Cabo

In November we were fortunate enough to vacation in Cabo. We had a GREAT time! My parents, Karly and Carlos, cousins from Utah - Kathy, Chad and Brittani, and Braedon all came to enjoy the sun.

Jaydan had his first pool experience and he LOVED it. He was very tentative of the water at first, but after a few minutes he was hooked. He stayed mostly at the wall of the pool but sometimes ventured out into the 1' deep to play.

Halloween 2008

Jaydan the dalmation puppy! :) Seriously, he was the cutest dog EVER thanks to aunt Karly and uncle Carlos' shopping expertise.

We didn't do a whole lot since he's so young. Early in the week we went to Remlinger Farms to take these pictures. On Halloween we went to a party at the Malmbergs. It was fun and Jaydan was a trooper with the whole costume thing.

I know I'm super late... yay for baths to start fresh!

So I let all of Fall pass by without any updates. Oh well, I suppose being a mom can excuse me? ;) What has happened since September...?

Jaydan is 10 months old today!! He is growing SO fast and so big - almost 20 pounds now and is about 29" tall. Crazy kid is into EVERYTHING - he walks with push toys, baskets, boxes, whatever he can get a hold of. He can crawl super fast too so it makes it tough to beat him to the things he's not supposed to get into. He is learning to play ball - he sits and "throws" and pushes the ball back and forth. He is also learning to feed himself - I know, he's a little delayed on the self-feeding. ;)

I'll write up some separate posts regarding other things that have happened over the past few months.

Time...

Wow... hopefully no one is paying too close attention to this blog because they would see how little attention I've been paying it lately.

SO much has happened over all this time. Jaydan started scooting at 6 months and officially crawling at 7. During the same week that he began crawling, we began finding him standing in his crib when he awoke each morning. Now he climbs to a stand at the sofa's edge all the time. Crazy kid!

Perhaps the most adorable thing that he does now is give kisses. He started doing that around 6 1/2 months - he opens his mouth and leans in to give you a slobbery smooch. Everyone who has been able to experience it loves it!

Regarding us: Dirk is planning on having some surgery after our trip to Mexico in November. We're hoping that his recovery will be quick and as painless as can be. From what we understand, he'll be laid up for nearly 3 weeks. I know that he's not looking forward to the experience, but we both know that it's for the best in the long run. He'll definitely be happier once he isn't in so much pain.

Other than Dirk's impending surgery, our first family vacation to Mexico and Jaydan's progress, nothing really new and exciting with us! We go through our day to day and week to week just like everyone else. We're happy and that's really the most important thing.

Toesies and Cereal

On top of the rolling over, Jaydan has now discovered his toes! He loves to play with his feet and roll around on the floor. It's so cute to watch him try to get his toes in his mouth!

Last Friday night Jaydan had his first taste of rice cereal! He LOVED it!! In fact, he loved it so much that he began reaching for the spoon to get it to his mouth faster! So much fun!! He's also had small licks of watermelon, orange popsicles and whipped cream... all the good sweet stuff... oops! ;)

Rollin' Rollin' Rollin'

Wow... so a lot has happened since my last post.

We went on vacation to Sun Cove on June 28 for the week. It was H-O-T... about 110 every day!! Jaydan and I stayed indoors with the air conditioning most of the time, though we DEFINITELY enjoyed the evening warmth each night. We stayed at the cabin through the 4th of July for the fireworks. It was really nice and Jaydan did really well - the noise didn't seem to affect him at all actually.

During our stay Jaydan learned how to roll over (finally)!! Now, he's rolling around like crazy and can't seem to lay still for more than 1 minute at a time. This has turned diaper changes into a race against time, free peeing fountains AND rolling over. It's okay though - has been so fun to watch him learn new things!!

We also have new tuxedo pictures that I'll get posted ASAP. For now, I have to get him ready for bed... the late night fussing begins! ;)

BIG boy!

Jaydan had his 4 month checkup on Thursday. We discovered that he is now in the 75th percentile in both height and weight!! He is our BIG boy at 16 lbs. and 26.5" long!! Jaydan is developing exactly as he should be - he is holding his head up great, ready to roll over any day and is extremely social. Unfortunately, amongst all the good news with the doc, he had to get 4 more immunizations. I felt so bad!! He was all smiles for the nurse as she was playing with him and as soon as she poked him with the first needle he got this shocked look on his face and started crying! It's so hard to watch your baby feel pain and not be able to do ANYTHING about it! So, we just cuddled and laid around lazy the rest of the day.

