1 Month

I have a one month old! Since I just posted a week ago, I don't need to post about the things he is doing..the answer is still "not too much". However, we have had a turn-around with his sleeping. He went from being VERY fussy and only sleeping well if we held him, to sleeping really well.

The truth is, we have started letting him sleep on his stomach for naps during the day. He still sleeps swaddled on his back at night but since he is sleeping well during the day, he is getting good sleep at night. You would think if they have rough days with little to no sleep then they would sleep good at night but that is NOT the case. I am aware of SIDS and why they say not to let them sleep on their tummies, but at some point you have to use common sense and since I can monitor him well during the daytime naps, I'm going to let him sleep on his tummy! Plus, he already raises his head well and can turn it if he chooses.

I also think we were overstimulating him during "waketime" and not putting him in his crib while he slept. Trial and error I guess. I think it was just too noisy for him in our house to sleep in his swing during the day.

If you are a new mom or a mom that remembers, how many ounces does your baby eat or did they eat at 4 weeks? How much time did they spend awake after each feeding? How long would they sleep? I'm just trying to get an idea if we are about average. I hear so many different answers on this.

3 Weeks!

My sweet baby boy is 3 weeks old today. I am going to be one of those people that says "my how time flies" and it does. Wow, it truly seems like yesterday I was headed to the hospital..and in other ways that feels like centuries ago. Life is much sweeter with this baby in our lives. He might not be able to do much yet, but we are loving the little things. So far, these are things I like and have noticed about Baker.

1. He HAS to have his paci at all times. He sleeps with one in his mouth which is probably a hazard but otherwise, there will be no sleeping.

2. He pees and poops on me all the time, but never on Brent. Perhaps you know who changes him the most. JK Brent. ( this is more in the "noticed" category instead of "like" category.

3. My severe paranoia has subsided a touch. I was overboard with worry for him and after much prayer I have handed that to God and hoping that everyday I have the right amount of concern for him, but not worry. Its certainly more freeing.

4. At the moment he is not as interested in sleeping as I would like him to be. Maybe I should say "sound sleeping". He wakes up very frequently to grunt and strain.

5. Grunting and straining are a huge part of his little day.

6. He smiled at me today. I think it was an accident but I didnt care. I can't wait for him to really smile at us!

7. I LOVE the way he looks and smells after his bath. He is getting more used to the bath but still hates getting out. It must be awfully cold because he freaks out in the few seconds of transition from tub to towel. Sad few seconds.

8. He loves his swing. Its been a great thing to have because he is usually pretty content to sit in it for a while. Thanks Hayes for letting us use yours!

More pics to come!

He's Here!

Well, I spoke too soon on my last post. What are the odds that after my frustrated post about being miserable, I would go into labor that night! I was not dilated or effaced and there was no end in sight. Nonetheless, my water broke Wednesday, October 21st at around midnight. It was a crazy surprise for Brent and I. I had to wake him up for the cliche "My water just broke, we gotta go to the hospital". However, I was having no contractions at all so I thought this might not be it. When we got there, they checked me immediately to see if in fact it was amniotic fluid and it was!! We were having our baby that day! We called my parents right away around 1:00 am and they headed to Tuscaloosa. Since I still wasnt having any contractions and still was not dilated at all, they gave me Pitocin to start the labor process. Luckily, they were willing to give me an epidural as soon as I wanted one which was ASAP. After that, I felt fantastic and just waited around to dilate. After 10 short hours, I still was 0 dilated and 0 effaced and the doctor recommended a C-section. This was not my plan at all, but it wasnt looking like I would get to have him naturally. So, 30 minutes later, Baker Thomas was in this world as handsome and perfect as ever!



These pictures of from Day 2 of his little life and he has already changed so much. We just love him to death and are enjoying every minute. I now understand what "you love them so much it hurts" means. He is just so precious. I am a protective and paranoid mom, but I am hoping I calm down as he gets a little older. He had a few minor challenges (a little jaundice, weight loss and a minor tounge issue) but now he is great and such a good baby. He eats well, sleeps well and rarely fusses unless he is hungry.



We are very thankful for a healthy baby. I can't wait to see what the next few weeks, months and years will be like. Thanks to all of his hospital visitors!

