Cuteness of the Week

I am so obsessed with how adorable my Maxon is. It is borderline disgusting.  My camera just might break due to the amount of pictures I snap of my little monster. He is my perfect model.  Here are a few of my favorites....

 

 

Tyson should be sleeping too, but decided to capture our "quiet" time

 

 

 

 

Maxon's Many Faces.....

Here is our baby Barn Owl we found in our yard.

Maxon loves his Ergo!

This is the face he gives me when I give him a kiss.....silly boy!

 

Family Day

Sundays are always a day that Tyson and I look forwad to each week.  So much so that when Tyson comes home from work on Saturday night (or rather Sunday morning at 2ish), we celebrate with planning our entire Sunday from breakfast to dinner.  And now that Maxon is here and I am feeling better, we are so eager to get back to our family fun day.

What better way to enjoy a beautiful Sunday than with raw fish?!  Our first stop was off to Kings Fish House where we got back on our foodie trek with oysters on the half shell, a Trojan roll of spicy tuna and a frothy pint.  Maxon was an angel as we were able to belly up at the bar and Max placed at a carseat swing that was level with our bar stools.  Perfect fit!  After running from store to store, we came home to cook dinner.  On our menu was salmon purchased from our favorite local store, Windmill Farms, a Root Gratin (previously made during my nesting and then frozen) and  mixed vegetables.  Pair this with the LOST series finale and we have a romantic, rich, satisfying meal.  Maxon, once again, allowed us to enjoy our evening. We ended our night with a Blackberry Cobbler with Vanilla Bean ice cream and called it a night.......

complete bliss!!!

We (finally) purchased a swing for Maxon so our arms can get some relief...he seems to love it, but we love it more!

If we were in Arizona.....

.....Maxon would be LEGAL!  Today marks the start of Maxon's citizenship as a United States baby boy!  We have a birth certificate and social security card to prove it all.  Tyson and I had to bite our bottom lip and hold back the tears as we gleamed over Maxon's birth certificate.  This is THE document he will use to enroll in school, apply for a drivers license and.....hold it......to get married with......

Another funny that Maxon has been doing adorably is staring.  While he can focus on our face when we are close to him, he seems to always look past us when he is in our arms.  It is what he stares at that cracks us up.

This is Max and his hard stare

And this is what he cannot take his eyes off of.....

 

As well as these.....

 

Our silly Maxon is soooo in love with staring at these items that if he his wailing his head off and catches a glimpse of the blinds or mirror, he will stop.  We do not know why this is, but it makes us giggle! 

Ooh's and Aah's

Maxon is amazing.  Any parent would say that about their own child, but Tyson and I never anticipated how obsessed, excited, surprised and proud we would be.  We are so fortunate to have found love, not only in ourselves, but now, with our miracle. 

We went to our lactation consulting appointment this morning and received nothing but gold stars.  Maxon is back at his birth-weight (which isn't expected until week 2), latches on perfectly, and even gained three ounces after breastfeeding for 15 minutes.  The nurses said that this was the first baby they had seen that had gained so much in so little time.  We were even praised for the type of bottles we were using (Breastflow).  I had been worried about his feeding and whether or not we should wake him for feedings and if he was getting an adequate supply of breast milk when I breastfed him.  The nurses encouraged that he sleeps and assured me that he was getting PLENTY to eat.  We left as proud parents!

Here are some great Maxon moments we have captured

One Week Old!

Last night at 6:56pm, Maxon Cruz Blake celebrated his one week birthday.  Cannot believe how fast!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE MAX!

Day of Explorations and Firsts

Maxon and I were on our own today as Tyson began his new job at Obriens.  Because I am to take it easy and not exert myself, I am confined to our upstairs because this is where our bathroom and Max's room are located.  The kitchen, unfortunately, is downstairs, but being the amazing hubby as he is, Tyson stocked me up with fruit, a sandwich and some other snacks until he returned home.  Along with Tyson's first day of work, Maxon had a few firsts of his own!

Tummy Time

First Playdate with Mr. Sox

Maxon also started taking the bottle to give Mommy a break on breastfeeding.  My poor nipples are so tortured and needed some relief so we have been alternating between bottle-feeding with my pumped breast milk and breastfeeding.  This is a treat for Tyson since it gives him an opportunity to bond with Max.   

Maxon Cruz Blake

And after much waiting Maxon Cruz was born on May 6, 2010 at 6:56 pm.  While I was scheduled for an induction on Cinco de Mayo, I was very relieved that he was born the next day so that his birthday can be his own celebration.  Here is his story....

May 5, 2010

At 8:30am, I called labor and delivery to see if I could come in for my induction.  About an hour later, Tyson and I, my parents, siblings and my grandma, glared at the monitors that had been hooked up to me, expecting for something (ANYTHING!) to happen.  Nothing.  I was barely effaced and not dilated.

