All in a days time

Been busy day...Mark lost his belly button stump today. WOOHOO! I have been puked on twice and peed on once (must remember to point the weewee down in the diaper!). Just need his weewee ring to fall off from the circ and we will have covered just about everything. Oh yeah, and I guess getting pooed on too. Good times ;-)

Something to smile about...

After yesterday's hormone induced post, decided to lighten it up a bit with just a sweet pic and none of my breast feeding drama (which, BTW, I will leave it at not going so hot still).

The best part of my day is when I wake up in the morning after feeding Mark and go out into the living room where Matt and Z are. I go sit in the recliner and the first thing Z does is come over, climb onto the other half of my lap, and give me and Mark a hug! Talk about melting a Mommy's heart! I love my boys!!!!! :)

Here we go again....

Mark only gained an ounce in four days and isn't having enough poops either. Not good. Called and talked to the lactation consultant and she recommended that we start supplementing an ounce after each feeding. Do what you got to do but of course I am upset and feel like I failed again. I won't give up and hopefully my supply will pick up with the continuing of fenugreek and the MoreMilk but I have not noticed much of a change yet even with basically feeding the boy whenever he wants and for however long. Very frustrating. I will work on pumping more too but as I said before, it feels like SUCH a waste of time when I pump and nothing comes out. I just don't understand what the problem is?!? The LC reminded me that some things are out of our control either due to hormones or mammary tissue so perhaps that is it. I hope it is not for lack of trying because I DO feel like I have been trying!

Anyway...we will see how things look when we go back next week for his 2 week appointment.

why is something so natural so tough??

Well we had our visit with the lactation consultant and she didn't seem too discouraged so I am trying not to either. We did a before and after feeding weight check and at that one, mark had gotten about .5oz. She said it wasn't terrible, but would like to see closer to 1oz. Good news, mark's latch and desire to nurse seem to be good, so we really just need to work on my supply!

Plan was to nurse as much as he would and pump after. I hate pumping. So defeating to me cause I get nothing! Anyway, been talking with another friend who struggled in the beginning and went on to exclusively bf her son for a year, and she has suggested to keep nursing if mark is still sucking in leiu of pumping since that should technically stimulate better than the pump anyway. I am kind of doing a combo of both now. Yesterday evening through this morning, I feel like he was hungry about every hour. Ugh. Makes a tired and sore momma.

Anyway, this afternoon has been better and we've been every 2 hours. Also went out to store and bought some MotherLove supplement roxanne told me about. I am taking more milk special blend which in addition to fenugreek and blessed thistle, contains goats rue which supposedly is strong enough to help pcos women specifically as well as women who have had breast surgery and even adoptive moms wanting to breast feed! Tastes like crap so hopefully that means it is serious stuff! The lady at the vitamin store said the last mom she sold it to was trying to up supply to nurse triplets...and worked for her. I just have one little dude to feed, bring on the milk! All in the name of feeding the newest man in my life! Ill let you know if it works! :) and monday we have our reweigh and bili check so we will see how we are doing then too!

A little yellow?

**UPDATE** Doc called back and Mark's bili level is just fine...so now just to work on getting his weight up and poos to turn color! We will go back Monday to recheck unless M turns yellow between now and then! ;-)

We had our 1st doctor appointment today. The hospital had said to go in 3 days after we got home since we are trying to exclusively bf and since I had issues the first go round. Guess it was a good thing. mark has lost about 12oz which isn't TOTALLY alarming but isn't great either :( And he looks slightly yellow although some of it I think is his olive skin tone....

We did a heel prick to test his billirubin and will have a better idea where we stand once those results get back today. Initial recommendation-1) start Fenugreek (check, Matt picked me up some yesterday...bring on the maple syrup!) 2) call lactation consultant (got # already, will call today after we get blood work results) and 3) start pumping after feeding (BLAH! I HATE PUMPING and was really hoping to avoid it until we needed to start introducing a bottle).

Trying to not be discouraged but of course I am a little. Doc did say Mark's pee and poo amounts were a good sign but we need the weight up a little and need the poos to start turning color today or tomorrow. Fun times in the Wittliff household!

PICTURES!

