A month old...

It's hard to believe that four Thursdays ago we gained a new family member.  I don't know if the time has gone by fast or slow.  I was just saying to Brian the other day that we seem to always look back on big life changes...we don't always notice them when they are happening.  But with Sydney, we feel this big life change every day.  I think we are finally fully aware that we are parents and that this little girl is ours and here to stay.  We're slow I guess.

Anyway, Sydney is doing great.  She is much more alert these days and loves to look around.  We can put her on her play mat and she loves the lights, but she also loves looking at everything else around her as well.  She will now look at us in the eyes and will sometimes even follow us as we walk away.  Funny how that makes you feel a little more connected to her.

She is also working on potty training!  :)  Okay, so that is what we are telling ourselves...but, hey, she could be.  She hates being in a wet, dirty diaper.  So, when she cries we will put her on her changing table and she stops crying and just spends several minutes looking around finishing her business.  We kept changing diaper after diaper in the early days, so it finally dawned on us that hey, maybe she needs a few more minutes.  She will spend 10 to 15 minutes just kicking away and looking around.  When she starts crying it means she is done and ready for a new diaper.  We have started to read to her during this time and she loves that as well.  It's one of my favorite things she does...she is just so content and happy when she is on that changing table.

Pooping takes such concentration!

This last week was a big week as Sydney finally met her Nanna and Papa.  My parents flew up and spent about a week with us.  They came in the first night Brian was back to work, so that was good timing for me.  (He works 11pm to 9 am.)  It was so nice having them here as we actually got some sleep and had warm meals every day!  What a difference!  They loved spending time with her, and her Papa has even started to annoy her at this young age- see picture below!  :)

Papa annoying Sydney...

Sydney hasn't really gotten on any type of schedule.  We just need to stop thinking that she is going to get on one I suppose.  Even if she did have one, it would only be a matter of days before it changed.  Lately she seems to have her days and nights mixed up.  She slept a lot during the days while my parents were here- despite their many efforts to keep her awake!- and was awake most of the night.  Now that my parents are gone, she seems to be all over the place with her sleeping again.  O-well.

The other person in our family trying to get adjusted to things is Tucker.  He doesn't really take notice of Sydney unless she is crying, and then he just runs into the other room.  If only we could do that too!  :)

Grandma and Grandpa...and Uncle Carl

Well, Grandpa thinks Sydney is beautiful...

Grandma could spend every waking hour with her and her pinchable cheeks...

And Carl, he's a proud uncle...even after she spit up on him.

Swaddling

Well, things in the world of Sydney are going great.  We started swaddling her yesterday and boy, what a difference!  As Brian says, it is the bee's knees.  She actually slept for four hours last night, was up for awhile, then went back down for another three and a half.  Then she actually slept for four hours midday today.  That is the most sleep she has gotten...as well as us.  She has been much calmer and seems to love to be swaddled.  If we would have known this before, we would have been on it.  Let's hope it wasn't just a fluke!

Brian went in yesterday and got his vasectomy done.  Yep, no more natural babies for us.  As most of you know, it is just too hard on my body and it's just a miserable time.  Anyway, if we are led to have more children, we are most definitely open for adoption.  Time will tell.  At this point, we have our hands full enough with Sydney.

Anyway, Brian is supposed to take it easy for a couple of days and just lay flat...which would normally be fine, but on top of that, I now have mastitis in both breasts!  Ugh!  I am in a significant amount of pain and am running a fever.  I have to now go on antibiotics (just add those to the rest of the pills I have to take!) and was told to go to bed.  Well, that is easier said than done. 

So, we are literally just trying to take things part of a day at a time right now.  At least we have a little hope with the swaddling and Sydney sleeping a little more.  Plus, my parents are coming in tomorrow night and will be here for a little less than a week...I told my mom she should prepare to take care of three babies while she is here!  :)

The First 14 Days...

Well, yesterday marked Sydney's first two weeks.  She is absolutely amazing and so sweet.  (I say this as she is sound asleep right now and has been for the last couple of hours!)  :)  She has brought a new dimension to our lives that we couldn't have even imagined, and we are so blessed to have her!

