On being a Mom.....

Last night, my good friend Kim Allen asked me "What's it like being a mom?". This was the first question like this I had received, and my first thought that came to mind was "Hard!".

I can hear the gasps now- babies are God's little angels, motherhood is a blessing, being a mom is the greatest job in the world..... I know! And I agree with all these things. But I never expected it to be so challenging. All the books talk about how newborns sleep all the time and take two hour naps throughout the day. These authors never met Chasen! My day is completely consumed with keeping him quiet and happy. He rarely takes naps- I can't get him down during the day. The only naps he will take is in your arms. I guess you can say he's a people person!

So this leaves dear old mom running around in a robe and my hair still in a towel because I can't even take 15 minutes for a shower without Chasen starting to cry. And Justin and I can't figure out what it is....he's fed, he's dry, he's warm. What else is there? Again, he just wants to be with someone we think and then there are the tummy aches! He just cries and twists and makes awful faces while we hear his stomach churning and bubbling! Poor little guy!

Let's not even mention dinner....what is that? I seem to remember a time when Justin and I could sit down and eat our meal together and talk. Now it's one parent scarfing down his/her meal so the other parent can then take over coaxing the baby and have their meal. I think since Chasen has been home, we have had one meal that he slept thru!

So in conclusion, motherhood and babies are a blessing. But it is also a lot of work. One has to be self sacrificing in all areas of their lives for the little tikes. But when he looks at me with his big grey eyes, possibly one day blue eyes, I know it is all worth it.

Picture Perfect

Our friend Robin Slicker is a photographer and came over last week for Chase's first "Photo Shoot"! I think we might have a future model on our hands! I had to share the photos, they just make my heart melt!

On the homefront Chasen is doing well, though he is a little fussier now. We are trying to figure out his cries and needs, but sometimes he just cries after we change him, feed him, burp him, and everything else. I think that sometimes he just wants to be held and paid attention to. He also likes to switch up parents too. For example, he will just cry and cry with Justin, but if Justin gives him to me he stops-it goes the other way too! He is growing so fast, and you should see him lift his head! Such a big boy! He loves to lift it when you hold him-show off!

I'm sure my mom misses him this week. She is in Florida, my grandmother passed away on Sunday. We were going to take him for a visit this spring to see her, but her health just faded so quickly. When mom gets back she will be impressed by how much he has grown!

Enjoy the pictures!

Scrub-a-dub-dub, Chasen in the tub!

We gave Chasen his first bath on Wednesday. I thought he would scream and cry and it would be a horrible ordeal. But with his binky in his mouth, he slept right through it! He did take a pee break in the tub, but I guess it could have been worse! He was so good, even the drying off time! Let's just hope he keeps up the good manners!

The Hiccuping Fish

It's day 4 having Chasen home and he already has his own little quirks about him.

We were hoping he would like fish-with his underwater nursery and all the fish toys we have gotten him. I had no idea he would ACT like a fish! When he gets anxious about feeding, the bottle, or his pacifier he starts thrashing his head around like a fish out of water! It makes it very hard for mom to get the job done because of all the motion!

He also gets the hiccups after EVERY meal. Whenever we lay him down, within 10 minutes the poor baby gets a case of the hiccups. They sometimes get him upset because all he wants to do is take a nap but he can't get rid of them!

Other than these little things, so far he is the perfect baby. He wants to eat every 2 hours or so and will cry for that, but that's about it. He use to cry when we changed his diaper but mom figured out how to keep him quiet! I either use the paci or continue to give him little sips of milk to distract him. Then, we finish our meal and it's time for bed!

Ta-Dah!!! Chasen is Here!

Chasen Ford Miller aka Pistachio was born Friday morning, July 28th at 7:05 am.
He weighed 7 lb 13 oz and was 21 1/2 inches long!
He has light red hair, don't know about the eyes, but his daddy's cheeks!

It all started late Thursday night around 10:00 pm. Justin and I had been at Joy and Barry's for dinner. We went to bed and I was having my usual lower abdominal pain. I had been having that, surely at night, for the last week or two-Braxton Hicks.

Around 11:00, I moved into the guest bedroom because Justin was snoring and the cramps were keeping me up. For an hour, they just kept getting worse. I was moaning in bed and tossing and turning. I wasn't sure if it was the Braxton Hicks or dinner!!

