2 Weeks

Today, Makafui is 2 weeks old!! I can't believe he's only been in our lives for two short weeks-it seems longer than that, like I can hardly remember what our childless life was like. At the same time, I remember something we did "just the other day" and I was pregnant, waiting for him!

At 2 weeks...

Makafui is VERY strong!! He keeps his little fists up by his face and it's impossible to bring his arms down. He pushes off of us with his feet and will stand on our hands when we're holding him upright. The Dr. told me not to leave him unattended because he's so strong...I guess anything could happen!

He will not go down for the night before 11pm. He just won't, no matter what.

His daytime sleep is pretty sporadic.

At night, he'll sleep for a 3 hour stretch, then a few 2 hour blocks. He's up and ready to cluster feed and nap on and off-in my arms, around 5 or 6. We aren't really sleeping much around here. :) Edit: after proudly posting that M sleeps 2-3 hours, he had to prove me wrong! Last night was only 30 minutes at a time. Still lovin' life with a newborn...in an exhausted kind of way.

He likes being in the car seat and slept peacefully through our first walk today.

He doesn't love baths, but we're working on that.

He likes to be held by Daddy and Jesus Loves Me seems to be his favorite song.

He eats ALL. THE. TIME.

We had his 2 week check up today and he and I both did better than expected! I was very anxious about the heel stick and not looking forward to it. My mom took us and was great moral support! M did very well and he checks out great. The Dr. had hoped he would have gained more weight by now, so we have another weight check next week.

Stats:
Head 36.5cm 25-50%
Weight 7lb 15.5oz 25-50%
Height 20.5" 50%

Maybe he's just a little guy. Gigi says not to worry about it. :)

M is for...

MAKAFUI!!

Yesterday was the much anticipated naming ceremony of our sweet boy. We were so happy to introduce him to many of our friends and family, to publicly commit him to God, and to share his name! Makafui Will! Makafui is a traditional Ewe name which means Glory to God. It's said muh-KAH-foo-ee. Will means Strong Protector and is after my dad. We will call him Makafui and Will, I'm sure he'll pick up a nick name at some point. He wore this very special outfit for his first big party and was VERY cute!! I don't think the pic really shows it, but he has a tie on. :)

 He did wonderful with all the noise and commotion while people met him and oohed and ahhed over him...it wasn't until mid-ceremony that he got hungry!

 Daddy was very proud to show him off.

 His first celebration cake. I loved having the monogrammed cake out ahead of time, people were trying to guess his name like crazy-no one did.

 The pretty flowers and bowl for his baptism.

My dad, the family elder lead the ceremony.

 My little brother stepped into the shot on purpose...so I left it. My family did a great job setting up this special event.

 The food was yummy and we are grateful for the yummy leftovers! :)

We were enjoying the event so much that we didn't get ANY pictures of the baptism, of the 3 of us as a family or of Makafui with my parents. We need to work on getting better pictures!!

So. Stinkin'. Cute.

Awkward 1 week photo w/ his bear from Gigi & Pops

 He loves when Daddy comes home for lunch.

I love this little guy SO MUCH!!

One Week Old/Birth Story

I can't believe that this time last week, I was timing contractions and waiting for G to come to home. Now, our entire life has changed and we have this precious person in our home. It's crazy how much can change in such a short amount of time!! We love this kid! Here are some pics and his birth story...

It was a wonderful and eventful day! I had resigned myself to the fact that he would have to be induced later in the week and was contemplating what date would be best to pick before I went to my Dr. appointment on Tuesday. Cocoapuff had other plans though. :)

I woke up Tuesday morning a little bit before the alarm feeling different and like maybe, just maybe this could be the day. I told G that this could be it, but that if it was it would take a while, so I would let him know what was up after my 10:30 appointment. I took him to work and came back home not realizing that those mild contractions were coming every 5 minutes. I took a shower and tried to get ready, but the contractions had gotten a lot stronger, 60-90 seconds long, every 5 minutes apart and strong enough to stop what I was doing, I had only been up for about an hour and a half/2 hours. I called the Dr. and they told me to go to Labor and Delivery instead of wait for my appointment. My mom came to the rescue and went and got G from work so we could go to the hospital together. I put my makeup on while I waited and prayed that this was the real deal-I was super anxious that I would get to L&D and be sent home without a baby.

