Ezra Daniel Wilfong

From this...


to this...

And now for a birth story…a little long, I know. Sorry.

I wanted so desperately to have a vaginal delivery after cesarean (VBAC) with this baby. Ever since agreeing to be induced with Zeke, which ultimately ended with a c-section, I’ve wished I had done things differently, and I really wanted this time to conform a little more to the birth I had in my head.

Tons of research assured me a VBAC was, in fact, possible, even considering my gestational diabetes (and even though the GD was more severe this time). My doctor wasn’t overly encouraging about it because Labor and Delivery at WMC doesn’t have in-house anesthesia, and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (of which she is a fellow) discourages VBAC under that circumstance. She did, however, say that no one would give me a hard time if I ‘happened’ to show up at the hospital already 7 or 8 centimeters dilated and progressing (*winkwink, nodnod*). So, basically, I took this as decent sign.

Fast forward to mid-May, and I’m in excruciating pain. Like, excruciating.

Little guy decided my sciatic nerve was just the place to hang out, and I started having trouble walking (which, as you might imagine, makes life as a teacher and toddler-mom a wee bit difficult). I was still absolutely committed to a VBAC, but started seriously hoping he would decide to show up a couple of weeks early, both to increase my chances of a successful VBAC and to stop the shooting pain in my right leg. Every morning my colleagues would ask if I was really still here? and tell me I should seriously consider staying home. Apparently I was pretty pathetic.

I hated leaving my students for the last few weeks of school (especially my eighth-graders, the first class I’ve seen all the way through middle school), but there wasn’t much of a choice.
I didn’t come back after Memorial Day, but I still had to keep sending Zeke to daycare and to my (fabulous) mother-in-law because I couldn’t physically keep up with him or pick him up. At least I got a couple of weeks to get the house good and straightened up, I guess.
The Thursday before Ezra arrived I had an ultrasound to check his size – minimum 9 pounds, according to the OB. This was how I’d been scared into an induction with Zeke, so I asked the natural question: But lots of women deliver 9-pound babies; why are you so worried about me?

Answer: Most women don’t have diabetes, and most of those who do don’t have it as severely as you. I’m not concerned about his head size; it’s the shoulders we worry about with babies of diabetic moms. There’s no way to tell whether his shoulders will fit or not until it’s way too late even for an emergency c-section, and I don’t want to have to break his collarbone.

So, I was once again scared into delivering a baby in a way contrary to what I believe(d) to be best.

We scheduled the c-section for Tuesday, June 14 at 10:30am and I spent the next several days finishing things around the house and trying to prepare myself for the physical trauma of surgery and the emotional trauma of losing the birth I wanted and expected. I started taking arnica and hypericum in preparation for surgery, and doing a lot of praying for strength, acceptance, and peace.

Tuesday morning came and we got to the hospital around 8:30am (my mother-in-law had spent the night and stayed home with Zeke when we left). The nurses hooked me up to the monitors for a little while to check everything, and after deciding the baby and I both looked great, as well as being subjected to Adam’s very long story about Zeke’s birth drama, they prepped me for surgery.

At this point I was mostly just concerned about the spinal block, since during Zeke’s birth I was too doped up on Ambien to remember the anesthesia part. I was not looking forward to a needle in my back. Once in the OR, though, the spinal was nothing. I didn’t even feel the shots of local anesthetic – thank you, Dr. Whatever-Your-Name-Is!

Lying back and waiting to lose feeling, though, I started to get all weepy about the circumstances. I was still very unsure about whether I’d made the right decision and I told my OB right then that if this baby turned out to be as small as Zeke I was going to be mad!

Adam came into the OR fully decked out in the requisite blue suit, shoe covers, hairnet, and mask, and sat right next to me, at which point I said, I really didn’t want to do it this way and started to cry. Luckily, the OR staff anticipate this kind of emotional wreck, and tissues were at the ready. Adam had to dab my face for me and, naturally, he stuck his thumb right in my eye.

