2 Week Update ~ Sebastian

DAILY ROUTINE:

You sleep, you wake up, you are fed, you are changed, you may look around a bit or fall back asleep.  The pediatrician says you are more alert than the typical 2 week old!  Your "witching" hour is still around 8 or so at night and you need constant care until about 11 or so at night.

One thing is for sure you are a velcro baby, you want to be held always!

FOOD:

Exclusively breast fed!  And you are a champ at eating!  You do seem to spit up quite a bit but the pediatrician says that is normal and you will probably spit up more the more active you get... hmm.

SLEEP: 

You still sleep a lot but that is to be expected. 

Night: Your waking times are becoming a pattern; usually around 2 AM and the again around 5 AM but sometimes you wake up at 3AM and 6AM... but you seem to sleep the same amount of time every night.  You have taken it easy on me by falling back to sleep with ease. 

Day: You sleep most of the day waking up a little here and there to eat or look around,  more so this week than last week... You still wake up grumpy around 8 PM  and consistently get you settled back down for the night between 10 and 11.

MILESTONES:

Eating, sleeping and pooping... You are doing them!  You are making eye contact, reacting to loud noises (thanks to Maggie) and reacting to bright light.

WHAT'S FUNNY:

You smile when you are in a milk coma, right after eating before being burped.

YOUR FAVORITE TOY:

No toys yet

CLOTHES SIZE:

Good bye Newborn sizes and smaller 0-3! You are too long for some of your footsie pjs and smaller onesies you are wearing all 0-3 month items unless they are on the smaller end of the spectrum.

HAIR COLOR:

It appears Red!  You may end up a strawberry blonde but you definitely are looking to be my handsome ginger baby. It looks like your head has a 5pm shadow on the top front as your hair is starting to grow in!

EYE COLOR:

Your eyes still look like charcoal right now, we are pretty confident you will have blue eyes but for now they are just a very dark gray.

STATS:

Birth: 7 lbs 15.512 oz; 21" long
1 Week: 8 lbs 7 oz (54th percentile); 22" long (99th percentile); 14" head circumference (68th percentile)

2 Week: 8 lbs 12.5 oz; 21.25" long*; 14.61" head circumference

* You didn't shrink you were incorrectly measured at your previous appt.

Getting checked out by Odie

 Awake and Alert!

 Big Sister checking in

 Snuggling with Muti

1 Week Update ~ Sebastian

We are going to start this blog with a couple pictures of Sebastian Jack in his take home outfit that didn't get to make it's debut! So adorable!! He got to wear it to his 1 week appointment at the pediatrician!

DAILY ROUTINE:

You sleep, you wake up, you are fed, changed, you may look around a bit or fall back asleep.  Your "witching" hour is around 8 or so at night and you need constant care until about 11 or so at night.
FOOD:

Exclusively breast fed!  And you are a champ at eating!

SLEEP: 

You sleep a lot but that is to be expected. 

Night: While in the hospital you were kept in the nursery and then brought to me when you woke up to be fed, I was woken twice a night and that has been the pattern you have continued here at home.  Usually around 2 AM and the again around 5 AM.  You have taken it easy on me by falling back to sleep with ease.

Day: You sleep most of the day waking up a little here and there to eat or look around,, but seem to wake up grumpy around 8 PM (this seems to be your witching hour)  We can usually get you settled back down for the night between 10 and Midnight.

MILESTONES:

Eating, sleeping and pooping... You are doing them!

WHAT'S FUNNY:

You smile when you are in a milk coma, right after eating before being burped.

YOUR FAVORITE TOY:

No toys yet

CLOTHES SIZE:

You can wear Newborn and 0-3 but your body length makes some of them a tight fit, you won't be in the NB much longer at all.

HAIR COLOR:

It appears Red!  You may end up a strawberry blonde but you definitely are looking to be my handsome ginger baby.

EYE COLOR:

Your eyes look like charcoal right now, we are pretty confident you will have blue eyes but for now they are just a very dark gray.

STATS:

Birth: 7 lbs 15.512 oz; 21" long
1 Week: 8 lbs 7 oz (54th percentile); 22" long (99th percentile); 14" head circumference (68th percentile)

Happy St. Patty's Day!

