Jan. 6, 2012: Windham update at Tio Byron's request

Dear family,

You all have Byron to thank for this Windham update.  He's very diligent about reminding me to send them.  :)  And more photos will follow in a few days thanks to Gram and her persistence.  :)

Windham is 4 weeks and 1 day old today.  His 1 month birthday is this Sunday.  Pretty soon we won't have a newborn anymore.  :( 

We just got back from the pediatrician, and we have lots of good news!  Windham weighs 9 lbs. 11 oz. and will probably have either hazel or blue eyes.  Yay!  His eyes right now are lighter blue than when he was born.  A medium blue on the outside with a lighter blue on the inside.  It can take up to 9 months for the final color to settle in, but since they're so light now, the pediatrician said they probably won't be brown.  I hope he gets either his dad's or Aunt Jessi's eyes.  But of course he'll be just as handsome and loved no matter what color his eyes, skin, hair, etc., etc.



And the best news of all--drum roll, please xxxxxxxxxxx: (That was a drum roll.)  It turns out his constant crying is NOT normal, but is acid reflux which causes colic.  So the poor guy has been in pain these past 3 weeks.  (That's the bad part.)  But the good news is that now we 1) know what it is, and 2) can actually do something about it.  We have a prescription for baby zantac which we'll fill and use only if we need to.  For now we're using Gripe Water, (like a homeopathic version of zantac,) and it's been working great.  He cries waaaay less, and when he does get fussy, I can actually calm him!  He goes to sleep after feedings rather than staying awake crying for an hour or more.  It's like we have a whole new baby!  Or a less fussy version of Windham, at least.  It's wonderful!

 As a bonus, it was pretty fun to hear every single nurse and lots of people at the doctor's office "oooo" and "aaawww" as I walked by with adorable little Windham.  2 strangers came up to me commenting how cute he was (but not touching.)  One was a couple that's expecting, and you could tell the wife was thinking, "He's so cute!  I can't wait to meet mine!"  The other was a lady with teenagers.  I heard her say, "I just want to go over there and squeeze him!"  I said she was welcome to come over and take a look, but that I didn't want to get up for fear of waking him up.  It was pretty sweet.  You could tell she was reminiscing, and I was glad Windham could bring those happy memories to mind. 

Anyway, this has been a much longer update than I intended, but suffice it to say Windham (and his parents) and doing much much better than the previous 2 weeks.  

If you haven't seen them already, here are some photos on facebook of the little guy:
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100272843646119.2500544.17824879&type=1&l=9dfb8a0987

http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10100273434307429.2500687.17824879&type=1&l=c9056f8f61

Dec. 18, 2011: Feelings of a new mom

How do I feel... it's hard to put it into words.  I think that if our homes are temples, then being a stay-at-home mom is like being a temple worker.  I find holiness in feeding him and putting him to sleep and changing him and singing to him.  As my body heals, I think, too, that the price my body has paid to bring him here was worth it.  So worth it.  I understand now why people have more than one child.  :)  I really do.  The feeling I have when I look at Windham is hard to describe.  Wonder and love and... I don't know.  He's perfect, Xiomara.  He hasn't sinned.  He can't sin.  To have such a pure, clean, perfect spirit in our home is a blessing I can't describe and don't fully understand.

So, to answer your question, I'm not freaking out about being a mom.  I know I am a good mom and will be a good mom.  Mario is an amazing dad, too.  I can't wait for you to see it.  He's SO patient with Windham!  That's how I know he loves him more than anything in this world.  The only thing I am worrying about is how I'm going to do this by myself when Mario goes back to work.  Right now we take turns.  If I've been up feeding and changing Windham, and it's the middle of the night, and I'm really tired and Windham just keeps crying and won't fall asleep, I wake up Mario and he takes Windham.  If I'm sleeping or showering or eating and Windham needs to be changed, Mario takes care of it.  It's going to be really hard to do it all by myself plus start to do things like cook and clean.  I'm worried I'll feel very alone.  Plus I can talk to Mario.  I can say, "Look how cute he is!" Or, "I can't believe he just peed on me!"  You know, share the experience.  (Prince isn't quite as sympathetic as Mario is.)

Thank you for your prayers.  I need them.  Especially in the middle of the night when I'm tired and Windham is crying and I don't know how to calm him.  Mario and I are getting better at it, but it's still hard.  Hard, but worth it.  :)

Can't wait for you to meet him.  I know he'll love you instantaneously.  No picture in the crib necessary.  Keep up the great work, Hermana!  See you in 10!

