Month Two!

T's second month found us welcoming some of my family to San Diego. I was very excited that my cousin C decided to come to SoCal for her birthday as an "excuse" to see me and meet T! My Aunt stayed with me at the house while C and her family enjoyed the new "hotel" on base. She even got to see one of California's beautiful sunsets from her hotel room window. It was an exciting week and I learned that while you can do many things with a 6 week old, some of them should be avoided during the hot SoCal summers (such as Sea World, Zoo, Wild Animal Park, etc!! Nursing and sweltering sun just don't go well together!) But it was fun nonetheless AND I lost about 10lbs that week (ok, maybe it was more like 7lbs but I'm completely serious, all that walking paid off for me!)

I had my 6 week post partum appointment and everything checked out so I was given the green light for exercise. Little did the doc know I was already walking regularly and using my Wii Fit as of week 4 but I definitely picked up the pace once I got the "official" okay. I was well on my way to achieving my goal of "pre pregnancy" weight by D's return date.

T and I were still working on the nursing, but I was definitely feeling more confident and comfortable with the process itself. Overal it was a month of slowly finding a routine for ourselves...little did I know that "finding a routine" with a baby would be an ever changing thing!

Here are some pictures from "Month 2"...

Looking adorable in his bathrobe from my friend H! I think he kind of looks like a boxer getting ready to go out ...only, he's a really happy looking boxer!

Look how strong my neck is already!

...and I'm pooped! Enough neck exercise for me, Mom.

Luna: "You're taking all the comfortable spots on Mom...and the floor."

T: "I'm here to stay, furry creature, this is my blanket."

"I might be stinky but I'm so darn cute you love me anyway!"

Snuggling with Mommy. :-)

First trip to the Animal Park (He slept most of the day...)

My cousin with T and her two wonderful children.

Me and T out to eat for my cousin's birthday.

(His diaper is not full, the outfit was just a little big on him!)

We did take some pictures at Sea World but a certain cousin of mine hasn't emailed them to me yet... ;-) so I'll update this post once I get them...

Month One!

Month one was an exciting time for us while T and I learned more about eachother and formed the wonderful bond of mother and child.

We struggled through breastfeeding but I stayed stubborn and determined that it would work for us. I ended up having to supplement but after being upset initially, I came to terms with the fact that my child's needs were much greater and more important than my wants and desires. I was not a bad mother because I couldn't produce enough for him from the beginning and because my milk didn't come in fast enough - once I accepted that I was doing my best and relaxed (a little) we started having much better feedings. He initially slept well for me, staying on a constant "eating every 2-3 hours" schedule. The dogs were adjusting, moderately well and I was quickly recovering from the c/section and anxious to start loosing that weight!!

I will forever be thankful to D's mom for the time she spent with me and helping me with the house, the dogs and especially T. It was a special time for her as well and I'm glad she was able to share in almost his entire first month (just shy a few days!)

The following are a few pictures I took during that first month...enjoy! :-)

T's first bath in the "bath tub" and he promptly fell asleep!

Discovering the soft feel of his dinosaur from Aunt C & Uncle G.

Looking into the camera like a good boy for Mommy! :-)

I love him too!

Who's that in the mirror?

First trip to the beach! 8-12-09

"What are you doing, Mommy?"

(I was going to take a picture like this each month....not surprising that hasn't happened, though I have made sure to take a picture for his month birthday even without a sign.)

I got really excited because I thought for sure this was his first social smile but when I sent the picture to D he wasn't so sure since I admited that T sneezed right after this picture. But then the next day he did this...

SMILE!!!!! Mommy sure was funny!

What a way to mark his first month "birthday"!

Saying goodbyes and Hellos...

G and C had to leave the Friday after T was born and while I was really sad to see them go, I was so happy that the timing had worked out perfectly for their arrival and T's birth. I was and am still so very grateful that they made the trip and were there for me (and D) for this very special moment in our lives.



With G&C leaving in the morning, Grandpa T arrived that night! :-) I think it's safe to say that he was smitten from the very first moment he saw T...

He was only able to stay for the weekend but it was great having him visit and meet T!

Bringing T home!

In preparation of T's arrival to the house, C and G took home T's first "hat" so Luna and Boo could smell his scent.

Luna sniffed it...

Boo thought he should taste it...

Getting my little guy all dressed up! I didn't care if we were only driving 2 minutes down the street, he was going to be super handsome!

I had no idea how big the outfit would be!! He was adorable, despite the onesie and jacket being huge...

So happy to finally go home! And to think...I felt so much smaller that day! Looking back, I'm still pretty big! Though, I got on the scale that night and had lost 20lbs since his birth so that was pretty awesome!

All buckled in and approved for departure!

Boo was really curious and wanted to give Boo-kisses immediately! I was cautious, but he did amazing. After this shot, he went and grabbed a toy and was ready for play time as though nothing in the household had changed!

Talking to my Luna-girl and explaining that I still loved her very much, but T was here to stay and would be utilizing her "lap" quite a bit for the next few years ;-) And I also said we girls had to stick together since we were now outnumbered.

