Weigh-In Day

I walked past a small tear-off calendar in the hallway today and realized it was still on January.  The January page had a message about antioxidants:  "Studies have shown that antioxidants may slow or help prevent cancer, heart disease, and other diseases .... Good sources of antioxidants are berries, kidney beans, spinach, sweet potatoes, cinnamon and oregano."

I started Weight Watchers online program March 1st to shed this baby weight, and the grocery list included blackberries, blueberries, spinach, and sweet potatoes.  I guess even if I don't get the weight off I'll be fighting off bad diseases.  Win-win :)

So, I traded in cheese for lots of fruits and veggies and traded in juice for hot tea.  This is my favorite tea of the moment (Wild Sweet Orange Tazo Tea):
 
You can get it at Target, among other places.  No need for any sugar or honey, which helps with the WW points :)

So, week one down 4.5 pounds.  Yay! 

p.s.  whatever I said about Jeremy showing signs of being a good sleeper has jinxed a good thing.  The last two nights were not good.  The healthy eating must be giving me extra energy because I think I got a total of 3.5 hours of sleep last night, spread out in spurts throughout the night.  Hope naps go well today...

Lots of love, 
Keri

Jeremy's One Month Update

Jeremy is a sweet little baby with incredible bright blue eyes.  He is showing signs of being a good sleeper, with occasional stretches of 4 hours between feedings, and is gaining weight quickly.  We realized early on that we needed to move up from newborn diapers to size 1 right away, which helped minimize those wet onesies.  We also successfully managed to care for his belly buton cord until it fell off just before he turned a month and heal up a terrible diaper rash that caused Jeremy to cry out in pain :(  I am very thankful to our reliable Triple Paste diaper cream and think very little of the super expensive, prescription cream Vue. 

Jeremy has now had his first "real" bath, which he wasn't thrilled about, but fortunately, he loves the baby-carrier.  That thing has certainly gotten a lot of use over the last few years! 

He rolled over three times in a row while doing tummy time on the toddler bed.  I'm not sure if it was because it is easier to roll over on the bed or just some crazy fluke.  I'd think I was halucinating in some delirious sleep-deprived state, but Sylvie and my mom both witnessed a couple of those rolls.  I need to try some more belly time on that toddler bed, but the times I've put him on the floor he has not gone anywhere, barely lifting his head up.  Maybe I ate extra spinach that day.

Jeremy seems to be very mellow while being held, but has a horrible way of holding his breath and crying in a frantic, full of panic way when he wants to be held.  I'd think he was in some horrible pain, except that he instantly calms when picked up.  Except for those occasional gas pains that seem to strike the worst at 4:30 in the morning, I think he is a very happy little guy.  He smiles often (although totally random and accidental at this point), and I've heard a few laughs as he dreams.  It reminds me of the song John Denver sings on the Chrismas with the Muppets CD:

~Like a baby when it is sleeping

In it's mother's loving arms

what a newborn baby dreams is a mystery~

I'm 99% sure that Jeremy is dreaming of eating :)

I am incredibly thankful to John for taking such good care of the girls for 2 and 1/2 weeks, to his employer for allowing the time off, to Grammy Lou for staying here the next week to take care of the girls, and to my parents for coming out the next few days when John had to travel for work.  Just as Jeremy turned one month, we were on our own for the first time, and are doing better than I would have expected, but I would not have survived those first few weeks without LOTS of help, and it made me sooo happy to see the girls get so much attention and love while I was busy with their baby brother.  Now, if we can all just get a little sleep, all will be ok.  Life is good :)

Lots of love,  Keri

Jeremy's birthday (with ALL of the videos!)

