Big Ideas & Good Intentions

It is not quite 6am. It's Sunday. We are a day behind of our projected schedule. However I planned to have some room for error. David was up all night with Wyatt (he totally gets the "Amazing Husband" Award for letting me sleep!) I have to put together our last-minute things and then we are hitting the road. While we've been traveling for a week, today is the last day in our home. It's a bit sad.

I've got lots of pictures on my camera of our little man. He's growing like a weed and changing every day. I have lots of stories to share. However, real life is preventing that right now. I will get this updated as soon as I can with more pictures and lots of stories. We will be seeing so many friends and family starting today! I'm excited and exhausted at the thought.

I hope everyone is having a fantastic week!!

Welcome to Army life, kid...

Wyatt is already racking up experience as an Army brat! Yesterday the packers came to pack & load all the things I'm taking with me to AZ. It was a flurry of people all moving quickly and noisy taping up boxes and emptying my house. Wyatt slept through the entire thing! He was right in the middle of it all and completely unaware. He's a great sleeper and noise doesn't bother him a bit--dogs barking, TV, vacuum, or movers don't wake him.

The house is looking rather empty. David says it reminds him of his bachelor days. Day after tomorrow we make our first leg of the adventure. We will head to AZ to meet Wyatt's GGpa's (great grandpa's), cousins, and aunts & uncles as well as receive the household goods from the movers. We will also be there to celebrate my sister's birthday! I'm looking forward to the visit. It will be a quick trip, but I'm hoping we'll have time to rest a bit. From AZ we will head back here to load up everything we need for TX. Then we'll go to Abq to visit with David's Aunt & Uncle, then on to Santa Fe. We'll spend 2 nights in SF just to enjoy it and take a short family vacation. From SF we will head to Colorado Springs for Uncle Robert's retirement from the Navy and visit with cousins, aunt & uncle, and most importantly BamBam & Grandpa Holt! After that, David will drive to TX and Wyatt will take his first airplane trip! This kid is getting all kinds of experience and he's not even a month old!

Wyatt's doing fantastic. He's just amazing and he's growing like a weed! He's already starting to fill out his newborn sized clothing! Here are a few more of the pictures I took. I had big intentions of editing them and making them pretty, but I haven't had a moment or the energy. Maybe when we get to TX and my to-do list is much shorter.

Two week check up... he's growing!

Today Wyatt had his two week check up. It was a great visit. I love the pediatrician here--and of course I'm leaving. But, Wyatt has gained 13 ounces since our last visit (8 days ago)!! He has a total gain of 20 ounces (including the recovered weight he lost in SCU). The doctor is REALLY impressed and said he didn't expect Wyatt to do so well after he had such a rough start (All of your prayers have continued to work!! THANK YOU!!). He was expecting to have to talk to me about trying to keep him at and above birth weight. Well today he came in at just over 8 lbs! The doc was very happy! He also looked at his umbilical stump and told me that I need to get more aggressive with it to get it to dry up. The more he looked at it and saw that Wyatt already has an "innie" he decided to go ahead and cut it off and put some silver nitrate on it to help dry it up. When the doc cut it off, he found that there were still two blood vessels feeding the stump! He said it would have taken a VERY long time for it to fall off. Wyatt was not happy about the umbilical cord and he wailed like he hasn't ever done before! The doctor was happy to see that he CAN cry. :)

I had my post-op yesterday. My incision is looking really good. I've lost all my baby weight and then an extra pound! However, I have an infection called endomitritis. My understanding of it is that the lining of my uterus didn't sufficiently sluff everything and it's become infected. She put me on an antibiotic and also something to help my uterus continue to contract down to it's normal size. I started the antibiotics yesterday and today I woke up feeling like a whole new person! Today I was able to take very few pain medications and was able to get quite a bit done today. I did get tired late this afternoon, but Wyatt & I snuggled on the couch while I rested/napped for about 2 hours. I'm feeling a lot better today than I have since Wyatt was born.

