Two Month Doctor Visit

We had James's two month checkup today. It went pretty well. He checked out healthy and Dr Newby answered all my paranoid new-mom questions. He measured 25 inches long (95-97 percentile) and 12 pounds 3 ounces (50-75 percentile), which means he got the Madren Man gene that encodes long and skinny. I'm trying to beef him up, but he apparently just keeps getting longer. :)

He also had to get vaccines. Three shots and one oral dose. He ate that rotavirus right up, but cried at the shots. He shed his first real tear. He actually calmed down fairly quickly though, otherwise I may have cried too. Those shots are so big compared to his little leg!

Two Months

The first month flew by. Time seems to be going its normal pace now. Although it's still hard to believe the little guy is two months old already.

He grows so much everyday. He's pro at holding his head up. He tries to roll over during tummy time. He talks to us a lot. He's grown to like the bath, especially when Seth holds him like Superman so we can scrub his booty. He loves playing on his playmat. He doesn't really love the carseat anymore, which we've taken the infant insert out of because he outgrew it.

James got suited up for his two month picture

Rattle

He finally held onto the rattle!

Sight

James usually enjoys car rides. In fact, in the first week home, Seth would take him for a spin at night to put him to sleep. (Something I've learned my cousins call a snooze cruise.)

Yesterday we had to go to Target and about half way there James started screaming. We were on a busy street with no place to pull off and only about three minutes from Target. We thought it was probably a wet diaper (he REALLY hates being wet) so we waited until we were in the parking lot.

Turns out his little toboggan had fallen over his eyes and he was really displeased about it. As soon as we fixed it he calmed down.

We took it off for the car ride home.

Yay

I've had an entire week of not terrible breastfeeding!

Also, after talking to some of the moms with similar aged babies at BABS today, I feel that James is a pretty laid back little dude and am really thankful he's pretty easy going. I mean, he does absolutely hate wet diapers and taking a bath (he really hates water for being an Aquarius!), but he sleeps okay and isn't too fussy. He's been sleeping in his cosleeper all night and will sit happily in his bouncer during the day. Some of them still can't put their babies down. Oy!

1 Month

James is one month old today! That has flown by. I really owe a post on how our first few weeks were, but it will be quite long. For now, let me say that breastfeeding is the hardest thing I've ever had to do in my life.

I had my 4-week postpartum visit with Dr. Labban today. Everything looked good; my stitches are 85% healed. Dr. Labban looked at our birth announcement and said, "I'm sorry to tell your husband, but he looks just like you!" (which I promise really wasn't him calling me ugly :D)

Nicknames

One concern with naming our baby James was the plethora of nicknames that could emerge. I'm not a big fan of nicknames and didn't want our son to be called Jim or Jimmy or Jamie. Just James. But now I sometimes find myself calling him other things. The list so far is Little or Baby Love, Jamesy, Muffin, Barracuda, and Cheese Curd.

PS Seth calls him Little Guy and Baby Bro. He can even fist bump.
PPS Now I've added Toothless. Even though it seems to make him mad. 

Comfort

James is trying really hard to find his thumb. Oh, no.

Sleep

Guess who slept in his crib all night last night (with a couple intermissions to eat, of course)?

That's right. This guy:

We may not have to be bed sharers after all!

Day and Night

I think Baby James is figuring out this day/night thing. And I think it's because we've turned into bed sharers.

We initially did not plan on that. We thought rooming in with a co-sleeper crib would be enough. We didn't set up a nursery because we're planning on moving soon and that didn't seem practical. So we put a co-sleeper crib and a changing table in our bedroom.

 



















 James doesn't really care for the crib. He wakes up pretty soon after we put him in it. A couple days ago, I was really tired and James was hungry so I was determined to figure out the side lying nursing. We both had the best nap ever! So we decided to try it at night. After a weekend of good sleep, I think we've converted to bed sharers. Yes, I still wake up to nurse him every couple hours, and Seth gets up to change diapers, but I think we're all getting more and better sleep. Yay!

Best laid plans and all that...

