Practically a Gentleman

That Nicholas...he just keeps growing and going! Would you believe that he turned four months old this past Wednesday? Neither can I...and yet, I have to admit that I can't really remember much of the days when he was an itty bitty baby. In some ways, this is pretty good - those first few weeks were hard on both of us. I'm glad I managed to get a few blog entries out about it, though, so I can remember something when the mood strikes me.

All that aside, he's made some great leaps this month. For instance, he now assists us when we put on his clothes. He'll lift his head up so we can put his shirts over his head and he'll help as best as he can with putting his arms through his sleeves. He now has discovered that standing up (with assistance) is just more fun than a barrel of monkeys. He also loves to laugh, give kisses and smile. He's just a genuine little person at this point!

As far as his actual growth, he's still a slight fellow. He still fits best in 3 month size pants and shirts, though he's graduated to 3 to 6 months in onesies footed sleepers (they're pretty big on him, but they're long enough!). And, to think I didn't think he'd even be in 3 month size clothing for more than a couple of weeks. I still love that he's a small little guy, though...I have to admit it!

All in all, Nicholas had a "decent" birthday. I can't say it was fabulous because he wasn't feeling so great. Sadly, it seems after a week of the "formula made of gold" that it isn't much better than the cheaper stuff. Can you say bummer? Perhaps as time goes on, it will go back to being good as it was in the first three days when we tried it and again the first few days of this trial. I'm kind of kicking myself for buying enough for a month now, though since we could have spent that money in other ways. Oh well. You live you learn, I guess...and there is still a possibility, I suppose, that it will start behaving.

For now, though, we're not so impressed after a longer feeding experience. He's still having gas and now has an added complication - constipation. The poor little guy! On the bright side, his waste products look more like what they said they should...i.e., seedy. I'll spare you any further details. It's hard as many other new parents (and perhaps some seasoned ones) can attest to remember that baby poo is not something that the masses wish to discuss on a regular basis. It seems that Mark and I discuss it often, though. :)

In other exciting Nicholas news, we received his Halloween costume in the mail the other day. Oooh, it's cute! You're going to love it when I finally post the pictures on his website.

Update on 10/06/07 - It looks like I never published this so I'm doing it now! :)

Chew On This

My apologies for a rather lengthy absence (again!). There's been a flurry of activity around here with Mark finishing school last Friday (YEA!!!), painting, carpeting, Nicholas, etc.

I had to come back today though to share with you that my little boy is growing up much too quickly. :( I had already come to this conclusion, but then, yesterday, we discovered the most concrete proof yet - Mr. Sprout is getting his first tooth! What?!? He's only almost 4 months old. I guess after reading a few different resources this is not completely unusual, but I am just left with a wave of emotions. I'm so excited that he's reached yet another milestone (he's been laughing and squealing lately, too), but I am sad that this milestone is just another indicator that he's growing up at the speed of light.

At any rate, he seems to be doing quite well all things considered. He isn't sleeping as well as we'd like during the nighttime hours, but he's content to swing in his swing and suck on his little hand so we've been making use of this tool to get some sleep for ourselves.

Other than this, the formula we tried from the allergy doctor does seem to have helped. We ordered 2 cases last week and it should get here. Total cost for a month's supply - $250 (with a first time buyer coupon). Ouch. Worth every penny if it helps Nick feel better but ouch.

Mark, as I mentioned, finished school. :) It is weird having him home all day now every day, but also very nice. We enjoyed a number of outings last week to celebrate with his classmates. We missed most of the BBQ (the thing we wanted to attend most) due to the carpet people who took 12 hours to do their thing. Our house looks quite nice now, though. :)

As far as being a chiropractor, we're just waiting for the results of his Part III boards which he took on Sept. 8 (the day before his birthday). He's also seriously looking at a practice in a location to be announced if everything goes as planned. It's a great opportunity in a great location so hopefully it will!

We had a little BBQ for our friends to make good use of our 1/2 cow we bought. It was a very fun time despite the fact that I had just had an allergy treatment the day before and couldn't have anything with sugar in it (can you say just kill me now?) for about 2 hours of the party. In fact, I pretty much lived on tater tots that day...yum, I think. Luckily, pretty much everyone came about 2 hours after the start time we designated so I didn't have to really suffer too much. Which is not to say if that Nick and I didn't the next couple of days after. :)

That will do it for today I suppose... Until next time, I hope all is well with you and your loved ones! :)

Allergy Appointment

Today I took Nicholas to the allergy doc's office. It wasn't all I had hoped for, but at least we have something else to try. I am not sure if I ever mentioned the uber-expensive formula I found called Neocate. Well, he wants to try that first before we do any testing... He assures me that the soy oil in it will not cause problems if Nicholas has a soy allergy. Bizarre, but whatever we'll try it.

Of course, this was a bit of a bummer visit for me because the doctor told me to avoid all the typical offenders as far as food allergies go. That means eggs are back on the "can't eat 'em " list. Of course, I can't eat them because I choose not to for Nicholas not because I actually can't eat them so I guess that is a little better. At least I was able to enjoy some of the best French Toast I've ever had (because I hadn't had it forever, no doubt!) on Sunday morning...

Let's see, what else has gone on. Nicholas is becoming a real kissy baby. I love his little slobbery kisses. It just makes me smile...kind of makes me feel bad to wipe all the drool off, though. I'm glad as he gets older he'll be able to perfect his technique! :)

Nicholas also is really enjoying standing up assisted. He gets a little perturbed sometimes when you put him in a sitting position. I think he likes being able to have a direct view of our faces. He's a real cutie pie - I like looking at him, too.

