Memory Walk 2009

Thanks to the generosity of many friends and family members, my team and I were able to raise $780 for the Alzheimer's Association. Wow! I'm so appreciative of everyone's support. Lori, Christine and JeanEllen joined my family, including my Dad, on the walk this past Saturday. The weather was perfect, we had a good time.

Memory Walk

The Memory Walk is coming up soon on October 3rd for the Alzheimer's Association. My family and a few friends are walking in it. I have been raising money, some of you may have received an email from me last month looking for anyone who may be interested in donating to this worthy cause. Several people have already made generous donations which I'm very appreciative of!! I don't want anyone to feel obligated, but if you're interested feel free to check out my fundraising page - https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=297930&supId=262855682

Dinner

Blake had his first meal consisting of something other than milk. He tried rice cereal, which I sampled myself and immediately understood where some of the faces he was making came from. It definitely wasn't the tastiest thing I've ever prepared. But he ate several spoonfuls, he only spit one bite back out. He wasn't sure whether to be happy or disgusted or fearful!





It was such a nice day today. Unfortunately we didn't spend much time outside, but we did have all of the windows open and still enjoyed the fresh air. Blitz and Blake have become great buddies. And Blitz likes to sneak kisses in on Blake's face whenever we aren't close by to stop him.

My little baby

Brian took some pictures.

4 Months

Last week Blake had his 4 month appointment. He was 25" (57th percentile) and 13 lbs (15th percentile). So he's pretty small. He doesn't have the chubbiness too him like a lot of babies his age. I asked if I should try to feed him some more but the doctor said he's fine.

He's starting to put everything he gets his hands on to his mouth, he likes to chew on stuff. He's also finally letting me read some books to him occasionally. And now that he can rollover he has a new favorite sleeping position, the exact position that I sleep in. He sleeps on his right side, partly on his stomach, with his left leg bent up, just like me. He always makes me laugh with all of his giggles. And it makes me a little sad when I put him to sleep every night, I always want to spend more time with him. But it's worth it because my favorite time is getting him out of his crib in the morning. He does all of his stretches and wiggling around, and then come the smiles and legs kicking from the excitement of seeing Aaron or me. (It's important to let him do his stretches first though or else he gets mad!)

On another note, Kim went to the hospital again tonight. She got a couple bags of fluids. Hang in there Kim!

Summer Fun

Today was moving day for Aaron's sister Sarah and her fiance Ryan. So Aaron went to Columbus to help them. Blake had a day with Mommy. One of our adventures was to go grocery shopping. Everything was going smooth until we got to the meat section. That's where the screaming began. I picked him up out of his car seat to hold him and saw poo covering half of his back. He immediately was placed back into the car seat and grocery shopping was kicked into high gear. Luckily he stopped crying, I just got a few more things and then headed for the checkout line. Not cool Blake!

We got a pool for Blake yesterday so today we tested it out. He loved it. He just sat there looking around at the water. He didn't splash around like I thought he would. He just happily sat there.



The first time his feet touched the grass.

My nephew Harrison turned 2 on August 5th. We went over to his house that night for his birthday party. He was so excited about it. His favorite gift was a whoopie cushion from my friend Marc. He could not get enough of it, it was hilarious!

The theme was firemen.

New Pics

Hangin' out with mom and dad.

At the zoo with Harrison.

Some mommy time.

I took off his bib for the picture and his outfit was soaked. He drools so much that the bib gets soaked along with his outfit.

Veggies

I should expand a little more on my neighbor's veggie garden. It was the teenage son that planted the pot, I'm not sure if his mother knew about it or not. Aaron had commented about a month ago how strange it was that a teenage boy and his friends were so interested in a garden. They were checking on it ALL the time. Now we know why! Anyway, they have now moved out of the neighborhood.

Rollover

So Blake no longer sleeps 10 hours at night...now he sleeps 11 hours! I don't get to spend very much time with him on workdays but at least we all get a good night sleep! We have a solid bedtime routine down now, he goes to bed at 7:30 every night. And now we're to the point that I put him down while he's still awake. He puts him self to sleep pretty quickly as we spy on him on the video monitor. Every once in a while he'll cry but never longer than a couple minutes. I give credit to "Babywise". I took several suggestions from that book for eating and sleeping and it's worked out well, besides that fact that he just loves to sleep.

Blake rolled over from his back to stomach for the first time today. He did it at Lynne's (his sitter) several times today. Luckily he did it for me once when I got home this evening. He rolled to his stomach and then back to his back, he was showing off his new skill.

Kim had to go to the hospital one night this week for dehydration from the pregnancy nausea. She got 3 bags of fluids along with nausea meds through the IV. It gave her a good boost but she's back to normal now. Normal meaning not being able to move and dry heaving and vomiting constantly. The doc told her to try and drink 1oz per hour. Sounds easy, but not for her right now.

