Posted Friday, August 26, 2011 9:46 AM
What a terrible blogger I am! It has been so long since my last post, so I'll try to sum up all of the amazing things that Owen has learned and become in the last 7 months as best I can!
We have had a fantastic summer home together. This is one of the biggest reasons I love being a teacher -- I have looked forward to summers at home with my children since I began my career, and it's finally paying off! Owen and I had weekly playdates with Melanie and Ainsley McIvor and Robyn and Edward Chrast. We went to Linden Hills Park to swim in the pool, made a couple of trips to the MN Zoo, went to Sea Life at MOA to see the fish (Owen thought this was so cool!), spent some time at Valleyfair, mostly in the wave pool :), and saw so many friends for lunches and coffees out. We also spent a lot of time here at home, enjoying our house and playing in the 2 kiddie pools Owen got for his birthday! Owen LOVES to swim, and we've had a great summer in the water. When we're not swimming, we can usually be found in the living room, where Owen has every kid's perfect playland -- all of his toys in one fabulous room (with 2 comfy couches where Mom and Dad can supervise from and relax!) He plays SO independently, and it's a joy to watch him exploring and learning.
We also took a Music Together class with Sherrie Byron during June/July, and Owen loved making friends and making music there. It was a great learning experience for me, too! Melanie and Ainsley took the class with us, so we got to spend some extra time with our BFF at music class.
Tuesdays were music class, and Wednesdays during July were Baby Storytime at the EP library! Owen loved this, too -- reading the books and playing with new friends.
Owen has 5 teeth now (3 on bottom, 2 on top) and continues to teethe fast and furious. He stands on his own and "cruises" along anything he can find -- he's not very interested in walking independently yet, but he gets around pretty fast! He has just one word that we know for sure -- "gy" for "doggy" :) He also says "mom-mom" and "da-da" but we're not sure he knows who's who! He claps, signs "more" and "all done", waves hi and bye-bye, and is working on skills like sorting shapes. His alphabet train is his FAVORITE toy, although he still really likes the book that Uncle Mike and family got him for Christmas too!
In April, Daddy had a business trip to Tampa, FL and Owen and I tagged along for a long weekend vaca for Owen's first plane ride, hotel stay, etc -- lots of exciting firsts! We loved swimming in the pool and enjoying the warm weather!
Owen's 1st birthday party was a ton of fun. We had family and a few close friends over for a BBQ and Owen got so many fun new toys! He was not a fan of the cake; he opted for a "birthday cracker" instead :) The frosting was OK, though -- he at least tasted that!
We were very excited to welcome Miss Linda and Brad's new son into our group of buddies -- Warren James was born on August 9th and Owen can hardly wait for him to be old enough to really play with us!
Today is our last day of "summer vacation" (Mommy goes back to work on Monday) but we're both looking forward to Owen being back in daycare so he can see his "daycare Mom" Miss Karen and his friends. We're hoping this will also encourage Owen to try some more new foods and learn even more new skills from his older friends Logan and Ryan!
Joseph and I are constantly grateful and amazed at how blessed we are to have such an amazing son. We mention it almost every night before we go to sleep -- we just couldn't be happier! Owen is funny, smart, easy to be around, and delightful when we take him out in public. We just couldn't be prouder of our incredible little man!
I resolve to write sooner next time!
~The Mama
Posted Thursday, February 03, 2011 1:51 PM
I may be a couple of days early in writing this month's post, but this is pretty good for me! Owen is growing, learning, and exploring at an alarming pace, and we've had an exciting month at our house!
