Breastfeeding, you have won me over

When we were pregnant, we decided that I was going to breastfeed Sully. I knew that it was going to be challenging and I had lots of family and friends who simply weren't able to do it. Knowing all this, I didn't take it for granted that it would work for me, or that if it did that it would be easy. With Sully being in the hospital for a week with jaundice (and originally dehydrated because he wasn't nursing well), I had plenty of obstacles to succeeding.
When we were released from the hospital, we had to take him to the doctor to check his bilirubin levels and his weight every other day. Sully wasn't gaining enough weight, according to the doctor (insert eye roll from me). BUT, I refused to give up on the nursing. But since this time, there has not been a day that has gone by that I haven't doubted my abilities to provide him with enough food to grow. Even though he is growing and changing everyday, I have had this weird hangup in my mind about if I was doing well enough. And I have wanted to give up sooo many times.
Since then, it has been one of the most challenging things I have ever done. It is difficult to get them started, and exhausting to be the ONLY one that can get up in the middle of the night every three (or two hours), it digests faster than formula so he needs to eat more often, we have to schedule our whole day around nursing and often get stuck places for longer than we'd like, and I often have to seclude myself in another room if nursing in the open isn't feasible.
BUT, last night I had this amazing experience. Andy and I went to a wedding for a friend and his mom and stepdad kept the baby. Around 8:30, I texted to see how things were. She responded that he had basically screamed his head off non-stop since we left. We left the wedding right away and came in to a sad scene. Andy's mom was pacing the nursery with the baby and looking wrecked. Sully was SCREAMING inconsolably in her arms. Both of them looked totally stressed out and I felt horrible that they had wanted us to have a good time and had not told us.
I took the baby from Laurie and closed the door and began nursing him. He immediately stopped crying and after about two minutes fell completely to sleep for about four solid hours. As I sat there in the room with him, watching him sleep peacefully, I felt so happy that I had stuck through all the hard times with breastfeeding. It was all worth it in that moment to be able to give him such comfort that no one else could. There is something so beautiful about the comfort of breastfeeding to the baby that I never understood before I had him. I love that I've been given that gift. This burden that I always felt like I had has truly turned into a blessing for me and one of my greatest joys.

Two Month Update:

Sully has started smiling and cooing over the last couple of weeks. It has made ALLL the difference to us. Interacting with him can entertain us for hours and I feel like parenting is getting more enjoyable and exciting everyday. He is growing like crazy and I can't believe how big he has already gotten. Andy and I had our two year anniversary this month (can't believe it's already been two years!!) Lots of changes and we are trying to hang on to the moments because we know all too well how fast they pass. I need to post a picture of his sweet little smile, but our camera sucks. We need to just bite the bullet and go buy one!!

Sully's First Month

So it's taken me an entire month to do a post about the baby, but uh . . I've been a little busy. I can't believe it's been a month already and I can't believe it's been only a month already (if that makes any sense). Our world has definitely been changed and I don't really know how to summarize all that's happen so far. He is so incredibly precious and we still have a hard time believing that he is ours. That we made him and that we get to keep him.
My guess is that everyone already knows about our two hospital trips with Sully's jaundice. That was by FAR the hardest thing that I have ever been through individually and the hardest thing that Andy and I have been through as a couple. I feel like we were ushered into the worry of parenthood right off of the bat. We had him home for a day before the doctors told us to take him down to the emergency room. And there began the week of tests, pricks, IVs, no sleep, and baking our baby under the lights. We're finally past that and it's an entire story in and of itself, but I feel like we have moved on so there is no point in dwelling. We're so happy to have our baby home and to have the freedom to enjoy him without worrying so much about his health.
Though its been joyous, its been hard as crap. I had an idea that it would be difficult, but I guess there is no way to really know how hard it was going to be. Even though Andy and I feel like we miss each other all the time (even when were in the same room), and get no sleep, and I haven't had a hot meal without my little alarm clock waking up as soon as it is set on the table, it's the little things that make having him around so great. The faces he makes in his sleep, the little hiccups that he gets without fail everyday (sometimes farting at the same time), his little cry that we think sounds like a Pterodactyl (yes, I had to look that up) before it gets really going, how he smells so sweet, his awesome hair that makes him look more like a little boy instead of a baby, and how much love and awe he has added to our lives.
I know this time is short so im trying not to wish it away for my sleep back. Here are some pictures of the little dude. To see more amazing and better quality pictures of the delivery day and his newborn pics, go to my facebook page or visit http://lelegreencaptures.blogspot.com/2010/11/baby-sully.html

38.5 weeks

Went to the doctor this morning. My best friend Bayley came with us for our ultrasound. I hope she wasn't disappointed because it looked like she was just zooming in on some blobs and telling us it was a foot or an arm. hehe. Anyways, we did get one picture out of it. And he looks like his dad. :) He scored an 8 out of 8 on his ultrasound test so we are proud mamas and papas.

The doc checked me again. I am 60% effaced and 2 CM dilated, which means . . . it could be SOON! or not. ha. Regardless, we are packed and banking on soon. More to come!!

37.5 weeks and REAAAADY!

Well....we have 3.5 weeks left...or one day....or 4.5 weeks. I suppose the countdown is arbitrary. Either way, we are CLOSE! And I am READY to not be pregnant. I'm running out of clothes! ha. We don't have our crib yet, but we have our room ready and painted and perfect. My mom and my sis-in-law Shannon worked for weeks on this amazingly cute owl mural. I couldn't have been happier with it. My mom made the curtains! I have some talented people in my life for sure. The so cute owl pillow on the glider was made by my friend LeAnna. I love it all and couldn't have imagined a better nursery. We are using an armoir as our changing table and closet. Now all we need is baby!

