We Have A One Month Old

Maxwell has brought us so much joy over the past month!  Each day he is changing and making us smile bigger and bigger!  His coos are absolutely precious and he’s definitely smiling more and more!   At his one month doctors appointment this morning he weighed in at 7lbs 8oz and 21.25 inches!  He has gained a pound and a half since he came home from the hospital weighing 5lbs 13oz.  The doctor is very happy with his weight gain and his overall development!  It was such a relief to know he's gaining weight properly!  One of the many worries I have since I am exclusively breastfeeding him. 

First Month Memories:

• Bath time is his favorite!  He can go from screaming because he hates being cold to completely and utterly peaceful from the warm water!  He could hang out in the warm bath water all day long.  It’s still a two-person evolution because he can’t hold his head completely steady yet.
• His head control is getting much much better and he loves to sit leaning against my knees and "talk" to me! 
• His open mouth nursing kisses are my absolute favorite!!  Ahhh!!  I love love love them!!
• Ryan feeds him a bottle after his nightly bath which is a nice bonding time for them and gives me a little time to get things done...like this blog post or pump for the next night's feeding!
• Jared and Max bro it out and watch youtube videos!  Jared is really amazing with him!
• Ryan and I went on a 45 minute date to Chili's while my parents were here and Jared took complete care of Maxwell!  He soothed him, changed his diaper, swaddled him, and was the perfect big brother!  We really couldn't ask for a better big brother for Maxwell!  
• Every single time he nurses, he farts and poops loudly.  It's hilarious!
• Lira loves to lick her "hairless puppy" and smell his bottom.  She's really sweet with him.  
• We take Lira on daily walks and Maxwell loves his ergo! He gets to stay nice a cozy snuggled up to my chest.  It was a great investment.  
• He is sleeping an average of 3-4 hours and then 2-3 hours each night, so I am getting 6ish broken hours of sleep and my body has learned how to handle it for the most part with only one cup of coffee in the morning.  
• He has learned how to kick his legs when he has to poo.  It's pretty adorable! The faces and sounds he makes are filled with determination. 
• His favorite book is "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?" I think it's because there is such a large contrast between the pictures and the background along with its repetitive nature.
• On his One Month Birthday he went to church and was blessed!

To document his growth, my wonderful friend will be taking monthly mommy & me pictures for me and

I will be taking them for her and her son who is one day younger than Maxwell!  I foresee a wonderful

friendship in these baby boy's futures and I am so excited about it! 

Our First Month Milestone Mommy & Me Mini Photoshoot

Pictures are so exhausting! Sorry kiddo, your mama is a photographer!

Our Birth Story

On December 15^th 2015, Ryan and I were given the date that I would be induced.  It ultimately changed from the night of December 27^th into the morning of the 28^th to the night of the 29^th to the morning of the 30^th because of the number of inductions that were pushed back due to the holiday and weekend.  I was elated that the date was pushed back because it gave me a couple more days to try to go into labor naturally which is what I really wanted with all my heart (now I could care less about that because I am so insanely in love with my beautiful baby boy).

A little background on why induction was required by the doctors.  At my 28 week appointment, I was told I was measuring small and that I had to see a specialist to measure my baby boy and to verify that blood flow was strong through the placenta because measuring small can be indicative of a deficient placenta.  Our first visit with the specialist indicated that he was measuring small and falling on the 5% curve with a small stomach and short femurs.  These three items are indicative of Fetal Growth Restriction (FGR) or Inter Uterine Growth Retardation i.e. the baby is small.  With FGR, induction in the 39^th week is recommended across the board.  It also required that I be monitored twice a week via Non Stress Tests, weekly ultrasounds to measure fluid, weekly appointments to measure hormone levels and check me physically, and ultrasounds with the specialist every three weeks to measure size, blood flow through the chord, placenta, and organs of our baby.  Luckily baby boy and I passed every single test without any scares.  A couple doctors freaked me out, but second and third opinions (and a blessing by our parish priest), calmed my nerves.  Throughout this entire process, I wasn’t allowed to work out and I had to eat high levels of protein during the day and before bed so that baby boy would get more protein than he was.  During this entire process, Ryan was amazing and stood strong by my side and was my voice when I just wanted to cry or didn’t know how to handle a situation because let’s be real, doctors can scare that crap out of you when they say things like “stillborn” to you.