We didn't do any celebrating but we did wear this cute outfit!!  And I believe every word!!

Our first couple days was about healing and adjusting which is going to take some time... but we are making it with the help of Nana who has been here helping since Monday the 11th.

Our cute little bundle

 Big Sister pushing the swing...and watching TV... multi tasking already!

 Cutie!

 My love bug!

 Nana and Sebastian

 More cute pics of Sebastian!

 Maggie starting to fill her big sister shoes!! Or Muti's boots!

Welcome Sebastian Jack!

Well March 13, 2013 has came and went and it was in fact a beautiful day thanks to the birth of our son, Sebastian Jack! 

We had to be at the hospital by 6:30 AM, we successfully walked into the hospital at 6:33 AM which is not bad for us... given that since Maggie was born we always find ourselves 15 minutes behind schedule!!! 

It was a strange feeling going into the hospital bags in hand like checking into a hotel all freshly showered with a full night's sleep and no contractions or hours of labor to contest with.

I can't deny that my nerves were frazzled... as the minutes ticked by and the time for the surgery inched nearer... I felt more nervous.  Seana seemed to just get more excited as the minutes passed but we facing somewhat different fates... and the wait was extended with an emergency so we waited.

Then it was time... I had to go into the operating room without Seana for the final prep... she got dressed and took this picture.... while I had my spinal done.... 

 The Drs and staff were doing their best to keep me distracted during the final prep... and my spinal which was done by some guy named Jeff, who was hilarious but monotone, was not painful at all... He is a talented man.  They even let me have first choice of music played... which I requested... No Country... (Sorry Sara L) so the Dr. Deal picked classic rock.. and I was laid down... this time my wrists weren't strapped down... I had to lay out my arms but they didn't strap me down... which was nice... By the time Seana came in I was a nervous wreck but trying not to show it... I was all prepped and we were ready to go... and with Seana holding my hand they started in.... Just a few moments later we noticed the music was dark and not so happy so they skipped the song and it happened... our son was born... to "Here comes the Sun" by the beatles... and to everyone's surprise his cord was wrapped around his throat 4 times!  So I would have had to have a c-section anyway... Justification the the elective C was the right way to go this time!

And here he is!

 Cleaned up...

 And a bit unhappy to be naked in a cold room!!!

 His weigh in....

 a bit closer.... his weight however was logged as 7lbs 15 oz in their system it turns out they input the weight into the computer as grams and the conversion rounds down instead of up like this scale.... We are going with this one even though his birth certificate will probably go with the lesser.
Weight: 8lbs 0 oz
Length: 21" long

 Finally... a blanket!!!

 Being held by Muti!

 Love at first sight!

 Out of recovery and in our room finally!!  The great thing this time was he stayed with us!  I got to hold him as we were wheeled to the recovery room and he stayed with us in the recovery room!  So much different than with Maggie's birth.

 This is the man that steals my heart!

 Muti holding Sebastian when Maggie comes to meet him!

  

Such a cutie!

 We were discharged on the 16th!  And my attempt to bring him home in a cute outfit was a fail... as he spit up all over it moments before leaving... so his take home outfit is a hospital shirt,  and the stocking cap and blanket knitted by his Nana.

The Uneventful Event

Since Maggie's delivery was less than ideal, both MJ and I were more than a little nervous about Sebastian's scheduled c-section. There were so many worries in fact that we basically talked about none of them. We did not mention all the things that could go wrong. We did not speak of my fears of losing MJ or her fears of having another sick baby. We instead just plugged along hoping to make it to the 13th.

So on the due day, I found myself elated and overly excited that MJ had in fact made it to the 13th and that today we would see our baby boy. My fear had passed and my hopeless optimist took over. It was better than the best Christmas morning when you know there are presents awaiting you and you have not yet been given permission to open them.

By the time we got to the hospital (yes we were running a little late), I was grinning like a fool. I was practically skipping to the elevator. I looked at MJ and realized that she was now faced with the enormity of actually HAVING another baby. As in, she was about to have major surgery. So MJ was understandably nervous and not skipping to the elevator with me.

