First Road Trip

On November 11 to the 12 we went on our first over night family getaway. We drove down to Kalispell to do a little Christmas shopping, to just relax, and recharge. Nicholas did so well on the drive down. We did have to stop a couple times, once to feed him and another time 5 minutes later cause he was crying really hard and needed a cuddle.

Once in Kalispell we stopped at Target and Costco. I love shopping in the states, and those two places just happen to be my favorite places. We than checked into our hotel, where we relaxed for a little bit, fed Nicholas, and let him stretch for a little while.

We then went out to the HuHot Mongolian Grill. By far one of my favorite places to eat. I love stir fry, I would probably eat at the one in Lethbridge a lot more, but it is SO expensive. Any way, if you have never at at the HuHot you should. You pick your own meat, veggies, and sauce than watch as the guy at the grill cooks it up for you. It is also all you can eat!! I love that cause than Zac can have his fill and will actually eat some vegetables!!

That night after dinner, we went back to the hotel and took Nicholas swimming for the first time!! He wasn't quite sure what to think, but I think he liked it. The water was a bit chilly and we didn't stay long.

That night Nicholas slept horrible. It was a good thing we had a king sized bed, because he spent most of the night in it with us. He had slept a lot during the day with all the traveling so I wasn't that surprised that he didn't sleep well at night.

The next day we finished up our shopping, and than headed home. Nicholas slept from Kalispell all the way to Cardston. We stopped in Cardston to feed him and to change is bum. That kind of turned into a bit of a gong show. I feed him, than decided to change is bum. I had him on my lap, and while changing the diaper he started to poop! I hurried and put another diaper on him so that he could finish. We than sat in the chair for a while so he could finish. I started to change is diaper again, and it was one of the worst poopie diapers ever!! I took so many wipes!! I had the dirty diaper sitting on the dash while I finished dressing him, but it must not have been on the dash well enough because it feel and came crashing down hit Nick in the face and fell on the floor. Oh and then Nick decided it was a good time to puke all over. We were lucky with the diaper and only a couple dirty wipes fell out, which made for a much easier clean up. When we finally got everything, and everyone cleaned up we started on the way home again. Unfortunately Nicholas was done being in his car seat and cried/screamed for most of the ride home.

All in all, it was a pretty good trip and we will probably do something similar again. We got all of the Christmas shopping done, and were able to spend some time together with out any interruptions.

6 Week Check Up

On November 3, 2010 Nicholas had a really rough night and would only sleep if I was holding him. I was so tired so I laid in bed with him laying on top of me. I woke up that morning with a really sore spot on my boob and figured that I probably just had a plugged duct due to him laying on me all night. That day I tried every thing I could think of. I put heat on it, and tried to massage it out. Nothing helped. I was so tired that day, and was having a really hard time. It was on a Wednesday, which is one of Zac's longest days at school. Zac called to ask if I wanted to meet him at our friends house in Coalhurst so that he could see Nicholas and I during one of his breaks from school. I agreed and was so glad that I went. I was so cold the whole day, and didn't really think about it. That night I woke up to feed Nicholas and when I got back into bed I could not get warm, Zac put another blanket on me, and also made me take some tylenol. I woke up a couple hours later in a pool of sweat. In the morning I was still experiencing a lot of pain, and it was a lot more red. That afternoon I phoned and got in to see the Doctor (my step-mother works at the clinic I go to, so she got me in really quick). Sure enough I had mastitis, and I was put on antibiotics. While I was waiting to see the doctor the nurse came in and was asking me why I was there and what not. When I told her I thought I had mastitis, she got all preachy and told me that I would have to stop breast feeding, but I would have to pump and dump. I was so annoyed with her. I sat in the room for the next ten minutes getting so worked up, because I did not want to stop breast feeding, and was mad that she would even suggest that. When my doctor finally got to me he assured me that I could still feed him and put me on an antibiotic that was safe to use while nursing. I was pretty sore for the next couple of days but the antibiotics started working pretty fast, and I started to feel better.

On November 9, 2010 we had Nicholas 6 week check up!! At the appointment he weighed 13 pounds 3 ounces, and was 22.5 inches long. He is doing really well, and is pretty chunky. He has the sweetest rolls on his thighs! Every thing checked out at his appointment and we got more information about his inguinal hernia. Nicholas was born with a hernia on his right side. It was something that was missed in the hospital and wasn't noticed until one night when he was crying while getting his diaper changed and Zac noticed it. It's doesn't cause Nicholas any pain and we just watch it and occasionally have to push it back in, which is pretty easy. We did find out at our six week check that Nicholas might have another one on the other side. There is no way to confirm it expect by ultrasound. the only way to permanently fix this problem is to have surgery. When Nicholas is around six months old we will get the ultra sound, and referred to a Pediatric surgeon to get them fixed. I try not to think about it to much, because it freaks me out to think about my little 6 month old baby going in for surgery. He will still be so small. I know that it is something that needs to be done and that it will be fine. I'm just use to being on the other side of the situation, and I'm not sure how I feel about being the mom of a patient!!

Blessing Day- November 7, 2010

On November 7, 2010 we had the privilege of blessing Nicholas in church. Zac, along with Great Grandpa Brian Dudley, Grandpa Scott Erickson, Grandpa Bruce Fawns, Uncle Kevin Dudley, Tyler Dudley, and Bishop Greg Peterson stood in the circle. Zac gave Nicholas a wonderful blessing. I don't want to go into to many details of it because it is pretty special but I will mention one that really impressed, and stood out to me. Nicholas was blessed with humor and the ability to lighten others loads with smile and laughter. I can already see this being a blessing in our lives. There have been some nights when I am struggling getting Nicholas down for the night. It will be late, I'm tired and just about at breaking point when I will look down and Nicholas will give me the biggest smile ever. It just gives me the little boost I need to get through the night. Nicholas has already been a huge blessing in our lives and we love him so much!!

Following church we had our families over to our house for lunch. I cooked a ham, my mom made buns, Susie made funeral potatoes, and everyone else brought a salad or squares. It was a pretty awesome meal. We were expecting about 30 people but unfortunately a lot could not make it. The people who were here were: Zac, Hilary, Nicholas, Scott, Susie, Max, Amy, Marolee, Del, Great Grandma & Grandpa Dudley, Kevin, Monette, Brooke, Carson, Tyler and Erin. It was a really wonderful day, and we are so thankful for the support of family. We wished that more of my family could have made it but we know that they were thinking of us that day!

Nicholas was so well behaved that day, which was awesome, because there were a lot of people and noise.

Here are some pictures from that day. Nicholas was blessed wearing the same outfit that my nephew Mac wore at our wedding. It was a little big, but Nick looked pretty handsome!!