Month Five

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Mdfrisco

I can’t believe I am starting to get caught up here! At least with his weekly photos, I still have lots of other pictures/stories to share, but regardless, I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and it is motivating me to keep at it!

Last week Dylan turned five months old, again, I find myself saying, how did that happen? This past month we still struggled with the nighttime sleep, every once in a while he gives us a break and we get a decent nights sleep, but the norm is we are up several times during the night. And Jacob has decided to stop napping altogether (but that is a story for another time) so we are all a bit sleep deprived here, Justin and I have found ourselves going to bed at the same time as the kids sometimes in hopes of getting a few hours in before Dylan wakes up. The problem is our bodies are not used to going to sleep that early so we end up staying up later anyway…Our mantra has been, This is just a phase!

The most fun thing about this month is Dylan has found his feet, I just love it when I put him down on his back and he immediately pulls his knees up and plays with his feet (except when I am trying to put a clean diaper on him!) I wonder how long it will be before he figures out how to put his foot in his mouth?

He has been sleeping with his knees tucked under him and butt in the air like a stink bug, he likes blowing raspberries and he is absolutely in love with his brother! For the last few months whenever Jacob is around Dylan is fixated on him and you can’t distract him at all. But lately, they have really started interacting and Dylan craves the attention that Jacob gives him. Dylan will smile and giggle for anybody but he saves his best belly laughs for his brother and I love hearing them both laugh together!

Dylan is definitely our independent child. He is a fun, happy baby, but if something is not going the way he wants it to he will let you know. His wardrobe is always evolving, I put something on him and find myself saying well this is the last time you will be wearing this…Justin has been calling him One and Done, since he wears something once and then he grows out of it. I have a feeling that he and Jake will end up wearing the same size clothes someday in the not too distant future.

And here are the weekly photos

Week 18

Week 19

Week 20

Week 21

Month Four

Posted on October 1, 2015 by Mdfrisco

This month was a bit of a challenge…he was still his cute smiley self, but nighttime sleep became a bit of a battle. It was more like a series of short naps all night long. Which was frustrating because he was sleeping so good the previous month and we got spoiled.

For naps I put Dylan down on his side or tummy to sleep and he really likes it and sleeps better. But at night since I couldn’t keep an eye on him while I was sleeping, I was still putting him down on his back, because of my fear of SIDS. He got used to sleeping on his side/tummy for naps and came to prefer it, at the end of this month, he started waking up at night frustrated because he couldn’t roll over onto his tummy yet. So I bit the bullet and started putting him to sleep on his tummy at night, and he slept great, for a little while…then he started waking up again…

He wasn’t waking up to eat or play, but because he is so strong and is now on his tummy, he really began discovering his mobility. He was scooting, squirming and wiggling his way around his crib at night and gets himself wedged into a corner and can’t get himself out. So I have to go in his room and readjust him and move him back to the other end of his crib which buys me a little time (and sleep) before he gets himself stuck again. I remember this phase with Jacob and I can’t wait until he truly masters rolling around by himself so this phase will be over, and we start getting some sleep again. Since he is so big, sometimes I think I forget that he is really just a few months old and feel like he should be acting older. When I get frustrated about his nighttime sleep habits, I often find myself reminding myself that “he is only 4 months old!”

During his awake time he is still our happy little boy. He is really starting to discover what his hands can do and reaches for things. He started sticking his tongue out all the time and continues to grow like a weed. By the end of this month he grew out of his 6 month clothes and into 9 month clothes!

He had his 4 month check up and his pediatrician was very pleased with his progress. He weighs 18 lbs 2 oz (97th percentile), he’s 27 inches long (89th percentile) and his head circumference is 16.5 inches (52nd percentile). Overall his pediatrician said he is indeed a big, strong, healthy boy and he is proportioned well with his height and weight. He got his shots and didn’t flinch with the first one and then cried for about 10 seconds with the second one.

Here are this month’s weekly photos

Week 14 – so my idea of taking pictures in the morning before daddy leaves for work to get the smiley baby look backfired on me this week, he was tired and just wanted to go back to sleep (hence my previous mention of our lack of sleep).

Week 15 – then he was back smiling with his tongue sticking out

Week 16

Week 17

Month Three

Posted on September 21, 2015 by Mdfrisco

Dylan really became more vocal and talkative this month. He is a smiley, giggly baby who sucks air in when he laughs instead of out, it is so cute! My mom said I did the same thing.

