Thursday, January 24, 2013
3 Months
I'm still playing catch-up... Here's Marc at 3 months (taken on 10/29/12):
Marc is such a smiley baby, it's great to be able to see his smile every day! He loves being around people and is most happy when being held and played with. If we leave him alone for too long (20 minutes or less at 3 months!), he lets us know! He had still not gained quite enough weight at his 2 month appointment so we went in at 3 months as well... but a week or two before that we'd started giving him formula at one feeding in the evening as he was being overly fussy at that point and acting like he wasn't getting enough to eat! At the 3 month appointment he was getting to where they wanted him to be, so we will keep supplementing him. I would have to say it was the most convenient feeding to supplement since it's usually when I get dinner ready ;).
Sunday, January 13, 2013
Feeling the need to write
I feel the need to write about a specific topic today (and I will be getting back to updating pictures and what's going on in our lives lately soon) and don't worry it isn't a depressing topic or anything that serious ;). Just something I've been introduced to and come to really love!
What I want to write about it Essential Oils. Crazy, I know. I was introduced to a newer company that has really high quality essential oils a few months ago. We started using them cautiously and have actually found that they work wonderfully. For example: They have a blend that we use on Eric that helps his irregularity (which we had been using grape juice for) and all we use is 1-2 drops per day (when we use them.) Daniel has used the immunity blend when he felt he was getting sick and for a couple of days he just felt like he was going to get sick but it never materialized. I've used them for mood enhancement (because sometimes my 'happy pills' just don't completely cut it - I can't wait until the postpartum depression goes away and I don't envy people who have to deal with this their whole lives - I admire you all!) My little sister has used their breathe blend and it has helped her not be as congested. My mom does notice a difference in how Val's doing when she uses it vs. not. Oh and I also found out that one of the oils does a great job at removing sharpie marker from an almost 4 year old's skin.
I personally love using these oils as they are natural. The company actually has a university (either U of U or Harvard) do tests on each batch to make sure they are pure and contain chemicals or contaminants. The only down side is that it's a multi-level marketing company... I'm not the hugest fan of them, but I would have to say that with the results we've had from using the oils I really wanted to let you all know about them. If you would like to try them I did sign up to get them at wholesale and would let any of you who are interested have them at cost (25% less than retail).
If you have any questions, feel free to ask (I would be willing to send a small sample of an oil if you would like to try it). After all I was hesitant to try them as well! I also want to say I'm not trying to make money off of this (or I wouldn't offer them at wholesale) - I just felt like sharing because we like using them! (and have found they help.) If you want to see what oils there are - you can find them here. Also if you want to see how they help a specific condition - check it out here (I must warn you that this site references one of the doctors on the company's board a lot and people seem to absolutely adore him, I usually ignore that part of the comments...)
What I want to write about it Essential Oils. Crazy, I know. I was introduced to a newer company that has really high quality essential oils a few months ago. We started using them cautiously and have actually found that they work wonderfully. For example: They have a blend that we use on Eric that helps his irregularity (which we had been using grape juice for) and all we use is 1-2 drops per day (when we use them.) Daniel has used the immunity blend when he felt he was getting sick and for a couple of days he just felt like he was going to get sick but it never materialized. I've used them for mood enhancement (because sometimes my 'happy pills' just don't completely cut it - I can't wait until the postpartum depression goes away and I don't envy people who have to deal with this their whole lives - I admire you all!) My little sister has used their breathe blend and it has helped her not be as congested. My mom does notice a difference in how Val's doing when she uses it vs. not. Oh and I also found out that one of the oils does a great job at removing sharpie marker from an almost 4 year old's skin.
I personally love using these oils as they are natural. The company actually has a university (either U of U or Harvard) do tests on each batch to make sure they are pure and contain chemicals or contaminants. The only down side is that it's a multi-level marketing company... I'm not the hugest fan of them, but I would have to say that with the results we've had from using the oils I really wanted to let you all know about them. If you would like to try them I did sign up to get them at wholesale and would let any of you who are interested have them at cost (25% less than retail).
If you have any questions, feel free to ask (I would be willing to send a small sample of an oil if you would like to try it). After all I was hesitant to try them as well! I also want to say I'm not trying to make money off of this (or I wouldn't offer them at wholesale) - I just felt like sharing because we like using them! (and have found they help.) If you want to see what oils there are - you can find them here. Also if you want to see how they help a specific condition - check it out here (I must warn you that this site references one of the doctors on the company's board a lot and people seem to absolutely adore him, I usually ignore that part of the comments...)
Thursday, December 27, 2012
2 Months - September
I know, I'm so behind, but now that Christmas is over I'm going to try to get updated ;). Marc turned 2 months at the end of September. In September I crazily decided to host a neighborhood barbecue. Besides not having everything totally organized and on time, it went pretty well. But I also decided that hosting a party-type thing is not a plan with a less than 2 month old baby ;). Eric enjoyed having a play date about every week as well. There is another couple in our congregation that have a baby boy (about 2 months older than Marc) as well as a son about a year younger than Eric. They enjoy playing together.
I can be thankful that my emotions were a bit more stable in September than in August, the medication that we tried first worked for the PPD. My emotions can still get the better of me more than I am use to, but at least it is better than it was!
We had my 6 week checkup and everything was great. We also took Marc in for his 2 month check up and he was still not gaining quite as much weight as they would have liked, so we scheduled one for 3 months. At his 2 Month check-up, Marc was 9 lbs 6 oz and 22 inches long.
Eric really loves his brother and loves to hug, kiss and otherwise show affection to him. He also occasionally would hit Marc as well, but I suppose that is normal, unfortunately. Luckily he mostly wanted to show affection instead of aggression. Sometimes I was worried about Eric smothering Marc with loves!