Today is the first day we haven't been rushing around to a doctor appt.  She is only 14 days old and has already met her insurance deductible...and then some!  She is an established patient at several offices in town now...which means that Brian and I have filled out the same medical forms over and over and over! 

To quickly fill you in on the drama...  The first day or so Sydney latched on and was breast feeding like a pro.  We were so pleasantly surprised and grateful to not have the problems that so many women have in this area.  Well, that all came to a halt the next day and from there we worked on it with our midwife.  We weren't making any progress.  We went and saw a lactation consultant who quickly determined that Sydney had a very short frenulum (the piece of skin holding your tongue down) and that this was preventing her from being able to get her tongue out far enough to latch on properly.  She said it was strongly hereditary which is funny because I have a very short one as well.  Anyway, it was suggested that we have Sydney's clipped.  This would most likely solve our breast feeding problem and would also likely prevent any possible speech problems in the future. 

We were also encouraged to go see a pediatric chiropractor.  What?  We had no idea that was even a profession!  They said that since Sydney was so big and had a traumatic entrance, it would probably be beneficial to get her 'adjusted' and would most likely help in the breast feeding department as well.

We saw the chiropractor and she was actually amazing.  She took Sydney in her hands and just started working with her and Sydney just kind of sunk right down and enjoyed the movement.  Everything from some of the platelets in her little head to her jaw and palate...all the way down to her sacrum were all gently put back in place.  All the bones and such smoosh together while the birthing process takes place and sometimes not everything goes back in place how it should and that was the case in Sydney's situation. 

After the first visit with the chiropractor Sydney actually latched on and fed a little bit.  After the second visit she breast fed for two days.  After that it went back to just being a frustrating time for her.  The nipple shield we had to use just kept coming off and she just didn't have the patience to work with it.  We had one more visit with the chiropractor and at this point it was evident that Sydney was responding really well to the work, but not so much in the sense of breast feeding...

By this time we had already been calling around to see about getting her frenulum clipped.  Our pediatrician doesn't do that procedure and other pediatricians who do wouldn't do it because Sydney wasn't being established with them.  It was getting to be a frustrating task to try to get this done.  Our pediatrician said she would make some calls to see about setting up a referral.  She finally was able to talk to a local ENT surgeon who was willing to get us in that day.  We went in for a consult and the doctor took a look at it and said she would definitely recommend clipping it and could do it right then if we wanted.

I stepped out of the room and left Brian in there to hold our poor girl down.  As I was just sitting down in the waiting room getting Sydney's bottle out, here they came right behind me.  All they did was literally clip it.  They didn't numb it or anything!  She barely cried. 

So, after we got home from doing that we tried to breast feed again and she actually latched on and fed for a little while.  Once she started to fuss we didn't really force the issue...we figured we could work on it over the next few days.  We will be going in to see the lactation consultant again just to really get on the right track. 

At this point, we will just have to keep pumping and bottle feeding.  I'm thankful that I am producing plenty of milk to be able to pump, that's for sure!  Everyone keeps telling us that she will get the hang of it and not to worry.  She is only a couple weeks old and has plenty of time.  Our fingers are crossed!  If it turns out though that we will just have to pump and give her a bottle, well, at least we will know that we have tried everything!  :)

So, on top of the lactation consultant and the chiropractor, the ENT surgeon, her two well-baby checks, and her hearing test... we are pooped!!  Not only are we trying to adjust to no sleep and learning what she wants when she cries, we are having to get up and get her ready to leave to make all these appointments.  It's hard to do when you have to get yourself ready, pump some milk, get her ready, feed her- all after having to wake her up because you have to leave...poor girl can't get on a schedule even if she wanted to!

Oh, we also had some new-born photos taken...that was a disaster!  She was fed and fast asleep on the way over...only to wake up once we got her naked.  She then proceeded on peeing and pooping on us throughout the whole session!  Vanessa, my friend taking the photos, did a great job and had fun with it...

All-in-all though, things are going really well.  She was perfect at her two week visit.  She hasn't regained her birth weight yet, but they said she was well hydrated and looked healthy, so they weren't too concerned.  She is a very active girl, always moving her arms and legs...and holding up her head.  We have a strong girl here.

