I am in complete disbelief that two months have gone by. I mean, I have a two month old son, that is craziness! He is pure sweetness though, isn't he?! How could you not love that face?? This has been an interesting past two months. I have to say, we have been very blessed with a child that sleeps well and eats very well and is healthy and happy - we really won the lottery with this kiddo! E is eating a ton - at least 6 bottles a day, 5 1/2 to 6 ounces a bottle. Over the past month he has gone from 9 pounds 15 ounces to a whopping 13 pounds 8 ounces (yep, you read that right!) and has shot up from 21 3/4 inches to 23 3/4 inches tall. He is in the 80th percentile straight across the board for his 2 month check-up! He is sleeping at least 6 hours at night, sometimes more, which makes mama very happy! His pediatrician said that if his weight gain stays this steady and he is over the 95th percentile next month then we will probably be starting cereal after next month's check-up to keep his weight gain and calorie intake under control. He got his first round of shots today and he did really well, although I am a little fearful of tonight because he has pretty much been sleeping all day since we got home so this could be a really long night!
Motherhood is so much better than I ever could have imagined. Maybe if I had a kiddo with more normal eating & sleeping habits I might not be as in love with it as I am, but I am a person who has NEVER considered staying at home with my children and I now wish more than anything that we could afford for me to so I could spend more time with him. I am so thankful every day for the opportunity to be this little boy's mother. He is truly amazing and I love every minute that I get to spend with him. This life of mine is going to be one wild ride ;-)
One month ago today our lives changed and this great little guy entered the world. Life these days is a little slower, but much sweeter. Eli is getting bigger every day. He eats between 4 1/2 and 5 ounces each feeding, sometimes as much as 7 1/2! He loves to play on the floor, especially laying on his tummy. He turns his head from side to side and lifts his leg like he's practicing for the day when he's ready to roll over. We love to watch him observe his surroundings and coo and smile. Most of all I love when all he needs to relax is to snuggle on my chest - we know how precious these days are and we are loving and cherishing every moment with our little boy.
So Eli had his first real photo shoot last Thursday on his one week birthday. He was SO good and didn't fuss a bit. If anything he was maybe a little more awake and curious than she was expecting, but we couldn't be happier with the results. Here is a sneak peek at a few of the pictures:Boys N Berries Photography
Elijah Royal Burks was born on April 8, 2010 at 4:57pm. He weighed a surprising and whopping 9 pounds and was 21 3/4 inches long - quite the big boy!! We are home and he is now a week old - time is already flying by like the blink of an eye. We are adjusting to life as a family of three, but loving it all. It is amazing how much your heart grows when you meet your child for the first time - Greg and I never could've imagined loving someone so much that we were just meeting.
Well, I have spent the past 3 days laboring to have this baby and my body apparently has other plans. After having contractions ALL day Sunday and all morning Monday my doc sent me to triage to be monitored and check on Monday afternoon. After spending a few hours hooked up they determined that while I was having really good and regular contractions, NOTHING was changing. So they sent me home and I spent all day yesterday having regular contractions and continue to have them this morning. I did have my appointment this morning though and while I am STILL having regular and good contractions (that have gotten stronger mind you) only a tiny bit has changed. Since this is the case and since it is making me uncomfortable and unable to go to work I am getting checked in to the hospital tonight so they can give me some meds that will move along the effacement process and then tomorrow morning they will induce and Eli will join the world sometime tomorrow!!!
Well, I have about 10 days left until my due date. I am still in shock that it has gone by so fast! At my appointment this week I was dilated to a 1, but he is still sitting high and I was not effaced at all so she didn't want to schedule to induce just yet. She said to wait and see what the next week brings and we'd revisit the idea next Wednesday. I was having contractions while I was there though, which was nice because she was able to tell me that they were real ones and not Braxton Hicks like some of the others I've been having. I continued to have them all Tuesday and Wednesday, varying from 45 minutes apart to 5, but not consistent enough to matter. They have kind of tapered off a bit today, I have had a few, but not as many as the past two days. I do have a lot more energy today though and feel better in general, so maybe that is a sign that labor is on it's way? Greg and I are sure ready for Eli to be here though. Last night we finally installed the base to the car seat in my car so if he should come we can bring him home now anyway ;-) Greg's car will be done later - after it's cleaned! Eli's room is all ready to go and so is the cradle in our room, so we are completely just waiting now. There are a few things we could still do around the house, but I just want to try to relax a bit until he's here - we've been so busy with one thing after another for months now it seems, so we might as well get in some down time while we can! We have been making a point of going out to eat, just the two of us, once a week for the past 2 or 3 weeks so we can get some good quality time together. It has been nice to sit and chat over dinner, usually we eat at home and then split off to do our own things around the house for the rest of the night. Greg has been awesome though, making sure I don't over do it and taking charge of the laundry and such so I don't have to worry about it. He is such an incredible husband, I can't wait to see him with Eli - he's going to be FANTASTIC!Well, hopefully the next post will be about Eli's big arrival! If not, it will be about the planning for it, including a date. Either way, we're pumped and can't wait to start this new chapter in our lives!
