Week 6-7: Smiling Happy People

Look at this adorable smiling baby!!!

I was really hoping Leif would start smiling soon, and my hopes came true a few days ago.  Hubby was playing around with Leif's hands and cheeks and he started responding!  Leif will now emote this huge, toothless grin randomly; but sometimes if you play with his cheeks or give him lots of kisses on his mouth he reacts.  He's growing up so fast!

Life is same old, same old.  Yesterday I was out of the house without Leif for the longest amount of time-I finally got my hair cut after about six months, bought groceries and ran a couple errands for Valentine's Day/hubby's birthday (next Monday!).

Bangs and a little shorter style, with sleepy Leif

Nana is coming to visit this weekend!!!  She flies in on Friday and stays for a while, yay!  I'm sure she's excited to see her grandbaby.  :)  I wish we could drive around as a family and do things, but Leif is still not happy in his car seat...after reading so many different forums and websites, I have a feeling Leif just doesn't like being alone still.  He gets really warm in the car seat, but we tried resolving that and he still gets fussy and cries.  This morning we tried to take a family walk and made it about half a mile away from the apartment until he started crying.  Sigh.

Lastly, hubby and I are starting to work out together again!  We've been using the Biggest Loser Bootcamp/Last Chance Workout DVDs, and they kick our butt.  It's still hard to workout when Leif doesn't like being put in his pack and play, but when he gets fussy I use him as my "weights", I still sweat and get out of breath!

Alright, off to work on our taxes...since hubby is self-employed, doing taxes is not fun.  Poop.

Week 5: Go Seahawks!!

Woo!  First huge victory for Seattle yesterday (since the 1970s for the Sonics)...Super Bowl champs!!!

Leif slept almost the whole game!

He doesn't like sleeping on you unless facing you usually...he was very sleepy yesterday!

So I'm back after only a couple days vs. a couple weeks-success!  Hubby is at work and Leif is asleep in my arms and on top of his breastfeeding pillow...typing this is definitely hard (he is on one arm and the keyboard is at a 90 degree angle on the pillow as well)...so this may take up a lot of my morning.  Not like I have to be any where else right now!

I figured I would write about some experiences with Leif so that I can look back and either say, "Aww" or "I'm glad we got through that quickly" or probably "I miss those times".

(and yay, my arm is free as Leif is passed out on his pillow in my lap, phew)

Leif's sleeping patterns are changing all the time now, which I've read is normal.  Nights are still rough-Leif just does not like sleeping alone, so putting him even in the co-sleeper which is right next to the bed is rough.  He also isn't a fan of his swaddle wraps, even though every doctor and mom on the web say it's supposed to soothe your baby!  I'll keep trying, but I have to admit he sleeps next to me in bed for a few hours a night/morning now.  I know, I know, most doctors say that is super bad since it increases his risk of SIDS...but so far we both get more sleep and any time he stirs I wake up right away.  There are articles out there that say co-sleeping is actually good for the baby and that cultures around the world sleep with their babies in bed, but I'd rather keep trying to get him to sleep on his own rather than in our bed.  It's comforting to find tons of moms out there on mom/baby blogs that have the same problem as I do and also to read how moms of now older children slept with their babies and they are all fine.

Leif in the morning after we got up a few days ago-see how the swaddle is around his chest and not his arms?!  He's a free spirit!

What else...we are now having difficulties with Leif in the car seat/car.  He is NOT a fan of that seat...and he used to love car rides!  I'm hoping he grows out of this sooner than later, we are excited to get out and hike with him once he's old enough and has had his shots (which is in a few weeks!).  But it's so heart breaking to hear/see him cry his eyes out in the carseat!  I ride in the back with him usually to try and soothe him, but nothing works until we park and are able to get him out of the seat.  After reading a lot of other mom's experiences and problems with car seats on the web, I feel like we just have to wait it out.  Some moms go through loud crying spells until their babies are one year old!  Please keep us in your thoughts and hope that he enjoys the car seat soon.