Now that summer is here and we FINALLY had a nice day yesterday, Jaydan got to sit out and enjoy some sun at Grandma and Grandpa Ob's house. We think he enjoyed it... and starting next weekend we'll be in Sun Cove enjoying more!! It'll be fun to see what he does for his first fireworks show... or it'll scare him. We'll see!

The Thumb

Jaydan has found his thumb! He still doesn't get it every time and therefore still tries to fit his entire fist in his mouth, but he has found it nonetheless. He has been so great lately - entertaining himself for short bouts and taking some naps throughout the day. He has been so happy and smiley and LOVES laughing!

CRANKY pants!

Been awhile since I posted but not a whole lot has been happening... nothing new anyway.

Jaydan is a major cranky pants today! He has been crying ALL day and I can't figure out what's wrong with him. We're trying to get through our normal day-to-day things but he's so fussy that we're definitely having a rough time.

One thing that's been on the schedule forever is a trip to Verizon... I've been trying to get my phone changed for almost a month - Karly sent me her old one when her new boss told her that he'd pay for her. Of course, now Dirk and I "qualify" for "free" phones so we'll see what happens there.

So, looks like we're staying in for the rest of the day and Jaydan will continue to cry... hopefully he'll be happier for Mother's Day weekend.

Growing Strong

Jaydan had his 2 month check up on Friday April 18 (yes, I know I'm late posting this). At that time he weighed 11 lbs. 13 oz. and was 23.5" long. The boy is growing strong!! He's still sleeping pretty well - we get up about twice a night for diaper changes and he basically nurses at will at my side. His doctor says he's growing great and is super healthy... we couldn't ask for more than that!!

We had a BIG weekend for his 2 month "birthday" too. Friday night we went out with Donnie and Joy and Jeff and Kelley to the Met for a nice dinner. It was Jaydan's first night out in Seattle and he was fantastic! He slept for the beginning of the meal and then was anxious to watch everyone around us throughout. He loved spending time in Joy's arms at the table too. Then, Saturday night we went out with Bill and Linda for Dirk's 34th birthday. We had yummy Thai food at Indochine (our favorite south end spot) and he slept through the entire meal!! He was really, really good and because of his happy disposition at every Grandma and Papa visit, they're starting to think that we're lying that he ever cries.

Anyway, things are well and the boy is amazing. We love him more than words could ever describe. He's so much fun and we're ecstatic to have him!

Jaydan's Blessing

Last Wednesday Jaydan had his baby blessing. We held the ordinance at my parents house and Daniel gave the blessing; Bishop Lee (from our Duvall ward) came as well as the Novelty Hill ward Elders. It was very nice and I know that I'll remember it forever. Jaydan looked so sweet in his white outfit. It was amazing - he was extremely fussy all up until the blessing and once Daniel took him and all the men started bouncing him in their hands, he calmed down and was completely relaxed. Of course, shortly after he was desperate to eat (again).

To DIE for...

PCC has wheat-free zucchini muffins that are TO DIE FOR!! I highly recommend them... they're good even if you don't have to avoid wheat products!!

Diets Don't Work

At baby showers, at your in-laws... diets are just plain TOUGH.

So, for gas and colic reasons, I've been put on a NO dairy and NO wheat diet for Jaydan. The dairy thing has been going on for several weeks now and has made a somewhat noticeable difference. The subtraction of wheat from my diet began Wednesday April 2 and is on trial for at least 2 weeks. We'll see how this all goes. Seriously though, the dairy wasn't that rough on me to give up. This wheat thing has been a rocky road - ever since committing to giving it up, all I've wanted are baked goods and bread... go figure! In all this change, I've been surprised to find out all the things that I CAN eat. I found wheat-free fig newtons that are really good, gluten and lactose free macaroons that are AMAZING, wheat-free granolas and oatmeals, gluten free pancake mix and all-purpose flour, and I saw some gluten free blackberry muffins that I'm dying to try. That's just the beginning of the adventurous snacks that I've tried... dairy hasn't been too much trouble since there is lactose free milk/soy milk available everywhere. The hardest part about the no dairy has been avoiding foods with butter. Oh well.

I went to Steph Fuhriman's baby shower on Saturday - she's about 6 months along and I'm SO excited for her. But, even in the midst of the happiness, all I wanted to eat was the pasta salad and chocolate covered strawberries! I succumbed the temptation and settled for a plate of grapes. Then, today at my in-laws, there were homemade chocolate chip cookies and chocolate sundaes! Wow, talk about feeling left out! ;) No, I know that even though I complain this is all for the health and well being of my baby. Hopefully it won't last forever (his pediatrician thinks that about 12 weeks will do it) and I'll be able to go back to the unhealthy foods that I crave.