We arrived at L&D and had an amazing nurse waiting for us. Much to my delight, I was indeed in active labor and progressing way faster than I thought. It was 9:30 when they started the admitting process. Unfortunately for me and my tricky veins, they had to try 3 times to get an IV in! George almost fainted and after the 2nd try had to go to the cafeteria and get something to eat and drink and some fresh air. (I later found out that before he made it to the cafeteria, he was crouched on the floor outside of my room with his head between his knees-the nurses were very attentive to him.:) I was amused by this, but also a little concerned about how he would handle the rest of the day. In the end, I didn't need to worry at all!

My mom came up and I was glad to have both she and G hanging out while I labored. I used the huge yoga ball and had a pretty fun time chatting with them and breathing through contractions. They were shockingly bearable and I was excited to be in labor. Again, to my extreme surprise, things were moving along FAST! At 11:30 the nurses guessed I had only about an hour or two left before baby time-I couldn't believe it and was super excited! They got the room all set up for delivery and my contractions got more and more intense. I went from anticipating a long, typical first time labor to thinking I'd have a baby in my arms in no time flat.

That's when the back labor really kicked in (because this little dude was posterior-fun) and I hit that magical "transition" stage of labor-the hardest and most intense stage, which is supposedly fairly short as well (that's what the books and labor classes say). Not for me. Things got really, really tough! I had 3 big goals for my labor-no cussing, no attitude, no epidural. So far, so good, but I was wondering how long it would last. After a few hours in transition I decided that the mild IV drugs they offered sounded good. They helped a lot and put me back in the land of bearable. Then, I got sick. Something I had read could happen, but didn't expect would happen to me. For some dumb reason, when I was offered nausea drugs, I did not ask my typical questions about ALL of the possible side effects. Stupid. It made me so incredibly sleepy! I could not force myself to stay awake and would doze off, just to wake up mid, terrible contraction. If I had it to do again, I would just be sick instead of taking that medicine. My contractions were very strong and very long, but they weren't as productive anymore. I felt like it was one contraction after another with no break in between, which gave me great hope because everything I had read and heard said that means it's about time to push. Nope, not for me.

Thankfully, my Dr. was back at this point and decided that Pitocin would help speed up the process by making my contractions shorter and more intense. I was happy to get this done and wanted this baby out! I had been looking at all of the "stuff" for delivery for hours now and felt like I was not any closer to having a baby! George and my mom were amazing through this. They helped with my back pain and encouraged me nonstop.

When it was time to push, again it was not what I expected. People say things like you have this overwhelming urge to push and become super woman and get energized and stuff like that. I was tired, but wanted that baby out. I don't know how long I actually pushed, I just know it was longer than I thought it would be and he was in a wonky position. My hubby was great by my side, even when I was crying and telling him that I don't want anymore babies, just get this one out of me!

When he was finally born, it was a huge relief-I seriously thought it would never happen! I was so relieved to have done it and have my baby in my arms.

In short, labor and delivery were not what I anticipated at all-in good ways and bad. I think a lot of it had to do with the psychology of thinking it will be long, then being told it will be short, then having it long after all. (My Dr. did confirm that my labor did NOT follow typical labor patterns, though she was amused that I kept saying "The books don't tell you this!") I did achieve my goals though-no cussing, no 'tude, no epidural! I'm still processing everything else. I had great nurses and really love my Dr. I'm so thankful we have a healthy, beautiful baby. I loved our hospital and the support they gave me. No one tried to talk me into anything I didn't want and everyone was super helpful and encouraging.

The further away I get from delivery, the more fondly I think of it. Like I said though, I'm still processing. George on the other hand, talks about it everyday! I will admit, I was worried about how he would cope, since the idea of the man being present for birth was so totally foreign to him. He was so beyond amazing!!

We are adjusting to life with a newborn and loving our new little family.

He's HERE!!

Our little man entered the world on Tuesday, February 7th at 6:18pm. He weighed 8lb 4oz, and is 20 1/4" long.

We are so totally in love with him and enjoying our time as a family of 3!

