So long blog!

You may have noticed that I have been blogging less and less and less. As a new mom, I'm super busy and barely have time to check and respond to my email, let alone blog. I'm blessed to have a great group of girlfriends (fellow mommies!) who keep me busy with playdates and am busy with getting Ike out of the house for walks and workout class (in between getting the house clean, taking care of the laundry, and making dinner).

But there is another reason too. While I have no problem talking about myself and Andro online, I find it difficult to put out anything about our sweet, innocent baby. I think we are just beginning to see the backlash from putting too much information about our lives online on facebook and blogs and websites. I'm an adult and can and will accept full responsibility for whatever I put online about myself. But Ike shouldn't have to worry in 10 or 20 years about what I said about him when he was tiny. I'm his Mama and need to shield and protect him from whatever I can as he grows up.

So this is a blog goodbye from the Dio's. If you want to know what we're up to, give us a call or come hang out with us.

Like Father Like Son

I can't believe Ike is already nearly 8 weeks old! Time is flying and I'm loving each and every day I have with him; he's amazing.

My favorite photos of Andro when he was little are these:





I love that he was a little dancing machine. And it seems that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, check out this video of Ike dancing along with his puppy mobile. WARNING: the entire video is over 3 minutes.

Enjoying the view

Last week we moved Isaac from the bassinet to his crib. He looked way too big for the bassinet, but now he looks too small for the crib. Oh well! He's been enjoying his puppy mobile, and capturing this video was a good excuse for me to start using my Flip camcorder (love it!).

One month

I can't believe it, but Isaac just hit the one month mark and that means I've managed to survive 30+ days of middle of the night feedings (like right now as I try to rock Ike to sleep). It's funny how hard it is (for me at least) to even remember what life was like before he was here, we love him so much. He is the most amazing little man, we are so blessed to have him in our lives.

At his one month doctor checkup, Ike weighed in at 11 lbs 6 oz and measured 22 inches. He is more awake and aware of his surroundings every day and is becoming a lot of fun. He gives me plenty of smiles that totally melt my heart every time. One thing that I've learned about my son, he is a morning person just like me. By 5am, he is bright eyed and ready to start his day.

He is also becoming aware of Libby and she can no longer sneak up and just give him kisses, he now tries to 'pet' her (hopefully this won't become tugging). Libby is doing extremely well with 'her' baby. She really loves Ike and is very protective of him even around us--she follows him everywhere, even when he is in our arms (Andro will often pace with Ike to get him to quiet down when he's upset, and Libby is there following a few steps behind).

Isaac and I have started venturing out and last week had our first play date with his buddies Jason and Lucas. Jason is 8 months, Lucas is 3 months, and Ike is 1 month. It's hard to believe that they will all be in the same grade level when Jason and Lucas seem so much bigger than Ike right now. It was a lot of fun at least for us mom's (Me, Jackie and Carol) to get together and I'm looking forward to our next meet-up.

All in all, we're starting to move from 'surviving' to 'thriving.' It was really tough for me to say goodbye to Momma, but we talk every day and try to get on for video chats as often as possible (which is tough, trying to find any spare moment to talk on the phone or check email is nearly impossible when breastfeeding a baby who loves to eat). Momma will be here again in less than a month for Ike's christening and I'm so anxious for her to see him again and see how much fun he is. I'm also excited for my Daddy to meet little Phillip. I think Ike is going to totally wrap his Grandad around his little finger (just like he's done to everyone else). Ike and my Daddy already have some personality traits in common; both are not fans of crowds and like to be in calm settings with only a few people around--I think the two of them are going to be good buddies as time goes on.

Ah, baby is finally falling asleep so I'm going to wrap this up and get him back in his crib. I've got about an hour and a half left before he's up for his day.

Mr. Personality

Just a few of my favorite photos from our hospital photo shoot when Isaac was 2 days old.

He is now nearly 3 weeks and has changed so much! At his 2 week check up this week he was up to 9lbs 8oz (over his birth weight) and showed the doctor just what a strong little guy he is, pushing himself up on his forearms when the doc put him on his tummy and trying to crawl up the table towards me. I'm going to have my work cut out for me when he gets a little more coordinated, this guy can move. He has started to really use his hands, poor Libby has nearly been hit a few times but she's figuring it out. Our next doctor visit is at 1 month and I'll be interested to see how big he is then, as he is going through a growth spurt right now.

After nearly a month with us, my Mom finally had to return home earlier this week. I miss her a ton, as far as I'm concerned she could never be with us for long enough, but she'll be back for the christening next month and we're trying to coordinate daily video chats (although that can be tough as Isaac either seems to be fussy or asleep when we get online). As much as I miss her, Andro and I are figuring out how to parent without her and that's good for us to do. He's such a sweet little guy, it's not hard (just sleep depriving).

