Caleb is 4 months old!

Caleb is getting so big! His sweet little personality shines through more and more each day.  He laughs all the time and loves playing with all his toys. He got a bouncer for Christmas and he just loves playing in it.  He loved opening each one of his gifts and looked at each one with amazement! He rolled over from his tummy to his back the other day. He still hates Tummy time so I'm pretty sure he was excited about his new trick.

He still loves his play gym and currently
seems to love giraffes.  He was a trooper shopping for Christmas. Saw lots of family over the holidays and was great through it all.  Next week he gets his dreaded 4 month old shots. I'm not looking forward to those at all.  The picture on the left of Caleb sitting on Santa's lap was soo funny. He was making the funniest face ever! That was the first time meeting Santa. The second time was at King of Prussia mall and he did much better. He didnt make such a confused face :)  He also got to see snow for the first time during Christmas. He didnt really seem to care but he did seem to notice it was different outside.

The neocate is still working wonderful for him. Still no problems with it.  He loves to eat, sleep, and play!  I'll update more once we go to the pediatrician so we can get and updated weight and height.

 

Caleb is 3 months old!

Caleb is doing so much better then what he was.  He's now been on Neocate formula for a month now and we can see a huge difference  Number 1 he has no more blood in his stool. Number 2 he is so much less fussy.  He weighs some where around 14 pounds now and is soo sweet :). He laughed the first time on Thanksgiving vacation! His Aunt Libby was playing Peek-a-boo with him and he started laughing!! He laughs a lot these days and is usually very smily and happy.

 He still hates tummy time but loves his monkey and elephant toy on his gym.  This is going to be his first Christmas and he loves looking at the lights on the tree and the train going around the bottom. :)

Caleb is 2 months old!

Caleb is growing so fast! He's already 12 lbs 12 oz! He's been having some medical issues that scared us! There has been blood in his stool. Just specks but still enough to make us worried. They took a sample and it came back showing no infection. She thinks its a dairy allergy, so I am to eliminate all dairy and soy from my diet to see if that helps. So far its been week and he is still showing a few specks of blood. Most things I've read says it could take up to 2 weeks.  Its been very difficult to eliminate dairy because its in everything we eat! Its worth it for him to feel better, poor guy.  He doesn't  act like anything is wrong though he's still his happy little bubbly self:) he did get his shots last week and that was terrible. I hate shots! I felt so bad for him. He was so sore and you could tell. We gave him a really long bath and that really seemed to help with the pain because he slept pretty well with that and some tylenol.

He's holding his head up now really well! He also laughed for the first time in his sleep, we're still waiting to hear it while he's awake! He loves to play on his play gym and loves to smile! He can brighten up your entire day by just one smile. :) Caleb is also met his Great Grandfather this past week also! Above is 4 generations of Henrich's.

Caleb is 7 weeks old!

 

Tummy TIME! Caleb is now 7 weeks old and growing soo fast. He is still having gas issues that we are trying to work through but hes spitting up is a lot less.

He is starting to grow out of his new born clothes.  His 3 month old  clothes are just a little too big for him but I have a feeling he'll be in them before we know it.


He is doing really well holding up is head.  He likes to do tummy time on your chest and not on a flat surface.  It makes him very angry!   He is looking at things more. He really likes his monkey mobile. I just bought him a play gym that should arive today, I think he'll really like it.  We're waiting for him to laugh any day now.  He's full of smiles most of time which we love! Just melts your heart when he smiles at you.

At his last appointment he weighted 10lbs 15 oz and I'd say hes over that now. He's really filling out.  He goes on the 29th for his 2 month appointment and he gets is first shots which I'm not looking forward to.

Caleb is 1 month old!

Today Caleb is 1 month old!  He is growing so fast I hope i dont forget how amazing he is at every stage and age.  He has been having problems sleeping at night.  I'm hoping to have him on a better schedule soon so I can get some sleep too!  He likes bathes but not getting out. It makes him too cold.  He is still having issues with gas poor little guy. I hate to see him uncomfortable.  

