6 weeks!

Went to dinner with my BFF & her family. They loved Asher!

hanging out on the couch

***Not sure how the photos got split up but I'm not taking the time to fix it. Ha!

I can't believe how fast time is flying by. Asher is growing everyday. I went to an appointment this morning and realized that the carseat is SO heavy with him in it now! EEk! Hopefully my muscles will start to get with it since we have a long time ahead of us before he's out of that thing! Our home PC has crapped out on us recently so I've been MIA in the blogging world. I had to get out my MAC laptop and try to figure out how to post pics. I'm proud to say that I figured it out without having to call on my friends Lee (www.learnfromlee.com) or Ters. ha!
Valentines Day was greatness. Mike got me a garnet ring surrounded with diamonds. Garnet is Asher's birthstone so it's super special to me! I've been saying that I wanted something to resemble him or his birthstone but I couldn't decided what to get. I'm so glad he surprised me with this AND picked it out himself. It's BEAUtiful!!! Since I lost my wedding ring a few years ago...now I'll wear this on my wedding finger. :)
The weather has been UH-MAZING recently and I'm hoping it'll stay this way! We've been going out on walks when Mike gets home from work and I'm LOVING it! We are SO happy with our stroller purchase. We ended up getting the Britax B-ready that our carseat easily attaches to but it also has the actually stroller seat that also fits an infant. It's super smooth and rear or front facing which I love!

Taking a stroll.

Happy Baby!

Naked Baby! He loves the bath but doesn't like the getting out part when he is cold! :(

I love my Lovie Dovie!

I absolutely love spending every minute of every day with Asher!!! I guess I shouldn't say EVERY minute of EVERY day, because I do get breaks to take a shower, get my nails done, go on dates with my hubby, etc. Asher and I have been having so much fun staying at home together. Mike works from home each Tues & Thurs so those days are even better because he's here and is able to help out, eat lunch or even just come out of the office to take a break and play with us...or watch Ash sleep. :)
I'm learning new things each day about being a mommy. It's crazy the things that happen that I was never told about! I'll be honest to say the first 2 weeks were CRAZY! Emotionally, I was a wreck! I'm so glad I'm past that part. I probably cried myself to sleep almost every night. Sometimes I didn't really even have a reason, it just happened. BUT I have the best husband in the world and he was there each night to wipe my tears and promise me that everything will be alright. I think overall I was just overwhelmed. A lot of it had to do with the obstacles of breastfeeding and the pain I had from the delivery after I came home from the hospital and of course, having a brand new, iddy-biddy sweet baby that was on a crazy schedule that I wasn't used to. I no longer could get my normal 10 hours of sleep each night. I had to kiss that bu-bye!
Now I can say that I still have the everyday challenges of taking care of a newborn but I'm LOVING it! I'm used to my sleep schedule and Asher is actually sleeping 4-4.5 hours through the night--on a good night! (knock on wood!!!) I'll typically take a nap in the early morning or afternoon while Asher is sleeping to catch up on sleep if I'm dragging. Other than that, when he is awake we recently started to read books, sing, play with his various toys that play music and make noises, and play on the tummy-time mat. He doesn't last very long at any of these activities...but it's fun while it lasts. Ha!
I can't wait for the weather to get warmer so we can get out of the house and use the stroller. We have a great park right by my house and I'm itching to walk on the walking trail each day. Icy weather has taken over of temps in the teens & 20s recently so we've been staying in-doors. I'm looking forward to the 60 degree temps that it's supposed to be this weekend! I'm also looking forward to my Valentines date with my hubby. My mom offered to watch Asher while we go to dinner tomorrow night...assuming the roads aren't icy. A's pediatrician has said since day one "Don't forget to date your husband!". I totally agree and can see how the focus can be taken away from the marriage. We are so thankful that we have so much local family that CANT WAIT to babysit for us!! :)

2 Week Doc

I'm a bit late...but this past Monday Asher had his 2 week pediatrician appointment. I do like his pediatrician but I've heard a few really bad stories recently from a moms group that I attend. So I'm kind of up in the air about staying with him or looking into a new one already. I think we'll give it a bit longer and see how it goes. Anyway, here are the stats:
Weight: 8.7lbs 25%
Height: 21 in. 50%
Head: 14 1/2 50%
The doc mentioned that everything looks great. He went over any questions I had and explained about Asher's feeding, development, sleep, bowel/bladder and safety tips. Overall it was great except the part when Ash peed all over himself including his FACE! Eek! We managed to get him all cleaned up and and home safely! :)

Here are some recent pics:

1st day he wore shoes. haha! We went out and about that day and he got so many compliments on them! :)

My dad & stepmom (Happy & Memaw).

