we're sicky-poo. :(

here's our little top banana, striking a pose today.  z is sick with a cold.  his nose is all stuffed up, sounding wretched whenever he breathes.  luckily he can still nurse well.  we did try suctioning his nose last night (early morning - i woke j up especially for the event), which helped just a little.  he's had a bit of a temperature, which we've been monitoring (and he HATES!).  it keeps fluctuating between 98-something and 100.3.  100.4 is when we're supposed to take him in to be seen, either to the dr's office or the ER (after hours).  z & i have been living in the guest bedroom lately, with the humidifier going.  i've been trying to take care of him most of the time, letting j sleep through the night (for the most part).  since z's been sick, he's been sleeping a bit more.  he might have picked the cold up at his 2 week dr's appointment on friday.  he's doing well - he weighed in at a healthy 10 pounds.

i'm sick, too - started feeling bad a half a day after z started showing symptoms, and today, j announced he feels sick, too.  our first shared family illness.  how fun.  it's miserable.  i already didn't feel so hot from the c-section, and now i have this pulling me down.  i've been trying to sleep when z sleeps, but this afternoon i just had too much to do.  z has been sleeping for the past few hours, and i know this night is going to be hell.  yay.

i did get to take a long shower today  - i finally removed the steri-strips that were on my incision.  i had permission to remove them as of last tuesday, but i was too scared - incisions & such make me very squeamish, so i didn't build up the courage until today.  i had another realization in the shower - i can now shave my left leg again with my right hand.  not too long ago, my belly was so big that i had to do the left leg with the left hand... little baby steps to getting back to normal size.  i haven't lost all of the weight - i still have a belly.   

one weird result of having had a c-section (i think) is that the last two fingers on my hands go numb while sleeping (for more than 10 min).  another friend of mine said this happened to her.  i have no idea how long it will last.  i'm still sore in random parts of my body - no bruises, but those spots sure feel bruised.  this recovery thing is not easy.  i wish i had my energy back.  i've had butter sitting on the counter for a few days, waiting for me to turn it into peanut butter cookies & apple crisp topping.  perhaps someday.  i took it out before i knew i was getting sick...  at least i managed to get some laundry done.  i haven't done any laundry (except for diaper wipes & covers) since before the c-section, which wasn't a huge deal, as i've been living in a robe & pajamas, for the most part.  however, it'll be nice to have clean long sleeved t-shirts for those few times when i have to go out in public.  i just wonder how long it'll take me to put the clothes away.  

we've finally let the cats into the guest room.  before, we'd always keep the door shut, trying to keep one part of the house cat-free.  it now seems unnecessary, or at least too much of a pain to continue.  the room was getting way too moist with the humidifier running, and i was worried about mold growing, so it's now newfound territory for the cats.  they're excited about it.  

z's first bath

z's cord stump fell off on thursday, so we were able to give him a real bath.  we were bad parents and didn't even sponge bathe him, since his very first one in the hospital, so he really needed it.  we tried out our big plastic infant bathing tub on sunday afternoon, when we got up the courage.  he didn't LOVE the bath, but didn't scream the whole time.  here's a during-bath picture, and after bath picture.  i'm not a big fan of the part (in his hair) j gave him - makes him look way too clean cut...

j's way of feeding z - "finger" feeding, up until now.  we've tried a bottle, now that breast feeding is fairly well established, and he takes it pretty well.  he spits up a lot more, as he eats faster, but it's much more convenient to not have to refill the syringe every 20 ml.

unhappy

mom & dad - how could you possibly put me in this prison????!

