1st Birthday Weekend.. In Photos

I was absent from the blogger world. Don't get me wrong: I still checked on y'all every now and again but I only sat down at my computer to dump photos! So here's Fletcher's Birthday weekend in Photo's. Because if I took the time to blog about everything, you'd be here for 3 hours. So here ya go :) 

 Fletcher's Birthday Outfit

 First Haircut! 

 First Sucker... So he'd sit still for First Haircut :) 

 New toy from Grannanny! 

 Balloons! 

 Tried to touch the flame and we stopped him. It scared him 

 New pool from Granny! 

 Mommy & her Birthday Boy 

 Daddy & his Birthday Boy

 Singing at Pacho's! If you can see.. Fletcher has a happy meal :) 

 Sweet Baby Boy! 

 More cupcakes @ Aunt Stacys! 

 Fletcher's AMAZING Cake! 

 Pool Fun! 

 My bestie and her baby guy 

 "Mommy... can I eat it?"

 My family :) 

 My favorite photo of the day! 

 Evie driving Fletch around in his new truck! 

Fletch with his Uncle James and Aunt Cheryl.
We don't see them much but they love him like crazy! 

We had a very exciting weekend and we were yet again reminded how blessed we are and how loved our baby guy is. We are THANKFUL! 

Happy 1st Birthday Fletcher!!!

Week of Fletch: Day 5
Dear Fletcher, 


Happy First Birthday! I cannot believe you are ONE! It feels like yesterday you were doing this

then I blinked and now your doing this!

Mommy is so proud of you! You now have 10 teeth (including 2 molars) and you are 100% on cow milk. You can say 'NO' by shaking your head especially if you don't want to try a new food. Speaking of food, your favorites right now are still Cheeseburgers. But you also love sandwiches (just like mommy!), mashed potatoes, and animal crackers! 2 nights ago you finally figured out you could fed yourself dinner and shoveled in lots of Mashed Potatoes and broccoli. We still have to give you a bottle to go to sleep, but that's okay. 


Daddy is still your favorite person in the world and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse still makes you stop whatever your doing. You've added to your vocabulary and not just saying Mommy and Dadddy but now you can say Bye, Nanny, & Stacy. And you love babbling on the phone to everyone and giving kisses before you hang up on them.


Today for your big day your cousin Mandy is giving you your first haircut! We are also having cupcakes at home and this evening after it cools off your cousin Kim will be taking your first birthday photos!! Sunday is your big celebration, Your having a Mickey Mouse Swim Party with all 45 of our family and closest friends! 


You have grown up so much and this past year has been amazing, We cannot wait for the next!! 


love you forever,
Mommy

Current Crush Thursday: Monk

Week of Fletch: Day 4


My Current Crush today (linkup via Danielle @ Framed Frosting) is about Monk. All babies have a lovie. Wheither it is a blanket, stuffed animal, paci, etc. Well Fletch's lovie is his Monk. Monk came to live with us before Fletcher did. I received him at one of my baby showers and he waited in the bassinet patiently for Fletcher to come home from the hospital. And Monk has been around ever since. 

 

 

So Thanks Monk... For making my son's tears go away and loving him *almost* as much as I do. 

Fletcher's Firsts

Week of Fletch: Day 3

Fathers Day 

Forth of July

 First Swim

First Solid Food

 First Vacation 

First Halloween

 First Thanksgiving

First Christmas 

Baby Dedication

First Easter 

Had an amazing year of Firsts!! 

Worst Day Ever.

Week of Fletch: Day 2

Coming home from the hospital

Fletch was born on a Wednesday and that Friday we were aloud to go home but were given the option to stay one more night. When I think back I firmly believe that we should of stayed that extra night. His bilirubin was a 9.0 which is right on the border of being high and I was having major nursing issues. And suborn me was refusing to bottle feed at this time... but off we went, home as a family of 3. 

Friday night my wonderful sister Debbie brought my family dinner and we were settled in and everything seemed to be going well. Saturday we had visitors in and out all day and Saturday night my brother & sister Andy & Cassie brought us dinner and Cassie was helping me with nursing. 

Daddy & Yellow Fletch

Around this time Fletcher just started screaming uncontrollably and wouldn't stop. I finally took his temperature, and it was 101.4. I immediately called the pediatrician that we had picked to use but because  she had not seen Fletcher yet she referred us to the nurses line of our insurance who told us to take him to the ER. So we packed up and my mom drove us to the ER. Once we were there they took us right in and his temperature had dropped but they still did xrays, blood work, and had to do a spinal tap. Being a new mom, who just had major surgry, I was a mess to say. I just wanted to know what was wrong with my baby. We found out 2 things at our local hospital. His bilirubin had jumped from a 9.0 to an 18.3 and his blood sugar was registering all crazy and the lowest point it hit was 8. Thankfully we are only 45 minutes away from the best Children's, CHOA. So they called an ambulance to transport me and Fletch and off we went. By this time it was 4am, I was exhausted, and my feet were huge. I cried the whole way there. Once we got there we sat in the ER for 3 hours while they figured out where they were going to put us. They finally decided to put is in the TICU. The nurses were so friendly. They made us eat and rest and they took care of our little guy. 

