LATELY

Last week I went to the doctor for my postpartum checkup. I got to see Val, the midwife who delivered Lincoln. All the girls at the office oohed and aahed over the baby, of course! My favorite nurse, Katie, is also pregnant with a boy and is due around the same time Anna is! It's so cute to see so many women fawning over your baby. I mean, I know he's cute...but it's fun to have other people share that feeling! All was well at the checkup, except my iron levels were low again. They want it to be 12 or over and I was at 10.5. I was low at the end of my pregnancy, too. No big deal, I'll just eat more raisins! The big news from that appointment is that I've lost all but 4 pounds of my baby weight!! I wouldn't step on the scale until they told me where I started and ended my pregnancy. It's nice to know it's almost all gone in only 6 weeks! Hopefully there will be more pounds that melt away since I'm exclusively breastfeeding. If I start walking regularly I'm sure I'll see some fall off!

Lincoln is wonderful. He'll be 7 weeks old tomorrow! My how time flies! He's giggling and smiling more. He's looking at us and I know he recognizes me. He's eating about every 2 1/2-3 hours during the day but makes it longer at night. Speaking of sleeping....We had our first ALL-NIGHTER last night! We gave him a bottle of about 5 ounces and then laid him down around 10. He slept until 6am!! What a wonderful feeling! I knew he had it in him, I'm just glad he's found it already. Now I'm not counting my chickens before they hatch and I know he won't always sleep through the night, but we're hoping it'll happen again..and again...and again!! 

As nice as the all night sleep was, it was tainted by yesterday's accident. Anthony was riding his bicycle along his regular route yesterday around 6:30 and he was hit by a car. It's never good when your hubby is supposed to be riding his bike, but instead he's calling you. NOT a nice phone call. I rushed over to where he was, along with the ambulance, first responders, and state troopers! Ooh man my heart was pounding.

He was hit by an old lady driving a minivan. She simply said she didn't see him. She didn't even hit the brakes. He was thrown into the air 43 feet past where she hit him. He landed in the yard of an old family friend and he was in his house and came out because he heard the impact and dialed 911. He's very scratched and bruised.

 Obviously, his bike is trashed. His dad is taking it to the shop today to have the frame checked out. He wasn't worried about himself, he just wanted to make sure her insurance would pay to replace his bike.

 

His elbow has a NASTY big hole in it where the skin has been totally removed. The EMT wrapped him up but he showed it to me later and it seriously made me want to be sick! Not very pleasant.

We finally made it home after talking to the troopers and collecting all of the information we needed. There's no telling how long he'll be sore or how much he'll sleep tonight. Last night he didn't sleep at all. He was in too much pain. Dr. Todd called in something for pain today, so hopefully it will help.

His shorts were trashed...he's got boo boos on his bottom. He flipped up in the air, flew 43 feet across a driveway and skidded to a landing in the grass. Never have I tossed the baby in the carseat so fast!

We're just thankful he's not hurt more than he is. He went in to work today thinking that if he laid around all day today he'd just feel worse. Plus, at the clinic they can use ultrasound to help break up the nasty eggplant colored bruises on the back of his left knee. He's also planning on having one of their ortho docs look at his knee, he thinks it might be sprained. 

God is good....we can buy a new bike, but Lincoln only has one daddy! 

Mother's Day

What a GREAT day it was Sunday!! My sweet sweet husband and son both got me a very nice card. Anthony had asked me when I wanted my cards and I had just said I wanted them before I put on my makeup for church! He gave them to me as soon as we woke up. Of course I cried! What a sweet thing....to get a Mommy card for the first time! (Well, technically I got a Mommy valentine card, too.) We were reveling in the sweetness and then we got ready for church. I asked Anthony what he thought of my pretty new dress and he said it was really nice, but "these" might look better! Out of his pocket he pulled a gorgeous pair of diamond earrings!! Talk about shocked....NO IDEA he was thinking of something that incredible! I've wanted diamond earrings for ages, but he always said I didn't need any more diamonds! He said I had been such a great mommy that I deserved them! What a sneaky little booger!

He also said it was my day so I was able to pick what we did for the day. I wanted to see my family, so after church we went to my grandma's house in Canton. My mom and dad, Aunt Sheila and Uncle Terry, Aunt Karen and Uncle Rick and the twins were all there. It was great to see them again. It was the first time Rick & Karen had seen Lincoln. Aunt Sheila got to snuggle Lincoln again...she hasn't seen him since he was a week old. 

Mamaw was in a great mood and we had a yummy lunch. It was a great way to spend the day. Lincoln was well behaved and we took pictures of the 4 generations that were present.

I still can't believe I have a baby!! It's such a surreal feeling and I still feel like I'm just a kid. I can't believe God created something so beautiful and we brought him to life. It's an incredible thing, and it's nothing anyone can explain to you. No matter what people try to tell you it just doesn't explain it, and you can't explain it to anyone else. It was very nice to be included in this holiday.

I am so thankful for my child, for my husband...for my little family. God has truly blessed us. What a beautiful Mother's Day. 

