Our little family

So it has been forever since I blogged. It haunts me in the back of my mind that I should blog but I have been pretty busy/sick/forgetful lately. Plus, my cute attachment decides that every time I decide to try and get something done, its time to fuss. Like he is currently. BRB.

OK baby asleep. Yep! We had a baby!

William Stetson Stanley Frost. We call him Stetson. He was born January 23 2013 8 lbs 1 oz 17 1/2" long.

Yes the name is long but it has a lot of meaning for us. William is Jarrod's family name. It's both his and his dad's legal first name and I am not sure how far it goes back. Stetson is the name I picked and Jarrod didn't have much say. I basically told him that was the name and he was going to have to accept it haha. Stanley is after Jarrod's uncle who passed in November who was very loved by all who really knew him. We hope our son will grow up to appreciate and honor the names he carries.

It's been almost 8 weeks since we brought him home and sometimes I still look at him and think "That's ours??" Haha it's a big change and sometimes so overwhelming but we wouldn't change it for the world. We have been fighting a touch of colic. Dairy bugs him big time but he still has issues with gas so I cut out gluten a couple days ago and it seems to have made a bit of difference. I also have an appointment with the chiropractor for him on Thursday to see if that can help. We will also see what the doctor says on Thursday afternoon.

Stetson loves water. We took him swimming a couple weeks ago and he just completely chilled out. I found through repeat occurrences getting him ready for a bath that if he is upset, just set him on the floor and turn on the tub and he will instantly quiet. He loves water, playing in it and listening to it. I hope it stays and that Vanderhoof builds a pool so I can indulge that if necessary.

He also loves his carrier and will usually fall asleep when we go for walks. Stetson also HATES having his face covered unless he is tired. He wants to look around. Especially outside. And don't you dare hinder that or you better prepare for the wrath. He loves sleeping with mum even though I really try to avoid it too much and he loves eating. Obviously. He's almost doubled his birthweight and is 24" long.

As for Jarrod and I, we have been adjusting to parenthood. Jarrod's cousin bought a hunt to Africa and Jarrod is planning on going with him which is his trip of a lifetime and I am excited for him. Not quite sure when it is but it could happen this year or in five years. Who knows. We are also getting tired of town. We didn't last as long as we thought we would but I am not surprised so right now we are weighing our options with finances and such to figure out what we should do.

AND WE ARE SOOOOO READY FOR SUMMER! It snowed over a foot in the last couple days and we are ready for it to go away. I am getting excited to get on my horse and go camping and I wore shorts today because I am willing it to be summer. And they are the only comfy clean thing I had. It sounds like Jarrod's breakup may be short this year and extremely busy with projects. Not even our projects! Spring bear season starts in two weeks!

Wedding celebration planning has been in full swing and I am NOT a wedding planner. And it's expensive! So do not want to get married twice! ;)

 

Labour Story

I started having contractions around 630 am on the 22nd. They were light but every three minutes. I thought oh prob false labour or they could stop... So I called my mom and went over to my grammas and made baby blankets. Around noon Jarrod texted me and asked how I was doing so I told him I was having contractions but nothing serious.. The day passed and I went home... 

At about 630 pm they got a bit stronger, so we decided to go to the hospital considering we didn't know what to expect and they hooked me up to monitors and said why yes I was having contractions but my cervix was so high up she couldn't find it so they sent me on my way saying it could be false labour or could stop. About 30 min to an hour after I got home which was about 830, it was unbearable... So Jarrod and I headed back and they hooked me up all over again and checked my cervix, the contractions were 1-2 min apart, gave me the gas, and once they found my cervix apparently I was 4-5 cm dilated. Then we called my mom. The nurse wanted another nurse to double check so I got double checked and I was now 6-7. They already had an epidural on the way and I was having back labour. No fun. By the time they got the epidural in I'm sure I was almost fully dilated because it took forever. So they got that in and it only worked on the right side apparently because of Stetson's position.

Then they checked me and voila I was fully dilated and my water broke. And they said, if you have the urge to push, push... I felt no such urge. Meanwhile I was having a hard time telling when the contractions were because the back labour was constant stabbing pain and there was no let down. They kept telling me to push but I didn't feel like I had too.. I wasn't doing well and had to get a pep talk from my doctor which was basically telling me I have to get this baby delivered and I better step up my game. I kept throwing up and by this point it was pure bile... They gave me a drug for nausea and another dose of epidural around 130 am and the contractions stopped and I started falling in and out of sleep meanwhile my doctor had to go deliver another baby. There was no progress and my baby still hasn't dropped. So my doctor started me on the drip to try and get contractions going again and avoid a c section. I had a hard time knowing when to push so my doctor put me in the squat position and told me when to push. Stetson's head was stuck behind my pelvic bone so the doctor eventually was able to pull him down and then I felt the urge I push haha. I pushed for 10-20 minutes and he was out. I looked at him and said. I knew it was a boy haha. I then laid back and got stitched up. I fed him then got up and started walking around and went pee. I was almost scared to move my legs after cause I didn't know if it would hurt. I did tear to the side and had to get 5-6 stitches. I was also shaking soooo bad. They covered me with two heated blankets afterwards to try and warm me up

Jarrod was so tired considering he had been up since 2 am the previous morning poor guy. There was no free beds so Jarrod curled up on this tiny little couch to try and sleep. I only slept about an hour and then was wide awake again. Jarrod and the baby both snored away though haha.  The hospital was disgustingly hot our entire stay. We had to share a room since the hospital was so full which wasn't so exciting considering our baby was relatively quiet compared to hers and visitors were crammed in there. And I felt awful when Stetson was having a hard time and would fuss. The hospital had a few issues as well. We never got bands for the baby or Jarrod and I till the lab tech came two days later to do blood work and asked where our bands were. Pretty sure the nurses got an earful after that. We also barely saw the nurses. They were so understaffed but I was so grateful for one night shift nurse that sat with me for two hours teaching me about breastfeeding. I was struggling with it so much that night because he would just not stay with the latch. Whatever people may say, breastfeeding didn't come naturally for me. They also ended up giving me an MMR vaccination that started to cause issues with my nerves in my arm basically rendering it useless.

On the third day, we basically begged the doctor to go home and if the jaundice testing levels came back below 250 we were allowed. We were extremely happy to get out of there and it didn't take long for us to pack up and header out the door. We stopped by the pharmacy to pick up a few things we thought we might need, scheduled Stetson's circumcision and went home. Nothing like being at home with your own shower, a sink in the bathroom, your own thermostat, your own bed and our cutest little baby!