January brought lots of drama to the Satre household. Our first crisis erupted on January 10th, just a week or two after we had begun supplementing Owen's diet with formula. He had adjusted super well, taking formula just as readily as he was guzzling down breast milk, and we were thrilled! He would usually take a bottle after nursing at bedtime, and it was also helping him to sleep longer without a feeding. On the 9th, after visiting Grandma Sharon's house, we arrived home and noticed Owen's skin was splotchy, especially underneath his clothing (new Christmas outfit) and his diaper. We were concerned, but gave him a bath and it seemed to improve, so we decided Urgent Care wasn't necessary. The next night, the same thing happened, only the rash was considerably worse. We didn't even stop to think -- we packed up and drove to St. Francis' Urgent Care. After lots of consults (triage, etc) we were sent to the ER, where he was given Benadryl and the rash improved. The next day, we saw a pediatrician at Owen's clinic (Dr. Aronson was out) who told us that it definitely was NOT an allergic reaction to his formula -- it was just a virus. She also Not buying this explanation, I feared giving Owen any more formula and had a terrible night that night when he demanded more food and I had nothing to give him! The next day, Joseph stayed home just to give Owen an "experimental" small bottle of formula. Within an hour, Owen broke out. GRR! Called Dr. Aronson, who recommended soy formula. Owen hated the soy formula at first, but has resigned himself to the idea that that's all he will be offered. Crisis 1 resolved.
On January 19th, our fair city of Shakopee was doing some snow removal on 101 (we have had record snows this year!) and was kind enough to leave a huge boulder of snow in the only open lane as I drove to work. $300 worth of car repairs later.....
On January 21st, I went into Target Clinic with thrush. Yuck!
On January 22nd, Owen and I took Joseph in to the St. Francis ER (again?! Sheesh!) for a kidney stone after he suddenly developed severe pain and began vomiting. Luckily, it was only a few hour stay, during which time he was given IV pain meds and hydration, had a CT scan, the doc determined it was indeed a stone, and he actually passed the 3 mm. stone in the hospital! Yay! He was sent home with pain meds, and all was well again.
On January 25th (?) Joseph spun out on 494, losing his antilock brakes. Luckily, the ABS came back on later that day and there were no cars around to hit. He also narrowly avoided the snowbank, so there was no damage.
But enough about the family drama. Back to Owen, the bright spot in our lives. He has become quite a steady sitter, only falling over occasionally and mostly when he's trying to lean too far over to reach a toy that's just a little too far to get to. He has also become a big eater, broadening his menu to include lots of fruits, veggies, cereal, and Gerber puffs as snacks. He loves to play in his Jumperoos at G-maw and Grandpa's house and at home, and loves anything with lights and sounds :) He also loves tags -- tags on toys, blankets, clothing...you name it! Straps, too -- he'll grab on to the excess strap from the high chair, car seat, stroller....whatever he's sitting in.....and chew on it endlessly.
Laughter makes Owen laugh. Daddy's silly (kinda creepy, if you ask me!) laugh makes Owen laugh and laugh. He also loves peekaboo -- never gets old!
He's growing like a weed. We just got into 3-6 month clothing, and already some of it is too small for Owen! I sense that 6-9 month sizes are right around the corner for us! He is especially long, so often outfits are too short for him (especially the arms and legs -- Owen's got long ones!)
Owen continues to be the light of our lives. His strong little personality shines through more and more each day, and we are delighting in getting to know this little man that has stolen our hearts. We can never get enough of him, and always look forward to days off when we can spend the entire day with our beautiful, fun, energetic son! Here's looking forward to month 9 and beyond!
~Ali
Posted Thursday, January 06, 2011 7:01 PM
My journaling skills may not be exemplary, but for this month, at least, I'm writing on time! How the time has flown; we can hardly believe our little boy is already 7 months old! He is learning at a fast and furious pace these days -- lately, he's been working on sitting up more steadily, eating anything and everything we put in front of him (sweet potatoes and pears are his faves; he's also dabbling in bananas, squash, carrots, and prunes. So far, he is resistant to green vegetables -- hates green beans, and the peas were OK but didn't agree with his tummy...alas...)
Owen believes that there is nothing funnier than: peekaboo, being tickled, and watching Daddy dance.
Owen dislikes: green beans, medicine, staying up too late, being buckled into his car seat (or anything, for that matter), reaching the end of the bottle, having his picture taken, and being on his tummy.
Owen loves: Senor Turtle, his frog lovey, Nuk pacifiers, Mr. Rumble Tummy, Mr. Crinkle Pants, eating, taking baths, Mommy & Daddy, Miss Karen, day care friends, watching football, toys that light up and/or make music, and "nakey time".
Owen still plays with his friends Ed Chrast and Ainsley McIvor fairly often, although not as often as they played during the summer. We all look forward to spending lots of time together this next summer, when the babes will be a year old (even older for Ed!) and on to new milestones and fun summertime activities!
