The Wilhelmsen Botanical Blog

Aiden was having trouble feeding over the weekend and on Monday after a particularly hard feeding I decided that I better call the pediatrician. Well, when she called me back we talked about the symptoms that Aiden had been having (refusal to latch, detaching several times during feeding, as well as spitting up several times) and she decided that Aiden probably has reflux so she called a prescription in for Zantac (a reflux medicine). The pediatrician said that we should start to see a difference by today and that by next Monday the medication will have worked as well as it will work. So, we shall see how it goes and we will keep you posted.

As for sleeping, by blessings from above and some fluke of luck baby Aiden ate at 10:15 last night, fell asleep by 12:00 and didn’t wake up until 7:15 this morning. Both Brandon and I are grateful for this blessings from our Heavenly Father and hope that Aiden will be able to transition himself into sleeping longer so that Brandon and I don’t have to coerce him into it in the future. We attribute this blessing also to the medicine for his reflux and to the cool mist humidifier that we got to help with his stuffy nose. We think that maybe Aiden finally felt relaxed and comfortable enough to be able to just sleep. Anyway, we will see what happens. Until next time…

Well, Aiden celebrated his first Easter this past weekend. On Saturday we went to Mueller Park and he got to watch his dad, aunt, uncle, and other relatives fly kites. It was his first time being outside for 3 hours and his temperment wasn’t much different then when we are indoors at home. I believe this was due to the cold wind because Aiden really enjoys being outside when it is warmer and he is snug and cozy in his stroller. He even got to be part of an Easter egg hunt (grandpa Brian held him while I gathered his loot which consisted of 3 boiled eggs, one plastic egg with socks in it, a nerf football, a book, a little soft bunny, and two sqeeky toys).

Sunday we went to church and then in the afternoon we went to my mom’s for Easter dinner with Erica, Matt, my mom and my dad. He mostly just enjoyed being held by everyone and swinging with mom in grandma’s swing.

  Well, yesterday afternoon Brandon, Aiden (who was asleep in the car) and I had an adventure.  I will write about it, but I must preface it with some other information first.  When I bought my car in 2003 I had hand picked it for it’s make, model, and awesome gas mileage.  What I didn’t know then is just how amazing this small little car is.  You see, despite it’s small size it has been capable of things that one might say were the job of a truck.  In preparing for our wedding we fit 4 eight foot 2 by 4’s in my car, we have crammed it full of boxes and Brandon’s drum set when moving things back and forth, when we were preparing Aiden’s nursery we attached a diaper changing table to the bike rack, but I think our most amazing feat was our adventure yesterday when we drove home with a love seat attached to the trunk of the car via the help of our bike rack (see attached photos).  We safely drove the 20 blocks home with the couch still intact and now have the love seat in Aiden’s room, where it will be put to good use after we get some foam upholstery cleaner and clean the surface.  (Couch was found for free thanks to this web link http://saltlakecity.craigslist.org/zip/)

Yesterday I was reading my friends blog about her new addition (he is just a little bit older then Aiden) and in it she spoke about how her little one has a bit of reflux and an unsettled stomach. It is interesting because I am sometimes at a loss for what to write about in these journals and I will read her page or someone elses and then I will realize that I have stories about something similar.

Aiden is doing well, he seems to have a bit of a bubbly belly. He needs to burped every 5-10 minutes of eating or after every ounce, and he is constantly gassy. He spits up regularly but is gaining weight at a steady pace so the pediatrician called him a “happy spitter.” (Which is basically a baby who spits up but still gains weight.) She wasn’t concerned and he isn’t on any medication for it. We do use Mylicon to help break up the bubbles in his tummy and that seems to be working pretty decently.

The only other thing is that he is constantly sniffling and snorting. He has pretty active mucus production. I called the pediatrician about this as well and aside from sucking the gunk out of his nose regularly (which we were already doing) she suggested having him sleep at a 15 degree angle, using saline drops, and a humidifier. Basically she chalked up all of the snorting, grunting, sniffling, burping, spitting up and farting to the fact that the his nervous system isn’t fully developed yet and that the nerve endings are still just firing randomly. Things are getting better though. So his nervous system must be continually developing. Babies are definitely a new adventure that I never expected, an adventure that changes every day!

I thought that I had better write an update. Since I last wrote I decided to breast feed for all of the feedings except the 7:00 and 10:00 feedings with me pumping at 10:00. This will allow for Brandon and I to go out on dates and not have to worry about feedings, because Aiden can be bottle fed the breast milk. It has been going smoothly.