I didn’t remember how violent a c-section actually is. No pain, of course, but the pressure is unbelievable and it felt like they were tugging on my lungs. It makes sense for it to be so uncomfortable, I guess, since they’re pulling an entire human being out through a 6-inch incision, but I just don’t remember all of that from Zeke’s birth. It’s really pretty gross, if you think about it for too long.

After a few minutes of someone pummeling my belly and pulling out my insides, we finally heard the best sound in the whole world; apparently, he didn’t even wait until he was completely out before he started wailing. He quieted down almost immediately and got wiped off, weighed and measured (8lbs7oz, 20in), diapered, and handed to Adam, at which point the tears flowed in earnest. He was perfect.

Adam went with him to the nursery while my OB stitched me back together, but right before he left he told me I’d had almost no amniotic fluid. I asked my OB about it while she was working on me and she confirmed there had only been a couple of tablespoons, which is exactly what it was like with Zeke. In other words, if I’d gone into labor naturally we would have seen exactly the same heartrate, cord, and movement problems Zeke had, and I would’ve almost certainly ended up with a c-section, anyway.

In a weird sort of way, it made me feel a lot better about my decision to go ahead with the planned c-section. Though it wasn’t at all what I hoped to do and I still feel I got scared into it, I’m confident it was ultimately the right decision. Chances are high that subsequent deliveries will also be c-sections, because it seems my placentas like to start clotting themselves off when we hit week 39 and, frankly, the risk of stillbirth just isn't worth it. I'm okay with this.

After three days in the hospital (and getting really pissed about the way the bed kept moving on its own and why the hell won’t it quit and let me sleep?!), we finally went home to a really good night’s sleep. Since leaving the hospital I’ve never needed any medication other than ibuprofen, my sciatica is now almost completely gone, and the diabetes disappeared immediately after Ezra was born. Hallelujah!

(By the way, co-sleeping completely rocks. Wish we’d started that with Zeke from day one; we’d have been a heck of a lot less exhausted.)

get it done

Day Two: April 20, 2011

Wednesday was way different, because we spent almost no time at home (and I also took no pictures whatsoever).

I had a dentist appointment in the morning, so after taking care of basic chore-like things we went over to Miss Robin’s house (Zeke’s daycare) so she could keep him while I got my teeth cleaned and ran a few errands around town.  I told her about Screen-Free Week and she said not to worry, that they’d be going on a hike that day, anyway.

Translation: walking on the Meadowbranch neighborhood trail.  Apparently there were some exhibits there from Shenandoah, including a taxidermied beaver.  Who knew?

Is it weird that I don’t get nervous about going to the dentist?  Like, at all?  Some people seriously freak out, and most people are at least a little bit apprehensive, but the smells/sounds/instruments have absolutely no impact on my psyche whatsoever.  This is not to say that I love the experience (scraping metal against the backs of my teeth = no fun), but it really isn’t a big deal at all.

Of course, I’ve also never ever had a cavity, thus no drilling or novocaine.  This probably helps.

Anyway, after the whole dentist thing there were a couple more things to do, then back to pick up Zeke and go over to my in-laws’.  Grandma kept Zeke while I got my hair cut, and I don’t think there was any lack of things to do.  He visited with his daddy, Pappy, and Uncle Sam in the shop, then played in the backyard with Grandma and Uncle Patrick.  When I got back, they were setting up Patrick’s new basketball hoop and Adam was holding Zeke over his head so he could dunk the ball.  Wish I had a picture of that one.

Then, finally home for bratwurst with red peppers and onions for dinner; I also stovetop-grilled some pumpernickel and topped it with chopped tomatoes (from Linda’s Mercantile), basil, and garlic.  There’s something about fresh tomatoes that just makes me happy.

pruning (or, why i don't like boxwoods)

Day Two: April 19, 2011

Tuesday was a little harder, mostly due to the weather.  It was threatening rain all morning and poured for real during part of the afternoon; this is the part when the TV starts to look really tempting.

