Freddy's Two Week Checkup

This is a very detailed message intended for Fred's grandparents, but anyone is welcome. 

Today is two weeks from Fred's arrival into this world! WOW... 14 days... it seems so fast already! I can totally imagine how some parents say that the time flies by from when they're babies! YIKES!

Today was also Fred's two week check up with the pediatrician and everything is dandy. He weighed in at 9lbs, 3 ounces, which is just under a pound gained since his last appointment a few days after we were released from the hospital, and he is now 22 1/4" long. That puts him into the 75% for is weight,  height, and head size. I think that's probably a good thing, but I really don't know or understand the whole % thing for growth. His jaundice is gone (he had slight jaundice), his umbilical cord stump has come off (and has healed into what looks like an 'innie') and his 'circ' has healed (and the nurse even complimented him on it - should I be happy that nurses notice this part of his anatomy??!!?). As long as the pediatrician is happy and says we're doing the right thing and he's happy - we're happy.

Fred is eating about 5 times a day, and between 3 and 4 ounces each time. His sleeping schedule is backwards, and we're going to begin working on a few suggestions from his pediatrician (i.e,.  working with him to keep him up longer, etc). His diapers are right on schedule and everything is moving as it should.

His hair is definitely dark blonde - which means I win! Woo Hoo! (Mom and I debated as to whether his hair was dark brown like Steve's or dark blonde like mine - and Grandpa Russ's.) It's the ONLY thing I can take any credit for being right about. His eye color is still undetermined but we suspect they'll be blue or hazel. His eyelashes are currently blonde, as are his eye brows. 

Fred definitely resembles the Ales/Dempsey side of our family. He has an adorable dimple in his chin like his Dad, Uncle Thomas, and Grandpa Russ. He is fussy and likes things done his way like his Daddy too.

We've had a few diaper episodes which I'm sure you'll find humerous - at least I do! One, is that I seem to have a knack for changing his diaper mid "movement". We've often referred to it as his playdough machine. Gross I know, but what do you expect from my family? 

The other funny thing is that Steve had the joy of experiencing boy fountains - if you know what I mean. Of course, this means I got the joy of finding the stream path and getting it all cleaned up. Steve did a nice job of getting what he noticed, but he's a man... seriously he couldn't see it all. At least Fred missed the wall - that's something to be happy for!

Steve somehow managed to pull his back last night around 3:30am - after I had put the baby together at 2am. So, I'm running on little to no sleep which is great training for when Steve goes back to work on the 5th. Of course, we'll get Fred into his schedules and patterns just in time for me to go back to work and him into daycare which will pull it all off again. Great - something wonderful to look forward to (said incredibly sarcastically!).

Two weeks. Gosh. Two whole weeks! We find new things about him every day to love and remember. We've both commented on how much we love his facial expressions and little personality. I can't wait to see what his progress is at his next check up!

Story Time with Dad

Story Time with Dad
Originally uploaded by heather_ales

This photo just warms my heart!

I love reading - and always have. One of the attributes I'd really like to pass down to our son is a love of books and reading. So, it's really no surprise that I've been buying childrens books for Fred.

While I was pregnant, I asked Steve to read to the baby so that the baby would get used to his voice. And, you could tell a difference in the babies movements when he was being read to - you really could! It was so tender!

Anywho... today Steve started reading to Fred. I had asked my mom earlier what we should/could do to entertain him while he's awake. After chuckling for a moment, she gave us a few ideas, one of which is to read to him. Fred really seemed to enjoy it.

Independence... Parental Independence that is!

UGH! My mom is leaving us in the morning to return to her home and in South Texas. I truly don't know what we would have done without here here to guide us and help us out with the first 10 days of Fred's life! Seriously! 

She has talked us down off of so many ledges, and has let us know that the little things are completely normal. (Yes, his umbilical cord is supposed to look like that, or do that, or fall off like that. etc, etc etc.) Who knew that two grown adults (that would be Steve and I in case there is any question) would be so worried about being responsible for one little tiny person?

It's really kind of funny. I've baby sat oodles of children in my lifetime. I've bathed dozens of newborn infants. I've made hundreds of bottles and have changed countless diapers (explosive ones even). Why is it that when it comes to doing the same for my own child I get all flustered? In any case, Mom has been an incredible help to us, and we're truly grateful!