Not that it is earth shattering, but I also got a new purse and wallet yesterday. I had to...my other one broke. I always hate it when things break or get ripped, need mended or whatever. I always have such a hard time finding something else I like and am willing to pay for. So I guess it sort of surprises me that yesterday I actually let myself splurge. I bought a Liz Claiborne purse and wallet to match. They were on sale so I don't feel the need to commit myself (hee hee). I think I'm just going through a really need to feel somewhat girly moment.

It's been really hard for me since about mid-pregnancy to motivate myself to do my hair or makeup. The hair now is pretty much worn in a single style - can you say pony tail? It's kind of a necessity if I don't want my hair pulled by my dear little guy. So, no more super model hair days for me for a while longer...except when I'm standing in the mirror in the morning or before bed and can brush out and admire that I have some very nice locks (not being conceited here...I just recognize that I was blessed in the hair department). As for makeup, well, part of that is Mark's fault. He had to go take (okay they made him) a class on Toxicology and learned about all the horrible stuff they put in makeup and countless other things so he's asked me not to use it unless I can find some without the icky stuff.

That seems fair and I've actually found some options (Bare Escentuals is one) that I'd sort of like to try, but I have a hard time justifying the cost at this point since I'm not working. BE has a little starter kit that is like $60 that I'm still contemplating, but I keep talking myself out of it partially because I've never really worn much other than mascara and eyeliner so I'm not sure I want all that other 'stuff' in the lineup. Maybe once Mark is employed I'll reconsider it.

Speaking of Mark, he is scheduled to be essentially finished with school on Wednesday of next week. How cool is that? It will be nice to have him finished. He's looking into a couple of opportunities which we'll let you know about when things are a little more crystal.

Well, I need to go help with dinner so toodle-loo for now.

Go Ahead! Egg Me On!!!

I have some egg-cellent news, my friends...truly egg-cellent news! I visited the chiropractor who is helping with my food allergies today. We had worked on the egg mix which has eggs and related "stuff" in it last time and I had my fingers crossed that it would work despite the fact that I ran into a feather within my post-treatment avoidance period. I'm happy to report that we succeeded despite this little slip up and today I showed no allergy to eggs!!!!! YEA!!! YEA!!! YEA!!! (Um, yeah, I guess you could say this has made me very happy).

Of course the true testament will be me eating me some eggs and not feeling icky afterward. I think it is possible since yesterday I cheated and ate part of a muffin and didn't seem to have any trouble. Breakfast will be so much more interesting now, I have a feeling.

So, after checking that out, we worked on, of all things "calcium mix" which has a bunch of calcium-rich stuff in it like milk and stuff. This one is tricky...and it's all Nicholas's fault. Okay, not really. I suppose the blame could be mine... Essentially the problem is that I have to avoid contact with his formula until 2p.m. tomorrow. So far, we've already messed this up. I was holding Nicholas earlier and he spit up on me. Oops. So, we've decided that I will avoid contact with him, other than to kiss the top of his cute little head and stuff like that until I'm in the safe zone tomorrow. I sure hope that formula thing doesn't mess everything up. I'd hate to have to do this twice. I think it's pretty much torture for both of us. On the bright side, apparently there is some chance that fixing this up could help with the breast milk supply. I guess we'll wait and see...

At any rate, that's all I have for today. I'm just pleased as punch! It's just too bad that we don't have a single egg in the house (by design since we didn't know if I'd be avoiding them again).

A Once in a Lifetime (I Hope) Experience...

Ah the joys of parenting. I haven't written about them lately...sorry for my absence. ;)

Nicholas apparently felt for you all and helped to get me to the computer today so that I can recount the thing he did that made me laugh the most I have laughed for who knows how long. It is hilarious. You want to know what it is? Well, stay tuned then...I'll get to it. First, though, we'll work through the usual updates.

First off, Nicholas who is now 3 months old (can you believe it?) has learned a couple of new tricks since I last wrote a post. He can roll over both from tummy to back and back to tummy (just one way or the other, though). He doesn't do this consistently, but he's done it often enough that I figure it counts. His favorite place to practice, much to my dismay, is the changing table. I have to watch him like a hawk. I spend quite a few extra moments putting him in his crib just so I can find him clothes or whatever and not have to worry about him rolling right off the table. So that's one thing.

His other trick is that he's learned how to give kisses! I got my first on Sunday. At first I wasn't exactly sure what it was he was doing, but after thinking about it and paying attention to when he does it and such, I've determined that my little boy is a kisser. :) He's kind of slobbery, but I don't mind at all. It definitely isn't a "normal" type of kiss (he's only 3 months after all!), but it works for me.

The gas still plagues the little guy, but I may have mentioned that we discovered the swaddling, shhhing and patting seem to bring him some relief. It's nice to have another tool in our arsenal since I have a hard time bouncing on the swiss ball continuously and find the sling rather uncomfortable.

Another development is that I will be home a bit longer with Nicholas since my doctor has not yet released me to return to work. Since I am totally enjoying my time with him, I'm not complaining. The doctor has also been quite helpful in obtaining some formula for Nicholas from the formula maker. That is truly helpful. I love my doctor.

The insurance company on the other hand is not helpful. We had the pediatrician write them to see if they would help us pay for donated breast milk for Nick since it seems that the formula does not agree with him. They denied our request because, they say, there are so many types of formula that it isn't a high priority. Not happy at all with that. Perhaps they'll change their minds if after the visit with an allergy specialist we're taking Nicholas to on Thursday of next week, we discover, as I suspect, that he's allergic to soy (which is in every formula in existence!). I just want the poor little guy to feel better...no little baby should need suffer as he does.