37.5

Weeks pregnant that is. Wow. In the very grand scheme of things, making it to 37 1/2 weeks is awesome and means pregnancy is almost over. The problem is the "almost". These past few days and the weeks (or so) to come will drive me crazy. If you know me, you know I am not very patient at all. This has to be the best and worst kind of anticipation too. I mean, I am so very excited about what is about to change my life. I know once he is here I will be so thrilled, but waiting for it to happen just seems impossible. I had my second appointment today where they checked to see if I was dilated. Nothing. This was discouraging even though I'm 2 1/2 weeks away from my due date. I'm sure moms out there know what I'm talking about. At this point you just don't know how much longer you can take it.

It wouldn't be SO bad but I've recently developed some new, fun symptoms. For example, I now have a constant headache. I take the Tylenol and when it wears off the headache is back and Tylenol again...and so on. It never stops. I really tried to avoid all medicine this whole time and I have done pretty well and not having to take anything. Now, here at the end I am having to take butt loads of it.

My pelvis bone now hurts. I'm sure my pelvis is separating or doing whatever it does to prepare for birth, but OUCH. I have kissed sleeping goodbye.

Dizziness is another one. I sporadically get dizzy and feel like I'm going to faint. Not sure what that's about.

Cramps. I assume anyone not interested in hearing these details has stopped reading by now anyway, but I've had menstrual-like cramps off and on for weeks.

One would think, "Hey, you're about to go into labor". Yes, well its not looking like its anytime soon. So cervix, dilate please! And Baker, please be ready to come into the world. I promise you will love your nursery and your family and all the pets. It will be much more comfortable that my cramped up womb. Thanks.

Shower

Last Sunday, I had a wonderful shower in Birmingham at my life-long friend, Beth's house. Amy, Linda and Kristen helped out too! It was awesome! I have the best friends and family ever! We got so much cute stuff for Baker and he is now set for his arrival. Here are a few pics. I am aware that my face is ridiculously swollen.



The Hostesses
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Mom, Honey and Hayes


Emily, Lucy and Amy

Home Stretch

As you can see from my ticker on the left side of the screen, I am 32 weeks pregnant. I have 8 (hopefully 7) weeks left! Pregnancy has been crazy. I started off with quite a bit of nausea, then that went away and the weight gain really started. I just got heavier and heavier and everyday tasks became harder and harder. The kicks started around 24 weeks and are still going strong. This little guy is a definite mover. I thought I would take this time to give a top ten list of things I look forward to about NOT being pregnant:

1. Being able to sleep (and everyone laughs b/c they know you don't sleep but for different reasons)
2. Having a normal size stomach
3. Not having 2 thousand limitations because I am pregnant
4. Having a sweet baby to hold in my arms instead of my stomach
5. Being able to exercise/lose weight
6. Having a glass of wine
7. Drinking caffeine
8. Using the restroom a normal about of times per day
9. Not having people ask when I am due and then gasping that I am so big with so much time left
10. Getting to see Baker for the first time!

There it is. I am going to post pics of the nursery ASAP. It is finished minus a few small details.

WARRRR EAGLE EVERYBODY!

Paper Anniversary!

We made it! 1 whole year of marriage. It truly seems like yesterday we were scrambling around in a hurricane to pull off this wedding at American Village. We had so many wonderful people come together to make it happen for us. It went by in such a flash. I felt like the reception lasted 10 minutes. It was a great time despite the weather. I'm sure every girl wishes they could relive their wedding day.

My cousin Claire just got engaged and I've been talking to her a lot about planning. My parents asked me if I had it to do over again, would I just take the money and run and not have a wedding. The answer is NO! I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. The stress of it all was worth having this one wonderful day with all of our family in friends in the same room.

So, to celebrate in the traditional fashion we decided to do the paper gifts. Brent made me a book of our relationship from day one. He even printed out the cast list from the show (42nd Street) that we met while doing together. It had pictures and mapquest directions and the whole bit. At the end he gave me a "paper" gift certificate to my favorite spa here in town. He knows he can't go wrong with massages and spa pampering! I gave him a subscription to Sports Illustrated since I knew he would love this and never buy it for himself. For the grand finale, I had 2 tickets to the Alabama v. Arkanasas game.

Friday night we went to our special restaurant, Bottega. Then, we stayed at Cobb Lane Bed and Breakfast. It was a unique treat. I have never stayed at a bed and breakfast before and we both really liked it. It felt like a vacation even though we were only in Birmingham.

Saturday we ate lunch at Chappy's (my favorite) and then went to the dollar movie and stayed for 2 movies since they are only $1. Then we came back to Tuscaloosa and grilled out. Sunday, which was our actual anniversary, we ate a piece of our wedding cake (which was good, by the way) and ate at Cypress Inn Sunday night. It was a great anniversary!