Summary of Week 1/2 Old

My posts are going to start being a lot different now that D.J. is here. I'll probably write more about him than myself. I wanted to make a quick post while he's sleeping about his first week and half of life!

We came home from the hospital Thursday afternoon. My sister was a big help that night and stayed with us. I'm not sure how we would have made it without her because we took shifts and both Dave and I were struggling with our awake times. We were both sooo tired. Having my sister there to talk with us was a lifesaver. Friday we pretty much tried catching up on our sleep while D.J. slept. Nothing really exciting. Friday night our friends Jen and Aaron stopped over for a little to meet D.J. My brother Teal also came over to spend sometime with his nephew. It's so neat to see my family with D.J. It's a different kind of love that I never knew they had. Saturday we had his 2 day appointment. Unfortunately his weight was down a little too much so we had to go back in 2 more days to check it again. Other than that he checked out fine. The good thing was that I knew my milk was coming in so he should start gaining weight before the next appointment. My friend Jodi's daughters first birthday party was Saturday afternoon. The great thing was that it was right down the street from our apartment. We didn't want to take D.J. out of the car with the other kids. I was very happy to stop by so all the girls could see him and I could spend a few minutes with them. I cannot believe it's been a year since Mackenzie was just like D.J. I wish I could have stayed longer but D.J. was getting restless and I was getting tired.

Sunday we went to my sisters house to watch D.J's first Steeler game. He slept pretty much the whole game until I needed to feed him at the end. It was probably a good thing because we lost. Our season is pretty much over so D.J. will just have to wait until next year to help cheer them on.

Monday we went back to the doctors and he had gained 3 oz. The doctor was pleased with that weight gain so we just have to hope he gets back to his birth weight by his 2 week appointment. Balboa isn't accepting any new patients so we got to choose a civilian doctor. Dave and I were both very happy with that because military doctors are not always the best. We have his next appointment Dec. 16th.

The weather hasn't been the best and actually had a really hard rain storm Monday so we came home from the appointment and stayed in. That's about all we've been doing this week is hanging by the house enjoying our son. There have been some hard times but they don't last long. He ended up waking up Thursday with a lot of mucous coming out of his eye and having a hard time opening it. Dave was worried that it was pink eye so we called the nurse. He told us unless his eye has redness or swelling that it's probably a closed tear duct. I had never heard that newborns could have this but I guess this is pretty common. He suggested to just try to keep it cleaned of the mucous and rub the tear duct. He was A LOT more cranky because he couldn't open his eye when he tried to. Dave had to go into work this morning and having D.J. being extra cranky was hard but I made it. His eye started clearing up tonight and he seems so much better already.

It has been a great first week as a family even though we didn't do much. It sure is different having a baby in our lives. I'm so glad that Dave was able to have this time off with us cause I'm not sure I would have made it. I'm definitely not looking forward to him being back at work this week. Luckily my sister doesn't have to work. We are still trying to adjust to his schedule of feeding at least every 3 hours. Since I'm breastfeeding it has been a little harder on me but I'm managing. I am sooo happy to have him in our lives.

I won't be doing much this week but will update if anything happens at his doctors. My parents come in Friday night so I'm sure I'll have lots to post with Christmas right around the corner.

David James Smith Junior :)

I finally got some time so I wanted to update everyone about his birth. I woke up Tuesday and had some back pains that I hadn't had throughout the pregnancy. I didn't think much since we started walking the night before. I figured I was just having pain from carrying my belly. I went to lunch with my brother and sister and continued to have small pain. When I got home I laid on the couch hoping to stretch out and relieve the pain. It seemed to work a little. Dave got home from work and we went for another walk. As soon as we started I just had a feeling that I was in labor. We made one lap around our apartment complex and the pain just kept getting stronger and stronger. Dave and his mom went to get some food and I jumped in the shower cause I knew we were going to be going to the hospital that night. I started tracking my contractions about 9:30 and they were about 15 minutes apart. Dave showered and tried to lie down for a little. Unfortunately as soon as he was done about 10:30, my contractions were about 6 minutes apart and getting more and more painful. I wanted to make sure that we had enough time to drive to the hospital and get an epidural.

Once at the hospital I was checked and was 4cm dilated so they admitted me at 12:15 am Wednesday morning. After getting into the room the nurse said the anesthesiologist would come and explain the procedure for the epidural. Literally a minute later he came in. They offer it when someone is at least 4cm so it was up to me to get it now or wait. I made sure that it wouldn't run out before giving birth and decided to do it then. It took him 3 times to find the bubble to inject the medicine. That was definitely not a good part. I had to sit hunched over trying not to move through my contractions as he pricked around with the needle. But that little pain and time it took was definitely worth it. As soon as it kicked in I didn't feel a thing the rest of the time.

The waiting game began. Luckily the labor progressed really quickly. The next time they checked about and hour later I was 7-8cm. The nurse told me to try to relax and rest for the big push! We watched Zoolander and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days while we waited. I was also able to close my eyes for a little. Another 2 hours and I was 9cm. The babies head wasn't quite there so they made me wait another hour. I was ready to push after that.