We also went to church today for the first time, we spent the morning getting ready and according to the time on our clocks we would have been only about ten minutes late. Well, when we got there people were leaving the chapel and there were already kids in the nursery. I was very confused and so we asked what was going on. We were informed that it had been daylight savings time and that we were supposed to turn our clocks an hour ahead. DOH! I have never had a daylight savings fopah wherein I have arrived an hour early or late to something. I have always worried about it but things always work out and generally someone reminds me to change my clock. Not this time, and it wouldn’t have been a problem if it weren’t 3 weeks early! In fact, at the relief society activity yesterday they were mentioning that daylight savings was 3 weeks early this year but no one stated that it was last night.

Anyway, Aiden was awake for most of Sunday school and Priesthood meeting. During Sunday school he was very happy and making all sorts of happy baby noises. He is a squirmy kid though and likes to look around, especially up at the ceiling or at any lights that are near by. I watched as the other new babies (ranging from 1-4 months) slept soundly the full two hours of classes and was envious because 9-12 is generally Aiden’s awake time and we will have to keep him entertained. It’s ok though. He is a mostly happy baby and seemed very content at church. We will just have to take things as they come.

Lastly, Aiden sure is cute and growing like a weed. Wow! He looks a little bit more grown up every time I see him. We are going to get his picture taken this week because I have a coupon for a free newborn picture package. I plan to get his picture taken once a month (for at least the first year) to document his growth (plus I have coupons for some great package deals) and to capture his cuteness on film. 😉 That is all for this time. I will write more as stories arise.

They say that it isn’t money that brings happiness. And they are right. But the last two weeks have taught me the top two things that do constitute happiness.

They are:

     1) progeny
             &
     2) sleep

The mysterious thing about this fact is that the items above are mutually exclusive, at least for the first 18 years, from what I’m told.  🙂

We love our little boy and have consigned ourselves to the idea that less is more when it comes to regularity in slumber. Though this trite little cliché might comfort some, it does nothing to placate the eight pounder when he is hungry at 2 am and then also at 4:30 am. Some might try to reassure with the empty promise that a baby’s biological clock will find some normalcy, and to that I’d say, “What Bio-clock?!” This cute-faced kid is merely a front for a bio-time-bomb that could go off at any second, releasing any number of bodily fluids in any combination imaginable! And babies have the amazing ability to rough you up like a mob enforcer without any teeth. You’d better listen carefully because his next request, if misunderstood, could result in another hour of confused crying. And then the little one would start wailing along with Dad.

But seriously, Aiden is adorable and is very sweet. We have had some ‘fun’ moments as well, but it is a tremendous blessing to be heading down the road of parenthood.

I’d like to mention one highlight of our last week. Erin and I stole away to watch August Rush. This film is tremendously acted and fantastically written. It is one we will commit to our library for sure. 

Much to the delight of Brandon and I, and due to some miracle beyond understanding, little Aiden slept 5 hours straight last night. We knew he had it in him because twice during his first week on this earth he slept for 6 hours during the day. (Silly me just let him sleep instead of realizing that he would not start to re-adjust his sleeping patterns if I was not persistant in waking him up every 2-3 hours during the day.) So, hooray Aiden’s ability to sleep 5 hours at night and for doing it for the first time so early in his little life. 🙂

They say that breast milk is best, it is specifically made and tailored for each of your different children and best of all, it is free. These things and the bond that comes with breast feeding are the reason’s I decided to breast feed. It is also said by various breast feeding resources that if you breast feed then you already have all that you need to feed your newborn. This is true, to a point.

You see, you will need nursing pads to prevent leaking and they are not cheap. You can get a box of 60 for about $7.00 but after being home for 2-3 days you will quickly realize that one box will only last for 30 feedings and if your little one eats 8-12 times a day, well, they aren’t going to last more then 3-4 days. This is a scary prospect to think that you will be spending $50.00 a month on nursing pads.

The next thing is that I decided to just double pump every 6 hours (Aiden eats 8 times a day) and that would give me enough milk to get through each day. This made me realize that I would spend another $40.00 a month just to buy enough breast milk storage bags. AGGGHHH!

Here is what I have done to reduce our costs in the feeding world. First of all I bought 2 yards of white flannel at Wal-mart, cut it into 4 inch squares, stacked 6 squares on top of each other and serged the edges together (if you have no serger zig zag around the edges). Traditional pads are round but the thought of sewing around 25+ circles was, well, not going to happen. If you cut creatively you can get 31 squares. I ripped 4 inch wide strips of fabric, cut off 24 inches and folded that in half and then thirds for one nursing pad. I then took the extra length, stacked 6 of them on top of each other and then cut that into 4 inch squares.

