One Month!

I can't believe my little peanut is a month old (click for photos) - *sniffle*


To clebrate, we took photos and had our first Pediatrician visit. The doctor, Dr. Schmitt, was very nice, extremely personable. However, he talked too much! Poor Zac was all laid out naked on the exam table, and doc is just talking, talking, talking. I just wanted to say "shut up and get on with it so I can dress him!"

In the end, Dr. Schmitt deemed Zac a "Perfect, healthy child". Yay! He now weighs 8.8 lbs and still measures 21.75 inches.

Stephen is still hanging out with me (on paternity leave) and I couldn't be more greatful. He's always there just in time. Just when I'm getting frustrated of fussyness, Stephen takes over. Just when my arms are too tired to carry Zac any more, Stephen takes over. When I need a shower, time to pay bill, a moment to update my blog...Stephen takes over. Stephen is the greatest dad!! I can't wait to see how their relationship changes and grows as Zac starts to really act like a kid. It's only a matter of time before daddy and me Karate classes begin!

Multi-tasking has taken on an entirely new defination for me. I have ALWAYS been good at multi-tasking. In fact, my time is not properly used unless I'm simultaniously doing at least 2 things. "Having a baby changes everything." This morning, for example, I had finished nursing Zac and had him in his bouncy chair so that I could:

1. prepare my breakfast
2. brew coffee
3. feed cats
4. pump breastmilk
5. draft my blog in my head
6. wonder what the day had in store for us
7. review everything that I've not gotten done in the last month
8. feel guilty about being completely out of touch with friends and family but not have enough time or energy to do anything about it.
9. begin the grocery list
10. plan dinner

Now multi-taking, to me, means going over all my intentions rather than making progress towards finishing a project. Moms of multiples...how do you do it?!

Every day, we try to do "something" . Our "something" is usually a trip to the store or a walk around the neighborhood. The weather has really gotten quite beautiful and Zac loves getting out of the house...well, I don't know how much Zac really appreciates it since usually he's in his baby wrap sound asleep. I can tell you for that mommy surely appreciates getting out of the house!

And speaking of getting out of the house, our kitties are also enjoying the lovely weather! Houdini has been reincarnated as Amber - this cat can get out of anything all in the name of being outside.

For the last 2 years, we've had a catwalk (a netted contraption that the cats can enjoy the out of doors without the danger of being hit by car) on our patio. Well, after several attempts and now a skillful set of manuvers, Amber has thwarted our every measure to keep her from running away. So, we've taking the catwalk off the patio, and moved it to the roof of our carport (which is also the livingroom window). Ha, HA Amber! take that.

Well, now, instead of working their way out of the catwalk, they simply wait behind a piece of furniture for us to open the patio door and then shoot out like furry greased lightening. We just thank our stars that our cats can't live without their litterbox. Yes, can you believe it, the litterbox is what keeps em' coming back. After spending time outside, usually the first stop (once back indoors) is a straight line to the litterbox. Hey, whatever it takes to keep them coming home!

So, despite the sleepless nights, lack of social interaction and complete consumption of time by our little man, this month has flown by! And I hear it doesn't get any slower.

Thanks for checking up on us...maybe some day soon we'll have something other than the baby to talk about!

2 Weeks Old

Another week has passed and despite a very serious conversation that Zac and I had well over a week ago, he seems to be defying me and changing every day. This week, we had the joys of our first full submersion bath, screaming pains of gas, going it alone (Grammy & Gramps had a mini-vacation) and lots of bright blue eyes.

<--Isn't this a funny picture?! We call this "Crinkle Face" We see it often and it means little more than he's having a thought, or a fart, or a sneeze, or a burp, or a....

On Mon. I had my stitches removed. We had a home visit with a midwife where she checked Zac from head to toe and gave me a once over as well. She gave us some excellent advice and education and encouraged us to give Zac his first bath.

Since Zac's umbilical stump fell off, we had our first full submersion bath on Tuesday.(you can't get the stump wet, so we were relegated to sponge baths). We decided that the "Tummy Tub" was the way to go for us (see photo left - this is NOT Zac). If you don't know, this is a tub that looks like a cleaning bucket. It's actually designed to simulate the uterus. And when filled with warm water, babies LOVE it - Zac was no exception. He floated around happy as a clam...well, he is a Pisces - it's totally natural. Unfortunately his already dry skin did not get better after the bath, even though we used next to no gentle baby soap.

