Zeke - first 12 weeks recap

I cannot believe that our little man has already passed the 12 week mark! Too crazy! So before I forget everything from these *almost* 3 months in the haze of little sleep, lots of nursing and a toddler running around all.day.long. I want to write some thoughts from these early weeks. I want to remember what was going on with Zeke so that when the next baby comes I have a reference point. I wish I would have done that with Malachi in the early weeks. So lets recap the last few months shall we?!

Weeks 1-4

Birth stats - 7 pounds 8 ounces, 19.5 inches long
Hospital discharge - 7 pounds 4 ounces
1 week visit - still 7.4
3 week visit - 8 pounds 15 ounces, 22.5 inches long

The first few weeks are already a bit of a blur so this is why I need to do better about writing things down! Agh! We came home after 2 days in the hospital and Malachi did great with his new baby brother. We didn't have any issues of jealousy or anger toward Zeke. He pretty much ignored him but when he would hear him crying or something he would just look at him like "what are you and what are you doing here." Hehe :)
My mom came into town after we had been home a few days and that was such a huge blessing. She was pretty much on Malachi duty and they both loved that!
Jeff's mom came into town to help at the end of January, when Zeke was about 3.5 weeks old and was here for a few days. That was also such a blessing!
Zeke was a chill baby from the start and would sleep a lot. He was pretty much eating every 3 hours from the start. I would make sure to wake him every three hours during the day to help with the day/night confusion and he was waking every three hours during the night. After about 2 weeks I started letting him sleep at night until he woke on his own but he would never go more than about 4 hours.
I let him sleep on his belly pretty early on. He never liked sleeping on his back, even in the hospital he needed to be on his side otherwise he would scream. So when I felt like his neck was strong enough to turn from side to side I let him and he slept well from then on. I also noticed pretty early on that he slept better at night with a noise machine. I don't remember why I tried it but it seemed to help, so we used that from pretty little.
He has been much chunkier than Malachi and growing a lot faster. I think we were already pulling out the 3month clothes at around a month old!

Weeks 5-8

2 month visit - 12 pounds 12 ounces, 24 inches long

Right around a month old my sister came to visit for a week. It was so nice :)
Zeke also started sleeping a bit longer at night only waking once in the middle of the night, around 3-4am and then would sleep until I woke him up to start our day about 7:30/8am. He would go down after his last feed about 10pm and would sleep till he woke up which was usually 3 or 4am.
At almost 8 weeks old he slept from 10pm-6am for the first time. It didn't happen every night after that, he not back and forth a bit but he did start sleeping through the night sometimes for me and I was so excited! :)
Around 6 weeks or so I started noticing that he would have a really hard time going down after his bedtime feed around 7:30 or 8pm. He would cry and cry and not seem to be able to get settled. He wasn't having this problem at any other time of the day. At every other nap time he would petty much lay down and go to sleep without much fussing. I finally figured out through some research on one of my favorite baby sleep blogs that he was probably having what people call "witching hour" - which is basically a few hours usually in the evenings that the baby is just unhappy and not easily soothed. At first I thought it might have been gas related because it would usually start up while I was feeding him but then I realized that he was not acting like he was in pain. Although we did utilize gas drops quite a bit during this period because I think there was some gas being made worse by all the crying. Anyway, once I figured out the witching hour thing it made it so much less stressful because I wasn't constantly trying to figure out what was wrong. Nothing was wrong, he just needed to cry for a little. So we would rock him till he calmed down or jut held him. It usually wouldn't last for a long time but we just figured out that we couldn't just lay him down at that nap of the day.
He also gave us some of his first smiles at about 6 weeks - so fun!
At his two month visit I had to ask our pediatrician about his pooping habits that had decreased to maybe once a day, sometimes every other day. But she assured me that at his age there was such a wide range of "normal" that it wasn't concerning. As long as he was eating good and giving regular wet diapers everything was fine.

