After SS, we went to service, and Grayson really loved the music. I play music for him a lot at home (he likes country music youtube videos a lot) and he really responds to it. At church, he was wide awake for all the music, still sucking away on that pacifier. At about 11:30, he got hungry so I gave him a bottle, but Ryan made me take him to the “cry room” because he was being such a noisy eater- ha! He was STILL awake when the service was over at 12- so except for a little catnap in the car on the way to church, he had been awake since 6:30 AM. He finally fell asleep on the way home, and I’m sure he’s out for the rest of the afternoon.

It’s Sunday morning- Ryan is at work, the dogs and Grayson are all asleep- why am I not napping too? I did sleep in this morning- until 6:30 AM, which REALLY was 7:30 AM if you don’t count falling back for daylight savings. I don’t remember the last time I slept until 7:30, even before Grayson was born. Thank you Grayson and dogs for the extra sleep.  Love it!

I’ve been working on G’s baby book this morning. There’s a page that has you list things like price of a gallon of gas, world leaders, popular entertainers, etc…for the time your baby was born. I’m so pathetic- who are the world leaders right now? And do I really want to have Justin Bieber’s name permanently recorded in G’s baby book?



Such a big boy!

 Our little munchkin is 6 weeks old! In some ways the last six weeks have flown so fast and I can’t believe Grayson is that old. However, it seems like a million years ago we were sent to the hospital when he was so sick.

We are doing really well- keeping busy. We try to get out of the house at least once a day- otherwise I go a little stir-crazy! Luckily, all of my best friends have babies or toddlers, so we’ve been able to have quite a few play dates. I’ve also been working at WT a few times a week. Grayson has been great- mostly sleeping in his carseat while I work.

A few nights ago we moved Grayson out of our bedroom and into his crib. He’s done fantastic sleeping in the crib at night! He still wakes about every 3 hours to eat, but goes right back to sleep when he’s done. He still sleeps quite a bit during the day, but is definitely more alert and aware of what’s going on when he is awake.

We are still in newborn clothes and diapers, but they are definitely getting more snug. I’m thinking any day now he can start wearing some of his 0-3 month clothes- hooray for a brand new wardrobe!

We are excited that fall has finally arrived- hooray for cooler weather and the upcoming holiday season!

We don’t mean to be rude, but….what are you? We just don’t get it. For months and months, Mommy and Daddy would tell us, “Your brother is coming; he will be here soon. Aren’t you excited?” Sure, we were excited…to get another DOG. We honestly thought we were getting a puppy- another furry creature who would play with us in the backyard, chase us around the house, and in general just add to the chaos that we work so hard to create around here.

But then you showed up. And it’s not like we were prepared. Daddy rushed us to the car one evening- didn’t even get to say goodbye to Mommy- and we headed off to Waggin’ Tails. We love Waggin’ Tails, but we were there a LONG time. They brought us a blanket with your smell on it one afternoon- this was our first clue that you weren’t exactly the puppy we’d been expecting. You smell nothing like a puppy.

When we finally got to come home, Daddy brought us in one at a time to meet you. Although they tried to pretend they weren’t nervous, we saw right through that. What’s up with that? It’s not like we wanted to eat you or anything. Plus, we were way more excited to see Mommy than you anyway (no offense, dude).

Yeah, you are definintely not a puppy. You haven’t been outside to play with us even once! In fact, it’s almost like you don’t even know we are here. At first, you were very quiet, but the past few days you have become more and more noisy. I guess we are teaching you something- if you want something around here, you have to use your vocal chords! But again, you are different than us. When we are noisy, Mommy and Daddy get very annoyed with us and a lot of times put us outside. When you are noisy, they pick you up, sing to you, and shove something in your mouth with white stuff inside and you suck it down. That always seems to make you happy.

You have changed everything around here. We aren’t saying it’s totally a bad thing though- Mommy is home all day with us, which we like. No, we don’t get quite the undivided attention we used to before you came along, but we are adjusting. We have overheard Mommy tell several people that we have been angels- how about that! Also it’s obvious that Mommy and Daddy completely adore you and think you are the most wonderful thing in the world, so we are working on feeling that way too. They keep telling us to wait until you are a little older and you will be so much fun for us. Umm…we are skeptical on that one, but we’ll keep hoping! Will you really be able to play in the backyard with us someday? Take us to the park and throw sticks in the water for us to fetch? Feed us food under the table? (yeah, don’t tell Mommy we said that one- she won’t be happy).

