The Story of Us, Part Four

If you need to catch up, here are parts one, two, and three.

 

This story, our story, has been hard to put into words. This last part is a bit rambling because I just didn't know how to out it any other way.

When I left off, Clay had just made his grand debut into the world.

Those first few months were hard. My mom stayed with us for the first week, then Clay and I were alone. Mike would come over every day after work and spend a few hours with Clay, which I admire him for. I know it wasn't easy to work all day, come spend time with Clay, then have to go home and eat dinner, etc. But guys, for 21ish hours a day, it was me and Clay.

I'm convinced that my brain blocked out moments from this time because I just don't remember much. I was exhausted to say the least. That old saying, "sleep when the baby sleeps?" Yeah, that doesn't apply when you're a single mom. Stuff still had to get done and Clay hardly slept at all anyway. From the minute Mike walked in the door til the moment he left, I didn't stop moving. I had a precious 2-3 hours to get everything done.

Eventually, it got better. I went back to work and got my sanity back. Clay was diagnosed with acid reflux and we knew how to treat it. Mike's mom started watching Clay for a few hours on the weekends to give me a break.

And now? It's not perfect, but what we have just works.

As far as holidays go, we haven't had any issues. Mike and his mom are the only ones in his family who live in a Charlotte so he's fine with us going to Tennessee for Thanksgving. As far as Christmas goes, we just kind of wing it. Clay's first Christmas we left for Tennessee on Christmas Eve. The plan this past Christmas was to leave for Tennessee Christmas Day afternoon but because of Clay's ears I ended up spending the day with Mike's family so Clay got us both on Christmas.

I keep Clay every night through the week and Mike usually keeps him on Friday or Saturday night. Mike comes over after work every day through the week and helps with dinner, bathtime, and bedtime.

Most days, Clay gets to spend time with both of his parents and sees us pleasantly interacting. I know this isn't always the case when parents aren't together and I'm so glad that we can give this to Clay. In general, we both avoid arguing like the plague and the few times we have had a disagreement it has been over text and (obviously) not in front of Clay.

I know that eventually things will change. Mike or I will get married and that will add another element to our life. I can't say that I'm prepared for that change, but I know we will find a way to make it work.

 

And that's the story of us.

Thank you so much for all of your kind comments as I've shared this story!

 

The Story of Us, Part Three (Clay's Birth Story)

If you're stopping over from Kelli's, hi! Thanks so much for visiting and please don't judge me by the fact that I'm throwing a birth story at you on your first visit!

Part One

Part Two

When I left off last time, my due date had just passed. The next day (Monday) I had an appointment with my OB scheduled for mid afternoon. I left work and headed to Liz's apartment to get her before my appointment. She had the day off so she was going to go in case I was admitted or to have one last pre-baby day if I wasn't.

Dr. Paige went through the usual song and dance and decided to do an ultrasound to check on Clay. She saw that my fluid level had dropped so she told me that she was going to send me to the hospital that afternoon but they wanted to run a test to check Clay's movement first.

I started blowing up phones with text messages at this point. Mike (he was going to stay at work because chances were that I wouldn't deliver til late), Amy (my labor partner- she was stuck at work, yikes!), and my mom (who had her bags packed two weeks before my due date and practically jumped in the car while reading my message).

After seeing the results of the test, Dr. Paige decided to wait to send me until the next morning then they would start the induction process since my fluid was low.

Time to text everybody back... Mike and Amy just decided to take the next day off completely. I got ahold of my mom and told her she could wait til the next morning...she was already on her way. Haha.

Liz and I spent the day hanging out, touring the new unopened Whole Foods, and then she treated me to a last meal before baby at Firebirds, one of my favorite restaurants and where Amy works. It was the perfect, relaxing day... until Mike called me freaking out on my way home that night.

He told me he had freaked out when he saw I was using his last name for Clay a few days before, he wasn't ready to be a dad, etc, etc.

I. Went. Off.

I can't recall exactly what I said but it was something along the lines of, "I'm the one pushing a baby out of me tomorrow so you don't get to freak out. If anybody is going to freak out, it's me. Do you understand? You aren't allowed to freak out! So, you'll be there in the morning, right?"

"Yes, I'll be there."

End of story.