Tomorrow we are headed to El Paso to see everyone at David's office. David is a very proud papa and excited to show off his boy! Please pray for my strength tomorrow. We will visit everyone in EP and then I need to finish sorting our things for the packers. The packers and movers will be here Friday to pick up everything going to AZ. We are almost ready for them, but I need to dedicate a few good hours to finishing up all the sorting. David's been working really hard to get his stuff situated as well as keep up with emails with the new unit and finish out-processing the current unit. David finished the roof today. Our fantastic friends, Heather & Ryan, helped us very much yesterday! Ryan was up on the roof with David to help finish re-sealing it, Heather spent the day driving me around and helping with Wyatt (she is a fantastic right-hand-woman). Honestly, we wouldn't be nearly as ready without Heather & Ryan and my mom's help!

I wanted to add more pictures from today, but it's late. Wyatt & David are snuggling in their post-bath bliss. We all need to get to bed. I will try to add pictures soon.

Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and love and support. It is truly felt and appreciated more than I can articulate!

Just a few pics, update to follow...

I will update later today, but had to share one or two pics I just took.

Wyatt's first Easter...

HAPPY EASTER! HE IS RISEN!!

In the midst of packing, sorting, stuffing, and such we stopped today to celebrate the most glorious event to ever happen to mankind--the resurrection of our Savior, Christ Jesus!

Our morning started early since my mom & I were working until about 1:30am last night! Sure enough, Wyatt was up about an hour and a half after I finally fell into bed. He's been a fantastic sleeper the whole time, but last night he had violent hiccups and we were up for a while. Poor kiddo! Today we all got dressed up and headed to church. Wyatt was beyond adorable in his little sweater vest and dress shirt! (of course I'm a bit biased).

The Easter Bunny was good to Wyatt this year--brought him a little chick basket, a new Bible, a jumping frog, a beanie bunny, and a little rolling chicken toy. Daddy took the Cadburry Eggs and mommy enjoyed the peeps on Wyatt's behalf. Oh--and the Easter Bunny left a new movie for both Wyatt at mommy--Fern Gully!!

We went to church and enjoyed a delicious brunch and Wyatt wowed everyone. Everyone was so excited to see him. He got told how beautiful he was about every minute! He's already got a huge fan base. Everyone is really bummed that we are moving and they won't get to enjoy Wyatt for long. After brunch we all moved into the gym (our church has Easter at the private school to accommodate all 3 services) and enjoyed a wonderful sermon. We are going to miss this church and all of the wonderful people in it. Wyatt slept through the entire service! He loved the singing (he'd snuggle into whoever was holding him), but did not enjoy the applause. He'd flinch and scrunch his face every time.

After church, we headed home and enjoyed a casserole that Stephanie was wonderful enough to prepare for us while I was in the hospital! We had ground turkey baked ziti. It was DELICIOUS!! After lunch, we packed up the freezers into the cooler, packed up the seasonings cabinet and loaded mom & dad's car. Mom & dad headed home this afternoon. I'm still secretly hoping mom wants to move in with me. She has been a priceless help these last 2 weeks. I'm apprehensive about tonight, but I remind myself that many moms have survived without their mom. Plus she deserves to go back to her life as many many many people missed her these two weeks.

Once mom left, Wyatt & I enjoyed a nap and just took the day to rest. We are still being abundantly blessed with dinners from our church family. Those have been absolute life savers! I am still quite sore from the c-section as I have not had the opportunity to truly rest. My mom did most of the work, but I still had to keep moving, making decisions, etc. The surgery took a lot out of me and I'm definitely feeling it. I am so thankful for all of you who have brought us meals. It has really helped more than I can express!

To finish on a fun note... things we've learned about Wyatt in the last 2 weeks:

He already has a favorite blanket--it's a soft mink-type blanket that has airplanes all over it! I swear to you that he has picked this one out all on his own! You should see him snuggle into it as soon as it touches him!

He LOVES bath time--especially getting his hair washed and then getting wrapped in his towel from Mary Jane for snuggle time with Daddy. He & daddy definitely like the post-bath time the best!

He loves music! We have some music channels with our digital cable. One of David & my favorite stations is called "Singers & Standards." Wyatt settles anytime that is on. He loves the music on his bassinet too.

He loves car rides! He hates getting buckled into the seat, but once we are moving, he is very happy!