It's what you have all been waiting for, ENJOY! ;-)

Big Brother & Diaper Diaries

First things first, it was so good to get home and see my boy, Z! Although the initial reuniting did NOT go very well, he did a 180 fairly quickly and seems to be adjusting very well. On his own, the first night we were home, he came over to me while I was holding Mark just to give him a hug. Wow, talk about melting a momma's heart! So sweet! He also likes to just walk into our room to peek on Mark while he is snoozing in the bassinet, and reminds us to "shhhh". Biggest obsession is probably the binkie. He is determined for him to have it! LOL! All in all though, I could not ask for things to be going better with Zach and Mark so far and I love watching Zach give Mark hugs!!

And onto Mark, wow, I know its only been a couple days, but he seems to be a very good, chill, baby boy! Rarely gets too fussy unless he is hungry. Loves to snuggle but also content to sleep in the bassinet too. Of course my biggest obsession is FEEDING! Since breast feeding was not all that successful for Zach, I am really working on being successful this go round. I think with being generally more at ease and confident about caring for a newborn, that hopefully bfing will come easier too. I was very encouraged at the hospital when in the first 24hrs of Mark's life, he pooped like 5 times thinking that surely meant he was getting food. He seems to latch pretty well and likes to nurse so the question is whether or not he actually gets enough. Today, according to the chart, he is supposed to have 4 green/yellow poops. Its already 1pm, and we have only had 1 poop and it was still more of the brown gooey stuff. We have our 1st scheduled pediatrician visit tomorrow so I will definitely be asking lots of questions. And in the meantime, I am just letting the little dude eat whenever he wants in hopes of getting supply established and MORE poos!

So that's about all that is going on in our world right now. Thanks for all the well wishes and feel free to come visit any time!

Sneak Peek

Since I havent uploaded pics yet...you can get a sneak peek at my sweet boy at Susan's blog!! Thanks Sue! :)

zzzzzz

Hard to believe the little guys is just barely over 24 hours hold. Seems like more than that already! Yesterday was a pretty good day. Mark was very sleepy and therefore sometimes not interested in eating, but right around the 24hr mark he has started picking up and on about an every 3hr schedule. I am pleasantly surprised to say that so far at least...he seems to be doing pretty good at the eating! He is interested and stays on for awhile, and although his latch is no where near perfect, I think it is getting better. So we shall see. I hope to see the lactation consultant today to go over a couple of concerns before we head home.

Speaking of home, just got off with my mom and Z is doing great! He told me hi mommy and bye mommy (awwww). She was excited to tell me that all last night, Zach was wearing his pirate hat (and nothing else) around the house! Pirate hat and why is that all that exciting albeit cute? Because for the first 20 months of his life...Zach has DESPISED hats! Hence why I decided he would be a pirate for Halloween because it did not require anything to be worn on the head in order for people to know what he is! So he seems to be doing well and enjoying life with the grandparents (who wouldn't when they do whatever he wants to do?) and his new trains they bought him. But I am hoping he is missing me too as I am excited and ready to see his sweet face!

I finally got some sleep last night. I was thankful for the nursery who would take Mark away and then bring him to me to feed when he woke up and then whisk him away again so I could rest. Feeling fairly refreshed which is a good thing. I have to chuckle though...as you mommas know, when you are in the hospital, they come in and check on you all the time for your vitals, etc. So while I was up every 3 hours for either feeding Mark or checking the vitals...Matt was able to sleep through it all, just 2 feet away. I have had the overhead light and TV on since at least 7 when breakfast and my OB came in....and Matt has slept through it all. Impressive. Guess I wont feel too bad having Mark sleeping in the bassinet in our room since it wont wake daddy anyway! :)

So, now just sitting and waiting. Need to get the little fella snipped up and then maybe home this afternoon! Woohoo! :)

missed it by 22 minutes!

In case you haven't heard...Mark Wendell came barrelling into this world at 12:22am on Oct 18th, 2009!! And what a ride it was!

Very briefly, as I had emailed in the afternoon to some girlfriends, I was having regular irregular contractions since like 5am but never close enough to go in to the hospital, about 7-10min apart. Then they all but stopped around 4pm yesterday. I was pretty sure that was it for the day...My parents stayed over all day so I could rest and just help with Zach. Mom decided to spend the night just in case so we wouldn't have to wait for her to get there if something DID end up happening. I went on several walks hoping that would get things going and it did! I guess around 9pm, they were every 7 to 10 min and by 1045, every 4 to 5 and mom said we should GO so we did!