Thanks for being so awesome, Mom! You're an amazing woman and I seriously count myself blessed to be able to call you my mother!

ETA: 12:46pm 12/28 - I admit it. I bawled like a baby as I left my mom to walk through security today at the airport. I didn't realize it would be so hard to have her go! 

A Whole Week Old Already? How can it be so?

I realized today, that our son is now a whole week old. How is it possible that just 7 days ago our entire life changed in every way? Every.Single.Way?

I used to inwardly chuckle at people who would talk about how their lives started to revolve around their children once they arrived into their family. Now I totally understand.

Yesterday, mother was sharing some of the horror stories that my sister has faced while working in a trauma ER at a local hospital in south Texas (basically on the border of Mexico). Many of the worst cases are actually problems or accidents that have occurred in Mexico and are brought to her hospital in the US by ambulance. It is incredibly heart wrenching to hear these stories, especially ones involving new babies or small infants. 

I had to ask my mother to stop sharing the stories and let her know I just didn't want to hear them anymore. It was too easy to imagine Freddy being in that situation and it was making me an emotional basket case. 

I would do anything to protect him - and I'm absolutely sure Steve would do the same. 

Just a week ago our lives completely changed. Completely. Totally. No doubt about it. 100% different now. 

And I wouldn't have it any other way.

Fred - Day 5 Update!

How is it possible that Fred is already 5 days old? (Side note, I can't believe I am one of those people talking about how 5 days is SO long, or SO short... sheeeesh!) He's doing great and we're all acclimating to each other's schedules. Here are the updates on Fred so far...

- He slept through most of the night last night like a champion. YAY!

- He holds his head up and likes to watch us. It's the first thing that amazes my (Heather's) mother. He's so young and has incredible neck/head strength. (By the way, we're still giving him the applicable and necessary support to his head/neck. We've just noticed that he holds his head up on his own too)

- Fred has super, super strong legs. It's the other thing that amazes my mother.

- He's quiet if I sing to him, even if he's in a fussy mood. That so, seriously, warms my heart!

- Yesterday, as we were having our family photos taken, Fred was in need of a diaper change. While in the process of changing his diaper, he decided he wasn't done and started to have an explosive "poopy" without a diaper on. ICK. The photos of it are HILARIOUS though. 

- He loves to have his Daddy cuddle with him. It's adorable to watch!

- Fred, by far, prefers to sleep on his side than on his back . He'll sleep for at least an extra hour or two if we put him down on his side (with supporters, not on his own) than he does if we put him down on his back.

I realize that these aren't particularly noteworthy items, and that everyones children/babies do these things eventually. However, Fred is the first grandchild for on Steve's side, and these things (as minute as they are) are exciting to his grandparents. So, we'll continue to share them with everyone. :)

We are doing Christmas cards, and are waiting for them to finish being printed. They'll be late, but they'll be sent. :)

Fred - Day 3 Update

Three days old already - wow! It's amazing how much has happened, and yet so much has not! Here are some updates on Fred so far:

He's an eating maniac. Lately, he's eating 2 ounces every two hours. The nurses think it's a lot. I don't know what a lot is, but Steve's already commenting on our grocery budget. :)

Fred has started to hold his head up! He loves to peer around and see what's going on around him. Steve and I both love to see him with both eyes open.

Steve likes to call him Popeye because he usually only opens one eye or the other as if to say... "do I really want to wake up?". He has beautiful eyes when he opens them both up though!

The pediatrician said he has a touch of jaundice. It's nothing to worry about because he's a few days old at this point.

He's discovering his hands, and sucking his fingers and thumb. It's funny to watch because he'll sometimes poke himself in the eye, and then get this shocked look on his face as if to say "what is that poking me in my eye?" Of course, we laugh though we shouldn't.

Fred is a little Houdini. We burrito wrap/swaddle him as the nurses have shown us (and if we don't, he pulls out his pacifier). No matter how tight we wrap him, he always manages to find a way to get his right arm out. It's a fun challenge for us to see how long we can keep it in and a challenge for Fred to see how long it takes him to get it out.