Not sure why this one is upside down...but this is Asher getting some tummy time on mom & dad's bed.

My mom, Mimi with Ash. (This is before Asher was treated for his jaundice...you can tell he is yellow!)

Mike's stepsister, Laurie, loving on Asher

Neighborhood girlfriends. They delivered a delicious dinner and we introduced baby Ash to baby Dash! Dash is 3 months old...they will be going to daycare together!! :)

Mike's Dad & stepmom (Grandad & Gigi)

Sweet friends visiting us at the hospital.

Back to reality...

My Dad & step mom, Dawn, came to visit for a week and left this afternoon. They were such a great help and we had a great time while they were here. They loved on Asher the whole time...it was a great visit and we can't wait for them to come back already! While they were here we got out a few times with Asher. We all went to the mall, out to dinner, to family friends house, etc. We are starting to get the hang of putting the car seat in and out of the car and packing the diaper bag to go out. Dawn was sweet enough to watch Asher and encouraged Mike & I to go on a date! We went to a local favorite for dinner (Zanata's) and out for ice cream even though it was probably 20-something degrees outside! It was nice to get out of the house...just us two! Another night we ran errands and I went to get my nails done, that was nice too!!
Tomorrow we'll be back to reality. Mike will be back to work and I'll, of course, be home with Asher. He has his 2 week wellness appointment at 8:30am. I'm still getting the hang of getting up early (after being up overnight to feed him) and be up and ready and at the doc at 8:30AM...so we'll see how I do. EEK! I feel like I need 2 hours to get me and him ready. I hope once we get in a better routine, it'll get better.

Post baby body changes:

• I can see my toes again!!!!!
• I can sleep on my stomach again! LOVE it!!
  
• I'm COOOLD as opposed to being hot all the time!
• I now have lower back pain (maybe from the epidural!??!) I need to check with the doc...
• Even though you can't tell by looking at me... I lost 24 of the 28 lbs that I gained during pregnancy! YIPEE!!!

I'll have Asher's stats after his doc appointment tomorrow BUT I can already tell that he's heavier and longer when I hold him when nursing. He's also basically growing out of the 'newborn' clothes and fits in most of the 0-3months and a few 3mo!

NICU

When we were released from the hospital from my delivery they told us that Asher had 'medium-high level of jaundice' and that we needed to go see our pediatrician on Monday for a followup. We went to our 1st appointment on Monday morning and they confirmed that the levels for jaundice were high and to keep him in the window so he can get some sun. Just our luck...it was freezing that day and snowed so no sun for Asher! They set an appointment for the very next day to see if his biliruben numbers lowered. Unfortunately they raised even higher...so they admitted Asher to the NICU! I was so scared for him. Are you serious?! My baby is only 5 days old and you are already taking him away from me?!?! We went to the hospital that evening and they started him on IV's, antibiotics and put him right under the UV lights to improve his numbers. They told us that we couldn't stay with him because he needed to be under the nurses care in the NICU and because he was on IV's he couldn't stay in a room with me for liability purposes!?!? So...I basically lived at the hospital for the next three days. I was so sad every time I saw him. The NICU nurses were super sweet and taught Mike & I a lot about what was going on. Of course we were clueless when we went in. His numbers gradually got better and better. We checked him in at 21.7 and they released him on Thrusday at 7.4! So thank God he improved tons!!!

Hooked up to IV's under the UV lights. I lost it when I saw him like this!! :(

Broke my heart!!

To help things get better faster--we decided to supplement a bit of formula.
Mike feeding Asher for the 1st time! :o)) They both loved it!

Our sweet baby boy just before he was released.

