Baby Travels

A week ago today Desmond and I headed to the airport to visit Ohio. Leading up to the trip I'd worked myself into such a mess I had a stomach ache! What if I forgot something, what if he had a meltdown on the plane, what if east coast time screwed up whatever little schedule we'd managed to get him on, what if...what if...what if. I wish I could've stopped myself from getting into such a state, as it was not all that bad!

This isn't to say the trip was completely smooth sailing. Tuesday morning we gave ourselves an hour and a half to get dressed and out of the house. Lesson learned, this is NOT enough time when dealing with a newborn. Somehow we were running a bit behind still. Then, when we got to the airport, United didn't have anyone manning the curbside check and there was a huge line in front of the check-in counters. I tried not to panic and got in line. It didn't move at all! I started panicking that I'd miss the cut off to check my bag and was commiserating with the woman in front of me when she let me know that that line was for canceled flights! So I'd wasted all this time in the wrong line! I ran up to an agent (crying at this point - damn hormones and sleep deprivation!!) and explained my mistake but it was no good, it was 5min past the cut off. She sent me back to the canceled flight line so get help. 

Long story short, another agent came and pulled me out of line ("You shouldn't wait here with that baby!") and helped me get on a new set of flights and apologized that they were so swamped no one was available to catch me before I got stuck in the wrong line. This flight would get me into Cleveland at 11pm instead of 5. Mind you Desmond normally starts his fussy beyond consolation period around 6, so I was worrying this would mean I'd have one loud angry baby on the second flight. 

Mark came to get us so we could wait for the new flight at home instead of at the airport, and Des and I both got naps. I think this made ALL the difference. When we got back the airport Desmond decided he should keep the drama of our travel day going by doing a MASSIVE blow out which somehow managed to shoot all the way up his back avoiding his pants and - now this is the crazy part - missed his jacket too! So I found myself in the bathroom with a naked baby giving him a wipe bath (meanwhile he was all bright eyed and smiling at the lady washing her hands) trying to figure out if I should wash out his onesie or just pitch it. It got pitched, lol. Luckily I did think to pack extra onesies, I thought incase he puked but this worked too. 

After little man got dressed again and back in the wrap he passed out...for most of the first flight! *insert mommy happy dance!* But then he woke up and did another poo-splosion, le sigh. I discovered that there are changing tables in the airplane lav's though!! It was actually a more useful station than the one in the airport bathroom! 

The rest of that flight was thankfully uneventful, he just played with his monkey lovie. Before we got off the plane though, thanks to my friend Michelle's suggestion, I asked if Des could get a photo with the pilot and wings since this was his first flight. The pilot had already left but the flight attendant let us take a picture in the captains chair!! 

The second flight was as smooth as it could possibly be with a bub that was sick of being confined to tight spaces. This kid loves to kick and there was just no room! 

There was a lovely elderly couple that were so nice and helpful - from offering their tray table to carrying my bag for me when I went to change his diaper (regular, no poo for once lol). It definitely made things go by faster. I was kind of nervous about nursing in such tight spaces, even if the grandfatherly guy next to me was as friendly as could be, but my wrap gave plenty of privacy :) 

I was so ready to get off the plane even though it wasn't a bad trip. Plus I knew Tita Maya and Grammy were probably about two inches from the baggage claim escalators waiting to see the Des...well and me. Lol. Sure enough, Maya was leaning down to look up the escalator and get the first view of us. They engulfed us in hugs and coos all over Desmond. I did get love after the initial baby smooches were given :)

Desmond was SO not loving the cold and the need for a coat!! I thought he was a down right adorable blue hooded teddy bear, he was probably wondering what the fussy beast was that was eating him whole! 

It's taken most of my visit just to write the travel portion of our story so I'll leave the summary of our stay for another post. Suffice it to say for now that Desmond is one extremely loved little man who got to meet a lot of the people who care so much for him. 

