18 days new…
Here are the pictures from Alexanders photo shoot we had when he was only 18 days new. I LOVE the pics–my boy is just so precious. My friend Nikki Scott took the pictures–she always does an amazing job. Check out her website to see more of her fabulous work. www.nikkiscottphotography.com. Enjoy the pics. ~Lisa~
Life as a new mom…
Well I just thought I would update you all on what has been going on around here the past month–yes the past month–can’t believe my baby is already a month old. So far things have been amazing (not that there haven’t been a few sleepless nights and some frustrating moments trying to figure out what our little man needs are) but all in all it has been a great ride. Surprisingly I have still managed to get outside and do some yard work and also been able to keep up on household chores–even found some time to watch a few of my favorite shows 
. Wayne and I have a pretty good system down and we work pretty well together as a team. It helps that Alexander is a very calm, cool, collect kinda guy–he definitely has adjusted well to his new life out of utero. We have gotten pretty good at reading his signals of hunger and find that he really only fusses when he has gas or a wet diaper–but c’mon who wouldn’t fuss, right! His feedings are also like clockwork–every 3-4 hours you can pretty much bet that he is going to want some grub–weather it be the breast or bottle. So far the breastfeeding has been going pretty smooth–my only problem is that I am not producing a ton of milk, so we have had to supplement with formula. But as long as his is getting some breast milk, I’m happy and will continue to keep it up. In the past week we have really noticed him being a lot more alert for longer periods of time. He quite enjoys his tummy time or hanging out in his swing and vibrating turtle chair–the life eh!! So, as far as we are concerned we feel very blessed that we have such a good baby-and I can honestly say I do enjoy every minute of being a mom–even the 3am poopy diaper change and feed. It’s a pretty amazing time in our lives. ~Lisa~
Nursery Renovation (Post from March 2011)
Here is a post from March 2011–just found it in my drafts–guess I forgot to post it–must a been the “baby brain”. heehee!!
Well the nursery is finally finished–yay!!! My next step (which is going to be so much fun) is to assemble the room with all my bedding and decorations. I want to thank my dad for all his help in getting this room done–he is always such a big help. We couldn’t of done it without him. I will have to tell “Baby Mac” all about his Grandpa’s help in getting the room ready for his/her big arrival into the world. Below are some pictures of the renovation from the start to the finish. Enjoy! ~Lisa
It’s a BOY!!
Wayne & I are very proud to announce the birth of our beautiful baby boy!!! Alexander, Wayne MacGregor was born on July. 16th at 12:50pm via c-section. He weighed in at 8lbs 7oz and was 21 3/4 inches long. He came into the world 16 days earlier than expected, at almost 38 weeks gestation. We are super happy and are enjoying parenthood, despite being a bit tired at times–haha!! We are in love with our little boy and are trying to enjoy each moment–before he gets too big on us–they grow-up just too damn quick.
Now the journey to meeting our little guy didn’t come as easy as one would of hoped–not that natural childbirth is a fun task by any stretch, but our birth story turned out to be a bit of a rollar coaster ride. Here are the details:
Now as most of you know, my pregnancy was excellent–I had no problems and always felt amazing. However the week before Alex was born my blood pressure spiked to around 150/110 and I started having symptoms such as chest and back pains, shortness of breath and nausea. I was sent for blood work, put on afternoon bed rest and started to take blood pressure medication. Come Friday I started to feel a bit better, but as the evening wore on my symptoms got worse and by around 2:30am we were off to emergency. Turns out I had a condition called HELLP Syndrome which often develops late in pregnancy and is usually associated with Pre-clampsia. Pre-clampsia is a combination of swelling, protein in the urine and high blood pressure. When you have this condition, doctors will moniter you closley so your symptoms don’t develop into E-clampsia-that is when you have either a stroke or seizer. So also a very serious concern. They still don’t know why or what brings either HELLP or Pre-clampsia–but quite ofter they go hand iin hand with each other. HEELP stands for:
- H – hemolysis
- EL – elevated liver enzymes
- LP – low platelet count
The only cure for HELLP is to deliver the baby as the condition worsens very fast. 1 in 4 women will suffer liver damage or stroke if t is not taken care of immediately. By early morning it was ruled that we had no time for an induction and that a c-section was the only way to go. Because of my low platelet count (mine was 56 when normally it should be between 140-400) the anesthesiologist would not perform a spinal epidural in fear of a bleed that could cause paralysis—therefore I had to go under general anesthetic to have Alexander. As you can imagine it was a very emotional, terrifying morning up until surgery. It is always hard to have to be put under, but when your health is deteriorating it is exceptionally hard and scary. I was sad that I was not going to be able to see my baby until hours after his birth in recovery—but happy that Wayne would be with him to form that initial bond. When I did get to see him at around 4:30pm I was very happy and emotional despite being very groggy still. Lucky I didn’t have to spend the night in recovery because all my vitals bounced back and I was making exceptional progress. Our 1st few nights with Alex went surprising well considering I was unable to move from bed—Wayne was amazing in taking good care of the both of us. After 4 nights in hospital we were finally able to come home—and it is sooo good to be home. Alexander is a great baby—he is a good sleeper and he has such a calm demeanor. We both look at him and feel so blessed that we are all happy and healthy. We definitely have a good story to tell him one day about his arrival. The birth was not exactly how we expected it to go—but worth every minute now that we have our healthy baby boy. Below are a few pics from the hospital–enjoy!! ~Lisa~
Home Stretch…
Ok these 2 pictures are the last 2 I have of myself pregnant. They were taken 6 days before our baby boy arrived at almost 38 weeks preggo. If someone had asked me if I thought I would be delivering later that week, I would of said “no way, Jose”!! I was really hoping that I would go full-term but when it comes to babies, you just never know. I will be updating a post on Baby Alexander’s arrival very soon, so stay tuned. ~Lisa~
P.S. Even though the end of my pregnancy was getting a bit harder–when I look at these pics I really miss being pregnant. I really did enjoy the whole experience tremendously.
31 week “bump pic”
Here are 2 pictures taken before and at our friends wedding–31 weeks along! ~Lisa~
Pre-natal Classes
Well with only 10 weeks to go–we thought it would be a good idea to enroll in some pre-natal classes. We had our 1st 2hr session last Tuesday–the 1st of six. It’s kinda fun because Tanya and Steve are in the same class with us. There are 9 couples in total and we are all pretty much due around the same time. I think the classes will be beneficial because it will give us an opportunity to ask lots of questions and get more detailed information on what lies ahead. It will also be great for Wayne to get a good understanding of his role as my coach and answer any questions or fears that he may have. Next week we were informed that we will be watching a “video”—not too sure what to expect–curious if it will be scarier for me to watch or Wayne, lol. I guess we will just have to wait and see . ~Lisa~
Congrats Wayne!!!
So proud of my hubby–he is officially done school and now a full-fledged Electrician–whoot whoot!! He has worked so hard the past couple of years in school–always striving to do his best and get excellent grades. I was really impressed with all his determination and focus. He is celebrating this weekend with a much deserved and over-due camping/fishing trip before he heads back to work next Wednesday. Congratulations Wayne–I am so proud of you!!! ~Lisa~
