Arboretum Fun!

Nick's mom is here to visit for the week and we started off her week here by visiting the Minnesota Arboretum today.  It was a perfect fall day and Noah didn't cry too much so we got a few photos in!

Back to work for me tomorrow!  It will be interesting considering Noah doesn't sleep :)

Wordless Wednesday 10/23/13

Noah's Pout Face! (he made this face in the womb when we saw the ultrasound...we should have known what his temperament was like then!)

Weekend fun!

Noah finally got to meet his Aunt Sari!  He loved her and had lots of smiles for her.  She must be good luck because he had one of his best days yet!  Noah also hung out with Grandpa and Grandma while Nick and I saw Captain Phillips which we loved!  This will be my last week home with Noah before I go back to work. :(

Some photos from the weekend:

 

Gpa & Noah playing with Bear

 

Noah & Bear

 

Our chunky eskimo!

 

Noah giving Sari smiles

 

Naptime with Daddy!

My favorite $15 purchase

For weeks we have been trying to find other ways of calming Noah down during his crying spells.  Usually the only thing that works is walking around holding him in our arms and bouncing him.  

My mom's work out instructor told her that her two boys were just like Noah (bad reflux, had to be held/bounced 24/7, crying, etc) and suggested getting an exercise ball to bounce him on when he is fussy (which is the majority of the day!).  I was skeptical since every trick people have suggested to us has not worked with him (example: rice cereal in the bottle to keep the reflux down and help him sleep longer. BIG FAIL: made reflux worse and Noah slept for a grand total of 20 minutes each time!) but am now so thankful for the exercise ball idea!  I bought two; one for our house and one for my parents since I'm there so often.  Noah loves it and is quiet the whole time we bounce him!  

Wordless Wednesday 10/16/13

This Wordless Wednesday is all about Noah's newborn pictures! (almost 2 months late):

 Pictures by Pictures&Pretties Photography

Daily Reminder

Since Noah doesn't sleep much and cries many of the days away, sometimes it is hard to remember these days will be just a memory and eventually we will be able to laugh at the lack of sleep we got (although I don't think we can see that far ahead yet!).  We won't remember the constant screaming or the fact we couldn't set Noah down just to grab a snack or make him a bottle.  We will remember his smiles (far and few between right now) and the unconditional love we have for this little stinker.

During frustrating days, I always try to remember the quote: "the days are long, but the years are short" by Gretchen Rubin.  Noah will be a teenager before we know it! (and hopefully will have better sleeping habits by then!)

Here is a short video I love to watch about enjoying the time we have NOW with our child(ren):

http://www.theyearsareshort.com/

Noah's reflux

We are on week 7 and Noah's reflux has not improved much.  We have found if we don't add the Gelmix thickener to his formula, he does have spitup so the Gelmix certainly helps keep it down.  We also give Noah Ranitidine twice per day to help with the pain of his reflux.  Thank goodness for my sister's knowledge of these drugs we have had to try...she has been our personal pharmacist through this reflux journey!  

Noah doesn't sleep much at all, which we attribute to the reflux.  We hear it come up and go back down his throat many times throughout the day and night.  Sometimes he winces or screams hysterically in pain.  The only way he will sleep is being held so that's what we do for now!  He will sleep anywhere to 1-4 hours in his Rock N Play when we first put him down for the night, but after that, it's only in our arms or we can forget any amount of sleep.  He also wakes frequently to eat since it's recommended to do smaller meals more frequently for reflux babies.  Noah also comfort eats, which can be a sign of silent reflux because the formula helps alleviate the pain.  Nick and I are learning to function on little sleep since our stinker doesn't believe in naps or sleep much at night!

Noah in his Rock N Play

When googling Noah's symptoms, one of the frequent ones was arching his neck and back.  I soon discovered this was a sign of reflux!  Apparently it feels good on his throat.  Sometimes Noah will fall asleep in our arms with his head arched back!  Here are some photos:

Hippy dreams out the window!

As I mentioned in the previous post, I had high hopes of being the ideal mom.  Obviously my natural labor went out the window in the hospital.  After trying to breastfeed and having no success and a sobbing 9 pound 12 ounce baby who needed to eat, we started Noah on formula.  Fast forward to week two of being home with Noah and discovering he has silent reflux (after my obsessive google searching of his symptoms), I discovered cloth diapers weren't going to work with his bowel movements (sorry, TMI!) due to the thickener we began to add to his formula to help the severity of the reflux.  Wiping the bowel movements off the cloth diapers was not going to happen unless we used the outdoor hose!  Since I was set on babywearing, I bought multiple carriers to carry Noah in...only to discover he screamed his head off in each of them.  Noah has to be carried in our arms and bounced 24/7 so I figured he would love being in a carrier...apparently not!
In conclusion, maybe my hippy dreams will work out in my next life!

                           Noah and daddy...Noah's favorite position!

Noah's Arrival 8/30/13

For those of you that know me, you should know I'm the least hippyish girl out there.  However, when I found out I was pregnant, I decided I would be an ideal mom: no drugs/pain relief during labor, breastfeed for a year, cloth diapers, and baby wearing guru.  Obviously God was laughing at me while I made these plans for myself because not one of those things worked out...at all!  Nick and I ended up with the world's littlest (biggest) stinker...our Noah John!  

We didn't know the sex of Noah until birth but it was no surprise to Nick or I when Nick announced it was a boy.  For 9 months, I scrounged the internet for old wive's tales for having a boy or girl.  All the signs pointed to boy so we bought all boy clothes and toys.  We were right!

To spare you the gory details of labor, I did get an epidural (best decision I have ever made) and pushed for 4 hours.  Noah was a stinker and refused to come out so the midwife and doctor gave me Pitocin to try to get things to speed up to no avail. They then told me I would need a C-section.  Thank goodness for one of the doctors to suggest trying Forceps instead before we went in for a C-section.  I refused to look at what the Forceps looked like and even though I am very curious, Nick won't allow me to Google Image it as he is scarred for life from seeing those.  After pushing for more than the Dr. had hoped, Noah came out on the last push before he resorted to C-section!  

All the nurses, midwife, and Doctors guessed our baby would be 7 pounds at most.  Noah proved them all wrong, being 4 ounces shy of 10 pounds!