more halloween costume pics-doesnt he look so thrilled!

First halloween!

Well we survived our first Halloween! Yes it was actually quite exciting. Daddy was ready to snap a quick photo at any time while out an about with family. Zachary was interested simply in looking around at everything while mom and dad were so excited to see him in his CUTE little pumpkin outfit

The girls had fun running from door to door for candy. I am so glad we didn't have to take home ANY candy LOL. no thank you! All in all it was a great night and I was very happy everyone was there to enjoy it too.

first tooth-rolling over

well baby boy is growing fast now! we have our first tooth! YAY!! it is one of the two front bottom teeth. it is not quite all the way out but its getting there!

He also learned today to roll all the way over! what a proud mommy I am. Watch out kitties you are no longer safe!!

I cant believe he is almost 6 months old already...where has the time gone!?

baby pictures

baby food

well I am experimenting with making baby food for Zach. Today is squash and carrots. I also picked up some avocado, bananas and sweet potato to cook up. they had some yo baby yogurts that I decided might also be good for him so I will mix in some oatmeal and try that as well. I want Zach to have a wide variety of things to try so maybe when he's older he will like more veggies and fruits than I like!
I've noticed so far he likes texture as opposed to fully pureed foods. we got him some all natural apple sauce that he really likes and its a bit lumpy.

And they just keep growing...

Well this always happens. A month goes by, and I finally decide I better update this thing before I start hearing about it! Zachary is a weed. He is getting so big! I better stop feeding him or else he is just gonna keep growing. I want to keep him small.

Zach has an exersaucer that he absolutely loves. It has a bunch of toys that make noise and light up on it and to see his little face light up with a giant grin is priceless. I will have to get some pictures of him and post them for you all. he is learning that he can put some of the toys in his mouth and gnaw on them and gets upset if he just cant maneuver it enough to get it in. The dog loves it when he is in the toy so he can lick his feet and his little face is at a good level to give him a great big kiss across the face. GROSS!! I caught Sammy doing that once and screamed! We are very impressed however how much the dog LOVES the baby. I cant wait until Zach gets bigger and starts chasing the dog...hopefully we will have a nice house and yard by then.

well its back to work for me. I have added some cute pics of little man from our recent photo opp at home. isn't he just so cute!!

Holly Cow its September

Where has the time gone?! In 5 days Zachary is going to be 4 months old. I cant believe it. It seems like we just were in the hospital for his birth....yep no baby amnesia yet...still DON'T want another!
Zach had his 4 month check up this week. He has reached 15 pounds. WOW. He is happy and healthy and we are now starting our newest adventures of experiencing big boy foods. we had some apple sauce and peaches and mommy snuck a few bites of watermelon in here and there too. YUM YUM....

We are getting set to sell the condo and looking to find a house ASAP...need to get outta this place before we lose our minds. Its WAY too small for all of us. We have to get the condo ready and are going to be selling the place ourselves. (PS if anyone knows someone wanting a nice 1 bedroom condo please let us know!) the next step will be buying zach some furniture for his new room. we will need a dresser and a big boy bed (the bed isnt an immediate need obviously) the dresser is however something that would be a definite need.

finally an update!

yes after several comments that the blog hasnt been updated in over a month I figured I would get my butt on here and do so.

it has been very busy lately with my going back to work, zachary in daycare and Jason is currently in the process of leaving his current job and starting a new one in a week. we have to figure out insurance options ASAP along with me modifying my work schedule so that we can try to carpool so he doesnt have to pay for parking so we can save some money and figure out how we can drop Zach off before we start work so we arent late. they open at 6:45 and I normally start work at 7. I have been running to doctors appointments weekly and am finally able to come off my pills in a few weeks for my blood pressure.

its been busy but thanks to my mom we have been able to have one day to ourselves in over a month and a half. on saturday we went to our friends house for a 4th of July party. It was certainly nice to not have to worry about Zachary and enjoy ourselves. We have been doing so much of worrying what we are going to do, worrying about other people etc that we needed a break.

Jason and I were sick since sunday/monday with some stomach bug. fun is..I think we are finally getting better.

the baby is getting so big...we had his 2 month checkup yesterday. He is now 12 lbs 9 oz and he grew 2 inches in length. he had his first round of shots which went ok...he was cranky so he had to take some baby tylenol every 4 hours for a little bit.

he is smiling now which is really cute...Ive updated our webshots with some new pictures. HE IS TOO CUTE!!!

more to come later...

