6 MONTHS!

Time has really flown now... I haven't updated since Tyler was 2 months old!

He has made quite a lot of progress since then. He's gone from the serious little fella I brought home from the hospital to a little boy full of personality. He giggles and laughs, he gives me big smiles, he is learning to hug, he has favorite things...

He's been eating solid foods for a couple months now. We started on rice cereal but it clogged him up so we switched to oatmeal. He's also explored the wonderful worlds of fruits and veggies and now eats pretty much whatever I feed him. He loves fruits in his mesh feeder. And he is starting to hold his bottle by himself, and practice holding his sippy cup. I'm so proud! He's even growing teeth... he has 2 that sprouted up on the bottom last month, and boy those things are sharp. Just like little fangs! He's also a drool factory haha. AAAAND... he can now sit up by himself and roll over in both directions. He likes rolling across the living room floor and checking things out. :o)

I'm so proud of him, at his 6 month checkup he weighed in at 20 lbs and is 27 inches tall... so he doubled his birth weight and then some! He's a big boy. Our little beefcake. Every day is so much fun with him now that he's learning new stuff every day and exploring his world more and more. He's also sleeping through the night finally... Mommy likes that very much! (He still wakes up around 6 or 7, but that's okay... he's getting about 12 hours straight of sleep, and that's great!)

We'll be taking our first family plane ride down to Tyler's Grammy & Poppop's house this Saturday for Christmas. We're staying for about 2 weeks which should be a lot of fun! I know Tyler misses his grandparents a lot, and he'll have a good time getting spoiled by them. I can't wait to see my parents either. It's fun celebrating all the holidays with a newbie now haha!

For anyone curious on how the cloth diapering thing went... we switched over from the gDiapers to pocket-style cloth diapers (Coolababy brand is one example). And I absolutely love cloth diapering. I can talk diapers all day long if you want! It's gotten easier with the experience and I've done so much research and learned a lot about them. And I'm very glad that I'll be able to use them on any of Tyler's future siblings and save even more money! Did I mention I love cloth diapering??

I'm posting a few recent photos of Tyler for updating purposes... I'll have to update his blog more often. He's growing so fast I can't believe it's already been 6 months! I love this little guy with all my heart and he's my little ray of sunshine in every single day!

Tyler at our family Christmas photo shoot... check out those fangs!

Big boy practicing holding his own bottle

Tyler at about 4 months with his Uncle Lee

5 1/2 months... he used to be so tiny in this chair, now he takes up the whole thing!

Chillin' and nappin' before Mommy woke me up for the day!

Almost 2 months old!

Time is flying by with Mr. Tyler! He will be 2 months old on Tuesday, and it's just amazing to see how much he's grown! He has his 2 month well baby checkup on Tuesday also so I can't wait to see exactly how much weight he's gained and how many inches he's added to his future tall self! Last night we were out to eat and there was a little baby girl at the table behind us... she must have been maybe a few weeks old only because she was so tiny, and then I looked from her to Tyler and she made Tyler look like a moose! It kinda made me shocked to see just how much he has truly grown. Last week I was sorting through his laundry and had to separate out his newborn size clothes because he is just too big to fit in them anymore... it made me sad, I remember when he was small enough to just fit in the crook of my arm but now his feet dangle halfway across my lap... what's going on here??

He has been such a good baby though. The transition of going back to work wasn't so hard... I ended up getting a bunch of his photos printed out and plastered them all over my cubicle at work so I look at him all day long and think of him, and his babysitter is fantastic and I think Tyler really likes it at her house. She took him and her daughter on a little field trip last week at the community center; they were having a kid's indoor beach party and Tyler got a lot of attention while they were there. But can you blame him... he's so cute! :o)

It's awesome to watch him develop more every day... this morning when he woke up I was tickling him and for the first time he was smiling and kind of cooing at me... usually he just looks at me like I'm crazy when I try to tickle him, and he will give me smiles but only at random throughout the day. I can't wait until he smiles more and actually laughs, but I'll take the wide-eyed baby stares for now too, they're just as cute!