At 3:30pm on Tuesday, December 29^th and my amazing parents, brother Tom, sister Bonnie, and two family pups, arrived to stay with Jared and Lira while Ryan and I were at the hospital.  Their arrival was a godsend to me because nerves were starting to get the best of me and I needed the distraction!  We went for a nice walk, made and ate chicken burritos, loaded the car, listened to Adele, and just chatted about things.  It was really nice to have them here.

At 6:45pm, I called the hospital to make sure my 7:30pm arrival time was still good and they told me to come on up. At 6:50pm, Ryan gave me a beautiful Pandora bracelet with three charms, lovebirds for us, a camera for me, and a baby boy for Maxwell.  I sobbed and hugged and kissed him.  It was absolutely perfect!  I can’t wait to wear it out and get all dressed up once Max is bigger of course. Right now I am a wee bit attached to the little munchkin and he to me!  Ryan and I actually went out for 45 minutes to grab a beer and desert the other night while my parents were in town.  It was glorious, but I loved coming home!

Around 7pm, Ryan and I said of goodbyes and headed to the hospital.  It was a surreal moment knowing that I was going to have my baby boy the next day.  I was still in a state of shock because this was not how I planned or even envisioned my labor and delivery was going to happen.  Jared seemed a little nervous, so I knew that if I could send Ryan home for the night that I was going to.  We tried to calm him, but he’s a worrier.  Thankfully my parents and siblings were there to distract him.  They walked the neighborhood to look at Christmas lights and then they walked to ice cream! 

We arrived at the hospital, registered, and completed any paperwork that I hadn’t completed ahead of time (because I am a planner), and Ryan joked with the nurses the entire time!  I was quiet and he was being a goof!  Typical us when we are nervous and anxious.  Once I was checked into my room and changed into nothing but my lovely mint green hospital gown, I actually calmed down a bit.  Our nurse was great!  She flat out said she hates people, but loves her patients!  He bluntness totally put me at ease.  I knew she would be a straight shooter, which I needed at that moment.  When asked if we had a copy of our birth plan, we laughed and said NOPE!  Ryan and I both thought the other one was printing it and let’s be real, being induced was NOT part of my birth plan.  We told them the most important thing…DO NOT ASK ME ABOUT AN EPIDURAL.  It was noted in all caps on my board and I am happy to say not a single nurse mentioned the word to me.  I received a pelvic exam to determine how soft my cervix was and if I was dilated at all.  I definitely needed some cervical softening, but I had progressed from my last exam, so that pineapple I was chowing down on must have done some good!  To soften the cervix, a small thumbprint sized object with a string like a tampon was inserted and stayed for 12 hours.  There was a possibility that this alone would initiate labor, but chances were small.  Since my body didn’t seem anywhere near going into labor, the nurse gave me an ambien and I sent Ryan home to have a beer, sleep in a comfortable bed, and hang with Jared.  I’m the unlucky 1% that ambien doesn’t work on.  I was WIDE AWAKE until 4am.  This was not a good sign for the day to come.  I feel asleep once the ambien wore off and woke up around 8am when Ryan came back.  I showered, ate a small meal, drank some water, moved around, and waited for the induction process to start. 

