3 month update

Motherhood has completely exceeded my expectations. I knew I'd love it, but I never imagined it would be THIS amazing. when i was a little girl, people would ask "What do you want to be when you grow up?" And I would always say two things: 1.) The President (yes, of the united states of America :) and 2.) A mother. Some kids grow up wanting to be teachers, or lawyers, or doctors. I just wanted to be a mom. The President thing, I realize, is probably not in my cards and I am completely content with the latter.

People say parenthood is the hardest job in the world. but so far, it doesn't really seem like "work" to me. i don't mind getting up in the middle of the night to feed him cause he's just so darn cute. and innocent. and precious.

and if i go a whole day without a shower (happens more often than i'd like to admit) because i'm preoccupied with reading books and/or just staring at max all day, then so be it! nothing's work when you love what you do.

here are some stats on the 3rd month of my baby's life!!

Favorite thing to do: he loves kicking things! (flashback to when he was in utero) He enjoys lying down and kicking the musical piano, or toys on his jungle gym. he also loves when i read to him. he sits there like he's actually listening so attentively. it's pretty cute.

Favorite thing we like to do with him: He has started to interact with us, and i'd say that's my favorite thing currently because it's so rewarding. when i sing or talk to him he "sings" and "talks" back. And the smiles...my gosh, the smiles!!

Activities: This month the main activity has been traveling! We've made two trips to Kentucky. One was a short weekend trip with the whole family (me, david and max). We went to my parent's and max got to play with all of his cousins. it was the first time they were all together. ethan is a great big cousin. he would always pay attention to max and give him lots and lots of kisses. Zoe, Jack and Reese's interest in max grew slowly. Mostly they liked giving him his paci, or sharing a toy with him.

A few weeks later, me and max enjoyed two full weeks in Louisville. we had a blast! we took lots of walks, met lots of mommy's friends that hadn't gotten to meet max yet, and played more with his cousins. By the end of this month, all of the Peak cousins will live in different states. West Virginia, Illinois and Nebraska. The Hinshaws move to Lincoln this week. we are sad to see them go, but we are really proud of them. John has a great job, and they are excited to move into a new house that has plenty of room for toys (and visitors!)

max also made his first trip to the preschool where my sisters and granny work. i think he liked seeing all the bright colors and hearing all those crazy kids!! in a few years, that'll be him!

Firsts: this month max celebrated his first easter. it consisted of him buying his father an easter basket (backwards, I realize). my rule is that once max is old enough to receive candy, then daddy is TOO old.

he also had his first cold. and you could hardly tell because he still behaved so well!

he had his first tornado warning, which was more frightening for me than him. as a precaution, we slept in the basement with a charged cell phone, diapers, wipes, flashlights and a bottle of water (overkill? probably.)

Schedule: we got a little off schedule with the traveling, but that's to be expected. i figured while his sleep was "off" anyway, it would be a good time to ween him off the swaddle...which was a success. now if we could only get rid of that paci!!

daddy's schedule has not been as kind. for the month of april he was on night float... he went in around 5 or 6 pm and came home the next morning. we all hated it. he was generous enough to let me and max go to louisville since his schedule was so bad anyway. max "talked" to daddy via speakerphone every morning and we sent lots of pictures. we also met half way easter weekend so we could all be together. david's schedule can sometimes be demanding and difficult to plan around. but it is what it is. we are proud of him and thankful he works so hard for our family!!!

etc:

david and i set a wedding date--december 10th. we are just going to do an intimate and small wedding here in louisville. we're excited to "officially" become a family and to do that in front of the people we love most. grandma cathy has done most of the planning.

tomorrow mommy and max go back to morgantown! here's to a quick, quiet and easy six hour car ride home!!!!!!

2 month update!

So, for the first month update I was late, and for the 2nd month update I am early...but today I have time and tomorrow I may not (welcome to motherhood!)

I heard this quote and it pretty much sums up the last two months completely (and the next 100 years)

"A mother always has to think twice. Once for herself, and once for her child." -Sophia Loren

Luckily, most of this is intuitive. From the second he was born (well, more like since I found out I was pregnant) my brain is on overload, constantly thinking for two (add David in there and my brain is at full capacity!!) Anywhere we go, anything we do, I first think how it will impact or effect Max. Especially with breastfeeding him, his schedule has become a priority in the family. David and I still get to do lots of things we want, but we are constantly planning and making decisions for three.

We are always thinking about Max. Is he eating enough, sleeping enough, too hot, too cold, having enough tummy time? etc, etc, etc.... I worry if he's crying, and I worry the same if he's "too" quiet. Sigh. We just love him so much and want to take care of him the best we can.

