C-Rad Firsts

Bath

Redskins Games:

Time in the vibrating chair:

Conrad's 1st Wedding:

Look at those Handsome Boys!

Meeting Extended Family:

  

 Great Grandparents!

Four generations of the Jones

Conrad has had lots of firsts and we look forward to many more!!!

Attempting to keep it together 24/7,

Elizabeth

Conrad's Birth Story: Part 2

So as I had mentioned earlier, Conrad made his way into the world via unscheduled c-section about 10 days early. Despite being in labor for 18 hours, developing a fever, and being utterly exhausted, I wouldn't change a thing and would go through it all again for our little love.

I think he came early because he knew how many people were waiting to hug and kiss him. My parents, Sean's parents, and my sister Cayce were all there already and lots of our friends came within the next couple days to visit.

 Meeting my mom and Dad, "Nana & PopPop"

 Meeting Sean's parents, "Grandma & Grandpa"

 Sleepy Daddy!

For the next four days in the hospital we worked on breast feeding (HARD stuff!!), diaper changing, swaddling, etc. 

Daddy is the best swaddler. He said it's because he is good at making burritos. LOL.  

The staff at the hospital were amazing, as was the doctor. My OBGYN practice has four doctors and the one that was on call the day we went into labor was our favorite - thank goodness! She kept checking in on us every day and we were finally discharged on Thursday the 11th. We could have left the day before but we wanted to get one last night of good rest and I wanted more help with breast feeding.

And then it was time to go home. 

 

Let the good times roll...

Attempting to keep it together 24/7,

Elizabeth

Conrad's Birth Story (Warning: Long post!)

Baby Conrad Cayce made his way into this world on October 7th, 2012 at 7:00pm via unscheduled c-section. He was 10 days earlier than his original due date and 3 days earlier than his sonogram due date so Sean and I were a bit surprised when my water broke at 2am on that Sunday morning! Come to think of it, everything pretty much just happened to fall into place in the weeks prior so it seems Conrad knew that and decided "hey, you're ready, mom's miserable, I'll go ahead and make my entrance". And we are glad he did!

The month prior I was starting to feel pretty bad.Throughout my pregnancy when women complained they were miserable and couldn't wait to deliver, I thought, "what are they talking about, this is fine?!" 

And then the swelling started. And then I couldn't wait for Conrad to come. For the most part. 

We had just moved into our new house so I wasn't entirely ready in that sense, but physically, oh yeah. Then two weeks before he came we really started to get the house in shape, in large part to my mother unpacking and organizing all our rooms and Sean working non-stop on the nursery painting. Perhaps we were finally ready?

 Working on his baby journal while Sean set up and painted the room.

Well that little boy certainly was ready! At 2am on October 7th I woke up to a funny...wet...feeling. Did I pee the bed? And then it just kept coming and coming so I assumed not.

"Um, Sean?" Shaking him gently. "Sean?" Shake him harder. "SEAN!" 

I turned on the light and he sat up in bed.

"My water broke." Wow, I've never seen that man move so fast. He jumped out of bed and began pacing so much I thought he would burn holes in the rug. Luckily, I was overwhelmingly calm and told him to call the doctor while I started gathering our things. We were told that we didn't have to go to the hospital until 4am because I was not having contractions. So I was able to take a shower, make sure all our bags were packed properly, and...

stop to get gas along the way.

Yes, our fuel light was on and while we are only a 20 minute drive to the hospital, who knew if they were going to be having late night road construction that would take extra time and gas - famous in this area.

So we checked in, got into our room, hooked up to monitors, met our amazing nurses, and just waited.

And waited.

Finally around 6am they gave me drugs! Lol, the drugs to start contractions that is. Then the action began pretty quickly and by 10am after a couple hours of back labor (he was facing backwards) I was asking for an epidural.

Now, for those of you who are pro-natural birth and can do it without an epidural: more power to you! But I decided a long time ago that I had nothing to prove to anyone by going at it alone, and all the research I had done told me that having an epidural was perfectly safe. I wanted to enjoy and savor every moment, not be writhing in pain (especially since it turned into almost 18 hours of labor).

However, the little munchkin dropped into the birth canal very early and was putting lots of pressure on my pelvic region so contractions were definitely not pain free!!

My parents, Sean's parents, and my sister all came to visit, we watched the Redskins game (they lost-boo!) and still no baby Conrad. I was about 7 cm dilated and 90% effaced but the rascal's head was not turned properly and "stuck" in my cervix.

