First visit from Grandma and Grandpa!

With Grandma
With Grandpa
Enjoying beautiful Oregon

Mike's parents were here visiting for about 8 days. Matthew enjoyed spending time with them, and since they live all the way in Florida, it was a nice treat to have them visit. Grandma just loved on him and Matthew seemed to love falling asleep in her arms. They both got to get out and see some of Oregon- too bad mommy was stuck at home with this wound vac. Still, I THINK they had a good time. It's always nice to have family around!

Pics of the week

Hey. Who's that?
Trying to crack a smile
Phew...that's more like it. It's hot in here.
My new outfit
I love my little seat.

2 Month Appointment!

Leaving for the check up
Getting his oral vaccine

Sweet little Matthew went for his 2 month appointment at the pediatrician's yesterday. I must say, I am a proud momma, because he did so well! He was given 4 shots (2 in each leg) plus an oral vaccine. Matthew screamed bloody murder when he got the shots! I mean, his face was purple and he barely caught his breath. (really...4 pokes. who wouldn't?) As soon as they were done I scooped him up and immediately nursed him for comfort. And pretty much, that was the end of that. He was a little fussy in the evening, but he's always fussy in the evening, so that wasn't unusual. At the pediatrician's advice we did give him infant Tylenol right before the shots and about 4 hours later, so maybe that helped. And just as she said may happen, he slept a 7 hour stretch when he went to bed last night!! Woo Hoo! Of course, he went to bed at 8, and mommy was just making dinner, so I missed out on a lot of those hours (I didn't fall asleep until midnight, even though I was in bed at 10:30). BUT, at least he got some good sleep. I'm happy for HIM. :-)

The pediatrician diagnosed him with reflux, which honestly, I wasn't the least bit surprised. It's what I've thought all along, but didn't want to be that mom diagnosing her own kid, so I let the pediatrician come to her own conclusion. Spitting up is one thing- but spitting up with lots of crying and screaming and whining when eating and waking himself up with gagging- all signs of reflux. So, he's on Zantac twice a day now and we will give it a week and see if it helps. There are apparently other things to try if the Zantac doesn't help him.

And the stats....drum roll please........


Weight: 10 lbs. 6 oz


Height: 21 3/4 inches

He is in the 25th percentile for weight and head circumference and slightly lower (like around 15th) for height. Poor guy- gets that height thing from mom and dad. The pediatrician was happy with his growth as he was exactly 25th percentile at birth so it does show consistency. So, he's getting bigger- but he still seems like such a little peanut when he's curled up into a ball sleeping on me. Oh man, I love him. I love him so much.

I also had my appointment yesterday for the wound vac change. I have been on that table in that office anywhere from 1-4 times a week for 5 or 6 weeks. I have never shed a tear in there (well, ok, maybe that very first appointment i did cry also). Yesterday, I cried all over the place. It is excruciating pain right now. I mean, quite possibly worse then after the actual c-section. Apparently the reason is that the cutting exposed nerve endings, which the therapist then "scrubbed" when he was cleaning the wound. And the sponge part of the vac seems to be hitting right on those spots, so it's just sort of this constant awful pain that shoots down. I go back Tuesday, and he thinks they may need to cut one more time ( Yup, I cried again when I heard that), but if they do cut it they will close it immediately and put the vac on top of the closed wound to close it for good. I'll believe it when I see it. I am so over this mess at the moment it makes me so sad that I have to live like this. I should be doing nothing but enjoying my new baby and being a new mommy, and instead I'm in pain and at doctor's appointments several times a week. Please please pray that this is over soon because I honestly can't take much more.

Wow, sorry about that. Guess I needed to get that out into the world. Now that it's out I will move on with my weekend. Mike is off for 3 days I couldn't be happier! I love it when he's home. I can take a shower (which trust me, is a process because it involves saran wrap and taping of all this stuff) without worrying about Matthew. Gotta love the weekends.

Small town living

Sometimes it pays to be in a small town. Let me back up...for those of you following the incision drama...I've now been to the surgeon THREE times for cutting. The wound vac is still on, and although it was fine the first few days, after all that cutting and the dressing change yesterday, I have been in excruciating pain since yesterday afternoon. This made for a very tough afternoon and night, as it was hard as heck to care for a needy baby while I am hurting so bad I could barely stand. Plus, he chose last night to sleep poorly, which certainly didn't help matters. Anyway, we made it through and today is a new day.