This is a random thought, but a few weeks ago one of my neighbors was caught growing marijuana in their vegetable garden. I don't know why I just thought of it, or why I decided to blog about it, but it just made me chuckle.

Feed me

Blake has been very interested in my food and drink lately. I think he's getting very close to being ready to try food of his own. I'm trying to hold him off as long as possible though, it's just easier the way it is now. Plus I'm totally grossed out by food in places where it shouldn't be, which means food anywhere other than the mouth is disgusting to me. And I don't know about you but I've never met a baby that hasn't had food on his chin, up his nose, in his ears and in his hair. Aaahhh! My mom and sister tell me it will be different when it's my kid, we'll see.

Speaking of eating, Blake only nurses once a day now - ever since I went back to work and he started having bottles all day at the sitter's house. He learned very quickly how much faster the milk came out with a bottle, and with much less work. After only a few days back at work when I would try to nurse him in the evening he would throw a screaming fit. After a few times of dealing with that, I gave in and lost the battle. Luckily when he wakes up in the morning he is still willing to nurse then. He must not be awake enough yet to fight me at that point! So the rest of the time I pump. Nothing like being hooked up to a machine with a suction 20 times stronger than a vacuum cleaner 5 times a day!

Blake met Kaelynn, my friend Laura's daughter, this past weekend. We were both in Louisville for Jill's baby shower. Blake and Kaelynn were both very cute, but didn't pay one bit of attention to each other. He is ready for "Dude", Jill's son, to make his appearance. Blake claims he needs a guy friend to get into some trouble with. He's with all girls at the sitter's, he's afraid they'll all gang up and put a dress on him or put a bow in his hair or something.

Blake loves his exersaucer!

Good times

Blake is going to have another cousin! Harrison pointed at Kim's stomach and said, "Mommy, baby in there." She said no and laughed it off, but then couldn't get it off of her mind and realized there was a possibility, although it wasn't planned. She was in denial until the 3rd or 4th pregnancy test. I told her to get the digital test that actually says the words "Pregnant". When she saw that result it made it real. I'm so excited and can't wait to find out if it's a boy or girl. I just hope Kim's pregnancy and delivery are easier this time around!

Nate was in town from Florida for the weekend. It was great to see him. I didn't get to spend as much time with him as I had hoped because of work. But he got to meet Blake and hold him, which was nice. Unfortunately I had my camera with me and forgot to take a picture of them together. I want to plan a long weekend to go down to visit Nate. That could be Blake's first plane ride. I know everyone loves to see a baby coming on board the plane! Nate, maybe you could convince Aaron that we should move to Florida while we're down there!

Working Woman

Well, today was the day I had been dreading for 3 months. I had to leave Blake with the next-door neighbor and go back to work. I handled it better than I thought I would. I teared up last week thinking about it and then this morning when I was feeding him I was fighting back the tears. I kept telling him he was going to have a fun day and how he'd be able to meet some other kids and watch them play...I think that was really to make me feel better. Anyway, to my surprise I didn't cry when I said goodbye or when I drove into work. I think it helped that I actually knew the person I was leaving him with and knew if she really needed anything she could go right next door to my house and get it. It's definitely going to be hard to adjust to only seeing him for a few hours a day though.

I haven't given you any updates lately. He rolled over once last week but hasn't done it again. He reaches for things and plays with a couple of his toys now. And he smiles more than any baby I have ever known. I can't help but smile back and giggle everytime.

We went to the cardiologist a couple weeks ago becuase the pediatrician heard a heart murmur. After an EKG and Echo they determined he has two small holes in his heart. She told me that it's one of the most common birth defects, which I wasn't aware of. And she explained everything very well. Anyway, we don't have to do anything differently and just need to go back in a year to see if they have closed up or not. Blake has surgery in October with the urologist. That's the next thing I am absolutely dreading.

Update

We tried putting Blake in his BebePod seat, not thinking he would be able to sit in it yet, but he surprised us and was able to hold himself up. This is not a very clear picture but you get the idea. He was watching Blitz. Lately, he gets excited whenever Blitz gets close to him - his arms and legs start moving like crazy.


2 weeks from today I will be back at work. :( I will be starting a new position though so I'm excited about that. I did phone interviews a few weeks ago and was offered the position. I'll still be in the same group just doing something slightly different, it will be a nice change.

Aaron and I are on a weight loss kick, wish us luck! Aaron claims to also have baby weight that he needs to lose. We've been keeping track for a couple weeks now and are off to a good start. We're not dieting, just eating healthier. Exercise is hard to fit in with a newborn but we're doing our best. And we have an elliptical being delivered next week.

