2 Weeks Old

Walker at 2 weeks...he already holds his head up to look around and see what's going on!

Mommy & Walker...this is pretty much what we do all day! :)

Daddy feeding Walker his first bottle.

When Walker is done eating he puts his lips together and will not open them!!

Since Walker is 3 weeks old today I figured I'd better post a 2 week picture and information (I'll post a 3 week picture later)! I highly overestimated the amount of free time I would have so the blog has taken a backseat to a lot of other things! :) However, we are having so much fun getting to know Walker and learning how to be parents. Walker is currently eating every 2 1/2 hours. For awhile he was eating every 3 hours but now it's down to every 2 1/2 and the doctor says that's because he's growing so much. At our 2 week appointment Walker weighed 6 lb. 1 oz so he had gained back his birth weight plus some. He was also 18 3/4 inches long which is up from what he was at birth too. I was so worried he wasn't eating enough but clearly he is! He's a very fast eater; he only takes about 10-20 minutes to nurse at one feeding. He's still sleeping quite a bit but we're working on keeping him up more during the day to get into a schedule. Two different nights now he has gone 5 hours between a feeding so mommy was very grateful for that! However, a typical night includes him getting up every 2 1/2 - 3 hours to eat. I really enjoy our nighttime feedings because it's just Walker & me and it's so quiet so it's a neat time for us to bond. In the past week we've also introduced a bottle so daddy is able to feed him once a day. He took it right away and ate in about 10 minutes so he clearly doesn't care how he eats!! :) We also had to make another trip to the doctor this week because he seemed to be having some tummy issues. It turns out he has a little bit of colic and acid reflux so we now have meds to make him feel better and, thankfully, they seem to be working well. I can tell he feels much better already! On the agenda for this weekend is moving Walker to his crib (insert crying here!). We'll see how mommy does with that...oh, and Walker too! :) He seems so small for that big bed but hopefully it'll work out ok.

He mainly spends his days eating, sleeping, and pooping and he spends a lot of time in his bouncy seat or swing when Mommy's not holding him! Parenthood is so much more than Jon and I ever thought it would be and we are loving every minute. I can't get over how much I love him already!!

One Week Old!!

Walker with his Tigger doll that Gigi sent him from Disney World!

One of his favorite things to do...swing!!

Go Racers...we love our outfit KK!!

I can't believe that Walker is already a week old...it has been the fastest week ever! We are absolutely crazy about our sweet little boy and are enjoying learning how to be parents. Walker has been eating well and is currently sleeping very well at night so mommy & daddy are feeling pretty good! We went to the doctor for a weight check yesterday and he was back up to 5 lbs. 12 oz. so he's only two ounces away from his birth weight. (Oh and he had gained 3 ounces since Sunday!) The doctor was very pleased with that and said it usually takes babies 2 weeks to get back up to their birth weight so Walker is definitely getting plenty to eat! Jon and I are so amazed at what a personality he has already! He loves his hands and likes to have them on his cheeks, ears or in his mouth. He does not like to be swaddled with his hands down...he must have them free to move around. If he's not hungry and mommy is making him eat anyway he scrunches up his nose...he looks so much like his daddy when he does this! He also loves his swing and bouncy seat. Oh and he does not like his diaper changed!! :) Overall, we're all doing great and are just getting to know one another. I've included a few pictures that Jon has taken this week!

Walker's Arrival...

A picture of Walker's wonderful daddy!! Jon has been wonderful...changing diapers, burping, changing clothes...I don't know what I'd do without him!!

Our first family photo!! I was so puffy from all the fluids they gave me!

Waiting out the contractions...

He's here!!

Many of you may or may not know the story of Walker's birth but I wanted record of it so I thought I'd post it on here for those who are interested. I had a routine doctor's appointment on Tuesday, April 6. My appointment was at 9:00 a.m. and we knew from the previous week that my blood pressure had been a little high. My doctor had scheduled an biophysical ultrasound just to check out baby and make sure all was well since my blood pressure was up. Baby looked great on the ultrasound and scored 8/8 on the biophysical profile. However, he was measuring a little small and my amniotic fluid was low so the doctor decided it was best for him to go ahead and induce me. My bp was also still a little high but not too bad. I was 39 weeks 1 day so he felt very confident that Walker was better off on the outside than inside. Of course by this point we were very ready for him to be here but to hear our doctor say that it was time to have a baby made us very anxious!! :)