Our Birth Plan

I realize I never posted our birth plan. So, just for reference, here it is:

Madren Family Birth Plan

Due Date: February 1^st, 2013

We are very excited to deliver our baby at Bloomington Hospital with Dr. John Labban. We are hoping for a natural birth, based on the Bradley Method, and feel prepared for such. However, we understand that complications may arise and flexibility is essential to labor and delivery. We ask to be consulted and informed before administering any medications or performing any procedures to mother or baby.

Thank you for helping bring our first child into the world!

During First Stage Labor, we request:

• No separation of husband and wife. We will also have a doula, Barbara Lehr, and her assistant present.
• To go into labor naturally and to allow labor to progress naturally with no augmentation.
• Freedom of movement.
• Freedom to eat and drink as desired.
• Access to birthing tools such as shower, birthing ball, squatting bar, music, aromatherapy, etc. 
• No routine IVs. Heplock if necessary.
• No offering of pain medications. We will ask if desired.
• Only intermittent external fetal monitoring as necessary. No internal fetal monitoring.
• Minimal vaginal exams.

During Second Stage Labor and Delivery, we request:

•  To push according to urge.
• No episiotomy.  We prefer natural methods to stretch and soothe the perineum (massage, warm compresses, etc.). If an episiotomy is necessary, we prefer a pressure episiotomy. Local anesthesia for stitches if necessary.
• Unassisted delivery without use of forceps or vacuum.
• Baby to be given to mother immediately after birth.
• Delayed clamping and cutting of the umbilical cord until after it has stopped pulsing, with the option for father to cut the cord.

After Birth, we request:

• All routine newborn exams and procedures delayed for at least one hour to allow for bonding and breastfeeding.
• All exams and procedures performed on mother’s chest if possible.
• Baby to remain in room. If he has to go to the nursery or leave the room, he should be accompanied by one or both parents.
• Baby will be exclusively breastfed. Please do not give him any bottles, formula, or pacifiers.
• Baby will not be circumcised.
• Mother requests TDAP vaccine after delivery.

In Case of Cesarean, we request:

• Father to be allowed in operating room.
• Mother to be awake during the procedure.
• Either parent to hold the baby as soon as possible.

Please feel free to ask us any questions! Thank you again for your support in welcoming our new family member. We look forward to sharing our baby’s birth day with you!

Sincerely,

Seth and Jillann Madren

Hiccups

I've given birth to the most hiccupping baby ever. His habit of getting hiccups two to three times a day in utero continues on the outside. I feel bad because there's nothing I can do really, but at least they don't seem to bother him too badly. I guess he's gotten used to it...

James's Birth Story from Jillann's Perspective

So excited I finally have a chance to sit down at the computer! Life with a newborn sure is different. :)

This will be a long post, so I'm putting James's birth story behind a page break.

Bath Time

Baby James does NOT like baths.

Even though I gave him an awesome mohawk.

It's cliche

but they really do grow up too fast.

Things about James

Just a few things I've learned about James in the past two weeks.

• He's a very serious baby.
• He HATES having a wet diaper.
• He likes having his arms free and sleeps with them up near his face.
• He gets hangry (like his mommy) and activates what we've deemed "Mini Beast Mode."
• He likes James Taylor, Paul Simon, Jackson Browne, and The Beatles, but not Adele.
• He likes riding in the car.
• He is not a fan of socks.

Dear milk,

Please come in.

Love,
Jillann and James (and probably Seth too)

He's Here!

James Brennen Madren arrived at 10:38 pm on Thursday, February 7th. He weighed 9 pounds 9 ounces and is 22.5 inches long. He came out pink, fat, and happy, scoring 9 on both Apgar tests. We have a big, beautiful baby love.

Ultrasound

No pictures today. But the ultrasound confirms that Baby Madren is really comfortable in there. Looking good, but comfy. And apparently Dr. Labban may drown when the baby comes out. Oh, and my placenta is better than average.

So now I'm signed up for another non-stress test on Friday just to make sure he's still baking fine.