I'll be quite happy to know what stuff he's allergic to since he's got another "mystery rash" now. Actually, I don't think it's a mystery. I tried some baby oil on the tyke (just a little) a few nights ago to give him a little massage. I promise not to do it again.

I'm also trying more voodoo to rid myself of allergies. This time it is a technique called NAET. We'll see how it did at the last treatment session which was supposed to clear eggs and egg-related things. I was supposed to stay away from eggs, feathers and chicken afterwards for 25 hours and pretty much botched that with the feather thing (a cat toy got me outside...I forgot it was there!) and so we'll see. I may have to redo that one. Otherwise, we'll move onto calcium.

Mark is also doing well. He's been checking out a practice in Colorado Springs that looks pretty good. It would be nice if it worked out as it seems just what he's been looking for.

And now, the recount of my experience. Nicholas and I were sitting on the couch. He'd just woke up from a short nap on my lap and was wrapped in his burrito blanket...he's such a cutie when he's baby burritoed. :) At any rate, he'd eaten before his nap and I was reminded of this in a rather unpleasant but terribly funny way. I put Nicholas above my head in a superman position and then saw coming toward me a pillar of spit up. It landed in my hair and trickled down my face. I couldn't stop laughing despite how utterly gross it is to be thrown up on. I don't suppose it will be so funny when he throws up on me and it is more than just spit and milk. Perhaps it isn't nearly as amusing to you, but it's definitely one of those "I must remember this" moments of my parenting career. I may think twice before holding him over my head like that again...

And, that is it for now! I hope you all are doing well...and I hope I didn't forget to tell you something. I should think not given the length of this post!

Photos!

We're enjoying a visit with Mark's parents at the moment, but I had time to upload new photos to Nicholas' site including a nice selection of the professional photos we took in early July with my friend Lucie. They turned out so awesome. I seriously am having one heck of a time trying to figure out which ones we should have printed. I guess that's the problem with having a cutie pie as a baby! If you don't have the login information for the site, let me know via email and I'll get it to you.

Other than that, we had a pretty uneventful week other than the visit from Mark's parents and his brother Michael. Our days have been rather calm with most of the festivities centering around eating beef. We've made a small dent in the cow, but we still have plenty for people who'd like to come over for dinner!

I guess I did, however, go for my first voodoo treatment for my allergies. I don't think it was successful because I was supposed to avoid eggs (no problem), chicken (no problem) and feathers (a problem). I wasn't supposed to go within 5 feet of these things and darned if I didn't forget about the fact that all the feather things in our house were quickly thrown out on the porch and go out there to turn on the grill. *sigh* I hope I'm wrong but I'm having some seriously unpleasant allergy reactions... I guess we'll see how we do the second time around.

That's about it for updates this week. I hope you're doing well!

Walking in Memphis...

We did a lot of that. :) We didn't see the ghost of Elvis on Union Ave...but we did stay on Union. We didn't go to Graceland...being a bit too young to really appreciate Elvis and being with Mark's parents who'd already been, we decided to spend our time elsewhere.

Now what we did do while we were in Memphis was...eat a lot of ribs. I kid you not, we had them at least 4 times while we were there. If we'd had the time, we would have had more. We've even talked about having some FedEx'd to us from Rendevous whose ribs I believe both Mark and I liked the best...too bad we only got to have them once since we missed the little piece of info on the menu that said they were closed on Sunday and Monday...doh! What a bummer it was to find that out on Sunday night! We had Corky's and the Blues City Cafe for our other ribby ventures...both were tasty but with the exception of the cole slaw which we thought was weird, Rendevous is our top pick. :)

The flight to Memphis was interesting. I can now say that I have changed a diaper in an airplane bathroom. That was a challenge....especially since sweet little sprout decided to have a real whopper of a diaper for me! Then I tried pumping...don't if you don't have to. It's more trouble than it is worth. I can't say how many times I was panicking because the blankets I'd rigged up were trying to fall and expose me. I'll never try that again (I wouldn't have in the first place if Nicholas would have cooperated!).

Other things we enjoyed while in Tennessee included riding in a little horse drawn carriage. This was a treat since I'd wanted to have one for our wedding but couldn't due to where we decided to have our reception. So, since our anniversary was on Tuesday, the 31st, Mark, his parents, Nick and I all climbed in. We went for the Cinderella carriage with lights...and it was a neat ride. We learned a little about some of the historical sites in Memphis and enjoyed ourselves. We also made a stop in at the Hard Rock for a pin for my mom and at Hooters for a shirt for my Uncle. We even got Nicholas a little hooters outfit to make the uncle smile...I still think they should have had something that said "my mom's hooters are the best" or something like that, but no. By the way, just in case you don't know me well, getting the outfit for Nicholas was Mark's idea. I get embarassed going into the joint to get my uncle a t-shirt. Maybe it is because I am jealous of some of those girls.... hee hee

As promised, we made our stop in Colorado. Nicholas, not surprisingly, was a big hit. We were able to hang out with the two brothers and Lea, Doug's girlie, when we arrived on Monday night in Denver and then we got to spend time with my parents on Monday for a good part of the day. We had lunch at Monica's in Colorado Springs. It wasn't the plan - we were supposed to go to Marigolds for salad and some yummy dessert since it was our 3rd anniversary and we got our wedding cake from there. Alas, we didn't even make it over there for dessert. I'm glad we'll be able to go back there more often very soon!

