We have an 8 pounder!!!

My boys showing off their muscles!

An 8 pound kid that is...not a salmon, or at least not lately! Forrest had his 2 week weigh in today, and he was tipping the scales at 8 lbs, 3 oz. This gives his breast feeding mama a welcome sigh of relief that she is indeed NOT starving her baby, (As Forrest often leads her to believe with his incessant nursing hour after hour...)
He was 7lbs, 5 oz when we left the hospital now14 days ago, so that is almost a pound in 2 weeks...Not bad!
He is also great in every other way, showing off his mad skills by peeing and pooping just prior to his official weigh in, of course waiting until there was no diaper to scoop up the mess...infants will be infants!
Mom's doc appt. went well also...no 100 mile bike rides in the near future, but she can do without that for now!
And, for dinner, pizza with Owen's family! Owen and Forrest I'm sure will be best of buds for all their years growing up...as they already both have dad's that are fishing fanatics and great friends as well...Thanks to the Peterson Family!

Forrest, two weeks old and Ranch update...

We have had little Forrest with us now for two weeks! Time has both flown by and crept by...creeping by because I do look forward to the day he is a bit older and out of the newborn stage so I can maybe stop worrying about an endless list of things...like, if he's eating enough, if I'm producing enough milk, if he's fussy for a reason, or just simply fussy? Though I know this "Worrying" thing is probably just in it's infancy itself....I'm sure there will be a list of worry wart items to come.
I am currently feeling good as far as sleep...already have been out on several walks with Forrest, and overall am feeling good as far as healing from the C-Section. I'd say I really started feeling better 2 to 3 days ago. It's been beautiful here on the ranch. Alex has been working hard outside nearly every day, and spring is clearly upon us. Soon we will be in full swing with the garden and spare moments will be few and far between.
Our current bountiful harvest is in the form of eggs! We are netting about 18 eggs a day...so many! Our hens are laying up a storm and despite giving our neighbors and friends eggs every week we currently have about 6-7 dozen in the fridge...lots of scrambled eggs/egg whites, and baking going on by all of us when we have time. I wish more people lived closer to us so we could share this bounty. Anyone have some good egg recipes?
Are other harvest this far is in the form of two asparagus spears...yes, only two. Alex tilled the old bed and apparently, most likely, did more harm than good. But they were delictable, when added to the store bought stuff. I ate plenty and hope that Forrest got his good share as well. Question: Do breastfed babies have smelly pee as well when their moms eat asparagus? I haven't noticed any yet with our little boy...I'd probably have to eat quite a lot!
Picture time:::::

He seems to like the running water. Alex even got a smile out of him! Though he's a bit of a farty baby as well....:-)

Forrest time with Aunt Megan

Megan is here visiting and helping out for a few days...it is so awesome having her here! Today, we took a good walk with Forrest, and my first since his birth. Walking is like a drug for him...the fussy infant is sleeping in no time!

The Faces of 8 day old Forrest...

Little Forrest at 8 days old was a happy camper...well at least happy that morning. Little did his parents know what havoc he would wreak that night...but that's another story...
Enjoy the faces!

"Awesome mountains mom, lets go climb them, I'm ready!"


"Woo Hooo!!!!, can I have my tree house there? Way up on the top?"

"Wow, this is where I live?"



Wow, that's some backyard! I hope dad doesn't make me do to many chores!"

"Eewww, that was a big dump mom"

"My life is so good, great breakfast mom!"

"Hmmm, so you're my mom?"
(my favorite...the mom stare down...:-)

"Whoa, what's dad doing with all that fishing line?"

Happy baby dreams...what do you think he's dreamin about?

"Yawn......time for a nap!"
(The parents wished of course...little did we know a substantial one would not come for another 8 hours...whew!)

Late night post...

So days with our little pumpkin butt, (very affectionally named by Alex for his numerous breast milk poops he has coming with great frequency,) are moving along...he had his 1st doc appt. today and has gained a few ounces since we left the hospital 3 days ago which is great as many newborns continue to loose weight for awhile. He seems to have his good and bad days, like any person I suppose. And, more aptly, his good and bad nights. As he is only 6 days old, we are making sure his needs are met, he eats like a champ, (maybe a bit too much as his mama is a bit weary, but he is a growing boy after all...), and we have found that walking seems to be therapeutic for his fussiness. We are actually pleased at this as we live on the greatest place imaginable for hiking and Alex and I would rather do that than just about anything. He's on walking duty for now as I'm still healing up the sore belly...
So, this is why is is 3:45 am and I am on the web...can't quite get back to sleep now that he is finally snoozing a bit...so...
MORE FORREST PICTURES!!!
I guess we are typical first time parents, pictures are being taken every day...