Non-Stress Test

We went for our non-stress test today. Apparently the fetal monitor was a very popular machine; I had to wait at least an hour and a half past my schedule time to be seen. Laying on the exam table was uncomfortable (but really just about everything is uncomfortable at this point...). The baby's heartbeat was monitored for a while (ten fifteen minutes? not really sure). He passed with flying colors. Dr. Labban's words were "A triple plus." Which really just means that our little one is really comfy in there. He did check my cervix again, which wasn't nearly as bad as last time. Possibly because I knew what to expect. He said I was still dilated about the same, but that I'm 80-90% effaced now. So slight progress, I guess. We'll go for our ultrasound tomorrow (#5!) and keep waiting. But now I'm pretty sure he's hanging out in there until Valentine's Day. Perhaps I shouldn't have been calling him "Baby Love" all this time...

Bump Watch 40 weeks

How far along: 40 weeks
Baby is the size of a: mini watermelon or small pumpkin (about ~20 inches and approximately 7.5 pounds)
Gender:  Boy
Total weight gain/loss: ~50 pounds
Maternity clothes: barely cover the baby anymore!
Sleep: About an hour at a time
Best moment this week: The bath Seth made me this morning.  
Food cravings: cereal   
Food aversions: Not lately
Movement: Slowed down. I think he's running out of room. Some spots, like where he keeps his feet are so tight, it's tender to touch.  
Symptoms: Please. 
Labor Signs: I think I've been losing my mucous plug. TMI? 
Stretch Marks: More than I care to think about
Swelling: Mostly in my feet
Belly Button in or out: Still hanging on to the innie
What I miss: my body
What I am looking forward to: Getting this baby out of me  
Milestones: Hello, due date! Still no baby...

Due Date

This is my Facebook status today:

What do you do when you wake up pregnant on your due date and start crying? If you're lucky you have a husband that runs a hot bath, makes you a cup of tea, and rubs your feet with delicious smelling sugar scrub while you listen to James Taylor radio on Pandora. Sorry, other ladies who think you have the best husband in the world. Today, you're wrong.

That's the second time this week I've woken up and started crying. The end of pregnancy is SO. HARD. I really expected to not make it to my due date, and here I am. But luckily I really do have an amazing husband who loves me and takes care of me and helps me calm down when the rest of the world is really stinking annoying. 

He's a great husband. And he's going to be an amazing dad. 

If our baby ever decides to come out... :)  

Doctor

I haven't been posting a lot this week because I've just been sitting around bored on maternity leave waiting on this baby. Also, I've reached the point in pregnancy where I'm annoyed at everything, so I figured it was better to not be grumpy on the Internet.

Anyway, I had my weekly appointment with Dr. Labban this morning. Blood pressure, urine, everything still looked good. He did actually check my cervix today. And holy crap that was a terrible experience and now I'm really glad he didn't do it last week. No one told me it was going to hurt so bad. Anyway, there is some progress going on at least. I'm 1-2 cm dilated, 70% effaced, and the baby's head is at a -1 station. Dr. Labban said he could feel the head and he's hopeful we'll be having a baby this weekend. But just in case he doesn't come this weekend, we did schedule a non-stress test for Tuesday and an ultrasound for Wednesday.

But here's to hoping he'll come right on time on his due date, tomorrow.

Doctor

Weekly doctor's appointment this morning. Everything still looking good. For some reason I thought they were going to check my cervix, but I was wrong so I got half naked for nothing. Apparently Dr. Labban doesn't check until your due date (although I still think that he said 39 weeks last week and that he'd check it today). He would have checked it if I asked, but I don't really care because it doesn't really mean anything.

In other news, this baby is so low my maternity shirts don't really keep him covered anymore. So I'm super sexy walking around with the bottom pointy part of my stretch-marked belly hanging out. Oh, yeah.

Also, for weeks I have been saying I thought our little one would come early and I thought he would be born on January 23rd. I guess my mother's intuition was wrong on that one. Still right about him being a boy though! Although the odds may have been in my favor on that "guess."

Anyway, for now we're sitting tight trying to convince the baby that birthdays are fun and he wants to have one. So far, no takers...

