5/23/09

I haven't written in awhile so I thought I should start back up again. This weekend Aspen's grandma and grandpa Nicol are visiting. We are having so much fun. We've been hanging out and today we even went to the computer history museum. Aspen is getting bigger and bigger everyday. He's starting to hold his head up really well now during tummy time. Here are some pictures from today.

4/21/09

It's been awhile since I have written. Mostly from pure exhaustion and not picking up the computer since Aspen was born. :) He is a great little guy and we are so thrilled to have him. Everyday he does new things that are so great to watch. He is smiling more and more now and I just love it b/c to me it means so much more than just a "smile". I will definitely be the "over analyzing mom" about all of his milestones..watching to make sure he is meeting them with ease. Having the job I did in the past (a verbal behavior therapist) I know all of the developmental milestones that a baby/toddler/kid should be meeting. So having Aspen smile at 3 weeks old when smiles don't typically come in for another month or two is just awesome. And he does it socially too. It's not just gas or something like that. He smiles at both Matt and I while maintaining great eye contact! I just makes me so happy to watch him look up at us with that gummy smile :) It's so cute!
He's sleeping right now on his pillow. He loves to sleep on the couch next to us on top of a pillow. It does look very comfortable!
I am finally starting to feel myself again. My pain is gone and I think I'm almost completely healed although at times it is uncomfortable still. All the pain is so worth it to have such a great little guy to spend our lives with.
Matt is back to work full time now and at his Google office today. It was hard at first having him gone b/c breastfeeding is such a demanding thing. I didn't realize how much went into it. And Aspen is the kind of breast feeder that just wants to nurse and nurse and nurse for hours. So pumping has been my saving grace. If not he won't sleep for a long time at all. I figure I will try and do the breast feeding for a year. After that I want my boobs back to myself. :)
Today is Cali's first birthday. We are going to take her to the park tonight to celebrate. :) She's going to get extra pupperoni today as her treats. I'm sure she will like that.
Well that's it for now. I'm going to look into a cleaning lady now b/c I just do not have any time to do all of those things right now. I'm sure once he gets older I will but I want to savor this time and spend as much time with the little guy as I can b/c I know that they grow up quick. :)

3/31/09 #2

My Birth Story:
We went to the hospital on Wednesday March 25th at 7:30am. Being induced was actually nice b/c it allowed me to prepare everything before. I got to the hospital and they got me all set up on the contraction monitor and the fetal monitor. Then at 9:00am the pitocin was started. At first nothing was happening and they just kept coming back every 30 mins to up the level. Then at 12:00 I started feeling horrible contractions. They went from nothing to strong contractions every 1-2 mins. At 1:00 I had to pee so Matt went with me to the bathroom (with the IV) and I thought I peed down my leg as we entered the bathroom. It was my water breaking. We called the nurse and she confirmed it was my water breaking. At 2:00 I could no longer stand the contractions and was begging for the epidural. He finally came at 2:30 and put it in. The first time he did it it only worked on my left side. I could still feel the contractions on the right side of my body. So he re did it and it was fine. The problem came 2 hours later when the epidural would wear off. He had to come back every 2 hours and give me more medicine. The nurse came at 4:00 and checked me and I was only 3.5 cms and 60% effased. She turned me to one side and then came back an hour later and turned me to the other side. At 8:00pm I started feeling pain down low and in my rectum. The epidural was wearing off and it was hurting. She checked me and said I was 9cms. I couldn't believe it. At 9:00pm she came back and I was 10cms and ready to push. At this time the epidural wasn't working at all and I wanted him to come back and make it better with more medicine. At the same time the baby's heartrate was sky high and getting to 200 at some times. I also had a fever topping 101 at the highest. The nurse told us that we had a decision. Have the medicine and risk a c-section b/c they had to get him out b/c of the fever and heartrate or push him out with the pain. Matt made the decision for me before I could and I'm glad he did b/c I was really in pain. He said we were going to do the pushing and get him out. He knew I did not want a c-section and this was the best thing. It was very painful but I did it and an hour and 13 mins later Aspen Isaac Nicol was born and it was the best day of our lives. He had a fever when he was born of 103 but it came down in the next 3 hours to normal. They watched him for infection and took his blood about 4 times to make sure he was ok. He was and got to come home with us on Friday March 27th at 7:30pm. We are all doing fine now and breastfeeding is getting better. It was rough at first but now I'm getting the hang of it. Pumping has helped a lot and the baby is doing good with the breast and the bottle (with breastmilk).
That's it for now. Gotta go feed my child :)

3/31/09

We Welcome With Joy.....Aspen Isaac Nicol. He was born March 25, 2009 at 10:13PM. He weighed 8lbs 12ozs and was 21 inches long. We are all very happy and he is such a great baby!

3/23/09

My parents are now here waiting on the baby! :) It's been nice having them here. Last night we went to the Mongolian BBQ with them to eat. It was very crowded and hot in there. But the food was good. Today we went downtown Palo Alto and walked around and then ate at a hamburger place there. I got very tired walking around and can't really go out and do things despite wanting to. So we came home and my mom and dad walked downtown to a coin shop my dad wanted to go see. He really likes coins. He bought our little guy a piece of Platinum as an investment. :)
Today my new sandals that I ordered in the mail. I've been wearing my tennis shoes this whole pregnancy b/c my feet hurt in the beginning and I can't wait to wear sandals again. I'm very excited for that ;)
Tomorrow we go in to get our prostin gel. We are very excited for that. We are supposed to call at 3pm and go at 4pm. Hopefully everything goes smoothly. We are looking forward to it.
Well I will keep everyone posted on the baby status!
That's it for now.

3/21/09

So today I cleaned b/c my parents are coming. I probably shouldn't of b/c now my body aches but I did b/c that's what I do :). It does look nice in here now. I know that my mom will help me keep it nice in here while she is here. She is the only person that I know that is cleaner that I am. She's a neat freak. I guess that's where I get it from :) She's already asked for a list of things for her to do when she is here. So I made one for her :) It makes me happy thinking that I won't have to worry about those things too for awhile at least :).
Matt just went to the Apple Store. My phone seems to be broken. Feels weird to be without it. He gave me some old one incase I need to call him while he is gone. I have to say after having the Iphone it's pretty "ghetto". I know that sounds horrible and spoiled but you do get used to phones and not having my email, facebook and internet is not fun. I kinda feel naked w/out it. :) Hopefully he will get a new one of it fixed and bring it home the way it used to be.
Matt was a big help today. He went to Target, the pet store and the grocery store all while I cleaned. We are stocking up for when all of the fam. is here and when the baby comes too. Now everything is done and we are just waiting.
Well, my parents should be here in 2 hours so I'm gonna go take shower #2 for the day.

3/18/09

Today wasn't a very exciting day. Got up took a nap and then we went to the nature preserve to exercise Cali and for us to walk. Walking is getting harder and harder everyday for me. I guess it's the extra weight of the baby that does it. It really kills my back. But only one week from today guaranteed that he's coming out!!! Yeah!!!
We're just relaxing at home tonight. I'm making spaghetti for dinner. That's it for today. Sorry it wasn't an exciting day :)