Last Day...

Today is our last day before Jason starts work. The babymoon is ending! Tomorrow I have to take care of Baxter all by myself. It's a little scary, but I think I can do it. What I'm concerned most about is feeding myself. He knows every time I want to eat, so it makes making myself food nearly impossible. I've tried.

Baxter is already three weeks old! Time has flown by. He's doing really well with his neck now. I wouldn't call it stable, but it's certainly a lot stronger. And he has such great facial expressions. And his smile is fantastic! Still have yet to capture it in a picture, but believe me that it's a heartstopper.

Jason is up changing a diaper, so I only get a few more moments before I'm needed again. We had a BBQ yesterday for some of our friends to meet Baxter, and it was a lot of fun! We got a chance to reconnect with some old friends, so that was really special. We're going to Seattle this weekend to visit family and Baxter gets to meet the Dilley Clan. So it will be an interesting week!

So Big!

I can't believe that Baxter is over 2 weeks old already. He's grown up so much! If you haven't been watching, I've been posting a LOT of photos on flickr (www.flickr.com/photos/liarsandfrogs) and rarely a day goes by that I don't take a few more. His hair is turning redder and redder, even his doctor noticed at his 2 week check up. Baxter looks so much like Jason when they're asleep. It's really the sweetest thing.

So far he really enjoys tummy time on Daddy's chest. He's getting really good at holding his head up, but his neck is still pretty unstable. He also regained his birthweight by yesterday, which is incredible. On wednesday he was 9lbs 7oz, and babies usually gain between 1/2 and ounce and an ounce a day, so I didn't expect him to gain 4 ounces in 2 days. But he did! No wonder he wouldn't leave me alone the last few days, the boy is growing like a weed!

Life is going well, we're adjusting to having him around. It really helps that neither of us is working right now. There's random things that come up that we never thought about before and we can take care of them right away since we don't have other things going on.

We went down to SedroWooley the other day and got to check out Jason's classroom for next year. That was a lot of fun. Although I'm not sure Baxter really enjoyed the afternoon out. He doesn't like being warm, and it was rather warm there. Overall it went well though.

Cloth diapering is going well. No leaks (besides one minor poo blowout) so far! he's such a heavy wetter that I'm sure we would be having more problems with disposables. And the cloth is just so cute! Jason's getting really good at changing diapers. And we're both getting better at catching pee before it goes everywhere.... So far the worst it's gotten us is a tiny bit on my pants and a rather large patch on Jason's shirt. Our bedding gets washed a lot more frequently now too.

And Baxter makes the cutest noises ever. He squeeks and grunts all the time. And he GRINS in his sleep! They are oh so elusive though, and I have yet to get a picture, but man, when this kid is able to smile in response to people he's going to be a heartbreaker.

Ok, enough typing today. Jason's changing a diaper now which means I'll be needed after it's done. That and it's lunchtime soon, and Baxter has this crazy sixth sense that means he wakes up as soon as I want to eat, even if he just went down for a nap. I'm getting good at eating one handed!

A Jason Story

Last night I was up for a feeding (or an attempted feeding) and Jason partially woke up and grabbed the pillow that he had between his knees. He then clearly stated "This is not a valuable object, it is just a pillow" then put it back and laid back down. I asked him what he was talking about, and he said he was dreaming that he had a valuable object between his knees. Ok....

Red?

Baxter is turning into a redhead. I'll try to get good pictures soon, but it's going red. Who knows if it will stay or not. My great-grandma Eva (his great-great-grandma) was a natural redhead. When Jason grows his beard there's a lot of red in it. So it would be possible.

And man, this boy can POOP! He's now pooped three times today. I guess I shouldn't pray for that much poop. Maybe I should pray for normal newborn poops instead of these blowouts he's been having. He's also gaining weight, but not quite enough. So my job this week is to feed this boy as much as possible. Which I would be doing if I could wake him up! He's such a heavy sleeper. It's amazing. I wish I could sleep like that.

He's been sleeping really well at night too. He'll go for 3.5-4 hour stretches. Nice for mommy. Sometimes he falls asleep in the middle of a feeding, so we have to change his diapers to wake him back up so he finishes nursing. So far diaper changes are the only thing that will wake him up, but those don't always wake him up either! He sleeps like Jason.

