My boy @ 1 month!

Well, I can't believe my baby boy has been in this world for one month! I never thought I would be one of those moms that would get sad at little things like this, like Jude not fitting into some of his newborn outfits anymore, but I AM TOTALLY SAD about it! It's amazing how these little beings can change your whole world in such a small amount of time! Crazy times! Anyway, I love my boy sooo much and here's where he's at these days!

At our one month check up he weighed in at 10 lbs 4 oz (50th percentile) and 22 1/2 inches long (75th percentile). His head circumfrence is 15 inches, and his little penis corrected itself! His doctor origionally thought that they didn't cut deep enough and we had an appointment with a urologist this Friday, but it looks like it streatched out on it's own and she said I could cancel it! I am so glad because it would break my heart for him to have to be cut again! So YAY!

He is also lifting his head up, especially when he is being burped so he can look at his mommy or daddy! It's so sweet!
He is sleeping pretty good- He usually wakes up sometime between 3 or 4 and then again around 7 or 8. So, I think that is pretty good! We have had 2 bad nights- the second night home from the hospital and then this past Tuesday. I didn't realize how lucky I was to have such a good sleeper- I woke up on Wed morning delerious because he was up several times through the night- NOT FUN!
side note: this is how my morning started on Wed- I was soooo tired, like didn't even know what day it was tired- anyway, Riley comes back from his mom's house on Wed mornings and he has a key so he lets himself in. Ok, so I had just gotten Jude back to sleep and I wake up to the sound of the TV in the living room. I think to myself (for some strange reason bc this his highly unlikely) that Doug must have come home from work (sick maybe??) and he is watching tv in the living room. So I get out of bed and walk out to ask him why he is home... when, I walk in and there is Riley watching tv- AND ME IN MY BRA AND UNDERWEAR! We both had a little freakout moment and I scurried back to my bedroom embarrased as hell! OMG- My 12 year old stepson just practically saw me nekid! AWESOME! At least I had my bewbies covered up I guess! So yeah, delerious I tell you!

Sorry, back to my sweet baby... He is using his voice so much more just cooing and babling away! I love it! He is starting to stay awake a little more/ longer and it is fun to see him so alert! He is following  objects and focusing on things. He smiles when he is sleeping and eating, but no intentional smiles yet. I can't wait for those! I have a little man on my hands let me tell ya- you would never believe the burps/farts he produces! Little stinker! He still isn't crazy about baths yet, but it is getting better! He could give or take his pacifier most times except for when he is really upset (which is not very often) and he enjoys his mamaroo/ bouncy seat but would rather be held. He just loves staring into mom and dad's eyes and seems to like listening to the Beatles! He is eating every 2-4 hours and gets only breastmilk!
His nicknames are chunk, buddy boy, taco, sweet sauce, and macho man!

So thats pretty much it! He is such a joy and brings so much happiness to our lives! He is just the cutest baby and is so mild mannered and calm! I love him so much and am so greatful for my little buddy boy!

Jude Chillin at Fishers Freedom Fest!

tolerating his bath!

SO not looking forward to his 2 month shots! Oh, and TIME, could you PLEASE slow down!!!

first nap in his crib!

Labor of LOVE!

So here goes, my birth story! From what I remember anyway :)

I was having contractions all day on my due date, 5/26/11. I ran a couple of errands and got a massage and just hoped they would get stronger and stronger throughout the day. AND THEY DID!  So, I talked to my doctor and she said to head on in to the hospital around 7:00. So we had dinner and went on in to the hospital. I got all checked in and was having regular contractions but wasn't dialating much so they gave me something to help soften things up. And so we waited! My mom and sister arrived a few hours after getting to the hospital. It was nice to have them there to help me get through the contractions. At this point they were getting pretty painful and coming every 3 min. It was getting pretty late so we were all going to try and get some sleep. My mom and sis went to their hotel till the morning and Doug slept in his little man area in my room. I attempted to fall asleep, but my contractions HURT! I always thought I was pretty tough, but wow, I guess I was wrong! I could not sleep and I was miserable, so I decided to get the epidural early the next morning (I was really nervous about this, but it ended up not being so bad!). That gave me alot of relief so I could sleep for awhile. I continued to sleep/ get checked/ eat ice chips/ dialate slowly for the rest of the day. My stellar support group was there for me every step of the way doing everything/ anything I needed along the way!

