2 Week Well Check

Today was Ezra's 2 week well check.  Things went as good as to be expected, he just seems already to be our high maitenance kid.  I'm pretty sure there was nothing to report at Gage's 2 week check up.  I know he had gained 1lb. and 9 oz. at 2 weeks and 3 days.  Ezra now weighs in at 8lbs. 8oz., a 1lb. 2 oz gain in 2 weeks.  Seems to be pretty consistent.  Both of my kids like(d) to eat and both of them were well fed at this point.  In fact, if you remember, I was feeding Gage too much, because I was an overproducer and today the Dr. told me I was feeding Ezra too often and to give him a Nuk instead.  She said we had to find some way of holding him off between feedings.  I do think he was in the middle of a growth spurt these last few days so I was pretty easy on him....but maybe introducing him to Mr. Nuk will change things.  I  like how almost 3 years later, Gage still has one....grrrr..

Anyway, even though Ezra is perfectly healthy, there are a few things that need to be followed up on in the next year or so, so I thought I'd write them down as not to forget to ask at the next appt.  By the way, they did no length measurement or head circumference, so I'm a little disappointed in not knowing all his stats.  Anyway, Ezra was born with a skin tag on his ear (sometimes indicative of a hearing and/or kidney problem). At this point, we think both are working fine, but we do have to follow up with a renal ultrasound in a few months and a hearing test between 6-12 months.  We also have to follow up with a pediatric ENT in a few months to see if they'll want to remove the skin tag or let it be.  We already know we won't get it removed if he has to be under general anesthesia; however, if they can do it locally, we might consider it.  Apparently, there is some magic window we have to get it done in before they will consider doing it w/o general.  Also, Ezra has already decided he has a favorite side to sleep on and constantly rolls to his right side when we put him down.  We have to be careful and make sure to switch him over to his left side every other time we put him down so he won't acquire torticollis or get a misshapen head!

Lastly, Ezra has some kind of fluid filled sac down south we have to keep an eye on to make sure it doesn't turn into a hernia.  Again, the doctor said not to worry about it and they'll check it again at 2 months.  Unfortunately it doesn't seem like they can do much for Ezra since he's so uncomfortable after feedings.  Gage had the same problem and we ended up with reflux medicine but they don't think E has the same thing.  Maybe because he's not actually spitting up (by the way guys, if I can have a baby that doesn't spit up EVERY feeding, I don't know what I'll do) or because they have changed the way they diagnose it, but they don't feel he has reflux and instead they think it's just gas and will go away in a couple of months.  That's all fine and good, but I HATE to see him in pain after eating.  As I said before, we are going to introduce the Nuk and I'm going to start pumping to build my freezer supply and because it's such awesome weather, I plan on taking Ezra for a walk tomorrow and yay!  I'm free to drive! This time, cabin fever has been killing me!  I think that's it for now. 

When I take him back for his 2 month appt, Gage will be going to his 3 year appt....should be fun times for all.  Part of me wanted to take them in seperately because it would be easier, but really, why should I drive to the dr's twice in one week if I don't have to?  Plus, I'm now the mama of 2, so I better get used to having both of them in tow!  AND Gage doesn't have to get any shots (he just had his flu shot last week) so we should be good to go.

Here is my sweet boy at 2 weeks, can you tell he's plumped up some?

He is here,he is here!

This is probably my tenth time or so trying to announce Ezra's arrival via my blog since last Wed. pm.  However, the hospital we were at had zero Internet service and the 1st few days home have been a blur. I sat down last night to go through pictures and put together a post and my top of the line computer, of course over heated and crashed. Par for the course. All of my faithful blog readers (yeah, right) have been anxiously awaiting the news and have gotten nothing!   ha....so nevertheless.

Formally introducing:

Ezra Jude Itnyre

born Sept 19, 2012

2pm

7lbs, 6oz.