I don't think I told you all this story, but the day he was born they were moving us to the recovery room. The recovery room had nicer beds (that didn't convert for labor) and less extraneous medical equipment. Anyway, they rolled me there in a wheelchair. By that time I'd spent close to 7 hours sitting in a bed and my tailbone and back were hurting, and the wheelchair felt really nice to sit in. So I asked the nurse if I could stay in it for a little while and I would call when I wanted to get into the bed. She said sure, and showed me where the call button was (on the other side of the room). After she left Jason asked if he could lay down for a while, and I said sure. I was having a nice time holding Baxter and resting my rear. Well, Jason fell asleep. Hard asleep. I was shouting (as loud as I dared) to wake him up, and he wouldn't even flinch. I tried for an hour to wake him up. Since I was holding Baxter, and was attached to an IV, and my right hand was useless to try to wheel myself (from the IV line) and the brakes were on the wheelchair, I was completely stranded. For an hour and a half. Until a nurse wandered in to check to see if I wanted to move yet. Honestly, after labor and everything, that was the closest I was to wanting to cry the whole day! And then that night I couldn't wake him up to help me to the bathroom, or to get Baxter when he cried. I had to call in the nurse instead.

But it's fun to tease him, he's actually been more than wonderful. I feel sooooo blessed with how well he has been treating me, and how much he loves his son. He will (usually) change diapers in the middle of the night without complaining. Bring me icepacks and water, make all the food, and he's even talked about baking cookies.

I love my family :D

Grumbler, Squeeker, or Growler?

Baxter makes the cutest noises. Sometimes he grumbles, sometimes he squeeks, and sometimes he makes growling noises. So he'll end up with a nickname, I'm sure, but I'm just not sure which one yet!

Oh, and HE POOPED! After a day of super fussing, he's now feeling much better and napping peacefully. He's also a master nurser now. After a visit from the mother baby center yesterday I learned some new tips and tricks. He's also a supersoaker. It's amazing how much you can learn in one week.

ONE WEEK! He's a week old already! I can't believe it. I'm falling more and more in love with him each day. The chub in his cheeks is starting to come back. He lost weight to just about 8lbs 14oz. Perfectly normal, and now he's back to 9lbs 1oz. He's just great.

His umbilical cord stump is just about to fall off. I can't wait for it to be gone. It kind of looks like a dirty raisin with a corn flake attached to the top. Yuck. Hopefully it will be gone soon.

Praying for Poop?

That's right. Baxter is backed up. The poor little guy hasn't gone in two days, which is pretty long for a new guy. So that's probably why he's so fussy while eating, because he doesn't have that much room in there.

On the positive side, I'm producing plenty of milk, and I'm healing just fine. I'm still sore, and if I over-do it I get swollen. And I'm below my pre-pregnancy weight! Just for a kick I tried on my old jeans, and the fit too! So overall things are going well over at the Dilley House. As long as there is explosive (which I'm told at this point it will be) poop in Baxter's near future.

A whole new life!

We came home from the hospital on Saturday afternoon. Great Grandpa and Grandma Spears came to visit us at the hospital before we left, and it was so neat! After we got home, Jason's parents and his younger sister came to visit. I was a long day, but so neat to see everyone.

Life is definitely different now that Baxter is home with us. He's such a blessing. He's really strong for a newborn, and the nurse that came to visit says he's about as active and social as a 6 week old! He takes really long naps, and he's nursing really well. He had his days and nights mixed up a little bit, but last night he slept from 2:30am to almost 8am! It was soooo nice.

Since he's a big baby he needs to suck a lot, even though he's not hungry the whole time. We haven't used a pacifier yet because I really want to make sure that breast-feeding is established so we don't confuse him. In the mean time my fingers almost look like permanent prunes!

Jason is doing a bit of tutoring this morning, so I've been cuddling and taking LOTS of pictures of Baxter this morning. They're not there yet, but expect Flickr to be filling up with photos... :D

Official Story!

On July 31st, I started having contractions at about 8pm. They were pretty strong, but not at all regular. They were happening often enough that I couldn't sleep, and about midnight Jason went to bed and I realized I should be timing them. By 1am, I woke up Jason because the contractions were 3.5 minutes apart and 1.5 minutes long. By 2 we were at the hospital. Overall it wasn't too bad. By the time we got there I was just about 5cm.

