Zachary's First Ear Infeciton

Zachary woke up on Weds night with a fever and despite Tylenol/Motrin every 4-6 hours, the fever kept going up.  The highest reading was 103.8.  We took him into the doctor and discovered he had his first ear infection.  We got the amoxicillin and after about 2 doses the fever was gone and he was feeling much better.  The fever broke Sat night and we had to change soaked PJ's and sheets.  He had been congested for a week or so and the doc said the congestion just finally accumulated in his ear and got infected.  We've been so lucky for 2 years he has never been sicker than just a minor cold.  He is a very healthy child and hopefully we can go another 2 years w/o any major illnesses.  Cross your fingers!

Baby It's Cold Outside!

It's snowing in Houston!!!  We were driving to our playgroup PJ's and Christmas Ornament exchange and I started seeing snow flurries.  They melted as soon as they hit the ground, but after about 30 mins it started sticking.  The whole city is white!  Zachary got to play in his first snow.  He thought it was hilarious, looking up at it coming down... sticking to his lashes and face.  We're expecting 2-4 inches!  I took a few pics with my phone camera, but I'll get some video of Zachary in the snow when he wakes up from his nap.

Fun in Florida

Zachary took is 3rd airplane trip last week.  We went to Tampa/Clearwater, FL to visit Gigi and Uncle Jason (my MIL and BIL) and Mandy.  I was really nervous about how he would do on the flight sitting in my lap for 2 1/2 hours, but of course he did great.  It was a full flight but we got lucky and got a window seat and Zachary played with an Elmo sticker book the whole time.  Gigi picked us up at the airport and we all stayed at Uncle Jason's house.  Jason and Mandy have a big dog named Scout that Zachary just loved!  He liked to give her hugs.  We went to the beach where Zachary chased the gulls and collected shells (the water was too cold to swim).  We took him to a park where Jamin used to play when he was little.  We went to a children's museum and a bouncy house place.  Jamin flew in for the last 3 days of our visit.  We got to meet Uncle Matt and Aunt Phyllis who brought an "Elmo Live" doll for Zachary.  Elmo sings and dances, tells stories and jokes... he's pretty funny.  One night Mandy and her sister made sushi at home and it was delicious!  Better than Sushihana here in Katy for sure.  The day before we left we took Zachary to visit his Great Grandparents.  It was a great trip!

Zachary's Learning the Alphabet

Click on the arrow to view the video of Zachary naming the letters on his Elmo step stool! He also surprised me this morning when he started spelling his name! He was looking at the letters of his name on the wall and said them all in order. My little smarty pants!!!

Zerberts for Zachary

Zachary loves it when Daddy "zerberts" his neck. He signs "more" and tries to pull Daddy's face to his neck. It is so funny.

Zachary Laughing

Click on the triangle to view the video.

Noah's Ark

Gigi came into town and we decided to take Zachary to Noah's Ark splash pad yesterday. The water is only 6 inches deep with toddler sized water slides and little animals that spray water. He had a blast!



He loves the slide



My son the fish

A Day at the Beach

We took Zachary to Galveston beach a few days ago. He LOVED it! This boy has no fear. He went right for the water and kept on walking thru the waves. (Great, give mommy a heart attack!)

Zachary's Splash Pad

Okay, so I ordered what I thought was a baby pool for Zachary to play in in the backyard. What I got was more like a splash pad, though it turned out to be perfect for him because it's not too deep. You don't have to blow it up with air. (Thank goodness, I get dizzy just blowing up balloons!) You just hook up a garden hose and it fills little inner channels with water. It has random "holes" all over it so that water will squirt up. Zachary loved trying to catch the water in his mouth as it squirted up, and then he thought it was funny to stick his face down in the water. And he loves the fishies and other aquatic life pictured on it.

(The very bright sun came out from behind a cloud, so the video is a little washed out.)

Zachary's First Haircut

Zachary got his first haircut on May 1. He had the "toddler mullet" going and although he was still cute, he needed it cut. He got to sit in the Fire Engine seat and watch Thomas the Tank Engine on the DVD player. He did so well. He wasn't scared, didn't fuss or anything. (There was actually a bigger boy that came in after us (you can see him in the background of the video) that threw a fit.) I was so proud of Zachary for being such a good boy and his hair is so cute short!

