It's a joyous time in the Payton household these days. Others might describe it as challenging... or frustrating - especially Will. He is handling things really well but has had some moments that really display his level of intelligence, wit and colorful personality quite well. He has been testing his limits to see just how far Momma and Daddy can be pushed.
We were outside the other day and he was doing something he wasn't supposed to. I told him that if he did it one more time we were going to have to go inside. Because he loves being outside maybe more than life itself I was sure this would stop the behavior immediately. But MY son's response? After a thoughtful look, he said "Are you going inside too?" Me: "Yes" Will: "What are we going to do inside?" And so went the line of questioning that completely defeated my surefire consequence.
Example 2: He was playing on the floor with tractors and kept running the tractors into the dog. Of course the dog responded with a growl and if there's one thing I can't stand it's Will tormenting the dog and the dog growling. After a few warnings I told him that if he did it again I was going to take away his beloved tractors. His response? "What are you going to do with them? Are you going to throw them away?" Me: "No I'm going to put them somewhere that you can't get them." Will: "Where? On the table?" Me: "No" Will: "Where? On the counter?" etc. etc.
My most proud parenting moment to date came the other evening. We had just finished up dinner and I had the baby on my lap, Luke was cleaning up the dishes and Will's colorful personality was in full swing. He was making this sound that I can only describe as a robot sound and moving his hands in slow motion and putting them around the baby's head. I told him that we had to be really careful because the baby's head isn't hard like ours but it's really fragile. He did it again. For some reason I decided to forego the usual "1, 2, 3, timeout" tactic and instead I just asked him to please stop. He did it again. I said Honey PLEASE. I've asked you to stop doing that. He does it again. I say WILL do not do that again. Alas, he does it again. I say WILL, DO IT ONE MORE TIME I DARE YOU. He retracted his hands, slowly backed away, and left the room. A few moments later I said to Luke "Did I really just dare our son to do something?" He laughed and said that he wasn't going to say anything unless I double dog dared him.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Friday, April 30, 2010
I didn't get the memo
It's weird having a baby earlier than expected. I don't feel like I ever really had a chance to "part" with my pregnancy. It's been 2 1/2 weeks and I still find myself thinking I'm pregnant. I was getting in the car the other day and as I tried to put the keys into the ignition I dropped them. Oh, GREAT! I prepared to open the door, and actually get out of the car to get the keys in order to avoid smashing the poor baby in my belly. Oh, right, I'm not pregnant anymore. That's right, I can lie on my back now. At Subway I was grumbling as I looked over my options wondering what to order when I remembered "Oh yes! I can eat turkey again without putting it in the microwave first!" And the most superficial reasons of course - I had "saved up" some maternity shirts and set them aside to wear at the end of my pregnancy. It seems like I always wore the same clothes, and I had some shirts that I was so excited to wear when I was at my biggest. Now they're just hanging in my closet, never worn, and maybe never to be worn again. (by me) I had my fair share of complaints about being pregnant. My hips felt like they could crumble at any moment. I literally tried to remember if I had ever heard of a pregnant woman breaking her hips or having them crumble and I was happy that I couldn't recall ever hearing such a thing. It gave me hope mine wouldn't either. Overall, I had a great pregnancy. I was healthy, my blood pressure was great, the baby was never in distress. I was very fortunate. And I enjoyed many parts of it. I loved feeling him move. I loved the idea that I had a life actually developing and growing inside my body. A sense of empowerment. Pride. And now all of a sudden it's over. It's strange. Maybe I felt this way with Will also, I just don't remember. After all, we spend over 9 months carrying a baby and consuming things and doing things while always thinking of the baby in our body first. And now this body is just mine again. Only me here. Maybe these are some feelings of loneliness?
Most importantly, more important than these silly feelings, we are so fortunate, feel so very blessed, and I thank God every day that our little boy was born big and healthy even though he was early.
