August 7, 2012- Being a Mom

Today was Will's 2 month checkup and he did great!  He has more than doubled his birth weight.  He was 3lbs 1oz when he was born and now he is 6lbs 6oz!  Brandon and I were just talking about how he is filling out.  His face is definitely getting fuller and his belly finally has some meat on it.  We can't see his ribs anymore!  I can't believe that Will has been here for 2 months!  Brandon and I can't help but laugh thinking that I could still be pregnant had Will been somewhat on time.  My due dates ranged from August 4-7, so naturally I liked the 4th!  

Although the past couple of months have been the hardest months of my life, I don't think I would change anything about it.  I am very blessed that I have a healthy son who just came a little early and is a little small although he is getting bigger everyday!  One thing that makes me sad about Will coming early is that I'm not pregnant anymore.  I know that sounds so weird and I never thought I would say it, but I miss being pregnant and I feel a little cheated that I didn't get to experience a full pregnancy.  What do I miss about being pregnant?  I miss Will moving around in my belly and watching my belly move.  There is something so special about being pregnant and knowing that you are growing a tiny human and protecting your child.  Now I am protecting him in a completely different way.  

It's really really funny, I used to think that I had the coolest job in the world being a Pediatric Nurse and I still think I have a great and fun job, but I have come to realize that being a mom is the coolest and hardest job!  I always thought that I would know how to be a mom because I take care of kids at work, but was I wrong!  Nothing can prepare you to be a parent!  I know that I will make mistakes being Will's mom, but I hope that he knows that I am trying my best and that he can appreciate the things that Brandon and I do for him. 

August 1, 2012- Sleeping With No Attachments

Learning to be a parent with a baby at home has been very hard and very exhausting and something had to give, and it has been the blog.  My apologies for not keeping up with our time at home, but I am sure that all parents out there can commiserate with my exhaustion.  

Here's the update for the past few days.  Will was 8 weeks on Monday, and he is such a little man!  He now weighs 5 pounds 12 ounces and he is looking more and more like a little baby and not so much like a preemie!  He is still small, but he is definitely filling out and his head is getting a little more round and not so flat on the sides.  We had a great nurse in the NICU who was making it her mission to round out Will's head.  She would be so happy to see it now.  We have been using the head rest from his car seat (the thing that helps keep his head from falling to the side) in his crib, his pack and play and in his swing and it makes him sleep on the back of his head and he can't roll to his side.  We have definitely seen a huge improvement in the roundness of his head.  

Will has also been off oxygen for 11 days!  We have been putting his oxygen monitor on him at night so we can make sure he doesn't need oxygen at night.  Will has been doing really well with no desats at night, so Brandon and I made the brave decision to take off the monitor last night.  This was the first time in Will's entire life that he didn't sleep with a monitor, so needless to say we were both so nervous to not have our security blanket on Will, but we knew that we needed to give it a try at some point.  I thought that I wouldn't be able to sleep last night because I would be so nervous, but the mother of the year that I am, I slept right up until Will demanded my presence at 4:45am.  I was so sleepy because Will and I were up at 4am yesterday morning, and I didn't get a good nap, so when I slept last night, I really slept.  Brandon, on the other hand, was very nervous.  He fed Will and put him to bed at 1am, and Brandon got up a few times to check on Will throughout the night.  What a good dad!

Tomorrow, Will is taking his first road trip to Idaho.  It's a whole new ballgame having to pack for myself, the dogs and for a baby!  I have made my list of things we will all need, so I hope I don't forget anything!  Wish us luck!