From the Desk of Ty, Vol. 3

From the Desk of Ty

Vol. 3

Daddy thinks he’s so smart. He has a password on his black box, but little does he know—I see everything. Want to know Daddy’s password? It’s…

Well, I’ll get to that later. Daddy calls that a tease in the news business.

I turn four weeks old this week. Now that I’ve gotten a little experience under my belt (by the way, I’m not sure what the point of a belt is. I don’t wear one!), I’ve got some advice for everyone out there. I heard Daddy say once, “Don’t sweat the small stuff, because it’s all small stuff.” I have my own spin on that. Don’t worry about your next meal, because Mommy is always around. Take me for example, when I get hungry I just tell Mommy calmly—“it’s time to eat.” I don’t know why she comes running so fast when I tell her things. Then she’s always trying to hush me. I’m just trying to tell her I’m hungry! Don’t worry. She eventually feeds me. I know my mommy is a little high strung, but I love her anyway.

Now that I’ve said not to worry, there is an alarming trend I feel obligated to let you know about—an increase in attempted infant drownings! Recently Mommy and Daddy have attempted to submerge me in water. Do we live in Salem? Is this a witch trial? What’s with all the water? They call it a bath. I call it torture. Don’t get me wrong, it sort of feels nice, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe. So don’t be lured in by this New Age hooey. A little dirt never hurt anyone.

Now the grand finale. Daddy’s password is…

Uh oh, someone is coming. It’ll have to wait until next time.

Pictures...

The main thing that has told me (and others) that my life has been a bit topsy turvy lately is that I have hardly taken any photos of Ty (Tyler has done this mostly). I feel that I am finally getting back to myself now though...

I got to spend some time uploading and editing photos on Saturday...first time in weeks it seems! And I even got to enjoy taking some photos on my angel last week, and it was so wonderful!

Enjoy...

From the Desk of Ty-Vol. 2

From the Desk of Ty

Vol. 2

Week two was much better than week one. To start with, no knife wielding psycho-woman came after me. Let me tell you, that’s how I want to start all my weeks off!

I’ve learned a lot about my Mommy. First off, she’s an enabler. Every few hours she’s shoving that pointy teat in my mouth and forcing me to suckle. It’s enough to make anyone a milk-aholic! I don’t have a problem, but a weaker person might get milk drunk. Not me. I just take long naps afterwards—completely unrelated to the milk.

The best part of feeding… it provides ammunition. That way I can get Mommy and Daddy with my water cannon. I keep aiming for them, but they’re getting too smart. They’ve started putting a holster on my cannon. But I’m patient. One day they’ll slip up and Mommy and Daddy will get soaked again.

Daddy had to go to a place called work this week. I don’t really understand what that is, but neither he nor Mommy seemed to excited about it. He’s gone for a long time, then comes home really tired. I keep telling him we can take a nap together, but Mommy keeps trying to keep me awake during the day. I tell her I want to sleep with Daddy, but she doesn’t understand. Women? Can’t live with ‘em… can’t eat without ‘em.

The bright spot in my week were visits from Honey, Oma and Big Daddy. We have so much fun. They don’t make me sleep when I don’t want to. Don’t tell Mommy, but late at night they take me about of my cell (there are bars around my bed!) and let me stay up. I think I’m going to get along with my grandparents just fine.

I’d better get back to my cell, so no one notices that I’ve been on Daddy’s black box. I’ll write again soon.

Visitors

We've had several visitors so far to meet little Ty! One of my best friends, Tiffany, and her boyfriend Drew came by about a week and a half ago...and stupidly, I forgot to get a picture! However, Ty was very excited to meet his Aunt Tiffany - I could tell!

Then, last weekend, Ty's Aunt Nadine came to visit! We had a wonderful time and she got to see the nursery and spend some time with her nephew :-). (Side Note: I hope she and all my other friends who ran the ING today did marvelously!)

On Monday, my Mom came for the week! She was a wonderful help and really took care of me so I could take care of Ty. She made me juice and meals and helped clean the whole house! (She said I was a slave driver...jokingly of course :-). I got some great pictures I wanted to share...

Big Daddy and Oma (Vince and Bev) came this weekend, and they were wonderfuly helpful as well! They even let Tyler and I have a date night on Saturday and we got to go out to eat at one of our favorite restaurants in town! I haven't gotten these photos uploaded yet but will share them all soon.

Oma will be back this week to help us through the week again, and my Dad and Nana will be coming next weekend so we can attend my friend Sarah's wedding! Very exciting!

I'm still working hard on Ty's schedule so say some prayers for us that this continues to go well so we are ready for our first week on our own (Ty's one month mark :-).

Two Weeks Ago...

