Sunday, March 27, 2016
Newborn Photos
At nine days old we decided to attempt taking our own newborn pictures of Stockton. I think we got some cute ones! Also, the adorable crocheted bear outfit is from my talented friend, Rebecca. I think it's the cutest thing ever and I couldn't wait to take pictures of Stockton in it.
Saturday, March 26, 2016
The First Week Home
It is a lot harder to write every week like I did during my pregnancy, but I'm going to try my best to at least keep up to date with every month.
Where has the time gone? Nathan and I love Stockton like crazy and are so glad he is a part of our family. He really is the sweetest little boy.
We got to take Stockton home on March 12. My milk still hadn't come in and Stockton wasn't latching to nurse so the hospital sent us home with lots of formula. I was so grateful for all of the supplies so I could feed my baby, but I was a little bummed that I wasn't able to provide for him yet and that we were having a hard time with breastfeeding. Stockton also had a low risk of jaundice and was a bit yellow so we had to set up his first doctor visit for the 14th of March to make sure he didn't need to get the lights. We were told to make sure he was eating plenty and to have him nap by the window during the day.
It was the weirdest feeling being home just the three of us. As soon as we got in our house Stockton started crying. We got him out of his carseat and rocked him a little bit. Then we decided to see what he thought of his rock and play. We put him in, pushed the button to play music and rock him to sleep, and he was out! Nathan and I just looked at each other and laughed. (We were instant fans of the rock and play.) With Stockton fast asleep I laid down on the futon next to him. Before I knew it I was out too!
When we woke up and fed Stockton, Nathan decided he needed to give his boy a grand tour of his new home. It was so cute watching him carry Stockton around and tell him about everything. My favorite part was when he showed the nursery. Nathan really is the cutest dad!
The first week at home was amazing, but tiring. I don't know how I functioned on so little sleep. Around the clock I was feeding, changing diapers, getting Stockton back to sleep, and pumping hoping to get my milk supply in. The first time I got a tiny golden dot in my pump I was so excited!
Stockton's first doctor's appointment went really well! The doctor wasn't worried about his jaundice levels anymore. Hurray! At the check up Stockton weighed 7 lbs 1 oz (27%) and they measured him at 20 inches long (55%). (The hospital measured him at 21 inches at birth so I don't know which to really go by. haha) His head circumference was 34 cm (25%).
Stockton got to celebrate his first holiday, St. Patrick's Day, and he made the cutest little leprechaun. We are so lucky to have him in our family.
At one week old I made an appointment to go back to the hospital to get lactation help. Again we were not able to get him to latch. The consultant had Nathan feed Stockton a bottle and told him to feed even more. Well Stockton hardly ever spits up and he had a massive spit up all over Nathan..... He also peed all over himself when changing his diaper there. It was pretty exciting.
Later that night he peed again mid diaper change. He also pooped so much it took three full diapers to clean up. Did you know baby poop could be a projectile? That was an exciting experience! (We had to clean his crib, sheets, and stuffed animals that were all in the line of fire.)
The first week went by so quickly. We love Stockton more and more each day!
Where has the time gone? Nathan and I love Stockton like crazy and are so glad he is a part of our family. He really is the sweetest little boy.
We got to take Stockton home on March 12. My milk still hadn't come in and Stockton wasn't latching to nurse so the hospital sent us home with lots of formula. I was so grateful for all of the supplies so I could feed my baby, but I was a little bummed that I wasn't able to provide for him yet and that we were having a hard time with breastfeeding. Stockton also had a low risk of jaundice and was a bit yellow so we had to set up his first doctor visit for the 14th of March to make sure he didn't need to get the lights. We were told to make sure he was eating plenty and to have him nap by the window during the day.
It was the weirdest feeling being home just the three of us. As soon as we got in our house Stockton started crying. We got him out of his carseat and rocked him a little bit. Then we decided to see what he thought of his rock and play. We put him in, pushed the button to play music and rock him to sleep, and he was out! Nathan and I just looked at each other and laughed. (We were instant fans of the rock and play.) With Stockton fast asleep I laid down on the futon next to him. Before I knew it I was out too!
When we woke up and fed Stockton, Nathan decided he needed to give his boy a grand tour of his new home. It was so cute watching him carry Stockton around and tell him about everything. My favorite part was when he showed the nursery. Nathan really is the cutest dad!
The first week at home was amazing, but tiring. I don't know how I functioned on so little sleep. Around the clock I was feeding, changing diapers, getting Stockton back to sleep, and pumping hoping to get my milk supply in. The first time I got a tiny golden dot in my pump I was so excited!
Stockton's first doctor's appointment went really well! The doctor wasn't worried about his jaundice levels anymore. Hurray! At the check up Stockton weighed 7 lbs 1 oz (27%) and they measured him at 20 inches long (55%). (The hospital measured him at 21 inches at birth so I don't know which to really go by. haha) His head circumference was 34 cm (25%).
Stockton got to celebrate his first holiday, St. Patrick's Day, and he made the cutest little leprechaun. We are so lucky to have him in our family.
At one week old I made an appointment to go back to the hospital to get lactation help. Again we were not able to get him to latch. The consultant had Nathan feed Stockton a bottle and told him to feed even more. Well Stockton hardly ever spits up and he had a massive spit up all over Nathan..... He also peed all over himself when changing his diaper there. It was pretty exciting.
Later that night he peed again mid diaper change. He also pooped so much it took three full diapers to clean up. Did you know baby poop could be a projectile? That was an exciting experience! (We had to clean his crib, sheets, and stuffed animals that were all in the line of fire.)
The first week went by so quickly. We love Stockton more and more each day!
Friday, March 25, 2016
Our Hospital Stay
After Stockton's birth, the rest of our time at the hospital is all a blur to me. I was so distracted by the perfect little baby in my arms. Though I think a lack of sleep and trying to learn how to breastfeed also played a big role in my failed memory.
I do remember being so excited to eat breakfast once I got the ok. I was starving! The hospital staff at McKay Dee Hospital was also amazing. Adjusting to being a mom was harder than I thought, and they were there helping us with everything! But what I remember most was that I felt so loved and supported by family and friends. It was fun to show off our baby boy to everyone!
I do remember being so excited to eat breakfast once I got the ok. I was starving! The hospital staff at McKay Dee Hospital was also amazing. Adjusting to being a mom was harder than I thought, and they were there helping us with everything! But what I remember most was that I felt so loved and supported by family and friends. It was fun to show off our baby boy to everyone!
Thursday, March 24, 2016
Stockton's Birth Story
Wow, where has the time gone? I've finally finished writing about Stockton's birth. It's a little long, but I want to remember everything. I'm really glad we had my friend Amanda take pictures for us to help keep the memories!
Stockton's Birth Story:
Well, I got my birthday wish!
March 9, 2016
4:00 pm: When Nathan got home from work we went for a walk around the block hoping to help our little boy come. We cut it a little short because I was starting to get cramps. I told Nathan I just needed to sit down for a little bit and then we could go to the Olive Garden for my birthday.
5:00 pm: The cramps didn't get any better and I was feeling them about every 5 minutes... In fact they were starting to get stronger, but I kept saying that it wasn't because my doctor said I would cramp from getting my membranes stripped at the appointment. So Nathan went to Zupas to get me a delicious birthday dinner. Sadly I could hardly eat it because my "cramps" (that I now realize were contractions) were too distracting.
6:00 pm: I decided that maybe soaking in the bath tub would help me feel better and it definitely did. It helped me relax and I was able to eat a few bites of my dinner. By this point my contractions (that I was still convinced were cramps) were about every 3 minutes apart. Nathan kept asking if we needed to head to the hospital and I told him I didn't want to be told I was just cramping and sent home. So we continued to wait it out.
7:00 pm: I got dressed in comfy sweats and tried to lay down in bed and munch on Cheese Its. I was finally starting to think that maybe I needed to go to the hospital when all of a sudden I felt like I was going to pee my pants. I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom right as my water broke at 7:10! I turned to Nathan and told him we should head to the hospital. We grabbed the hospital bag, texted our photographer, and headed to McKay Dee Hospital. The car ride wasn't too bad, but the contractions were getting stronger, especially in my back. The elevator ride and getting checked in seemed to take forever. I was all checked in at 7:47 pm.
8:00 pm: Once I was all checked in they took me to a room to get in a gown and see how far I had progressed. They said my water had definitely broken and that I was dilated to a 5+. Then I ended up having to switch rooms because the computer wasn't working in the first room. Walking to the other room I kept thinking, "When do I get to have the epidural?" The pain wasn't unbearable, but it was starting to make me feel sick. I was having hot flashes, but I was cold and shaky, and my heartburn was kicking up. More than anything I did not want to throw up. Once we were all set up in the new room they checked me again and I was dilated to a 7+. The nurses were surprised how quickly I was progressing for it being my first baby and said he was going to be here before midnight.
9:00 pm - 12:00 am: I got the epidural around 9:00 pm and it worked wonders! Other than my heartburn, I felt great! Our photographer, Amanda, made it to the hospital a little after I got the epidural and then it was the waiting game. I had to be on antibiotics for at least 4 hours because I had group strep B. While we waited I ate some popsicles and talked the night away. I feel bad that Amanda was there so long, but it was fun having her around to talk to and get pictures throughout the whole night.
March 10, 2016
1:00 - 2:00 am: Once I had the antibiotics for 4 hours we started getting things going again. A nurse said they were having a doctor come break the rest of my water to help things along, but the doctor got stuck down in the ER. The nurse tried positioning me on my side in the bed with my leg elevated and about 10 minutes later there was a "pop" and the rest of my water broke. The nurse then sat me up in the bed so that gravity could help our little boy work his way down for me to push.
3:00 am: The nurse had me do some pushes to help get my baby to start crowning. I pushed for about 15 minutes and then they called for Doctor Houpe.
4:00 - 5:00 am: My doctor arrived a little after four in the morning and she and the nurses finished getting everything ready. I started pushing around 4:20. It was really weird trying to push as hard as I possibly could, but really I felt like all I was doing was holding my breath. Everyone kept encouraging me and telling me, "That was a good one. Do it again!" Nathan would tell me how much you could see of the baby, which helped motivate me.
When my baby boy was out far enough the doctor got really excited and said, "Look at all of that blonde hair! We never see blonde haired babies!" I was so excited! I was secretly hoping for a cute blonde haired boy like his daddy!
The contraction monitor decided to stop working while I was pushing so the nurse would have to feel my stomach to check for tightening to tell me when to push. Every once in a while Dr. Houpe would say she might have to do an episiotomy, which made me try and push harder.
"Come on baby boy! I just want to meet you!", I said, and then everyone started to get more excited! "He's coming! Keep pushing! You're doing great! Almost there!" At 4:47 a.m. I gave one final big push and I felt my baby slide right out! In Dr. Houpe's hands was my little boy!
I can't believe how quickly everyone worked! Dr. Houpe swiftly suctioned out his mouth and nose, had Nathan cut the cord, and then my sweet baby was put on my chest while a nurse wiped him with a towel!
Time seemed to stop in that moment! I was overwhelmed with joy! My heart was bursting with love for this sweet little boy that I could finally hold in my arms and kiss! I had the biggest smile and tears in my eyes! I looked at Nathan and could see the love he had for both of us in his teary eyes.
After having skin to skin time for a while I handed my baby over to the nurses to check and measure. He weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and was 21 inches long. (He gave the nurse some excitement by peeing on the scale... haha) When they were done they wrapped him up and handed him to Nathan. I loved seeing Nathan hold our son for the first time. He was so happy!
We enjoyed holding our little boy and admiring how perfect he was. He was wide eyed almost the whole time quietly staring at everything around him.
6:00 am and on: Once everything was done and cleaned up they wheeled us to the recovery room. I was finally allowed to eat and ordered a ton of food for breakfast. I was hoping for a much needed nap, but by the time I ate, had all of my vitals checked, and tried to feed my baby we had visitors coming.
We officially decided on our little boy's name in the afternoon. Stockton James Ballard. We both really like the name Stockton and James is also Nathan's middle name.
The day went by very quickly with all of our friends and family visiting. It was a wonderful day. I don't know what I would have done without Nathan! He was amazing and helped me so much through the whole process. We couldn't believe how perfect everything was with Stockton's birth and are so in love with him.
Stockton's Birth Story:
Well, I got my birthday wish!
March 9, 2016
4:00 pm: When Nathan got home from work we went for a walk around the block hoping to help our little boy come. We cut it a little short because I was starting to get cramps. I told Nathan I just needed to sit down for a little bit and then we could go to the Olive Garden for my birthday.
5:00 pm: The cramps didn't get any better and I was feeling them about every 5 minutes... In fact they were starting to get stronger, but I kept saying that it wasn't because my doctor said I would cramp from getting my membranes stripped at the appointment. So Nathan went to Zupas to get me a delicious birthday dinner. Sadly I could hardly eat it because my "cramps" (that I now realize were contractions) were too distracting.
6:00 pm: I decided that maybe soaking in the bath tub would help me feel better and it definitely did. It helped me relax and I was able to eat a few bites of my dinner. By this point my contractions (that I was still convinced were cramps) were about every 3 minutes apart. Nathan kept asking if we needed to head to the hospital and I told him I didn't want to be told I was just cramping and sent home. So we continued to wait it out.
