2 Weeks

Colton turns two weeks today! I was comparing pictures I took of him just a few days ago with ones from yesterday, and he already looks different. For some reason, it seems like his birth date was a really long time ago. Hard to believe that only two weeks have passed.

I'm almost completely back to feeling like my normal self after the C-section. My incision is healing very nicely, and the scar is slowly but surely disappearing. The other day I dared to weigh myself, and discovered that so far I've lost twenty of the forty pounds I gained while pregnant. Yay! I know I have some work to do to lose the other twenty, but I'll get there eventually.

The weather has been really nice the past couple of days. We were able to actually turn off the A/C and open some windows. When it gets to the end of August, I always start yearning for fall, my favorite season. I'm looking forward to pushing Colton along in his stroller in the cool, crisp weather. Gregg's mother already volunteered to make him his first Halloween costume.

Here are a few more pictures:

Enjoying some time with Daddy

Napping in his dinosaur onesie that Aunt Val gave him

My New Job as Mommy

You know how they say "everything changes with a baby"? Boy, were they ever right.

We are now on Colton time. He pretty much determines when we do things, according to his schedule. The other day, Gregg & I were getting ready to head out the door. I had prepared the baby's bottles and packed the diaper bag, being careful not to overlook anything. I was feeling pretty confident in my new found mom abilities, in fact. I decided to do one last diaper change before we left. I took the old diaper off, and as I was about to slide the new one under his bottom, the "sprinkler" started spraying! The stream went up and over the changing table, getting Colton's hair, face, and clothes wet. I started laughing when I realized what happened. But then I became annoyed. I had to change his entire outfit and wipe down the changing table before we could leave, which set us back about 30 minutes. Oh well, such is life with baby.

Colton seems to grow a little bit more every day. He already outgrew one of his pajamas, and a couple of the t-shirts he got in the hospital. He is now chugging down 3.5 oz per feeding. My little boy also graduated from the cradle in our room to the crib in the nursery. Last night Gregg put him down in there, and he went right to sleep! He looks so tiny in it.

I'm definitely getting a lot of "on the job training" as a new mother. Colton teaches me something new every day. I've probably never felt more incompetent, and then more proud when I actually get the hang of something. It seems like a Herculean feat to dress him sometimes. Especially when he's screaming up a storm, and you're trying ever so gingerly not to break off appendages while you're putting his little arms and feet into an outfit. He sure makes life interesting!

More Pictures

I can't resist posting pics of my sweet little boy!



Here he is sleeping in his swing














And sleeping in the pack 'n play














And sleeping, again, in his cradle













Exciting, huh?

Update!

I thought I'd take a moment to post a quick update. Colton is doing really well, starting to fill out his newborn clothes now. He's up to 3 oz of formula per feeding, too. He continues to be very content and only cries when he is hungry. I get up to feed him at least twice during the night, and then he goes right back down after being changed.

His mama is doing fine as well. Yesterday was my best day so far. I was able to get around with little discomfort, and emotions wise I felt pretty balanced. I think I'm starting to get the hang of this mom thing.

I'm in that awkward, in between stage where I still don't fit into many of my pre-pregnancy clothes, but all my maternity outfits are too big. I had been feeling really unattractive, due to my now flabby tummy, scar, and ew, stretch marks. My husband is so sweet though. He tells me that I'm beautiful and called my incision my "mommy scar", a sign that I've bore him our son. He also said that I "cooked one great baby".

I still can't believe I'm a mother. It's all so surreal and amazing. I keep thinking Colton is too good to be true, and all of a sudden he's going to be up ten times a night screaming at the top of his lungs. So far we've been able to take him out with us to Target, out for lunch, and out for ice cream, and each trip he just slept the whole time. He has definitely made the transition to mommyhood a relatively easy one for me.

