Week Five: Someone Actually Called Him Chubby! Yay!!

A few highlights from this week:

Trey finally started gaining weight and has allowed his mother to relax a little bit about his feedings.  He gained 10.5 ounces in a week!  Neurotic Mom might go weigh him again this week...we will see.  More good news is that I LOVE our new pediatrician. 

We spent the weekend at my dad and Sandy's which allowed Randy to do some fishing on Sunday at the Umpqua River, gave us an opportunity to have anywhere from 8-12 extra hands of help, and let Trey have some quality time with his grandpa.

Here are some pics from the weekend:

 This is where we found Randy about 10 minutes after arriving.

This is where Trey spent a good part of his weekend.

Trey with Kaity and Sandy

Randy hanging on the deck with his son

It almost looks like Trey is smiling!

Cheryl and Jim Lockard came out to Leaburg to visit us.  Jim and my dad have known each other since grade school, and Cheryl and my mom were good friends starting in junior high. 

Here are some pictures from last week.  Trey and I worked on finding different places for him to hang out during the day than my arms.  The Baby Bjorn appears to be his top choice. 

Trey on his new play mat being watched over by Tango

Trey giving a shout out to all of his fans

Some pictures of the cutest baby ever from his...ahem...first real bath.  It seemed intimidating until his Aunt Julie came over and used her mad skills to show us how it was done:

Things accomplished last week:
Thank you notes finally mailed which occurred after me forgetting to buy stamps at the store on THREE different occasions.
Taxes paid off (this task hung over my head for three weeks but of course only took 5 minutes to do)
First book finished in the past 8 weeks. Finally time to start something new!
Banana bread baked (while Trey was in the Baby Bjorn, of course)

Goals for this week:
Work in my sadly neglected garden

Cook dinner

Week Four: We Survived!

We just finished our first week with Randy back at work. It was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be although I will admit that I was very happy to have him come home early on Friday. Trey and I were able to get out of the house each day, and he seems to enjoy some of the same things I do (walks, lunch dates, coffee, good friends).

We all have hopes for our children. One of mine is that Trey is a reader and loves books. I have been reading aloud to him from a variety of sources – Farm City, a book about creating a garden in an urban plot; Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child – in high hopes that he absorbs some of the information; and Parade from the Sunday paper. I hope Trey didn’t judge me when I got teared up reading the interview with Angelina Jolie (who I don’t even like). However, I did like what she had to say: “The most important thing is our children. They’re our greatest responsibility. Our privilege is to raise them. It’s our job. That’s who we are. And when we pass away, that’s what we will have done with our lives.”

We had some fun this week with visitors and outings. Below are some pictures (I know those are your favorite part):

Kay, Tom and Alex Moreau brought us dinner on Sunday night. Julie and Tim were also able to join us. The Moreaus have been friends with my parents for years. Kay was a dear friend to my mom at the end of her life and was often there talking with my mom, soothing her, and caring for her during her last days. They are family to us.


Ted, Sara and Finley Hobbs brought us dinner on Randy's first day back to work. Thank goodness for great friends! Fin seemed to really like Trey which was fabulous news since he'll have a new sibling in about 5 months. Yes, Ted and Sara...5 months.

Here is a picture of the two boys in my life, each content with a bottle. Love these guys so much!


And I just think these two of Trey are hilarious because this is often the look he has on his face or with his hands up on his cheeks. I don't know what he's so scared of...he really does have the perfect life right now.

Finally, a picture of me with sweet Trey...and a delicious margarita thanks to Kris. If you have read this far, you must have some interest in our lives, so I will share a few of my thoughts on motherhood. First of all, I think the best kept secret of mothers is how freaking hard breastfeeding is. Every time someone asked me if I was going to breastfeed, I thought, "Of course, I will breastfeed. Who doesn't breastfeed?" Well...now I know. It's HARD. And my second thought is this: the worst advice people give you is "sleep when the baby sleeps". Who is able to drop their head to the pillow the second the baby falls asleep? And how is it possible to get a nap when the baby might sleep anywhere from 15 minutes to 2 hours? Seriously?

