Grandpa

Today was a very special day for you, Waylon. You got to meet your grandfather. Your grandpa is officially the very first family member to hold you (besides mam & papa of course). I think grandpa was very happy. Mama gave him a really cute picture of you with a paci in your mouth in a glass frame. He seemed to like it. Grandpa took us out to eat at a chinese buffet. You were a little bit fussy because you hadn't really slept all day and didn't get to eat much, either. We had to take you home after a short visit because I didn't want you to get over stimulated and overtired. You had a big dinner and are now sleeping.

You are also 2 weeks and 1 day old now. It is almost the New Year. Mama really hopes that 2012 will bring us some hope. It's been a really rough week for mama and papa, not just because of our hopeless situation right now but also mama has been suffering from the baby blues. It's not your fault at all, though. We love you more than anything, and you are teaching us to be good parents. I went to the library and borrowed a DVD and a book called The Happiest Baby on the Block and there are some really good techniques in there that we are trying to master to calm you down when you cry. They don't always work on you. It really worries us when you cry real hard and we can't figure out why. I hope you aren't in pain, but it seems like you are hurting when you scream.

We discovered gripe water and gas drops. They don't always work but they sure do help. I think you just like the taste because they are sweet. A little trick I do is to put a drop of the berry flavored gas drops on your pacifier so you will take it better. Sometimes you like your paci, sometimes you projectile spit it out and get mad. Diaper changes still piss you off pretty bad, as does being swaddled. You are a very squirmy baby.

Mama is going to try to get you to bottle feed. The first time I tried you kinda took to it but I think you just weren't really hungry. I may have to go to work really soon so papa will have to be able to feed you when I'm at work. Next week mama will be going to Atlanta to a job interview. Hopefully mama will get the job so we can get the hell out of this place.

You gave papa a big smile today. He was totaly siked. I've seen you smile while suckling a couple times. You have the cutest smile with a dimple on your left cheek. Most of the time though, you have your brows furrowed and you're just mad. But we think that's cute, too.

1 week old

Waylon, we made it through one week! You are faring much better than mama & papa though. We are pretty much the living dead right now. For whatever reason you don't like to sleep at night. You will sleep through anything all day long but as soon as night time comes, you wanna get pissed. Mama has gotten next to no sleep and papa gets cranky (like you) when you cry for what seems like no reason.

We've learned a lot about you. First of all, you really HATE having your diaper changed. As soon as you hear the sticky flaps come off, you are banging your little fists and kicking your feet. You are really quite strong! In fact, you can already lift your head off my chest when we are laying down. You also like to fight me when it's feeding time. I have a hard time getting your arms still enough to pop a boob in your mouth.

We atill don't know what color your eyes are going to be but we've been wishing that they turn blue like your daddy's eyes. It'll be another surprise to look forward to. When you are calm, you like to look around and observe your surroundings. Papa hung a mobile from the ceiling fan and sometimes you stare at that, trying to focus. In the early morning, when I feed you, you stare into my face. Those are my favorite moments. You have the cutest eyes. They look asian, kind of like mine. You make cute little faces at me, too. My personal favorite is the kissy face, when you pucker your little lips and that's when I have to smother you with kisses. The other face you make that cracks me up is the nipple chomp. It also strikes fear into me cause I know that means I am about to experience PAIN. Right before you latch on, you get this lion face like you are going in for the kill! It's so cute but scary at the same time.

Papa came up with a nickname for you - WayJay. Mama came up with an even better one for you - Chairman Mao. After the chinese dictator. I don't think I have to really explain why, this picture says it all.

papa says keep your pimp hand strong!

Yesterday was your first doctor's appointment. Papa likes to wear you in the sling so he can get all the attention. We took you all over yesterday and you were a good boy. The doctor said you were at 8 lbs and had grown to 21"! That's very good considering many babies actually lose weight right after coming home. You may be a hell raising fighter when it comes to feeding time but mama is more tenacious than you think, and I will feed you no matter how much it hurts! You are perfectly healthy.

2 things that mama has done that she never imagined she would be doing. I needed to see if you had made a poopy and I didn't wanna wake you up and disturb you so I had to lift your bottom up to my face, bury my nose into your diapered bum and take a deep sniff. No poop. Yay!

Second thing - this morning I saw the snotty booger you had hanging out in your nose for the past couple days that I am pretty sure was bothering you. I could hear you trying to breath around it but the bulb syringe thing was not powerful enough to suck it out. So... you guessed it - mama had to suck that booger out herself. I think you were much happier after that.

Even though you are in general, a very angry baby, we love the stuffing out of you. Just let us get some sleep at some point, OK?

omg bewbs

I've always been a big-chested girl but this is just wrong. By Sunday, I had canon balls for boobs and they HURT. I should just rename this blog to Adventures in Boobland because this past week has been all about the boobies. Aside from having serious problems with latching and nipples that feel like they have been rubbed with 50 grit sandpaper and sprayed with mace, my boobs have become so engorged with milk that anytime I whip them out, I'm spraying the whole room. And they're STILL engorged. I almost don't have to latch the baby onto the nipple, I could just aim for his mouth and spray the milk in. Which actually happened once. He was so pissed off he wouldn't sit still enough for me to get the nipple in his mouth. He's screaming his head off, arms and legs flailing all over the place and my boob just can't wait any longer and poor Waylon's got breastmilk spraying all over his face. The funny thing was, he started lapping at it! Despite the screaming mad baby, I couldn't help but laugh...poor thing.

I actually stole a couple of cabbage leaves from the supermarket (I didn't need a whole cabbage and we had no money to buy one anyways) and stuffed those in my bra. I don't think they did much other than make my boobs smell like cabbage. I've tried the hot & cold compresses, everything but the tylenol. When I feed Waylon, I have to hold my boob in just the right way other wise I'd suffocate and crush the poor little guy.

He's here!! Waylon's Birth Story

Waylon arrived to this world on Thursday December 15th at 11:15 pm. I had absolutely no warning. In fact, I was kind of deflated cause I thought I would have had him over the previous weekend but no. So thursday was just another day, Chris finished up the roofing job he got and I hung out with him at the jobsite for a bit while they cleaned up. Then we came home to relax. I made spicy chicken fingers for dinner and settled into bed to watch TV while Chris played his silly video games on the computer. I had not really been feeling any Braxton Hicks contractions so when at exactly 7:39 pm (I put our alarm clock right next to the TV so I know this exact time) I felt a pretty strong contraction, I was mildly surprised but not really thinking much about it. Then, exactly 5 minutes later I felt another one. I continued eating my chicken fingers. 5 minutes later I felt another one, and I kinda had to stop chewing for a sec and think about how strong that contraction felt cause I didn't want to get all excited for nothing.

5 minutes later, I had my answer. Strong contraction. I tell Chris, who didn't really want to believe me, partly because he was engrossed in his computer game. I told him we may be going to the hospital tonight. Just in case, I decided to get a little prepared and gather some things. I wanted to take a shower and straighten my hair. 15 minutes and several powerful, deep contractions later, I realized doing my hair was not gonna happen and I jumped in the shower real quick. I let Chris know that IT WAS TIME. No delay because the contractions were super strong and coming regularly. I wasn't really expecting those kinds of contractions, they were deep and sharp as opposed to the BH contractions which just feel like your whole belly tightening up. While getting ready to leave, I had to stop and double over and breathe through every contraction.

I called my midwife just to make sure I was really in labor. I had a contraction while talking to her and she said she would meet me at the hospital. My grandmother called right in the middle of all this to see how I was doing and all I had time to tell her was, "we're going to the hospital now". I felt like I was running out of time. On the way to the car, we told our neighbor who was outside (really nice couple who gave us a bunch of baby stuff) that we were going to the hospital!

Chris drove. I guess by this time it was getting real and his franticness was making him drive a little too fast. He said if he hit someone, he was going to just keep going, which was making me laugh in between grtting my teeth during contractions. I couldn't believe how much they already hurt! We get to the hospital and Chris did his first noob move and for whatever reason, stopped at the first chair in the main lobby of the hospital and set all the bags down. I was making a beeline for L&D. Halfway down the hall I noticed he was not with me and I turned around and saw him by the front door and yelled out, "What the hell are you doing? Come ON!" He quickly gathered up the bags and scurried up next to me. I guess he thought he was just gonna wait for me by the front door?!

We briskly walk to L&D on the 4th floor, which is a ridiculously long and twisting maze. I go to the window and the lady there asked me essentially why I was there. I was trying not to be rude but I was like, "I'm having a baby...?!" I had to give her my ID's and wait. Patiently we sat down while I had a few more painful contractions. I started to lose my patience because I thought the whole point of pre-registering at the hospital was to SKIP the waiting process.

I had to take a picture of Chris at this point because he had this look of sheer terror on his face. Finally, the nurse brings me back into triage and I had to give a urine sample (probably to confirm my pregnancy!!) and answer a ton of stupid questions that made me madder and madder. I was losing it. Finally, one of my midwifes appeared and I felt better. I was dilated to 6 cm. They couldn't find my files. In any case, they finally wheeled me back to my Labor & Delivery suite. By that time, I was definitely and obviously in labor. Holy hell did the contractions HURT. I think Chris got lost going to the bathroom at some point on the way to L&D and my midwife had to wait/look for him to make sure he knew what room I was going to.

I sit on the bed, get myself comfortable for what I thought would be hours of contractions ahead of me. I began to doubt my decision to deliver naturally. I thought if they were this painful already, I may not really make it through. Chris decides to go moseying about, and went out to have a cigarette and apparently a chicken sandwich from the Chik-fil-a downstairs. During that time, I went from 6 cm dilation to 8 cm. The contractions were coming one right after another. I was getting pissed. Where the HELL did Chris go??? I was about to have someone page him or go look for him when he came striding into the room, sandwich in hand. I'm glad somebody was having a nice, relaxful evening!

I labored on the delivery bed for a short while, trying to relax through the contractions. Chris looked at me with guilty worried looks and kept asking me if I was "OK". Poor guy didn't know what the hell to say or do, but he stood there next to me and held my hand. Apparently I went through every classic emotional signpost of labor. I started to seriously doubt my ability to continue - not just drug-free but in general. It felt like I had gotten myself into something I really couldn't handle. Melissa the midwife suggested I go to the bathroom to relive myself. I was having a very hard time finding a comfortable position to labor in so I figured that peeing would make things easier. I think my midwife tricked me and knew exactly what would happen. I peed. As soon as I started peeing, my water broke and it felt like his head was coming out. I screamed and Melissa ran in to help me crab-walk on my tiptoes to the bed. I think I may have given the poor woman bruises on her shoulders because I was gripping her so tight.

I barely had time to make it to the bed and sort of halfway sat/leaned on it. Melissa lifted my left leg and I KNEW that the baby was gonna come out at the very next urge to push. I was struck with intense fear and Melissa looked me in the eyes and reassured me that I could do it, I was almost done. She ordered Chris to hold my right leg up, which he did as best he could considering the angle I was at. Waylon's head had crowned and Chris said when he looked down, he saw a head of hair. Sure enough, at the next urge to push, the rest of Waylon slid out.

Before I knew it, I had a soft, warm squishy little body laying across my stomach. It was the most surreal moment. I had thought before that I would probably cry like a blubbering idiot but I was just overwhelmed with a sense of pure happiness and peace instead. It was like a moment frozen in time, where all I noticed was this happy feeling and nothing else. I didn't even look over at Chris, who I think was the one who cried. I held Waylon while we waited for the cord to stop pulsing. Melissa had me feel the pulse in the cord. She held up the cord and showed us the perfect knot Waylon had tied in utero. Then it was time to push out the placenta and Melissa showed us where the baby had lived inside my stomach. It was all so amazing. Once the cord stopped pulsing, Chris cut it while one of the nurses took a picture.

Waylon is perfect. He was alert, screaming, and had all working parts. At first, he resembled a blueberry. Then he turned pink. I breastfed him almost immediately. It was all over so fast I just had to live in the moment. Chris and I were just enraptured by this little being.

I'll spare all the gorier details of the aftermath but suffice to say it all went well. I only needed 4 stitches =).

Happy Birthday Waylon!

you stinker!

My midwife was surprised to see me today. She was expecting to deliver you over the weekend but instead you decided to stay in my belly a bit longer. If you don't come out by this time next week, you will be given an official eviction notice. You have until December 21st, kiddo.

You know there's a lot of people who are excited and happy about your arrival. It's amazing how even total strangers have given you such wonderful wishes and gifts. Your grandma Vicki is buying you a bed, your great grandma Betty and great aunty Susan sent you money for diapers and butt cream. Our next door neighbor gave you a bunch of clothes and diapers, and some pacifiers. Your papa's friends Emmett and Chelsea gave you a whole ton of clothes and a really cool looking bathtub that I think you will have lots of fun playing in. Your momma's best friend Liz gave your momma a bunch of maternity things to get her through 9 months of growing you. Your momma's aunty Moonja gave us some money to buy you things with. Aren't you a lucky kid? All these people care about you and wish you well, baby. It's important to be thankful for other people's generosity and to show your appreciation - one day you'll learn and understand that.

Oh I forgot to mention - this morning your papa helped me put on on my shoes. The notable thing about this is that I didn't even ask him, he just did it. Isn't that sweet? If it wasn't for you Waylon, your papa wouldn't be turning into such a gentleman.

39 weeks

I am now a little over 39 weeks pregnant and despite the news of dilation and effacement at my last prenatal appointment, no baby yet. When I went in for the appointment last friday, I wasn't expecting my midwife to tell me that I was 3 cm dilated and 80% effaced. She said you were at -1 station and weighed between 7 - 7 1/2 lbs. You are head down and ready to go. In fact, she seemed to think I would go into labor that weekend, and sure enough I started getting contractions. The contractions have faded a lot since sunday so I think you are going to wait a few more days. Which is fine with me, baby. Take your time.

Mama went and got a LOT of things done since hearing about your impending arrival. We bought a bunch of diapers (your papa looked so funny carrying boxes of diapers) and wipes and all sorts of stuff for your little butt. Our neighbors gave us some clothes, pacifiers & size 2 diapers for you. We re-arranged our room (which was a major pain in the ass for me because your papa did NOT want to do it) so that I could make a little diapering/sleeping area for you next to the bed and so I could get in and out of bed easier, since it was originally pushed up against the wall. Now you have a cute little nook right next to me where I put all your clothes and your diaper stuff and your laundry basket bassinet. Mama will get you a proper bed as soon as she can.

Today your papa finally got some roofing work from the guy who promised him a roofing job but then stood him up on it. He originally didn't want to go because he wasn't expecting to hear from the guy and it was so sudden and he figured he wouldn't work until after you arrived. But he came to his senses and went to work today. It's only a few bucks but it's better than nothing and mama is very happy to get him out of the house. It would be funny if you decided to show up on the one or two days that papa got work. You better not, though. Even grandpa wants you to wait until later in the week, he has to drive down from Knoxville, Tennessee and he has some stops to make in Atlanta while he's down here.

Speaking of Knoxville, what do you think about living there? Mama wants to move somewhere soon and try to find a place to settle down for a while. I'm tired of living with other people at their mercy. I appreciate it but we need our own space where I can take care of you properly. Knoxville is only about 4 hours from Columbus and it is close to the Smoky Mountains, which I love. It gets colder in the winter and I hear fall is just beautiful. I would love to have our little cabin in the woods near the Smokies.

Well, I can't wait to meet you baby. I'm glad you didn't show up on December 10th, because that is my mother's birthday and I don't want to share you. You couldn't compete with her day and that wouldn't be fair to you. I want you to arrive on December 21st, because then you'll be like me, only just the opposite. It's a silly wish and it doesn't really matter when you choose to arrive but it would be cool if it happened that way. I just don't know if I can wait that long, I want to hold you now. So does your papa, he's getting very very excited. I think the only one who isn't ecstatic over your arrival is the dog, Bibi, who has been acting very weird and clingy lately. She seems depressed now but I know once she meets you, you will be her very own human lollipop and she will protect you with her life.

false alarm

Waylon you gave your papa a good scare yesterday. We went to Cooper Creek park with Bibi and as we were walking down the path, momma suddenly felt a gush of water run down her legs, puddling in her boots. I thought that my water had broke and you were going to arrive. Papa looked like a deer caught in headlights. I couldn't stop laughing. Papa quickly got Bibi back on the leash and we headed back to the car. I wasn't sure if my water had really broken or if I had just peed myself, but by the time we got to the car, I was pretty sure I had just peed. Papa was relieved. He told you to hang in there a while longer cause he aint quite ready yet.

I think I've topped off on the weight gain. I weigh 203. I actually lost a couple of pounds since my midwife appointment a few weeks ago. Everything looks good. I have excellent blood pressure and stats. My hemoglobin was a bit low so I need to eat and drink more but other than that I am perfectly healthy.

We still haven't gotten a rocking chair or something for you to sleep in yet. We are working on that but finding work for your papa is going a bit slow. He quit his cook job at the bbq restaurant because he found a roofing job but now the roofing guy is stalling. Hopefully papa can get in at least a week's worth of work before you get here.

I can't wait sometimes. But at the same time we just aren't ready. I don't think we could ever really be fully prepared anyways so I am not going to panic too much about it. No matter what, you will be fine.

So far mama has crocheted you a teddy bear with a heart on his chest, a monster hat, a really soft brimmed beanie (probably too big for you), and a little green monster toy.

nesting

Waylon, your momma taught herself to crochet in one day just so she could knit you some hats and booties. Since my sewing machine doesn't work (I don't think it ever did, I lugged that hunk of junk to Texas and back for nothing), I couldn't sew anything for you and I had big plans for sewing you stuff. I was going to make cloth diapers, a quilt, some tunics & pants and toys for you. Hopefully someday soon I will get a sewing machine so I can make you this stuff.

So far I crocheted you a monster hat, which is really cute, and a really soft hat made of bamboo yarn. I am going to make matching booties for these next.

We don't have much, but I managed to fannagle a few things for you. As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I ordered a free sling from sevenslings.com. I paid $11 for shipping and that was it. But it's not really the most functional sling so just recently I got an infantino 6-in-1 convertable sling off of craigslist for $10. It's really nice and we are going to look so cute in it! Your momma is pretty thrifty, huh?

The only thing I wish is that you were born in the spring. I worry about it being so cold when you are a newborn. I don't want you to get sick or be cold. I wish I could take you to the park and stuff but I don't know if that's a good idea when you are so tiny.

Your thrifty momma also got you a brand-new convertable carseat for $5 just for attending a carseat safety class! It should last you a long time, until you are big enough to sit in a booster seat. You have to stay in the rear-facing seat until you are old enough to hold your head up. Then you can move to forward-facing. You have to stay in a car or booster seat until you are 8 years old, though. Sorry.

You've got tons of clothes and a bathtub, all given to me from different people. Your momma's best friend Liz gave us a bunch of stuff before we left for Texas - a breast pump, some baby toiletries, a pack-n-play, a baby monitor. I wish she was still here to meet you, she had to move to China with her family.

You are such a good baby. You haven't given me any problems, and momma is very grateful for that. I haven't had hardly any symptoms of being pregnant except for getting fatter. My back and hips hurt like hell sometimes, and it's hard to move but most of the time I am OK. You never made me throw up or have heartburn or anything like that. I hope this means you will be a good boy on the outside too. I think you will.

Your momma and papa love you very much. You may wonder why you don't have a big family with a bunch of aunts and uncles and stuff but I promise you will have lots and lots of friends and people who love you and will take care of you. Momma will make sure you are never lonely.

35 weeks

My belly is getting pretty big. I have this one stretchy kimono shirt that is black with a flower print on it that makes me look smaller than I really am. I've been posing in that shirt for most of my baby bump pictures.

A couple nights ago you were playing in my belly at bedtime as usual, your papa and I were watching a movie in bed and you decided to put on your own show. I could see my belly flopping from side to side as you moved around in there. I don't know what you were trying to do, but at times it was pretty dang uncomfortable. I guess you are running out of room in there.

I can feel your rump right next to my belly button. It's hard and when you move it is the funniest feeling. Sometimes I like to feel you moving around, it makes me smile. Sometimes I want to smack you back, especially when you kick me in the kidneys or scratch my cervix with your little fingers. I don't like the way that feels.

I can tell when you get the hiccups now. Before, I wondered how other mamas could tell the difference between a hiccup and just kicking, but a hiccups has a rhythm. You get them pretty often, I think it's from practicing to breathe and swallowing fluids in there.

Your papa and I discussed nicknames for you. There really isn't a way to shorten Waylon so we have to come up with something else. Your papa is good at coming up with nicknames, he's given the dog about 20 of them. He says he's going to call you "duder" like from the movie the Big Lebowsky. Or "little duder". I was going to call you Tommy because we were going to give you 2 middle names, after both of your grandads. But we thought 2 middle names a bit much so now it's just the one - James. After my dad.