Life With Baby

Colton Patrick is one week old today! I can't believe a whole week has gone by since his birth. He is a great baby, very content most of the time. He'll get up about twice during the night for a feeding and sleeps a lot during the day. He's already been to the pediatrician, and is almost back to his original birth weight.

Even though our son is relatively easy going, Gregg and I have quickly found that the world now revolves around him. Meals get put on hold, sleep is disturbed, and our time is consumed by meeting the many needs of this tiny new being.

I thought before any more time goes by, I should post the birth story. So here goes:

I was originally scheduled to arrive at the hospital for my planned C-section at 12:15pm last Thursday, but they moved the time up to 11:30am much to mine & Gregg's delight. We were so anxious that morning that we got there at 11, and my room was already ready and waiting. I had two wonderful nurses attending to me, who started me on an IV and went over a whole bunch of paperwork. A while later, the anesthesiologist and some of surgical team met with me. I started feeling really nervous and also dizzy at this point, because I hadn't eaten anything since 7pm the night before (I had to fast from midnight on) and I was being pumped full of antibiotics.

By 1:00, they were ready for me to go to OR. The whole next hour was kind of a blur. They gave me the spinal which numbed me from the chest down, and inserted a catheter. It seemed like the spinal took effect immediately. After they prepped me and put the shield up, Gregg was allowed in the room, wearing his scrubs. He sat by my side holding my hand and rubbing my shoulder the entire time.

I don't remember a whole lot of what happened afterwards. It seemed like the procedure was over in a matter of minutes. I heard the doctor say something about the fact that the baby was trying to squirm away from her, then felt a lot of pressure as they lifted him out. He started crying right away, very loudly. When I heard him scream, I felt such a wave of emotion and began crying myself. The doctor showed him to me briefly before he got cleaned up and weighed. Gregg went back to the room with the baby while I was stitched up. After they moved me from the operating table to the hospital bed and wheeled me back, I finally got to hold my son for the first time. I remember thinking he was so perfect and beautiful.

I spent about two hours in recovery before any visitors were allowed back. Gregg's parents, my mom, and my sister were eagerly awaiting their chance to see the baby. The next several hours were pretty difficult, as the spinal wore off and I began feeling the pain from the surgery. The nurses gave me Morphine, which made me really nauseous. I couldn't even keep ice water down. I had to stay in bed until the next morning, and didn't get much sleep that night with nurses coming in and out of the room every so often to check on me and the baby. They had me up to go to the bathroom around 9am and I was able to eat solid foods by that afternoon. My appetite returned by that evening and I was able to enjoy the celebratory dinner staff brought in for me and Gregg. Late the next day, I was discharged from the hospital.

I'm still healing from the Cesarean, but every day it gets easier to move around. For several days after the birth, Gregg took care of Colton. I felt pretty guilty, as well as left out, that I couldn't do anything other than just hold my baby. Gregg has been absolutely wonderful, though, reassuring me that my main priority is to get better. He is an amazing father. He just adores our son and is so good with him.

I've had a touch of the baby blues since Colton was born, which hasn't made my recovery any easier. I gave breastfeeding a fair try, but after a few days decided it wasn't for me. That was a really hard decision to make, but I realized that I am no less Colton's mother because I choose to bottle feed him. The other thing that was difficult at first was coming to terms with the scar left behind from the surgery. I was very fortunate to have such a wonderful doctor perform my C-section. She used dissolvable stitches so I don't have to go back and have them taken out, thankfully. I was still horrified seeing the scar for the first time. I know that eventually it will fade, and I'll return to my pre-pregnancy weight & shape.

This has been one long emotional roller coaster of a week. Every day gets a little easier, though. I have a beautiful, healthy baby and proud, devoted husband for which I am very grateful.

Here are some pictures!

Colton Patrick Boonstra

Colton Patrick arrived at 1:33pm. He weighed 6 lbs 14 oz. He is 20.5 inches long. Mommy and Baby are doing great!

