(This one seriously cracks me up...check out that belly!)
Not from yesterday, but I love it. The blanket is called the Miracle Blanket and it is a miracle! :)
Let me know which your faves are!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
One-Month Old
I still can't believe I have a one-month old! Time goes by so fast. Here's the rest of the pictures from his one-month photo shoot...too bad it didn't tire him out like is one-week photo shoot did. He was up all night again last night :( I'm not sure if the reflux medicine isn't working or if he just had a bad night. We shall see tonight!
(This one seriously cracks me up...check out that belly!)
Not from yesterday, but I love it. The blanket is called the Miracle Blanket and it is a miracle! :)
Let me know which your faves are!
(This one seriously cracks me up...check out that belly!)
Not from yesterday, but I love it. The blanket is called the Miracle Blanket and it is a miracle! :)
Let me know which your faves are!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Happy One Month Birthday, Will!
Dear Will,
Today you are one month old...I can't believe how fast the time has gone. It seems like yesterday that I was laying in the hospital bed staring at your sweet little face completely in awe that you were mine. Now you've grown into a baby who is developing his own personality and learning about the world. At one month, you:
- love the hair dryer. It calms you down in seconds...I use this as an easy way to get ready in the morning. I plop you in the Moby Wrap, turn on the hair dryer, and I have a good 10-15 minutes to do what I need to!
- love tummy time. We have tummy time/play time about twice a day and you love the tummy time portion of it. Most of the time you just look around you, but every so often you'll do a "superman" pose with your head, arms, and legs off the ground. It's so cute!
- have outgrown the first setting on your car seat straps. We drove to Houston last weekend and realized that we need to raise them up some!
- have started sleeping for about 4 hours, once a night. Mommy and Daddy are SO thankful for this!
- are wearing size one diapers and 0-3 month clothes. There are a few newborn outfits that still fit, but most of them are too short.
- are very alert. Your Daddy loves to come home and hold you - you pick your head up and look all around!
- are an expert at fighting sleep. Thankfully, you only seem to do this during the day. You just don't want to close your eyes and miss out on anything!
- love sitting on my lap and reading. I read you at least one story a day and you stare at the colors on the pages with your curious face (wide eyes, eyebrows raised, mouth in an "O" shape).
- love your paci! You're still using the ones they gave us in the hospital...when you're tired and we give it to you chomp down and make an "ah ah ah ah ah" noise.
- are becoming more vocal. We hear your sweet little noises mostly when you're eating and are perfectly content.
- make a "turtle" face when you stretch...I love this face! You pucker your lips so your top lip sticks out (a bit like a turtle) and your wrinkle your forehead.
- have smiled a couple times, but you still don't do it very consistently.
- are awake and active about twice a day - once in the morning around 10:00 and once in the afternoon around 4:00. We have our playtime then and you usually sleep for a couple hours afterward.
Your Daddy and I are so proud of you, Will. You have changed our lives so much and we are so happy with our little family. We're getting ready to move into our first house with you and I'm so excited imagining all the things we're going to do there...all the smiles and memories that will be made in the walls of that house. I can't thank God enough for blessing us with you - you are truly a gift to us :)
I love you, Will!
Love,
Mommy
Today you are one month old...I can't believe how fast the time has gone. It seems like yesterday that I was laying in the hospital bed staring at your sweet little face completely in awe that you were mine. Now you've grown into a baby who is developing his own personality and learning about the world. At one month, you:
- love the hair dryer. It calms you down in seconds...I use this as an easy way to get ready in the morning. I plop you in the Moby Wrap, turn on the hair dryer, and I have a good 10-15 minutes to do what I need to!
- love tummy time. We have tummy time/play time about twice a day and you love the tummy time portion of it. Most of the time you just look around you, but every so often you'll do a "superman" pose with your head, arms, and legs off the ground. It's so cute!
- have outgrown the first setting on your car seat straps. We drove to Houston last weekend and realized that we need to raise them up some!
- have started sleeping for about 4 hours, once a night. Mommy and Daddy are SO thankful for this!
- are wearing size one diapers and 0-3 month clothes. There are a few newborn outfits that still fit, but most of them are too short.
- are very alert. Your Daddy loves to come home and hold you - you pick your head up and look all around!
- are an expert at fighting sleep. Thankfully, you only seem to do this during the day. You just don't want to close your eyes and miss out on anything!
- love sitting on my lap and reading. I read you at least one story a day and you stare at the colors on the pages with your curious face (wide eyes, eyebrows raised, mouth in an "O" shape).
- love your paci! You're still using the ones they gave us in the hospital...when you're tired and we give it to you chomp down and make an "ah ah ah ah ah" noise.
- are becoming more vocal. We hear your sweet little noises mostly when you're eating and are perfectly content.
- make a "turtle" face when you stretch...I love this face! You pucker your lips so your top lip sticks out (a bit like a turtle) and your wrinkle your forehead.
- have smiled a couple times, but you still don't do it very consistently.
- are awake and active about twice a day - once in the morning around 10:00 and once in the afternoon around 4:00. We have our playtime then and you usually sleep for a couple hours afterward.
Your Daddy and I are so proud of you, Will. You have changed our lives so much and we are so happy with our little family. We're getting ready to move into our first house with you and I'm so excited imagining all the things we're going to do there...all the smiles and memories that will be made in the walls of that house. I can't thank God enough for blessing us with you - you are truly a gift to us :)
I love you, Will!
Love,
Mommy
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Poor Boy
Will has acid reflux. We've thought something was up for awhile - he gets fussy right after eating, he spits up a ton, he pulls his knees into his tummy and arches his back, he fusses if he's laid down flat, etc...Yesterday we went to the doctor to get his belly button checked out (it was oozing some stuff, but everything looks fine), and I mentioned to the doctor that he's been really fussy and seems uncomfortable at night. Our conversation went like this:
DR: How do you know he's uncomfortable?
ME: Well, he cried from 12am-6am last night. And he pulls his knees into his chest and screams.
DR: -chuckles- Wow, 12-6? I bet your tired.
