Smile! Or Not.

Today we took Max to have some professional photos taken.  Sounds simple, right?  It should be, but this was very stressful for me.  Mornings with Max are extremely unpredictable.  He likes to eat a little, sleep a little, eat a little, sleep a little.  There isn't much time to shower and get out of the house in between these activities.  I'm sure Max picked up on my anxiousness which didn't help him eat or sleep peacefully either.  Thankfully, once we arrived at Holly's in-home studio (an hour late), she made us feel very comfortable.  Since Max didn't get his nap in, he wasn't his usual happy and smiley self for the camera.  Nevertheless, I think Holly got some cute shots and we had fun. I can't wait to see how the photos turn out.

Birthday inspirations

So it felt like my 32nd birthday was more like a New Year's Day to me than a birthday.  I was inspired to work on some things - a little personal development for this new phase of a now older me.  I'll have to write all these birthday resolutions down so I don't forget (ahem, Mommy Brain!) but more so I can be held accountable. 
No. 1 - Get back in the kitchen!  While we were visiting last weekend, my brother-in-law made an amazing dinner on my birthday that included steak, salmon filet with basil butter sauce, this awesome medley of grains (rice, barley, etc), grilled asparagus, green beans (my favorite) and warm multi-grain bread, right out of the oven. YUM!  All those amazing flavors inspired me to start cooking again!  David's going to have to give me directions to the kitchen, I've been MIA for so long!  A major challenge for me has been that our current rental has this yucky kitchen in it.  Truly, this plays into my lack of interest.  It's dark, very outdated, and I feel claustrophobic in it.  The oven stopped working the 2nd week after we moved in.  And to say the utensils are lacking is an understatement.  But the other big hurdle has been that Max's need for extra attention always coincides with dinner time.  (Not to mention, who has time for making dinner when you're feeding, changing, rocking to sleep, repeat, etc. a newborn?)  We've been getting our schedule ironed out, so I think I can work dinners into my day again.  Also, the owners of the condo purchased a new convection oven/microwave so the oven excuse is no longer valid.  Kind of. 
I miss Cooking Club terribly!  My once-a-month date with 6 fabulous ladies, a fun ingredient theme, the resulting mouth-watering food, wine, and lots of fun conversation!  I had to leave Cooking Club and my gastronomically-oriented friends behind when I left Denver.  Boo!  So I've decided that since I can't have Cooking Club anymore, I'll give myself some cooking homework a few times per month.  Maybe a new food or spice I've never tried or a culturally-inspired meal.  I think the only way to stay on track is to have a weekly meal plan and a grocery day.   David used to work at Albertson's when he was at ASU.  He explained to me that the grocery ads always come out on Wednesdays and that's the best day to shop.  I never realized that there was a science to this.  See?  I'm working on my domestic engineering degree!

Inspiration No. 2 - Get your butt to the gym!  More on that later.

Field trips

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since our last post!  Lots to update.
Max has been doing great.  He visited the pediatrician last week and is now 10 pounds, 7 ounces!  I about fell over.  Seems like those eating difficulties haven't affected his weight gain!  Speaking of, the coughing and choking has much improved, but we're still dealing with some crying and spitting up during feedings.  Max's pediatrician thinks it's likely normal, but has suggested that I can try exclusive pumping (pumping for bottles and no more nursing) if it seems to bother Max.  I don't think I could do that.  As long as he is gaining weight and is happy more often than not, I'm going to stick with nursing.  Selfishly, it would be too hard to give up and Max definitely seems to prefer his Mommy time to bottle-feeding.  Fortunately, the pediatrician is okay with this.  She was just offering a suggestion if frustration prevails. 
Tears!  Max is starting to make tears.  We got to see a preview last night during one of Max's over-tired spells.  Poor guy.  That pouty little lower lip gets me every time.  Shhh! Don't tell him it's my weakness.  Max also started smiling recently.   This little grin can trump just about anything.  Here he is, cracking up at something he thinks is pretty funny. 

My mom flew in for a visit late last week and stayed for a long weekend.  We had a really good time while she was here.  It was nice to have an extra pair of hands around.  Remember I was talking about the grocery cart issue?  Well, with Mom here, she could push Max in one cart and I could push the groceries in the other.  We also spent one afternoon doing a little shopping for some post-pregnancy clothes.  That was frustrating!  Good thing no one knows me around here.  I wear the same thing pretty much every day.
We took a little road trip to Austin on Sunday.  It was so cold, but we spent a few hours walking up and down South Congress Street checking out the shops and grabbing some of our favorite things to snack on.  We kind of did it backwards - walking then eating.  On the way home, we decided to stop by the Salt Lick for some barbeque.  I don't think going to that place will ever get old.  The best part of our weekend was that Nana and Max had lots of time to hang out and get to know each other. 
Here are some pictures from our field trip:

Max with Nana

In line at my fave coffee spot

Walking north in SoCo, Austin skyline in background

The best slice EVER!