Those are my biggest worries right now...he did go through a couple days recently where he didn't poop and hubby was worried more than I was, but he finally went.  I have a feeling he has reflux as he spits up a lot in the morning and is super gassy (I've never heard a baby fart as much as Leif!).  Other than all that, everything is fine!   Leif is finally smiling more here and there, but we still have a couple weeks until he actually smiles as reactions/personality.  Oh, and I am still exhausted here and there which is expected, but at least I'm not working yet!  I'm still dreading that day, but I'll try not to think about it now.

To keep active we take family walks at least a few days a week.

Leif getting ready for his walk-bundled him up in his hoodie and then into my Moby wrap!

The NICEST thing happened to me yesterday...so you know how I said I tried signing up for the Disneyland 10K but it sold out?  Well, my friend Christina (I worked with her at CLU but she moved to San Diego last summer) is going to give me her bib and she's going to sign up through a charity!  GIVE me her bib.  She doesn't want $ for it, and it's an expensive run.  How awesome is that?!  So now I get to start training for that!  It's not until the end of August, but I'm super excited to start running again.  AND I'll get to run with her which was the plan all along!  Yay!

Okay, Leif is stirring now-probably time to feed (which anytime he is awake he's hungry!).  I'll be back to update on Week 6 of Leif's life soon!  :)

Week 5: Happy Friday!

Sorry, this will be a very short post...

Today marks Week 5 for Leif!  Happy week 5 birthday Leif!

It's also Blue Friday...Go Seahawks!  Little nervous about the Super Bowl, not going to lie.  But very excited about the game.

Leif is doing great-growing so fast, super cute, developing a normal sleep pattern at night.  Time is flying by as always.

Still love maternity leave, although I have to admit, I've had a couple meltdowns where I had super bad cabin fever.  But I got over them pretty quick.

And I was too late to sign up for the Disneyland 10K-it sold out fast.  I want to start exercising/running pretty bad, but since Leif doesn't like to be on his own very long (we have to hold him almost all day!), it's going to take some time.  But I think I'll start doing a few things here and there with him; thanks to Pinterest, I can do some exercises WITH the baby.  Should be fun.

Goodbye January, hello February, and I'll leave off with a photo of Leif's session for his one month birthday!

Week 4-5: MMIA

I'm still alive!  I've been a MMIA...Missing Mama in Action.  Sorry everyone!

You really aren't missing much-my life has been confined to home and a few places to run errands here and there.  Being a nanny you would think I would be prepared for how long it takes to just leave the house...but I've never been a nanny for a newborn that hates to be put down/left alone.  We'll get him dressed to go out, put him in his carseat, then Leif will start bawling.  Then we realize he's hungry, so I have to feed him.  Then I'll put him in the carseat, and then he'll pee or poop.  Or he'll continue to just bawl because he doesn't want to be in his carseat.  And the other day he was sobbing and screaming for five minutes straight in the car, and kept trying to latch on my fingers, but then realized it wasn't the real thing so would scream louder.  It was the most stressful car ride I have ever had.  So...I don't like to leave the apartment as much even though I get cabin fever.  Ahh!

But I really, really, REALLY am in love with Leif.  I know it is super cliché, but parents are right when they say you do not know what true love is until you have a baby.  I absolutely love my hubby but the love I have for Leif is on a different level.  I love my family!

 Quick note: I apologize to those who are on facebook...the photos for today's post you all have seen.

Update on the past few weeks now, may not be in any particular order...

GO SEAHAWKS!!!

I'm sooo excited that the Seahawks made it to the Super Bowl, how cool is that?!  That last game put hubby and I on edge...we were superstitious to the point that we made Miles wear his football the whole game and the whole family had to be in the same room.  Hey, they won!

Miles turned one last week!  He's been wonderful with Leif, but definitely shows boredom time to time since we don't play with him as much as we used to.  He is still the cutest and dopiest (is that a word?) puppy we could ask for!

Like I mentioned before, Leif can get fussy if we put him down in his crib, swing or pack n' play by himself.  He will eventually just start crying if left alone long enough!  I was able to get to work yesterday to pick up a Co-Sleeper from a co-worker since he always wakes up between 4 and 5am and does NOT want to go back to sleep on his own.  We tried the co-sleeper out yesterday and it was definitely easier on me, but Leif still has his night cycle.  Last night was a couple milestones for Leif-1. I was able to eat dinner without having to pick him up and hold him while I ate and 2. He had his first bath.  He did alright with the bath-he cried here and there which I predicted, but overall he did good.  Kind of glad we only have to do that once or twice a week until he gets older; I hate seeing Leif cry and get frustrated.