Nothing new...

Well, it's been awhile (again) since I've updated the life in the Huebner house. The main luxury that Dirk and I have been experiencing lately is SLEEP. Jaydan is sleeping for 3 and 4 hours at a time at night!! It's AMAZING and is making life much more enjoyable.

Jaydan is still a bit colicky... he fusses every night from 5 or 6 until about 10 or 11. It's rough for Dirk because that's pretty much the only time that he gets to spend with him during the weekdays. I think it's getting frustrating for him because he would LOVE to see him when he's more content.

Not much else is new... Grandma Linda and Papa Bill are home from Arizona now so we're looking forward to spending some quality time with them. Jaydan has changed so much so it will be fun to see their reaction. He's in 3 month clothes so he's definitely bigger!

Sick... Seriously

So Jaydan is only 5 weeks old and here we are... a sick bunch of Huebner's. We all contracted a lovely cold - congestion, sore throat, cough. Fortunately Jaydan doesn't seem too pained by the runny nose and slight cough that he's dealing with. He has been a bit fussy, but not much more than usual.

It all started off on Easter Sunday with me getting nicely congested. Unfortunately I'm unable to take anything as it would be passed to Jaydan through my milk. We worked hard to prevent both Dirk and Jaydan from catching the crud, but our efforts failed. Dirk woke up this morning with a sore throat and headache and Jaydan started coughing.

All in all, we're doing okay. We'll make it through our first bout of family illness and hopefully things will get healthy and happy once again really soon.

1 month

How time flies! Jaydan had his 1 month birthday yesterday! We had a nice evening celebrating - Jaydan shared his 1 month birthday with auntie Katie for dinner at Spazzo. This was our first dinner outing and he was SO good. He sat in his seat for the beginning of the night and then spent post-meal time flirting with all the girls.

We went to see his pediatrician and he is a very healthy boy. He is up to 9lbs. 11oz. (50 percentile) and 22.5 inches long (75 percentile). His doctor said he's right on track for weight gain. We talked to her about his fussiness - she prescribed him some Zantac for reflux that we're to try for at least 2 weeks to see if that helps him. We also are experimenting with new formulas to supplement the nursing since he's eating so much these days. Last night was the first and it was a complete disaster - we were up ALL night with him crying. We're crossing our fingers that tonight will allow for at least a few hours of sleep so that we don't get too run down.

I have more pictures to post... just having trouble remembering and finding the time to get them uploaded to the blog. Will get that going ASAP.

Our first family weekend

Dirk is back to work and life is trying to resume to some normalcy. Of course, our schedule has changed drastically with Jaydan in the house. Today is the first day of our first family weekend... it's nice. We're just hanging out at home trying to relax.

Jaydan saw his pediatrician again yesterday - and I got to get out and about on my own! His jaundice is completely gone (FANTASTIC) and his weight has jumped to 8lbs. 1oz. Crazy kid is growing like nothing we've ever seen before! What is great about the weight gain is that we can now start weaning him off the bottle and stick to nursing as originally planned. Now we also get a break from poking and prodding him - he doesn't have to see the dr. again until he's 1 month old.

Despite the lack of sleep and never ending poopy diapers, Jaydan is the greatest thing to ever happen to our family. We are so grateful to have him! He changes all the time and the joy of witnessing that is amazing.

1 week

Well we've been home from the hospital for a week now. Getting on a schedule has been (and still is) pretty tough. Jaydan definitely has his days and nights confused so we're trying to break that. The first couple nights home he was up all night screaming and nothing would calm him down. Now we've reached the point where he'll sleep 2-3 hours at a time through the night. We're still hoping that the time of sleep will increase as we all get to know each other.

A lot has happened in the last week... I think we've had a dr. appointment every day since we left the hospital. Jaydan weighed 7lbs. 4oz. when we left and then dropped to 6lbs. 14oz. by the next day. So, because of the significant weight loss, we started supplementing his feedings with formula. As much as I hated to do this, it became VERY obvious that he loved it and it was exactly what he needed. By Saturday at our lactation appointment, he was back up to 7lbs. 4oz. so both Dirk and I felt better about not being able to feed him strictly breastmilk. Tuesday he was circumsized (so sad - I cried through a good portion of the procedure) and he was back up to 7lbs. 11.5oz. We get to go back to the pediatrician on Friday morning to check his jaundice and make sure those levels are going down.

My incision is healing perfectly, which is fantastic news. I'm finally up and about more regularly and have gotten clearance from my dr. to drive again. I'm being cautious though because I don't want to overdo it too early.