So about the small town. A few weeks ago our realtor, and now friend, invited me out to lunch with a few ladies. One is a girl perhaps a few years younger than me with a cute little boy about 9 months old. The other was this older woman from my neighborhood (NOT old, just older...she's a grandmom to 11). Anyway, I'm at the hospital on Monday for my wound vac change, and that turned into "you have to go back to the surgeon's office". So, I'm at the hospital with Matthew and realizing I'm going to be there for hours. I run into this woman, like an angel sent down to help me! She volunteered quite adamantly to babysit Matthew. She left to bring her husband home and then came right back to the hospital and sat with me until I had to go for the procedure, and then sat with Matthew for me. What a blessing! My head had been literally spinning at the thought of having Matthew in the room with me...crying in his little stroller for mommy while mommy's up on the table with a scalpel to her. Needless to say, it made my bad day much better.

So, we're hoping that after the dressing change tomorrow or maybe the one on Monday, this incision will be ready to be closed. (he will "close" the two flaps together and put the wound vac on top of it for a few days to help it heal in the closed position). With lots of luck, I'll be done with this mess by the end of next week.

Oh...on a funny note. The therapist tells me on Tuesday "well, your body is just healing too fast." Really? Because I thought I had the c-section TWO months ago. He says "yeah, do you remember the huge hole you had down here 5 weeks ago? This is nothing next to that." Ok. You win. So there you have it. I'm apparently a fast healer. :-) (insert sarcasm here.)

U.S.A.!

I guess we know who he's routing for in the Olympics.

Who does he look like??

Baby Michael (daddy)
Baby Lynn (mommy)
Baby Matthew
Baby Matthew

So, what do YOU think???

*don't forget if you click on the photo you can see it larger...this is helpful when looking at Mike's baby picture!*

And the hits just keep on coming

Ugg. This incision crap. I'm so over it. But, for once in almost two months (well, ok, in well over NINE months) I feel like I'm catching a break. I was referred to a surgeon this week, who saw me today. He did some numbing and did some cutting (really all the details you need to know). Tomorrow I go to have a wound vac attached and supposedly in 1-2 weeks this darn thing should be closed and healed. I would love to describe the wound vac to you, but I really won't do very well describing I'm sure. Basically the wound is covered with a sponge, which is covered with tape/bandage, which has a hose attached to it, which goes to a machine thingy (a "vac" if you will), which I will carry in a little bag over my shoulder 24/7. I am not at all looking forward to that...it's enough getting out of the house with a baby, a car seat, a million burp clothes, a diaper bag and me...I can't imagine one more thing to cart around. When I'm at home I'm supposed to stay "plugged in". Oh great. This should be fun.

So WHY did this incision deal happen?? Well...the short of it is that the most likely scenario is: I had a LOT of bruising after surgery. By a lot I mean a LOT. The bruises (hematomas) had blood that had to escape. It escaped by opening up the wound to leak out. This opening just makes it extremely easy to get infected. The surgeon and wound care specialist both agree that it has healed very well (from about 18 cm's to about only I'd say 5-6 cm's), but that it's at a point where it can't do anything else without further cutting first (hence the visit today).

So, not happy about the cutting or wound vac apparatus....very happy that this may all be over in a few weeks.

"Who needs sleep? No you're never gonna get it.."

Why is this song playing through my head at all times????

Mike attempted, again, to give me more sleep on saturday. Went like this: Matthew went to bed at 10, mom was right behind him (safe in another room where I wouldn't hear him and wake up anyway); he woke at midnight and mike fed him bottled breastmilk and got him back to sleep...thought he was in the clear, however matthew woke at 12:45 and fussed off and on until about 1:30. (yup, mommy woke up to hear some of this crying, but left the boys alone for a change.) At which point the big guns were pulled out (swing) and matthew slept. Until 2:30. At which point mom was called in to feed and matthew ate at my boob like he hadn't seen the thing in ages. Woke again at 6:30 to eat and fell asleep around 7AM. Do you know what this child did next?? Slept until 11 AM. Messed up his night and thus needed to catch up I suppose. Do you know who couldn't fall back asleep after about 8AM? That's right. The mommy.

Well. I did feel a bit better and more rested yesterday. Today is another story. Last night= not enough sleep. It's just an endless cycle isn't it?


Ahh...motherhood. It's so fun, and different, and wonderful, and.....tiring.

