How things are going

Well for starters, things are going by way too fast! Gray will  be one month on Tuesday. He has already changed and grown SO much since he was born. As I blogged about before, the entire first week of his life was a complete blur to me because of how hard of a time I had recovering from labor and then getting sick. The past 3 weeks have been great, but very difficult at the same time. The first week and a half of Gray's life, he was the "perfect" baby-he only cried when he was hungry and he literally slept or was very happy the entire rest of the time. After that we noticed here and there that he was getting fussy and it gradually got worse and worse. At his second weight check at the pediatrician, we discussed things with the doctor and for that time ruled out allergies, thrush, colic and acid reflux. There have been several times (mostly during the middle of the night, of course) where he screamed for hours, even after being fed and changed. It is so hard watching him like that and feeling so helpless. Since day one, our little man has been quite gassy. At first we thought his little farts were so cute over the past week and a half or so we've confirmed that his fussiness is a result of bad gas and it is giving our sweet guy a lot of discomfort. The pediatrician told us about a pro-biotic to try so he has been taking that along with gas drops and gripe water for a week now. Things are A LOT better, but there are still times where he is in pain and is very hard to sooth. Paul has been the most amazing daddy and husband through all of this. He is so involved and helpful and I can't imagine doing this without him. We've recently started taking shifts at night. I pump during the day and Paul gives him a bottle at one of his night feedings. That has helped this tired mama feel a lot better. There is usually at least one time during the night where we have a hard time getting him back down. We are trying to get into a nightly routine, but it's hard this early. His skin is very dry so we haven't wanted to bathe him every single night. He does seem to sleep better when he's had a bath. I'm not sure if that's because he is worn out from screaming the entire time (I sure hope he likes baths better as he gets a little older) or if it just makes him feel better.

At his second weight check appointment, the doctor noticed that Gray's left hip was clicking. He didn't think it was anything to worry about but wanted us to get an ultrasound done just to make sure nothing was dislocated. We took him to Brenner's that Friday and he was such a champ.

The ultrasound confirmed that everything is just fine with his little hip. Praise the Lord!

We are learning more about Gray every day-his cries, his adorable facial expressions, how he likes to be held, what helps his gas to get worked out, etc. We are exhausted but are having so much fun with our sweet boy. I am so, so thankful that Paul has the time he does to be home with us this summer. Not only is the help so needed, but it is the sweetest thing in the world for me to watch my husband with our baby boy. Despite being tired, I am feeling great. It is so nice not to waddle anymore, to be able to sleep at night (even if it is only a couple of hours at a time), not to have to pee every 10 minutes, to be able to shower like a normal person, I could go on and on. I am hoping to start exercising very soon. I lost a little over 30 pounds in the first week and a half after having Gray, but things have been at a stand still since then and I still have quite a belly to work off. Almost 15 pounds of belly actually. Yes, that means this big mama gained almost 45 pounds! Only 15 over what I was hoping for ;) Even still, it is so much lighter than the huge load I was carrying before.

We have been so blessed by people bringing us meals since Gray was born. Between our wonderful family, friends and Sunday school class at church, we haven't had to cook one meal. It has helped SO much not having to worry about cooking and/or cleaning up. My good friend Renna who has been in the hospital on bed rest with pre-term labor even had a meal delivered to us! It has been truly humbling!

Mama and Daddy have even been away from Gray a few times already. We went out for our anniversary and Paul's parents watched him. My mom has kept him for a couple hours twice-once Paul and I went to dinner and ran some errands and the other time we went to the pool for a little while. I am thankful that we have family around who are willing begging for us to get out so they can keep Gray. It was definitely hard leaving him, but we figured the sooner we did it the easier it would be. I really want to keep our marriage first and I think it is very important that Paul and I make time for just the two of us.

I officially quit my job this week. Although Paul and I have planned on me being a stay at home mommy since before we got married, it was a different feeling when I actually resigned. We will have to make huge sacrifices to live this lifestyle. We certainly have never lived large anyway, but we will still have to make a lot of changes. Instead of sushi dates, we might have to enjoy Taco Bell instead. And it will be so worth it. I know my new job as a full time mom will not be easy, but it is definitely the right thing for our family at this time and I am thrilled to be able to raise our son.

Gray goes to the doctor on Thursday for a one month check up. I am so curious to see how much he weighs. Stay tuned!