This outfit is his first big boy outfit! He so small we dont have many clothes that fit him so we just bough him some pants the other day.  My sister says he looks just like a cabbage patch kid I had when I was little and he does!!  

Caleb is 18 days old!

Caleb is 18 days old today. He is growing so fast its amazing to watch. He is starting to follow things with his eyes and he is holding his head up really well.  He has had his days and nights mixed up which has been a challenge to break. Yesterday we kept him awake until it was time for bed and he finally slept at night only waking up every 2-3 hours to eat but he went right back to sleep which was great!  I really hope he sticks close to this schedule over the next couple weeks.  He is gaining weight I would guess he probably weighs some where around 8 lbs 2oz or so.  He is still a really good baby, smiles a lot and loves to snuggle.  He is still spitting up some but the little tummies seems to be helping some as well as keeping him up right after eating. Poor little guy I hate seeing him uncomfortable.

Caleb Chase 10 days old

Caleb is now 10 days old and he is doing wonderful, his current weight is 7lbs 4oz and he is eating so much he'll be 8lbs in no time! He is already starting to make eye contact and smiles a lot.  He is very alert for his age. He loves to look around the room at everything!

My incision is healing. Its still pretty sore especially if I forget to take my pain medicine. So Tim sets his alarm to help me keep on track.  My tummy is slowly going down. Still has a ways to go but its looking better.  Its nice to see your toes after several months :) Caleb has started sleeping mostly through the night. I really hope he keeps that up.  He has been such a good baby so far. He only fusses a little when he needs something, other than that he is soo content. Caleb has been such a joy so far I really love being his Mommy.

Caleb Chase 1 week old

Caleb had few little bumps in  the road before coming home from the hospital.  We noticed after his circumcision that he wasn't peeing. The nurses said that he had been so we listened to them.  He kept spitting up every time I fed him which had us really worried. Weigh loss is a given with a newborn but not if its a 10% loss. Caleb had now lost 9% and  we were getting concerned. He now weighted only 6lbs 6oz. They ran some blood work and even did an x-ray to make sure he had no blockages.  Everything came back clear.  On Wednesday early morning I  had just fed him when he let out a blood curdling scream and I didn't know what was wrong.  He had peed all over me, the bed, and himself.  We are quite certain that this was the first time he had gone since before the circumcision on Monday.  After that he started spitting up less, and began to gain a little weight. When we left the hospital on Wednesday afternoon he had already gained .6oz so he was 6lbs 6.5oz.  The following morning he had is first pediatrician appointment.  Caleb ate amazing all through the evening he was home. He slept better and acted like he was all better. The weighted him at the doctors the next morning and he had already gained a few more oz. He was now weighing 6lbs 9oz and we were thrilled! He got a all clear from the doctor. Now a week old he had his 2nd pediatrician appointment and he weighs 7lb 4oz. Hes growing soo fast!

38 weeks and 3 days

On Sunday morning August 26 at around 5:45 am my water broke.  I should have had an idea something was happening because on Saturday I was feeling sooo tired. I literally could not sit up without falling asleep to the point were Rhody was even looking at me with concern. That evening the same thing, still kept falling asleep so I spent most of the evening on the yoga ball and I even ate some fresh pineapple to see if that myth would really work. I was on video chat with my sisters and they were telling me they would be standing by the phone "just in case". So that night we fell asleep at about 11:30pm and I woke up at about 2:30am with terrible contractions. I could hardly move. However, after about 10-20 minutes they slowed down. So back on the yoga ball i went and around 3am I fell back to sleep.  At 5:30 am I then woke up to use the bathroom and couldn't go back to sleep, so I was laying in bed playing on my phone. I looked at the time it was 5:43am and I thought "Oh good if my water breaks I can call Libby and tell her because she wanted me to wait until then to tell her because with 2 little ones herself she wouldn't be able to leave in the middle of the night.  No sooner did I think that I felt a "POP" and then a trickle....I was stunned,  I thought...huh did I just pee myself, did he kick me? So I roll out of bed and the trickle gushes so I waddle to the bathroom as I tell Tim I think my water broke! He's already up with phone in hand while I'm sitting on the toilet and I'm like "Are you sure I didn't pee myself?" Tim says "NO way" So I begin rushing around making sure we have everything for our bag while Tim pages the midwife on call. We are still waiting for her to call back and it had been about 30 minuets, still no word from her.  So we page her again and just leave for the hospital. At this point it's almost 7:00am half way to the hospital we still had not heard from the midwife so I called the hospital and find out that they have the wrong midwife on the message so we were paging someone who was not even on call! We arrive at the hospital after Tim ran several red lights :) just because we could I think :)...On the way I called everyone to let them know what was going on. Mom and Ella where already on there way.