Several of my friends have wanted the story of Tyler James's birth so I thought I would go ahead and include it in now as it was two weeks ago today that I went in to the hospital…CRAZY…I really feel like a lifetime has passed since then J .

Tyler and I had already been to the hospital several times over the previous days because every day my contractions were getting down to less than 5 minutes a part and every day we had to go to OB assessment just to be sent home with a shot of Demerol. Don't get me wrong, the Demerol was the only thing that saved me…but it was starting to get frustrating.

That Tuesday the contractions started to get bad again and Tyler took me in to the hospital. I saw my midwife on the way in and I burst into tears when I saw her…she took me back and examined me, along with one of the very nice nurses we had made friends with on one of our previous trips to the hospital. I was FINALLY 3 cm dilated! So she admitted me and they got me an epidural so I could sleep and get some rest before the delivery. (My favorite people this day were the midwife and the anesthesiologist J ).

So we slept some that night and I was really doing great. They came in the next day and broke my water which got things moving along nicely. I started progressing a cm an hour and we knew by lunch time I would be pushing at this rate. However, 12 came and I was still about 9.5...so at 12:30 we started pushing to try to get to 10.

After about an hour and a half of pushing…or so I am estimating, they decided to call the doctor in with the vacuum. They promised me this would end things quickly as I was starting to get exhausted and didn't think I could make it much longer. However, the vacuum didn't work…he had too much hair on his head so we continued pushing as the doctor really felt I could deliver him (at this point I was begging them for a C-section…but they weren't giving in). At around 4, the doctor started the episiotomy process (they had been trying a TON of different stuff and it just wasn't getting him through the birth canal.)

Tyler was standing by my bed the entire time…getting me ice chips and trying to endure me in pain. I should mention here that I was in pain because the epidural had been slowly wearing off.

At 4:45, I finally delivered him…I've never been so tired in my whole life. They took Ty to clean him up and Tyler and I both cried and held each other until it was time for me to deliver the placenta. Tyler took some pictures of him and they finally brought him to me…see pictures below…and NO, I was not one of those women that looks beautiful after delivery…after 22 hours, Ive never been so tired in all my life but I've also never been so happy to meet a someone. They took Ty to the nursery at this point and I got some pain medication and requested food and water…life started to look up at this point J .


We were in the hospital for two days after delivery…and thus the beginning of the bililights and other drama. I am happy to say two weeks have passed, my son is getting on more of a schedule with each day, mommy seems to be healing well and life is moving onward. Unfortunately my husband goes back to work tomorrow, which has made me pretty sad…but life has to keep going and I know this. We can't both stay home forever J .

From the desk of Ty

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From the desk of Ty

Mommy and Daddy are asleep right now, so I snuck out here to use the black box they're always playing with. They're wimps and seem tired all the time. I don't understand why they don't take naps like me.

It's been some more of a week. Not like the 40 before. I had just gotten comfortable in my studio apartment. Yes-it was cramped. Yes-it was wet. Yes-it was dark. But gosh dang it, it was home. Then one day, I was taking a nap and end up trapped in a really tight hallway for a couple of hours. Then some woman yanks me out and hands me to some scary people dressed in blue who poke and prod me before finally handing me to my Mommy.

Ahh… Mommy… yummy. But we'll get to that in a minute.

If the poking and proding wasn't enough to ruin anyone's week, the next day some lady put a knife to my junk. I'm a modest guy and prefer to keep my clothes on around ladies, but this obviously was no lady—you could tell she had done this before by the way she handled the knife.

Now if you recall, earlier I mentioned I enjoy the dark. So to add insult to injury, they stuck me under these bright blue lights. Days twisted into night and I was none the wiser. They all blended together. Thank goodness Daddy gave those lights back to the mean man who dropped them off at my house.

Every now and then, I feel something cold and wet on my feet, but when I try to get a good look this massive, furry, blonde beast moves away. I scream trying to scare it away, but for some reason it sticks around. Daddy says it's "my doggie", but I don't remember picking out said "doggie".

I don't know why, but I'm hungry all the time. Mommy (aka. Meal Ticket) feeds me every couple of hours. That doesn't give me much sleep time. So I only have one weapon at my disposal to show them when I'm not happy…a powerful canon. I've gotten both Mommy and Daddy once.

Uh oh…I hear somebody coming. I better get off Daddy's black box. Before I go, a special hello to Oma, Big Daddy, Honey and Granddaddy. I miss you guys.

(p.s. My Daddy typed this up for me...didn't he do a good job! :-)

My parents are so mean!

My parents are so mean! I'm so tired and they won't let me sleep!