There's so much to write about and to share. I'd like to do a post on his birth story and our first couple of days home, but currently I have a to-do list a mile long. Isn't it funny that the 1st time all you have to do is sit around and snuggle your newborn baby and this time there seems like there's SO much to do.  Don't get me wrong, we've had plenty of snuggle time but there are just other things, etc.  I will say trying to spend as much time with Gage has been hard, but every day gets easier with a newborn and he won't get his feelings hurt as easy, so we'll figure out a good routine. I have more pictures to post but none of both my boys together, since Gage is.not.interested. at all.  I am sad to say I don't have that kid we can say, 'oh we were so worried about how he'd react and he's awesome'.........nope, the reality is, his world has been rocked.  More to come....



Friday the 13th

There will never be a Friday the 13th as long as I live that I don't think about Friday, November 13th, 2009 when I went into labor with my sweet Gage.  I know I've said it before, but really, Friday the 13th has an entirely different meaning to me than it does to everyone else (unless of course you birthed your child on that day).  Now, I'm about to embark on another similar journey and have another day that will probably stick in my  mind forever.  Here's a few newborn pictures that take me back to that day.



A day in the life of a 7 week old- babies have bad days, too

After the couch purchase on Saturday, we thought that wasn't enough and needed also to drop another grand on Sunday on a new mattress. Oh well, hopefully the little sleep we are getting will now be in more comfort and buying new furniture is always fun. However, mattresses are probably the last thing on the list of fun new furniture.

Anyway, I am counting down the days until I have to go back to work and trying to cherish every one of them. Gage is beginning to smile and interact much more and I will be so sad to leave him. I am jealous that Luke will get to stay home with for another 4 weeks! Our little boy has still decided that he will not sleep before 1am, however, we can't complain about his night feedings. He eats at 11pm and then at 5am, which if he keeps it up will fit perfectly into our schedules when we go back to work. It could be much worse.
However, yesterday, he slept ALL day long, I think he was up for only a few short hours and we were worried he might be sick. He is his most alert at night and wants to play. It's a shame...he is so cute at night but we don't want to play with him too much since we need to wind him down for the evening. He did put himself to sleep last night though. After hours of trying, I gave up and put him down when he was just a little drowsy and after 10 minutes of talking to himself he went right to sleep.

Today was a different story......today we started the morning with eating and his favorite activity-- the bath. He smiled and cooed and all was well. We went to his room to go through all of his clothes and pack away the ones that don't fit him anymore, etc. He was laying on the floor flat on his back and had been for about an hour when he projectile vomited EVERYWHERE. So...we took another sponge bath and ate again. All was well for another hour. Gage took a 20 minute cat nap and woke up with another belly ache. The vomit continued....We ate again and the cycle continued. The amount of vomit got smaller each time since he didn't have a full belly, but none the less, it continued.

Being a 1st time mom and the fact that it had happened 3 times in a row, I called the doctor to ask if I should be concerned and they told me to bring him in. What?!? We have been to the dr. every 2 weeks for his whole life! Anyway, they 'examined' him and said everything looked good and that it was only one day. Thanks....you could've told me that on the phone and saved me $20. They said only be concerned if it continues and try smaller portions more frequently. Again, they could've told me that on the phone. I was told to call back if it continues through the night and they will do an ultrasound tomorrow. I'm hoping it was just a bad day...

I was supposed to get my nails done tomorrow while Gage plays with Jacob.....ah, babies.

Mommy's Little Rockstar

Gage sure does love a bath. In fact, maybe that's why he poops on himself so often....just so we'll give him another. He was constantly smiling this morning in the water. I just wish he could stay in the bath all day...because he is so happy. It was definitely a moment to savor and I know there will be so many more. I can't wait!

Oh and I took this picture yesterday because his outfit matched the blanket so nicely.



Have a safe and happy New Year!

Blizzard 2009, Uncle Brian, Xmas and lots of visitors

Alot has happened since the last time I updated. Gage and myself have seen the most snow we have ever seen in our lives. Not impressive for only 5 weeks of life, but in my 29 years, I have never seen so much and living in this area, might never again. Anyway, it wasn't too eventful since it left us homebound....at least the power didn't go out. Luke shoveled for about 6 hours which was definitley not the highlight, but Gage did get to go out for a little bit to show off his Snowbaby impression.



