6months

JP is six months old already!! We have been enjoying the summer with more time together since I am only working 2 days a week.
JP is on solid foods and has tried many fruits and veggies. So far he likes most everything except for green beans, but I managed to get him to eat them this morning. He prefers fruits but overall is a good eater.
He has been going through some major sleep regression(waking every 2 hours) but in the last week and a half it seems to be getting better. He slept an 8 hour stretch last night!!!! Only woke once over 10 hours!
He has started with some separation anxiety. He cries when he cant see one of us.
He has rolled from belly to back. Though recently he has been refusing to roll by himself. He sits totally independently and has started to lean forward and rock. He hasn't quite figured out his feet/knees yet, but my guess is it wont take long. He's a determined little guy. He also stands well with support.
He loves to sing songs and explore his toys. One of his favorite songs in The Wheels on the Bus.
He hates his car seat and being strapped in. Including his life jacket for the boat.
He has his two bottom teeth and is working on his two top.
He is a smilely little guy! We are always getting compliments about how cute and happy he is!
He's weighing in at 17lbs 8oz! He's in size 9month clothing and size 3 diapers.

The Birth of JP

The morning of January 9^th, 2013 I woke up excited to get the show on the road. We were finally at the end of the long 41 week journey. I was 9 days over due, NINE. JP had been dropped for weeks. Actually I was convinced I'd be able to get myself into labor over my 11 day Christmas break. But low and behold, I had no luck. So although I was over due I continued to work through January 8^th. As I previously said, I was dropped to about 0 station, was about 70% effaced, but only 1 cm dilated. So after begging the Doctor to move my induction that was previously scheduled for January 14^th up. I was told on the afternoon of January7th that they could take me the morning of the 9^th. Finally, an end in sight! “The 9^th!” I said. “As in, two days from now? Horray!”

Pat and I woke up the morning of the 9^th with bags packed, ready to head out the door. My induction was scheduled to start at 8am. I was instructed to call the hospital an hour prior to make sure that there was a room available for me. To my surprise, there wasn't. I was told that if I didn't get a call by 11:00 I was supposed to call them. I was surprisingly calm while we waited. Pat squeezed in some last minute game time and I watched TLC's baby story. Around 10:50 I called to see how much longer it would be. They said to get there at 2:00. I paced the house some more and tried to eat some lunch. I knew it was going to be a long afternoon/night and I wasn't sure if they would let me eat. The car ride to the hospital was quiet and calm. I can't speak for Patrick but all I could think about was that the next time I would be in the car, we would have our son with us.

When we arrived at the hospital they were ready for us. I signed a few papers and was shown to my room. At this point I was most scared about getting my IV. A few weeks prior I had a preeclampsia scare where the nurse put in a terrible iv. When she put the iv in she hit my vein wrong and there was blood everywhere. So they hooked me up to the monitors and I nervously gave the nurse my iv speech. “So I just need to tell you” I said. “I have a tendency to pass out. And also, I was here a few weeks ago and got a terrible iv. I SHOULD be fiiine, but I just wanted to let you know” Her eyes got huge as she looked at me and laughed. The IV was fine of course. My nerves were worse then the actual process. Once I was hooked up to the monitors for a little they came in to talk to me. Apparently I was having contractions every 4 minutes. When I looked on the screen they had big peaks and valleys but I was hardly feeling them. They checked me again and I was still only one to two. They had to give my fluids to slow down the contractions so that they could give me meds to get me progressed. They discussed my options with me once my contractions slowed down to 6min.s apart. They told me that at the current moment Pitocin would not be the best option because my cirvex was what wasn't progressing. They decided that Cirvadil would be my best option. It was put in at 6:45pm and had to stay in for 12 hours. By this time all of our parents had come out to visit. We were all bummed that the process was going to take so long but I knew going into it that being induced could take days. At one point during the late afternoon I got up to use the restroom. When I came back to bed and they put the monitor on, JP's heart beat was down in the 90's. They rolled me onto my side and it came back up quickly. But it was probably the scariest moment of the entire process.

Eventually family left and we started to settle in for the night. The nurses offed me Ambien to help me sleep and I agreed to take it since I knew Id need my energy. Unfortunately the Ambien did not knock me out, but instead made me feel horrible! I felt crazy drunk on the medecine. I was trying to watch TV to fall asleep and I literally saw double. When I got up to use the bathroom I was stumbling through the room. By about 2:00am I was having terrible cramping and could not fall asleep because of the pain. I had been in and out of the jacuzzi tub to help me manage my pain. I was falling asleep in the tub between my contractions but could not actually sleep. Pat contacted a nurse and they were able to give me another med through my iv that helped me get about 2 hours of sleep. I remember sometime during the early morning I told Pat that they were going to need to take out the Cervidil because the contractions were too intense. I actually don't remember parts of my laboring. Between the exhaustion and being in my labor zone I could only focus on the moment.

But somehow I made it to 6:45 am. I was so relieved to have the Cervadil out. They also checked me at this time and said that I was 4cm. I was excited that I had progressed but the prize still felt so far away! They said that I would be getting hooked up to Pitocin soon. They said to expect to progress at one cm per hour. Although my birth plan was to go as naturally as possible, at this point in my labor I was exhausted. I was feeling overwhelmed by the pain and couldn't imagine continuing this way for another 6 hours! I asked for the epidural. They told me to take a shower and order some breakfast because I wouldn't be able to get out of bed or eat once I had the epidural. We ordered breakfast and I got back into the jacuzzi tub. I was trying to relax in the tub when I felt like I had to poop. I got out of the tub and tried to go but nothing came out. When I got back into the tub Pat had noticed that I was bleeding. What we didn't realize was that my water had broken. When I got back into the tub my body suddenly started to push. I had no control over it. It just happened. Even in that moment of total exhaustion and intense pain I knew that my body was getting ready. I was trusting my body. Although I had just been checked a little over a half hour earlier I knew that something was going on. I made Pat get a nurse and they had me get out of the tub to be checked. While getting into bed I had another gush of water from JP moving. To everyone’s surprise, when I was checked I was 9cm! I went from 4-9 in 45minutes! Even the nurses were amazed. “Do you still want the epidural?” the nurse asked? “Pshh, NO!” I said. At this point the nurses had just switched their shifts. My new nurse was rushing around to get me set up. They quickly pumped some antibiotics in me for my Strep B but everyone knew I wouldn't get my full two doses. It all happened so fast. The midwife (or as we call him, the midman) came in. I was thrilled that he was the one who would be delivering JP. I had met him in the office and loved his sense of humor and his kind relaxed personality. He started with the comedy as soon as he walked in. I started to push, they gave me a mirror. It was so helpful to see my progress and one of the most amazing things that I have ever seen! When his head and first shoulder/arm came out the “midman” had him wave to me and said “Hey mom!” I didn't have the energy to actually laugh at that moment. I was more amazed and in awe that I was looking at my sons face! They pulled him out and put him under the light. I had wanted them to put him right on my chest but the second gush of water had a tiny bit of miconium in it so they had to suction him out right away. I just had a baby I kept thinking. I don't remember crying at this moment, I just kept telling Pat to go get pictures. Once JP was all fixed up they placed him on my chest and THAT is when I was a puddle of tears. My son, my sweet sweet son was here!

Over the past two months JP has grown and changed so much. From my perfect little 7lb.5.5oz newborn to my 10lb 8.4oz two month old! Hes also grown from 19&3/4inches to 23inches. Hes holding his head with good control, smiling, and even gave me a giggle session on his two month birthday! :) Hes loving watching peoples expressions, naps in mommys arms(and not his crib. Lol), Watching mobiles and things spin above him(including the ceiling fan), singing songs, and splashing in the tub! JP hates sleeping on flat surfaces, tummy time, and being burped while he wants to eat.

JP is such a joy. He makes every middle of the night feeding, diaper blow out, spit up covered moment with it! Love him more than words can express!

Mine to Love

JP and Mommy just had the most awesome moment. I turned on one of my favorite songs about being a parent. I looked at his sweet little face and sang to him. And he looked back at me with thoes big blue eyes and smiled and smiled and smiled. My heart is overflowing with love for this little guy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLXK-C08hps