ME: You have no idea.
He gave us some Prevacid to try with Will to see if it'll neutralize the acids in his stomach. It won't stop the spitting up, but it will keep it from being painful when he does spit up. Unfortunately for me, the Prevacid takes 3-5 days to see results. I could tell it helped a little last night, but I was still up with him from 1am-5am last night...Greg stayed up for awhile too, but he had to go to work today, so I told him to go to bed. Today has been rough too - if I can get him to sleep (and that's a BIG if, he's been fighting it a lot lately), he'll stop crying...but unless he's eating or sleeping, he's been crying all day. And it's a poor, pathetic little cry :( Nothing I do seems to make it better and I feel so bad knowing he's hurting and knowing that I can't help.
So send some thoughts and prayers our way...All three of us are just plain exhausted (actually, Sammy and Riley are too!) and poor Will is in pain, which is just awful. We're crossing our fingers that the medicine works and Will will be feeling better in no time!
Edit: In my tired stupor, I forgot to add our great news! Greg and I got a house :) Not the short sale, but a different one in a great neighborhood. I'll add details later - off to try to nap now.
Edit #2: (I swear, I am going to go nap) Will now weighs 9 pounds 13.5 ounces! He's really doing great on his weight gain - that's a pound in 11 days. They didn't measure him, but I suspect he's grown a little length wise too.
DR: How do you know he's uncomfortable?
ME: Well, he cried from 12am-6am last night. And he pulls his knees into his chest and screams.
DR: -chuckles- Wow, 12-6? I bet your tired.
ME: You have no idea.
He gave us some Prevacid to try with Will to see if it'll neutralize the acids in his stomach. It won't stop the spitting up, but it will keep it from being painful when he does spit up. Unfortunately for me, the Prevacid takes 3-5 days to see results. I could tell it helped a little last night, but I was still up with him from 1am-5am last night...Greg stayed up for awhile too, but he had to go to work today, so I told him to go to bed. Today has been rough too - if I can get him to sleep (and that's a BIG if, he's been fighting it a lot lately), he'll stop crying...but unless he's eating or sleeping, he's been crying all day. And it's a poor, pathetic little cry :( Nothing I do seems to make it better and I feel so bad knowing he's hurting and knowing that I can't help.
So send some thoughts and prayers our way...All three of us are just plain exhausted (actually, Sammy and Riley are too!) and poor Will is in pain, which is just awful. We're crossing our fingers that the medicine works and Will will be feeling better in no time!
Edit: In my tired stupor, I forgot to add our great news! Greg and I got a house :) Not the short sale, but a different one in a great neighborhood. I'll add details later - off to try to nap now.
Edit #2: (I swear, I am going to go nap) Will now weighs 9 pounds 13.5 ounces! He's really doing great on his weight gain - that's a pound in 11 days. They didn't measure him, but I suspect he's grown a little length wise too.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Baby Jewelry
I'm officially a "baby wearer." And I couldn't be happier about it! Last week I wasn't able to do anything but sit on the couch and hold Will...not that I minded that in the least, but our house was starting to suffer in cleanliness and I was starting to get mighty sick of daytime TV and the Food Network. I had about a five minute window from the time I put him down to do something (ie: make myself food or use the restroom) to the time he was screaming to be held again. I had a sling that I tried to put Will in - he screamed bloody murder the entire time and gave me a splitting headache in 2 seconds! So I figured I was destined to sit on the couch until he learned that being put down isn't all that bad.
I got online and found The Moby Wrap. I ordered it and it finally came yesterday. I cannot tell you how my life has changed since it arrived! I am finally able to get things done around the house. I wore Will all morning and he was snug and happy and his momma was happy that she was able to get the dishwasher unloaded and the dishes put away! He snoozed the entire time and didn't make a peep. I would've worn it all day long, but he spit up all over it (and me and himself) and forced me to wash it. But by the time Greg got home from work, it was dry and ready to go again! We took a walk and Will enjoyed the Moby and eventually fell asleep. He's still asleep in it and couldn't be happier!
I'd say it's worth it's weight in gold, but honestly, I think it's worth quite a bit more than that! It does make me feel like I'm pregnant again, though ;) My hips were aching after our walk! Something about having all that extra weight out in front really does make you waddle.
In other news...how is it possible that I have a three week old? I feel like time is flying by so, so, so fast and I just want to stop it and soak in every little second of time with my baby while he's still a baby. I know people say it all the time, but he's growing up so fast and he changes so much every day. I'm so thankful for this time to be home with him so I don't miss a second of it :) (Remind me I said this when it's 3am and he won't let me put him down!)
I also feel like I get "it" now. What is "it?" It is the love a mother has for her son. I remember growing up I used to get a little frustrated that my brother seemed to get away with everything when it came to my mom. She'd laugh and say, "I just love him so much!" I mean, she laughed when he took his spare tire out of his Mustang (to make it go faster, of course), hid it in the attic, and then dropped it down the stairs and put skid-marks on her fireplace. She laughed! I remember thinking that if I'd done that, I'd be grounded for the rest of my life (so not true, but I do remember thinking that). Well, I get "it" now. Will can scream in the middle of the night or pee on me, and then make a funny face or coo and I laugh and say, "I just love him so much!" I didn't know I had enough room in my heart to love another person like this - it's overflowing with love for my two guys :) I also always felt like I'd be incomplete if I didn't have a daughter...I LOVE little girl things and though I still really would like to have a daughter some day, I'd be
perfectly fine having all little boys too. He's just so much fun!
I'll leave you with a couple more pictures of my guy from this week:
Showing off his pretty blue eyes
So not happy about posing for a picture with Mommy!
All snuggled up!
Love my guys napping together :)
Gansta in his car seat with his paci and new "Snuzzler" to keep him comfy!