Most importantly, more important than these silly feelings, we are so fortunate, feel so very blessed, and I thank God every day that our little boy was born big and healthy even though he was early.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Dane's 2 week checkup was this morning. He is doing great and is back up to his birth weight of 8 lbs. 6 oz. He is such a sweet baby. Very good - especially when he is comfy in someones arms or in one of his baby seats. He was sleeping really well, going right back to sleep after I fed him, but now I think he's found that there are more comfy places to sleep than flat on his back, so now he prefers the other options. Last night I broke down and let him sleep in his Boppy Popason chair. I know - bad habit to start but after a few nights of 3ish hours, Momma needed some sleep!
Luke went back to work on Monday morning and my mom has been/is helping this week. It's nice to have her around and Will loves it. She has taken him with her to spend the night last night and did again tonight so he's having a blast. A week seems like a long time, but we've been busy and have a lot going on the rest of the week so I know it's going to fly by.
Things at home have been going well, but pretty busy, and at times chaotic. One night we left the garage door open, car in the driveway and keys in the ignition... Will has been really good with Dane; only a few things that have made me panic. One afternoon I put Dane in the baby swing in the living room and went into the kitchen. I had it set at the nice slow speed of "2". When I peeked back in the living room to check on them Dane was swinging at full speed - whoosh whoosh whoosh. Will thought he needed to be swinging on "6". Fortunately he was strapped in safely. I also caught Will trying to feed Dane a Goldfish (not the real kind, the cracker) He was just trying to share. It's going to take some adjusting to get used to having two. I remember when Will was born I was so anxious about Luke going back to work and being by myself. Now when I'm alone with the baby it seems like a breeze - the real challenge is when I have them both now. Funny how perspective changes. They are both such a blessing and I am so grateful.
Luke went back to work on Monday morning and my mom has been/is helping this week. It's nice to have her around and Will loves it. She has taken him with her to spend the night last night and did again tonight so he's having a blast. A week seems like a long time, but we've been busy and have a lot going on the rest of the week so I know it's going to fly by.
Things at home have been going well, but pretty busy, and at times chaotic. One night we left the garage door open, car in the driveway and keys in the ignition... Will has been really good with Dane; only a few things that have made me panic. One afternoon I put Dane in the baby swing in the living room and went into the kitchen. I had it set at the nice slow speed of "2". When I peeked back in the living room to check on them Dane was swinging at full speed - whoosh whoosh whoosh. Will thought he needed to be swinging on "6". Fortunately he was strapped in safely. I also caught Will trying to feed Dane a Goldfish (not the real kind, the cracker) He was just trying to share. It's going to take some adjusting to get used to having two. I remember when Will was born I was so anxious about Luke going back to work and being by myself. Now when I'm alone with the baby it seems like a breeze - the real challenge is when I have them both now. Funny how perspective changes. They are both such a blessing and I am so grateful.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
And Baby Makes Four
Dane is one week old now - how time flies! I wish I could hit pause on life and keep him this tiny little bundle of love just a little longer because I already see him changing and I know from Will how terribly fast this goes. Dane is such a sweet baby and he is so darn cute!! I just can't stop kissing him and snuggling him. I remember from Will how cute their little facial expressions are - those little grimaces and smiles - and I find that I could watch him for hours. He is, all things considered, a great sleeper. He wakes up to nurse and I change him and he goes right back to sleep. I have been getting around 5 hours at night, which compared to when Will was born might as well be a full 8. Regardless, I'm very tired and nursing is a 24-7 job which again I'm finding both very rewarding yet extremely exhausting.
Luke and I decided that we would tackle a newborn and a toddler by him getting good rest at night and being up with Will in the mornings and really doing things for/with him and because I'm nursing anyway, I'm up with the baby at night but sleep in until he gets up in the mornings and then hopefully sleep a little bit during the day with Dane (which hasn't really been happening). So far it's working pretty well. Luke was home last week obviously and all of this week. Will has been thrilled to spend so much time with Daddy and Luke has also been really helpful with other things like doing laundry, etc. It has been fun to watch, and at times comical (ex: Luke went to change Will's diaper and I heard him shout "oooo" followed by a fake gag and then "What did Grandma Becca feed you yesterday? Mud?") It's been great having him home.
