First Christmas Tree Cutting - A Long Time Tradition

Last weekend Steve, Max and I cut down our Christmas tree! Cutting down a live tree has been a family tradition of mine since my parents were together - minus the kids. Steve and I continued this tradition when we got together and continue it up here in Portland. This was Max's first time - obviously :) We went to a new farm this year and Max slept through most of it. As always, I insisted on a tree that was HUGE - and didn't realize it until 3 seperate people commented on the size of it....oops.....but it fits in our house!! We carried it by ourselves with the baby in tow!!
We came home and decorated it - Max LOVED the all the lights and ornaments!
We also took outdoor family pictures the following morning - super foggy and 30 degree weather. I hope that the pictures turn out great!

Halloween Fun!

Max's first Halloween was a blast! We started off the day at the Roloff Farm (Little People Big World) and picked out his first pumpkin! We walked through the patch, took pictures and even caught a glimpse of them filming the show with the Mom. Had a small SNAFU when Max's pacifier dropped into the pumpkin patch - but daddy made a run for the car to grab a spare. All was well!! We came home and carved pumpkins - got ready for the trick or treaters and watched a few scary movies. We had a lot of trick or treaters this year and we actually ran out of candy!! Max was adorable in his dinosaur Halloween costume, I wish he could wear it all the time.....well......maybe he can!!

The Airport Grandma

Last week my mom became the 'official' airport grandma - coming to see us and hang out for the week. We had so much fun! The last time her and my dad were up here they hardly got to see Max since we were in the hospital and NICU for so long! I am glad that she got to come up and see how much Max has changed (he's up to 11 lbs and 8 ounces) and see his sparkling personality. It was so helpful having her up here - we spent some of our days making wonderful frozen dinners to save me time during the day and playing with Max. We also did our typical trip to Macys - my mom is the QUEEN when it comes to the in's and out's of Macys. I have to say that Max, Steve and my dad all came out bandits in the clothing department!!
She also gave Steve and I the opportunity to reconnect without a little one in tow. We bought Steve a new car, had dinner and drinks at the Heathman Hotel and went for massages - which were desperately needed :)
We can't wait to have her up here again!! Thank goodness for Southwest deals!!

A Happy Home

Today Max and I headed to the doctor to get some pointers when it comes to feeding. It has not been the easiest task to tackle - actually - probably the hardest thing we've faced during these first 5 weeks. The doctor had lots of good advice and hopefully we'll be on the fast track to 'just' breastfeeding and no longer supplementing with formula. Also I had a chance to talk to the doctor about Max's WONDERFUL sleeping habits - sleeping anywhere from 6-8 hours during the night. She said it was totally fine and now I will have a very happy husband who isn't waking up to the sound of the alarm clock every hour so I can see if Max wants to eat. Task: Sleeping: Accomplished!! As of today he weighs in at a whopping 10lbs and 14ounces!! He's our big boy :)
Lately we have also zeroed in our our creative sides - Steve is painting ; Max is pooping, cooing and smiling; and I am busy decorating for the holidays! It's a very busy, very fun house! Max seems to have awakened sleeping giants in our home :)

Circumcision

Today Steve, Max and I made our way back to the hospital so Max could have his circumcision. My poor little man.....he did wonderful though. He had a little extra bleeding this morning but tonight he is doing great!
We are all looking forward now to having a few weeks with no doctor's appointments and getting into a routine. So far so good. He has been an excellent sleeper (knock on wood :) ) and is doing great hanging out during the day with me.
Favorite activities for Mommy and Max: Playing on the floor with super soft blankets; dancing; hugging; and reading!

Welcome Home Max!

Max is home!! I'll leave it at that!
Time to go and spend time with the most handsome boys in the world!!

Our First Full Day In The NICU

Today I spent all day in the NICU with Max. Things slowly are getting better although it doesn't look like he is coming home soon. Keep your fingers crossed that he can come home tomorrow - unlikely - but it's nice to hope.

First Doctors Visit.....Admittance Into The NICU

So today was Max's first appointment with his pediatrician. Come to find out he had lost 15% of his total body weight taking him from 9.2lbs to 7.11lbs. The doctor told us to go straight to St. Vincents and admit him into the NICU. He is there now - the doctor's say he is dehydrated and put him on IV's in order to lower his sodium levels. Hopefully he will come home tomorrow but there is a good chance that he will stay for another night. I am going in tomorrow to feed him/pump and meet with a lactation consultant. Keep you fingers crossed that he comes home tomorrow.