The beginning of the week of Christmas put Grandma Sandi on a plane and brought the arrival of Uncle Brian. It was great to see him since we don't get to spend too much time w/ him living on the other side of the country. Uncle B and Gage got along well.



Christmas was wonderful. It was so much fun to be home with all the family, including my brother for the 1st time in about 5 years. Gage behaved very well and got to meet tons of people who were all very excited to see him. He survived all the pokes, pinches and baby talk. Gage was soo good when we were opening presents and just hung out on his Boppy and stared at his most favorite thing ever, the Xmas tree. Gage got more presents than the rest of us of course and can't wait to play with them when he gets a little older. He even dressed up for church and was VERY good during the whole service, just staring wide eyed at all of the lights.


GAge traveled pretty well only having to stop once each way to be changed and eat. It is a little more difficult to travel with a baby and our lives and travels will never be the same. Gage was very good at Grandma's house also and slept through the night, although he had a little trouble getting to sleep some nights. That was about the gist of our Holiday travels, nothing to write home about.

Gage has become a little fussier these days, wanting to interact with us more and fighting off sleep. He has been smiling a little in his sleep lately, but showed off a few while he was awake in the last week. We aren't convinced yet that he is smiling in response to something he enjoys, but he is smiling and making eye contact and we are anxiously awaiting something more certain. We also took Gage to the dr. for a few follow ups last week and he is now 11.5 lbs! He is growing so much and we can't believe he is only 6 weeks old. Here is the most recent picture where we think he looks all grown up. I hope everyone had a wonderful Xmas and please be safe on New Year's Eve!

One month old already!

Holy Crap! This will be a quick post, but I can't believe Gage was one month old already on Monday. He got his 1st bath and of course got to see Santa. He is beginning to smile, although he doesn't know why or at what. I'm posting a few of my favorite pictures from the last week.

Gage's 1st snowfall, power outage and Xmas tree

Gage saw his 1st snowfall when he was 3 weeks old! Too bad he won't remember it, but we had to make sure to dress him and take him outside anyway so that we would have pictures to prove it. His snowsuit was ridiculous and could fit he and 3 others in it, so we put him in it, took pictures and are hoping to take it back afterwards;).









We also decorated our Xmas tree on Saturday and right in the middle, the power went out and we were in the pitch dark for 2 hours. Oh well, we all had a good excuse to take a nap. I don't have pictures of the tree yet or GAge in front of the tree, but they are yet to come. I still need to find him a Xmas outfit to wear when he visits Santa Claus on Friday. Leaving tomorrow for a couple of hours to go to a meeting for grad school...woo hoo!

Grandma Sandi visits!

Grandma Sandi is here and will be for the next 2.5 weeks. Should be nice to get out of the house a little w/o Gage, if I want. I do have some Christmas shopping to do. This week has been quite the challenge w/ Luke being back at work and Gage refusing to be swaddled and go to sleep before 1am. Last night, it was 445am, which was pretty sweet and of course makes me thankful I'm not working at this point. Also glad it's Friday, so Luke can help tonight w/ our insomniac child. I also have a new favorite picture that I took of Gage yesterday before we went on our walk. Isn't he the sweetest?



And you can't see it in the picture since he has a hat on, but he is losing his hair which makes me so very sad. I didn't want a bald baby and hopefully won't have one, since he does have some hair.... I do hope he doesn't lose it in some crazy pattern in the back.

Hopefully Gage will see his 1st snowfall tomorrow. He got a snowsuit tonight from Grandma Sandi but it will more than likely eat him since it looks like it could fit a 3 year old. Nonetheless he will be out in his 1st snowfall tomorrow and decorate his 1st Christmas tree! We can't wait!

Mama's Big Boy!

