Four Month Appointment

Hello!

I just wanted to give a quick update regarding Liam's four-month appointment on Monday. Here are his stats:

Weight: 14 lbs. (30th percentile)

Height: 25 1/4 inches (70th percentile)

Even though he slipped percentiles slightly in each category, Dr. Rhodes-Dekko said he is still doing great, and doing everything he should be (and more, like rolling over both ways!) at this age. He still tends to be a bit of a serious little guy, so I am hoping that we will see more and more smiles and laughter in the coming weeks. Because with parents like us, this kid is bound to be a goofball. ; )

Love,

Farrah, Jeff & Liam (18 weeks and 1 day!)

Summer School

Hello, all!

I'm back, from a verrrry long hiatus. I apologize for the lack of posts during the past few months....being home alone with our baby this summer made it a bit tricky to fit in much computer time (especially on a computer that lives in our chilly basement office). And, to be honest, I was trying to just soak up as much time with Liam as I could, without the distractions of normal daily life. I don't regret it for a second (other than missing all of you).....because it was the best summer ever!

So, here it is....a Cliff's Notes-esque wrap-up of this summer:

What We Did.....

* Eat, sleep, poop

* Went for leisurely strolls through our neighborhood

* Eat, sleep, poop

* Hung out on Liam's activity center, watching the butterfly light up and the bumblebee shake its groove thing overhead
* Eat, sleep, poop

* Read all about: cows that jumped over moons, animals that exercise, singing pigs that say, "La, la, la", and loving each other all the way up to the moon- and back.

What We Learned.....

Liam:

* Mommy = Food

* How to stay awake while nursing

* If Mommy or Daddy leaves, they will always reappear

* I have hands!

* I am the ultimate champion of rolling over (both from tummy to back, and vice versa!)

* I love Mommy's silly songs, though I will never show it

* Hippo is my BFF

* Tooting is NOT fun; Peeing all over the walls during a diaper change, however, IS.

* Lights and music are AMAZING

* The world appears so much more interesting when I am sitting versus lying down

* Bathtime is awesome!

* I am known by many names: Little Liam, My Boy, Sir Toots-alot, Snickerdoodle, Butternut, Monkey Boy, Super Dude, Mommy's Sweetie-Boy/Lovey-Boy.......

* I love being talked to, and have started to find my voice

Me:

* In the beginning, learning how to nurse was so difficult that I nearly gave up; now, I wonder if I will be willing to give it up

* How to stay awake while nursing

* Baby sleeping through the night for the first time = PANIC! = amazement = utter joy

* A smile from my little guy is worth any effort, and can instantly make my heart melt

* My ability to dream up silly songs about Liam is neverending

* Our child has every intention of "marking his territory" all over the house, including our bedroom curtains, all floors, the walls of his nursery, my clothes, Daddy's head, etc.

* Spit-up: see above

* Liam's little noises and facial expressions are pretty much the greatest thing ever

* 1 Toot = funny; 2 Toots = DANGER!!!!

* Being a parent can be difficult one moment, and unbelievably rewarding the next

* The love I have for my boy is stronger than I ever imagined it would be

* The hardest thing I've ever had to do is go back to work, leaving him behind.

In the blink of an eye, my amazing summer with my sweetie-boy flew by...then came to an end. And now it is time to find a new way of being, and to learn how to be a parent with a day job. I will admit that navigating this new course over the past several weeks has been very difficult so far. To be away from Liam for 11 hours every weekday has taken every ounce of strength that I have, and then some. Though we are very lucky that Jeff's mom (and now Jeff) has been able to watch Liam for us (we can't commit to a daycare until Jeff finds a new job), I still struggle with the fact that I'M not the one who will be there for every new milestone. It literally breaks my heart to say goodbye to him every day, knowing that I will have only a few short (and busy) hours with him before bedtime. But it is the reality that I and many working parents find ourselves in....and I am trying to make my peace with that.

For now, though, I will continue to love my Little Liam.....to hold on to every moment I have with him....and to cherish my memories of that perfect summer.

Love,
Farrah, Jeff & Liam

You Are the Sunshine of My Life

Hello, all!

I just had to share this image that I managed to capture of one of Liam's first smiles! His eyes are closed because the little orange blinky light on our camera went off right before I snapped the photo, so it caught him off-guard. ; )


Ok, seriously....is he not the cutest little boy ever??? I just want to squish his little cheeks! And that smile makes my heart melt....

