Miles at 3 Months

It's a little hard to believe that my little angel turned 3 months old on August 28th! He's grown so much both physically and mentally! It is strange to look back on those first pictures of him and see how far we've all come.

He started sleeping through the night about three weeks ago but has recently changed his mind. He is somehow escaping from his swaddle blanket and scooting--on his back--up to the top of his crib and getting lodged in the corner. He is then forced to call out for help. He usually goes back to sleep once he is back in his "home" position but sometimes he wants a bottle. It's no fun going back to getting up in the night but I guess this is one of the positives of me being unemployed--if I'm tired I can either sleep in or take a nap later in the day.

A few weeks before his official 3-month-birthday, he started babbling a ton and making huge leaps in his physical development. As you all know, he's a pretty big baby--I estimate his length to be about 27 inches and his weight to be at least 18, but probably more like 19 pounds. (We will get an official length and weight at his 4 month appointment in a couple weeks.) This is pretty brutal on my back but also allows him to be stronger than the average 3-month-old. He consistently rolls over from his tummy to his back now and every once in awhile accidentally rolls from his back to his tummy. During tummy time he holds his head up for longer and longer periods and will often plow his head into the floor and push himself along for a bit.

In terms of babbling, he seems to be constantly telling me some great story. Of course, I listen intently even though no actual words have yet escaped his mouth. He is smiling a ton, especially when he sees his mommy or his daddy getting closer! Up until this week he was crying every time he saw his great grandma but we had her at the house on Friday and he was cooing and smiling at her like crazy! She had the best day and Miles looooved all the undivided attention. He gets plenty of attention from me during the day but if he ever feels slighted he lets us know but calling out until someone gets a clue.

I can't describe how amazing it is to watch him come into awareness! He has started reaching out for certain toys and grabbing onto things! He is also putting everything he can hold onto into his mouth. I get so excited every time I see him do anything and start cheering him on--this usually causes him to stop what he is doing and look at me with a puzzled look. But that's funny, too!

BTW, the above pics were taken for us by an old childhood friend who happened to move to Phoenix last year. She came over and snapped lots and lots of pics for his 3 month milestone.

Latest Pics

Chillaxin' with daddy...

2 Months!

As hard as it is to believe, young Miles reached the 2-month milestone on Tuesday! He has changed a lot in the last two months--we are able to do tummy time for a little longer each day and he is able to hold his head higher and steadier a little more each day! He is constantly "talking" back to us--no official words yet, obviously, but that's okay. :) Patrick and I already knew he was growing like a beanstalk since we dress him every day--and he's already in size 6-month clothes--but our trip to the doctor on Tuesday confirmed it. Our growing boy is a whopping 16 pounds and 24.5 inches long!

Knowing that babies are supposed to double their weight by 6 months, I have been doing a bit of research on Miles's new carseat. His current one is great but it maxes out at 22 pounds. Since he has gained a little over 6 pounds in two months, I have a feeling he'll be needing a new car seat before he reaches 6 months so I've had to put my research into high gear! The decision is further complicated by the fact that convertible car seats are crazy expensive and when (sometimes I wonder IF) I find a job and start working again we'll need one for each car. No time to worry about that right now, though, we'll get a second one when (IF) we need it.

Miles Trippin'

Patrick and I took Miles on his first big trip last week. We went back to Iowa so Grandma Sheri could introduce Miles to his Aunt Alecia and the rest of the extended family. I meant to take pictures of us as we made our way east but that just did not happen! Instead, I have some of the first pictures of Alecia that have been taken in YEARS!!

We had a busy week at home in Iowa, including attending the annual RAGBRAI (Register's Annual Great Bike Ride Across Iowa) at the Harris-O'Brien farm. The celebration also doubled as a double birthday party for Caia Harris and cousin Shannon.

We also had a little welcoming party/baby shower for young Miles so many people could meat Miles without us having to travel all over Southwest Iowa to show him off!

