A week away from 7 months!

Alex is one week away from being 7 months old. Where has the time gone?! It seems like just yesterday we were headed to the hospital to have him.

I have not been very good about uploading pictures to facebook, so I am going to take the next week to do one post a day, each dedicated to one month of Alex’s life. These will be mostly pictures, which is probably what everyone would prefer to see! I know family and friends have asked about pictures and to be honest some days I am barely able to check my email on my computer, let alone upload pictures to facebook. My cell phone is a lifesaver! At least with the blog, I can start writing online or in word ahead of time and post when I am ready. Today’s blog will be about his birth.

I had been having contractions off and on for a week. Aaron had been out in the field and I had been working from home because I didn’t want to go into labor at work. A nice thing about working from home was I could sleep in until just before 7 and then shower during my lunch break! On Tuesday the 17^th of August, Aaron came around to my side of the bed to tell me good bye and as he walked away, I told him to stop. Next thing you know we are headed to the hospital. I’m calling my family, Aaron’s calling his, and we are both calling work to let them know this is it – the baby is on his way. I had to stay in OB observation for a while until a room became available. My sister-in-law Rachel came up to be with us and my parents were on their way. I progressed fairly quickly and my parents made it to the hospital with about an hour to spare before it was time to push. We chose to have my mom and Rachel in the delivery room with us when Alex was born. I was with Rachel when she had our second niece in March. I was there to cheer her on and to take pictures of Rebekah after she was born. She was now getting to do the same for me. Thanks to Rachel, we were able to completely be in the moment when we met our son for the first time without worrying about getting a picture when they put him on me, Aaron cutting the cord, Alex being put on the scale and Aaron holding him for the first time. Alex joined us at 4:21pm, weighing in at 8lbs 15oz and 20.75 inches long.

After my doctor had taken care of me, she came to let me know that Alex had gotten a little stuck and that it looked like he might have broken his clavicle. She said they would be taking a look and that they might take him for x-rays. After determining that he did not break his clavicle, they had an occupational therapist come by our room to take a look at our little man. Jodi, who also happens to be the head of the department, came by to take a look at Alex. She determined that he had a brachial plexus injury. The brachial plexus is a network of nerves that originate near the neck and shoulder. These nerves begin at the spinal cord in the neck and control the hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder. We are very fortunate that his injury was only a stretch of the nerves and not a break. Alex had good grip in his left hand and could move his hand, wrist and lower arm fine, but he had troubles raising his arm up. After being given some therapy exercises to do, we were told to meet with Jodi again in a few weeks. After meeting again and seeing his progress, Jodi felt confident that his nerve stretch was fairly minor and would not require surgery. We met every 2 weeks until I went back to work when Alex was a few days shy of being 2 months old and then twice more at monthly intervals. The therapy did what it is supposed to do and Alex now uses his left arm in the same ways he uses his right. Jodi also informed me at the hospital the first time we met, that if we have more children, I will need to have a c-section next time. Alex was a pretty big boy and she said that your second is typically a bigger baby!

I was able to take a total of 8 weeks off – 6 weeks maternity leave and two weeks vacation. I loved every minute of being at home with my little man. I cried everyday for a week (maybe longer) before I went back to work. Taking him to daycare that first day is probably the hardest thing I have ever done (including giving birth). I would love to stay home with him, but I know, like everything else, there are advantages to him being home with me and to him being in daycare. I like that in daycare he will have to share toys, play well with others and listen to (and follow) directions given by other people. I believe if I had been able to stay home with him that he would have been sleeping through the night sooner, he would have a more regular nap schedule (he doesn’t nap well at daycare), and that he might have been able to go without a pacifier. Who really knows on those, but I do know that my house would be cleaner and I would cook a lot more than I have. Overall, I feel that Alex is in good hands and I can look in on him anytime I want to thanks to the cameras the daycare has available online to parents.

I decided I wanted to breastfeed and I am very happy that I have been able to with out any issues. Since I am able to pump at work, Alex has had only breast milk. I am very proud of this accomplishment. For something that is natural, it is not easy. Plus pumping at work is a little awkward and not much fun. I know a lot of women stop breastfeeding when they return to work. As much as I don’t care for getting up in the middle of the night, his little smiles when he sees me, and watching him while he eats make it all worth getting up at all hours of the night. Luckily he is going all night now. I have also decided to make his baby food but more on that later. Now it is time for pictures of my sweet sweet baby boy from his birthday!

Aaron & I waiting for our little man to get here.

My parents made it to the hospital!

Aaron with our baby boy.

My mom giving me my first good view of Alex since it was hard to hold him laying down. I could not stop crying!

My mom with Alex.

My dad meeting Alex.

Our first picture as a family of three. Please excuse the way I look!

Aaron's parents showing Cecelia and Rebekah their new cousin!

Aaron's dad with Alex. Alex's middle name is Windell, which is his PawPaw's first name.

Alex one day old.

My newborn picture.

Thank you Rachel for the amazing pictures!