I mentioned gas earlier. My poor peanut is experiencing the worst gas pains in the world. The poor thing crys for almost 2 hours each evening and we do everything we can (anti-gas drops, massage, burping while nursing, etc, etc, etc) but it's still not enough. I have not been able to pin point where I may be going wrong in my diet yet, but we taking steps to find out what his triggers are. The sad part is that this process takes days and days and these are days-and-days of gas pain screaming. It's terribly frustrating to watch your child in pain, do everything that you possibly can and still have no effect. We had another visit with the midwife today (Thursday) and she gave us a few more wepons for our arsonal.

Bright eyes: Zac has been spending more time awake and eyes wide open! He has amazing steel blue eyes and I just love watching him watch stuff. In the coming weeks, I look forward to him being able to truly focus on objects. Right now, he's really just seeing high contrast and faces.

Going it alone: Grammy & Gramps took a much deserved mini-vacation Sun-Thur to Heidelberg. While there, they visited with their daughter's friend, enjoyed the sites and flavors of Heidelberg and got some needed rest and relaxation. So Stephen and I got a chance to fend for ourselves - Us vs. Zac. It was awesome!! Though we had some tough times working through the gas pains, we've all gotten to know each other even better and we've learned even more how to sooth our baby and more about what he likes and dislikes when it comes to his routines. It was an excellet opportunity to boost our confidence and get some one on one time.

We'll have a 3rd midwife visit on Saturday - Zac has not been gaining weight like he should and so she's given us some tips and pointers in hopes that we can pack on some ozs. before his next weigh in. Sadly, those tips and pointers included supplimenting breast milk with a little formula. The goal is that we will only need it for a few days until he gains some weight and energy.

Let me tell you, it was a direct hit through my heart when the midwife suggested the formula. Yes, I started crying. Stephen and I are so committed to brestmilk that not only did I feel inadequite but it was a huge slap in the face. Bottom line: we want to do what is best for Zac, so we agreed to small supplimental feedings - thankfully the supplimental feedings are few and spread out to maybe 3 a day. And like I said, we're hoping that after a few days we'll be able to stop the formula.

With that said, it is that time again, off to satisfy Zac's hunger...

1 Week Old

I just can't believe it, it's already been a week!

At 11:51 a.m. today, we were nursing when Grammy said "hey, do you know what time it is?" Well instantly I welled up. My little man is aging, quickly.

We had our first outing yesterday. We went back to the hospital to visit with the Photographer who took some excellent photos of Zac (see right) and go over package options. I don't even know why they have options, any new mother chock full of hormones will instantly buy the entire package...which is exactly what we did. Now my poor husband has to find a way to fit it into the budget. But heck, we have some amazing photos and some great keepsakes.

After the visit with the photographer, we stopped in on our "neighbors". The new mom in the room next to ours was American as well, they had arrived on Sun. We met the husband when we were registering Zac's birth on Monday. But since we checked out on Mon. afternoon we didn't get much chance to talk with them. So we stopped in on Wed. and visited for some time.

Their story was oddly similar to our own - emergency C-Section due to wrapped cord. So we swapped war stories, talked breast feeding, comiserated and shared our joys. It's excellent to have someone who is going through the very same ordeal to share and compare with. Sometimes it makes it all just a little easier to swallow.

Today we had our 2nd outing. We went to the Mall and the Grocery Store! We planned it so that we left the house right after a big feeding. Zac was zonked so getting him into the carseat was no big deal. Then once at the mall, I placed him in the baby wrap where he contently snoozed all the way until we got home almost 3 hours later. He was EXCELLENT!! We even got oogled in the food court - he's just so darn cute.

In other more mundane news, nights are long - some harder than others. Sometimes Zac is just so unhappy and there's nothing that Stephen and I can do to sooth him. This is painfully frustrating. But it's also very much a part of the learning process - him learning us as well as us learning him. Thankfully I have the support of my wonderful husband and the helping hands of Grammy & Gramps. Other nights have been an absolute breeze! Thankfully, we've had more breezy nights than stormy ones.

