Alex Loves the Nightlife! =)

Alex turned 6 weeks yesterday and he's still not showing any signs that he's ready to sleep through the night. He continues to wake up about every 3 hours through the night to eat....after all he is a growing boy! I have to say he is a really good little guy at night though. He wakes up, nurses, and usually goes right back to sleep again. Sometimes, he cries louder and I always know that means there is a dirty diaper needing changing! Last night we had a wake up session that was a little more eventful than usual, so I thought I'd share it....

He woke up about 4:30 AM and I could tell it was one of those times that he was needing a change. We went into his room to the changing table and started changing his diaper. Well, sometime in there while I was sliding in the new diaper, he decided to let loose pooping again. It went all over the place...on the new diaper, up his back, onto his pj's, and onto the changing table. I grabbed some wipes and started cleaning up things, so I could slip in another new diaper. During this process, Alex decided to let loose some more and sprayed me with pee!! As I was frantically trying to clean things up, get the poop off of him, and get a new diaper on him before anything more could come out, Alex looked up at me and gave me the hugest, most beautiful grin. He sure knows how to put a smile on my face even during the yuckiest, poopiest moments of being a mom!!

On another note, we went out to lunch with my friend Monique today, so he was dressed up cute. I decided to snap a few pictures of him and I got this really great one. Doesn't he look like such a big guy?!?!?

There's a Whole Big World Out There!!

Sorry I haven't posted anything in a week. Grandma Gale was here visiting last week, so we were busy doing things with her! (More pictures from her visit later this week...)

Alex is busy becoming much more social and fighting sleep as much as possible! One of my books says these two things go hand in hand. At around 6 weeks (tomorrow for Alex), they start to realize there is a world around them and apparently they start wanting to live instead of sleep! This is definitely the case for Alex. He just doesn't want to sleep at all during the day, so he ends up pretty fussy later in the day. I think the only saving grace to this for moms is that he is also starting to look up at me with these huge grins. It makes me so happy that I forget how fussy he has been!!

I took him to a Nursing Mom's Group/Play Group that the hospital runs last Thursday. There were lots of little ones from newborns up to 12 months plus a few older siblings. Alex was so interested in looking around at all the other babies. It was precious!! It made me realize how much I need to get him out and around other babies to help him socialize even at this young age. (FYI--They had a scale at the group and we got to weigh him--he's already 11 pounds!! The breastmilk is definitely working!!)

The big guy is also starting to realize he has hands and that he can grab at things. Last week, he was in his bouncer and he got very intent on one of the toys (of course it was the monkey). He kept staring at it and a few minutes later, he swiped at it and got it! I was so excited that I screamed (a la DeeAnn) and actually kind of scared him...oops! :) He also started to really like his little Rainforest Gym. He loves laying there and looking up at the toys. He smiles and coos lots while he's laying there. One of the toys plays music and Jeremiah and I swear that he looks like he is dancing when the music plays. He starts moving his arms and legs like he's jamming to the music. So cute!!

One Month with Alex!

Our first month with Alex has already come and gone. Time is flying by and he is growing so fast! I wanted to post something about how our first month has been and I decided that a picture is worth a thousand words! I have never posted any photos of his nursery, so I'm going to show you what our month with him has been like via some before and after photos of the nursery.

Before Alex Arrived...







After Alex Arrived...








Things have changed just a little!! =)

Flyin' Monkeys!

As I have written before, Alex's favorite time of the day is the morning. He is so awake and alert for those first couple hours. It is as if he is a little sponge soaking up everything the world has to offer!

Yesterday morning, we had woken up, changed him, and nursed him. I had to set him down for just a second to take care of something so I put him in the swing. When I looked up a minute later, I noticed that he was staring up at the little rainforest animals on the mobile. This was the first time I had seen him do that!! I got excited and decided to put him in his crib to look at the mobile there. He did the same thing!! It was like he was seeing it for the very first time. The mobile has four little monkeys and he picked one of them out and followed it with his eyes around for the whole circle. It was the cutest thing!!

The Cutest Baby Ever!

Yesterday was by far the fussiest day we have had since Alex was born. Nothing could make him happy. The only time he would get remotely happy was if I was carrying him while walking around the house. Who knows why he was so fussy...maybe a growth spurt? maybe gas? But after a good night of sleep, he thankfully woke up in a better mood and is back to being the cutest baby ever. I realize some people might consider me to be a little partial since half of his DNA is my own, but I am still pretty sure he is the cutest thing EVER!

I thought it was time for some cute new photos, so here they are! I'm still working on how to upload videos from our camera, but once I figure that out I'll put up some cute footage of him smiling and cooing!

Here he is in a super cute little onesie that Grandma Gale gave him. It says "I Still Live At Home"...



Look at those long legs...



Here's a close up of his pretty blue eyes...



A cute one of him when we were having play time a couple mornings ago...



Bath Time with Mommy...



Like Father, Like Son...

The Wagstaffs Go Green!