We got to a L& D room around 1130pm and when checked, I was at 3.5 and about 80% eff and contractions coming quicker. I told them about how once things got going, z came fast so could we PLEASE hurry up with the epi!! But we had to do some paperwork and blood work first. Ugh!! By midnight, I was 7.5 to 8 and said baby is coming. They were trying to get me to hold on for doctor but that wasn't happening either! By 1215 or so, I was fully effaced at 10 and wanting to push regardless of who was there and mark was out at 12:22am, DRUG FREE!!! The epi guy poked his head in while I was pushing the placenta out and doc a few min later!!! It hurt LIKE HECK but I cannot tell you the instantaneous feeling of relief and no more pain!!! Mark cried right off and is beautiful! 9.9 on his apgar, a head of dark brown hair, almost black! 7lbs 7.2oz and 21 inches long!! We got to nurse for a bit and he did okay. Then it was move to the new room a bit later. All and all, we delivered the boy in less than an hour at the hospital, craziness!

Today has been good, we have had lots of visitors (Sue, Al, Rox, my folks, Claudia, Becky, Ashley, Kathi and Matt's dad, Dan!) It was great to see everyone and Mark was a doll! The only person I did not get to see is my Z Man :( Thanks to the swine flu and all other strains, they have a no one under 14 policy in place at the hospital . So I wont get to see him until we go home tomorrow. I miss him but the grandparents have been keeping him busy! THANK YOU!

We have had a couple good feeding sessions and 3 good poos so I feel like he is at least eating something! Praying it continues!

All and all, even with the 45min drug free delivery, its been great! Tomorrow Mark wil get circumsized, Ill get cheked out by my doctor and we should be good to go! Home to our family of four!! I will post pics as soon as I can!

Is today THE day?

I had a fairly sleepless night. Couldn't get comfortable and was having contractions on and off. Around 6:30 am it was enough to wake me up and I started paying attention. For the last hour and a half or so, been having contractions about every 7 to 10 minutes, sometimes pretty painful. I've got the stop watch going to see if they get a little more regular. I think they need to be 5 min apart before we call the doc? So we shall see what happens....for now I sit and wait some more! :)

Say CHEESE!

White Boys CAN dance!

Dancing at Cousin Lec's Wedding

Just a couple recent pics...I noticed there have not been many lately! Love this first pic, he has that coy little smile that he has oh so perfected!

Been a quiet week. We are keeping Z in school 3x a week, kinda of MDO hours, just to keep him on a schedule of sorts. And I think he likes playing with all his buddies too. So while he has been in school, I've either been cleaning, organizing, running errands, or if I am lucky, taking a nap!

ECI teacher came today so it was nice to be able to be home for that. We both definitely feel that Z is improving, probably just coming with age, not necessarily anything I think we are doing, but who knows. He talks up a storm to Matt and I, the problem is just we don't always know what he is saying, but apparently that too is very normal. It actually cracks me up and we just respond and hope that what we THINK he is saying, is what he is! :) All around, he is just a happy little toddler and he brings a smile to my face, even when he is throwing a short fit about diaper changes or not putting his cars in the right order, but that too I guess is all to be expected. I am enjoying all the extra snuggles he seems to be giving me and our time to be just the 3 of us!

Other than that.....just waiting for #2 to make his grand entrance to this world! We are ready!

Let's go to the movies, Annie!

Since my maternity leave started this week and still no baby on board, Matt and I decided to take advantage of some of the free time while Z was in school and go to the MOVIES! The last two movies I have seen in the theater were Marley & Me and Sex and the City. Clearly we do not get out to the movies very often any more these days!! We are all about the DVR and OnDemand!