Weeks 9-12

Around 9 weeks I gave up trying to take his thumb away. He is a thumb sucker and he has been since the beginning. I remember in the hospital he was trying to get his hands and thumbs in his mouth. I kept trying to break it and give him pacifiers instead but it finally got to the point that if I didn't get the paci in fast enough the thumb would go right in. So I just decided it wasn't a fight I was willing to have right now. It's kinda cute and definitely not the worst thing!
He started sleeping through from 10-7ish more consistently. Almost to the point that he hardly wakes up anymore. It's a surprise if he wakes up in the night or early morning. And honestly when he does wake up its usually like 6am, so not really ever in the middle of the night anymore. Thank The Lord! I am so excited!
Around 10 weeks I started to notice that he was batting at toys hanging over him and can hold on to the toys that hang off of his swing. He seems to have pretty good hand coordination at this age, maybe it's the thumb sucking. That is supposed to encourage hand control from a very young age.
I just pulled out 3-6month and some 6month clothes this past week! Hard to believe. The 3 month clothes have been packed away. And he is now in between a size 2-3 in disposable diapers! He's a hefty little guy.
At 12 weeks this is our rough schedule of the day-
7/7:30am- wake, nurse, change diaper, get dressed, hang out while mommy and chi eat breakfast
About an hour after waking- nap, this is his longest and most consistent nap of the day usually
10:30/11- nurse, change diaper, play and then hang out while mommy and chi get lunch
About an hour later- nap
2ish- nurse, diaper, playtime with mommy while chi naps
3/3:30pm- nap
5pm- nurse, diaper, playtime with daddy
He usually take a cat nap in here somewhere but usually no longer than an hour
7:30/8pm- nurse, diaper, pajamas, bedtime
10/10:30- dreamfeed and then right back to bed

This is all I can really think of right now but I am so thankful that I can write things down to hopefully remember better. We love Zeke so much and are so thankful for him! :)

Ezekiel's Birth Story

Ezekiel Jeffrey Mixon

January 7, 2013

7:53pm

7 pounds, 8 ounces

19.5 inches long

 

I just sat down to type out Ezekiel's ("Zeke") birth story and i read over my last post. I can't believe that less than 6 weeks ago we didn't even know if the baby I was growing was a girl or a boy.  It makes me smile to read my writing about "the baby" and remember the mystery that was there even at the very end.  It is still SO fun not knowing and Jeff and I are so happy that we waited again to know the gender!

Wow - I can't believe it's already been almost 6 weeks since Zeke was born! So much has changed and there has been so much transition, but in a glorious and beautiful way! We would not have it any other way! And since I am so prone to forgetfulness and I want to do my best to preserve the details of each of my childrens births, I have to write it down.  So this is really more for my benefit but you also can read about how the events of that day went and know some of my thoughts along the way :) I would love to hear your thoughts in response too!

Monday, January 7th, 2013 was my regular weekly doctors appointment with my doctor, it was the day before my due date and so was my 40 week appointment.  I was ready to have this baby!! ;) I never got past 39 weeks when I was pregnant with Malachi and boy was I feeling that at the end this time!

The previous week at my 39 week appointment I was already 3 cm dilated and things were looking very favorable for the drug-free, natural delivery that I wanted.  At my 39 week appointment I was already very uncomfortable but the midwife assured me that things looked good and my body was showing signs that it would be able to go into labor on its own this time around (which it did not with Malachi).  I wasn't having regular or painful contractions yet and nothing was happening to make her feel like I was in early labor. So we went home after that appointment and waited.  The discomfort eased up as the week went on but other "signs" of labor started to show up.  I won't go into the details but I was sure that things were progressing and my body was getting ready to have a baby! It was exciting and yet scary at the same time because we had been having a good bit of snow and I was starting to get nervous with the hour drive to the birthing center.  But I prayed a lot and continued to remind myself that God already knew the outcome and whatever happened He would take care of me and the baby. So all week I continued with normal life, cleaning, keeping up with Malachi, etc. and would watch the contractions I was having.  Nothing was regular or overly painful during the week, I would have periods of time where I would notice the contractions and would notice that they were regular but not for very long - still nothing that I was ready to say "let's go!" to.