That awful disease

Have you heard of the Alzheimer's Project? It's a series of videos on HBO. If you have any interest in this disease at all, they are very interesting. I've only watched 2 out of the 5 so far. You don't have to have HBO to watch them, they can be viewed on the Alzheimer's Association website or you can get them On Demand. If you just watch one, watch "The Memory Loss Tapes".

I can't say my dad is doing well, since improvement seems to not be an option without further medical developments, but he is in good spirits. He needs someone with him 24/7 and several family members continue to help mom out with this. She is having to hire a couple people now though to assist with him when she's not there. I wish I could help more. I also wish my son could have known his grandpa as
I did.

My mom is and always has been my hero. Thanks for everything you do, Mom! I don't say that often enough.

Zzzzzz

For more than a week now Blake has been sleeping through the night - usually between 8 to 10 hours! I have been loving it. I still get up once during the night though to pump so I can build up my milk storage. He is becoming a pro at getting his thumb into his mouth. I think that's why he started being able to sleep for so long, he can soothe himself now with the thumb sucking.

Tomorrow he gets his 2 month shots. I am not looking forward to this doctor's visit at all. I think he'll be getting stuck 4 times, poor baby.

I think I have been getting a little lazy on my maternity leave. I have become a fan of several morning shows, my favorite being Ellen, she's hilarious! I only have 3 1/2 weeks of leave left though so I better make the most of it.

Changes

It's amazing how quickly babies change. He's getting bigger everyday. I love those cheeks!


We moved Blake from his bassinet into his crib because this is his favorite sleeping position. He would hit the sides of his bassinet when he tried to sleep. So he's sleeping in his own room now.

Ear piercing sounds

Much to my dismay, Blake learned to scream today.

Or else his lungs are more fully developed and can make louder sounds, I don't know for sure. But I never knew a pacifier falling out of his mouth could be so traumatic.

1 month

Blake turned 1 month last Wednesday and he had his doctor's appointment on Friday. Everything looks good. He had good weight gain, he now weighs 9 lbs 2 oz. That weight is in the 36th percentile. His height (20.25") is in the 16th percentile and his head circumference is in the 27th percentile. So he's on the smaller side.

He has been out and about all over town. He has met Aaron's co-workers at Dick's and mine at Fifth Third. He's also been to the mall, Target, Kroger and a restaurant. And last weekend he went to the butterfly exhibit at Krohn Conservatory with his cousin Harrison. He has slept through the majority of his adventures so far. It's still a big ordeal for me to go out with him, but I'm getting used to it. I feel like it takes hours in order to get out the door, but he's such a good baby that I'm sure I'll get the hang of it soon.

Blake has started tracking objects with his eyes. And every once in a while we can get him to smile. I'm looking forward to him interacting more and more with us.

Chop chop

Between all of the grunting sounds and the amount of gas, I have a true boy here! My boy also has a mini mullet! It's funny, his hair in the back is so long that it practically touches his shoulders. I was talking about cutting it and Kim thought I was being ridiculous wanting to cut a newborn's hair...until I showed her! If my mom brings her haircutting scissors with her tomorrow, I'm chopping it. I'll take a picture first though! I must admit I do like to run my fingers through his long hair, maybe I'll hold off on the chop a little bit longer. :)

Easter Sunday

Here are some pictures Brian took on Easter. I don't know how to resize them, they're kind of small.

Harrison giving Blake a kiss. And then getting really excited that he's holding Blake. We were surprised at how much Harrison was interested in Blake, we expected him to ignore the baby or be a little jealous, but that was not the case at all.


Harrison hunting for Easter eggs, with Blitz' help.

2 weeks old

The ups and downs are starting to even themselves out and I seem to be adjusting pretty well to my new life as a mommy. It's impossible to prepare yourself for all of the changes but I'm completely in love with my little boy! He's 2 weeks old today. Last week at his one week appointment, he had gained 5 oz above his birth weight. This made me feel good, because I was having a lot of trouble with breastfeeding and they like the babies to be back at their birth weight at that point and he was well beyond that. I used to feed him every 3 hours, which is what the hospital and lactation specialist insist on, but I later figured out it was way too often for Blake. He didn't want to eat that often and it was causing battles between us at feeding times. The doctor told me I could basically feed him when he let me know he was hungry. So that's what we do now and he tends to eat about every 4 hours and during the night about every 5 hours. Things have gotten much better since we started that new routine.

Blake in his infant swing.


Toweling off after a sponge bath (he loves the water).


Sleeping, his favorite hobby.


Harrison loves holding Blake.


Easter, his first holiday.

Pictures that Brian took yesterday

Mommy & Daddy are excited to announce...