We have officially decided not to move to Houston next.  Seems there are a few seminar companies there currently and staying through June, which is when we'd be there.  David doesn't think this will majorly affect business, but it can be a bit of a headache.  So, we're likely going to settle on a city in the Midwest this Spring.  Wichita and Omaha are contenders.   It will be nice to be within driving distance to family and friends!  It's hard to believe, but moving day is only a month away now...

l-o-v-e

Max meet world, world meet Max.

We love so many things: We love our friends and our families.  We love to travel.  We love to eat sushi.  We love to vacation in Hawaii.  We love to snowboard the mountains of Colorado...

BUT, love has just been redefined and taken to a whole new level with the birth of our son, Maximilian. Its hard to explain the emotions you feel when you see your son being born, so here is a picture that says it all.   - David

Max's Baptism

Two weeks ago, our little guy was fully initiated into the Catholic Church.  We planned Max's Baptism so that David's parents could attend while they were here to visit.  Max is fortunate to call his Aunt Laura and our dear friend, Dan, his godparents.  We were also honored to have Max's great Aunts Kathy and Diane, fly in from New York for the occasion. 
Unfortunately, we were missing some really important folks - David's brother Steven, his wife Julie, and their two kids, Jack and Abby, were not able to attend.  Little Abby had been diagnosed with RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) the week before.  RSV is a very contagious and often severe infection in little ones.  Fortunately, Abby is doing very well.  However, due to the risk to Max with his immature immune system, they did not attend the event, but did drive into town so that they could visit with family later that weekend.  My side of the family was not able to attend either, but they are all planning trips to visit in the next month. 

Max was a bit of a ham during the service.  He timed a very loud toot with Deacon Joe's discussion of the Holy Spirit.  While pictures were being taken, he spit his pacifier into the baptismal font.  Whoops!  Aunt Kathy very calmly grabbed it out and stuck it right back in his mouth.  And I think he actually enjoyed the pouring of water.  He didn't cry once.  Here are some pictures from the day:

Max's Opa, me, Aunt Kathy, David, godmother Laura with Max, Aunt Diane and Max's Grammy

Max with his great Aunt Kathy

Grammy telling Max wonderful stories

Oops!  The paci in the font!

Here we are with Max, who is being held by godparents, Dan and Aunt Laura

Congratulations, little man!  We are so proud!

1 month

Our Max is 1-month old today!  I'm not sure that I've really sat down to process all that has happened in the last 4 weeks.  One day your life changes and you kind of move with it... I don't want to look back and think that so much has happened without fully realizing it.  I've decided that I'm going to try to do a better job of really taking inventory every day, because Max is quickly changing!  Our clothes dryer isn't shrinking his onsies - he is getting noticeably bigger!
We've been stumbling a little bit in the last two weeks.  Max has been working hard with feedings, often coughing and choking, spitting up lots, and seems to be really uncomfortable during and afterwards.  I checked it out with our lactation consultant, our pediatrician, and did some research on my own.  It was suggested that he is swallowing too much milk and air at once due to high milk flow.  He's filling up on the air and then gets hungry again sooner.  He also seems to be tiring out before he gets the nutrient-rich hindmilk which is causing him to have watery stools.  Now his gastric disturbance has crept into his sleeping routine, making our days very long and our nights too short.   It's been a little stressful watching him go through this and not being able to help him.  We're working through it with some of the recommendations I received, but I'm realizing I need to take naps too. 
In the meantime, since I'm definitely not using it for my hair these days, my blowdryer has been moonlighting as a cure for my crying baby.  The sound puts him out in 2 minutes or less.  Oh, and the vacuum has been a great help at lulling him to sleep too!  I can put Max in the Moby wrap, start up the Hoover, and kill two birds with one stone!  :)  Love this! 

My Mom flies back into town in a week.  It'll be a very short visit - just a long weekend - but it'll be nice to have an expert mother on-hand when I just don't know what to do.  Not to mention, I know she's super excited to finally meet Max. 
I'm on the wrong computer to add pictures, so get on David's case because he's in charge of the next update!

Too fast!

Oh my gosh, it's happening already!  Every parent I've ever talked to has warned me about this --- our child will grow up too fast.  Can you believe it?  Today, Max is 3 weeks old!  Slow down, child!

Life has changed.
I've learned to accept the fact that I can no longer quickly run into a store to grab a few things.
I've gotten used to showering with my eyes and ears glued to the baby monitor.
Dinner occurs at whatever time we can get Max to sleep or else may need to be eaten in spoonfuls fed to me by David while I'm nursing Max.  It's usually cold.
I actually have body lotion that smells like baby and I wear it on purpose.
There are days I may not brush my teeth until 10:30am. 
Yesterday, David was working from home and offered me the chance to get out of the house to run some errands by myself.  I went to the bakery for my favorite loaf of bread and then the coffee shop for a latte.  I didn't realize until after I was on my way home, that I was wearing yoga pants AND a hoodie spotted with spit up, my hair was on top of my head in a knot, and I hadn't even put moisturizer on, let alone make-up!  FANCY!
You know what?  It's a new phase of my life and I can totally rock it.  You know why?  When I entered the coffee shop, the barista called out, "Hey, it's Max's Mom!"  That is SO cool!  There is also nothing better than seeing how in love David is with Max and how effortlessly he has absorbed fatherhood. Even the poopy diapers don't phase him anymore. This is a guy who used to dry heave at the thought of changing dirty diapers in the past.  I guess this is what growing up is all about!

