Man, it's been forever since I've had the chance/motivation to come on here and try to explain what's been going on in my life.

My son will be two weeks old tomorrow. I still can't believe he's that old already, he's really growing too fast and I'm not exxagerating. He never did look like a newborn, and he's far too alert to act like one either. He's not supposed to really have a growth spurt until he's three weeks old but I swear he's sprouted already. He's not even supposed to be able to cry tears until he's 1-2 months old but his eyes have gone from getting moist at a few days to actually crying tears today! What is up with my kid? He coos and locks onto people's faces, the list just goes on. I love that little boy; I can't even put into words how he's changed me and my life, but I guess every new mother says that. I've got no time for myself anymore and even just eating and bathing are hard to fit into my day, but I don't even complain about it. I managed to scrape together a birth story over the past week or so for a message group I'm in; it gets pretty graphic so skip it if you don't want to read about it.

I woke up to contractions around 4AM on January 24th; they didn't even hurt, but I noticed they got to around 5 minutes apart in almost no time. I eventually called the hospital around 6AM (I *think*) just to see what they had to say and they told me to come on in, so I went and took a bath and my mother called a short time after. I told her what was going on and my dad got up and we all got together and headed for the hospital; I wasn't in any rush because I wasn't in any pain yet, and we got there around 9AM. Well, I didn't even get seen for nearly an hour or so, and by then I started to have to breathe through my contractions. I was finally seen by a doctor who checked my belly for Liam's position and said his head still hadn't dropped and that I was probably having Braxton Hicks contractions and would probably be pregnant for another few days. I think he was trying to send me home. That really pissed me off! He decided to do an internal anyway to see how things were progressing, since I hadn't had any internals all through my pregnancy. He was surprised to find out I was 3-4cm dilated and that the swab he did tested positive for amniotic fluid. He went outside to talk with another doctor, and I think they were STILL going to try and send me home because the baby hadn't dropped yet... but while they were out there talking, I felt a pop and my water broke all over the examining table. They came back in and I told them what happened and they said they were going to admit me. Things were finally starting to happen!

A nurse brought me to my room in the maternity ward in a wheelchair. I felt kinda stupid about it, but it was better than having to walk all the way there still leaking fluid so I didn't mind it so much. She said she was surprised at how calm I was about it all, that I must have a high pain tolerance. It didn't take long for that to change though! I got into my room around 10:30AM and in bed so I could be monitored for a non-stress test, and it didn't take long for my contractions to come one after another. Before I knew it, I was almost bawling through my contractions and then I remember the midwives and doctors were all around me telling me to just breathe. They came in with an ultrasound machine because they still didn't believe I was having my baby anytime soon; they checked and checked and couldn't find his head anywhere, so they did another internal to see what was going on. I was already 7-8cm dilated now, and I heard the doctor say I had an anterior lip on my cervix (I still don't know what that means). His head was right there, and no one could believe my labor had progressed so fast. It wasn't even 12:00PM I was already on my way to the delivery room! I didn't have any time for pain medications, even though I didn't want any to begin with. The pains were bad enough that I was actually agreeing to some demerol but I never got any as things happened so quickly... but I'm glad it went that way because I got my natural childbirth.

I'd have to say I loved my delivery (minus the pain of course, lol). There were no doctors involved in my birth, just a really awesome midwife. There was no intervention besides the occasional checking of Liam's heartbeat by doppler. No one was camped out between my legs, no one telling me when and how to push. I just did what I felt right and it felt so natural. I did, however, find out that my pelvis is tilted forwards; I'd push Liam so far, and he'd go right back in. It was so frustrating that I didn't even really put any attempt at pushing so it took a while for me to get him out. But when he started to crown, I thought I was going to die and I decided he was going to come out then no matter what! When the baby's head started crowning, the midwife started coaching me a bit to avoid tearing. Liam was born at 1:16PM and he was wiped up and put on my chest afterwards. I had three tears, but they were too small to need stitches and didn't even really bother me afterwards. It took a while to get him latched onto my breast, but when he did, he camped out there for 45 minutes before I had to take him off lol I let my parents spend some time with him, and the midwife came in to get him and he didn't even leave the delivery room until 2:50PM. I got a lot of bonding time with him! I got up and went back to my room for a shower, and the midwife took him to the nursery to have him checked over.

Liam Dietrich Thomas was born on January 24th at 1:16PM; he weighed 8lbs 11oz and was 22 inches long. No one could believe how big he was! I stayed in the hospital for five days, which nearly drove me crazy... one reason being that Liam just COULDN'T latch on properly. He was up 24/7, always hungry, always crying. My nipples were getting sore and he would take little chunks out of them and I was in tears of pain and exhaustion. I also didn't have my own place yet and my dad's place is crowded with little hot water and no dryer, so the hospital let me stay longer to shorten my stay with my dad until I found my own place. Anyway, I saw the breastfeeding specialist again the day before I was discharged (the same woman who delivered Liam!) and he finally got his latch right. I got out the day after that, and it was SOOOOO good to be able to come home, no matter how crowded it is.

Liam and I are doing great now; his latch is awesome and he's almost up to his birthweight again: he went down to 8lbs 2oz in the hospital and was up to 8lbs 8oz on Monday. He sleeps through the night already, only waking up to nurse. He's unbelievably strong, able to hold up his head (and his whole body if he's mad about something!). He's so alert, and sometimes I wonder if he just wanted to skip the newborn stage altogether. He seems too advanced for his age, but maybe I'm just biased, hehe. He's a good baby and I'm grateful for that.

I found an apartment for Liam and I. I move in on Monday and I've been buying furniture for it and will start packing our stuff this weekend. I can't wait to get settled and into our own routine, it's unbelievably crowded here at my dad's place. Of course I can get help here when I need it and if I'm not home alone with Liam, he never has to cry while I try and get things done around the house... but having my own place is a lot better for us. I just hope to God I don't get post-partum depression cause I'd be screwed; I haven't had the chance to exactly be a single parent yet because my dad loves his grandson to death and helps out whenever he can. Justin doesn't know what he's missing out on and it's his loss.

There's been a LOT going on with me, but my pasta bake should be cooled off a bit and I'm sure my dad's drooling over it as I type. Liam is never asleep when I need to eat so I'm going to see if I can take advantage of that before he wakes up. No mother ever told me that eating becomes a race when you have kids! And on that note, here's another picture of my little angel sucking his thumb... now go over to my guestbook and tell me what a doll he is!

I'm wearing: Tommy tee, Adidas tear-away pants, Pooh socks, slippers
I'm listening to: The TV in the background and my son stirring from his nap
I'm thinking: I'll never get an update done for this darn diary