Firsts

Time is flying by and our baby boy is already two months old! He's hit every developmental milestone for a 2-month-old so far, and in true Bautista fashion he is going above and beyond to meet a few of the 4-month milestones, including bearing weight on his legs in a standing position and rolling over.

Right now, Baby B's life is full of firsts.  Unfortunately, he caught his first cold a few weeks ago, but he's better now! He also rolled over for the first time on March 24th, and has done it several times since.  A couple of days later, he started smiling back at us for the first time!  He moves so quickly it's hard to catch on camera, but I got a few good ones:

You can see his little personality starting to show.

Baby B likes: bathtime, music, stories, his gym, tummy time, stroller rides, car rides, mirrors, and his hands.

He dislikes: naps, bright lights and dirty diapers.

This week is another first: meeting his Uncle Phil, Aunt Leo, and his twin cousins! 

A Village

I can't believe Brayden is already one month old! At his one-month appointment he measured 22 inches, and weighed in at 10lbs 10oz. He's in the 80th percentile for height, weight and head circumference.  Big boy! 

For the past month, I've been home every day taking care of him, but I haven't been alone.  As they say, "It takes a village to raise a child." Well, we brought the village. Brayden is lucky enough to have three sets of grandparents who love him very much.  They have been visiting in shifts, bringing their baby-raising expertise to help out the newbie parents:

Here's a video of Brayden's first month:
 

Sleep Deprivation

Eat, Sleep, Poop.  That's what everyone told me was the extent of a newborn's repertoire.  Our baby has the eating and pooping down like a pro, but a couple of nights this past week had me wondering if I'd unknowingly given birth to a vampire.  Instead of sleeping, he'd much rather do this:

Yes, it's incredibly adorable.  And don't get me wrong, it's just as adorable at 3a.m. A couple of nights this week he was wide awake in the wee hours, doing absolutely nothing but eating and... being awake. I finally took the "if you can't beat em' join em'" approach and started our day.  Frustrated as I was with my lack of sleep and his lack of empathy for my lack of sleep, I knew there had to be an explanation.

A day later at my dr. appointment I got one. He was due for his first growth spurt, demanding a larger milk supply, and all that eating awake time was just what he had to do as a baby to accomplish what I believe should be the fourth task in a newborn's life- grow.  Eat, Sleep, Poop, Grow.

And I know it's only been three weeks, but I already believe it's too fast.

Learning Curve

I can't believe it's been almost two weeks since Brayden's arrival made us a family.  He is settled in and adapting to the world very well so far.  Today's pediatrician appointment revealed he is now 9lbs 4oz and in the 75th percentile for his size.  That's a lot of growing in just two weeks! With breast-feeding, sleeping and even focusing and following objects with his eyes, Brayden is pretty much a pro at being a baby.  Drew and I on the other hand, had a few lessons to learn about life with a new baby:

1. The inner-workings of the digestive system dominate daily conversations in a way I couldn't have imagined. I have mentioned pee and poop more times in the past two weeks than a first-grade class clown.
2. Baby boys come with a built-in fire extinguishing system, but it seems to malfunction quite frequently. The slightest false alarm can send it spiraling out of control, unleashing onto my husband's clothes, the nursery wall, or anything within fountain range.
3. On a related topic, never bend down to lovingly kiss your baby boy on the forehead while the fire extinguishing system is exposed without a diaper.  I nearly caught it in the eye.
4. I have discovered the fastest rate in which I can consume a meal before an inevitable interruption.  For example, a bowl of cereal takes four minutes.
5. I have also discovered the minimum amount of sleep required for my body and brain to function properly.  Failure to meet the minimum requirement results in brief bouts of narcolepsy, usually while nursing a baby.

All lessons aside, Brayden has his dad's laid-back disposition and has only kept us up for a few nights so far. (knock on wood!) He's already developing a little personality. 

Brayden likes: footie pjs, blankets, sleep sheep, playing with mommy's hair, peeing on daddy, eating and sleeping.
He dislikes: diaper changes, being naked, seatbelts and mittens.

A few friends had asked us what it's like to know that from now on there are three of us instead of two, or whether it's strange to go from just us, to us and a tiny human that will be involved in our lives forever.  To me it doesn't feel strange. In fact, as soon as he arrived I couldn't imagine life without him. It's like he's always existed, but now he's home.

Birth Story

It isn't often that one 24-hour duration, one turn of the Earth, changes our life and imprints every moment of itself in our memory, earning the title of "the best day." My wedding day earned this title two and a half years ago and now February 8th, 2014 will no doubt remain vivid in my mind forever.  It was the most physically challenging, emotionally exhausting and ultimately rewarding experience all at once.  It was the best day of my life.

Last Friday afternoon, I was in the middle of one of my due date "treat yourself" activities getting a relaxing massage and thinking about where I wanted to go to dinner with my husband.  But we never went.  At around 4pm I started feeling measurable contractions and we started timing them with excitement and anticipation, waiting until they were about 5 minutes apart so we could call the midwife and go to the hospital.  Earlier that morning I had gone in for a check-up and was told I was dilated 2cm.  I had a ways to go.  It could take hours or days.  

At around 8:30 the contractions were stronger and more frequent, less than 10 minutes apart.  I decided we could wait no longer! To the hospital! Drew put the bags in the car and off we went.  I hobbled up to registration and managed to spit out my name in between contractions.  Within minutes I was whisked off in a wheelchair to triage, where nurses started asking all sorts of questions and testing my vitals. I was relieved when my midwife arrived, but not relieved to hear what she said a few minutes later.  Three centimeters dilated.  Only three?! Four hours of contractions and I'd only progressed one lousy centimeter? That's what I meant to say. What I actually said was a little less eloquent with a little more profanity.  We went back home to continue early labor.

The contractions remained strong and frequent for hours.  I rotated from the warm shower to my birthing ball, Drew following each step of the way cheering me on and offering help however he could.  I was determined to stick it out until I was sure our next trip to the hospital would end with a baby.  Perhaps I waited just a bit too long. When the contractions felt like one unbearably painful contraction with no space in between, I told Drew to drive as fast as he could.  It was 3am.

When we arrived at the hospital I could barely open my eyes.  We checked into triage and my midwife entered the room.  "It looks like we're ready to have a baby," she said.  She filled up a laboring tub to ease the pain of active labor and I got into the warm water, Drew sitting beside it telling me I was doing a great job.  I'd just stepped in when I had another contraction and my midwife told me it was almost time to get out and push.  That part didn't take long at all.  Less than an hour and a half after I'd arrived, I was holding my baby.

Drew and I had planned on taking video during the whole process.  We were so prepared with cameras and printed birth plans, a music playlist for labor and even a cord blood donation kit for Be the Match, that we ended up forgetting in the car.  We took no video and my neatly printed "birth plan" turned into whatever noises I could utter between contractions.  But it didn't matter.  Staring down at two tiny brown eyes staring back, I couldn't believe that we did it.  We had a baby. 

And Brayden James Bautista is perfect.