Connor’s birth:
I touched upon this briefly in my last post , but there is a lot more of the story to tell!! Let’s see…Ryan and I had our 40 week check up on Thursday before our due date. Everything went well, so we just had to wait it out! We scheduled a stress test for the following Monday to make sure Connor was happy inside my tummy. Thankfully we never made it to that appointment. I worked right up until I went into labor with Connor. At work on Friday, I felt “funny” and kind of had an inkling that it might be my last day. I found myself tying up some loose ends “just in case” I wasn’t back on Monday. My instinct was right! Saturday at 5:45 a.m. I woke up with contractions. At the time, I wasn’t sure what they were, but it became more clear to me as the day went on as they became more strong and more regular. We spent all day Saturday (which was our due date) in early labor. Saturday was a piece of cake!! Walking seemed to help a lot, so we spent most of the day Saturday walking, walking, walking! It was a very sunny day, and the last thing on our minds was sunscreen, so we both got burnt! It became pretty clear around midnight that it was time to go to the hospital! My contractions were VERY painful; I couldn’t talk through the contractions any longer and I couldn’t focus on anything but what was going on inside my body. We were admitted to the hospital around 1 in the morning. I think it was around 2:30 a.m. that my water broke. At that point, the pain became unbearable, so I asked for pain meds for relief. To make a long story short, I got an epidural around 4:15 a.m. and he was born at 7:15 a.m. Of course, hindsight is 20/20, but I wish I would have held out 3 more hours without the epidural. I was in labor for 25 hours and only had the epidural for 3 hours of it. I was and am pretty proud of myself! Anyhow, after Connor was born, he spent some time with Ryan and I on my chest before being whisked away to be checked. He was a perfectly healthy baby boy and received 9/10 on his Apgar test. We spent most of the first day just staring at him in awe.
Connor’s 1st and 2nd weeks:
The first two weeks were very much a blur for us. We had that whole issue with his weight, so we were up every 2 hours around the clock to feed him. We have never felt this type of exhaustion before. My mom came down to help us and said that at some points we’d be talking to each other and just stop and say “Were we just having a conversation? I have no idea what we were just talking about!” We can laugh about it now; I’m sure we were quite the sight! Connor was and has been a great baby; we just had to get some things figured out in the beginning! Ryan says one of his favorite memories from the first week was actually on of first day home!! Connor’s very first diaper change was a mess! The first thing we did when we got home was take him up to his new room for a diaper change and within a few minutes, Connor had peed all over daddy’s shirt and left us another little surprise on the changing table! We learned quickly that diaper changes had to be done as fast as possible with this little guy!
Connor’s 3rd week:
Meme (my mom) came down to spend the entire 3rd week with Connor and myself! This was a HUGE help since Ryan was going back to work. We got a lot done this week! We went to a breastfeeding/new moms class to have Connor weighed. He was finally back at his birth weight, so we were able to ease up on the feedings at that point! This class is great and I am still attending it whenever Connor and I are able to get ourselves pulled together enough in the morning to go! It is great to go and meet other new moms that have the same questions and concerns that I do. It has helped me to realize that we are normal!! Meme and I were able to bring Connor into Ryan’s work so that he could meet everyone that daddy works with. It was a lot of work but Ryan was very proud to show him off! Connor, meme, and I also made a few trips to the mall and did some shopping this week. We went for a walk (only one because it was so hot outside) and pretty much just spent the entire week snuggling Connor! Meme was a great help! She got up with Connor for one feeding overnight, so that I could get some rest. At that point, he was still getting up about 3 times per night. I definitely was not ready for her to leave on Friday!! I was already nervous about the following week where I would be on my own.
Connor’s 4th week (one month old!):
So, it turns out that I did just fine taking care of Connor on my own this week. I shouldn’t say I did it entirely on my own because I did have some visitors that came to help. If I remember correctly, Connor’s grammy (Ryan’s mom), great gram Britt, and my sister and nieces (Kristel & the girls) came to visit. It was nice to have someone to hold him so that I could get some things done. I was finally able to clean the house and catch up on laundry, thank you cards, and other chores. I think this was the first week where I felt that Connor and I were finally getting the hang of things and each other. We were missing daddy greatly while he was at work, but he made it a point to come home and see us for half an hour over lunch each day. I think during week 4 the three of us finally ventured outside for a walk because the heat had been so unbearable all the other weeks, and I was able to get back into my weekly walks with Liz and baby Ravi! I had missed our walks so much!
Connor’s 5th week:
Week 5 was another great week for us! Connor and I were going out and about more and even paid a visit to my work. Each day I was becoming more and more comfortable with going places with him on my own. At this point, Ryan and I were just in amazement with how much he had changed and grown over the past weeks. We were able to finally coax a smile out of him (we looked like total goofballs in the process) and he was making so much more eye contact and responding to our voices. This week, we even worked up the courage to take him to a restaurant and out for an afternoon of shopping! He did great and slept the entire time! I was given the Moby wrap as a gift from the baby shower and this was the first time I got to use it. For those of you who do not know what it is, it is just a long piece of fabric that you wrap around your body in different ways to create a little “pocket” for him to sit in. It is not easy to learn to use, but now that I’ve figured it out…I love it! And, I think he does too! Below is a picture of us using the wrap:
Connor’s 6th week:
Week 6 was definitely one of our more challenging weeks! Connor was going through a growth spurt and was giving us a run for our money! They say week 6 is the peak of crying and fussiness for most infants, and I think that is what was occurring with Connor. He was eating a lot because of the growth spurt, and when he wasn’t eating or sleeping, he was quite fussy. But, we are on the upswing of it now and things are feeling much more back to normal! Thanks to a recommedation from my friend Liz, we found out that turning on the hairdryer soothed him and he would stop crying! Thanks Liz! I also found that going for walks out in the fresh air would ease his fussiness. Even though he was a little grumpy this week, we were still able to coax some smiles out of him. We noticed this week he was becoming more vocal and we’d get some coos and babbles out of him with his smiles. One of the most memorable moments of this week has to be one of the messiest diaper changes to date! I’ll spare everyone the gross details, but let’s just say we were up to our heads in baby poop! We have quite a few diaper changes that require immediate baths! Ryan always said before Connor got here that it would be interesting to see me with a boy. My family is out numbered with girls. If I’ve learned anything, it is that boys are messy!
Ryan and I went on our first date since Connor’s birth this week! Connor’s great gram Britt came down to watch him for the day and we went for lunch, shopping, and then to church. Of course at lunch we talked about him, then we went shopping for him, and at church we couldn’t pay attention to the message because we were thinking about him. After church, we couldn’t wait to get home to him! When we got home, he was happy as can be snuggled up against his great gram Britt. We were happy to know he was in good hands!
Connor’s 7th week:
So, what is in store for week 7??? I’m sure we will have may more stories to share in our next post. But, my sister, Kristel, and niece, Olivia, are going to be here for the week. Kristel just got a new job through Penn State and has to come to the med center for her orientation, so she is staying with us. Olivia will be my helper for the week! She just LOVES her baby cousin! Connor is also getting his pictures taken for the first time (by a professional….of course we‘ve taken 100s of pictures of him ourselves). Cross your fingers that he is in a happy, smiley mood! Some of Ryan’s family is coming to visit us. Vickie, Danielle, and the girls will be here to meet him! Also, our cloth diapers should be coming in the mail! I can’t wait to try them out! It should be a busy week!
Prayer request: My good friend’s dad is having surgery this week! It is going to be a stressful time for her and her family, so please keep them in your prayers! We love you, Chrissy!
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