And when you kiss me

On that midnight street

Sweep me off my feet

Singing ain't this life so sweet

"This Year's Love"   ~ David Gray

     That David Gray CD has been playing in Jeremy's room for the past few months now, and when I hear the songs I think of the time spent so anxious for his arrival, organizing tiny baby boy clothes into drawers (no tutu's!), decorating the room with the girls, and now, of nights rocking and feeding our sweet little man. I think I picked that CD in hopes he'd be a mellow little addition to our chaotic house, and that remains to be seen.
     We were supposed to be at the hospital first thing in the morning on February 2nd, which happened to be in the middle of an ice storm.  It was no surprise based on all of the storms we had in the weeks leading up to that day, but the ice left me worried about all of the family traveling to meet Jeremy and take care of the girls, worried about us being able to travel to the hospital safely, and worried the c-section would be postponed - I was beyond ready to meet baby J by that point. 
     Luckily, everyone had safe travels, including our wonderful doctors.  Jeremy was kicking with power even as we were getting checked into the hospital, and Daddy got to feel a few last kicks with his hand on my belly.  The delivery was delayed an hour or two because someone else needed an emergency c-section, but this time around both Dr. Tucker and Dr. Touey performed the surgery, which made me VERY happy to have 2 wonderful doctors looking over us.   I was concerned about being nauseous like I was with Stella, but they gave me LOTS of IV fluids and some medicine to boost my blood pressure, so other than a brief period right as surgery began, I really felt very good.

Jeremy's Arrival:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAqQpMbw_Hc


     Jeremy came out looking strong and healthy (although I didn't see him for a few minutes), and screamed right away, thank goodness.  I thought he looked so tiny, but he was a nice, healthy 8 lbs 2 oz.  John brought him over when Jeremy was all cleaned and wrapped up, and we had a few nice minutes as a family before we got wheeled off in different directions.

Jeremy in the OR:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6IbhMhHBsM




Jeremy with the nurse:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wt6hM_VrwjA



Jeremy diapered:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qw7R7crueo



     I spent a few hours in recovery, waiting for my toes to wiggle so I could be released, but it felt like a few weeks.  The nurses in recovery were very attentive and hysterical, but that didn't make up for the fact I barely knew what my son looked like and hadn't held him yet.  Finally, I got to go to my room and meet little Jeremy.  He is so sweet.  He seemed to know exactly how to eat from the first minute, which made things so much easier for me.  We took a few minutes to decide on his name, and agreed on Jeremy Maxwell Tex.

Jeremy and Mommy:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NISSLhUHMA8



     In the hospital, I had all of the same wonderful nurses as when I delivered the girls, and Jeremy had the same fabulous nurses that took care of his sisters.  With very few  exceptions, those nurses were incredibly kind, patient, and responsive.  The night nurses went above and beyond with Jeremy.  One night they spent a long time trying to get his little hand and foot prints done in the light blue ink I brought for his keepsakes.  Apparently the ink, although a beautiful color that exactly matched the frames that would hold the hand and foot prints, was not very good ink.  Add that to the fact that it is nearly impossible to get a good handprint of a newborn, who keeps his tiny hands curled up, and those nurses were facing mission impossible.  They came back with several hand and foot prints for me to choose from!  The nurses frequently joked that they'd keep Jeremy in the nursery anytime I wanted, because when he woke up, they only knew he was awake because his eyes were open.  No screaming.  That was before my milk came in.
   By a few days later, Jeremy insisted on eating every 2 hours, and any delays resulted in definite screaming.  I was always incredibly happy to see him get wheeled into my room though, even sleep deprived at 3 in the morning.  It is amazing how a sweet little baby trumps any fatigue or pain.  By the time we left the hospital, J was already gaining back the weight he lost. 
     Sylvia was instantly in love with Jeremy.  Stella was confused by it all, but by the time we came home she lovingly accepted him as her brother and continues to refer to him only as "Brudder". (I occasionally get flashes of Lost's Desmond...."Brother")
     The day J was delivered there were about 7 other deliveries with a few other babies already in the nursery.  Almost all of them were boys.  We kept a very close eye on our Jeremy, and John was especially concerned when we saw a list of the other family names and noticed a family by the name of "Fox".  He figured one small handwriting error between Fox and Tex could leave us with the wrong baby!  Although he spent a little time hunting for that Fox baby in the nursery, we never saw him, and are 100% confident that we brought home our sweet baby Jeremy  :)

leaving the hospital part one:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18WyQO8hvDk



leaving the hospital part two:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lf9QcdUT0Bo



leaving the hospital part three:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPTZXb03jlM


Lots of love, 
Keri