There actually is not much out right now so we ended up seeing Couples Retreat! Apparently it did not get very good reviews, but I thought it was quite funny and cute. And even though its a comedy, there were some definite truths about maintaining and sustaining a marriage in it too, even if being silly while telling about it. I love Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn so that also help with the enjoyment factor, funny dudes. The one thing that I always find amusing in movies like this though is the disparity between men and women in aging. There is a scene where the 4 couples are partaking in some of their couple's therapy and they have to strip down to their skivies. These couples are probably all supposed to be in their late 30s-ish? Of course, all 4 of the women are completely and totally fit and have smokin bods...and then men, well they are typical 30-40 year old men, with bellies and such. Just makes me chuckle. ANYWAY, I digress...the movie was pretty funny if you are up for a romantic comedy! :)

As far as the baby watch goes....still nothing going on. The due date is looming so I am still hopeful that something may happen any day now! Z Man has been extremely clinging these last few days, which I am loving but also wondering if maybe he is catching on that his world is about to change. My folks are on call and every time I ring my mom, she is thinking that is why I am calling, ha! :)

Oh, in other Z news....we are really noticing his increase in language and just overall interest in communicating and showing off his knowledge! He is all about pointing out body parts and animals and I think every day we hear a new word or at least attempt. Even when I cant understand what he is saying, I hear him mimicking the cadence and sounds of what we are saying which I think is a big step! The latest fav in this sports family of ours is "touchdown!", complete with arms raised move. Too cute! So proud of my baby boy and all the progress he is making and has already made!

Still Nothing Going On.......

No progress, BLAH. The due date looming ahead...not much is going on still. I am hoping that something will just kick in and get things moving but am feeling like we may end up inducing 2 weeks from now. So for now, I shall just enjoy being our little family of three and keep waiting!

Had a bout of mommy guilt today too. As extremely excited about meeting Mark that I am, and knowing full well what a blessing he is to our whole family...I am feeling guilty about Zach not being "the baby" any more even though at 20 months, he is definitely still my baby!! I guess with Mark still being in the womb, it seems so far away to think about sharing time and attention and love with someone besides Zach! But as a wise woman reminded me yesterday when we were talking...love multiplies, not divides!! Guess I will see that first hand very soon.

Any tips or words of wisdom from you mommies of 2+ out there, especially with introducing the new baby into the family, would be appreciated! :)

Countin down

Met the ladies at lunch today for the supposed labor inducing pasta from Carrabba's! Actually had some contractions off and on for awhile after lunch but they just petered out. Seems to be the trend. They are sometimes quite painful, that sharp pain type of thing, but nothing regular or frequent enough to send me to the hospital. Bummer. I am trying to remember what it all felt like, labor that is, but figure if I am in enough pain, then that will be my cue to get thee to the hospital!

I have my doctor's appointment tomorrow at 2pm, would be nice to know that something had progressed a little at least! Is it just wishful thinking??? I hope not....

And for a couple of funny Z moments from today....

*we have been playing on this Starfall website with Z. Its an educational site that you can work on letter sounds and reading. Z really enjoys it..so much so that he has wandered upstairs on his own and twice now we have caught him opening up Matt's laptop in his lap to play! of course he is usually on www.dbfsdibdsvblsbvslbg.com or some thing of that nature but still, how does he figure out what to do!!

*he also figured out how to climb on top of the bar stool in the kitchen. I tell you, my monkey is too tall for his own good and too persistent! He took a few minutes of hanging this way and that, but he figured it out!

*he ate a frozen waffle! Its funnier than it sounds I swear ;-) The kid loves his waffles and pointed to wanting one for dinner. I handed it to him to put in the toaster oven like he likes to do, but I guess he was impatient tonight and did NOT want to warm it. So he ran off with it laughing and proceeded to sit in the window seat giggling while he ate his plain frozen waffle! What a delish dinner! :)

I guess that's it for tonight. Unless I have the baby tonight, we shall have another update tomorrow! :)

Leaving on a Jet Plane

"All my bags are packed...I'm ready to go...."

Ok, so I am not leaving on a plane nor are my bags quite yet packed.....BUT I do finally have everything I need FOR my bag! Went and bought some new jammies for the hospital this week and a comfy casual outfit to wear home and then around the house for awhile. Not sure what it is, but new jammies always make me feel good. I project that onto Zachary as well since he prob has like 30 pairs of pajamas. Or maybe for him its really my dislike of doing laundry and the more jammies we have, the less often I have to do laundry! :-)

I digress! My last day of work is going pretty well. My group gave me a $150 gift certificate to Babies R Us this week which I promptly spent in one trip buying final touches for Mark's nursery (diaper pail, changing pad, hamper, binkies, bottles, etc). Amazing how fast the money can go!

