Sunday, November 22, 2009

I wasn’t able to write last week because mommy’s computer got another virus. Luckily Daddy was able to fix it so it didn’t cost them any money this time. One good update is that mommy and daddy were able to get the H1N1 vaccine. Mommy stood in line for an hour in the cold with me in order to get a ticket and a scheduled time to come back. Both mom and dad didn’t get the shot but received the nasal spray. The doctor said that I would be somewhat protected from the swine flu as well because antibodies are transferred to me from mom’s breast milk.
Last weekend end mom got really brave and cut her hair pretty short. She was able to donate 15 inches to “Locks of Love”. Wow that is some long hair. I didn’t notice because I only look at her face but she often says it will take some getting used to even though she likes it.
Mom also started reading a book call “The Secrets of the Baby Whisperer”. This book should help mom get me into a routine. I am still too young for a schedule but I really like routines because I am what the book calls a “touchy baby”. This means I tend to freak out when my routine changes or my needs are not met after soon after I give the cues. Mom is also teaching me how to put myself asleep in my crib. Mom was scared to start doing this because she thought she would have to listen to me cry, but I fall asleep pretty good by myself as long as I am not wound up.
I am now 6 weeks old and mom is suspecting that I am going through a growth spurt. I am quickly growing out of all my new born clothes. Mom is a little worried that I won’t fit into my blessing outfit but I think I’ll be fine. Daddy will bless me next Sunday at church. Grandma and Grandpa Wilcock are flying in Wednesday night and Grandma and Grandpa Schlenker along with Great Grandma and Grandpa Campbell are driving on Thursday. We are so excited to see everyone and spend thanksgiving with family. This will be my firs thanksgiving!

Sunday, November 8, 2009


Tomorrow I will be one month old! I am still growing really fast and many of my new born close are getting a little tight. Time is flying by. In just over two weeks, lots of family will be coming for my blessing. I am so excited to meet more people that will hold me! I am so easy to love because I can snuggle close and melt your heart when ever you hold me. I do it to mommy and daddy all the time.
I had a great week just hangen with mom and dad. Mom started to take me on walks during the day. I love going outside to get fresh air. The weather is so beautiful so she wants to take advantage of it before the cold weather comes.
Late in the week I got to spend some more time with Auntie Richelle and Cousin Daria. They came over to let mommy nap and shower. We had lots of fun and Daria is starting to warm up to me more (I am just so fragile… so she thinks;). Auntie Richelle is so nice and might come again next week.
Yesterday mommy and daddy invited Justin and Jenny over for dinner. I was such a good boy especially while they played gestures. They just passed me around like I was a football and I didn’t mind at all. Daddy was inspiring because he is so good at that game. He gets really into it and makes mommy laugh a lot.
Mommy’s goal this week is to note when I like to sleep and eat the most. It is still too early for me to get into and real routine (that will come after 2 months), but it is worth a shot. I pretty consistently eat at about 1am, 4am, 7am and 9am but Mommy would like to reduce that to 2 feedings in the wee morning hours. I’ll see what I can do but it might still be too early to expect too much out of me.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

Week 3

November 1, 2009
This week started out a little rough because I got circumcised. Grandma decided to stay home for this part and mommy and daddy took me to see a real nice doctor. After they stripped and weighed me (I was up to 8 pounds 3 ounces) and doctor came and explained the whole procedure to my parents. When it was time, they took me into the procedure room and strapped me to a hard plastic bed. The worst part was getting the numbing needles but after that the nurse gave me some sugar water to suck on and I was tough. Mom didn’t watch very much of it and was glad when it was over. A ring and string was left on me wee wee and should fall off sometime this week. Dad bought some liquid Tylenol for me and I love its grape flavor!
Later in the week mom took me to the WIC clinic so she could re-register and continue to receive their services. I had gained 2 pounds at this appointment was up to 8 pounds, 9 ounces! The nurse was very impressed because they only expect babies like me to be back up to birth weight by now.
I have been a little fussier this week. I still love to be held a rarely sleep on my own. This isn’t a big deal during the day when mom, dad and grandma are available but mom doesn’t like it much at night when she wants to sleep.
Friday and Saturday were sad because grandma Schlenker was getting ready to leave. She has been here for 2 weeks and I have really grown to love her. Mommy is going to miss her and miss the mornings Grandma would take me so mommy could catch up on sleep. Luckily she is coming back for my baby blessing in a few weeks. Grandpa Schlenker will be coming to meet me then too. Along with him I will also meet for the first time Grandpa Wilcock, Great Grandma and Grandpa Cooper, Cousin Marin and possibly Uncle Adam.
Saturday was my first Halloween. Grandma Schlenker made my costume and I was a deflated football! Mom and dad didn’t do too much Halloween night other than give out candy so they had time to take lots of pictures of me in my costume. My costume is very warm and comfy so I might ware it to Daddy’s football game next week. I am so darn cute!

