Jonah: 3 Month Update

Weight: 13 lb 2 oz

Height: 24 inches

Milestones:

Little J is quite vocal these days, giving us plenty of squeals, coo’s, goo’s and lots of sweet giggles.

He can bring his hands together and grasps items when brought near to him.

He can follow an object (his favorite is a light up glow worm) across his field of vision.

He can hold his head pretty steady when upright and he can bear most of his weight on his legs when we help him balance.

 Favorite Activities:

-Nothing all that new here: bouncing on the exercise ball, playing on his piano play mat and sitting in laps watching the world around him.  Although one surprising item that is capturing Jonah's attention more lately is his whale mobile.  Honestly, we thought mobiles were just cute decorating accessories.  We were fairly surprised to learn that Jonah loves to lie in his crib while watching and listening to those whales!  Oh and he still LOVES to kick!

Jonah’s Sleep:

• Jonah’s nighttime sleep has been two steps forward, one step back. We had a couple days of a miraculous 8.5-9 hours straight through the night, and then a couple more of waking every few hours crying. After a week of ups and downs, we settled back into a solid 6-hour stretch.   Although the past few nights he’s been stretching his night sleep by an additional hour or two, which we’re thrilled about. And we’re slowly trying to move his bedtime earlier. We’re at about 8/8:15pm these days.
• Naps are still pretty short; most are between 40-50 minutes (although he takes 4-5 each day).  Every now and then we’ll get a 1.5 hour nap. I’ve done a lot of reading about sleep training (Babywise, Health Sleep Habits, Happy Child, Moms on Call and a handful of blogs) and so far nothing is really helping him extend those naps.  So for now we’re being patient and hoping he consolidates and organizes his daytime sleep within the next few months. 

Mom’s Sleep:

I’ve been meaning to mention a couple interesting phenomena that have accompanied the strange sleep rhythms of having a newborn. 

1. Phantom Cries: This has been happening since day 1 and has slowly become less common.  Sometimes when I’m sleeping and not on Jonah duty I’ll hear what I think are his cries only to learn that I was mis-perceiving the white-noise of our house (fans, air-conditioners, dishwashers, etc.).  I think it’s a side effect of a heightened awareness coupled with some post-partum anxiety. 
2. Vivid Dream Life: I’ve also noticed that I’m remembering far more dreams and in far more detail these days. It’s been kindof fun!  I think this is a result of short sleep intervals. 

Health:

Hallelujah! The gas is finally under control!  We deployed every weapon in the gas-battling arsenal we could find: infant probiotics, lactase enzyme drops, Gripe Water, and even the infamous Baby Butt Straws, in addition to the strategies we tried last month: dairy free diet and lip/tongue tie corrections.  Something is working…but we’re not sure what, so we’re just gonna keep doing it all!  And in the end we’ll probably discover that it was mainly his maturing gut and all the silly remedies had nothing to do with his recent intestinal relief.

"Baby WHAT straws!???"

Things I want to Remember:

• Aunt Sarah (my best friend from Houston) visited and it just so happens that she’s a fabulous photographer who LOVES photographing babies.  Lucky us!  We got a super special photo shoot with the most beautiful photos to prove it.  
• Visits from Uncle Ian and my aunt Helen and uncle Mike! Both visits included trips to Forest Park, a first for Jonah.  Forest Park is a very significant place for Jake and me: it’s where we first met, went on our first date and got engaged.  We love this park and we hope Jonah grows to love it too.
• I returned to work, which means Jonah is getting to know his awesome nanny, Ashley.  We’re thrilled with her so far, and we love that she can come to our house and take care of Jonah on his turf.  I definitely miss him during the day, but I feel very lucky to have such a wonderful, fulfilling job; otherwise I think leaving him in the mornings would be impossible!  Having great childcare helps with that, too.
• Sweet playtime in the mornings: Jonah’s most playful and sweet time of day is definitely early morning.  I love lying in bed next to him and watching him talk, smile and wiggle.
• One evening before bedtime Jake and I were playing with Jonah and Jake asked him “How ya doin’, bud?” With perfect timing Jonah looked up and exclaimed “GOOOOO!” We took creative license, imagined the “d” at the end and interpreted this as the best affirmation of our parenting we could ask for :)

Jonah: 2 Month Update

Weight: 12 lb 5 oz (43%)

Length: 23 inches (39%)

Milestones:

-SOCIAL SMILES! We do almost anything we can to get these…they’re like parenting gold.