But I resisted, and I’m so glad! **polishes halo**

There was a lot of coloring, reading, and singing again, of course, and it had cleared up enough to go back outside when Mom came over around 6.  And it’s a good thing, too, because apparently we’ve produced a child who does not want to come inside.  Ever.

Mom decided this was the time to trim the boxwoods which were literally eating our porch.  She was being very deliberate, using hand clippers and taking off small pieces at a time in an attempt to create a decent shape (according to Adam, the shrub in question looks like, and I quote, “three-quarters of a butt”…sheesh).  Once she’d been going for awhile I started to realize how much larger the porch is than I thought; there’s almost enough room for a rocking chair.  Almost.

When Adam got home he jumped in to help with the pruning, and they eventually got to a point where the branches were too thick for the clippers.

At which point Adam said, “I have something for this!” and brought out the chainsaw.  This is one of the benefits hazards benefits of being married to a man who deals in outdoor power equipment for a living.  The boxwood now looks like this:

But I also no longer feel like my shrubberies are going to eat me when I’m standing at the front door, so I guess it all evens out in the end.

Dad came over with Chinese food for all of us, so Adam went to sleep a happy man.  The End.

a very good place to start

Let's start at the very beginning...

Day One: April 18, 2011

So it was a good thing I made an email exception to Screen-Free Week, because on the very first day…….

I won this awesome ring sling from Mahreen at Veni Vidi Blogi!

It’s called Inara’s Rainbow (named after her adorable daughter) and is actually part of a wrap sent to her by Giselle at Granola Babies. Mahreen sent half of it to Jan at Sleeping Baby Productions and had a sling made, then gave it away via the 5-day-long Do Something Good Challenge.

And yours truly won it.

**jumpingupanddownontheinside**

More than that, though, Mahreen got me to look at old, ‘useless’ stuff in a new way. It started as a chance to win something beautiful, useful, and one-of-a-kind, and it ended with using brand-new eyes to look at everything in my house as an opportunity rather than hopeless clutter. Though I do still have plenty of hopeless clutter. I’m working on that.

anyway.

Day One of Screen-Free Week was a fabulous success, and not only because of Inara’s Rainbow. There was, of course, a lot of dish-washing, laundry, and the usual chore-type things, but I actually got to witness Zeke play. For hours. I don’t get to see this during the day most of the time, and it was so very gratifying to watch. I made a kid who loves to do stuff! How cool.

But I couldn’t help thinking, this child is literally learning every second of every day. I can’t believe I’d sometimes rather let him sit in front of the TV because I just don’t want to be bothered. My priorities suck.

Except they don’t suck: at least, not this week. We colored, we read books (including The Giant Nursery Book of Things That Go, which has about onehundredgazillion pages, and we read the whole thing), and we spent hours outside.

It turns out Zeke really likes hoses, watering cans, potted plants, and tilled dirt. He’s such a boy.

And I can finally see some flowers starting to open up in the apple orchard across the front yard (no pictures yet, thank you dead battery). Apple Blossom is SO SOON, and the place will be bursting with pink and white by then. It’ll be awesome.

Dinner was chicken on the grill with green beans and quinoa (my current favorite grain, mostly because I’m impatient and it only takes like 15 minutes to cook). After bath and bedtime, Adam came into the living room and turned on Top Gear, so I had to scram to the spare bedroom for an end-of-the-day email check and to read the New York Times. Print edition, people, print.

Also, see You Capture at I Should Be Folding Laundry for a looooooong list of blogs with beautiful spring photos. Mkay? Mkay.

It was a very good place to start.

spring-y-ness

Though it's technically been spring for weeks now, it's only just starting to be consistently spring-y. Last weekend was Daniel and Sam's wedding shower, and that was when I started to feel spring-y, myself. Friends came from far away, family gathered, and all was well.



Screen-Free Week starts tonight at midnight, and every time I tell someone about Zeke and I not watching TV or using the computer (except for what's absolutely necessary for work and communication), they give me an oh-you-poor-thing look and say, how will you ever make it through your entire spring break without tv? Won't you be bored out of your mind?

