Life with a newborn

I forgot what it was like to have a newborn. Things were different with Caleb because he was in the hospital for a week before he was able to come home. Caden has lost about 1 pound since he was born. I have been working on feeding him every 2-3 hours. He typically eats 2-3 ounces at each feeding. It seems like a lot, but I am comparing him to Caleb who would take 1 hour to eat 1 ounce. Caden is sleeping well. I am trying to rest when Caden is sleeping, but really, that is not happening like it should. I find things that I need to do. I feel bad because I can't take care of Caleb like normal. I feel like he is being neglected. For the most part I feel fine, but one side of me hurts when I sit in a position that is not comfortable. Hopefully the pain will go away soon. I am so ready to establish our routine as a new family.

Samson

I don't think I ever posted anything about Samson. Greg surprised me one day with a little puppy. I had also told him I wanted a small dog, but with 2 weimaraners, we really didn't look into getting another dog. I came home from work one day and Greg told me he had a present for me. He put Samson, a chihuahua, on the floor. He is a sweet puppy and is actually calm. He sleeps in our bed and doesn't move until we get up in the morning. Fritz and Greta love him. He thinks he is tough inside the house because when they come inside, he begins barking.

More pictures of Caden

Welcome to the world Caden Oswalt Eneks!

Caden Oswalt Eneks was born at 8:37am on Tuesday, May 26, 2009. We weighed 9.15 lbs and was 19 inches long.

Monday was a very long day waiting for Caden to arrive. I told Greg Sunday night I wanted a steak and baked potato as my last dinner since I could not have anything after midnight and I knew I would be having a liquid diet after surgery. We went to Texas Roadhouse and it was awesome! Of course I was miserable because I ate too much and everything I ate and drank gave me heartburn. Of course that is now gone since I have delivered the baby.

I woke up at 4:30am Tuesday morning to get ready. I was prepared for this birth since I knew when I was going to have my c-section and I was determined to be ready since I was not ready with Caleb. Greg and I were both nervous about the surgery. I went to triage to get prepped for surgery while Greg waited in my room. Billy and Carolyn kept Caleb Monday night and had him there early that morning because I wanted to see him before I had Caden. Caleb did not know what to think seeing me in a bed hooked up to a bunch of different things. I really enjoyed seeing my first born baby before our lives changed. I was not feeling real well because I was very nervous. I had heartburn like never before. I was given medicine to relax the stomach acid in my stomach before going into surgery. I asked the nurse if it was going to make me throw up and she said no. Well.....before I even took the medicine, I started throwing up. The medicine worked and I walked to the operating room. Greg finally joined me after they gave me a spinal tap which immediately took effect. I felt immediate relief when Caden was pulled from my belly. Prior to the surgery, Greg and my doctor were talking and she thought he may be around 8 pounds. She said ultrasounds are often off on their estimated weight. Once she pulled one foot out, someone made the statement, "That is a big foot!" After Caden was pulled out, all I could hear was, "That is a big baby!" Greg went to take a look at him while I began throwing up. Don't really know why that happened. I was able to take one glance at my precious baby before he was taken to the nursery. I was in recovery for about an hour before I was able to go to my room. Greg and Caleb met me in my room. After I was settled in, I began seeing visitors. Caden was able to come to my room about 1:00. That was the first time I was able to hold him. I am truly blessed that everything went well.

We came home on Thursday. Caleb has done well so far. He gives Caden kisses and tries to help out by giving me his pacifier.

I am so happy and honored to be trusted with to precious boys who are gifts from God. Greg and I look at our new family and can't believe these boys are actually ours. I always thought I wanted a little girl, but I wouldn't give anything to have one.

Family Picture

Saturday night we ate dinner at my father-in-law's house. Carolyn loves taking pictures and told me in advance she had put up the black fabric for a background. I have enjoyed having pictures taken of the belly this time because I just didn't get any when I was pregnant with Caleb. We got this one on the first shot with Caleb.