My mom and I spent the rest of the night packing the last few things and sterilizing pump parts and bottles. Because my crazy pregnant self decided they had to be done. Right then.

Earlier when we were eating I had noticed faint pains coming and going in my lower back. When I finally went to bed, I was still having them but not close enough or hard enough to go on to the hospital.

***

On Tuesday, August 28th, I got up, took a shower, dried my hair, and put on a little makeup (for my eyes, I look dead otherwise). Now before you think I went all primpy girl, I didn't. Who wants to be stuck in a hospital bed with people in and out and having pictures taken looking like poo?

My mom and I drove to the hospital and Amy met us there. I went up to the desk to check in...and they had lost my preregistration paperwork. Are.you.kidding.me? At this point I was having more regular contractions and was already asking for my epidural. I was no where near getting it :(

We settled in and I remember briefly working on a blanket I was making and Amy taking over at some point. They finally gave me pain medicine since I wasn't ready for the epidural and that made me pretty funny according to everyone who saw me. Mike came, Liz came (with all three Bourne movies!). We talked. We laughed. We watched that hottie Matt Damon do his thing.

My mom and Amy decided to go grab lunch and sure enough while they were gone it was decided that I could have my epidural! WOOOOOHOOOOO! But yikes! Mike would have to be in there with me for it and he has the weakest stomach ever.

Luckily Amy got back just in time to take Mike's place! During the procedure I remember my blood pressure plummeting and Amy asking the doctor when he was going to fix it (he was texting). But finally, sweet medicine. Sweet, sweet medicine.

More time was spent talking, laughing, watching.

Finally it was time! At 7pm (nurse shift change) everyone had been kicked out except for Amy and Mike and it was go time!

The nurse lessened my epidural so I could feel to push (what is up with that???) and Amy took her place next to me and Mike took his place by the window in the corner (he seriously was so afraid he would throw up that he stared out the window the whole time). Then Amy decided to lock her knees and had to sit down. Then the doctor and nurses start rushing around. A crash cart was brought in, extra nurses came in. And nobody would tell me what the heck was going on! The doctor finally had one of the nurses put an oxygen mask on me. I'm pretty sure it was to just shut me up. Later I found out Clay had spiked a high fever and his heart rate was really high.

At this point I would just like to mention that no one turned off the Bourne movie we were on while I was pushing. So yeah, I stared at Matt Damon while I was pushing Clay out.

The doctor used the suction on Clay's head so many times I lost count and was convinced he was going to have a cone head forever. Then, a whole fifteen minutes after I started pushing, Clay Lucas was born at 7:15 pm with the most perfectly round head.

The first words my son heard me speak were, "does he have red hair?" and "does he have my big butt?" Guys, I'm weird. But he had neither!

Later I found out Mike cried when Clay was born. He really is the best dada.

Mike got to hold Clay first (after the doctor had to cover up the mess from me delivering the placenta so he could get across the room), then I got to hold my sweet, sweet baby. Guys, he was wide awake. Things haven't changed much 16 months later.

The tears are flowing over here so I'll leave you there for now. I still have a couple more parts to share with you in the upcoming weeks!

 

Clay takes a spin at guest posting

Inspired by Toast posting over on Princess Burlap's blog, Clay decided he wanted to try his hand at guest posting and since I'm currently busy wallowing in my sorrows over the freezing temps, I thought it was the perfect idea.

Before I turn you over to Clay, I wanted to let you know that part 3 of the Story of Us will be up tomorrow. If you need to catch up, here are parts one and two.

Heyyyy, ladies. How you doin'?

I'm Clay Lucas. Or that's what they tell strangers anyway. At home I usually get called monkey boy or pumpkin butt (really, mom, pumpkin butt?).

I was going to tell you all some stories of the wild parties that happen in my crib at night with my friends Patrick, Larry, Elmo, John Ralphio, and Prince George; but mom made me wear a coat today (gasp) and a hat (the horror), and I'm just not happy about it. So instead of wild stories, I'm here to spill all of mom's secrets.

Are you ready?