Um, no.

There are SO MANY things to do around here: so many stories to read, songs to sing, papers to color, plants to put out, boxes to organize. And it's Holy Week, so that means physical and spiritual preparations for Easter. I think we'll manage.

Jesus, Messiah
Name above all Names
Blessed Redeemer, Emmanuel
A Rescue for sinners
A Ransom from heaven
Jesus, Messiah
Lord of all...

-Chris Tomlin

Summer Events of 2010 (well, most of them, anyway)

So there’s been a lot happening since my last post (in April, eek!). In lieu of lots of boring commentary, I’ll just add a sentence or two along with the slideshow of each event, and hopefully that will do the trick :)

Zeke’s first birthday was July 23, 2010. We didn’t do a huge party or anything; just soda, cake and ice cream for our families. In hindsight, blue icing was a dumb idea.

We left to visit Jeff and Linda on Topsail Island, North Carolina the very next morning. The beach was SO RELAXING. I didn’t realize how tired of the routine I was, and we had a great time. My cousin Steph met us down there after a couple of days, and we had tons of fun all week!

More pictures to come, mostly from reunion and the end of summer.

My husband wore our son and I wish I had pictures to prove it!

I've missed posting here! It's been quite awhile, but it seems everytime I sit down to type, something comes up/dinner timer rings/Zeke needs to nurse/the dryer buzzes/students come back from lunch/internet stops working/onandonandonandon...

Something I've been itching to post about, though, is a major breakthrough -- Adam wore Zeke the other day! He wanted to wash dishes (a breakthrough in itself!) but didn't want to just plop Zeke in his highchair by himself, so he made an announcement: "Son, I'm going to wear you now".

**insert crickets chirping**

And I, in my infinite tact, said ".............Really?!"

Adam needed a little help putting Zeke in the Kozy since he's only ever done it once before, so I helped him get situated and tied up in front.

That went well for about two minutes until Adam realized Zeke was in the way while he was trying to use the sink (risking getting the Kozy soaking wet, of course).

So he then announced he wanted to move Zeke to his back, and I helped him get situated and tied up there, too.

Unfortunately, Zeke was not in the mood to be worn so I had to take him after about ten minutes, but it was SSOOOOOO cute while it lasted! My husband is the most handsome man in the world, anyway, but my heart just melted when he had our son on his back.

I think I need to tell him what a good father he is a little more often.

And next time, I think I'll get the camera.

Christmas...finally

A little late, perhaps, but I'm finally getting around to posting about Christmas 2009! It was, of course, Zeke's first Christmas, and as such it was the most meaningful holiday either of us have ever experienced. We attended First United Methodist Church's 5pm child-friendly service, not that we expected Zeke to understand the message, but we figured no one would be too bothered by a baby learning to use his voice in the middle of worship. We like to think he was praising the Lord on his own :)

We went over to Lyda and Andy's house afterward where we got to hang out and hobnob with my side of the family, including my aunt Emily who is now engaged to Rushi! I don't know details yet, and I'm sure they'll let us know as things are finalized, but I do know that they'll be having a wedding celebration (though probably not the legal ceremony itself) in India with Rushi's family.

On Christmas morning we got up early and opened presents at our house. Zeke had several VERY cool toys in his stocking, including a rubber (yes, real rubber) giraffe which he loves because he can jam its legs really far back in his mouth for chomping. I gave Adam a log carrier and a Gorillapod for the camera (I went very practical this year), as well as the first season of 24 and some computer gadgets, and he gave me several small things and a massage! BEST HUSBAND EVER!!! I haven't called the massage therapist yet, but I'm shooting for an MLK Day morning appointment :)

After our own stuff, we went to my parents' house so we could exchange gifts and spend time with Sam and Daniel before they went to Sterling for other Christmas shenanigans. There were several mad bomber hats in the group, Adam now has a fab new overcoat, and I ended up with a stand mixer (hallelujah!) and 12 matching drinking glasses. No more putting out bizarre mismatched pint glasses when we have company!

