3 weeks

Wow, my little monkers is 3 weeks old today......how the heck did that happen?!?!? He is still doing so good, minus the sleeping at night. I'm thinking we're going to move from 2ozs. to 4 ozs. starting today and see how that works for him. He's had some issues with spitting up....well, I wouldn't call it spitting up, it's more like projectile vomiting! :( I swear it seems like he has brought up every drop of formula he's eaten the entire day. It doesn't seem to affect him at all, unless it gets all over his face. I'll mention it to the pediatrician when we see him this week. I'm also curious to see how much weight he's gained. I got on the scale last week and I *think* he's over 6lbs now! (BTW, i'm also down 23lbs and back to the weight I was before I got pregnant!) He's getting SO great at holding his head up!! And he loves doing tummy time........he's growing so fast......

And here are some pics!!!! The first is my new favorite.......

2 weeks

I can't believe my monkers is already two weeks old! The time is going by so fast.

As of yesterday he lost his cord stump!! I'm not exactly sure what happened to it......I think it got caught up in a diaper change and thrown away. At least I hope so, anyway.....either that or one of the dogs found it and ate it. ICK!!!! Now that the stump is gone we're going to do more tummy time and finally give him a real bath! He's also gotten so good at holding his little head up, especially when I try to burp him. And he is still determined to roll over at every diaper change, AND anytime I lay him on his back.....and if he can't quite roll over all the way, he is perfectly content laying on his side. He's also starting to eat more at each feeding....this morning he ate his 2 ozs, and then still acted like he was hungry! He goes back to he pediatrician next Tuesday to make sure he is gaining weight.

Now onto the pics!! (these were also posted on MySpace)

1 week old

I want to try and keep a log of Chase weekly (or until he's a month old at least), but I can't guarantee i'll be able to post on time! LOL So far i've noticed he is lifting his head SO much when i'm holding him! He loves to lift his head and look around. Also, he's rolled over several times when he's on the changing table.....i'm sure it's just the way he is laying, but he is so strong!!! I can't get over he has been with us for a whole week already....but at the same time it feels like he has always been here.

I've been doing ok, considering I haven't had hardly any sleep in months. Before Chase was born I was up peeing 10-12 times a night. Now that he is here, i'm up with him every 1.5-2 hours to change and feed him....then when I go back to bed it takes me forever to fall asleep again. :( I try to dose off when Chase is napping during the day, but that is usually impossible when Tyler is asking me to play with him or wants to play outside. So for now i'll deal with the lack of sleep.....after all, he will only be this little for a short time.

Another thing i've noticed is my hormones are super wacky still!! I knew they would be for awhile, but I wasn't this emotional when I was pregnant! LOL I mean, i'm not sad at all but I cry at the drop of a hat over silly things like commercials or tv shows. And also, I can't seem to get enough of Z. I love being around him and having him close, and that is SO the opposite of me! hehehe I've also been super "frisky" feeling lately, but I know we have to wait for the 6 week checkup...plus we have to figure out what to do about birth control until Z gets snipped. He won't be getting snipped until we get new insurance, and that may not be until this fall or early next year.

All in all, everything is going really well! I love saying "my boys" when i'm talking about Ty and Chase. :)

And now, here are some pics of my monkers......

Chase's first appointment

2:00pm- Chase had his first check-up on Monday. He did lose some weight and is now down to 5lbs 8oz. but the doctor said that is fine. They checked his length and the nurse said he was measuring 20" long. How in the world did he go from 18.5" to 20" in less than a week?!? I honestly don't know if the nurse checked his length right. It was kind of funny....when the nurse was checking his weight Chase peed on her! LOL She said he was the first patient to ever pee on her! Anyhoo, the doctor said he looked great! He said "He's definitely a keeper!" LOL We need to try and work with him with eating more and keeping him awake long enough to eat. Right now he barely finishes 2 ozs. in an hour and sometimes eats every 2 hours.