Last Days...

This is it people! My last days of being pregnant, my last days of being able to sleep when I want to, shower when and how long I feel like, leisurely do my hair and makeup. My last days of running errands without having to think of diapers, the last feeding, parking too close to another car to get the baby out or whether or not I can just 'run in' for something. My last days of just hangin' around, waiting for Baby.

And OUR last days as just the two of us.

I'm excited to meet our baby this week and to fully dive into this new life of ours. I admit, there is no real way to prepare for the change that is about to hit us as first time parents, but we are thrilled nonetheless! (I'm sure I'll have funny stories to write about.)

I'm trying hard to soak up and enjoy all these "last moments" before Cocoapuff is here. One of the things we did late last week was take a lunch date to get Round Rock Donuts! :) Hee hee. We may have to do that again before little guy comes. ;) Happy Birthweek to us!

Dear Sweet Baby Cocoapuff,

You made it to 40 weeks-good job! There are no bonus points for staying put longer though, so no need to keep us waiting. Your Mommy and Daddy and Gigi and Pops and LOTS more people are eager to meet you! Please come on your own (and soon) because Mommy doesn't exactly want to induce. Happy due date, Baby.

We love you so so much!
Mommy and Daddy

This and That

George and I had a good Anniversary. This pregnant chick just HAD to have snow crab for dinner! I ate an entire pound all by myself!! All that protein and sodium may have been the reason for not sleeping last night. Note to self: next time I'm hugely pregnant and want crab, eat it at lunch, instead of a late dinner. Here we are, most likely last real date without needing a babysitter!

I'm looking (and feeling) pretty gigantic these days! Why I can't crop this picture, I don't know. Why my hubby takes pictures with too much extraneous space, I super don't know. Yes, I STILL have frames leaning against the wall-I need different art for them...art I don't have yet.

Our glider finally came!! I am so excited that it made it here before baby! This is my new best friend and I look forwards to lots of sweet times sitting here with my sweet baby.

We also finished the mobile! His room is pretty much done-his name is even on the wall, which would explain the odd placement of these two pictures. :)

 

I've really loved pregnancy up to this point and even when I had morning sickness, I still felt pretty good. I've tried to enjoy every moment and savor the time growing this boy and the time we have left as just the two of us. That is a little bit coming to an end now...okay, maybe a lot coming to an end now. 

 

I suddenly feel very huge, very heavy and very, very exhausted. It must be baby time! I'm not even "due" until Saturday, so I feel like a whiney baby. I have a theory why I feel this way though-it's all those stupid week by week pregnancy books and websites. When you hit 37 weeks they say stuff like, "Your baby is fully cooked and can come anytime now! He's totally developed and would be perfectly healthy if born today. Get ready!" 38 weeks: "Your baby is still fully cooked and ready to come anytime now! He's just getting bigger and bigger so that it's harder to birth him and you feel more uncomfortable, you are VERY big now." 39 weeks: "Still no baby? He's been 'done' for two weeks lady! That kid just keeps getting bigger! Did you know it was possible to get even bigger than you already were? Yes, you do feel like a whale, and maybe you even resemble one." 40 weeks: "Are you STILL pregnant? I bet everyone you know was induced by now, sucks, huh? That kid is just growing and growing, hope you're ready for gigantor!" 41 weeks: "Sucks to be you, like a lot." 

So you see, they set you up to feel like you're overdue before you even hit your due date! It makes the three weeks from 37 to technically "due" seem soooooo much longer than any other 3 weeks ever in your life. My mom thinks I should start a letter writing campaign against this type of info. I'll start with the blog for now.

Happy Anniversary To US!!

2 years ago...

I'm so happy to be married to this guy! He is so incredible and I love him more each day!

...You know what a reeeeally great Anniversary present would be? A baby! Unfortunately, I don't think Cocoapuff reads the blog, so he may not get the hint.

Things I am currently obsessed with...

Here are some of my current FAVORITE things...get out your dorkometer...

One of the downsides to living in an apartment is that sometimes you get really terrible appliances! Our last dishwasher was the worst of the worst! We hand washed or re-washed most things. Then, I bit the bullet and tried out the fancy dishwasher detergent! It made a HUGE difference!! It really cut down on the things I had to hand wash and at this apartment, I don't have to re-wash anything. Definitely worth the extra money.

