Freakishly Strong

So during tummy time when Paxton was exactly 2 weeks old he rolled over onto his back! Brooke, Todd, and I all witnessed it. Brooke was saying that he looked like he would probably roll over within the next couple of weeks, and a couple of seconds later he did it. So we put him on his stomach again and he did it again. Since then he has done it about 7 or 8 more times so we know it is not a fluke. Our baby is just freakishly strong! Here our some pictures of him on his stomach. My favorite one is the last one where you can tell he is not a happy camper being on his stomach at that point. Brooke said we need to get it on video now...and we did!! I just have to have Todd upload it so I can show you all :)

Sleeping & Stretching

Paxton fell asleep in his boppy (that he got from Brandon, Ashley, and Jane) and kicked out of his blanket and ended up looking like this:


When we woke him up he did his routine stretching:

Look at that belly on him! He is getting bigger already. He still doesn't fit in newborn clothing, but I think it will probably be only another week that he wears preemie clothes. I can't believe he is 3 weeks old already! Last night we gave him another bath (he does NOT like them), but we discovered that if we kept both of his hands underwater he would stop screaming and actually enjoy the bath some. I think he looks like a little monkey in this picture. He will only lay contently on his stomach like this when he is really tired.

Sad Day

Saturday was a sad day as we sold our car. It was good too though since we don't have to worry about it now. It was my Gramps' car before us and we shipped it out here. It was so nice having a dependable car out here and I always liked telling the story of how I bought it for $5. I decided that we needed to take some pictures of Paxton with the car since he was named after my Gram and they are Black's too. By the way...on the night that I was induced Todd's dad called to let us know that he had been doing some genealogy. My mom's maiden name is Black and so we had looked into being related before but hadn't found anything. Well Todd's dad found out that we share the same 8th great grandfather from the 1640's so we are related. Gross huh? Well anyways, here are the pictures of Paxton (and me since he can't sit up by himself) with the car.

Pictures

Here are some new pictures of Paxton. He has been so much fun having around and Todd and I and our families just like to stare at all of the funny faces he does. He sleeps SO well at night which I am hoping will last :) His umbilical cord fell off on day 9. On Tuesday he weighed in at 5 lbs 12 oz. We are taking him in on Monday for another weight check to make sure he is gaining like he should. With how he is eating I expect him to have gained a lot of weight this week. He eats so much for such a little guy! Enjoy the pictures!

Paxton Asher Black

Paxton Black was born on April 7th at 12:11 am weighing 6 lbs 0.9 ounces. He urinated twice within 30 minutes so he lost a little weight that probably took him into the 5 lb range. I was able to hold him for about a minute while Todd cut the cord then they took him to the nursery because he was being "grunty". He is in an incubator now and on oxygen. They are monitoring his heart rate, oxygen intake, and respiration count. They also started him on an IV since he has not had the energy to eat as he just gets too tired from breathing so hard. We have not been able to hold him, but the nurse today was nice and would let us feed him and burp him through the incubator. He looks like he is getting better every hour. We are just waiting for his respiration count to go down to a normal range then they will start weaning him off the oxygen. They are hoping he will be able to go home by Saturday, but we are hoping for sooner. This morning they did get him off of the oxygen so it has been about 7 hours since he has had to be on oxygen and they say he is still doing pretty good. They are thinking of getting him into a crib by this afternoon sometime. Todd and I were able to hold him while the nurse changed the sheets in the incubator. We were very excited since it was Todd's first time to hold him and my second. Last night he weighed in at 5 lbs 12 oz. They turned his IV down some and are hoping to get him to eat more. He just falls asleep when he starts eating. He is getting even cuter now and we can't wait til he's out of there! We both love him so much already and can't wait until we are able to hold him and kiss him and have him at our home.

Baby Black

I went to my doctor's appointment yesterday oand they checked the fluid level and I did a NST which he passed again. My fluid was the lowest it has been and really close to the "dangerously low level." S with everything that has been going on the doctor said, "Well let me call down to the birthing center and talk to them because I think they are pretty full today. We are just going to deliver this baby." She left and I turned to Todd and said, "I can't have a BABY!!!" She came back and said Monday is the day...you will be 38 weeks that day so he has a couple more days in there. So Monday morning at 5:30 am Todd and I are supposed to arrive at the hospital so that I can be induced. It is exciting/very scary. I can't believe that he is coming already. Two weeks isn't that early but when you think you are going to be pregnant for 2 or 3 weeks longer it seems like a long time. So...anyone want to make new guesses on how much he will weigh? They think he is just going to be a little guy, but now we will find out sooner (and he will be smaller than if he stayed to 40 weeks). Leave a comment with your guess! And I will post a picture soon of my pregnant self. No one believes that I am almost 38 weeks and I get asked how many months I have left!

My Dad

Not many people know, but my Dad was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma in August of 2007. He has been treated with many different types of chemotherapy since then. Being across the ocean in Hawaii has made this difficult for me because I haven't really had to actually deal with it. I haven't been around him to see the side effects of his treatments, I haven't been able to go to the hospital with him like my sisters have to get chemo, I just haven't been around so it doesn't seem as real to me. My dad was a completely healthy person...one of the healthiest I know. He would run 3 miles a day, eat salad all of the time, and he is now only 53. It was the last thing any of us would have suspected. I hate that he has to go through all of this and I wish there was some easy way for it to go away. He has had such a positive attitude throughout this whole process and I am so proud of him. He is an amazing example to me and I am so proud that he is my Dad. He was admitted to the hospital on March 25th to receive a bone marrow transplant. The transplant is taking place tomorrow morning. I just want to tell my Dad that he is in mine, Todd's, and TONS of people's prayers. I know that you will make it through this. It will be hard as it already has been, but I know that you are a fighter. Please keep fighting for all of us...we want you to be around for another 30 years at least! I love you so much and I wish I could be there with you and get to visit you. I can't even put into words how much I look up to you and respect you. You have been a wonderful father, husband, grampie, coach, friend, and priesthood holder. You have always taken care of your family. You are AMAZING!
Love,
Michelle