Christmas at the Norman's

The past 2 weeks have been wonderful! Last week, my parents came to visit for Christmas. It was so great to see them. I love watching them with Curtis, especially my dad. He turns in to a big teddy bear with his grandkids. He could sit for hours in Grandma Sutphin's chair rocking Curtis if I let him. And mom loves spending time with Curtis, although he wasn't quite as happy about it as he was when she stayed with us when he was born. He's not quite as content as he was, doesn't go right back to sleep after he eats so he needs alittle entertaining and tended to cry a lot, but I think mom finally got to hold him without him crying.

This year, we were blessed with Isaac having both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day off. It's always so wonderful to have him home, especially home for holidays. Christmas Eve, we were going to have manicotti for dinner, one of our traditions. This year, the shells were homemade and I think would have been so good. We invited our friends, the Sibeliu's over, but when the oven timer went off, we realized the oven was broken, so no manicotti, just salad, bread and dessert. It was fun, but I was sad about the manicotti. We got to go to our Christmas Eve service and was reminded about God's amazing generosity. I love going to the candle light service, it's one of my favorite Christmas traditions. 

Christmas Day was a lot of fun. Curtis let us sleep until 0730, we opened gifts from Isaac's family. Curtis got some fun gifts, a little baby gym that I know he's gonna have a lot of fun playing in. We had breakfast and watched our Christmas morning movie, this year it was Courageous. We facetimed with both of our families and had dinner and played Smallworld with our friends, the Moore's. I think it was the best Christmas ever! I loved getting to spend it with our little family and I know every year will get more and more fun as Curtis gets older and hopefully more kids are added :)

Today we had our 2 month appt. Everything went well, he's up to 9lbs, 14oz, which is awesome. Curtis hasn't needed a bottle in almost 3 weeks, which has taken off so much stress from Isaac and me. It's much easier to feed him when he's not screaming for an hour.

On Monday, Isaac's parent's are coming in to town, and we are super excited for them to meet Curtis! We can't wait to see them!

Mom finally got her picture in Grandma's chair

This may be the best picture we got, Dad is still trying to learn my lens

Can't believe how much I love this little boy! I am so blessed to be his mama

Christmas morning with my loves

Such a cute little outfit from Uncle Josh

Curtis' stocking stuffer, I hope we'll have a few warm days in the next few months for him to wear it

Curtis' dress blues, now he can look like his daddy :)

Isaac had to get one of me

Starting to nod off for a Christmas morning nap

Curtis' Christmas sleeper from Ya-ya

Happy Due Date, Baby Curtis

Thursday was Curtis' due date. He is finally full term. Isaac and I have had this discussion several times about how old Curtis is. While he is now 5 weeks old (or will be in 5 hours), I have referred to him in his gestational age up until 2 days ago. When he was 36 weeks, that's what I called it, while Isaac called him 1 week old. I did that because, as the weeks went by, he was still developing like he would still in the womb. His nervous system was still developing, so his breathing was still uneven, but has begun evening out as the weeks went on. And his eating is much better, still not perfect, but the closer he got to his due date, the better it got, and is still getting better every day, thankfully.

This week, we had his 1 month appt and Isaac went back to work, so I had my first 2 days with Curtis by myself. The appt went well, he's been gaining about an ounce a day, so he's up to 8lb 2oz which is awesome! So even though he still doesn't like to breast feed all the time, he is eating and gaining weight, so we're pretty excited about that. Our 2 days without Isaac were uneventful, thankfully, although we missed Isaac very much. He had duty yesterday, which means he was on the ship for 24hrs. It was the first night we spent away from each other in over weeks, so the first night I had with just Curtis and I in over 2 weeks, and even then, mom was here to help. The day was pretty good, I actually got out some and did the errands I needed without Curtis screaming too much, although he got hungry in the car so my friend, Karlie got to hear his wonderful scream, saying "Hello" to her :) The night was actually good too. We're working on weaning Curtis off the bottle so he can solely nurse, and I can stop pumping every 3 hours, so there was a lot of screaming, but most times, he only took an ounce from the bottle and then nursed from both sides, so that is such an improvement over just a few days ago, which makes me pretty excited!

Here's a few of Curtis' 1 month pictures:

This particular idea didn't work out very well, I had wanted to use Christmas ornaments from our tree and him be just in his diaper, but he did not like that at all, so we stopped.

After calming down some, I was able to get just a few pictures of him not screaming...

But most of these pictures looked like this, which I love, but he will probably hate me for these pictures some day.

These are probably my favorite. I've seen the idea on pinterest, and was pretty excited that Curtis came before Christmas so I could get some like this. Luckily, he slept through the entire photo session.

Curtis's First Month Home

On Monday, Curtis will be one month old. I can't believe it, the time is going by so fast. I already feel like he is getting so big and changing so much. 

My mom stayed here for the first 3 weeks of Curtis's life, which was the most helpful thing ever. Isaac's leave didn't start till last Monday, so it was great to have her here to help out feeding Curtis when Isaac wasn't here and to help out with all the little things around the house so I could focus on Curtis. 

