Another Milestone

or 2 or 3...

Last night was Stephen's first night in his own room in his crib. He had been in our room in his bassinet since we brought him home from the hospital, but it's time to transition him. He had been sleeping so well consistently, so I was ready to move him a couple weeks ago. However, that was when we found out about my surgery, and so we decided to keep him in our room for a little while longer to make it easier for me to get him for night feedings during my recovery. How did it go? Really well! I fed him and put him down after 9pm, and he slept until 3:30am. Unfortunately, I think he woke up to Matt's shower (yes, he had to work today, and on overtime days he wakes up at 3am..yuck). Hopefully, he'll start to sleep through that. Anyway, I fed him, and he was awake for awhile after, cooing and fussing a bit. I waited for him to start crying since the setting was unfamiliar, but it never happened. He went to sleep and slept for another 3 hours or so! I woke him up so we could start our day. Yes, we wake our sleeping boy around here so he's on somewhat of a schedule. I took a picture before I woke him to document the big transition, and well, it looks like we'll have to make some more changes. We originally used the sleep positioner when he got sick and wanted to snuggle to try to make it feel more like he was being held. We moved it to his crib so he wouldn't wiggle too much. Well, that didn't exactly work as you can see. He wiggled down somehow. Yes, the positioner was at his sides. Also, he's working his way out of his swaddler! I'm super excited to kiss that stage goodbye. We'll give it a whirl tonight without either!



Also for the first time, Stevie let out the sweetest giggles over and over with my mom yesterday. He's only let out little chuckles before then. I hope to put some video of that up soon!

We Missed Stevie's Baby Shower

Yes, it's true, we missed one of his baby showers, or his welcome to the family party...since it was after he was born? It was going to be a fun day of seeing extended family and introducing them to Stevie. The poor guy doesn't even realize we missed it, but it was his party and he can cry if he wants to...or whatever. It was scheduled for last Saturday, and unfortunately, I had to go in for surgery on Friday. Great timing, I know. I basically did not heal in some regards, or heal correctly, from the delivery. So, I wasn't thrilled that the surgery did not come about till Stevie was 10 weeks old. That's about all I'll say about that. It was a bear the day of surgery and for a few days after, but I'm feeling a lot better already. I might be able to share a few funny (eh hem, funny now) stories from the day in person, but many are probably not public blog material. Umm, the hospital called me at 9:11am while I was in the car headed there, asking if I could come in any earlier. I was supposed to be there at 9:30am. ?? I certainly won't share how I tried to block back tears as my Dad prayed with Matt and I before I went in...as I was saying, "I would much rather be having another baby." (Yes, I also gave Stevie extra kisses good bye and held in the tears before we left.) It was my first time experiencing general anesthesia...and not something I look forward to again anytime soon. It was also my first time in an operating room. As soon as I saw all the people (doctors, nurses, anesthesiologist "team!", student doctors who looked about 15...those on the bleachers, the bench, and in boxed seats...Umm, ok) and the equipment I was like, "Knock me out now!" I "woke up" in a recovery room with eyes totally fuzzed out, coughing (because they had to put that throat tube in..ick), and completely out of it. I saw the nurse across the room, and asked, "Am I supposed to try to wake up?" feeling as though it might be impossible. She asked me how I was feeling, so I told her, "I feel like I've been hit by a truck" ...and...out I went! (I think I was given that honesty serum...haha, I'm sure they hear a lot.) How's that for their scale you get asked a million times? On a scale of 1-10, how is your pain? Sorry nurses, but that is so annoying. I know, you have to do it, but I still don't know where "hit by a truck" lies. Maybe it would be easier to answer the questions, do you feel like you have a scratch? Do you feel like you've stubbed your toe? Or, do you feel like you've been hit by an 18 wheeled semi at this speed, this speed, or this speed? Ok, so maybe that's a little dramatic or... a little sick. Just poking fun. After I was a little more coherent...awhile later, I answered a bit more gently, "Kind of like after having a baby." Yes, now I'll finally move on.

Back to the party. The BBQ was still held by Matt's family while we rested at home. Later this week, a few gifts were delivered for Stevie. One in particular is helping me heal a little bit faster because laughter is good medicine, right? No, it wasn't the little grill he received. Hmm, I'm thinking that was a "Congratulations Daddy" gift. Here's the one that makes me chuckle:



You've all seen such onesies or t-shirts. It says, "Somebody in East Aurora, NY thinks I'm too cute (and I agree)." Here's the kicker: We don't know anyone from East Aurora, NY! We never got the full story from Matt's Mom about when they got it or how they got it, but she thought it was so soft, so she bought it for Stevie. I'm sure if someone saw Stevie in East Aurora they would think he is too cute, but for now, when people ask who that is, we'll have to answer, "We don't know." And because we don't know anyone from there, it just fits Stevie's silly personality. He'll probably flash that shy smile whenever someone asks. He does when people say he's cute anyway.