After an outfit change I did what many would think crazy...I packed up my 3 day old, got back in the car and we all went to Pizza Port for pizza. D had really wanted G to try his favorite beer (Chronic) served at the Port since we never made it there during G&C's honeymoon. I wanted to make sure the trip to Pizza Port happened, I think because I was emotional and felt that would somehow make D seem closer or "there" with us. Whatever it was, the pizza tasted SO GOOD and I don't regret it one bit. :-) The only shame was that they were out of Chronic beer that day so G still hasn't tasted it. Oh well, next trip out!

T's Arrival...

Ok, I'll be honest. I had this very long, very detailed post ready to finish, add pictures, etc. (that I started to write almost two months ago!!) but I've decided to wipe the slate clean and just post a bunch of pictures. :-) If you really want all the details, email me and I'll be happy to fill you in with what happened over the span of 52 hours...

Last day before labor began...

The ONLY picture of me in labor before going to the hospital. (For anyone preggers reading this...this position did nothing for me, but feel free to try it, maybe it'll help you!)

There he is! He was actually pretty quiet and I remember thinking, "Why isn't he crying, I don't hear him crying..."

G cutting T's cord for D...

A very happy (and weepy) new Grandma!

A happy Aunt C!

Talking to D on the phone in the recovery room...I was able to be in touch with him throughout the whole weekend and several times before the decision for the c/section came and then during my whole time in the recovery room. :-) So he was "there" the first time I held our son.

Finally relaxed and snuggling! I can't post the pictures of me holding T for the first time because they all involve me trying to breastfeed for the first time and frankly, I consider those private! Plus I'm super puffy from all the fluids I had during the surgery... ;-)

A tired Uncle G...

I will explain my sweet baby's bruises: T was trying to come out in an abnormal presentation; basically face first so his neck was bent in a dangerous position. This explained why I wasn't dialating even though I was technically in "active" labor for two days. I made it to 6 cm by the time a doctor realized something was up and it was an hour later when my contractions were every minute and pretty intense (though I couldn't feel it thanks to the fabulous epideral!) literally right before they would have had me start pushing that the decision for a c/section was made. I will always be grateful to Dr. M, the doctor who was honest with me and probably saved my son's life or at the least kept him from possibly having brain damage and me from having a more intense "emergency" c/section.

Oh wow...

only 2.5 more weeks before D is home...

;-) Then I will FINALLY be able to take the time to post pictures instead of just a sentence here and there.

One day...

I will get a long enough stretch of time to update this and post pictures...everyone says it'll get more "routine" at 3 months...so maybe then?

Sorry everyone!! I promise I haven't forgotten that I promised this blog to be the place to go for pictures and updates of our new life with T!! But even as I sat down to start updating this, now 5 minutes later I have a crying kiddo...so this is all you get. :-(

T's Photo Shoot

I know, I know, I know, I desperately need to update this blog with everything from his birth until...gasp!...his 1 month birthday!!! I can't believe he's a month old already!

Here's the link to the sign in page. The password is: tarleton072709 (If for some reason the link didn't take you to the "Client Page" you can select it from the sidebar on the left of the screen.)

I think they're all fabulous (but I'm a little biased). He did start getting blotchy and unfortunately started peeling skin THAT morning...but he's still adorable.

Enjoy!

T's Sneak Peak!!

Here's the link to see a sneak peak of T's newborn session!! I haven't seen all of them yet but I LOVE THEM!!

Enjoy!

Tarleton Nathaniel Thiessen

8 lbs. 4 oz.

21 in.

9:10 a.m.

July 20, 2009

Pictures...

Ok, so I know I posted the "Sneak Peak" and got you all excited to see the maternity pictures...I don't know if I'm going to publically post them.

I haven't decided yet. The photographer can privatize certain photos but so many of the ones I think came out beautifully and would want to share, I'm self-conscious about giving an unknown amount of people access to see. I guess I'm more modest than I really ever thought I was!!

Right now, I'm going to keep them private. Luckily D was able to access the private gallery from "over yonder" so I was really happy that we could share in what we thought about them and which one was his favorite.

What I'm probably going to do is post the link and password a couple days before it's set to expire so I can limit, at least, how long people will have to view them...so check back closer to the beginning of August!

Sneak Peak!

Go here to see a "sneak peak" of my maternity photo session!

Pictures from the far East...

Over the last couple of months D has sent a few pictures of his grand adventure in the great big sand box. Unfortunately he can't log into our blog himself or otherwise I'm sure he'd have much more interesting things to say with these pictures (and probably more pictures) than the captions he sends to me. For the time being I'll do the best I can. Maybe when he gets home I can convince him to sit down and do a post all about his trip.

The dates over the photos are the dates he sent them to me, not necessarily the dates he took the picture. For the ones with dates and locations - again it's the date he sent the picture to me and the location he says it was taken. If it happens to be the same date as another picture that has a location attached, please don't assume it's in the same location! I have no idea and if D didn't specify it's probably not the same location!

5 May

landed at Ranah

24 May

24 May

24 May
"Me after a long flight in Tal Afar"

24 May

30 May

30 May

10 June

"Me after 7 hours flying at 43 degrees C"

(109.4 degrees F)

10 June

17 June

"Seemingly typical day at around 1700"