I got online and found The Moby Wrap. I ordered it and it finally came yesterday. I cannot tell you how my life has changed since it arrived! I am finally able to get things done around the house. I wore Will all morning and he was snug and happy and his momma was happy that she was able to get the dishwasher unloaded and the dishes put away! He snoozed the entire time and didn't make a peep. I would've worn it all day long, but he spit up all over it (and me and himself) and forced me to wash it. But by the time Greg got home from work, it was dry and ready to go again! We took a walk and Will enjoyed the Moby and eventually fell asleep. He's still asleep in it and couldn't be happier!
I'd say it's worth it's weight in gold, but honestly, I think it's worth quite a bit more than that! It does make me feel like I'm pregnant again, though ;) My hips were aching after our walk! Something about having all that extra weight out in front really does make you waddle.
In other news...how is it possible that I have a three week old? I feel like time is flying by so, so, so fast and I just want to stop it and soak in every little second of time with my baby while he's still a baby. I know people say it all the time, but he's growing up so fast and he changes so much every day. I'm so thankful for this time to be home with him so I don't miss a second of it :) (Remind me I said this when it's 3am and he won't let me put him down!)
I also feel like I get "it" now. What is "it?" It is the love a mother has for her son. I remember growing up I used to get a little frustrated that my brother seemed to get away with everything when it came to my mom. She'd laugh and say, "I just love him so much!" I mean, she laughed when he took his spare tire out of his Mustang (to make it go faster, of course), hid it in the attic, and then dropped it down the stairs and put skid-marks on her fireplace. She laughed! I remember thinking that if I'd done that, I'd be grounded for the rest of my life (so not true, but I do remember thinking that). Well, I get "it" now. Will can scream in the middle of the night or pee on me, and then make a funny face or coo and I laugh and say, "I just love him so much!" I didn't know I had enough room in my heart to love another person like this - it's overflowing with love for my two guys :) I also always felt like I'd be incomplete if I didn't have a daughter...I LOVE little girl things and though I still really would like to have a daughter some day, I'd be
perfectly fine having all little boys too. He's just so much fun!
I'll leave you with a couple more pictures of my guy from this week:
Showing off his pretty blue eyes
So not happy about posing for a picture with Mommy!
All snuggled up!
Love my guys napping together :)
Gansta in his car seat with his paci and new "Snuzzler" to keep him comfy!Friday, April 17, 2009
Three Weeks Already?
Sorry it's been almost an entire week since I've updated...life is definitely more complicated when you throw an almost-3-week-old into the mix! :) Speaking of that, has it already almost been 3 weeks? I seriously can't believe it. It's a strange feeling - it seems like yesterday that we were in the hospital getting ready to meet Will, but at the same time I have a hard time remembering what life was like before him. He's changed our lives so much (all for the better) and I don't know how we ever got by without him. :) He brings so many smiles to our faces and so much joy to our lives.
He's a stubborn one though, just like his mama ;) He refused to go to sleep (even though he was exhausted) and stayed awake from about 3:00 this afternoon to 8:00pm. Babies are not supposed to stay awake that long! Greg and I went to dinner with our good friends, Kasey and Shelby, and seriously thought he'd pass out in the car on the way to the restaurant. He dozed off and on, but decided to wake up once we got there. He took 3oz from a bottle and then fussed until we decided to leave. He was SO tired and SO cranky, but he refused to close his eyes and just let himself fall asleep. We got back home and I nursed him and he FINALLY fell asleep, after fighting it for awhile longer...I felt so bad for him, but none of the usual tricks were working to put him to sleep.
He's becoming so much more alert and fun during the day! He follows objects with his eyes and has his "excited face" when he sees something he likes. His eyes get all wide, he puckers his lips into an O-shape and raises his eyebrows. It's precious and I totally need to get a picture of it! He's learning how to control his head more and more everyday...we're going to start doing tummy-time next week on the boppy. So far, tummy time has consisted of him being on Mommy or Daddy's chest and lifting his little head up to try to look around. I think he'll like it on the boppy, but we shall see :)
Thank you for all your prayers in the past couple weeks. Greg and I have had quite the time since Will has been born. First, we bought a new car just a couple days before he arrived. Then we got him home and started looking for a house! I told Greg that we're never allowed to have this many huge, life-altering events at once again. It's hard enough recovering from the c-section and learning how to be a mom...not to mention adding in the stress of looking for a house! We put an offer in on a house on Wednesday. It's a short sale, so we're not sure if it'll work out or not (and we won't know for awhile), but it would be a HUGE blessing if it did!
We're also taking a huge leap of faith and trusting God to provide for us with me staying at home with Will. This is what I was asking for prayers about last week...and I've finally come to peace with the decision. There have been so many things that have fallen into place (or out of place, actually!) that have solidified this decision. I am completely and totally at peace with the decision and I am so excited to raise my little boy the way that God wants him to be raised. I know that we are going to struggle more financially...but there is nothing that money can buy that will be worth more to us than investing time in our family. I'm going to look into watching a couple of children from our house and really start pursuing photography full time to help make ends meet. And I know that God will take care of us, no matter what.
He's a stubborn one though, just like his mama ;) He refused to go to sleep (even though he was exhausted) and stayed awake from about 3:00 this afternoon to 8:00pm. Babies are not supposed to stay awake that long! Greg and I went to dinner with our good friends, Kasey and Shelby, and seriously thought he'd pass out in the car on the way to the restaurant. He dozed off and on, but decided to wake up once we got there. He took 3oz from a bottle and then fussed until we decided to leave. He was SO tired and SO cranky, but he refused to close his eyes and just let himself fall asleep. We got back home and I nursed him and he FINALLY fell asleep, after fighting it for awhile longer...I felt so bad for him, but none of the usual tricks were working to put him to sleep.