He grips onto his pacifier (when his arm escapes) and pulls it out. Of course, then he is upset that his pacifier is gone from his mouth and he cries. Silly boy! 

Steve says he's just plain blinded by Fred's cuteness. In fact, he's been here early every morning,  even before the Pediatrician has made his rounds, so that he can be with the baby.  (He goes home to sleep and let me sleep without snoring.) I must admit, it is the coolest thing to watch Steve with the baby. The love I have for both of them is growing by leaps and bounds each hour. 

I've added some new photos to our Flickr for your viewing pleasure. They're 

Fred - Day 2 Update

It's hard for me to believe that our son has been in our lives (and not just in my hips and arm pits) for just under two days now. He's such a cute little guy - and I am totally in love with him. Here are a few things that have happened in his whopping 42 (or so) hours of life:

His PKU screening went just fine.

He passed his hearing tests with flying colors.

He was circumcised (owwww!)

He met with his pediatrician twice - and is doing delightfully.

He loves the nook of his daddy's armpit and often sticks his head into it when he's being fed (strange but true).

He can suck down two ounces in 5 minutes and not barf a bit of it up.

He's not terribly fond of burping, but when he does it - it's LOUD and clear!

He's a good, sound sleeper during the day, but wakes up and stays up - wide awake - for a few hours around 9pm.

For one so small, he has stolen all of our hearts!

That's about it. I'll load some photos later today! We sure love the little guy!

Ladies and Gentleman... We proudly present.... Frederic Russell Ales!

He's here! He's here!

Our son, who we have chosen to name Frederic 

Russell, has entered into our wild and crazy world! He was delivered at 12:23 pm this afternoon. He weighed in at 9 pounds even, and 21 1/4 inches. His lungs are working LOUD and clear! He shared his disgust for being removed from his warm bath for about 30 minutes after his arrival! We've learned that he doesn't have an in between point for crying - it's either a sweet little gurgle or a loud and clear cry. :) He is quite the charmer and many nurses have commented on how gorgeous he is (of course, I completely agree!)

Freddy has a load of hair. I think it's dark blonde and my mother thinks it's a dark dark brown. Steve is undecided - probably wise so that he doesn't lose any

 points. His fingers are long (piano lessons will definitely be part of his future!), and his feet are huge.  The nurses put him into this HUGE baby Christmas stocking and put a red hat on his head. It is so darn cute!

We chose Frederic after Steve's grandfather on his maternal side. Grandpa Fred has played a huge role in Steve's life and has been quite influential. Russell is the traditional (or so it seems) name in Steve's family too. It's Steve's middle name, his father's middle name, and his grandfather's middle name. And now, the tradition has been passed onto our son - and will be the 4th generation to carry the Russell middle name.

Steve has really taken to playing Dad! He's adorable with the baby - absolutely adorable! So far, he's taken all of the diaper changes, and is all over doing the bottle and diaper tracking. It's so sweet to see him interact with the baby, and I can tell he is completely and totally enamored by him.

I'm in the process of loading a bunch of photos to Flickr at the moment - but they haven't yet been edited. I think you'll agree that our son is quite a lovely little man!

Edited to Add: The hospital wifi goes down for patients at midnight, so the photos weren't uploaded until Thursday. You can find them by clicking here.

Edited again to Add: My mother just sent me the photo below. She's learning how to do digi-scrapping from my sister, Bekki. Thanks Mom!

He's almost here!

I can't believe the day is finally here. Tommorrow at noon, our son is scheduled to arrive into this crazy world at Baylor-Grapevine Hospital in Grapevine, Texas. We'll be there through Saturday when I'm told we'll be released to come home. (Visitors are welcome at the hospital on Thursday and Friday.)

Holy cow... has it been a long ride or what? I knew I was pregnant from the start (as in 2 or 3 days from the start of my missed cycle), so the last 40 weeks (or so) seem to be dragging on forever - especially the last 4 or so.