Things are calming down a bit, but when the baby was first born Will had quite the social calendar going on. He spent lots of time with Nana, Grandma Becca and Aunt Terri. I was feeling a little sad about not being with him very much, but my sadness always went away quickly when I realized he has been having an absolute blast - playing in the dirt, having ice cream "fights" with Aunt Terri, skipping naps, getting a huge container full of, I bet, 50 tadpoles (which I'm now monitoring closely to watch for any little legs sprouting) and getting so filthy he smelled. Our lowest point came on Friday night when my mom was here helping me clean. We were going about our evening when Luke told me he wasn't feeling well. A few minutes later he ran to the kitchen and started getting sick. I immediately had this vision of us all sick, including our 3 day old baby. He went down to his dad's house for the next day and 2 nights. Thank goodness my mom was able to take Will home with her until Sunday afternoon. Other than Luke being sick, it actually ended up being kind of nice getting to spend that time with just the baby. I did have to take Dane to his first Dr. appt. by myself. The Dr. said that it was possible, but unlikely Dane would get this sickness, which he said is going around, because for some reason babies rarely get things like that and also because usually everyone who touches the baby has just washed their hands or used sanitizer. So that made me feel a little bit better. And so far, everyone else has seemed to avoid getting it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. And double crossed.
It's hard to believe that I wasn't even going to be induced until this coming Saturday and my official due date wasn't even for another week from tomorrow. We are so grateful that even though he was so early he is healthy and strong.
Luke and I decided that we would tackle a newborn and a toddler by him getting good rest at night and being up with Will in the mornings and really doing things for/with him and because I'm nursing anyway, I'm up with the baby at night but sleep in until he gets up in the mornings and then hopefully sleep a little bit during the day with Dane (which hasn't really been happening). So far it's working pretty well. Luke was home last week obviously and all of this week. Will has been thrilled to spend so much time with Daddy and Luke has also been really helpful with other things like doing laundry, etc. It has been fun to watch, and at times comical (ex: Luke went to change Will's diaper and I heard him shout "oooo" followed by a fake gag and then "What did Grandma Becca feed you yesterday? Mud?") It's been great having him home.
Things are calming down a bit, but when the baby was first born Will had quite the social calendar going on. He spent lots of time with Nana, Grandma Becca and Aunt Terri. I was feeling a little sad about not being with him very much, but my sadness always went away quickly when I realized he has been having an absolute blast - playing in the dirt, having ice cream "fights" with Aunt Terri, skipping naps, getting a huge container full of, I bet, 50 tadpoles (which I'm now monitoring closely to watch for any little legs sprouting) and getting so filthy he smelled. Our lowest point came on Friday night when my mom was here helping me clean. We were going about our evening when Luke told me he wasn't feeling well. A few minutes later he ran to the kitchen and started getting sick. I immediately had this vision of us all sick, including our 3 day old baby. He went down to his dad's house for the next day and 2 nights. Thank goodness my mom was able to take Will home with her until Sunday afternoon. Other than Luke being sick, it actually ended up being kind of nice getting to spend that time with just the baby. I did have to take Dane to his first Dr. appt. by myself. The Dr. said that it was possible, but unlikely Dane would get this sickness, which he said is going around, because for some reason babies rarely get things like that and also because usually everyone who touches the baby has just washed their hands or used sanitizer. So that made me feel a little bit better. And so far, everyone else has seemed to avoid getting it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. And double crossed.
