The Latest and Greatest

Well, dear blog readers, I have to say that I have neglected you all for a very good reason. (Except for the end of June through July 11th. No excuses there other than sheer laziness and household temps of 98 degrees.) For those of you who have not heard, on July 11th, I went into labor with our little son. He was born two days later on July 13th. I have to say, I cannot have imagined a better labor/birth experience for a premature baby. The Lord was truly gracious to us, and although the insurance battle STILL continues (I will NEVER do Cobra again if I can help it at all), we were blessed with a healthy delivery and a healthy little "Pooh Bear" as we call him. He did not need any oxygen therapy, CPAP machine, etc. at birth. In fact, the ALS nurse was able to bring him back for me to hold for a few minutes after they checked him out. The labor itself (for you L&D folks out there) was really not all that bad, despite having contractions for two days. The only complaint I had (or maybe foggy memory I had?) was the sensation that my tailbone was going to be separated from the rest of my lumbar spine. Still hurts to sit on stiff chairs. Oh well. The docs advised me to stay away from donut seating, but I still have half a mind that it might be a good idea for a while until that bone doesn't feel bruised.

Highlights of the week: Little Fella broke 5 lbs last night. He's starting to beef up! 2) The feedings are steadily going well and increasing. Oregon has one of the best breastfeeding success rates in the nation, and their lactation nurses are phenomenal. He was breastfeeding successfully before they started him on a bottle yesterday. He has to be able to do both successfully before he can go home. Today he managed to take about half of his feeds by mouth, and the rest went to the feeding tube (as opposed to last week when he wasn't feeding more than 2 cc's at a time), so we are making progress! Probably won't be able to take him home for at least another week, though.  3) Sacred Heart Medical Center is only a year old and (no lie) is the nicest hospital I've ever seen, bar none. And it's not in a wealthy snooty area. The care has been absolutely top-notch. The food? Not too bad. And the walkways behind the hospital stray along the river for a beautiful view. (I haven't really explored them too much because it's hard to be away from our little person.) One of these days I will get pictures. 4) Having the "Grandmas" come out has been of immense help. My mom cleaned the apartment for me and helped me get some things organized. My baby shower on Saturday rendered us the supplies we really needed, so now I feel like we are equipped to take the little fella home. And Mike's mom (Mim) has offered to help wash everything, organize it for us, and put the immediate needs away for use when he comes home. She also is assisting with laundry and food-shopping/errands. It feels a little weird to delegate household tasks like these, but getting up at 5:00 every morning to pump, commuting back and forth to Eugene, and not getting home until 9:00 at night pretty much means that I need help at this point, so I'm thrilled that both of my favorite mothers came to assist.

Low points: 1) the drive to Eugene. Although it is a beautiful drive, the road "destruction" season is in full-swing. Long drives, three major traffic accidents this week, etc. have added on at least an hour or two each day.  2) Someone stole my bike while I was in the hospital! Dogone those thieves anyhow! Mike keeps pointing out that I didn't once ride my bike in Escondido, but I didn't do so out of choice. There were no sidewalks or safe places in town to ride the bike. The trails by the lake were a bit risky when some local teenagers went missing and turned up murdered. Over Mike's dead body would I be taking rides out by the lake alone. Here there are numerous trails all over town, and a bike lane in every major lane of traffic. I would have gotten around to using it soon....Oh well. Maybe there will be a discounted bike somewhere with my name on it, but I have lots of good memories of my Trek. Mostly memories of Anne and me riding through forest preserves, having picnics, etc. I find I still miss her every day. Is it wrong to have such a sentimental attachment to a piece of metal? Oh well. I guess I shouldn't get too hung up on the fact that it is gone; it was my own dumb fault for not putting it in storage sooner.

I'm hoping to get some new photos soon. Here are the most recent ones. I posted them on FB too, so I apologize if they seem like duplicates. They are.  Happy blogging, dear blog readers!

Family and loved ones spoiling me rotten. I thought it was fun that the bouquets match so well. Mike loved the bears and couldn't help playing with them. (See pictures below.)

Grandma Bonnie (aka Grandma Bea) spoiling Cameron rotten.

"Quit bugging me, Mom!"

Starving Marvin

The Pacman Quilt that was donated by three sixth-grade boys who participated in a local art class. (Mike thinks Home Ec.)

Tiny Pooh Bear in a fun moose outfit that the NICU had on hand