He loves being "worn" in our sling! He snuggles in and usually goes right to sleep. He likes to look up at me and just take in the world. I strap him on every time we go out and he does fantastic!

We all hope that all of you had a magnificent Easter!

Today is Wyatt's due date!

It's hard to believe that today is the day we expected our little man. In some ways, it seems like he's always been with us and in other ways it's hard to believe we've had him for a whole week!

-------> Wyatt hanging out while the kitchen gets packed.

We have had a very big week. We are making progress on the moving part courtesy of my mom and my friend Heather. They have both been life savers for me & David. David's been working still trying to out-process and tomorrow will be his first day of paternity leave. I'm looking forward to having him home.

Wyatt's had his first bath (and several after that), been to church, had his first doctor's appointment, and then another, been to mommy's doc appointment, watched as the house gets packed, and more!

Doc appointments: Wyatt got me concerned on Saturday when his eyes were crusted shut with yellow & green gunk. The whites of his eyes were gray and he just looked miserable. We found an after hours pediatrician clinic. They were WONDERFUL. When I signed in and they asked how old he was (5 days) they immediately took us to a separate room so we didn't have to wait with all the other sick kiddos! They got us in & out really fast. The doctor was wonderful and Wyatt just has some clogged tear ducts. We were given instructions on tear duct massage & got a prescription for some eye cream to keep it from getting infected.
Today Wyatt had his one week check up. He came in a 7 lbs, 3 oz!! It's a relief to know that this nursing thing is working! The doctor was very impressed and didn't expect him to be doing so well. He is not jaundiced anymore at all--the doc said that it usually takes a lot longer for babies to "whiten up" (his words) when they are breast fed. He said, "Wow, you have great milk!" I've never had quite a compliment like that before. haha! The doctor was very happy with Wyatt's progress and we'll see him again in a week.
My doc appointment yesterday went really well. I got my staples out, so I don't have a zipper anymore! The incision is healing fantastically and I'm all steri-stripped now. The sensation is starting to come back and I'm wishing it was still numb. I'm still hurting quite a bit if I do too much. Sadly, "too much" isn't much at all. It's tough for me to sit back and watch everyone else working around me--especially since we are trying to pack and get a move going. However--the good news is that this morning I weighed in at only one pound over my pre-pregnancy weight! I'm excited and can't wait to get into my old jeans! I actually put on a pair yesterday and they fit--but because of the incision I couldn't sit in them. Soon I should be back in my regular clothes!

Wyatt's been a bit colicky at night. I'm trying to figure out if it's anything I'm eating. It's hard to tell yet. However, we've discovered that if we give him a bath when he starts to get upset he will settle and have a much better night. His favorite part of the bath is getting water on his head! It's hilarious to watch. He will stop crying and his eyes roll back into his head. It's adorable! Wyatt LOVES being naked (well, only diaper) and wrapped in a towel or blanket. After he gets all cleaned he & daddy snuggle and they both love it. It makes my heart melt!

Wyatt's a great sleeper so far. We are very spoiled. Nursing has gone really well and I'm so thankful. It could have been so much harder since he was started with a stomach tube and then to a bottle. I know that not all babies will transition from a bottle to nursing. We are so blessed that it's going so well!

We've been abundantly blessed with friends from church bringing dinners to us! We have had some DELICIOUS dinners and are so thankful for all the love that people have for us. Thank you for everyone's prayers, thoughts, notes, calls, gifts, and more. We are so lucky to have so many friends and family who loves us so much!

Our first day at home

I thought I'd find a reason to share some pictures of our handsome little guy. We have had a great first day at home. Daddy slept in and snuggled with us in bed for our morning nursing. It was the perfect way to wake up. Wyatt is getting this nursing thing down and he chowed down for about 45 minutes! Wyatt blessed us with a full night of sleep! He slept from 11:30-4am when I woke him up to feed him. He ate for almost an hour, then slept from 5-8:30! I hope this trend will continue, but I'm not holding my breath. :) Daddy helped get him dressed and then spent some time with all of our children--the dogs & Wyatt. Here is David helping get the dogs familiar with this new little person who lives here now.