What's in a name

A few people have asked me about how we came to the name Matthew Daniel. Let me tell you...it was a long road! When Mike and I found out we were having a boy, the business of naming him began. We both came up with lists and would compare them. He would scratch off practically all of mine and I would oblige by scratching off almost all of his. In the end we had a few that we both agreed on, but none that we loved. SO- we decided to look at family names and see if we could find something meaningful...this worked out perfect.

Matthew- my grandmother (memere) on my Dad's side's maiden name was Mathieu. It is the french spelling of the name. We decided we loved the name, but wanted the Americanized version. Family name, just spelled different. (meaning- Gift of God)
Daniel- we then played around with our dad's names, and Mike's father won out. Daniel. (this also happens to be my brothers name...)

While more traditional of a name then I thought I'd go with, we BOTH instantly loved the name. And that's how we knew. :-)

Birthday video!

Pictures Recovered!!!

The best $40 ever spent. Mike found a program online that can "recover" lost files from memory cards. We figured, why not? Let's just give this a shot. ALL of Matthew's birth-day photos and videos were saved!!! We were in tears. This was the first time we were able to see the pictures as they had been "lost" before we got them to the computer. A little late, but here's some pictures of our sweet boy on his birthday.

Welcome to the World!!

Daddy cutting the cord

Meet your mommy

Mommy's first kiss

Sweet baby

First out of town trip!

Do you think the first photo is inappropriate?? It's a good description of how he feels about mealtime. I'm sure grown men wish they could wear a shirt like that and get away with it! :-)

We had a nice little out of town trip this week. Mike had to go to Spokane, WA for business, and Matthew and I decided to tag along. It's only about a 3 hour car ride, so that wasn't so bad. We stayed at a really nice hotel in downtown. It was in the perfect area within walking distance to a nice mall and an awesome park. I was very nervous about going, and in fact, only decided at the last minute. I wasn't sure how Matthew would do in the hotel (and would the neighbors hate us and our screaming child??), what we would do all day long, if he would nap ok. All in all, Matthew was a very good baby and mommy and daddy are so happy. The first night he woke up a few times (not really any more than he normally does though), but he was crying loud and we had to act fast to keep the crying at a minimum. We were not going to go to the big dinner on Thursday night, but decided to try it. We learned a few tricks on handling Matthew in public. He loves to be in the Peanut Shell Sling that I have (photo 2). Once he starts to get fussy, I plop him in the sling and he is in la-la land. Slept through the entire dinner. No one believed us when we told them that he usually cries most of the afternoon and evening. I guess I'll have to start putting him in the sling at home when he is crabby (although at home we have the sent-from-heaven swing!)

On Friday, Matthew and I took a long walk in the park. It was really hot out, but since I was just cleared to take walks (no, my incision is not closed yet...more on that later), I wanted to take advantage of the beautiful park. After Mike got out for the day, we took Matthew on his first SkyRide. It was a short little ride that left the park and rode over the Spokane Waterfall (photo 5). Matthew was so excited he slept through the entire ride! Photos 3 and 4 are "Matthew, King of the King Size Bed!". We have a few more pictures, but I'll try to get them up on the shutterfly site sometime, since this one seems to be limiting me to 5.

The update on the incision...STILL open, but getting better. Although I've already had 3 weeks of antibiotics, the doctor gave me 2 more weeks on Tuesday. I continue to recieve wound care, and hopefully it will be completely closed soon because it's driving me insane! The OB was shocked that it was still open and felt really bad, even going over his surgery notes again to make sure nothing had happened that he was forgetting about to cause this. It doesn't really bother me or hurt anymore- it's just there.

More babies!! Mike's best man Glen and his wife Lisa had their sweet baby girl yesterday evening and my 2nd/3rd cousin (not really sure what this would be!) Karen had her sweet baby girl this morning. SO many babies this summer! :-) Matthew will have friends his age all over the country!

Weekend

(A few photos from our weekend)

So, we have been having a pretty good weekend. Yesterday we took a trip up to the tri-cities for a few hours, before rushing home to get ready for a wedding. The wedding took place in the small town where Mike works (population 800 or so). It was in a park by the water, and Mike and I were overdressed. Many people had on shorts or jeans- even a few kids in swimsuits! It was nice meeting people from his work, and having them meet Matthew. Thanks to my Peanut Shell sling, Matthew was quiet for the ceremony. He had been screaming his little head off thanks to a windy day (another thing he hates), but I slid him snug inside and off to sleep he went. I made the mistake of taking him out afterwards so that people could see him (hey- we don't know anyone here. It was pretty much our first opportunity to "show off" our kid!). Anyway, he was NOT having that. He cried pretty much the rest of our time there. Sweet relief when he slept the whole hour home though.