My old boss made pie for me today too which was a delightful addition to the afternoon. Who can pass up pie? All and all, I am feeling very ready to go. Was a bit apprehensive a couple of weeks ago, but the transitioning to my back up has gone very well and I am sure she will do just fine while I am out. And whatever she doesn't know how to do, I am confident that she is competent enough to figure it out! :)

And finally I got my flu shot today so Mark and I should be all vaccinated up against the seasonal flu now. Go us!

Not much planned from here on out. My mom is coming over on Saturday to help work on organizing the nursery and possibly putting the crib back together. I think that Zach is adjusted enough to his new bed now that he would be okay if he saw the crib again. Especially if it has different bedding, etc in it.

Next week I have a lunch date with the ladies on Monday to eat some pasta that supposedly induces labor. We shall see how that works out. Then I need to work on my tutus and letters and sleep and perhaps get a massage and REST! Other than all that, I am ready to meet this little guy!

No Progress

Went to the doc yesterday....still nothing happening down there so I guess baby boy is staying put for awhile longer. Everything is looking good though! The end is in sight though as Doc doesn't like to go more than a week past the due date. SO, I think at latest, Mark will be here by October 26th!! wow, that seems far away still and makes me achy and tired. I sure hope he comes before then!!

Matt's interview also went well yesterday. Thank you for the prayers and keep 'em coming!

I am very excited to be finished with work on Friday. I plan on sleeping a lot next week and working on the boys' rooms and some other crafty projects I need to tie up before Mark's arrival. I still feel quite unprepared. His room is not really organized yet (mom is coming over this weekend to help). Need to get my bag packed, car seat installed, etc.

Nothing else witty or important to say right now. I thought of things earlier but now that have totally left the brain. If I think, I will update! :)

Resting

Today we rested and it felt good! It was a busy weekend of traveling and wedding festivities and we were ALL pooped. What usually takes about 3.5 hours to drive home took over 5hrs....not fun. And with the lack of sleep for everyone too! We were worried about Z going down last night, but he went easy peasy at 8 pm and slept till 9:15 today! What a treat!

All we really did today was go to lunch in the afternoon and then headed to my parents' house tonight for dinner. Yum, yum! It felt good to have nothing planned!

Today also marked our 1 year anniversary in our house! Crazy how fast time flies.

Oh yeah, and Matt got a call for an interview tomorrow!! Please say a little prayer for him tomorrow afternoon. It sounds like it could be a really good position for him!

I am tired and need to get into work early tomorrow. This is my last week of work before my maternity leave starts next week. woohoo! And i have my weekly doc appointment too. Now that we made it past the wedding, I am ready for some progress! We can't wait to meet you, Mark!!

Nice Day for a White Wedding

We survived the trip to Dallas without having a baby, whew! Good thing too cause I had forgotten all my prenatal records that I had requested! Oopsie!

Zach was great all weekend and I guess was having so much fun he decided he did not need sleep! ;-) About an hour nap Friday, Saturday, and Sunday and up till like 11pm on both Friday and Saturday evenings. I didn't even know that was possible?!?! The crazy thing is, he was not even crabby, just excited and having a blast with the cousins both nights. The night of the wedding, we were just going to play it by ear as far as when to leave. I figured he would make it till 9 or so and then get cranky. But 9pm came and went and we actually made it to the 10:45 sparkler exit! I was very excited to be able to spend as much time celebrating and sharing in Lec & Rikki's special day.

Sleeping in the hotel was definitely interesting. We got a king bed and a love seat which we had made up as Z's bed thinking he would want to sleep there (it was about the same size as his toddler bed!). Um, no such luck. He spent both nights in between us, often sleeping horizontally with his head and feet in our ribs! Needless to say, we were definitely all glad to be back to our own beds on Sunday night!

Anyway, I am so glad we decided to chance it and make the trip to Dallas. I would have hated to miss the wedding and seeing all the family together! And wishing a lifetime of happiness to the newlyweds! We love you guys!