• Mom says, "don't tell dada" a lot. Usually when she puts chocolate chips in my pancakes on Sundays or when we eat in front of the tv when we watch football.
• I don't understand why mom tells dad that I don't need a bottle at night because sometimes I see her and dad drinking out of these brown bottles. What's that all about? Talk about a double standard.
• Once mom got me out of my crib just to snuggle with me and rock. She thinks I slept through it, but I was just faking. Mom's snuggles are the best.
• When I wake up super early and mom wants to sleep longer, she lets me play with her phone in her bed. I've started setting my internal alarm because a guy has to have time to call the ladies, right?
• Mom likes to sing and dance in the car. All.the.time. Please don't ever sign up for carpool, mom. Please.

Oh, I hear mom calling for me. I'll try to convince mom that I need to guest post again soon!

 

16 Months!

What?? I remembered to do two monthly updates in a row? Pat on the back to me.

First off, stop growing up so fast, Clay Lucas.

Now, a few notes:

*We've gotten so many comments this month on how happy and mellow and funny Clay is. They told us in the operating room that they waited a few minutes to put him under because he wouldn't stop giggling and they loved it. High five, Mike. We made an awesome kid. ***Have I told you all about my fear during pregnancy that my kid wouldn't be funny? True story.***

*At Clay's 15 month well check he was able to do everything on the developmental questionnaire. Also, he has a big head which the doctor says = big brains. This kid is going to be smarter than me by three. That scares me. Haha.

*This past month was filled with lots of sickness for my pumpkin butt. Fevers, his seventh (!) ear infection, and most recently, bronchitis. After the ear infection we finally got the long awaited referral to the ENT and Clay had tubes put in less than two weeks later. He has even gotten to test out the new tubes with this latest illness- all clear!

Currently...

Clay's favorite toys are... Anything with wheels, all of his stuffed animals, his new kitchen.

Clay's favorite foods are chocolate. Haha, well, he eats everything (for real), but he loves chocolate. On the weekends I make pumpkin pancakes with dark chocolate chips and the boy can't get enough of them! I also give him 1 or 2 chips as "dessert" occasionally.

Clay's clothing size is... Anywhere from 12 months to 2T.

Clay's newest "tricks" are taking his plate to the sink (and once he stood in front of the dishwasher with his plate, pointed at it til I opened it, then put his plate in- future husband of the year to some lucky gal!), opening doors (yikes), loving on his "friends" (stuffed animals) and every body else.

Clay weight and height are: 24 and 31ish? Does that sound right? Haha. We go for a checkup next month.

Clay's vocabulary consists of: so.many.words. His most recent exciting additions are "grandma" and "oh baby" (said to pictures of himself).

Clay loves eating, being at grandma's and dada's, pulling mama's hair, music and dancing, talking on the phone, facetiming, watching football, reading, giving hugs and kisses, being in public, smiling, and getting into mischief.

Linking up with Time for Mom and Baby Talk.

 

Hallelujah!

It's time for life to return to normal. The kids I nanny go back to school and Clay starts his new schedule (daycare in the morning, grandma in the afternoon). As much as I love the holidays, everything just gets so out of wack.

I assumed this weekend would be a nice relaxing, get organized weekend. Clay had other plans.

After battling a cough for a couple of days, Clay was up and down all night Friday so he spent the night in my bed. Around 7:30 I woke up sweating. Maybe because the sweet baby laying on me was running a fever of 104.2. I thought the infections were supposed to end with the ear tubes? Off we went to the pediatrician's office (which luckily has weekend hours). We came home with a diagnosis of bronchitis and an antibiotic to ward off the impending ear infection (you know, even though he has tubes now).

Sigh. Anyway, Saturday was spent watching Cars for the first time, napping, and spending time with Dada and Aunt Mindy. Oh, and Aunt Mindy brought Clay chicken noodle soup and me my favorite coffee beans from Trader Joe's :) So it wasn't a completely horrible day!

On Sunday Mike took Clay for a few hours so I got to spend time doing every mom's favorites: napping, going to Target, watching Scandal, and fixing four (!) healthy meals to freeze. As I bonus, it took me less than an hour to assemble said meals. Sigh. So wonderful.

All in all, it wasn't the expected plan for the weekend, but it turned out just okay :) Clay is doing much better, all the laundry is done, and I can go three weeks without cooking if I want to!

How was your weekend? Thumbs up or thumbs down?