The baby formerly known as Kellan

Our son seems to have accumulated quite a few nicknames in his short 5 weeks of life.  Some of them I gave him, or his Papa or Gangy, or our friends, and we use all of them throughout the day.  I probably don't use his actual name as much as I should, he might not know what his real name is when the time comes!

Some of Kellan's alias' are:

K-dub
Achilles
Kutcher (or Kutch)
Magoo
Xiao baba (tiny baby in Chinese)
Kel (or Kel Kel)
Little nugget

and my favorite... fake baby.  We watch the movie "The Other Guys" (with Mark Wahlberg and Will Ferrell) almost every time it is on the movie channels.   Wahlberg's character tells Ferrell's character "I don't like you.  I think you're a fake cop", and Tony and I think that is SO FUNNY!     So Tony asked Kellan once if he was a fake baby, and it stuck.

  

Kellan had his one month check up last week, and my boy has grown 4 inches since he was born!  He weighs 8 lbs 9 ounces, almost 2 lbs more.  I guess I don't even notice these things since I am with him everyday.  I am so happy he is getting so big, but I am sad he is becoming a big boy.

One month!

Now I understand why people say "where does the time go?!".......

Our wonderful son is now 1 month old!  And what a month it has been for the Wang family.

Being a first time parent is tough stuff.  When we brought Kellan home from the hospital, I was scared to death.  Would he sleep?  Would he eat?  Would he know that I am his mama?  Would I be any good at being his mama?  Would I ever get a good night sleep ever again?  My mom stayed with us for many days, thankfully, and stayed up many nights with Kellan so that I could get rest and heal from my surgery.  When I was finally able to physically care for him, he would be up all night crying, and nothing I did would comfort him.  He would cry, I would cry, and wonder if he even liked me, or knew that I was his mama.  Talk about self-doubt.

We are finally getting to know each other, and even though we have issues with sleeping still, I know that when he stares into my eyes, he knows I am his mama.  We take walks around the house, listen to music (he loves Coldplay!), read lots of books, watch "Friends" reruns.  He is becoming so animated in his facial expressions, and it seems like he is always on the verge of a smile!  His neck is getting so strong, and he loves tummy time.  He likes to lay in the middle of the Boppy, or in his bouncy chair, and just look around at the scenery in our living room. 

His 1 month checkup is in a few days, and I can't wait to see how much he has grown.  He is finally filling out his newborn clothes!  I am actually a little sad that he is getting big.  I am trying to enjoy this time, because it is going quicker than I am ready for.

The gang's all here!

We were so lucky to have so many visitors at the hospital and the weeks following Kellan's birth!  Also, my mother, her "grandma" name is Gangy, has stayed with us for many days!



Kellan and his gangy:



Everyone has asked how Pups have been, and they have been SO wonderful! Hutch loves the baby, and is so protective of him.  He is always sitting near us when we feed him, or sitting above his pack-n-play when he is napping.  Sophie is less interested, she is too much of a diva to worry about him!  Either way, they are gentle and loving with him, and we are so fortunate for that!

Introducing....

Kellan Ashton Wang!  Here is his first picture...

Our wonderful little miracle was born December 15, 2011 at 11:55 PM via c-section, and we could not be more in love!

A rundown of my birth story:
December 14th I called off work because I had a wretched cold, and spent the entire day sleeping it off and feeling generally awful.  I went to bed early that evening and woke up around 2AM, thinking I was having BH contractions.  I spent from 2-7AM timing them, and wondering if I should wake Tony.  I started to get up and get ready for work, and realized that the contractions were the real thing.  I call my boss to let him know I would not be in and would be heading to the hospital to get checked out, went to the restroom, and yelled for Tony.  As I was walking out of the restroom, I felt my water break.  I checked myself, and noticed my water was tainted with meconium and got very scared.  I called the doctor, they told me to come in, then called my mom to tell her.  We rushed to get the dogs and ourselves ready, and headed to Dublin Methodist.

We arrived at triage at 930, they gave me an exam and said they weren't sure if my water had broken.  They suggested I drink lots of water, and walk around the perimeter of the L&D unit for an hour.  I was having semi-painful contractions at that time, and when I was done, they checked me again, said my water was partially broken, and admitted me.  This was around 2PM finally.

I settled into my room, tried to rest through some mild contractions, and basically just hung out.  My mom arrived around 4, and I asked for the epidural around then.  The epidural was amazing, and did not hurt one bit.  Tony went home briefly to take care of the dogs, and my mom stayed with me.  Between 5 and 11PM, they had me on my back, on my side, on my hands and knees, and I was progressing as expected, with no medical help.  The only problem was that baby's heartrate was dropping after contractions, and nurses felt it was unsafe to deliver naturally.  They had warned me around 7PM that if his heartrate did not improve, a c-section would be imminent, and I was doing everything I could to avoid that.  They said that since there was a chance he had inhaled the meconium, they wanted to get him out by midnight.

At 1115PM, they decided that we needed to do a c-section, and at that time I was 100% effaced at 8cm dilated.  I was so disappointed that I had come so far on my own, and I felt like a failure.  I was so devastated as they wheeled me into the OR and felt so alone as Tony was left behind while they prepped me.  I was crying badly and was very sick, and I vomited twice on the poor nurse.  I was very out of it, and even though I remember everything vividly, I felt very "high" and wobbly in my brain.

Tony came in, sat by my head, and I felt them moving around over me.  They told me I would feel some pressure, and then I heard him cry!  They held my baby up, and he was crying and looked so small.  I asked them "why is he so small?" and they said "because he is a newborn baby!".  They took him away to clean him and check to make sure his lungs were clear and that he did not inhale the meconium.  Tony followed them and took many pictures, and after 15 minutes, I got to finally see my son.

They took me into recovery, and I was just so out of it that I could barely hold him, and Tony had to give him his first bottle. I felt so awful that I was not even able to hold him or kiss him because I was so weak.  The nurses were so wonderful and showed Tony and I exactly how to feed him properly and burp him.

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I am very excited to start this blogging journey to document our lives with our new son.  I named this blog "Food to my soul" from the song "A Song for Mama" by Boyz II Men. 

Mama
Mama you know I love you
Mama
Mama you're the queen of my heart
Your love is like
Tears from the stars
Mama I just want you to know
Lovin' you is like food to my soul

It is such a lovely song, and is a good description of how much love I have for my son.

Lovin' you is like food to my soul

He is so wonderful, and I finally feel like I am alive for the first time in my life.