Around 12:00 I heard and felt a POP! Thinking this can't be the shrimp, I went to the restroom and found what could be my broken water and it looked like the baby's meconium was in it. (Sorry for the detail!) Still not sure if "this was it", I took a shower. The pain started becoming really bad, in waves and I was moaning and crying in the shower. The whole time, Justin is just snoozing away!

I finally decided to wake Justin up and told him that I didn't know if I was in labor, it could be dinner-if it was I was sorry, but we needed to make our way 45 minutes away to the hospital.

The reason I didn't know if this was really labor was because it was nothing like what I had expected from all my reading. The pain was only in my lower abdomen, and sharp waves of pain were coming every 5 minutes, then 3, then 7, then 2 etc. And, I was feeling constant pain in between!

So, at 1:00 am we were on the road to Northside Hospital and got checked in about 2:00. They did not seem to be in any rush at all-and I am in so much pain by then! When they finally saw me, I was 3 cm dilated and fully effaced. They decided I could stay and I demanded drugs!!! I wanted to do the "all natural" thing during my pregnancy, but once labor began I was begging for some relief! I think around 4 am I finally got an epideral and boy do those things work! They told me I still had hours of labor to go and just to rest. A little after 5 am, they began to be concerned because my contractions were stopping, and the baby's heartrate was decreasing. At 6 am, they told me that I needed to have a C-section because the baby was in distress-most likely from the meconium. I was DEVASTATED! I have never been so scared in all my life. I was crying and shaking uncontrollably (partly because of the epideral). I feared for Pistachio and for myself as well because of course they warn you of all that could happen (death). I need to put in a little plug here for Justin. During this whole ordeal he was WONDERFUL. He was so comforting and took care of me (and still is).

At 6:30 am they started to get us prepped and by 7:00 surgery was underway. Justin watched the whole thing! At 7:05 Chasen entered the world and we heard his first cries. They said "It's a redhead!" And I asked Justin "Are they joking?" But his hair really was red! They showed him to me, of course he looked upside down and of course I cried!

We all went into recovery and they checked him from head to toe. They were concerned about his blood sugar level, it was very low. We found this odd since Joy had fixed a rum cake for dessert and my pregnancy diet had been based on Oreos! They told me he had to go to the nursery to be checked out. He ended up staying the entire hospital stay in their NICU. They were concerned about his blood sugar, he wasn't eating, and his platelet count was low. It even got to the point where they had to insert a feeding tube. It was so scary and sad to see our baby hooked up to all these iv's and monitors. And of course, family and friends come to visit-but no baby! In the meantime, I am in a lot of pain and having to recover myself. It was just unreal that the perfect pregnancy would end up this way, with mommy and baby both needing so much care.

The good news is, by Sunday he started eating more and by Monday he was off the iv for his blood sugar. We were so happy to get the call on Tuesday that we were all free to come home! It took all day to get released but what a great feeling to finally be all together!

Our first night home was an adventure. We first had to go visit my dad who had not seen Chasen because he himself was in the hospital all week. He fell from a ladder while building our deck and fractured several ribs, punctured a lung, and had just gotten home from Atlanta Medical. By the time we got home, Chasen had pooed all over his coming home outfit that great-grandma had given us and was crying at the top of his lungs for dinner! Of course, we have no idea where the formula or bottles are in all of our luggage. I haven't had a pain pill since 11 am and am hurting up a storm. We got thru it, but Chasen woke up every hour during the night crying for more milk. What do they mean this kid has an eating problem???? He has done better today, but we are nowhere close to the 3 hour feeding schedule he was in while at the hospital. Maybe they just consoled him more, or he's just adjusting to our home. Because we were never able to care for him at the hospital, it's like starting from scratch. We are tired, but we are family. Justin and I are really working like a team and he is the greatest dad. I always knew he would be, but seeing him in action makes my heart melt. And THIS IS THE CUTEST KID IN THE WORLD!!!!!

If you remained awake during this blog, hope you enjoy the pictures. We will be taking more as the days go on and posting them on www.justinandjacinda.com We are just trying to make it one hour at a time for now!