Day care is one of the highlights of Owen's life. He loves all of the activity, watching and playing with his friends, and the loving care of Miss Karen. It is a wonderful experience for him that we are thankful to be able to provide, and we consider it an important part of his learning and development.
Speaking of development, Owen is still tooth-less (false alarm a couple of months ago, but no dice) and is on his way to sitting up, but we don't see crawling in his imminent future. He does love putting anything and everything he can get his hands on in his mouth -- he must see, feel, scratch, grab, and taste all of the interesting things around him as he explores the world. He's still a little peanut, having only recently graduated to size 2 diapers and size 3-6 month clothes.
Joseph and I are in awe of Owen -- we regularly comment to each other how amazing our boy is and how lucky we are to be his parents. We couldn't be more satisfied with our lives, and we feel blessed every day with this beautiful, loving family.
Posted Saturday, October 23, 2010 9:25 PM
I am a terrible journaler! Still, I decided it was best to write a post now, then (hopefully) post again in a couple more weeks at 5 months.
As you might imagine, Owen has changed so much since my last post! First off, I returned to work at the beginning of September, which meant Owen started daycare! He loves his time with his new friends at Karen Hennen's home in Shakopee. She is truly an answer to any parent's prayers -- she is kind, flexible, loves Owen like family, and parents with exactly the same choices we would make if we were there! Owen is thriving under her care, and has wonderful, happy days every day at daycare!
Speaking of our happy boy, Owen is smiling and laughing; he finds the world around him to be hilarious! We love spending time with him, finding new ways to make him smile! Among his favorite things to do: listening to music, watching Mom & Dad dance, taking baths, and playing with his playmat.
His favorite toys are his "lovey" frog blanket, his super soft "giraffe" blanket, his "Mr. Crinklepants" elephant, and his ball. He doesn't much care for Sophie the Giraffe (incidentally, his most expensive toy!) yet, but we have hope for the future.
He LOVES his pacifier, and is not often without his "sucky".....
His sleep has been variable; with the adjustment to daycare and a new schedule, plus the added complications that reflux and teething bring, he has his good nights and bad nights. Sometimes he sleeps 8-9 hours straight....other nights, he's up twice in the middle of the night.
He is beginning to teethe; we suspect that some front toofers will be poking through very, very soon! This has made Owen a little crabby lately; nursing seems to bother him especially. He's growing so fast! He's also working on sitting up, and can roll over in both directions. He has used this new found skill to allow him to sleep on his side (just like both Mom and Dad prefer!) and has become very good at falling asleep on his own.
Owen's reflux still hasn't been completely resolved. After 2 months on liquid Zantac, we have switched his medication to Prevacid, and hope to see some positive results. Less spitting and more weight gain would be fabulous! At Owen's 4 month checkup, he weighed 10 lbs, 14 oz.
Joseph and I love our little boy more and more every day, and we still find ourselves staring at him and loving on him for hours on end! He is developing such a fun personality, and we can hardly wait to watch him continue to grow into a big boy!
~A
Posted Friday, August 06, 2010 9:15 PM
Owen has grown another month older, and we cannot believe how quickly he changes!
This month brought our first frustrations and genuine worries of parenting, as we wondered whether Owen could possibly be suffering from a food allergy. I also had a tough month, since I cut out all dairy products in an attempt to figure out whether a milk allergy could be the culprit. He has been such a fussy baby, and his crying often seems to be for no reason at all; plus, his "baby acne" has been suspected by both Joanne and Kylie to be a possible allergic rash. So, after weeks of dairy elimination, I finally brought him in to his pediatrician seeking allergy testing.
Dr. Aronson agreed to a blood test, but the process of drawing blood from his little tiny 6-week old arms turned out to be much more challenging than I could have imagined. It took 2 nurses over 20 minutes, poking him in both arms several times, in order to collect even a fraction of the blood necessary for the test. However, they were able to manage it, and all of the allergy tests came back negative! Woot!