Today's blog is about our attempt to go green by switching over to cloth diapers. I have always been an avid recycler. It's a quality I owe to my mother who was always saying, "Don't put that in the trash...it can be recycled!" She was always a recycler, even before it was cool to recycle and they certainly didn't pick it up from the blue box on the curb! However, the interesting part is my mom seems to think I'm a little crazy for switching to cloth...in fact I'm a little worried I'll have to buy a box of Pampers when she'll be watching Alex!

Maybe, I can convince her the new generation of cloth diapers aren't so bad. In fact, I'll be honest my first thoughts were of the messy old school cloth diapers with safety pins and stains...how disgusting! That's why I went through pregnancy assuming I would use disposable diapers. Then at about 36 weeks of pregnancy Jeremiah made a comment to me about how hypocritical it was that I was constantly trying to recycle, but was going to pump a ton of diaper waste back into the world. That's when I really got to thinking about cloth diapers and began doing some serious research.

What I found out was that there are a ton of options out there! Sure there are the old school cloth diapers, but there also brands like Bum Genuis, Fuzzi Buns, Happy Heineys, SmartiPants, Thirsties. With names like that, how could they not be cool? I also came to find out that 4 out of 6 of the people I knew having babies this summer were using or planning to use cloth diapers!! WOW! It sure made me feel like a big bum to be using disposables!

After making it through the first few weeks in Pampers Swaddlers, I decided it was time to get serious about the cloth diapers. I ordered a three pack of Bum Genius 3.0 one size diapers and started testing them out. We have had great success with them! Alex seems to be happy in them and we have had no leaking poop explosions. For mom, they have been very easy to wash and dry. Plus, with their fun colors, they are much cuter than the Pampers with their silly little Sesame Street characters! So after our trial week, we are ready to order more and go for the complete switch-e-roo. We'll see what happens when we go to visit Grandma!

Here are a few pictures of Alex in his Bum Genuis diaper--he was a little sleepy when I took them. He is definitely built like his daddy...long and lean with not much of a butt! We keep saying these diapers help give him a little bit of cushion on his bum! =)




Here is a picture from the Bum Genius website that shows how they work.



Wish us luck in our green endeavour!! We'll keep everyone updated on how it goes!

Alex's Second Favorite Place to Be...

The Sling! His first favorite place to be of course is nursing because he's a little piglet, but if he's not nursing the second best place to be is in the sling. For anyone reading this who is about to have a baby or needs a present for someone about to have a baby, I highly recommend a sling! We have the Balboa Baby Sling from Target. We mainly bought that one because it was adjustable. Daddy wanted to be able to carry him in the sling too and this way it's one size fits all for our two different heights. I think our interest in carrying Alex in the sling came from both of our travels in Sierra Leone. There, all the women tie their babies on their backs with just a simple piece of cloth and off they go to do anything and everything with the babies' heads bobbing along!

It took a little bit of finesse for Alex and I to master using the sling, but once we did it became a quick favorite. It's great for me because Alex wants to be next to me ALL the time, but wearing the sling at least helps me have my hands free to do things around the house. Yesterday, I took my first trip to Target with him. I was planning to take him in the baby carrier and just put that in the shopping cart. However, on the car trip, he started fussing a lot so I changed plans and decided to carry him in the sling instead. Good plan on my part because he snuggled down in there and slept the entire trip through Target. The other great thing about the sling in public places is that the babies are mostly hidden and it's difficult for nosy people to come up and try to touch them with their grimy, germy hands!

And, here's a bonus picture just because Alex is so cute!!

Lights, Camera, Action!

Alex is already 3 weeks old! We cannot believe how quickly the time is going by. We are having so much fun with Alex. He has been a wonderful baby so far.

Today, Alex became even more fun! We have been seeing some occasional small smiles on his face, but today he was really full of smiles and coos! His favorite time of day is the morning. He usually wakes up about 9 AM, needs a new diaper, wants to nurse for a little bit, and then is ready for some play time. He is very alert and all ears during this time! Jeremiah and I have been using this time to talk to Alex, read him books, and show him toys. He mostly just enjoys looking at us and listening to us talk to him.

Today, Jeremiah had him on his lap and was talking to him when he started flashing lots of smiles! Apparently Alex likes when you rub his head and actually smiles really big after you do. He was even letting out lots of coos during this time. Needless to say, we were both just completely enthralled and excited!!

Unfortunately, the battery on the video camera was dead. =( It was really hard to catch him smiling on the still camera, but here are a couple of pictures that kind of show it. We'll keep trying to get better evidence of the smiling and cooing!!!





The day before Alex was being very cute when I changed his diaper. Here's a photo I took that shows a small little smile and his cute little dimple!

"This Was the Stupidest Idea I Ever Had": Our Birth Story

On Monday morning, Jeremiah and I arrived to the hospital at 5 AM to prepare for an induction. It turned out that they were very busy! I was given the only available room they had. There were 5 vaginal deliveries and 2 C-sections that morning, so there wasn't a nurse to start an IV on me. Luckily, during this time, I started to realize I was having contractions. It turned out I was contracting every 5-6 minutes all on my own! One of the midwives happened to be there for a delivery, so she came by to see me. She checked me and I was 3 cm dilated. We decided to break my water instead of starting PItocin to see if that would put me into labor.