I've been experimenting with cloth diapers on him for the past week... I ordered some gDiapers online which are kind of a hybrid between cloth and disposable. They have a liner that goes inside the cloth outer pant and when you change baby, you can either flush the liner, compost it, or throw it away and they break down faster than a regular disposable diaper so they're better for the environment. You can also use cloth as an insert instead of the flushable g-liner which is what I'm practicing with doing... the first time I used one I realized I am VERY unprepared because I hadn't bought a diaper pail yet and don't have enough cloth inserts, and it just so happened that Tyler left me a #2 in his diaper so I was frantically trying to figure out what to do with that mess. However, with the advice of some other moms I know, I have it all figured out and am going to give it my best shot. Surprisingly, cloth diapering isn't that difficult... and I am the type of person who would prefer convenience over cost effectiveness when it comes to diapers, but honestly anyone can do it. People think that it would be so hard to rinse the diapers and wash them but it's no different than changing your own underwear except with maybe a couple extra steps thrown in. I'm going to keep working at it and hopefully we will be completely finished with disposables in another week or 2 while we transition!

Here are a few new pictures of Tyler and a video clip of him with hiccups... I forgot to rotate the photos before I uploaded them so you may have to turn your head sideways to view. :oP

This is my BLAHH face!
Pretending to be crabby (wearing my orange gDiaper!)

Listening to Mommy's iPod in the carseat

Me and my hiccups!!!

Tyler's rough morning

It's been a little while since I updated... if anyone has a Facebook, there are a couple of short video clips I posted on there of Tyler (I think I may be able to post them here as well but I'll have to spend some time tinkering and figuring it out) but if you get a chance, check them out! Just look me up. :o)

Tyler had a rough morning today... I had my 6 week postpartum checkup today (holy cow it's already been 6 weeks) and before we left, I was changing his diaper on the living room floor and he peed all over the blanket I had him laid on. So of course that also required a change of clothes before we left. THEN right as I pulled into the parking lot at the clinic, he spit up all down the front of himself in the car seat, so that required some thorough wiping down before we went inside (I didn't happen to bring a change of clothes with me). My appointment was great, and the midwife said I am all good to go on exercising and resuming normal activities again, I'm healthy as can be. Yay!

So after the appointment Tyler and I returned home and I set him in his swing for a little bit while I got some things done around the house, and he had an explosive diaper. Lovely. So as I was changing that mess, once again he peed all over the living room carpet. You'd think I would have learned my lesson at this point, but I didn't. So the poor little guy spent the morning covered in all kinds of bodily fluid excrecions, and I decided he needed a good bath. Fortunately, Tyler is starting to enjoy bath times now which is great! He used to hate them but now he will sit contentedly while I prop him up and soap him down... what a good little guy!

He also took his first "dip in the pool" today... I set up the little inflatable wading pool I bought months ago when I was still pregnant (thinking I'd sit in it when I got too hot, but I never got around to setting it up) and I took Tyler outside and just dipped his feet in the water... he wasn't thrilled at first but he started to take to the water okay. I don't think he's ready to fully get in there even with someone holding him just yet, but for now we can stick his little feet in there when it gets too hot.

He is doing very well and I will be heading back to work on Monday... it's going to be hard to not be able to spend all day with him anymore but he will be getting excellent care. The daycare provider I found for him is wonderful and she's a super nice person, keeps a very neat and clean house, and is pursuing her master's degree in early childhood education. I feel at ease leaving him with her while I go to work, knowing he will be treated well and looked after by a great childcare provider.

And here is Tyler this morning in his swing after he had his bath... he's getting chunky, and I love him to pieces!

Tyler is 1 Month Old!

Today Tyler is officially one month old! Time flies... even though some of those days seemed to just drag with learning everything there is to know about taking care of a newborn... and I'm still learning and making mistakes, but that comes with the job!

Jon is finally home from all of his training which is great. It will be nice to have him around all the time and Tyler will finally get to spend quality time with his Daddy and get to know him better. I told Jon he is now a real father because he's been peed on and puked on... the true badges of parenthood. He's doing great though, in a way he reminds me of myself the first couple weeks I was alone with Tyler and would freak out at his first cries, or wonder why he did certain things. I tried to take a nap yesterday and I didn't even get to because after about 20 minutes Jon came in with a crying Tyler who needed to be changed... then another 15 minutes later Tyler was crying again and Jon wasn't sure what to do (he needed to be fed) so finally I just got up to help him out. I wonder what was harder... Jon's combat training, or learning how to be a new Daddy?? :oP

We had a good weekend though. I enjoyed spending time with the boys and Tyler is getting more of a personality every day which is so fun to watch. He's a great little guy!

