I have been such a blog slacker lately!! I'll try to do better.
Things have been going really well, and it's hard to believe Malakai is almost 8 weeks old. He's such a good baby and I really can't complain! He's starting to sleep better, but nothing too consistent yet. He slept for over 7 hours for 2 nights (not in a row) and both times I woke up in a panic!! We are working on transitioning him into his crib, and he has been doing fairly well. He is still a great eater and is gaining weight like a champ! I joined a breastfeeding "support group" through the hospital, and it has been pretty helpful. We get to weight babies every week, so that's been nice. However, a couple of weeks ago I weighed him and thought he lost weight. I was very nervous and anxious for the next week to come so I could weigh him again. Come to find out I had read the scale wrong, and worried for nothing! He had a huge growth spurt between week 5 and week 6, and gained 14oz!! At his 7 week weigh-in he was 9lbs 10oz. He's pretty much out of newborn diapers. They still fit his body, but can't hold his, um..."output" anymore! Right now we're just trying to find diapers that fit him and can't quite find the right brand yet!
He is holding his head up all the time now and loves to be active. He's putting weight on his legs, and loves to "stand up." He likes to pull himself up to a sitting postion from laying down, and then "pops" up into a standing postion. He smiles constantly and has been making a lot of new noises. It seems like he does something new every day!
We went to his first kidney test appointment on 6/10. They did an ultrasound to determine if there was still an abnormality. He was such a trooper and even though it wasn't an invasive procedure I didn't like seeing him on the table in the hospital. They determined that there is an abnormality, but they're not exactly sure what's causing it. So, now we have to go back on 7/15 for a follow up test called a VCGU. Basically they put a catheter in his bladder and inject dye, then do an X-Ray. They're trying to see if he has a blockage between his kidney and bladder, or if urine is flowing backwards from his bladder to his kidney. Of course we were hoping that there was no problem, but now that there is, we are hoping that it is a blockage. It sounds like it would be easier to treat. Hopefully his next appointment will give us insight on what will happen next. We're keeping our fingers crossed and praying that everything will work out for our little man.
My mom came back for a quick visit on Father's Day weekend. We had a good time and Malakai enjoyed his "grandma time!" I'm flying up to IL next week so he can meet the rest of my family. Hopefully he will do okay on the plane!! Tony won't be able to come with us this time. We're both pretty bummed about it, but it's just not in the cards financially right now. Hopefully we can make another trip up soon. We also took a trip to TN for Father's Day. This was the first time my dad's side of the family met Malakai, and they of course fell in love with him!! It was just a day trip, so we didn't have a whole lot of time to hang out. I'm going to tey to make another trip up before I go back to work next month.
This past weekend we took a trip to North Carolina so Tony's family could meet Malakai. We had such a good time and wish we could have stayed longer. It's hard for both of us to be so far away from our families. It had been almost a year since we had been down there, so it was fun to see how all of his little cousins, and neices and nephews have grown! We also got to visit with his great-aunt Nancy. She is battling Alzheimers and was having a pretty rough day when we saw her. We sat with her for a couple of hours and just as we were getting ready to leave she recognized me and Tony and was like her "old self." We got to take a couple of pictures with her and the baby. She was only "with us" for a couple of minutes, but we were so thankful for those minutes.
As far as my recovery goes...everything seems to be going well. I've officially lost all of my pregnancy weight, but have a long way to go to get where I want/need to be. I am determined to be an "in shape" and healthy mom for my son. I have struggled with my weight for as long as I can remember, but hopefully the struggle will end soon!!
Holy cow...I think that's all of the updates for now. I'm sure I'm forgetting some stuff, but this is all of the major stuff!! I'll post the pictures in a separate post!!
Until next time...
Malakai resting in the hotel... 
His shirt got stuck on his head...
Malakai with Tony's cousin, Pam
Tony's mom with Malakai and Tony's neice
Tony's sister with the baby
Tony's cousins...Jy'ree, Janae, and Jamal
Tony's great-aunt Nancy meeting Malakai
Tony with his great-aunt Nancy and Malakai
Malakai and Jy'ree...
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