An update

There was this time where I thought I would be better at blogging, and it would help me remember what was happening in my life as a mama every month. But here it is, February 29, and I haven’t posted since November. What a slacker.

Life for us has been unbelievably busy in the past couple of months. We sold our condo and moved to a townhouse in Murray, and we have about two boxes left to unpack so we are slowly making progress. It is a lot bigger and has another bedroom, plus a full finished basement, so we are loving the extra space. I am coming up on six months at my new job, and so far everything has been great. I really like my team, and I have learned a lot. Chris is still loving his job on a construction management team, and we are nearing the countdown of the end of school….(three semesters, I think?) So, progress!

Thea is still just about the sweetest baby I know. She is now entering a little bit of a shy phase, where she hides her face when she doesn’t know someone super well. She still is fine going to people, although we don’t interact with a ton of strangers. I think the fact that she goes to both of her grandmas and her aunt’s house every week while I work is helping her not be afraid, although it’s hard to say. She lights up when I pick her up every day and that is the absolute best part of my day. I also work from home every Friday, so I love having an extra day with her. 

Hanging out with Mama on Friday

Weekends are our favorite, since we can hang out together as a family as much as possible. Since the weather started getting nice, we love going for walks on the river trail near our new house. Thea loves being outside, as long as it doesn’t interfere with her mealtime.

Hanging out in the stroller

She likes most foods and is getting better at eating. When we first started she pushed everything out with her tongue, but now she gets excited and tries to grab the spoon. She also likes puffs, yogurt drops (kind of), and we gave her an apple chip at Costco over the weekend, which she seemed to like. I get nervous feeding her new stuff because I’m always afraid she will choke. She also has two teeth (front bottom), and getting those in was a little tough but she was a champ. We are still using the amber necklace, and it’s hard to say how much of a difference it makes, but people always comment on how cute it is, so win-win. I make most of her purees with the Beaba Babycook, and the only thing I’ve made that she didn’t like was green beans. They are really hard to get totally smooth though, so the texture might have been the problem because they made her gag.

Thea is also still pretty small, and 3-6 month clothes fit her well. 6 month pants tend to be the right length, although they are a little baggy in the legs, but they work. She also still wears 0-6 month socks and shoes. She is currently wearing size 2 diapers during the day, and size 3 overnights when she goes to bed. She loves to sleep on her tummy and will turn over as soon as I put her in the crib.

She is a fantastic sleeper at night. Lately she has been getting tired earlier, so we put her down around 7 p.m. Her nighttime routine is a bottle (between 4-8 oz, depending on when she last ate), bath (every other night), and a bedtime story or two. Then I lay her down in her crib with her kitty paci, and she goes right to sleep. The only time she cries is if she hasn’t gotten enough formula, in which case I’ll give her a little more. In general, she naps very well too, although sometimes she cries for a couple minutes before falling asleep.

Just after waking up from a nap after church

Her favorite toys are things she can put in her mouth. She likes teething rings, key-type teething toys, and bath books that she can chew on. She also loves books and will sit very still while we read to her. Otherwise she is usually wiggling to get down and crawl. 

Stacking bowls that she loves to chew

Yes, she can crawl! She started when she was about 7 months old, and has gotten really good at it in the last month. Before I know it, she will be across the room and trying to climb the stairs, chase the cats, etc. Sully is very patient with her and will just sit there while she tries to pet him or grab his tail, but we always show her how to “be nice to Sully” and “be soft to Sully” while guiding her hand gently on his back. Caesar is not interested in her and takes off when she gets too close.

We better learn how to climb stairs soon...

 We also got to spend some time with Lis and the Nilsson family when they came in February for Charlie’s baptism. The baptism was wonderful and we got to take Thea swimming, which she only thought was medium fun.

She smiled when we got out of the pool.

Overall, life is great in the Blackham household. We are looking forward to the spring and summer so we can spend as much time as possible outside, and have longer evenings to take walks on the parkway trail. Things are busy, since I am still doing freelance writing for two other companies along with my full-time job, but I love having the opportunity to keep writing.

Catching up...

