Five on Friday

Welp, I missed last week but I'm back again and will keep trying to make more time for the 'ol blog. It's been a long week and I am so happy to see Friday. 

ONE.

I have to start by bragging on my husband. He is having a very successful soccer season so far. They opened the season by taking home the championship for the Forsyth Cup and continue to win game after game. Their record is 13 and 2 and are ranked #10 in the state!! Thanks to my mom for watching the boys, I was able to go to a game last Saturday and a big game last night against one of their biggest rivals who they beat 4-1! Before we had Gray I had never missed a game but it's been hard to get to many since then. Paul knows I'm his biggest fan whether I'm there or not but I do miss cheering him on from the stands. Although it will make soccer season much longer, I am really hoping they can win the state championship this year. Go Raiders!!

TWO.

Speaking of soccer, Gray started Soccer Tots yesterday. I can't even handle the cuteness of him in a jersey and soccer shoes. Daddy was able to sop by for the first few minutes yesterday on his way to soccer. Unfortunately things went down hill fast after he left and I would call the first "practice" a near disaster. Gray didn't nap yesterday (he maybe naps once a week these days) and he was exhausted. He didn't want to participate and was super clingy to me for most of the time. Hopefully next week will be better. It sure was enterainjng watching 2 year olds play soccer!

THREE.

I don't have much new news to report on Walker. He has his good days and his bad days but is still pretty fussy overall. He hates the car and doesn't handle independent time very well (you'd yhink he was my first baby). He is starting to smile a lot more though and is really starting to watch and pay attention to his big brother, which I LOVE! His reflux started flaring up again so I took him back to the chiropractor this week and it's been fine since then. I want to talk to his pediatrician at his four month well visit about trying to take him off the Prevacid soon. It continues to cause major tummy issues for him and this week has been rough in that department. He also still seems to have an intolerance to dairy and lots of veggies so my diet continues to be pretty boring. I was able to add back in everything I wanted when Gray was six months so I'm hoping for the same with Walker. Baby boy will be four months on Monday so I'll update with growth stats and more sometime next week. 

FOUR.

We are getting blinds installed tomorrow! Never ever did I think I could be so excited about blinds. We have this huge window in our living room, which I love, but any and everybody can see into our house, which of course I don't love. 

Paul was going to hang them several weeks ago but because the house is so old, the window seals cause for some pretty difficult installation. It was a two week process for Lowe's to come measure, cut the blinds and schedule an installation appointment so I feel like its been a long time coming and it will be the highlight of my weekend!

FIVE.

We are pretty close to sealing the deal on a lease to purchase prospect for our townhouse. Our realtor/property manager is almost done running credit reports, background checks, etc. but the people love it and want to move in next weekend! We are hoping and praying it works out. This weekend will be devoted to getting the rest of our things out (it's been a long process since Paul has been so busy with soccer) and cleaning over there. We are so excited to be done with it and enjoy spending more time on our new home. 

Have a good weekend, y'all!

If Jesus came to our house...

Today before I put Gray down for his nap we read the story of Zacchaeus. After we read it I asked Gray what he would say if Jesus came to our house...

"Thank you for the food."

"That's nice buddy, what else?"

"Please heal Mommy's back." (My back hurt for a month or so after Walker was born but I haven't mentioned it in a long time which made this even more sweet.)

"Thanks buddy, anything else you would want to tell him?"

"Please kill the bees!" (We've had a problem with yellow jackets in our backyard.)

He says sweet and funny things like this all the time and I have GOT to start writing them down because I so easily forget. 

What would you say if Jesus came to your house? I wouldn't know where to begin in thanking and praising Him for all of the blessings He has freely given to me.

Happy Monday, y'all!

My first ever Five on Friday

Y'all...life continues to be crazy and my blog has been on the back burner for months now. I really want to get back on the blogging train because I know one day I'll want to look back and remember the details of our life. Several of my friends have inspired me to start this and I'm really hoping it will be an easy way to blog at least once a week. With all that's been going on and not much blogging, it's hard for me to know where to start and pick just five things but here goes...

ONE.

We have been in our new home almost two weeks and are loving it! There are boxes everywhere and we will probably be unpacking and sorting trough things and hanging pictures a year from now. God continues to give me opportunities to refine my type A personality ;) One of these days I truly do hope to blog with some pictures of the house, especially some before and after pics. We got a new couch that's being delivered tomorrow and I am so excited! Maybe, just maybe our TV will get mounted this weekend and off of the floor and our living room will actually look like a living room ;)

TWO.

Walker has been feeling MUCH better for about two weeks now. He still isn't by any means a totally happy, laid back baby but compared to screaming pretty much every minute he was awake, we have really turned a corner. His reflux is under control and he is nursing great again (except for when he is distracted by big brother and wants to look around). His gas and tummy are much better too and I am just so, so, so thankful! Now if only he would not hate the car. I guess beggars can't be choosers, right?! Hoping to get his three month blog post finished before he turns four months.