We were able to go visit a chiropractor's office that Mark is interested in and that went pretty well. He has a couple of options now as far as where he will practice. He just needs to iron out details and decide which way he wants to go.

And, then it was time to come home....we went to church this morning and that was interesting since Nicholas had yet another gas attack. :( It was kind of nice, though, because I got a lot of ladies who were thrilled to give me support and pep talks and who showed me a few little tricks that I can hopefully use some other time to calm the little guy down.

In other Nick news, he has begun learning how to roll over from his back to his tummy. I thought I made a little note somewhere on the blog that he had done this so that I would be able to remember when this happened, but I'm not finding it anywhere. :( It's been a few days since he's done this so maybe it was a fluke. ;) He also has really gotten quite strong as far as his head goes. He can hold it up by himself for the most part now, though, he has his moments of being a floppy neck still, too.

One final bit of news is that the adventures in breastfeeding are going well. I have actually succeeded in increasing my supply thanks to an herbal preparation I started taking last week. Nicholas' consumption of formula has decreased by a few ounces and everything seems to still be working out. I still don't have a full supply but just to have some success is wonderful. I will see if the herbalist who recommended the nursing tincture to me has any other tricks up her sleeve to help me be even more of a cow.

Hope all of you are having a nice August so far. Mark's parents and his brother are supposed to visit us mid-week this week....not sure where they're going to sleep (I would have opted for a hotel if I were they), but I'm sure we'll figure something out.

It's Been a While....

hasn't it? I am sure everyone knows what or should I say who is occupying my time. Yes, that little Nicholas keeps me busy!

He's just growing like a little weed, but thankfully not too terribly fast (though, I still think it's too fast sometimes!). He's flashing his adorable smile and smiling eyes on a regular basis now. He has quite a few smiles actually to amuse his mommy. One of my favorite activities as of late is watching him while he sleeps (okay, it's been one of my favorite activities since he came out!) because he smiles intermittantly. I often wonder what he's dreaming about. He seems to have lots of little baby dreams...very cute!

He also has begun coo-ing. He is sooooo cute when he "talks." You just want to pick the little guy up and kiss him and kiss him and kiss him. I'm definitely making up for the teenage "eww, Mom...not in front of the guys!" episodes that are probably in my future. I can't help but kiss those little chubby cheeks.

And, yes, they are getting chubby. He even has a bit of a double chin now and his legs seem to have filled out as well. He's still a small little guy, though....he weighs about 10 pounds and still doesn't quite fit into size one diapers. I think it is kind of funny that I had bought one box of newborn diapers before he came home thinking he'd probably wear them for a week yet he's still in them. I said I wanted a baby that looked like a baby and I think I got one! :) Actually, I get asked a lot whether Nicholas was born prematurely because he is so small for his age. I think people are just so used to seeing bigger babies now days for some reason!

Let's see what else can I think of to update you on what's going on. Oh, well, the gas problem is still around. Thanks to everyone for the tips. We have tried pretty much everything. We've even tried, on our pediatrician's recommendation, a couple of different formulas. Lactose free formula was a big mistake. The poor little guy just did not take to it well. So, now we're trying the other hypoallergenic formula on the market Nutrimagen by Enfamil. It's supposed to be slightly more broken down than the Similac Allimentum we have been using. I can't tell honestly...and he's still not feeling well though it is an improvement over the lactose free stuff.

It's quite distressing watching him suffer through the gas stuff. He just looks and sounds like he's in so much pain (and he probably is). So, we're still looking at ways to help him out. I found a formula that is geared for infants and children with food allergies...it is free from both milk and soy ingredients. We may give that a go at some point in the future, but it is expensivo stuff - $35 for a 14 oz. can of powder. I also wrote our health insurance to see if they would pick up the cost of feeding him donated breastmilk. They didn't say they would, but they didn't say no either so Nick's pediatrician is in the process of trying to get it authorized through his medical group. This is actually a bit bittersweet since I had planned to donate whatever milk I produced that Nicholas didn't need...

For now, I am making an effort to increase my supply to decrease what we do need to feed him in formula thus hopefully decreasing his overall discomfort. I can't say that I've seen much improvement at this point, but I recently came across a little technique that I think could be helpful and I am taking various supplements to promote milk production as well. The other thing we're going to try is using a goat's milk formula. Goat's milk is the closest to human milk so we are hoping it will work better with Nicholas' system. It will only require that we give him a vitamin supplement and some fish oil (joy....unless I can find an odorless kind!) to ensure that he gets all the nutrients he needs to grow up big and strong. It comes highly recommended by many of Mark's instructors.

Other than this, we are trying to get ready to go to Memphis this coming Thursday. It should be a fun time. I'm not sure what all we'll do there - we might visit Graceland...maybe if for no other reason than to see crazed Elvis fans. Oh, and of course, we'll be tossing the allergy list to the wind and having lots of yummy BBQ ribs and what not. I plan on taking a lot of claritin with me...

I think I mentioned that we're stopping in Colorado on our way back. We are going to let my parents have a little time with their grandson and look at a couple of chiropractic offices that Mark is considering. Since we'll be there on our 3rd anniversary we're also going to go for lunch at Marigold's Cafe...if you're in the mood for some of that triple chocolate mousse cake we served at the wedding, please join us. :)

Well, until we get back (assuming I don't make it back to the computer before then), I hope all is going well for all of you!