We are all now anxiously awaiting news of the impending arrival of my little niece Isabella (Izzie) Campbell--due on the 10th. Wishing them a quick labor and delivery and all the best of luck during those first few days with a newborn.

Late Arrival

Isaac is 9 days old today and is on something of a schedule, giving me time in 3 hour increments to myself and letting me finally get online. He is the most handsome little man and I love him so much, it's impossible to think that 9 days ago we hadn't even met yet. On Sunday, May 16th at 40 weeks and 3 days preggers I was admitted to the hospital to be induced. We got there at 7pm and by 8:30pm I was on pitocin. Andro and I got as settled in as we could, we were both in fairly uncomfortable beds and I was so excited I barely slept at all, and at 2am on Monday, May 17th my water broke. I was so excited and thought, great, I'll have this baby out by lunchtime...but that's not what happened.

I didn't fully efface and dilate until 3pm. My nurse didn't want to worry me and tell me that I was making no progress (my water broke at 2am but at 9am I was still at -4 station), but I knew this was taking a lot longer than it probably should. I also knew that at least I would be guaranteed to be having the baby that day because my water broke. Throughout my whole pregnancy my stance on a 'birth plan' has always been that I want my baby to be healthy and whatever needs to happen for him to be delivered safely is what I would do. I don't believe in making ultimatums for a situation that you can't control, and I'm really glad for this because I never would have foreseen Isaac's birth happening the way it did.

I started pushing at 4pm, determined to get the baby out and was pushing 4 times for each contraction instead of 3. After 2 hours of pushing, my nurse took my temperature and I was up to a fever of 101. I was given medicine and pushed hard for another hour, my doctor came in and tried using a vacuum extractor but it didn't work. It felt like (and I'm guessing looked like from that angle) the baby was stuck. The doctor told me we could keep pushing--throughout the whole labor process Isaac had a strong heartbeat and was not in distress at all--but I knew it wasn't happening. I told her I wanted to do whatever she thought was best and once she said she wanted to take me "to the back" (i.e. c-section) I fully agreed.

After the first hour of pushing my epidural had begun to wear off and by the time they were wheeling me to the back it was impossible to not want to push through the contractions. Once they got me to the operating room I made sure to tell the anesthesiologist that I had feeling again and waited until I was good and numb again before we continued. Andro came back to the room and within a few minutes at 7:57pm the doctors had Isaac out. He was so beautiful I immediately started crying. I couldn't believe we had made a person and he was here safely. They cleaned him up and Andro went to the nursery with him. After they left I finally began to succumb to exhaustion and was out of it for the next 45 mins or so as they closed me up. I woke up when they told me how big he was--21 inches and 9lbs. 7 oz.

I was wheeled to the recovery room and was in and out of sleep there for the next couple of hours. At 10:30pm, I was wheeled down to my recovery room and Mom and Trini came in to say hello and goodnight. They had waited all day for the baby to be born and once we entered the room the nurse told them they wouldn't be able to see him until the next day. But just as I was getting settled in, the door opened and they rolled in Isaac. I have never seen 2 people more excited then they were at meeting their grandson. I hadn't had a chance to hold him, so I was excited to finally get to and the picture above is from that moment.

I stayed at the hospital until Thursday afternoon (it felt like I had moved in by then, I had been there for so long). Finally coming home was wonderful, but we're still working on a schedule and the first few days were really rough (especially the first night as I failed to fill my pain killer prescription on Thursday and didn't take anything until Friday afternoon...with a c-section that is a HUGE mistake). Isaac is doing well, eating, sleeping, and pooping like all newborn babies should, and looking at him just melts my heart, he is so sweet. I have been incredibly blessed to have my Mom with me and am extremely thankful that she was able to extend her visit for a 3rd time to help me take care of him. I know she is going to go home and probably sleep for 2 weeks straight. We are definitely a bit sleep deprived here, but I'm finally able to sneak in naps here and there and I wouldn't change it for a thing.

D-day

The due date is finally here. It's been 40 long weeks, and baby Isaac shows no signs of wanting to leave. Everyone (myself, my doctor, my mom) thought I would have had the baby by now, but he has proven time and again that he is going to do what he wants to and that does not mean being born 'on time.' My doctor's appointment this morning was disheartening to say the least, but an end date is looming. I'm being induced either Monday or Tuesday (waiting on the confirmation from the hospital) and while that is definitely not what I wanted, I am very done being pregnant. I made it to 40 weeks and have given him a safe, healthy place to grow and develop, I'm done now. Hopefully he'll decide to come on his own before I go in next week, but if not at least I know that the end is near.