2 Weeks

It's hard to believe our little man is two weeks old already! Seems like we were just bringing him home from the hospital. For future reference, I want to blog about how things have been going and the routine we have been following with Orin.

Week 1 and 2-

Feeding- Leaving the hospital, he was eating around 2 ounces every 3 hours. At night, he was eating every 4 hours. A day or two after getting home, he was up to 3 ounces every 3 hours. By the end of week two, he was eating 3-4 ounces for his nighttime feedings. We have given him a few 4-ounce bottles during the day, but he seems to spit up more with them, especially if he doesn't burp after each ounce. So I have cut back to only giving him 3 ounces during the day. He seems to be fine with that for now. So far he has been drinking Similac, but he will soon switch over to Good Start once the free samples of Similac are gone.

Sleeping- Like all newborns, Orin sleeps a lot. We've been working on trying to get him to have a short wake time after each feeding. By week two, he has been more alert and awake after the feedings, especially when we change his diaper. He does great at sleeping 4-5 hour chunks at night as long as he is swaddled very tightly in his miracle blanket. It has been hard to get him on a consistent morning feeding. His first feeding for the day varies depending on when he wakes up in the night. Sometimes he has his first feeding around 7:30 and other times not until 9:00. That's a bit frustrating! We have been putting him down for bed between 7:30 and 8:00. He usually wakes up to eat between 12:00 and 1:00. And then again between 4:30 and 5:00. Most times, he likes to be awake after his first night feeding. He isn't fussy. He just wants to look around. We have started laying him back down in his cradle and having him put himself back to sleep. He fusses a little, but he eventually gets back to sleep. It hurts my heart a little not to rock my baby to sleep every time, but I know in the long run, I will be glad he can put himself to sleep. But we still cuddle and rock some during the day. :)

Waketime- Orin is such a great baby. He is very content with just sitting in his bouncy seat and looking around. He loves the vibrator on the chair, and he enjoys using his swing. We have also started giving him the pacifier during wake time. But we don't use it to sleep, because I don't want to be up every 20 minutes putting it back in his mouth!

He has gone through a large box of newborn diapers. We bought a new box of newborn pampers to start week 3, but I don't think he will need them much longer. He seems to be peeing through a lot more often. We plan to use size 1 diapers at night when he doesn't get changed as often as during the daytime.

He went to the doctor March 3 for his one week check-up. He weighed in at 7 lb. 4 oz. When he was born, he weighed 6 lb. 14.5 oz., and when he left the hospital, he weighed 6 lb. 7 oz. So it was good to see that he is growing at a healthy rate!

My recovery- The first week we were home, my mom came to stay with us. Ryan's mom came the second week. They were a huge help! They did most of our cooking, laundry, and cleaning. They also got to cuddle with their grandson and take nighttime feeding shifts. Oh, and don't forget the poopy diapers! It was such a blessing to have them here to help. I know that they really helped speed up my recovery process tremendously! At the end of week 1, I was only taking Ibuprofen sporadically when I felt like I needed it. By the end of week 2, I felt really good! Ryan and I spent most of Saturday shopping and going to the state tournament game in Des Moines. After several hours of shopping, I had to take a few breaks to sit. I took Ibuprofen before the game just in case the pain caught up with me.

Ryan and I are working on writing a post about Orin and how his name came to be. Hopefully that will be ready soon! But for now, I will leave you with a few pictures of Orin. If you would like to receive occasional Shutterfly pictures of him and our family, and you didn’t receive the first batch of pictures I emailed out, leave me your email so I can be sure to add you to the list.

Orin Dale

Our little one has arrived! Orin Dale was born Saturday, February 21 at 6:27 AM. He was 6 lb 14.5 oz, and 19 3/4 inches long. I wanted to blog our birth story so I can remember all that happened on the special birthday.

Friday night, I went to bed with contractions and really bad back pain. I figured it had something to do with my exam earlier in the day, and went to bed. About 1:15 AM, I woke up in too much pain to sleep through. The contractions were getting more intense and the back pain was getting worse. I woke Ryan up and told him that I thought I'm in labor, but I still wasn't sure if it was from my exam, or if it was the real deal. My contractions were 5-7 minutes apart consistently.

At 1:45, I called my mom and asked her what she thought. She said I should just go into the hospital, or call and ask the doctor. Ryan called and explained what was happening, and the doctor told us to come in. It had snowed earlier, and the plows had not cleared the streets. Good thing we weren't too rushed to get there! We arrived at 2:45. My back pain had lessened during the car ride, and the nurse later said that he was probably working his way around to face the right way, which caused the back labor.