Mostly I was excited because I didn't have to be induced. My nurse was great, and Jason was fantastic. I had wanted to go as natural as possible, and so I made it by thinking "if I can hold out a little longer it will be too late for drugs" over and over. And it worked! My water broke naturally at about 3:30, and I got to 8cm by about 6am, and then stayed there in Transition for about an hour and a half. That was the worst. At that point in time they were having a hard time finding his heart beat on the monitor and were starting to get concerned.

Now is when they called in the OB thinking I would need to have a c-section. They put in an IV but didn't have a chance to really start it, because I started pushing. I had just barely gotten to 10cm, and they wanted to prep me for surgery, so I surprised them all (and myself) by pushing him out in 27 minutes! At that point they did start the IV with pitocin because I was bleeding pretty badly. I had some pretty severe tearing that had to be fixed, but Baxter came out perfect.

He scored a 7.5 on his first APGAR because he was a little distressed by labor, but scored a 9 on the next one. He's huge! 21.5 inches long, and 9lbs 11 oz. But he's so sweet and perfect. He sleeps great, and eats great too. We're still in the hospital, but I think we'll try to make it home today. I really don't mind being here, but I miss it there too.

I posted a few photos on here, but there are a TON on Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/liarsandfrogs/
Enjoy!

Baby Update 8/1/08

Let me try this again...my last update was baleted.

Jason updating right now as that our mother is currently a little busy. Merrilee was having strong contractions all night and around midnight she started measuring them closer. At around 1am she woke me up and we arrived at the hospital at 2am.

So we're just waiting now. Doctors and nurses have said she is doing well and our lab results from the blood all came back normal. Looks like he is on his way and will hopefully be arriving later today.

::edit::

It's official! The Dilley's are parents! At 8:10am pst, Baxter Bennett Dilley was born at 9lb 11oz. He is healthy, happy, and a has a strong set of lungs.

I will update with pictures later tonight.

Thank you everyone for your prayers and support :-).

We'll keep everyone updated!

Jason

Blech

Another day of just general crampyness. I've had some pretty strong contractions, but nothing regular. So unless something happens tonight, it looks like induction tomorrow morning. I was really hoping not to be induced, so think easy labor vibes, and going into labor before the hospital calls tomorrow.... :D

Oops

Well, I had pretty strong contractions until about 3am, but then they tapered off. I didn't sleep super well, so I'm taking it easy today. My mom is here, so she will go with us to the Ultrasound. Then maybe we'll walk for a while before my doctor's appointment. So I'm still in early labor, but now the contractions are stronger but farther apart. Getting closer!

Update:
Well, the ultrasound went well. It was so neat to see him so much clearer than before! If I get around to it I'll upload some of the photos, but they're not nearly as good as seeing them on the screen. Even though measurements weren't ordered, the tech did them anyway for us :D But now I'm a little scared. They're not perfect, they are generally plus or minus a pound, but she said he was measuring at about 9lbs, 15 oz!!!

After the ultrasound we went to Fairhaven and walked around for a bit, and then went to the doctor's appointment. The early labor last night did some good, I'm now 3 cm and 80% effaced. Yay! She went ahead and stripped my membranes (we decided it was less invasive than being induced with Pitocin) and scheduled an induction for Friday. The thought being that since he is measuring so large the longer he goes the more likely the chance of c-section. I would much rather be induced than have a c-section. In the mean time I'm still doing all I can to make him go into labor on his own before friday so I don't have to be induced at all.

Maybe...

Well, I'm in early labor. I'm having contractions every 2.5-3.5 minutes, but they're not strong enough to be painful yet. My doctor's office said to call back when they're painful enough to take my full concentration. Mom's on her way, since it's easier to come now versus in the middle of the night. My doula stopped by as well, and said to keep doing what I'm doing, which is hang out and wait for them to get stronger. She also gave me a Cohoshes tincture to help encourage the contractions to get stronger. Hopefully it works, because it tastes terrible.

The castor oil just gave me gas ::blush:: but I guess I am in early labor now, so it's nothing to sneeze at!

So to sum up: contractions, no hospital yet, nothing more to report, will do so when I have something more to tell you :D

Still waiting

Well, I had an NST this morning. Evidently I'm having contractions every 8-9 minutes that I can't feel, and harder ones every 15-45 minutes that still aren't painful but at least I recognize them. He's responding well though. Right now, I love my doctor, and if I don't induce on Friday she won't be here for the delivery, and I would still need to be induced a few days past that. I don't feel comfortable going too far past my due date because of the possible dangers, but I really don't want to be induced either. Therefore I'm doing everything in my power to start labor before then...