He is ferociously chewing on his fists, my fingers and anyone’s hands who happen to be nearby. If you just reach across him to get something he will open his mouth and follow your hand hoping to get something in his mouth. He’s like a snapping turtle!

He is continuing to grow and gain weight at lightning speed. And unlike his brother did, he really enjoys his tummy time and it amazes me how strong he is.

One day when Dylan was 11 weeks old, after a trip to the grocery store, I had him on the floor for tummy time while I was putting away the groceries and after a few minutes I looked at him and he was on his back. So I flipped him over onto his tummy again and stood there and watched him roll over onto his back! So I flipped him over again and this time I got my phone out to get a video of him. So the rolling process has begun.

Here are this month’s weekly photos.

Week 9 – Justin’s parents got the boys SUPER little/big brother shirts with capes on the back. Both boys were going through growth spurts this month so I put these shirts on hoping they could wear them a few times before growing out of them completely. But it ended up being the first and last time they wore them since they were pretty snug, you can see Dylan’s tummy stretching out the shirt. I can’t keep up with these boys!

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13 – I started realizing that when I was taking Jake’s weekly pictures, I had daddy behind me making him laugh so he is smiley in most of his pictures. I am solo most of the time when I have been taking Dylan’s, so he is usually just chill and it is hard to get him to smile when my face is hiding behind the camera. I decided to start taking the picture before daddy leaves in the morning so he can help me by getting Dylan to smile. Here’s our happy boy!

Father’s Day

Posted on September 14, 2015 by Mdfrisco

Justin’s family came to celebrate Father’s Day with us. I thought it was the perfect time to get the Frisco men/boys together for a picture. These days it takes a bit of work and coaxing to get Jacob to cooperate for a picture, so Justin was working on getting his giggles going by throwing him up into the air.

And then we went for it…With a two year old and a baby, this is as good as it’s going to get, but I think they are pretty cute and I love seeing all these generations together!

I am truly thankful for this man and everything he does for our family. He is such a blessing and a great daddy to our two boys.

And I had to post this picture too because I love Jacob’s smile and Dylan looks like he’s getting ready to punch his big brother (which I am sure will be happening a lot over the years with these boys)!

Dylan’s newborn photos

Posted on August 31, 2015 by Mdfrisco

From a photographers standpoint you want to take newborn photos sometime in the first 11 days of their life, before they start getting any baby acne, dry skin or become too alert and it gets hard to do those sleepy pictures. Well the first 11 days of Dylan’s life were kind of chaotic and full with us being sick and the whole remodel/move thing. I kept trying to pick a date and something would come up and we would postpone it, again and again and again. Finally, after we actually moved, I was determined to get these pictures done before Dylan was a month old. So on his 3 week birthday our wonderful photographer came over to our house about 10 minutes before the flooring guy arrived to start laying our hardwood floors. They both worked around each other and got the job done, so now we have some beautiful pictures of our newest boy and a few with big brother too!

And since the flooring was not installed and the entire house was concrete we couldn’t move our furniture in, except in two of the bedrooms where we had carpet. So the only place we could all sit together for a picture was on the blow up mattress we were sleeping on until the flooring was finished in the master.

Mother’s Day

Posted on August 20, 2015 by Mdfrisco

This year Mother’s Day was extra special with the arrival of Dylan just 3 days before and my mom was still here and my Aunt Heidi and grandma came over to meet Dylan and spend the day with us.

It was not anything fancy, just a day spent together, with some yummy snacks, a little champagne and the joy of seeing Oma with her newest great grandson.

I’ve learned a lot from my mom and grandma over the years, growing up. But now that I am a mom myself I really appreciate these women for who they are and all they have done and I couldn’t ask for better role models.

I can only hope that I will be as good of a mom to my boys as they have been.

Dylan’s story

Posted on August 18, 2015 by Mdfrisco

It is kind of crazy how drastically different the stories are about how our boys came into this world. With Jacob, everything was new uncharted territory for us, there was a lot of anticipation and wondering about the unknown. This time around, I felt more confident and knew what to expect having been through the labor and delivery process before, except I didn’t, because it was completely different.

On April 30th I had a check up with my OB and I was telling her that I was ready to have this baby and my time with my mom here to help was running out. So we talked about being induced if he didn’t come by his due date. We looked at her schedule and called the hospital for availability and scheduled an induction for May 6th (3 days after my due date). I left that appointment feeling better since we now had a plan, if nothing happened before, then I knew that we would be having a baby on the 6th.