Around 9:30/10am on Wednesday, December 30th, I received my first dose of induction medication and contractions immediately started 2-3 minutes apart with a duration of 90 seconds and 30-60 second peaks.  I was NOT prepared for contractions to be that close together from the beginning, but I dealt and breathed through them.  I had monitors on my belly to measure contractions and the baby’s heart rate, so I wasn’t allowed to move much.  Around 1pm, I asked to walk around or bounce on a pilates ball and the nurse let me, but quickly recanted that idea because the monitors kept loosing the heart rate and my IV malfunctioned.  My left arm and hand was full of fluid and I looked like a sausage with a half softball on my arm.  It was painful.  Three nurses later and I had a new IV in my other arm and was told I had to stay in bed.  That was a huge blow to my ego and birth plan that I didn’t have a copy of, but knew in my head and heart.  After 6 hours of heavy contractions, my water breaking on it’s own (yay!), and only progressing to 2.5c dilated, I started to get tense and not breathe through them.  A few choice words were said, tears were shed, the look on Ryan’s face broke my heart, and after 2 more hours, the word epidural came from my mouth.  Ryan literally ran out of the room to get a nurse.  The anesthesiologist just so happened to be 2 rooms down and was in my room in less than 10 minutes.  Just seeing him relaxed me.  He prepped me and then gave me the meds, laid me down, I puked my brains out (which is apparently normal), and then I was good to go.  Ryan left to get some dinner so he wasn’t eating in front of me and I passed out.  He came back an hour or so later and I woke up and told him I had a lot of pressure in my butt.  The nurse came in, checked me and bam I was 10cm +2!  Holy Cow!!  I sobbed tears of joy!  Ryan and I were convinced that I would be having a 24+ hour labor that might be ending in a C-section since my body wasn’t progressing quickly at all.  I will never forget the relief I felt of hearing those words.  We kissed, hugged, and were hit with “we are having a baby and soon” emotions!!  It was glorious!  Getting the epidural was the best decision I made that day.  It relaxed me and allowed my body to progress and prevented me from tensing and fighting my body from progressing.  I was so determined to have a natural labor, but in the end I listened to my body and am very thankful for that.  Lesson learned: Go with the flow and listen to your body.

I practice pushed a few times so that I knew what to do when the time came and then rolled to my left side and relaxed with a peanut ball between my legs for 45 minutes.  This allowed baby boy to drop more with the goal being that he would drop to -2 on his own and then I could begin pushing.  He dropped on his own which was great news.  I was on oxygen in between contractions because I had labored so intensely for so long, hadn’t eaten since 8am, and was so swollen with fluid, but right above my head was a large light with a reflective cover, so I was actually able to watch my son be born.  It was absolutely amazing and phenomenal motivation while pushing.  12 pushes through 4 contractions and he was in my arms! Doctor literally delivered him and placed him on my chest instantly.  Within 5 seconds of him being born, I was kissing him, crying on him, smelling him, and completely in love with my perfect son!  Hearing him cry and watching him respond to our voices will stay with me forever.  In this moment, I became a mommy! 

Maxwell Joseph Nolan was born at 9:36pm weighing 6lbs 2oz and measuring 20.5 inches in length. He’s my tiny perfect baby boy!

His First Picture with Mommy & Daddy

Maxwell Getting All Checked Out and Passing with Flying Colors!!

Hospital Bag List

Yesterday was 29 weeks and I started to think about the very real possibility of our baby boy arriving soon and how I have absolutely nothing packed for the hospital and nothing properly washed in baby detergent, so I promptly went to Target to get Dreft so that I can wash all his clothing this week (just in case) and I started our Hospital Bag List.  Since this is my first baby, I am going off of what family, friends, and the good ol' internet are telling me I need.  I've read several lists and think I am slowly getting to a place I need to be at.  I definitely still have too much (I think), but it's easier for me to cut things from my list or have an "extras" bag in the car than it is for me to handle forgetting something. Here goes nothing...

Hospital Bag List...updated

Baby Boy's Bag

 Carseat & Cover

Baby blankets (2) - Swaddle & Warm

Boppy & cover

Outfits (3) - Gowns (1), Sleepers (2), Going Home Outfit (1)

Onesies (3)

 Hat, Mittens, Socks (3)

Paci (?)

Burp Cloths

Mom's Bag

Underwear (4)

Nursing Bra OR Nursing Cami (target)

PJs or Sweatpants (2)

        Going Home Clothing (loose pants, boots, sweater)

Slippers & Socks
Flipflops (to trash)

Belly Band (?)