7:00 pm: I got dressed in comfy sweats and tried to lay down in bed and munch on Cheese Its. I was finally starting to think that maybe I needed to go to the hospital when all of a sudden I felt like I was going to pee my pants. I jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom right as my water broke at 7:10! I turned to Nathan and told him we should head to the hospital. We grabbed the hospital bag, texted our photographer, and headed to McKay Dee Hospital. The car ride wasn't too bad, but the contractions were getting stronger, especially in my back. The elevator ride and getting checked in seemed to take forever. I was all checked in at 7:47 pm.
8:00 pm: Once I was all checked in they took me to a room to get in a gown and see how far I had progressed. They said my water had definitely broken and that I was dilated to a 5+. Then I ended up having to switch rooms because the computer wasn't working in the first room. Walking to the other room I kept thinking, "When do I get to have the epidural?" The pain wasn't unbearable, but it was starting to make me feel sick. I was having hot flashes, but I was cold and shaky, and my heartburn was kicking up. More than anything I did not want to throw up. Once we were all set up in the new room they checked me again and I was dilated to a 7+. The nurses were surprised how quickly I was progressing for it being my first baby and said he was going to be here before midnight.
9:00 pm - 12:00 am: I got the epidural around 9:00 pm and it worked wonders! Other than my heartburn, I felt great! Our photographer, Amanda, made it to the hospital a little after I got the epidural and then it was the waiting game. I had to be on antibiotics for at least 4 hours because I had group strep B. While we waited I ate some popsicles and talked the night away. I feel bad that Amanda was there so long, but it was fun having her around to talk to and get pictures throughout the whole night.
 |
| I loved my nurse! |
March 10, 2016
1:00 - 2:00 am: Once I had the antibiotics for 4 hours we started getting things going again. A nurse said they were having a doctor come break the rest of my water to help things along, but the doctor got stuck down in the ER. The nurse tried positioning me on my side in the bed with my leg elevated and about 10 minutes later there was a "pop" and the rest of my water broke. The nurse then sat me up in the bed so that gravity could help our little boy work his way down for me to push.
3:00 am: The nurse had me do some pushes to help get my baby to start crowning. I pushed for about 15 minutes and then they called for Doctor Houpe.
4:00 - 5:00 am: My doctor arrived a little after four in the morning and she and the nurses finished getting everything ready. I started pushing around 4:20. It was really weird trying to push as hard as I possibly could, but really I felt like all I was doing was holding my breath. Everyone kept encouraging me and telling me, "That was a good one. Do it again!" Nathan would tell me how much you could see of the baby, which helped motivate me.
When my baby boy was out far enough the doctor got really excited and said, "Look at all of that blonde hair! We never see blonde haired babies!" I was so excited! I was secretly hoping for a cute blonde haired boy like his daddy!
The contraction monitor decided to stop working while I was pushing so the nurse would have to feel my stomach to check for tightening to tell me when to push. Every once in a while Dr. Houpe would say she might have to do an episiotomy, which made me try and push harder.
 |
| Nathan was amazing! I don't know what I'd do without him! I'm a lucky girl! |
"Come on baby boy! I just want to meet you!", I said, and then everyone started to get more excited! "He's coming! Keep pushing! You're doing great! Almost there!" At 4:47 a.m. I gave one final big push and I felt my baby slide right out! In Dr. Houpe's hands was my little boy!
I can't believe how quickly everyone worked! Dr. Houpe swiftly suctioned out his mouth and nose, had Nathan cut the cord, and then my sweet baby was put on my chest while a nurse wiped him with a towel!
Time seemed to stop in that moment! I was overwhelmed with joy! My heart was bursting with love for this sweet little boy that I could finally hold in my arms and kiss! I had the biggest smile and tears in my eyes! I looked at Nathan and could see the love he had for both of us in his teary eyes.
After having skin to skin time for a while I handed my baby over to the nurses to check and measure. He weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and was 21 inches long. (He gave the nurse some excitement by peeing on the scale... haha) When they were done they wrapped him up and handed him to Nathan. I loved seeing Nathan hold our son for the first time. He was so happy!
6:00 am and on: Once everything was done and cleaned up they wheeled us to the recovery room. I was finally allowed to eat and ordered a ton of food for breakfast. I was hoping for a much needed nap, but by the time I ate, had all of my vitals checked, and tried to feed my baby we had visitors coming.
We officially decided on our little boy's name in the afternoon. Stockton James Ballard. We both really like the name Stockton and James is also Nathan's middle name.
The day went by very quickly with all of our friends and family visiting. It was a wonderful day. I don't know what I would have done without Nathan! He was amazing and helped me so much through the whole process. We couldn't believe how perfect everything was with Stockton's birth and are so in love with him.
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