A few days later on May 4th, the contractions I was having were getting more intense and more frequent. I was one day past my due date and I wanted to get checked out and see what was going on. So Justin and I went to triage and they were pretty busy, but we didn’t have to wait too long before getting checked in. They hooked me up to the machines and monitored me for an hour. I was 2.5 cm dilated and was having contractions every 3-5 minutes, but they just were not doing anything. The nurse told me that I had the option to walk around for 2 hours then come back and see if anything changed, but at that moment I was not in “active enough” labor to be admitted. We didn’t want to waste time walking around the hospital since I was doing plenty of walking up and down the stairs at home and walking around during all of our errands. So we went home.

The contractions continued, on May 6th, induction day, I got a phone call at 6:00 am from the hospital telling me that they were so busy and instead of coming in for my induction at 9:00 am, to call them at 9:00 am to see what time I should come in. When I made the call they told me that they were full with women who were in active labor and I was put on standby but not to expect any availability before noon. By then I was getting frustrated because “my plan” to have this baby kept getting delayed. My OB’s office called and said they were working with the hospital to see what they could do to get me in. As the day went on with no increase in labor and no phone call from the hospital telling me to come in for my induction, I started realizing that it wasn’t going to happen that day. At 6:00 pm my OB’s office called to tell me that my induction had been pushed back to Friday, May 8th.

The good thing about my induction being postponed was the next day I was able to go to the Mother’s Day brunch at Jake’s preschool!

I even got my big belly in the teeny tiny preschool chairs and had quiche, fruit and bagels with Jake while admiring the place mat, coffee cup, and crafts he painted and made for me. Then after realizing I had a miscommunication with my cleaning lady and she was not coming that day as we thought, my mom, Justin’s mom and I cleaned our house before we had to go back and pick Jake up from school. See what I mean about the whole walking/moving around vs resting up for baby…there was no resting going on. That night after dinner I had some spotting and my contractions were still going at it, so Justin and I went back to triage.

After getting checked out and monitored, I was still only 2.5 cm dilated and my contractions were the same, just not progressing. This time they were not as busy and since I was past my due date the doctor wanted me to stay at the hospital and walk around but she didn’t want to admit me to labor and delivery yet. So we were told to walk around for 2 hours and come back. I was ready to have this baby and didn’t want to go home only to come back the next day for my induction, or run the risk of them calling me to tell me not to come in for my induction because they were busy. I had my foot in the door and I was not taking it out! So we walked…we went up and down every hallway, we looked at all the pictures on the wall and read all the plaques next to the pictures. We explored the “Suzy’s Zoo” artwork on display in the hallway leading into the NICU, which reminded me so much of my Grandma since she used to write notes to me on Suzy’s Zoo cards all the time. Since it was late, the coffee cart was closed and when we asked the reception desk if there was somewhere Justin could get a cup of coffee they said there was not. When we were walking away, one of the ladies ran after us and said she would get Justin a cup from the doctor’s lounge, another point for Mary Birch, we love this hospital! We rode the elevator between floors and smiled and nodded at the same people we passed countless times. As we walked we talked, it was kind of nice since Justin and I rarely have 2 hours of uninterrupted time, away from home and all the distractions to just talk. Twice we stopped to sit down and rest, my back was killing me. After the second time we sat down it was about 10:15pm and we got up to walk out the last 15 minutes of our 2 hours and my water broke! Hallelujah! I was so happy and we quickly made our way back to triage. After getting changed and hooked back up to the machines, they checked me and said I was still only 2.5, maybe 3 cm dilated. We started the admitting process and they took me up to Labor and Delivery. Justin’s parents arrived at our house to take over with Jake and my mom came to the hospital. Since the contractions were still tolerable and I was not that far dilated I decided not to get the epidural right away. We turned off the lights and laid down to try and get some rest (finally that rest that everyone keeps talking about!) Only it wasn’t too restful for me…It wasn’t long before my contractions started getting stronger and more intense. Finally I told Justin to get a nurse because I was in pain and wanted the epidural. The nurse checked me and I was 7 cm dilated, she told me that the anesthesiologist was tied up in a double emergency cesarean section and would not be able to get to me for another 30-45 minutes. At that point my contractions were coming fast and furious and shortly after I felt the intense need to push. I told my mom to get the nurses again and when she opened the door they were all huddled around my monitor outside the room waiting, they knew it was coming. They came in and bustled around the room getting everything ready. I kept thinking, no you can’t get things ready yet, I haven’t had my epidural yet! Then they started coaching me through the pushing process. After a few pushes, one of the nurses told me that his heart rate was dropping with every contraction so they needed to get him out asap and she left to get the doctor. Then the anesthesiologist walked in and I was never so happy to see anyone in my life. He apologized that I had to wait and said he heard I wanted an epidural and I said yes! Before he could say anything else the lead nurse walked in and said, sorry no time, the doctor is on her way and we are getting this baby out now. The anesthesiologist wished me luck and reassured me that I was in good hands and left. I looked at Justin and my mom and said I don’t want to do this without an epidural! But I really didn’t have a choice. I don’t remember all the details after that since it happened pretty quickly. But basically the doctor showed up, she attached a suction cup to his head and after a couple of pushes, he was out. The cord was wrapped around his neck, that is why his heart rate kept dropping. From the time I started pushing to the time he was born was only 30 minutes, it felt a lot longer than that! They put him on my chest and we snuggled for about an hour and a half before they took him to check his stats.