More About Our Cow

Since Annie asked, I'm happy to give a few more details about our cow acquisition for all those who are interested in knowing the info. :)

Our cow, who's name is very Shakespearean (still not going to tell you, but that narrows it down, perhaps), was grass fed until the last month of its life. At this point, they start feeding it on grain to get some of the grassy taste out and to help create some marbeling. It really is some of the tastiest beef I've ever had. And, one excellent thing about it when I was pregnant was that since I knew where it came from and what it had eaten and such (i.e., no antibiotics or what have you), I could still have a nice medium steak if I wanted. Of course, I didn't really like my beef undercooked (nature is one heck of a smart lady) so I rarely did, but if I had wanted.

Cost-wise, it really is quite a steal. You pay a per pound amount -- ours was $3.25 per gross pound (i.e., before butchering) and then you go over with the butcher what cuts you want. This year, in contrast to last year, we went for a lot of steak and also increased the amount of hamburger we got in lieu of many roasts. Whether you eat a pound of hamburger, a pound of filet mignon (my personal favorite) or a pound of NY strip (which is what we enjoyed tonight for dinner), you've paid $3.25 for it. I can truthfully say that filets and NYs would never be on the menu at our house if we didn't do this cow thing! :) The only drawback to this method is you do have to pay upfront (our total cost was about $1100), but if you can save your pennies, the decrease in your weekly grocery bill makes up for some of it. For us, our dining bill also decreased because we kept finding that we were never as happy with restaurant beef after...

Beef. It's Still What's for Dinner...

Believe it or not, the 1/2 cow that we bought last year is gone except for 2 packages of stew meat and a london broil. Our freezer was looking mighty sparse for a while there, but no more! Today we picked up this year's cow just outside of Sacramento. This time around we went for more steaks and fewer roasts. We like roast, but it takes some planning and frequently results in way too many leftovers.

We did get a lot of hamburger again this year and I am thrilled. After having to eat hamburger from the store again (and it was even fancy schmancy Whole Foods hamburger), I am very happy to have a stockpile again. I grew so accustomed to hamburger with minimal fat content (so little that any attempt to drain it after cooking is futile) that when I ate the stuff from the store, I found it quite "icky." So yea for good hamburger again.

At any rate, I have to say I am slightly disturbed by the 1/2 cow this time around. Only slightly, but nevertheless disturbed. Why? Because I know what its name was. I hope that everytime I tear into a burger or steak I am able to forget. I will spare you in case you happen to come over for dinner sometime the name...if you really want to know, you can always ask, but don't say I didn't warn you about the possible disturbance in your brain.

To celebrate our now well-stocked freezer, we'll be having some very tasty burgers for dinner - anyone want an invite? ;)

A Troubling Tale of....

Gas. It's back. Poor little Nicholas!

We were thinking the little guy was having gas just because he was crying for more food, but alas, it doesn't seem to be so. He's spent the last couple of days in periods of misery trying his best to get the bubbles out! We're thinking we may take another break from his current formula to see if that would help. We really just want the little guy to feel great!

Otherwise, our big adventure for this week took us to Santa Clara for pictures with a photographer friend of mine - Lucie of Lucie XYZ Photography. She is in the middle of wedding season and busy as a bee can be so we'll not get the final product for some time, but we know it will be worth waiting for. She took some great shots of all of us...we can't wait to see them!

Of course, there was lots of fun to be had during the photo shoot thanks to Nicholas. He managed to "shower" both Mommy and Daddy (only Lucie was spared!) and never fell asleep for the sleepy time photos. That's okay, though...we have quite a few of him wriggling on a towel showing Miss Lucie how he's been practicing so he can crawl soon. These should be quite priceless.

Other than that, this marks the last week of Mark's last school break. On Monday morning he'll begin his final quarter at Life West. It is kind of crazy to think he's almost finished!

All Clear!

Yea! At my doctor appointment today I was given the great news that everything is finally healed up and can be left alone. No more sticking long q-tips or sticks into my wounds. Thank goodness - I was just waiting for the time when one of them would break off!

We also did a little weigh-in for Nicholas today and are happy to report that he's all the way up to 7 pounds 14 ounces. This is about a 14 ounce gain since he was at 7 pounds even last week at our weigh in. Given that Nick has been eating like a horse these past few days, we're glad to see some of it is sticking with him.

Speaking of eating, we discovered why dear Nicholas was having "colic" symptoms. He was HUNGRY! We were giving the little guy the amount of formula (and breast milk, of course) that he should be eating to enjoy a steady weight gain, but we discovered on Sunday that it probably wasn't enough at the moment...he really wants to get big and strong folks. So now that he's in a little growth spurt we're making sure he's getting enough and we're really enjoying having our little angel baby back.

Finally, we enjoyed a nice little outing today to the San Francisco Botanical Garden. Since we arrived about 15 minutes to closing time, we plan to return soon. It was a great place to stroll with Nicholas...

Way to Go Mark!

The results are in - Mark passed his Part IV Exams! Can we get a woo hoo? Doctor Rocco is one step closer to emerging! Our thanks to Nicholas for not coming during daddy's testing weekend. Your patience has been rewarded!

Happy Birthday to Nick!

I'm a day late here (which is funny since I had the realization on Monday that I was a day early), but things are just crazy with a baby in the house. Life is definitely more exciting (and in a good way for the most part since I so frequently cite that excitement is overrated) with little Nicholas around...and can you believe that yesterday marked his being on the outside for a whole month? Wow!

