Happy *One Month Birthday* Levi!

Can you believe my Little baby is one month old today. He is getting so big and strong! He can lift and turn his head in Tummy Time, he now has a strong manly cry, and he can frog-kick himself right off your lap!

We've had a fun first month. Were learning a lot as parents. Our biggest discoveries/decisions have been to introduce a pacifier to him and swaddling. Also, this week we tried a bottle for the first time. Can I just say hallelujah!!! I love that I can let Kevin spend some quality time with Levi without him crying, poopy, or asleep. The nap I get to take during that time is a super bonus.  

We've also had a lot of fun this past September. My Uncle Tod came to visit at the beginning of the month. Levi loves him! Also, A large part of Kevin's family came to visit us. I loved having so many people around who love Levi and spoil him with attention. With so much family around we thought it would be a great time to get Levi blessed. September 16th was the day for us! Kevin gave such a sweet blessing and Levi was so good, he slept right through church! Here are a couple of pictures of Levi and some of our family at his blessing.

A Little Levi

My little Levi is growing up so fast! Today I decided it was time to retire all of his newborn sized cloths. They were all so cute, it makes me sad. At his last doctor appointment (almost 2 weeks ago) Levi weighed 9 1/2 lbs and was 21 1/2 inches. I'm sure he is a lot heavier now. He is getting to be such a big boy, I'm having a hard time keeping a hold of him when he needs burping. He loves to wiggle, flail, and kick. His newest trick is pulling out Mommy's hair! It's a good thing he's so cute! One of my favorite things is looking at his face when he finishes eating. He is starting to smile! I'm sure right now it's just from gas, but it is a peek into the future.

I have here some pictures. If I end up having some time during the day when Levi is not crying or eating I like to snap a few shots of him. Below are just a few pictures and some examples of me playing around with Photoshop

Levi Scott Sykes- (Part 2 )

* warning- you can't see anything embarrassing, but there are birth photos in this post.

I started pushing at three in the afternoon. Kevin was on one side of me and the nurse was on the other. After a few tries of regular pushing the nurse noticed his heart rate would drop a little every time I pushed, she decided to have me roll onto my left side and I began pushing like that. After a while of pushing that way the baby's heart rate dropped again, into the 60's (it was in the 140's). This time she walked into the bathroom and pulled the emergency cord.

Before I knew it I was surrounded by nurses. they had me turn and kneel on all fours with my head as low as I could get it. The doctor then rushed in and told me the because of baby's heart rate he was going to use a vacuum and try to get my baby out as fast as possible. At that point I said a little prayer and they turned me back over. The doctor said that if I couldn't get this baby out in two pushes they would rush me into get a c-section. He didn't want to do that, however, since the baby was down so far already. He also told me he may have to do an episiotomy to help it go faster. At that point I knew I just had to push, really push!

The doctor unwrapped the vacuum and I began pushing. Even with the epidural I could feel him being born. I was a very strange feling. The doctor had the vaccum on his head and was pulling and twisting. When I hear him say the head was out and he was working on pulling out his shoulder I felt a little bit of relief. If he was born now they would have a good chance of helping him if he needed it. When he finally was born is it bad to say I was a little scared to look. I just wanted him to be perfect and was afraid I'd done a bad job. When I finally got the courage to look down I was so relieved and overjoyed to see that he looked fine. He was breathing, crying, and squirming just like you'd expect. He was fine, his heart rate was good, and we were all ok!  

Levi was born 8 lbs 8.1 oz and 20.5" at 4:40 in the afternoon. At that point we still hadn't picked out his name. Kevin and I took advantage of a moment alone to discuss it. We both liked Levi, and we already knew his middle name would be Scott. So, it was settled! The question that everyone loved to ask finally had an answer.


