I guess he's eating ok....

Yesterday Josiah had his first Pediatrician appointment- and he is doing really well and is very healthy!
When we were discharged from the hospital on Dec. 21, he weighed 7 lbs, 10 oz (it's normal for newborns to lose a little weight at first). Yesterday, Dec 29, only 8 days later, he weighed in at 8 lbs, 12 oz- he's gained over a pound since we left the hospital- I was blown away!!
Another big step for the J man: he lost his cord stump yesterday!! Unfortunately, it was a little premature, and there was a little healing left to be done, so there is now a scab inside the belly button area, but it's healing nicely :)
He has also been looking around and interacting with us more- it is SO cute to see him watch Jonathan- and cute to see Jonathan watch Josiah. It's just a house full of cuteness!

Surprise Package!

As many of you know, Milwaukee has been bombarded with TONS of snow lately.
Well, today it is well above 50 degrees, and all that snow is melting. We used to have a 4 foot drift across our front porch, but when I went out to check the mail just a few minutes ago, this is what I saw-a package from my good friend, Katie, emerging from beneath the snowdrift!
I figure it must have been there for at least a week (since there was no snow under it) Good thing it was wrapped in plastic!!

Thanks for the wonderful gifts, Katie! I look forward to dressing Josiah up in the super cute clothes!

Merry Christmas...a day late!

Being a new mommy at Christmastime is not the easiest- I actually kept forgetting it was Christmas- and it's my favorite holiday!
We spent the day at home, and Jon's sister, Sarah, came over with a bunch of hors d'ouvres and we just hung out and ate food and watched Robin Hood, Men in Tights. Good times :)
I also got Josiah dressed up in a baby gap outfit and his retro VANS shoes that we got from our friend, Jesse (who works for VANS out in CA). He was totally stylin'!
Oh, and I also had my first glass of wine since having Josiah- thanks, Sarah!!

Our baby, Josiah

given Oxygen at birth

Birth Story

Wednesday, Dec 17th:
Katie Konop came over with Ruthie so we could go for a walk around Mayfair Mall- I wanted to "get things moving" you might say- I hadn't had any changes at my appointment the week before, and I was determined to have something change for my appointment I had scheduled after my walk.
Well, I actually had NO changes from the previous week- I was even the exact same weight. The doc and I thought that he would make it to the due date, at least, and that she wouldn't let me go a week past my due date. Oh, well.
Thursday, Dec 18th:
3:00 am- I suddenly woke up cuz I felt like I had to use the restroom. To spare the icky details, lets just say it was icky. I knew something was happening. I went back to bed, cuz they say to try to get as much rest as possible- who knows when I will actually go into labor.
3:30 am- I felt something wet "down there", so I ran to the bathroom. Nope, I didn't have to pee. hmmmmmmm......this is not right- all through the pregnancy I never had issues holding it in if I had to. SO I call Jonathan, who is at work, to let him know that I thought my water had broken. He didn't answer his phone.
4:30- Jon calls back- He asked if I was feeling any contractions. Nothing. I felt relatively normal. We got done talking, and a few minutes later he called back saying the nurses he works with said to GET IN RIGHT AWAY!!
4:45- I called my Doc, and she said that she would notify the hospital that I was on my way in. Oh, and she sounded utterly exhausted!
5:00- I work on finishing packing for the hospital- I thought I would have more time for this part, but no.
5:30 Jonathan gets home- helps me finish packing. Calls Nick and Diana to let Nick know that he just missed me at the hospital- he works on the skybridge to the L&D of the hospital- but his shift ends at 5.
6:00am- we arrive at the hospital- Jon insists that we go through the ER entrance, cuz a bunch of his work friends want to meet me.
6:30am- I am officially admitted to the hospital.
THEN there's a long wait- I WAS having regular contractions every 2 1/2 - 3 1/2 minutes, I just wasn't feeling them. They gave me pitocin to make them stronger. It worked. However, I couldn't get past 2-3 cm dilation, so finally at
10:30 pm, a Dr. came in to let me know what an epidural is, and said that it was available for me, then asked if I had any questions. "When can I get one?!" was my response.
11:00pm they started the epidural procedure- this takes a while. They got it done, but for some reason it wasn't working. They hit the wrong spot in my spine. They had to redo it. Ouch.
FRIDAY, Dec. 19th
Finally the effects kicked in around midnight. The rest is a bit of a blur- I have no idea what time what happened, but I went quickly from 2-3 cm to 5 cm.
3:00 am the nurse said I was at 8 cm. YAY!! she said she would be back in an hour to check on me.
(by the way, they wanted the baby out by 6, because the water broke, there was an increased risk of infection)
3:50 am- I call the nurse "how can I help you?" she asked "you need to check me NOW" I said. She came in, and sure enough, my little guy was starting to crown. So she called the doctor- and a bunch of other people. Suddenly it was a party in my delivery room!
4:10- the doctor (who is not my doctor, unfortunately she wasn't able to be there:( bummer) finally shows up.
4:20 am- Josiah is born after just 5 pushes. Apparently I was really good at pushing, even through the epidural and no mirror.
8 lbs, 1.6 oz 22 inches long. The cord was wrapped around his neck, and he breathed in some fluid, so he had to be suctioned out and given oxygen, but other than that his color was good, and he was making noise- he has the cutest little cry (for now:)

By the way, Jonathan was FANTASTIC through the whole thing- he played with my hair, did pressure point on my back, read to me, put the Simpsons in the DVD for me, watched the baby come out- and told me what was coming out and when- cut the cord, and took the most BEAUTIFUL pictures of our son's first moments. I love that guy!!

Family Photos

I had the opportunity last night to take family photos of a couple who went to college with me- they have 2 sons, 19 months and a 10 week old- and they were so photogenic!
to see more photos, click here

38 weeks, and nursery pics

Here is what our nursery look like so far- I have a couple of pictures to put up yet that my sister, Mandy, gave to me of animals that they've seen at various zoos around the US. I kinda went for the jungle/safari/wild animal theme. I LOVE sitting in the rocking chair and just hanging out in here!





I am feeling it more and more each day how difficult pregnancy can be on a body. It's all I can do to try to get out and keep walking, but I have managed to keep it up about every other day I walk for 2 miles- lately I've been going to Mayfair mall because of all the snow here in Milwaukee :)
I also would like to thank my very good friends that live here in Milwaukee who came out to my house on Saturday to do a DEEP cleaning- my house looks BEAUTIFUL- it was a wonderful gift, so again, THANKS A TON!!
Here I am at 38 weeks, 2 days: