Expect the Unexpected

So I had a huge post all typed out about the events of the last few weeks but I think I'm going to keep those feelings to myself and put it in my written journal. But in a nutshell this is what has happened:

*Elijah was very fussy and sleepy for a whole week.
*Found out he's not putting on weight as well as he should.
*Found out I haven't been making enough milk for him due to a bunch of compounding factors.
*I cry and curse damn formula everytime I have to make it.
*I've been pumping like a crazy woman and taking a nasty herbal supplement that makes me and Eli smell like rotten maple syrup. Hope this increases my milk supply.
*The fussiness continues.
*We go to the doctor. Elijah has acid reflux. He is deemed a scrawny screamer.
*Now he's on meds and sleeping like a baby :)
*AND now he has a cold due to the congestion caused by the acid reflux.
*Poor baby. Saddest thing ever.
*Wonderful hubby lets me take off and go see a girly movie all by myself. Bliss.
*Wonderful hubby takes over night shifts on weekends so I can sleep. Again, bliss.

*This is what we do all day- Feed breastmilk in bottle, if still hungry feed formula in bottle, burp after each ounce, change, play, swaddle, put down for nap, pump, try to get something done, repeat.

*Needless to say we have been very tired and our house looks like a bomb went off.

Just cuz

My current wardrobe of choice: spitup

Pope of the ducks

Adorable

Who's your daddy?

Update

Holding onto bunny for dear life while getting his diaper changed

Cooking with mommy

First time in baby bijorn

Getting a head massage while my hair is washed

First time at church

Photo Shoot

Favorite sleeping position during the day

Elijah is getting better about getting his diaper changed, he only screams a little bit now:)
He always has to have something in his mouth, a pacifier, his hand etc.
He smiled at me today.
His hair is out of control.
He's finally filling out his newborn clothes.

5 Years later and we still got the heat!

Happy Anniversary to us! 5 years and going strong. I love you Matt and glad you are mine forever!

I should rename my blog Elijah

Cute Pics of the Week: Look at how much hair he has! I think he'll surpass his daddy pretty soon:)

He's Growing!

2 week checkup: 5lbs 10oz., 20.25" long
I'm so happy he's finally getting some meat on his bones. Eat bubba eat!

*He had his first bath, no more sponge baths here. He loves getting his hair washed in the sink. He wasn't too sure about the bath tub. Dad had to hold his hand and give him a binky to make him feel safe.



*He slept for 4 hours last night, I feel very refreshed now. That's the most sleep I've gotten in 2 weeks:)
*He is sporting a mullet right now
*We found the best newborn diapers. He hasn't peed outside of them yet. (Correction: He just peed through them)
*We finally have some sense of a routine around here. Eat, Activity, Sleep, You Time
*He HATES having his diaper changed

Reflections on the past 2 weeks

These past weeks have been the hardest I've ever had in my life- emotionally and physically. I now know I am one of those people that doesn't function well on less than 2 hours of sleep. I get super emotional and onery. I thought I had prepared myself for just about anything but it's like as soon as that little bundle is all yours, you forget every single thing you ever read and become so unsure of yourself that I'd say the confidence level is equivalent to the amount you have in junior high...none. You really don't know what having a baby is like until you experience it, there is nothing like it. Elijah is in dream land right now. And bytheway, who knew babies could be so noisy when they sleep?! I had to move into the other room to sleep the other day due to his little grunts and squirming. He is so loveable and is such a great baby to put up with all the manhandling he's had to go through. He had to have his blood drawn for some tests. I couldn't look, the needle looked so huge compared to his little vein. Then they had this adhesive urine bag that he had to pee in. The dumb thing was so stuck to his poor little bum and boy parts. The phlebotomist didn't even want to take it off. So when we got home we had Matt sit in the tub with him to soak while my mom used vaseline to pry the thing off. I meanwhile held his little legs and cried silently because it looked so painful pulling on his delicate skin. He is starting to smile more. Mostly it occurs after has passes gas or is right about to fall asleep. We love him, he is so precious. I didn't know you could become so attached to a person in such a small amount of time, I could watch him all day.

More Pics

I love my chair

What are you lookin' at?

I think my beanie is too big

A common sight around our house these days

For Grandma Anderton- I love my horsie outfit. Giddiup.

Happy Happy Birthday...

Happy 1 week Birthday Eli! You have turned our lives upside down and we love you for it. You are so sweet when you sleep and I love it when you look all milk drunk after a feeding. At the moment I feel like a milking cow trying to help you pack on the pounds as you are slowly returning to your birthweight. You are our world!

Love, Mommy and Daddy

Bath Time

Couldn't decide on which one to post, so I posted both. Notice the curls. Think Blue Tuxedo (Amy).

Relaxing, all warm and snuggly.

Elijah Day One at Home

Peaceful Dreaming

Looking at Mama

Catching some Zzzzs (He does this a lot)

Flowers from Grandma A

Wide awake after a feeding

First Car Ride

Swaddled

Looking cool in his Air Jordan beanie (Thanks Devin!)

Not happy about all the tags and bandages hanging off of him

Elijah Videos

The Labor Room



Hiccups



First Car Ride

More Elijah Photos

First Family Photo

Taking a Snooze

Looking at the World

I'm so Cute, Right?

Having fun in Picasa

Daddy Time

The First Diaper (I'm glad the meconium phase is over)

Mommy Time

Labor Day

So to begin, I had my a doctors appointment on Tuesday the 21st. I was dilated to a 3 and my blood pressure was a little high. Nothing to worry about. But to be on the safe side my doctor had me get some blood work done that same day. My doctor received the results of my blood work Wednesday the 22nd at 11:30pm. She called us at home and told us that we needed to go to the hospital so that they could monitor me overnight. We got to the hospital at 11:52 pm. My blood platelet levels had dropped from 240 to 140 and my liver enzyme levels were high. These are classic symptoms of HELLP syndrome which is a variant of pre-eclampsia. I had no indication that anything was wrong because I felt fine. But if something like this were to get out of control they would have had to do blood transfusions and all sorts of scary things and the baby would be at very high risk. So after spending Wednesday night at the hospital and people coming in every couple hours and sticking me like a sewing tomato, my doctor came in at 8:30am Thursday the 23rd and said, "Guess what? We are going to have a baby today!" She checked me and I had already dilated to a 5 on my own just since my last appoinment. She broke my water at 9:12 am. They hooked me up to a magnesium sulfate drip to control any sudden rise in my blood pressure and prevent seizures. This stuff made me super puky and I was dry heaving everything 15 mins and that stuff makes you feel really hot. So we had a big fan brought in and Matt dabbed at my face with a wet washcloth. I had steady contractions starting at around 10am. When I was dilated to a 6 almost 7, I received my epidural at 11:ooam. God bless that anesthisiologist, he was a miracle worker. At 1:15 pm I was dilated to a 10. They let me rest and discend on my own til around 1:55pm. I pushed about 5 times and baby boy entered the world at 2:03pm! He had a small little cry and is as cute as a button. I got to hold him for about 2 mins after he was born then Matt took off with the him and the nurses to the nursery to do a bunch of tests and clean him up. I was stuck in my bed until 7pm because I had to stay hooked to a catheter so they could monitor my urine output to make sure my kidneys were doing ok. And they had to keep me on the magnesium drip until my blood pressure was stable. So I didn't get to see my baby again until around 8:30pm! I was so sad, and still in shock that we had just had a baby. He was pretty lethargic for the first 12 hours because of the magnesium drip I was on. They were concerned about his respiratory system and lack of responsivenss, but as of now he is doing great. The only thing is he can't control his body temperature on his own very well so they have to keep him in the nursery a lot under the "McFry" warmer, which means we don't get to see him as often as we'd like. As of right now I am doing really well and baby is steadily progressing and we hope that he gets to come home on Sunday. I'm able to pump and give him the colostrum I produce and they syringe it into his mouth in the nursery. I'm determined to have him be a breastfed baby, it just might take a little more time and effort than I expected. It is still so surreal that we have a baby. We are so glad that everything turned out ok and that our Heavenly Father was looking out of us and our little baby. It just goes to show that life is what happens when we're making other plans. And my mom hopped on the first flight our and got here around 7pm yesterday. She's an angel. I cannot express enough how wonderful the doctor and nurses were. They were huge blessings in keeping us calm and relaxed about the blur of events. Thanks to all our family and friends for the congratulations and wanting to help with everything. We love you!

He's Here! 4 weeks early!

Baby Boy Anderton (we have yet to pick a solid name for him-we are leaning towards Elijah Marriner Anderton)
Born: July 23, 2009 at 2:03pm
5lbs. 11oz
18"

More details to come of all the drama behind the scenes, but to tide you over here are some cute pics of our new baby boy. We love him more than ever.

We're having a baby!

Contraction face, note the white knuckles on my ice cup.

After epidural- heaven.

Baby boy

Dad holding baby for first time

Baby holding Daddy's finger

Pure cuteness