Dirk went back to work today... it's been different being just the two of us. We totally miss daddy and can't wait for him to come home. It'll be another adjustment for us I suppose. :)

All in all, things are going well. Jaydan changes all the time - seems like he looks different every single day!

Fashionably Late

I know this is horrifically delayed since my last post and dr. appointment. I saw my OB/GYN last Monday and things weren't in the greatest of shape. I was measuring about 6 cm too large, my blood pressure had gone up. The good news was that Jaydan's biophysical profile was PERFECT so he was super healthy at the time. So, my dr. decided that getting me delivered was the best option. I was excited about this as I was getting so incredibly uncomfortable. Of course I assumed that meant we would be scheduling an induction later in the week... boy was I wrong! My induction got scheduled for 2 pm that same day so I was off to the hospital a couple hours later!!

I wasn't started on pitocin until about 4 pm - understandable with how busy the labor wing has apparently been. My labor started off relatively easy but I definitely felt the contractions by late evening. Breathing was helpful but I was in desperate need of some help so I ended up with a shot of a narcotic in my IV. That helped but definitely didn't take the pain away but by the time it wore off, I was dilated to 4 and ready for my epidural. Let me tell you, that is the HUGEST lifesaver created by man. ;) Anyway, I finally dilated to 10 and started pushing by 4 am Tuesday. SERIOUSLY long day/night. My dr. was called because I still wasn't really progressing despite good pushing effort. Apparently my pelvic bones were turning upward rather than downward with every push and blocking Jaydan's head inside the birth canal. On top of this, Jaydan's heart rate was dropping to an uncomfortable level with every push. So, at 6 am I was prepped for a cesarean.

Being wheeled into surgery was slightly more stressful than I thought it might be. I got the spinal and was totally numb and the cutting started. Dirk was at my head holding my hand and talking me through what was happening. There was a short period where neither of us were sure if he was gonna get out - the dr. raised her voice at several assistants and nurses saying that his head was wedged in my pelvis and she couldn't get him out. I ended up with an extra vertical incision in my uterus plus 3 sets of arms pushing and pulling to finally get him out.

Jaydan Kwon Huebner was born Tuesday February 19 at 6:20 am. He weighed 7 lbs. 10 oz. and was 20" long. He's perfect - has a full head of brown hair, super long fingers and pretty large feet. He was good in the hospital and we made it home Thursday afternoon. I'm still pretty sore but the painkillers are working well for that.

Dirk and I are completely infatuated with our new little man... we've never been happier!!

Valentine's Day

All I want for Valentine's Day is to have a baby! ;)

No, the annual day of love (and our half yearly anniversary!) was just fine for us, though we would welcome our little one with wide open arms should he decide today were the day. We have enjoyed a quiet evening at home as a family. Perhaps the largest milestone for the day though is that Scuttle has a newfound affection for Dirk and has happily plopped himself down for a belly rub several times thus far.

In any case... the weekend approaches and still no sign of an impending labor and delivery. All I can do is continue to pray that the little guy will get sick of his studio condo sometime VERY soon so that we can finally meet him!

39 weeks and NADA

Saw the doctor for my 39-week appointment... all for disappointment. I'm still only dilated to 1-2 cm and my cervix is still thick and posterior (overshare?). She said that she was able to touch his head but he bounced back up into the abdomen at that... something she said is a tad discouraging and could mean 3 things: my pelvis is too steep for his head to stay down inside, he's too big to fit or he's just plain not ready. The latter would be the only option to allow for a vaginal delivery... if it's either of the first two, surgery, here I come! At this point I was hoping for a little more of an encouraging update since I'm so uncomfortable. What can I say? We're ready for this baby NOW!!

So, another week to wait (unless he decides to make an appearance before next Monday, of course - praying for that to happen). Next week my doc will do a "biophysical profile" of the baby in order to ensure that everything in the womb is still hunky-dory. Apparently the placenta starts breaking down and becoming less efficient and useful at about 41 1/2 weeks. Cross your fingers (that's the least we're doing) that he'll naturally decide that it's time to greet the world before the week is up!

The Waiting Game

We have been waiting (and waiting) for our newest addition to arrive. It's been a long haul but we officially enter week 39 tomorrow and the doc says he could come anytime. Unfortunately, contractions aren't super consistent so labor and delivery still seem like a distant event. Crossing our fingers for sooner than later though!!

As we sit, night after night, awaiting my water to break or at least some purposeful contractions, each morning arrives without the new baby. Of course I can't be pregnant forever so he'll come eventually... but eventually just doesn't seem soon enough!