After Mom and Dad's we went to Adam's parents' house for more Christmas fun. By this point Zeke was starting to get tired and we were getting hungry, too, so we ended up eating a lot of the candy from the stockings. Bad idea; stomachaches ensued. I felt much better, though, when I opened a Kindle and nearly fell off the couch!

We ended up having dinner back at Mom and Dad's house with everyone; the three of us, Ethan, Mom and Dad, Adam's parents, brothers, and grandmother, and a whole bunch of my dad's family. The extended family attendance was a surprise and became a little overwhelming for Zeke after a while, but it was also really nice to spend time with everyone.

The next day (Saturday) we went to Adam's grandparents' house in Pennsylvania to spend time with them and Adam's aunts, uncles, and cousins on his mom's side. Bob and Tina were there from Iowa with their boys, and Jim and Laurie's family was there, too. Zeke LOVED the Christmas bells hanging over one of the doorways and was totally fascinated by watching them ring.

We finally finished the Christmas thing on Monday night at my grandmother's house with all of my dad's sisters and their families. Zeke got lots of fun toys, of course, and we ended up with new dishes (the ones we got as wedding presents have been steadily breaking over the last few months and we don't even have one unbroken set of four anymore).

We are so incredibly blessed on so many levels, not least of which being the beautiful little boy who is currently asleep on the floor wearing an unsnapped onesie and no diaper. I just cannot believe how much I love him and his father; Christmas this year was, without a doubt, a love smorgasbord.

What a Christmas!!!

I'll share about Zeke's first Christmas in another post, but in other news, my brother Daniel and his girlfriend Sam are now engaged! My understanding is that the wedding won't be until 2011, but I'm still way excited for them! They got a new kitten, too, and I'm totally jealous :)

Getting ready for Christmas...

This will, of course, be Zeke's first Christmas. Since I already LOVE this time of year I thought it would be hard to make me love it even more, but I was wrong. As Exhibit A, see the feet on Zeke's pants:

Zeke isn't getting a huge ton of presents for us since he'll probably like the paper and bows better, anyway, but I did get him a couple of things. Some clothes, naturally, and also a few toys from Nova Naturals:

Snail Teether

Rainbow Tumbler

Teething Doll

O Christmas Tree...

Adam (farthest), Jack (middle), and Patrick (nearest) taking our tree to the pick-up point

The tree barely fitting into the living room

We finally went to get a Christmas tree yesterday afternoon. We drove up to Sherwood Pines with Adam's parents and his youngest brother, Patrick, and picked out a nice spruce for the living room. It turns out the tree was A LOT bigger than we thought and, despite the VERY high ceiling, we still had to cut off the top to get it to fit :/

Zeke was a little fussy during the trip (I'm sure his nose and chin were cold, and I've always wondered if babies' gums can freeze), but a rousing game of Peek-a-boo with his daddy helped a lot and got the smile back.

Here I'm wearing Zeke in a borrowed GypsyMama (Wrapsody) batik wrap
and a Peekaru vest to keep warm :)

Sooooo much better!

Zeke is MUCH better today! He was better yesterday, too, but I didn't get to post at the time :)

We put a few drops of peppermint oil in our bedroom humidifier and used Kid's Xlear nose drops before he went to bed. I also put him in his bouncy seat on the bathroom floor while I took a shower on Wednesday, and that seemed to really help break up the gunk. Of course, we also used a bulb syringe ("booger-sucker" in the vernacular) to suck out the goop. All of these things in combination were enough to help him feel much better, but I think the nose drops were the biggest help overall. Adam bought them (on Barbara's recommendation) at Harvest Moon and they seemed to dry Zeke up really quickly. He's back to daycare and his usual self!

Oh, no!

Zeke is sick! He's just congested and has a cough, though, and no fever, so it's not as bad as it could be. Luckily, he stays with Mom today, so Adam and I can still both go to work. We wrote a note giving Mom permission to take him to the doctor and have him treated if necessary, and Adam took her the insurance card this morning, so we feel pretty good that all the bases are covered in case he develops a fever and/or gets really sick.