 He loves hanging out on his Boppy!!

These are such sweet moments...

Lincoln loves to sit up straight. So we opened his Bumbo and propped him up. He really liked it! Yes, we made sure his head was supported and watched him carefully!

Comments please!!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have opened the blog to anonymous comments. I know there are more than two people who read this (Thanks Anna F & Anna R!!!!) and I never hear from you. I know my most wonderful, super sweet Aunt Sheila reads this and looks at Lincoln quite often! LOVE YOU!! I also think my sweet cousins in South Carolina read it sometimes, too. I'd love to hear from you guys! If you want to post a comment, just click on the comments link at the bottom of the post. Just make sure you add your name to your post so I know who you are!!! I know that's not anonymous, but I want to know who you are!! I'll post again later this weekend....

Interesting weekend...

Holy cow what a weekend!!!

Friday morning I was getting ready for the day and Lincoln was just hanging out on his Boppy on my bed. In fact, I was getting ready to give him a bath but he fell asleep. I was waiting for him to wake up when all of a sudden.....blech......oodles of vomit out of the mouth and nose. ALL OVER my baby, my bed, the Boppy, you name it and it was covered. That's not the worst part. The first part of the vomit came out normal and white. The second half of it was brown/red and bloody. It was VERY scary. I didn't know what to do. That's not something any mommy wants to see come out of her baby's tummy! Of course, the weekend I need Dr. Todd he's out of town. I called the doctor's office and they said just come on in to the office. I told Anthony and my friend, Michelle. I was crying on the phone with her and she offered to go with me to the doctor's office. It felt good to have a friend by my side, so she tagged along. 

The doctor said he looked fine. He pushed on his belly for pain and there was none. He listened to his heart and lungs, but nothing. He said sometimes babies hold too much vomit in their tummies and it can tear their esophagus before it comes up. It's a really tender spot and a tiny tear could bleed a lot. Dr. Byrd said as long as Lincoln doesn't get a fever or change his behaviors or sleeping/waking patterns that he's probably fine. Just to keep him posted. Phew, what a relief! He's been fine ever since. I hope that's all it was. It was a TERRIBLE feeling...that helpless feeling where you have no idea what to do or what's wrong. I'm sure this won't be the last time I feel that way...but I don't want to feel that way again soon.

The only good thing that came of this is that we got to weigh Lincoln again! Last week (last Friday) he weighed 9 lbs. 11 ounces. But this past Friday...April 30...he weighed 10 lbs. 10 ounces!!! What a chunker!! I love a fat baby. If he doesn't slow down he's gonna outgrow his car seat in just a few more months! We may have to trade Jeromy & Anna and Baby Ian for their 30 pound car seat instead of our 22 pound seat.

As if that wasn't enough Anthony started feeling bad on Saturday morning...laid on the couch and moaned and groaned. That quickly turned into very violent vomiting. It was AWFUL! He just kept throwing up...he even took some Finnagrin and he kept throwing up. As soon as he would try to drink water or Gatorade it would come right back up. He had eaten nothing for hours..and couldn't keep any liquids down. I felt terrible for him, but I was afraid to get too close. I don't want the germs to make me or Lincoln sick! So I had to hang onto the baby all day and he was a little fussy. I was exhausted!! 

Sunday I knew I couldn't be by myself all day again with Lincoln and Anthony so I called for backup! Erin came and spent the day with us. She held the baby when he fussed and changed diapers while Anthony rested and napped on the couch. What a wonderful thing!! 

So to sum it up....we are tired! So tired in fact that I slept through the first feeding while Anthony was in charge Sunday night...and he slept through the second feeding when it was my turn. I hope we don't have that kind of weekend again any time soon. Someone will have to come stay with us if we do!

Sweet giggles!!

We heard the sweetest sound today!! Anthony was playing with Lincoln....teasing him with his pacifier. He was making noises and tapping it around his mouth, then snatching it away. While he was playing Lincoln let out the sweetest sound I've ever heard! It was officially a giggle!!!! We've seen grins for over a week now, but this was the first REAL laugh..sooooo precious!

So at breastfeeding class on Friday we weighed our tiny monster...he now weighs 9 pounds 11 ounces!! What a big boy! Class was a lot of fun, too. Of course it's a chance to get help with nursing, but it's a great opportunity to get together with other new mommies and see their sweet babies. It's nice to talk to others who are going through the same thing I am...see how they handled it and ask questions. Some of the girls just come b/c they've been coming for almost a year and their kids have become friends and they play together the whole time they're there. It's very sweet.

Wednesday is baby massage again. We went two weeks ago and it was tons of fun! There were 5 babies there and we were the youngest. At one point all 5 babies were screaming. It was quite comical. There wasn't a ton of massaging going on, but everyone needed to eat. We laughed about it. Some of the same mommies and babies are in massage and breastfeeding class. 