He does need to go back in two weeks to have his weight checked again to make sure he is gaining good.

Chase's birth story *EDIT*

Chase's birth/induction went SO perfectly!! I couldn't have asked for a better experience. We arrived at the hospital at 5:20am for the induction. They finally called me back to get me all registered and get the iv's started. I have to say, the IV went in SO easy! I hardly felt anything at all! Once I was all settled in, they called everyone back into the room. At 7am our OB came in to see if I was dilated anymore, but I was still at 3cm. At 7:20am they started the pitocin. By 10:30am I was contracting pretty hard but they were still kind of sporadic……I would have three good hard contractions in a row, then none for a little bit. At 11:40am the OB came in to break my water, which wasn’t bad at all…in fact, it felt good to get rid of that extra pressure! The contractions really picked up then….they felt like they were back to back with very little breaks in between. By noon I was SO ready for the epidural! The anesthesiologist came in and by 12:45pm I was feeling good. And the epi went in perfectly….no pain what so ever! They also put the catheter in a few minutes after the epidural and that was awesome as well! It felt so good to finally not have the feeling of having to pee constantly! The OB came back in and as of 1:10pm I was 4-5 cm dilated and 100% effaced. At 2:15pm I was still having some painful contractions, but only on the left side….my right leg was completely numb but the left leg was barely tingly. So the anesthesiologist came back in and added more meds to my epidural and I felt amazing!!! I actually was able to dose off for 30 minutes! A little before 3pm the nurse came back in and asked how I was feeling and I told her I felt great!! Boy did things change fast after that!!! She no sooner left when I started feeling contractions with TONS of pressure. At 3:15pm Zane buzzed the nurse and told them I was having contractions with tons of pressure and she came into the room quickly. I told her how I was feeling and she said she wanted to check my cervix. Well, when she checked my cervix she said “Ok, do me a favor….do not push! The baby is RIGHT there!” She grabbed her phone and called the nurses station and told them to get the doctor into the room STAT! Within 5 minutes the OB was in the room and we were ready for a baby!! After only 3 pushes, Chase Robert Marshall entered the world! He was so perfect in every way! I did have a 2nd degree tear, but I felt so good after delivery! And the best part of all, Tyler was in the room the whole time and saw his little brother being born! He was SO excited and amazed with everything!! When Chase came out and was crying he asked Zane’s mom why he was crying and she said all babies cry when they are born, and he gave her the biggest hug ever!! *Added info* After they got Chase cleaned up and Z left to get my dad and his dad to come in, the nurse told me they like to do skin to skin contact to help keep the baby warm and asked if I would mind doing that.....I told her I LOVE that!! When they placed him onto my chest and he looked up at me my heart melted and I just fell in love. The only thing I’m dealing with now is horrible cramping…….it is TOTALLY kicking my butt!! I swear, the contractions didn’t even hurt this bad. I’m now taking motrin and vicodin for the cramps and as long as I don’t wait too long to take them they seem to be working. I’ll be so glad when they are gone for good, though!! Also, my sugar is now right back to where it was before I was pregnant and so is my pressure!

We are all so happy to have him here with us........

**I forgot to add that I actually called the day and time Chase would be born!! (well, close to the time, anyway...LOL) Last week when we saw the OB everyone was saying he could be born any day, but I said I just had a feeling it would be Tuesday the 9th....and that was with the OB saying if I didn't go on my own I was scheduled to be induced on the 10th. On Monday we found out we were going to be induced on Tuesday instead and when we left the office I told Z I just knew Tuesday would be the day and I got quiet for a second, then said "I think he'll be born around 3:45 in the afternoon......that sounds like a good time." Boy was I close, huh!!! LOL

Hospital link for pics

Here is a link to see the pics from the hospital.

Chase pics

The password is: toolman1

Chase Robert is here!!

I am VERY proud to introduce Chase Robert!!!!