Long story short, we remained this way until about 4pm with no progress and I developed a fever. By this time the doctor, myself, and Sean made the executive decision that if by 5pm there was no progression, we'd have to plan for a c-section. Due to my fever and the fact that my water broke over 14 hours before, we had to get Conrad OUT before infection developed.

By 5pm there was no action so we had to go via c-section. To be honest, at that point, I was so exhausted (did I mention we had gone to bed at 1am the night before? Yeah, I was going on only 1 hour of sleep for 24 hours) that I was afraid I wasn't going to be able to push so I was ok with the decision to have a c-section. Plus, I just wanted to be safe for Conrad even though this wasn't part of my "plan" (which, there wasn't really one because they can change - obviously!). 

The biggest issue was that my epidural bag was almost out; but since I was going in for a c-section, it wasn't replaced as the anesthesiologist was *supposed* to be coming to prep me for surgery. But then he had an emergency on another floor and couldn't come right away.

Something to do with someone's bowels. WHAT?!

So I had to wait an hour for him or his back up (who apparently had to come from her house in who knows where) sans meds to arrive to prep me for surgery. It sucked. A lot. Remember when I mentioned above that I had always wanted to have an epidural? Yeah, this was why. It freaking hurt!!

I needed a push present to get my mind off of things stat: 

And my sweet husband delivered - a push present that is:

So then Sean suited up, I got ready, and in we went for surgery. And they were playing Michael Jackson in the operating room - loved it!

I was so exhausted that I almost fell asleep on the operating table. But luckily Sean was there and kept me informed of what was going on and then I heard the most beautiful sound ever - Conrad crying his first cry! Our little love entered this world at 7pm and then our adventure began.

 Perfect APGAR test.

 

Then he and Sean were whisked away while I was sewn back up and brought into recovery to meet them.

 He's winking at you! Look at the hair!

Proud papa!

And then we got lots of rest (kind of), got lots of tests and monitoring, got to know each other, and he met the grandparents and aunts and uncles...more pictures of that later!

Attempting to keep it together 24/7,

Elizabeth

Conrad: 1 Month

It's hard to believe but on November 7th, our little love turned one month old!!! Time seems to be both flying by and moving at a snail's pace (more on that later) but we are trying to savor every moment with this baby C-rad!

Dear Conrad,

Time seems to be flying by in that it feels like just yesterday we woke up in the middle of the night to your announcement of "hey! I'm going to come today". We were pregnant for what seemed like forever but now it feels like the blink of an eye - and here we are one month later.

Our days are filled with lots of eating, some sleeping, lots of diapers, and lots of fussiness after 2pm. You are eating more and more like a big little boy - you must be going through a growth spurt! Mommy now calls herself the Milk Machine.

You seem to love sleep between midnight and noon, in intervals of course (which is good for Mom!); but after 2pm you have to pretty much be held when you are awake otherwise it's fuss, fuss, fuss! All the baby books and other mothers say this is a phase and will pass but it seems to be taking forever (hence the "snail's pace" listed above). It's a good thing you are so cute! 

Thank goodness for Daddy and grandparents so that after your last morning feeding between 6 and 7 am they can take you so Mommy can get an extra nap in to make up for the night time feedings. Or take a shower. Or brush her teeth. 

You've also now attended your first wedding, had your first Halloween, and have witnessed (kind of) numerous Redskins games (unfortunatey they were losses - cheer harder Conrad!!).

You now seem to like your vibrating seat and we can get you to smile with neck kisses and tickles. It's amazing how much you change from week to week and we are cherishing every moment (even the fussy ones) with you.

Love you lots,

The Milk Machine & Daddy

Conrad: 3 Weeks

Ok, so this is a little late, but here's Conrad's 3 week update:

Dear Conrad,

You amaze your Mommy and Daddy every day with how much you are growing. We love that you are now more alert and awake throughout the day - your eyes seem to be getting a little more blue so we'll see how they are soon! You are feeding pretty well although you have some tummy troubles so sometimes you don't like feeding or burping - but you are learning!

When you are awake you love to lay on your play mat and look outside. Right now you don't like your bouncy seat too much but you love your swing. And of course, you LOVE being held, rocked, and cuddled by anyone around you. Sleeping through the night isn't happening yet but you're getting better with 3 to 4 hour stretches at a time and when you wake up you usually feed and go right back to sleep. Now we just need you to take more solid naps during the day!

