Dexter's first real bath

So I am a little late in posting this...story of my life. 

I guess maybe at this point it’s considered normal or on time and not really late anymore.

Dexter’s first real bath.  I know a lot of people don’t give their babies real baths for the first few weeks, but nothing is better than a fresh smelling baby.  Soooo, when I tell you that Dex didn’t get his first bath until he was SIXTEEN days old, yes 16 I say it with a little shame.  Of course we had to wait for his belly button and man parts to heal before tub time.  His belly button finally fell off but not all of it, so the doctor treated it with a little silver nitrate which caused an oozy gross mess.  I was a little worried about getting it wet so I waited until it looked less nasty.  Once he was completely immersible I was sick and not up to the whole first bath experience.  So a few days later we finally had our first bath!  Let me tell you...he actually didn’t mind it!  Most babies seem to scream through the entire thing but I think I have learned the trick.  WARM WATER, like warmer than most people think.  I think those little babes get cold and upset!  I have always used warmer than normal and my kids are happy bath babies.

Check him out!

Yes, he is getting a bath in a bowl.  Why? 

Well, I thought I saved the baby tub but I guess not.  I have a slingy chair thingy that goes in the big tub but it seemed like too much effort for a 2 minute bath.  Or I could just say he is my 3rd and the tub isn’t that important to me when the bowl does the trick!  Dex loves the bowl!  It’s deep enough that it’s probably womb like (warm and wet) and he doesn’t move around too much.  Yep, he is a happy little bath boy!

Why everyone should hire a photographer for their birth

Seriously. I feel so strongly about this that I am devoting a blog to it. That probably seems a little weird, but what an amazing day and most of us settle for half ass pictures or whatever pictures our family and friends can snap. When I was pregnant with Sawyer I wanted to hire a doula that also did photography. Chris never warmed up to the idea and I will admit while I was disappointed I let it go. Chris and the medical staff were the only ones in the delivery room and while it was exactly what I wanted looking back, I know it was a lot of pressure for Chris. Not only was he experiencing birth for the first time, his first child, being a support person for me and then I hand him a camera and tell him he better not miss out on getting good pictures. Wow, no pressure there. So while he is counting and breathing with me, trying to hold a leg, waiting and watching for a glimpse of his first son he is also wrestling a camera and probably going back and forth between experiencing and being in the moment and trying to get pictures. Fast forward to this pregnancy...I knew there would be a better way. Having become friends with Ciara over the past year or so Chris seemed more ok with the idea. He was sort of like well, it’s your body all out there and if you are ok with it then it’s great. I am not sure if it’s because this was his second go round so he knew what to expect or that there was less pressure on him but he was so much more supportive and much less intense. Perhaps it was a combination of both.

Ciara was amazing! I went into this totally ready and no worries...then as it got closer I will admit I was a little nervous about having a photographer in the room. I mean birth is probably one of, if not the most raw and intimate experiences in our lives. Would I be comfortable in front of her?? What if I yelled and lost control in front of her (which I totally did)??? Would she think I was a super freak?? Then I started to think...she is a professional...this is her job. Not to toss in the fact that she is also a woman and a mom that has delivered 3 babies of her own. When it came down to it I was not only comfortable with her there but I honestly forgot she was there! She sprang to my rescue with some gum I was desperate for. Occasionally I apologized for my crazy outbursts which she assured me I was being totally sane...what a sweet girl she is ;) and other than when I looked for her she just snapped away. She took pictures of things most of us wouldn’t think to shoot, the machines, the environment, stuff us normal people don’t think to take pictures of but I love that she did! The fire alarm went off when I was pushing (I had no idea it was the fire alarm) and for a split second I thought DAMN that girls flash is bright! ha ha, yeah it was the alarm on the wall! She hung out for awhile to be sure to get some pictures of our first moments as a family. I honestly can’t speak highly enough of Ciara or my experience.

We hire photographers once or twice a year for family photos, we pay hundreds and even thousands for wedding photos and we totally forget about our births! What’s the deal?!?! Not that I am having any more babies BUT if I did I would definitely do the same. I will recommend it to all of my friends and families! I even think it would be an amazing gift for a baby shower!

I will not only cherish the photographs forever, but the experience of being able to completely trust someone else to take care of this so that Chris and I could focus on the birth of our 3rd baby was completely priceless.

Thank you from the bottom of our hearts to Ciara.

If you are expecting or know someone that is get in touch with her asap! You don’t want to look back and wish you did this!

You can find Ciara via email CiaraHammonds@yahoo.com

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Baby O is here!

and is a 

BOY!!!!

Yes, we have another little boy in our house.

Dexter Mason Oxford made quite the entry into this world November 16 at 11:28am weighing 8 lbs 7 oz and 21.25" long.  