Jeremiah and I spent the day working through contractions. I would spend 30 minutes on the monitor and then could walk the hallways for 30 minutes. I have to say we walked every inch of the Labor and Delivery halls!! It was slow going. The contractions were bearable, but getting stronger towards the end of the day. Jeremiah did a great job of keeping me entertained while walking. He kept singing songs to Alex like The Beatles "They Say It's Your Birthday!" and "I Wanna Hold Your Hand." Then he started in with tongue twisters....trying to judge how strong my contractions were by how much I could laugh with him!

My progress was slow and at 9 PM I was still only 5 cm. I also had been ruptured for many hours and was having a low grade fever. At this point, we had to decide what to do, so Courtney (our midwife) recommended starting Pitocin and we agreed. The Pitocin made the contractions much, much stronger!! I was also feeling a lot of the pain in my lower back. This is when Jeremiah really went to work...massaging my back, giving me words of encouragement, and remaining strong beside me. Courtney also helped us out by doing something called "sterile water injections". They are four injections placed right under the skin in the lower back. They burn for about 30 seconds, but then slowly the pain in the back eases up. I had never heard of this, but it was pretty amazing and definitely helpful! Here's a website with more information: http://www.birthsource.com/scripts/article.asp?articleid=135

As we continued with the Pitocin, the labor become more and more intense. I was really questioning my decision to have a natural birth. I was begging for anything!! Jeremiah's favorite line of the night was me saying, "I have had some stupid ideas in my life, but this is by far the stupidest idea I ever had!" This was during transition though and everyone says they really doubt themselves during this time.

By 11:30, I was 8 cm dilated and then by 12:15 am I was complete and ready to push. I pushed for about 45 minutes until Alex finally arrived. Courtney put him on my chest while they waited for Jeremiah to cut the cord. Our first view of Alex was absolutely amazing and he even let out several coos for us! It was the most surreal thing ever! I knew we were about to have a baby, but I had no idea the emotions we would both feel seeing him for the first time! Alex was absolutely perfect in every way and stole both of our hearts immediately. Our life will never be the same again!!

I am really proud that I was able to go through with natural childbirth. Some people think it's crazy...why go through the pain if there are drugs available?? It was an experience that I really wanted to have though. My inspiration was the strong women in Sierra Leone who had no choice but to go through childbirth naturally. I am glad that I did it, but I am not completely decided on if I would have an epidural or not next time..... we'll see!

Here are a few photos to go with our birth story:

Waiting for Alex...



Alex shortly after birth, getting cleaned up....



He's a big guy!!



All cleaned up... isn't he the most beautiful baby ever?!?!?

Thoughts on Our Pregnancy

I have promised to be better about blogging with the pending arrival of Alex, so I thought a great way to start would be to share some about our pregnancy experience!

We have had an amazingly smooth pregnancy throughout--maybe too smooth and that's what has left me now 4 days overdue, unable to sleep, and a bit uncomfortable! I'm really hoping my body will kick into gear soon and decide it's time for delivery!

Jeremiah and I made the choice to use a midwife for our obstetrical care. It is really important to me to have a vaginal delivery, no C-section for me if I can help it! Jeremiah has been very supportive of this goal and gave up 10 weeks of Saturday mornings to attend the Bradley Method childbirth series along with me. The Bradley Method is a husband-coached course that prepares you for a natural, non-medicated delivery. We really enjoyed it and learned so much great information and tips!! I would highly recommend it to anyone pregnant who wants a natural delivery. If anyone ever has any questions about it, please feel free to ask and we'd love to share more about our experience!

We have also chosen to try for a water birth hoping to keep things as calm and relaxed as possible. This all will depend on several factors. When I finally am contracting regularly and go into the hospital (we are not delivering at home!!), they will break my water and as long as there is no meconium/other problems then I will be able to get into the water. Jeremiah keeps joking that he is going to bring his snorkel and fins to meet the little guy on his way out. I have this dorky image of him doing just that stuck in my head!! =) As long as things are going well, the midwife has also agreed that Jeremiah will be able to help her deliver Alex. He is very excited about that and really likes the idea of the water as he won't be able to drop Alex!!!



Above is an example of the birth pool they use at the hospital. We just had to buy our own liner for it and it is packed in the hospital bag to take with us!

Alex has been cooperative throughout the pregnancy. He has stayed head down and has dropped very well in the last few weeks. He is already at zero station, so the midwife says once I'm fully dilated that I will likely not have to push too much to be able to get him out! YAY for Alex doing his part to make this a smooth delivery for his mommy! Now if only her uterus could do the same....

Here are a few of the cute ultrasound pictures of the little guy:





We promise to keep you all updated as we continue our wait for his grand arrival! We are really hoping it will be sooner rather than later (especially mom)!