From Embryo to Infant

One year ago today, I had IVF surgery to implant an embryo. We all know that embryo today to be William. Bret nicknamed the embryo 'Nemo'. This was our second IVF surgery, the one in January  (2015) with two embryos implanted was not successful. 

We tried for almost three years to get pregnant before our IVF surgery, but to no avail. After talking with some close friends who also had difficulties getting pregnant, we turned to a reproductive endocrinologist (RE). Our RE and nurses were amazing and from day one we were told "You will be parents". I didn't believe them, as that is a big promise to make, especially after we had been trying for so long. But, after our March 31, 2015 surgery, we were parents as Nemo has implanted successfully. It would just take a month to confirm. With every blood test I took and sonogram that confirmed Nemo, we gained confidence in the thought of us being parents. 

Now we have known Nemo/William for three months. Our little miracle has changed our lives in so many ways! We are incredibly lucky to be his parents. 

Happy Easter!

Today we are thankful for our Risen Savior!

Happy Easter from William 

Tired from traveling and being social today ;)

The Little Things: 0-3 Months

Little things I don't want to forget:

-your smile when I wake you up in the morning (unless you wake up hangry)

-your squeals and complaining cries when you do tummy time 

-our conversations; you always have so much to talk about!

-the giggles you give me when we have conversations 

-how tiny your clothes are!

-how I can pick out your cry among other baby cries

-seeing you learn new things: reaching, grabbing, kicking, tracking, flexing your leg muscles

-you stick your tongue out when you're excited

-our late night/early morning milk dates

-how you stand (with assistance) on your flexed legs when you are angry or need attention 

-you always want someone to be with you, it's hard for you to be alone

-how, when some one puts their hand on you, you put your hand on top of theirs

-you are always watching everything and everyone around you

-you fight your evening snooze, but end up loving it and passing out
-when someone picks you up, you cuddle into their neck before putting your head up and looking from your new vantage point
-your cry that isn't really a cry, more of a "hey, no one is paying attention to me" sound
-your sleepy face when I have to wake you up, your lips are always puckered and it's adorable
-I don't think you have ever met someone you don't like and didn't smile at

New Tricks: Reaching & Grabbing

William has discovered his hands & feet and all they are able to do! It's so fun to see him learning new things. He is holding onto things we put in front of him and grabbing at things around him. A natural reflex babies have is to grab onto things put into their hands and near their toes (Bret calls this 'monkey toes'). But lately, he is choosing to grab onto things on his own, not just things put in his hands. Each morning, he spends time in his play gym kicking and throwing his arms around. His favorite toy right now is the green ball (see picture below)! He can hold onto it and shake it around. This highly entertains him and he laughs & laughs at himself while he plays. We are introducing a rattle to him right now for a new toy to play with. It's handle is thicker than the green ball, so it's harder to hold, but he tries. We shake it for him and he likes to watch it move. Another new toy is a noise maker/teether lovey, we just gave it to him yesterday. He sat in his bumbo chair and played with it for a bit. I think he mostly liked the noise. We also put a toy (sassy bug) by his changing table so he can bat at it while he is changed.

Usually his foot gets caught after some aggressive kicking & he tries to take the whole playmat down with it! 

Caught my tongue!

Scooted himself all the way around!

First Vacation as a Family: California

We took our first vacation as a family of three this month! We jetted off to California to visit my sister & her family. The flights we took were both non-stop, 3 hour flights. I highly recommend the non-stop flights. We didn't have to deal with deplaning & reboarding multiple times. Our flights happened to sync perfectly with William's nursing schedule. He nursed during take off and landing, which helped with the air pressure as well as keeping him calm & usher him into sleep. He slept for almost the whole flight. The people around us (on both flights) complimented William as well as us for how amazing he was. They said he was perfect and he didn't make a peep. One person even said they didn't even know there was a baby behind them the whole flight. Score one for a great baby!