Yes Christine, we'll post from the hospital :D There's free wi-fi there, and I can't guarantee how MUCH we'll post, but we will post. I also have a mass email list that once he's born I'll email with the basic statistics, and a link back here where the full story will be (once I get it written).

I decided to try taking Castor Oil tomorrow morning. My doula is out of town on Thursday (eep!) but she has a more experienced partner doula who would take care of me if she can't be there. So with that in mind I'll try the castor oil tomorrow. If it doesn't work I'll try it again on Thursday night. I know I have an ultrasound on Wednesday, but I would much rather have a BABY on wednesday than more blurry black and white photos of a little alien head. Hehe! So that's where we are now.

Fun Stuff!

Not Yet...

We walked around the farmers market today, and took a two hour walk around Whatcom Falls Park. Both were lovely, and today there were at least a few more contractions involved. But still no real progress. Guess it's off to the hospital tomorrow for the NST! Unless something happens tonight.

All the bags are packed and I'm out of things to do besides knit. This kid is going to have a lot of pants.

Not yet

Well, not much progress has been made. I'm still about 1cm dilated, and slightly more effaced. My doctor scheduled me for an NST (non-stress test) on monday morning, then an ultrasound on wednesday morning to check fluid levels, followed by an appointment with her on wednesday afternoon.

Evidently in Whatcom county they really don't like you going 41.5 weeks, so she'll let me go to August 1st (next friday) before inducing. So we're eating Chinese food for dinner, and tomorrow may be a walking day.

Today we went and saw The Dark Knight (the new batman movie) and it was really good. I got another project done, and now I'm almost out of stuff to do. I just thought I would update, but now I'm off to go sit on the exercise ball and roll around, it's supposed to possibly help labor along too.

Pray for labor vibes!

Just Because....

I know when my friends are about to have a baby I compulsively check their babysites for updates....

Nothing happening yet. I've been having contractions, but nothing regular or even remotely painful, just uncomfortable. I had a doctor's appointment today but it got rescheduled to tomorrow since my doctor was at the hospital delivering someone else's baby...

We plan on taking a long walk tomorrow to see if that starts anything. I think the cats are telling me it will be soon, they're both SUPER cuddly. Maybe I'm producing oxytocin and they can smell it? Seriously, they follow me around everywhere....

I'll update when we know more!

It's here!

My due date.... not the baby. He's still marinating. I figure the longer we wait, the better he'll be, right?

So much for a European Pi Approximation day baby!

Yesterday I spent the day dying diapers with my friend Miranda. They turned out awesome. Maybe I'll post pictures later, but I think I'm going to spend the afternoon sewing, and then watch Project Runway. Then I go see the doctor tomorrow! Wheee! Maybe Jason and I will take a long walk tomorrow. We'll see :D

Nope

He dropped some, but not completely. We had our 39 week check up yesterday. I'm 1cm dilated, 40% effaced and at +3 station. Still have a while to go. I'm still just puttering around the house. Mom and Richard are coming for the weekend, so hopefully having so much going on will wake him up some and make him want to meet them. My doctor wants me to have him next week, since she's the on-call doctor so she would be sure to deliver him. We might take a lot of walks.... Not much else to report on!

This week:
Congratulations - your baby is now fully formed and ready to be born. If your due date passes, your doctor will check to see if the baby has enough amniotic fluid. If he's fine, you and your doctor may still want to discuss induction.

(we don't want to induce, we believe that when he's ready he'll be here. Plus induction increases the chances of C-section, which we want to avoid. So he'll be here when he gets here! I have nothing against encouraging him naturally though :D )

Did it happen?

I think he may have dropped last night. I'm not 100% sure. I got up last night and as I was sitting down I felt him "click" into place. I don't know how else to explain it. But next time he moved he was much lower down. When I got back in bed he seemed to be higher up again, but today I think he's lower. I'll have to take pictures and compare. Still feels like progress!

The start...

of the due month. Anytime in the next 4 weeks, but most likely not for another two. Let the countdown begin! It's getting uncomfortable enough that I'm really hoping for the 22nd....