I'm not stupid enough to think this could possibly happen again- but I suppose thanks to the busy day yesterday, Matthew slept from about 10PM-3:30AM; ate; slept 4AM-7AM; ate slept 8AM-9:45 AM. Although I did not go back to bed at 8, that 5 1/2 hour chunk was better than I could have imagined. And, he slept like an angel all that time in his pack and play basinet!! :-) (his previous 5 hour stint he was in his swing...we are going out of town this week and NOT bringing the swing, so it's good to know it is possible for him to sleep that long in more than one place). Seriously, I am fully aware that it's likely not going to be an every night thing yet, but it's good to know there's always the possibility!

As for me, happy the Olympics are on. I love watching them. Happy Joshua won So You Think You Can Dance (not happy that show is over now. Hmm...do I watch too much TV??) Happy with my new little family!

Hats! (for Babci)

He pretty much hates them (photo 1). But sometimes, just before the screaming begins, we can get a picture.

(Kelley- you had bows, I have HATS!)

Today...

So, after I got done baking bran muffins, emptying the dishwasher, re-loading the dishwasher, cleaning up the kitchen, making my own breakfast, vacuuming the house, doing 3 loads of laundry, and taking care of Matthew I realized..........................................................................

man, I miss my mom!

P.S. I forgot to put in the last post my Moby Wrap. Duh...lack of sleep made me forget it, but it is how I get things done. Matthew is in the wrap "on me" as I type and he is snug as can be. Now I will be able to fold the laundry in peace. :-)

Public Service Announcement :-)

There are a few baby items that I would like to take the opportunity to brag on. We could not live without them. In case there are people out there waiting for their baby to be born, or needing suggestions for gifts for parents-to-be, here's my short list. Yes, I have decided this solely based on being a mom for a mere 34 days.

(disclaimer: Just because I/We love it, doesn't mean you will. I highly recommend based on our experiences, but make sure to do your own research as well).

-infant swing- could not, would not want to, live without. It is a Godsend. We have the Fisher Price Aquarium Wonders swing. It is not quite as "cutesy" as some of the more popular ones (papason comes to mind), however, we did a lot of research to choose this particular one (please remember the engineer I am married to). This swing is awesome because it swings front to back or side to side; and it reclines all the way back for little infants. LOVE it. Matthew loves it. We are one happy family because of it.

-Graco snugride carseat and Metrolite stroller- again, there are "cuter" seats and strollers out there, more attractive looking ones...but come on. We're talking safety and convenience here. The snugride gets good reviews and safety ratings. Every time I take the Metrolite stroller out to use, I have to say out loud how much in love with the stroller I am. It is light enough for someone with an open c-section wound to get in and out of the car, and it moves/glides like a dream. It could not be any easier to plop the carseat into it and get moving. Matthew never has to be woken up and mommy doesn't have to try to lug a carseat around. We test drove MANY strollers at babies-r-us, and if you're looking for one to put an infant seat in, I highly recommend it.

-Kiddopotamus Swaddle Me: although sometimes he does indeed fight the swaddle, ultimately, once it's on, he is off in dream land. He sleeps in this every night and we recently went out to buy another just so we'd have a back up. It is easy to use, light weight, and does the job. Love it.

-burp clothes- you never know if you'll have a spitter. We go through about 5 or 6 a day.

-washcloths- many if you have a boy. You can slap it over his boy parts during a diaper change to catch the spray. (admittedly, mike, myself and my mom have all gotten showered on. We don't always remember the washcloth, or Matthew is kicking so much it doesn't stay put). While we're on the diaper change topic, I also found these great disposable changing sheets/pads on sale at BRU online. I thought maybe they'd be a waste, but gave them a try. LOVE them. I put a few in the diaper bag to use while we're out to put on the yucky changers in the public restrooms. But I also put one on the changing table at home any time I change a really poopy diaper. It has come in handy for the times Matthew decides to poop some more just when the diaper is off (often).