Blake Richard Wagner was born at 5:10pm on April 1st! He weighed 6 lbs 7 oz and was 19 3/4" long. Blake and I made a good team for labor and delivery. It went very smoothly and was over in 14 1/2 hours. To sum it up, water broke and contractions started at 3:30 am, got petocin at 11 pm, got an epidural at 2 pm and started pushing at 4 pm. I held out on the epidural as long as I could and I think I got it just in time. I was actually completely dilated at 3 pm but needed to sit up straight for about an hour so he would move down a little bit before starting to push. No episiotomy or tearing, I got lucky I guess.

Blake loves to suck his thumb, that is basically all he has done so far when he's been awake! And he makes those loud sucking noises every once in a while too. Well, Blake is sleeping soundly so I better get some sleep too while I can.

I'm in labor!

My water broke about 3:30 am, at the time I didn't really know for sure that's what had happened but as things progessed I kind of figured it out. My contractions started soon after that. I tried to sleep but that didn't really work too well. I ate and took a shower. Starting around 6:00 the contractions started coming usually about 5 minutes apart. I let Aaron sleep. He woke up at his normal time, got a shower and got dressed for work when i informed him that he will NOT be going to work today. We eventually made it up to Kim's house to get closer to the hospital. After watching the UK press conference introducing the new coach, we went to the hospital. I must have had a high leak so they ruptured it at the bottom. They have me on pitocin now and the contractions are getting stronger. It is 1pm and I might be asking for an epidural soon.

Overdue

So I'm one day past my due date now, normal for a first time mom. Yesterday, the doctor did a non-stress test and said the baby is doing just fine in my belly. I barely dilated a little more, a 1+ she called it, still not quite 2 cm. A lot of the ladies at work think I'll deliver within the next few days. They say I've been dropping a little bit every day lately. I have been feeling more pressure and my pelvis area has been more achy so I'm thinking they are probably right, or maybe just hoping. The doctor told me I could schedule an induction for next week so I went ahead and did that today. It's scheduled for Monday, April 6th. I have to be at the hospital at 7am. So if he doesn't come soon, we'll get things started for him. I would really prefer to start labor naturally, but we'll see what happens. It's nice to have an end in sight though.

Blake likes it in my belly

My last appointment was on Tuesday...no change again. I'm not having any signs that labor will occur in the near future. :( The doctor said at my next appointment on Monday, which is my due date, assuming I'm still pregnant, that she would hook me up to the monitor. She said we'd check on his size, fluids, etc and see if he's fine to stay in there for a little longer or if we need to schedule an induction. I have a feeling he's going to be just fine in there, so I may push to schedule something. Even though I would prefer for it to happen naturally, it may be time for me to take control! You know I'm not really a patient person.

I found out through a friend that the hospital I'll be delivering at is currently doing construction. Guess which floor...yep, maternity. I could not believe it. Apparently the nursery is boarded up, and from what I hear there is not a temporary nursery. So the option to send Blake there so I can have a little sleep is not going to be possible. I know I'll be excited to be with him but I thought I might take advantage of the extra help while I had the chance! Apparently the actual construction goes on from 9-5 where I'll get to enjoy the pleasant sounds of hammering, scraping, and whatever else goes on with construction. I thought about taking ear plugs but then I wouldn't hear my baby. I hope it's not as bad as I'm imagining. The doctor, when I asked her about it, said, yes it's loud, and there's never a good time to do it, but they are making some nice improvements...lovely.

More Pictures by Brian

Hopefully the next pictures I post will be of Blake instead of me!

2 weeks until due date

I had an appointment today and I haven't really made any progress...still only 1 cm dilated. The doctor talked to Blake and told him he was allowed to come out now. I'm hoping he listens. On that note, there is a new poll you can vote on. When will Blake decide to make his appearance? Take a second to vote. I have no reward for the winner(s) though! A couple guys started a pool at work. There's money at stake among my co-workers as to when he'll arrive. I win the money if it's on my due date or on a day that nobody chose...but I'll give up the money for him to come a little early!

Picture Taker

I meant to put more information about Brian in my post yesterday. Love his work! Check out his website at www.brianallenphotography.com It's wonderful having a photographer in the family...

37 Weeks / 21 More Days

My doctor's appointment today went fine. I'm still only 1cm dilated. No change for the 3rd week in a row. This is going to be a long month I'm afraid!

Brian took some pictures of me a couple weekends ago. Clearly much better than the photography work by Aaron and I! Here's some of the pictures. I developed an obsession with ice cream in my last trimester so we had to include that in our photo session! We still have more pictures we want to take, so hopefully by this week or next weekend we can find time to get together again. He's recovering from the flu right now, so I'm staying as far away as I can until he's better.