Breast Feeding/Migraine from HELL!!!

When I had Max my milk never came in and I was heartbroken that I wasn't able to breastfeed.  I thought with this baby, I'd give it a try, but if it didn't work out I would be okay with that.  After delivery I started pumping, and to my surprise my milk supply came in great! I was so happy that I was able to perform that motherly duty for my child. Since he was in the NICU, it was one thing that only I could do for him, no nurse would suffice. 

After I was discharged from the hospital I was pumping every three hours, whether it be at the hospital or at home.  It was such a horrid task.  It was difficult to wake up to hook myself up to a machine, one that was incredibly uncomfortable at that.  I was soon to discover just how much work breastfeeding was, and I applaud any mom for any amount of time that they devote to this task. 

Since he was a premie I was having to wake him every 3 hours for feedings, but since he ate so little, I was also having to pump off the excess milk.  Needless to say, by the time I took care of the baby and pumping, I was getting 1 to 1.5 hours of sleep at a time. 

Max was home from his dad's house and while I was running on about 3 hours of sleep each night with no naps, I was feeling quite well.  

The house was being taken care of, dinner was on the table when the hubby got home, I took showers daily...I was thinking "why do people say this is so hard?"

AND THEN, I ate all of those words and I crashed and burned.  

I can't tell you much about my crashing and burning, other than the fact that it lasted for about a week and a half.  After 1 trip to the ER, four doctor's appointments, and several different medications, I am happy to say that I am back up and running.  Those 10 days are seriously a blur, I slept through Christmas, I couldn't care for my children or husband, I was worthless.  All I can say is thank heaven for my husband.  This man took care of a lethargic miserable woman, a newborn baby, a four year old, and he kept it all together.  He is so patient and selfless and didn't complain once.  Thank you baby for all that you do for our sweet family.  

Since I was taking medications that weren't safe during pregnancy, I was having to "pump and dump". As if I didn't hate pumping bad enough, try doing it while you are sick as a dog only to dump it down the drain.  Ew, the thought of that still disgusts me.  And so the saga goes, I ended up having to give up breast feeding, and my poor husband had to add emotional wife/mother to the list of things he had to deal with.  Poor fella!

Here's to a Happy and healthy new year!

  

Merry Christmas

Since I kinda missed Christmas this year, here's how I hear it went down :)

Max was at his dad's house the entire day, so we had to do Christmas a little differently this year.  We celebrated on Sunday morning before he went to his dad's house.  We had my parents come over and we waited for him to wake up and run to the living room to see all of his presents.  As most children are, he was very excited and tore through presents like it was nobody's business.  Santa didn't come to our house though, we explained to him that he only comes on Christmas Eve to the house that he is sleeping at.   

Mom and Dad got him a BB gun, some movies/games, and a dinosaur kit.  He was very spoiled by all of his grandparents and family with toys and clothes and treats. But his biggest surprise was a present from Nanny and Poppy.  He waited at the door as Drew and my dad brought it in the house, and the only thing I remember about that day was the look on his face as he saw it. He got a blue "vroom vrrom" of his very own.  He was surprised and excited and jumping up and down.  It's an electric four wheeler equipped with his own blue helmet to match. Unfortunately, because mom was under the weather I have no pictures of this.  

Christmas is a time to celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ.  This year has been a spiritual journey for Andrew and myself, and I find myself feeling a whole new spirit about this day. Also, I had planned on spending it alone and much to my surprise the holiday season was shared with family and friends, as it should be.  I want to make traditions within my new family that our children can look forward to and enjoy.  I want our boys to know why we celebrate this day, and feel the spirit in their hearts.  I want to teach them these things so that they can grow up and experience these things with families of their own.  

Merry Christmas to all!

2 week check up:

A couple days after we were discharged from the hospital, I took Hudson in for a weight check.  Our pediatrician is one of the doctors I used to work for at Grandview Family Medicine, and I was so excited to see everyone there and show off the little man.  I have to say it was a bit nerve wracking driving in the car with a newborn and worrying about keeping him warm.  I forgot how paranoid new moms are.  

Here are his stats (premie growth chart):

Weight: 6.1lbs- 40 percentile 

Length: 19 in

Head: 12.75 cm

Lisa said he looks perfect and she's very impressed by how well he's doing.  Until he weighs 7lbs, I am still having to wake him every 3 hours for feedings as well as having to fortify 2 bottles a day.  We are hoping when we go in for his circumcision in January, that he will weigh enough to sleep for longer periods of time.  Mommy and Daddy both could use a few extra hours of sleep Baby Hudson. 