I'm 1 month old... and still taking lots of naps!

I look just like my Daddy in this picture

Anyone need napping advice? Just ask me!

A week alone with Tyler

Whoever coined the phrase "It takes a village to raise a child" wasn't kidding. It's not an easy job being a single parent (temporarily until Jon gets back on Friday, anyway). I'm trying to type this with one hand while I hold Tyler who is not easily consoled it seems. He's just having a sort of grouchy afternoon. I thought he would be okay taking a nap as I got this all set up, but he started crying so I had to pick him up and hold him.

Yes, I will be so glad when Jon is home! It will be nice to have a few minutes to myself and not have to worry about how Tyler is doing even if he's a foot away from me and fast asleep. I worry about him a lot!

The past week has been crazy. It's a learning experience every day with him, from figuring out all of his different cries, to feeding him, to trying to get through the nights (he's been pretty good in that department but I'd like more than 2 hours of sleep at a time...) and sponge baths, and going out in the car... but I love all of it. I love him! It's the one thing in my life I couldn't really study for, like a test in school or trying to work out and lose weight to join the Navy. It's true challenge! And you can never be selfish with a baby. He comes first... no matter how badly I have to pee, how hungry or tired I may get, Tyler is the priority.

In the meantime, here are a few more pictures I took with my phone (I barely have time to get the camera ready but hopefully soon!) He's doing great. He's wonderful!

Naptime with Boots the Monkey
I'm cute and I know it!

The napping is good!

Handsome boy :o)

Laying with mommy

TYLER IS HOME!!!

Tyler finally got to come home yesterday! It's the best thing in the world!!!

I have a few spare minutes since he's taking a nap to write really quick, but I probably won't be online for the next few days or so, at least until I figure out some kind of routine. But always expect the unexpected, right?

It's so good to have him here. It's weird adjusting, but I'm so glad to have my boy here with us and just to be able to spend as much time with him as possible. I'm trying to figure out everything, from feeding to changing to giving him a bath (he had his first sponge bath today... I don't think he had been washed at all since he was born, so now he smells lovely and is fresh n' clean!) But I'm doing everything one step at a time. Jon will be back in 2 weeks from his training and then it will be nice to have that extra parent here for help, and so I can take an occasional break. :o)

Yesterday he spent some quality time hanging out on the couch while Daddy played Xbox, and I took a few pictures... I'll be taking plenty more now that he's home, and I'll probably post them over the weekend. For now, here's my little cutie!

YESSSSSS!!!

I got the greatest news in the world today... Tyler is coming home!!! This Saturday!!!

I called the NICU early this morning just to check on him and ask if I could bring in his car seat (he has to do a "car seat challenge", since he was a preemie he needs to sit in the car seat for a half hour and maintain stable vitals so he can be discharged) and the girl I spoke to said to wait, but he was doing great on his feedings and they were thinking of taking out his feeding tube today. So when I went in, the nurse was just finishing a feeding on him and she said she was going to take out his tube when he was all done... and now it's finally out!

He also got his frenulum snipped... the frenulum is that little piece of skin/membrane that holds your tongue to the bottom of your mouth, and they had said that could have been keeping him from eating properly since he was "tongue-tied", aka his frenulum was more attached than the average. He wasn't too thrilled about that but he only cried for a couple minutes and then it was over. They numbed him up before they did it so I *hope* it didn't hurt him too much. We also did more breastfeeding today with the lactation consultant, and Tyler is getting better at it... he stayed on for about 10 minutes this time without freaking out so we're making lots of progress!

I'm so happy though. Tomorrow night I'll be having a "sleepover" at the hospital with him and then we'll be coming home Saturday morning... and then life can really begin :o) I am blessed to have such an amazing son... and for great friends and family who stuck with us and hoped and prayed for Tyler's big improvements! Thank you everyone!

It's going to be such a long wait til he gets home... I can feel the hours dragging already...!