Leave

Maternity Leave Day 2

I'm so thankful I'm in a position to take maternity leave. Especially a generous 18-week one that started two weeks before my due date.

But....

I am so bored. Normally I'm happy for days off, but I feel restless and ready to have a baby. So sitting around waiting for him to pop out is... frustrating? I'm not sure what the right word is. All I know is I've already cleaned everything, packed the bag, tweezed my eyebrows, almost completed another pair of baby pants, and there's only so much Netflix one can take.

I might have to take myself to the movies tomorrow or something. Here's to hoping Baby Madren comes sooner rather than later before I drive myself nuts.

Bump Watch 38 weeks

How far along: 38 weeks
Baby is the size of a: giant leek (~6.8 pounds and >19.5 inches)
News: I'm now on maternity leave!

Cup

I can't believe I forgot to mention this in my earlier post!

So every OB visit starts with peeing in a cup. I hate peeing in cups. Always have. And pretty much until I became pregnant, I think my body was incapable of doing it.

So I went in today and headed to the restroom to leave my sample. Which I've gotten used to, even though I don't like doing it, but now that I'm extremely pregnant it has become quite difficult as I can't see what I'm doing down there. So I'm peeing (mostly) in the cup this morning and then all of a sudden... I drop the cup in the toilet! Argh! I managed to stop midstream, grab another cup, and manage to get enough in there for them to test, but I'm sure the lab worker was wondering what was going on since I was laughing at the whole ordeal and I'm positive she could hear it on the other side of the little window. And then I had to fish the cup I dropped out of the bowl because I'm pretty sure those aren't flushable. So, yeah... That was pretty awesome.

Doctor and Doula

We had our weekly visit to Dr. Labban this morning. Everything is still looking good. Apparently our little one is so far down that Mark could only feel shoulders and not his head. I'm hopeful that means he's coming next week. Because I think I'm reaching the "Get this baby out of me" threshold. I still maintain that I will endure whatever he thinks is necessary, but I'm hoping he chooses to make his arrival sooner rather than later.

We also had our prenatal appointment with our doula, Barbara Lehr, last night. That went well. I'm actually feeling fairly prepared for this whole labor thing and I've not really been scared or anxious about it at all. I just have this weird confidence that everything will be fine. I feel like that's probably not normal, but whatever. I'm glad I'm not scared or worried. And I'm glad we've enlisted some experienced help. Because as awesome as Seth is (seriously I owe a post on this topic, but it's hard for me to think about without getting overwhelmed with love and gratitude and tearing up... he's been that amazing), I'm really glad to have someone who gets it and can help in ways he, by no fault of his own, can't. Especially if there comes a point when I may not be able to articulate what I need.

Dedication and Godparent

Seth and I have attended First United Church here in Bloomington our entire marriage. We decided we wanted to have the baby dedicated or baptized there before we move back to North Carolina.

After talking to our pastors and each other about our beliefs regarding baptism, we decided to dedicate the baby instead of having him actually baptized with water.

We didn't really have a specific time frame in mind originally, but my parents indicated that they'd like to be there for it, as did Seth's parents, so now the plan is to do it rather quickly after he is born! Mostly for the travel convenience for grandparents.

So, our little one will be dedicated at First United on the second Sunday of his life (hopefully). For example, if he arrives next Wednesday, January 23rd, his dedication with be Sunday, February 3rd.

We're posting this so that friends and family who would like to witness this event can somewhat plan accordingly once he actually arrives. We want everyone to know they are more than welcome to attend, but also to not feel obligated to do so. We don't want to exclude anyone or worry about official invitations and just didn't realize there would be so much interest in going.

Also, we hadn't announced it on the blog yet, but we did choose to designate a godparent for Baby Madren. While we were home in October, we asked Seth's cousin Suzanne to be his godparent and she was happy to say yes. We're really happy as well, as we think Suzanne will be an excellent godparent (clearly).

Group B Strep Test

was negative! No antibiotics during labor for me!

Now I can print out our birth plan (and do a post on it!), meet with our doula tomorrow, and have a baby!