As for the milk storage bags, after reading about the special bags (medela, lansinoh, etc.) I learned that they are made of a special virginized plastic, and sterilized. The special plastic protects against the plastic stretching and isn’t prone to get weak spots if dropped or banged against the table, etc. Well, we decided to try regular freezer bags from the store. They are sterilized and we will just be careful not to drop them or bang them on the furniture. We haven’t learned yet how they will work but I think they will work well and you can get 100 of those for $3.50 or so. This is a MUCH better and more affordable solution. 😉

Today was our first visit to the pediatrician. We go to a little clinic on 300 So. and 850 E. Aiden had only lost 2 ounces since he was born. He is already quite a hearty eater so I am not surprised. The check up went well, the doctor had no concerns and was pleased with all the things that she checked. This is good news because on Monday night we had a little scare. As of 4:30 Tuesday morning Aiden had only had 2 wet diapers total since his was born. (By this point an infant should have had 6, one on day 1, 2 on day 2, and 3 on day 3.) This was a bit worrysome to my mom and I, and Aiden was pretty upset and I was unable to calm him. I can not begin to tell you how blessed that I am that I was able to go into my room, wake my sleeping husband and ask him to give our newborn son a blessing. The priesthood is an indispensable and amazing power to have at our disposal. Anyway, the blessing brought about a miracle and little Aiden has been having plenty of wet and poopy diapers ever since. Hooray! I sure do love my little family. 🙂

Well, tomorrow is the big day. At some point tomorrow (or in the wee hours of Saturday morning) I will officially become a mom. It is all still somewhat surreal to me, I mean me? A mom? I have been praying and hoping for this moment for years, since even before I found my sweet husband (knowing of course that I would need to first meet and marry my true love). The 17ish months that it took to finally have a successful pregnancy were long and heartbreaking and I began to wonder if I would ever be a mom in this life. Then the miracle came and June 11th I found out that I would indeed be a mom because I was officially pregnant! You would not imagine the relief I felt to have finally been blessed to have a healthy pregnancy.

I really have been blessed throughout the entirety of my pregnancy, I had minimal morning sickness (only 2 or 3 episodes), and minimal nausea. I have had heartburn pretty much the entire time, gestational carpal tunnel, frequent use of the restroom (I doubt this surprises anyone) and swelling in my feet and legs. It has also been hard to sleep at night but even then I have managed to get enough for my needs. Lastly, Aiden has been a good boy and has not kicked me in my ribs, he has however been putting his little foot right up between my ribs and the placenta and pushing outward with all his might, causing a little tender spot every now and then. I only hope that all of the blessings of my pregnancy continue to hold out through labor and delivery. Part of me is afraid that my good fortune will run out and that everything that could go wrong, will. Brandon doesn’t think so, and so I am leaning on him for support.

As for becoming a mom my most recent thoughts are those of, is this really happening? If so, how can it be? In some ways I still feel newly graduated from high school or college. I don’t know that I can accurately express my thoughts or feelings about it, but each time I am about to enter a different phase of my life, a different scene in the play of life, I look at the phases/scenes behind me and wonder if they are really finished, did I do all that I was supposed to and say all of my lines correctly so that I would be more fully prepared for what I was about to encounter. In a way I still feel like that 16 year old girl trying to fit in.

On the other hand, I have been groomed for this moment my entire life. I have always been good with kids (meaning they have always seemed to gravitate towards me). I have worked with various age groups in child care (the most recent being infants 3-12 months old), and have helped my friends with their kids through out the years. I have even held a church calling in the nursery with toddlers 18 months to 3 years old. After all of that, and reading a few parenting books, including Dr. Spock, I have very little to worry about. Not to mention that when you become a mother there is an instinct that kicks in and kind of guides you through the times that you could never be prepared for.

So, as I stand on the edge of the cliff that is motherhood wondering if I have done all that I can to prepare, if I can remember all that I have learned, and if I truly have the strength within myself for this eternity long responsibility. It is all that I can do to trust that my husband, and family will provide me with the support (advice, tips, and comfort) that I need and that Heavenly Father will be my constant companion providing guidance, inspiration, and answers to my prayers. I can also recall that when I have entered new phases/scenes in the past that it hasn’t taken long for me to get used to my new surroundings. Remembering those things I can now cinch up my parachute, (finish up any last minute things to prepare the house for Aiden’s arrival) and step up to the edge up the cliff hand in hand with my husband. We will keep everyone posted and continue to provide updates and pictures on the website. Off we go…