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Things I Never Understood...But Now I Do

So I have decided to give a brief summary of things I never before understood to give you the highlights of my last week...My son is officially one week old today :-)

1 - The obsession with weight gain for a baby...yes, I now understand why women freak out over whether or not their breast fed babies are gaining weight as I literally felt a weight lift off my shoulders yesterday when the doctor said Ty looks perfect and is gaining weight perfectly!

2 - The obsession of new moms and poop...this was a bit more extreme for me because I knew that Ty needed to poop to help with his jaunidice and yet days went by with nothing...I was really starting to go "poop crazy" and then last night we had our first poop since the hospital...and three more since then all momentously worse than the one before. The doctor warned me about praying for poop...I'm begining to think he was right :-)

3 - How having a baby could make a couple even stronger...if you had told me prior to delivery that having a child would make my marriage stronger, I would have thought it was just odd because I never would have thought that was possible. However, I had the man of my dreams standing (for HOURS) by my bedside while I delivered Ty...we cried together when he was born and we have held each other and him every day since...he has stayed home with me these past few days and we have worked together to get a schedule going and help each other to sleep, eat and generally stay functioning human beings :-). I never thought I could have said that having this baby would make me love my husband more...but somehow I think that is has. My cup overflows!

4 - How an entire day can be spent caring for a baby without much time left over for yourself at all...except to grab a quick meal and maybe do some laundry...no returned phone calls, no bathing, etc. Yep, now I do!

Much love to you all! And more pictures soon to come! I promise!

Quick Update...

Before my next feeding, wanted to let everyone know we got the ok today to take Ty off the lights tomorrow at Noon! YAY!!! I will post (hopefully tomorrow) with more pictures and a happy update! Now it is off for our 11 pm feeding...

p.s. I've had several friends inquire so wanted to say - Breast feeding is going pretty well...some days are better than others of course, but for now...we are making it :-)

Love you all!

Finally home...

We did get to come home last night. Thank goodness! We went to see the pediatrician this morning and are having to do some light therapy for ty at the house. So things are still a little stressful and I spologize to everyone I haven't been able to call back yet. I will post again tomorrow to let you know how the doctors office goes and hopefully we will get a great report and be done with all this mess so he can get back to being a happy baby boy... As promised here are a few more pics...

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Still at hospital

Wow! What a couple of days! We are still at the hospital as ty has elevated levels indicating jaundice so we are currently spending time under blue lights ( just like his buddy Finn did :-). He doesn't like it very much because he prefers to be swaddled and this requires him to be clothing free. We had a rough night but will hopefully get a good report and be able to go home tonight! Please say some prayers for this slightly stressed out mommy and baby, and thanks to everyone for all your well wishes and love!
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My ty

Ty was born at 4:46. He weighed 7 lbs 5 ounces and he was 20.5 inches :-)
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I'm having a baby!

Well, aparently the 4th trip to the hospital is the charm! We're going to have a baby :)
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Weekend From Hell

Well, the only way to classify this weekend would be - "The weekend from HELL!" I have now been to OB Assessment twice only to be sent home TWICE! We went Saturday night as I was slightly concerned I was leaking amniotic fluid and I was having VERY consistent contractions. My water had NOT broken though and I hadn't dialated (they checked my cervix TWICE - NOT fun!!!!) So they sent me home with some pain meds and told me to rest...I was in early labor and it could take a while.

Sunday, we wake up and contractions are 8 minutes or so a part and different. They have now moved into my back and cramping horribly in my lower abdomen. I rest most of the day and then start to feel like I am loosing my mind so Tyler and I went for a long walk to enjoy the pretty weather :-). By the time we get back, the contractions are now 4 minutes a part and getting stronger. I call the doctor and she tells me to come back in. So we go to OB assessment AGAIN and guess what STILL NO DIALATION. At this point, the contractions are coming at 3 minutes a part and there is barely time for me to catch my breath in between...and as Tyler is watching the monitor, he says I am literally "going off the charts" with each one.

I was NOT leaving without seeing my doctor so she came in...checked me and said that I was indeed in early labor but hadn't contracted...I was definitely thinning out and she thinks once I start dialating, everything will move very fast. However, this phase could last a while so rather than have me sit up in the hospital while my body tries to do what it must, they gave me more pain meds and sleep aid and sent me home. At this point I loose it and start crying hysterically. My poor husband has been through the ringer too - we're both so stressed, I'm in horrible pain and the pain meds really only take the edge off.

The only good news I have is we know it will be any day now...and they have give me a prescription to help with making it through these contractions :-)...just wanted to give everyone an update. I'm at home if anyone needs me, trying to wrap up some work from home and get a few final things done while I am able. Love you all and hope everyone has a wonderful "Contraction Free" week :-) HA!