-Interacting with his play mats/toys.  He loves the Kick ‘n Play piano mat and he always seems fascinated by mirrors J

-This kid is very strong. He doesn’t love tummy time, but he has a strong neck.  He’ll sit up in our laps during play time, often able to hold his head up. 

-First airplane flight! J and mom flew to Abilene when he was 2 months old.  He did great.

 Favorite Activities:

-J still loves bouncing on the exercise ball.  When he’s upset, it calms him down and when he needs to sleep it gets him drowsy.  Miracle ball!

-Play mats!  He loves kicking and playing on the play mats, interacting with the dangling toys and watching himself in the mirror.

-New LilleBaby carrier: this isn’t really an activity for him, but it does allow mom to get things done J He usually just sleeps. 

 “Schedule”:

6:30(ish)am: Wake up for the day!  Nurse and then playtime on the playmat upstairs while mom brushes her teeth, puts in her contacts and sometimes even takes a shower!

7:30-8:30am: Nap (sometimes downstairs in the bouncer, sometimes upstairs in the crib)

8:30am-7:30pm: The rest of the day basically follows the EASY schedule: Eatà Activityà Sleepà Yourself.  He usually eats another 4 times and has another 3-4 naps, ranging from 30 minutes to 2 hours.  His best naps seem to be in the late afternoon in bed with me.     

8pm: Bath

8:30pm: Nurse

9:00pm: Bedtime (swaddle, lights out, white noise) His sleep here is pretty great with minimal fussiness or waking.  Jake rarely has to intervene. 

3:00am: Wake for feeding (shift change: Mom on duty)

3:30am: Back to sleep.  From 3-6am his sleep isn’t great, although it does seem to be improving since the tongue-tie and lip tie correction.  Often I’ll bring him into bed with me since I usually have to pat, rub or otherwise soothe. 

Sleep:

“Moms on Call” to the rescue!  Our first night of trying the MoC recipe (tight arms-down swaddle, total darkness and loud white noise) little J slept 6 hours straight! It felt like a miracle.  And he’s been sleeping a good 5-6 hour chunk every night since and has officially dropped the midnight feeding (which was Jake’s feeding).

Health:

We still battled monster gas but had a couple breakthroughs:

(1) I gave up dairy after learning a lot of babies have tummies that are dairy-sensitive.  It’s been hard living without cheese and ice-cream, but honestly not as hard as I expected.  There are a lot of meals I enjoy just as much without cheese.

(2)  We also discovered that he had both a tongue-tie (posterior) and a lip tie, which evidently were preventing him from having a deep latch and allowing air to get in while he nursed.  Since having those corrected (via laser), his latch is much better and he seems to be less gassy and fussy. Here's hoping he continues to sleep better!

Things I want to Remember:

-Jake invented “Jonah Ball”: a game played in the backyard requiring one person to bounce with Jonah on the exercise ball while the other person tried to “bowl” other balls close to the Jonah Ball without being deflected by the bouncer’s feet.  It was basically an attempt to find a game we could play that Jonah would remain happy through.

-We started going to church again! We sit in the back with him in the carseat. Jake takes him downstairs if he gets fussy.   So far, he’s done wonderfully.  He usually sleeps the whole service.  There are even several families with babies close to Jonah’s age! 

-Bought the automatic bouncer at BuyBuy Baby…right off the shelf J

Gotta love those baby blues.

Jonah: 1 Month Update

J-MAN: ONE MONTH

Weight: 8 lb 14 oz

Length: 21.5 inches

Milestones:

-Jonah’s been able to lift his head pretty much from day one.  We first noticed it when we held him over our shoulder to burp him.  He’ll lift his head and turn it toward your face and root around, looking for a nipple, I guess J

-He startles at loud noises, focuses on faces (especially Mom’s) and can find his fist and thumb to suck on. 

Favorite Activities:

-Bouncing on the exercise ball with Dad.

-Sleeping on a pillow in mom’s lap.

-Rocking on the front porch.

Bouncing on the exercise ball with Dad.  

Daily Routine: 

Calling it a routine at this point would be generous, but here’s what a typical day might look like, starting with our nighttime routine:

9pm: I nurse him and change his diaper and hand him off to Jake who puts Jonah to sleep. He doesn’t normally sleep as well between the 9pm and midnight feedings; it takes some coaxing to get him into an extended period of quiet sleep.

Midnight: Jake gives Jonah a bottle of breast milk, sometimes supplementing with formula if necessary. 

3am: I tap Jake out, nurse Jonah, change a diaper if necessary and then put him back in his crib while I sleep in the guest bed.

6am: Another feeding. Sometimes he’ll go back to sleep and I’ll get another 45 minutes-1 hour of sleep and sometimes we’re up for the day.  We head downstairs, I get a Diet Coke, open the blinds, and we turn on The Today Show.  Sometimes we sit on the porch and watch as people drive to work.  Around 8:45 we eat breakfast with Dad and send him off to work. 

Morning: Another feeding, then I’ll get dressed and we’ll head off for our morning outing.  I try to schedule at least one outing every day; it’s been really good for me to get out of the house. Some days it’s a trip to Buy Buy Baby; others it’s a Nursing Mom’s support group or a trip to Chick-fil-a for breakfast.  I’m much more comfortable venturing out into the world with him now; I try to keep him in his car seat and away from stranger germs, and he’s been great while out and about.

Afternoon: I’ll grab a quick lunch and feed him again.  Sometimes I’ll get a short nap when he’s sleeping.  In between feedings and naps I try to get a few chores done around the house or work on a blog post. 

Evening: The first month we were lucky enough to have friends bring us dinner three nights a week.  This means we have visitors (and tasty food) several nights a week.  It is nice to catch up with friends and sometimes we even convinced them to stay and hold the little man while we ate.  For some reason Jonah almost always demands to be held right as we sit down to dinner J Around 9pm I’ll feed Jonah, sometimes downstairs while we watch Jimmy Kimmel and sometimes upstairs, while Jake would read from the Jesus Storybook Bible. 

Sleep: 

Jake is in the nursery on Jonah duty from 9pm-3am while I sleep in our bedroom, that way I can get at least 4-5 hours of uninterrupted sleep.  At 3am (or whenever Jonah wakes up for that feeding), we swap and I’m on Jonah duty. 

Feeding: 

He’s eating 4-5 oz every 3-4 hours.

Health:  

He’s a monster gas-making machine, which unfortunately makes him cranky.  Otherwise, he’s as healthy as can be, gaining weight well. Look at that big 'ole belly! 

Best Moment: 

The sweetest moments are either when he’s alert and calm or when he’s sleeping.  One of my favorite moments was lying next to him on the sofa while he was awake, but calm.  I talked to him and sang to him and he just watched me, moving his mouth in big O shapes to try to imitate me.  He has such big bright eyes.  I love when I get to look at them.  Then he slowly got drowsy and drifted off to sleep while lying on my chest. 

Things I want to remember: 

How amazing my mom was the two weeks she spent with us.  After a really hard start to motherhood, she got us back on track and helped us figure out our nighttime routine, which has been essential.  Aside from all the help with Jonah, she did so much around the house and was a huge emotional support for me, encouraging me, crying with me, and helping me find my confidence as a mom.

Nursery Time

New babies mean new spaces to hold babies!  Jake and I have been excited to work on this space, which used to function as a guest room and second office.  It was the last room to remain untouched by our eager, if inexperienced, hands.  It's a strange arrangement; the main space is a 12 x 10 bedroom, off the back of which the previous owners built a small additional bedroom.  This means you have to pass through the large bedroom to get to the small room; it also means that the rooms are connected by the original exterior passage-ways: double french doors and an exterior window.

Here is a reminder of what it looked like before Jonah came along.

And here's what it looks like now.

Our main goal was to create a bright, clean and modern but sweet & slightly whimsical space for our little guy.  We decided on pale mint walls, with white, navy and grey accent colors.

Here are a few of the design highlights:
1. Walls and trim:  We sanded down the yellow-beige "textured" walls and painted them a pale mint, "Sea Cap" by Behr. We patched the old trim and painted it (and the ceiling) a bright white. (Oh and by "we" I mean we paid a talented friend to do it for us. Aint nobody got time for that.)  The lighting in these photos makes the mint walls look a little paler than it is in person.