Things Trey likes right now:
Being held
Car rides
Noisy restaurants

Things Trey does NOT like:
Sleeping on his own/on his back
Sudden noises
Gas

Week Three: Trying to Beat the Heat

It feels like the last week has been filled with primarily three things: figuring out feeding (thank god for lactation specialists), trying to stay cool, and welcoming friends to meet our dear Trey. Randy and I have been more successful at getting out of the house this past week. Randy has done a little fishing and I have been going on walks with friends and to book club. It was definitely harder to get out of the house with the hot weather, so I am looking forward to this coming week with some cooler weather.

Visiting with Uncle Dave during one of Dave's brief passes through Portland (check out Trey's onesie). We also went out to Dave's mom's house this week and had a reunion with our Paralympic companions (Cathy, Patty, Tracy, and Terry).

Elinor and Orion came by and we went up to Good Neighbor for dinner. Elinor works with Randy at the primate center.



Nyree brought her girls over to meet Trey. Trey and Ashlyn, Nyree's oldest, share a birthday. Ashlyn has been telling her friends that her "cousin" Trey was born on her birthday. Above is also a picture of Madi, Nyree's youngest, holding Trey.

Yesterday we went to the Mississippi Street Fair with Julie and Tim. The place was like Saturday Market on crack. I was a little too overstimulated by everything going on...wish I could have been Trey protected by the canopy on the stroller. We did discover a fabulous new ice cream place called Ruby Jewel. (http://www.rubyjewel.net/) Their ice cream sandwiches were delish! We also ran into Kellie, Ethan and Jackson Jewett while we were there (Kellie was the one who gave us the tip about the ice cream.)

Next week will be interesting as Randy goes back to work. Stay tuned...

Some priceless photos

When the phone rang at the hospital and the lady said she was the "hospital photographer", I was a little skeptical. Thank God she came and took some pictures because look what we got! Could my husband and our baby be any cuter? This picture made me fall in love all over again!


This is Trey at two days old. Good thing Amy brought us a cute outfit or we would have had to dress him in the hospital logo onesie!

Week Two: It's time to nurse again??

This is pretty much what it has looked like around the Clark house this week...

My favorite part of this week has been the love and support we have received from our family and friends. Our fridge is stocked with food and we have had so many people come by with treats and well wishes. Randy and I are so lucky to have so many awesome people in our lives who are not only here to support us but are so excited to meet Trey.

Jen Whitten's visit with her daughter, Meghan. Jen always comes prepared.

Randy's mom, Carmen, came on Wednesday afternoon and will leave on Sunday night. She has been invaluable with her help over the past days. Not only is she helping Randy with some much needed yardwork, but she is always here to hold the baby, calm the baby, take the baby, change the baby...basically the only thing she can't do is feed the baby. She has also said that Trey looks like a Baby Randy. I think it is awesome to have Grandma Carmen look at our new baby and see the likeness of his father from 37 years ago.

Grandma Carmen with the baby

Randy's Aunt Bobbi came for a visit from Lincoln City.

My dad came up on Saturday for a visit. He sat, held the baby for a few hours, and then left. It was very sweet and very helpful.

I'll leave out the rest of the main details of the week which feel like they have revolved around feeding and sleeping. I know that is nothing new to anyone who has had a baby, but it has definitely rocked our world.

Week One: Trial and Error

Today marks the day that we have been home for one week. Baby Trey is 10 days old. I don't think I'll ever forget this time together as a family...watching Trey, listening to Trey, and trying to figure out his needs and signals. He may be one of the sweetest babies I have ever seen; there have been many a moment where I look down at him (I think his ear may be one of my favorite parts of him, but that could be due to the fact that I see it the most thanks to breastfeeding) and have tears come to my eyes due to the joy and disbelief that this beautiful boy is here and part of us.

If I could post a picture of me breastfeeding and put it next to this shot, it would be a good summary of our first week at home.

Aunt Julie (who Randy affectionately calls the Baby Vulture) and Uncle Tim visiting with Trey. They have been so supportive and have fed us several times. Luckily, Julie only works about 10 minutes from here and often stops by on her way home for a baby fix. This provides a great time for me to run around the house with two free hands; the other benefit is that she often puts Trey into a trance before she leaves.