We arrive and I'm starting to leak everywhere luckily I did bring an extra towel.  They take me to a room and the midwife arrives about 1.5 hours later they check me and I'm only 2 cm dilated and about 70% effaced so they allow me to walk the halls to help get things moving and I get on the yoga ball. If I had no progression by noon they were going to start pitocin. At that point I still was only 80% and 3cm dilated so the pitocin was started. Mom and Ella showed about around 9:30 they made amazing timing! I was so happy to have them there, with Tim and them there I was well taken care of! Around 2pm I really started feeling some very strong strong contractions. Tim was amazing too, he helped me stay soo calm through the contractions. He rubbed me, encouraged me. He was amazing. Ella was amazing to she really helped me focus to, she kept encouraging me and rubbed me it made for an amazing experience. I want to say around 4pm is when I got the epidural because I just couldn't take the pain any longer. At that point my nurse duty was Katie and she was amazing! She helped keep me still and calm during the epidural through out the evening I had only gotten to 7cm when Caleb started to become distressed every time I had a contraction Caleb's heart rate would dip very low. They tried having me change positions. They added fluid back in to take some pressure off the umbilical cord. They had stopped the pitocin hours earlier to see if that would help. Nothing was working. Finally the doctor came in at about 11pm and said that he felt the safest thing for the baby would be to have a c-section. However, it was up to me and that I could restart the pitocin and see if I would progress further. I was so upset the last thing I wanted was a C-section I was scared to death but I knew it was the safest thing for Caleb. I was really scared with is heart beat dropping so low.


They began prepping me for surgery and getting Tim ready to go in with me.  Off we went. The surgery went much faster than I thought it would. Katie came back with me and held me hand which was really reassuring she has to be one of the best nurses I've ever had before (On a side note when Libby had her c-section with Katelyn her nurses name was also Katie and she came back with her to hold her hand also, what are the odds?!!) . Tim was very supportive he was worried too but he stayed strong. At 12:03am on Monday August 27th he was here. I finally could hear him cry. I started crying, it has to be one of the most amazing things I've ever heard in my life....his cry was soo sweet and I knew he was mine.  All I wanted was to see him. It felt like forever before they let Tim bring him to me to see and he was beautiful. He just stared up at Tim with such a sweet look on his face he didn't cry or anything just snuggled. He is amazing and my life will forever be changed from this moment on. I am so in love with this little person I get to call my own. <3

Apparently the cord was wrapped around his neck. Thats why he was in distress. We are really blessed and thankful that everything turned out okay and our little guy is here and safe and healthy. It was a very scary situation!

Caleb is 38 Weeks!

How far along? 38 weeks

Baby is the size of a: Pumpkin

Average size: 18.9-20.9 inches, 6.2-9.2 lb.

Total weight gain: 21lbs
Stretch marks? On the sides of my tummy there are 2 and the one above my belly button.
Sleep: Has been rough.....I've been soo uncomfortable! 
Best moment this week:  We got our car! We got a used 2004 Toyota 4runner and I absolutely love it! It will fit our family perfectly!
Miss Anything: I miss being able to eat a whole meal. I cant seem to eat much at one time anymore. Guess there isn't much room in there for food :) Getting out of bed with out being in pain, sitting for longer than 5 min. makes me crazy stiff. Oh and being able to shave!!! I cant even comfortable paint my toe nails! My mother in law painted my nails for me and so did my cousin Kelsi! :) 
Food cravings: Apples, red grapes, salad.....still craving ice too.
Anything making you queasy or sick: I feel nauseous every once in while, not often though.

