Levi at One Month

Last friday marked Levi’s first month!  While I didn’t get around to writing this post on the actual day, I did do his photos.

Dear Levi,

This first month has been busy!

• When we brought you home from the hospital you were “baby boy ParkerHaus”. We had three names that we were trying to decide between and neither of us felt that we could make that decision until we got a bit of sleep.  Levi James had been the front-runner for some time, it just took some sleep for us to make it final.
• You love to eat! Evident by you weight gain! You are up 3 lbs from your birth weight.  You make lost of grunting noises when you nurse which makes us giggle. When I nurse in public the noises that come from under the nursing cover are startling to folks in the vicinity!
• You prefer sleeping on your side, or better yet your stomach.  On soft surfaces you are able to roll from back to side and side to stomach. Slow down buddy! We don’t let you sleep on your stomach (except when laying on our chests) but if we did you would be so happy. You like to be swaddled but you are always trying to bust one arm out!
• You love tummy time, especially on our chests.  You have amazing neck strength and frequently hold your head up to look around.
• You know our voices and definitely turn your head when mommy comes in the room (food!).
• You are a snuggly baby who melts into the person holding you.  You love to snuggle up to mommy after nursing (or during nursing) and you fall fast asleep on daddy’s chest.
• You don’t like to give up the burps which usually leads to gas needing to be tooted out.  You grunt and work on those toots and then give us the biggest smile once you’ve successfully gotten it out.
• We have officially retired the newborn clothes. I packed the last bit up yesterday after doing laundry.  With cloth diapers the 0-3 are getting a little snug too!
• Speaking of cloth diapers, you are in cloth diapers most of the time but you are still wearing a disposable at night for now.  You fit in the newborn covers on their largest setting and the best bottom covers on their smallest setting.
• Grandma and Mrs Heather came with us to our first excursion to the zoo.  You slept in the stroller most of the time but it was really nice for mom and dad to get out in the sunshine.

We bought a membership to the zoo. I figure it will just be a matter of time before you are pointing at he Meerkats saying “Timon!” For now you are content to snooze in your stroller.

I can’t believe you are finally here and that we are a family. So many prayers and dreams come true.  We marvel at how much you change every day and the little personality that we see emerging.  We love you so much!

XOXO

Mom and Dad

Greetings from the Trenches

 

 

This is cross post from Parker Haus Grows.  With my new blogging habits (phone blogging) I cannot cross post easily so if you want to catch all the baby related updates you might want to subscribe to Parker Haus Grows. I will cross post larger posts (like monthly updates etc) here to make sure it doesn’t become “OMG BABY OVERLOAD” over here (you know like my facebook feed or my Instagram feed- insert sheepish but proud mama face).

The trenches, that’s what I’ve decided to call the newborn stage. It’s like a proving ground of sorts. Some days come really easy and others are an absolute struggle.  Just when you think you have something figured out he goes and changes everything. It’s hard but oh so wonderful at the same time.

I have been inspired by my due date twin, Annie, to start posting more (She has been posting almost daily!). That may mean more text filed posts where I can just dictate to my phone (like I am doing right now) with cell phone photos to accompany the post but hey it’s something. This post will be a brain dump of sorts but hopefully in the future my posts week be more frequent and a little more coherent.

The many faces of Levi!

So where are we… Believe it or not today Levi is four weeks old.  He’s been here for 28 days… can’t believe it! Matt is back at work. And were just taking things day by day. I had a little bit of a breakdown right before Matt went back to work (at 3 weeks) but we got through it and things seem to be going well now.

My recovery is going well. We have lots of doctors appointments and also parent group activities that Levi and I attend weekly. I really like the structure of getting out of the house at least once a day. My mom tries to stop by on her lunch break every so often and my girlfriends try to visit every week or so. On weekends we try to get out and do things like go to the zoo, run errands, or take a walk.

I am getting more confident with the Moby and the ring sling, necessary because we didn’t get an infant car seat so baby wearing is essential when we are out and about. We also have fallen in love with our uppababy Vista stroller. Matt completely understand my obsession insistence that we get this stroller. Vindication!

The Moby

The Sakura Bloom ring sling

Levi’s been growing like a weed. He is 11 pounds, and has been averaging just under a pound of gain a week. He has developed some delish rolls and chub, much to my delight. He seems to like tummy time and his neck control is pretty impressive.

The kitties have accepted the new addition, although Hugo likes to wait until I am feeding Levi to act up, knowing it is hard for me to discipline him with a baby attached to me. As I am typing this he has jumped on the changing table then into the crib (which is currently holding boxes to prevent him from getting in there… ugh) and knocked a bunch of stuff off the desk. Seriously Hugo? He also has taken to trying to get in my lap while nursing. Fun times.

On the subject of who he looks like (cause really, people, myself included,love to discuss that) there is no denying that he looks like Matt. The dark hair, and upper lip are me though. Mom and I also see my brother in him from time to time. I tried to pull together some collages to compare. Admittedly I didn’t have any newborn photos of myself handy (second child syndrome) but you can get the picture.

Levi

Matt

Amy

Well that’s about it for now. Looking forward to posting more.

How were the first 4 weeks with your little one? Sage advice for a mommy in the trenches?

Belated 40 Weeks!

Well, I am greatly overdue for my 40 week updated because I have been busy caring for a newborn.

We welcomed Levi James on May 14th, just 4 days shy of his estimated due date.  He weighed in at 8 lbs even and measure 20.5 inches.  They journey to “Hello” was long- 46 hours from contractions starting to delivery. My water broke just 6.5 hours into the journey and I labored at home for 12 hours before going to the birth center where I labored for another 24 hours before transferring to the hospital.  Once I started pushing he was out within the hour. 

The birth journey was epic, empowering, and so wonderful.  A lot happened and we are processing it all. A detailed birth story will be some time coming but know that it was everything I had hoped for.  I have a lot to say but as you can imagine not a lot of hours in the day to write it all out.  For now enjoy a whole slew of photos from day 1 through day 15.

Daddy’s boy!

First visit with Grandma

Hugo checks out the hairless kitten

lazy days catching up on sleep

His legs were so skinny! They have since chunked up. He also has daddy’s feet

Our trips out of the house have been few and far between because I am having a challenging recovery 

Levi is a champion sleeper.

We love the Moby wrap- Levi is sleeping in it while I type!

Aunt Sarah says all my photos are with my eyes closed.  Look at my pretty blues (for now)!

The kitties have finally accepted that the hairless kitty is here to stay. Family nap time.

We waited 2 weeks for a bath. look at those rolls!We also started using cloth diapers in the second week <3.

If you need a fix of cute baby pictures I update frequently on Instagram… ParkerHausRoles.

Well I am off to feed a hungry baby.

Blobby’s Nursery/Office

When Matt and I first discussed having a combination office/nursery for our baby he had trouble envisioning how everything would fit and how the space would work.  I tried drawing my ideas out for him but he still had a bit of trouble seeing my vision.  There were times when I wasn’t sure that it would all come together either but I am happy to say in the end it worked out fabulously.

This is the view as you enter the room.  The Nursery takes up most of the room with a small office space to the right.

And the view looking back at the door.  We opted for the space (and wallet) friendly IKEA Poang rocker instead of a glider.  We repurposed a small rustic side table to hold some nursing supplies.  The canvas in this space was a zero dollar DIY. We had the canvas from a project we had intentions of doing years ago.  I used my silhouette machine to cut out a robot shape from vinyl and used acrylic paints that I had on hand from wedding crafts.  I painted around the robot and when it was all done peeled off the vinyl to reveal the robot negative.

If the crib looks small that is because it is!  We decided on the Bloom Alma Mini Crib because it is on wheels and fits through doors.  This allows us to put baby in our bedroom for the first few months but also to put him/her to sleep in the office/nursery if we like.  This size crib is much more common in Europe, having huge cribs is kinda an american thing. We hope baby will be comfortable until 18 months or so in this set up.

Next to the crib is our diaper changing station.  We purchased a restaurant utility cart that would fit the ever popular Coshee Changer.  The changing pad is a soft foam that can easily be wiped clean.  The cart is fastened to the wall with safety straps and is really sturdy. I really wanted open storage that would allow easy access to cloth diaper and clothing supplies.  We achieved this with locker styled bins. We were able to make good use of the metal lockers with these magnetic storage bins.  The large bin holds our cloth diaper wipes/ diaper cream/ and diaper wipe spray bottle and the smaller bins hold various personal grooming/health related items.  The Ikea shelf above the changing station keeps extra blankets and extra diaper supplies within reach.

The lockers are perhaps one of my favorite parts of the nursery.  I added clothing rods (dowels in adhesive brackets) to transform the lockers into a closet.  I smile every time I see the tiny baby clothes hanging up!

I also used the Silhouette machine to craft some clothing size tags to help keep the clothes organized. The locker shelves are perfect for storing our various baby carriers and miscellaneous items.  The two red bins on the top store crib sheets and extra swaddles.

Below the window in this room is a small read and play area for baby.  We already have so many books for baby!  The book sling keeps many books handy and eventually accessible to baby.  The red canvas cube holds a majority of the books.

So far all of baby’s toys fit in the red tub but I am sure this won’t always be the case.  I added the TOYS label using my Silhouette machine and some white vinyl. The O is a gear shape. I also used the vinyl to create a robot stencil for the white locker bins.  I used the same robot and same blue acrylic paint from the canvas project. I love this little guy an his crooked smile!   The locker bin labels were also made on the silhouette.

A little white vinyl turns this bin into a laundry hamper and I can’t get enough of the felt ball and robot mobile that I created.

The office side of the room uses the same color pallet- Grey, Aqua, and Red. The red locker keeps most of our office supplies out of sight. Also, we freed up a lot of desk space by housing the printer and Silhouette Machine in the closet.  I have to say I really enjoy having the closet serve as craft central and it’s aqua walls make me smile.  I also am really liking the back of the door wrapping paper station.

Two last details.  The “Best Year Ever” calendar makes me grin and I am so exited to use this handmade diaper tote gifted to me by my friend Amy.  The robot lining makes me smile and the red chevrons match the throw pillows that I had made for the nursery.

I am not the only one enjoying the nursery. Both cats are in LOVE with the rocking chair and rolling around on the robot rug.  Hugo also likes to lay in the changing pad but I am trying to break him of that habit.

The details

Nurse and Sleep

• Ikea Poang Rocking Chair in Black-Brown with Korndal Beige cover
• Bloom Alma Mini Crib in Frost Grey
• Bloom Alma Coco Mattress Natural Wheat

Changing Area

• Restaurant Utility Cart
• Coshee Changer
• 3 Locker Bins from American Furniture Alliance
• 1  Locker Bin from Land of Nod
• Large Magnetic Storage Bin
• Small and medium magnetic Storage bins
• Simple Human Trash Can (from kitchen)
• Planet Wise Diaper Pail liner in Ocean
• Red Ikea Knodd Bin with DIY vinyl laundry decals

Lockers

• Vintage lockers from the ReStore refinished at Maaco
• Clothing rods DIY from dowels and adhesive brackets
• 2 red locker Bins (already had)
• Velvet non-slip baby hangers

Office

• Elfa closet system and back of door wrapping station
• Desk, Chair, Red Locker, Hanging Pots, and Shelf from IKEA

Decor

• Lil Mo Whimsy Robot Rug
• DIY Robot Canvas
• DIY Felt Ball and Robot Mobile
• You are My Sunshine wood wall hanging by SpunkyFluff
• Death Star Print by Bird Ave
• Best Year Ever calendar by Spreadthelove with barwood frame by 2DogsWoodWorking
• DIY Book Sling using dual curtain rod
• Crocheted Bee Mobile (gift from Annie)

So that in a nutshell is our nursery/office!  Not too far off from our original inspiration board.

Any other small space nurseries out there? Any shared space nurseries? What are your tips and tricks to making the most of the space that you have?

Happy (belated) 1st Birthday Hugo!

The weekend that I was put on bed rest was also the weekend that Hugo turned 1.  Our little guy is officially no longer a kitten and now a cat!  I weighed him this week and he is 20 lbs. Holy cow! Look at the little kitten we brought home last July compared to him now! 

This past weekend my midwives relaxed my bed rest a bit.  Meaning I could get out of bed and take some photos of our big boy.  Nap time is decidedly not his favorite time for paparazzi.  Oh well, deal with it birthday boy!

I mentioned that he is 20 lbs.  Here are some more fun facts about our big kitty.

• He loves fleece and furry blankets. He shoves his nose into the blanket and inhales very deeply. Then he starts purring and kneading the blanket. If the fur is somewhat long he also likes to bite the fur.

• He loves to chase Cheese.  They are finally getting along better. He is better able to control his impulses to jump on her every time he sees her and she doesn’t hiss at him constantly.  She has started to play with him too- dive bombing him from on top the bed and giving him a chase every now and again.  He is still obsessed with biting her fur though- I think it is related to his blanket fetish.

• Even though he and Cheese are getting along better he won’t cuddle with us if she is also doing so.  He prefers to have 1:1 time with Matt especially   At night Matt will sometimes go lay downstairs on the couch with Hugo. This goes back to his kitten days when we didn’t let him sleep in our room yet and Matt would hang out with him until he fell asleep.

• Hugo loves the bathroom.  He loves to eat toilet paper so he isn’t allowed in the bathrooms unsupervised. But if one of us is in the bathroom he HAS to be in there too.  He lays at your feet while you are on the toilet and sometimes jumps up on your lap (awkward!).  He lies on the bath mat while you shower and recently loves to go lay in a dry shower or bathtub.  He also likes to hide behind the shower curtain and attack you from behind it.

 

• While he has a personality of his own he does have a lot of similar personality traits as our dear departed Cassanova. So much so that both Matt and I sometimes slip up and call his Cass.  I can’t believe we lucked out and got such an awesome cat after losing Cass.  

Happy Birthday Hugo! We are so happy that you are part of our family.  Hoping the next new addition to the family doesn’t stress you out too much!

 

36 Weeks: Bedrest

This post is cross posted from Parker Haus Grows

Yeah, so today is day 4 of strict bedrest for Blobby and I.

As relaxing as that term sounds I can assure you it is hard mentally and physically. I am trying to take it day by day. How did I end up here? After all I was having a perfectly boring pregnancy right?

I have been having lots of Braxton Hicks contractions for a couple months. There wasn’t a pattern so no cause for concern. BH contractions are normal. My midwife put me on Calcium Magnesium Citrate and that was it. Fast forward to last Thursday. I notice that my BH contractions are happening pretty frequently. For me BH contractions are mostly painless and when they happen my whole belly gets rock hard. Frequently a bulge will appear on my belly as it hardens and tightens. When Matt got home I thought we should time the contractions to see if there was a pattern. 5 minutes apart and 1 minute in duration. Uhhh-Oh. Even though they were painless i figured we should call the midwives to see what i should do.

The first thing a midwife or Dr will suggest in this situation is to lie down for a bit and to drink 2 large glasses of water. I had already done these things before calling the midwife. The first thing she did is ask me a bunch of questions to see if I had other preterm labor signs. “Did my back hurt? Did I have cramping? Had I had an bloody discharge? Did I have any fluid leaking? Etc. Then she reassured me that these type of contractions usually don’t dilate the cervix, but they can prepare the cervix by shortening, softening, and moving it forward. She also noted that not yet 36 weeks was too early for these preparations to happen and we should try to get the contractions to reduce in frequency or to stop completely.

She had me drink another glass of my Cal Mag Citrate followed by a glass of wine and a relaxing bath. She told me to get my butt in bed after that and let Matt handle dinner. She said to stay resting for the next 24 hours and see how things went. The contractions slowed to every 10 minutes after following her instructions. The next day I rested in bed and the contractions continued but much less intense and more sporadic. This made me feel better. Until I realized that I was getting a menstrual cramp feeling with the contractions. Late Friday night I started to feel a tugging sensation on my cervix. I spent most of the night worried that changes were indeed happening to my cervix as the midwife and I had discussed.

Saturday AM I paged the midwife on call. She came to our house to check me out. It was so nice to not have to get out of bed and so reassuring to see her. She checked Blobby’s vitals. He/She was responsive and doing well. She did a pelvic exam and confirmed that my intuition was correct. I wasn’t dilated but my cervix had moved forward, softened, and shortened. These things don’t necessarily mean that I am going to go into labor right away, but the are concerning. This wasn’t something we wanted to happen at 36 weeks.

She added Cramp Bark tincture to my regime. She noted that Blobby was head down and low. Sitting or standing immediately was bringing on contractions and she noted that I should try to stay as horizontal as possible. Even though bed rest isn’t statistically proven to prevent preterm labor it would be best to avoid direct pressure of Blobby’s head on my cervix. Pressure alone could start the dilation process. This is when it hit me. Bedrest.

Even though OBs and hospitals will say it is ok to deliver at 36 weeks babies born before 37 weeks have a higher chance of respiratory problems that might require a stay in the nursery. They also have more feeding problems and are less likely to be able to breastfeed immediately. After 37 weeks the incidence of these problems decreases. For this reason my midwives would like me to make it to at least 37 weeks. If we make it to 37 our next goal is 38 and after that 39. The longer Blobby can bake the better. My midwife also mentioned that sometimes babies who show preterm labor signs end up going to the due date or longer. I laughed because I was already preparing myself for that ironic situation.

So, bedrest… what is it like?
Physical: For 23 hours a day I am laying down in bed- usually on my left or right sides with a whole slew of pillows around me in an attempt to make myself comfortable. My hips are very sore as a result. If I could tolerate laying on my back I think my hips would be much happier- but this late in pregnancy laying on my back is out.