2. Radiator Cover: Jake covered the old rad with a custom built radiator cover, which maintains its function (the heat is channeled into the room through the decorative aluminum sheeting) but hides the whole "ugly cast iron radiator" aspect.  Added bonus:  another surface for decorating! Although at the moment it's holding a water bottle, infant gas drops, two burp clothes and the granola bar wrapper from a late night nursing snack.

3. Furniture: How blessed we were to receive my sweet cousin Tera's lovely white crib and dresser/hutch!  It survived her three boys and remains in excellent shape, a testament to its quality.  I love that we're making new memories with Jonah in furniture that already holds so many sweet family moments.  My generous parents bought us this charcoal grey glider, which has definitely been sufficiently christened with countless late night and early morning nursing sessions, as well as a fair share of story times, made up lullaby concerts and spit up episodes.  Also, I repainted an old book shelf in pale grey.

4. Art: We did a lot of home-made art for this space.  Jake had the great idea to print and frame some old patent drawings of classic toys.  Looking at them framed in the space now, we think they need to be about 50% bigger. But in the meantime they'll do.  Other items on Jonah's walls are a framed piece of fabric that had all our favorite nursery colors in it (hung over the rad), an great fox print gifted to us by some sweet friends (on the rad cover), a framed whale collage of messages from guests at one of my baby showers, made by my awesome sister in law (sitting on the changing table) and DIY fabric bunting over the crib.

5. Other notable decorations: Jake's parents gifted us the gorgeous navy and white quatrafoil rug.  My parents passed along the collection of Stieff stuffed animals on top of the hutch, which my German family gave me as a child.  My sweet friend Leslie made the gorgeous star/chevron quilt draping over the glider.   And our one gentle nod to Jonah's name: the whale mobile over his crib.

6. The adjacent space: In the bonus room we just painted everything white, to make the space feel bigger. In addition, we replaced the old windows with bigger, energy efficient windows.  We initially intended this space to be a guest bedroom (or a room for us to sleep in while guests sleep in our bed), but this bed has been the "Jonah-duty" sleep spot.  From 10pm-3am, Jake sleeps here with Jonah while I get a good chunk of solid sleep in our bed; then at 3am he taps out and I finish out the night.   This bed has been a life-saver!

Sleep well, sweet boy. 

Bringing Him Home to Bellevue: Welcome Jonah Oliver

Five weeks ago we welcomed home our first child—Jonah Oliver Salter—and he has captivated our hearts ever since.  This first month as a family of three has been a wild ride: lots of smiles and laughter and joy but also our fair share of tears and heartache.  The constant refrain, however, has been God’s faithful provision and His merciful grace. Here's the first part of the story. 

 Jonah’s Birth:

I’ll start with Jonah’s surprise arrival. It's such a strange feeling to reflect on the birth of your first child. The experience still feels very foreign and strangely distant to me.  It's "other-worldly".  All the words I can think of to describe it don't quite fit.  But I'll try, anyways.  Because I don't want to forget it. 

3:30am: Early Friday morning, May 23rd (two weeks and 4 days before my due date) I woke up to a strange feeling, almost a grinding or popping, in my belly; nothing painful, but definitely something unfamiliar.  I spent the next half hour laying in bed wondering if I should look it up on the internet or call my doctor.  By 4:00am I started having contractions and around 5:30 I woke Jake up so he could start timing them with his Contraction Timing app (which he installed on a whim a few weeks prior).   We laid in bed together for about an hour timing my contractions. The contractions were sort of sporadic: anywhere from 20 seconds to 1 minute long, and from 2 minutes to 6 minutes apart.  And they were getting more uncomfortable, but I was convinced this would be the beginning of a long labor and that we wouldn’t be heading to the hospital for quite a while.  At about 6:30 I got up and took a shower, which felt really good.  Jake started packing his hospital bag and I finished packing mine in between contractions (we weren’t prepared to head to the hospital so soon!)  I labored through contractions on the floor, on my hands and knees, on the birthing ball and leaning against Jake.  They were definitely getting stronger and more painful.  By 7:10, they were about 50 seconds long and 3 minutes apart.  We decided we should head to the hospital soon.  But I remembered my doula recommending you get in a good “last meal”, since the hospital rarely lets you eat during labor.  “You wanna go to Kolache Factory?” Jake asked.  “Yes! Perfect!”.  During this pregnancy we ate at Kolache Factory probably a dozen times.  It was our new favorite quick breakfast date spot.  I always got two Jalepano Popper Kolaches.  So we packed up the bags and headed out to the car.  But as I labored through another really hard contraction on the side-walk and contemplated the prospect of laboring in the passenger seat of the car I changed my mind; this car was going straight to the hospital. No Kolaches for us today.  It was getting too intense. On the drive we texted Jen, my doula, and I called my mom.  We were hoping she would be present for Jonah's arrival, but since he caught us off guard my mom was still in Texas.  I'm pretty sure she packed and was on the road within 10 minutes of my phone call.  