Grammy & Gramps are off to visit Heidelberg for a few days at the end of the weekend. I'm excited by the challenge of taking Zac on mano y mama. I think it will be an excellent confidence boost for Stephen and I to prove to ourselves what excellent work we can do. Think positive...right?!

So that's the update for now - as I must absolutely take a nap. You never know if a feeding is going to last one hour or three. Right now, i'm hoping for three.

Stay tuned for more!

DAY 7: Coming home! (3.1.10)

We were released a whole two days earlier than I had expected!

We had a pediatrician visit first thing in the morning, and so when I showed up to retrieve Zac, the midwife informed me that I was able to check out today if I wanted. Well heck yes!

So, we began making preparations. Stephen started cleaning and packing the room. Grammy & Gramps were put on alert. We had a hearing test at 11:30 (he passed w/ flying colors) and a photography appointment at noon. By 1:30 pm we were making our final arrangements, getting final instructions and snapping our little peanut into his new peanut shell – the car seat.

We arrived home shortly before 2pm. We went directly to the nursery, spent a half hour nursing and followed that up with a nearly 4 hour nap…well, Zac napped, we were making phone calls, video calls, and trying to get caught up on all that we had missed over the last week.

Our first night at home went smashingly! Feedings were equally spaced, sleep was had by those who could get it and again, confidence took a shot in the arm and skyrocketed.

DAY 6: Successful parenting (2.28.10)

Now with our confidence boosted by my gaining ability to satisfy Zac’s hunger. We had an excellent day of just getting into a routine. Zac was finally beginning to fall into a pattern (unreliable, but pattern-like none the less). We even had a visit from my mom’s brother and his wife (they live here in Germany too.) So Zac got his first visit from extended family with Great Uncle Bud and Aunt Anne. An excellent day was followed by a stellar night. Now it wasn’t as smooth sailing as his very first night. But now we had a game plan. We had come up with some soothing strategies that were working for us. So Stephen and I tag teamed the kid and worked together to try to balance sleeplessness and baby care.

DAY 5: A little more confidence (2.27.10)

I was again treated with a much needed nap at midday thanks to Grammy. Stephen took Gramps grocery shopping and the day went by with greater confidence - especially after a particularly successful feeding session. I could tell that my milk was finally starting to arrive mid morning. Zac’s sucking pattern was now different and I could hear distinct swallowing sounds that were significantly more satisfying sounding than previously experienced. I was at 100% yet, but we were well on our way.

Our new concern was diapers. We hadn’t seen a dirty or wet diaper in several hours (from about 3am to nearly 2pm). Mid morning, I enquired at the nurses’ station about this. They again assured me that as long as he’d had his initial dirty diapers, there was nothing to be concerned with. So we watched and waited and celebrated every dirty diaper after that (and still are).

DAY 4: It begins (2.26.10)

It’s FRIDAY! TGIF…wait, what’s going on here? Holy crap, what are we doing!? OMG this is amazing!
Just a few of the thoughts that went through our heads the nano seconds that our 2nd day with Zac began. Not that the day actually “began” as I stayed up nearly the entire night as well as did Stephen.
The day was spent again, mostly watching and trying out new things…like how to hold him. Stephen found some excellent success in the “baby lounging on chest” position. While I mostly favored the traditional cradle hold.
The day is pretty much a blur…Grammy & Gramps came to visit about mid morning. Lunch arrived around noon. I was able to take a nap while Grammy took Zac to the visitors’ room. Stephen headed home with Gramps to take care of some business. Day passed to evening. Evening to night, and then it began.

Zac’s quiet demeanor was gone. 9 p.m. brought with it a whole new world of concern. We couldn’t get him to stop crying. We did everything, twice, three times, nothing! I knew that all his problems were my fault. My milk still hadn’t come in and so I assumed that the discomfort Zac was in was due to my (perceived) lack of foremilk viability. During a rare quiet moment, I stepped down to the nurses’ station and began expressing my concern. This concern quickly snowballed into a disgusting display of tears, fear and desperation.

I was assured that everything that we were experiencing was normal. That the baby was fine and that soon my milk would come. C-Section deliveries often experience delayed milk production. As much as I hate to admit it, I was progressing on track (instead of ahead of expectations as I much prefer to be).

Eventually our night of hell passed, a new day broke and we were renewed with hope and support with another visit from Grammy & Gramps.