-Books: "Happiest Baby on the Block" and "Baby 411". Both of these were recommended by friends and both have been great. Happiest baby is a bit repetitive, but very good concepts that work. I hear there is a DVD out there that may be easier to just watch once instead of reading the book. Baby 411 is a great resource book for all baby topics- I've used the sleep and breastfeeding section numerous times.

I am sure there are more, but these are the ones I feel very strongly about. For real.

Matthew is awake and needs to be fed. Gotta go. :-)

Follow-up....not 10 minutes after I wrote this, sweet little matthew proved mommy wrong. The washcloth did not save me or the wall from the shower of pee (the cloth had indeed fallen off). Nor did the pee wee's pad save the changing pad or wall from the poo that just SHOT out of his cute little butt. Yup. Momma's got some walls to clean and laundry to do. Oh, but he is so sweet still....

One month old

Don't even bother. I already know it. He is, indeed, the cutest kid ever.

Ramblin' thoughts...

Eh, I'm not sure I can make this blog into anything that seems to all make sense together, so I just thought I'd go ahead and ramble today. Sound good?

My mom left on Wednesday. She was here approximately 7 weeks. For those of you who think 7 weeks is a long time for your mom to be visiting, think again. I mean, somewhere deep down, I know we could have and would have survived just fine without her here. However, we survived and thrived *with* her here. She gave up her life at home in CT to come and basically take care of us. She cooked, she cleaned, she rocked Matthew to sleep, took him for walks, played nurse maid to me, and basically, kept me company. She got me addicted to watching Big Brother, and I got her addicted to watching So You Think You Can Dance. We as a family could never express our thanks and gratitude enough to her for being with us. And, we truly do miss her already!

So, that being said, Matthew and I have officially survived almost 2 whole days on our own. Phew. After we dropped her at the airport, we ventured to the post office and Target. What a good baby. We discovered this weekend that he isn't fond of shopping (mommy is going to have to work on that), but he was a perfect little sleeping angel for mommy's first solo outing. I was so proud to get the best deal ever on a high chair at Target. Sure he won't be using it for a while, but it is the one we wanted and I got a $110 highchair for $35- can't beat that!

Matthew has been having issues with his belly lately. We think it's just some serious gas, but it's awful. It causes him so much pain and screaming and turning red every time he eats. He spits up quite a bit too, but really the worst part is seeing him screaming and writhing in (what I think to be) pain. I hate it. It has caused me a few tears. The nurse at the pediatrician's office gave me a few tips to try and we're trying them. So far he's still miserable, but luckily I am able to eventually get him to sleep, and he seems fine in his sleep.

For those of you who've asked, (thanks by the way), I am hanging in there with this incision. It is a slow process and will likely take several weeks/month(s) to heal completely. It's really annoying to deal with this with a newborn, and all my previous thoughts about how easy a c-section is, have been thrown out the window. The culture came back positive for e coli, so I am continuing the antibiotics another week. I don't have to go to the clinic every day anymore. Last friday mom went with me and learned how to clean and pack the wound (she was less than thrilled, I'm sure). Before she left she had to teach Mike how to do it (he is likely thrilled even less...but I guess he does love me if he's able to do this everyday!). So every evening he comes home from work and fixes me up. I do still go to the clinic, just not everyday. I went monday and will go today. I'm a bit nervous about being alone with Matthew at the appointment, because it can take a long time, and the last few times he was awake and unhappy while we were there. My mom was able to take him for a walk while I got the treatment. I'm hoping and praying he sleeps through it today! Wishful thinking since he is having an especially cranky day this morning.

Random tidbits about Matthew:
-he is ONE MONTH OLD today!!! :-)
-he loves his swing
-he absolutely loves to take a bath
-when cranky, one of the only things that calms him is taking him outside. He's an outdoor man already.
-I discovered yesterday that the only other thing that seems to calm him (almost instantly!) is holding him close and humming Amazing Grace over and over. Quiets him right down.
-he has now had a bottle 3 times in the last week and seems to do completely fine with taking it. He does not refuse to breastfeed after having the bottle, as was a worry of mine. It will be nice to be able to have Mike give him an occasional bottle if I need a break or want to go out by myself.
-he still pretty much wakes mommy up to eat every 3 hours at night. One exception- a few nights ago he went 4 hours between eating, and he did it twice in a row! I was happy. It didn't last. :-( We'll hope for some more sleep as he gets older!
-Mike and I are so in love with our precious little man! We are loving our new family. I can't believe it's been one month already!