So Monday came and I knew I had my appointment that afternoon at my doctor around 3:30pm.  Jeff and I had already discussed the possibility that the doctor might tell us to go onto the birthing center, depending on how much progress there had been from the previous week, because we would only be 10 mins from the birthing center instead of the hours drive it would be from home. I just had this "feeling" that things had progressed from the previous week and that if they broke my water I would have the baby. And I was ready! If the doctor gave the go-ahead, we agreed that we were ready to have the baby and we would allow them to "help us along" a little bit. I wasn't going to let them hook me up to any medications to induce labor but I was willing to have them break my water and see if that would send me into active labor.  That is what happened with Malachi and so I was fairly confident that it would work this time as well.  So we made preparations just in case, we found someone to watch Chi and told them of the possibility of staying down there, we packed our bags, etc.

We went down to the appointment in Dayton and the whole morning I had been having contractions- more regular than the previous days but still not super painful or coming super consistently so I just kind of ignored them. The doctor came in and asked me how things were going, if I was having contractions, etc.  I told him I had been but not regularly but that I had been having other signs all week and I was pretty sure I was more dilated than the week before.  So he said he would check me and we would talk about options after he knew where I was at.  He checked me and said I was at 5-6cm dilated! I was ecstatic! I knew I had progressed and since I was so dilated I thought he might be more willing to just go ahead and send me to the birthing center. He said that based on how dilated I was, and that he could have probably even stretched me further and the contractions I was having, he thought I was in early labor and that if they went ahead and broke my water that would kick my labor into gear.  I agreed! He felt like I would be at the birthing center either that night or the next day anyway. And once we started talking about how far away we lived he agreed even stronger that we should just go ahead there from the doctors office.  He said he would call ahead of us and tell them I was coming and was in labor so we could bypass being assessed in triage.  So we left and headed to the birthing center - calling all of our family on the way!

Once we got to the hospital (the birthing center is a part of a larger hospital but is a separate wing) we got checked in and they took us up to labor and delivery triage to wait for our room to be ready - it was about 4/4:30ish at this point.  They had just had a woman discharged and were cleaning and flipping the room.  While we waited in triage they hooked me up to a monitor and by this point I was having regular contractions that were starting to get kind of painful, still not bad but enough for me to notice.  I said to Jeff at this point that if we would have gone home to wait it out I didn't even think we would have made it home before I told him to turn around and go to the hospital.  It had been less than an hour from the time the doctor checked me at the office and I think him checking me really aggravated things and my body started to respond with labor! The nurse in triage said everything looked great, the baby's heartbeat was great and the contractions were regular now.

Within an hour they took me back to my room and we waited there for the midwife on duty to come in and break my water. I changed into the clothes I had packed for labor and we settled our stuff in.  She finally came within 30 mins and we talked about why I was there, the risks of breaking the water, etc. etc. She told me that it could still be a while after she broke my water for my labor to really kick in and that since my contractions still weren't really hurting yet that it may still be early.  But I told her how things went with my labor with Malachi and I just felt like things would go similarly.  I was ok if it took a while but I was just excited to be in labor at this point! So she broke my water around 6pm and we just waited.  And within about 20 mins I could feel a definite change in my contractions, they were stronger and were starting to hurt.  Jeff and I were watching Seinfeld on the tv in our room and after a few minutes of painful contractions I moved off the bed I was sitting on to the birthing ball and just started rocking on that.  I stayed there for a few minutes and noticed I was really starting to have to breath through the contractions.  I really don't even know how much time went by but once Jeff noticed how much pain I was in he came over and started to time the contractions.  They were only about 2 minutes apart! This was not long after the midwife broke my water! So basically as soon as the contractions started they were already 2 mins apart.  This went on for a little while longer where Jeff was timing the contractions and I was rocking on the birthing ball really breathing and moaning through the contractions at this point.  Then all of a sudden I felt really nauseous and I thought I was going to throw up.  So I rolled off of the ball to the floor and knelt, leaning on the side of the bed.  I asked Jeff to go get a nurse because I felt like I was going to be sick.  So he did and she came in and helped me breath so that the nausea went away.  Then as soon as the nausea went away I felt like I had to push.  I told the nurse and she was super encouraging and started the water in the birthing tub.  She then yelled to the other nurses that she needed help, we were ready to push! In my head I was freaking out - I did not think it would go that fast, I hadn't been checked since arriving, it hadn't been that long, etc etc.  My mind was racing but I was in so much pain I didn't care. 