Yet again we went to the doctor for the 3rd time in 2.5 weeks. (This week we went all by ourselves.) Gage is of course, getting bigger and bigger and still growing like a weed. This week instead of 15oz. he only gained 10oz! He is now 9lbs, 3oz! What a big boy! He has also grown almost 3 inches, I'm not sure what is normal, I looked it up but could only find that babies grow about an in. a month, so I guess we will keep you posted on that. They also did a head circumference measurement, but reported nothing to me. I might call to find out the percentile, etc. I'm assuming, if they don't point it out, then no news is good news. So the dr. put Gage on Zantac due to his being uncomfortable after eating, it might take up to 2 weeks to work, so again, we will play the waiting game. We have been able to maintain his spitting up and vomiting a little bit just knowing how much to feed him per sitting. Meanwhile, I could feed starving babies everywhere w/ the amount of milk I am still producing.

Other than our getting up early to take a bath before the dr's, today has been quite boring. We wanted to go for a walk but it just wasn't quite warm enough. Hopefully there will be one more day this week that will be nice enough before it gets cold cold. We are looking forward to several visitors this week and for Grandma Sandy to come on Friday!

Back to Work

Tomorrow is the real deal- I will officially be the primary caregiver of Gage. Luke goes back to work tomorrow and I'm a little nervous. I'm sure we'll do fine, but I think we'll be pretty lonely, we're so used to having Daddy home w/ us. I'm sure that Luke will call to check in and time will probably go by fast, but it shall be interesting. Tuesday morning is our 1st doctor's appointment w/o Daddy and that should be a challenge too. I have to get him up and get him and myself ready to go and drive there w/o sitting in the back seat w/ him, which reminds me I have to put the mirror into my car so that I can see him while I'm driving. And another thing, I have to pack a diaper bag...Daddy is the only one that has one right now. Oh my, lots of things to do and real life w/ a baby and errands is about to start. After this week, I might be thankful for Luke's mom to be here for the next 2. That in and of itself will be interesting to blog about, but am I allowed to do that??

What a week!

Well as you can tell, I was half right and half wrong, I suppose about my Friday the 13th prediction. I updated this blog one hour and ten minutes before my water broke ON Friday the 13th! Although we didn't make it to the hospital until midnight, November 14th, I was right that something would happen on Friday the 13th. Oh well, probably better he not be born on Friday the 13th anyway due to superstition.

So my labor wasn't as long as they had suggested and as most 1st labors are. I won't go into detail but really start to finish it was only about 8 hours and Saturday morning after 2 hours of pushing, I delivered the most beautiful perfect baby boy at 905am. He was 7lbs, 10oz, exactly as the nurse predicted. I guessed 7.14 and Luke 7.8. Anyway, Gage Paxton was perfect in every way and is truly a blessing to Luke and I. We left the hospital Monday and overall it was a good experience. Not the one that some had preached about Prince William, but definitely not bad.

Monday, Gage had his 1st visitors...Grandma and Granddiddy Satterfield came to visit. They helped out alot and brought us food and did a little cleaning. Wednesday, the 18th we went to GAge's 1st dr's appt. and he was already back up to his birth weight! Amazing, the dr. said sometimes it takes 2 weeks. However, Gage was eating like a champ so I'm sure that had something to do with it. Either way we got a good report and will go back to the dr. the beginning of December.

LIfe has been crazy, overwhelming, tiring and wonderful as we have taken residence up in the living room where we each sleep on either side of Gage and watch him sleep in his Pack n' Play. Last night was a little better but of course we have not acclimated to getting so few hours of sleep and every noise makes us jump up to make sure he is ok. Today he has slept for hours so I am sure we are in for a fun night! Although, he has slept alot today and has acted normally otherwise, he has decided in the last 2 days that he only wants to eat for about 10 mins. at a time. He is not eating anymore frequently, just for less. Not sure if he is satisfied but he is not crying excessively or seeming to want more, so I guess we'll just play it by ear to see how things go.

I have posted a few pictures but Facebook and Snapfish are the way to go if you want to see more. Grandma and Granddiddy come to visit again for Thanksgiving and Gage has a 1st turkey day outfit that I will post a picture of when he wears it.

Until next week...