Miles 1st Christmas!!!

Just realized I can post from my phone. Miles is walking!!!!!! He took his first steps a week before he turned 10 months! He is growing up so fast! The last time we went to the doctor he weighed 23lbs 10 oz and I'm gonna guess he is 30" tall now.

We put up a smaller tree up this year just in case he tried pulling it down. He messes with a few of the ornaments but that is about it.

On another note I got an "A" in my first class back to school without having to take the final test! I'm so proud of myself. Nervous about taking 3 classes next semester.... I'm teaching myself statistics right now so I don't go into that class dumbfounded.

From my family to yours we want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!! Gotta love my tree topper that John put up!

Miles growing up way to fast!

Hey guys!!! Hope everyone is doing good. Had to share some really cute pictures of our little dude and give you some details about what is to come in our lives!!! So here are the pictures:

Our little man is growing way to fast! He is saying "nomma" "dada" and all other kinds of stuff. Sleep has gotten so much better but we are dealing with a double ear infection right now. He is a trooper and in that last picture his ears were bothering him but the kid still smiles so much. We are so in love with him!! Im gonna guess we will have a walker pretty soon.

On to the other news. Looks like we will be trying again sooner than later. I had gotten a IUD a few months ago but when Miles is 10 months I will be getting it out. At one year we will start trying again or just not preventing!!! Im trying to go into this without any stress and whatever happens happens!!! No meds I hope! Im going back to school and would like to have one more kid and be done so I can get my bachelors degree and then on to graduate school to be a Nurse Practitioner. I have a friend that has two children so we are going to do this together. We are both Respiratory Therapist so we will have to go to nursing school first. Yikes. I hope Im not signing up for more than I can chew. But I have a super supportive hubby and know I will get a ton of help going thru all of this.

Hope everyone is doing well and Im off to look at everyone's blog!

-MissyCrissy :)

Man I havent posted in a long time!!!!

Hey everyone! So sorry for not posting in such along time. Life is so busy. Getting on my laptop these days is few and far between. But now that the little boy is taking longer naps these things are possible. The last two months have been the hardest two months of my life. I think harder than the newborn stage. We have had two teeth, waking up every night at 1230-1245 and staying up til 3, and traveling to Montana.

Im so ready for all his 20 teeth to be in now so that will all be over but it doesn't happen like that. Huge sad face. Breastfeeding with two bottom teeth hurts at times but not to bad. We got his bottom teeth in July 25th and July 29th. Then I thought he was getting more because after that he was up every night for a month and half at 1230. We would rock him, give him the pacifier, etc to get him to fall back asleep. It was exhausting. In between that month and half we traveled to Montana. My goodness I think I cried more there than I did when he was a newborn and I had no clue what was wrong. He would wake up every single hour and it was awful. The third night we were there we let him sleep with us because after reading the No Cry Sleep Solution book I think it was the pack n play he wasnt use too and he could see us across the room. Those two things got better. During the day I made him nap in it and play in it so he would be familiar. We put up a blanket so he could not see us. Finally he started sleeping by the time we got back home.

After the sleeping issues in Montana we came back home and had to work 3 days in a row and I was still dealing with sleep issues. So Sunday I read Sleep 411 and then downloaded Healthy Sleeping Habits, Happy Baby and decided Monday I was done with the pacifier and the Cry it Out Method was in full force. We went to buy buy baby and bought a comfort blanket. I wore it around me all day and used it during his feedings on that Monday. The boy goes down to bed pretty easy. It's when he wakes up at 1230-145 and cries and wont put himself back to sleep. He use to self soothe but something changed in him. So I let him cry for 3 minutes and I went in and told him he was ok and that I loved him and made sure the blanket was near him. I repeated this at 5 minutes, and 10 minutes x 2 or 3 times. It took an hour and he stayed asleep til 9 am in the morning. A huge difference from what we had been dealing with. The next night he woke up at 1245 and cried for 2 seconds laid his head down and did it one more time and was out til 7 am. OMG this book was my life saver and Im actually feeling human at this point!!! The next night he did not wake up at all and I can place him in the crib at naps and at bedtime with the blanket fully awake and within minutes he puts himself to sleep. Why I put myself thru this for a month and half I do not know. I kept thinking it was more teething, his belly was hurting, ear issues, or a growth spurt. But all the things to fix those issues did not fix it so that is why the CIO method was my last resort! Dont get me wrong hearing him cry and me not able to pick him up and hold him was the hardest thing Ive ever had to do but we are both sleeping and both happier!!!!!!!