I love a clean home, but I don't always enjoy the cleaning part. When I saw the commercial for this thing, I thought it was ridiculous. I got a free one at Sam's so I decided to try it out. AMAZING!! The potty is always so sparkly now! It really helps with potties in window free bathrooms with hard water, scrubbing the toilet is a total thing of the past. :)

I know I'm waaaay late on the Oxi Clean bandwagon, but I just started using this, so it's new to me! G wears a white dress shirt everyday and at this point, we choose to do work laundry at home (I am open to that changing once Cocoapuff comes, though). I wanted to have them looking nice without using bleach because it's really hard on clothes, can easily ruin other things and sometimes it makes white stuff look yellow. Oxi Clean does the trick! We really love the gel stain remover stick too. I also found out that I can use it on cloth diapers!

I swear that these heart shaped Junior Mints taste better than the regular ones...and the ones with red filling are especially good! I'm loving the special Valentine candies! 

I am also currently obsessed with cereal, but I feel like that's almost over.

And last week, I may or may not have indulged in Sonic's Chocolate M&M Blasts several times (I wish I could delete the 3.24 charges from our online bank statement so that no one would know just how many times this may or may not have happened)...which would bring me back to the freakout I had in the last post. No more blasts for me...just in case. But let me also point out that for pretty much this entire pregnancy, sweets have not been something I really wanted, it's a recent development.

I am also obsessed with my baby and his room! I just sit in there and look at everything! I hope to finish his mobile soon, but my little brother STILL hasn't got me the fishing line I need! Hint, hint....

There. Is. No. Way.

I had my Dr. appointment today, only my Dr. is out of town, so I saw her husband's Nurse Practitioner (Yes, you read that right and maybe it is a little weird. My Dr.'s husband is also in the business of lady parts and his office is next door, he has more staff than my Doc has so sometimes they share). Anywho, I had to tell the new people not to say my weight out loud and look away as is my normal practice. When I was getting my blood pressure checked though, I saw the paper on the counter. The new chick had HUGE handwriting and it was kind of messy...I think I saw the number 198. I dismissed it and thought surely I misunderstood or it was BP scribbles (we were having BP issues as well)!

It keeps coming to mind though.

After discussing with my mother, we have decided that I MUST have seen the wrong thing and her handwriting MUST be pretty messy!! It suuuuper freaked me out though. To confirm that I misunderstood, I am now gallivanting around the house in leggings and a tight tee, making sure I check myself out in EVERY mirror or reflective thing around. Yeah, I must have seen something wrong! :) Now you know why I don't look at the numbers, I wouldn't be able to think about ANYTHING else.

 

My baby is healthy, I'm blissfully unaware of my weight (again) and I WILL get back in shape.

Vacant...

Vacant...

Vacant...

Vacant...

Vacant...

VERY OCCUPIED!!

It's hard to believe that soon and very soon the opposite will be true! Everyday is more exciting as we anticipate our Cocoapuff!

Remembering my Nonnie

Today is my Nonnie's Birthday-the first one without her here. It's weird and sad and sweet all at once. I really, really miss her, but I am happy that she is no longer suffering and gets to be with Jesus. I didn't realize just how many big things would happen this first year without her. I think a lot about how she would respond and what she would say about the different situations in our lives...especially the funny or sassy things she might say! I always thought she would be at my baby shower, see my nursery and meet my baby. I'm not quite sure how heaven works, but I'd like to think that she met our Cocoapuff before he was given to us. :) My Nonnie had a hard life, a life that was wonderfully transformed by Jesus. How we miss her!

Our new pastime...

One of the things we enjoy about our new apartment is the view. Previously, we were on the first floor at the front of the building, so our view was the parking lot. That also meant that if we opened the blinds, our neighbors' view was us! Nice. Now, we are second floor and the back of the building, our view is the Golf Course. It's lovely, even though it's pretty dead right now. Imagine what it will look like in the Spring. There are a lot of beautiful birds and wildlife to watch....