7:30am:  We checked into the hospital and they put us in a triage room. The nurse checked my progress and said “Hmm, you’re either 0 cm or 6 cm.” What!?  Dear Lord, if I'm 0 cm then what the heck has been happening to me the past 4 hours?  She checked again, “Yep, you’re 6-7 cm. You’re having this baby today.”  The nurse also informed us that all the L&D rooms were full, so I would have to labor in the triage room. I really didn’t care either way; I was in such intense pain, I could have been in a barn for all I knew.  

8:00am: Jen, our awesome doula arrived, right in the heat of really painful labor. She immediately jumped in to help, got me on the birthing ball and as I was laboring on the ball, my water broke.  It wasn’t a big splash, but it was clearly a gush of fluid.  The pain of the contractions was unbelievable.  It was searing hot and so intense, I couldn’t talk or think. It was like my body was trying to escape itself.  I stayed on the ball for another hour and asked for the epidural a couple times.  Jen convinced me to work through a few more contractions but finally I insisted, “I need the epidural now.” Jake assured her I was serious. And I definitely was.  

9:30am: As luck would have it, the anesthesiologist popped in right at that moment just to check in.  But of course they can’t give you the epidural right away; they have to do some tests (on my platelet levels) and get the kit set up.  So they started the prep and I just remember thinking I was going to die if I didn’t get the epidural soon.  Luckily, my anesthesiologist was super quick.  I sat on the side of the bed, Jake in front of me, sitting down (everyone insisted; I guess fainting husbands are a common occurrence), holding my hand.  I don’t even remember the pain of the numbing needle or anything else.  All I remember was leaning into the shoulder of the nurse (evidently I told her that she smelled nice) while I labored through a contraction during the time when I was supposed to be “as still as possible”.  Relief came soon after.  It felt like the best decision I ever made.  I was 8 cm dilated.

10:30am-1:00pm

Laboring pre-epidural and post-epidural could not have been more different and I’m thankful I experienced both.  Without the epidural I couldn’t process any thoughts; my consciousness was completely overwhelmed by the pain.  I barely interacted with anyone.  I was very turned in on my body and myself.  After the epidural I was relaxed, laughing, eating popsicles and chatting with Jake and Jen.  Jake and I prayed together. We reflected on what was about to happen.  We listened to my “Welcome Jonah” playlist (or as Jake wanted to call it: “Feeling Labor-y”, since I categorize my playlists by emotion :) ).  I kept flipping from one side to the other every half hour since all the medication would drain down to that side and make it extra numb.  Jen sat in front of me and rubbed my legs for a good 3 hours straight.  Which was funny because during our pre-partum meetings, leg massages were the one type of massage I said I didn’t want.  I liked it because it helped my lower body feel less numb.  Somewhere around 11:30 Jake went down to the cafeteria and scarfed down a mediocre hamburger.  He didn’t want to eat in front of me because all I could have were clear liquids.  Honestly, I wasn’t that hungry.  I was fine with crushed ice and red popsicles.  

I think around 1:00pm they checked my progress again and I was fully dilated.  I expected to be pushing within the hour, but evidently May 23^rd was a busy day for babies: my doctor delivered 6 other babies that day and another mom was also about ready to push!  So Dr. Philpott decided to let me “labor down” (wait) for another hour or two.  I was in no big hurry, thanks to the epidural, so it was fine. 