Levi and I were in the hospital for two nights. I was ok to go home after the first one, but since Levi was born using a vacuum his risk of Jaundice was higher so they wanted to keep an eye on him. We finally got the go ahead to leave the hospital on Thursday afternoon. Unfortunately it was right at Kevin's time for class. Lucky for us my sister was visiting us at the hospital, so after Kevin left for class she helped me pack up my things, Kevin's things, and my new baby and drove us home. It was sad to come home without Kevin, but I was happy to finally be out of there and for the help that my sister, and eventually my Mom, came and gave me.

It was so sweet. My family had surprise presents waiting for us. My parents gave us a cute little feeding set for when he gets a little older. They gave Kevin his first "Dad" T-Shirt, and Kevin gave me a sweet little baby buggy charm for my prized charm bracelet. After we got home one of my friends from work, Carmen, was the first to come and visit us! Then, some more of our friends, Chase and Shannon came to visit, and brought us a delicious dinner!

Over two weeks have gone by since Levi's birth! He is the cutest little thing on the planet. He sleeps like a champ and is a varacious eater! Seriously, he'll eat for over an hour if I let him (which I do). At his one week appointment he was already 9 pounds and 21 inches. The doctor said he is a very healthy boy!

Levi Scott Sykes - (Part 1)

This is the story of Levi. He is the cute little baby boy that I gave birth to on August 28, 2012. He was almost two weeks past due, and I was scheduled for an induction the following day. To my surprise (and Kevin's extreme surprise) at 2:00 Tuesday morning I was awoken with mild back pain. Not thinking I was actually in labor, and having had back pain while I was sleeping for the past few weeks, I simply rolled over and tried to get comfortable again. The next time I was awoken the pain was slightly more intense. That was the time I finally rolled over awake and thought to myself "could this really be it?"

I tried to lay down again and maybe squeeze in a little more sleep, but at that point the aching was driving me to sit up out of bed periodicity. Because I wanted to be sure, and to let Kevin sleep, I kept getting up and going into the bathroom when I could feel one coming. By the third time the jig was up and Kevin came over to the bathroom to ask if everything was ok. I told him I thought I may be in labor, but that he should go back to bed and I was going to go into the family room and watch TV.

I'm so glad I made that decision to go off by myself. By the time I really started having contractions I was glad there was no one the to witness my squirming. I was up, down, on my knees, hunched over, and in all kinds of odd positions just trying to handle the pain. It is important to know that I do not do well with pain.

By the time Kevin got up, around 6am, and he saw how I was hurting, he pretty much insisted that we go to the hospital soon. When I started to throw up from the pain he said we were going NOW!
Kevin's brother Adam had been staying the night with us before heading home, so Kevin woke him up, told him we had to leave, and let him lock up the house for us.

We finally left the house at 7am. Just in time to see all the little kiddies being dropped off for the first day of school. At about two miles away from the house I remembered that I had forgotten the camera, so we turned around to retrieve it. Even with as much pain as I was in, I was not about to go to the hospital without my camera!

We finally got to the hospital at around 8am. I was pretty proud of myself. I had labored at home for 6 hours, one of my biggest fears was getting to the hospital and them turning me away. We met my Mom at the hospital and were told my Dad and sister were on their way. A the nurse took to to an exam room to check me, and when she did she found I was 7cm dilated and 85% effaced. When she said that I was a keeper i was overjoyed. I was about to get some much desired, drug induced, relief!

They put me in room 13. A lucky number in my family! The nurse asked me right away if I wanted an epidural, and I basically cried YES! It is so funny to me, having now gone through it, how the mind works. All during the pregnancy I was back and forth on the epidural thing. I hated the idea of a tube in my back and a catheter. Once I was in pain though, it was like how could this have ever been an issue? OF COURSE I NEED THE DRUGS! The anesthesiologist seemed to pop up right away, and though I was still scared of the procedure, I could not help but be SO thankful he was there. I kind of wished that they didn't give you the option of not getting the epidural, because the stressing out over it just seems ridiculous!

After that it was just a matter of hanging out with my family and waiting. Timed seem to fly by for me and at 3:00 I was checked and found to be fully dilated! That's when they told me it was time to start pushing!!!