fish and poi

And we’ve hit Noah’s 6 week milestone! I was excited b/c some say they begin to be “easier” and sleep better through the night. No such luck thus far. Some nights he only wakes up to feed and other nights he wakes up in fits every hour. It’s hit or miss. But we’ve had a few wonderfully “easy” days lately, so maybe it’s a good sign.

I titled this post “fish and poi” because of the Hawaiian song I sing to Noah while he’s eating. The lyrics speak of the Hawaiian food that the singer likes to fill his tummy with (Obviously, fish and poi among other native cuisine). I sing “I like my fish and my poi. I’m a big boy!” Because Noah is a big boy and guzzles his bottles like a little piggy. I’m thinking he’s over 10 lbs now.

In Wilkerson news, we are just living day by day. Michael is working a lot with the residency program and also at the local immediate care center. I have partially started back at work–full-time starts tomorrow. I have changed positions within the company so that I’m no longer a nurse on the road, but doing administrative tasks from home. It’s a blessing because I won’t have to worry about being on-call or finding a sitter in Jackson!! My friend and neighbor, Amanda, has called to make sure that I am OK and fed while Michael is working so much. You can see a pic of her and Noah below.

It’s been so nice outside here that we’ve gone on a few family walks around the neighborhood (minus Lily)…it’s hard to believe that it’s almost Spring. March has crept up on me because in my mind I still think it’s mid-January. March begins my birthday month, which is my 2nd favorite day of the year. I start getting excited as soon as I see the Cadbury mini eggs on the shelves. yummm

Papaw (my dad) came for a visit! He drove 7 hours just to hold the baby…he must really love that baby. I got to take a two hour nap! And do tons of house chores while he watched him. We ate at Cracker Barrell, Don Panchos, and Olive Garden. Good food, good family, good times. My dad is a foodie like me, so eating is extra fun. Noah was well-behaved at the restaurants until Papaw tried to feed him a chip with salsa.   I tried to convince him to stay by saying we’d talk numbers, but he stayed as long as he could. Thank you for spending your weekend with us- wish it didn’t have to end so soon!

one month old and valentine’s day

Already?

Noah turned 4 weeks old on Saturday… That is 1/12th of a year, which makes this momma sad.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! We love you.

 

visitors

Saturday, some of Michael’s family drove over to Jackson to hold Baby Noah, including Steve, Granny, and Cynthia. We even ventured outside of our home with the baby to Red Robin for lunch…and he was a good boy the whole time.

I’ve also seen several friends who have been so supportive and helpful! Judy and Katie (friends from St. Jude) drove from Memphis to see me and Noah yesterday.

Even more friends have stopped by to bring meals…which is beyond appreciated. I didn’t think it would be necessary or helpful, but like most ideas about motherhood, I was wrong. It has been so. much. help.

2 weeks old…how time flies

Noah is ALREADY 2 weeks old. It’s so true that time flies. Although it seems so long ago when I was just “Meg” not “Mommy”. I love that word. I love being a mommy. The past 2 weeks have been extremely difficult, both emotionally and physically but I am now happily thinking “I got this!” (sort of…let’s be honest, not really).  Obviously I’m still working at getting more of a routine, learning to have time to myself for eating and napping, and learning to put him down and stop kissing his face 24/7.

Because “me” time is few and far between, I wrote that last paragraph 2 days ago…

Anyway, not much to report. He still just sits and looks cute…poops, pees, burps, spits up, eats, and sleeps. He is now following lights with his eyes and enjoys staring at toys with twinkling lights. His 2 week doctor’s appointment was Monday. The goal was for Noah to gain back his original birth weight (8 lbs 4 oz). He WAY surpassed that goal and weighed in at 8 lbs 11 oz!!! That’s a 7 ounce weight gain if you don’t want to do the math. What a big boy. The dr. laughed about this and acted surprised when I told him that he drinks about 3 oz of breastmilk every 3 hours. Lengthwise, he has grown 1.5 inches already. Slow down, kid! He hates to sleep alone or be put down…and I don’t complain about this until I want to do something like take a simple shower. Needless to say, I’m learning to do a lot of things with one hand. What’s funny is that people say “He’s 2 weeks old, he doesn’t know what he likes or doesn’t like.” Rest assured, my child knows what he wants. It’s all a learning process for me as a parent.

Well, before the punkin awakes, I should add these pics….       Ha, I wrote that sentence HOURS ago and failed to upload pics. I don’t lie when I say how busy being a mother is!

he’s here

Noah Easton Wilkerson made his arrival into this world at 12:49pm on January 14th. He was a big boy, weighing 8 lbs 4 oz and 20 inches long….Here’s the story.

On Friday the 13th, I visited Dr. Harper for my 39 week appointment. I was “2 cm” dilated and so she did a small procedure called sweeping to speed up the process. I had had Braxton-Hicks contractions pretty consistently for the past 24 hours and thought that maybe this visit would encourage the little guy to come out. By 4:30pm my water broke! I wasn’t having contractions (yet) so I was feeling great! I called Michael at the hospital to come home and get me! I went straight to a delivery room, where I spent the next 7 hours attempting my natural labor birth plan. For those 7 hours I had strong contractions every 1-3 minutes, but only progressed to 3 cm. I knew my body was tired and couldn’t make it for the long road ahead, so I opted for the epidural and pitocin. After I was *finally* 10 cm, I started the birthing process. After 2.5 hours of pushing, my heart and soul was born, Noah Easton. Daddy cut the cord and took pictures of Noah getting his footprints inked. Daddy also followed Noah to the nursery, where he was able to give him his first bath. I was then wheeled to the postpartum floor where I would begin the rest of my life. He took such a long time to get here, but looking back it was the fastest 20 hours of my life. I hear that’s how it will be from now on: Wishing he would stay little and time slipping through my fingers.

It’s hard to explain exactly how much those 20 hours changed my life.  My whole world revolves around our family. I look in those eyes and cry because I want to freeze time. I realize that the only way to truly appreciate this time is to live in the moment, so I find myself frequently pausing to take a deep breath and to thank the Lord for this blessing. To be perfectly honest, I didn’t know that my heart could love so much…I am his biggest fan (along with his dad). Being a parent is the best thing that has ever, ever happened to me.

A big, huge THANK YOU to all of our friends and family. We were lucky enough to have visitors at the hospital, including family, friends from both near and far, and co-workers. When we were discharged home on Michael’s birthday (January 15th) we were greeted by friends and family with a clean home filled with balloons, signs, flowers, and a spread of food and birthday cake. I *still* cry when I think of it!!! Ronda/Nana and Kimmy/Aunt Kimmy had everything in the home ready and organized for my life as a new mommy. I was lucky enough to have family stay with us for over a week, who helped with the cooking, cleaning, laundry, dog walking, etc. and spoiled me greatly. It is appreciated more than they’ll know. I’ve been surprised by the outpouring of love and kindness from everyone…and it continues as meals come in and friends call. I can’t thank God enough for all of the beautiful people in my life. See, I’m crying again.

On a lighter note, here are a few things that I’ve learned during this short time of being a new mother:

• Little boys can and will pee on anything. Even last night he managed to pee on the comforter while changing his diaper, yet I never saw him pee… That’s why most items in our home now have urine on them.
• Babies will cry and want to be held the moment you decide to go to the bathroom, fall asleep, or need to do anything else productive.
• When I started getting baby clothes and burp cloths, I thought that 1 outfit a day and a handful of burp cloths would get me through…I was wrong. Way wrong. He requires at least a couple of outfits a day and I wish I had 10,000 burp cloths.
• Although Noah is small, he has gas like a grown man. And I think it’s cute.
• I can never take too many pictures.
• Breastfeeding is hard and is anything but natural.
• NOAH IS THE SECOND LOVE OF MY LIFE.

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  
  

 

playing the waiting game

Here I am- 38 weeks pregnant and still waiting. At this point I don’t think he will ever come out. I’m quite large and quite anxious…and my mood is reflecting those facts. So while I “patiently” wait for our son’s birth, I have been trying to keep busy with other things, such as:

 

*Taking naps whenever my body allows

*Learning Photoshop Elements to edit and produce more beautiful pictures

*Learning embroidery- I took my first class yesterday and have succeeded at feeling comfortable with my machine! (Next week I have an applique class IF Noah isn’t here by then)

*Spent my “moms to be” gift package at the spa–My toes and hair are ready for the hospital!

*Cleaning and getting “the list” completed. I’m happy to say that my bags are packed, the cameras and all batteries have been charged, house decluttered, bills paid for the entire month, Volvo SOLD!, and Noah’s room completely ready.

*A little thing called work

 

That’s about it…not up to much. Just playing the waiting game…and I’m tired of playing this game. Tomorrow morning I have a doctor’s appointment and will update later! I will probably get the dreaded “NO CHANGES” report, but we will see. My anxiety is out of control. Maybe a little Benadryl would do me good…