The many faces of 7 week old Brooks Fisher....

Wow has time flown by! 7 weeks old already and only 3 more until I return to work (sigh....)
Brooks has grown so much and has such a little personality.
Here are some photos of our daily morning photo session.

6 weeks old!

Today Brooks Fisher is 6 weeks old and I had my first day back at Crossfit East Sac.
I knew getting back would be hard and that I would have lost a lot of strength-- but come on!
What little muscle I had has clearly turned to maternal storage tissue (aka. FAT) and my endurance is similar to that of an 89 year old with a walker! Regardless I made it through the WOD (very scaled) and didn't cry-- although I wanted to. I am happy to be back at CF and excited to get back in shape.

a day for daddy

Today we took a day trip to the Lagunitas Factory in Petaluma.
It was a surprise trip for Doug and I'm pretty sure he enjoyed it!!
We enjoyed a "tasting tour" -- rather Doug did-- in which he sampled 5 beers and we had a tour of the factory. An enjoyable family trip!!

wrap me up!

While pregnant we committed to using cloth diapers after the first week of life. Initially we planned on using g-diapers but the covers, liners and cloth inserts proved too much to handle-- well easily anyways.

So after 4 weeks of g-diapers we are trialing the Grovia AIO, Bumgenius Elemental AIO and Bumgenius 4.0 (pocket diaper). The AIO is wonderful- it has the environmental benefits of cloth with the ease of disposables!
The process is very easy.
Step 1. Put diaper on baby
Step 2. They soil it!!
Step 3. Take diaper off and throw in dry pail
Step 4. Put new diaper on baby!










As far as cleaning the diapers it is very easy. Because Brooks is 100% breastfed there isn't any special washing or scraping of poo needed. I simply empty the diapers into the washer. Do a pre-wash with cold, a regular wash with hot water and then an extra rinse with cold. Because it is Summer and I'd rather not use the electricity we hang the diapers outside to dry-- with the extra benefit that the sun naturally bleaches the stains out!

One Month Old!

Brook Fisher is one month old already- how did this happen?
The last month has been one big blur of trouble breastfeeding, lactation consulting, special bottles, pumping 24 hours a day, sleep deprivation and growing to love this little bundle of chub!
Having Brooks Fisher join our family has been the single most amazing event of our life.
Every moment spent with him just deepens our love.

daddy's dream

a trip up to Loomis for Gus' birthday and Doug fell in love with their property... or rather POND!

Doug's dream for Brooks Fisher is to grow up in the country with a pond and land to run and play. maybe someday this will happen- but for now we just get walks around McKinley!

three whole weeks!

Somehow we have managed to keep this little bundle of love alive!

It has been a struggle and we still aren't having much success with breastfeeding. The Lactina has become my new BFF or maybe "frenemy"!?!

Playdate with Miles... or rather the Mommies watch L&O SVU and eat Jimboys!

rub a dub dub

Brooks is in the tub!

Our bellybutton stump has fallen off and we are cleared for a bath.
We tried out the sink in the tub and it really is a two person job-- babies are slippery!!
Brooks loved the water running over his head and getting a massage after.
Such an adorable little guy :)

WWD

Today is the day that makes every grown man shutter with fear.... weenie whacking day.

waiting to go in....

Brooks Fisher was unable to get circumcised while in the hospital because of his jaundice and difficulty feeding. As a mother and healthcare professional I was upset to say the least. My fear was that rather than the in-house pediatrician who does 6 circs a day, we would have some yahoo at the clinic who does 2 a month!

But good luck came our way and we had an amazing pediatrician at Kaiser Point West, Dr. Fitzpatrick, perform the procedure. Brooks Fisher did great and seemed more upset that he was strapped down than the procedure itself.  A little Tylenol and the little guy was out for a nap... it's been a rough day!

into the studio

Today we had a photography session with the AMAZING Brenda Bisharat. 

One week old

Brooks first week of life was one big whirlwind!

so sweet!

my little man

do i look fat?

sleeping with daddy

                                                

 1st Target Trip

My Auntie Rocks

      

contemplating the world

Glo-Worm

Brook's bilirubin continues to be high...boo!!
But rather than be re-admitted to the hospital we are able to use a home bili-light.
It's simply a pad that lights up with a thick cable that attaches to the machine.  We wrap the blanket portion around him and it helps to treat his jaundice. He must wear the light 24 hours a day except for feedings and diaper changes, obviously. The only downfall to this light is the heat! It is already the middle of Summer and not cool here in Sacramento.


Regardless, we are happy to have our little Glo-Worm here at home with us!

going home...

Finally!
It felt like the two days after delivery we had to stay in the hospital lasted a lifetime...
With everything checking out ok for Brooks Fisher to be discharged we packed up to hit the road!
Brooks bilirubin is still high so we will need to bring him in daily for blood draws-- but at least we can sleep in our own bed.



I must admit as a new Mom I had my fears about going home. Not so much that I needed the nurses, because you rarely see them anyways, but because we were expected to care for this tiny human! It amazes me that people have babies without being educated-- I know more about caring for a newborn than half of the new moms coming into my work-- and I was paralyzed with fear.





 What if I don't know what to do? What if he doesn't stop crying? What if he won't take the bottle? What if I'm a horrible Mom? I guess only time will tell.... but you really should need a license to have a child!


  

ready to roll

handsome little boy

Hoping we get to go home today!! Our little man is two days old today and this is day four for us in the hospital.... we are ready for our own bed!

one day old

i'm a keeper

doug feeding brooks with the SNS

doug feeding brooks with a special bottle

julia, charlotte (future wife) and allisun

visit from heather

love him....