Beanstalk

I'm sure we all remember the old classic "Jack and the Beanstalk" where Jack's magic beans grew overnight into a beanstalk that reached to the heavens, yes? Well, I believe I have the human version of a beanstalk. When Miles was born he was a healthy 20.5 inches long and a week and a half later he'd grown to an even 22 inches. I can't say how long he is at this moment but I can safely say he has grown. I know this because when I hold him he covers up more of my torso than he did previously. I also know this because when I dress him every morning I look at his size 0-3 months and they look teensy tiny. Some of them sort of fit, but they are pretty tight. I received final confirmation of his extreme and continued growth last night when Patrick tried to dress him in a pair of footsy pajamas we purchased a week and a half ago. They are really cute--white with little orange, yellow and blue elephants on them. He wore them once last week for just a couple hours before he threw up on them and had to be changed. Last night Patrick got his little flailing arms into the arm holes and one little leg into the footsy hole when he turned to me and said, "Are you sure these fit him?" I started to say yes when Patrick got his other little leg into the other footsy hole and we saw that my young son could not stretch his legs out! How does someone grow out of something in a week and a half?!

First Father's Day

Sunday we celebrated our first Father's Day by sleeping in--sort of--followed by a late lunch at IHOP and a lazy day of watching movies.

After Miles's early morning feeding, Patrick decided to bring him to bed with us so we could get a couple more hours worth of shut-eye. I think we have finally convinced Miles to sleep in his crib but when he's ready to be up, it's time for all of us to be up--unless we lay his head on Mommy's or Daddy's chest. Then he cannot resist falling asleep. :) Thanks to this little trick we did not officially get out of bed until 11! It was glorious!! (And just in case you're wondering, Miles slept fine that evening.)

Miles and I did not get Patrick a present for Father's Day, but I had planned to make pancakes for breakfast. Sleeping in until 11 resulted in all of us waking up hungry and me feeling both rested and too tired to make breakfast so when Patrick said he had a dream about all three of us sitting at IHOP I took it as a hint. Really, it was a much better idea than making breakfast cuz we didn't have any dishes to do.

Patrick and I ended up stopping at our local Redbox location for our movies because we have forced ourselves out of being able to go to Hollywood Video and Blockbuster because we each returned movies late to the different places and do not want to pay the late fees. ;) We rented Defiance and Doubt and enjoyed both despite them being rather heavy.

Introducing Miles Kenneth

Miles Kenneth was born on May 28th at 12:58 a.m. He weighed 9 lbs 10 oz and was 20.5 inches in length. He is (obviously) a very healthy boy with all ten fingers and toes. So far he has been very patient with his mommy and daddy while they are learning all that their new roles entail.

In his first week and a half of life Miles met his Grandma Lebeck from Iowa and his Grandma Hester-Clifton from Maryland. He also helped his Great-Grandma Hester celebrate her 90th birthday. Miles isn't sure if the folks at the party were more amazed that he was barely a week old or that his mamma was so active so soon after giving birth to such a big baby. Either way he had a good time at the party even though he slept through most of it and had to leave early.

Miles knows lots of folks were anxiously awaiting his arrival and he can't wait to meet the rest of mommy's family and all of mommy and daddy's friends--but it will probably be a couple more weeks before his 'rents start inviting lots of folks over.

Just Kidding

Faithful readers may recall the day I blogged stating I had mistaken our due date to be May 26 and it was in fact May 16. This realization was quickly followed by a major shopping spree to acquire the last few things we needed and some hurried final preparations in the even baby decided to come early. As it turns out, all that was just a lot of hurrying for no good reason.

We had an OB appointment on Thursday in which we discovered I was dilated barely 1 cm, which means I might as well have not been dilated at all. There was some talk of giving the kid a nudge to get the heck out of dodge, but I declined this offer as I was told it was painful and was not likely to work with me. So Patrick and I headed home hoping the kid would decide to work his way out over the weekend anyway. He didn't.

We had another OB appointment today to re-evaluate the situation. I should probably state that there is a slight rush on this process because my doctor does not want Miles to be so big that I have to have a C-section. She is concerned about his weight because of my gestational diabetes even though it has been well controlled without the aid of any medication. Anyway, so we go in this morning to get a stress test and reconsider this whole nudging thing--which I am decidedly NOT excited about as just checking how much I am dilated comes with more pain than I would like.