My sister Megan picked us up from the airport and we headed back to her house to get settled. All seven of us stayed in their home for our trip: Megan & Robert, their girls Mila & Nellie, Bret, William, and me. It was a house full of noise & fun for sure! My nieces were over the moon with William. Mila, 3.5y/o, wanted to be around him always and see what he was doing and pet him (brushing his cheek & patting his head). She would just stare at him while he nursed so she could see him stationary and she held his hand as much as she could. Mila wanted to 'help' wake Will up from his naps. She would go over to him and put her hand on his chest, saying "William, time to wake up!" in a singsongy voice. Nellie, 15months, was more intrigued with her cousin than the last time they were together (December 2015). She wanted to pat him and hug him. Megan & I monitored and reminded Nellie to give gentle pats and touches. They were adorable with him. 

March Madness began while we were in California, so the tv was constantly on basketball. William got some sneaks of tv while we were keeping updated on all the games that were on. Being loyal Jayhawk fans, we watched their games (both victories!) and celebrated moving onto the Sweet Sixteen round. 

It wouldn't be a trip to California without going to the beach & ocean. Will sported his vacation shirt to the Huntington Beach Pier. We looked out at the ocean, but didn't venture out to it. Bret put Will's tootsies in the sand. He tried to grip the sand with his toes, but that didn't work so well ;)

We didn't have a lot of big plans while we were in California, but that was a perfectly relaxing trip. My sister took over William duty while we were there and even kept Will in their room at night so Bret & I could get some rest (noisy baby!). We can't wait to get back to California, wish it was closer!!

William: Three Months

Three Month Stats

Weight: approximately 13lbs

Length: 21.5in

Eating: William is still breastfed only (will a bottle of BM here & there). His eating schedule is roughly 7/10/1/4/7:20 with one or two middle of the night feelings. Lately, it's more one middle of the night feeding, which is nice for mama to get sleep! He eats for 15-20min during the day, with a longer feeding at bedtime. 

Bedtime: we have pushed his bedtime back to 7:30ish instead of 7:00 as he was waking about 5:30am thinking he was up for the day (no thanks!). We will have to readdress this when I go back to work to see what is best for Will & me. 

Naps: We are still struggling with short naps. They are 45ish minutes, can be timed perfectly, just about. But we go in and have him lay on our chest to finish his nap. He is perfectly fine with this as he loves the snuggles

Diapers: size 1

Clothes: We are rockin' the 0-3month and 3month clothes. He is stretching the 0-3month to their max and I'm trying to make sure he has worn all of them!

Sidenote- One of the first grade teachers at my school gave me all of her son's 'old' clothes so we have lots in sizes 6-12months!

Favorites: Attention! William likes to be talked to and about. If you are holding him, but not talking to him, he becomes a grump ;)  He loves to smile at people and get them to smile back. He's such a people person/baby and loves to be in the middle of everything. Maybe that's way he doesn't like to nap....

Dislikes: Will is not a fan of sitting still for very long. If you are sitting with him while he wants to be moving around, he will let you know! He pushes off with his legs and "stands up" on anyone's lap. He also scoots himself around on his back with his legs. Working on the arm strength now!

Development: William has mastered putting his hands in his mouth. Bret discourages this as he "doesn't want a thumb sucker". His head control is pretty amazing. It's something that almost everyone who sees him comments on. He does tummy time two to three times a day. Once, he was doing tummy time & I was cleaning up his room, I looked over at him and he was on his back! He has rolled over!! I put him back on his belly thinking he would do it again, but he didn't. Guess he didn't want an audience to perform. He is tracking very well & watches people come in and out of the room. We are working on having 'conversations' with him, practicing taking turns talking/making noise at one another. He is such a smiley baby and loves to giggle & laugh while he 'talks'. He holds his green ball (see picture below) by himself and can wave it in the air (and fling it to the ground!). We are working on him holding a rattle. It is thicker so it's harder for Will to grip right now, but each time he's better and better!

Looking Forward To: Longer naps, when will those happen?? 

Nervous About: My return to work and missing Will like crazy! He will be in good hands (my mom & Bret's dad are sharing coverage watching him as Bret's schedule is still overnights). I hope I can pump enough milk for him and that he adjusts well. We can survive a month and a half apart! Then, summer!!