Category Archives: baby

all these post are from baby.sheley.org about our boy Leo Mason Sheley

Leo’s First “Official” Bath

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Tonight Brandon and I collaborated to give Leo his first “official” bath. I say official, because technically we have already given him one – there was an explosive poop situation a few days ago when grandma Gillespie was still saying with us. But we’re considering this to be his first bath because we actually had time to setup the baby bathtub in the sink and think the whole thing through.

Leo seemed to really enjoy the bath experience! He didn’t cry until we took him out and he started getting chilly while we were drying him off. I think that bath time will become one of his favorite things to do soon – I can hardly wait until he’s old enough to start playing with some of the bath toys that we’ve got.

Kudos to Brandon for taking lots of great photos! It will be an experience that we’ll be able to remember and appreciate for a long time. : )

Settling In

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We’ve been home with Leo for almost a full week now, and we’re starting to settle in and get the hang of things. It’s pretty much what I expected – sleep, eat, burp, change diaper and repeat. I’m just not sure I realized how often we’d be repeating!

Everyday has been a learning experience and a blessing – Leo’s such a good boy! He does a good job at night, only waking up two or three times to eat, and he’s pretty efficient, so we’re usually only up for an hour or so at a time.

Leo’s also very good in the processing department. He’s managed to pee on all of his primary caretakers to-date (mom, dad and Grandma Gillespie, who was here for the first five days helping us adjust). And he’s quite a poop machine. Sometimes we change two or three diapers per feeding, because just as we get one changed, he decides he’s not quite done!

Every now and then we get little hints of a smile. You can see them on this video that Brandon shot.

LBS has a Name

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It took a couple of days, but we’re happy to announce LBS will officially be known as Leo Mason Sheley.

I’m not sure why it took me so long to settle on a name, but I’m blaming pregnancy hormones. Every time I thought I had made a decision, about two hours later I’d start second-guessing myself and end up changing my mind. Brandon and I had spent months discussing several family name options, and really liked the idea of honoring Leo’s heritage. But in the end, it was too difficult to come up with a combination that we liked and that honored both sides of the family.

Finally I told Brandon he just needed to make a decision for the both of us, so I could quit agonizing over it. He decided to go with a combination of names that we had both liked from the beginning, but had no family ties – Leo Mason.

To view more pictures of Leo, visit my Facebook gallery.

Worth the Wait

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Yesterday was suppose to be another full day of testing (bio-physical profile, sonogram & non-stress test), and at the end of the day I was suppose to go home to rest, and wait for LBS to arrive.

However, after the sonogram, plans changed quickly. LBS didn’t score very well on the bio-physical profile, scoring only 4 out of 8,  and we were given an ultimatum by the midwife. Either I could immediately be induced at the Birth & Women’s Center with cytotech, or I would have to be transferred to the hospital that night to be continuously monitored until the baby decided to arrive. Given all the time we’d invested at the Birth & Women’s Center, the decision wasn’t difficult to make.

So at 4:45 p.m., I started the cytotech treatments. Contractions started shortly after and by 12:30 a.m., I was pushing. A short hour later LBS entered the world: 9 pounds 12.5 ounces, 22.5 inches long.

All-in-all, both the baby and I went through labor like champs! I was able to achieve my goal of a totally natural birth without any drugs and was able to do so without any stitches or tearing! Brandon and my mom were both there and were great support for me, and my mother caught LBS and cut the umbilical cord.

Here’s the first photo (we’ve still not officially decided on a name). Check back for more soon!


It’s Not You Baby, It’s Me

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I ended up getting a checkup, sonogram, biophysical profile and non-stress test on Tuesday.

I was surprised by the sonogram because it was so different from the first one I had. The baby’s so big, I wasn’t able to recognize any of the body parts the technician was pointing out and could never figure out what he was looking for with his measurements. In the end, it didn’t matter. The baby scored 7 out of 8 on the biophysical profile, which the midwife was happy about.

Then it was time for my checkup. I pretty much hadn’t changed at all since my previous visit.

Today I returned to the Birth & Women’s Center for another checkup and non-stress test. Again the baby’s doing well, and I’ve made very little progress. The baby has officially dropped to the right position though, and I had more practice contractions last night, so we’re going in the right direction. It’s just slow right now. Really slow.

Because I’m getting close to 43 weeks, we’ve started talking about induction. Currently, the plan is for me to go back in for the full test work-up again on Monday/Tuesday next week. Assuming the baby’s still doing well, we’ve give him another couple of days. If he’s not out by Thursday, I’ll drink some castor oil (great), and if that doesn’t start anything, they’ll induce on Friday. We’ll start the induction using cytotech (so I can stay at the BWC). If I don’t react to it, I’ll have to check into the hospital and induce with pitocin.

Deep down, I have a feeling we’re not going to need to worry about an induction. If LBS is anything like his mother, he thrives on a deadline and performs best under pressure. Now that the date’s on the calendar, my body’s going to kick into gear and we’re going get this project done on time!