Checkups for mom and baby

Zachary saw the pediatrician today. He weighs in at a wopping 11lbs 1oz and is now 21 and 3/4 inches. everything checks out great he is healthy and happy.

I went to the doctor yesterday and have been cleared to exercise YAY! I need it. I have to work on the 28 pounds of baby weight I have gained. Hopefully someday I can wear my wedding rings again. I haven't worn those in 6 months now.

gotta run...time for a nap (maybe)

6/6/08

YAY baby Z is one month today!! we survived a whole month (barely LOL) but we did!!!

Baby is smiling every day. I don't think he is doing it knowingly but the fact that he does it is enough for us! it is too cute. too bad I haven't been able to get a good picture of it yet. I'm determined!!

Z is going on his first mini vacation to visit Grammy and Grampy in New Hampshire this weekend. That should be fun. We are going to take him to Hampton beach as its going to be really hot.

oh my poor hands

Well I went to the doctor today and I don't have cysts in my wrists I have tendinitis which is very common in both pregnant and new mothers. as my right hand bothers me most I got a cortisone shot in it for now to relieve some of the pain. I Will get one in my left hand next week. I was told I need to relearn how to use my hands to allow them to heal such as how I pick up the baby and try not to use them as much to get up off the floor.
The shot numbed my hand and I need to ice my thumb for a day or two. This makes me wonder what else can go wrong......lets hope nothing else!!

New Pictures

I have updated our family pictures in webshots...take a look!

Good weekend

We did some much needed shopping on Thursday for a couple things for me. It seems that I cant fit into my maternity clothes as they are too big and my regular sized clothes are too small...this makes me sad but I am after all only 4 weeks postpartum. I'm hoping that by the time I go back to work in 4 weeks I can start to fit into my work clothes or else I'm going to have a big problem HA HA!! I don't think work will appreciate me coming back in PJs!!

My belly is still quite swollen and still very sore. I hope that at least the pain will go away soon as sometimes the pains catch me by surprise and are quite painful. From what Ive been told this could be the nerves fixing themselves as my belly is sore to the touch. Ive been quite moody lately also and I think its a combination of lack of sleep, thinking I look horrible, and not feeling like my old self. This is also normal from what Ive been told. Maybe someday I will grow out of this stage LOL. One other factor playing a big role in this is my hands. Since more than halfway into my pregnancy Ive been having problems with my wrists/hands being very sore and I have a bump on both of them that looks like a cyst that Jason also has on his hand. I read up on this a bit more and found this is quite common in pregnancy from over use of your joints. I used my hands a lot to get myself up from the couch, floor or bed. It makes it quite difficult to do anything with Zachary as if I move my wrists or thumbs the wrong way it is quite painful. I am seeing the orthopedic surgeon on Tuesday for this.

Friday Zachary had his first babysitters. His auntie Jessica and cousins Katy and Jacky came over while mommy went to get a much needed hair cut. Baby Z was very well behaved and the girls all enjoyed their time with the little man. I also enjoyed my first outing alone even if it was short lived!

We took a bunch of pictures Friday night together these are just a few of them.

Jason brought me Saturday morning then to get a manicure and pedicure. This was very nice!! There is nothing like having someone pamper you thats for sure! All thats left is a massage LOL just kidding!

Meme and Pepe (my mom and stepdad) watched Z on Saturday night while mommy and daddy had some time to themselves which was very nice. We went to dinner and then saw The Chronicles of Narnia Prince Caspian. This was a very good movie and having read the books as a kid, it is nice to finally get to see movies based off of the books.

Daddy's back at work

Today Daddy went back to work. Now I can catch up on some much needed rest. Baby and I slept in a little bit longer this morning and took a few naps. I am enjoying the time alone when baby sleeps as well. The last few weeks have been a bit much with running around seeing everyone and getting things done. I really need to concentrate in the last few weeks I have on resting as much as possible so I don't fall apart when going back to work due to the lack of sleep.

I will also be setting baby z up in daycare. There is a daycare here in Tolland that we are hoping to get into as it's close to home and reliable. It also is pretty cheap compared to places we have looked at several months ago.