It's hard to believe that I wasn't even going to be induced until this coming Saturday and my official due date wasn't even for another week from tomorrow. We are so grateful that even though he was so early he is healthy and strong.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Dane's Birthday, April 13, 2010
(This is probably more information than anybody wants to know about the day but I wanted to write about it because I know I'll be glad to have this down the road to read back)
On Monday April 12th I had a busy day. I went into the office to take care of some things before the baby's arrival and maternity leave. From there I picked up Will from my dad and Sharon's and then we ran home to quickly do a few things. While we were there I thought that it was possible that my water had broken, but I wasn't sure, and I was having such a busy day that I just kept going - but grabbed my hospital bag just in case and threw it in the car. Then we headed to Bloomington and met my mom, Chuck, his daughter and son-in-law and some friends for a quick dinner. Then we handed off Will to Aunt Sandy and left for the Straight No Chaser concert at the IU Auditorium. The concert was incredible but I was definitely feeling uncomfortable. We got back to my mom's around 11 and Sandy had put Will to bed there so I was very happy to crawl into bed with him after such a long day and spend the night there. Good thing we did, because I was up all night because of uncomfortableness and mild contractions and the fluid leaking. Around 4 I decided that my water was definitely leaking and this was the beginning of something. Because Luke was working in Ohio and working nights, I called him and told him what was going on and that he might want to go to his hotel and get some sleep. My plan was to call my Dr. in the morning. Luke wasn't having any of that - he insisted I call the Dr. right then. So I did, and to my surprise she told me to come on in. I called Luke and he of course panicked and hopped on the road right away. I snuggled in bed with Will for a while and enjoyed some last few moments with him as my only son. Then my mom and I both showered and we left for the hospital around 6. We didn't want to dawdle too long, as we were afraid Luke might beat us there. I was so happy that I didn't have to disturb Will and get him out of bed, but that he could wake up as usual and spend the day at my mom's house with Aunt Sandy. It was very emotional for me to leave him.
We got to the hospital and I got all checked in and changed and paperwork galore. At that point they needed to confirm that my water had in fact broken. There was a little voice in my head saying what are you thinking? Your water hasn't broken and now you're going to be sent back home after all this fuss and with no baby. But, indeed, it had broken. My labor was not progressing though, and since my water had been broken for a while, they began a Pitocin drip. Drip drip drip, all day long and SO SLOWLY. All morning I was having contractions but they were 7-9 minutes apart and not painful at all. Luke arrived around 10 or so, I'm sure setting a record for the length of time it took to get from Columbus Ohio to Bloomington, and just in time for us to sit around some more. We walked the halls and I was trying to get things going, but all that was increasing was the swelling in my legs and feet so I wasn't able to stand for too long. I was convinced that if my water would just break a little more that things would get going. Sure enough, around 4pm, my water REALLY broke and immediately I was getting some good contractions. At that point, I had so much pitocin in me that my contractions really came on strong. Things were definitely moving then and as with Will, I found that my favorite option was using the birthing ball and Luke. My mom was with us for labor and the birth (she was with Will as well). Luke's mom came in to visit with us for a while during labor and Luke and I decided to ask her if she wanted to stay for the birth as well. She was delighted. This labor was different this time in that my contractions were more painful and intense (probably because of all the pitocin) but I had some relief in between them. At 7 they checked me and told me I could have an epidural if I wanted, so I decided to go ahead. After that was done I felt better, but was still pretty uncomfortable during contractions. At 8:30 my Dr. came in to check me. At that point Luke left the room (I think for the very first time the whole day) to say hi to his dad and as he was leaving I said "don't worry, I won't have the baby while you're gone." Well to everyone's surprise, the Dr. said we were ready to go! Luke's mom called him and told him to get back in the room asap. He came back as they were prepping me for the birth. I ended up pushing through three contractions (about 9 times). Toward the end the Dr. said to stop pushing and to get another nurse. I knew there was something wrong. I was so panicked but didn't even want to ask or I knew I would start crying. Apparently the baby was stuck behind my pubic bone and the Dr. had to turn him. Once he did that, everything was ok and Dane was born. The Dr. said that he would probably have a bruise on his right forearm, but he didn't even have that. When he was born he was a little blue and not crying. They whisked him away quickly to make sure everything was ok. The same thing happened when Will was born but obviously both ended up being fine.