Speaking of the silly boy, Daddy took some pictures after bath time the other day:





He's so irresistible! Well, to us anyway! And yes, he is still worth it all!

My Morning So Far

Things have been a bit busy around here. 2 nights ago, Stevie slept through the night...9 hours! Last night, he was up at 3ish to eat, and then again to start our day at 8am. I fed him, we played for a bit, and then...I made a confirmation.

I have been suspicious about salad or caesar dressing, or the combo, and his "reaction" to it. I had some last night. What do you know? He had a huge BM this morning. It happens every time! It was up to his neck. I took his saturated onesie off, hoping to avoid contact with his hair. Uh huh. While I attempted to clean him off, I noticed there were remnants on the wall! In the cleaning process, the poor boy decides to urinate. I feel awful. I didn't see it coming and because I was wiping his bottom and back...it flew right into his face and hair! Boy, do I win the Mom Award! I try to then clean off his face...poor boy, while the tears fill in mine! I get him removed from all things mustard yellow and fill his bath. He gets excited in the first bath and urinates. I take the boy out, dump the water, and start again. I begin to wash him down, and once again, he adds to the water! Repeat 2 sentences ago. We finally have clean water, a happy and hopefully empty boy. He enjoyed his bath, sure to get him clean and wash that hair. I dry him off and notice what? A little mustard seed on his arm! Are you serious? 3 baths weren't enough to remove it all? Maybe this is a faith lesson for the day?!!

So, after the baths, I decide to take out the camera and play. I finally have a clean boy...who was happy pretty much through it all (except for the face incident). I've been telling you he has the funniest hair after baths. Well, here it is:


Mom, you said veggies would make me big and strong!


The do! He loves getting his hair combed! Even though I didn't have a little girl, I still have hair to play with!

Now, I'm going to use the bathroom myself, eat breakfast, and take a shower. Then, it will probably be time to do his cycle all over again and somehow squeeze in a trip to the grocery store! Mustard is not going to be on my list this week. Umm, neither is salad or caesar dressing. So, if you think all my posts are about poop, well, ..."So are the days of our lives." (We offer free diaper changing classes to all expecting mothers and fathers!) It's fun though...haha, usually, and he's totally worth it!

Kodak Moment

Yesterday, I was watching the 2 video clips we have from the day Stevie was born. They were taken during his bath and shampoo time. He was so cute....and soo chunky! I just realized when watching that the nurse was commenting on the size of his head..."big, big head." Yes, he had/has a big, big head, and I pushed it out, and I love it! Anyway, I'd put that up, but it's too big to post (um, the video that is).

I'm pretty sure most new parents tend to sit around with their camera, waiting to capture the big moments. Well, I tend to forget to have the camera out. This particular day (this week), I remembered to take it out after I noticed Stevie having a good play time. Here's the big moment I happened to capture:



He's been smiling since about 3 1/2 weeks (probably earlier, but at that point, I was convinced it was on purpose), and I had been wanting to capture some good play time. As you can see, I captured something else too!

July 15th Last Year

Wow, has it really been a year already? Yup, it's been a year since Matt came "home" (to California) from deployment. It's been a year since that picture was taken above. I flew out the day before from Indiana, after staying with Chrissy and Nathan after our family reunion. I had a ridiculously huge carry-on bag with me, and yes, I'll be honest, because I didn't want to pay to check another bag. The attendant who took my ticket gave me an awful look and said, "Where do you think you're going to put that?" I just sort of smiled nervously and waited for her to make me check it. She said nothing more, so I just kept walking. I stuffed that baby in good...and had specifically prayed for days that I would sit next to a decent guy who would help me lift it or get it out. haha Guess what? It happened! I'm a little fuzzy about the first flight, but on the 2nd one, a younger guy was in the outside seat next to me. He talked a little bit when we first boarded...asked where I was going, what I was doing there, etc. I told him about Matt coming home and I wish Matt could've seen my face talking about it. The guy was like, "Look at you. You're pretty excited about this!" "Well, yeah!! 10 months is a long time without your husband!"