So you aren’t a puppy, and we aren’t quite sure you are a human, but whatever you are, it’s obvious you aren’t going anywhere. So we will continue to make the best of the current situation- promise.

Love,
Chloe, Gabby, Hank and Izzy

Grayson is one month old today! He weighs 7 pounds, 2 ounces and has outgrown most of his “preemie” clothes. We are still very much in newborn diapers, and have already had to buy more (grrr…I stocked up on diapers big time during the pregnancy and followed the advice to not buy too many newborn size because we wouldn’t need them long…).He is still a very chill baby and thankfully is very easy to soothe when he gets upset. Usually the only time he fusses is when he’s hungry or wants to be held (which I’m realizing is pretty much all the time!). Our big milestone this week is he’s been sleeping in the bassinet at night so I’ve been able to sleep in my bed again- finally! For weeks after we got home from the hospital I slept on the couch so I could get up every 2 hours for the feedings without waking Ryan. Now that G is a little bigger, I’ve been letting him wake me up when he’s ready to eat at night- so far it’s every 3 hours like clockwork.

Most of the day, Grayson is either sleeping or eating, but when he’s awake, I’ve been trying to “play” with him. We do tummy time, and he’s still rolling over every time. We listen to music and read books. We’ve been on several outings- yesterday we visited our friend Klare at her kolache shop, today we went to the bank with Grandaddy, and we’ve been up to Waggin’ Tails several times to take and pick up Hank at daycamp. Grayson is really good in the car and I hope that continues!

Future Genius

Grayson will be 4 weeks old tomorrow! I finally feel like we are somewhat getting settled, not that we have any real routine. I feel like our days and nights are just never ending feedings, diaper changes and cuddles, but that’s ok. It’s been strange for me- I’m so used to having a million things to do, at least 2 jobs, and right now Grayson is my only real “job”. I’ve really had to force myself to rest during the day- the “sleep when they sleep” concept is harder than it seems! I really am not sleepy during the day- but when 7:00 hits- wham! Unfortunately, that’s when Ryan gets home from work, and I’m not very chipper or talkative- poor guy.

With Grandaddy- so sweet

Hank loved having my brothers visit- he took any attention he could get!

Bedhead!

Here is the story of the past 3 weeks of my life…it’s been a wonderful, scary, emotional, incredible ride. Warning: This is a long story.

Exactly three weeks ago at about 7:10 PM my life changed forever. I was sitting on the couch, surrounded by my dogs, watching Kate + 8 and waiting for Ryan to get home from work. The dogs know the sound of his truck so when they hear him pull in, they always run to the door to greet him. So they all jumped off the couch, barking, and I shifted a little. My water broke.

Ryan wanted to go to the hospital right away, but I was wandering around the house in a little bit of shock. After my doctors appointment the past Friday, I was convinced I was going to have to be induced on my due date, more than 2 weeks away. I wasn’t ready- the house was a mess, I was a mess (I’d been cleaning/painting all day- which I know, everyone says is “nesting” and I shouldn’t have been surprised about what happened- I just think I needed to clean and paint), and what were we going to do with the dogs? So I called my doctor, and she reassured me I had time to finish packing and shower. I called Denise at WT and she was so wonderful about letting Ryan bring the dogs that evening. It was so weird- I knew it was time and I had to go to the hospital, but I wasn’t having any contractions, pain, anything. Just leaking.

We finally packed the car and headed to the hospital- I think we got there sometime around 9 PM. The checked me out and determined that yes, in fact, my water did break (duh) but I wasn’t dilated or effaced. Again, I felt totally normal. The hospital called my doctor with that information and she told them to start me on pitocin. Well, after that, so much for feeling normal! The contractions started quickly and got painful quickly. I got an IV of pain meds which really helped for a few hours and I was able to sleep some. But then that wore off and the pain got really intense. But then I got my miracle, the epidural. Yeah, it’s pretty much amazing. You feel nothing. It did make me sick to my stomach and I puked a few times, but after those contractions, I really was ok with that.



5 lbs, 7 oz and a head full of hair!





Ready to go home!