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Yesterday we spent the afternoon with Uncle Scott and Aunt Di. The girls had fun on the "red neck" version of a slip and slide that Scott decided to make using some plastic sheeting and a kiddy slide. Very interesting.

Baby Z got some special attention from his cousins. Anaka was the cutest holding baby Z. She did a great job! We also got to see Papa and Grammie for the first time since seeing them in the hospital and Uncle Jay who met baby Z for the first time. it was a beautiful day and we all got some sun thats for sure. What a nice day!!

rocking chair

We were given a rocking chair from Scott and Di that needed minimal work done to it. Jason decided to make a project out of this and has done a pretty darned good job on it so far if I do say so...

He has been working on it since Friday sanding and staining it.

update on mommy

I saw my doctor this past Thursday to check on my incision and blood pressure. My incision is looking good...my blood pressure still isn't what it was but its better than it has been so the pills are working.She was also impressed with the weight loss I have already had. Daddy and Zachary came too and when she saw him she asked "what are you feeding him!!" She said that he was going to make me waste away as Ive already lost a lot and he is getting so chunky!! I thought this was pretty funny and she also said to hide the family pets before he eats them too. I LOVE IT!! I see her again in a few weeks and hope that maybe I can come off the pills then. we will see.

we have been going for more walks lately because I have the urge to get back to normal faster than I probably should be. we met one of the families in the complex here on Saturday night who had a baby 4 months ago and the mother was shocked that I was even out walking 3 weeks after a c-section. she told me she wasn't doing that until 3 months after her baby. I can't sit inside doing nothing when I don't feel bad. I have been feeling great considering what Ive been through the last few weeks and dealing with a difficult pregnancy on top of it. Yes I am a little sore but its not stopping me from walking and doing small stuff around the house. I still take naps and take it easy at times too. we like to walk the Vernon railroad tracks they turned into trails throughout Vernon,Manchester and Bolton area. If we cant get out there, we tend to just walk laps in the parking lot. its big enough to do a bunch of them in an hour or so. Its nice to be able to exercise and not feel like I'm being weighed down and I CAN BREATH!! LOL

little chunk

Zachary went to the pediatrician on Tuesday and boy is he a little chunky butt! He has already gained over a pound from his birth weight 2 weeks ago. He was born at 8lbs 11oz and he now weighs in at a whopping 9lbs 14oz. Way to go buddy! When we left the hospital he had lost 5oz so I think we are doing quite well here... :)

He is changing so much in the days since we have come home from the hospital. we sleep about 2 hours at a clip between feedings so its easy to say we are both beyond exhausted. we try to take naps in between visitors and caring for the little man along with the million other things we try to keep up with such as EATING and showering or laundry and caring for the pets. Oh my goodness its hard! But we are starting to get the hang of things.

Time to eat dinner (its 9:10pm oh boy)...at least little man ate. AND WHY IS HE STILL AWAKE?!

Hospital Stay

Well after being home for 2 days, I wasn't feeling well again so I went to visit our family doctor. I was having a some shortness of breath and stomach/chest/back pains which could have been my asthma acting up among other things but I was getting very annoyed with it.
They did an EKG and mentioned that I could possibly have a blood clot in my chest which I guess is common with pregnancy when carrying a heavy baby. I also was having some severe swelling. My doctor sent me to the hospital for some tests. I was getting upset with all the tests they kept running on me. I had a cat scan (to check for clots), chest x-rays, ultrasound on my legs (to check for blood clots as if I had one in my lung that would be where it came from), more EKG testing, blood tests, as well as having my blood pressure checked every 15 minutes or so.
After being a "guest" of the ER for 6 hours the decided they were going to admit me because I was having symptoms of severe postpartum pre-eclampsia which is very common. The symptoms for pre-eclampsia are high blood pressure, edema (swelling), headache, back pains and my kidneys were being impacted a bit. I had a lot of fluid in my chest among other places which was causing the chest pain and breathing issues. All of this has nothing to do with my heart having problems, its due to my body having difficulty with being pregnant and often times can be due to the delivery too. I am on blood pressure pills just for a short time to flush the fluid out of my system as that is putting a lot of strain on my body alone and also to get my pressure back down to normal. As I am recovering from major surgery my body is clearly having problems trying to fix everything at once. In 24 hours I lost 9-10 pounds of fluid and over the last week have lost 26 pounds. Im impressed! I will be taken off the pills in a few weeks too which Im happy about.
Baby and daddy are doing well, baby gained all his weight back and then some that he lost in the hospital after he was born. He tends to sleep about 2.5 hours - 3 hours between feedings and sleeps almost all day. We are hoping to get some time to relax and nap between crying and visits but we are getting there.