They got the midwife back and I was still next to the bed and they were still filling the tub.  She asked if she could check me but my contractions were pretty much one on top of the other at this point and I told her I couldn't be checked till the contractions stopped.  So she said they would get me in the tub and she would check me there.  So they moved me to the tub at this point and they asked Jeff to get in with me, so he changed clothes really quickly.  The midwife checked me once I got into the tub and she said I was ready to push.  WHAT?!?! Are you kidding me?!?! It's not been long enough!!! But it had been and it was time, I knew it too. Jeff slid in behind me in the tub to give me support and held onto my hands so I had something to use to push against.  At this point there were 4 nurses in my bathroom bustling around and doing whatever they were doing to prepare for the baby to be born, it was shift change time - that's why there were 4 nurses.  So I pushed a few times, maybe ten - I honestly don't know, and the baby was out! The midwife asked Jeff to announce the gender but he said he couldn't see past my head and she said "it's a boy!"  She put him right up on my chest and they started rubbing him down and sucking and all that they do with a brand new baby.  I heard Jeff behind me say "Hi Ezekiel!" And the nurses made comments on his name and how neat it was.  I was just sitting there relieved that that point it was all over!

We sat there for a few minutes in the water, they let Jeff cut the cord, and then they took Zeke out so that I could get out.  They found a true knot in his cord and I asked her what that meant.  She said it meant that this little man was lucky that the knot wasn't tighter! I praised God right that second (as much as I could form a coherent thought) that He spared Zeke's life and that he was healthy and alive! The midwife also made the comment that his cord was really really long.  I didn't know such a thing was possible to have a longer cord than normal but I thought it was interesting. She said that was probably why he had a knot because there was so much cord in there to get wrapped in. 

They moved me to the bed at that point to get cleaned up and to pass the afterbirth. Jeff got to snuggle Zeke while they dealt with me.  We kept asking what time he was born because we both knew it went extremely fast - 7:53pm!!! Less than 2 hours from the time they broke my water and my labor really kicked in.  I couldn't believe it! God was so good to sustain me and give me the grace to get through it.  It was crazy and a little scary at the time but looking back it's kinda nice to have it all over so quickly! ha! :)

We named him Ezekiel Jeffrey - Ezekiel means "God strengthens" and Jeffrey is after his Papa and a good friend of ours that passed away about a month before he was born. We pray that he will be strong and courageous in the Lord for all of the days of his life and that he will follow in the footsteps of his earthly Father who loves the Lord more than anything else.

And as is our tradition to choose a passage of scripture that reflects our prayer for our new child, we chose Ezekiel 36:26-28 -
²⁶ And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. ²⁸ You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God.
Our prayer is that Zeke would be given a new heart and a new spirit and that he would dwell with the Lord all the days of his life. 

And what birth story would be complete without a few pictures?

last picture inside! waiting in the triage area - 39 weeks, 6 days

moments after birth

Malachi meeting his new brother for the first time!

 

 

proud Papa :)

 

 

Until next time,

Love from the Mixon House!

End of Year 2012 Recap

So I realize I have really let this blog thing slip during the last several months.  As Malachi got more and more mobile, I got less and less "free time." So unfortunately this blog suffered greatly... I have hopes to post more regularly in this new year but I make no promises for the first several weeks after the baby is born! ;)
There is no way I can completely "catch up" but I would love to share some of our highlights from September through the end of the year.

September

Labor Day Weekend is a big one in West Liberty! And for the second year in a row, we opened up our front yard for fun and prime seats for the Tractor Parade! :)

Then we had visitors come for the rest of the weekend - Uncle Tommy, Aunt Kelly, Caleb, Nate and Levi. We always love our time with them and Chi certainly enjoyed having a house full of playmates!

Malachi got his first pairs of "big boy" shoes.

I was able to get away toward the end of September for three days to attend a womens conference with other ladies from our church. It was such a sweet time of encouragement, rest and fun for me to be away by myself.  And Malachi and Jeff enjoyed their "guy time," as this was my first time away from Malachi for more than a few hours! They did great though!

At the end of September, Malachi and I flew to North Carolina to meet our new nephew/cousin Samuel - born to my brother and sister in law.  It was a sweet time of being able to help Katie adjust to life as a new mom and since my sister was able to meet us there it was a great time for Chi to spend with Auntie Sissy :)

Samuel Ethan Belden



 

October

 

Malachi and Daddy are so much alike!

