Has it really been almost 9 months since I have last blogged?? Where has the time gone? Well in a nutshell, Baby Boy Frederick (Nathan John) has arrived...ha! So much has happened in the past 9 months, where oh where to begin?
I will start with Nathan's birth. Our sweet boy was a BIG one! I was sent in at 39 weeks to be induced due to his size and when I got to the hospital I found out I was already in labor! Not active labor but I was having real contractions around 5 mins apart...YAY! I guess since I had preterm labor several weeks before and had contractions I didn't even notice that I was having them when I went in. But that meant no pitocin for me and I would be able to let things progress as my body had planned them. Since we checked in around 8pm I was able to get some sleep, well as much as you can with all the machines and nurses checking on you every few hours :) I will keep the details short but by 6am I was well on my way to being in labor. Still the early phases so I was able to relax between contractions. Around 9:30am things really started to progress. I was 7+ cm dilated, water broken and contractions were coming on strong. It was epidural time :)...OR NOT! Just with Owen I chose to wait to get the epidural until it was close to time because my biggest fear is getting it too early and not being able to get up and move for hours. Anyone that knows me knows that I have a fear of my arms and legs being held down, I completely freak out! So I wanted to wait until I knew things are progressing well and that there will be a baby shortly :) WELL, this time did not go as planned. Contractions came on strong and I got my epidural and after 10mins, NOTHING! I was in pain, the worst pain I have ever endured. The nurse called the anesthesiologist and he said to give it 20mins, turn me from side to side and if was still not working to page him. The longest 20mins ever passed and still nothing. By this time I was in the "I CAN'T DO THIS" phase :( The nurse paged him again and it took him forever to call back, the verdict, he would be there in 10mins. Did he come that quick, NOPE! Big Fat NOPE! By this point I knew that this baby was coming and I had to get through it. I was checked a few minutes later, 9+cm and almost time to push. My doctor was paged and I was prepped for delivery. Was I freaking out, HECK YEAH! I am not one for birth plans but the ONLY thing I knew, I was not strong enough to do this naturally. Guess the epidural slipped out of the spinal space and that's why it wasn't working. Finally another anesthesiologist stopped by and gave me a pain shot that would work in 10- 20mins and give me some relief to deliver but by now it was time to push. I prayed A LOT!! I knew I would need strength to do this. But in just 7 mins and 3-4 of the most painful pushes ever, our sweet Nathan was born at 11:15am on Feb 14th...all 9lbs 6ozs and 22.5 inches of him. I have to say that I the feeling I had when he was born was one I could have never imagined. Not only did I feel a sense of empowerment, but I DID IT! I trusted in God to get me through and have a healthy baby and he did! And I also healed so much faster. I was up walking around within an hour of having him and when we came home the next day, I was almost back to my old self. Which was great since I had an excited 2.5 year old that could not wait to snuggle with his mommy and new brother (pics to come). So, in a nutshell, that's Nate's birth. We are so in love with our little Valentine and so thankful to all the nurses that helped me bring him into the world safely :)
More on Nathan, the first few months were rough with reflux. We maybe slept 45mins each night as my poor baby was in so much pain from the acid. He could spit up farther than any other baby I know. We spent our first few months in the pediatrician's office and at our Ped GI trying to figure out how to help my sweet boy. I was at my breaking point and so upset that my little guy was going through all this. I cried at every doctors apt, even went in sometimes just to cry on Dr. Kapoor's shoulder. Thank God for her, she had a son with bad reflux so she knew just what I was going through. Our GI sent us for several procedures, GI scans with contrast, scoping, etc and we found out that Nathan had bad reflux and the blood that was in his #2 was from the damage to his stomach from the acid. After a few months of different meds, me being on a dairy free diet (since I am breastfeeding) we finally got his reflux under control. Yes, he still spits up like a champ but he wasn't in pain. Our sweet boy started sleeping better, smiling more and was happy and of course was gaining weight like a champ. Fast forward to today, 6.5 months...our big guy is doing well on his meds, spitting up less and less, eating solids twice a day and sleeping almost through the night. And...weighing in at 21lbs :) Anyone that looks at him has a hard time believing he spits up most of his feedings :)
Let's see, what else...Oh yeah, we moved...ha! After years of saying it, we finally did it! We moved to NC at the end of June. We listed our house FSBO and it sold for full asking price in 5 days. We couldn't have asked for a sweeter couple to buy it, we are so happy to know that someone else will be starting their little family there :) We are building a house in Apex so we are living in a apartment for the next 4 months. Our house SHOULD be done mid-December so fingers crossed we will be in by Christmas. Owen thinks Santa is building our house so if he doesn't deliver by Christmas, I am going to have one upset little guy :)
Speaking of Owen, what's new with him? Well he is fully potty trained and has been for 5+ months. We had him about 80% potty trained before Nathan came and then he regressed. Everyone said he would but he was so excited about using the potty before Nathan was born, we just went with it. And when he regressed, we let him tell us when he was ready, no pressure and sure enough about 3 weeks later he was back on the potty and not only telling us when he had to go but going on his own. We are so proud of him!
Since we moved Owen is in a big boy bed. Yes, he was in his crib until he was almost 3. That may be bad but he was fine in it, why change things :) But he made an easy transition to his big boy bed. He does get up some nights and comes into our room but it's only to tell me "Night Night and I love you Mommy" so how can you get upset over that? :) Sweet boy! We just walk him back to his room and he goes fast to sleep.
Well, That's a Frederick Family update for now, hope to be a better blogger going forward now that we are settled in. Will post some pics soon of the boys :)