Liam also reached a milestone last night......he slept from midnight to 5:00pm, without waking for a feeding! Five whole hours.....that's definitely a first! At first I panicked......after all, we are used to him waking up every 2-3 hours to eat (the same schedule he during the day). But then I realized, what the heck am I complaining about? : ) He is getting bigger every day it seems.....and I know the next milestone is just around the corner. The mommy in me wants him to stay little forever......but I also can't wait to see what he does next! : )

Love,
Farrah, Jeff & Liam

This is What Happens When You Ask For a Few Photos....

Hello, All!

I just wanted to pop on to let you all know that I have now officially (or should I say, "FINALLY") posted all of the photos we have taken of Liam so far and arranged them into albums via Photobucket. You can access these photos albums on the side panel of this blog.....each photo represents a different album, and by clicking on this photo you will be directed to the Photobucket website to view them. Be on the lookout for additional albums, one for each month of Liam's first year! After that, I promise to consolidate them a bit. ; )

Things have been going really well here. After experiencing some difficulty with breastfeeding during the first few weeks of his life (which subsequently led to us to struggling with his weight gain), Liam and I have managed to find our groove and nursing is going much better for us now. We still have rough days where he either falls asleep during a feeding (a common occurrence) or wants to eat every hour or so (ouch!), but the good days far outnumber those. And obviously we are doing something right, because he has been gaining weight! We had Liam's one-month doctor's visit on Monday of this week, and he weighed in at 9 lbs. 14 oz. (which is an average rate, placing him in the 5oth percentile), a whole 1 lb. 4 oz. bigger than his birth weight (which he was still at two weeks ago)! It was SO reassuring to hear that news. Liam also grew over two inches....he started out at 20.5 inches, and now measures 22.75 inches (placing him in the 90th percentile)! Everything else looked great....Dr. Rhodes Dekko said that he is tracking movement with his eyes at a better than average rate, he is gaining great muscle control in his head and neck, and she also noted that he has perfect skin tone, considering that he is so fair (I guess fair-skinned babies tend to be more rashy). In the early weeks, she and another pediatrician had detected a heart murmur, which we ended up having further investigated by a pediatric cardiologist at the Children's Hospital. The consensus was that Liam had a tiny 1-2mm hole in the wall between his left and right heart ventricles, but the cardiologist (and Dr. Rhodes Dekko) are both certain that it won't be an issue for him, and it will most likely close on its own. Going through all of those tests was a bit rough (ok, mostly on me....it was so difficult seeing him strapped down for that x-ray!), but at least we gained some reassurance that our boy will be ok.

So now that we have gotten past that first month of uncertainty, we are doing so well! We have even both adapted pretty well to waking up every 2-3 hours at night for his feedings, which is impressive. : ) We've managed to get out for a walks around the neighborhood, as well as a few outings (running errands, going out for dinner, etc.), and I am learning how to juggle taking care of him while getting things done around the house during the week. I am so grateful to be able to have this summer with him!

And WOW, do we LOVE our boy.......we are cherishing every moment we have with him!

Take care.....we'll be back soon!

Love,
Farrah, Jeff and Liam

How We Started With a Sprout, and Ended Up With a Liam

Hello, all!

I am finally back to post all about D-day....delivery day, that is. Here is the tale of how our little Sprout-nugget came into this world.....the day that changed our lives forever. : )

TUESDAY, MAY 19

(WARNING: If tales of labor and delivery gross you out, you may want to skip past this! I'll try to be as kind as possible with the details. )

10:00 am- I was at home (having taken the day off from work to prep for my scheduled induction the next day) and sleeping in when my friend Deb called during her work break to check in and see how everything was going. I informed her that no progress towards labor had been made, and that this baby was probably going to hang out in my womb until it was time for him to head to preschool. After hanging up, I got up to head to the bathroom. I noticed that I was (sorry, TMI) bleeding quite a bit. Feeling startled and a bit panicked, I called my OB's office and spoke with a nurse. After conferring with my doctor, she confirmed that the bleeding could very well be a sign of early labor, and that if it got heavier (or if I saw clots) I should head to the hospital/labor & delivery. Ten minutes later, both of these signs occurred. Meanwhile, Jeff was downstairs in the office working from home (how convenient!), so I waddled down to inform him that I was pretty sure that I was starting labor. It was like I had flipped a switch; instantly, he popped out of his chair and rushed around to get everything in order so that we could leave. I was a little more relaxed....the car had been packed for two weeks, so I just got dress and puttered around a bit as Jeff darted back and forth. I think the fact that my water hadn't broken and that I wasn't feeling any pain/contractions made it easier for me to remain relatively calm. I say "relatively", because I was also feeling a little anxious about what was to come, as well as excited. We were on our way!

