Total Newbie move!

So, I have a blogger app on my phone.  I know, you're probably wondering.. "if you have a blogger app on your phone, how come you don't post every day??"  Well, with the schedule I have and with a newborn, it's kind of hard to do so when I'm constantly TIRED!

Anyway...  I did a total newbie blogger move!  The first post since returning to work, I had pictures of Wyatt on it.  My app showed that it was still a draft, so I clicked on publish because I could have sworn I was done with it...  Ugh..  Oh well, live and learn, right??!!

I think I was saying how time went by so fast, Wyatt's almost 6 months old, and how big he's getting.  I also mentioned how he got to see the easter bunny too!

Wyatt at 2 weeks old

Wyatt's 2nd visit to So Cal

Wyatt with the Easter Bunny!



Yeah, I'm not going to add more info.  But can you tell how big he's gotten from 2 weeks old to 5 months old!  phew, kid is growing fast!

Wyatt's first small fall

Poor Wyatt, he took his first fall yesterday.  It wasn't anything major thankgoodness.  But I always read up on babies falling and hearing stories of dropped babies by accident.  And every response I've heard or seen online was/is "it happens... and it's not the last either."

So, what happened was, Greg was putting Wyatt in his swing and at the same time, Mr. T was being VERY spastic.  More than usual.  While he was getting ready to buckle Wyatt in, at the same time, Mr. T was being very needy, so Greg was trying to tell Mr. T to calm down.  Next thing he sees is Wyatt rolling around in his swing and rolls off his seat and face plants to the ground.  Greg tried to catch Wyatt but Wyatt slipped out of his hands.  The fall was only a few inches away and Greg said Wyatt cried for a few seconds and was perfectly fine after Greg picked him up.  Greg felt so bad that, that happened.  He called me shortly after it happened and I could just hear the dissapointment in his voice.  I told him to not worry about it and that it happens.  Greg called me again later that afternoon and was telling me that he couldn't stop thinking about it.  So I assured him that it's goign to be OK and that babies fall all the time and that it's not going to be the last time either.  I almost cried for him because of how bad he felt.  He said he felt like he just won the worlds worst father award.  His boss even told him that baby falls happen and it'll happen often especially once they're mobile.  But on top of that, his boss was making fun of him all day.  Poor Wyatt on his first fall... and poor Greg on feeling so horrible.  I tried making him feel better when we got home.  He just couldn't stop thinking about it because he said the look that Wyatt gave him looked like "really, you dropped me?" kind of look.  I know it'll happen to me one day too.  And I'll feel the same way Greg felt.

Back to work...

Well, I went back to work on Monday April 2nd. Daddy watched Wyatt that day and did great until it got close to me getting off work... Then all I hear in the background when Greg called to tell me to hurry home was crying. He couldn't get wyatt to calm down.

It's partially my fault as I took on majority of the care giving role and did not have any trial run for daddy while I was on maternity leave.

Speaking of maternity leave, I'm so glad and lucky to be able to stay home and care for Wyatt... Even though there has been days where it was a weeee but difficult. Caring for an infant is a trial and error process until you get the hang of it... Then another stage of trial and error... It's just an on going process. But I love every minute of it. Including the days where I feel exhausted, overwhelmed, depressed, burnt out!

The other day when I was organizing the laptop to make it more user friendly for us and be able to find the things we need, I stumbled upon some pictures of Wyatt when he was born. I swear it feels like forever ago, but really it was only 5 months ago. I just can't believe he got so big so fast and hit his milestones on time or a little early.  Right now he's learning how to sit up on his own. He can roll over from tummy to back, grab things and put them in his mouth, giggle at the most silliest things. Oh the giggles get to me! I love it.

**this was supposed to be posted, but I guess I forgot to hit publish**

Been a while

Sorry it's been a while, I'm not good at writing blogs or anything (as you can tell). Once upon a time, I used to. Well, anywho... Wyatt is now 4 months old. And he is growing big and fast. Tomorrow is his 4 month well visit check up. Can't wait to see how much he's grown since his 2 month check up. Well, last month, we visited Orange County. He had his first Airplane trip! He had his own seat (because it was a light flight) and his own boarding pass too! And he did GREAT!!! He didn't fuss at all. When we were getting to get off the plane, the lady behind us stood and saw Wyatt and said "Oh, I didn't even realize that you had a baby with you!" yep, he was that good!