Watching Thomas the Tank Engine on the DVD Player



Spiking it up like Daddy's



No more mullet!

Easter

We spent Easter at Honey and Mimi's house with Gigi (who flew in from FL), and Zachary's four cousins and their families. Easter egg hunting was a hoot. Last year Zachary was only about 2 1/2 months old, so this was his first real Easter!

Of course the real reason for the celebration is that Jesus is Risen!

Of Love and Labor

My little precious Zachary Robert was born on January 9, 2008 at 1:32 PM, weighing 7 lbs 2.6 oz and 20 inches long. I had him through natural childbirth (no drugs!) which really wasn't all THAT bad. Here is how it happened:

During my entire pregnancy I had zero Braxton-Hicks. Zero, nada, nothing! I was a little nervous because I didn't know what to expect from labor contractions and wanted to feel at least a little Braxton-Hicks so that I would have an idea what the beginnings of labor might feel like. I was even calling my friends asking them what it felt like and how I would know I was in labor. The response I got was all the same, "You'll know!" or "It feels like menstrual cramps magnified by 100". Well I've been one of the lucky women who don't really get cramps during "that time of the month". So my question remained... how will I know???

My last day of work was Friday, January 4, and I was due on the 10th. So I had the weekend to relax and then I was hoping Zachary would come a few days early. On Tuesday, Jamin and I went to SuperTarget. On the way out of the store I got a very sharp pain in my lower abdomen. A few seconds later it happened again. Now me, not knowing what cramps even feel like, didn't realize it was a Braxton-Hicks contraction. Late Tues afternoon, we decided to try to help things along. We took a long walk in the evening, ate spicy food, and tried a few other "natural" methods of jump-starting labor.

Well, something must have worked because I went into labor about 1:00 AM Weds morning. But I wasn't sure at the time that it was labor because it was uncomfortable, but really didn't hurt all that much until about 5:00 AM. And it only hurt in the lower front, like sharp gas pains (nothing like any menstrual cramps I've ever had.) I tried to sleep through it. Jamin woke up about 6:00 AM and found me in the guest room. I had just started timing the contractions at about 5:30 AM and they were pretty steady at 5 mins apart and lasting 45-60 sec. I got up, took a shower, got dressed and made sure we had the camera, batteries, etc. for the hospital.

We called my labor coach about 8:00 am and she came over about 9:30 thinking we still had plenty of time. She checked me and the baby was right at my cervix. She couldn't even tell how dilated I was because all she could feel was the baby's hard skull! We left for the hospital and got there about 10:30 am. On the way, my contractions started getting pretty hard, but still bearable. After I got checked in and the nurse checked me I was already 7 cm dilated.

I had written a birth plan and made sure that everyone on my medical team had a copy.  I did not want any interventions unless it was a life-threatening situation.  I did not have an IV or constant fetal monitoring.  I wanted to be able to be up and moving about.  I stood, walked or sat on the birthing ball for a while.  Zachary's head was so low that I couldn't sit anywhere else.  I felt like I was sitting on him.

At about 8 cm I started having the urge to push.  I knew I couldn't really push, but I pushed a little which relieved some of the pain and also caused my water to break.  At that point is when the contractions got really painful.  I went to 10 cm in about 10 minutes and that is when I was about coming off the table it hurt so bad.  My doctor finally walked in about 15 mins before Zachary was born.  I'm sure they don't do many natural births at The Woman's Hospital of Texas so I think she didn't think I would actually be ready to deliver just 3 hours after I arrived at the hospital.  The nurses rushed around getting everything set up and I pushed for about 15-20 mins.  After Zachary's head popped out, the doctor told me to wait a minute while she turned his shoulders.  What I found out later is that she needed a second to cut the umbilical cord that had wrapped around his neck!  But my precious Zachary Robert was born healthy and safe and we are so grateful for him! 

Natural childbirth really wasn't all that bad. I was really glad I did it and I had no other interventions.  I want the best for my baby and it started with my plan for his birth.  It was really important to me and I am so glad that God made it possible.