Little Lincoln is now over three weeks old....that went fast! He's a very good baby. He really only fusses when he's hungry. He has just now started fussing when he needs a nap, but it doesn't last for long. He is taking his pacifier more often, that helps. Anthony has been back to work for a week now. We have made it alone OK. It's a lot nice when he is here with us. Things are a lot easier. But we're figuring it out together. Nursing is going very well...just takes a while to get used to it. The hardest days are when he wants to eat like every hour. You just get up to do something, and he's fussing to eat again so nothing gets done! 

I've taken oodles of pictures, over 500 already!!!! I just printed over 200 so I can put an album of his first weeks together. It's nice to have them on the computer, but there's nothing like holding his sweet picture in your hands. I'll create an online album and you guys can see what I've been up to! I just recently took some naked baby pictures...they are precious! I teased you with one last time I posted...here are a few more.

Lincoln is a very good sleeper at night. We're only getting up twice a night. Some nights we only get up once! Those are like sweet little presents from God!! He's like clockwork...he's always up between 1:30 and 2am, then again between 4:30 and 5. He's usually up for the day around 8 or 8:30. Anthony is in charge of the first feeding. We're using bottles at night so we can both help, and because it's faster. I handle the second feeding so Daddy can get extra sleep because he has to get up and go to work. Sometimes I get lucky and after he nurses in the morning he'll take another short nap, so I get a little extra sleep too. 

We're still using mostly disposable diapers..but today we've been in cloth diapers all day. It's been really easy. We set up a place for our cloth diapers in the nursery so they're easily accessible with their covers and I made a wet pail in the guest bathroom for the dirties. We have 24 diapers and shouldn't have to do laundry too often. We've only gone through 4 or 5 diapers today in about 8 hours. But I didn't put them on him until after his bath around lunch time. I plan on using disposables at night time (faster) and when we're out and about (cleaner and easier). But when we're just hanging around the house it's really easy to use the cloths. He's messed in all of them and none of them have made a mess or gotten anything dirty. Not bad!

Several times a week we get out and stroll up and down the neighborhood. We're also running around town at least one day a week. It's easier to get out of the house, it makes the day go faster.

Oh yeah....and this past weekend we tiled the bathroom floor! No rest for the weary!! It only took between 4 or 5 hours and was TONS easier than the shower walls! It looks great...we've still got to grout it, probably this coming weekend. We also have a few places to patch and sand then I need to paint. I'm getting a new toilet, too!!! A big girl potty for my bathroom!! If you've been to my house recently, you know why I'm so excited about this!

Hope that catches you all up for a while...I'll try VERY hard to post more often.

Sorry, sorry, sorry!!

I know it's been forever since I posted!! It's been crazy busy around here, as many of you know already! I have taken oodles of new pictures and will post some very soon. I'll stick one in here to hold you over until then! I promise to post again tomorrow too...we're going to a class where they'll weigh Lincoln tomorrow. I can't wait to see how much he's gained!

I took some naked baby pics...here's a preview!

Lincoln Alexander Vance

Lincoln Alexander Vance

April 2, 2010

8:32 am

8 pounds, 5.3 ounces

21 1/2 inches long

Just brand new! He had a VERY strong cry, no question about his lung functions! His APGAR score was an 8 then a 9. He's already passing tests.

My water broke on Thursday, April 1 around 10 am. I called Anthony and we headed to the doctor to be sure and they sent us on over to the hospital. We were admitted around 12 noon hoping to start dilating, I was was still only 1 cm. At 3 pm they hooked me up to pitocin to get some contractions started to see if we'd get something going. Let me tell you, pitocin is NASTY stuff! It makes your contractions faster, more frequent, and harder in a shorter period of time. So I was hooked up to that until about 9 pm when the doctor said I still hadn't dilated any more. I had used all the Lamaze techniques...I sat on the ball, I used my breathing and I lasted as long as I could without any pain meds and I had finally reached my breaking point. We got an epidural...what a life saver! Doc thought that if I could rest and relax that I'd start to dilate. Anthony and Anna were there with me and we were all trying to rest through the night. Around 2 or 3 am I had dilated to about a 3 or 4 so we kept waiting. By 5 am I was finally almost 10 cm. I started pushing at 5:30 and he was born at 8:32 am. What a job! That is the HARDEST thing I've ever done. 

He was "sunny side up" or facing upwards instead of looking down, so things moved a little slower.

He was born healthy and beautiful and perfect. I can't tell you what a wonderful experience we had at the hospital. The nurses were incredible and went above and beyond. They treated us so nicely and took care of us. Each nurse made me feel like I was her only patient. 

Our first family portrait!!

Heading home from the hospital! We only had to stay 24 hours after he was born. And after being there for 2 days already we were VERY ready to go home!

The little man loves his Papasan chair! A huge thanks to Kara for sending that our way! He was getting some sun on Monday morning. He's so content. He cries when he's hungry..and from about 9-10 pm. :) But we'll get all that figured out!

Look at this! Don't you just want to pinch him?? I could eat him! He's beautiful and perfect and sweet and incredible. It's an indescribable feeling. Anthony is taking two weeks off work. It is sooo nice to have him here to help with everything! He's doing a wonderful job and he is very supportive. We make a pretty good team!