He's becoming so much more alert and fun during the day! He follows objects with his eyes and has his "excited face" when he sees something he likes. His eyes get all wide, he puckers his lips into an O-shape and raises his eyebrows. It's precious and I totally need to get a picture of it! He's learning how to control his head more and more everyday...we're going to start doing tummy-time next week on the boppy. So far, tummy time has consisted of him being on Mommy or Daddy's chest and lifting his little head up to try to look around. I think he'll like it on the boppy, but we shall see :)
Thank you for all your prayers in the past couple weeks. Greg and I have had quite the time since Will has been born. First, we bought a new car just a couple days before he arrived. Then we got him home and started looking for a house! I told Greg that we're never allowed to have this many huge, life-altering events at once again. It's hard enough recovering from the c-section and learning how to be a mom...not to mention adding in the stress of looking for a house! We put an offer in on a house on Wednesday. It's a short sale, so we're not sure if it'll work out or not (and we won't know for awhile), but it would be a HUGE blessing if it did!
We're also taking a huge leap of faith and trusting God to provide for us with me staying at home with Will. This is what I was asking for prayers about last week...and I've finally come to peace with the decision. There have been so many things that have fallen into place (or out of place, actually!) that have solidified this decision. I am completely and totally at peace with the decision and I am so excited to raise my little boy the way that God wants him to be raised. I know that we are going to struggle more financially...but there is nothing that money can buy that will be worth more to us than investing time in our family. I'm going to look into watching a couple of children from our house and really start pursuing photography full time to help make ends meet. And I know that God will take care of us, no matter what.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Happy Easter!
Happy Easter everyone! I wanted to share a few pictures from our first holiday with Will. We went to church this morning (despite getting less than remarkable sleep last night!) and he was wonderful. Then we went back to my parents house to eat lunch and we all had a great time :) Life with our baby is truly more fun!
I love tiny baby toes :)
And chubby baby hands.
Will and his Daddy
Love this one of my two guys :)
All curled up!
The next three pictures are courtesy of my Mom! Thanks! (And I promise I'll get you copies of these!)
Love this one!
Will is thinking he's about done with this picture-taking business...
...and Will is done with the photo shoot ;)
And chubby baby hands.
Will and his Daddy
Love this one of my two guys :)
All curled up!
The next three pictures are courtesy of my Mom! Thanks! (And I promise I'll get you copies of these!)
Love this one!
Will is thinking he's about done with this picture-taking business...
...and Will is done with the photo shoot ;)
Friday, April 10, 2009
Tough Guy
Will had his two week check up today! He's doing fantastically and he's such a tough little guy...he didn't even cry when they pricked his heel to do the second part of his newborn screening. He did pee on me though. All over my shirt - little stinker! I'm going to have to put a "mommy shirt" in the diaper bag just in case he does that again!
He's grown an inch in two weeks...how is that even possible? He doesn't seem bigger than he was two weeks ago but he's grown a whole inch! He's also gained back all of his birth weight and even put on an ounce - yay Will! Here's how he measures up to other newborns...
90% percentile for height (22 inches long)
50% percentile for weight (8lbs 13oz)
25-50% percentile for head circumference
So far we've got a long, lean little guy. Just like his Daddy! He had a huge day today and was awake for nearly 3 1/2 hours this morning before and during his doctor's appointment. He soaked up every ounce of everything in the room. He then crashed for the rest of the day (along with his Mommy once we got home) and was wide-eyed in time for Daddy to get home and spend some time with him. He gets more alert and responsive every day - it's been a lot of fun to watch him learn about the things around him!
Wish us luck - we're looking at some houses tomorrow. Hopefully something will stand out! And I'm sorry I haven't been posting pictures - I have a ton on my camera that just need to be put onto the computer. That will be my goal for the weekend.
He's grown an inch in two weeks...how is that even possible? He doesn't seem bigger than he was two weeks ago but he's grown a whole inch! He's also gained back all of his birth weight and even put on an ounce - yay Will! Here's how he measures up to other newborns...
90% percentile for height (22 inches long)
50% percentile for weight (8lbs 13oz)
25-50% percentile for head circumference
So far we've got a long, lean little guy. Just like his Daddy! He had a huge day today and was awake for nearly 3 1/2 hours this morning before and during his doctor's appointment. He soaked up every ounce of everything in the room. He then crashed for the rest of the day (along with his Mommy once we got home) and was wide-eyed in time for Daddy to get home and spend some time with him. He gets more alert and responsive every day - it's been a lot of fun to watch him learn about the things around him!
Wish us luck - we're looking at some houses tomorrow. Hopefully something will stand out! And I'm sorry I haven't been posting pictures - I have a ton on my camera that just need to be put onto the computer. That will be my goal for the weekend.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Hallelujah!
In my pre-baby days, I would have considered last night's sleep to be awful. I would've woken up and grumbled about how horrible I'd slept the night before. My feet would've been dragging all day and I would've felt like I needed to go to sleep at 7:00 just to catch up.
Post baby? In my post baby days, I'm praising the Lord that Will only woke up three times during the night (well, two if you consider the 7:00am wake up an appropriate time to get out of bed). I feel refreshed and have a whole different outlook on life. I actually feel like I got restful sleep, which is something that I have been seriously lacking this week. I actually feel good! Amazing what a difference a week and a few days can make on your outlook on life ;)
Will is doing great and I'm loving him more than ever! (Currently he's curled up on my chest making the cutest little snores...and today I actually appreciate it because I got sleep last night!) We have his two week check up with the pediatrician on Friday and I'm pretty sure he'll have gained some more weight back. Yay! Greg and I are starting to adjust to the whole 'parenting' thing too...we're both getting faster at baths and diaper changes. Last night we started a bedtime routine that seemed to make all the difference in Will's ability to sleep for more than 20 seconds at a time. We're both looking forward to getting out of the house this weekend to go to church on Easter Sunday. It will be nice :)
I don't want to go into the details of it on the blog, but if you could be praying for God to show Greg and I the direction he wants us to head in, that would be awesome. We're facing a tough decision and really feel like we need His hand in everything before we make a committment one way or the other. So prayers would be great right now.