The only time Leif is quiet the longest is when we set these cool black and white cards in his crib, from the "Wee Gallery".  Apparently newborns may not see colors but are attracted to contrasting images/"colors", so black and white is good.  Hubby sent a picture of him enjoying the pictures to the company and they featured his picture on their facebook page, how awesome is that?

So today marks Leif's Four Week birthday, I can't believe he will be one month old in a few days!  Time definitely flies by quickly even though we do the same thing every day (almost).  At least hubby and I take photos of him pretty much every day, we will cherish his growth to the fullest!

And lastly, I'm doing fine.  I am definitely sleep deprived, but I'm getting used to it.  I've also lost a lot of weight faster than I thought I would (woohoo!), but I have about 20 pounds to go to get to my base weight.  At least I don't have back pains anymore and can tie my shoes.  :)

I can't say I'll be back to write more sooner than later, but stay tuned and I'll try to keep everyone updated on being a new mama and how Leif is doing!

Week 1: Welcome to the World Leif Arthur Hovland, part 2

Friday, December 27 & Saturday, December 28, 2013
After all the chaos of cleaning up the labor room, my new nurse showed me what I had to do to use the restroom (long procedure ladies!), and then we were wheeled over to the postpartum wing.  I was able to hold Leif for a little bit before the families came by.

Precious little Leif

Happy Mama!

Proud Grandpa Barnes

Leif's Lola

Proud Pop-Pop Hovland and Nana

Auntie Missy, or as she wanted to be called, "Thor" : )

That first night in the hospital was a little rough; Leif did not like sleeping in the hospital bassinet, so I would constantly be picking him up, trying to feed him, then putting him back to him waking up two minutes later and crying.  And the nurses came in every hour or two to check on both of us.  I didn't get much sleep.  Around 6am rolled around and hubby woke up (he managed to get way more sleep than I did in the pull-out couch).  He drove home to take Miles out (btw-our friend Daryl stayed overnight at our place with Miles and the entire Friday-such a wonderful pal!).  And while he was gone, they rolled in some breakfast for me and lo and behold...

Leif actually slept more than 10 minutes in the bassinet while I ate breakfast!

Unfortunately due to lack of sleep and new baby, hubby drove almost all the way home before he realized he forgot the house keys.  Poor guy drove back, grabbed keys, and rushed home.  He didn't come back until about 9am.

Lunchtime rolled around and they brought us our "celebratory meal" which consisted of (all chosen by us the day before) filet mignon, garlic mashed potatoes, veggies, salad and soup, rolls and a berry New York Cheesecake.  Granted it was hospital food, but it wasn't terrible. Leif slept in his bassinet again, success!

Soon after lunch a nurse brought by all our paperwork and we were able to leave.

Leif's first car ride

Leif slept the entire trip home-cars soothe him just like his mama!

Once we got home, hubby went into super nesting mode and cleaned/organized the apartment while I sat with Leif.  Both families came over at one point and once everyone left, we tested out the swing my brother Avery and his wife Amy got us.

Snug as a bug in a rug

Our first night home was definitely an adjustment-Leif would cry and we frantically tried to figure out what was wrong with him.  I'd say we got about four hours of sleep total...

Sunday, December 29 & Monday, December 30, 2013
These days were a blur since they felt like weeks ago...I remember hubby was still in nesting mode and kept organizing/cleaning everything.  Families came and went, and Sunday night was the WORST night we had since Leif has been in our life.  First, here are some cute photos of him:

Our Little Man with Viking Hat!

First time he was actually looking at someone

I can't forget to mention what a doll Miles has been through this whole process...he's been so good with Leif and is still adorable as always!  He gives Leif little kisses every now and then.  :)

So Sunday night...Leif would wake up every half hour just screaming bloody murder.  I kept trying to feed him, we'd try swaddling and swinging him, and even tried out pacifiers.  The pacifiers would work for a little while, but he would spit it out and start screaming again.  I think we got about two hours total of sleep that night.  Since Leif was born with a little case of jaundice, the doctor wanted us to set up an appointment with the pediatrician Monday or Tuesday.  We stared at the clock from 7am to 8am and once 8am hit I called the pediatrician.  We were able to schedule an appointment at 10am that morning; we were so relieved because we wanted to figure out why he didn't sleep so well and had so many questions.  We got ready and took off at 9:30am.