THREE.

Gray seems so much bigger and older to me everyday in the way he talks and plays. He wears me out and tests my patience but for the most part he is so sweet and smart and silly and fun and I really just feel so blessed to be able to spend my days with him. I am kicking myself for not being better about writing down things he says and does am hope to get better at that too. He is having a ball at our new house. Our half acre fenced in yard seems huge compared to the concrete slab that made up our yard at the townhouse and we spend as many minutes outside every day as possible. And yet he has only been taking 1-2 naps a week. But that's a whole 'nother astory!

FOUR.

The Bible study I go to at my church just started again this week. I am doing Beth Moore's new Thessalonians study and am so excited about it. Time in the Word, Beth Moore and fellowship with good friends makes me a happy Mama!

FIVE.

I saved this for last trying to keep a positive attitude as best as possible but y'all, soccer season has been harder on me this year than ever. Paul is gone A LOT. I miss him, Gray misses him and doing this whole Mom gig by myself all day every day and most every night by myself is tough. He has had something to do with his soccer team every weekend for the last 6 weeks and a lot of those weekends he has been out of town. I haven't been able to go to a game yet and that's hard too, being his number one fan and all. I know it's just a season and in another two months or so we will have him around more. He has off from soccer today and only practice tomorrow morning so we are looking forward to some family time this weekend.

Happy Friday y'all!

Another Walker/house update

I don't even know where to begin; so much is going on in our lives! So many of our friends and family have called and/or texted asking about Walker and the house and we haven't had enough quiet minutes to respond the way we would like to so I thought I'd do it here again.

As for Walker...
The day of his swallow test we switched from rice cereal to oatmeal because we'd heard it would be better on his tummy. Unfortunately we didn't see any difference and the oatmeal was even harder for him to get down. There is a reason babies aren't supposed to have anything other than breast milk or formula before six months of age-their poor little tummies and digestive systems just aren't developed and mature enough to handle it. So while thickening his bottles was helping some with the reflux, it was making his tummy hurt so bad that he screamed all day with gas pains and constipation. We were feeling so desperate at this point. I've been afraid to switch to Prilosec (a third and final medicine option) in fear of it not working as good and us taking steps back while giving it a two week trial. A friend of mine told me about taking her week old baby to a chiropractor for an adjustment and it healing her reflux. I've never necessarily had a reason to, but have always been very leery of chiropractors and the thought of taking my BABY to one really seemed out there so I didn't even consider it. I was texting with an old college friend one day about two weeks ago who I haven't seen or talked to in months and was filling her in on what's been going on with Walker. She told me they took their first child (who was born at 27 weeks) to a chiropractor when she only weighed five pounds and it also cured her reflux. Really trusting this friend and her maternal instincts and decisions, I thought it might be worth a shot. I called the same chiropractor she used and had an appointment scheduled for the following day. He was able to get a good look at Walker's spine without x-rays and said he was in fact out of alignment in several places. He explained to us how our spine really controls every part of our body and how certain things can be affected when out of alignment. It all seemed to make perfect sense but I still wasn't buying that it could fix our baby. He showed us what he would do to Walker to align him and let us feel what it would feel like to him. It didn't hurt at all so we decided we were willing to give it a try. Y'all! For the rest of the day Walker was the most peaceful and content he's been in two months. He NURSED for every single feeding the rest of the day. It was like a miracle! I was beginning to think my nursing days were over. He went back that Friday (a week ago today) for a second exam and two places needed adjusting again. Since the first adjustment we have only thickened ONE bottle, and that was before his second adjustment. We are so thankful that he has been eating better and I am so happy to be nursing him again and not having to plug up that dang pump every couple of hours!

I really thought if we could get the reflux under control Walker would be the most happy, content baby. Unfortunately he has still been very fussy. Despite him being off of rice and oatmeal, his tummy is still giving him a lot of issues. He screams out in gas pain a lot even though my diet has been extremely bland for over two months now. At this point I have to think the Prevacid is what's causing the trouble. Thankfully he naps great and has been giving us some eight hour stretches at night but he is usually crying or screaming most of the time he's awake. I'm lucky to catch a smile or two each day. He has a good day here and there and I get my hopes up that he's grown out of it but then it's back to screaming the next day. Because he is so fussy we don't make it out much and that has been very hard on Gray, who is used to being out and about most of the day. As hard as it's been, I know from experience with Gray that he will get better and this isn't an indication of what his personality will be like. I try to remind myself that the days are long but the years are so short. Here's hoping for a happier, more content fourth month of life.