Wednesday Update

I had probably the greatest afternoon so far with Tyler today! We made big progress on the breastfeeding... a lactation consultant came to help me get things going, and Tyler did well. We still need some more practice, but he didn't freak out like he did the first time we tried which was a good thing. However, he was having a grouchy afternoon... he cried a lot, even with all of the rocking and patting he just wasn't having a happy day. Mostly it was because he was hungry one time, then a second time because he had a dirty diaper, and the rest of the crying was just no reason grouchy baby crying. Not a big deal, he did calm down after a while!

The lactation consultant also had me hold Tyler close to my chest for skin to skin contact, it's supposed to help babies self-regulate their temperatures and breathing and they can hear their Mommy's heartbeat. That was nice, it felt good to bond with him and hold him like that. He curled right up into my chest and fell asleep drooling :o) it made me smile and made my day! There is nothing like holding a warm, sleepy baby next to your heart. Nothing in the world can compare.

I also got to put on one of his little outfits... Nona sent me some cute clothes for him so I put him in his "Little Squirt" jammies and he looked like more of a normal baby and less naked haha. I took a couple pictures today, tomorrow I'm bringing him another outfit so we can do more photo shoots :o) As for his feedings, they've been alternating every other feeding with bottle or tube, but now they're going to go 1 tube feeding and then 2 bottle feedings since he is doing great. I'm hoping he will be home by the weekend so his Daddy can spend more time with him rather than having to drive up to the hospital and visit, since Daddy won't be home again until the 27th when all of his training is finished.

Other than that... it was a wonderful day spent with Tyler, my heart feels so full and I can't wait to see him again tomorrow!

Snuggled up in Mommy's arms
Hi everyone! I finally have clothes on!

Tuesday Update

Another lovely day spent with my awesome son... Tyler is taking more of his bottle feedings, which is awesome. He spent most of the whole afternoon asleep though, which I didn't mind... I could sit there for hours in that rocking chair just staring at him and it never gets old. The good news is, tomorrow the nurse said I may be able to try breastfeeding again, and they're going to have a lactation consultant on hand to help me out, so I'm hoping Tyler will give it a try again this time too. We need practice!

I'm trying to get lots of last minute things done around the house before he gets here... I mowed the lawn today, which was weird because the last time I mowed a lawn was when I lived in NY and I was maybe 15 or 16 years old haha. It wasn't bad though, it only took a half hour and I probably sweat off some more of that baby weight, who can complain about that? I need to get some grocery shopping done tomorrow and put the finishing touches on Tyler's room and then I'll be all ready for his arrival. I know I won't want to leave the house when he's home, I'll be spending lots of time here just hanging out with him!

He is improving though. Little baby steps at a time, but I just wish for a miracle every day too. I love that child so much, he is my whole world!

Monday Update

There isn't a lot to report today... I just got off the phone with the NICU pediatrician and she said basically the only thing we are waiting on Tyler to do is eat his entire feedings by mouth as opposed to how he's been eating lately... for example, when I went to visit him this afternoon, he ate about half of his bottle and then fell asleep, so he had to be fed the rest by his nose tube. Once he masters that skill, he will be able to head home! It's so frustrating to have to keep waiting, but I know he needs to take his time and hopefully he will pick up the eating habits soon. Please keep sending Tyler all of your positive thoughts and prayers... we want him home as soon as we can have him!

In the meantime, here are a few photos from the past couple days:

Daddy feeding Tyler for the first time

Grammy giving Tyler kisses

Daddy holding his little man

Daddy loves his buddy!

Sunday Update (on Monday)

Tyler had a big day yesterday! He finally has all his oxygen tubes off... so he's down to one tube left, and it might not even be in him today after last night! :o) While I was changing his diaper, he decided he wanted to pull the feeding tube out of his nose... I didn't even notice until after the fresh diaper was on, and he was crying, and when I looked there was the tube all out! I think he definitely wants to come home now, he's tired of the hospital!

I'm so happy to see how great he's doing though. We attempted breastfeeding for the first time yesterday... not breastmilk in a bottle, but straight from the source! I admit I was scared out of my mind because I didn't think he would latch on or even want to try, but he did it for a little bit! I think he was freaked out by the size of the breast next to his face, since he's used to getting a bottle and he can see around it and look at everything, and then all of a sudden BAM! Can't see anything except Mommy's chest. But he did well, we only tried for about 10 minutes and then went back to the bottle. We'll both need some practice!