My bags are packed and ready to go. So...just in case he needs a memo, we're ready. ;) I went to the doctor today and I am dilated 1.5 cm. Which, as I've heard/read, doesn't really mean anything as far as when he will come. BUT, either way to me it means he's on the way and I am EXCITED. We also get to have an ultrasound next Thursday! This is an awesome surprise because the doc acted like my chances for having another one were slim.

Soo...the waiting game begins. :) I will post pictures and a blog about my last two showers soon.

Your baby this week:

With just three more weeks to go and at about six and a half pounds (though weight and height vary from fetus to fetus), your baby is doing just fine. You can expect weight gain to be about half an ounce per day. (Boys, though, are likely to be heavier at birth than girls. And here's a bit of boy baby trivia to back that one up: Moms carrying boys tend to eat more than moms carrying girls — a foreshadowing of teenage refrigerator raids to come.) Since your little one is considered full-term at 37 weeks pregnant, if your baby was to leave the wet nest this week, he or she would likely thrive. That's because Mother Nature and you have done such a fine job.

So what's keeping your little one busy while waiting it out until D-day? Practice, practice, practice. Your baby is simulating breathing by inhaling and exhaling amniotic fluid, sucking on his or her thumb, blinking, and pivoting from side to side (one day you feel the tushy on the left side, another day it has swung around to the right side). All these are skills needed for his or her next gig — starring as newborn.

Here's an interesting fact: Your baby's head (which, by the way, is still growing) will, at birth, be the same size circumference as his or her hips, abdomen, and shoulders. And guess what's making an impression (literally) these days on those shoulders and hips: fat — causing little dimples in those cute elbows and knees, shoulders and hip, and creases and folds in the neck and wrists.

First baby shower and 35 weeks.

Wow! I can't believe that we've only got about five weeks left. If he's like his daddy, he'll come before that. Andrew was 5 weeks early. I need him to stay in there til October at least! haha. I had my first shower on Saturday. It was a shower for my family thrown by my awesome sis-in-law Shannon. It was a sweet time and a lot of fun. I COULD NOT BELIEVE how big I was when I saw the pictures. It's like all of the sudden I'm HUUGE. I'm having a shower with friends tomorrow at Bayley's house and we just found out that our church is also throwing us one. That is AWESOME news.

I will post pictures of our nursery soon. It is better than I imagined and I can't wait to reveal it. Andy and I have always been blessed with very talented friends and family and our nursery definitely shows that. :)

Here are some pictures from the shower.

31 weeks

It's been almost a month since I last posted, so quite a bit has happened since then. One of the biggest things is that I got a new job, subsequently lost it, and simultaneously went down to freelancing hours at my old job. All of this piling up to equal one frantic, stressed out pregnant lady. But, the Lord has been good to us, providing in ways that are truly amazing big and small. One of the most amazing ways was through our church. We went to lunch with our sweet friends, the Sadlers, mainly just to talk and get some advice. A few days later, Susan emailed me to tell me that our church wanted to pay off a doctor's bill that we had for a biopsy I had done (it was benign). It was a huge burden off of our backs and an unbelievable blessing. This has really been an interesting and challenging time in our lives, but I know in hindsight we will look back in awe of God's love and providence.

In other news, Andy's best friend Tei has moved back to Franklin. I have to get used to this because it means catching up on LOTS of lost guy time. :) BUT...I must say. I love it. I love Andy's friends moving back and I love his friends. Tei and his wife, Shanna, just had an absolutely BEAUTIFUL little Asian baby doll. We've already put in an order for our kids to continue the tradition by being best friends like their daddies.

Andy's job is going really well. He is meeting all kinds of crazy people that can "talk shop" with him. I must say, this has been good for our marriage. I can only listen to "physiological dynamics of muscular . . . " for so long before my eyeballs glaze over and I have to start nodding dumbly.

The pregnancy is bumping along quite nicely. I tested negative for gestational diabetes, so that hump is over with. My self-esteem you ask? Still taking a ferocious beating. Some women say that they feel beautiful during pregnancy. Well...good for them! I think the baby is sucking all elements of attractiveness out of me. For one, and only one, thing, my nose has gotten bigger. Andy did not believe this for some time, but I finally proved it to him. My friend Paul came into town. I haven't seen him since before I got pregnant and I'm thinking Paul will tell me the truth! So i say: Paul, has my nose gotten bigger? Paul: Yeah! It has! What is that about?! I don't know. Maybe Paul thought I got a nose job. haha. Not only was I not offended by this, I felt grateful to know that: No, I was not crazy. And no, it's not just the pictures that are making my nose look that big. THANKS baby!

I have just now gotten to the point where I'm starting to be uncomfortable. I can only imagine how bad its going to be in the last couple of weeks before having him. Oh dear. Oh dear. He better be worth it. ;)

Our Pooch

We get a lot of crap for our dog. He is a pit bull, possibly mixed with something, possibly not. Pit Bull websites and books tell you that as an owner of a pit bull, you are taking on the responsibility of forever being good PR representatives for this breed that gets a lot of bad attention and bad publicity. I don't know about others, but we think ours is the biggest baby in the world. He might look meaty and scary, but really he's just hard up for a good cuddle. Here's some more pictures of our ferocious beast in action, attacking some dirty clothes that have been piled on top of him.