Merry Christmas 2008

Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, etc. etc! I think I can honestly say this has been my favorite Christmas to date. Kylie showed me the true meaning of the holiday - being with family. Mike and I sort of stressed about what to get her this year - really needing to stay on a budget. We wanted to really wow her since she seemed to totally be into it this year, but all she asked for was a "pink Barbie" from Santa. She got a couple of Barbies but was happiest with a $1 set of princess crayons and a $1 mini Tinkerbelle lunch box for them to go in. (Michaels had awesome stocking stuffers - keep that in mind for next year if you have little ones.) She was super sweet, opening her Barbie saying "This is exactly what I asked for!" (Mommy wipes back tears.) But quite honestly, Kylie would have been thrilled just having Mommy, Daddy, Grandma and baby brother home in the same room together playing with her. She is pretty easy to please in that regard.

Uncle Nick's nephew Dave spent Christmas with us. It was nice to have company. We had ham, green bean cassarole, cheesy potatoes, salad, cheesecake and cookies. We kept it pretty simple this year, and it turned out really nice. The best thing is having a yummy, home cooked meal with plenty of leftovers!

Of course, Zachary slept most of the day. I had to add this picture of him with Grandma because it is beautiful. Dave brought his super-dooper camara and took some awesome pictures. Kylie and Mom are so darned photogenic. Nice.

The night ended with Kylie cuddling up to me in bed. "Merry Christmas Mom," she said to me. I said, "Merry Christmas Kylie." She gave me a big hug and a smacker right on the lips. "I love you so much," she said to me. She makes my heart melt.....

One Month Old

Time sure does fly! Zachary is one month old. He had his one month check up at Dr. Pendleton's on Monday. He sure has been busy growing over the last three weeks! He is 10 pounds 3 ounces and 22.5 inches long. He is doing really well....in the 50th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for length. His baby acne is still pretty bad, and the doctor said it will clear up somewhere between 6-8 weeks. He had his second hepatitis shot today and handled it like a champ. (I hate watching those shots!) Mike is such a chicken that he conveniently stayed in the waiting room with Kylie so she could "play." Ha!
Zachary's favorite thing to do is to eat. Unfortunately he really likes to do it at night. He is up every two hours or so. He sleeps longer periods of time during the day. Needless to say, Mommy is tired!
Mike goes back to work this Friday, and I go back next Monday. We have both been home for the last six weeks. Time has gone by so quickly!

Phoenix Zoo

Today we took the kids to the zoo. Kylie is such a wimp. We have got to get her out more. It took her about an hour to get used to the idea of being at the zoo. Luckily, my friend Stephanee and her son Nicolas were at the zoo, so Kylie got to visit a while before walking around. Seeing Nicolas fine with being there was helpful.

After eating lunch with Stephanee, Max, Nicolas and their friends, we were off. Kylie was immediately fascinated by the giraffes and the ostrich. Then, we were off to the lion enclosure. It took a few minutes to get Kylie out of the stroller to look at them. Once she climbed up on Mike, she was alright. We didn't stay long though. After the lions, we saw the rhinos. Wow, are they huge animals or what? One was breathing really hard, and puffs of dust would go up all around it each time it exhaled. Ky got a kick out of that. Then, we went to see the baboons. Did you know that baboons have the largest fangs in the animal kingdom? Anyhow, I didn't take any pictures of them because baboons just don't seem to do anything appropriate. Kylie immediately noticed their red butts and asked Mike why their butts were so red. Then another sat in front of us and started, um, entertaining himself. We left, only to turn around to the turtles. Check out that picture above! Mike commented that the poor animals at the zoo get no privacy. Kylie responded, "Why Daddy? They are only playing." Alright, off to the next.....

It turned out that today was kind of a bum day at the zoo. Apparently today was "vet day" and all of the animals got their shots and check ups. Really, they should close the zoo on days like that. They were either hiding or sleeping (just like Zachary!).

Poor Zachary has really bad baby acne right now. I know there is nothing I can do about it, but it looks terrible. It almost looks like it hurts! He slept most of the time at the zoo. (As you can see!) He likes to be carried around in the Baby Bjorn or pushed in the stroller. Both kids were clearly exhausted by the time we left, not to mention Mom and Dad were pooped too.

Swinging....

Mike got out the baby swing today and put it together. Zachary loves the swing. I know he looks like a pile of sweet baby mush here, but he is so stinking adorable. He snuggles in, grunts a little, and then he is out. Kylie really doesn't get the concept of it going automatically and wants to push him in it so badly.

Zachary is still doing most of his sleeping during the day. Mike and I try to keep him awake, but it doesn't work. He is sleeping 2 1/2-3 hour chunks at night. So, I get some sleep. Last night he had a tummy ache and was up from 11:50 until about 3:30....urgh. Really, he is a good baby though. He rarely fusses.

Kylie is doing a little better with him. She gets jealous. I have a pillow that I lay Zachary on when I nurse him. She likes to come over and lay her head on it too. Today, she even fell asleep on it. Too sweet....

(BTW, yes I realize the pictures are off center. I'm not THAT bad of a photographer...it's just that the swing was ON when I took them!)

Zachary's Favorite Place

Beginning at the hospital, Zachary's favorite spot has been laying on Mike's chest. He curls himself up into a little ball and snuggles his chin into Mike's chest. It is adorable!