I have always had this idea of just how I wanted my labor to go.  I am not sure why it is something I put so much value on or that I have such a specific idea of how I want it to go.  Ever since I had Karly though I have had this vision of what my labor and birth experience would be.  Karly's was FAR from it,  Sawyer's was closer and Dexter's was as close as I will ever get since he is our last (according to Chris).  I will say there is very little I would have done differently.  I truly got most of what I had envisioned.  I always wanted to go into labor on my own preferably in the early morning hours when the house is still quiet.  I imagined myself puttering around the house, baking something tasty to keep my mind busy and to bring to the nursing staff breathing through contractions as needed.  Waiting at home as long as possible, getting to the hospital and delivering just a few hours later.  I knew I wanted to pull this baby out myself and immediately be the first to hold him and see what sex he was.  Well, it went just like that...ok, sort of...

Here is my story!

Around 2am I was pretty aware I was having contractions, but I had been having similar ones for weeks.  I was dozing off in between them, but very aware when they would start.  Around 3am I was realizing this was probably the real deal and decided to get out of bed.  I was tossing and turning trying to get comfortable so I moved to the couch and turned on the news and started timing them.  (FYI there is an app for that ;)  Contraction Master...pretty handy little app I tell ya').  Chris woke up at 4:30a to get ready for work.  He was very torn on whether he should even go in.  Knowing I could stay at this point for HOURS he decided to try to go in for a few hours.  I was having contractions about 5 minutes apart lasting about 45 seconds long.  I was fairly uncomfortable but nothing miserable at this point.  The kids were both asleep so it was just me.  I had always wanted to have a few quiet hours alone to just focus and rest.  Chris left for work and I immediately worried he should have stayed home.  He called me at 6am to tell me that they were trying to find a replacement for him and that he would leave at 7 whether someone came in or not.  I said ok and hung up.  I called him back 10 minutes later and said I thought he should head home.  My contractions were about 4 minutes apart lasting 45 seconds to over a minute.  I was really getting uncomfortable at this point.  Karly got up for school but ended up staying home, I called our cousin Tammy to watch the kids until my mom could get here.  I hopped in the shower thinking it would make me a little more comfortable...not really helpful for me.  I attempted to get ready but barely got my hair dry.  Chris was home at this point packing up last minute stuff and I finished packing.  We hopped in the truck and headed for the hospital.  It felt like I had contractions the ENTIRE way there!  I seriously was so miserable sitting in the truck, I wanted to flip around in my chair so badly. We finally got to the hospital and into a room at 8:30a.  I was 5cm dilated and contracting about every 3 minutes for around a minute.  Things went very quickly from this point forward.  My photographer got there right behind us, my mom at some point an hour or so later.  I broke down (again) and wanted an epidural.  I could not sit still when they were trying to place it and they couldn't get it in right.  My right foot was completely numb and that is it!  Another epidural that didn't work.  I was at 8cm at this point.  I was really upset and very overwhelmed.  Next time they checked me I was a 10 and since the epidural hadn't taken and I was a 10 there wasn't much point in attempting another one.  We decided to just get to pushing. Pushing went VERY fast...thank goodness!!!!  I would guess less than 15 minutes but honestly I couldn't even tell you.  I rarely noticed the clock.  Almost 3 hours to the minute after walking into the hospital I was holding my baby.  As soon as I could see him I pulled him out of me and onto myself.  

Intense doesn't even begin to describe how this experience felt.  It felt much faster than 3 hours, I think I opened my eyes maybe 5 times in 3 hours until it was time to push.  I seriously chewed a piece of gum with my eyes closed attempting to pull my belly up begging my brain to slow down and attempt to gain some composure.  It was the only thing that provided ANY sort of relief and it was minimal.  I wish I could tell you that I stayed calm and rationale but I was the screaming lady with no control.  Unfortunately I did tear badly again, but not as bad with Sawyer.  Dexter's head was over an inch smaller than Sawyer's but they weighed the exact same weight!  We only had a few visitors and just relaxed for the rest of the day.  Chris came home to be with the kids that night and they let me us go home around noon the next day.  One problem, the baby still had no name!  They literally came to our room and told us the birth certificate lady was leaving within the hour and wouldn't be back until 3 so if we wanted to leave we had to pick a name or we would have to wait for her to get back.  Soooo Chris and I each gave a little on what we wanted for a name choice.  

My recovery has been 100% better this time than last.  6 weeks after having Sawyer I was still fairly uncomfortable.  I am amazed at how much better I have done this time around.  I am beyond thankful for it.  I was very concerned about having a newborn and chasing a toddler if I could hardly sit or get to standing without being in serious pain.  

I sit here typing this with an almost 2 week old Dex sleeping on my chest.  He is absolutely perfect in every way.  I can't even imagine our family without him.  Tell me he isn't perfect!