We Had a Baby!!!

Can you believe it?!?

Rex Matthew Truebe was born on Saturday, March 12^th, 2016 at 3:08pm. He clocked in at 7 lbs 0.8 oz and 19 inches - and he came out with quite the mop of wild hair on his perfect little head! 

Seriously... love at first sight. I was a mess!

Disclaimer: I started writing this post last week… and had not been able to continue writing/finish it until today – so it’s a little disjointed. My apologies!

3/30/16

First of all -- holy cow… I can’t believe it’s been 18 days since he arrived – it feels like a total blur! We can’t say thank you enough to all of our friends and family for the congrats, gifts, well wishes, visits, etc. Today is the first official FULL day that I am home with Rex by myself. Adam has been able to take a good portion of his paternity leave the last couple of weeks, which has been really great to have him here and tag-teaming the needs of a newborn. I’ve also been lucky enough to have my mom and Adam's mom come up and spend a few days with us as we adjust to being on maternity leave and figuring out how to make our little dude happy, healthy and content. Rexy is currently snoozin’ in his car seat – we had a weight check at the doctor’s office this morning – and I’ve been told and learned in my short time as a parent that it’s wise to leave the kiddo wherever he is when sleep comes along. I did unstrap him though – in my adult, claustrophobic opinion, those damn things seem way too tight!

The day we brought him home... I was both elated and terrified. 

I’ve got so much to tell you guys – but I know I won't be able to get it all out here and now. Hopefully, I'll see all of you soon and give you the full scoop on the big day and life as we know it since. For now, I’ll start with letting you know that Rex is doing really well! And since I mentioned the weight check – he’s gaining the lbs/oz he needs to so far…  it’s apparently normal for babies to lose a little weight after being born as their bodies adjust to being on the outside – but he’s back up/exceeded his birth weight at this point, and he’s getting taller! 7 lbs 4 oz and 21 inches today – woo! Weight is kind of a big deal for newborns, especially since I’m exclusively breastfeeding, because in addition to the tracking of diapers, it is important to constantly gauge that he’s getting enough to eat from my boobs J And thankfully, all signs are indicating that he’s doing just fine!

I've been celebrating his weekly birthday at 3:08pm every Saturday. #obsessed

So, speaking of breastfeeding… FACT: it’s REALLY hard. I did everything I could to educate and prep myself for how it would be when the baby arrived – but there’s really nothing that you can do to prepare for the huge, exhausting, stressful, yet amazing and proud commitment/phenomenon that is nursing. The fact that my body not only housed the little guy for 9 months and grew him until 1 day before he was slated to arrive – but it also knows to produce life-sustaining milk to keep him healthy and growing is crazy… right? The first few days were super tough – but it gets a little bit better and easier each day. And it’s caused for a few hilarious moments that I have to laugh at… 1) Rex is a hungry little beast – he has NEVER rejected the boob. I think he’d eat even if he was plum full to the max – I often have to cut him off because he overeats so much that he hiccups on the daily and has started spitting up. Adam has joked that he’s already got a little bit of the former fat kid that he was in him J; 2) Because of his craziness/love for the boob, he often like fights me to hold onto it himself… his little hands/arms sort of grip the boob and resist me trying to move or adjust him because I think he’s afraid that he’s not going to be able to eat. Like he’s saying “No, its mine!” Ha ha…  He also gets so crazy/mad/excited when I’m prepping to feed him that when I lie him on my legs and start pulling up my shirt, he often kicks me in he nipples – and I’m telling you, that hurts really bad! They’re already sore as all get-out and then they’re being abused by tiny, little newborn feet… it’s really just not fair. 3) Finally, as if the entire labor and delivery process wasn’t body-and-soul-baring enough, I basically have lost almost every ounce of prudishness that I once had with what is required of my upper half in breastfeeding. And most of you may know that I have always been quite the insecure weirdo about my tatas! But the frequency with which he needs to eat (every 1-2 hours) and the tasks that are required to make sure they are maintained and cared for properly (air-drying and nipple cream) requires a lot of free-boobin’ it.  I’m pretty sure Adam doesn’t know what to think! And I honestly don’t even care… I’ve already had to run to the bathroom and whip out a boob “in public” for Rex the last time we went to the doctor, too – it’s just a fact of my new life.

But it does remain a constant, stressful guessing game – I’ve been researching questions, advice, guidelines, etc. many a night as I sit up feeding him… The latest tip that made me chuckle advises that you not look the baby in they eye when you’re feeding him at night. Apparently, that will stimulate him and cause for him to stay awake vs. going right back to sleep – which I totally get – but you should see me at 2:30am when I’m changing his diaper before feeding him and trying to soothe him by avoiding his eyes and literally talking to his belly. Ridiculous! I’m really looking forward to the ~6 week timeframe – that seems to be the benchmark with which most say I should really feel like I have the hang of it and it gets easier. Here’s hopin’!

Talking to him about how it's not nice to kick mom in the nipples... ha!
Photo cred: Kelli Wessels - thanks, gf!

Pretty accurate depiction of life right now: while I have to lecture about nipple kicking -
Adam gets to pleasantly nap with him. :) But that's so damn cute, my heart almost burst. 

4/7/16

Let’s see… I’ll give you guys the highlights of what’s happening these days: It’s very common for little boys, and probably just a sign of what’s to come with the likely grossness that I’ll have to endure in raising a young man – but Rex has mastered the art of peeing and pooping on us. And please answer me this - why does it always happen in the dead of the night? That act always requires an outfit change, obviously – and he hates being cold/naked, so he really lets us have it when we have to strip him down after he was just all cuddled, warm and cozy. And I don’t know that there’s anything more jarring than a baby screaming bloody murder in the middle of the night.  I was pretty proud of myself on Day 7 (and I even logged this in my journal) – but that was the first time I managed to change a very dirty diaper solo in the wee hours of the morning (pun intended), didn’t get peed on or get poop on his clothes, and I was even able to carry him with me to the bathroom and one-handed, successfully figure out a way to pee myself and wash my hands without making him scream. Mom/Annie for the win!