Even better, Owen's fussiness seemed to improve throughout this month, and I'm proud to report that at 2 months old today, Owen is a fairly happy, smiling, highly intelligent baby! He loves going out and about (I'm pretty sure he thinks that malls are the coolest thing ever) and he LOVES his Daddy! The "daddy hold" (one arm across his chest, the other hand supporting one knee), and "Superboy" holds are among his favorites, and he lights up as soon as Daddy comes home from work each day. We've even noticed that he's less fussy on the weekends, when we're all home together. We love Owen's adorable baby smile, and can't wait for him to reach even more milestones!
Owen continues to adore eating. His happiest times are spent at the breast, and it is a constant source of comfort for him. I'm loving our time spent together breastfeeding as well, and am so glad we were unwilling to compromise on breastfeeding. He's even recently shown some resistance to the bottle; while he took it easily at first,he's decided as of late that he prefers the boob, and would rather not take a bottle. We're working to remedy that ASAP so that he's all set when he goes to daycare next month.
Speaking of daycare, we got a visit from Miss Karen last week, and we couldn't be more excited for him to spend time with her when we're both back at work! She was great with him, and I know he's going to enjoy his time with all those other kids.
Owen and I have also started getting together with Robyn Chrast, Melanie McIvor, and their babies (Ed and Ainsley) for weekly "baby brunches" at each others' houses. What a fabulous support system and fun activity it's been for all of us! I hope we continue getting together during the school year and resume our weekly outings next summer! We decided to forgo the brunch this week and instead went to the Mall of America; the babies (and mommies) loved it!
Other outings this month included Mom & Dad's first evening out (for Joseph's birthday; we had dinner at Osaka in EP and Grandma & Grandpa Smith watched Owen) on July 15th, Auntie Betty's 90th birthday party on the 24th, and a trip to Northfield with Grandma Sharon to pick up her new car and to meet Great Uncle Chuck, Cousin Cheyenne and Cousin Soren, who's only 1 month older than Owen! We also took a trip to the Sun Path Elementary playground with Meagan Phillips and her boys, Ryan and Evan for a fun-filled afternoon and good walk. Today, after Owen's 2-month shots (he did great!) we went to Minnehaha Park and had a great family afternoon, eating at SeaSalt and walking around the park. We are looking forward to taking him there to play on the playgrounds and in the kiddie pool next summer!
Joseph and I are still marveling at our beautiful boy; we often stare at him and share in our wonder that we created such a perfect little person, and we can hardly wait to watch him grow into an active little boy! The miracle of life is not lost on us; we are still amazed at how a new life has been created out of our love.
Posted Tuesday, July 06, 2010 11:18 AM
Well, Owen is a month old, and I can hardly believe how time has flown!
We have spent the last month getting to know Owen's likes, dislikes, patterns and schedule, and boy have we learned a lot! It has been a big adjustment to Little O getting used to the wide world around him, and in general, his likes are anything that reminds him of "the good ol' days" in the womb. He enjoys being carried in the Baby Bjorn close to our chest, listening to the vacuum cleaner or the hair dryer (our trick every night at bedtime!), listening to me sing or play the piano (he heard lots of that in the good ol' days!) and, OF COURSE, the boy loves to eat! He is a nursing champion!
Owen will also enjoy a swing ride or a stint in the bouncy chair, for a limited time. He has not yet embraced tummy time, but we have hope that this will come with time. He does enjoy riding in his stroller, but not as much as he enjoys riding in the car! A car ride is another sure bet to put Owen to sleep....most of the time. He has been a great shopper, doing a wonderful job on our trips to Target and Cub. He also did a great job on his first outings, first to my 10-year CSB reunion on 6/25, and then the very next day on our boat trip in Stillwater to celebrate Grandma Sharon's 60th birthday.
He had his first photo shoot yesterday at Target; although he cried through the entire session, he took some beautiful pictures! He's been struggling with a terrible case of baby acne, but that seems to be clearing up somewhat; hopefully it will be history very soon.
Joseph and I are loving parenthood and even getting used to our new sleep schedule! Owen goes to bed between 11pm and midnight; Daddy takes the bedtime shift and often even does the bedtime feeding; Owen loves the bottle! When he wakes up, usually around 3 am, I take that shift, nursing him and hopefully getting him back to sleep in pretty short order. He doesn't always cooperate with that, but is usually back to sleep before 6 at the latest. Then I get a couple more hours of much needed sleep after Joseph is off to work. Hopefully, it only gets better from here....but we're managing really well!
