Week 2

Here's what I was up to last week...

Went to BW3 with my dad to watch my first Bengals game

Tried some belly time

Just hangin' out in my boppy

Reece is becoming more alert during the day. Usually is most alert after his first feeding in the morning. He seems to have finally gotten breastfeeding and is doing well eating.

Watching me grow...

One of the traditions of blogs from my PMCH coworkers is to take a photo every month to compare how the baby is growing. Sometimes its in comparison to a stuffed animal or just a picture with the age each month. So I decided we would try something a little new; we'll see if it works out. I bought the Cubs hat knowing it would be way too big, but I'm hoping we can see how Reece grows in comparison to the hat, and by his 1 year birthday, maybe the hat will actually fit.

We had our newborn check-up with Reece's pediatrician Wednesday. He maintained his weight from discharge from the hospital 7lbs, 5oz. His length was still 20in, but his head went down to 13.6in. Apparently it was more misshapen then we originally thought. He received a perfect bill of health, except for a sacral dimple. We had to get an ultrasound of his spine just to make sure the dimple wasn't anything major, and the radiologist said it is perfectly normal.

My first week (in pictures)...

All dressed up to watch my first Cubs game with dad

My first bath. Can you tell how much I enjoyed it?

All snuggled and content after my bath.

Sunbathing

(working on getting rid of my jaundice)


Showing off all the hair on the back of my head

Mommy's favorite picture!

Snoozing in my boppy, one of my favorite places to be.

Daddy and I sleepng together on the couch

Well, we survived our first week. Reece is a sweet and happy baby. He hardly fusses unless his diaper or clothes are being changed. We are still working on breastfeeding, but it gets a little easier everyday. Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

His first day

Getting weighed for the first time

My first picture, getting cleaned up right after delivery

Hanging with dad

The ridiculous outfit the hospital makes me wear

We didn't do much our first day. Just tried to rest and had a few visitors. I'll try to finish updating the blog by this weekend. Check back to see how our first week went!

Introducing... Reece Daniel Kluemper!!!

His stats: 7lbs, 11oz; 20 in; and 14.5in head circumference. I never thought I would post this picture, but I didn't think I looked too bad 30 minutes after delivery so here's our first family photo.

The first portrait of the little man. He was wide awake for about 2 hours after delivery. Both sets of grandparents made it to the hospital while we were still in the delivery room. We told them both his full name. We had picked it out many months ago, but had wanted to keep it secret from everyone.

We couldn't decide who he looked like right away. We think he's going to be a combination of both us. His face obviously resembles his dad's, but his nose, mouth, and hair look like they'll be from me.

Labor & Delivery (please skip if you don't want the TMI details)

Once we were admitted to our delivery room, they started my IV and started fluids and antibiotics. Dr Hinkle thought that my labor would start on its own so we were just hanging out for a few hours. She checked on us before heading into a c-section. I wasn't contracting own my own yet so she wanted me to walk, and then, they would start some pitocin. They got the Pitocin started around 1; I had just started having a few contractions at this point. Dr Hinkle checked me around 1:30, and I hadn't really changed so she headed home to get some sleep. The nurse only turned up the pitocin once, and I determined I would not be able to go "natural". The contractions were awful, and coming with only a 60-90 second brake. I gave in and asked for the epidural. It took a little while to get me comfortable because I had a "hot spot" that wouldn't go numb. The nurse checked me around 4 so I could get a little rest. I had already dilated to 8cm with the little bit of Pitocin they were giving me. The Pitocin had to be turned off around 5 because it was overstimulating my uterus. By 6, I was complete, but he was still a little high so they re-dosed my epidural and let my contractions move him down. The on-call Dr came in around 7:20 and decided we could start pushing. The doctor stayed in the room almost the whole time I was pushing. My contractions had slowed down so we had a few minutes in between pushes to talk and watch Sportscenter. Baby K finally made his entrance into the world at 8:42. (80 minutes of pushing).

I think my water broke...

So Wednesday morning, I woke up with a new outlook on life. I told myself that baby K wasn't coming until his due date, and I needed to suck it up and get through the next week. Well all that change in attitude must have been what he and probably God were waiting for. I worked 8 hours at work, and came home to make dinner for Matt and I. While I was us in the kitchen, I thought I felt something. I checked and I had a small amount of fluid...Well I wasn't quite convinced, so we sat down and ate. After we were done, there was little doubt that the fluid was still coming. I called the doctor on call, and she told us to head to the hospital to check things out. When we arrived, we heard a woman yelling in pain, quickly followed by the nurses yelling "we need a labor room". We found out she delivered about 2 minutes later. They checked me out and confirmed that my water had broken, and I was dilated to 4cm. Here's the last belly picture taken just before we left for the hospital. (I might try to figure out how to post a slide show so the progression of the belly can be seen). Next post labor!!