3:00pm: My nurse, Rhonda, finally came in and said that it was time to start pushing. We did about 30 minutes of "practice" pushing (whatever the heck that means; I definitely didn't want to waste any energy "practicing" anything).   I wanted to push on my side, so I turned over to my right (looking out the window at the green tree-tops), Jake stayed at my head holding my hands (above the equator, so to speak), Jen held my left leg and Rhonda sat at my feet holding my right leg.  Dr. Philpott came in after about 30 minutes and sat where Rhonda was and we kept pushing with each contraction: three pushes and sometimes a bonus push.  The pushing stage was surprisingly enjoyable.  Peaceful, even.  The room was calm and my music was really soothing.  It didn’t feel rushed or frantic or painful like I’d always imagined it.  It took a lot of focused energy, but it wasn’t that hard or unpleasant.  

4:00pm:  After an hour of pushing, Jonah arrived!  They put him right to my chest. I can't explain the feeling.  It was overwhelming; overwhelming joy, overwhelming gratitude, overwhelming fear.  Jake and I both cried and just stared at our son.  He was gooey and crying and funny-colored and absolutely beautiful.  Perfect.   Jake and I had prayed for that very moment--meeting our son face-to-face--for my entire pregnancy.  We had asked God to deliver our child to us safely and let us hold and kiss him.  He was faithful. 

Jonah Oliver Salter * May 23, 2014* 6 lbs. 5 oz. 20 in. 4:00pm

Things that surprised me: 

(1) The overall story: If I were a betting woman, I would have lost a lot of money on the circumstances of Jonah's birth.  I would have bet that Jonah would be late, that I would have to be induced, even.  I would have bet that my labor would be long, at least 24 hours.  I would have bet that I would get the epidural long before 8 cm.  Wrong. Wrong. And wrong. 

(2) The pain: Everyone told me that the pain of childbirth is indescribable and the worst imaginable pain. They're wrong. It's worse.  But then you get an epidural.  (Shout out to Dr. Whats-her-name, my anesthesiologist!)

(3) The pushing phase: It was unexpectedly peaceful. 

Some of God's Many Mercies: 

(1) Healthy baby boy!

(2) Healthy mama

(3) An amazing husband who supported me, prayed with me, held my hand, rubbed my feet and was 100% present. 

(4) Time for two rounds of antibiotics (since I was GBS+) but an otherwise short labor

(5) No induction, no c-section, no complications or scary moments

(6) I got a decent night's sleep the night before and most of my labor was during the day. 

(7) Great nurses and an amazing doula, who helped us feel confident and prepared (as prepared as we could be)

(8) Breastfeeding wasn't easy, but it also wasn't awful and we got the hang of it pretty quickly

Did it go according to "plan"?  

Ha. What a silly question.  Of course not.  I didn't really have a birth "plan"; I had birth "preferences".  But still, I had done a lot of thinking about what I wanted my labor to look like.   We took classes.  We had a doula.  We did lots of reading and practice.  I wanted to labor actively, not passively (i.e. up and moving, in the shower, in the tub, walking the halls, etc.).  I expected the first stage of labor to be really long and to need lots of different positions and strategies to endure it.  Turns out, my first stage of labor was hardly 4 hours and was spent at home with Jake.  I didn't have much time to try all those cleaver strategies we'd planned for :)  Although I did enjoy the birth ball.  And then after the epidural, I really enjoyed the bed :)  I was afraid I'd feel like a prisoner hooked up to the IV and epidural in the hospital bed.  Honestly, it was fine.  The pain relief was so welcome that I enjoyed relaxing in bed.  I wasn't necessarily aiming for a "natural" birth; I wanted to try to laboring without the epidural and use other coping strategies first, but I also wanted to feel like the epidural was a legitimate option, and not like it was a cop out or that I had failed.  I honestly expected to get an epidural, even though it wasn't my "preference".   I'm glad I got it.

Any regrets? 

Only two.  

(1) I wish my mom had been able to be there.   She pretty much drove straight through from Texas and arrived around 8pm the day of Jonah's birth.  I'm thankful she could meet Jonah so soon, but I wish she could have shared in his birth, too.  

(2) I wish we had had time for Kolaches. 

"From the fullness of God's grace, we have received one blessing after another."  John 1:16

Indeed.