He had a blast in Orange County. He got to meet a lot of his relatives. Everyone was so excited to meet him and everyone was so glad to meet him too. My mom's dog, Mackie (English Bulldog), was such a mommy to Wyatt it was too cute! Mackie would not leave Wyatt's side. Wherever we went, she had to follow. Everytime Wyatt cried, she had to be by his side. She had that mommy instinct. We were there for about 2 weeks! And during that time, he giggled for the first time! (Unfortunately, he didn't start giggling again until close to his 4th month). But I was in tears when he giggled! It was such an amazing feeling and to hear such a giggle from my little one just melted my heart. Daddy came about a week and a half later after Wyatt and I flew to Orange County. When daddy saw him, he saw how much Wyatt grew in just a week and a half. How is that possible? But he is growing like a weed! Wyatt got a lot of cool stuff while we were down there. He got a pack and play (perfect for taking him places), a new bath tub and clothes, lots of em! While we were down there, he started smiling more and wasn't as cross eyed as he used to be too. He was developing fast!

When we got home, he just turned 3 month and we did some tummy time. and he rolled onto his back 3 times that night! I was so excited!!!! He still doesn't roll onto his back that often, but every once in a while he does. He also started sleeping throughb the night!!!!! It's been perfect, but my body hasn't gotten used to it yet! So I still haven't had much sleep unfortunately. And he's on a schedule now! Well mostly. At night, we change diaper, then feed, then play for a little bit and then I tell him good night and that i love him and put him to sleep and he falls asleep on his own! The past few nights he's been fighting sleeping though. And he hasn't been taking much naps during the day either, so he's been trying to fall asleep earlier than scheduled (I think that's why he's fighting it, because I'm trying to keep him awake until bedtime).

Another milestone! He is giggling almost every day now! and he's making a lot of noises! He loves to have "conversations" it puts a huge smile on his face. And of course, it puts a smile on our faces too!!! We went to visit his great grandma and great grandpa and I put Wyatt on the floor on his back and Wyatt was just "talking" and wouldn't stop. He was having so much fun that he started giggling a lot too. He talked and giggled so much, he tired himself out that he started to cry realizing how tired he was. So, I picked him up and rocked him until he fell asleep.

Oh and I think he's starting to like his baths.... He still cries, but every once in a while, he'll stop and realize it's not that bad. One day, I know he'll love it. OHHHH, and one more thing, he's starting to learn how to sit! I've been using my boppy to teach him how to sit on his own and he is doing great! He's also learing hwo to grab his toys. I put him in his swing today and put the tray on it too and put a few toys on his tray and I watched him grab one of his toys. When I was gone for a little bit and came back, I saw that he grabbed another toy and was chewing on it. I think he's teething right now. He's been drooling a lot and he's been sucking on his hands a lot. The other day, he was holding onto my thumbs when I had him in his carrier and he was teething my thumb. So, we now have a new ritual every morning and night. I have a little gum stimulator thingy for infants. So on top of cleaning his feet, hands and face, we also rubb the gum stimulator on his bottom gums and he loves it! Lots of firsts lately and more to come, that I know for sure!

Sorry to not have posted, but I'm a busy mom and loving every minute of it!!!!

Finally some good luck

So a few months ago, I talked about how Greg lost his job and we were struggling to find a job for him. After a few months of no luck in getting a job, Greg called his dad to see if there might be a job opening where his dad works. So Greg started working four the casino his dad works at working as a maintenance person, a porter. Unfortunately, he had to stop because his back was causing him problems. Like really bad. He only worked there for 2 days until he went to the VA medical to get checked. So his manager told him to get a note from his Dr saying what he can and cannot do at his work. Unfortunately, his Dr didn't fill it out until he was going to be seen until his next Dr appointment.

The first day of being admitted to labor and delivery, Greg left for home to pick up some stuff for us since Wyatt's arrival was unexpected. Well on his way back, he saw a gun store just opening up, so he went in to see if they were hiring. The owner told him to bring in his resume. Of course Greg told him I was just admitted to the hospital. So a fe days after we got home, he drove out to that gun store again with his resume. And on his way back, he and Levi stopped in at Just Guns just cause and Greg found out that their AR guys left then to work for that other gun store that Greg just dropped off his resume at. So Greg told the guy that he's been trying to get a job at their place since they opened up. So, I think it was the owner he spoke with, asked him to bring in his resume. Greg came home with a smile on his face and was telling me that he might get a job with Just Guns.

So hours go by and Greg finally comes home and he has a big grin on his face and tells me he got a job a Just Guns as their AR specialist. so far they absolutely love him. Apparently his first day, he sold a $2,000 rifle. Just those 2 days he works there, the owner already told him he has free range in that area. Also, on saturday, they were begging him to work that day because they were having a customer appreciation day sale. Sp Greg said he'd work until 1330 or 1400 the latest. He also did sp well that day that the owner heard Greg's alarm go of and told him he needs to go before they beg him to stay.

finally after going from job to school to job to job to job... Well you get the idea, Greg finally found a job he's great at and something he really enjoys. Not only that, it's like as if he's back in the Corps. The owner or owner son is a Marine as well and I think there's a few others in there that are Marines as well. Greg is doing what he did in the Marine Corps. Just in the retail department. I'm proud of him. And I'm so glad that he finally found a job he loves going to and doing.