Because he was so early, and because he is so small, we have to be extra careful for the next couple months.  We are going to get him the RSV shots to help protect his little lungs.  There are some precautions we are having to take as well: If you are sick, we appreciate the thought, but we ask that you come back when you are no longer ill (even just the sniffles).  We ask that all visitors be up to date on their pertussis and influenza vaccinations, no children visitors for the time being, and please use good hand washing skills and the hand sanitizer before holding him. 

I know that I may sound paranoid, but we just want to keep this little munchkin on the upside of the cold/flu season.  

Here are a few pics from being home:

 Hudson's first bath at home, dad did the honors and got pooped on...serves him right. 

The top picture is of Hudson, the bottom is of Max.  I think when Hudson's mouth is covered up, he looks a lot like his big brother did.  

He looks so tiny in his crib! He's even all bundled up in this photo.  What a happy feeling having him home and using his nursery though.  Pretty sure I check on him every five minutes. 

Homeward Bound

When we got closer to being discharged, Hudson had to pass a carseat test.  He had to sit in his carseat for 90 minutes while on monitors to make sure his oxygen stayed up.  This guy passed with flying colors!

On a side note: I cannot tell you how excited I was about taking our carseat into the hospital.  I was like a little kid, because this meant we were one step closer to going home. 

WE ARE GOING HOME!!!

Hudson was released from the hospital 12/10/12, 18 days spent in the NICU, and we couldn't be happier to take our little boy home. 

Drew was a little excited to hold his son without any wires! He walked away from our little area, just because he could. 

 The Blunt's leaving the hospital! 

Hudson waiving goodbye

It was almost surreal that we were taking him home.  We waited for what seemed like forever, and now that it was finally here...I was freaking out a little! As much as I hated him being there and all of those wires and monitors, I was a bit intimidated no longer having them.  

We had such great nurses and doctors caring for our son at the hospital, and I cannot thank them enough.  We were saying our goodbyes and several of the nurses were hugging us and congratulating us.  It meant a lot knowing how much they cared for our little family.  I was so confident in their abilities, and it made the difficult task of leaving my child there each night a little bit easier.  Thank you AF NICU staff! 

Brothers

When I was in labor Max stopped by for a visit after I got my epidural.  He was very excited about meeting his little brother.  We tried to prepare him that Baby Hudson wasn't going to be strong enough to come home right away.  He understood as well as a 4 year old could.  

When Hudson was three days old, and stable, Max was able to come back in the nursery to meet him for the first time. We prepared him for the wires and monitors, told him that he needed to talk softly, and that he had to be so soft with Baby Hudson.  

He did great and it was a moment that I'll cherish forever.

Here he is introducing himself to Hudson in his baby talk voice.  He made sure he told everyone that he saw that Hudson was his little brother and that he was the cutest baby ever.

If this isn't the face of a proud big brother, I don't know what is.

And finally, all three of my boys together!

NICU picture dump

As we sat in the NICU, we acquired a lot of pictures! We were limited on the time that we were able to hold him, and he seemed as if he changed a little everyday, so we wanted to remember every stage of this sweet little life.  

This picture was taken the night that he was born.  It was late, after all of our family had left, and it was the first time that we were able to hold him since he was born.  Drew is so proud of his son, he couldn't stop smiling and staring at this little bundle of joy. 

He looks so small compared to his dad's hand. For a while there he just kept getting smaller and smaller. 

A lot of our time was spent staring at him sleeping in hospital bed.  They told us not to over stimulate him because he was so delicate. 

He loves his hands up next to his face. 

That hand was SO naughty! He pulled his feeding tube out several times.

One of my favorite pictures.  I love when his eyes are open (for about 30 minutes a day)

It was a little exhausting spending so many hours at the hospital, but Drew learned how to take advantage of his holding time :)

Max LOVES that his brother has a hawk just like him and dad!

One of the women that Drew was serving with in Afghanistan sent this hat for Hudson.  Thanks Aunt Krystl!

He was a little warn out after all of those feeds, poor guy couldn't even keep his binky in. 

Mom's turn!

We weren't sure when Hudson would be discharged, so we took in a Charlie Brown tree to bring the holiday spirit to him. 

His dad was so excited to put him in this outfit.

Those cheeks!

Drew was the diaper changing champ. The nurses learned to let Drew change his bum, because one too many of them got pooped on.  Hence, the nickname "Squirt"