Robe (cute one & warm one)

Nursing Cover (just in case)

Brush, Hair tie & bobby pins

 Toiletries: Flat Iron, Make up, Shampoo & Conditioner, 

Body wash, toothbrush, Brush, Hair tie & bobby pins

Prenatal Vitamins

Nursing Pads

Boobie Cream
Depends/Pads

 Stool Softerner (100mg) - Does the hospital provide this?

Music Playlist - in the works, but suggestions are welcome!
CHAPSTICK
Extra Bag for all the hospital goodies
(Mesh undies, Dermaplast, Witch Hazel Pads, Tucks, Pads)
Pillow
Towel
Sitz Bath

Dad's Bag

Toiletries

Blanket & Pillow

Change of Clothing

Pjs/comfy clothing
Swimsuit

List of people to call/text

 Snacks - Fruity Lifesavers

Camera & lenses

Phones

 Chargers

Gift for Big Brother from Little Brother
Copy of Birth Plan

Am I missing anything vital?  Is anything absolutely ridiculous? Let me know!! I'm a first timer here.

Thanks!!

Nursery Edition: The Walls & Best Pop Pop Ever!

Over Labor Day Weekend, my parents and sister came down to visit, see the new house, and paint baby boy's nursery!  My dad is a professional painting and papering contractor who does amazing work, so I wasn't going to refuse his offer to paint his grandson's nursery!  I had in my head that I wanted a grayish color for the walls, but once I started looking at paint swatches, none of them were really popping out to me.  Every color I looked at was either too gray, too dirty (brownish), too orange, too green...so I decided to go with a more pure blue. I chose BEHR Sky Light View MQ3-53 in Satin. It was really speaking to me and when paired with white trim and white furniture, I loved it!!  Accent colors and woodland animals will be added to the nursery, but the first order of business was to get rid of the LAVENDER WALLS and DOLL DRESS WALLPAPER BOARDER...

Luckily the boarder came down extremely easily because if you've ever taken wallpaper down, you know it can be  nightmare and very time consuming.  I've spent several summer days peeling wallpaper for my dad during middle school and high school...I know, but more than that, I really wanted this to be a smooth and easy job for my dad.  Thankfully it was!  

Painting the trim extra white!!

Old Guys Rule!

I'm pretty sure I gave him this shirt for Christmas a few years ago :)

Bye Bye Lavender! 

He brush painted near the trim and has such a steady hand that he doesn't need to use tape.  If it were me, this entire room would have been taped up a storm.  It was amazing watching him paint in perfect lines while holding a conversation with his nosey daughter i.e. ME! 

I was super giddy to have this room painted!  I literally look in it multiple times a day and dream! It also changes colors depending on the light. Sometimes it seems a little more green or a little more gray and sometimes it's super blue!  I love it all the time! 

Thank you Daddy for such an amazing gift!  I absolutely LOVE that you painted your grandson's nursery!  I've dreamed of you painting our home and this being the first room is extremely special to me!  You are amazing!  Love you!  

Next phases are DIY: repaint $40 dresser, repaint crib we got from a friend for free

TMI Warning: Week 23 Pregnancy Symptoms

OH EMM GEE.  THE GAS PAINS ARE TERRIBLE.  So, we are on our daily evening walk and all of the sudden I started getting pains on my lower right side.  I've gotten round ligament before and I thought it was the same thing so I stretched.  Bad Move.  Things got way worse to the point that I couldn't take steps larger than a couple inches.  I started to panic because that's what first time pregnant women do when they feel a pain they've never felt before and they were pummeled in the ocean earlier that day.  Let the googling of possible causes commence.  Placenta Abrasion, Miscarriage, Appendicitis, not once was Gas Bubbles or the like mentioned...only worst case scenarios.  Let the water works start.  I sobbed and sobbed and sobbed and then I started farting and burning and I felt much better.  I had never been so happy to fart in my life...well, until a couple nights later when the exact same thing happened except even more painful.  I actually sent my amazing husband running home for the truck because I literally was going to go to the bathroom right then and there. Thank God we were in our neighborhood or I would have been popping a squat in the woods. Oh the things people don't tell you about being pregnant!  So my savior came flying back in the truck, I hopped in the backseat because that was the side closest to me, I hobbled inside and I heard the neighbors ask if everything was ok.  Ryan chatted with them, so I'm pretty sure they know I have gas pains now too :)  Just keeping it real! Welcome to the neighborhood!  haha! Needless to say, after some quality time on the porcelain throne, I felt worlds better.  I think it was the pasta...I don't know though. 