There are also golfers! I'm not sure how it happened or why, but G and I have become expert golf hecklers commentators and it is so fun. We don't know much about golf, but we do know that the ball should go into the hole in as few whacks strokes as possible. We know losing the ball in or near the water is bad, and we're pretty sure kicking the ball with your fancy golf shoe is a no-no. We also assume that golf must be more fun when using foul language (the golfers that is, not the announcers). We have the perfect amount of knowledge to be amazing commentators! Kinda like these guys...

I think my other pastime is to blog more while I wait for my little Cocoapuff (2 posts in one day!). That and stare at his beautiful room, touch and refold his cute little clothes and re-clean the house.

Practice, practice...

We're getting ready for the arrival of our precious little one. This weekend we got in some more car seat practice. A sock monkey was the closest thing we had to a baby doll.

George did great-I think we're set!

Feels Like Home!

Here's what's going on...

-I love our new apartment! I just can't get over how blessed we are! This place feels like home already and I am so thankful that we get to live here.

-Allergies or a cold are kicking my butt. I didn't realize how quick I am to take drugs when I'm feeling sick until I couldn't take the good stuff!

-Allergies or a cold are kicking George's butt too. Today, he told me he feels like his eyes are gonna pop out of his head like our friends' dog. They have a Shih Tzu...

I'm not sure that I can say I have EVER felt like one of these! Lol!

-This baby could come anytime! That's so exciting! I'm trying to just slow down and enjoy our final days (or weeks) as just the two of us...even though I am really looking forward to meeting our little man!

-People I love are going through some hard stuff lately. That makes me sad for them. What's worse is, their struggles seem really abstract to a lot of the people around them, so it adds hurt to what's already happening. I wish I could make it better. God is big though and He can.

-I should probably be cooking and freezing food for when Cocoapuff comes. I'm not though. I have George and my Mama nearby! Hee hee.

-I'm just loving life right now! I look forward to what each day holds and to what new joys and challenges parenthood will bring us. How fun!

2 years!

Today is George's 2 Years In America Anniversary!! So much has transpired in just two years, it's kind of hard to believe. I'm so proud of my wonderful husband and so happy that we are together. He's done an amazing job adjusting to and learning a new culture. Our life is wonderful, yet somehow keeps getting better.

Moved and almost baby ready!

What a weekend!! Moving very pregnant is a challenge, but it was easily surmountable due to the fact that I have an amazing family! My oldest two brothers seemed to actually be racing each other with heavy boxes in arms...it got the job done fast! It was so fun to have most of the gang around to help and support us. My parents especially went WAAAAYYY above and beyond normal helping. They stayed all day Saturday and came back over on Sunday to help us. It would take me at least a week more to get done what they helped us knock out in two days. Thanks, Mom and Dad, you really have know idea what a huge help you were!!

I accidentally left the camera at our old apartment during the move, so I have no "action pics"...surprise. I do have a pic of my huge belly though!

 Doing my regular morning stretches...

 We really can't believe how amazingly God has provided for us! G and I keep looking around our new home and have nothing to say but, "Thank you, God!" It's bigger than we had hoped for, has a grrreat layout, beautiful view and is close to G's job. We are still in awe and so grateful. Since we are in a space so much bigger than our last one, it's still a little bit of a work in progress (a.k.a. we don't have enough furniture yet:). I really loved setting up Cocoapuff's room and newborn area. I just go in there and look at it throughout the day and night. :) Dad and G should get an award for putting together the huge furniture!

Ta-da! I LOVE IT!

 We still haven't made the mobile...hopefully we'll get to that this week. His name will go above the crib and when his glider comes, it will go to the right of the crib.

His changing room.

As George says, this is Cocoapuff's second room (which is funny, but not true-this is OUR room!). We have his bassinet w/ changer, bouncer, newborn sleepwear and tiny cloth and disposable diapers all ready to go in the "sitting area" of our room. I love waking up to see this and imagining what it will be like when he is actually here!

Despite the fact that my parents left us with a home nearly completely set up, I've still done a lot today! Unfortunately, because of the holiday, Time Warner Cable and my haircut place were closed. I will try again tomorrow. After I get a haircut, Cocoapuff can come anytime!