Life has certainly changed and it's pretty amazing!

Growing...

This week, I stepped foot outside the house on my own with Max and visited the Lactation Center at the hospital for some one-on-one time with the consultant.  (Let me tell you, driving across town was terrifying!  So many idiot drivers!  We made it there and were early too!)  Max was the only baby on the post-partum floor that was latching on, but I was still concerned about some of his feeding behaviors, so we went in for some reassurance.  I was so happy that it was Laura, the same consultant that we had when we were inpatient, because we really liked her.  She weighed Max before-hand (8lbs, 2oz) and we were both surprised that at 1 week of age, he had already re-gained his birth weight and then some!  Max decided this was the time to show off too, so of course, none of the feeding behaviors I had been observing were actually displayed during the visit.  He did great! 

Max had his first trip to see his pediatrician the other day.  We L-O-V-E his pediatrician and were excited to see her again.  She confirmed that he had met his weight gain milestone (8lbs, 4oz).  Max measured in the 85% for length (again, how is our baby so long?), 65% for weight, and 35% for head circumference.  The peanut head comes from David!  He had his second PKU screen at this visit and although Santos, the lab tech, was very sweet with him, Max did not appreciate being stuck in the foot twice!  Poor guy was screaming his little peanut head off!

Sound Off
Can I just say, the rule about not lifting more than your baby's weight is impossible!  How are you supposed to get your baby in and out of the car?  Those car seats are heavy!  And apparently the stores in San Antonio have never heard of standard-sized grocery carts - every cart I've used is like the European model; skinny and small - Max's car seat doesn't fit, so I end up having to lug him around the store in his car seat.  Gets to be very tiring so I usually just give up, decide whatever I'm there for is not worth it right now and go home.  Looking forward to the BOB arriving on my doorstep in a few days! 

Happy Birthday!

Our sweet bundle has finally arrived!  Maximilian Kolbe Behr was born January 4, 2012 at 9:42pm.  He was born a healthy 7lbs, 10oz and 20 inches long.  Where did his height come from?!


Just as our little one arrived late, so is this post!  I guess you could say I've been busy...
Our OB was right.  We did show up at the hospital prior to our scheduled induction, but only by a few minutes.  Unfortunately, progress from that point on was extremely slow-going due to Max's position, so labor was still augmented with medication to increase contractions and try to get little Max to rotate and move downward.  Thank you, THANK YOU, to all of you who answered our calls for prayers.  Your prayers and ours were answered.  We were able to avoid a c-section and 14 hours after admission, we finally got to meet our little man!  What a precious little blessing he is!  10 fingers and toes.  A head of light brown hair.  And a smile that will make you melt!  What an amazing day!


He and I are still trying to get our days and nights figured out.  Here's hoping that within a few weeks I can get more than 4 hours each night, because napping during the daytime is really difficult, despite all the well-intentioned advice to do so.  There is always something else going on, and this week it was renewing my professional certifications between feedings!  Nothing like a little procrastination!  But I know all those experienced Mommies and Daddies are right - there will ALWAYS be other things to do.  We're learning.  All those marathon feeding sessions are working though.  Little Max gained his birth weight back, plus an extra 10 ounces by his 1-week check up! 


In other awesome news: My sister had her baby this week!  Canaan Blaise was born on January 10th at 11:37pm.  8 lbs 3 oz.  I'm so excited for them!  A baby boy to add to their family.  Poor Mark with 3 ladies at home...well, I shouldn't forget about Felix, the dog.  Such a bonus that we get to share our experiences as brand-new, first-time mommies together!  And these cousins will only be 6 days apart in age.  Too bad they are 1,343.6 miles apart.  Thank goodness for Skype!  We're looking forward to our annual July 4th family vacation with the newest additions. 



Okay, going for a quick walk around the circle before Max decides it's time to eat again!  Thank you all for your emails, calls, text messages and prayers...we are doing great and very happy!  Now that we've got a week under our belt, I'm going to do my best to stay up-to-date on this blog.  Hold me accountable, please! 

Bumped

Our late night has paid off!  At our OB visit today, I was 3cm dilated and effacing well.  My OB separated my membranes to help me progress.  She said the baby's head is low, so contractions will likely continue or my water will break.  This is good because we got bumped from our induction spot this afternoon - there is no room at the inn for us with all the traffic after the holidays.  Instead, we are scheduled for 7am tomorrow, but our OB thinks she'll see us there by tonight!
We are running a few errands, then home to rest up while we have the chance.  We've been doing a lot in the last few days to get to stay busy.  Here are a few of our favorites:

Movie watching while it lasts - Hugo in 3D

Mariachi at Mi Tierra

And don't forget the spicy Mexican food!

Pottery making with Nana for the Baby

More eating!

Where did it go?

Yep! 

And then a good workout, of course!

Thanks for all the prayers! God has certainly been blessing us. I've got my Mary medal on as a reminder of her presence as well. We'll keep you informed!