Gray lately

I'll try not to start every post this way, but dang time is going so fast and our boy is growing and changing every day! I think that Gray might be starting to grow out of his colic. Except for one really bad day, he has been much better for a little over a week now. Let me tell you more about that bad day...

It was last Saturday and of course was the first time Daddy was out of town all day. Gray stayed awake for seven hours straight except for two 15 minute cat naps. He cried for five of those hours. And I don't mean a whiny cry, I mean a full on colic scream. Bless his sweet heart. And mine too ;) After the first two hours I thought there was no way he could keep screaming too much longer, so I decided to be super mom and stick it out. Stupid! After the third hour I thought there was no way he could scream much longer so I still didn't call anyone to come over to help. Stupid again! After the fourth hour I thought there was NO way he could scream much longer. Super Mom was getting more and more stupid. And exhausted. I'd tried every position, bouncing, walking, talking, singing, every distraction and anything possible I could think of, all with no luck. During the fifth straight hour of screaming, my Gram called to check on us. She didn't have to ask how things were going when I answered the phone and all she could hear was screaming. My mom was over at her house helping her do some things but she left right away when she heard how long Gray had been fussing. Of course five minutes before she got to our house, he had finally had worn himself out and fallen asleep. Super Mom learned her lesson about assuming a baby can only scream for "so long". I was honestly very close to my breaking point by the end of the five hours. God won't give us MORE than we can handle, right?! Thankfully we haven't had a repeat of that day since then. I'd say "knock on wood", but I don't believe in that silliness. Anywho, I really think our sweet boy is starting to turn a corner. We can still hear gas rumbling in his tummy quite a bit, but I think he is just getting used to it and the fact that he is growing like a weed helps too.

Our Gray is changing day by day. Over the past week or so, he has really started becoming more aware of things around him. He is so curious and gets fixated on certain objects. He has also begun to follow objects with his eyes. He usually likes tummy time and is starting to enjoy his baths more. He is holding his head up more and more every day and pretty soon I don't even think he'll need us to support it anymore. He is starting to eat more at his feedings. It's hard to tell exactly how much he gets when he's nursing but I pump during the day so that Daddy can give him a bottle at night and he will take right about three ounces now. He has had some very good nights. He almost always sleeps at least three hours at a time but has made a lot of four hour stretches and even a couple five hour ones. Mommy and Daddy are so excited when that happens! Several days ago I got my first non-milk-coma smile from our sweet boy. Holy moly did it melt this mama's heart! He has done it a few times since then and so far I've teared up every time. I finally got my camera in time to catch one this morning. It's not the best picture, but it's certainly one of the best memories to date.

Here is some more Gray cuteness from lately...

1 month

How has it already been a month since our baby boy was born? I have a feeling I'm going to be saying things like that a lot.

It's been a wonderful month with our sweet Gray. He has grown and changed so much already. As I mentioned in my previous post, the last two-three weeks have been quite challenging though. Our little buddy has been quite the McFussy Pants. If you could hear and feel the gas in his tummy you'd know why. Bless his sweet heart.

He was scheduled for his one month check up tomorrow but the last couple of days have been so bad that I called first thing yesterday morning and got him an appointment for that morning. He is in so much pain the majority of the day and even though the medicines seem to be helping him some, I just couldn't stand another day of watching him be so miserable IF there was anything else that could be done for him. But after our visit with the pediatrician yesterday, it's official that our sweet boy has colic. Colic is basically defined by the amount of time a baby spends crying, due to some kind of discomfort, in which case his is very bad gas. And unfortunately, there isn't much you can do about it. We are going to keep giving him the probiotics, gas drops and gripe water because in case one or all three are really helping, we don't want to risk stopping them yet and things get even worse. The good news about colic is that it is temporary. The doctor said it usually goes away by 12 weeks. He also said that it usually doesn't start until 4-6 weeks so there is hope that since Gray's started so much earlier, it will go away sooner too. We are praying constantly for God to heal our sweet little booger. He has slept almost ALL day today-certainly the most he has slept in almost 3 weeks. Poor guy is so exhausted from not getting the sleep that he needs and I think it finally caught up with him.