And last, but certainly not least, we got our slideshow of pictures back from Will's newborn photography session. They are amazing!! I can't wait to get some printed huge for our walls.
http://www.lifeinmotionphotography.com/slideshows/will/
Post baby? In my post baby days, I'm praising the Lord that Will only woke up three times during the night (well, two if you consider the 7:00am wake up an appropriate time to get out of bed). I feel refreshed and have a whole different outlook on life. I actually feel like I got restful sleep, which is something that I have been seriously lacking this week. I actually feel good! Amazing what a difference a week and a few days can make on your outlook on life ;)
Will is doing great and I'm loving him more than ever! (Currently he's curled up on my chest making the cutest little snores...and today I actually appreciate it because I got sleep last night!) We have his two week check up with the pediatrician on Friday and I'm pretty sure he'll have gained some more weight back. Yay! Greg and I are starting to adjust to the whole 'parenting' thing too...we're both getting faster at baths and diaper changes. Last night we started a bedtime routine that seemed to make all the difference in Will's ability to sleep for more than 20 seconds at a time. We're both looking forward to getting out of the house this weekend to go to church on Easter Sunday. It will be nice :)
I don't want to go into the details of it on the blog, but if you could be praying for God to show Greg and I the direction he wants us to head in, that would be awesome. We're facing a tough decision and really feel like we need His hand in everything before we make a committment one way or the other. So prayers would be great right now.
And last, but certainly not least, we got our slideshow of pictures back from Will's newborn photography session. They are amazing!! I can't wait to get some printed huge for our walls.
http://www.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Chubby Cheeks
Yesterday, Lyndsay, an amazing lifestyle photographer came over to our house to take pictures of Will. We had SO much fun with her documenting Will as a tiny little baby :) She posted a sneak peek picture from our session and I'm in love with it (and even more in love with the little boy in it!)
I can't wait to share the rest of them in a couple weeks when we get them! Isn't he just the cutest? Be sure to check out her blog and leave her some love on it - she is amazing!
Saturday, April 4, 2009
One Week
Dear Will,
Today you are one week old! This makes Mommy both happy and sad. I'm happy that you're healthy and growing (you were 8 pounds 3.5 ounces at the doctor yesterday!), but I'm sad that my time with you is already going way, way too fast. I can no longer count your age in days - you're now a whole week old! Your birth seems like it was forever ago, yet I can still remember the details so vividly. My favorite part was seeing you for the first time - seeing your perfect little nose, your adorable cleft chin, your long fingers and precious tiny feet. I love this stage with you, even though it means I'm up several times during the night nursing you and comforting you.
You make the most adorable faces! We say you have an "old man" forehead - it wrinkles up a thousand times when you frown. And you frown a lot! Anytime Mommy or Daddy does something that you're not too crazy about, you frown. You also have the most pathetic and adorable little pout. I'm going to have to be careful when you get older because I think that little pout could get me in a lot of trouble :) You are so snuggly right now too. I'm soaking up as much snuggle time with you now a I can. After I nurse you, you love to curl up on my chest and I'm content to let you lay there for as long as you like. Actually, I'm content to just be near you always. I can't believe how much my life has changed in the week that you've been here. I never could have imagined what it would be like with you here and I never, ever could have thought it would be so, so wonderful.
You got your first at-home bath last night, and boy, you were not a happy camper! Your Grandma and Daddy helped me bathe you while your Granddad took pictures. You screamed your head off and threw a huge fit. But once we were ready to start drying you off, you calmed right down! We swaddled you tight in a cozy warm blanket and you fell asleep right away. And you slept so well during the night - you let your Mommy and Daddy get three long stretches of sleep that were three hours each! We were glad to get the sleep and even more glad to see you get well rested too.
Whenever you get fussy, I put my face very close to yours and "shhhhush" you. It works 95% of the time. You nuzzle your little nose into my face and bury your face in my hair. This works when Daddy does it too. You love being close to us and you love being wrapped up in blankets. You also love your paci. You are definitely a paci guy! You know how to "hold" it into your mouth all by yourself too. When you're hungry and ready to eat, you usually start to scream your head off. But you know exactly what time it is when you get put down on a pillow next to Mommy. Just as you are about to latch on, you give one last little fuss - kind of an "ahh ahh" sound. It's like you're so relieved that you're getting to nurse again and it is so completely adorable!
Though I'm sad you're getting older, I love learning new things about you every day. I have such huge hopes and dreams for you, little boy. I pray that God will protect you and that he would lead you in a life that would glorify him. I want to see you grow up and learn all the Bible stories and learn to sing all the children's songs at church. I want to see you learn how to be submissive to God's will and how to listen to Him when he whispers to you. He has a purpose for your life and plans for you that are greater than your Daddy or I could ever imagine. I pray that you would always turn to God first - even before me or your Daddy.
I love you, Will. I love you so much it makes my heart ache.
Love,
Mommy
Today you are one week old! This makes Mommy both happy and sad. I'm happy that you're healthy and growing (you were 8 pounds 3.5 ounces at the doctor yesterday!), but I'm sad that my time with you is already going way, way too fast. I can no longer count your age in days - you're now a whole week old! Your birth seems like it was forever ago, yet I can still remember the details so vividly. My favorite part was seeing you for the first time - seeing your perfect little nose, your adorable cleft chin, your long fingers and precious tiny feet. I love this stage with you, even though it means I'm up several times during the night nursing you and comforting you.
You make the most adorable faces! We say you have an "old man" forehead - it wrinkles up a thousand times when you frown. And you frown a lot! Anytime Mommy or Daddy does something that you're not too crazy about, you frown. You also have the most pathetic and adorable little pout. I'm going to have to be careful when you get older because I think that little pout could get me in a lot of trouble :) You are so snuggly right now too. I'm soaking up as much snuggle time with you now a I can. After I nurse you, you love to curl up on my chest and I'm content to let you lay there for as long as you like. Actually, I'm content to just be near you always. I can't believe how much my life has changed in the week that you've been here. I never could have imagined what it would be like with you here and I never, ever could have thought it would be so, so wonderful.
You got your first at-home bath last night, and boy, you were not a happy camper! Your Grandma and Daddy helped me bathe you while your Granddad took pictures. You screamed your head off and threw a huge fit. But once we were ready to start drying you off, you calmed right down! We swaddled you tight in a cozy warm blanket and you fell asleep right away. And you slept so well during the night - you let your Mommy and Daddy get three long stretches of sleep that were three hours each! We were glad to get the sleep and even more glad to see you get well rested too.
