Spitting Mad

Is this where the expression "spitting mad" comes from? (That is an expression, isn't it?) He has gone through a few spitting phases. The current variation is without the tongue. Sometimes he likes to do it with food in his mouth, just for fun.

7 Mos

Cian at seven months. He has little interest in crawling, only wants to stand, so he's not very mobile yet. I don't have any updated stats since his next dr. appointment isn't for another couple months. As you could probably guess, his other interests are putting everything in his mouth that he can reach, and being with mom.

I feel like I am showing the world what a terrible mom I am with this picture, but I promise this has only happened a couple times. I don't constantly leave him in his jumperoo for hours.

Half a Year Old!

Our little man turned six months old on Monday. On Tuesday, he had a doctor's appointment where they told us he now weighs 16 lbs 15 oz (25-50%), is 25 3/4 inches tall (25-50%), and his head is 45 1/2 cm around (75-90%). He also received 4 vaccinations, 1 oral and 3 pokes. He didn't mind the drink but he did NOT like the shots this time. I've never heard him sound so pitiful. But he got over it soon enough.

I think it's pretty safe to say that he has blue eyes and dark blond/light brown hair. As for what he's up to, he can sit on his own but I like to stay nearby because he hasn't made the connection that he has to catch himself before he falls over and hits his head. He doesn't seem to be close to crawling yet but does try to pull himself up on our coffee table. He still makes faces at pretty much everything I feed him, but there are definitely some things he eats more willingly than others.

Anyhow, I wish I had more exciting stuff to post than that, but I don't. I'll take boring over tragic any day though.

Cian Mauled by a Pack of Dogs

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

baby bum

I had a couple comments on the monkey outfit he was wearing in the last post, so I thought I'd put up a picture of the back side:

Five Months Old

Mr. Cian is five months old as of last Friday. He's eating solids now but I don't think he has really loved anything he's tasted as of yet. We're still working our way through the vegetables though, so maybe when we get to the fruit he'll be more excited. He's getting the hang of rolling over and loves to stand/walk while he hangs on to you. His eyes are still blue and I think they will stay that way, but we aren't sure about his hair. Sometimes it looks blond, sometimes brown, and sometimes even reddish.

There isn't much else going on, we've all had a cold the last couple weeks but I think we're pretty much over it now (knock on wood). I'm not looking forward to the chilly fall/winter weather, but I am getting excited for the holidays. Anyway, I'll end with some pictures...

He's all about grabbing/eating his feet

In the jumperoo

I had a request for a picture of him in his hat

More Shots

I don't have anything exciting to report, just thought I would put some stats on here from his Dr. appointment last week and another picture:

- Weight, 14.7 lbs, 35%

- Height, 25 inches, 50%

- Head, 42.2 cm, 45%

He also received more vaccinations, but he took them like a champ. Didn't cry at all for the first one, and just briefly after the second.

Here is a shot of him where he is doing something besides just staring at the camera.

Four Months

Cian turned four months old yesterday. His well check is next week so I'll have stats then. All I know is that he's definitely outgrowing his clothes!

He doesn't last long in this position before he topples over.

Not sure if you can see his wet shirt, but he is drooling like crazy these days.

I just thought this was a funny expression.

Three Months

Cian turned three months old on Sunday. I also went back to work this week so it's been a rough week. But I am only part-time and my mom watches him for us so that has been a huge help!

Cian's Two Month Well Check

A few days ago Cian went back to the pediatrician for a checkup and some shots. He is up to 11.7 pounds and 22 inches, so he seems to be doing well.


Below is a picture of him talking to Dad.

Nursery Pics

I realized I never posted any pictures of Cian's room, probably because we were too indecisive to make any drastic decorating changes. We wanted to put up wainscoting and paint pretty colors on the rest of the wall, but unfortunately in the end we did nothing.









The little rocking chair you can kind of see in the first picture was given to me by my great-grandma when I was little.

Shave and a Haircut...

So Bowser and Maggie both got haircuts from a groomer. I was going to cut Maggie's hair myself, but Bowser's hair turned out so much better than when I do it that we took Maggie in as well.

Maggie before:

Maggie after:

Bowser before:

Bowser after:

Maggie doesn't look that different, just not as scruffy. But Bowser almost doesn't look like the same dog.