The Best 56 Hour Meatloaf In The World

We are finally home with Mr. Max...thank goodness. Induction, Labor and Delivery did not go AT ALL as planned. All during birth class they tell you - "get your birth plan together it's so important." No it's not. Not one thing on my birth plan panned out - although with birth I guess you never know.
We originally went to the hospital on Monday August 31st at 11:45pm. We got checked in and all ready to go. My body had already kicked into some natural contractions so the midwife thought that we should start my induction with pitocin. Great! We were getting this thing moving along. At this point I was still only 1cm along - no changes from the last 3 weeks - and this is where I should have become prepared.
By morning I had been having regular contractions all night - but still no changes. They pulled me off the pitocin and started me on a cervix softener. Did the trick a little bit. I dilated to 2cm. All night and just 1cm? The midwife put me back on the pitocin and I stayed on that - with regular dose increases until about 2am on Wednesday morning. Wasn't I supposed to have a baby by now? The contractions were getting worse and one on top of the other - I cried - a lot. Something had to be happening....but the midwife came in and told me I was only 3cm...which made me cry harder. At 4am on Wednesday they gave me my epidural - which wasn't so bad - and amped up my pitocin even more.
All day Wednesday went the same - amp up the pitocin more - check my cervix - no changes. They thought my water broke at 9am and said I would deliver by 3-6pm. Found out at 4pm that my water hadn't broken and they broke it for me. At this point I am only 6cm dialated.
By 11pm I had finally fully dilated and been given tons more pitocin and TONS more epidural. At 12pm they told me to start pushing. By this time I had been up and in labor/induction for 50 HOURS and I was exhausted!! But I pushed and pushed and my body kept needing more doses of pitocin and epidural to keep it going. At 4am the doctor came in and told me that if the baby didn't come down father in the birth canal in the next hour he was going to have to do a c-section.....NO Way - not after this long. We pushed and pushed and the doctor came back and said SOME progress had been made. By 6:23am (on 36 drips of pitocin) and no contractions Baby Max was born.
And you thought it would end there? Nope. Max wasn't breathing when he came out - they plopped him on top of me - noticed and then swiped him away. They cut the cord in a milisecond - so Steve never had the chance. He didn't cry for 2.5 minutes and all I could do was lay there exhausted and helpless to watch this go on. It was horrible for Steve and I. Apgar test: 2 out of 10.
They finally got him breathing and from there though it was a whirlwind of stitches, doctors, nurses, Steve and a baby I couldn't hold for quite a while.
And there is the exciting and exhausting birth of Baby Max! I would do it again tomorrow if I had to.

Sunday - 2 Days Until We Meet Our Baby!!

I went to the doctor on Friday with NO changes in the last 3 weeks. Hmmm. We scheduled our induction for bright and early Tuesday morning so hopefully the induction takes and he makes an appearance on September 1st. That is Steve's parents and Grandparents anniversary - so we thought the day would be appropriate. It's a little nerve racking KNOWING when I'm going in - as opposed to labor just happening on it's own. Oh well - at least we have a 'D-Day' for this little guy and soon we will be getting to have a glimpse of him and his little personality (something we have been waiting for for 10 months now!!) We'll keep you all updated!

Relaxing and Enjoying

Today is Wednesday and I've spent the day cleaning and reading a great Dr. Laura book that I found! I love being able to enjoy these last few days on my own - doing as I please - before the baby comes. When I was working there was never any time to sit on the couch and read a book - it's been a long time and I am soaking it all in. I feel really good today - doesn't feel like I'm overdue at all! Who knew?? Steve will be home soon and we're going to hit up the local Farmer's Market - it's Salsa day!! - and hopefully find some yummy food to stock our fridge with. Hopefully the baby will be here soon.......

August 22nd - My Due Date.....Come and Gone

So Saturday was my due date and there was no possible way this little guy was coming. No contractions, 'special' feelings....nothing! Steve and I spent the day running errands and trying to take care of some last minute house projects since we won't have all that much time once the baby arrives. We also took some down time for us - watching a movie and just hanging out.