Sleep deprived!

Well today is day 5 of being home with Wyatt. It's been quite the learning process! And a bundle of joy.

Greg and I have been having so much fun (with little sleep) with Wyatt. It's still unbelievable that we're now parents to this sweet and handsome lil man.

The first day home happened so fast! It was just full of excitement! We got to finally bring Wyatt home after 3 days of him being in NICU and we just relaxed. We had Greg's mom stop by and drop off some food for us and later that evening, Garland and Janey stopped by as well to drop off food for us too. Wyatt had a hard time sleeping that night. Probably because he was cold. That was our fault. We're so used to our temp, we didn't think to add another extra layer to him.

My milk started coming in finally. But I still couldn't get Wyatt ti latch. I was getting frustrated that I called up a lactation consultant to set up an appointment for help with breast feeding. I was able to get an appointment right after Wyatt's 2 day check up. Which, by the way, went great! any way, long story short, I ended up getting a nipple shield. Just wish the lady told us about buying the thing before opening it. oh well, money well spent. Unfortunately, until my milk supply can keep up with Wyatt I am also formula feeding to make sure he is getting enough.
Hopefully soon my milk supply will increase enough that he'll be exclusively breastfeeding.  Unfortunately because of breastfeeding and lack of supply in the fridge, I haven't had as much sleep as Greg. But he does help out by taking care of Wyatt during the day so that I can catch up on sleep.

Yeah, sleep seems like trying to find the lockness monster. Haha, apparently it gets worse.