My bright-eyed boy!

Another highlight… is the Murph. I hate to potentially jinx it – but honestly, I’m so proud of him. He’s handling this major life change so well! Granted, the first night – he did not know what to do… Rex was crying/screaming, and I’m pretty sure Murph was on the verge of his own anxiety attack with trying to process what that thing was and what kind of noises it was making… he even started high-pitched cry-barking and frantically following us from room to room as Adam and I scrambled to figure out what Rex needed… like he was saying to us: “You guys – help that thing! There’s something wrong with it!” Haha… but since Night 1, old man Murph just seems to take it in stride. He does stir a bit when Rex cries at night and I get up to tend to him… but typically goes right back to sleep. He’s used to it now. And he’ll come over and sit right next to us on the couch during the day; he licks Rex’s head and hands – and I truly feel like they’ll be pals in the near future. Especially when Rex can throw the ball for him or give him food. Of course, he’s jealous – and you can tell when we talk to Rex, he looks at us with a heart-breaking sad face. But, Adam and I are both dedicated to making sure he is assured that we love him just as much as we did before, and he will continue having a wonderful life with us for his remaining years. The only outstanding issue that drives me nuts, but I know I need to accept it – is his barking. Luckily, Rex grew for 9 months listening to that nonsense – so it doesn’t really phase him very much… but we have had a few instances where I just got him down for a nap and then the damn mailman starts coming around the neighborhood, which causes Murph to lose his mind – and wouldn’t you know it… soon after, I hear little Rexy stirring from him crib. Dammit, Murphy!!

Yes, I forced this photo op - as you can tell from Murph's tortured expression.
But really - they're gonna be besties.

More accurate moment - Rex looking super grouchy and Murph trying to get in on the cuddle action.
Again - so cute - heart = bursting. 

Something else that Rex got used to hearing while in the womb is my constant singing/jamming/Pandora addiction… so I’ve started using that to my advantage. Now, I do NOT have a good voice – but by God, he seems to like it (I am his mother, after all), so I keep the tunes on during the day a lot and sing to him often. However, we’re not talking lullabies and instrumentals (although we do play those sometimes too… when we’re desperate) – I typically just belt out whatever comes up in rotation on the shuffle. He currently seems to really like my Ace of Base, anything 90s country and Miranda Lambert. We even had the Pandora going up until the moments before he was born in the hospital… while I was in early labor, we played the Ray LaMontagne station (attempting to keep me calm during real contractions, which I understand now are SEVERELY different than the Braxton Hicks that I had been experiencing for weeks before), and I had Adam put it back on the Shuffle when I was pushing since there were breaks/silences in between contractions. I distinctly remember hearing “Heaven Is a Place on Earth” by Belinda Carlisle as the end was nearing… I’m telling you, this kid is going to have a deep and eclectic appreciation for music if it’s the last thing I do!

See. if that's not the look of an adorable Grumpus, I don't know what is...
In fact, he was being pleasant that morning - looks can be deceiving!

 I’m sure this is the most scattered post I’ve ever written, and I’m sorry – hopefully, future excerpts will be more concise and informative… as I mentioned, the last 3.5 weeks really have been a massive blur, and I’m quite sleep-deprived – but I’m also the happiest and most exhausted I’ve ever been. We had a great experience at the Muscatine Hospital and one of the things that they are very diligent about informing both Adam and I about and checking into frequently is post-partum depression. I’m very fortunate that I have not experienced those feelings, but I can understand how that can happen with the crazy range and impact of hormones and emotions that hit you after giving birth. There have been days where I feel so overwhelmed, worthless and stressed that I don’t know what to do… but I keep going. Evenings give me a lot of anxiety, because the witching hour for Rex right now seems to be from 6-9pm or so… and nothing we do seems to calm him during that time. And then there are other moments when I just sit there and look at him and start bawling because I’m so happy and can’t believe that he’s here and that we made him and he’s ours to keep and raise up. It’s very humbling how grateful I am… and even though it’s really hard sometimes, and I know we’re just getting started – I thank God every day, multiple times a day.

He's getting used to me just strapping him in and carrying him around...



One of our first family walk adventures...

We bathe him in the sink on this awesome sunflower cushion - and it's hit or miss if he likes it... statistically - he likes the warm water. Hates the aftermath/lotion process. I totally agree with him.

Becoming more active and alert every day!

He seriously has the wildest hair - and I love it. It sticks straight up! It's long enough to lie down... it just doesn't. 
And I think it's turning a little strawberry :)

Now – I’m conscientious of the fact that not everyone cares or will be as obsessed with Rex as I am…  So – I’m trying to practice some restraint on social media, texting photos and Snapchatting – but I sincerely can’t wait for all of you to meet him!  Just know that I’ll also be secretly nervous/wishing/hoping/praying that he is in a good mood and not enduring a growth spurt when that time comes so that I don’t have to flash you my boobs. J

One of the adorable pics from Rex's photo shoot a couple weeks ago...

We got in a few of the shots... Adam was hating his life.
I love that Rexy's eyes are open in this one though!

And this one... just stop it. Bestill my heart. 

More to come!! And hopefully, it won’t take me so long – but I can’t make any promises.

Much love to all of you!