First two weeks of life

October 25, 2009
My name is Houston Schlenker Wilcock and I was born on Friday, October 9th at 4:18pm. I was 6 pounds, 9 ounces and 19 inches long at birth. The original date mommy and daddy were expecting me was around Oct 30 but I decided to surprise them and come exactly 3 weeks early. It all started when mommy’s water broke at about 4:40am that Friday morning. She had been contracting and cramping all week but nothing had been regular enough for her to think they were real labor contractions. I had to break the water to let her know I was ready to come! Daddy was pretty alarmed when he was woken up by mommy running to the bathroom saying, “Mickey, Mickey I think my water just broke”. After a lot of leaking and calling the doctor, mom and dad decided it was time to head to the hospital. The only bad part was mom and dad were not prepared for this early arrival. They didn’t even have a car seat to take me home in yet! In fact, this was the weekend mom was planning to go shopping for all the baby and delivery needs. While mommy showered, dad packed a bag and made some peanut butter toast for mom. She was so nervous she only got a few bites down before they were out the door on their way to the hospital. At one point during their frantic preparation, daddy stopped and said, “If your water really did break, we will have a baby today.” I guess that was his attempt to allow things to set in. Mommy and daddy shared a special hug after that because they realized they would get to meet their son today.
When we all arrived at the hospital at 5:30am, mom was still leaking but not contracting at all. She thought, so far, labor is pretty easy, but she didn’t realize what was coming. After mommy put her hospital gown on and her fluid was confirmed as amniotic fluid, mom and dad made some phone calls to family letting them in on the surprise. Grandma Wilcock was on a flight within hours and arrived at about 11am in Provo. Grandma Schlenker was not as lucky. She had committed to watching cousins Ashton and Nick for the week because Uncle Mark and Auntie Laurel were going on vacation to Mexico. Both grandma and mommy were very sad she couldn’t be there sooner but made a plan for her to come exactly a week later.
At 7:00am the nurses checked mommy and she was only 1 ½ cm dilated. Since they wanted to deliver me within 24 hours of the water breaking and mommy was not progressing very fast , they started inducing the labor with petosin at 8:00am. Mommy lasted a whole 3 hours before daddy convinced her to get the epidural. At about 12 or 12:30, daddy and grandma Wilcock went to get some lunch. Right before they left mommy was dilated 2cm, but when they returned in about an hour (1:30) I was getting anxious and mommy had dilated 9cm!! Daddy was funny and didn’t even believe mommy when she told him. The doctor said mommy could start pushing me out in about an hour. At 2:15 mommy was completely effaced and the nurses instructed mommy to start pushing at 2:40. Mommy thought pushing was the hardest part. After an hour she didn’t feel like I was going anywhere and she was very very tired. She became very nauseous and that made pushing even harder. When the doctor came in mommy wanted to work even harder and that made her throw up. However, after she threw up, it only took a few more contractions to get me out. Mom says I was pretty purple when I first came out but she didn’t care. I also had quite the cone head according to daddy; but they put a touque on me to cover that up and to keep me warm. While they sewed mommy up they put me on her belly to get cleaned up. I didn’t cry that much but it was quite cold. When they were all done with mommy, they laid me on her chest so that we could bond for the first time. I was so content and new my mommy and daddy loved me so very much. Mommy and daddy watched me as I looked around the room and made little cute noises. They noticed how long my fingers were and how dark my hair and eyes were. They loved my full lips and tiny little chin. Daddy and I were so proud of mommy and how hard she pushed for almost 2 hours. Mommy was happy the doctor never had to pull out the forceps even though he offered. She was also happy the pushing was over!