Our own Cops episode

Friday night Greg and I lived through an episode of Cops. Greg was working days and goes to bed early because he wakes up at 4am to get ready for work. I was on the couch because of course I couldn't sleep. I was watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 episodes. I went to the bathroom and heard a siren from the distance. I thought to myself, "Hmmmm, I wonder where they are going?" I laid back on the couch and heard a loud noise that sounded like a gun shot. Two of them. I got off the couch as quick as I could which is not very quick to wake up Greg. As I was getting up, I heard someone banging on the door and screaming. I thought they were screaming Greg's name. I woke him up and told him someone was banging on our door. He grabbed his gun and went to answer the door. I saw a Chambers County Sheriff's car outside and told Greg, but he didn't hear me. He opened the door to be welcomed by a constable. He yelled at him to put his gun down. He closed the door, took a deep breath, and unloaded the gun. When he opened the door again they asked if I still had a knife. What?????? Which is what Greg said. Then they asked if the baby was ok? Greg told them he didn't know what they were talking about. They stated they had received a call and asked if we lived on Schaffer. Greg informed them we live on Range Lane. The street they were looking for is in the front of the neighborhood. They apologized and left. We have been missing our street sign since the hurricane. They later came back and knocked silently to apologize once again, but we didn't answer the door. Greg called the police and let them know someone was knocking, but he was not going to answer. What is so funny about the whole thing is that I am 38 weeks pregnant, Greg (a former Marine) opened the door with a gun, and they thought I was the one causing the trouble with a knife? And this is who protects us. We are very lucky that Greg or one of the officers was not shot.

The countdown is on one hand

5 more days until Caden arrives!!!!

I had my last doctor appointment today before Caden makes his grand entrance. He is still high and I am not showing any signs of labor. I prayed my entire pregnancy I would be able to carry him to term. I guess God listened to me. I have been getting lots of sympathy from people I see in the store and at the doctor's office. I am still being asked if I am having twins. My answer is NO. People also think I should be delivering that day. My answer is once again NO. I even had a lady ask to rub my belly at Dollar General yesterday. It doesn't bother me, so I let her rub away. I almost began to tear up as I was leaving the doctor today because I made my 3 week postpartum appointment. It is so hard to sleep at night. I start off either on the couch or in the bed and go back and forth throughout the night. I know I will hurt from the c-section, but I think and hope at least I will feel more comfortable.

The end is in sight!

I had my weekly doctor appointment today. One of the nurses has a daughter that is in pre-k at my school. She told me her little girl asks about me daily to see if I have had the baby because she has not seen me at school. Everytime the afternoon pre-k precious ones would see me, they would ask if I had a baby in my tummy. They would talk about the baby coming out of my tummy, but this one little girl told her mommy that is not the only place they come out of.

Anyway, after taking my blood pressure she asked if I wanted to be checked. Not that I enjoy that, but I wanted to know if I was dilating because it would at least give me some hope the end was near. The first thing the doctor asked was if we had scheduled a day for my c-section. I was excited to get something scheduled. I am only dilated 1-2 cm. If I go into labor, she will let me have the baby since I will be 37 weeks tomorrow. The c-section is scheduled for May 26th at 7:30 am. I have been wanting the baby to come for so long now, I am now wanting to keep him in until that day. Greg will be taking vacation time and it will work really well with his schedule. He will be able to be with me for about 18 days. I am hoping to hold off for 1.5 weeks. I have already kept this baby in 2 weeks longer than Caleb. So hopefully we won't be having a tropical storm anytime soon. That played a part in Caleb coming early.

36 weeks, 4 days

Here is the latest belly picture. Most of my clothes do not fit anymore including my maternity clothes. It is more difficult to sleep at night. At 35 weeks, I had an ultrasound. The baby's estimated weight was 8 lbs!!! No wonder I look so big in the front. If I have not had him at 38 weeks, she will go ahead and take him. I continue to think, "Can I go much longer?" I have already made it past the time when I had Caleb. I did not get to the point with Caleb feeling that I couldn't make it any longer. I sure have with this one. I have been off work since the last part of April. I am glad we got a new sectional about a week before I went on leave. I know I should be resting more, but there is only so much TV I can take. At least with this pregnancy I actually have a bag that is packed to take to the hospital. With Caleb, I only took my purse.

Beach Outing

Greg and I have been bored lately since I have been at home. Greg asked me on Tuesday if I wanted to drive to Crystal Beach and look around since Hurricane Ike. So, Greg, Caleb, Samson (puppy), I went to the beach. We stopped at Sonic and ordered drinks and popcorn chicken. It was amazing to see the damage caused by Ike. They have been working to repair and rebuild. I can't imagine how it looked 8 months ago. We found a part of the beach that had been cleared and was fairly clean. We looked for shells. It was Caleb's first time to see the ocean. He loved walking up and down the beach and Samson seemed to also enjoy it.

It was so nice to get away from everything. Of course, I was ready to get home and get the sand and salt water off. I was so thankful that Greg had the idea. I enjoyed spending time with my two favorite men. Hopefully it will be my three favorite men soon. I am getting very restless waiting for Caden to arrive.

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