The baby and I both ended up having issues. They couldn't get my bleeding to stop and ended up giving me a drug that stops hemorrhaging. And the baby's blood sugar was low, which the Dr. said was likely due to the fact that he was a bigger baby and my water had been broken for over 24 hours. He ended up getting a glucose mix and then was ok. My epidural was absolutely perfect. I did not have pain, but still had feeling. If that makes any sense. Not long after Dane was born I walked to the bathroom.
We feel so fortunate that I've been able to deliver both of our boys naturally and without any major complications. Most of all we are so grateful for two healthy children. What a miracle pregnancy and birth are. God is good.
On Monday April 12th I had a busy day. I went into the office to take care of some things before the baby's arrival and maternity leave. From there I picked up Will from my dad and Sharon's and then we ran home to quickly do a few things. While we were there I thought that it was possible that my water had broken, but I wasn't sure, and I was having such a busy day that I just kept going - but grabbed my hospital bag just in case and threw it in the car. Then we headed to Bloomington and met my mom, Chuck, his daughter and son-in-law and some friends for a quick dinner. Then we handed off Will to Aunt Sandy and left for the Straight No Chaser concert at the IU Auditorium. The concert was incredible but I was definitely feeling uncomfortable. We got back to my mom's around 11 and Sandy had put Will to bed there so I was very happy to crawl into bed with him after such a long day and spend the night there. Good thing we did, because I was up all night because of uncomfortableness and mild contractions and the fluid leaking. Around 4 I decided that my water was definitely leaking and this was the beginning of something. Because Luke was working in Ohio and working nights, I called him and told him what was going on and that he might want to go to his hotel and get some sleep. My plan was to call my Dr. in the morning. Luke wasn't having any of that - he insisted I call the Dr. right then. So I did, and to my surprise she told me to come on in. I called Luke and he of course panicked and hopped on the road right away. I snuggled in bed with Will for a while and enjoyed some last few moments with him as my only son. Then my mom and I both showered and we left for the hospital around 6. We didn't want to dawdle too long, as we were afraid Luke might beat us there. I was so happy that I didn't have to disturb Will and get him out of bed, but that he could wake up as usual and spend the day at my mom's house with Aunt Sandy. It was very emotional for me to leave him.
We got to the hospital and I got all checked in and changed and paperwork galore. At that point they needed to confirm that my water had in fact broken. There was a little voice in my head saying what are you thinking? Your water hasn't broken and now you're going to be sent back home after all this fuss and with no baby. But, indeed, it had broken. My labor was not progressing though, and since my water had been broken for a while, they began a Pitocin drip. Drip drip drip, all day long and SO SLOWLY. All morning I was having contractions but they were 7-9 minutes apart and not painful at all. Luke arrived around 10 or so, I'm sure setting a record for the length of time it took to get from Columbus Ohio to Bloomington, and just in time for us to sit around some more. We walked the halls and I was trying to get things going, but all that was increasing was the swelling in my legs and feet so I wasn't able to stand for too long. I was convinced that if my water would just break a little more that things would get going. Sure enough, around 4pm, my water REALLY broke and immediately I was getting some good contractions. At that point, I had so much pitocin in me that my contractions really came on strong. Things were definitely moving then and as with Will, I found that my favorite option was using the birthing ball and Luke. My mom was with us for labor and the birth (she was with Will as well). Luke's mom came in to visit with us for a while during labor and Luke and I decided to ask her if she wanted to stay for the birth as well. She was delighted. This labor was different this time in that my contractions were more painful and intense (probably because of all the pitocin) but I had some relief in between them. At 7 they checked me and told me I could have an epidural if I wanted, so I decided to go ahead. After that was done I felt better, but was still pretty uncomfortable during contractions. At 8:30 my Dr. came in to check me. At that point Luke left the room (I think for the very first time the whole day) to say hi to his dad and as he was leaving I said "don't worry, I won't have the baby while you're gone." Well to everyone's surprise, the Dr. said we were ready to go! Luke's mom called him and told him to get back in the room asap. He came back as they were prepping me for the birth. I ended up pushing through three contractions (about 9 times). Toward the end the Dr. said to stop pushing and to get another nurse. I knew there was something wrong. I was so panicked but didn't even want to ask or I knew I would start crying. Apparently the baby was stuck behind my pubic bone and the Dr. had to turn him. Once he did that, everything was ok and Dane was born. The Dr. said that he would probably have a bruise on his right forearm, but he didn't even have that. When he was born he was a little blue and not crying. They whisked him away quickly to make sure everything was ok. The same thing happened when Will was born but obviously both ended up being fine.