Tomorrow he might be able to come home... if not then Wednesday. I'm waiting on the results of his culture swabs he got over the weekend; Langley has a policy that when they get transferred babies from other hospitals that they need to be swabbed for MRSA and other "germs" and isolated until the results get back. The nurse yesterday said Tyler has been doing so well though and eating better and off the air flow that he probably won't be in much longer. We can't wait to have him home!

I'll update more this afternoon, there is lots to do today in case he does get to come home within the next day or so!

Saturday Update

Tyler went on his first road trip today! He got transferred from the Portsmouth Naval Hospital NICU to the Langley AFB Hospital NICU. And he's doing even better than yesterday! Today he got all of his IV lines out so he doesn't need them anymore and he will only be eating pumped breastmilk (until he gets better enough to actually breastfeed) and all he has on is the little nose air tubing, which he might not even need for much longer anyway. It looks like he will be coming home soon!

Daddy got to hold him and spend some quality cuddle time with him... it seems that Daddy's got the magic touch to make Tyler fall asleep as soon as he gets in his arms :o) I took pictures but left the camera in my car, so I'll post them tomorrow...

All in all it was a great day though. A little sad because Tyler's Grammy and Poppop had to fly back home to Tampa, but we will see them again at Christmas (or maybe sooner!) It was great to have them visit and get to spend time with our little man. Hopefully tomorrow we get even more great news on his progress!

Tyler is 1 Week Old!

We got some news on Friday that Tyler will be being transported to the NICU at Langley AFB hospital today (Saturday), as the NICU at Portsmouth is becoming overcrowded. They're moving him because he is one of the healthier babies there to make room for the newest arrivals. The somewhat frustrating part is that the pediatrician said he may need another week... BUT he could improve overnight so not to count out anything!

He looked really great yesterday though. He is eating a lot more now and will soon be off his IVs, and he is on a very low air flow through the nose tubes (no oxygen at all, and they turned the air flow down to 1%, so it's pretty much like he almost needs nothing at all) and it was great to look into his eyes... he is very alert and he can follow voices, like when I would talk to him he'd look at me, or when his Poppop would talk he'd look over at him. Smart boy! :o) We even arm wrestled and Tyler beat me haha. He's such a strong little guy, even his nurse yesterday said she was impressed by having read over his charts and seeing how much in bad shape he was when he first came in to how far he's come in one week. I know he wants to get out as much as we want him home!

Here are some more pictures we took of him yesterday... he got lots of kisses from his Grammy, Poppop, and me... and I am in love with his adorable chubby cheeks!!!

Thursday update- 6 days old!

Tyler is having a great day today! He's finally taking a bottle more so they moved his feeding tube out of his mouth and into his nose (just in case he's too lazy to take the bottle) and he only has to be under his "tanning lamp" probably for just tonight... but he's not yellow anymore :o) He's completely off the oxygen feed now, but still has the little tubes in his nose with regular air flow to help encourage him to keep breathing. By Saturday he should be off his IV's and antibiotics and we can look at possibly bringing him home this weekend! I'm so thrilled!

It's still so amazing that he's making improvements by leaps and bounds... I don't expect anything crazy from him, I know he has to heal and grow on his own time, but each day he still surprises me when he surpasses all of my expectations. I couldn't ask for anything more from him, and even something as simple as being able to finally look into his eyes today meant the world to me. He's been sleeping pretty much the whole time he's been in the NICU but today he was wide awake and actually looking at me, and it stole my heart. I never get tired of just sitting there and looking at him...

Tomorrow he will officially be one week old! Again, I can't thank everyone enough for all of the support and love you've all shown for Tyler, Jon, and myself. It means everything to us and you are all appreciated!

Wednesday update (on Thursday)

Yesterday we went for our daily visit and Tyler was back under his "tanning lamp". He was getting a little yellow/jaundice but nothing major, he is still improving like a champ and he's just hooked up to the oxygen and one IV line but otherwise great! I got to feed him from a bottle again and change his diaper... still trying to work on my diaper changing skills since I think that was the 5th diaper total I've changed on him so far :o) maybe one day I can get it done one-handed!

There isn't a whole lot to report from yesterday, but hopefully today he will be more alert and open his eyes for us and won't be under the tanning lamp anymore. I took a few more pictures yesterday but they're in black & white since the blue LED lights of the lamp made the color photos look weird :o) And he IS the biggest baby in the NICU right now... which has earned him the new nickname "Big Bruiser" lol!