Labor Signs: Been having contractions for a few days now. However, no progress with them at our doctors appointment today the measured me and I am 60% effaced and a little over 1cm dilated...I'll take any progress we can get! So I went an bought yoga ball to help get him to drop some more to hopefully help get things moving!

Symptoms: Swelling in places you dont want to swell :), Terrible round ligament pain, aches and pains.

Wedding rings on or off? OFF my rings are tight. I took them off so I don't have to have the cut off.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Tired, Tired, and did I mention I'm tired.
Looking forward to: Meeting our little boy!

Caleb is 36 weeks!

How far along? 36 weeks and 4 days

Baby is the size of a: Crensaw Melon 

approx. 6lbs and 18inches long

Total weight gain: 18lbs
Stretch marks? Yesterday I opened the door into my belly and it hit my belly button ring scar which some how I scraped it and made a strechmark :( Hoping for no more!
Sleep: Has been better, I hope it keeps up.
Best moment this week:  We got a 3d picture of Caleb! He has the sweetest chubby cheeks! I'll post a picture :)
Miss Anything: I miss being able to eat a whole meal. I cant seem to eat much at one time anymore. Guess there isn't much room in there for food :) Getting out of bed with out being in pain, sitting for longer than 5 min. makes me crazy stiff. Oh and being able to shave!!! I cant even comfortable paint my toe nails! Tim said he would for me though :)
Food cravings: My cravings have come back in full force! I've been craving Peanut butter toast, apples, apple sauce, and red grapes.
Anything making you queasy or sick: I feel nauseous every once in while, not often though.

Labor Signs: Been having contractions for a few days now. However, no progress with them (so not dilating yet)

Symptoms: Swelling in places you dont want to swell :), Terrible round ligament pain, aches and pains.

Wedding rings on or off? OFF my rings are tight. I took them off so I don't have to have the cut off.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Tired, Tired, and did I mention I'm tired.
Looking forward to: Meeting our little boy!

So since my last entry we did get the results back from the test and it showed I had too much fluid around the baby I was measuring 26 afi which is high so they have sent me for weekly test called a non stress test with AFI which measures the fluid pockets around the baby. Last week they went down to 20 and this week they were back to normal at 13.5. So this is good news. The midwife also told me it could be lowering because he could be coming soon! I sure hope she's right!  I've been back to walking in the morning, its been so beautiful we always see deer and they are soo cute. There are even baby deer :). There was one the other morning that was only about 150 ft away from us! To adorable! I hope we soon get to meet our sweet little man!!! The 3d ultrasound is Caleb at 35 weeks :) 

Caleb's Nursery

 Caleb's nursery is pretty much finished now. I still have to pick out his bedding. I've been undecided on which one I like.  I just finished hand making his curtains. I think they turned out pretty good. I'm just glad his room is pretty much finished. :)

Caleb is 34 weeks!

How far along? 34 Weeks and 3 days

Baby is the size of a: Butternut Squash

Average size: 17.2-18.7 inches, 4.2-5.8 lb.Baby can recognize and react to simple songs

Total weight gain: 16 lbs
Stretch marks? Only on my boobs so far! So far doing good! 
Sleep: My sleep pattern has been soo messed up. I've been having really bad restless leg syndrome. Its been really difficult to sleep with it. My hips start hurting so I toss and turn most of the night. Then by the time I get comfortable I have to pee. I have my niece Tori here and shes been wonderful. She rubs my feet before bedtime and it really helps me sleep :)
Best moment this week: Working on Calebs room.
Miss Anything: I miss being able to eat a whole meal. I cant seem to eat much at one time anymore. Guess there isn't much room in there for food :) Oh and being able to shave!!! Paint my toe nails is even such a chore!!
Food cravings:  Ice, Chocolate, and red grapes again....not too many cravings lately.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope

Labor Signs: Just Braxton Hicks

Symptoms: Heartburn, heartburn, and MORE Heartburn :/, Fatigue, aches and pains, stiffness, back pain, hip pain, restless leg and sleeplessness.