In the past month, so much has changed in our lives. First, we now have a (somewhat) mobile baby. We took a trip to Orlando to visit my friend, Diana in mid-October, which was so much fun. C and I spent the first day there at Universal, and we got to do all the big rides because T was with my friend for the day :) My ultimate nerd dreams came true that day because Harry Potter World. Enough said. The next day we went to Magic Kingdom for the greatest thing ever, AKA Mickey's Not-so-Scary Halloween Party! We went a couple of years ago at Disneyland and absolutely loved it, so we wanted to check out how things are done at Disney World. Ashton dressed up as Mickey and T was Minnie. I had found this super cute Minnie ears headband on Etsy that was specifically for babies, but it didn't come until the day after we left for Florida, so that was a bummer. But then we got a bunch of candy, so win!

The party actually goes until midnight, so T fell asleep in her stroller and slept from about 8:30 until the next morning. When I went to get her out of the pack-and-play, she had rolled completely over from her back to her front. That was the first time she had ever rolled over! She did it once more while she was awake that day, but now she is a champion roller and will pretty much get to the opposite position ASAP. It caused some sleep issues for a little while, because I would lay her down on her back and she would immediately roll over and then start crying. But now she seems to like sleeping on her tummy.

We also had her 4-month check and she is growing like a champ. She is still only 18th percentile for weight, but she is increasing at a good rate so that's all they care about. T also loves to blow raspberries, talk to herself and to the monkeys that hang from her bouncy seat, and smile and laugh when C gets home from work.

I also left Intermountain and took a position at a software company called Infinisource. I was super nervous about leaving what I know, but am so so glad I made the change because I love it. I am a marketing writer and basically have fulfilled my other lifelong dream of being able to write for a living. Oh, and I get to work from home a day a week, so that's one more day I get to spend with sweet T.

A couple of weeks ago, C was talking to the superintendent at his job site who mentioned he was selling his townhouse. Fast forward to today, we have accepted an offer on our condo and are planning to close on both on December 9. So that's another crazy thing that is happening in our lives. We will be sad to leave the place we have loved and called home for 4.5 years, and there is such a heart-wrenching sadness that comes along with leaving a home that you have loved. But T's room is currently a combination nursery/gym/laundry drying area/office, and it just isn't working. We need more space and this place met every need (and want) we have. So on we go to the next adventure!

Exercise After C-Section

So having a C-section wasn't part of my plan, but it was the necessary way to get T here safely. After the surgery, it was so hard to even get out of bed and walk through the halls of the hospital, so it was hard to imagine myself running again anytime soon.

At the 6-week point, my midwife cleared me to start doing light exercise so I walked on my treadmill a few days a week and then started back to the gym last week. Yesterday was a rough day for both of us - she was cranky and screaming a lot, and I had a tough day at work, so I really needed a workout to help combat my stress. I put her in the swing (which she LOVES, always falls asleep in it while I'm on the treadmill) and started walking for a couple minutes. Then I did 2 minutes of slow running, 2 minutes of walking, 7 times. It felt SO GOOD to be running again! I was worried about the bouncing and how it might feel, but I wore compression pants and I felt so great the whole time.

T has her 2-month well child check today and I'm already stressing about the shots. I am definitely pro-vaccine but it just makes me sad that I'll have to see her cry and not be able to do anything about it!

2 months

• We have our two month well check a week from tomorrow, but I weighed myself holding her and she is about 9.5 pounds
• Eyes are still blue, still pretty bald on top with a funny little brown mullet on the back
• Mama started back to work this week, which has been hard. I am working 24 hours a week for 4 weeks, then going up to 30 hours a week after that. I have an awesome mom, mother-in-law, and sister-in-law who each take care of her 1-2 days a week while I work, so she is in great hands. I just miss her!
• She is getting more used to getting dressed, being buckled in her car seat, etc. She doesn't cry much, but she will cry if her diaper is wet or dirty, or if she is hungry. She also gets a little bit fussy starting at about 6:30 p.m., and she'll fall asleep for about 30 min around that time every night.
• She still doesn't notice the cats, but she is very interested in the monkeys that hang from her bouncy seat. She also started talking to herself in the last few weeks, and we just love to listen to her little voice.
• I got her a Bumbo chair to help strengthen her neck and improve her balance, we are going to try that out this week
• She eats between 4-5 oz per feeding, between nursing and formula. She still eats about every 3 hours, although the two evening feedings are closer together.
• She sleeps so well at night, about 9-11 hours without waking up. (knock on wood) She takes 15-30 minute catnaps during the day, but seems to have the schedule down because she does more cluster feeding in the early evening before bedtime. She goes down between 8 and 8:30, wakes up between 6:30-7 a.m. We moved her into her crib about a month ago and she has slept so much better 
• She mostly wears newborn clothes, with a few 0-3 onesies here and there, and 0-3 jammies (newborn onesies and PJs are too short). I need to try shoes on her again, I haven't for awhile.
• Mama was cleared to start exercising again, which has been great! Went to the gym one day and have been walking a lot on my treadmill. I can also sleep comfortably on my stomach again and have very little pain - just a twinge every now and then.