Dec. 14, 2011 A little background on the name Windham

I can't get over how adorable and Gerber-baby perfect he is.  And I get to stare at him all day long.  :)

The reason I liked the name Windham and wanted to name our baby that was to honor my dad and his father, Jerry Windham Myer.  The last time my dad visited Utah he told me about his father, and I could feel the love and absolute admiration he had and has for him.  He told me a lot of special stories and memories they shared.  I hadn't known much about Jerry Windham and the things my dad told me about him made a deep impression on me.  I wanted our baby's name to mean something and not just sound nice.  My intent in naming him Windham was to honor my father's memory of his father, Jerry Windham. 

I also really wanted to name our child Mario after his father and grandfather.  They are both remarkable men who have and will accomplish great things.  So Windham Mario Ruiz is named after 4 great men: his father, grandfathers, and great-grandfather.

Chelsea

 

Thanks so much for the info on the Windham Name. I should try to trace it back. Jerry Windham Myer was our father, and the name came from our paternal grandmother, Mabel Windham, who grew up outside Port Arthur, Texas. She married at Weirgate, Texas to Clayton Pittinger Myer (Senior). That's all I know; Jerry may know more.

 

Love you guys, and cannot wait to meet young Windham. Much Love, Janis

My memories with my grandmother Mabel Windham were wonderful also.  When my dad was alive we would have dinner with her on weekends; she was the best cook.  I remember the best fried chicken, rice, and corn on the cob.  We would fight over who got the pulley-bone.  Very nice memories with the family.  This was when they lived off of New Braunsfels Ave. in an apartment that turned to condos (Chateaux Dijon?) My dad and Clayton lived in the Sunset-Ridge Apts a block away.  This is near the McNay Art Institute, close to Janis.  

Now, I hope you don’t get backlash from my sisters for this eulogy of my father, because they don’t share the same sentiment(s) as I do about him.

Thank you. This was so sweet. 

dad...

Dec. 12, 2011: Meet Windham Mario Ruiz!

He was born on Thu, Dec. 8, 2011 at 5:29 AM.  7 lbs. 11 oz. and 19 in. long.  He scored a 9 on his Apgar (basic health exam when they're first born.)  The score is out of 10, but they say only pediatricians' babies can score a 10.  ;)  So he's very healthy.  He was crying heartily and pink right from birth.  Mario, (dad,) Windham, (baby,) and I are all doing well.  We've chosen to exclusively breastfeed and have been making some great progress.

The abbreviated and rated G version of labor and delivery is that we planned for a natural birth in the hospital without medication.  What actually ended up happening was that I had sporadic, inconsistent contractions for 42 hours which never progressed.  Mario, our wonderful doula, and I headed to the hospital on Wednesday night to get an epidural so I would have enough strength left to push.  I labored without medication at the hospital for 6 more hours but was still experiencing sporadic and exhausting contractions that were not progressing.  That's when we made the final decision to get an epidural.  After the epidural I was able to relax and felt much better.  We all slept for a few hours while I dilated from a 6.5 to a 10.  After that, they turned off the medication, and I pushed effectively for 45 minutes, and then, voila!  Windham came into the world. :)  It turns out he was posterior which may be the reason why my labor never progressed naturally.  (The grand total of hours in labor and delivery was 54.)  

We may never know why things turned out the way the did, but I'm not disappointed I received medication.  It was a medical solution to a very real problem I was facing, and Mario, my doula, and I feel confident it was the right thing to do given my situation.  Although I wanted to have a natural birth, I feel very good about the way things turned out.
 

Although both Windham and I are healthy and healing we'll still be in the hospital until Friday, because Windham is receiving photo therapy (sleeping in a special brightly-lit bassinet in our room) to treat a mild case of jaundice.  We've very lucky and grateful for Windham and the blessing it is to have him, officially, in our lives.  And I'm SOOOO glad I'm not pregnant anymore!  More photos will be posted on facebook in the next few weeks once we've gone home and settled into a routine.  Mario is taking a couple of weeks of paternity leave and then his company's Christmas Break begins so we'll have a relaxing, low-key babymoon/Christmas.  We appreciate your love, thoughts, and prayers.  Can't wait for you to meet him!

Love,

Chelsea, Mario, Windham, and Prince (the dog)