I was then given misoprostol ("miso") to thin out my cervix and after four hours, only thinned out to about 40%.  They then gave me ANOTHER miso, which can only be given every 4 hours, and a little action occurred.  After every dose of miso, I had to lay flat for an hour so that they gel would stay in place and after 8 hours of laying down, I was getting antsy and impatient.  At about 1030pm, after my mom and dad, sister and grandma left my room (they kept me company while Tyson ate/changed/walked Sonny) I started complaining of backache.  About an hour later, contractions set in. An hour after that, my water broke.  At this point, I was completely effaced and dilated 1 cm.  So after 15 hours, I was only in the beginning stages of labor.  Time flew by though and with my family and Tyson's support, I wasn't in that much pain.  Just bored and ready to hold my baby!

May 6, 2010

Tyson and I prepared for a long labor, so we brought items to entertain us.  We figured that a watching a movie, "Knocked Up", would kill 3 hours and would be a distraction from the mundane wait.  It was anything but that.  I began having contractions about 1-2 minutes apart and was unaware of how similar they are to menstrual cramps.  I had heard that they felt like cramps, but didn't anticipate the pain.  The nurse kept asking what my pain level was and while I hurt, it wasn't anything I couldn't breathe through.  They began some pain relief with the use of ibuprofen, then moved to morphine and finally another pain medication (can't remember the name).  At this point I was drinking water so I was getting up to go to the restroom every 20 minutes and with every step, my pain would increase.  At about 4am, the nurse came in and said that I looked too uncomfortable and that if I wanted, they could give me an epidural.

At 4:05am I was only dilated at 1.5

The epidural was EASY!  I expected all of this awful crying pain (thanks to TLC's Baby Story), but I felt absolutely nothing.  Within minutes, I was sitting up, chatting and reading my magazines.  My anesthesiologist, Gail, became my new best friend. 

For the next several hours, I was turned from side to side to get my blood flowing and because Max preferred one side to the other.  The nurses had trouble finding his heartbeat because he would move so frequently.  My contractions were now 2-3 minutes apart and at 3ish in the afternoon, I was dilated to 4cm.  At this point, after I was checked by a doctor, I kept asking how much longer for this process to speed up before they would start thinking about a C-section.  They always responded that it would take as long as needed.  Looking back, I wish I was more persistent.  I should have demanded a C-section after 16 hours because deep down, I knew Max was gonna be a big guy and I knew that he was too comfortable to leave willingly. 

At about 5pm, they hooked Max and I up to an internal monitor that detected my contractions and his heartbeat from the inside.  From this, they were hoping to see how I was contracting and whether or not it was safe for Maxon to proceed.  After attempting to place the monitors twice, they gave up and hooked me back up to the external pods.  Then it happened......

A little after 6, three doctors walked in the room, as well as my nurse.  They informed us that nothing was working and that because of the long wait and not getting anywhere, that a C-section was recommended.  We both replied "Let's do it!"  And with that response, all hell broke loose.  I was given more fluids, more pain meds and had nurses and doctors assuring me of the procedure.  Tyson suited up in scrubs (which were size mediums!) and waited outside the room until I was prepped for surgery.  Surprisingly, I was at ease.  I was excited to have Max in my arms, but so unsure of what to expect. I had studied for labor, not surgery!  At 6:43pm, I looked over my right shoulder at the clock, saw Tyson walk in and sit by my side, joining me behind a blue blanket separating us from our son.  Tyson soothed me as I felt incredible pressure.  At 6:54pm, one of the nurses asked if we wanted a picture of Maxon as he came out and just like that, he was out.  At 6:56 our Maxon peeked out from the top of the blanket, all gooey.  His face was priceless!  Kind of confused, kind of pissed.  We melted.

As I was stitched up, Maxon was cleaned and measured.  He began crying, but Tyson was able to calm him down.  In the home video, Maxon is crying and crying, but once he recognizes Tyson's voice, he stops.  It is the most perfect father/son bonding experience I have ever seen.  Maxon's APGAR was 8 and 9, which is perfect and  for his weight???????

TEN POUNDS, THREE OUNCES!!!!

I was surprised, but  I knew that Tyson and I could only have a big boy.  I couldn't imagine having a small baby and being that we were both big babies, I expected Maxon to come out large....just not THAT large. 

We were whisked away to post-delivery where I was checked and double checked and where I was able to feed Maxon for the first time.  He was a natural.  We were skin to skin for some time and all three of us inspected each other out.  Maxon held up his head and searched for our smell, while Tyson and I touched every part of his little body and counted all of his fingers and toes.  After about 2 hours, we were moved to our postpartum room and met up with my parents, brother and sister, MIL, my grandma, and friends Chris and Autumn.  Everyone was in awe of how big and beautiful Max was.  Max was more interested in sleeping.  At about midnight, our company left.