Wedding rings on or off? OFF my rings are finally getting really tight. I took them off so I don't have to have the cut off.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Mostly happy other than that tired... :)
Looking forward to: Meeting our little boy!

Last week when we went to the doctors they said I was measuring 3 weeks ahead and had only gained 1lb so they sent us for an ultrasound, we will get the results from that on Tuesday so I will keep you all up to date with that.

Last Saturday was our baby shower! Caleb is one spoiled little boy already! The nursery was completely filled with gifts! My twin sister Libby came up from South Carolina and threw an amazing baby shower for us. She helped so much I hope she knows how much we appreciate her! We have such amazing family and friends! I don't know what we would do with out you all! 

We also went to South Carolina about 2 weeks ago now.....since the last time I've posted for my nieces 5th birthday party. We had such a great time. I wish they lived closer it makes it so hard to that far away from them!  Its getting closer! Soon enough I'll be posting pictures of his sweet little face :)

Caleb is 31 Weeks!

How far along? 31 Weeks

Baby is the size of a: Pineapple and 15.2 to 16.7 inches long and weighs about 2.5 to 3.8 pounds.
Total weight gain: 14 lbs
Stretch marks? Only on my boobs so far! So far doing good! 
Sleep: My sleep pattern has been soo messed up. I've been having really bad restless leg syndrome. Its been really difficult to sleep with it. My hips start hurting so I toss and turn most of the night. Then by the time I get comfortable I have to pee. 
Best moment this week: The contractions I was having stopped! So that was very good!
Miss Anything: I miss being able to eat a whole meal. I cant seem to eat much at one time anymore. Guess there isn't much room in there for food :) Oh and being able to shave!!! Paint my toe nails is even such a chore!!
Food cravings: Salads, Ice, Chocolate, not too many cravings lately.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope

Labor Signs: Yes, I started getting contractions last wednesday night that went into the morning. I wasn't really sure if I was getting Braxton hicks or if they were the real deal. So the next morning they seemed to go away. By the afternoon they returned and were very painful this time so I figured it was time to call the doctors. She told me to come on into Labor & Delivery. After being hooked up on the monitor sure enough they were the real deal and were 3-5 min apart. They checked me and I was not dilating which was good. So they gave me a shot to stop them and sent me home.  About 10 min later they started up again, all into the night. By morning I was soo exhausted and tired. Called the doctor again and she had me come back. Still coming every 3-5 they checked me again and I was not dilated so they gave me a pill to stop them which after 4 pills (the max they can give) it still wasnt working to stop them.  The Doctor called the neonatal unit in baltimore just for some advice and they went ahead and sent me home and i was to come back if they got worse.  Luckily, they stopped after about and hour after we left and they haven't been back since I've been getting a lot of Braxton hicks which I am fine with! They are a lot less painful! :) 

Symptoms: Heartburn, heartburn, and MORE Heartburn :/, Fatigue, charlie horses in my calfs, aches and pains, stiffness, back pain, hip pain, restless leg and sleeplessness.

Wedding rings on or off? All my jewelry is still fitting but when it gets hot they are REALLY tight.
Happy or Moody most of the time: Mostly happy other than that tired... :)
Looking forward to:Going to South Carolina this week for my wonderful Niece's 5th birthday party! Then we are staying to visit with them for the week so I'm really excited!

My first quilt for Caleb

I wanted to make Caleb a blanket that would be big enough for his toddler bed when he got older. Turned out pretty well for my first attempt anyway :)

It's been a rough week , I've been extremely exhausted. I called the doctor and she said my hemoglobin is really low. Which means my iron is low.....making me extremely extremely tired!!! So hopefully adding more to my diet will bring some of my energy back. Caleb has been very active still so thats been good. I'll try to post an updated picture on thursday if I can.

Maternity Photo Shoot 28 weeks