We're Home!

Well I do have to say this week has been a long one! We went into the hospital Sunday night and came home today (Friday).

Sunday night we went into the hospital to start the whole induction process because the doctor said enough was enough with my pregnancy and being sick. I was started on a dose of cervidil. Monday morning around 7am or so I was started on pitocin and had already started contractions early. Around 4pm they took me off the pitocin and I was given another dose of cervidil. Around 8pm I started having more contractions and around 2am Tuesday morning they got worse. I was given an epidural around 3am which only worked on the left half of my body. The doctor who put it in looked so tired and apparently said oops a few times along with shaking his head. Thats nice to know now! He had to come back a few times to put more medicine in the line which did not work at all for me. They then had to give me meds for getting sick as I had already been getting sick since 8pm. this didnt work. I was then given stadol which did nothing and nubane which also did nothing.
My water was broken at around 4am to try and make me progress past 6cm. Around 6ish am there was still no progress made and baby was having problems. he also was not low enough so I wasnt going to be able to push him out. It was decided that I was going to have a c-section to get him out and safe.
7:31 am Tuesday morning I was given a spinal which was the first thing in over 36 hours that took away any pain. THANK THE LORD! Daddy was brought in to sit beside me once I was set up on the table. After several minutes at around 7:58 am baby zachary was born. Baby had his cord wrapped around his neck. Daddy was ushered off with baby for pictures and to watch them clean him up and do measurments etc. while I got put back together.
The nurse brought baby over to see me once he was cleaned and dressed. I wont lie...we both cried the first time we saw him. He is so beautiful and I still cant believe he is ours. He looks so much like his daddy but has both of us in him thats for sure. I think he is going to have my temper with daddy's looks.
It will definitely be an experience raising a little person but I cant wait to see what is in store for us. I thank God every day for him and also for my hubby as he has been wonderful from day one. We will be posting pics up soon check back frequently as Im sure daddy will be posting tons as Zach makes new faces or does something else cute.

Well...today is another day...another doctors appointment and more stuff I have to get done that I'm not supposed to.

My blood pressure last night when we scanned it at home was really high. I've learned in 4 weeks that I've been home that it is NOT due to work stress and I thought I was getting sick from being so stressed there. I hope that in the weeks after baby is born, the numbers go back down to normal. I found it funny at one appointment when the nurse asked "well don't you feel funny with your blood pressure being so high?" I almost wanted to say are you seriously kidding?? I've felt sick for 9 months HAHA so of course I don't notice a difference. While I don't have toxemia, the doctor cracked a funny stating "Your body just doesn't like you being pregnant." That seems to be the only explanation for the high blood pressure and swelling issue. All my blood tests came back fine. Hmmmmm...



11 days to go!

Ultrasound

Hey everyone; Jason here.

I wanted to share with you all that Amber had an ultrasound today. Everything is doing great and we are making good progress. Fluids, measurements, heartbeat, etc. all look good and on target. Right now the ultrasound tech said baby is just at 8 pounds.

More to come...

pictures

I posted a link to our webshots website if anyone wants to take a peek at some pictures. we will be adding pictures as we take them!

Doctor

Yay, it must be Monday. The last 4 weeks have gone by too fast even with not being at work. We have had so much stuff to get done along with 3-4 appointments a week WHICH STINK by the way...I cant wait for this "fun" to be over. Today we have an NST and an ultrasound to check on the size of baby. May 10th where are you!!

All about the Dyer family

Hi Everyone, thanks to a great suggestion by Nancy, we have decided to start a blog to update everyone with family news and pictures. We might not have much at first but once baby arrives, Im sure we will have tons to post. Daddy Dyer will be taking tons of pictures of our new addition as he already does so with our furry children.
More to come...