Awesome news!

We got a huge surprise today! I had called the NICU first thing this morning and the nurse I spoke to said Tyler's oxygen level had been turned down to 30% and he was doing well. I was fully expecting to see him still hooked up to the ventilator this afternoon but possibly at only 20%, I was being as "minimally optimistic" as possible.

However... when I walked up to his little bassinet, the breathing tubes were out! I had no idea he had made so much progress in a matter of 6 hours, it definitely made my day! The nurse said he was doing excellent and they had taken out the ventilator tubes and were getting ready to remove another one of his many IV lines. The best part of the day was that we finally got to hold him! I changed 2 of his diapers while we were there (and didn't get peed on hehe) and I even got to feed him a little bit of pumped breastmilk from a bottle. They weren't sure if he would actually take the bottle, he still has the feeding tube in his mouth just in case, but he drank some like a champ! He even has clothes on now... he's got on a little hat and a t-shirt, and his socks... and we can bring him in some of his own clothes to wear also. I'm still amazed at how much he's improving, it's like he's trying super hard to get better so he can come home soon!

All of the positive energy is helping... keep Tyler in your thoughts!

Hopefully tomorrow he'll open his eyes... he was sleeping the whole time we visited but at the rate he's going, he might be running laps around the NICU tomorrow! :o)

Mommy and Tyler getting some quality cuddle time!

Tyler and his Poppop first picture together!

Grammy and Tyler, snuggle buddies!

More good news

I called the NICU at 8:30 this morning to check in on Tyler, and the nurse said overnight they turned down his oxygen level gradually so he's gone from 40% when we saw him yesterday afternoon to 30% this morning... and he's still tolerating it very well, so they will continue to turn the levels down slowly. He may be fully off the ventilator by the end of the day, I'm keeping my fingers crossed! Maybe tomorrow I will finally get to hold him!!!

Just wanted to post a short little update, Tyler's Grammy, Poppop, and I are heading back to the hospital again this afternoon to spend some time with him, I'll try to actually take some more pictures of him too. I can't wait to see him, and I'm so happy he's getting better and better!

Getting better and better

We finally have some good news! I called over to the NICU before we headed out this afternoon, and they said that overnight Tyler had improved quite a bit... he was on a 75% oxygen feed and as they were gradually lowering the amount, he was tolerating it well... by the time we got there this afternoon he was at 40% and they want to get him down to at least 35% by tonight... maybe tomorrow he will be off his ventilator! All my fingers and toes are crossed!

He looks so much better though... I'm so amazed at the improvement. They did have a tiny tube going in through his belly button to monitor some things but the nurse I spoke to today said that tube was actually irritating him and causing him more harm than good... as soon as they took that tube out was when he started to show a big improvement. I'm beyond thrilled... it wasn't as hard to leave him today when I came home... still tough but I managed to not cry this time :o) and I was able to kiss him on the cheek before I left.

As of right now, the bare minimum length he is staying will be until this Saturday... they have to give him some antibiotics and other fluids and whatnot to get him all up to par and it's going to take until then. But the NICU doctor said most likely he will DEFINITELY be home on Monday of next week... at least it's something to look forward to! I hated not knowing, and going in every day thinking one day at a time... but now we have a little goal. I'm still insanely impatient though. Saturday would be great if he keeps up this awesome improvement!

Thank you to everyone keeping Tyler in your thoughts and prayers and sending him all the good positive vibes... I think it's truly helping him... he's quite the fighter, he's our little champ!!!

More updates to come tomorrow...

2 Days Old Update

So today (Sunday) we went back to visit Tyler in the NICU... and it looks like he might be staying there for a little while, unfortunately.

Overnight they had been keeping an eye on his blood oxygen levels and were trying to gradually decrease the pressure in his "space helmet" to see if he could handle breathing on his own... but he wasn't doing so well and the levels were starting to drop. So the doctors took off his space helmet and put him on a ventilator... he has a breathing tube down his throat as well as a feeding tube, and he also needs phototherapy light because he has high bilirubin levels which is causing his skin to be red all the time. (I'd explain what all of that means but I honestly don't fully understand... so if you're curious, Google it!) The good thing is that the ventilator will help take out a lot of the breathing work for him. His chest was pretty bad the day before, it looked like he was heaving and breathing very hard but now with the ventilator he is much more calm and looking better.