I wasn't dialating at a very good pace so we decided to try some pitocen, which made my contractions painful again and also made me puke the whole rest of the day (so much fun when you are already in enough agony... NOT) well, I hadn't eaten in quite some time so I was basically just dry heaving over and over. I was also pretty much stuck to laying on my right side because the baby's heart rate would jump up if I changed positions, and I would also puke more when I would lay on my back/left side... awesome! So I was about 7cm dialated at this point- almost 24 hrs into labor, and we were so hopeful that I would dialate the rest of the way quickly and have our baby soon! Well over the next couple of hours I got to 8.5-9 cm and then just stayed there. I also got a fever of  100.5 and baby's heart rate jumped again, even though we were off the pitocen at that point. So after alot of discussion and some tears our doctor said I had given it my best shot, but it was in the baby's and my best health interest to go ahead and do a c-section. I was really disappointed to have to come to that but at that point I had been in labor at the hospital for 27 hours and I couldn't do anymore. So, off to surgery I went. I had to drink this funky tasting stuff beforehand (which I threw up during the c-section- more awesomeness!) and they wheeled me back to the opperating room. I hated being back there at first without Doug and having no control over my body. It was such a weird feeling. I got another big dose of my epidural until I could feel pressure but no pain and then Doug got to come in when they were done setting up. I was so happy to see him. Once they started cutting it was really only about 5-7 min until I heard the most wonderful sound I have ever heard, my little boy's little cry! He was born at 9:33pm. They gave me the quickest little sneak peak and took him to get cleaned off. Everyone commented on how much hair he had!  Doug went over to be with Jude while they sewed me back up and being the "funny guy" he is he thought that I needed a good laugh and said from across the room, "hey honey, we have the same sized weiners!" What a dork!
After what seemed like an eternity I finally got to take a good look at my little angel when he was brought over to me. I immediately fell in love with the most beautiful baby of all time! No, really, he is! :)
I felt too shaky to hold him right away so when they wheeled me back to my room Jude got some daddy/ baba/ and aunt mimi time and a little while later I felt strong enough to hold him and feed him for the first time! I can't even describe how amazing it was! I couldn't believe how much I loved him :)
After that all the visitors left and it was time to get some sleep.
Over the next couple of days we had lots of visitors and were growing quite tired of being in the hospital. We got to come home on Monday (Memorial Day) and it was a very exciting process! Daddy drove about 30 mph with his blinkers on and mommy made fun of him :)
Since being home we have had Doug's mom stay with us for a  few days and now my mom is here for the week! She is such a big help and I am going to miss her next week!

I can't believe my baby boy will be 2 weeks old tomorrow!!

Still in the happy stages of labor!

Welcome to the world Judah Jameson Hilder! 8lbs 11oz 21 1/4 inches!

First time holding my son :)

Chubby Cheeks!

Proud proud parents!

He had better get used to kisses!

Jude and Aunt Mimi!

Jude and his Baba!

Jude and his Cousins! Kohen, Kennedy, and Kade!

Jude and Uncle Nick!

Jude and big brother Riley!

So, that's our boy! We love him so much and he is such a good baby! To sum up the way I feel about my labor experience... it is what it is. It didn't go as I would have liked, but it could have been worse. I tried to stay positive and relaxed the whole time and I tried my best, but a vaginal birth just wasn't in the cards for me I guess. I do get a little sad when I think about the fact that I will probably never experience that, but then I look at my amazing baby boy and realize that it really doesn't matter how he got here, only that he is in my arms now :)

Oh, and a BIG thanks to ALL  for the flowers, meals, words of encouragement, gifts, visits, and so much more! We are so lucky to have such amazing people in our lives!!

Birthday BABY!

So I just realized that it has been a LONG time since I last blogged! Oops, my bad! during the last month of my pregnancy I was pretty much over it and ready to get my little babe out! Every day was pretty much just a waiting game to when he would arrive! TICK TOCK TICK TOCK! I am not a very patient person either :(
So anyway, I trained my replacement at work a couple weeks prior to my due date, my coworkers had a little shower/lunch for me, and I had a BIRTHDAY! I am now 28, which seems really strange! So my birthday was on May 23 and I was sure I was going to go into labor that day because my whole pregnancy I said I did not want to have him on my birthday so we  could both have our own days! So anyway, by the time my bday actually rolled around I was so ready and actually hoping to go into labor just to not be pregnant anymore, but alas, that did not happen. So Doug and I went to dinner and to see a movie instead!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!! COME ON BABY!

40 weeks and ready to "pop"!