Randy and I made our way up to the new neighborhood brewery on one of the sunniest days we have had in Portland (I was going a little nuts in the cave of our house). I am totally blaming the hormones and lack of sleep, but I actually cried when I ordered a beer.
On Saturday we went to the organic brewfest for a short time with Kris, John, Tommy, Julie, and Tim. Randy enjoyed tasting some of the beers while Trey and I enjoyed our nice seats in the shade.

Things Trey likes this week:
Eating
Sleeping
Pooping

Things Trey does not seem to be a fan of so far:
Getting his diaper changed
Lying on his back
Sudden noises with the exception of Tango barking

The Best Father's Day Gift Ever

Friday night, June 18th, at our end of year staff party...
Baby Clark was getting ready to make his entrance into the world!

I had just hit the 38 week marker of my pregnancy and was starting to wonder more specifically about when our baby would arrive. For the past few months, I have repeatedly said that the baby and I had made an agreement that he would wait and come any time after June 18th (due date was July 1st). Passing that date would mean that the school year was over at the ESD, I would have been able to celebrate with my staff at the annual party, my grades at PSU would be posted and the term wrapped up, and I would have two weeks to get ready at home and spend some time with my friends. This all sounded eerily familiar to the stories I heard from my mom about my birth and early arrival.

On Saturday, June 19th, I was having more signs that the baby's arrival was coming sooner than later, but I was still telling myself that it could be days away. Randy headed out to the river for the day and I went to the farmer's market with Kathleen and then to lunch with Julie. I was down at Powell's on Hawthorne listening to an author talk about a cookbook using local ingredients when my contractions suddenly switched from uncomfortable to painful. I decided to head home, let Randy know about the change so he could make his way back to the house, and still thought that baby's arrival could be possibly a few days away.

Needless to say, Baby Boy Clark had other plans. Trey Martin Clark was born at 12:16am on Sunday, June 20, 2010 (a much better date than 6/19 in my opinion) weighing 8 lb 4 oz measuring 20 and 1/4 inches long. The birth story has been repeated several times but the gist of it is that labor progressed very quickly, I felt a lot of pain in my back, the baby's head was slightly off center, and the baby would not move down the birth canal despite three hours of pushing. I ended up having to have a c-section which was not a very pleasant experience. Randy had the baby in his arms soon after he was delivered and I remember looking back at the two of them in shock and awe that the baby had arrived. Randy said that he kept looking at the baby in amazement that this was his son.

Dad, Sandy, and Julie waited like troopers in the waiting room for five hours. I know they were worried because it was taking longer than anyone thought and I asked Randy to text Julie throughout so she would know the status (I know that 5 minutes in the waiting room can feel like an hour). Julie was also a texting machine with some of my girlfriends keeping them posted about our progress. Dad, Julie, and Sandy were able to come to the recovery room soon after I arrived there so they could meet the baby.

We spent the next three nights in the hospital and had several visitors. On Sunday, we were able to celebrate Father's Day with my dad, Sandy, Julie and Tim. We were also visited by Kris Coleman and John Halsey as well as Sarah Kopplin and Kathleen Rowlands. On Monday we were visited by Nyree Miller, Amy Manzella, Kerri Swygard, and Kelly Elliott. Some of those friendships started in grade school; old friends really are the greatest. My boss, Lee Ann Sharman, came to visit on Tuesday; that evening we got a visit from Sarah again with her son Zander. I remember being at the hospital when Zander was born over 5.5 years ago; watching him with my son was very special.

Aunt Julie holding Trey

Sandy with her newest grandchild

I just love this picture of my dad with Trey. Trey's middle name, Martin, is in honor of my dad.
Kerri, Nyree, Kelly, and I...good friends since high school. I will certainly call on them for advice about this whole parenting thing.
There are many things I love so far about this baby and being a mother, but one of my favorite is watching Randy with the baby. He is a natural and has a magic touch that soothes the baby quickly.

Some cute pictures of Trey when he was just 24 hours old.

And, finally, a picture of Trey and I together...oh how I love this baby so much already...