Blissful sleep :-)

Pretty much sums up the feeling in our household!

Day 4 with Forrest

"Save the planet for me" his shirt says...

Forrest's first bath at home
"Daddy, can we go swim on the river now? Can we?"

Taking cookies from Grandma Gloria already...

And, mom is doing well also. Day 4 was a tired day...as Forrest's most active times seems to be at night between the hours of 12-5. We hope to break that tonight though...we will see. He is eating like a champ and wonderful in every way :-)

Forrest comes home....

Forrest Griffiths Fulton

7 lbs, 14 oz
20 1/4 inches long
born on 4/14/2009 at 5:00 p.m.

It's time!

Patience..........

Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. ~Lao Tzu

Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there someday. ~A.A. Milne

Patience is also a form of action. ~Auguste Rodin

One moment of patience may ward off great disaster. One moment of impatience may ruin a whole life. ~Chinese Proverb

You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance.
~Franklin P. Jones

That pretty much sums it up...........we are practicing patience at the moment. If our little boy decides to continue to hold out, we will help him out on Monday, 3/16, with an induction. He's continuing to stay healthy inside :-)

Pregnancy Update, pizza on the brain

A little antsy, "blog" happy, and I am sorry you are getting another picture of one of my pizza's...I just realized that as I write this! But, I have a sneaking suspicion that my "blogging" time will dramatically decrease within days...hours....so why not...

So, yes, I AM still pregnant. And yes, my due date WAS 5 days ago. YES, the baby is most likely getting pretty big at this point, but he obviously just isn't quite ready to come out yet. This is me trying to be patient. I have already been offered an induction by my OB and midwife last week, but I turned them down as at this point there is no medical indication for one. We went in for a check up yesterday. They're watching me closely, checking the fetal heart rate for about 20 minutes twice a week, and doing an ultrasound to watch his amniotic fluid level, (AFI), and at this point he's doing great, growing like a champ. This is just standard protocol...nothing is worrisome at this point. His AFI is normal, but a low normal so I'm drinking plenty of fluids and hoping for the best. He measured at 7 lbs, 13 oz at last ultrasound on my due date, (which can be pretty off from time to time, lets just hope it's not off on the bigger side of things!) And he's still moving around tons.
So, next check up for me a baby will be Tuesday. At that point he will officially be a week late, as they are going by my due date of March 3rd, (I've had a few...). I am confident he will come when he and I are both ready, and am trying to enjoy the relaxing days of no work, and sleeping in, (if I so choose too...though haven't really done it yet!) If he gets near the 42 week mark, and continues to decide not to join us, we'll most likely start having to think about helping him out into our world.
And, just because pictures always make things better, here is me today, making up a pizza storm. This is actually just one of two pies to feed us through early next week I hope! Got to keep Alex going, as he's still working hard. And don't worry, I really didn't eat all of this myself! (Not much room in the belly anymore...) Overall I'm feeling good besides the obvious back ache and constant trips to the bathroom....Goes with the territory though!

Hopefully, possibly, the last picture of the baby on the inside?.....







And....PIZZA! This one ended up being half tomato, pinapple, mozarella, olive, and basil sausage, with the other half being similar, except with a white alfredo sauce, (ran out of marinara...)
I'll let you know how it was!

The progression of the baby...and belly! A story in photos....

Creating this made me realize what a year we've had....which is why I included some very early pregnancy shots that don't really even show the belly, but mark where we were at that point in pregnancy, and how much my body has changed. I am truly amazed! I know most of you have seen several of these shots before, but it is nice to have them all in one spot...The last picture, a snow sunset shot, is exactly 1 year ago. I was training for two different century rides at the time and had ridden my bike up an amazingly steep road and met Alex so I didn't have to freeze riding down. At the top we decided to do an impromptu snow sunset hike, and were thrilled at the result! What a day that was...and now we prepare for another and even greater achievement and feat...and miracle. The birth of our son.





6 weeks, 7 weeks, 17 Weeks, Wedding Day- little tummy!

25 weeks, 30 weeks, 31 weeks, 32 weeks, 35 weeks, 36 weeks



36 weeks, 39 weeks, 39 weeks, 40 weeks, 40 weeks +4 days-DONE COOKING :-)
1 Year ago today, seizing the moment....