Cian's One Month Well Check

A little over a week ago, Cian had his one month well check. He is up to 9 lbs 5 oz, which is a two pound gain since his last appointment. He is also now 21" long. His head circumference is in the 50th percentile and height and weight in the 25th percentile. I guess that means he is on the smaller side with a little bigger head, so maybe he will be really smart?





I took this picture yesterday. I'm still not sure sometimes when the smile is genuine, but it's cute either way.

Cian's First Bath

Cian had his first real bath on Saturday. He didn't care for it much, as you can see below. Hopefully as I get better at it and he gets more used to it, it will become something fun to do!

This was taken as he was being lowered into the water.


This is a deceptively calm picture. He really spent
most of his time screaming.

The Puppies

Actually, Bowser isn't really a puppy anymore and Maggie will be a year old in June, but we will probably always call them that. Anyway, they seem to be adjusting pretty well to Cian. They're still very curious and have to be reminded not to lick him, but that's nothing compared to how they could be behaving. Bowser has discovered the baby's laundry hamper and likes to try to pull stuff out through the holes in the side. Apparently the smell of spit up is too hard to resist.

Below is a picture of them. I gave them both a haircut recently, but you can't tell. In Bowser's case that is probably a good thing, I cut off a lot more of his hair because it is really thick and it didn't look that nice. I will probably have to break down and take him to the groomer. Maggie's hair is more manageable so I think I can spare her that experience. I'll have to post an "after" picture when they get another haircut.

Nonstop Eating

Cian had another doctor's appointment on Wednesday. They have been concerned about his weight gain but he is now up to 7 lbs 5 oz, so he put on 8 oz in just under a week and has surpassed his birth weight. The pediatrician was happy with that so we don't have to go back until his one month well check. It's a relief to see the constant feeding paying off!

And now another picture for your viewing pleasure...





He has so many great facial expressions I've tried to capture on camera, to no avail. I think we'll need the camcorder for that.

Expectations

First, I want to thank everyone for the well-wishes and kind comments about the baby bump pics. It's always nice to hear that you look good when you feel like a blimp.

Now, for the meat of the post. I'm sure there are lots of moms out there whose labor and delivery experience didn't go as they had hoped, me included. I had planned on trying for an epidural-free birth, but that didn't happen for a few reasons. One, the baby's heart rate kept decelerating and I was told if they had to do a C-section and I did not have an epidural, they would have to put me under. Two, because the baby's heart rate kept decelerating, I was strapped to all sorts of monitors and oxygen and could only lay on my left side. So I couldn't get up and move around to try and alleviate the pain or speed things along. I got stuck at 6 cm so they started me on pitocin. Even then I didn't progress very quickly and the thought of hours more of contractions didn't appeal to me so I finally gave in. At least then I was somewhat lucid for the people who were keeping me company that day...

When he was finally born, the cord was wrapped around his neck and arm, which was what they suspected. But, he was healthy which was all we could ask for, and we are thankful that everything worked out. The next challenge has been breastfeeding, but I won't go into that here.

Now for some more pictures:

With the proud parents right after he was born.

With Grandma Hood, Aunt Jen, and a tired mommy.

Hangin' with Grandpa Hood at the hospital.

Another pic while we were still in the hospital.

Cian

He doesn't do much, so not a lot of action shots. He pretty much just sleeps and stares.


Mom and Cian



Cian with Grandma Dorothy and Aunt Jona



Cian with Grandma Julie

Cian dreaming of being a blowfish

Cian dreaming of being cute

Newborn pics posted

...when we get more time. For now, you can view the hospital pic @ www.kadlecmed.org and click on "Newborn Gallery".

It's a Boy!

Today I was awakened at 5:45 a.m. by the words, "the bed is soaked." Yes, Brianna's water had broke. We quickly showered, brushed our teeth, loaded the car, and said goodbye to the dogs. We stopped for Starbucks, then headed straight for the hospital. By noon, several family members had shown up. Bri's contractions were light at first, but later after the push of patocin the pain was too much and along came the epidural. Then all was right with the world. The day was filled with a lot of waiting, clearing the room for Dr. checks, the room filling up again, oxygen, no oxygen, more IV fluids and the like. We lasted through the nurse's entire 12 hour shift and got a new nurse. Finally, around 6:30 p.m., it was time. The pushing started and lasted a little more than an hour. Out came a healthy baby boy. 7 lbs. 4 oz., 20 in. We'd kept his name in suspense, so there had been much speculation throughout the day, and for much of the pregnancy for that matter. But after he was here, we announced his name: Cian Marcus.