38w5d

These last few days have sort of blended together. It's so nice being off from work, but at the same time I keep forgetting what day it is! Since Saturday I've really enjoyed relaxing, doing some last minute baby shopping (I told Gregg we should invest stock in Target), and preparing for the final details of Bubba's arrival.

This morning I met up with a couple of friends for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. These are two of the most gracious and kind hearted women I know, and I am so blessed to have them in my life. They sat and talked with me excitedly over eggs, pancakes, and bacon about baby details and reassured me of concerns I have regarding the C-section I'm about to have. They offered to cook meals for us & bring them over once the baby is born, and can't wait to come visit me in the hospital.

After breakfast, I got my blood work done at Summit Health (another place we should also invest stock in because I'm there so much) and scheduled my phone interview with the pre-op department. I have to don a fabulous plastic wrist band until the surgery, which I'm guessing lets staff know which arm I've already had blood drawn from. I will definitely be sporting all the latest fashions this week: a shower cap, a hospital gown, and yes even a pee bag. Let's hear it for not having to get up to go to the bathroom for at least 12 hours after the procedure. Whoo hoo.

Anyhow, I am really excited about the birth minus all the icky medical stuff. It's crazy how I get to essentially skip my last week of pregnancy. Not that I'm complaining. As Thursday inches closer, I get really anxious to meet this little person who's taken up residence in my womb for the last nine months and know I'll fall in love with him instantly.

38w4d

This afternoon we had one last prenatal visit before my scheduled C-section on Thursday. Everything with my BP & urine were good, and I gained another two pounds during the week, bringing my total weight gain to a whopping 40 lbs. Our appointment was with one of our favorite nurse midwives, Darlanna. Before meeting with her, the nurse asked me if I had signed any pre-op consent forms and I said no. She asked if I wouldn't mind sticking around after the exam to go over them with the doctor who was scheduled to perform the Cesarean, since she was currently over at the hospital. That was fine with us. I began to wonder though, why Dr. Yerram didn't have me sign anything last time.

When Darlanna entered the exam room, she asked if I thought Bubba had turned. I told her I was pretty sure he hadn't. She mentioned Dr. Yerram had written in my chart that the baby was head first. Gregg and I looked at each other like, what??? We said that Dr. Y. never even checked the baby's position during our visit. All she did was check the heartbeat and give a very brief rundown of how the C-section was going to go. Darlanna felt around my belly and determined that Bubba is still buttocks first. Just to be doubly sure, she brought in the ultrasound machine and confirmed that yep, he's breech alright. Then she went over in detail the entire operation, from start to finish, and had me sign the consent form. She was also more than happy to answer any questions we had.

When she was finished, we met with one of the surgical schedulers who went over some more paperwork and gave me a packet of information outlining how to prepare for the C-section & what to expect at the hospital. I learned I not only have to have blood work done, but a phone interview as well with one of the registration staff from the hospital before Thursday. This is all so they know ahead of time how I might react to the anesthesia. None of this was told to me last week. Before we left the office last Tuesday, there was confusion on the doctor's part about whether I should come in again before the surgery. Then she originally suggested I come in the day before, but there were no appointments available Wednesday so the front desk scheduled me for today.

On the way home as Gregg & I talked about it, I started to feel more and more uncomfortable with having this doctor perform the Cesarean. I already didn't care for her lack of bedside manner, and the fact that she's new to this particular practice and seemed confused about the procedures didn't help. Then there's the obvious detail that she wrote the baby was head down. That's a pretty big mistake to make. I mean, that's the whole reason I'm having a planned C-section!!!

Gregg suggested that if I was this concerned, I should just ask that another doctor perform the operation. I was close to tears, thinking that this would now certainly delay the birth and it would be a big hassle to change docs at the last minute. I was also not looking forward to explaining why I felt uncomfortable with Dr. Y. and imagined trying to be talked out of my decision to switch.