His stats are:

Born: 06.09.09
Time: 3:32pm
Weight: 5lbs 15ozs
Length: 18.5 inches long

He is such a little guy, but oh so cute!!! And he looks just like his big brother!! Tyler is so in love with him and wants to do everything for him. We came home today, and it feels SO good to be home!!! I'll get the birth story up hopefully soon.

Our last appoinment

8:00am/Dr Elders - Well, today was our official last apppoinment.....we found out today that I am being induced tomorrow instead of Wednesday!!! The ultrasound today showed Chase is still super low but the fluid level is dropping off again, so the OB said it was time to get out of dodge...LOL!! I'm also 2cm dilated still, but almost at 3 so that will work great with the induction. So, we have to be at UT hospital by 5:30am tomorrow morning......AHHHH!!!!!

The next post I make will be announcing Chase's birth!!!!!

38 weeks

WHAT'S HAPPENING WITH YOUR BABY

Your baby's lanugo, the fine hair that covers the body, will probably disappear this week. The vernix, a creamy substance that protects the baby's skin, is also disappearing. This week, your baby weighs around six and a half pounds and measures 34cm crown to rump, or 18-1/2 inches head to toe.

Wow, I can't believe this will be the last pregnancy weekly update.....it actually makes me a little sad.....

Anyhoo, things are going GREAT!! Chase is still as low as ever....I keep waiting to see his hand sticking out of my hoohaa and waving at me! LOL Heartburn is still going strong. I've also noticed something super weird and scary......anytime Z and I get freaky I can't catch my breath for hours and I get a horrible rattling sound in my chest and end up coughing. Last night we had some "us" time and when we were done I couldn't catch my breath at all....it was SO scary!!! :( My chest still feels tight right now......ick!!!

other than that, everything is looking good.....the next "update" i do, other than about todays appointment, will be about Chase being born!! AHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Today's appointment

3:00pm/Dr Elder - We had another good appointment today! The ultrasound went good.....Chase is measuring good and weighs about 6lbs 2oz. My pressure wasn't too bad, and i'm still dilated 2cm. We sat in the OB's office and talked about what step to do next. As long as I don't go into labor between now and Monday, I go back in and see him at 8am. They'll do another ultrasound and check my cervix again. An induction is now scheduled for 5:30am Wednesday morning! It's so hard to believe that we will be meeting Chase in less than a week. AHHHH!!!!! LOL The doctor did say Chase would be a small, but healthy baby and that's fine with me!! I can't imagine having to push out a 9-10lb baby out of my hoohaa!!! LOL

Today's appointment

8:00am/Dr. Elder - What an amazing appointment!!! The ultrasound went great......Chase is super low and engaged! The tech said he is definitely low and ready and that I have dropped majorly since Friday. His heart rate was good, 138bpm, and he was sleeping but still practicing his breathing! After the ultrasound we went into the room and the nurse checked my pressure. It was slightly up a little, but she wasn't concerned. The doctor came in and said he was impressed with how Chase looked and how low he is and said he was impressed with the pressure numbers i've been getting throughout the day. (I gave him a paper with my readings on it) He then checked my cervix and said I am 2cm dilated already and SUPER soft!!! I'm so impressed that my body is doing this on it's own!!! He said I could go back in a week and see how I do, but then said he wanted to see me again on Thursday and check my cervix again.....if i'm dilated more, they will admit me and Chase will be born on Friday!!!! If not they will definitely get things rolling next Tuesday. I told him I was feeling extra crampy this morning, but not contraction crampy and he said since this is my second baby the cramps could very well be contractions and to just be on "labor alert". When we left I was even more crampy from him checking me, so who knows what's going on down there....LOL!!! I did tell him i'd probably end up walking around 2cm dilated for awhile and he said he highly doubts it with as soft as my cervix felt and as low as Chase is......I guess now we just wait and see!!!

You know, I was never really worried about being induced, as I went through that with Tyler....but having my body start things rolling on it's own, even if I do end up still being induced, is SO awesome!!!!