Sorry for the book but wanted to put this down so one day I can come back if we have a second child and read this! Other than all the sleeping issues Miles is the most amazing kid ever! He smiles all the time and has a great personality. He can make a whole room smile and that makes me so happy. He is one big kid. We are in 9 month almost 12 month clothes because he is so tall. He is 28" tall and weighs 19 lbs 15oz. Oh and we are in the beginning stages of crawling. He will crawl a little lay on his belly and pull himself forward. I will quit talking and share some pictures of the cutie!!!

I will add a video of him crawling later!!! Enjoy my sweet little man! Hope everyone is doing great off to look at the news feed. I will try to get better at posting stuff!


-MissyCrissy :)

Four Months!!!

Sorry it has been so long since I have updated my blog. Been a busy girl with being back to work and juggling life as a working mommy. There are days I wished I was a Stay at home mom or John was a stay at home dad. Those days when I need to be at work at 530 in the morning and Miles is still sleeping and I have to get him up to take him to his papaw's. Im always so afraid he will think getting up that early is the norm.

We had his 4 month appt on June 2nd and the kid is growing so fast she had to remeasure his length twice just to make sure. He was 26 1/4 inches long and 16lbs 5.5oz. Gonna be tall like his dad. He has almost grown out of his infant seat so we just got the convertible seat. Once he cant sit up he is going to that. Not to much longer though. He sits up with a little assistance now. The last few days he has started to put his feet in his mouth. Cues OCD cleaning the floors constantly. These floors will be speck and span from this point forward. I slacked when I was pregnant but now Im mopping twice a week and sweeping or vacuuming 3 times a week! Here are a few recent pictures of him.

 John made this walker for him! The kid walks around the house every where!!!

 Hanging out on the couch with Mommy!

 Never thought it would be so hard to take pictures of him. The kid does not stay still.

 The smile that melts my heart everyday.

His newest trick!

-MissyCrissy :)

Three Months Old....

How in the heck is Miles already 3 months old. The boy loves to stand in your lap or where ever! He loves to smile so much. My favorite thing to do is when he wakes up in the morning and he is still in is PNP I say good morning little boy and he gives me the biggest smile ever. Soon I will get a picture of that!!! I have a few pictures to show you guys of him.

He is really starting to talk to us a little. It started about two weeks ago and it doesn't get old!! The kid loves his hands and they are always in his mouth. Being someone that works in the hospital all I can think about is germs. Im not a huge germophobe but it still worries me. His eyes are slowly changing colors. John and I have a bet he thinks his eyes will be blue and I think they will be green like mine. They now have some brown around the pupils but the outer part is still blue. I have brown around my pupils. Think I will win this bet!!!

Going back to work has been rough on me but know it is the right thing to do. I love my patients and my coworkers but I sure do miss my little boy and our routine. John is doing an amazing job with him during the day. Last night he worked and was up 26 hours straight. I feel so bad for him but its a sacrifice he wants to take. His dad will help out soon so he can get some sleep! Our neighbor also offered to help and we might take her up on that!

We have so many things to look forward to in the coming months: 4 month shots, hoping he can sit up on his own, eating real food, and traveling to Montana by plane!

My favorite picture ever!!!!! Two loves of my life!

-MissyCrissy :)

Two Months Old and Easter Pics

Cant believe Miles is Two Months old already. The day he turned 2 months old he got his shots. Man that is a lot of shots for a little person. He cried of course and was super fussy the whole day. We had to give him Tylenol because he was screaming and crying because of pain. Ive only seen him cry like that in the hospital. Poor little guy and Im totally not looking forward to the shots at 4 months. Here are a few pictures of him:

 This is what he wore to his appt. Arent those shoes just to cute? John had to get them when we were at Babies R Us before Miles was born!!