When we got home, I called the office and left a message for the scheduling department. I received a call back within ten minutes and was told they would take care of scheduling me with another doctor for the very same day. No questions asked, no problems. I was so relieved.

I'm glad I followed my gut instinct. I wouldn't have been in the best place emotionally or mentally arriving at the hospital this Thursday. I would probably be worrying about this doctor's competency the entire procedure. I want to be able to completely trust the person into whose hands I'm essentially putting my life and my baby's.

Only two more full days before Bubba arrives!! We finally settled on his name last week. Sorry, but I won't be giving it away until the birth announcement post on the 14th. All I can say is that it begins and ends with a consonant, and contains two vowels, both of which are the same. :)

38w2d

Well, I am officially on maternity leave. I cannot tell you how happy I was to wake up this morning and realize I don't have to deal with any work related stuff for the next several weeks. This last week of work, unfortunately, was rather stressful. One of my clients ran away from her foster home Monday night and it just made the days to follow that much more complicated. But, it's over!

This morning I picked out Bubba's coming home outfit, and got to washing onesies, socks, bibs, and blankets. We're not sure how big he's going to be yet, so I didn't go crazy washing all of the newborn clothes. We can always return stuff and exchange it for bigger sizes.

I really didn't think I'd feel this way towards the end, but after four or five straight weeks of near excruciating back and neck pain, I am so ready to have this baby!! Oh yeah, I've also been enjoying the pain in my hips, legs and feet, and my old friend constipation. I don't know how in the world I managed to work up to almost the last minute of this pregnancy.

It's really beginning to sink in that, in just a short amount of time we'll actually meet our son. By next weekend, he'll be coming home with us and we'll have to figure out what to do with him! I started panicking a little last night, thinking about the fact that I've only ever changed a diaper twice in my life (and that was on a girl), and how will I know what he wants when he cries, what if I can't soothe him, etc. I know I'll be sore after the C-section and it won't be advisable to go up & down stairs for a while, so that has me worried too. Our bedroom, the nursery, and bathroom w/tub are all on the second floor. Oh well, I'm sure we'll bumble our way through the new journey of parenthood, but it will all be okay.

Here are some more belly shots taken weeks 36-38, and a couple of the nursery:

36 Weeks

37 Weeks

38 Weeks

37w5d

This morning we met with the doctor who will be performing the Cesarean next week. Dr. Y., a petite, attractive Indian woman, did not have the bedside manner we're used to with the other doctors and midwives we've seen. She wasn't mean or cold; her professionalism just way overshadowed her ability to relate to me, the patient. I have no doubts about her surgical skills, but I do wish she was a bit more friendly and personable.

Anyway, she told us that they'll call the day before (on the 13th) with the time the C-section is scheduled and mentioned that I will be awake throughout the procedure (I assumed as much). She'll do an ultrasound beforehand to check whether the baby has turned. It's funny; I really, really wanted to have a vaginal birth. I was even going to try to do it without drugs. But now I'm content with the idea of having this C-section, and knowing pretty much right when we'll get to meet our little boy. Only 9 days to go!!!

Today happens to be Tess's birthday. Well, at least this is the anniversary of when we got her so we just say that it's her birthday. She's three. I wonder how old that makes her in dog years. Tess and Bubba will share the same birth month. She's been awfully curious about all the baby gack that's cluttering up the house. She'll go up to the bouncer or swing, and poke her nose at them. She cocks her head funny when the little toys make noise. We're sure she will be a great protective older "sister" when Bubba arrives, but it may take her a while to get used to the wrinkled new being taking up residence in our family.

37w4d

So on Saturday I had another surprise baby shower. You'd think because I just had those other two that I would have caught on to this one, but no. I was completely oblivious again.

That morning Gregg and I spent getting more of the nursery ready, as well as cleaning. I should have thought it odd that my husband wanted to get up so early on a Saturday to clean. While I vacuumed upstairs, he ran out to do an errand. (He really did; this part wasn't a cover). When he came back he told me friends of ours had called and invited us over for lunch. He said he'd tell them we could only stop by for a quick bite, since we had a lot of things to do yet that afternoon. I said okay, and started running the vacuum cleaner downstairs while I assumed he went to call them back.

When we pulled up to their house shortly after noon, I saw my mom's car parked outside. And my only thought at the time was- a Toyota Highlander that looks exactly like my mother's with Jersey plates, now that's weird. Is it the pregnancy, or am I just really that naive?

Not only did my mom come, but my sister as well. Even though she returned from her honeymoon only a few days before and still has an apartment full of wedding gifts to sort through. It was a wonderful surprise. I got more adorable outfits for Bubba to wear, along with toys, and the monitor set which was last on our list to purchase. My mother gave me a Willow Tree statue of a mother and baby, that we placed in the nursery on the window sill by the glider. The cake was made by our friend Theresa, who also hosted the party. It was beautifully decorated green and white, with baby Pooh characters. Afterwards, my mom and sister came over to our place to ooh and aah over the baby's room.

I wasn't even expecting one shower, and I ended up having three. I am so grateful to all of our family and friends for being so thoughtful!!

My last week of work before maternity leave is finally here. I've debriefed my co-workers on the cases that they're taking over for me, scheduled my visits for the week, and now I'm trying to wrap things up the best I can. I seriously cannot wait for this week to be over. Next week I plan to treat myself to a pedicure with the gift certificate Gregg got me for my birthday, go out for lunch with friends, and just relax & enjoy my last few baby-free days!

A Letter to Our Son

To my precious baby boy,

You're almost here!! Your Daddy and I, along with grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and friends are anxiously awaiting your arrival. It doesn't seem possible that these past nine months have gone by as fast as they did, and now we are counting down days instead of weeks.

It's like I just blinked and it was August already, the month we've been anticipating since we learned you were on your way. Around the middle of December last year amidst the flurry of Christmas preparations, I began feeling just a tad bit strange. A home pregnancy test confirmed my suspicions: we were going to have a very special reason to celebrate that holiday! Your dad cleverly came up with the perfect way to tell our families on Christmas Day. Both grandmothers received as their last gift a small box containing a made-up back order notice, stating that one precious package was still in processing and due to be delivered on August 21. You were the best Christmas gift we could have given them.

Three weeks later on our 5th anniversary, we saw your tiny heartbeat for the first time and received our first picture of you at just 8 weeks old. You appeared as a tiny jelly bean then, but a few weeks later at another doctor's appointment you had already grown hands, feet, arms and legs! We saw you move around for the first time, too. At 14 weeks, we finally got to hear your heartbeat nice and strong.

On a rainy April morning, we had our big ultrasound and learned you were a boy. The girly girl, who can't stand bugs & dirt and has a closet full of pink clothes, found out she was going to have a boy. And I couldn't have been more thrilled. Already we could see your little personality unfolding on the screen. Everything measured perfectly, and we were relieved that you were healthy and developing just as you should.

It looks like you are going to make your grand entrance into the world a whole week early, being that your feet are still pointed downward. That's just fine with us, since we are so excited to meet you. I wonder if you'll have green eyes like mine, or brown like your father's. Whether you'll be an athlete, a musician, an artist, or if you'll tinker with technology like your daddy. Whatever you decide to be, I know that you will fill our lives with great joy. We're looking forward to watching you grow and experiencing life with you.

You are truly a miracle given to us by God, who loves you more than even your dad or I ever could. He created you in His own image, to be special and loved. I pray that you will have an abundant life and make the most of every opportunity. That you'll realize your full potential in God's eyes and never settle for second best.

Everything stands ready for your fast approaching arrival. It won't be long now before we lay eyes on our delayed Christmas gift! I can't wait to hold you in my arms for the first time and welcome you into our family.

Love,
Mom