Pictures!!!

getting wheel-chaired to my L&D room!

Delicious last supper!

Sweet baby Asher!

First family picture!

First picture with mommy!

First picture with daddy!

Asher Anthony

Going home outfit!

Taking a walk through the hospital halls on our last night there.

Baby Boy!

Happy Birthday Asher!!!!

Asher Anthony Atkins (yep, we changed the middle name AFTER he was born! ha!)
DOB: Wednesday January 5th, 2011
Time: 12:52pm
Weight: 7lb 15oz
Length: 20in
Hair: strawberry blond that sticks up like a mo-hawk (no hair products needed! hehe!)

Ahhhh, I can't even describe the feeling now that I'm a MOMMY!!!! I LOVE every second of it!!! Mike documented some of the events as they happened at the hospital. I'm listing them here for my own purposes...they are probably pretty boring to most, but you're welcome to read how my hospital visit went.

Monday 1/3/2011:

8:30am:
Doctor visit to check blood pressure, high levels again. Doc said 'Ready to have a baby?!?' 'Yes!' I answered! He admitted us to the hospital right then...! EEK! Luckily we had our bags packed since we live over an hour away from the hospital. The doc explained that we would start the induction process this evening and by tomorrow at lunch time the baby would likely be here!

9:30:
McDonald's breakfast, stopped at my moms house to pick up nursing bras that she bought me! (Thanks Mom!!)

10:35am:
Checked into Baylor Frisco, answered a million questions, put my gown on and had to rest in the bed because of my high BP.

11:10am:
Labs...blood taken, urine sample, baby monitors on belly for Asher's heart rate tracking, filled out forms

3:40pm:
Last Supper: They explained that they have an amazing chef on staff and they can make me WHATever I wanted. I chose chicken salad sandwich, baked lays, sprite, chocolate ice cream and fruit! hahaha, it was DELISH!

4:30pm:
IV Prep in right wrist area. Eek, I hate needles!

5:15pm:
My mom came to visit. She mentioned that she took tomorrow off work in order to be at the hospital at the time of delivery! She also calmed my nerves a bit...I was so nervous!

8:45pm:
Nurse came in to say that my doctor called the hospital and postponed everything for 24-hours due to a 'schedule conflict'!!! GRRRRRRR! We were so upset! Since I was all prepped up and also still had high BP they wouldn't let me leave the hospital! I encouraged Mike to go home in order to get some rest in our comfy bed rather than at the hospital. Sooo, he left and they gave me sleeping meds in order to help me sleep. It worked just great...zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Tuesday 1/4/2011:

9am--8:55pm: sat in my bed ALL day long. Played games on my phone, called friends/family, watched TV and ate food

8:56pm:
Moved to L&D room #7
1st dose of Cytotec given to soften cervix
dilated to 1cm

11:05pm: Ambian given to help me sleeeep
contractions started to hurrrrt

Wednesday 1/5/2011:

1:05am: 2nd dose of Cytotec given to keep softening cervix
LOTS of pain and contractions

lots of crying and shaking throughout the night...I was so scared, nervous and overwhelmed!

5:55am: dilated 3cm, pain and strong contractions continue

6am: IV fluids and got epidural process started

6:15am: Nursery nurse comes in to get Asher's table set up for delivery!

6:38am: epidural in. OUCH but totallllly worth it! No more feeling the contractions! Numb and heavy legs!

7:10am: urine catheter placed. Nope, didn't feel it! :)
Doctor comes...breaks bag of water

7:15am: My mom arrives, I'm feeling great!

8am: Pitocin started

8:15am: Mike's dad & stepmom arrive.

10am: 5cm dilated!

11:10am: 8cm dilated!

11:15am: delivery table delivered and prepped

11:55am: 10 cm dilated! Time to PUSH!

12:52pm: our sweet baby Asher was born!

Our overall experience was WONDERFUL! We would totally recommend the hospital, my doctor, the staff...everything! Asher came out very healthy. Over the course of days following in the hospital Asher was circumcised, bathed, tested for hearing, footprints taken, and loved on by lots of family and friends that came to visit! We are overjoyed and can't believe we are so blessed to have such a sweet baby boy! Thank you God!!