We ran home and got a few things together (we had already packed our stuff in the car prior to the appointment but couldn't resist running back home to double-check things) and checked into the hopsital about 11:00. I got into a room and hooked up to the monitors and got an IV started and my doctor tried to do an experiemental procedure to help me dilate faster. However, since I wasn't dilated at all he couldn't even do the procedure so we had to move on to the next option. He started me on cervadil and said that he would let that work through the night and if all looked well on Wednesday morning, then we would start Pitocin. Cervadil was used to get my cervix to soften so that the Pitocin would start contractions and allow me to dilate. So I spent the rest of the day Tuesday on Cervadil and the day flew by. My mom came up that afternoon to be with us at the hospital but we basically were just there letting the medicine work. Wednesday morning around 6:00 my doctor came by and checked me. The Cervadil had worked like it was supposed to and I was ready to start the Pitocin. They started that about 6:30 and increased the amount every 30 minutes. About 9:00 the doctor told me I was two cm and he broke my water. By about 11:00 a.m. on Wednesday I had started having contractions and was starting to dilate. My doctor examined me about 12:00 p.m. and and he said I could have the epidural. I immediately said I was ready for it!! Throughout my pregnancy the epidural was the one thing that truly terrified me about labor but at that point I couldn't have cared less!! The guy came in and gave me the epidural and it didn't hurt a bit...and I felt much better after that point! Around 3:30 I started feeling lots of pressure and like I needed to push. I told my nurse and she checked me again and I was dilated to between 9-10 cm. My nurse frantically started moving around getting things ready while telling me to breathe through the contractions and to try not to push!! That was the hardest part of the whole thing! Jon had been out in the waiting room talking with family and when he came back in the nurse was scrambling around the room and told him that I was ready to push. The room was quickly prepared and my doctor was called. He got there and I started pushing and about 30 minutes later Walker was here!! I was very lucky that it was such a short labor. And not nearly as bad as I had thought it would be!! :) We were able to bond with him right away and I was able to nurse in the delivery room. It was such a sweet time to spend with just Jon, Walker and myself. We stayed in the hospital until about noon on Friday.

We are now just enjoying our time at home with Walker and trying to figure out the whole parenting thing! ;) Keep praying for us!!

Walker has arrived!!

Our sweet baby boy was born on April 7 at 4:41 p.m. He weighed 5 lbs 14 oz. and was 17 1/2 inches long. He is just the sweetest thing and we are so blessed that he's here safe and sound. We had our first night at home with just the three of us and we made it good! I'll write more later about the events leading up to labor & delivery but that will have to wait...we're tired and Walker is sleeping so Mommy & Daddy are going to get some rest now too! Keep praying for us as we adjust to our new family! :)

38 Weeks...

This picture is at 38 weeks, 6 days. It was right before bed so it's a no make-up picture! :)

We are at 38 Weeks, 6 days!! Tomorrow we are one week away from Walker's due date. I can't believe we're so close to meeting our sweet little guy!! We went back to the doctor this week and I haven't dilated at all. He also said I haven't dropped completely either. So basically...nothing is going on!! :) Apparently Walker is quite comfy where he is for the moment. However, my blood pressure was a little high so he had me take Thursday & Friday off from work to just relax, so my maternity leave started two days earlier than expected. It was nice to have those few days at home to get things done. And this week Jon & I are both off for Spring Break so I'm looking forward to having Jon at home!! Since my blood pressure was a little high the doctor wanted to see me again on Tuesday of this week to check it and he'll have me come twice a week from now on, since we're so close. And he's also doing another ultrasound so we're excited to get another look at Walker.

Overall, I'm feeling great for being 38 weeks pregnant! I really was expecting to feel miserable at this point but I really don't so I'm very thankful for that! Walker continues to be as active as ever and his kicks and squirms are getting stronger every day. We are just so anxious these days just wondering when he'll decide to make his appearance. We go to bed every night now wondering if tonight will be the night. But he may very well decide to come in the middle of the day too...you never know! We just can't wait to meet him...we've waited 9 whole months and now the days just seem to be creeping by. But I know the longer he stays in there, the better for him and that's the most important thing!! Please continue to pray for us in these last few days/weeks. My doctor did say that if my blood pressure was higher on Tuesday he might consider inducing me that day so we'll see what the day holds!!