1 Month!

For Aaden's 1 month "birthday" we went out to dinner for the first time with him.  We went to Miyako's with Auntie Nicole and Uncle Alec.  He did super good, he slept a lot of the time in his carseat and only woke up towards the end.  It was nice being able to go out to dinner again!  Snapped a few pictures while he was sleeping...hoping that Eddie will post these on his website ;)

First Major Event! Gam's 80th Birthday

Today was Gam's 80th Birthday celebration.  It was Aaden's first big event.  He's almost 4 weeks old (tomorrow).  It was a luncheon at San Juan Oaks.  There were about 150 people there.  I stressed all week about how much stuff we needed to take for him.  It took a few hours to get out of the house this morning but we did it and we were on time!  When we got to San Juan Oaks, we looked like we were moving in!  We had two diaper bags, an ice chest, the camera, the boppy, the bjorn, a bottle warmer, and my purse.  Anyway, Aaden did really good!  He pretty much ate and slept the entire time.  We went to Aunt Krissie and Uncle Danny's after.  We had even more stuff to take to their house including the bouncer and pump (TMI Alert! - it was my first time pumping and dumping ;) )People were holding him all day long that I actually missed him by the end of the night.
This was also a big day for me because it was the first time I was able to fit into my prepregnancy jeans again!  WooHoo!

With Papa

Uncle Brother 

 Auntie Debbie

 Helen

 Me, My Mom (Emmy), and Aaden

Here are a couple pictures the cousins took the week before Gam's party

Aaden with his 3rd cousins

Aaden 3-4 Weeks

9/20-9/26
Aaden is staying awake longer and seems to be more alert.  He is going through a major growth spurt and is hungry all the time.  He cluster feeds in the evening and it's really tiring so we've been giving him a bottle of formula at night to give me a little break. 
He is starting to make more noises, especially grunting noises when he's stretching.  He also makes baa-ing noises like a sheep when he stretches too, it is so cute!  And Aaron and I say that when he really gets crying hard, he sounds like a pterodactyl!
I finally took Aaden in to meet everyone at my work on the 24th.  They all loved him of course :)

Professional Pics - Newborn - Erin Balbas

We got professional pictures of Aaden done by Erin Balbas.  He was super fussy but thanks to Erin and her awesome work she was able to capture a lot of great photos of our sweet boy!

Most of the time for newborn photo shoots - it's best to have the baby asleep so you can position them and get those oh-so adorable photos.  Aaden was not having it.  After many times of trying to get him to sleep by nursing, bottle feeding, etc - he was still wide-awake!  I got peed and pooped on by him several times - I think he was punishing me! ;-)

Erin is AMAZING!  Here are some of my favorites:

 

 

 
 
And the Birth Announcement that we sent out. 

Thank you, Erin, for letting us use the pictures from his photo shoot! 

Aaden 2-3 Weeks

I realize these posts may be a little long and boring to read, but they are more for my and Aaden's benefit.  I just want to have everything written down for him so he has something to look back on when he's older.  I won't be offended if you don't read them and you just want to look at the pics and move on.
9/13/10-9/19/10
Anyway,

• Aaden had a Dr appt on the 13th, he weighed 7lbs, 7oz!  He passed his birthweight!  He has a little eye infection which is common for newborns since their ducts aren't fully functional yet.  But he got his first prescription because of it...antibiotic eye drops.  Dr. Yager is not concerned about jaundice anymore, Aaden is nice and pink! 
• I am still feeling overwhelmed at home.  It's hard to find time to eat, shower, brush my teeth, anything.  Holy cow...it has to get easier! 
• On the 14th we had newborn pictures taken with Erin Balbas.  Aaden was super fussy and never went into a deep sleep like photographers like for newborns to do.  He also peed and pooped all over me during the photoshoot because he was naked most of the time.
• Aaden's first trip out of town was to Gilroy and it was for Aaron to take a drug test for HSBC.  Not an exciting first trip but Aaden did great in the car.  We also got to go to Carters :)
• Aaden went to Emmy's work for the first time on the 16th.  He also did his first tummy time...not a fan!
• On the 17th was my first time away from Aaden.  It was my cousin Jan's 50th birthday at Paine's.  I just went for 2 hours...I think I called or texted Aaron about 4 times. 
• The 18th was Aaden's first long outing, me, my Mom, and Aaden went to Salinas to go shopping for Gam's bday party.  Aaden did great, it was his first time in his stroller.  I had to feed him in the dressing room.  We pretty much took over the handicap dressing room for about 2 hours!
• Aaden has started focusing on objects and loves black and white contrast.  He loves to stare up at our pictures we have hanging on the wall in the living room because they are black frames on white walls.  He also like the brown monkey decal on his wall by his changing table.

Baby's Best Friend

The dogs have been great with Aaden so far.  They don't really bother him too much and they don't seem to wake up when he's crying at night.  We were blessed to have dogs that are so great with children/babies.  The only problem is that they can be a little rambunctious.  85lbs and rambunctiousness is not always a good combo!  But they seem to be adjusting just fine although I'm sure they are missing all the attention they used to get.

Aaden hanging out on Kona

Aaden 1-2 Weeks Old

9/6/10-9/12/10
The time is already going by so fast!  It was weird when Sept 6th rolled around because it was my original due date and here we are with a baby that's 1 week old.  It made me feel relieved that the labor, delivery, and the hospital, and those first few days were over instead of still in front of me.  It was almost like I gained extra time if that makes sense?
Anyway, Aaden smiles a lot in his sleep...it makes me wonder, what are they dreaming about?  I would think boobs at this point! ;)  He makes so many funny expressions and faces.  I just sit in awe of him and look at all the little things I love about him...like the little fine blond hair on his arms and shoulders and his little lips and his long eyelashes and of course the little baby feet.  It's amazing what a baby brings to families - joys, fears, love.  Aaden has definitely brought Aaron and I closer together, I love him more than ever now.  He has been so great, he has been my rock through this anxiety (which is getting better).  He's such an awesome dad, better than I could have ever hoped for!  Although my anxiety is getting better, the feeling of being overwhelmed is kind of consuming me.  I feel like there's so much I want to and have to do that I don't have time for.  And most of it is related to memory things like taking and printing pictures, filling out his baby book,  journaling and videoing.  I want to remember everything because every moment is so special which is why I'm glad I started this blog - it has taken place of the journal (it's easier/faster for me to type than to write)
Breastfeeding is still hard but I have some tools to make it better and easier.  Aaden takes anywhere from 45 minutes to over an hour to eat and he eats every 2-4 hours. 
On Sept 8th, Aaron went back to work (subbing).  It was my first full day alone with Aaden (aahhhh!)  I had to take him to the doctor all by myself which was really nerve-racking...getting out of the house on my own and driving him by myself...but I did it!
Aaden's cord fell off on 9/10 and he got his first real bath on 9/12  (he peed all over me right before the bath)
He met Alivia this week.  He met Uncle Bub and Gam both on 9/11.  And he met all of his 3rd cousin's on my side on 9/12...what a big week!

First Weekend

   So, I have some MAJOR baby blues going on.  I cry at the drop of a hat.  I think it's due to my frustrations with breastfeeding, being exhausted, and the hormones that are probably going crazy in my body.  I'm having big time anxiety when it starts getting dark.  I don't like the nights for some reason.  I think I get worried about how Aaden is going to be that night, whether or not we're going to sleep and things like that.  Plus, breastfeeding in the middle of the night is kind of lonely.  I did see a lactation consultant in our pediatrician's office on the 4th, she has helped a little but I seriously never knew how hard and frustrating BFing would be!
   My Mom and Kenny had a BBQ over the weekend and had the Griffins over.  It was nice and Aunt Sis is in town so she got to meet Aaden and hang out.  It's so nice having so much family around.  I don't know what I would do if we didn't...I know my anxiety would probably be much worse!  When I'm feeling anxious, all I want to do is cry on my Mom's shoulder and have her hug me.  (It's weird to me that I am that person to someone now, I'm a mom, someone that no one can replace)
   Aaden finally got his first bath - at 5 days old - between lack of sleep, feedings all day and night and just getting used to being a new mom, I kind of forgot about the whole bath thing...whoops!! 
   We can't get over how cute our son is!  So many people are just amazed by him, especially Uncle Brother, and us, of course!
Here are some pics from the weekend...

Thursday, 3rd Day

The title of the post is actually a reference to our (Me, Mom, & Christopher) all-time favorite show, Friends, but it works out actually because today is Thursday and it's Aaden's 3rd day of life too!  Well, we had our first check up with Dr. Yager.  Aaden weighs 6lbs 13oz right now, he's down a little from birth but that's normal.  Dr. Yager is a little concerned about Aaden's color and thinks he's a little jaundice.  He suggested some photo-therapy by putting him in a sunny window 4 times a day for about 20 minutes at a time. 

Here's Aaden basking in the sun.