I can't wait to see what this little guy looks like. Wait... he probably won't be so little. From what I understand of the Ales side of our family, he's right on target for being a little toddler. At last measurement, the doctor predicts he'll weigh anywhere from 10-11 pounds. The sonogram technicians are flipping sides between 9 pounds and 11 pounds (two different sonogram techs). I'm told Steve was a big baby at 11 pounds 3 ounces - so it looks like our son is following in his father's (big) footprints. The only thing I know for sure is that his hands seem to be most comfortable in my hip bones and his feet in my arm pits. It.is.not.comfortable. His size is a huge contributor as to why my doctor has recommended I have a c-section. The other reasons are due to my own "female" issues, of which I'll spare you the details.

The nursery is set up and ready to be used by the baby. The linens have been washed in perfume free baby friendly wash detergent and fabric softener. All of his clothes (save a load or two) are clean, folded, and put away. His car seat has been installed and waiting for him for a few months - you can't be too prepared you know!

My mother, the saint she is, is scheduled to fly in this afternoon to help us out for a bit. I'm looking forward to having her here. There is no one in this world who knows what it takes to get me moving and onto the path of recovery.

The freezers are stocked with food - Steve says too much food. I've been working dilligently to make sure that I had enough meals stockpiled so that when the bean arrived I wouldn't feel stressed about getting dinner onto the table. Mission accomplished - that's for sure!

Names? You want to know his name? Well, we've been flipping around 3 different names for months now. I think Steve and I both have our favorites. The only common denominator is what his middle name will be... Russell - it's an Ales tradition you know. Steve loves to give people a hard time (his mother mostly) when they ask what our sons name will be. One thing I can guarantee is that his name is NOT going to be Oscar, Winter, Fall, Pale, Ginger, or Cosmo Ezekial. We'll know his name for sure when he arrives. We'll be sure to share his name once he get's here tommorrow.

This hasn't been an easy pregnancy for me, as you may likely know (though not as difficult as others have had to go through - I know I am blessed). Among other things, with my anemia, I've had to have loads of transfusions. This has been an interesting experience for me as the treatment center I go to for the transfusions is also where cancer patients go for their chemo treatments. How grateful I am that I've not had to have chemo treatments and that I have my health and that overall, my body is holding up quite well.

I can't believe that tommorrow is it! Our next post will include photos of our son! Holy cow... it's already here!

Dear Baby...

Dear Baby,

Hi, it's your mom. We met for the first time about 9 months ago, but you probably don't remember. That's okay; it's etched into my mind forever. I’ve thought about writing you a letter for a really long time and with some inspiration from a blogger, I’m doing it. Nevermind that it's the day before your birth - seeing as how you've decided that staying in my belly and starting the multiple "middle of the night wake Mommy up's" should start before you ever come out - is the way to start out your life.

First, I want to say what a wild ride you've put your dad and I through these past months. It seems like I've seen more doctors this year than I have in the entirety of my life. I tell you this, not to make you feel bad, but to show you how much we've been worrying and caring for your arrival into this crazy world. Your dad has been stressing out about your arrival and getting giddy about it from the start. I mean, most dads care, but so much of what I've read says that guys just don't "feel" the pregnancy until the baby is actually out! Not your dad, he's a good one. You're going to love him so much; it actually scares me a bit. Unfortunately, his soft spot for you is already so big; I can see it may cause issues between the two of us in the future. We've vowed not to fight in front of you, though, so hopefully you won't even know! A word of warning: playing the two of us against each other may seem like the best way to get something you want (and it may work a time or two), but I'm a quick learner and I guarantee you won't be wanting to do that after too long. It's for your own happiness, I promise!

I cannot believe you are inside of me right now (despite the fact that your hands are in my hip bones and your feet are lodged in my arm pits... on all sides). I am so scared that I won't take good enough care of you. I know other moms do it with flying colors, but I really don't know how cut out I am for this! When you can count to 10, you'll know how many diapers we had to change in a day. Yep, it's a lot. Add this to the feeding, burping, learning, teaching, reading, comforting, not comforting, putting down, picking up...I'm going to try my best, but I can guarantee there will be times when you will want more from me. There's a lot of patience involved in the whole “having a baby thing" and I'm going to be honest, it's not my strongest personality trait. In fact, I'd say it's probably at the bottom of the list. I'm told you will teach me this throughout my time as your mom, I really hope so. I need a lesson.