On a couple of side notes, as some of you know Brian was out of work for awhile before Sydney was born because of hurting his back.  After several doctor visits himself (we really had no chance between Sydney's visits and Brian's!!!) it is the general consenses that he might have some kidney stones.  We aren't sure and at this point..they are just waiting to see if something more happens. 

I, myself, have only had one doctor visit!  :)  I am dealing with some post-partum depression and wanted to get in to be seen about that.  I'm thankful for the past experiences I have had with depression as I was able to really recognize what I was feeling now and was able to nip it sooner rather than later. 

As of right now, I think our calendar is void of any immediate doctor visits and hopefully it will stay that way for awhile!  For the most part we are all healthy and happy and thankful for this next chapter in our lives.

Labor and Delivery

Well, at about 11 a.m. on Thursday, October 1, 2009, Sydney Ann was getting ready to make her grand entrance exactly one week early.  I had been having contractions for the past couple of months, but these ones were actually progressing and we knew from our appointment that morning with our midwife that I was already fully efaced and dilated 4 cm.  We were planning to do a home water birth, so at this point we started to get things in place. 

At about 5:45 p.m. the decision was made to break my water and really get the show on the road.  Our midwife warned me that once my water broke, the contractions would get much stronger.  I silently thought to myself, "Okay, whatever you say."...thinking they couldn't get much stronger than what they already were.  Boy was I wrong.  The first contraction that came after that brought me up out of my chair and made me burst into tears.  Geez, stronger was right. 

I made my way out to the living room where the pool was and got in.  As I sat in water that was a little over 100 degrees in temperature and continued to have these contractions, a little thought kept creeping up in my head, "What the heck was I thinking not wanting drugs???"  Once I actually started to push, no longer was that thought creeping anywhere, it was right in the forefront of my mind, "WHAT THE HECK WAS I THINKING???"  I have never been in so much pain.  The scary part was that I started to think I couldn't do it and the very next realization was that I didn't have a choice, I HAD to do it. 

I recall asking at one point if she was even coming out.  I felt like I was just pushing and pushing and nothing was happening.  I don't remember much of what was said during this time,  but I do recall the assistant saying, "Stephanie, it's like taking two steps forward and one step back each time you push."  Uh, WHAT?  Note to anyone out there who may be with a laboring woman at some point in your life...don't ever say that to a woman who is clearly in more pain than she even thought possible and in a situation where she needs to know that it will all be over with just 'one more push.'  All I was looking for was a big fat lie.  Really. 

Anyway, about 45 minutes into this, I was told that Sydney was stuck and we couldn't get enough leverage in the pool so we had to move to the floor.  So, not only could I feel this little person stuck, but now I have to actually stand up and move to the floor...owwwie.  After more pushing, and some pulling on the midwife's end, and according to Brian a lot of lubrication...Sydney actually graced us with her presence at 7:13 p.m.  All I kept hearing was how big she was.  They put her on my chest and when I looked down I just saw a head full of thick blonde hair.  Blonde hair??  That was a surprise!  Anyway, they turned her over and that was the first time I caught a glimpse of her body and holy moly, she was huge!  No wonder it hurt like hec pushing her out!  9 pounds 10 ounces...such a big girl!

By the time Sydney had her first feeding, and I had a shower, the living room was put back to normal and everyone was on their way.  Brian and I were left with this baby and no clue of what to do with her!  I would go on to tell you how that first night went, but I honestly don't remember!

Anyway, we couldn't have been happier with our decision to see a midwife this go around and to have a home birth.  Everything worked out perfectly and was exactly what we wanted.  The hot water was amazing in the sense that it really worked to soften things up and prevented me from tearing at all!  What a shocker there...seeing as how big she was...and the fact that she was stuck!  I also felt fantastic when it was all said and done; I was up showering by myself and walking around like nothing happened.  I was sore for a very short period of time, but honestly that was it.  I just think back to after we had Samuel and how long it took for my body to feel even half as good as it did this time (and he was less than 3 pounds!).  I am positive it is because we didn't use any drugs for this birth.  My body is just so sensitive to anything like that and to not have to come off anything this time was great.