We were so excited to hear that Gray's weight had gone up again. Just two weeks ago he weighed 8 pounds, 5 ounces and yesterday he weighed 9 pounds, 12 ounces! It sure makes this nursing mama feel good about things. His head and weight are right in the 50th percentile. He had grown a half inch, putting him at 22 1/2 inches, which is right at the 85th percentile. He obviously got his height from his mama. Ha! He is wearing size one diapers and mostly 0-3 month size clothes, although there are a few newborn things that he can still squeeze into.

Our little man is quite the stud. He is so strong it's almost freaky. He rolled over at a week and a half and his head is crazy strong already. When we're holding him up on our shoulders, which is his favorite position because of his gassy tummy, he can completely lift his head by himself and look around. He can stand up with his legs completely straight when you hold him by his arms on your lap. And I'm not kidding you when I say he looks like he is going to crawl away every time we do tummy time. He can also lift his head and turn it to the other side when on his tummy.

Although I certainly don't want time to go any faster, we are loving watching him grow and change and look forward to all of his amazing milestones. It is crazy how much we love Gray already. Feeling super humbled and blessed to be his mama!

I love this picture of him holding up ONE finger! :)

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!

Newborn Pics

My BF Lindsey who has also become our family photographer, came over to capture some sweet shots of Gray when he was just 10 days old. She got some great pictures while he was in a milk coma. There were a lot of ideas we didn't get to because we ran out of daylight and Gray woke up and decided he'd had enough. We were so happy with how they turned out though and will definitely treasure these sweet shots forever. Here are some of my favorites for those of you who aren't on Facebook. For those of you who are and have already seen these, I do not apologize for you having to look at the cutest baby in the world again ;)

Our wedding photographer stopped by to meet Gray just two days after we got home from the hospital. He was kind enough to take some shots of Gray has a gift to us. We are so blessed with such generous people in our lives! Here are a few from him...

Some of Gray's firsts

First ride in my car seat (leaving the hospital)

First trip to the doctor

 First time in my swing

 First walk in my stroller

 First bath (at home)

 First time meeting my sister

First tummy time

 It's been a busy first two weeks of life!

Gray Christopher

Our sweet boy was born on Sunday, June 10 at 7:42 pm. He was 8 pounds 1 ounce and 22 inches long. No wonder Mama was uncomfortable with that long boy in my short tummy!

My water broke about 2:30 in the morning that Sunday. Paul and I took our time getting our things together and even straightened the house a little before we left for the hospital. Within a half hour after my water broke I was having contractions about 5-7 minutes apart. We got to the hospital around 3:45 and I was in a bed within the next 20 minutes. I was still at one and a half centimeters when they first checked me. Soon after we got to the hospital we found out my favorite doctor was on call and would be the one to deliver Gray. She came in a little while later to check me and I had gotten to 3 centimeters and she told me I could go ahead and have my epidural. The contractions were a lot closer together and I did not want to talk through them but they were still somewhat tolerable so I decided I'd wait a little while longer. Soon after that I was already at 4 centimeters. We waited until about 7:30 to call our family because we knew it would be a long day and there was no point in waking them up too early. After calling them Paul and I decided to try to take a walk since I knew I wouldn't be able to get up after getting my epidural. My good friend Renna is in the hospital with pre-term labor and I wanted to walk down to her room to surprise her that I was there in labor. The antepartum unit where she is staying is a hike from labor and delivery but we hadn't even made it half way there and I had to go back the pain was so bad. I told them to get the anesthesiologist in there asap and within five minutes he was there hooking up the juice. I didn't think the epidural was bad at all-the worst part to me was the position you have to be in to get it and the fact that the whole process took about 15 minutes long. Within a few minutes I was completely pain free! Right about that time my family got to the hospital and since I was feeling so good they came in and hung out for several hours. I got stuck at 4 centimeters for a while so they gave me pitocin to intensify the contractions and get things moving. With in just a few hours I had gone from a 4 to an 8! Paul's parents got there about 3:00 and came in and hung out for a while too. I was feeling great and was just so excited that the day had finally arrived that we'd get to meet our little boy. About 5:00 I started feeling a lot of pressure and knew it wouldn't be long before it was go time. I wasn't necessarily in pain but the pressure was so uncomfortable that I was ready for people to leave the room. I started pushing about 6:30 and our little Gray was out at 7:42. The whole pushing process was so much more intense than I thought it would be, especially since I hadn't been in pain most of the day. There were times that I remember saying "I can't do this anymore" but with an awesome husband/labor coach and my wonderful doctor and nurses, I was encouraged to keep going. I'll skip the rest of labor details but let's just say it was the hardest thing I have EVER done!