 

 

They put Fletch under the bilirubin lights and was only aloud to come out when he was fed. I was nursing and pumping and Randell was feeding him what was pumped in the bottle. So that way we could both hold him, because that's the only time we could. They also gave him an iv of sugar water to keep his sugar going. Finally after lots of tears, and struggles, we decided to supplement with Formula. I DID NOT want to do this. I felt like a failure because I couldn't make enough milk to feed my baby. We were at CHOA for 3 days while they made sure his cultures came back from his spinal tap and everything was ok. After 48 hours we were aloud to let Fletch come out from under the lights and we got to love on him and hold him whenever we wanted. 

 

 

 

We finally get to go home on 06/15/11, and we went home as a cofeeding family. I would still nurse but we topped Fletcher's belly off with Formula and we continued to do this until Fletcher was 4 months old and he went to strait formula due to the fact that I had to have surgery. I learned that formula was not evil and I was thankful it kept my baby's belly full. I know that Fletcher's medical issues are so small on comparison to most but I am so thankful for the staff at CHOA for taking care of my baby guy and I am thankful that he is healthy and happy today. To God be the Glory! 

Fletcher's Birth Story

Week of Fletcher: Day 1...
June 7, 2012 was a hot sticky day. RB had to work and I couldn't fit behind a steering wheel anymore so my mom took the morning off to take me to the Dr. I had a scheduled ultrasound to see how big FAR was measuring, because of the fact that ya know, I couldn't fit behind the steering wheel. My sister Debbie met us at the Dr. so she could see the ultrasound, and we could figure out what we were going to do because I still had a week until my due date. When we get back into the room and they start my ultrasound and the ultrasound starts to giggle. She then tells us that she's not laughing at my sweet baby, shes laughing at his FAT ROLLS! He had tons of them! She measured him to be 9lbs 13oz.

Fletcher Andrew @ 39 weeks 

As were waiting for the midwife to come in My sister, mom, and I are talking about how I must be dilated to at least a 3 or 4 by now and was hoping that they would put me in the hospital to get the ball rolling!  (Before this I wasn't dilated at all) So Stephanie, my midwife comes in and the conversation goes a little something like this: 

Stephanie: 9lbs 13oz... Amanda what are we going to do with this baby?? 

Me: I've been asking you if Fletcher could come out and play for weeks!! 

Stephanie: Fletcher is being evicted!!

So then she checks me and I am still. not. dilated. Do you even know how hard those words were to hear? I began to cry. I was so pregnant and miserable and just wanted to hold my sweet boy. She then goes to talk to the Dr. on call for that day, telling him she is thinking I will need a c-section. He doesn't listen to her and tells her to put me in the hospital tonight and we will start inducing. She doesn't believe this is the right choice for me, so she tells me to go home and she is going to call my dr, who was on vacation that week (his wife had a baby the day after I did!) and call me to tell me our plan of action. She calls me before I get out of the parking lot and tells me to be at the hospital at 10am the next day and not to eat or drink, I was having a c-section. I immediately call RB and he comes home and we are soo stinkin excited! So I eat my final pregnant meal of a Big Mac and I try to rest before I have to go the hospital. My plan was to sleep until 8. I was up at 3am! After brushing my teeth 8 times (literally) so I could get my mouth wet because I was not aloud to drink, off we went to the hospital. After being prepped and waiting for what felt like forever I was ushered into the operating room

READY TO POP! 

Waiting... Waiting... 

With sweet Amy going to the operating room

alone. I kept asking for RB and they told me they would let him back when they were ready. The sweet sweet anesthesiologist noticed I had began to cry and she asked me if I was scared and I said yes ma'am. She was so kind to me! Finally I saw a familiar set of eyes pop up behind the curtain and say hello to me. Stephanie was there! I didn't realize she would be there with me and of course I started crying yet again! Finally after they got everything ready and my amazing doctor got there I got to hear my sweet boy cry for the first time. 

 Fletcher Andrew Rodewig 06/08/12 @ 1:10pm

They took him into another room to get checked out and do his footprints while they finished putting me back together (RB went with the baby). While we were still in the operating room the phone rang and it was the LDR nurse telling us Fletcher's weight.

10lbs 2oz 

I couldn't believe it! Finally I was finished and my boys were waiting for me when I got into recovery where I got to hold my baby love for the first time. 

Love at first sight

 First Family Photo

Skin to Skin with my little guy 

Thanks for letting me share about the best day of my life... tomorrow will be about the worst.