Lauging Video

Going Home

Thanksgiving

Andrew and I ventured to Seattle to see Auntie Mia and Uncle Eddie. It was a successful trip and fun was had all around. Here are some of the pictures of our trip!

Halloween

Here are some Halloween pictures. We didn't go out trick-or-treating because Drew can't eat candy yet :(

Andrewisms

Yesterday, I was talking to Andrew about Thanksgiving and started poking him in the tummy to see if he was done (like a turkey). He thought that was the funniest thing and started laughing. I kept poking him and he kept laughing, harder and harder. He has a deep, gruff laugh. I will try to get it recorded so you can all hear it.

We have a set schedule for bedtime, otherwise Andrew gets crazy and won't settle down to sleep. We have to put the humidifier on, the dolphin night light, get a bottle all fixed and put on a Harry Potter cd. Then we lie down, him in the crook of my left arm with the bottle resting on the side of me. He will fall asleep like that and I know when he's asleep when I start to feel a little dribble of milk down the side of me and I take the bottle out of his mouth.

He has just discovered his tongue and will now stick it out at all times and roll it around his lips. He tries to stick everthing in his mouth--my hair, blankets, fingers, etc.

While in the car, the only thing that would calm him down was a specific Mexican rap song, but I have found out that it is really any Mexican music that will calm him down.

He hates to have his view blocked. When it is cold outside we put a blanket over his carseat and he gets so mad that he is not able to see what is going on!

When I change him he will hold his knees up for me--his little hands resting on his knees.

Things Andrew Loves

Playing with his papa.
Getting tickled during diaper/clothes changes.
Getting kisses on the lips from mama.
Kicking his legs.
Taking baths.
Watching TV when he's not supposed to.
Church.
Harry Potter.
His baba.
Flippy, his baby dolphin.
His lobster teether.
His swing from grandma.
The color red.
The picture of Elmo on the back of the Chex cereal box.
Staying home with Grandma Lulu.
Reading books--The Littlest Cricket, Dr. Suess's ABCs, Green Eggs and Ham, Sylvester and the Magic Pebble, The Napping House, Little Bunny Follows His Nose, The Hungry Caterpillar, Goodnight Moon.
Watching his mobile that Aunties Jen and Maria gave him.
Sleeping with mom and dad.
Spitting up in his hair.

The Next Couple of Days

The next couple of days were probably the most difficult days of my life. And probably the major reason it has taken me so long to write about Andrew's birth.

I had Strep B and was supposed to have antibiotics in my system so many hours before giving birth but it didn't happen and poor Drew had to have an IV taped to his right arm in order to have antibiotics pumped into his body every few hours as a precautionary measure in case he contracted the Strep B (which he didn't, thank heavens!). Then, they found a heart murmur and one of the stupid male nurses told me (a brand new mom) that it was the loudest heart murmur he had ever heard. On top of all that, he had jaundice. We were supposed to go home on Friday, but Andrew had to stay one more day in order to make sure his jaundiced levels were dropping and the strep culture was negative. So we left Saturday at 11:30 am. My sister Shannon brought us home because Cesar was sleeping in order to go to work that night. My mom and Jenny were already in Utah, but had gone to SLC to do some geneology work.

That first week is really a blur, but luckily my mom was here to take care of me and deal with all the doctors. (A picture of my mom and me during the week she was here).

The day after Andrew came home, we had to go back to the hospital to check his billirubin levels. Then that Monday we had to go to Primary Children's to get his heart checked out--we were there for like 6 hours! He had an EKG and also an ultrasound of his heart. Dr. Everett, who is a saint, sat us down and told us that he had a medium sized hole in his left ventricle. These holes are very common and usually close up. If they do not close up, they are very easily correctable. But she thought Andrew's hole would close up because it was in the muscle. So that was a relief. My mom took Cesar and I out to lunch at Ruby River in SLC and it was really the first time I could enjoy being a new mom.

Wednesday (7 days after Andrew was born), I developed a very painful urinary tract infection. My OB-GYN prescribed me pain pills and an antibiotic to get rid of it. The antibiotic was secreted through breast milk and had a side-effect of harming the baby's heart. I called my OB-GYN and told them that Andrew already had a heart problem and I didn't want to take the chance of causing more damage and asked them to prescribe a different antibiotic. They said they could but that I was guaranteed a yeast infection. At that point I broke down with the horrible UTI pain and exhaustion and my mother took over and called the pediatric cardiologist, the pharmacist, the pediatrician, and the OB-GYN in order to find out what medication I could take that would not harm the baby and would not give me a yeast infection. I just took a normal antibiotic and then an hour after taking the antibiotic I would take an acidophilus pill and I ate yogurt. I did not get a yeast infection and was cured in a week.

I had taken a pain pill for the UTI that made my pee a bright orange and Andrew's diaper had bright orange spots in it for a few days. I mentioned this to the pediatrician at our visit on Friday (10 days after Andrew was born), she said, "Oh, he's dehydrated". At that point, we knew he wasn't getting enough milk from me (which in the hospital, he wasn't getting enought either because he hadn't peed or pooped after 24 hours, so we had to supplement with formula and he peed fine and pooped once). He also had not pooped since the hospital, which was concerning so the pediatrician told me to supplement with formula and if he didn't poop by Sunday at noon, that we would have to bring him in to do tests in order to make sure there was not a more serious problem.