One month old!

• Haven't weighed her in awhile but I can tell she is growing because she fills out her onesies better and her socks actually fit (sort of)
• She has blue eyes (like mama) and brown hair on the back from when she was born, but I think the hair growing in on top is starting to lighten.
• She is a very sweet baby. She cries when she is hungry (and boy can she let me know when she is hungry) or when she needs to burp. Otherwise she is pretty content to just hang out in the Boppy, bouncy seat, swing, etc. 
• She is not a fan of her car seat. She will fall asleep in it when we are out and about (unless she is hungry) but as soon as we get home, she will wake up within a few minutes of still being in it. It also makes her sooo sweaty.
• She doesn't seem to notice the cats much. Sully doesn't care much about her either - he will stay asleep on his bed when she is right next to him crying. Caesar seems to worry more about her and will come in when she is crying to smell her head and meow at us to make sure we know she needs something.
• She is getting super strong - can almost hold her head up on her own and loves to kick, keep her legs straight, and kind of stand up when I hold her or sit her up to burp.
• She eats about every 3 hours. I nurse her on both sides first, where she usually gets about 3/4-1 oz, then she will have a bottle of 3 oz of formula. She tends to fall asleep during feedings so we are still working on that. It happens more during the day than at night.
• Sleep is going well, she typically sleeps 4-6 hours when I first put her down (usually around 11pm) and then another 3ish hours after that feeding. She isn't a super great napper in the day, maybe 1-2 hours max at a time, but this is also probably because she isn't finishing the full feeding so she wakes up sooner to eat more.
• She doesn't always want to be in her bed, so during the day she often naps on the couch in her Boppy next to me.
• She sleeps in a cradle in our room, but I anticipate moving her into her crib in her room within the next few weeks since she is only waking once per night.
• Still wearing newborn diapers and newborn clothes, jammies. We have tried a couple pairs of newborn shoes but she always kicks them off because they are too big.
• Mama is doing well also - since she sleeps well, I don't usually take naps in the day. C-section scar is healing well and overall I feel about 75%. I still have some pain and soreness when I do too much. I REALLY want to sleep on my stomach again but every time I try, I get a little sore and my body tells me it's not quite ready yet. No exercise until 6 weeks after the surgery, but I am looking forward to getting active again. We will also start going for walks with her in the stroller once it cools off a bit.

Thea's Birth Story

June 21, 2015 was my due date for my baby, and I had tons of dreams throughout the pregnancy that I would have her early so that's kind of what I expected. On June 4, I started having regular contractions that were about 7 minutes apart and lasted all day and my midwife thought I was in labor so I went down to L&D to have a non-stress test and figure out what was going on. Turned out I wasn't in active labor so I went home and the contractions stopped that night. Nothing ever happened after that, despite my best efforts to try every option to naturally induce labor, so my midwife scheduled the induction for June 28, 2015.

The night before we went to a wedding reception for one of my childhood friends and then went home to get a good night's rest (right). The next morning we checked into the hospital and the nurse started a medication that was supposed to prepare my cervix. I started having cramping and contractions so a few hours later, the anesthesiologist came in to give me an epidural for pain control. It didn't actually work very well, so after six doses of medication (which all went into my left leg) he had to come back and take it out, then put it back into a different spot in my back. That one worked and the next few hours of contractions were much more manageable.

