The Past Two Weeks

These past two weeks have sure been interesting! What an emotional experience it is to be a mommy! I have certainly learned a lot and definitely have a lot more to learn. It's amazing to see growth and changes in Trafton even in two short weeks :) He has gained back his birthweight plus some, is enjoying being on his tummy more, has a bunch more head/neck control, and . . . has learned how to exercise his lungs more . . . However, he is a great nighttime sleeper - we are definitely hoping that doesn't change - ever! Trafton sleeps from 8 pm to 8 am waking every 3 - 4 hours to eat. He hasn't really had a fussy night yet, although his fussy times in the day are ever-increasing! We love to hang out on the back patio with him in the evening time. Here are some pictures of Trafton over the last two weeks.

Sleeping in the Pack-N-Play

All snuggly

Not quite ready for a nap . . .

Grandma O'Hare with her 'little cutie"

Grandpa O'Hare celebrating Father's Day

When we came home from the hospital, my mom and Jason had made a WELCOME sign and put balloons up!

Relaxing on our back patio

Daniel and Trafton in front of our pond garden I cultivated last spring

Our little nature lover :)

Happy to be outside

The sign that was made for our window

Trafton's first bath!

All cozy in his bathrobe and slippers - he loved getting a bath so much!

Trafton was so relaxed after his bath that he slept for the next 4 hours (he hasn't done that since!)

Still chillin' in his bathrobe

Rich and Fawn

Karen and Holly

Jessica and Joe

Trafton Elliott Beyer

June 11th 2010! Trafton is born!

On Wednesday, we were given instructions to call Geisinger at 5:30 a.m. to receive an arrival time. We were told to arrive at 8:30 that morning. I was able to go back to sleep for an hour or so after I called before I got myself up and ready, despite being so excited!

We arrived and I was feeling so so so nervous and excited!!! A midwife began the induction of labor around noon and progress was fairly slow from there. By 9:00 that evening I was only dilated one centimeter. Another doctor came on for the night shift and he told me that his job was to make sure I had a baby on his shift (which ended at 7:00 the next morning!). He was such a nice doctor and the doctor that ultimately did deliver Trafton. He tried several different things to get me going and things got moving very rapidly around 1:30 Friday morning. I spent about an hour and 45 minutes pushing and at 4:42 delivered this amazing little boy! We had the most incredible nurses during our stay there - everyone was really wonderful.

Everything went unbelievably well, I had an uncomplicated process and all is well with Trafton. He was 8 pounds, 11 ounces, and 21.5 inches long. When we were discharged on Sunday afternoon, he had lost 9.5 ounces of his birth weight, but at his first doctor's appointment today, he had regained 5 of those ounces. We are settling in to life as a family of three, with a bunch of help from Grandma O'Hare who is graciously staying with us for this week!

Visitors are welcome anytime, feel free to stop by and meet Trafton! He has been so delightful as we try and figure out the whole parenting thing. It is just more wonderful than I could ever have imagined!!! Here are some pictures of our weekend adventure.

Thursday morning - about to head to the hospital

Let the induction begin!

Settling in for quite a stay - the room was SO comfortable!

the minutes immediately following birth . . . amazing

Daniel made me a 'birth playlist' that we listened to throughout the delivery, Trafton was born to Vampire Weekend's "Run"

just in awe of him

time to get checked out by the nurses and doctors

Trafton cried an awful lot just after he was born, but here is a great shot of him being peaceful.

Grandma O'Hare

Grandpa O'Hare

Pappy Beyer

Uncle Jason

(Jason flew in from San Diego home to Baltimore on Friday night, then drove up to Danville on Saturday to meet his nephew)

Trafton with the O'Hares

love the tongue!

Daniel getting the hang of the swaddle.

Time for me to get to know this new little ray of sunshine :)

really happy parents :)

Just chillin'

Loving Daddy

Friends Brad and Lori came by our room

Aunt Melissa and Uncle Jonathan back at our house

Aunt Courtney and Uncle Michael back at our house

Sunday afternoon - time to go home

The nurse checked out our carseat and sent us on our way.

All geared up and ready to see his new home

Charley Hogan is wondering who this strange little intruder is . . . and why he makes all that noise?

Day 8 Overdue - Induction Time!!

Today I will be induced at 8:30 a.m. I am nervous and excited and, at the moment, very hungry! I eat a lot, but the directions were not to eat after midnight last night. We are packed and ready to go . . . so exciting!!!

Day 7 Overdue

Today's appointment was simple and uneventful. We are set up to head to the hospital for an induction tomorrow :) I had another non stress test today and that went well. Tomorrow's instructions are to call the labor and delivery area at 5:30 a.m. and they will give us a time to come in based on room availability. It won't be long now . . .

Day 6 Overdue

Another good day! I am feeling determined to get Baby Bear out before I am induced. I mean I am okay with being induced on Thursday, but it would be great if he decided to come on his own . . . so I took three long walks today and did an hour of prenatal yoga. I plan to do the same tomorrow after my appointment for another non stress test. When I walk I feel the most pressure and contractions - so that's gotta be helping! I rested and cleaned a bit today, too. By rested I mean I watched my new favorite TV channels, HGTV and TLC - really, I love like everything that comes on those channels :) Also on tap - spicy chicken for dinner tonight and out to Playa Cancun for lunch tomorrow (delicious Mexican - they have the most amazing extra spicy salsa, available upon request only!) Today was Daniel's last day of school - it's actually Friday, but he took the rest of the week off since the baby is coming!!!