Leif's second car ride-the car seat really soothes him

The pediatrician didn't help us out out too much; he asked us routine questions and said I need to feed him every two hours, twenty minutes on each side.  He barely ate ten minutes on one side and my milk had yet to come in!  He gave us some formula and said to feed that to him every three times I breastfed him.  I was still discouraged.

Once we got home, a miracle happened-Leif fed for a long time and I realized my milk finally came in.  Success!

Families stopped by again which was nice considering I was able to take a nap whenever they would stop by.  That night Leif ate a lot, and sure enough he was able to sleep a lot more giving me more sleep in return.  Phew.

Tuesday, December 31, 2013
Happy New Year's Eve!  Unfortunately this was the last day of the Hovland family's visit, but they were able to stay until they left for the airport.  We miss them a lot!

My folks came over that night as well and shortly afterwards we laid down for bed.  First New Year's Eve where I wasn't celebrating!  I was awake at midnight though, thanks to Leif being hungry.  There were so many fireworks around our neighborhood but Leif didn't seem to mind!

Wednesday, January 1, 2014
And Happy New Year!  Best start to a new year with our new family in tow.  :)

Like father, like son.  How cute is this-they sleep so similarly it's creepy.

While we were changing Leif, we were able to give him some sun since doc recommended it for his jaundice.

That day was my last day my parents were in town and I was very sad to see them go.  They stopped by for a while in the afternoon and then after hubby made dinner for us they stopped by again!  I have to admit I cried a little that afternoon knowing they were leaving-it was so nice having them here for so long.  But they are already planning on returning in the spring, hooray!

Thursday, January 2, 2014
That morning we woke up early and drove back out to the hospital for a breastfeeding support class.  I learned SO much from the lactation consultant and felt so much more confident in what I was doing with Leif.  Afterwards was our second checkup with the pediatrician-Leif reached some new growth achievements!!!  He grew to 21.5 inches in length and a whopping nine pounds.  Super healthy Leif!  He's also in the 90th percentile as far as his length-he's one tall baby!

That concludes Week 1 with our little Leif.  Here are some super adorable photos we took Thursday and Friday:

I'll hopefully update you all on Week 2 before Week 3 starts...being a new mama is definitely a full-time job, but I couldn't be more happier. : )

Week 1: Welcome to the World Baby H, part 1

I left off in my last post with my doc breaking my water on Thursday, December 26th...

So funny story...we were almost out the door of the OBGYN office when I turned around, found my doctor and asked, "Is there time for me to stop and get some food?".  I think this is a legitimate question, for once I'm admitted to the hospital all I would get to eat are ice chips.  She unfortunately said no, I needed to get there right away.  Sigh.

Hubby drove like a madman, almost running a couple red lights.  I wasn't in any pain or feeling anything different, so I don't know why he was driving badly-but I can see how stressful it would be to know your wife's water just broke.  Once we got to the hospital, I was admitted and had an IV hooked up to me along with my blood drawn.  As most of you know, I hate needles, but I took it like a champ.

Since my doc broke my water and no contractions were coming on their own, they hooked me up with Pitocin to bring on my contractions and I played the waiting game.  My first contractions came on and they felt like menstrual cramps; my thoughts, "Bring it on".  But then as time started ticking by, they came on stronger.  And stronger.  By around 5:45pm, I was in PAIN.  Hubby brought up that I could take an epidural at any time, and 15 minutes later I agreed to it-I couldn't take the quick, strong contractions!  The anesthesiologist came to my rescue about 10 minutes after I agreed to the epidural and even though I couldn't see him, I heard his cell phone ring and him actually answer it.  WTF...I'm sitting here in major pain and he decides to answer his cell phone and what sounded like a personal call.  Thankfully the procedure was quick and he delivered the epidural faster than I thought it took.  It didn't hurt as much as I thought it would, just felt kind of funny/abnormal.  After about an hour, the meds kicked in and I was in heaven-you can ask my hubby, I think I said "Thank God for epidurals" at least ten times.