Stress test goes fine for the most part and then we're moved into an exam room where the doctor blows in stating, "Turns out your original due date was right after all." Silence.

I argued this point with her when she told me about the May 16th date but relented because, well, she's the doctor. So obviously, I still have a week to go with this whole gestation thing, which is fine except that Patrick took this week off thinking if they didn't nudge him on Thursday they definitely would today. To say he was a bit perterbed is probably the understatement of the century. And as much as we're told to just go with the flow of this whole pregnancy thing--sometimes that's easier said than done, especially when you get your mind set on a particular date and there are lots of anxious folks emailing, texting and calling wanting to know if the kid has arrived yet.

Well, he hasn't and likely won't until sometime next week. We hope.

39 And A Half Weeks

Yep, that's right...still pregnant. This kid is holding on for who knows what and for who knows how long. In some ways, I appreciate his stubbornness as it gives me time to rest, relax and enjoy my last few moments of silence and sanity. I finished working on Friday and had a nice second going away luncheon--I was working at the site where I did my internship so they had already wished me a fond farewell back in March when I finished my internship hours. Who knew three weeks later I would be back as a temporary employee? So I have been enjoying the week off so far. I have certain things I would like to accomplish but naps rank higher than any other thing. I think this is the first time in my life I haven't felt guilty for napping one to two times a day!

I do have my doctor appointment tomorrow afternoon. Maybe Miles will stick a hand out and let us know when he intends on making his debut?

33 weeks and counting...I think...:)

So soon...?

So I had one of my regular GD check appointments on Wednesday. I went in expecting the usual--check the heartbeat, check my blood sugar numbers, tell me I'm doing a good job and we'll see you in two weeks. Instead I was informed that I have been mistaken on my due date, oh, since the beginning of the pregnancy!

Here I am thinking I am due May 26 and I'm at 32 weeks when in fact I'm due May 16 and I'm nearly 34 weeks--oh and my belly is measuring 35 weeks. Sure, in some respects this is amazing news--I am definitely ready to not be pregnant. But I am just not ready for this yet! I've been slowly preparing the baby's room and buying the things we needed. This is a speed I enjoy--slow and steady. But with the news that I am farther along than I thought, the prep speed needed to be put in high gear. Ok, maybe not high gear but with certain things I prefer to be overly prepared and ready way too soon than on time. As a result, Patrick and I spent Friday evening at Babies R Us purchasing the final things we felt we needed for little Miles. (This came at a good time as I had coupons, gift cards and free "r us bucks" that cut our bill by $200!) And although I did not ask him and he was not required to, my wonderful husband put together a play yard, high chair, and swing and installed the car seat bases into both cars all in one afternoon!! He's really quite amazing sometimes. Oh, and I put together the bassinet on Sunday.

Being farther along than I thought also puts a little crimp in certain folks' travel plans. Namely my mother's and Patrick's mother's. My mom bought a ticket for June 2, intending to be here soon after baby made his debut in the world. Now we're on standby--she's hoping for me to pop mid-May as that won't interrupt the work schedule too much. I honestly don't think I'll make it to the middle of May. Patrick's mother was also planning on being here in early June. My late May due date was perfect timing since great-grandma Alice will be turning 90 on June 6 and a grand fiesta is being planned. Patrick's mom doesn't know about the change in dates--Patrick doesn't seem to think it's important information to share with her--but I doubt it would matter anyway because she can't travel from Maryland twice in less than a month. Assuming Miles shows up in early May it will allow us to take him to his great-grandma's birthday party whereas before it would have been a lot too soon for his infant immune system to handle being around so many folks.

So that's where we are. I am working temporarily at my former internship site to make some $$ before the baby comes. I had a certain monetary goal in mind that was totally doable with 8 weeks to work. That goal will probably not be reached at this point since two weeks got taken away...but I am working more hours than I intended so who knows. I'm just glad it came along when it did!

27 Week Ultrasound

Had another ultrasound today. I guess this one was just to check the kid's size/growth especially since I have the GD. Everything checked out normal except he apparently has a big ol' melon sittin' atop his shoulders. I'm hoping that means he also has a big ol' smart brain in there...