 Comparison from the 1st Month to the 2nd!!

Since Miles will not remember this Easter I did not get him a basket. Might be a mom fail but I really dont want the candy around the house. I remembered that a coworker of ours gave us a Rabbit with his name embroidered on the ear. So I had fun taking pictures of him this morning. After probably 10-12 pictures I got a good one with a Smile! 

The last few pictures are ones he is either making a goofy face or not turned the right way:

Lastly I have to share this one picture from yesterday. John put Miles in the Bjorn so he could water the yard and look what happened during the process:

-MissyCrissy :)

Dear Poise Pad Inventor...

I would like to thank you for inventing these wonderful pads. I would not make it thru one run without you. Kegel exercises arent doing the trick. So you are my miracle worker. Its gonna take me a bit to get use to peeing the whole time Im running. Hoping this really does get better or there is gonna have to be a medical intervention soon. I googled my issues and its called stress incontinence. Great. Think I might have to buy stock in Poise pads now.

On a lighter note I did run 3 miles yesterday with ease. I walked for just a minute. So I think I can be ready for this half marathon I signed up for June 10th. Just gonna keep increasing my long runs each week. The milk jugs aka boobies have to be tied down with two sports bras and a supportive shirt. I really need to go bra shopping!!! I just have to make sure my milk supply doesnt go down. Happy Im a water freak already!!! :)

Last but not least its almost time for me to be going back to work. My official day back to work is April 29th. I really hope this last month with Miles goes super slow! We are just getting into a little routine and I so enjoy our cuddle and tummy time. Learning about this little guy has been so fun. His smile makes my heart melt. He is now giggling at you and making all kinds of little coos and ohs.. So happy he will be staying with his grandpa John's dad in the morning time while John gets some sleep and then John will take him home. So no daycare!!! Gotta love working opposite shifts.

-MissyCrissy :)

This and That...

This is pretty much a post that I will come back to when he is 5 and be like wow you did good kid! First and foremost Breastfeeding has been one of the hardest things I have ever done. Comparing that to running full marathons and having Miles. There are so many power struggles with it. One minute things are going well then the next minute I could throw in the towel at any minute. I had a friend come over and see Miles the other day and she has a 6 month old. Her daughter was acting hunger and whipped up a bottle just like that. I looked at her with envy because breastfeeding my child takes 45 minutes sometimes. Between feeding on one breast, burp him, change his diaper, offer the other breast, burp again, make sure he sits up for 10 minutes so we dont have reflux, and get him to sleep or play. By no means am I complaining that this natural thing that my body allows me to do. Just expressing what your mind goes thru the early moments of breastfeeding. You want to do what is best for your child and heck your budget in this dang economy. The other day someone said heck breast milk isn't just liquid gold so is formula.

 I think the hardest thing about breastfeeding truly is one not knowing how much your child is getting, when they are moving so much and wont get latched on, and that you are the only one that can feed him. Ive been pumping like a mad women so my hubby can give him a bottle a least once a day because when I go back to work at the end of April he will be able to feed him too. Miles will throw up a whole feeding and it will totally put me in a bad mood. All that hard work for a baby with a empty stomach. By far the most frustrating is when he is trying to latch on his arms are all over the place fighting with my boobs. I'm working on trying to make myself think its funny so I don't get so frustrated. Its starting to work. I truly believe he can tell when I get frustrated. So in the end breastfeeding is what you make of it. It truly is a process and do believe when people tell you if you can get thru the first few months of it you are in the clear. At times I have thought about just pumping and bottle feeding him. But Im not gonna let this defeat me!!!

On another note bladder incontinence sucks. Poise pads are my friend!! I started running again because I signed up for a half marathon June 10th I think it is. My first mile out I peed myself the whole way. So in my mind I was like ok just need to do more kegel exercises and it will get better. So I busted out the kegels everyday for the next 5 days before jumping back on the horse and doing it again. This time I tried a mile again. I got to about a quarter of a mile and bam it happened again. I had placed a panty liner in this time and that thing did not help me one bit. Looked like I had one very sweaty crotch. On my last run I did two miles and didnt start having issues til a half mile. By the time I got back home I had pee half way down my legs. Cues the sadness of wanting my old body back. I walked in the door and started crying to John telling him I was depressed. For those that dont understand running is my zen. It is what keeps me sane and a happy Crissy. Ive counted the day since I got pregnant that I would be able to run again. It truly is my depression medication. So for that to be all jacked up I started freaking out. Worried I was gonna ruin my bladder trying to run and cause bladder prolapse or something goofy like that. After talking to a few moms they told me that this is normal and it will get better. So happy to know that because I seriously think I would be going into a state of depression if this is what I have to look forward to for the rest of my life. But no matter what when I see my handsome little man it was and is all worth it. I will pee my crotch for the rest of my life if it means I get to love on Miles!!!

Feels good to get that all off my chest!! So since you have read all that I have to share some pictures. Miles is 12lbs by our scales at home now. He is growing so fast and today he rolled over during tummy time.

-MissyCrissy :)

We have a diagnosis...

Hey everyone! We had our ENT appt yesterday and got some good news. Miles does not need surgery. He does not have a the branchial cleft cyst that the peditrician thought he had. He has torticollis due to his traumatic delivery. That is a hematoma that has formed on the muscle of his neck and caused some scar tissue. All he needs is some physical therapy to work out his neck. We are going for an ultrasound to confirm the doctors diagnosis sometime next week. Ive already been googling exercises to help. Tummy time is his friend!!!

On a lighter note he is One month old already!!! How is that possible?!?! I feel like its only been a week since I had him. Before we know it he will be a year old. Here is a few pictures I took of him on his one month birthday!!

-MissyCrissy :)

Update and Life at Home

Hey everyone! Thought I would post an update on our little man! We went to his 2 week appt last thursday and he is now weighing 8lbs 12 oz and has grown a half inch already. His clavicle has completely healed and has grown a callus on it. You can feel the little bump. So we decided it was ok to do his newborn pics and here is a peek that the photographer sent me:

Life at home has been really good except for the other night but I think that was because the doctor had put me on antibotic that did not agree with his body. Oh and by the way breastfeeding is so hard but has gotten so much easier. You dont realize how hard it truly is until you are actually in the moment. I remember when we first tried him on the breast and it was the most awkard thing ever. All I have to say is thank goodness for lactation consultants. They should get paid as much as a doctor if not more. She saved my sanity and nipples!!!

Ive been reading this book called Babywise and Im trying to stick to that schedule instead of demand feeding and it seems to be working really good. We still have so much to learn about this little guy that by the time we have our next we will have this down pat!!! It has been amazing journey learning this process with my husband. Oh and his stump on his belly button fell off so tummy time is a go. He is doing so good with it. For being two and half weeks old he turns his head from one way to the next.

I did find a lump on his neck and we are headed to the doc this afternoon and hoping its nothing bad. Ive tried staying away from Dr. Google but we all know that is almost impossible. So it could be swollen lymph nodes and truly hope its that and not a tumor or something. The last bit of news and I will end this post. I have signed up for a half marathon in June to get this body back in shape. I will start blogging about training with a baby. These milk jugs of mine are gonna need some major support. Ha ha ha....

-MissyCrissy :)

Miles Birth Story (Long)

MILES BIRTH STORY

On 2/1/2012 John and I headed to L&D for a scheduled induction at 39 weeks. We arrived at 9 pm and was put up in a very nice room by 10 pm. I got my first dose of cytotec by 11pm along with tylenol and an ambien to sleep. At this point I was 50% effaced and a finger tip dilated. She started my IV and we went to sleep. She woke me up Im gonna guess around 2-3am and gave me another dose of cytotec. I dont think she checked my cervix at this point but things were foggy. She came in at 4 am and I was having some contractions and she gave me a medication called stradiol. Holy cow that medication kicked me in the tail. I was so dang loopy. But good I guess. She came in the room at 6 am and said ok we are going to L&D now.  Here is a shot of my belly the night we went in the hospital:

Once we got there they did a cervical check and I was already dilated to 3 cm. I was having pretty good contractions and was just breathing thru them. I have no idea how close or how far apart they were because that medicine that the nurse gave me upstairs. My doctor came by to say hello and he would see me later!! The nurse asked if I was gonna do an epidural and I said yes. I told her I would like to wait til Im 5cm and she said she would go ahead and call the person who does it. By the time they got there I was so ready! As I was getting the epidural I felt a gush of fluid and told the nurse I either peed or my water just broke. It was my water!!!! So by 8am things were progressing pretty quickly. By 10 am I was dilated to a 7. By noon I was dilated to a 8-9 and stalled. They started pitocin on me and finally got to a 10 by 230. We started pushing by 2:50. Here are a few pictures of these moments thanks for my hubby taking them.

They had to give me oxygen because Miles heart rate would drop everytime they would do cervical checks to the 80's. I hated that mask. I give people this kind of therapy everyday at work so it was very surreal for me to be wearing it. Man it sure does dry your mouth out. Poor patients. So I pushed for 2 hours and 20 mins. As my doctor said you didnt just push for 2 hours and 2 minutes you pushed hard for the whole time. I was so determined for him to be here a 3:33 pm but I surpassed that and now it was 4:50 and he was almost here. I really didnt want to use the mirror to see down there but I had to say that helped me so much. The doctor had come in at 4:30 and threatened me with a csection. I could see his head and was so deteremined to do this vaginally after I had been pushing for so long. Well my temperature started to go up at the highest point 101. And Miles heart rate started to elevate and showing some distress in the birth canal. The nurse noticed he got a cut on his head from my pelvic bone. Poor little guy. The nurse was suppose to leave at 5 and I didnt want a new nurse. So in the middle of one of my breaks she calls someone to go pick her kid up because she was going to stay. That really touched John and I!!!! After that phone call she called my doc in because Miles was fixing to be here that was at 4:50. I pushed maybe five rounds of three and he arrived at 5:02pm with complications.

John got to cut the cord but as they were about to put him on my belly the nurse noticed he wasnt breathing at all if he was even breathing. They took him to the warmer because they hadnt even heard the first cry. In one minute the room went from 5 people to 25 people in a quick second. Again we are both respiratory therapist and know exactly what is going on. Im across the room freaking out and John is torn between him and I on who he should attend too. Here are a few pic of our little guy under the warmer.

He ended up weighing 8 lbs 1oz and 20 1/2 inches long. Come to find out Miles broke his clavicle coming out under my pelvic bone. Then while they were trying to get him to liven up and get his oxygen level up they caused his lung to collapse. I could see the pulse oximeter that they had put on him and his oxygen level was in the 70's. Its suppose to be in the 90's. They got it up enough to transport him to the NICU but let me kiss him real quick before they took him away from me.

John had to leave me to go to the NICU with him. All I have to say is Im happy I did not take that initial trip up there because I was already a basket case. What is crazy is John and I work at this hospital and people that were working on Miles knew us or work with us. I told them thank you so much for taking care of him and knew if he was a different hospital (smaller) things would be different. Once he got to the NICU they placed him on a cpap machine because his oxygenation status was not good. The had to put a oral gastric tube down his belly to get air out of his belly and all other kinds of stuff that I probably didnt need to see.

My poor husband was a champ. He held up strong thru all this for me and for that Im truly blessed. Miles stayed on cpap for probably 10 hours and was off cpap by the time we saw him the next morning at 4 am. We couldnt sleep so after I pumped we walked the milk up to the NICU. Here he is without all the contrapments on his poor face.

At this visit they asked me if I wanted to hold him since I havent got to hold him yet. My heart melted. This seriously made my night and needed this so bad. I held him so tight and didnt want to let him go.

This has gotten way to long but all in all he spent two days in the NICU and two days in the special care nursery. His broken collar bone is healing every single day and we are pretty much treating him like a newborn without any problems. The collapsed lung resolved on its on without a chest tube. Thank goodness. We have been home for a few days and went to his first pediatrician appointment and he is a perfect baby!!!!! If you made it thru all of this you get a cookie. I will finish this on a good note with a few cute pictures of him:

-MissyCrissy :)