People have always told me that you feel like your heart's getting ripped out the first time your baby is sick. My heart is still inside my chest. I do feel pretty terrible that I had to leave him this morning, though, to come to work :( Thankfully, he's in good spirits and doesn't act like he feels poorly, but the cough gives it away.

Frederick or Bust!

Well, tonight we go to Frederick, Maryland to meet Adam's cousin Al and his wife Katy, and Chip and Nancy, Al's parents (and my father-in-law's sister and brother-in-law). Adam and I have talked for ages about wanting to get together with Al and Katy (and we keep saying we're going to meet up everytime we see them for family stuff!) but things never seem to work out. We're all approximately the same age and at the same point in our lives, so it would be cool and fun to spend more time together, but them being in Baltimore and us in Calmes Neck makes it difficult to actually see each other.

So tonight we're going to just do it. We're meeting all of them in Frederick along with my in-laws to have dinner and catch up since the last time we all saw each other was months ago (could it be as long ago as last Christmas?!) and Nancy is the only one who's seen Zeke. Lots has happened since then and we need to hash it all out :) I'm not crazy about the idea of driving that far with Zeke, but we're riding with Sam and Danielle (I think) so at least he won't be all alone in the backseat for a long time. That worked well when we went to Tennessee (whoever was back there would entertain him whenever necessary), so hopefully it'll work tonight, too. Hopefully I'll be able to post pics soon!

Halloween

So Zeke was a bat for Halloween:

CUTEST BABY EVER!!!

Zeke and I had a somewhat lazy Halloween morning; we slept in a little bit while Adam went to work. I had a haircut appointment at noon, so I knew we'd need to leave in the late morning to get Zeke to my in-laws' house in time to make it. He decided to take a nap at about 9:00, which was fine, but then proceeded to stay asleep FOR NEARLY TWO HOURS!!! We made like a sheep herder and got the flock out and I managed to only be about 10 minutes late to the salon. It's amazing how a haircut can make you feel like a brand-new person, and I wasn't about to miss it :)

After my haircut we stayed at visited at Jack and Robbin's house for quite awhile, and Adam's grandparents came through on their way home from a family visit. They hadn't seen Zeke since Labor Day weekend, so they were excited to see how big he is and how much more sociable he's become. We took lots of cute Halloween costume pictures, but Zeke got grumpy after a few minutes so we had to cease and desist. I think he was broiling hot since it was 75 degrees in the house and his costume was made mostly of felt.

Finally we went out to Dustin and Megan's house for a cookout. Frank loved playing with all the other dogs (Kenzie, Jake, Dudley, Maggie, and Luther) and we had a good time visiting and eating good food. Unfortunately, the leftover burgers disappeared when Luther decided to try his hand (paw) at high jumping in the kitchen. Onto the counter. Where he ate all the burgers. Oh, well.

We finally got home around 10 (WAY too late for Zeke) and went to bed pretty much immediately. Church as usual in the morning, and we set the date for Zeke's baptism: November 22nd at the 11am service. Back to the in-laws' to pick up the Jeep (which turned into a four-hour visit), and finally home again to try accomplishing some household goals. That part didn't go well.

All in all, a VERY busy weekend, but it was wonderful and fun. I have two workdays this week and, since I don't give grades, I'm a little short on things to do. Not that I'm complaining :)

Back to School...

Almost two weeks down! I started back to work last Tuesday, and everything's going pretty well so far. Zeke is sleeping through the night pretty consistently now, which makes life A LOT easier (and makes for a much less stressed-out Mommy!), and he's doing well in daycare. Mom keeps him two days a week, he goes to an in-home daycare two days, and Adam keeps him at home on Mondays, so we've got the whole week covered. I miss him terribly during the day, but I'm also REALLY busy, so I don't dwell on it as much as I might if I had a lot of downtime.