I want you to know that I am going to mess a lot of stuff up with you during your lifetime. I will try to know what's best and steer you in the right direction, but I make a lot of mistakes. I hope you will love me anyway. I promise to try my best to make home a place where you want to be. When I was getting into my "independent years," I wanted to be as far away from home as possible and I don't want you guys to feel like that. I have thought long and hard about what will make home a place you always want to be. This will be a very large goal for me during your lifetime, we'll see what happens. I also want to have the kind of relationship with you where you know you can always count on me to be there...no matter what. In truth, I haven't even seen your face and I already know there isn't a thing on this planet I wouldn't do for you (within reason, clearly I'm not going to help you score drugs or something like that). If you are ever in a bind, I hope you'll respect, love and trust me and your dad enough to let us know. It will be a great moment in parenthood for us when you guys call us to get you out of a situation that you're not comfortable in. Just know, we always will. That's what parents do.

A word of warning: If you plan on playing practical jokes, do it to your dad, not your mom (again, I'm a quick learner...I'm just sayin').

If I had to guess, I'd say you're about a 36 hours away from meeting us. I am not prepared. I have done everything I can think of to make myself feel like I'm ready, but I'm not. I'm going to need a lot of help from a lot of people. At first, I'm going to be depending on your dad and my mom.

Your maternal grandparents, Oma and Papa, love you so much already. I think we'll be visiting them quite a bit because they're so close. I have a pretty awesome family so you'll be sure to have TONS of attention from this group. I talk to your Oma almost every day to make sure things are “right” and that I’m getting everything taken care of that I should I know she is so excited she is to hold you! Who can blame her? I think sometimes I might have to fight her to get you back. Though you’re not the first, she's been looking forward to being a grandma for a lot of years(you're the 10th grandchild by the way!). I pray my brothers and sister will be great uncles/aunt to you. Hopefully, when you can't reach out to your dad and I, you will feel comfortable going to them. You'll probably have thousands of memories of your cousin Addison and friend Johnny Sarlo. You guys are pretty close in age and I can imagine you'll be great friends growing up. You’ll also get to meet and be loved by my biological mom, Sheri, and her awesome family. She is so over the moon excited about you joining our family! There are so many people are going to love you unconditionally, like me and dad will. You can always count on them. They're your family. I have so many great memories of my childhood with my family, I promise to try to make the same experience come to fruition for you.

Your paternal grandparents (who don’t have names yet – you’ll get to pick them), and that side of the family, are also totally in love with you already. Almost everyone lives in Northern California, so they won’t be around much in the beginning. But, we’ll work hard to make sure you get to visit them at least once a year - hopefully much more than that. You’re the first grandbaby for your Dad’s parents. They’re all pretty excited about it too. I know that when we go to visit, it will be a struggle for me to have any time with you. That’s okay though. You’ll be going home with me and your Dad so we’ll be able to make up for it. I really believe that you’ll be comfortable around them and going to them for help. I’m sure you’ll be very familiar with your Uncle Thomas because he lives so close to us (but be careful – he’s almost guaranteed to get you into some kind of fun trouble!). Your Aunt Kimberlee does too, but she’s really busy with life right now.

On a final note, I want to tell you what a blessing you are to me. I am going to do my best to take in all the small moments with you so I can share the details with you later. I look forward to all the firsts (steps, words, teeth, days of school, school plays) and I can't wait to encourage your talents. I will take an excessive amount of photos of you throughout your years; I hope you'll love me in spite of this! I can't wait to meet your teachers, go on field trips, meet your future friends, see you dressed in your scout uniforms, meet your future spouses and be grandma to your babies. You have changed my life forever. I will not be the same person I was before you came into my life. Of this, I am positive. I'm ready for the changes. I'm ready for the laughs and I'm ready for the tears. I promise that, no matter what, I will try to be the best mom in the entire world. I won't be, but I will get up every day trying my hardest. You are my proudest accomplishment. I still can't believe your dad and I made you. No two people on the entire planet could have come together to create you, just us. Let's be a happy family. I want this more than I have ever wanted anything in my existence.

I love you in places I've never loved before...in places I didn't know existed.

Love, Mom