1st Night at Home

Wow, they don't prepare you for this...last night was absolutely one of the hardest nights of my life.  I think Aaron would concur...Aaden was VERY, VERY fussy throughout the entire night.  Aaron and I took turns walking around with him, feeding him, and trying to comfort him while the other one tried to sleep.  I am so exhausted still.  Aaden finally fell asleep around 6am!  And even then he only slept for about an hour.  Obviously this is all new to him and hard on him too. 
I just remember thinking to myself last night, "I'm never going to sleep again and my milk is never going to come in."  Things have to get better otherwise, I'm jumping off a cliff.

Going Home

We got discharged from the hospital today!  Aaden did great on his first car ride, I rode in the back with him.
It was ridiculously hot today, probably one of the hottest days we've had all year!  It was probably about 101 F.  But we were happy to get to come home. 
After we got home, my Mom went to the store for us.  And she made dinner for us (chicken divan, yum!!).  Sean and Andrea came down from San Jose to visit for a little bit.  Dad stopped by.  Ann, Allan, Aunt Krissie, Uncle Danny, Mom, and Kenny were all here for dinner.  It was nice to have everyone here but I felt on edge most of the time.  It was weird to have a baby here at home and he was all my (and Aaron's) responsibility.  A little scary! 

In the Hospital...Days 0-2

Day 1 - August 31st, 2010
   I woke up around 7am.  Aaron slept a bit longer.  I felt pretty good considering I had just had a baby and I was working on 3 hours of sleep over 48 hours.  My muscles were sore though especially in my back, arms, and legs from all the pushing.  Dr. Armstrong wrote me a prescription for 800mg ibuprofen, that helped!  I also took a nice warm shower and that helped a lot too.
   Aaden is so cute!  His little nose is already straightening out - we think that it must have gotten a little smushed during delivery.  He also loves having his hands up by his face which maybe he did a lot in utero which could have contributed to the crookedness.
   Aaden had a lot of visitors the first day including, Emmy, Papa, Pappy, Uncle Alec, Aunt Nicole, Grandma, Grandpa, Nick and Cheryl Lovejoy, Aunt Krissie, Uncle Danny, Aunt Kerry, Aunt Renee, and Katie Muenzer.  Dr. Armstrong visited and Dr. Yager - Aaden's pediatrician - came to meet him and check him out.  He said everything looked fine so far.  He had a little rash but I think it's pretty common among newborns.
   Nursing was a challenge and it's painful!  My milk wasn't in still but my colostrum was.  All the nurses tried to help me which was great but they all had different advice. 
   Dr. Armstrong came and took Aaden for his circumcision around 5pm.  He was gone for about a half an hour.  When Dr. Armstrong brought him back he said he did great and that everything went well.  However, I lost it a few hours later when I was trying to change his diaper.  I was trying to change the gauze but part of it had dried and it was stuck!  I called the nurse in to help me but she couldn't get it off either, I just started balling.  (I'm sure part of it was hormone driven and lack of sleep too).  She ended up putting a ton of vaseline on it and left it for the night.  (It ended up coming off the next day, another nurse took him to the nursery and while she was gently trying to remove it, Aaden kicked her and it ripped off!  Thankfully without a problem.)
  That night I had another breakdown.  Aaden was really fussy and I felt like he was starving and he was probably also in a little pain from the circumcision.  I brokedown and the nurse asked if I wanted to give him some formula.  I took her up on the offer but I cried for the first half of the bottle.  I felt so bad that I couldn't comfort him and meet his needs at that point.  I ended up sending him to the nursery around 3am for a few hours so I could get some sleep.  I felt really bad about sending him but I was finally able to get some much needed, uninterrupted sleep!

Day 2 - September 1st, 2010
   I got a few hours of sleep and definitely felt recharged.  Took another shower and felt even better.  A little more ibuprofen, good to go!
  Everyone kept saying that they usually think newborns are funny looking but they think Aaden is a beautiful newborn (we think so too!)  So far it looks like Aaden has my ears, toes, upper lip, eyes & cheeks and Aaron's thin legs, chin, and a little freckle on his right ring finger that Aaron has too in the same place.  We're not sure where his nose came from??  Maybe Christopher??  It sure is prominent, but super cute!  It looks like he has fingers like Uncle Alec and Uncle Bub.  Things change so we'll see who he looks like in a few months. 
  We've noticed how strong Aaden is already.  He can already hold his head up for a second here and there - at 2 days old!  Everyone keeps commenting on his stregth and his beautiful skin :)