Before the doctor left she congratulated me saying that I was part of an “elite group” to have a baby naturally, I don’t think I responded to her, I was in shock. Looking back on the process, I am kind of amazed at what happened. It was not my choice to have a delivery without an epidural, but it really was not as bad as I thought it would be. Of course at the time I thought this was the worse it could get, I was scared, in pain and everything was happening so fast and I was screaming. In fact, I do remember yelling “get this baby out of me!” during one of my contractions. And Justin was convinced he was going to have to see an orthopedic surgeon to repair his hand. No matter how many times he tried to get me to hold on to the rails on the bed or the nurses were trying to get me to grab my thighs when pushing, it was his hand that I had a death grip on. If I had gone into this wanting to do a natural birth, I’m sure it would have been completely different. I probably would have taken the classes that teach you about meditating and focusing on something (other than your husband’s hand) and breathing techniques and I would have felt more prepared. Then maybe it wouldn’t have been the frantic frenzy that it was. About a week and a half later, when talking about my delivery, I remember the word that my mom and Justin used to describe it was intense…That it was…but it was all so worth it…

The result of all the waiting, the contractions, the walking, the intense delivery was the perfect addition to our family. Dylan Luke was born on May 8, 2015 (on a rainy day, just like his brother) at 4:57am. He was 8 lbs 3 oz and 22 inches long. All 10 fingers and toes and a healthy set of lungs. He is such a blessing and we are in love with this little man.

Since Mary Birch was so busy the past few days with all those babies being born, they didn’t have any overnight rooms available, so we ended up at Sharp Memorial next door. We were quite the parade of orderlies, nurses, me in a wheelchair holding Dylan, my mom and Justin with all our bags walking through back hallways, underground tunnels between the hospitals and staff elevators to get to our room. That evening, my mom brought Jacob to the hospital to meet Dylan.

The next morning Justin’s family came

I was recovering nicely and Dylan was doing well so we only had to stay one night. We had a checklist of tests and and things that needed to get done before we could leave, including the hearing test, which Dylan passed with flying colors (thank you God!)

After getting our discharge checklist completed we went home, to the other crazy part of our lives, packing up our house, sickness and moving…More on that to come.

If there is one thing I’ve learned about my body after two deliveries is after my water breaks, things tend to happen really fast. And after this time around, IF we decide to have a third (that is a BIG if) I’ve learned not to wait to get the epidural after my water breaks. Of course things would probably be completely different that time around too!

And I leave you with more pictures of our sweet boy.

40 Weeks

Posted on August 13, 2015 by Mdfrisco

I never dreamed I would go past my due date. The old wives tales always say that you are late with your first babies…Jacob was 11 days early. So I assumed I would be early with my second as well. We had it all planned out, my mom booked her flight to come 2 weeks before my due date to ensure she would be here in time, Justin was telling clients during meetings that he was “on call” and would have to excuse himself if I called, we had the diapers stacked up, hospital bags packed, babysitting arrangements made for Jake and we were ready should he decide to come early. But God and baby had other plans…my due date came and went, and they decided he would stay snuggled in my belly.

Those last few weeks of my pregnancy I had a lot of pain, there was so much pressure and it was really hard for me to wrangle Jake and get him in and out of the car, I couldn’t even pick him up. I ended up getting down to his level when he wanted to be close to me, then I had a hard time getting up off the floor! I was so thankful that my mom was here to help with the heavy lifting (Jake)! I was having lots of Braxton Hicks during my 3rd trimester which turned into contractions during the last few weeks. There were a lot of them, but no consistency to them.