11:45 am - After a ride across the metro to the hospital that resembled a car chase scene from a movie (whoa....slow down, honey!), we pulled into the hospital parking ramp just as I started to feel a slow trickle of fluid. As I tried to stand up and get out of the car (warning: TMI alert), the "trickle" became a flood as what felt like a river of warm amniotic fluid shot down my left pant leg and all over my flip-flop clad foot. It was a seriously gross feeling! There was NO way that I was going to walk into that hospital and leave a trail behind me, so I sent Jeff off to find a wheelchair. Minutes later he returned, unsuccessful. At precisely the same moment, an ER nurse walked by and asked if we needed a hand. He found us a wheelchair and moments later escorted us into the maternity assessment area. I was quickly checked in, and after determining that I was 4cm dilated, they shipped me down the hall to our new quarters in labor and delivery.

12:30 pm - Almost immediately after arriving in our room (216) and meeting our awesome L&D nurse (Denise), I started to feel intense pressure in my lower back. As this started to come and go in a pattern and also become very painful, we realized that what I was experiencing was back labor. This was odd, considering that most women who experience back labor do so because their baby is facing forward (rather than facing backwards, as Sprout was), causing their baby's head to place pressure on their spine. Regardless, I was stuck with these back contractions for the next four hours. For the first half hour, Jeff and I walked the halls, stopping as each contraction hit to breathe through it. Very soon, however, the contractions quickly ramped up in intensity and frequency, and it got to the point where I only had about 30 seconds to a minute in between each contraction to recover. I tried sitting on the birthing ball to work through them (all the while leaking more and more amniotic fluid!), but nothing seemed to help. I literally could barely catch my breath in between each one, and poor Jeff could do nothing except apply pressure to my back, hold my hand and offer words of encouragement. Eventually, I decided to hop in the shower and run hot water over my back to relieve some of the pain. This didn't help either, and after Jeff helped me out of the shower we decided our birth plan might need some altering.

4:30 pm - Initially, I had intended to try some lighter pain management once the time came when I could no longer handle the pain, but that plan was based on the assumption that my contractions would slowly ramp up (the opposite was true). I hadn't really wanted to get an epidural, since I wanted the freedom to get up and move around (impossible to do when you are numb from the waist down!). But I always kept it at the back of my mind as a possibility. And after Nurse Denise examined me and told us my Plan A option of receiving meds intrathecally was no longer an option by this point (as I was now dilated to 7 cm), I was ready to reconsider the epidural. I was exhausted by the non-stop contractions, and I was worried that I wouldn't have the strength left for delivery if I kept up this pace. So, shortly after my sister Laura arrived to offer her support (THANK YOU!), I received my epidural. In that moment, I (the needle-phobe) didn't care that they were sticking a freaking long needle into my spine. I no longer cared that I wouldn't be able to get up for many hours, or that I now required a catheter (since bathroom breaks were no longer an option). Because twenty minutes later, I was feeling gooooood.
I will NEVER be one of those women who insists on giving soon-to-be-moms the advice that they HAVE TO get an epidural....but man, it was one of the best decisions I made that day. It allowed me time to relax and gear up for delivery a couple of hours later, and I was able to actually talk to Jeff, Laura, his parents and sister Kari (who also came to visit) instead of being balled up in pain. In hindsight, though, I would never have given up those four hours of labor pain.....it was uncomfortable, yet rewarding to actually be able to experience that part of the process. I also probably sound like a big wimp for only lasting through four hours of pain before I gave in to drugs.....but I don't care! Every labor experience is different, after all. 6:45 pm - After hanging out with our families for a while, Nurse Denise came in along with Dr. Gosen (Dr. Arnhold wasn't on call that day, though Dr. Gosen was a great replacement) to inform us that I was now dilated to 10 (WOW!) and it was time to start delivery. Laura and Jeff's family headed to the waiting room, and we quickly got down to business. Initially, Jeff had planned to offer moral support and hold my hand, while staying up by my head......but recent thoughts of reconsideration over the previous couple of weeks led him to wind up holding one of my legs (while Nurse Denise held the other) and be up close and personal for the birth of our son. (He later said he was SO glad that he chose that experience over the "safer" option!) Denise wheeled in a big mirror and placed it so that I was able to also watch everything, which I was SO grateful for. Initially, I thought I would be too squeamish, but it was AMAZING! It also helped me to witness myself making progress through those pushes, which was difficult to do when I couldn't actually feel myself pushing. As we all started to see Sprout's head emerge (with whisps of pale blonde hair, which the doctor and nurse couldn't stop cooing over!), we knew we were only moments away. After a mere half hour of pushing (which I was told is pretty impressive for a first-time mom!), we heard those first little cries.......