OUT!!!

he is OUT!  taking a nap on mommy.  even when napping, he's looking for the boob...

bliss

blissed out in the bassinet...

our cute little z wearing a shirt that used to be j's.  it doesn't completely fit him - looks more like a cropped top - not a good style for a little boy with a huge belly!

facial expressions.

this one is "where's the boob?".  he's a guy of simple pleasures.  

favorite expressions.

one of z's favorite looks - this one is "serious pooping."

some of our friends got crafty the weekend our little bundle of joy was born.  here's one of the products...

z's quilt

here are some pics of a beautiful quilt made by grandma canby.  

edema

one of the yucky side effects of having a c-section (or probably any abdominal surgery) is enduring edema, or swollen feet & arms. it feels like i get bigger every day. the edema can last for one to two weeks. even my slippers are starting to feel tight.

smart hubby.

since i had a c-section, it's difficult getting up from lying flat on my back. half the time, it's even painful getting up from a sitting position. luckily, i have a smart hubby who owns a lot of climbing rope & other climbing accessories. he had fun this morning rigging up a rope ladder for me to use to climb out of bed. he also rigged up another rope connected to the cradle as a sort of "remote" rocker. i'm pretty excited about being able to get out of bed tonight by myself!

Expressionism

Hi all - this is J making a guest appearance on the blog to post some pictures of our new boy.
These are just a small sampling of the cornucopia of great facial expressions that we get from Z every day.

meet zane anthony!

so, this has been a very busy last few weeks. three weeks ago, i was measuring 40 cm in fundal height at my midwife appointment, and it was week 36, so the fundal height should've been 36 cm. the midwife recommended that i get an ultrasound to check on the size of the baby. i was hesitant to get one at first, because ultrasounds that late in the pregnancy tend to be really inaccurate. however, i changed my mind. so, at 37 weeks, the ultrasound showed that Junior was 8lbs, 14 oz. it also showed a huge torso/shoulder area, which is common in gestational diabetes babies. this can cause shoulder dystocia in labor - where the shoulders get stuck in delivery. sometimes it causes permanent paralysis. at that point, the midwife & perinatologist told me to just wait to go into labor, but if i hadn't delivered by my due date and an ultrasound showed his weight to be 5000g or above, they'd recommend a planned c-section. they also both told me to go back to testing the blood sugar levels 4 times a day. i had to start going to fetal monitoring twice a week, for a fetal non-stress test & amniotic fluid ultrasound. in addition to that, they recommended that i try acupuncture to induce labor. all of those appointments added up to a lot of time, creating conflicts with my teaching, so as of sept 30th, i stopped teaching. i was getting really tired, and just didn't have the energy to do anything more than go to appointments and deal with the information. at my 38 week appointment, the midwife decided my case was too complicated for them to deal with, and handed me off to the obgyn department. she also started me on glyburide, a sort of insulin in pill form. last wednesday, we met with the doctor for the first time (whom m, j's sister, knew very well from her ob rotation last month - she came highly recommended). the doctor gave us two options to consider, and she'd call us in the evening to find out our choice. the two options were to try natural labor, with the slight consequence of shoulder dystocia, and the huge likelihood that labor would not progress & i'd end up with an emergency c-section; OR to just have a planned c-section. after agonizing over both options & consulting with lots of friends, we decided to go for the section. we scheduled it for two days later. i was really really scared & upset about having to go through a c-section, but i got through it with the help of my wonderful hubby & our doula. the operation went perfectly. i can't belive we're parents! zane anthony was born on oct 10th, at 10:34am. he was 21 inches, and weighed 9 pounds, 13.2 ounces. it was a bit of a relief that he weighed so much, and the c-section WAS the correct decision. zane is very healthy & robust, and has a lot of strength. he has too much strength, actually. breastfeeding hasn't worked too well yet, but we're working on it. his suck is like a 3 month old baby, but his technique is that of a newborn's. it was really painful to try, and he damaged me a bit, so for now, i'm pumping, and then j or i finger feed him. i'm producing more & more each time i pump, and i'm starting to get ahead of him already. zane is a perfect baby! so beautiful. i look forward to being able to move about more easily. and it's really nice being able to eat normal food now. due to the narcotics i'm on, i don't quite have my normal appetite back, but it's getting better.