Sunday at 11:55 am, he pooped! My mom wanted to take a picture, but I thought it was too gross. He still isn't a very big pooper, he's an every other day kinda guy.

The first 6 weeks were rough. I was slightly crazy with all the hormones and having a brand new baby and figuring out where I fit in our new family. Cesar was very patient and understanding. In fact, I asked him a few weeks ago if he realized that I was crazy and he said he had no idea.

(The reason why Andrew's nickname is "chupa dedo", because 20 minutes after being born, he found great delight in sucking on his fingers!)

Before The Beginning

Tuesday, June 27, 2006, I didn't go to work. I had had a horrible night with contractions and decided not to go into work. I made an appointment to see my OB-GYN that day to see what was going on since they had been saying I would be giving birth any day for the past 2 weeks. As I was going up to Orem to their office, a huge rock hit our windshield making a pretty good sized pit. I was so mad! That meant I had to go get that darn thing fixed after my appointment and before I could go home to bed!

At my appointment Dr. Gammet checked me out and pulled out my mucous plug (It was nasty!). He said by the end of the week I should have this baby.

I went out looking for a rock chip repair stand that I had seen on State Street in Orem. I found it but nobody was there. I was MAD! I then had to go all the way down to Provo to the glass window fix-it company over by the hospital. I got there, pretty steamed and asked how long it would take them to fix it because the last time I had been there I had to wait like 45 minutes. They told me 10 minutes. I said, "OK, do your business". It was finally fixed and I got to go home to rest.

I got home, laid on the couch for 45 minutes and then decided I wanted to make a ham dinner with mashed potatoes and a pineapple upside down cake (Jenny, my sinster, says that this was my energy burst right before giving birth). That night, Cesar had to work. So we had a lovely dinner and I sent him on his way assuring him nothing was going to happen tonight. Anyway, we had set up a plan that IF something was to happen I was to have his parents take me to the hospital.

Well, I go to bed at 9:00 pm. The contractions start. At first I don't pay attention and try to ignore them so I can go to sleep. But then they become really regular and decide to time them. They are 5 minutes apart. I try to convince myself that I can deal with them and that first babies always take along time to come. At 11:30 pm I am in such pain and in tears. I call Cesar at work. His supervisor answers the phone and I am in tears telling him to have Cesar call me ASAP because I am having a baby. Cesar calls 5 minutes later and asks what is going on. I tell him I don't want his parents to take me to the hospital and that he needs to come home now and take me to the hospital. He says okay and hangs up.

I start getting the last minute stuff packed, but not very quickly as I have to stop doing what I'm doing each time a contraction comes.

Cesar comes home, I'm trying to carry the suitcase up the stairs. He stops me, says that he will do it and asks if he can take a quick shower before we go. I tell him yes, but to make it really quick.

We finally get in the car around12:30 am on the 28th. Cesar drives 100 mph to the hospital. I get freaked out and tell him to slow down.

We get to the hospital and get all settled in and they measure me and I'm just at 3 cm! I could have died. I thought I was going to be able to make it without any medication but I was dying at 3 cm! They said that they would let me stay and would check me in an hour to see if I would progress. If I wasn't progressing, they would send me home.

In an hour I was at 4 cm and dying. Poor Cesar had to push my knees towards my stomach each time a contraction came to make the pain bearable. At that point they admitted me and I said I wanted an epidural. They said it might take a while because the anesthesiologist was with another patient. I said okay but just make sure he gets to me. Not 10 minutes pass by when the anesthesiologist comes by and says, "I hear somebody needs an epidural". I said, "I thought it was gonna be awhile". He says, "The lady wasn't prepped". Or something and therefore he couldn't give it to her. He did his business and it didn't hurt at all--he even had to prick me twice to get it in right. After that, it was great! I felt nothing and was very comfortable. In fact, here is a picture of me drugged up!


After the epidural, I just tried to sleep and watched TV. It's great having cable! I progressed pretty slowly and didn't start actively pushing until about 3:00 that afternoon. They were supposed to give me antibiotics because I had Strep B, but they didn't give it to me soon enough before Andrew was born, so the poor kid had to have an IV of antibiotics taped to his right arm. Andrew's head was turned to the right, so that is why he wasn't coming out. So, Dr. Dayton said that he would try to get him out with forceps, but if he couldn't he would have to do a C-section. At that point I was pushing and praying hard that this little guy would come out of me. Dr. Dayton was able to get him out at 5:28 pm on Wednesday, June 28, 2006 after 20 hours of labor! He was 8 pound 13 ounces and was 20 inches long! With a full head of black hair!

The Beginning

Since I have not been able to find a suitably cute baby book for Andrew, I've decided to blog about all of his important stuff. I'm about 4 months late, but hopefully I'll be able to remember all that has happened and be able to keep up on all of his current discoveries!