I can be thankful that my emotions were a bit more stable in September than in August, the medication that we tried first worked for the PPD. My emotions can still get the better of me more than I am use to, but at least it is better than it was!
We had my 6 week checkup and everything was great. We also took Marc in for his 2 month check up and he was still not gaining quite as much weight as they would have liked, so we scheduled one for 3 months. At his 2 Month check-up, Marc was 9 lbs 6 oz and 22 inches long.
Eric really loves his brother and loves to hug, kiss and otherwise show affection to him. He also occasionally would hit Marc as well, but I suppose that is normal, unfortunately. Luckily he mostly wanted to show affection instead of aggression. Sometimes I was worried about Eric smothering Marc with loves!
2 Month Photos:
I can never take pictures of Marc without Eric needing to be involved!
Saturday, December 1, 2012
1 Month
At two weeks he weighed 7 lbs 7 ounces and was 20.5 inches.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Postpartum Depression
I previously mentioned that I had postpartum depression, but here is a whole post dedicated to it!
Pretty much the night I got home from the hospital I felt that the baby blues started... Of course being tired and having heart palpitations due to the pain killer could make anybody emotional, BUT it was hard to stop crying. After 2 weeks (the typical time they say baby blues last) of having a rough time emotionally, Daniel suggested I go in to the doctor. So I made the appointment (partially because I was having some pain by my armpits as well - but they were pretty much gone by the appointment.)
For two days before my appointment I made a list of symptoms I was experiencing:
* I could cry for any reason or for no reason at all (this is weird for me as I'm not a crier!) Once I started crying it was difficult to stop. I would have a 'crying fit' at least once a day.
*I really didn't care about what I ate, or sometimes even if I ate. This really hit me one day as I could have eaten potato chips all day as the only food I ate. The main problem with this is that I don't really like potato chips!
*I wouldn't always make sure Eric was getting all he needed to eat/drink or that he even got his diaper changed as much as he should have! (Good thing he could tell me he was hungry/thirsty/needed changed!)
*I would get frustrated at so many things. I would also over-react to little things my sons did that wouldn't normally irritate me.
*I had a lack of interest in doing pretty much anything that I enjoy. For example, Daniel and I enjoy doing logic puzzles together (we do them online) and he could work on a whole puzzle while I was sitting next to him (usually feeding a baby) and he'd finish it by himself and I never contributed to helping solve it - and I was right next to him!
*Then I had this feeling of a weight on my chest. It literally felt like I had at least 10-20 lbs pressing down on right in the middle of my chest.
*Images in my head of my baby getting hurt. Not a happy thing!
*Lack of focus (I was more flighty than usual!)
I'm sure there were more things, but these are the ones that I noticed the most!
It is a good thing I promised Daniel to make the appointment... I would have put it off because it was something I honestly didn't want to have to do. It is never easy to admit that you just can't deal with life... So we went to the doctor and I got a prescription for medication. It was funny (at least to us) that the medication the OB likes to try first is the one Daniel had a reaction to - we're talking crazy-dizziness. Luckily I didn't have the same reaction. ;)
I do feel that the medication is working and I can actually function normally. I can still get a little more emotional than normal (crying, anger, frustration) but it is a lot better!
I still haven't gotten around to posting photos of our little one at 1 week, 1 month and now 2 months... I'll get those up as soon as I can. (Hasn't helped that Daniel is working until 7 pretty much every night and some hours on Saturdays!)
Pretty much the night I got home from the hospital I felt that the baby blues started... Of course being tired and having heart palpitations due to the pain killer could make anybody emotional, BUT it was hard to stop crying. After 2 weeks (the typical time they say baby blues last) of having a rough time emotionally, Daniel suggested I go in to the doctor. So I made the appointment (partially because I was having some pain by my armpits as well - but they were pretty much gone by the appointment.)
For two days before my appointment I made a list of symptoms I was experiencing:
* I could cry for any reason or for no reason at all (this is weird for me as I'm not a crier!) Once I started crying it was difficult to stop. I would have a 'crying fit' at least once a day.
*I really didn't care about what I ate, or sometimes even if I ate. This really hit me one day as I could have eaten potato chips all day as the only food I ate. The main problem with this is that I don't really like potato chips!
*I wouldn't always make sure Eric was getting all he needed to eat/drink or that he even got his diaper changed as much as he should have! (Good thing he could tell me he was hungry/thirsty/needed changed!)
*I would get frustrated at so many things. I would also over-react to little things my sons did that wouldn't normally irritate me.
*I had a lack of interest in doing pretty much anything that I enjoy. For example, Daniel and I enjoy doing logic puzzles together (we do them online) and he could work on a whole puzzle while I was sitting next to him (usually feeding a baby) and he'd finish it by himself and I never contributed to helping solve it - and I was right next to him!
*Then I had this feeling of a weight on my chest. It literally felt like I had at least 10-20 lbs pressing down on right in the middle of my chest.
*Images in my head of my baby getting hurt. Not a happy thing!
*Lack of focus (I was more flighty than usual!)
I'm sure there were more things, but these are the ones that I noticed the most!
It is a good thing I promised Daniel to make the appointment... I would have put it off because it was something I honestly didn't want to have to do. It is never easy to admit that you just can't deal with life... So we went to the doctor and I got a prescription for medication. It was funny (at least to us) that the medication the OB likes to try first is the one Daniel had a reaction to - we're talking crazy-dizziness. Luckily I didn't have the same reaction. ;)
I do feel that the medication is working and I can actually function normally. I can still get a little more emotional than normal (crying, anger, frustration) but it is a lot better!
I still haven't gotten around to posting photos of our little one at 1 week, 1 month and now 2 months... I'll get those up as soon as I can. (Hasn't helped that Daniel is working until 7 pretty much every night and some hours on Saturdays!)
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