We played the waiting game for the rest of the night; with such strong contractions we were sure the baby would come by that evening, but unfortunately we had to wait all night.  I tried getting sleep when I could, but the nurses would come in and move me every 45 minutes so that baby could make his way down quicker.

4:15am rolled around, and I started feeling a little different down there...the nurse said once I feel like I had to, er, poop, it would mean the pushing would start soon after.  4:30am came and I felt a little pain and needing to use the potty-sure enough, I was fully dilated and it was time.

First, to all you moms out there, well done.  Wow.

I pushed for about two and a half hours.  I was crossing my fingers that it wouldn't have taken that long, but Baby H was/is a on the larger side of the "average" baby scale-not by much, but still he was not six pounds like I was.  Pushing a baby out is the worst pain I have and probably will ever feel.  My nurse was the one guiding me most the time-my doc didn't arrive until about 20 minutes before Baby H fully emerged, and I was mad at the time because I would be there trying to push him out but the nurse was quiet and the only person helping me was hubby.  I realize now that they were waiting for the doctor to get there.  UGH!  But all I felt was relief when I was able to make that final push.  Once he came out, they took him to get cleaned and weighed/measured, etc. and hubby was able to watch that procedure.  Meanwhile my doc sewed me up-thankfully I only had superficial tearing, but she was rough with the sewing.

Once they finished cleaning up Baby H, they brought him over to me and I instantly fell in love.  Leif Arthur Hovland was born Friday, December 27th, 2013 at 7:08am at 8 pounds, 12 ounces and 21 inches long.  My pregnancy was finished, but my motherhood had just begun.

After my skin-to-skin contact with Leif, he got to meet his daddy.

More to come...

Week 39/40: Events Before Labor!

Hello my friends and family,

I'm so sorry I haven't updated my blog in forever.  As you have noticed, some things have changed about my blog which means Baby H arrived!

This post will update you on events before Baby H and then will give you a loooong update on the adventure that is labor and a newborn's first week.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Merry Christmas Eve!

We were on edge since Baby H's due date was supposedly the next day.  But I still had a present for my hubby that I wanted to give him then since I wasn't sure what was going to happen on Christmas.

Expansion pack for Dominion, his favorite board game right now

Since the last couple weeks have been such a blur, I'm going to take a few guesses here and there on what life was like before Baby H...Christmas Eve we spent playing lots of board games and then went out to Chinese with my folks that night.  Yummy food and the place was packed!

Wednesday, December 25, 2013: Week 40
Merry (belated) Christmas!

Christmas was kind of emotional for me...I really hoped against hope that Baby H was going to arrive on his actual due date, and that morning when I didn't feel any contractions or water breaking, I knew he wasn't going to be born that day.  Yes, I got teary-eyed and emotional (damn hormones), but thanks to my loving hubby he calmed me down.  We went to see 47 Ronin with my folks (a movie so bad that it was kind of funny) and then headed over to the "Wakefield Winter Wonderland" not too far from our place.  We got there as early as possible which paid off-we were able to park close and walk over without too many crowds.  It was really festive!

That night we watched a couple Christmas movies and played more games.  Again, I was a little disappointed by Baby H's stubbornness to stay in his cozy home that is my belly, but I wasn't going to worry.

Thursday, December 26, 2013
That morning we got ready for my OBGYN appointment and planned on getting lunch with my folks afterwards.  Since Baby H didn't arrive, we were under the assumption that he would take his sweet time so we banked on a New Year's baby...

Our wait at the doc's office was fairly short and we were taken to a room with an ultrasound-she wanted to check my fluid levels and see how he was doing since he was now at 40 weeks old.  I couldn't see the monitor but hubby was able to see bits and pieces of Baby H.  My OBGYN then said (and I apologize if this is TMI) she was going to thin out my membranes  to see if she could make him come out sooner than later...well, I sat up and WHOA NELLY...I started leaking.  Then gushing.  I told her I think she broke my water-she grabbed a swab and petri dish, dab at what I was sitting in, then left.  As I stood up to put my clothes on, more gushing.  I didn't need her to tell me she broke my water, but she came back a few minutes later and said we needed to go to the hospital right then and there.  I was going to have a baby!!!!!