He's HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The day arrived 4 weeks early! Wyatt wanted to come out and meet the world. I was actually getting ready to go on maternity leave. I only had 3 days left. I was going to pack things away to be put to storage until we get a bigger place. I was going to get my sleep in, have lots and lots of rest. My baby shower was supposed to be this Saturday too! Tuesday morning came around. I went to pee like usual first thing in the morning. Peed but when I was done I kept trickling more water, which I thought it was just more pee and then jumped into the shower. When I got out and toweled myself, water leaked out like I peed a little. I thought it was weird so I rinsed myself off and proceeded to get ready for work. Then as I was looking for clothes to wear, I felt a sensation like I just peed in my underwear. I woke Greg up like usual and told him that I keep kind of wetting myself. So I called Labor and Delivery and told them I was trickling a little. The lady told me that discharge is normal for late third tri pregnancy. So I hung up and within minutes, my underwear was drenched. I showed Greg and then called labor and delivery again. So the lady told me to come in. We waited hours in triage. When a dr finally came in to check me, she said she was pretty sure my amniotic sac ruptured. I felt a gush of water come out as she stuck a probe down there. She was going to look under a microscope to confirm and she came back in minutes and said that it came back positive that my water did break. So, I got transfered to my labor room, by the way, the rooms are really really nice! Got hooked up to pretty much anything and everything! I had an IV put in, monitor of Wyatt's heart and my contractions, my heart monitor and blood pressure cuff. I was confined to that bed for majority of the day. Greg and I then started sending text messages and phone calls letting everyone know I was at the hospital and Wyatt was ready to come out. I was no where near being dilated at all. No thinning of the cervix.... nothing. So they explained to me that i'll have to take some kind of medication to start the dilating process. I didn't feel any contractions until they gave me 1/2 the pill that's helps my body produce such hormones. But they weren't bad at all. Hours later, I was given a whole pill and I started feeling a little more contractions, but very bearable. By 2230 I was given another whole pill and that night, I barely had any sleep. A fee hours of sleep but the contractions kept me awake or kept waking me up! By late morning I was 2.5cm dilated and 70% cervix thinned. I wanted to see if my body could go into active labor on its own without being induced. So they gave me about. An hour or two to see how mt contractions were going. Not much really changed so they started the inductions. For a few hours, everything was fine, I was able to handle the pain of the contractions, got my mind off them and then an hour or two before 1700, the pain was so bad I started crying. Honestly I was really glad Greg and Roni were there to help me through them. At first I kept repeating to myself that I can handle the pain and that I can get through it. But my contractions ended up being one on top of the other. Some of them I had to close my eyes and just scream, but I was reminded that I had to breath to give oxygen to Wyatt. Some of the contractions, Greg told me to focus on him and as tears are gushing through my eyes, Greg holds my hands and reminds me to stay focused and try not to think of the pain. Each hard contraction both Roni and Greg were reminding me to focus on something esle and reminding me to breath for Wyatt. It was hard and painful. But for some reason, since typing this, it's been kind of difficult to remmeber what happened during labor. Weird. It was hard on Greg to see me in so much pain, but he helped me through it. I've caught him tearing up as I'm crying in pain. I was so tired from lack of sleep and working through the contractions that I would litterally fall asleep instantly after a contractions. But obviously, it was only a minute or two of sleep each. when the contractions were really bad, I tried to remind myself that I can do it, that I can work through this pain. And there were times when I just screamed and said I can't handle it. When asked if I wanted to have an epidural, I kept saying I wasn't sure or that I'm going to keep trying. But it was unbearable that I did end up asking for an epidural. So the midwife came in and checked my cervix to see how far along I am and I was able to handle all the contractions up to 5cm dialated and I don't remember how thinned the cervix got. As soon as the anaesthetist arrived, he was explaining to me what the epidural is and what to expect and the risks. Right before the procedure started, I started second guessing myself. I guess I was afraid of the epidural. I've seen a video of an epidural so I guess it freaked me out. Or maybe I was afraid to fail? I sat on the bed, Greg and Roni sat right in front of me to help me cope through the contractions and epidural. The whole time I was looking at Greg. The anaesthetist then injected a local anesthetic where the epidural will take place and with the contraction and the pain of the injection, it felt like it hurt a lot that I screamed. Greg rubbed my leg and brought me back to him. I was crying the whole time the epidural insertion was taking place. The contractions were so painful it was so hard to not move. I didn't want to take my eyes off Greg because somehow it was soothing to me. I saw tears forming in his eyes. I knew it was hard for him to see me in pain. As soon as the epidural was done and the nurse finished whatever she needed to do to me, I was out like a light. I instantly fell asleep and I needed it. The lack of sleep and the fight through each contraction made me REALLY tired. I think I fell asleep for a good hour or two. Then on and off for the next few hours. My mom then arrived around 8pm and I was feeling a whole lot better by then. I felt contractions, I wasn't completely numb and I was actually glad about that. I did a lot of research with drug free/epidural free labors and the effects of epidural. One of the main reasons why I didn't want an epidural was because I didn't want to be bed ridden. I also didn't want to have a hard time during delivery because I heard some women can't even feel the contractions. But luckily I was able to feel a little bit of the contractions, like as if it were a braxton hicks contraction. By 2130, I started feeling pressure in my rectum and pelvis. Then slowly the pressure started coming around more often and were harder as well. It seriously felt like I was getting ready to take a massive dump! (yes, that's exactly what it felt like). So I told Roni that and she said that I'm getting ready to pop Wyatt out. When the nurse came in, I was telling her what I was feeling and so she told me to try not to push and to let my body "labor down" and that the midwife will be in to check me. The nurse checked how far along i was and I was already 8cm dialated and 80% thinned out. So she asked me to push and she felt Wyatt's head move down quite a bit. So she informed the midwife and it took a while for the nurse or midwife to come back. When the nurse did, I told her that I felt some strong pressure and that I have a hard time trying not to push to "labor down." So by 11:25 or so, I had a few people in my room. A few nurses for me and a few nurses for Wyatt. The contractions were so far apart that it took 50 minutes for Wyatt to finally be in my arms. For each contraction though, I was told to breath in deep, hold my breath and push like I'm going to take a massive dump. And I was told to do it 3 times during each contraction. Greg sat in front of me between my legs and he said that he saw the top of Wyatt's head start poking out. Greg checked the clock and it was just 10 minutes before midnight on 11/09/11. He motioned to me to look at the clock. I laughed and said that it looks like he'll have his Marine baby! Then, the last few contractions, Wyatt was crowning and when he was ready to be pulled out, Greg was right there, ready to catch Wyatt and hand him to me. On my last contraction, My eyes were closed and I heard the midwife say to Greg to get ready. I felt Wyatt come out and I opened my eyes, I see Greg holding Wyatt and then as he was handing Wyatt over to me, we both started crying. Wyatt has a lung on him! Greg and I exchanged kisses as I got to hold our son for the first time. It didn't take long for Wyatt to calm down. I enjoyed having him skin to skin on me for a good hour or two. One of the nurses took Wyatt and put him in the heat lamp machine thingy that keeps Wyatt warm and weighs and measures him. It was also where Wyatt got his first bath and his first diaper, cap and shirt. Greg was by his side the whole time. We thought Wyatt was going to be a good 8 pounder baby! But he came out 6lbs 9oz and 19" long. Oh and 15minutes after midnight on 11/10/11, The Marine Corps Birthday. He was a whole lot smaller than we expected. I was carrying a lot of water in my amniotic sac. So after everything settled down, We moved to the 3rd floor to the post partum for me and wyatt to be watched for a few days. This whole experience was amazing and so well worth every bit of pain and joy. Who'da thunk that something so little and someone you just met, one would instantly just fall in love. I love my little future Marine!