We got our first snow of the season on Oct. 31st this year! crazy!

Cutest Puppy ever for Halloween this year!

 

November

 

Daddy and Chi on one of Daddy's days off making a fort!

30 weeks and growing strong!

Malachi's newest "game" he loves to play with Daddy.

Freedom for Malachi brings destruction for Mommy :-/

Thanksgiving Day with dear friends!

This day is now a bittersweet one for Jeff and I, as this was the last time we saw a dear friend who was at this dinner and was then killed in a car accident the following Monday. It has been a hard month for many in our life.

Our christmas tradition of picking out our tree at the lot - so fun!

 

December

December 7, 2012 - Jeff's long-awaited graduation from Southern Seminary! Praise the Lord!

Jeff's mom, grandma and nephew, along with my dad, were able to make it out for the celebration - we are all SO proud of him for this great accomplishment! 

We greatly enjoyed the time with family, as well!

The week after graduation Jeff took me away for almost three days on what we call our "babymoon." It was absolutely fabulous! We ate amazing food, enjoyed each other, explored new areas and relished in the Malachi-free time. It was probably my favorite thing this year! :)

 

36 weeks!

Since we couldn't travel for Christmas this year, Josh and Katie and Samuel came to us! We had such a nice, relaxing visit!

 

Malachi very much enjoyed his cousin :)

The books were the biggest hit with Malachi this Christmas - no surprise considering who his Daddy is! The books were the biggest hit with Jeff too!

 

2012 has brought some big changes - no more school, a new child, and a much more active little man! But in the end, we close 2012 the same way we started it - enjoying our son, loving each other, seeking to live more Christ-like everyday, ministering to our church family and planting ourselves in this community that the Lord has placed us in. We pray the same for 2013!

 

Until next time,

love from the Mixon House (and kisses from Chi Chi!)

 

 

Thoughts at the end of a pregnancy...

These last few months have been quite the whirlwind and I can hardly believe 2013 is upon us already! I have said for months that Baby Mix #2 is due "after Christmas" and here it is post-Christmas and we just wait...
Waiting puts me in quite the reflective mood.  For many months I have had lots to distract me and fill my thoughts - Jeff's last semester of seminary, graduation, family visiting, a "Babymoon," Christmas, more family visiting, etc. etc. But now all of that has passed and I just wait.  I wait for this baby to make it's way into the world.  I can finally think about labor and delivery and life with a newborn - things that I am not all that far removed from but still seem so long ago in so many ways.
I can't help but remember how NOT ready I felt when I was nearing the end of my pregnancy with Malachi.  Maybe it's the way many people feel with their first - where fear and anxiety and uncertainty outweigh (or feel like they outweigh) the excitement.  Maybe I'm alone in these feelings, I don't know.  Don't get me wrong, I was excited but I was also very scared! I had NO idea what to expect and so when it finally came time to deliver I was terrified.  So much so that Jeff had to look me square in the face on the afternoon we went to the hospital to induce and say "Courtney, we are not coming home without a baby." Wow - talk about denial! ha!
But this time around it's different.  Maybe because I feel like I know what to expect, maybe because I am uncomfortable, maybe because I am now further in my pregnancy than I ever got with Malachi.  I don't know what the specific reasons are but I feel ready to have this baby.  And in a lot of ways I am so thankful that I feel so ready.
There is still a lot of uncertainty this time around too. Like what will the buildup of labor feel like this time when I don't have to be induced? What will it be like to have TWO kids? How will we manage with a newborn and a non-stop 19 month old? Will Malachi be sweet and gentle to his little brother or sister? All things I think about and all real concerns.  But overall I feel excitement and joy to be blessed with another child - now I'm just ready to meet him or her!

38 weeks, 6 days

This is the day in my pregnancy with Malachi that he was born - feels weird to be past that now!

Sourdough crackers

I will just give this warning- if you like crackers you will be addicted to these crackers after trying them. They are so so so good!
And I am a cracker lover, so this recipe is dangerous for me. :) but I do love them, so I keep making them. Jeff and Malachi also love them!

I dare you - try them! You'll be hooked!

http://www.kitchenstewardship.com/2010/03/08/sourdough-recipes-galore-whole-wheat-crackers/