Nurse taking temp at the doctor





My little trooper



Second homecoming



Sweet baby

So I guess my last post was a little more “Debbie-Downer” than I intended. Things are definitely better now than Monday, and my worries are much less after getting them out, as well as talking to family and friends.

Updates:

I just got back from a doctor’s appointment. 37 weeks- full term!! I REALLY feel like I am bigger than last week and told my doctor that before she measured me. Nope. Still measuring at 33, same as last week. Grr. But she seemed much less concerned than last week  (maybe her seeming more concerned last week was my mis-perception and anxiety, who knows) and the heart still sounds great. She estimates Grayson’s weight to be 5.5 pounds, so I probably need to do some shopping for the teensy-weensie newborn clothes.  I am not progressing internally AT ALL, so she thinks I definitely have a few more weeks to go. Today she said if he isn’t born by my due date she’ll induce on that day. So his birthday could very well be October 7!

Izzy is back to her normal spunky self. She spent all day at the vet Monday. She was dehydrated so she was given fluids, 2 antibiotic shots, and she was sent home with meds and bland food. She was still kind of puny that night, but by the next night, totally fine. Such a relief- I was worried about my little girl!

Ryan is still having a lot of pain in his knee so I think we are back to scheduling surgery. We just don’t know when. Work and baby kind of take up a lot of time 🙂

I really am feeling good today- physically and emotionally. I am just planning on relaxing and enjoying this weekend- get some stuff organized, hang out with Ryan and the dogs, and finish some painting. Hooray for weekends!

“…Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34

I’m trying. But at 3 AM when I am wide awake, uncomfortable, hot, sweaty and have a sick little dog plastered to my side whose tummy is making horrible noises, it’s hard not to. I’m worried about my baby who should be bigger by now, my husband who is having terrible knee pain even though he had surgery less than a year ago, our bank account which is significantly smaller now that my summer teaching pay has expired, and my sick baby Izzy. But the verse does say not to worry about tomorrow, and all of this crap is happening TODAY.

Izzy has had diarrhea since Saturday morning. I wasn’t concerned until last night, when she got up about 4 times and the mess had blood in it. So I’ll try and work around my work schedule today and take her to the vet. I just hope she’s ok and whatever it is isn’t too expensive. I guess I’m more worried because Izzy has always been SO healthy- I can’t even remember if I’ve ever had to take her to the vet for something other than vaccinations. I really don’t think I have. The good news is she’s acting ok and still drinking water. So I’ll just hope and pray for the best on that one.

Friday I had a doctor’s appointment. My doctor seemed more concerned than I thought she would about the results of the ultrasound and Grayson’s size. I guess the 15th percentile is pretty little, especially for an almost full-term baby. But, she was happy because I was meausring 2 cm. larger than I had 2 weeks ago. She told me to count his kicks twice a day and call her if I didn’t feel 10 in 2 hours each time. So far he’s passed with flying colors- we reach 10 in about 30 minutes- hooray! Oh, and since I posted about not feeling hiccups, he’s had hiccups 3 times-ha! Anyway, the most unnerving thing is the comments I get from strangers- this weekend I had quite a few clients at work ask how far along I was and I could see the surprise in their faces when I told them I only have 4 weeks to go. A lot of people have told me how lucky I am to be so small, and I guess in some ways I am, but I don’t feel that way.

The other thing I mentioned was Ryan’s knee. Apparently his body is not growing cartilage and scar tissue like it should and so he just has an open hole in his knee where he had surgery last fall. So the doctor wants to go in and remove some existing cartilage, harvest it for a few weeks to grow more, and then put it in his knee. There’s my non-medical understanding of the situation. We were going to do the first surgery over Thanksgiving and the second over Christmas, but financially and because we’ll have a brand new infant, we just don’t think it’s going to be possible. So in the meantime to help the pain, a few weeks ago he had a shot of some kind of gel in his knee. I’m not sure how well it’s working- he still seems like he’s in a lot of pain. And this in the middle of football season- ugh, not good.

So at 3 AM all this seemed very overwhelming. But actually typing it all out helps- and yes, things could be a LOT worse. I have a friend who just found out a family member has cancer, a family member of my own whose dog has a health problem MUCH more serious than a little diarrhea, and then there are the countless babies born who are really sick or really tiny. So I’m trying to keep perspective on these things and thank God for all the blessings I do have.

“…give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18