Being Sara

Parker, Zach and I arrived home on the second. Our first night home was nice and relatively quiet, though Parker woke up 4 times in the night to eat… We definitely don’t have a schedule figured out yet. It was nice to sit on my furniture and sleep in my bed though. Aside from a headache that won’t quit (we think it’s leftover from the spinal injection during the surgery) we are all doing well. After the rough night Parker slept ’till 10am! We relaxed and hung out most of the day. Parker had his first sponge bath this afternoon - it’s never a fun experience, but he survived pretty well and was much happier after he was bundled and had a little dinner Thank you to everyone for the congrats and well wishes - it’s nice to hear from everyone!

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Shortly after 8am this morning Parker became the newest member of our family. He weighed in at 7 pounds and 6 ounces and is 20.5 inches long. Zach and I arrived at the hospital at 5:45 am. After some checking in and paperwork, they started me on an IV (fluids) and a fetal monitor. About 7 am I was taken down to the pre-surgery area. I met with the anesthesiologist and got hooked up with a spinal. Just before 8am they took me into the operating room. Zach came in shortly after that, and after some prep work, the operation began and at 8:09am Parker was finally on the outside instead of the inside! I’m of course sore and a bit tired, but recovering well, and very happy to be done with pregnancy. Parker is of course adorable and cuddly, and we’re having a wonderful time getting to know our new son! We’ll be home on January 2nd and I’ll hopefully have more to post shortly after that. See Flickr for more photos.

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Conveniently, my belly button popped out over Thanksgiving weekend.  That was also about the time I realized that I’ve had enough of being pregnant.  It took me a lot longer to reach the “I’m done” phase this time around - my first trimester was worse, but the rest has all been much more comfortable overall (a very pleasant surprise).  But now, I’m feeling huge, and most my my days and nights are spent searching for relief from discomfort.  I get sore if I sit too long, stand too long, lay in the same position too long, etc.  Then I find a comfortable position, and that lasts for 10-15 minutes before I’m uncomfortable again, and searching for a new position.  I’m certain it’s driving my husband nuts at night when I “sleep” (mostly roll from side to side all night long).  I toss and turn, waking him up, and more often than not, stealing the covers from his side of the bed (he hates that…)

So, I’m done.  I know I’ll miss some of the perks of pregnancy - everyone holding doors, the ability to have a huge gut without guilt, a built in conversational topic, etc.  On the other hand, I am so ready to have my body back - to be able to wash dishes without having to stand so far away from the sink, clothes that aren’t all stained on the belly, more comfortable positions for sitting/sleeping.

My belly button popped.  If I were a turkey, that would be a clear indication that I’ve been cooking long enough.  Unfortunately, I’ve still got 3+ weeks to go, and sooooo much Christmas stuff to squeeze into that time.  I want the 30th to arrive tomorrow, but I’m most definitely not ready for the 25th to arrive anytime soon - such a conundrum

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Thanksgiving is always a fun time of year for us .  We spend the extra long weekend visiting with both sides of the family.  We usually end up spending a night or two at my in-law’s house, and with the 10 of us it’s usually a pretty enjoyable time.  Lots of food (love the turkey leftovers by the way), laughter and plenty of people besides Zach and myself to keep Xander entertained.

This year I though Xander would finally start to appreciate the deliciousness of this holiday, but boy was I wrong.  We drove to my in-law’s house on Wednesday afternoon (more truck repairs for my husband, but that’s a much longer blog post).  Xander ate 1/2 a piece of bread with some butter on it for dinner.  Yep, I feed my kid the healthy stuff…

On Thursday morning I convinced Xander to eat 1/2 a poptart.  We drove to my parents house (the next town over - not a far drive) for Thanksgiving dinner.  Xander turned his nose up at all things Thanksgiving related on the table - no turkey, no squash, no mashed potatoes, no cranberry sauce - nothing.  He ate about 3 bites of pie, mostly whipped cream…  Then we returned to the in-laws.