May 7, 2010

Our first wee morning hours were constantly interrupted by nurses and doctors to check on my vitals and recovery, as well as Maxon's well-being.  Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep. Maxon, however, slept peacefully swaddled by my side on a pillow.  Our day was filled with many visitors, but Max was not impressed!  He slept through his company and pretty much the entire day.   One of the reasons to why he may have been tired was because he had high levels of bilirubin, which causes jaundice.  With this diagnosis, Maxon was monitored.  Another concern for us was his blood sugar levels.  Because he was such a large baby, his blood sugar had to be be within a certain range.  At his first two tests (soles of his feet pricked and blood drawn), he passed, but on his third test, he scored REALLY low.  The following several tests needed to come back HIGH or else he would have to be placed in the nursery and monitored.  We fed him and fed him and by the end of the day, HE PASSED! 

My recovery was going well.  I was able to get up and shower, removed most tubes from my veins, and I was able to start up on solid foods.  My wound was extremely sensitive and sore, but getting up and moving my legs, felt so much better.  And to our surprise, with my improvements and Maxon's tests coming back accordingly, we were informed that we were to be discharged the next day, which was a day earlier than expected.  To celebrate, Tyson ordered some Pho and Spring Rolls and we had a romantic dinner in our hospital room.  Again, Maxon wasn't impressed and slept the entire time and with the exception of when bustling nurses came in and out of our room, Maxon slept for most of night.

May 8, 2010

We played the waiting game the entire day today because we knew that we were going to be discharged in the later part of the afternoon (which then turned into the early evening).  Maxon barely passed his jaundice tests and we were ordered to come back on Monday to get follow up tests.  Maxon and I also met with a lactation consultant because we were having some problems.  He sucking is incredible so we had to find the correct way to latch on and hold.  It wasn't an easy task, but us Blakes don't give up and will try and try again! 

And then the time arrived!  Tyson loaded the car while I dressed Max in his coming home outfit that was given to us by my mom at the baby shower.  It had been days since I had stepped outside (and Maxon's first time) so we were all eager to step out of the confinements of the hospital.  Tyson drove ever-so-carefully home and we were greeted by our VERY excited Sonny.  For the remaining of the evening Tyson and I showed Maxon his new home, got into our comfy's, ordered take-out, and cuddled on the couch......all three of us.  Maxon's first night home was pretty typical.  Got up every few hours, but Tyson and I are on such a mommy and daddy high, we were okay with it.  We were just happy to finally be home and all together.

May 9, 2010

Happy Mother's Day to me! I could not have asked for a better gift than having my beautiful son with me.  My house is FULL of gorgeous flowers from my hubby and family and my phone has not stopped buzzing with texts from friends who are well wishing my day.  We spent the day with Grandpa Blake, Abuelita and Tia Victoria who flew in from Michigan on Saturday.  Maxon especially loved his Grandpa and spent quite a long time in his cozy arms.  It was such a heartwarming treat to see three generations of Blake men. 

May 10, 2010

Today was our first check back appointment which meant our first day of leaving the house since our homecoming on Saturday.  We were, surprisingly on time!  Maxon's weight was checked (only lost 8 ounces) and other vitals, which were on target.  Our pediatrician said that he was ready for any baby carrier so taking him out and about was suggested.  We were also tested on our breastfeeding skills and got two thumbs up.  She did inform us that one more jaundice test had to be preformed, just to monitor his levels, but she assured us that with his age and health, it was nothing to worry about.  And we weren't.  Results came back good!

For dinner, we had my comeback sushi dinner of sashimi and oysters.  I enjoyed every raw bite.  Tyson made his infamous grilled oysters, as well.  Our bellies were full and our eyelids were heavy so our night ended short.  My day could not have been any better.

Maxon first:  He holds on to his pacifier when we place it in his mouth!

May 11, 2010

Today is Tia Alex's birthday so G'Ma is coming over to cook the mouthwatering tacos!   

Maxon, Grandpa Blake, Abuelita, Tia V, and Daddy took a nice hike in Mission Trails. Maxon's FIRST WALK IN HIS BOB STROLLER!  Weather was beautiful and Maxon slept the entire time.  I cannot wait to go on daily walks with Max!

The Mann family, Great Aunt Rachel and Cousin Morgan stopped by to see our beautiful boy.  He was wide awake and made adorable faces and noises.

Max is smiling more and more.  Mostly in his sleep, but will crack a smile at Tyson and I every once in while.