Anyway, here is some two month info:

Favorite thing to do: he LOVES music!! David came up with the idea to put on Disney Pandora and Max (and mommy!) love it. He will just be lying there quietly but once you turn on the music he kicks and moves like he's trying to dance. adorable.

Favorite thing we like to do with him: Umm, I kind of like to dress him up in cute outfits and take pictures. Also, I like taking him to Panera (we are here as I type). He's pretty popular here...everyone always stops to ooohhh and ahhh. We also like to skype his cousins and grandparents.

Activities: We are still doing our excercise class and yoga. He's also been to my mom's group with me a few times now, though he is still too young to play with the big kids. We've had a few play dates, but those mostly consist of mommy talking with her friends and Max sleeping in his car seat :)

Schedule: This kid is a clock. If he needs to eat at 9:00, he will wake up ready at 8:58. It never ceases to amaze me. It makes scheduling around his feedings pretty easy and predictable. The downside is we lose some flexibility because his feedings and sleep schedules are so structured. But overall, I prefer this!

My favorite things he does: SMILE!! He is starting to smile and of course it is so cute. He smiles when we sing to him or make funny noises.

Size: He is out of newborn clothes and on to the next size up. Everytime I pick him up he feels heavier.

Sleep: Oh my gosh, we are so lucky! Max is a great sleeper. People at David's work always ask him how much sleep he is losing at night. For the record, he looses NO SLEEP! And I don't miss that much either. We put Max down in his bed (no rocking, no crying) and within 20 minutes or so he's fast asleep. He will coo and make some noises, but he rarely cries. He'll sleep for 4-6 hours for the first part of the night, wake up for a feeding, and fall back asleep for another 2-3. Even naps during the day are pretty routine and predictable.

We are making our first trip to Kentucky this weekend!! We can't wait!!! We'll see how he does on the car ride.

One Month Update!

I am writing his one month update at 5.5 weeks. Apparently, motherhood doesn't leave much time for blogging :)

We are so busy! You wouldn't think one little baby (that actually behaves really well and sleeps alot) would be such a time committment...but he is! And I LOVE IT!!

He is the most perfect, best, adorable, fun, sweet person in the world. I am so lucky to get to see him change and grow every day. Each day he does something new and I feel like everything new he does is a milestone :)

Here are a few things about his first month:

Favorite thing to do: Come on, he's one month old. He likes to sleep, eat and poop. But seriously, he also loves bathtime, being read or sang to, and cuddling!

Favorite thing we like to do with him: Cuddle!

Activities: We started baby yoga and an excercise class called "Buggies and Babes." Buggies and Babes is a class that we both go to for excercise. Let me tell you...it is kicking my butt!! I thought it was just a bunch of ladies pushing strollers around, but it's tough. Feels good to start getting back in shape though.

Visitors: We have had lots of love in our household! Of course grandma cathy and papa gary have been to visit a few times, as well as Nonna and Grandad. But Max also got to meet his cousins Eli, Autumn and Anora and his aunt Laura and uncle John. It was adorable!! Anora kept saying, "Baby, Baby" and kept giving him toys (that he's obviously too young to play with.) Eli kept sniffing his hair, and Autumn loved to hold him. She said she could just hold him forever..... I'm with her on that one :)

We also had my friends Natalie and Austin come visit. Max loved it, but I think mommy enjoyed it most. Great girl time, which is what I needed. They loved on him all weekend and also helped me out a lot. They made David and I a great dinner one night and even let us take a date night to Wal Mart :) Max loved shopping with us... he was a trooper.

Schedule: He is on a great schedule thanks to the amazing read, BabyWise (recommend!) We are on the eat, play, sleep schedule. He eats, I keep him up awhile to play, and then he naps. Sometimes I get a quick nap in when he does, other days I'm not so lucky. At night he is sleeping 4-5 hours at a time. It's magical.

My favorite things he does: I LOVE when he first wakes up and stretches. It is my favorite thing he does. It is so dramatic and he uses every inch of his body and face. Hilarious.

David: Daddy is back at work and says he misses us all day. My favorite is when he first gets home and sees Max. David gets the biggest smile on his face the moment he sees him. He plays with him for awhile and takes care of him while I take a little break. David likes reading to him and taking him out with us to places (this kid has been everywhere already-- airports, restaurants, malls, etc.)

Size: He is growing as expected. He grew out of newborn diapers and I pretty much teared up when that happened. I love that he is growing up and changing, but it can also be a tiny bit sad.