Whenever you get fussy, I put my face very close to yours and "shhhhush" you. It works 95% of the time. You nuzzle your little nose into my face and bury your face in my hair. This works when Daddy does it too. You love being close to us and you love being wrapped up in blankets. You also love your paci. You are definitely a paci guy! You know how to "hold" it into your mouth all by yourself too. When you're hungry and ready to eat, you usually start to scream your head off. But you know exactly what time it is when you get put down on a pillow next to Mommy. Just as you are about to latch on, you give one last little fuss - kind of an "ahh ahh" sound. It's like you're so relieved that you're getting to nurse again and it is so completely adorable!
Though I'm sad you're getting older, I love learning new things about you every day. I have such huge hopes and dreams for you, little boy. I pray that God will protect you and that he would lead you in a life that would glorify him. I want to see you grow up and learn all the Bible stories and learn to sing all the children's songs at church. I want to see you learn how to be submissive to God's will and how to listen to Him when he whispers to you. He has a purpose for your life and plans for you that are greater than your Daddy or I could ever imagine. I pray that you would always turn to God first - even before me or your Daddy.
I love you, Will. I love you so much it makes my heart ache.
Love,
Mommy
Friday, April 3, 2009
Birth Story
I really want to post this story, not only for everyone to read, but also for me to have to remember all the little details. They're already fading away fast and I don't want to lose the memories! :)
On Saturday, 3/28, I woke up still having contractions. The night before, some stuff had happened (though I'll spare you the gory details!) that had me convinced I'd be going into active labor in the next few days. I hardly slept at all that night out of excitement! The contractions were very irregular and not incredibly painful, so I assumed I'd have all day to wait it out. Greg and I picked up around the house a little bit, ate breakfast, and I ended up able to take a little nap. When I woke up, the contractions were almost stopped, so I decided to go shopping to see if I could jump-start them again, and possibly push myself into active labor.
I drove to Target around 2:00pm, got in the store, and realized that my vision was a little "off." It seemed like I'd been staring at the sun for several minutes and everything had that dark, fuzzy look to it. I walked around and picked up a few things, hoping that it would get better. After about 5 minutes, I realized it wasn't getting better and then remembered that my doctor had told me that if I experienced any blurry vision that I should call or come in, because it could be a sign of pre-eclampsia. I called Labor and Delivery and they wanted me to come in right away. Of course, Greg and I only had one car at the moment (which I was driving), so I had to drive myself home.
We got to Scott and White and they hooked me up to the monitors. My blood pressure was fine and shortly after we arrived, my vision went back to normal. Greg and I relaxed a little, watched an episode of Dirty Jobs on TV, and waited to be discharged. We'd made plans to go to dinner at Chuy's with friends and were hoping we'd be able to make it there in time. The OB on call, Dr. Chapman came in and told us that every time I had a contraction the baby's heart rate dropped. When I wasn't, he was perfectly fine with a heart rate in the 140s, but because of the decels she wasn't comfortable sending us home. They were going to induce me that night! She checked me and I still hadn't made any progress since my last appointment - I was 1-2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. They usually use a medication called Cytotec to dilate the cervix, but once they start that medication, they can't take it away. She wasn' sure how Will's heart would handle the medicine, so instead they were going to use a Foley Bulb to manually dilate my cervix before starting Pitocin to get my contractions started.
Greg decided to go home to get our bags and feed the dogs since they basically had to take me from zero to 60, which would take awhile. A nurse came in and started an IV line in my hand after he left and I asked if I could use the bathroom before they got started. They unhooked me from the monitors and left me alone in the room. When I got back to bed, I plugged the monitors back in. Nothing was registering on them, but I just figured I'd plugged them in wrong. A nurse came in and moved the heart rate monitor around on my stomach and finally got a heart rate to register, but it was in the 60s. She started lowering my bed down, pushed the nurse call button and said, "I need Heather and Dr. Chapman in here NOW!" She rolled me over to my left side and people literally came running into my room. I started crying, realizing that there was a chance I'd never get to meet the little person who had been growing inside me for the last 9 months, who I already loved so much. Heather put an oxygen mask on me and kept telling me to take deep, slow breaths. After what seemed like an eternity, Will's heart rate came back up and stabilized in the 140s. Dr. Chapman said, "Well, he just told us that he's not going to tolerate labor, so we're going to get him out of there quickly and safely." Heather, one of the awesome nurses called Greg and had him turn around and get back to the hospital ASAP. Since Will's heart rate was stable, they were able to wait for Greg to get back to the hospital before doing anything.
Greg got back about the same time that my parents arrived. I had to sign consent forms, get a catheter inserted, and drink an incredibly nasty antacid since I'd already eaten that day. The anesthesiologist and pediatrician all came in to talk to me about what would go on and one I was all prepped, they wheeled me back to the operating room. The operating room was freezing and one of the nurses brought me a warm blanket so I'd stop shivering before they gave me the spinal block. The anesthesiologist had me lean over one of the nurses and he gave me a local anesthetic to numb the area for the block. Heather held the heart rate monitor on my belly and I worried the entire time that his heart rate would drop again since I was sitting up and not on my left side. Thankfully it didn't. The spinal really didn't hurt at all...The local felt like a tiny pinch, but the spinal just felt like lots of pressure. I was really worried about it hurting, but it really was no big deal! Before I'd even sat up completely, my feet were already feeling numb. They had to help pick up my legs and lay me back on the because I already was losing feeling from about chest level down. I really hated the way the spinal made me feel...it was very claustrophobic not being able to move your legs at all. It also came up to the bottoms of my lungs and made it feel like I couldn't get a deep breath. Heather started cleaning off my stomach with iodine and it was the strangest sensation ever! I could feel the touch of the sponge with iodine, but I couldn't feel the temperature. The nurses assured me that I really was numb, but I wasn't entirely sure I believed them!