So far, that has been the biggest challenge for us. He loves to eat and even sometimes eats every hourish, but he does not like to breast feed, at all. It's something I've just always assumed I would do, something that I really thought, if given the chance, every baby could do. I have learned in the last month that is not the case. We've been told it mostly has to do with him being early and that closer to his due date, it would get easier. In some ways, it has because my hormones aren't quite as crazy so I don't cry quite as much, but for the most part, it hasn't gotten much easier. What our typical routine every 2 to 3 hours is Isaac gives part of a bottle to make sure he's not too hungry, the I try and nurse him. If it doesn't work, Isaac gives more bottle then I try and nurse again. We do that until I just can't take the screaming from Curtis anymore then I pump so that he can have milk for the next feeding. All of this takes close to an hour, then we do it all again in 2ish hours or sooner, depending on when Curtis wakes up hungry. The encouraging thing in all this is that on Wed, we turned somewhat of a corner and Curtis actually latched and ate. It's happened maybe 5 or 6 times in the past 3 days, and each time it gives me hope that eventually I will be able to just breast feed and not go through the whole nurse, bottle, pump thing. I have been told by our pediatrician that infants up to 2 months have had success, the mom just has to be persistent. So I'm hoping it doesn't take that long, but even if it does, I think in the end it will be worth it.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, and obviously, we have so much to be thankful for. We are both so thankful for our son, thankful he's healthy and home with us, thankful that he sleeps very well and is not a fussy baby unless we're trying to feed him. I am so thankful for baby leave in the Navy, it has been the greatest thing ever to have Isaac home since Monday, and will be home until Thursday. I am thankful for God answering our prayers with a yes for Isaac's advancement to First Class. A few months ago when he was able to take the test, we began to pray for him to advance, because that is how I will be able to stay at home with Curtis and not have to figure out how to supplement our income so I can focus on our son. I am thankful for our family, especially my mom and dad for coming and staying and helping and allowing us a date night for the first time in a month before they left. And I am thankful for our church family, who have taken us in as family, serving us with bringing meals and sweet gifts for Curtis and offering babysitting when we're ready for a date night. We are truly blessed way beyond what we deserve.

Here are just a few pictures from the first month of Curtis's life:

Our good friends in Colorado sent us this Bronco's onesie and hat. He wears it every game day

Curtis enjoys anything that vibrates to put him to sleep, so rockers and swings are pretty awesome

Papa loves singing and rocking Curtis in Grandma's chair

We've been trying to do tummy time some...

...he doesn't really like it very much at all...

...so he rolls on his back as quickly as he can

Isaac is the best daddy ever! I fall in love with him more and more every time I get a chance to watch how he loves our son

This is Isaac's face trying to tell me to stop with the pictures

This Thanksgiving outfit lasted all of about 2 hours before he pooped out of his diaper and messed it up, but he was still pretty stinkin cute in it.

On of my best friends, Brenna, made this for Curtis. Sometime soon, I'll get a picture of both Isaac and Curtis in their hats together.

First Week Home

We've had Curtis home for just over a week now. It's been a wonderful, exhausting, amazing week with our little man.We have some of the typical stories, sleepless nights, lives revolving around Curtis's schedule for eating, stress, crying, but it's been a beautiful week. 

My mom has been here for the week to help out and we couldn't be more thankful for her. She has washed and folded clothes, cooked dinner, washed dishes, swept floors, gone to several doctors appts with me while Isaac was working, helped with feedings while Isaac has been working, she's been wonderful. And we will miss her when she leaves this weekend. 

Also, a big part of this past week has been my care group. They threw us a baby shower on Saturday, we are so incredibly grateful for their generosity and the love they've shown Isaac, Curtis and I. They've also been so helpful with providing meals for us. We have been incredibly blessed with such a wonderful group of friends.

I think my favorite part of this week has been seeing Isaac with Curtis. He is the best daddy in the world. He is so involved, he loves cuddling with out little man, loves being the one to swaddle him, loves giving him his bottle after I've attempted to breast feed. He is so patient, kind, loving and encouraging when I get discouraged with breast feeding. That has been the only really difficult part of this week, trying to feed my son. Tonight, we have a woman from our church coming over who can hopefully help us, because right now, Curtis just doesn't want to eat from me, but he loves his bottle so I am incredibly grateful that at least he will eat. But Isaac has been so wonderful through the whole process; I am the most blessed wife and mama there is. God definitely gave me 2 of the greatest gifts ever in my husband and my sweet son.

Here's a few pictures from Curtis's first week home.

Getting ready for Curtis's first bath

He doesn't really like bath time too much, but I just love when he does his little hands and arms like that, Isaac calls it gansta

Much better now that bath time is over :)

I did a little mini photo session with him, am hoping to do a few more once Isaac and I can coordinate our schedules and we don't need a nap :)

Happy Birthday Curtis! & A Labor Story

As most of you know, our sweet little boy decided to surprise us last Friday night by coming 5 weeks early. As far as surprises go, this may be the best one we've ever experienced! Without going into too much detail, here is the story of how our sweet little man came into this world.