Pictures on facebook... it's too hard to post them both here and there.

We are enjoying our time with him. More updates to come!!

Maxwell is born!

Having a baby is exhausting...but the BEST kind of exhausting EVER!!

On Sunday, January 30, 2011, Maxwell Dean McConda was born at 6:01 a.m. at Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, WV. We were so blessed to have a healthy baby!! As promised, I will leave out "the gross stuff" and give you only the basic synopsis.

Hospital Test Run #2:

On Friday morning, I began having light contractions. Mom and I were shopping for a baby book, and I shopped right through the uncomfortableness. Later that night David and I went to dinner and a movie... Only I didn't make it to the movie. At dinner my contractions began to get worse, and I went straight home and to bed. Only I didn't sleep... starting at 10:00 that night, my contractions began to be more regular and more intense. David stayed up and kept me company. At 6:00 a.m.. we decided to pack our bags and head to the hospital.

Only...I didn't stay at the hospital for long. The doctor said that while I was having contractions, they weren't being very effective. I was not dilated enough to really constitute staying in the hospital. He said it could be hours or even days until I was ready. The doc said to go home and come back "when I'm ready." This was so vague to me! He said I would "just know" when it hurt bad enough to return.

Frustrated and crying I tell him "I'm in pain now! I thought this time was it. How much worse does the pain need to be to come back?"

So we went home where I labored until I couldn't take it anymore. My mom, dad and sisters came in town and they were a huge help!! They were a great distraction to the pain.

Ok, Seriously, this time!!

By the time we got back to the hospital, it was around 7:00 that night. The only person I wanted to see was the anesthesiologist. At this point, contractions were 2-3 minutes apart, lasting about a minute. I had never been in so much pain my entire life. I just couldn't handle it. I decided to get an epidural, and I ended up being very happy with that decision. Before the epidural, all I could focus on was the pain. I wasn't even aware or concentrating on the fact that our baby was about to appear in the world!! Once the pain was relieved, it became an enjoyable experience where I could focus on the present and enjoy the moment that my son was born. As I told david after I received the epidural, "I love you again!"

At 6:01 he arrived!! There were about 12-15 nurses, doctors and assistants in the room. It was crazy, but I actually felt comfort in knowing there were so many set of hands. David was a GREAT help!! All anyone kept talking about during delivery was the baby's hair!!

When he was born I just couldn't stop saying "awww." I think that's all I said for the first fifteen minutes. I will never forget the first time I held him. Also the first time I fed him was just as special.

The hospital stay was not what I expected. The staff was amazing...especially the nurses. But we got absolutely zero rest. Between morning rounds, nurses, visitors, people checking my vitals, someone asking questions for the birth certificate, etc, etc, it seemed there was constantly someone in the room that needed something from me, the baby, or david. No one ever talked about or prepared me for that...it's one thing I wish I would have known to expect.

Home sweet home:

Once we got home, we began to catch up on some rest (thank you grandma cathy!!) Over the next few days, we started feeling like, "hey, we can do this!" and grandma cathy left. we were so fortunate that David got an extended period of time off work. It was really nice spending some time just the three of us. we want to thank our families though for all their help!! especially my mom... we couldn't have done it without her!

Ever since:

We have the best baby!! It's not that David and I know what we are doing...it's that Max does! He makes mommy look good :) He eats like a champ, and has since day 1. I haven't had any problems breastfeeding and it's all because of him. He's a great sleeper too. Of course we are tired, getting up for feedings every 2-3 hours, but I'm grateful that he eats well and falls back to sleep (eventually.) That's all we can ask for!

We are absolutely in love with little Max. Everything he does is adorable. He is already changing, and every day he seems a little older and wiser :) Basically we just sit and hold him and stare at him! And kiss him!

David went back to work, so it's just mommy and max now. We are getting the hang of it, but we miss daddy a lot!!