Mom is fine, but tired. Dad is tired and took a pit stop home to announce the news on the blog and check on the dogs. I think they will be surprised how different their world will now be. As will we.

35 Weeks

Here's Bri at 35 weeks. She's starting the weekly Dr. visits, which so far has consisted of a weighing, pee sample, and 75 seconds with the Dr.: "how are you feeling? No problems? Good, see you next time." Everywhere we go, people are commenting about how low she is carrying, is it the first, what is the sex, etc. Those could all be pretty gutsy questions from strangers. Bri's nesting is about complete, or should I say, the nursery is about complete (baby clothes shopping seems to be eternal). We're still having problems with paint decisions and waiting for the glider chair/ottoman to ship. We still need to meet the Pediatrician and take a tour of the birth center. Bags are packed and sitting by the door for emergency evactuation to the hospital. It's pretty close to the final countdown (nanana na, nanananana, nanana na ah, nanananana na ah, nanana, nanana...)

Baby Bump

Here's Brianna at 26 weeks.  I'm trying to convince her to go bare belly in the style of the famous Kate pictures from Jon and Kate plus 8, but she won't do it so far.  

Here's a picture at 21 weeks.

Baby Pics

Profile of head.  Not much to say here.  

Face.  This looks more alien to me.  Not sure what's going on with the nose there.

Hand and Arm.  Uncle Sam wants YOU!

Foot.  Five toes...a good sign.

Boy?  Sorry the photo is censored, but we don't need our kid streaking across the internet until he's much older.  In the original photo, it's pretty clear.

It's an epidemic!

Marc writes: So last night Bowser was acting a little weird--whining, shaking, leaking urine on himself and acting afraid to pee outside.  Some of the leakage looked reddish and some of his activities were similar to my episodes that morning (I'll let you decide which activities).  I decided that if he was in the kind of pain I had been in, he needed immediate care.  Our vet had closed for the evening, so we had to take him to the pet emergency.  His bladder was empty, so they couldn't really diagnose him, but the x-ray showed something similar to kidney stones.  The dot in the x-ray was in a strange location according to the Dr. and she recommended follow-up x-rays the next day.  She sent us home with meds.  

Our vet, today, said it was kidney stones and sent us home with more meds because the meds we got last night were damaging to kidneys (nice!).  

We are taking our meds together and hoping for the best. 

Today Marc Escapes Death

I woke up at the regular time and headed off to the bathroom to start getting ready for work.  I immediately noticed a hard pain in my lower right back.  I figured it was my kidney failing.  So no big deal, right?  The pain quickly moved to the front and I found myself on the floor in agony, turning cold, tunnel vision setting in and wanting to get sick.  

After a few minutes, I was able to get myself up and back to bed.  As I lay there moaning and writhing around in pain, I remembered that I have a pretty high pain threshold and figured I could just out-wit the pain.  Nope.  I then had thoughts of my appendix bursting to my demise and my kid-to-be growing up without me.  I also had thoughts of Joey from Friends being told by his Dr. that he had kid-eny stohnes.  I was hurting too bad to laugh at that moment, but promised myself I would later...if I made it to later.  

As Brianna rushed me off to the hospital, I laid the seat back and placed my arm over my eyes wishing, by now, that I would have died or at least passed out.  The trip was fairly quiet with a few road bumps, some stop and go at the lights, and an occasional roll to the left or right around corners.  As we got closer to the hospital, I noticed the pain dissipating and by the time I checked in, it was practically gone.  

The Drs. ran some tests and said it was kidney stones.  It turns out, once the stone gets into the bladder, the pain usually stops, so that's what must have happened.  It also turns out they can't do anything for it but manage the pain.  I don't like drugs of any kind as a rule, even OTC, but I picked up these prescriptions because I don't want that kind of pain again.  Kid-eny stohnes...heh-heh.  That crazy Joey.