These past few weeks you have been out shopping with Mommy - you're a great shopping buddy - to lots of different places. We've also been on lots of walks although you sleep most of the time. I think you really like the car and stroller because it keeps you moving!

Grandma and Grandpa, Nana and PopPop and all your aunts and uncles love you so much. Even all the patients and workers at Daddy's office think you are too cute; the jury is still out on who you look like more but we'll see!

Loving you and this great adventure,

Mommy & Daddy

Announcing...

Conrad Cayce

born October 7, 2012

7:00pm

8 lbs, 8 oz

Love him to death already!

Proud Daddy

Such a handsome little love!

More to come later, including birth story, more pictures, and a peek at the mural Conrad's daddy painted for him!

What NOT to say to a pregnant lady

So being pregnant gets you a lot of attention. Almost all of it is positive - people opening doors, giving up their seats, even letting you ahead of them in line. And most people have very nice things to say and ask the right and appropriate questions. However, there still are lots of other comments and questions that come up that make me just scratch my head and think "really?". Here's a few of my favorites:

1.   “Just you wait” – For anything involving baby, child rearing, birth and labor, sleeping through the night, etc. This phrase just bugs the heck out of me for several reasons. First, what am I supposed to say to that – “ok I’ll wait and see”? Next, each baby, experience, and child is different so what happens to me may be the polar opposite of what happened to you. Also, and it may be because I’m extra sensitive right now, but it sounds condescending.

2.   “Get ready for your life to change” – What, you mean I can’t go out to happy hour every night and take weekend trips just the two of us anymore???? Hold the phone, send this baby back. DUH. Anyone who gets pregnant and expects their life to stay the same should not be having children. I understand that our lives will be totally different, with entirely new priorities, routines, and challenges. And while you can’t predict everything that will happen, I’m pretty sure that we’ve already grasped that our lives will be changing. Again, it may be that I’m sensitive right now, but this also sounds condescending.

3.   “What made you pick that name?” – Luckily, I haven’t had anyone come out and say this outright, but I’ve heard other expectant mothers complain about it; I’ve even heard people say “ew” in response to baby names!! Straight up rude! The only slightly negative responses that I’ve received in revealing our baby name were silence then change of subject, some “oh, that’s interesting”, and other comments of the sort. I don’t expect everyone to love the name that we’ve chosen for our baby – just as I wouldn’t have picked names that others have chosen. But people need to understand that most parents when picking out their child’s name don’t just pull it out of a hat. There is usually lots of deliberation, consideration, and thought put into it, so bashing a name is a no-no. Just stick with the “if you don’t have anything nice don’t say anything” rule.

4.   Any comments about what we are eating or drinking. As stated in previous posts, I have done my research. I know what I can and can't eat, what supplements are good or bad, how many calories I can have in a day, and what nutrients my baby needs to be healthy. So imagine my shock when I had a GUY (a guy?! has he ever given birth? was he my doctor?) at Starbucks actually say “are you sure you are allowed to drink that?” as I was waiting for my tall non-fat latte. He immediately knew he said the wrong thing when I went into a speech about all the research I’ve done about caffeine and pregnancy. Needless to say, he was embarrassed and quickly told me how great I looked and mumbled something about enjoying my time because it goes fast.  Well maybe he shouldn’t have ordered his venti white chocolate frapp – does he know how much sugar is in that??

5.   And last, but not least:  “Oh are you having twins?” or, my favorite “You’re due in 4 weeks? I thought you were going to say tomorrow!”  – Let me make this clear: ANY COMMENTS ABOUT A PREGNANT WOMAN’S SIZE ARE STRICTLY FORBIDDEN. You have to be an idiot to not realize this. I mean, come on, you wouldn’t say something to a random overweight person you see in the grocery store would you? Then why do people think its ok to comment on the size of a pregnant woman? We are already worried enough about our weight gain, uncomfortable with other symptoms, and full of hormones that make us sensitive. Plus, most of us are proud to show off our bellies; we are creating a life here, an amazing miracle and feat of science. So don’t bring us down by comments on size. Or I may have to comment on your nose, your teeth, your haircut or outfit. And I won’t be nice about it.

So here’s a great rule of thumb: if you see a pregnant woman and you are inclined to ask a question or make a comment but don’t know what to say, smile, say “congratulations, that’s so exciting” and move on.