And, what a month it was with doctor appointments for him and I in the double digits. Thankfully, his weight is good and so we got to decrease our quota a little. Mine are still going since we're waiting for the last little drain hole to close up properly....that should be done by the end of the week. I honestly don't know what I'll do when I don't have a reason to visit my OB's office on a regular basis...they're pretty much family at this point.

Nicholas has been doing very well lately, but he's developed a nice little case of colic....poor little guy. It's all due to gas unfortunately. Where the gas is originating we're not sure - from formula type to things I eat (that are then transmitted through breast milk), we're trying to find the culprit. We seem to have had some success in at least calming him during the witching hours of 6 to midnight by instituting a little nighttime routine that gets him in bed by 7 p.m. which was suggested by my OB. We're still working on perfecting it...

Other than that, we're scheduled to go get some professional photos done of our little family and Nicholas by my friend and favorite photographer on Tuesday morning next week. I'm really excited to see what gorgeous shots she'll come up with. :)

We hope you're all doing well!

Happy Father's Day!

Today is Mark's first Daddy's Day! How exciting, eh?!

We started celebrating yesterday with a trip to Red Lobster for lunch and the purchase of a new trash can (really, we needed one and it's a really neato trash can - yeah, we know all you other dad's are jealous out there!). We made up for the lackluster shopping of yesterday with a gift befitting a new daddy - a VCR/DVR combo that Mark's been wanting for quite some time at Best Buy. We also made a little stop by the baby store and got a few more nipples for bottles and some more burp clothes (not that they did much good when I forgot to put one over my shoulder and Nick let loose - he was a little upset about a slight delay and lunch which led to more volatility in his digestive track).

Other than Father's Day festivities, we do have some updates on the whole weight gain and infection fiascos we've been dealing with. We seem to have brought Nicholas back to his birth weight and perhaps beyond. We'll find out for sure on Thursday at his next doctor visit.

Finally, with respect to my infection, we've beat it and now we're just trying to not get another one. This is fun (not!) to say the least. Mark's mom has the extreme pleasure of sticking long q-tips down each of the "holes" to ensure they stay open. We've been doing this for a bit over a week now and things seem to be healing up...despite the fact that they hurt something awful when I move around too much (and yet, that's part of what I need to do to heal properly).

I still take tons of pictures, but haven't really had the motivation (or time) to put any up on his site...I will try to soon. I got a couple of really cute ones of him and Mark today!

Hope you're all doing well...

Catching Up

I was contemplating the other day what, if anything else, worth mentioning happened during our first week as a "new" family that you might find intriguing or interesting to read. To be honest, I'm not sure much of what went on, besides that which I already mentioned (and can't remember right at this moment, incidentally, but that's beside the point!) would be in the "news you can use" or interesting category except to us, but here are a few highlights nevertheless:

• Dr. Newman, Nick's pediatrician, came to visit and check him out on Memorial Day for the first time. They seemed to get along swimmingly! :)
• We had a visit with Doug and Diane, friends of ours, on Memorial Day. They brought flowers, a beautiful pearl bracelet for me and, after shuttling Mark home for additional clothes and what not, ice cream for me since I was leary of what would be served by the cafeteria!
• We had a visit from Mark's teacher, Dr. Thompson, who checked little Nicholas out and told Mark he'd done an awesome job with his adjustment on Tuesday!
• We took our first ride in the car with Auntie Cassie at the helm to return home on Wednesday afternoon.
• On Thursday, Grandma Rocco came to take care of Mommy and spoil Nicholas!
  

Despite the list being less than "thrilling" for most, it was quite a wonderful first week for us. I think the best part of it was when we were in the hospital, to be honest. It was so nice to have Mark and Nicholas all to myself...except when we had a few visitors here and there to spice things up. I have to admit that it was hard to say goodbye to all of that...especially since Mark would be going to school the very next day. I admit it actually made me cry when he had to leave that morning...I was just so sad that we were back to "normal" life with all its committments.

We did have a couple of other happenings which I've reserved to talk about currently since they are more in the newsworthy area. First, we're having some issues with breastfeeding so poor Nicholas lost a little more weight than they would have liked a little more quickly than they would have liked and he hasn't gained it back as quickly as they would have liked. So, we're in the process of supplementing with formula (much to my chagrin...) and pursuing a bunch of different avenues to up my milk production including taking reglan (a prescription drug that has helped other women be more "milky"), fenugreek (an herbal supplement with the same goal) and I am pumping regularly with a hospital grade pump. I am stubborn if nothing else and sooner or later my milk supply will come in at a level that meets little Nicholas' needs, I hope. If not, well, it isn't the end of the world, but it will be extraordinarily sad for me since this is one of the parts of being a mommy I was really looking forward to. We'll keep you posted on Nick's progress with weight gain...at last weigh-in on Friday, he was 6 pounds 6 ounces - 6 ounces short of his birth weight. He's in the 5th percentile right now (i.e., there are 5 kids out of every hundred out there who weigh less than he at his age). Length-wise, he's pretty average - 20.75 inches which puts him in the 50th percentile.

The other bit of excitement is about as fun as that one. My C-Section incision became infected. We're not sure how, but these things do happen. Thankfully, we caught it early enough that the doctor didn't have to re-open the incision, but the treatment still hasn't been what I would call pleasant. I'll spare you the details and just let you know that I am improving daily and should be out of the woods, hopefully, by the end of this week. We'd appreciate your prayers both for my becoming a better "cow" and healing...

One final thing before I rush off. We did have a "first" yesterday evening. We took Nicholas out for a little walk in his stroller around our community. He seemed to enjoy it....good thing since it is a nightly activity around here!