The nurse scared me just a little right before having to push. She warned me that it's up to me how long it could take. At that point I convinced myself I'll do whatever it takes to get him out as quickly as possible. The epidural was working so well that the nurse had to tell me when I was having a contraction and to push. At first it was weird cause I didn't know if I was doing it right. The nurse was a great coach though because she kept encouraging me to push stronger and harder. It did not take long until she started seeing the head and got the doctor. Once the doctor came in, I pushed a few more times and D.J. was out with only 27 minutes of pushing. He joined the world at 6:57am Dec 2.


After that he was taken to the side to be checked, given his shots and cleaned. He was 7lbs. 14 oz and 21.5 inches. The doctor had to stitch me up and soon enough I was able to hold my baby boy. It was such an incredible feeling seeing him for the first time. I was holding it together until I saw Dave just break down and cry. The two of us couldn't be happier though. They were definitely tears of joy to finally start our family.

I was very happy how my body handled the birth. I was in little pain and it didn't take long. It makes me feel good about having more. I love being a new mom and love my two men with all of my heart and soul!!

Thanksgiving Week

Well we had a busy but relaxing holiday week. I took my mother in law to the beach Tuesday afternoon. We laid on the beach until it got a little too windy and cold. After I took her to the Wave House for some lunch. Unfortunately the big wave wasn't running so it kind of defeated the point of going. Lunch was still great though.

My parents flew in late Tuesday night so I spent Wednesday with my fam catching up. My sister was hosting Thanksgiving and hadn't prepared anything so I helped her do some cooking. We made pumpkin bread, pumpkin pie, apple pie, cranberries, cut up everything for the stuffing, spinach dip and nacho dip. I was pretty wiped after that. I spent some of the time sitting on a chair trying to help. My mom has a great picture of me in action. Dave and I cooked dinner for everyone that night. Gotta love living in San Diego so we could cook out at the end of November. It was a simple but delicious meal.

We spent Thanksgiving at my sisters place. It was such a great day and dinner was sooo good. I thought how great it would be being pregnant during the holiday to eat what I wanted. Boy was I wrong. Eating all I did made my belly so hard and difficult to move. I have not felt like this whole pregnancy so it was hard. I had such a hard time sleeping that night.

Dave and I started shopping on Black Friday last year and want to continue that tradition. I wasn't going to go but I have the Best Buy card. We took my sis and mom down to the Navy Exchange first thing. We left at 4am and had to wait in a VERY long line until 5am. It was definitely worth it and got some great Xmas gifts for cheap. After we went to Best Buy and got some great blu-ray movies dirt cheap. After we went to Ihop for breakfast. I came home and took a much needed nap. After I walked to my sisters for leftovers and family time. Dave and I put up our outside xmas lights that night. We wanted to do our tree but was too tired after our LONG day.

Saturday Dave, my dad and brothers went golfing. I spent the day relaxing cause I was pretty tired from the last couple of days. It was actually an ugly, rainy day so I didn't mind laying on the couch. I had a little scare with the baby. I hadn't felt him very much that day. He's been a very active baby during this whole pregnancy so I felt something was wrong. Once Dave got home we called the hospital and they said to come on in to get checked. We got there about 5:30 and they didn't have any rooms until 6:30. Once we were in, they put monitors on me for the baby and my contractions. I ended up having a few pretty strong contractions once hooked up. I thought that might be the start. Unfortunately I was wrong cause after about 30 mins they stopped and didn't come back. They monitored the babies heart beat for 20 minutes and said he looks great. They did an ultrasound to check a few other things then checked my cervix. I was about 90% thinned and 2cm dilated. They sent me home after that since there were no signs of labor starting.

Sunday Dave took his mom to the swap meet and I spent time with my parents. We meet up with my brothers for lunch then came back to my sisters place to hang out. The Steelers game was Sunday night so I cooked my meatloaf for everyone. We played Baltimore and needed to win. Ben ended up not playing because of a concussion and our normal back up was hurt too. We played Dixon who had never played an NFL game. He didn't play too bad until he turned the ball over in overtime. That pretty much cost us the game. We lost by a field goal in overtime. It's been a depressing few games to watch cause we're not playing well. I'm done talking about it cause I'm getting mad.

My parents flew out early this morning. I had an appointment today since I haven't given birth yet. Our normal midwife went home sick so we saw someone else. She was very nice though. She did the normal measurements and check up. Everything looked good and D.J. is still heads down!!! When she checked my cervix she asked if I wanted her to scrape it. That sometimes helps get the process going a little faster so I said sure. Little did I know how weird and painful that was going to be. She was able to open up my cervix though. She said that should help cause it could be delaying going into labor being closed. If I haven't given birth by Thursday, we're going to another appointment for them to monitor the baby to make sure everything still looks good. And if he still hasn't come on his own, I will be induced Monday at 9pm. So he should be here no latter than Dec. 8th. I'm very excited to know the end is almost here!! We're still hoping he comes before Dave's mom leaves but that's not up to us.

Dave's mom leaves Thursday afternoon. I'm looking forward to having our house and piece and quiet back but it's been great having her out. We discovered skype so she's kind of accepted not being here when D.J. is born if it's after she leaves. I have a feeling we're going to be getting skype calls all day long between his mom and my mom. That's a pretty neat free service though. We have used it the last 2 days to talk to Dave's nieces. We haven't seen them for almost a year so it was great talking and seeing them. If you have skype let me know your name so we can chat.

Well if anything happens with our baby this week I will try to update as soon as possible. Have a great week!