When I first laid eyes on our son though, it was immediately all so worth it. Even the last 6-8 weeks of "misery" I had endured with pregnancy. The emotions and joy that I felt the first moment I saw him are indescribable, and all you moms out there know exactly what I mean. Paul and I have never felt more blessed. These are a few pictures that were taken right after he was born.

I had a rough time recovering from labor. Every muscle in my body was sore, not to mention all the other pain that comes with pushing a person out of yourself. We were about ready to go home on Tuesday and I noticed my bleeding had really picked up. We called the nurses in there and they came right in to check me. They pushed on my stomach and the next thing I knew it felt like I was delivering another baby. I had several blood clots the size of grape fruits. It was one of the scariest thing I have ever experienced. The nurses got everything cleaned up and wanted to check me one more time before they would let us go. Unfortunately when they pushed on my belly again, out came two more grape fruit size blood clots. At that point they determined I would have to stay another night. As much as we were looking forward to going home, it was so scary that we wanted to be monitored closely that night. They gave me a shot to control the bleeding and did some blood work to check for other complications. I was fine all night and the next day we were able to go home. We didn't get home until about 5:30 and within a few hours I started feeling sick. For the rest of the night and all day Thursday, I was sick as a dog. Paul had to take care of me and Gray. I slept all day and it was all I could do to wake up and nurse Gray. We called the doctor thinking I was having a reaction to the shot but as it turns out I think I had a 24 hour bug. It was so rough y'all. I woke up Friday feeling like a new person and have felt great since then. I am still a little sore and of course tired (although I am getting far more sleep now than I was the last 6 weeks of pregnancy) but we are loving being at home and are enjoying time with our sweet, sweet son.

We have a lot of pictures and things to blog about so hopefully I will get caught up soon.

38 weeks

Still here. Still pregnant. So all those people who swore I wouldn't make it til June were clearly mistaken. Dang-it!

Gray could be almost 20 inches long by now and over six and a half pounds. My blood pressure got really high again on Tuesday of last week so I called the doctor and they wanted to get some more lab work done so they could check again for protein to rule out preeclampsia. So I had to collect every bit of my urine for 24 hours. Needless to say, I didn't leave the house that day because since I am peeing about every half hour, I didn't want to carry around a plastic pee bowl and bright orange pee bucket with me. And I'm sure y'all will all be so glad I told you this, but I filled up a gallon and a half of those pee buckets in 24 hours. That's a lot of pee! And thankfully all that pee plus four tubes of blood indicated that all of my levels are perfectly normal. Although it would be totally safe for Gray to come at any time now, we are thankful that I do not have preeclampsia.

I went back to the doctor on Friday for my weekly check-up. My blood pressure was back down a little and I had dilated another half of a centimeter. The doctor told me she would be surprised if I made it until my due date, which is exactly two weeks from today. I sure hope she's right but I don't want to get my hopes up. I've been having stronger contractions, some even to the point of almost taking my breath away at first but unfortunately they are not persistent enough to get excited about yet. The doctor I saw Friday made a very similar "bless your heart" comment as last week's doctor when she felt how low he was. She told me not to be surprised if started peeing myself because the pressure of him on my bladder could get even worse. Nice! I've had a cold for about a week now and I think I am going to start an antibiotic tomorrow because it seems like it could be headed in the direction of a sinus infection. I sure don't want to be sick when I go into labor so I am hoping it clears up soon.

Holding out a little bit of hope that tonight's full moon puts me into labor. If not, I guess I'll be back next week for week 39.