As MJ was getting all her pre-items taken care of, like IV and medical information, we hear a nurse mention an emergency D&C coming in. So we were going to be delayed for an hour or so before MJ could have her c-section. As we sat and chatted to pass the time, I took a few moments to just appreciate where we were and the day at hand. I also realized I should have packed better snacks since I was already hungry.... but what can you do.

The morning had already been so different than with Maggie. We had slept the night before, we were prepared for the hospital, we chose to go to the hospital and we were both fully aware of what was happening. The nurses were joking with us. The Doctor was joking with us. We were relaxed (as could be) and excited about the morning. It was a great experience so far.

Finally it was our turn for the surgery. Since last time it was an emergency and the time span of when I suited up to when I went in seemed like 15 minutes or so, that is what I expected this time. They wheeled MJ away and I got on all the gear to be able to join the surgery and witness the birth of our son. I found a random chair and took a few "selfie" pictures with my medical garb on. Then ... time ticked by... and I waited. You try not to think about why it is taking so long, but I was starting to wonder why it was taking so long. I started to think perhaps they forgot me. When I nurse finally came to get me I expected her to be walking out with a baby because it had been so long.

When I walked into the operating room, Melissa was not strapped to the table like before and the Doc was listening to music and happily chatting with the other doctors and nurses. I looked at my beautiful wife and could see she was more than nervous so my immediate course of action was to basically talk to her and keep her happy and distracted.

While chatting with Melissa, I was keeping a keen eye on the nurses. I learned from last time that the Doc is there for Melissa but the nurses are there for the baby. If they looked calm and happy, that meant things were OK. So far so good. Jokes still flying - Doc was even chatting with us.

Then - I saw the doc look at something and then call a nurse over. She then processed to make a phone call and another nurse appeared. At this moment, I tried to do three things. 1. Not panic. 2. Not make Melissa worry. 3. Pray. I knew something was up, but wasn't sure what.

The music playing had turned into thrash metal and we asked for a new song to be play. The next song randomly on the playlist was "Here comes the sun" by the Beatles. Once the song switched, it was moments later and the doctors were counting randomly to 4 and I was told to get my camera ready.

This was the moment... where both Melissa and I finally, after 9 months, exhaled. We exhaled with joy when we heard Sebastian cry loud and clear. It was the best cry I had ever heard and I remember looking at Melissa and saying "Do you hear that! He is perfect." I looked and saw his pink little body and perfect hands and feet. Then I cried. I cried with a kind of relief and joy I had never felt. This huge weight of fear had been lifted and there in my arms was a perfectly healthy little boy. He was perfect and it was a perfect day.

The doctors informed us the Sebastian had the cord wrapped around his neck not once, but four times!! So chances were, if we tried for a VBAC, we would have had a c-section.

Many people when asked what one of the best days of their life are will mention their birth of their kids. Now I know what they mean. Tied for top 1 of my best days - the day Maggie came home from the hospital and the day Sebastian was born.

It was the best uneventful event I have ever had.

Last Belly Shot!

Here it is the night before our scheduled c-section and we thought it fitting to get one last belly shot in.  Here it is my belly at 38W 6D!  

He has actually dropped more... so much so when I had my appointment this week they noticed he had as well and decided to do an exam to see if I was dilating... the answer not yet!!  My midwife's response was well we will see you Wednesday morning if not sooner.  

Well I think we are going to make it to the c-section without incident... My hospital bag is packed, Nana is in town to watch Maggie and we are wrapping up our final evening as parents of an only child which included ice cream with jet puff and chocolate sauce!!  Yum!

Well our next blog will be all about our baby boy to be!  We have pretty much settled on a name... that being: Sebastian Jack but we do reserve to change it if it just doesn't seem to fit!  

Alright time to shake the nerves and get some sleep!  Send us good vibes, prayers and a bit o'luck!

38 Week Belly Shot

Here it is 38 W 1D!  I am definitely feeling my body prepare for labor as I have gotten to experience some erratic contractions already.  I am also experiencing nesting!!  I just want to organize everything... but I am limited by time and energy... So it is a slow process.

The reality of it all is sinking in... We will be parents of two in one week!  It is both exciting and frightening all at once... How oh how are we going to juggle two kiddos!!  I know it will all fall into place but I can't help but worry just a touch... especially imagining my first trip to the grocery store with two in tow!