I got to spend over an hour on mommy’s chest and she even tried to feed me. Then daddy and me went to the nursery so they could bath me and make sure I was healthy. That gave mommy some time to rest, clean up and eat…finally! I got to see mommy again once she was moved down to the room we would sleep in. The first night was a little hard because mommy was in quite a bit of pain and refused to take the powerful pain killers. She was also worried about each little peep that came out of my mouth. She tried to feed me every couple hours and we snuggled a lot. The only real sleep she got was when I was laying right beside her. Daddy had to sleep on a chair that pulled out into a bed. It was very hard and he didn’t sleep well either. The next day Mickey and Grandma Wilcock were on a mission to get everything mommy and I needed for when they took me home. They were gone most of the morning which gave me and mommy more time to snuggle, rest and try to breast feed. This was also the day when everyone wanted to come see me. My first visitors were mommy’s old roommates Ashley and Kim. They were impressed that mommy was up walking around (she finally gave into the more powerful painkillers) and they thought I was the cutest thing. They brought me a fleece sleeper that looked really warm. Other visitors we had included Justin and Jenny Alphin, Kent and Kate Griffeth, Uncle Deejay and Aunt Richelle, Dan Welte and Auntie Andi. Auntie Andi got on a stand-by flight so she could spend the weekend with us too. By the end of the day, mommy was pretty sick of visitors and pretty exhausted.
The next day was the day we were going to head home. All morning mommy, daddy and me got to spend some quality time together while Auntie Andi made us lots of frozen meals and Grandma Wilcock did some final shopping and organizing. As the day went on, Mommy got more and more nervous to leave the hospital. She knew I was a big responsibility and she wanted to me a good mom.
When we arrived home, the home was very clean and all my clothes and supplies had been organized. Mommy’s favorite part was the brand new rocking chair waiting for her in the nursing room. Mommy was so grateful especially because she felt so unprepared to bring me home.
Grandma Wilcock had to fly home that night because she had to work the next day but I got to spend some more time with auntie Andi because she left the next day. Auntie Andi was so nice to make us meals and clean the house. She even gave me a cute little sleeper and a book called “You are Special”. She read it to me and I listened the whole time like a good boy. I think that may be my favorite book.
My first official outing from the house was for a bilirubin test at the BYU health center. Mommy and Daddy were sad the results came back quite high at 18.5 which meant I had to lay in “bili-bed” until it went down to 12. In the end I had to lay in that darn bed for 2 days and got my heel pricked 3 days in a row. Daddy was able to stay home with mommy everyday which was nice because mommy didn’t eat or sleep much at all. Plus she had to feed me every 2 hours to help flush the bad stuff out of me. The two hardest things about lying in that bed were that I couldn’t be swaddled or held which are two of my favorite ways to sleep. Mommy was so overjoyed when my last test result was 12.5 and she could rock me to sleep again. I was also happy to be off the bed of lights because Grandma Schlenker came that Friday. She came when I was exactly 1 week old. Mommy was so excited and got me all dressed up so I looked cute for Grandma (not like it is hard).
Grandma has stayed busy while she has been here. She bakes lots of yummy things and always has well-balanced meals ready for us to eat (Daddy has never eaten so many veggies). She also sewed my Halloween costume. I am going to be the cutest football ever! She was also here for my 2 week appointment. I was already up to 7 pounds, 6 ounces! Everything else looked good and I go back to the doctor on Monday to get circumcised.
My first outing by choice was attending Daddy’s BYU flag football game. It was pretty chilly but mom bundled me up and held me close. Mommy was so proud of me and loved showing me off. My doctor said that I should stay away from people for about 12 weeks because of germs and people spreading the swine flu virus to me so Mommy enjoyed taking me out while she could.
I definitely have discovered my hands. I love to move them a lot especially when mom is trying to feed me. My legs and neck are also getting stronger. I will be rolling around in no time! I have also been sleeping better for the past few nights. I go 3-4 hours until I get hungry which mom loves because she can sleep more.

Update?

An update is long overdue so I put Houston in charge of updating the blog weekly. Enjoy!