Here are some new pictures of the boy =)

Here are a few pictures to show how much he's grown in 5 weeks.


Matthew's legs at 2 days (top) and 5 weeks (bottom)



Matthew in his car seat at 2 days (top) and 5 weeks (bottom)... He's definitely gotten a bit bigger...


Nap time in the car




This is what I call the "milk induced food coma"... note the ring of milk around his mouth...


He loves me =)


Helping Mommy at work

1 month old!

Matthew is 1 month old! We're still working on the sleep thing, but I think he's finally figured out the difference between night and day. I hope the effort I've put into being consistent with his feeding/awake/nap times is paying off. He still has his fussy nights, but there's been a big improvement in the amount of sleep I'm getting. It's nice to feel somewhat human during the day =).

Well, Matthew had his 1 month check up today and I got a big surprise. I know he's been filling out and I had guessed that he weighed about 7.5 lbs. Well, according to his pediatrician, he weighs 9 lbs, 3 oz!!! Our little guy isn't so little anymore! That means he would have been almost 9 lbs at birth if he had been born on his due date! I'm glad he decided to come early and spare me the extra pain =). Other than that, everything looks very good and he will see his doctor again in one month and at that appointment he'll get his first shots.

Here are a couple of new pictures:

Let me start out by apologizing to anyone who has tried to contact me in the last month. My days area all running together and I've been really bad at getting back to people. So, I'm sorry if you've tried to get a hold of me and I haven't responded. I'm hoping to have my head on straight by next week so I'm not a complete wreck at work =).

Well, Matthew is 3 1/2 weeks old now. I've been trying to get him on a schedule but he has a mind of his own. He has his nap time and awake time backwards despite all of my efforts. I'll do what I can to keep him awake and interact with him (as much as I can at this age) and then he either won't nap or his nap will be shorter than it should be. Matthew has been sleeping in his crib the last few nights and it went well at first. Last night was a bit rough. I've been extremely happy to get 3 hours of sleep in a row at night.

Matthew is starting to fill out, too. He has a double chin now and his little belly has rounded out. He's finally fitting in to his newborn clothes. Up to this point his clothes have been hanging off of him. He has an appointment with his pediatrician on Tuesday so we'll see how much weight he's gained.

I go back to work next week so Matthew and I have more adjusting to do. It'll be interesting trying to get him on a schedule while I'm trying to get work done, too. At least I get to take him with me =)

That's all for now. I'll post pictures when I have a chance to resize them.

Matthew is now one week old and he and I are still trying to figure each other out. Nursing has had its frustrating moments because he either won't wake up or stay awake long enough to nurse. We're also trying to get into a routine at night, but that will take more time. Matthew had his first doctor's visit on Wednesday and everything looks good.



Matthew also had his first sponge bath this week. He wasn't too happy about it...



Matthew likes to sleep. We're just waiting for him to pick up on the rest of the world's sleeping habits.







In the mean time, Mommy naps when she can...



and Daddy has already introduced Matthew to the world of Halo 3...

Surprise!!!

Gilbert and I are proud to announce the arrival of Matthew Ezekiel Saldana.

I woke up on Friday morning and I still felt the same, but I was starting to get some labor symptoms. I called my doctor and he told me to go to the hospital to get checked out. So, off we went. I got to the hospital at 8AM and by noon I had been admitted even though I was still 4 centimeters dialated and 90% effaced. I wasn't progressing very much on my own so they gave me Pitocin to induce the labor. By 5PM my doctor came in to see me and they broke my water. By 6PM the contractions were so intense that I asked for the epidural. I had been scared up until this point that the epidural would hurt worse than the contractions but I barely even felt when they inserted the needle. Once the epidural kicked in I was much more comfortable, but after a little bit I started feeling the pain again, but only on one side. At this point I was 9.5 centimeters dialated so they just gave me something to take the edge off. By 9PM I was starting to push and I was told that I wouldn't be pushing for very long because the baby's head was so low. I pushed for about a half hour before they called my doctor in and about 15 minutes once he was in the room. Gilbert got to assist in the delivery even though he had said he didn't want to be "hands on". After I had pushed the baby's head and shoulders out the doctor had Gilbert grab onto him and pull the rest of him out. Once they placed the baby on my stomach the doctor had Gilbert cut the umbilical cord.

So, our little guy surprised us by being 4 weeks early but he's healthy and we couldn't be happier.



Matthew Ezekiel Saldana
September 21, 2007
9:50PM
6 lbs, 3oz
18.5 inches

Only 4 more weeks until my due date!!! I will be considered full term next week at 37 weeks. That being said, I had a doctor's appointment today. My cervix has to dialate to 10 centimeters for delivery and as of today I am almost 4 centimeters. I am also 90% effaced and the baby's head is very low. So while it could still be a while, the doctor is seriously hoping I'll make it to my appointment next week. He said he wouldn't be surprised if I don't realize I'm in labor until I feel the urge to push. The doctor said that if by next week I am 5 centimeters dialated then we may need to come up with some type of plan. I'm not completely sure what that means... He's asked me not to go anywhere far and to be open to delivering at a hospital closer to our house in case I don't make it to the hospital we were planning on delivering at. We live behind a hospital but I am hoping to deliver at one that is only 10 minutes away, so hopefully that won't be a big deal. Things could get exciting really soon...

We finally have his car seat and we have his stroller. I think the only thing I'm missing for him is his grooming kit and I'm missing just a couple of things that I need. In the mean time, I need to get my bag packed so I'm ready when the time comes. We also took maternity pictures with our friends Kelly and Marianne. They own MiaBella Photography and they actually shot our wedding. We've gotten a little bit of a sneak peek and we're happy with the way they're looking.

Matthew has been extremely active and since he's getting lower he's putting more pressure on my sciatic. Gilbert thinks it's funny when I start to yell because it hurts. This little boy is like his daddy. He already likes to mess with mommy.

Well, I guess we'll see how things go over the next week! Here's the belly: