Like Father Like Son

...fishing I mean!

A few weekends ago we were driving around aimlessly while a certain toddler was napping in the backseat and wound up at Cabela's in Buda.  Ben has been watching the outdoor channel for [what feels like] forever.  So naturally he wanted to look at their selection of hunting gear.. because we hunt so much! ;)

I stayed in the truck with the A/C blasting while Caleb was still asleep and Ben went in and checked things out.  He came back a little while later and was so excited.  There was essentially a pond set up in front of the store for kids to "catch" catfish.

We woke Caleb up and waited in line for his turn to fish..

He was interested in the fish that was flopping around on the end of the fishing pole but wanted NOTHING to do with it.  I suggested that he just touch it with one finger and he refused but we're glad he was able to experience catching a fish!

Ben is now on a mission to find a combo kit for Caleb so they can go fishing - while I work on my tan. :)

Beach Trip #1

We just got back from the beach and it was amazing!  It's so nice to lose track of time, what day it is, and just relax and soak it all in. 

 {please excuse the trash}

My sister-in-law works for Sheraton so we get very nice discounts on rooms whenever we decide to travel.  Caleb's daycare was closed this past week (21st-25th) due to Summer Break for the teachers so we used that opportunity to head down to Corpus Christi since I was off of work with Caleb regardless.

Ben was able to work until noon on Wednesday and thankfully was approved to be off Thursday and Friday.  Teresa and I packed everything (it seems I always forget the really important stuff) so we were ready for take off after he got home.

We finally get to Corpus - tantrum (almost) free thanks to Caleb's dvd player and the ever annoying Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. 

{he told me "no" right before I snapped the picture-stinker!}

As we're unloading everything and getting directions so we can go to the most secluded beach - I realize we don't have a canopy tent, we forgot the dang chairs, and Ben forgot his fishing pole!!  After a quick stop at Academy the next morning we scoop up this canopy tent - we for go the chairs and Ben decides he doesn't want to fish afterall.  

We headed to Malaquite Beach, North Padre Island.

{Ben, Caleb, & Teresa}

The next morning we got up and headed to the Texas State Aquarium.  My advice is to go on a weekday (Monday-Thursday) - less crowded plus the cost is higher Friday-Sunday.  It costs $21.95 for adults and children under 2 are free - thank goodness!!

{C checking out the fish - he initially wanted to swim with them}

{they had a turtle feeding show}

{C wanted no part of touching the stingrays - he just wanted to splash ;)}

{they had a dolphin show that we missed due to a meltdown}

The best part was at the very end - the splash pad!

{view of the splash pad from the entrance}

{Ben and C about to get doused!}

{C blocking the water from hitting Ben}

{silly boy!}

{tuckered out C-man}

We had a hard time coming home - but we'll be headed to Galveston in September for my families year belated birthday trip!

See you in a month and a half, beach -- hopefully with a lot less seaweed!

Eping

I'm not going to sugarcoat anything.. exclusively pumping was hell! 

Frustrating, painful, and incredibly hard.  I wanted the bonding time I had with Caleb in the NICU before I had to go back to work.  I was jealous of everyone that was able to hold Caleb and just snuggle - because when I tried my milk would let down and I just HAD to pump (since C lost his latch).  Or even taking a shower, when the hot water hit my skin I felt as if I needed a hand pump due to the milk that would just flow out by itself.  (To this day with C being 2 I could produce breastmilk if I really tried!)

{He never missed a meal}

I was tired all the time because I was pumping all the time.  Ben would help as much as he could; by washing the pump parts and having everything ready for me.  It was still exhausting.  I'm sure I was hell to be around.  My nipples cracked and bled no matter how much lanolin cream I smothered on - I even tried multiple types.

When I was milking my maternity leave - lwop style - after Ben had to go back to work so we at least had a paycheck coming in.  It seemed like as soon as I sat down to eat either C would cry and be hungry or it was time to pump again.  I ended up drinking lots of nursing support tea and taking nursing supplements just to provide C with enough breastmilk to keep him fed and happy.  I tried my best to have a frozen supply for a just-in-case time.. but I never had it.  

I never felt like I had time for myself - heck just getting a shower during the day was a miracle.  

When I had to go back to work; I of course had to take my pump along.  Since we don't have a pump room - I had to pump in the conference room when it wasn't occupied and I kept my milk in the fridge in the kitchen along with everyone else's food.  My co-worker George, was completely embarrassed when he inquired what was in the tubes in the fridge.. I almost peed myself I was laughing so hard!  

One day my pump wall adapter broke while I was at work - I promptly got on my phone and ordered another from Amazon and while being a Prime member the shipping was free thankfully even for overnight shipping!!!

All in all - I exclusively pumped for Caleb until he was 10 months old.. I would have gone longer except I got the flu then walking pneumonia and the medicine I was prescribed both times wasn't good for his system so we unthawed the little amount of frozen breastmilk I had and he started similac.  

He was on similac for a month and holy cow that stuff is EXPENSIVE!  A little TMI but breastmilk fed diapers are completely different than similac fed diapers! :) 

By 1 year Caleb was on whole milk and no bottles - the transition from bottles to sippy cups was awesome!  If only we could have the same transition from a paci to none.. ha - maybe I'm expecting too much there!

Favorite Reads

Sorry for the hiatus - we have been fighting off another case of hand, foot, and mouth that he contracted from school.. again!  C's teacher said "none of the other kids have been sick since Spring" - I don't believe that for a second!

Regardless we've been cuddling, reading, and watching movies of course!  Sugar bean is such a sweet pea, he will pull your face in and kiss you and then say, "I love you too Mommy/Daddy!"

------------------------------------

We've been stuck of the following five books for the past week and I feel like I memorized every-single-one to a tee!

1. Johnny Tractor and Friends: A New Kind of Job - this is Caleb's favorite book by far!  He will repeat every ending word back to you and hopes that you'll read it again and again.

2. Little Blue Truck - Caleb knows almost all the words to this book and loves saying, "Beep!"

3. Little Owls Night - Caleb will point out every animal.. even the smallest snails in the background and tell you what they are and he will also count every animal and may or may not tell you what sound they make.  He loves to tell me that the moon is an egg and he will argue his point. :)

4. I Love You, Stinky Face - this book was left when Megan, Randy, and Mallory moved to their house.  I kiss stinker bug on the cheek every time I turn a page and if I miss a kiss he always lets me know!  I call him a stinky-hiney sometimes and he laughs and laughs.

5. The Potty Book: For Boys - this was a must read when we first got it and he first started using the potty - now it's died down and he'll only want to read it when he doesn't want to go to sleep.  Silly boy!

Caleb's Birth Story

My pregnancy was pretty easy for the most part and everything seemed golden.  However, Friday June 1st, a week before he was born (and 8 weeks before my due date) was pure hell.  

I went to bed early Thursday night feeling kind of off but ready to get to work early to make up time since I had a Dr. appointment later that morning.  I woke up Friday morning at 3:30am feeling like I peed the bed; I hobbled into the bathroom and sat on the toilet.  I remember thinking, the liner in my underwear was white when I went to bed - and then it dawned on me that it was blood, it was everywhere, and I was constantly dripping more - it wouldn't stop!

  A hundred thousand thoughts raced through my mind but only one remained.. I lost him.. I lost my baby.  I screamed for Ben at the top of my lungs - crying uncontrollably - once he woke up and saw the bloody situation he in turn yelled for his Mom to help us.  Teresa called Medlink since I was only 32 weeks pregnant and they told us to drive to the hospital ASAP.  She literally put me in a diaper (from the stash she had when Mallory visited) since the bleeding wasn't stopping - and we raced to the hospital with the emergency flashers going.  

Once we got to the hospital it was pretty much a blur; Teresa parked the truck while Ben helped me into the emergency room area.  I remember walking into the emergency room and finding it completely empty which was weird because it's downtown Austin and there are a ton of drunks all over. 

 Ben finally was able to tell the person on duty what the issue was and I was wheeled up to the maternity ward.   While Ben took care of all the paperwork I was getting set up in (one of many) rooms.  We found out I was 1cm dilated and 80% effaced.  They hooked me up to all kinds of machines, pumped me with magnesium & penicillin to stop the contractions/labor/pain, and put me on bed rest until he was born (I was told I wouldn't be going home without a baby).  I was given two steroid shots (one in each leg) to help develop his lungs better which in turn burned and hurt like I was stung by a bunch of bees and made me hot.. burning up hot.  Ben who is never cold told me my room was freezing, I had a fan on, and I was still burning up.

Turns out, the blood clot I passed that morning was the size of a grapefruit and it was from a tear in my placenta.  Never found out the why or what had caused it to happen.