We can't believe how much he's changing from day to day and week to week; we could still stare at him 24/7 and never get bored; in fact, we often let him sleep in our arms just because we don't want to put him down! We're sure this will wear off eventually, but for now we are soaking up every moment and enjoying our beautiful little gift from God.
Posted Thursday, June 10, 2010 9:52 AM
I am THRILLED to report that baby Owen was born on Sunday, June 6th, at 4:45 pm! He was 6 lb, 10 oz, was 20" long, and is the absolute apple of his parents' eyes!
His birth story was far from what we had planned.....but it got him here. On Friday 6/4, I went in to the hospital for some postdate testing instead of my usual midwife appointment. They did a non-stress test (he did great!) and an ultrasound (everything looked perfect!) Julia also stripped my membranes; I was dilated to maybe 2 cm and partially effaced. On Saturday morning, I felt my first contraction as I woke up. They came very erratically during the day on Saturday, anywhere from 20-45 minutes apart, but we knew we were on our way! At about 7pm, Kylie came over, and hung out with us until we were ready to go to the hospital. At 10:30, I called the hospital, and was told that we should wait until the midwife had a chance to talk to us before driving in. We waited for an hour, and then called back to say we were going to come in anyway. By this time, contractions had been consistently 7 minutes apart, then dropped to 4 or so quickly.
When we arrived at the hospital, we had to walk around the block to the ER entrance, which I did just fine. We were taken to triage, where they determined that my water had broken (not all in one big gush, but I had had several small gushes, so I pretty much knew it had broken) and that I was dilated to about 4 or 4.5 cm. They gave me a room and we were on our way! Labor was SO hard. The pain was way more than I had ever imagined, and it progressed so slowly. At one point, I did labor in the tub for an hour or so, but it seemed to slow the labor, so I got out and went back to the room. Throughout the labor, they were concerned about Owen's heart rate. It seemed to take some big dips, and they had trouble hearing it with the external monitors. So at some point Sunday morning, they inserted an internal monitor. I was very upset about this, because we had seen what those entail (they basically monitor it with a very small screw that's screwed into baby's head!) and hated the thought of doing that to my baby, but it was truly necessary.
Once the internal monitor was in place, it was confirmed that Owen's heart rate was taking some pretty big dips during contractions. In addition, my labor was not progressing; I was still only dilated to 6 cm. The midwife suggested that I begin a Pitocin drip to move things along. I didn't like it, but agreed to it. So, in the IV went, and we continued. Shortly after beginning the Pitocin, the contractions became stronger, and I was told I was dilated to 7 (and therefore, would be entering transition). The pain was absolutely unbearable. I was beside myself with pain and exhaustion, and was absolutely delirious. I couldn't speak, think, comprehend what was going on around me....I was a mess. To add to the trouble, Owen's heart rate took a huge dip down into the 50s, sending a team of OBs and nurses flying into my room. It was all a blur, but I remember Kathy telling me that if I couldn't get the baby's heart rate back up, we'd be going in for an emergency c-section. I breathed like I'd never breathed before, and his heart rate did bounce back. Kathy decided at that point to stop the Pitocin for a while. My labor stalled, so later on, they began the Pitocin again and the contractions got stronger again. Kathy suggested that they really wanted to insert an epidural because: 1. I was exhausted and couldn't handle much more labor and pain and 2. She wanted to increase the Pitocin to try to progress labor. I cried, but agreed, and the epidural went in. It was SUCH a relief, even though it was not what we had wanted for the birth, to have a moment without the excruciating pain. At this point, I also knew that a C-section was still a very real possibility, and I knew that I needed an epidural if I wanted to be awake for a C-section, should it become necessary.
Once the epidural was in, they increased the dose of Pitocin. Almost immediately, Owen's heart rate plummeted again, this time into the 40s. Again, I was able to bring it back up with extreme breathing, but everyone was concerned. I could also now, with the help of the epi, feel the urge to push. Upon checking my cervix, there was dissention (at first they said I just had a lip, then it was only 8 cm) about my progress (I actually said I'd be willing to tear rather than have a c-section! Of course, they were not about to let me tear my cervix....) The OB on duty came in and talked to me at this point, and suggested that a C-section might be the best option. Owen had had two major crises, and she said that there was no guarantee that his heart rate would recover a 3rd time. If I elected to do a C-section, I could be awake and it would be much more controlled than if they were to do one later under extreme emergency. So I consulted with everyone in the room. Everyone seemed to agree that the C-section was the best thing to do for Owen, and every bone in my body told me that I had to do this for my baby. We had simply come too far together to risk losing him now.
