going on during the day. After Dominic got home we went for a brisk 1.5 mile walk and engaged in ‘adult activity’ before going to bed around 9:30.

I woke back up with cramping/diarrhea around 11:30 and decided to sleep out on the couch so Dominic could get a little rest. About 1am I decided that some help would be nice and came in to get Dominic up. Contractions were about 4 minutes apart and I let him know, and then quickly announced I was going to get sick. For the next 30 min I threw up everything I had for dinner and called Andrea to come and my parents to let them know to head down from Washington. After getting off the phone I labored on the ball and leaning onto the bed for about an hour. Dominic was putting pressure on my back and holding my tummy at the same time (thank goodness he’s got a large arm span). At that point I was ready to try out the tub and climbed in with my throw up bag.

This is exactly where I was when Andrea arrived. Dominic and I continued to labor in the tub with him putting pressure on my back for a few hours. At one point I got checked in the tub and was around 7cm. Andrea suggested I get out to pee and then try laboring on the toilet, a suggestion I didn’t take and promptly got back into the tub.

Eventually around 9am Andrea said “maybe you’re one of those women who is complete and just doesn’t feel the urge, do you want me to check you?” and I decided after a little more prompting that it was probably a good idea. In order to get a good exam we went to the bed, of course I was complete and probably had been for awhile. Hoping to minimize pain I got back in the tub and tried pushing on my own…2 hours later and literally no progress was made. I could feel with my hand just how low his head was and that there was plenty of room but he just wouldn’t budge with the pushes I was doing. MUCH prompting later, I moved to the toilet to empty my bladder and try some more. Finally, I agreed to use the bed and try some manual pressure which is ultimately what worked.

The pushing I was doing in the tub was NOTHING compared to the pushing that was elicited with her hand. I HATED it. Unlike what I tell patients all the time, pushing did NOT feel better. I pushed on my left side, in a semi-sitting position and squatting. The squatting position really worked the best with Dominic holding me up and me using his legs to keep myself off the ground, leaning forward onto Alecia when pushing. Two hours later and Liam was finally giving me that tell tale burning, which is WORSE than the bearing down urge. At some point I decided I didn’t care about stretching and he was just going to get out NOW. This finally did it and his head was born.

He was crying almost immediately and the shoulders weren’t even out yet. He had his right hand, which was the posterior one, up by his head/neck just like he had throughout the pregnancy. I tried just pushing to get the shoulder to give and when that didn’t work I gave a little downward pressure on his head. That didn’t work either, at which point I asked Andrea to help and she agreed. The posterior arm was delivered with a bit of work and the shoulders came easily afterward. I pulled him up and we got our first look at our new baby, Dominic was behind me supporting me and holding me up this whole time. I realized we didn’t know if baby was a boy or a girl yet and asked Dominic to check it out, pulling back the blanket we saw we had a little boy and Dominic announced him name, Liam Christopher.

This should be the end of the eventful part but it’s really only the beginning. We enjoyed our pink and screaming baby while waiting for the cord to stop pulsing, I was rather anxious to get the placenta out because I always hear how much better everyone feels afterward. After the cord stopped I felt a little gush and gave a push. Andrea said it appeared to be right there and applied a little traction. The cord started shredding a little and she stopped. I tried pushing while she gave some traction and that didn’t help either…leaving only one option, manual removal. Ouchy is all I have to say. It came out in two pieces and after a shot of pitocin and some methergin we all examined it to decide if it was complete or not, ultimately deciding it was. I had a first degree perineal laceration with a tiny second degree extension which was easily stitched up while Dominic held his newborn son. After a quick shower I climbed back into bed to nurse and enjoy being a new mom.  Can't say enough how thrilled we were to have him at HOME and have everyone come to us.

40 weeks, G's due date

Today is the due date...as suspected we have not had a baby yet.  I predict next week is going to be a much more likely time.  Dominic said on Thursday that this coming Tuesday March 23rd, would work well for him and I think G and I agree.  There are several reasons:
1. Baby won't share a birthday with any immediate family (Cindy's birthday was the 19th, Tony's birthday is the 24th, and Dominic's is the 25th)
2. Dominic can take the rest of the week and the following week off without feeling like he's taking too much time
3. The Garguile's will be able to meet a baby when they come just before Easter
4. it means mama (that's me!) was right and G went overdue but we didn't have to go that far over.
5. We get one more weekend child-free to just enjoy life without the responsibility of possibly messing someone up forever :)

This is the final fruit/veggie comparision and it isn't small!

It's hard to say for sure how big your baby will be, but the average newborn weighs about 7 1/2 pounds (a small pumpkin) and is about 20 inches long. His skull bones are not yet fused, which allows them to overlap a bit if it's a snug fit through the birth canal during labor. This so-called "molding" is the reason your baby's noggin may look a little conehead-ish after birth. Rest assured — it's normal and temporary

Some belly shots:  The big question I get now is "have you dropped?"  What do you think?

One more thing that people say to me all the time now is "you're so small you can't be due then" or the similar "you look too good to be due that soon".  I detest these comments.  I feel like I'm apologizing for handling pregnancy well and I shouldn't have to!  I've tried to stay active and eat reasonably even if I do LOVE dessert.  I'm certain it's genetic and I emphatically thank my family for those genes!  LEAVE ME ALONE PEOPLE, I promise this baby is a bit bigger than you all imagine besides, I'm up 22 pounds and that's perfectly normal. I'm off my rant now :)

Here is the summary, 1st shot ever, 10wks, 20wks, 30wks and 40wks!  Certainly some growth in those last 10wks

Dominic is going to do a final shot once I go into labor and a compilation video of the full progress and hopefully eventually the back to 'normal' as well. In the mean time I'll be cleaning, organizing and trying not to drive everyone crazy (or maybe be driven crazy by all the people asking 'have you had the baby yet?")

39 weeks

Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

I had my shower at work this week They had this absolutely stunning cake and it turns out Julie's husband made it!  I had NO idea he was a cake decorator at all and especially that he was SO talented!

Of course G got a bunch more gifts, including this awesome quilt Irene made that has a bunch of different textures on it.

Then, Nancy's quilt (remember from back at the Washington shower) arrived and it's SO darn cute too!  G is one spoiled baby already.

My projects this week have included finishing up the to do list and I've made quite the dent.  I got a little end table for beside the rocker and the neutral lamp to replace the mismatched one in the nursery now.  Then today Dominic put up the quilt clips for me, I can't get back there and they're way to high for me even if I could.  Please disregard the mess, remember this room has the birth tub in it which means it also has most of the stuff we need for the birth...things that hopefully will be used up and out of here shortly!

Most importantly, I am over half way finished with the Blurb book (remember the one I made of our life before G, well I'm doing one for the pregnancy time too).  I really wanted to get everything except the final week post edited in the book so that when G arrives all we have to do is update with the birth story and pictures and send it to print!  Looks like I may meet that goal.

Belly Shots: