One month....

Our little man turned one month old on Wednesday. We still can't believe it! Time passes very differently when you have a newborn. This past month has been the longest month of my life, but at the same time it has flown by.

And Tyler has changed a lot in this past month. He's hellbent and determined to start holding his head up already. He loves to do this while we are holding him on our shoulders. He's also making more eye contact now, which has been neat to watch. He doesn't go cross-eyed as much anymore and he really looks enthralled with your eyes and your face as you hold him. He loves to watch your mouth as you talk to him, and sometimes he'll try to talk back to you a bit. His little legs have gotten MUCH stronger and he loves to demonstrate his strength as he is being fed or held. He'll just start to kick those legs of his and Travis swears that he is trying to get moving already! He thinks we'll have an early crawler on our hands, much to the dismay of the cats.

Tyler also had his one month appointment at the pediatrician's office today. He weighed in at 10 pounds even, and was 22 1/4 inches long. This puts him in the 50 - 75th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height (no surprise there). His doctor was very pleased with his growth and progress. He did have one shot today - his second Hepatits B shot. I wasn't prepared for that. I thought that all the shots happened at the 2 month visit. Thus, I told Travis that he didn't need to take off work today for him to come with us. I made him promise that he would be at the 2 month appointment. But luckily, the Hep B shot wasn't all that bad. Tyler came through it like a trooper. And Mommy did too!

So we continue to do well here in the Snead household. I'm looking forward to the continued warm weather so that Tyler and I can start taking walks around the neighborhood during the day. It'll do us both some good! I've only got about 10 pounds to go to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight (though I'd like to lose a few more in addition to that - but who wouldn't!) and I know that the walks will help the process along. And Tyler likes the outdoors already! We've sat outside on the deck while Travis grills and he just listens to the sounds and looks up at the sky in awe. It's so neat to watch him experience something new!

ESP

We are constantly asked by well wishers, "How are things going?" And we can thankfully say that things are going well. We're trying to adjust to life as new parents and dedicating every second of every day to this new little life that we have brought into the world. But there's something that has me puzzled. Tyler has ESP, meaning he eats, sleeps, and poops. That's about it at this stage. He is starting to stay awake a little more during the day (and unfortunately at night after feedings as well on occasion) so that's kind of neat, but for the most part it's just ESP. So how come this ESP makes us so TIRED?!?! It's amazing how differently time passes when you are living in 3 hour intervals (his current eating schedule - yes, I know....we're fortunate there too). We diaper, feed, burp, sleep. And just when you think you have a few minutes to yourself, it's time to do it all over again. And you feel a little silly for saying that it makes you tired. But it does. And I start to feel a little like a milk machine by about 3:00 in the afternoon. But we're not complaining. Being parents to Tyler is the most rewarding thing that we have ever done. And I know that one day very soon, I am going to look back on these first few days and wish that he was still that little........





Just a couple of highlights since we have been home: Tyler had his first bath the day after we came home from the hospital. Note to self: Tyler does NOT like bath time. I'm hoping that once we are able to give him tub baths that he does a little better.





The cats are doing very well around him. Gracie really doesn't seem to care one way or another that he is here, just so long as she continues to receive her daily cat treats and nighttime rub-fest with Travis. Beemer is pretty much intrigued with Tyler. Every time that he passes him in his bouncy seat, he needs to stop and sniff him. Same goes at night when we are feeding in bed. Beemer likes to jump up on the bed (that's where he spent all of his time before Tyler) and sniff his feet while Tyler eats. Tyler doesn't seem to notice that this is taking place....yet. All in good time, I guess. All in good time. One day he'll be as fascinated with Beemer as Beemer is with him now. Then it's "Look out, cats!!!"

Tyler had his 2 week appointment this week and he weighed in at 8 pounds, 12 ounces. So he is above his birth weight again, which is great! It's also reassuring to a breastfeeding mother to hear, as you never know just how much your baby is eating so you constantly worry if he's getting enough. His doctor said that all was well with him, and we go back in 2 weeks for his 1 month appointment (already?!??!!).

Travis also went back to work this week, which was hard for all of us. Travis misses his little boy terribly during the day, Tyler misses his daddy, and I miss having Travis here to talk to and to help me when I feel lost. But we all make up for lost time as soon as he walks in the door each night, and we are looking forward to spending lots of time together this weekend (and every weekend thereafter). Seeing how hard it was for Travis to go back to work makes me dread the day that I have to return. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it......

We've had lots of visitors: Nana Scoggin and Great Uncle Kevin, Grandma and Granddad Snead, Aunt Jenn & soon-to-be Uncle Brian, Grandpa Ed (we don't have a "grandfatherly" name for Dad yet - we're all working on it), the neighbors on our street, my friend Lori and her little boy Evan (who is only 6 days older than Tyler), and so many more. And we're sure that there are more to come! So many people for our boy to meet!

So that's where we are now. We're doing well, really well I think. Each day we learn something new, or get a little better at something (i.e. diaper changes). And things will only get better.....

The beginning.....

Well, it has happened. We are officially the parents of Tyler Kenneth Snead. And boy, what a journey we had in order to get him here.

I went to the hospital as planned on February 27 to begin the induction. I had my "last meal" and Dad came to visit with me for a while. Later that evening, Travis went home to get his last night of good sleep and I settled in for a pretty uneventful evening at the hospital. It was funny though....I kept looking over to the right of my bed to see the warming table that was to hold our son sometime the next day. The little blankets were already set up and ready for his arrival. It made the whole experience seem so real. Travis came back early the next morning and my doctor started the Pitocin (the drug given to help put me into labor). She also went ahead and broke my water at that time. Man, I'll tell you - that was the weirdest feeling in the world! I just giggled and giggled! After that, I just settled in, watched some TV, chatted with Travis and my friend Laura, and waited for the fun to begin.

I started having some contractions soon thereafter, but they weren't really regular. They were getting stronger though, so I quickly ordered my epidural. (Hey, as Laura says, they don't give you a medal for "toughing it out", so I had no intention of doing so! Haha!) Because of the swelling that I was having due to the blood pressure, I had to have the epidural done twice. It wasn't the most pleasant experience in the world, but the relief that followed once it was complete was well worth it. I continued to have contractions (but I wasn't feeling them - woohoo!) and I was SURE that I was progressing past the one measley centimeter that I was dialated earlier that morning. My doc came in around lunch time.....yeah, I had progressed. To a whopping 2 centimeters.

Long story short(er): By mid-afternoon, a few things were apparent. I wasn't progressing at all. The baby didn't react well to contractions when I was lying on my right side (his heart rate would drop). I was running a fever and had to have an antibiotic. The baby was at a -3 station (that means he was nowhere NEAR dropped in the birth canal). The verdict? C-section.

I was prepped, given more numbing meds through my epidural, we called the families, and Travis dressed in his "sterile wear" (It was a great look for him. Once I get the pic from Laura, I will post it here!). I'll be honest. I don't remember too much from the delivery. I do remember that the surgery was uncomfortable. Very uncomfortable. I felt no pain from the incisions or anything like that, but the pressure that I felt was like nothing I had felt before. Lying there, I wondered why any woman would ELECT to have a C-section. Just not fun for me. I did hear the anesthesiologist say at one point that the baby had a nice head of light brown hair. I looked at Travis in shock. I never thought our baby would have hair. Then I heard my OB say something along the lines of "Come on, hoss". We knew then that we had a big boy on our hands. We heard a small cry from him and my doc said that his cord was wrapped just slightly around his neck. This is probably why he didn't tolerate labor well when I was on my right side. They took him to the warming table, Travis went to take pictures, and we heard them call for the NICU team. Our baby wasn't breathing well on his own and had apparently taken a pretty big gulp of amniotic fluid right before he was pulled out of the womb. Another moment of honesty here. I don't remember too much after this point. I remember being very worried, but everyone kept telling us it was going to be OK. They brought Tyler to me as I was being closed up, and I was able to give him a little kiss on his forehead before they whisked him out of the room. Things are fuzzy past this point, but I know that my Dad and brother visited with me, Travis got to go to the Progressive Care Nursery to see Tyler (and brought me pictures), and the neonatalogist came to let us know how our little man was.

Once I was able to move my legs, I was moved to the post-partum wing. But first I was wheeled into PCN so that I could finally see my son. I was still a little doped up, but I remember being scared because of all the tubes and monitors and what not. But I was assured that he was in the best care. In fact, this is the unit that Laura works in so I knew that he had the best nurses. And off I went to post-partum for the longest night of my life - away from our newborn son.

However, he got the greatest care in the world, and he was finally moved to the newborn nursery late Thursday night. Travis, Tyler, & I spent the next few days in the hospital getting to know each other and becoming a family. We were finally discharged on Saturday, March 3rd. Both Tyler & I were given a clean bill of health and we were on our way home!

And here we are.....home. Travis & I now have a family of our own. Tyler has completed us. And we couldn't be happier.