As of right now we still don't have any idea when he will be able to come home. It's so hard to go visit him for a couple hours and leave... and only be able to just touch his hand or lightly stroke his arm. Any more touching than that could cause him distress; we can't even pick him up to hold him yet. It's hard and disappointing, so many questions run through my mind like "what did I do wrong?" "Why does Tyler have to go through this?" and it especially hurts to see your own child lying there helpless and you can't even do anything to take away the pain. I never thought I could feel emotions this strong but they are here and they are real.

So all we ask is that everyone pray for Tyler, or if you aren't really the religious type just think happy thoughts and send positive energy his way. I hope he recovers quickly so he can come home and be with his family soon!

In other news... I'd like to say breastfeeding is becoming an interesting journey. :o) I wasn't sure I could do it, but I've amazed myself. (I haven't been able to feed Tyler from the breast yet, but I've been pumping and taking bottles to him which they give to him via his feeding tube.) The human body is an amazing thing. I'm still in shock over the past couple days. I'd like to apologize to everyone if I don't return any phone calls or messages on time; the well wishes and congratulations truly do mean a lot to Jon and myself though, and we greatly appreciate everyone's support. I read each and everyone's messages and am grateful to all of our friends and family for being here and standing by... we all thank you and please don't feel ignored. We'll be spending a lot of time visiting Tyler and being by his side 100% until he is strong enough to come out of the hospital.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

We got the surprise of our lives yesterday! Tyler Jon Lalonde decided he wanted to join us a lot earlier than expected... so here's the long story!

I couldn't sleep to save my life on Thursday night. I finally ended up falling asleep around 3am on Friday morning, only to be woken up by awful cramps around 4:15am. I've never felt a contraction in my life so I just assumed they were false labor pains and I cracked open my pregnancy guide and did what it said to try to get rid of the pain... I drank some water, walked around the house, laid down... but nothing was helping. At 5:30 I decided I'd had enough, and we went to the hospital. I honestly was expecting to be sent home and told to suck it up, or on the way to the hospital that the cramps would ease up and stop. But neither one happened...

When I was in the triage room being examined by the nurse, she said I was already dilated to 5cm. I couldn't believe it... I was sure I wasn't going to be delivering a baby that day! But they admitted me to the hospital and got me in a delivery room, and started asking me 20 questions and trying to get me to sign all kinds of paperwork. Meanwhile, the contractions were just getting increasingly worse and I was barely concentrating on the paperwork and everything else I was being asked... I was even getting on my own nerves with all the noise I was making trying to get through each one. Eventually I was given something to sort of take the edge off (don't remember what it was) but it made me somewhat tired and loopy, and the contractions still hurt but they weren't nearly as intense as they had been.

Around almost 9am the anesthesiologist came in to insert the epidural catheter... and I must say that was the GREATEST relief I have ever felt in my life. Epidurals are FABULOUS!!! I didn't even mind the back numbing shot I got before they inserted the catheter tubing... I sucked it up knowing relief was in sight. The rest of my labor I didn't even feel a thing... I was so calm, I even got a few little cat naps in before the big show!

When it came time to push, the nurse had to tell me when a contraction was coming... I wasn't even sure if I was pushing well enough, because I still couldn't feel anything at all, but they said I was pushing great and it only took about 20 minutes to push him out. Tyler Jon Lalonde arrived on May 29, 2009 at 5:22pm weighing in at 8lbs, 10oz and is 20.9 inches long. He was about 3 1/2 weeks early, so his lungs aren't fully ready to take on the task of breathing yet. He's staying in the NICU for a little while getting additional oxygen until he can breathe well on his own, but he's quite a fighter! And he's got a strong little grip!

The other cool surprise of the day was that in the state of Virginia, they have a program called 529 Scholarships (or something along those lines) and because yesterday was 5-29, the baby born closest to the time of 5:29 in the hospital was going to be awarded a $529 scholarship. Since Tyler was the only one closest (5:22) he got a scholarship just for being born! Not bad at all... I was pretty amazed!