Here's a little pregnancy buzzfeed video that made me laugh so hard! 

"Crazy Things Pregnant Couples Do"

For the record, I have no cravings and still hate fast food!

Second thing that's been happening to me...waking up at 3am starving and then not falling back asleep until after Jared is on the bus.  Thank God I am not working a traditional 8-5 job at the moment. God Bless all you hard working corporate mamas out there.  I admire you tremendously, especially when I am crawling back in bed and you are putting on your stilettos. 

Baby, I am so sorry pregnancy isn't all big boobs and amazing sex drive.  At least you don't have to actually deal with the pains of gas and the insomnia. And I'm sorry for the times I wake you when I get up to go to the bathroom for the 10th time a night.  I am really trying to be as quiet as can be and I never turn the light on.  I've pretty much mastered peeing in the dark!  Love you!

Much love. 

Baby Journal

My dear friend Virginia gave me this precious pregnancy journal that I absolutely adore.  I don't write in it all the time, but I definitely make sure I write in it when big things happen like...

morning sickness,

the sight of a growing belly

first kicks, 

ultrasounds, 

Ryan feeling our baby move, 

Jared's reaction to hearing he was going to be a big brother which we recorded and is hilarious,

finding out if we were having a baby boy or girl, 

pregnancy symptoms, 

and the list goes on.  

It's nice to have one place to put everything!  Oh and when I want to write, but I might be at a loss, there are so many suggestions throughout the journal!  Each month has it's own section with ideas for topics and then a general "notes" section.  I definitely use the "notes" section the most because I like to just ramble when I write.  Oh and an added bonus, the cover is adorable!  I absolutely love the color and the pattern!  It's totally my style!

Much love

Spoiled Already & Thank You!

Our baby boy is spoiled already!  I was looking through new clothing and gifts today and couldn't help but feel an overwhelming amount of love from family and friends.  We have amazing people in our lives and our baby boy is already so loved and anticipated!  I just want to say 

Lil Dude is going to be one stylin boy with all these awesome and super adorable clothes!  I am pretty much obsessed with cute animals and that just seems to be the style these days, so I am a happy camper!  Give me some foxes and wolves and puppy dogs!! 

Jared is super stoked to have a little brother and he has gladly given up some of his baby stuffed animals for his brother's nursery!  I am really happy that we have some stuff from when Jared was a baby to incorporate into the nursery and have the boys share!  Be still my sentimental heart!

Ryan and I...well pretty much just me...have purchased some little things for our baby boy!  Ryan definitely helped with the Nirvana tee and the bow tie onesie! 

Giraffes are becoming a theme too!  I love it!!  More animals makes me happy!  And they are so soft!

When mom's and friends give you the gift that saved them during the first couple months or has saved friends the first couple of months, you know you have some winners!  These gifts fit into the "must have" category and I am so excited about them!

The gifts seem endless, absolutely endless, and I love each and every single one!!  All these books are the start to our baby boy's collection that will only grow!  We are a family a readers and this baby has already been read to!  I can't wait to see what his favorite books are and to listen to Ryan read to his baby boy and Jared read to his little brother!  

Oh and how can I forget about homemade gifts!!  They are some of my favorites!  I love giving and receiving homemade gifts!  I have fabric out at the moment to make some burp clothes and bow ties.  I just need to finish up some other things before the crafting can begin, but I can't wait!!

Thank you all so much for your love, support, and generosity!  We are extremely appreciative and so very lucky to have you in our lives!  Stay tuned for our nursery reveal next week!  My dad aka Poppop Joe is painting this weekend!!!  The lavender room will be no more and I am stoked!!  Let the nesting begin!!!  

Much love.