Nursery Pics

24 weeks

The GD

According to my little week by week pregnancy facts, I should expect to be tested for gestational diabetes (GD) between now and week 28. Well, I went into an OB appointment one morning after having eating pancakes and syrup and the sugar in my urine was off the freaking chart so I got tested early. GO ME!!

Let me just say that the one hour test, though miserable, is at least tolerable. I mean, I drank this crap at home and an hour later they took my blood. The three hour test is a level of hell. Not only did I have to drink the crap again but I had to stay in the doctor's office for three hours, I was not allowed anything to eat or drink--not even water!, and I had to have my blood drawn FOUR freaking times!! By the end, I seriously thought I was going to collapse.

So they diagnosed me about three weeks ago but they were so not on the ball and I just had my diabetic teaching session last Friday. I attended with this other woman, who I happened to know from when I used to have a real job. It was sort of an odd situation to run into someone I hadn't seen in about a year and a half.

I will say that the idea of getting GD scared the poo out of me. But I mentioned it to my acupuncturist right away and he gave me a diet to follow--which I don't. But it helped me quickly figure out that I was getting too many carbs in my diet and not enough protein. I made that slight change before I had the session with the doctor and when we checked my blood sugar I was right on the money! Also, since making that change I have had more energy and generally felt better overall so I don't feel so bad about the GD since it created a positive change. I have had the joy of checked my blood sugar four times a day for four days so far and I have only been over the limit once. I have been under the minimum twice but all three times I knew before I checked it that it would be off. I am enough in tune with the workings of my body to not need a little machine to inform me when I haven't done something right.

So, again, everyone who has heard of this development has expressed concern. That's kind of why I decided to blog it. It sucks having to prick my finger so often, but I am so happy to be feeling more energetic that I look at the whole affair as a positive turn of events. I am having no trouble controlling things with my diet so I don't anticipate having to take pills or insulin injections. In other words, it's all good.

Week 23

I wrote this whole blog out using the name we've chosen but neglected to mention that we found out a few weeks ago that we're having a boy! Yeah, I wanted a girl, but I'm more than okay with a son. This made picking out a name much easier because we had a boy's name since before we got pregnant...so at some point toward the end of May, we will welcome to the world Miles Kenneth Brown! The first name is just one we both liked a lot and the middle name was my dad's first name. Now onto the blog...

As Miles and I enter week 23 we are experiencing all kinds of fun new things--mainly him moving. Patrick was telling me about his day on Monday evening and I guess Miles was listening cuz first there were little kicks and then there was this giant movement that sort of felt like a chubby little arm or leg. It pretty much freaked me out and the look on my face stopped Patrick mid-sentence. He spent the rest of his story telling session with his hand on my tummy hoping for more. Alas, nothing came but I'm sure Patrick will have other chances.

Since Miles and I are together--well, 24-7--I've been trying to get Patrick to read him stories at night. I bought several great books from Amazon and Patrick did read to us two nights in a row! He would like to read to us more but his schedule is wicked right now so Miles and I spend most evenings at home with the kitties, which will probably only exacerbate their jealousy once the baby's here.

On Saturday, our crib and dresser arrived at JC Penney. My Parents.com Daily Kick email said I should consider ordering the furniture sooner than later because it could take weeks for it to come it. As it turns out, it took less than a week so now the boxes are sitting in the garage. I won't be lifting them, obviously, so Patrick has to figure out which of his lucky friends or his dad will be the Chosen One to help him get them upstairs--at a minimum--and possibly help put them together. He has kindly wrangled his friend/co-worker to assist him this Saturday with putting up the border in the nursery so I suppose that friend will get out of furniture duty. I will say the changing table is coming from a different store and is definitely taking longer.

Let's see...what else...oh! I'm getting bigger. If I'm wearing baggy enough clothes folks who don't know me could possibly think I'm just really fat. But the folks I'm around on a daily basis agree that there's some growing going on. I have every intention of getting some kind of belly photo up sooner than later. Speaking of photos, I'm also searching for a photographer that specializes in baby photos. Our regular folks do not, even though I like them a lot I need to make sure this is done right. I did check out the Kiddie Candids place at our local Babies R Us but they put the littlest babies in such unnatural positions that it makes me uncomfortable. I also don't want to have to take out a loan to pay for the pictures so I'm in a bit of a conundrum and I'm sort of hoping the right one falls out of the sky...