After checking in at the ER (since the front entrance was closed for the night), we got settled into our room around 3:15. We went through all the paperwork, and when the nurse checked me at 4:00, I was 6 1/2 cm dilated. Dr. Olson wanted to wait and see how things progressed naturally. At this point, my contractions were coming every 5-6 minutes.

After they unhooked me from the monitors, Ryan and I decided to walk the halls. I was tired of being tied to the bed. At 5:20, I was 8 cm. dilated, and not in very much pain. I kept waiting for the transition to happen, but I never went through any of that. At 5:50, they checked me and I was 9 cm dilated. I had alitle bit of cervix left, and Dr. Olson broke my water at 5:55. I was soon at 10 cm dilated, and I was ready to push. I never once thought I was in so much pain to need IV meds or an epidural. I wonder if my ulcerative colitis prepared my body for the pain of contractions. Or maybe it was just because I progressed so quickly.

I pushed through 3 or 4 contractions, and there he was. I am so blessed to have had such an easy and short 3 hour labor for my first child. I still cannot believe how quickly things went. I remember talking to Ryan between contractions about how things were going much better than we expected. You always hear horror stories about labor, and I had none of that. I went in expecting to need some kind of medication to get through the labor process, but there just wasn't a need for it. The head sure hurt though!! But as I was doing my last pushes to get the head out, the nurse's encouragement and reminder that I was about to find out what we were having, sure helped me get through the worst of the pain. Not knowing the gender helped me tremendously towards the end!

Ryan did wonderfully. He was extremely supportive and encouraging. He was in awe of the entire process. He got to cut the cord and take pictures during the process of cleaning and weighing the baby. He absolutely adores Orin, and he can't get enough of him!

We have taken a thousand pictures, and we think he is the most perfect thing in the world. We have been truly blessed! When you see someone so perfect, you have a redefined faith in God and what he can do. We are so thankful for this little life!

Doctor's Appointment

We were finally able to see the doctor today. I am 4 cm dilated, and she really thinks the baby is coming this weekend. My doctor is on-call until Monday night, so we are hoping the baby comes soon so she can deliver me. But we are trusting in God to bring the baby in his time. We will be sure to keep you updated as events unfold.

Update

Well, no baby yet! But today was my last day at school until May. We had conferences Monday and Tuesday night, so there is no school tomorrow. I am extremely happy to be done. I have everything prepared, and I don't have to worry about being at school when I go into labor.

We got our new car!!! We bought a 2008 Nissan Altima back in November, but it was wrecked on the driver's side door. My dad used to do body work, and he was generous enough to fix the car for free! Anyways, during our math time today, I got a knock on the door, and the secretary told me I had a visitor. It was my dad! He and my grandpa had driven up to surprise me with the car. I definately wasn't expecting that! We are so glad to have the car before the baby is born. Tonight, we even installed the carseat in the new car.

No doctor's appointment today. We were in the waiting room for about 20 minutes, and then she had to leave. Not sure where she had to go, but I'm assuming surgery. The other doctor had to leave too, so I have to go back tomorrow afternoon. It's frustrating, especially since I am 3 days from my due date, but I keep reminding myself that I would want my doctor to come running if I needed her for an emergency.

Now that we have the car, and I am done with school, we hope this baby comes soon! I think the baby just wants their own special day. They didn't want to share their birthday with Valentine's Day, Auntie Corinne's birthday, Cousin Lilly's birthday, or my grandparent's anniversary. Now they can come any day!

So close!

We are getting so close to having this baby! Today, the doctor said I am well over 3 cm dilated and the head is way down there. She couldn't believe I haven't felt much pain. She doesn't think she will be seeing me next week for my 39 week appointment. I'm hoping she is right about that! I almost had her strip my membranes today, but I chickened out! I told her that if I haven't had the baby by my next appointment (next Thursday), then I will have her do it. Please pray for a safe delivery and healthy baby as the time gets closer.

38 Weeks

Saturday, my mom and grandma came up to help me stock our deep freeze full of frozen meals. We ended up with about 20 meals! I'm so grateful for their help! I look forward to pulling out ready-to-go meals and not having to face the dreaded question of, "What's for supper tonight?"

Ryan and I also got the carseat put in the car this weekend. We thought it would be a good time because of the nice weather and the fact that it isn't my week to drive to school.

Good news! My doctor was originally supposed to be gone all this week in order to spend her anniversary with her husband. However, I got a call today that they wanted to reschedule my appointment this week, because my doctor will be back for a few days due to a family emergency. So instead of seeing a new doctor on Thursday, I will get to see Dr. Olson!

37 Week Appointment

We went back to the doctor today for our weekly appointment. I am currently at 0 station, 2 centimeters dilated, and 80% effaced. I know I could walk around like that for the remaining 2.5 weeks, but I'm really hoping this early progress means the baby is coming soon! We are so anxious to meet our little one!