It was crazy trying to occupy myself on base, pretty much alone, for about 32 hours before he got there (yeah, I didn't get much sleep). I was going nuts inside...full of anticipation, just like my wedding day, yet I had some nervousness being alone (and loneliness). I walked to the mini mart on base and ate a frozen pizza back at the room for dinner. I settled into the room I guess, and I'm pretty sure I went for a run on the track that night. Then I went back to the room to watch t.v. and try to get some sleep. The next morning, I took another walk to the mini mart for food for the day. I could've gotten everything the night before, but I knew I'd have lots of time to fill. After my lovely Easy Mac lunch, I headed back to the track to run off some energy. Of course there was a group doing their PT drills there, and I could feel the dozens of sets of eyes on me with every lap. I stayed out of their way, sticking to the outside, looking forward to having my partner (and protector...haha) beside me again. It's sort of a strange thing to be thousands of miles away from anyone I know and in the midst of palm trees. I can't remember what I ate for dinner that night...I just remember not being able to eat much because I was so excited. I kept waiting for the phone call as to the time he would arrive. It was supposed to be before 7pm originally I believe. It kept getting pushed back and pushed back...of course. I got myself ready...and waited...and waited. Matt ended up calling me from Alaska, their last leg. I kept myself "busy" by watching Wipeout and I Survived a Japanese Gameshow (not much on) and A Baby Story (love that show). Finally, a friend of Matt's picked me up around 11 to take me to the terminal on base where Matt's squadron would arrive. Just before midnight the plane touched down. Matt was one of the last guys off the plane, but then I saw him! We had to dodge the other people and the baracades, and then we were together again...the pictures here show the rest.

Here we are, a year later, together with a little addition! This year went by pretty fast, and I wish that year had gone by as quickly. I definitely still think about that time often, and though it was so difficult to endure at the time, I am thankful for it. Not because I wanted to be apart from Matt (certainly not!!), but I appreciate that much more what the service members, their wives and families go through for our freedom. There are wives and families still enduring right now. Please remember to keep them, as well as our soldiers, in your prayers.

Acorns 2 Oaks

Finally, my blog name change post!

We dedicated Stephen on Father's Day. That was a few weeks ago already! I'm still trying to catch up on here. We were eager to dedicate him to the Lord pretty much as soon as possible after he was born, and we thought Father's Day would be an extra special time to do it. Afterall, we dedicated him to our heavenly Father, and he's named after his Daddy who loves him so much (Mommy does too). I really wanted to post some pictures, but we don't have any! I'm quite sad about this. We didn't take our camera out in our haste to make it to the front after coming in from a feeding time. My mom had theirs, but it was set to video on accident, and the battery ran out within a minute. Thankfully, Matt and Megan taped it for us so we will have it on DVD, but pictures are only in our memory. Here are the only pictures from the afternoon.


Daddy and son matched!



After saying our vows (with the arch blanket over Stephen that we said our wedding vows under), and my Dad praying over him, I added a portion of a song/prayer for Stephen: "A Mother's Prayer" by Rachel Aldous. I would've probably just used the song somehow but didn't have time to get it, so I read it (with tears). I just think it's absolutely beautiful, and yes every time I hear it, the tears come. You see, I'm all about the meaningful things. I searched and searched for a good dedication song. They are hard to come by! I heard this and could not stop listening to it (it has about 78,000 hits, and I'm probably 70,000 of them...haha) and praying the words over my son.



Then when my dad walked Stevie around the church for the people to get a better look at him, we had the more familiar, "I Want to be Just Like You" playing by Phillips, Craig, and Dean.

I think all parents dream and hope for big things for their children. For me, it has been my desire since a little girl to have children. Stephen is an absolute blessing and miracle. You see, it took a little more time than we were hoping it would to get pregnant. I went through rounds of testing and started herbs and other supplements (I preferred to try more natural supplements first). It was thought it may take me a couple more years when my hormonal levels just weren't getting there, but lo and behold, last September, we were so excited to finally see a plus! I am convinced God breathed his breath into Stephen's very being. My body was doing some weird things at the time, and I can't help but think a Spiritual battle was going on inside me and God willed Stephen into being. I believe He has some big things in store for our little guy, our crowned gift of God, and since conception, for that was when his life began, well, actually, even before he was conceived, it has been my dream and hope that our child/children would grow to be "oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor." Oaks are so strong. We desire Stephen and any future children to find strength in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As they seek Him and grow in their relationship with Him, we pray that relationship will be reflected with purposeful, righteous lives for Him...for His glory, that all may know it is Him who gives us life, the Creator of all things, our Savior, the Beginning and the End. Isn't that our very reason for living? We were created for His glory and splendor! So right now, Stevie is sort of a little acorn. We pray he grows into an oak with deep roots planted in Him, for Him. It is our desire also, that we as individuals, a married couple, parents, will continue growing into oaks as well. I'm a visual person, so I appreciate the visual examples and metaphors used in the Bible. When Matt and I were first courting, our first Christmas, I gave Matt a little wooden box filled with acorns with this verse, Psalm 1 ("Blessed is the man..."), and Deuteronomy 26:18 (being God's treasured possessions). We hope to plant those acorns at our first house someday...haha, if they're still good. Then as a wedding gift to Matt for our family, I got "The Oak Inside the Acorn" by Max Lucado. It's a great children's book about growing into who we were created to be. So, Matt and I hope to be 2 examples of oaks for our child/children as they grow from acorns to oaks themselves.

Stevie Likes it!

The sling that is. Thanks Megan! Matt tried it out, hmm, maybe the day we came home from the hospital (along with the swing and the bouncy chair and whatever else. It was a day at the amusement park for Stevie, only, without his amusement. He was still a little too floppy for the sling then.) I decided to give it a whirl today, brave I know, being by myself to get him in and around my shoulders! He wasn't so sure at first, and neither was I. I'm still getting the hang of it, but he went to sleep pretty much right away. It sort of looks ginormous on me, but hey, maybe it's just that my boy is pretty ginormous. He's 23 inches long now...and shall I say, built?! I have a feeling he's going to be tall like his dad.

Right now, I'm supposed to be in the shower while he sleeps. Yeah, those things sort of get adjusted with the schedule these days (along with eating and sleeping...for me that is! He does pretty well in those areas).

So, let's see, life with a newborn. I really had every intention of doing a Not Me! Monday...I had so many good things to share. Well, at least I thought they were pretty funny. I'll share a few anyway even though it's Wednesday. I'll call it, "What I Wouldn't Do Wednesday!" I would not hold my breath or brace myself every time I change my little man for fear of getting wet myself. (So far, Dad's been the biggest target...and every time he wears a particular college t-shirt. I'm guessing our little guy would not attend that college). My little boy also would not already have a diaper rash. That would make this mom feel just awful. In her awful state of feeling, she would not use a hand held little fan on his bottom just to try to air him out after each change. We would not often eat dinner in the living room (for that would be a bad habit to develop) to be near our hopefully, snoozing boy in the swing. I would not prepare buttered Italian bread for our pasta on a paper plate and place it on the couch. I then certainly would not proceed to have my mind on other things and sit on that plate. It would not take this crazy lady (because she's not crazy) minutes to realize I was sitting on a paper plate of buttered slices of bread, and only realize after Matt says, "Umm," and points to my rear. I would not get a bit emotional and embarrassed and have my husband unstick the bread from my bottom and wipe the huge buttery mess off of me. I of course, would not be wearing a pair of his sweat pants at the time. While feeding Stevie, the precious babe would not happen to fall asleep all the time. So, my dear husband, would not sit next to us on the bed with his birthday Nerf Shotgun and fire off some blank rounds to awaken the poor boy. (I'm pretty sure that would not be in the newborn handbook, so therefore, he would not do anything of the sort.) Knowing the type of relationship I have with Matt, I would not add to his collection of toys on Father's Day by getting him (or, allowing him to get) a slingshot. That would make us totally weird, and since we would not want to be weird, we would not do such things. Ohh, there are more, but I'll save them for another time.

Here are a few pictures of Stevie at 2 weeks. I can't believe he'll be 3 weeks tomorrow!






Oh, and Stevie is a great sleeper! Sometimes he fusses for awhile when he goes down, but once he's out...he's out for several hours. For example, we put him down around 9:15 or 9:30 last night. He fell asleep around 10pm, and wait for it..., was ready to eat at 3:55am!! Then again at 8:15ish!! The first couple nights home from the hospital were pretty awful (in that he cried and cried and only wanted to be with me), leading me to ask the pediatrician about using the pacifier at our first visit. He was ok with it, so we canned the whole idea of waiting 2 weeks and used it! I can't say it's all the pacifier (he doesn't always need it), but boy, that's helped us. Oh yes, and that whole first week and a half or so, every time I woke up, I had this panic. I thought I fell asleep with Stephen in my arms (because I was so very tired and was feeding him quite a bit in the wee hours of the night and morning). I would look in my arms to find me holding a pillow like it was him, and I'd go crazy digging through our sheets and covers to find him. Scary feelings! People are telling me it's normal to have those panics...phew. I thought I was going crazy. I finally got used to that happening every time I woke up through the nights and mornings...and would have to calm myself down and say, "He's ok. He's in his bed!" Oh, and sort of another side note totally unrelated to sleeping. Beth (Nurse Beth, if you're even reading this...haha), I did have that PUPPS rash. You were right!! It was not poison ivy. Whooo boy, I was miserable. As if recovering from delivery wasn't fun enough, I was itching like crazy...everywhere...and being ohh so proud (ha!) to be included in that 1% of women who get it. It spread terribly after I got home from the hospital (odd because it usually goes away then). It has finally gone away!

Hopefully, I'll be able to share about Stephen's dedication (which was this past Sunday) soon! I'll also try to add pictures of him just after a bath...his hair is hysterical. We're making our big trip to Indiana and Michigan for the week on Friday, so I may not be able to post for a bit. Happy 4th of July week in case I don't "talk to you" till after!