I was terrified going into the surgery.
Joseph and Colleen were allowed in with me (Colleen really just wanted to see a C-section; she'd never seen one performed, but she ended up being a huge asset, taking pictures throughout the procedure and of Owen's birth when I was unable to!) Joseph and I mostly cried, first out of fear but then out of sheer elation that our baby was about to be born! It was, by far, the most memorable and emotional moment of my life, lying on the operating table and sobbing with my husband as our baby was pulled out of me.
Any doubts I could have had about whether we did the right thing by having the C-section were erased as I heard one of the doctors say that the cord was wrapped very tightly around his neck twice. I knew for certain that we had done the right thing, and was so glad he was OK and had finally been born.
It was so difficult to hear him cry, know that he had arrived, but be unable to even see him from where I was. Joseph and Colleen immediately held him, Joseph cut the cord, and they were able to see him, but I was on the other side of the curtain! I could see the table where Joseph cut the cord, but I still hadn't seen my baby's beautiful face. Thankfully, one of the OR nurses had Joseph bring Owen over and lay him next to my head, so we were cheek to cheek. While I was still disappointed to not be able to hold or nurse him (especially since he was clearly interested in nursing!), the bonding that happened at that time was still precious and very meaningful.
I asked Joseph what his Apgar scores were (he didn't know what those were, but Colleen was on hand, and she said his 2 minute was an 8, and they hadn't done the 5 minute yet. It was a 9, for the record :))
After what seemed like FOREVER to finish the surgery and stitch me up (I had Joseph bring Owen out to meet his anxious fans who had waited so long to meet him during this time), I was brought into recovery, where Owen and Joseph joined me. I had hoped to try to nurse him at this time, but he was already fast asleep. We were brought to our hospital room, where they got me situated before they allowed my visitors in. They stayed to visit, toast Owen's safe arrival (Mom and Dad brought champagne and sparkling cider) and take some pictures before heading home for some much-needed sleep. Joseph and I settled in with our new son, and have been enjoying parenthood ever since!
We were released from the hospital on Wednesday (6/9) and are loving our time at home together as a family, adjusting to our new schedule and way of life!
Posted Saturday, May 29, 2010 1:20 PM
Well, here we are. Still pregnant! Feeling good, not too uncomfortable, and enjoying having a little bit of "free" time (we certainly had no plans for this weekend!) Both of us are excited to meet Owen, but we are patiently waiting for him to be ready. We both want a natural birth, when the baby's good and ready, and we know it won't be long now before we get to meet our son! We talk to him often now, asking when he plans to make his appearance and interacting with him as he moves around inside me (he's an active little kid already, and we've already taken note of his "active" and "sleepy" times of day...)
I had my 40 wk appointment with Karen yesterday, and although I'm still not very dilated (0-1) things seem to be progressing normally. She had been concerned that he was posterior last week, and although he hasn't turned completely, she thinks he's flipped a little; possibly facing to the side. Guess all of those uncomfortable exercises I did this week helped out a bit!
We're also hopeful because both of us have felt from the beginning that the first due date (June 2) was more accurate, according to when we believe we conceived. So we're not too discouraged by being post-due date. Grandma Sharon and Auntie Cassie will be thrilled that they'll be back in town for the birth, too!
To top off the good news, my maternity leave has officially begun. I wasn't 100% certain until I saw Karen yesterday, but she agreed that it's reasonable for me to not return to work until next fall, and wrote me a letter (just in case) for my employer, should I need it. Hopefully, Owen will be born before next Tuesday anyway, but knowing definitively that my leave has begun has relieved a lot of stress. Looking forward to some quality time with Joseph and Kahlua, and some time for me to rest up before the baby comes.
I think that's all of the new news for now! I think we're going to check out the ponies at Canterbury this afternoon, since the weather is gorgeous and admission is free this season.
Excitedly,
The Mama