------------------------------------------------

{Wearing Ben's Packer shirt since nothing of mine fit}

In the hospital I had the most amazing nurses, I wish I could have remembered all of their names to write thank you notes - now I'm kicking myself that I never wrote their names down.  All in all, I moved rooms 3 times and had 5 different beds, no joke.  Since I was on bed rest and couldn't get up for anything (and I mean anything) - I had to learn how to go to the bathroom in a bed pan and Ben being the most amazing person EVER, helped give it to me and empty it after I had used it.  

The nurses loved him, how could they not?  Not only did he change the bed pan but he would also write down all the necessary things the nurses/doctors needed to know after every time it was used.

While on bed rest I was bored to death.  I know now that I should have slept as much as possible but I didn't - mostly because I couldn't get comfortable.  I was depressed because I was alone most of the time - Ben had to go back to work since we didn't know when I was actually going to give birth.  I know that was hard for him.  Upset that I couldn't get up, go for a walk down the halls, take a shower, heck getting out of the bed for a few hours would have been excellent, and in a sour mood because I had missed my baby shower.  Annoyed because I couldn't even get a wheelchair ride (which at the time would have been a real treat!)  I finally did get to go on a wheelchair ride to the NICU after Ben persuaded the doctor where Caleb would spend at least 2 weeks since he would most likely be a preemie.  

Ben was a trooper, he slept on the pull-out couch for a week straight and never once complained about how cold it was in the room, how the makeshift bed hurt his back, or anything.

One day after work, Ben went out and bought me a needle point thing and a tractor to paint so the time would pass by faster.  I should have started those projects when he first brought them to me because halfway through painting the tractor I went into full blown labor at 33 weeks 5 days.

{Contratctions are no joke!}

------------------------------------------------

Thank gosh for Megan (Ben's sister) for being with me Friday  morning, June 8th, 2012 because you guessed it I passed another blood clot.. this time the size of a peach/mango.  I remember getting up to go to the bathroom - I was past the bed pan stage at this point - and seeing her crouch down and screw up her face.  Then she started screaming for the nurse, yanked on the emergency pull in the bathroom, and told me to stop trying to pee.  Later she told me she saw the blood clot coming out and thought it was Caleb.  After they got me back in the bed and hooked back up to the catheter; the doctor checked me and I was 2cm dilated and 100% effaced, he was ready but my body was being stubborn.  

Megan called Ben at work and told him to get back to the hospital.  Ben in turn called his Mom and my parents.

By the time I was given the epidural I was 7cm dilated and 100% effaced, Dr. Nash broke my water, and it was just a waiting game to get to the full dilation so I could push.  We were ready to meet our son!

{Going to the OR}

------------------------------------------------

Labor and delivery was awful, they wheeled me into an OR because the NICU team had to be there for Caleb, I pushed for an hour.  Caleb ended up getting stuck and Dr. Nash had to do an episiotomy -  I didn't even know what that meant at the time but I wanted the pressure gone.  During the delivery process, I lost a lot of blood and my IV machine ended up dying so I had uncontrollable shivers for about an hour afterwards.  

But you know what.. all of it was worth it and I would do it all over again in a heartbeat because our son was perfect (besides being almost 7 weeks early).  He was born 5 lbs 7.4 ounces and 19 inches long.

------------------------------------------------

Once we were settled in our nesting room; I was told I would have to get the feeling back in my legs and go to the bathroom before I'd be allowed to go to the NICU to see Caleb.  I remember the nurse helping me to the bathroom, feeling dizzy, and then everything went black.  I had passed out from the lack of blood during labor and delivery.  When I finally came to - there were 6 nurses around me in a very cramped nesting bathroom waving smelling salts in my face.  So it was back to bed and having another catheter inserted.  

Caleb stayed in the NICU for almost a month.  During his stay Ben and I were kicked out of our nesting room and had to go home without him.  That was by far the worst feeling ever, I hated leaving my baby at the hospital.  I didn't even get to say goodbye to him because I had a fever due to a kidney infection (from one of the many catheters) and wasn't allowed in the NICU.  Needless to say, I went home very depressed and immediately went to sleep once we arrived home.  

A few days later, I had to go back to work so I could save my maternity leave for when he actually got discharged.  After I got off work everyday you bet your bottom I was up there with plenty of pumped breastmilk holding him, taking pictures of him, bathing him, and the like.  Here are a few pictures of him while he was in the NICU..

 

{First pictures I saw of him}

------------------------------------------------

Then on July 2, 2012 we were finally able to take Caleb home with us!  Which was the BEST feeling in the world.. it felt so surreal. 

<3