Once David left for work, we got a few things done around the house (actually, I ate and my mom was helping get stuff done). Wyatt hung out in his bouncer while I got a few phone calls made (it's amazing how many doc appointments we have to do in the next few days/weeks), some stuff ordered, and my list for today made. I've been going a bit stir crazy and ready to get out for a bit. We loaded up and headed to Target to get a few boy things. I found Wyatt his Easter outfit, picked up some shoes, and also a few sleepers. It was tough to keep myself in check. It was a fun shopping day! Wyatt spent the time in our ring sling and he snuggled into me and slept the entire time. I did pretty good at the store, but then it all kind of caught up to me at once. We headed home and it was nap time for all!

During nap time, Wyatt hung out in the living room in his bouncer (so I didn't get waken by every grunt and sigh) while my mom got to work! She helped organize all of Wyatt's things so we can see what we have and what we still need. We don't really need anything since we've been so abundantly blessed by our friends and families. The only thing we need to pick up is a diaper pail.

My friend Kristy brought dinner over and it was great to visit with her! After dinner, Wyatt got his first round of colic. David is amazing and snuggled him for over an hour while Wyatt screamed and cried. It broke my heart, but David got him settled and rubbed his tummy. After an hour or so, we switched. Right now, Wyatt is out cold snuggled up on David's chest. It's the most beautiful sight I have ever seen.

We are home!!

It has been a very big day for all of us, so this will be short. I just wanted to let everyone know that we are home and everyone is doing great! Wyatt was checked this morning by the pediatrician and given a clean bill of health. The doc was surprised and how rapidly Wyatt improved. I'm not--we had a lot of people praying for us! Wyatt's day also included getting a circumcision so he's been quite a bit uncomfy. It breaks my heart to see him hurting so much, but I know that he'll never remember this. We are still learning this whole nursing thing, but we are improving. There are times when we both get frustrated, but that's to be expected.

I am doing pretty well. I'm pretty sore. All the skin around the incision is starting to wake up so it's starting to burn. The OB decided she wants to follow up with me on Monday so I came home with all my staples. It looks like I have a zipper! While in the hospital we found the perfect pain management plan as far as medications. I got behind it today courtesy of the pharmacy (takes forever to get them filled!). Tonight I'm pretty uncomfortable and incredibly tired. I'm hoping tomorrow goes better for my pain management.

I will add more pictures of our little man some time tomorrow. For now, I am falling asleep at the keyboard. :) Wyatt has a full belly and is happily sleeping next to me. That's my cue that it's time for me to sleep too. :)

THANK YOU again for all your prayers!!

Just one more picture...

This one is too adorable to keep to myself. :) Enjoy!

Daddy & his little man:

Wyatt is wireless!!

My three David's (Gpa David, Daddy David, and David Wyatt)
Snuggling with mommy shortly after arriving in our room.
Awake and taking it all in!
Full tummy and content
My angel.

First and foremost, THANK YOU ALL so much for all your prayers! The pediatrician didn't think I'd get to nurse Wyatt until tomorrow. Not only have we nursed, he has moved out of Special Care and into my room! He's doing really well! He continues to be a content little guy. He's learning how to get this eating thing going. You can see in the pictures that I forgot to pack a pair of nail clippers so he's scratched himself up. You can also see a red mark from the tape for the stomach tube he had until today. However, it's great to see his whole face without all the wires and tape.

I'm doing pretty well. I've been up and walking today. I may have pushed myself a little too hard, but I just wanted to be with my little guy. I spent a good chunk of time walking from my room to the Special Care nursery to spend some time with Wyatt. He would settle with me & David there, so I just wanted to be with him to help him feel better. Now it's 2:20 am and I've got a good case of insomnia. If this post is a bit incoherent, I'm blaming insomnia. :)

My mom has been a lifesaver and is still hanging out with me tonight. David has to get some stuff done at work tomorrow & Thursday. He is already an amazing daddy and I am going to be lost without him tomorrow! I'm so glad I'll still have my mom.

That's probably enough of an update for 2:30 in the morning. :) Thank you again for all your prayers! We are taking this time in the hospital for Wyatt & me to get recovered. David is trying to keep up with calls & emails. I promise I will get to all of you eventually! Thank you for your love! We can feel it surrounding us.