We are so thankful for a healthy, happy family!!!

our little hospital test run

we will call it a test run to the hospital, because it has a more positive connotation than calling it a motherly over reaction or paranoia.

on saturday i started getting a little concerned that i wasn't feeling the baby move as much as he normally does. it seemed like throughout the week he was decreasing in how often he moved around. the doctor told me weeks ago that the protocol is usually "10 and 2"--10 fetal kicks in two hours. i have never had a problem feeling the baby that much! in fact, at first i thought she meant ten times in two minutes :) that's how active he is!!

so when i felt like he wasn't acting normal, i did the 10 and 2 test. i laid down on the couch for two hours and counted movements. i got to about six... which isn't bad. we were on the fence about whether to call in or not, but my motherly genes have started to kick in. i much preferred playing it safe.

so david called in to the hospital and the labor and delivery nurses suggested that i come and be monitored... they said this is very standard procedure for a mother feeling decrease fetal movement.

david had a shift in the ER about this time anyway, so it worked out wonderfully. he took me to the ER, then to labor and delivery, at which point they monitored me for an hour. the baby's heart rate looked great, so we were relieved. david then went to work, and my mom came in the room to stay with me (we were grateful she was in town early!) they did an ultrasound, monitored me for another four hours (mom and i sat through parent trap and mean girls) and around 11 pm i was discharged, with the docs saying that our baby looked good.

its very possible he wasn't moving around a lot because there is simply not much more room in there for him!! i'm small, he's big... you can do the math. also the doc said babies have sleep cycles of 20-30 minutes and he was sleeping for most of the ultrasound. perhaps he just didn't want to be bothered!

we are glad we went in for the reassurance it gave me. and also, it was a nice practice run of what the real thing might be like. they had me in a hospital gown, in the hospital bed, etc, so i quickly discovered what being a patient will feel like.

the resident on call that worked with us was so nice and the nurses were amazing. i was grateful for that and it makes me less nervous about my upcoming visit. we didn't want to over react or be "those parents" but we were happy in the end that we were reassured everything was fine. after five hours of monitoring, our baby looked great, healthy, and very cozy in there!!

now just waiting on him to make his first apperance!!

engagement

As if we didn't have quite enough going on this month, david and i added to the excitement by getting engaged! we are so excited!

we've wanted our focus the past few months to be on all the crazy changes---including moving to wv, david starting his residency, and most importantly, preparing for the baby. but we are glad to have added one more important life changing event to the table. we have no idea about a wedding date (everyone's first question!!) because we still want to focus on the baby for now... he will be here sooooo soon!!

our engagement night was very special. we drove up to pittsburgh and had dinner at a nice restaurant downtown... the kind of restaurant that has nicer toilet paper in their bathrooms than we do at home (sad, but true :) it was special, as we very rarely treat ourselves to that kind of place.

after dinner, we decided to take a ride up the pittsburgh incline. it was very neat! we rode up an enclosed cable car and when we got to the top, we had a great view of the city skyline.

ride up the incline....



of course i needed to use the restroom, so atop the incline we stopped at the first restaurant we saw, called the georgetowne inn.

we just planned on using the restroom, but the atmosphere in there was so nice we decided to get a table and have drinks (him) and dessert (me). the inn was soooo nice and cozy. since it was a sunday night there was hardly anyone there. the waitress sat us right against the window and we had the best and most private view of pittsburgh (see below). it was nice.

i enjoyed the best strawberry shortcake i think i have ever had. then, i went to the restroom (yes, again). when i came back, the waitress brought us both champagne flutes. i was just excited to see champagne, as i haven't had any alcohol in the past nine months!! i took a sip and mine was ginger ale :( but the good news was what was in it.... a beautiful ring!!

then david took it out of the flute, got on one knee and proposed. it was so perfect. we stayed there for awhile and talked, just enjoying the privacy of the room and such an amazing view.

we treasured the peace and quiet, realizing this could very well be our last "date night" with eachother for awhile!! soon, everything will change!! but we can't wait!

3d cutie!

yesterday we went to the doc for our 34 week appointment. our doc wanted to do an ultrasound to see the size of the baby because he had been measuring a little bit ahead. we were thrilled to get an ultrasound!

david was next door and was on his way to meet me so i tried to stall as long as i could by using the bathroom, asking questions, etc. finally we started with the ultrasound and david made it just a few moments later.

our baby was so precious! the last u/s was at 22 weeks, so of course he looked entirely different this time around.

the sonographer was so patient and nice. said he has lots of hair and his belly is large (in the 90 something percentile). he weighed an estimated 5 lbs and 5 ounces which is right on track for his age. so we might not have a big baby after all. we also saw his lungs and the sonographer said he was "practicing breathing." what a good little boy!

the sonographer then did some 4d imaging. it was very cool. we watched from the TV screen and saw very detailed, real time images of him. he looked peaceful and happy! he was also practicing sucking and he was moving all over the place.

i didnt get much work done when i got home because i just stared at his u/s pics for an hour or so. in the spirit of the holiday i dressed him in a santa's hat. he's just so cute i couldn't help it!

mostly we were happy he seemed healthy and developing well.

back in 2 weeks for another ultrasound.