Our Tennessee trip went pretty well, and we got some good five-generation pictures of Zeke, Adam, Jack, Granny, and Great-Granny. We also got a fabulous picture of Great-Granny's .22 leaned up against the back window with dozens of spent shells all over the floor from when she shoots out the window at night. I'll post some of the weekend's photos when I get a chance.

On a side note, pumping has been going well but occupies EVERY SPARE SECOND of my day. I pump before school, during lunch, during planning, and after school, and while I do work while I pump (on the computer, reading papers, etc.), I still feel like I don't quite get everything done. Hopefully Zeke can keep breastfeeding for at least 18 months (that's the goal, anyway), and I think he can as long as I keep pumping regularly and often. I just wish it wasn't quite this difficult to find time for both pumping and work.

Oops.

I really need to get better at this. It's been nearly a month since I posted and lots of things have happened:

1. Zeke suddenly figured out how to nurse and cut 15 minutes from each feeding time.
2. We got to visit with my West Virginia family.
3. We started redecorating the den.
4. Zeke turned two months old.
5. We started going to Families for Natural Living gatherings (way fun!).

And now we're planning Zeke's first trip to Tennessee to visit Adam's VERY country great-granny. Yet another reason to stay at a hotel: she shoots out the window when she hears noises at night. Hopefully she won't try to start teaching Zeke to shoot a .22 this weekend; I think we should wait a couple of years for that.

Hooray for help!

Thank goodness for my in-laws! Now, I know a lot of people would be shocked by that statement and would look at me like I'm a total nut, but my in-laws are the best people on the planet (except for my own parents, of course!). They're willing to help whenever and with whatever we need, and I really appreciate that this weekend, especially. Adam went down to the river with his friends for a get-together they've had planned since last fall, and his mom and grandma both came to the house today. Grandma will be staying at least for tonight, and Robbin will be coming back tomorrow for the day, so I'll have tons of help with Zeke.

On one hand I feel a little incompetent (why can't I handle one little baby by myself?), but on the other I'm soooooooo grateful to be spelled for a little bit every now and then. My arms, back, and brain get tired, to tell the truth, even though there's only one of him! Plus, it's nice to have some other women to talk with, especially ones I really like.

One day at a time...

It seems that we have a difficult time having both a good day and a good night in a row, although today might be the day! Last night was wonderful; Zeke went down for the night around 1130 (a little late for Adam's taste since he had to get up early to pack this morning, but pretty good nonetheless), got up at 6 when Adam's alarm went off, and has been great with taking naps so far today. As I write this he's on his second nap of over an hour (the first was nearly two!) and will be very excited to learn that he's getting in the tub after he wakes up and nurses. I'll try to post a bath picture as soon as I manage to pull more photos off the camera.

It seems that the great outdoors is what works for Zeke. No matter what his mood, he's quiet, alert, and happy as soon as we step out the door. Therefore, we go on lots of walks; some are short and just involve taking Frank outside, but other are much longer and I'll either wear him in the Kozy or put him in his stroller to go up and down our road for awhile. Usually I have Frank's leash in one hand and the other hand either on the stroller (we have a VERY easily-maneuverable jogging stroller, a must for a gravel road) or supporting Zeke's head if I did a bad job putting him in the Kozy. We have to be careful to listen for cars, though, because some of my neighbors rocket around corners like I've seen only in rally racing.

For Goodness' Sake!

Yesterday afternoon was TERRIBLE! Zeke didn't sleep from the time of my last post until he finally dropped off for the night around 11pm. This wouldn't be a big deal except that he started screaming to eat within 15 minutes of finishing his previous feeding. I ended up calling Adam in tears asking him to come home as soon as possible, and he got home just a few minutes after five. As soon as Zeke was finished eating Adam took him so I could get a shower. It was GLORIOUS.

Unfortunately, Zeke continued this pattern well into the evening. Then, all of a sudden at 11, he just fell asleep and slept until 7am. Go figure.

Today has been MUCH better. He just woke up from a two-hour nap and is much less cranky than yesterday, plus I got a few things done around the house. Here's hoping for a good afternoon...