Have a great week!

Week One with Baby Nicholas – Part I

I have a little time to wait to take drugs (good friends right now) and then go feed the little guy so I figured I'd continue on with my "writing assignment."

Yesterday at 5:01 p.m. we celebrated Nicholas’ first week with us outside the womb. Or at least Grandma and I sort of did by singing him a fun little round of Happy Birthday.  So, now that we have the birth story out of the way, let’s talk about the past week and how it’s gone!

There’ve been good times and bad. Times with laughter and times with tears (speaking of which, I don’t’ think I mentioned that Mark said he cried when Nick came out…he just loves his little boy so much!). Times of elation and times of frustration. In a word, we had a pretty “normal” first week, I’d say! :)

Since we had a C-Section, the first four days with Nicholas were spent in the hospital. It was sooo nice having that team of professionals there to help us keep on top of things. We really do have to give a shout out to all the nurses and doctors who crossed our path and especially to Dr. Toig (who is responsible for Nicholas’ entry into the world!) because they were outstanding. Each one taught us something that has made our time caring for and enjoying Nicholas more precious and more productive.

So, the first night, I have to be honest, I don’t remember too much about. With all the morphine and other drugs I’d been given, I just wasn’t real “with it.” We actually had Nicholas in the nursery for most of this night with him coming in for “on demand” feedings so that I could get a good night’s sleep (or at least attempt it). That seemed to have gone pretty well. I spent a lot of time marveling that this little being was so precious, so tiny and created by Mark and I. It seemed too good to be true most times…especially since Mr. Nicholas is one sweetheart of a baby. Temperament-wise, he rarely cries unless he needs something and it’s usually pretty easy to figure out what it is he needs. This is saying a lot since most of the other babies on the maternity floor were crying A LOT during our stay. We actually had many nurses remark just how well-mannered our little guy was.

Despite his tendency, though, we did have a couple of “all-nighters.” Mark put an end to these frustrating crying fests one night after trying everything he could think of. I, believe it or not, actually slept through most of the episode because I was so exhausted. He had just remembered that in school they had learned that one way to calm a fussy baby was to put your finger pad on the top of his/her palate to allow them to suck, suck, suck to their heart’s content. Now being his mommy’s boy he was particular about Mark’s positioning during this exercise and wouldn’t let him set him down. He was okay, however, with laying in his bassinet with Mark standing there soothing him. After doing this for a while, Mark decided it would be amusing to have a look-see at our little guy’s spine (leave it to a chiropractor to be amused by such things, eh?).

Believe it or not, he found that C1, the first bone in our spine called the Atlas, was just a bit out of place on our dear little Nick. So, he gave it a little pressure for about 15 seconds with his pinky finger (there’s no racking and cracking when it comes to little ones) and, we kid you not, the moment he felt the bone go back into place, Nick was out like a light and we haven’t had a crying fest night since. You can bet your bottom dollar we’ve been using this little story to promote chiropractic right and left! Mark just wished he could go up and down the hall of the maternity floor and offer to check on and adjust all the other babies to give their parents a break from continuous crying, too!

As is always the case now, I need to run now so we’ll call this “Part I” and we’ll come back another time to relay more stories of our first week and all the neat things we learned and all the wonderful (and some of the not-so-wonderful) experiences we’ve had with baby over the past week!

And Now...

The rest of the story...

The next morning the day began with a pitocin drip and a wonderful process called breaking my water. All I can say is I will be wary of crochet hook looking things in the hands of others for a bit. And so, the real fun began...

Contractions. Fun? Not really. In this case, even less so because every time I had one, Nicholas' heart rate decelerated...not a good thing. I tolerated them by getting up and moving around with the help of Mark and a good friend of mine, Cassie (who was made an "honorary Auntie" due to her role in the birthing process). We made it to 13ml/hr. of pitocin (I may be off on my units here, but go with me) at which point the baby's heart rate was really decelerating and so they stopped the drip, ordered me back to bed and started monitoring again.

At this point, the doctor came in and discussed with us our options: 1) get an epidural and try the pitocin drip again to see if a normal delivery was possible or 2) get an epidural and go in for a C-Section. As I see it, going in for a C Section was pretty much a last resort sort of thing so I opted to try the pitocin again. Lemme just tell you how much I hate epidurals - it wasn't pleasant at all. The part I didn't care for the most was that I felt paralyzed from the waste down. I don't know if this is normal, but I did...though Mark and Cassie assured me that I could wiggle my toes when I tried despite not feeling them wiggling. Enough on that, though.

So, we began the drip again and this time I was forced to lay, yet again, on my right side so they could monitor the baby and I most effectively (is it any wonder that my right side was terribly sore the next day - my shoulder was totally the worst). This turned out to be a waste of time. They gradually increased the dose and we waited to see what would happen. In a word, nothing. At 10 ml/hour (3 away from where we'd ended the first round), I was having no contractions...none. Furthermore, I had not dialated any further...2 cm was still the call.

After some contemplation regarding the implications surrounding us, we decided to call the doctor in and discuss the C option. After learning that, given all factors present, we had a 5% chance of actually making it through a normal delivery, and after considering how long it was going to take to even get to the delivering part, we decided to go for the C-Section. Apparently, this was a good decision since, about two minutes later, little Nick's heart rate started decelerating rapidly with no contraction present.

What this meant for me, though, was that instead of being prepped and taken to surgery in a calm way, I was rushed with shouts and all manner of excitement (if I've said it once, I've said it a million times - excitement is WAY overrated). And, of course, as luck would have it, once they got me there, everything stabalized.