The Beach Revisited

We've been very excited to spend this weekend with Desmond's godmommy,  Katelin. She's been looking forward to meeting the bub and they have been getting along great, he hasn't even peed on her during diaper changes! Must be love, lol!

Since this weekend's been so warm, and since Katelin is loving the break from the polar vortex going on back east, we decided to have Desmond revisit his beach aversion. He seemed to really like it (or at least not mind it) this time around! 

There were no tears when his feet hit the sand! 

He didn't seem to mind his hat either. 

He got in lots of godmommy snuggles! 

And we finally got some photos with all three of us together! All and all a great beach trip for us and the bub! We can't wait until it's warm enough to have Desmond test out the water!

It was awesome having Katelin around again We miss her already and can't wait for our next visit!

Desmond's First Set of Wheels

What's that? Oh this is just my new ride. 

Figured I'd take it out for a spin. 

Just rollin' rollin' rollin'. 

Let's see what kinda speed this bad boy can get!

Woah!!

Yeaaaaaah!!! 

*Special thanks to Jeff Rosen for his awesome gift basket! 

Two Months Old!

Time flies when you're having fun...or not sleeping, whichever! I can't believe it, but our little bub is two months already. He's changed so much since we brought him home.

Most recently his favorite things are:

• Taking baths! This is a change from last month where he thought bath time was right up there with attempted murder.  
• Eating his fingers! Someone's found his hands and they are apparently quite tasty, lol. 
• Playtime on the activity mat! Last month he'd cry almost as soon as you set him down. Now he's discovered that there is a handsome little guy living in the mirror that keeps him entertained while he's down there.
• Bouncing! This is best done while mom or dad hold him and bounce on the exercise ball. We cannot wait until he is old enough to use a bouncer on his own!
• Sleeping while being held! Another one we can't wait for him to outgrow, this sleep deprivation is getting to me.

And his recent dislikes are:

• Getting out of the bath. This and pretty much anything that makes him chilly. Once we took a hair dryer to his towel before wrapping him in it and it seemed to help, but I'm not ready to get Sir Desmond spoiled into thinking this treatment is to be the norm or I can see him at 5 yrs old still asking for it, lol!
• Sitting still. See his love for bouncing above.
• Waking up. Whether it be from a short nap and he just ate, or while at night and he is hungry, this kid just doesn't like leaving dreamland. This baffles me considering how hard he fights actually going to sleep!
• Sleeping without someone holding him. Again, whether it be naps or night time, this kid has a radar in his dreamland alerting him to the fact he's been set down. REALLY need this phase to be outgrown STAT.

Other achievements we've seen in the past month include:

• Social smiles!!

          

• Sleeping in the crib/Pack-n-Play (When he sleeps that is)
• Recognizing mommy! Or so it seems when he cries when I'm out of sight and calms when I come back. 
• And best of all - Being a super baby!!

          

First Beach Trip

Desmond finally made it to the beach today! This was an impromptu visit as there was an unexpected power outage on campus. We decided to go get breakfast and since little man was still up after we ate, we hopped over to see what he thought of the sun and sand. Here's his reaction:

Great right? I think he'll be begging to come back tomorrow, lol!

As long as he was in arms and sand free he did much better.

We'll try again when it's warmer and he's not on the verge of really needing a nap. I think the sound of the ocean - the ULTIMATE white noise - was too much for him and it knocked out in about 5 minutes. We've got to squeeze in as much beach time as we can in case Mark gets a job that takes us away from sunny SoCal.

Day Two: Sleep Training

Verdict from last night, umm let's call it a draw. Desmond slept from 9:30 to 2:30!! That was a great 5 hrs, even if I kept poking my head over the edge of the crib to check on him with his every grunt. Mark eventually took my shoulder, laid me back down and actually scolded me! He told me to go to sleep and stop worrying because we both know Des would let us know - loudly - when he woke up and I'd better take advantage of this long stretch to get some real rest. 