We had our 35 week appt on Thursday, everything looked good, nothing out of the ordinary took place. In fact, the entire pregnancy has been pretty text book, nothing unusual, no complications, nothing concerning to make us think he would be here early. 

Friday, I volunteered at the CPC all day, not a busy day, nothing too out of the ordinary that day as well. Isaac had duty, so I went home and had some things to do to get ready for friends coming for dinner Saturday. As I was making dinner rolls Friday night around 2100, I began bleeding. I tried not to freak out, but I knew it wasn't normal. I sat down, put my feet up, tried to rest, but of course I was scared. By 2130, I was still bleeding and decided to call Isaac on the ship. Now, I have never done this before, I only have those numbers in case of a true emergency. I am not one of those wives who thinks just anything is an emergency. I mean, I'm a nurse, I don't get scared too easily and know most of what I can handle without Isaac. So, when a pregnant wife calls the ship at 2130 it's pretty much always gonna be an emergency. I say all that because Isaac's friend that answered the phone, who knew me, knew I was pregnant, first told me Isaac wasn't there, then questioned me as to whether this was really an emergency or not. I wanted to crawl through the phone and punch him. Luckily, he did go find Isaac. Isaac called back, told me to find someone to drive me to the hospital. I literally looked through every name on my phone. Luckily, my friend Michael (Angie's dad) was home and came to drive me. We met Isaac at the hospital and went to L and D triage. I was hooked up to the toco monitor, and then examined, where I was then told I was 3cm dilated, 80% effaced and the toco monitor showed I was contracting. Apparently what I thought was Curtis just moving very vigorously the last few weeks, were contractions. I'd been having them pretty often during the day, and they showed up on the monitor. They decided to keep me and give me some fluids to try and stop it. At 0130, they checked me again, realized my water broke, I was 4cm dilated and in active labor at that point. So they admitted me. The next 15hrs were a crazy whirlwind. Curtis seemed so ready to come, and then even with my contractions 2-3 mins apart, I did not progress. They decided to give me Pitocin, and still did not progress. When I got checked again about 2 the next afternoon, the doc saw that part of the amnionic sac was still intact, so they broke it and that was all it took. I started having very productive contractions. Up until that point, I really thought I would do this without an epidural, I was actually good and while I had been in pain, it was minimal. By the time they broke my water a 2nd time, I had been in labor for at least 15hrs. I was exhausted and didn't have it in me to continue laboring without an epidural, and boy, was I glad. God knew what I needed to be able to get through the rest of the night. I got my epidural at 5cm, and almost as soon as it took effect I felt the need to start pushing. The nurse checked me and I was 10cm dilated, fully effaced and ready to go. I spent the next 3 hours pushing. I did get to rest 3 times for 10-15mins because Curtis just didn't want to come. By shift change that night, they decided that 1 of 3 things were going to happen. I was exhausted and that was visible, so my options at that point were to continue pushing, use forceps to help pull him out, or if that didn't work, we would have a c-section. We decided to go for the forceps in hopes that it would work. This is why I am so thankful for the epidural. I don't know how I would have handled that without it. Once the forceps were in place, I think I pushed 3 or 4 times and he was out. Because he was so early, I was not able to do skin to skin at that point. But Isaac went to take pictures of them working with him, and we both just cried because our little boy was so perfect. I got to hold him for just a min and then they whisked him away again to the observation nursery. They then proceeded to stitch me up for the next hour, again, super thankful for the epidural.

Our life has been a blur since then, but a wonderful, wonderful blur. We have had a few problems; his blood sugar dropped that first night and because of his gestational age, he wasn't really interested in feeding, so they had to give him formula. His respirations were too fast at one point, so that delayed him from coming to our room for a few hrs. And generally, him breast feeding has been a difficult and frustrating process.But we are blessed. Even though he is a bit of a wimpy white boy like I wanted to avoid he is absolutely perfect. I love having him in our room, that first night was killer having to go back and forth to see him. I love all his little coos and spasms as he sleeps. I love how when he falls asleep breast feeding, he puts both his little hands under his chin. I can't wait to be able to take him home and start our life as a little family of 3. God has blessed us so much through this whole thing, from the time I went into labor till now and I'm so very thankful for it all.

One of his first little pictures. You can't see it well in this picture, but he got pretty beat up by the forceps. He has bruises on his eyes, under his nose, on his collar bones, on his shoulders and one on his rib cage. He had kind of a rough first few hours in this world.

I couldn't stop crying, I was so incredibly happy to get to meet my little boy after all that work

Proud Papa holding Curtis for the first time

Yaya getting to take a turn

Isaac is the best dad ever. He's been so incredibly amazing through this entire process

Skin to skin is incredibly good for any baby, but esp a baby born early.So pretty much, any time we hold Curtis, we've become a naked family from the waist up.