At that point, my contractions weren't hard enough to help me dilate (I was only at a 4) so the nurse started me on Pitocin. That's when things got scary. With every contraction, my baby's heart rate would drop so they worried that she was on her cord. They moved me around in all different positions to try to get her heart rate under control, but it just wasn't working. They stopped the Pitocin and let me rest for awhile to see if I would contract on my own, but it still didn't happen and I wasn't any further along. The nurse started Pitocin again, but we had the same exact result.

I remember this moment very clearly because Chris, me, and the midwife were watching Celebrity Family Feud and she turned the TV off to discuss options. I immediately knew what was coming and started getting really emotional but she explained that I wasn't far enough to start pushing, and they couldn't risk the safety of the baby by continuing to give me Pitocin. So they called the OB/GYN doctor who was on call and he was there within about 15 minutes. He came in and talked to me for a few minutes and then they wheeled me into the OR.

The anesthesiologist gave me some more medication through the epidural so I would be numb, but I could feel something sharp when they started, so he gave me another type of medication that was more of a sedative and after that things went fuzzy. I remember Chris saying, "it really is a girl" when she came out and I remember the doctor bringing her around to show her to me and I knew her and I remember the nurse commenting on how long her eyelashes were. Other than that, it was a blur and I couldn't keep my eyes open. I woke up in recovery to a nurse pushing as hard as she could on my stomach (worst part by far), which she continued to do several times in the next hour, and that I could barely stay awake.

Chris came back and forth from recovery to the nursery and told me details about my sweet baby. I couldn't hold her because I was so sleepy and out of it, so I worried I would drop her. A few hours later, they took me into our room and brought her in to me so she could nurse. It was really hard and painful, mostly because of my incision, so that experience was tough.

Having a c-section wasn't my plan but it turned out that she had her cord wrapped around her neck and body so she never would have been able to come out on her own. I am glad that we made the decision to go ahead with the c-section, even though the recovery has been really hard. It's amazing how I have already forgotten some of the pain and struggles associated with healing from a c-section, but I guess if you could remember the birth (no matter what type), no one would want to have another baby!

Sully Bear

If you don't like cats or pets, might as well skip this post.

I have been volunteering at the local animal shelter for about a year and a half and it has been a great experience. I am learning so much about animal welfare and it has helped me realize my ultimate dream of working in that field. When I first started volunteering, C had one request: don't bring any animals home. We already had one feisty cat, Caesar, who we weren't sure would ever get along with anybody else. I reluctantly agreed, but after about six months of volunteering, I had already fallen in love with three different cats (all of whom were adopted, yay!) So C knew it was a losing battle, and we made a deal: if I got another cat, he could get a different car.

Fast forward to last June, when he picked out the car he wanted and I found the perfect cat. Sully was a big 16-pound guy who was as gentle and mellow as they come. For the first couple of hours, we weren't even sure if he could meow. It took a week or two, but he and Caesar became friends and now they are best brothers. Every vet visit that I took Sully to, they would tell me that he was overweight and we should work on that. He was on a pretty regimented diet, so I didn't think too much of it. After all, when we adopted him from the shelter he was already a pretty big cat so I figured that was just his size.

In the past couple of months I started noticing that he was losing weight and I could feel his ribs and spine more than ever before. He also had a wound that wasn't getting much better so I took him in for a checkup. He weighed in at 12.1 lb, so almost a 4-lb weight loss in just a few months (which is a lot for a cat - imagine losing 1/4 of your body weight in a couple of months!) I also mentioned that his thirst had become insatiable and he was using the box a lot more than Caesar. They took some blood and urine and sent us on our way, and I took him home fearing the worst.

The next morning, the vet called and gave me the news: Sully has diabetes.

She went over the basics: insulin shots twice a day and a different diet. With my volunteer work at the shelter, I have been able to get to know some amazing people who foster and care for special needs cats, so I reached out to one of my friends who has a diabetic cat for help. Her advice along with the help of the staff at the vet has helped us realize that it will take some time and patience for both cats to adjust, but that Sully can still have a good life with us. It makes me really sad every time I think about him having to get shots and make such big changes in his life, but I also am grateful that he has something treatable.

He is a very unique cat. When we first got him, we noticed some trigger signs that he may have a history of abuse. Since living with us, he has relaxed completely and seems to feel very comfortable. He has a special bond with C and showers him with lots of love. I am hopeful that this won't change his personality, but that he will continue to feel better as we get his blood sugar regulated.