Well wake me he did! I was pleasantly surprised by how fast he ate and went back down. Two and a half hours later though he decided he'd had enough of the crib and after many attempts to calm him and put him back down, Desmond won and made it into our bed. BUT he did sleep until 8:30! 

This is definitely progress so I'm calling it a draw since he still made it into our bed. With the 5 hrs I got last night I may even extend this 3 day experiment to a 4th! I know this long sleep stretch can be a tease like when he slept through the night a few weeks ago, but I'm going to stay hopeful/delusional, lol. 

Other changes on the way, little man will be moving his pack n play from our room to his nursery tonight. The hope is that this momma can hopefully get a bit of sleep when he is down and stop cracking an eye open with every grunt or other noise he makes - which is pretty much a near constant serenade. 

Here's hoping tonight goes just as well, if not better! 

I think a photo is the best way to end this post. This was waking up from nap time since it was still too dark for a pic, and he was kinda pissed, when he woke up to get out of the crib this morning. 

Sleep Training is Tiring

Desmond has a preference, like most babies, of sleeping on someone rather than being out down. The next best thing being sleeping in one of his seats at an incline. He's also, I believe, started to learn that crying gets him attention. This is a very bad combination when you are trying to train your baby to sleep in his 'crib'. (We have a Pack n play instead of a crib since we'll be moving sooner than later.)

Last night was the first night in our 3-day trial experiment of transitioning the bub from his Rock n Play or Bouncer seat to his crib. Why 3 days? Because if we fail, I don't think I'll be functioning very well after 3 sleepless nights and I'm willing to fold for a good night sleep. Can always try again, right! 

It was a sleepless night to say the least...for both of us. He'd go down for 10-30 mins, realize he's no longer being held and wail. Pick him up, and he'd settle down near immediately. Rinse and repeat. Now he's so tired he can't even nap. 

He does look so adorable before he wakes up though!

Wish us luck (and energy)! So far the score is Desmond 1, parents 0. 

Rough mornings

Des says, 'That was one rough morning, better make that boob a double.'

Last night someone decided to want feedings every 2-3 hours, but that was alright because he slept 4 hrs in the last stretch til morning so momma was alright. He even gave me a few smiles when I got him ready to eat. That, my dear family, should've been my first tip off of what was to come.

Not five seconds after he began eating, I heard the familiar sounds of him making room for breakfast with an explosive poo. I wasn't worried, it was normal. Well I wasn't worried until I moved my hand to readjust my hold on him and felt slimy goo all up his back through his sleeper and, of course, all down my pjs too.

I got up to check out the damage in the bathroom mirror. Oh so much worse than I thought! There was no where I could hold him besides his feet that would avoid the poo-splosion. I called for Mark to come help, but there was no answer. Duh! He was already at work, missing out on all this fun ::)

Oh mind you this entire time Des was still hooked on eating away.

I go to the nursery and, with my toes bc my hands are covered in poo, grabbed the last blue hazmat bed liner we nicked from the hospital. You know the ones they have you sit on after your water breaks to save the bedding from getting wet? Yeah well we took a bunch as I figured they'd make great disposable liners for the changing table (read as less laundry). But I digress. I took that liner and wrapped up Des in it so the poo wouldn't continue to get everywhere. And no, he didn't relinquish the boob for a second to help me out here.

Once he was finally done, I said eff it and decided the only solution was for both of us to get in shower. Since he was wrapped in the blue liner I could put him down to get his poo saturated clothes and diaper off. Then we got in the shower. I was expecting the wails. I prepared for them. He is all smiles and cooing faces. Guess he likes shower time better than bath time!

Both of us now poo free, I turn the water off .... aaaand there go the wails!! The kid does not like to be chilled for a second!! So after the drying, lotioning, diapering, dressing, hair brushing, and of course more feeding, little Des-monster is now fast asleep again while momma has to wash some clothes in the tub before the orange poo stains set in to both of our favorite pjs. (The ducky sleeper!! Say it isn't so!!) 