Day 5 Overdue

Wow! What a break in the weather today! Clear blue skies, low humidity, and 70 something degrees - so refreshing after the last several days of hot humidity! Today's appointment went well. Daniel took the day off from school to take me to Berwick, so it was again nice to have him around during the day. First I had a non stress test - they hooked me up to a heartbeat monitor and a contraction monitor and gave me a hand-held device that I had to click everytime I felt baby movement. I did this for about 20-30 minutes while reclining in a very comfortable oversized armchair. It was interesting because every time Baby Bear moved, his heart rate (we could hear it) would skyrocket! It would get real loud and fast and then calm down again. The nurse commented that this is what they wanted to see, so that's good. I also had one contraction, which was news to me - I never even felt it. Then, the doctor did an ultrasound and everything looked good! I have to have another non stress test on Wednesday morning, so it's back to Berwick for that - then off to Geisinger for induction on Thursday! I've been keeping busy . . . all the flowers are now planted: hanging baskets, window boxes, porch pots, etc. That was fun! Also napping. And friends have been dropping by with TV series on DVD to give me something to watch - I've been told TV shows are helpful during all that breastfeeding time.

Day 4 Overdue

Yesterday was a very nice and relaxing Saturday. We went to one of our favorite places, Mulberry's in Danville, hoping to get some very spicy hot wings and shake things up a little. However, when we got there, the place was locked and there was no sign of life - I guess this means they have gone out of business :( which is very sad - they have such delicious wings!!! So, we drove back to Bloomsburg and decided to try Harry's for wings. They weren't bad, but they weren't great either. Regardless, they were spicy and that's what I was going for! After we got home, we went for a long walk (well, long for me these days) and near the end I felt a contraction. I was hopeful!! We got home and put a movie on and an hour and a half later I felt another one! Now I was really hopeful! But, nothing more to come - just practice ones, I guess. Looking forward to another relaxing day today, so far another long walk, a long session of yoga, and some caffeinated coffee (I have given in to drinking the caffeine on weekends only). Tomorrow's appointments are in Berwick at 11:15, 11:45, and 12:00. Hoping I have progressed some!

Day 3 Overdue

Yesterday's appointment went well. The baby has dropped although I have not dilated at all. The doctor did an ultrasound to check the amniotic fluid level, which was fine. I have another appointment on Monday for a non-stress test and another ultrasound. Then, if I have not gone into labor by Thursday, I am set up to be induced. So, one way or another, there will be a little baby Beyer here by the end of next week! I had an awesome night's sleep last night, and feel really great today!! I am thinking about planting some flowers now that the veggies are all in . . . after four days of being home alone, it'll be nice to have Daniel around for the weekend days :)

Day 2 Overdue

Last night was a particularly rough one . . . I awoke around 3:00 to the most excruciating back pain ever, which eventually worked it's way to my stomach. I thought for sure this was it! I got up, walked around a bit, ate a ton of strawberries - I was starving!, and laid on the couch for a while. Several hours later, I woke up, and now I feel pretty good - just a little sleepy still. I have an appointment at 2:00 at Geisinger (hospital where I will be delivering), so I am excited to see what the doctor has to say. At my last appointment last week, the doctor told me that nothing was happening. The uncomfortable bulge that I have felt for the last month under my right ribcage that the last ultrasound technician told me was Baby Bear's butt has now moved into the middle of my stomach - does that mean I have dropped?! I hope so . . . I am so excited, I just can't wait!!!

Day 1 Overdue

Waiting . . .

Courtesy of Brett Simpson Photography

Maternity Leave

June 1st - my first day of maternity leave: wake up, watch Good Morning America, watch Regis and Kelly, watch Ellen, fall asleep on the couch, wake up, eat lunch and begin to feel very restless . . . somewhere in there I also watched an abundance of TLC - shows I have heard about but never actually watched: A Baby Story and Say Yes to the Dress to name a couple. It's fun how they are just on over and over again - they really suck you in. So, feeling very well rested and quite antsy . . . I began to look for things to do . . . the nursery is ready, the laundry is done, the house is clean, hmmm . . . the garden needs to be planted!

Two weekends ago, Daniel and I got about half of our plants in the ground - leftovers from our friend Rich's garden (Thanks, Rich!!!) So, I took a trip to the Schoolhouse Market and got the rest of the seedlings/seeds that we needed to complete the job. I was feeling pretty good, so I set out planting. A good rainstorm came through around 2:30, so I headed back inside, showered, watched some TLC and took another nap. Daniel came home from work and I woke up and went back to planting. He snapped some pictures as I was finishing up. It was a great day!

After the rainfall

Shoveling dirt onto the potato mound

The final touch - adding marigolds to attract pollinators

View of the garden from the patio

Finished and freshly watered

Time to let the sun do its work