Afterwards they put a drape up that was incredibly close to my face. Everyone was moving around and they started monitoring my blood pressure intermittently. I guess my pulse shot up because the anesthesiologist said, "Are you alright?" I told him I was just a little nervous. He put an oxygen mask on me to help get my heart rate down some. After he put the oxygen mask on me, I started feeling very claustrophobic. I couldn't breathe very well, I couldn't move my arms because they were strapped down to the table, and I had this blue drape about an inch in front of my face. The anesthesiologist could tell I was getting a little panicked and he came back over to talk to me and took off the mask. At 7:25, Greg came in and held my hand and brushed my hair away from my face. It calmed me down so much just knowing he was right there. I kept my eyes closed most of the time and focused on taking really deep breaths. They started cutting right when he got in there, but like they said, I couldn't feel a thing! I could feel them tugging on me and there was lots and lots of pushing as they tried to get his big head out of a tiny incision on my stomach. At 7:36, they pulled him out and wisked him off to the warmer to make sure everything was alright. I was disappointed that I hadn't gotten to see him right after he was born, but it was so relieving to hear him crying. I didn't know this while they were doing the c-section, but afterwards Greg said that his heart rate had dropped really low again while they were cutting into me and I think they were probably worried about him when they got him out. We're still not sure what was causing his heart rate to drop. The cord wasn't wrapped around his neck or anything, but it was draped by his shoulder. Dr. Chapman said it was possible that each contraction put pressure on it and cut off his blood supply, but we really won't ever know.
Greg went over to the warmer to take pictures of him when he was just a few seconds old. I could hear him crying and I remember feeling so relieved that he was alright. Greg came and sat back down by me and told me how gorgeous and perfect he was. Once they got him cleaned off, they brought him over to Greg to hold. He scored 9 and 9 on his Apgars and screamed his head off until he got all wrapped up. I remember touching his cheek for the first time and loving how soft he and warm he felt. I think the first thing I said to Greg when I saw him (a nurse brought him over after they checked him out) was, "Oh, he has my chin!" He inherited my cleft chin and it's pretty adorable on him! Greg held him while I was getting stitched up. They moved me from the operating table back to my bed, handed him to me, and wheeled me back into my room. The whole thing really only took about 30 minutes, but it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life!
I remember thinking during the c-section that if I had to go through this again, I was never having kids again. But looking back on it, it really wasn't that bad. The worst, scariest part was not knowing if everything was going to be alright or not. I was so worried about Will and so scared that he wasn't going to make it. I can't thank God enough that he gave me that little warning sign of blurry vision which tipped me off to head into the hospital. I can't even bear to think about what would have happened if I hadn't gone in. Luckily, I did, and now we have our perfect little blessing from God in our arms :)
Here are a few more pictures of our little boy.
Heather explaining something and helping to calm me down. The nurses at Scott and White were SO fantastic!
Getting ready to have our little boy! :)
Just seconds old.
Back in our room yawning while I get checked out.
His precious little feet!
Greg and I in awe with our little boy :)
Our first family photo!
Our amazing night nurse, Tina, giving Will his first bath.
Will's first bath. As you can see, he was not a fan of it!
Hanging out in the warmer all clean from his bath.
Sleeping on Mommy's chest. Snuggling with him like this is one of my favorite things ever!
On Saturday, 3/28, I woke up still having contractions. The night before, some stuff had happened (though I'll spare you the gory details!) that had me convinced I'd be going into active labor in the next few days. I hardly slept at all that night out of excitement! The contractions were very irregular and not incredibly painful, so I assumed I'd have all day to wait it out. Greg and I picked up around the house a little bit, ate breakfast, and I ended up able to take a little nap. When I woke up, the contractions were almost stopped, so I decided to go shopping to see if I could jump-start them again, and possibly push myself into active labor.
I drove to Target around 2:00pm, got in the store, and realized that my vision was a little "off." It seemed like I'd been staring at the sun for several minutes and everything had that dark, fuzzy look to it. I walked around and picked up a few things, hoping that it would get better. After about 5 minutes, I realized it wasn't getting better and then remembered that my doctor had told me that if I experienced any blurry vision that I should call or come in, because it could be a sign of pre-eclampsia. I called Labor and Delivery and they wanted me to come in right away. Of course, Greg and I only had one car at the moment (which I was driving), so I had to drive myself home.
We got to Scott and White and they hooked me up to the monitors. My blood pressure was fine and shortly after we arrived, my vision went back to normal. Greg and I relaxed a little, watched an episode of Dirty Jobs on TV, and waited to be discharged. We'd made plans to go to dinner at Chuy's with friends and were hoping we'd be able to make it there in time. The OB on call, Dr. Chapman came in and told us that every time I had a contraction the baby's heart rate dropped. When I wasn't, he was perfectly fine with a heart rate in the 140s, but because of the decels she wasn't comfortable sending us home. They were going to induce me that night! She checked me and I still hadn't made any progress since my last appointment - I was 1-2 cm dilated and 50% effaced. They usually use a medication called Cytotec to dilate the cervix, but once they start that medication, they can't take it away. She wasn' sure how Will's heart would handle the medicine, so instead they were going to use a Foley Bulb to manually dilate my cervix before starting Pitocin to get my contractions started.
Greg decided to go home to get our bags and feed the dogs since they basically had to take me from zero to 60, which would take awhile. A nurse came in and started an IV line in my hand after he left and I asked if I could use the bathroom before they got started. They unhooked me from the monitors and left me alone in the room. When I got back to bed, I plugged the monitors back in. Nothing was registering on them, but I just figured I'd plugged them in wrong. A nurse came in and moved the heart rate monitor around on my stomach and finally got a heart rate to register, but it was in the 60s. She started lowering my bed down, pushed the nurse call button and said, "I need Heather and Dr. Chapman in here NOW!" She rolled me over to my left side and people literally came running into my room. I started crying, realizing that there was a chance I'd never get to meet the little person who had been growing inside me for the last 9 months, who I already loved so much. Heather put an oxygen mask on me and kept telling me to take deep, slow breaths. After what seemed like an eternity, Will's heart rate came back up and stabilized in the 140s. Dr. Chapman said, "Well, he just told us that he's not going to tolerate labor, so we're going to get him out of there quickly and safely." Heather, one of the awesome nurses called Greg and had him turn around and get back to the hospital ASAP. Since Will's heart rate was stable, they were able to wait for Greg to get back to the hospital before doing anything.