One Month Already!

I can't believe we've already made it to one month! And we haven't broken the baby, lol! Sorry the posts have been ... well none, but we have been having quite a time getting used to our new little one.  He's a bit of a crier and colicky, so I'm not really sure where the days go with trying to calm him, but they do seem to be flying by. I'm told by 3 months this cry cage should be over. One down, two to go! We totally got this - yaaaawwwwwwn!

Thank God for visiting family help too! Honestly, I don't think I could have made it to one month without them. You are awesome Grands and Tita Maya!

Aside from the fact that Desmond dear is somewhat colicky, here are some highlights of what we've learned about our little man since we brought him home.

Our nights are still rather sleepless, but we are getting closer to more 4-6 hour stretches than not. Mark comes home from work ready to grab Desmond and make up for his time away and it couldn't melt my heart more. 

Oh, and most of the Evelyn pink and ruffly has been changed out for more appropriate boy colors and themes :) Thanks to everyone who helped with care packs!

Desmond Lewis Gibbs Makes His Debut

I know some people like to hear birth stories, or at least I couldn't get enough of them as I got closer and closer to my due date, so I wanted I would share mine. It's taken a few weeks to get posted I know, but we've been having so much fun (lack of sleep) getting to know our new little one that I've gotten behind in updating. Without further ado - Desmond's birth story!

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We arrived at the hospital at 8am Sun the 15th for the induction as there was concern regarding the baby’s heart rate. They got me settled in and started an NST (non-stress test) to see how baby was doing. This is where monitors are attached to my belly to monitor things inside. Turns out we failed it twice in the time they had us hooked up and had we waited until our regular NST scheduled for the next day, we would have been sent over for the induction anyway. This made me feel so much more comfortable with the decision to be induced!

I came in at 4cm/75% effaced. They started me on Pitocin and I labored like that with the pain at a very low level for pretty much all freaking day. I felt the contractions but they were completely manageable, even with the Pit on its max. The worst part at this point was my STARVING since I hadn’t eaten since 7am. Around 7:30pm they checked me and saw I still hadn’t progressed passed 4cm, even though I was 100% effaced at this point, so they broke my water.

That turned into a shit storm that is a bit of a blur. They didn’t turn down the Pit when they broke my water, but my body kicked into its own labor efforts when they did, so this resulted in a 15min long constant contraction that baby realllly didn’t like. They shut down the Pit, gave me a shot of something (terbutaline?) that relaxed my uterus to stop the contraction, but it gave me the worst shakes! Once it wore off my body kicked into gear with some insanely painful contractions! Mark helped me through them sans pain meds until 10:30pm or so when they came to check me again. I thought after all that for sure I’d be close, but no…4cm STILL. I broke down crying and got the epidural.

At first the epi didn’t work, my muscles were numbed but my nerves were not and I was barely handling each contraction. The anesthesiologist finally topped me off with something after Mark told him that the dentist has to give me 3x the lidocaine to numb me fully (epidurals are in the same medication type family). It finally started working around midnight and I slept for about 15 mins, although it felt like 3 hrs. I woke up and told them it was hurting around my hip in about a fist size spot so they checked me again and I’d gone to 9 cm!! I went into transition pretty fast after that as the baby dropped into my pelvis.

Next thing I know I was pushing, and about 1.5 hrs later they were raising the baby up for us to see. Mark says that there was a moment of silence, then I just said what everyone was thinking “That’s a boy!” We had a 6lb 6oz, 20.5in bundle of cuteness!!

As for choosing a name with this surprise sex switch, it was really easy to decide. We’d had it down to 2 boy names, one that he loved and one I did, before we were told the sex was a girl. When he came out he just looked like a Desmond (Mark’s pick), not a Daniel (my pick), so easy peasy!