Welcome Zachary Isaiah Myers

Until Zachary can talk, I suppose Mommy will take over this blog. To be truthful, I am not sure how I am going to continue these. I may end up combining the kids' blogs. But, for now, I am enjoying it.

Zachary Isaiah Myers was born Tuesday, October 21, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. at Mercy Gilbert Hopital in Gilbert, Arizona. He was 8 pounds and 10 ounces, 21 inches long. As you can see in some of his pictures, he looks kind of beat up. Poor guy had a puffy face and looked like he had been put through the ringer a couple of times. Birth is a rough thing on a baby! I beat my 12 minute record of pushing with Kylie by 2 minutes. I only pushed 10 minutes with Zachary. The nurse said that it was a pretty quick trip down the birth canal and that sometimes it bruises the baby's face because it goes through so fast. Apparently, even though the skull is soft and can adjust through the canal, when it is a quick trip it doesn't have time to. I don't know how much truth there is to this, but since the nurse told me it, I'll go with it.

I was due on October 16th. 16 is my favorite number, so I was quite excited about the due date. At the beginning of October I was having some issues in the doctor's office with hypertension. Three different times between October 2nd and October 11th, I was sent to the hospital to be monitored. (Thank God for insurance! Each time was close to $3000!) We were on Fall Break from school October 6-10, and I thought for sure - ok - hoped he would come. But no....I returned back to work keeping off my feet.

The 16th came and my doctor wanted to induce me because of the pregnancy induced hypertension. She set me up for October 18th to have three sets of gel applications done. (Not to get too graphic for you boys - it is supposed to help dilate) Anyhow, after the third application - NOTHING! I was discharged. The hospital scheduled me to come back Monday, the 20th, at 10 p.m. for another gel application. Monday night at 8:00, they called me to cancel. Apparently they had too many mommies taking up beds at the hospital. I was crushed.....one, because I was really uncomfortable....two, I really wanted to meet my little boy....and three, because I had been going through hell with the doctor's office for about three weeks now. I wanted it done and over. My mother would probably say I was emotional or over anxious during this time, but really, if it were you, you would be fed up with doctor appointments by now too! So, Monday night I went to the hospital for of a BPP (biophysical profile ultrasound) just to be sure it was ok NOT to induce me. All checked out well with the baby, so they sent me home. They told me they would call me when they had beds open to try the induction again.

7:00 a.m. Tuesday morning the phone rings! Come on in! We left the house about 7:45 and got to the hospital at 9:30 (we stopped for a bagel). The nurse, Lori, started the first gel at about 10:30. The process is this: apply gel, lay flat for 1 hour, walk for 40 minutes, monitor 20 minutes then repeat. After the first gel I had finally gone from 1 to 2 (dilated). She then put the IV in me and took some blood. She applied the second gel at about 12:30, waited through the process and I was between a 3 and a 4. "You're going to have a baby today," she told me and started the pitocin! So, I tried to relax as contractions started to come on stronger and stronger. At about 4 pm, I asked for the epidural. Once I had the epi, I tried to relax but couldn't. I started having anxiety, so Lori gave me some oxygen. I actually napped! She checked me a little after 6pm and I was at 10 and ready to go! She called the doctor and everyone started prepping the room.

Now, I have to stop and give kuddos to my husband. I can safely say that he is NOT a pro at this by any means. Just because he has other children, did not make this delivery any easier on him. He doesn't like to see me in pain. He gets a little nervous in the hospital environment just because he wants everything to turn out right. Each time Mike took me to the hospital, he was ultra supportive. He asked questions to the the nurses and the doctors this time around. He cracked jokes with me and with the hospital staff. He pulled up a bed, the nurses brought him pillows and blankets (without him asking), and he stayed calm with me. He rubbed me during my contractions and he checked the monitor each time my blood pressure was taken. He was really sweet.

Once the nurse told me I was at 10, everything happened so quickly. Mike put on the video recorder and they nurse started to prep the room. Dr. Kale came in and introduced herself, shook our hands and started to prep her table and get her gown on. My mom came in. The nurse from the nursery came in. Then, they had me push. It took me 3 sets of 10 counts. (A set of 10 counts is counting to 10 three times while pushing). Then, welcome Zachary! It went so quickly! If you watch the video, which I am not really offering to show, it records for a little over 15 minutes total. That includes the prep time!

After Zachary came out, the doctor put him on my chest and I was able to clean him off with the blanket. This was much different from Kylie's birth. I got her for a second after she came out and then the pediatrics nurse took her away. I didn't get her back until after her bath. Not with Zachary. I was able to hold him for a long time before they took him away. Mike went with him to be checked and bathed. Within about 40 minutes, they had me moved out of labor and deliver and over to my own room.

Our experience at the hospital and with this birth was overall very enjoyable. When I had Kylie, they put me in a really small room without an extra bed or couch for Mike. There wasn't any place for him to stay, so I stayed by myself. This time, my room was much larger and it had a couch that folded into a bed. Thankfully my mom was home and able to take care of Kylie. Mike was able to stay with me and Zachary at the hospital. It was nice as it gave Mike and I time to bond with the baby before bringing him home. Both of us are really appreciative of that.

So, here we are almost two weeks later. We have an absolutely beautiful, healthy baby boy and a beautiful little girl. The last two nights I have finally been able to sleep more than and hour and a half at a time. Little Zachary eats all the time. So far, he is a good little baby. He is a cuddle bug and rarely fusses. Time will tell....it is still early.

Welcome Zachary Isaiah Myers! We are so happy to have him here with us.