The remodel on our new house was underway (I will do another post about the house). Justin, my dad and crew were breaking down and rebuilding our house. Everyone kept saying to me, I hope you can get some rest before the baby comes. I laugh when I think about that time! Instead of sitting on the couch with my feet up, visiting with my mom, enjoying a cup of coffee in the morning, playing with Jake and “resting”, my mom and I were running around like crazy trying to get as much done as we could before the baby arrived. We picked out flooring, paint, cabinets, took endless trips to Lowes and Home Depot and took meals over to the new house to feed the crew. As well as doctors appointments, dropping off/picking up Jake at preschool, packing up our house and making endless phone calls, emails and lists. The entire time through those weeks I kept thinking it would be any day…any minute…every time I would have a contraction, and I was having them often at this point, while driving, walking down the aisles of Lowe’s, while eating, etc… I would think, okay, is this it? It rained a couple times during those weeks and Jacob was born on a rainy day, so whenever it started raining I would wonder if that would be the day? And he actually was born on a rainy day! This time it was past my due date, not before. Random strangers in public kept asking me when I was due and when I told them I was X number of days past my due date, their eyes got big and it seemed like they got nervous around me like I was going to go into labor that very second. A cashier at Home Depot practically ushered me out the door when she found out I was 3 days past my due date, she was telling me how the employees there are very helpful for lots of things, but delivering babies is not their specialty!

Even though it was really hard and uncomfortable, it was nice having that bit of extra time to get things done for the house before he arrived. As usual, God knew what he was doing. I just never dreamed I would go past my due date…

Here is the last belly shot, at 40 weeks.

We survived

Posted on July 23, 2015 by Mdfrisco

I never got into the reality TV series Survivor, but it seemed like everyone I knew watched it when it was popular. The show was about a group of people who were put in a remote location (like in the jungle or a deserted island) and they had to survive the elements, find shelter, food, etc… It was a test of not only your physical strength and capabilities but a test of mental and emotional strengths as well. Through a process of elimination one person “won” the show at the end and became the ultimate “Survivor”. I feel like that has been our life for the past few months. Except instead of one survivor, we all survived, barely!

It is amazing how much your life can change in such a short time. Whether or not you planned on the change or knew what was coming or had much time to prepare, sometimes it can turn your life upside down. In the span of a six weeks, we closed escrow on a new house, started a major remodel on the house, packed up our old house, moved AND had a baby in the middle of all of it. Yes, we knew these things were going to happen. Yes, we tried to prepare as much as we could. But it was still hard. It was not our ideal situation to have a baby in the middle of a remodel and move, and to be living in the house during some of the remodel with a 2 year old and newborn, but that is just the way it worked out. It was crazy, it was hard. We had SO MUCH help from our family and friends with packing, moving, taking care of the kids (and us) and the remodel and our amazing church family provided meals for us for several weeks, we couldn’t have survived without them all and we are SO thankful for their help.

We are still not done, and won’t be for a while, but at least the major stuff is done and we are living comfortably in our new home. We’ve finally had a chance to slow down a bit and breathe…and settle into our new normal. Looking back over the last couple of months, I am amazed at what we did and survived. It was not easy, it was hard, physically…mentally… and emotionally…but we survived and we have an amazing new house and another precious little boy who joined our family. It was all worth it.

Obviously, this blog was pushed off the radar during the craziness. I have lots to share and have been trying to remember to take pictures along the way. I am really trying to make time to sit down and write about all of this because as hard as it all was, it was pretty awesome too and I want to remember it. So I will be back, soon, I hope 🙂

4 Generations

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Mdfrisco

When Justin and I got married I remember the photographer being in awe that we had so many grandparents on both sides who were able to share our special day with us. It made for some great wedding photos with all the generations of our family. Since then we have had to say goodbye to several of them, but there are a couple who are still going strong! One of them is Jacob’s Oma. The night before our photo session at Leo Carillo Ranch, I woke up at 2 am which is pretty much the norm with this pregnancy, (I guess he’s preparing me for the 2 am feeding…) and it dawned on me that we would be very close to where Oma lives and my mom happened to be in town and this was a great opportunity to get some nice professional photos of the 4 generations. So when everyone else woke up that morning and we started getting ready I told my mom my idea and asked our photographer if she would be willing to take a little side trip and do a mini session with Oma and we made it work!

When we arrived, my mom went to get Oma and the rest of us went outside in the courtyard to scope out a place for pictures, and Jacob was showing Justin his favorite swing that he plays on when we go to visit.

Then the star of the show arrived and we got to work