...sort of like the job I'm currently looking for. I need one. I'm about done with my internship hours and my goal is to get in a good three months of employment before I take maternity leave. It's asking a lot of a future employer but hopefully someone will think I'm so beyond perfect for the position that they will work with me. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Halfway Point

So here I am at the halfway point of creating a life. This is an accomplishment I celebrate because as excited as I am for little Peanut to join us in this big world, pregnancy has not been the funest thing ever. I am trying to focus on the good things, the little successes but I'm not afraid to admit that it's been a bit overwhelming and there has been more puke involved than I would have liked. But whatever.

Patrick finally finished touching up the nursery--I think. Thanks to pressure from Mom I decided to get the wallpaper border that matches the crib bedding to help accent the wall and keep Patrick from going crazy with all of my other creative ideas. It arrived today and I'm wondering what the chances are that it will get put up this weekend?

I am also trying to put the final necessities into the baby registry--as if I know what I'm doing. I've read all the lists, got some advice from friends, and used my cousin's registery as a cheat-sheat. Thanks, Sum! The registry is, of course, tied to the baby shower which will be on Feb 28th. I was chatting with some women at work today who were schooling me on the Mexican way of doing a baby shower. Apparently it's customary to have the shower at week 36 for purely superstitious reasons. I told them I couldn't wait that long for purely organizational reasons. Also, I'm hoping Peanut decides to come really early.

I will also soon need to start thinking about the second baby shower my mom wants to have in Iowa after Peanut is born, which I guess will be less of a baby shower and more of a baby welcome to the world get together. Or a Peanut introduction gathering of friends and family who live in that part of the country.

Today I schedule Patrick and I to take all of these classes--a childbirth prep class, a baby care class, and a breastfeeding class. I feel that my friends and family have way more faith in me than they should about my ability to know what the hell I'm doing once Peanut is safely on the outside and I feel these classes will play no small part it the health and well-being of Peanut for the first few weeks of his life. I am also hoping the classes will calm some of my fears and such. There's a good chance, though, I'll leave having more things to be scared about.

Goings on Since The Last Post

It's been awhile since Peanut and I have had the time to blog about our goings on. With the holidays, me trying to finish school and celebrate graduation certain things fell to the wayside. Patrick and I spent Christmas in Arizona for the first time since we've been together--and the last. Although it was quite frigid (for Arizona, anyway) here it wasn't the same as being in Iowa so it will be the last Christmas the Browns spend in Arizona as well.

I am officially in the midst of week 19 according to the latest ultrasound pictures and I should be feeling movement at this stage. I have read lots of stuff explaining to me what movement at this time is supposed to feel like--someone said like the wind--and I'm just not sure I'm feeling Peanut move. I'll tell you what I am feeling--backpain. During the day it doesn't bother me, but every night around 2 a.m. I wake up and cannot get back to sleep thanks to the pain. Fortunately, Patrick has been on vacation since it started and has been able to rub away the pain enough for me to get back to sleep. Not sure what's going to happen since he goes back to work on Monday.

On the 30th we had our second trimester ultrasound and found out little Peanut will be coming out with man parts. Patrick is elated, of course. He thinks we're growing a little NBA star. He's probably wrong, but it never hurts to dream. Peanut was not shy about revealing his man parts to us at all. The lady asked us if we wanted to know the gender, I layed down on the table and he pretty much instantly flashed us. The nice ultrasound lady even printed out a picture of it for us. We immediately notified family of this news as Patrick's side seems to be involved in a buying spree for Peanut. This visit also revealed that Peanut is developing normally and a few days ahead of schedule so we're now due on May 26 instead of May 30.

Patrick spent part of his vacation painting Peanut's room. This activity took waaaay longer than it should have due to me being demanding and apparently unable to communicate my wishes well. Patrick eventually had a couple mental breakdowns due to several mishaps and the fact that he just hates the whole idea of painting and refuses to ever do it again. I am of the opinion that once he gets some distance from this not so good painting experience, he'll find it in his heart to paint another nursery should it become necessary. I think.