Because laying down so much can cause blood clots I am rocking some sexy compression socks and trying to remember to do muscle contractions in my legs to keep the blood moving. I am working hard to stay hydrated which means frequent bathroom visits- thankfully the bathroom is just a few paces away from the bed. When I move myself to sitting or standing I have a big contraction. Fun times.

Cheese is taking advantage of my constant reclined position. She likes to sit on top of my ribs and hip and get lots of pets. Hugo has been keeping watch over me. It is really sweet.

I try to limit the number of naps that I take during the day so that I am not wide awake and thus keeping Matt up a night. In order to limit the number of times I get up Matt has made sure I have much of what I need at my bedside.

• My Cantigo mug filled with ice plus an extra one for when the ice melts
• 3-4 soda stream bottles filled with filtered water
• Recharge drink
• glass of Cal Mag Citrate
• Cramp Bark and a small glass of water
• snacks like oranges, apples, crackers, and yogurt
• Cell phone with charger
• iPad
• Nintendo DS and games for entertainment
• sticky notes and pen

My Mom came over on her lunch break and heated up my lunch for me, saving me a trip downstairs and providing me with much needed company and conversation. Best Mom ever! My SIL has been texting me to check in on me/keep my spirits up and various friends have also been reaching out. It is all appreciated. There is so much I want to say about the mental and emotional side of bedrest but I think it will be a post of its own.

So that is where we are, Blobby and I. I am laying on my side in bed while blobby kicks me and stretches. He/She is still on the inside and I am trying to keep it that way. Bedrest is hard but we are taking it one day at a time.

Have you been on bedrest? Care to share any bedrest boredom busters?

35 Weeks!

How Far Along:

 35 weeks!

Size of baby: Baby is the size of a coconut- well, to be specific baby is as heavy as a coconut- almost 6 lbs.

source

Random & Interesting Developmental Stuff: Baby’s hearing is fully developed and baby is fattening up.

Total Weight Gain: 34 lbs

Sleep: After enjoying great sleep all pregnancy I’ve started to experience more difficulty sleeping. In addition to my pregnancy pillow I am now stuffing 3 additional pillows around me in an effort to find comfort. I am flipping sides numerous times during the night and it is comical- like making a barge turn.

Symptoms: Add reflux to the list. I also was having a lot of swelling in my feet and ankles. My husband so loving pointed out that my feet looked like bread dough that was rising. I was down to only being able to fit my feet in my Ugg slippers and flip-flops. After a meeting with my midwife she decided that it was best if I work from home the rest of my pregnancy. Thankfully work agreed. She prescribed foot elevation with breaks every 20 minutes, sitting on my birth ball for stretches during the day, walking in the pool, compression socks, and lots of water. After a week of working from home and following her prescription I am happy to say that I can see that bones in my ankle again! So much more comfortable!

Cravings: None really, maybe sweets- I have a stronger sweet tooth as pregnancy goes on.

Movement: HOLY wiggly baby! I don’t know if Blobby all of a sudden “woke up” or my placenta thinned out more but the past 5 weeks have been an explosion of movement. Blobby has flipped which side he/she is laying on a couple of times. At one appointment he/she was laying head down face up (sunny side up) and punching me with a hand on the left side and a hand on the right side. Little bugger. I also finally saw my first foot move across my belly- cool and weird all at the same time.

Maternity Clothes: I actually have been able to wear a few pre-pregnancy maxi dresses as of late.

Milestones: I felt my first hiccups a couple of weeks ago and now feel them pretty frequently. It is the strangest sensation!

What I’m looking forward to: Looking forward to meeting this little person. I would remiss if I didn’t say that I am looking forward to sleeping on my back again and having a nice cold beer all to myself (not just sips off Matt’s beer). There *might* be a growing bomber collection in the fridge that Matt has been building for me with lots of sour beers and other specialty beers that he has been enjoying without me.

The belly: It is still relatively high. Sitting is sometimes tricky as it feels like I am smooshing my belly. Blobby doesn’t tolerate it if my legs press against my belly and if I lean forward in a chair he/she instantly kicks me to let me know that he/she isn’t pleased. If you look at me from the side (photos below) I look huge, but the belly is still really narrow- I’m just carrying this kiddo all out in front!

Sometime in the next 3-7 weeks baby should be making an appearance. EEEE! So excited!

If you have kids, what did you do the last 5 weeks of pregnancy? Any suggestions or words of wisdom?