The baby and I both ended up having issues. They couldn't get my bleeding to stop and ended up giving me a drug that stops hemorrhaging. And the baby's blood sugar was low, which the Dr. said was likely due to the fact that he was a bigger baby and my water had been broken for over 24 hours. He ended up getting a glucose mix and then was ok. My epidural was absolutely perfect. I did not have pain, but still had feeling. If that makes any sense. Not long after Dane was born I walked to the bathroom.
We feel so fortunate that I've been able to deliver both of our boys naturally and without any major complications. Most of all we are so grateful for two healthy children. What a miracle pregnancy and birth are. God is good.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
My water broke on Monday evening and I was told on Tuesday at 4am to go in to the hospital. This was just before we left.
Welcome Dane Lucas Payton!
8lbs 6oz 21" long
...and 2 weeks early!
I will post more pictures of him soon!
Welcome Dane Lucas Payton!8lbs 6oz 21" long
...and 2 weeks early!
I will post more pictures of him soon!
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Largemouth Bass
Today I got a pregnancy update and was told our baby is now the size of a largemouth bass, which I think is hilarious. I was also told he is also "fully cooked" and if he was born now would be just fine. I will be induced 2 weeks from this Saturday the 24th if I haven't gone into labor before then. I have a Dr. appointment tomorrow and I'm anxious to see if things are progressing. As of last Friday I was 1 cm dilated and 80% effaced. My blood pressure has been consistently great hovering around 105/65 so I'm very grateful for that. I've been having contractions, and last night had a few that were slightly painful but after lying down they went away. My weight gain is slightly more than my last pregnancy (6 lbs more at this point), which, considering my raging sweet tooth isn't too awful. Today was my "last chance workout" as I refer to it (for any biggest loser fans) because tomorrow is another "weigh in". On my last chance workout days I try to eat a little bit healthier (for example, today I have limited the number of brownies consumed. Don't be confused, there's no actual "workout" going on here) I'm sure it makes no difference, it just makes me feel better not to gorge myself. Today was gloomy and cooler so it was a perfect day for some serious nesting. I got lots of laundry done, floors cleaned, went around baseboards with Clorox wipes, swept the front porch and knocked off cobwebs under awnings, got some pictures uploaded and ordered, etc. etc.
Luke is working over the weekend in Ohio, which I think makes us both a little nervous. He left very early this past Monday and won't be home until next Friday, the 16th. Crumby timing, but better now than after the baby is born I guess. 
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Happy Easter
We had a great Easter and spent most of the day at Luke's dad's house. It was such a nice day blessed with sunshine, good food and family. By the end of the day we were sunkissed and exhausted. Will got his first sunburn and I have been beating myself up about it ever since. Today you can't even tell, so it wasn't too bad, but his little ears were bright red and his cheeks and nose were pink. :( 
Coloring Easter Eggs!
The finished product - Camo! (which looked much cooler on the box)
Hanging out with PaPaw...
The hunt is on with cousins Ricky, Landon and Payton...
Eating candy and comparing loot with Payton, Landon and PaPaw...
Coloring Easter Eggs!
The finished product - Camo! (which looked much cooler on the box)
Hanging out with PaPaw...The hunt is on with cousins Ricky, Landon and Payton...Eating candy and comparing loot with Payton, Landon and PaPaw...
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