So, they got everything ready to go and Mark and Cassie came into the OR and away we went! Once baby Nicholas was taken out of my tummy (which I am so grateful Cassie actually took pictures of the event - a little bloody perhaps, but oh so magical!), Mark helped to cut the unbilical cord (which, by the way, we found out from the cord blood people, they like to get 100 million cells and Nick's had 190 million - go him!) and then he was bundled up and given to me to say hello. I held him, best as I could for a bit, and then let him go see daddy because I just didn't feel like he was very stable where he was and it made me nervous. Then Mark, Cassie and Nicholas went for bathing and screening and I "hung out" with my doctor and the rest of the staff to get stitches and such...

We all met up again in my recovery room where Nick and I made our first attempt at breast feeding. We did pretty well all things considered I think. Then we returned to our room for some much needed R&R and bonding time.

With that, I'll take another pause for a nap (I'm just absolutely exhausted at the moment) and try to get back here soon to give you some of the details of our time in the hospital as well as what's gone on since we left! Hope you're all doing well.

Yes, Saint Nick,,,

The Sprout has finally arrived! :) And, if we do say so ourselves (and we do...) he is one of the cutest sprouts we ever did see! So, without further a-do, we are happy to announce to you the birth of our precious little boy:

Nicholas Makana Rocco was born on Saturday, May 26, 2007, at Sequoia Hospital in Redwood City, California, at 5:01 p.m. He weighed in at a perfectly pleasant 6 pounds, 12 ounces and was 20.5 inches long - wow! He was named if you haven't already guessed after one of my favorite saints - good ol' St. Nicholas (which is appropriate because he's not only the patron saint of children but of scholars, but also because we found out he was a he on December 20!). His middle name was chosen by Mark (known to our little guy as Daddy of course!) and means "gift" in Hawaiian. We truly do feel blessed with this gift that the Lord has bestowed upon us so we really liked this name. It also holds special meaning for us because on our honeymoon, MeLissa swam with a dolphin named Makana.

And now, for those of you who are interested, the rest of the story:

As seems to be the case, Mark and I never do things low key and so you can probably classify our son's birth experience as an adventure! It all began on Friday evening. I went to the clinic for a last minute adjustment and then we went to dinner at Mimi's Cafe. After our yummy meal, it was a surety that we'd be late, but we figured we'd have to wait anyway so no big deal. As things turned out, we should have just waited until morning...

We got to the hospital and after finding a solution to the problem of too many bags and not enough coordination and talent to get all of those and the two of us to labor and delivery, we finally made it to check in. They showed us to our birthing suite and we began the process of getting me ready for the "marathon" that lay ahead. Once I was all dressed up with no place to go but a birthing bed (ha ha!), I crawled in and was hooked up to monitors that checked whether I was contracting and how the baby was reacting to it based upon his heartbeat. I was supposed to be in monitoring only state for about an hour...3 hours later after being in many uncomfortable positions and despite not getting a picture perfect grade on how we were doing (the sprout's heartbeat was being difficult to track often cuz being the little wiggle worm that he is he couldn't stay put), the doctor finally told the nurse to put in the Cervadil and get going. So, she did...

But, it came out before too long (by the way, I'm typing this one-handed with lots of drugs in my system so keep this in mind if there are lots of weird things) because the sprout (aka Nicholas), was again looking a little less than perfectly happy with the process. They decided to wait until morning and give me pitocin (yea! ha ha)..hence why I say we should have stayed home until morning. What I failed to mention is that the rest of the night was spent "enjoying" the periodic influx of numerous nurses when the baby's heart rate went off the monitors. So, I can't really tell you I had a pleasant night's sleep...

Morning finally came and a whole 'nother bit of exciting happenings...unfortunately, dinner is about ready and so you'll just have to tune in to the next installment to find out what transpired during the rest of the adventure...sorry for the additional suspense!

Today Is Really The Day...

Well, tonight...to start the process at least of coaxing Mr. Sprout out of his cozy quarters. I sure hope he's ready. I am and I'm not at the same time. That list yesterday made me a bit less eager to move from preggie princess status to marvelous mom (I hope) status...if there's one thing that always gets me it's being too sentimental.

Nevertheless, tonight at 8 p.m. PDT (or perhaps a bit earlier), we will be arriving at the hospital for our Memorial Day weekend adventure. I can't think of a better way to spend it...I imagine this may be the best Memorial Day weekend I'll enjoy in my lifetime. It's going to be tough to match that's for sure!

The plan, I think, is to get me adjusted (gotta have that nervous system souped up and ready to go) around 5:30 and then go grab a nice big meal at Red Lobster (assuming we can get in - maybe they'll have pity for me when we tell them I won't be eating another large meal until I'm finished pushing something the size of a watermelon out something much smaller...I hate that Red Lobster doesn't take reservations). After that, we're heading to the hospital...for what is sure to be an experience.

I've still been having a good number of contractions (still for practice, I think) and so I'm hopeful that the body is pretty close to being ready on its own and will just get in gear with a little persuasion by the cervix softening agent they're planning to use. If it is, I escape the joys of pitocin. If not, well, we'll manage!

So, here's to all of you having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend of your own! Hopefully by Monday or Tuesday we'll have arrived at home and will be able to share a little picture of our bundle on his little totsite. We probably won't post any pictures here since I'm feeling a bit protective of the little one so if you don't have the site and password info, drop me a note and we'll get it to you...