Bump Watch 37 weeks

How far along: 37 weeks
Baby is the size of a: stalk of swiss chard (~6.3 pounds and ~19 inches)
News: Baby is full term! And doesn't he look lower?

Jobs

Seth had a couple job interviews this week, both of which went well. I'm hopeful he'll get a job for after he graduates soon and that will be one less thing we have to worry about.

Also, I had been planning to work until this baby pops out, but now I'm thinking that may have been a little ambitious. I'm now planning to be all wrapped up by the end of next week and start my maternity leave on the 21st, which should hopefully give me at least a few days of rest. I have this weird feeling the baby is coming early (specifically I'm thinking the 23rd, but I have absolutely nothing to base that on). Of course, he could hang in there until Valentine's Day, but I'm hoping that won't be the case.

Doctor

We had a doctor's appointment this morning. Everything is looking great. I have been swelling a lot more, especially in my feet and ankles at the end of the day, but my blood pressure is still great and the baby's heartbeat was great, so we're not worried about it. They did tell me I could try wearing my compression socks to see if that helps. I really miss running so maybe breaking out the compression socks will make me feel better about that too. :)

I also had to do the Group B strep test today. It's really not a bad test in theory, just a cotton swab at the vaginal opening and at the rectum, but for some reason it was really not pleasant. I'm experiencing a lot of pressure down there anyway and generally don't really want that general area messed with, so it wasn't happy to be swabbed. In fact, it was over an hour ago and I've felt pretty miserable every since.

Although I'm generally feeling uncomfortable these days anyway. I'm refraining from saying I feel miserable, but I definitely don't feel great. Really I think I can only say I feel 9 months pregnant.

heart

Ultrasound

We had our position ultrasound this morning, after having to reschedule it due to snowpocalypse 2012. Everything looked great! Baby Madren was head down (YAY!), and in fact was in a great position in general. His heartbeat was good, about 180 beats per minute (fast, but not too fast). His lungs looked good and the ultrasound tech said he was practicing breathing, which is good. You could see his little belly move as if he were breathing. We saw his feet, and he wiggled his little toes at us, which was adorable. We couldn't really see his face though. His head is pretty far down there. My placenta looked good and is sort of hanging out on my left side and the amniotic fluid level was good. So he pretty much passed with flying colors.

I did ask if she could tell how big he is, but she said Dr. Labban didn't order measurements so she couldn't tell. But she said that since he didn't ask for them, the baby must be fairly normal sized.

Also, she only gave us one picture and it was pretty much just a penis shot. He really likes to show that thing off in ultrasounds, but hopefully it will be a few years before pictures of it are on the internet... (And by a few years I mean I hope we raise a kid that knows better than that...)

Bump Watch 36 weeks

How far along: 36 weeks
Baby is the size of a: crenshaw melon (about >18.5 inches and approximately 6 pounds)
Gender:  Boy
Total weight gain/loss: ~40 pounds
Maternity clothes: I feel like I've almost outgrown them.
Sleep: Not so much.
Best moment this week: Ultrasound this morning was excellent! 
Food cravings: I feel like eating healthy stuff. But no real cravings lately.   
Food aversions: Not lately
Movement: Tons. He sometimes will kick me back when I'm rubbing him. 
Symptoms: I'm ginormous. 
Labor Signs: A few more Braxton Hicks in the last few days. 
Stretch Marks: Yep. In fact, I think I'm getting new ones on my butt. Which was the last place that needed to stretch...
Swelling: Some. Mostly in my hands. Some in my feet.
Belly Button in or out: Barely an innie. I feel like it's a race as to whether my belly button will pop out or I'll have the baby first. I'm rooting for the turkey timer scenario.
What I miss: Sushi.
What I am looking forward to: I just really want to see him and hold him.   
Milestones: Baby was head down at the ultrasound this morning! One more week and he'll officially be full term. Also, I think he's dropped. I feel like there's a bowling ball in my pelvis and it hurts to stand up.

Happy New Year!

I only have two resolutions right now:

1. Have a baby.
2. Run a 5K by the end of the year.