I'm so happy he's here. We can't wait until he can finally come home and be here with us, but I'm so glad to see him outside and just hold his tiny hands. He's got his Daddy's lips, ears, nose, and chest :o) and my chin. (We're still debating on his eyes!) He's absolutely perfect!

31 Days Left!

We're only a month away from the big day! It's amazing... time is ticking closer til we get to see the mini-man, and our lives will be forever changed!

I had another wonderful weekly checkup yesterday. Thankfully, my blood pressure is going back down and it was normal when they checked it the first time (I didn't even have to lay down! Yay!) So my risk of pre-eclampsia is very small. I'm STILL on bed rest though and will go in every week to be checked, but it's good to know that my blood pressure wants to cooperate with me now.

There hasn't been a lot to report lately, just getting through these next couple weeks. Jon and I will be finally setting up the baby's room this weekend since most of the big furniture items are arriving (thanks Mom & Dad!!!). So we can now get the crib and glider rocker set up, and decorate the walls, and we will be ready! I'm excited, the baby's room was the last big thing I was worried about... his laundry has already all been washed and folded and put away, we have the first small stash of diapers and wipes ready, and we're just waiting...

39 Days Left!

Today I had another of my usual weekly checkups... and we are still on for an induction on June 15th. Yay! The mini-man didn't really feel like cooperating during the checkup though; my midwife was trying to get his heartbeat with the doppler but he was all scrunched up in there in an odd position, so she had to use the ultrasound to take a look. I'm not complaining, I got to see him again! (But she didn't print out any photos, she was just taking a quick look for his heartbeat. Oh well, I was excited to see him either way!) Everything is going well in his warm cozy little uterine home. He's been breakdancing and kicking me like it's nobody's business, and I could have sworn he might have dropped last night because I've been feeling a lot of pressure, but it may still be too early.

Let me add that sleeping at night has become a task in itself... it's harder and harder to get comfortable and half the time I don't fall asleep until midnight, or 1 in the morning even... I miss sleeping on my belly!

Off topic... I went out for dinner tonight to a Korean restaurant in the area... I was trying to get some Thai food but there wasn't any place close by, so I figured I'd try something new... I have no idea what exactly it was that I ate, other than it was a big bowl full of rice, beef, a bunch of vegetables I've never seen before and couldn't identify, and a fried egg on top. However, it was DELICIOUS... I would go back again. And it was an authentic Korean restaurant, where you don't get a fork to eat your dinner with. You better know how to use chopsticks! (Luckily, I have somewhat mastered that fine art long ago!) It was amazing. I only hope the baby will grow up to be as adventuous an eater as I am!

Jon will be graduating his first portion of his Riverine combat/gun training this Friday, I'm really proud of him! He did a great job and put up with a lot of stuff while he was there... so he gets to come home for the weekend, which will be nice. The he has 7 more weeks of more extensive training, and he'll be back at home for a long time. As of right now we're still not sure if he'll be at the birth, but we both have our fingers crossed!

Anatomy of a Belly

Here's a post of the tracking of my gargantuan growth... man, I miss being a whole lot thinner!

6 Weeks (a few days after I first found out)

11 Weeks (a tiny bump!)

14 Weeks (starting to poke out)

17 Weeks (lookin' droopy)

18.5 Weeks (Does this make me look fat?!)

20 Weeks (The halfway point!)

29 Weeks (Entirely too large and still more to grow!)

...and there are more photos to come, as my belly seems to be growing by the minute these days! 45 days left until THE BIG DAY!

Tuesday Checkup Update

I went in for my now weekly Tuesday checkup, and my blood pressure wasn't too horrible today. A bit lower than Friday's reading, but nothing to clap about. The good news is I lost 5 pounds since Friday, it's a miracle! Haha.

But seriously, the REAL good news is that I will be induced on June 15th as opposed to waiting until I reach full term on June 22nd. So... now we get to plan the baby's birthday party! A great excuse to eat birthday cake! :o) (For the pregnancy term-impaired, a baby is considered full term at 40 weeks; however, if the baby is born any time after 37 weeks he or she is still developed enough to also be considered full term. Anything before 37 weeks is considered premature. Long story short, my induction date is at 39 weeks, so he will be just fine!) I'm excited that we'll get to meet him a week earlier, plus that means one less week of bed rest for me, and who could possibly complain about that???

Keep checking back for updates!