I should note at this point that Xander’s typical daily schedule consistes of lunch around 11:30am which is directly followed by a nap from 12pm-2pm(ish).  On weekends we try to keep to this schedule as much as possible, but when Thanksgiving dinner is scheduled for 1pm, nap time tends to get shifted.  This year, he fell asleep about 10 minutes before we arrived back at the in-law’s house.  I attempted to continue the nap in the house, but that was a complete failure.  So, the kid who had gone to sleep at 10pm the night before (the cousins arrived around 9pm, and he was way too wired to go to sleep after they walked in), and woke up at 7am did not nap on Thanksgiving day.  Yep, that was a fun afternoon/evening…

On Thursday evening the family picked through turkey leftovers and sides.  Xander refused to eat anything at all.  Finally at 9pm we got Xander to sleep.  Friday morning arrived, and Xander ate exactly 3 bites of a poptart.  I offered him toast, cereal, fruit, etc., but he wasn’t interested.  The in-laws made a delicious roast beef for Friday.  We stuffed ourselves full of turkey (left over), roast beef, squash, mashed potatoes, corn, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, etc.  Xander once again, refused all things Thanksgiving - including pie.  He did get excited about the 1/2 piece of bread and butter we put on his plate, but immediately became disinterested when it bumped some squash and a corner turned orange…

I didn’t even attempt to feed him Friday night - we didn’t eat that Thanksgiving dinner until almost 3pm, and he certainly wasn’t complaining about being hungry…  Again, the late meal throws the whole idea of a nap out the window, but I’m at least able to get Xander to sleep around 8pm, though he wakes frequently and doesn’t settle down until I finally give up and stay in the room with him.

Saturday morning rolls around, and Xander won’t even eat a poptart.  I finally make him 1/2 a peanut butter & jelly sandwish for lunch and much to my surprise, he eats almost all of it!  We head for home that evening, and Xander turns into a completely different kid.  He eats his entire dinner.  The next day he nearly cleans his plate for lunch.  Sunday evening, he asks for seconds and thirds!  Who is this kid - certainly not the one we brought with us to Thanksgiving festivities…

We never made a big deal out of how little Xander was eating, but I was disappointed that he isn’t able to appreciate Thanksgiving yet.  I’ve read a few blog posts reminding us that kids don’t really like all that stuff we whip out for Thanksgiving, but I don’t remember feeling like that as a kid - I always loved turkey and squash, and who doesn’t love pie??  Maybe next year Xander will at least sample some of this tasty holiday…

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An interesting side effect of being pregnant or being a new parent is that companies love to give you free samples of stuff.  I can remember getting a free diaper bag filled with Similac supplies, and Enfamil regularly sent me cans of formula or coupons.  Pampers just sent me a diaper, and I’m sure I’ll get some samples from Huggies and Luvs again sometime soon.  It’s great - all that baby paraphernalia can get expensive, and who doesn’t love free stuff, right?

It turns out, there is something free that I don’t love.  Enfamil Next Step.  I wish they would just leave me alone!  I’ve gotten no less than 4 coupons for it in the mail in the last month.  Last week we got a sample canister of it.  Enfamil advertises Next Step as a “milk based formula designed for your 9-24 month old.”  Well, I don’t have a 9-24 month old.  I won’t have one for another 10 months - so your free stuff is not helpful!  When Xander was 9 months old, I asked our pediatrician about it - he said that unless Xander was underweight, or needed some other nutritional supplement, there was no need to switch from regular formula to “Next Step” formula.

Additionally, once kids reach that 12 month mark, you can give them regular milk - whole for the first year, and then reduced fat after that.  Since milk usually hovers around $3 a gallon, and formula costs at least $25 for a can, unless there was some excellent medical or developmental reason to keep your kid on formula, who can afford (or would want) to do that??

So Enfamil Next Step, I’m all set - I’ve got plenty of coupons and free samples that I will never use.  I can understand why you’re having trouble marketing this relatively useless product, but I promise you - I’m not going to be trying it out anytime soon.  How about sending me some free samples of your infant formula instead?  Now that would be useful!

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