I am 32 weeks along this week - 8 more to go! I am still enjoying pregnancy, although the feeling bad part is hitting me fairly frequently these days instead of early on in the pregnancy like a lot of people. I am nauseous a lot and get sick very suddenly with the only warning of a sudden acid reflux kinda of feeling. I have started having problems with my back, which I feared from the start since I hurt it almost 4 years ago. And then there is laying down.....I can't really breathe that well when I pay down so last night I started sleeping on my back with my head/chest propped up in a reclined position. I have to say, I feel like I slept better last night than I have in a while - only waking up twice (thanks to a full bladder) and quickly going back to sleep (which is unheard of lately)!
I went to the doctor last Wednesday for the start of my twice-monthly appointments. She had some suggestions for my recent issues, and I have started taking her latest advice and so far, so good! I get the pleasure of wearing a support belt from now on to see if it helps my back, but it doesn't get delivered until today so we'll see in a few days or so if it helps. I get to take Z.antac once or twice a day as needed to help with the acid issue - and boy does it help! The only day I've gotten sick since Wednesday was Sunday and I think that was because I forgot to take a Z.antac that morning - not anymore, I'm taking one every day from now on!! Unfortunately my blood pressure has been a bit high the past two visits with her, so I got to do a 24-hour urine collection on Sunday (yes, it's as glamorous as it sounds) and have labs taken yesterday for her to use as a baseline in case it keeps going up. They can also test for a protein that I think can indicate if preeclampsia is a possibility (if not it could just be gestational hypertension)....either way, oh goody! So my dear hub has been doing his best to make sure I take it easy and stay as stress-free as possible......he is truly a blessing and such an incredible man....he will be a phenomenal dad, even if he's unsure....I can just tell! So now I just get to wait and hope I don't hear from the doctor's office....no news from them means good news for me!
We got a call last night that told us our new crib was in, so we made our way to B'R'Us to pick it up after dinner......I think we are going to LOVE it! Greg didn't feel up to putting it together last night, so that is on tonight's agenda....unless he decides to do it today while he is off work. Either way, Eli's room will get put back together tonight and I will be able to take some new pictures! In case you haven't figured it out, we are naming our handsome little guy Elijah Royal Burks, Eli for short. Royal is after Greg's grandfather who passed in October - he was a big part in Greg's life and was thrilled to hear in September that he would be having a Burks great-grandbaby....unfortunately he passed before we found out it was a boy or had any pictures to show him, I know they would've loved each other!
Eli is very active still.....this past week it has felt like he has moved from the lower left side of my belly and taken up residence right under my rib cage. All morning I have felt the bizarre sensation of something on the bottom of my ribs.....I can only guess it's his fingers or toes playing around in there! Such a strange feeling, but still so very cool! Greg will put his hand on my belly when Eli is being active at night and just sit there commenting on how strange that is - and I respond by telling him he wouldn't disagree if it was his belly moving. Very natural feeling to me, but there is still something a little strange about it!
On a different note, he has finished his main PT sessions and they have asked our insurance for approval to do 24 more sessions with him. He had a new x-ray done last Friday so we are hoping they can tell if there has been any improvement. He has had hardly any lower back pain at all since he's been going, but now his upper back is hurting more so we're not sure if that is just the PT working it to strengthen it or what. Hopefully though he does good.....he's actually been taking it easy when he hurts and using a heating pad like a normal person instead of ignoring the pain like he usually does, so that in itself is improvement to me!!
I am in complete disbelief that two months have gone by. I mean, I have a two month old son, that is craziness! He is pure sweetness though, isn't he?! How could you not love that face?? This has been an interesting past two months. I have to say, we have been very blessed with a child that sleeps well and eats very well and is healthy and happy - we really won the lottery with this kiddo! E is eating a ton - at least 6 bottles a day, 5 1/2 to 6 ounces a bottle. Over the past month he has gone from 9 pounds 15 ounces to a whopping 13 pounds 8 ounces (yep, you read that right!) and has shot up from 21 3/4 inches to 23 3/4 inches tall. He is in the 80th percentile straight across the board for his 2 month check-up! He is sleeping at least 6 hours at night, sometimes more, which makes mama very happy! His pediatrician said that if his weight gain stays this steady and he is over the 95th percentile next month then we will probably be starting cereal after next month's check-up to keep his weight gain and calorie intake under control. He got his first round of shots today and he did really well, although I am a little fearful of tonight because he has pretty much been sleeping all day since we got home so this could be a really long night!