Greg got back about the same time that my parents arrived. I had to sign consent forms, get a catheter inserted, and drink an incredibly nasty antacid since I'd already eaten that day. The anesthesiologist and pediatrician all came in to talk to me about what would go on and one I was all prepped, they wheeled me back to the operating room. The operating room was freezing and one of the nurses brought me a warm blanket so I'd stop shivering before they gave me the spinal block. The anesthesiologist had me lean over one of the nurses and he gave me a local anesthetic to numb the area for the block. Heather held the heart rate monitor on my belly and I worried the entire time that his heart rate would drop again since I was sitting up and not on my left side. Thankfully it didn't. The spinal really didn't hurt at all...The local felt like a tiny pinch, but the spinal just felt like lots of pressure. I was really worried about it hurting, but it really was no big deal! Before I'd even sat up completely, my feet were already feeling numb. They had to help pick up my legs and lay me back on the because I already was losing feeling from about chest level down. I really hated the way the spinal made me feel...it was very claustrophobic not being able to move your legs at all. It also came up to the bottoms of my lungs and made it feel like I couldn't get a deep breath. Heather started cleaning off my stomach with iodine and it was the strangest sensation ever! I could feel the touch of the sponge with iodine, but I couldn't feel the temperature. The nurses assured me that I really was numb, but I wasn't entirely sure I believed them!
Afterwards they put a drape up that was incredibly close to my face. Everyone was moving around and they started monitoring my blood pressure intermittently. I guess my pulse shot up because the anesthesiologist said, "Are you alright?" I told him I was just a little nervous. He put an oxygen mask on me to help get my heart rate down some. After he put the oxygen mask on me, I started feeling very claustrophobic. I couldn't breathe very well, I couldn't move my arms because they were strapped down to the table, and I had this blue drape about an inch in front of my face. The anesthesiologist could tell I was getting a little panicked and he came back over to talk to me and took off the mask. At 7:25, Greg came in and held my hand and brushed my hair away from my face. It calmed me down so much just knowing he was right there. I kept my eyes closed most of the time and focused on taking really deep breaths. They started cutting right when he got in there, but like they said, I couldn't feel a thing! I could feel them tugging on me and there was lots and lots of pushing as they tried to get his big head out of a tiny incision on my stomach. At 7:36, they pulled him out and wisked him off to the warmer to make sure everything was alright. I was disappointed that I hadn't gotten to see him right after he was born, but it was so relieving to hear him crying. I didn't know this while they were doing the c-section, but afterwards Greg said that his heart rate had dropped really low again while they were cutting into me and I think they were probably worried about him when they got him out. We're still not sure what was causing his heart rate to drop. The cord wasn't wrapped around his neck or anything, but it was draped by his shoulder. Dr. Chapman said it was possible that each contraction put pressure on it and cut off his blood supply, but we really won't ever know.
Greg went over to the warmer to take pictures of him when he was just a few seconds old. I could hear him crying and I remember feeling so relieved that he was alright. Greg came and sat back down by me and told me how gorgeous and perfect he was. Once they got him cleaned off, they brought him over to Greg to hold. He scored 9 and 9 on his Apgars and screamed his head off until he got all wrapped up. I remember touching his cheek for the first time and loving how soft he and warm he felt. I think the first thing I said to Greg when I saw him (a nurse brought him over after they checked him out) was, "Oh, he has my chin!" He inherited my cleft chin and it's pretty adorable on him! Greg held him while I was getting stitched up. They moved me from the operating table back to my bed, handed him to me, and wheeled me back into my room. The whole thing really only took about 30 minutes, but it was one of the most incredible experiences of my life!
I remember thinking during the c-section that if I had to go through this again, I was never having kids again. But looking back on it, it really wasn't that bad. The worst, scariest part was not knowing if everything was going to be alright or not. I was so worried about Will and so scared that he wasn't going to make it. I can't thank God enough that he gave me that little warning sign of blurry vision which tipped me off to head into the hospital. I can't even bear to think about what would have happened if I hadn't gone in. Luckily, I did, and now we have our perfect little blessing from God in our arms :)
Here are a few more pictures of our little boy.
Heather explaining something and helping to calm me down. The nurses at Scott and White were SO fantastic!
Getting ready to have our little boy! :)
Just seconds old.
Back in our room yawning while I get checked out.
His precious little feet!
Greg and I in awe with our little boy :)
Our first family photo!
Our amazing night nurse, Tina, giving Will his first bath.
Will's first bath. As you can see, he was not a fan of it!
Hanging out in the warmer all clean from his bath.
Sleeping on Mommy's chest. Snuggling with him like this is one of my favorite things ever!Wednesday, April 1, 2009
William Matthew Johnson
William Matthew Johnson was born on March 28, 2009 at 7:36pm. He weighed in at a whopping 8 pounds 12 ounces and is 21 inches long. He scored a 9 and 9 on his Apgars and is pretty much the cutest thing I've seen in ages :) His mommy and daddy are pretty much in love with him (and his chubby little cheeks!) and we think he's pretty much perfect!
Being a mom is one of the best feelings in the entire world - I cannot believe that God entrusted me with this little life to nurture and protect. I love him so much already and I've only known him for four days...I'd already do anything for him. It was so surreal taking him home from the hospital. We had been waiting for that moment for so long and to actually get to leave with our baby was wonderful! I can't stop staring at him, especially when he's napping with his daddy! My two boys are awesome :) I will come back later to post my birth story (because it's quite interesting and ends with an emergency c-section), but right now, I'm off to take a nap with my boys!
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