7:23 pm - ....and our beautiful baby boy entered the world! As I mentioned previously, Liam Asher was born weighing 8 lbs. 10 oz., and measuring 20.5 inches long. It was truly the happiest and most blessed moment of our lives!


Jeff was such an amazing support through all of this.....seriously, I don't know how I am so lucky to have such a wonderful husband. I couldn't have done it without him (other than for the obvious reasons)!

Everyone always says how incredible and unending the love you have for your children is, but we definitely never fully appreciated or understood that until now. Our little Liam is the light of our lives...and we can't to continue sharing that light with all of you!

Coming soon.....photos from Day #2 through three weeks old (can you believe he is already three weeks old today? Wow!)

Love,
Farrah, Jeff & Liam

The Day that You and Me Fell in Love with #3

Hello, all!

I apologize for the delay in posting this, but WELCOME TO THE WORLD, LIAM ASHER! Our beautiful baby boy was born on Tuesday, May 19 at 7:23pm. He weighed 8 lbs. 10 oz., and was 20.5 inches long. We couldn't ask for a more precious, beautiful and amazing baby......truly, he has been such a blessing to us, and we love him more than we ever thought possible! I promise to post all about our labor and delivery in the next day or two, as well as post a ton of photos (being a new mommy has left me VERY little time to get to a computer!)....but in the meantime, hopefully seeing his sweet little face above is enough to get you by. : )

Take care....I'll be back very soon!

Love,
Farrah, Jeff and Liam (how great is it that we finally can call him by his name?)

The Bun That Wouldn't Come Out of the Oven

Hey, all.....

Yup, I'm still waiting around, serving as incubator for our little Sprout-nugget. "What??!!?? I thought for sure that you would have had that baby by now!", you might be asking yourself....well, you and me both. As well as everyone else I know!!!

Jeff and I found out at my appointment yesterday that I was dilated to 3 (and still 80% effaced)...and my doctor said, "It will happen any time now". And I was like, "I've been hearing that for two weeks!" I realize I am still two days away from my "official" due date, but I am feeling so uncomfortable and impatient. Now that I have everything pretty much wrapped up at work (though I am still going to work), it's like a switch was flipped inside of me and I want to have this baby NOW! Especially when I constantly have people saying to me, "You're still here?" or "You haven't had that baby yet?" It's making me a little crazy. ; ) I guess I'm just too impatient. A couple from our birthing class (who we became friends with and was also due the same day as us) had their little guy (Simon) on Mother's Day. And my friend Lauren (also due the same day as us) had her baby boy Evan a week before that, even. I wonder what my problem is? ; )

(on a side note, I am still REALLY happy for both of you, despite my envy!)

Anyway, I've been trying all of the old wives' tales that I've heard to try to induce labor...walking around (as much as I can handle, anyway), eating tons of spicy foods, having my ankles rubbed, eating graham crackers, etc. So far, nothing has worked.....but I'll take any suggestions you all might have! : ) I have an induction set up for next Wednesday (the 20th) at 7:30am.......but I am praying that I have this little guy long before then. Jeff and I are sooooo ready to meet him!

In the meantime, here are a few photos of the nursery (minus the framed wall art, which is still on its way) to pass the time:

Crib and glider, with the wall mural that Jeff and I painted to match Sprout's bedding.....

Dresser (which Jeff refinished, as well as built the frame for the changing pad)...along with the little mobile I made on a whim.....

Little nook with bookcase, to house Sprout's growing library.

Ok, that's it for me. I am PRAYING that the next time we post, it is to introduce you to our little (soon-to-be-named) Sprout!!!! Take care, and feel free to pass along that induction advice! : )

Love,
Farrah, Jeff and a stubbornly incubating (yet inherently lovable) Sprout

39 weeks, 5 days.....EDD May 16