As for the house...
We closed last Friday, praise the Lord!! It got pushed back several days because the sellers were out of town and weren't here to sign their part of the paperwork. Because of that, they agreed to let us in the house last Tuesday, which was our original closing date. The painter started that day is almost finished with the whole house now. The hallway, living room, dining room and both bathrooms were wall papered so we spent a lot of time last weekend tearing it down. We didn't even come close to finishing it. Paul started back to school Monday for teacher work days and is be gone every evening with soccer. I can't get anything done over there when the boys are with me so we had to pay someone (a family member a awesome handy man!) to finish it along with some other things we weren't going to have time to do before moving in. It's already looking so much better over there and it's been so exciting to see the transformation. Fresh paint and new lighting alone will make it seem like a brand new house.

We hope to start moving in next weekend and I can't wait to blog with some before and after pictures when I get some spare time-ha! Have I mentioned we've only packed one box?

Have a good weekend, y'all!

Walker update/house update

Walker had his swallow test yesterday at Brenner's Children's Hospital. It was a pretty simple test and he was a little champ. They basically just buckled him in a seat and x-rayed him as he took a bottle of pumped breast milk. The images showed that his milk is going to the right place and he is not aspirating at all. We are so thankful because it sounded like a swallowing dysfunction could be difficult to treat, mean all bottles (I'm still holding out hope that he will be able to nurse more regularly again), and last for at least a year.

Though we are very thankful for the good news we got yesterday, we are still hoping there is an answer to why our sweet boy is still having so much trouble with feedings. He almost never nurses anymore, which still makes me so sad. I miss the sweet bonding experience and quite frankly, I HATE pumping and am having a really hard time finding it possible to do so every couple of hours during the day. But for now I'm going to keep trying.

Walker's overall temperament is still getting better and he is much more content, even the witching hours are starting to improve. But feedings are still really inconsistent. Sometimes he takes a bottle with no problem but usually it's a fight to get it down and sometimes takes almost an hour. You can imagine how difficult that is with a two year old on my hands!

At Walker's well visit the doctor told us to increase the amount of rice cereal in his bottles substantially. The bottles seemed
to be going down a little better but within just a day or two he was constipated (I'm guessing from all the iron in the cereal) and screaming out with really bad gas. We have switched to oatmeal now and are hoping that gets better but haven't seemed to get the amount of oatmeal and correct bottle nipple size down pat for him. It's either flowing out too fast and he screams or it's too thick and he is ticked that he can't get it out. Ahhh! One day we will figure this out, surely! I'm not sure what the next steps are yet. We are probably going to give Prilosec a try, it's a third and final medicine option for reflux. We may be referred to a GI specialist as well.

Being at Brenner's yesterday was another reminder and perspective that this is such a minor issue. Though it's frustrating for Walker and for us, it's not anything life threatening and we are just so thankful for that.

Now for an update on the new house...we had to walk away last week while negotiating with the sellers over the inspection list regarding repairs. It was so nerve racking! Thankfully within a short time they came back to us with something acceptable. All major road blocks in that department are cleared now and we are scheduled to close next Friday! They are actually going to let us in on Tuesday (original closing date) to start cleaning and tearing down wall paper. We ordered our paint yesterday and the painter will start next week. It's starting to feel real and we are really getting excited. We still haven't packed one box and I've yet to find a minute to start. We are going to be relying a lot on family and friends to help and are so thankful for the time we know they are willing to spend helping us in this crazy time.

Thanks to all of you who have been praying for us. We know this crazy season of life is so brief in the grand scheme of things. God is more than good!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Walker-Two months

Baby boy was two months old on Tuesday, the 29th. He had a pretty rough second month of life with lots of fussy days and a difficult time with feedings. His overall temperament has been much better the last two weeks and feedings have gotten better for the most part over the last week. We are finally getting more smiles and he is actually content to just sit in his bouncer or be on his play mat. He is getting mostly pumped bottles thickened with rice cereal to help with his reflux. My boy likes milkshakes-can you blame him? He has only been nursing once or twice a day and some days not even that much. It makes my heart so sad but I don't want to nurse him bad enough to make it painful for him and frustrating for the both of us. We went to the doctor yesterday for his two month well visit and growth stats. He had his first shots which resulted in the longest silent cry I've ever seen. It broke my Mommy heart! The doctor was pleased with his growth and we will check in after his swallowing test, which is scheduled for this Wednesday.

Now more about our chunky monkey at two months...

weighs 13 pounds, 8 ounces (75th %tile). Gray was 12.1 at two months.

is 23 and a half inches long-up two and a half inches since birth! (70th %tile). Gray was 24 inches at two months.

has a head measurement of 40.4 centimeters (84th %tile)

wears size 3 month clothes and size 2 diapers

still sleeps swaddled at night and for most long naps if we are home

takes two long naps a day, usually in his swing and sometimes a third one or either lots of dosing in the late afternoons/early evenings

is starting to give us more consistent 5-6 hour stretches at night (praise the Lord!!!). He usually goes down for the night around 9:30 or 10:00 and on a good night sleeps until 3:00 or 4:00 and goes back to sleep until 7:00/7:30. We had hoped he would be sleeping consistently in his crib by this point but will only sleep in an upright position and until we get his reflux or whatever else is going on under control we aren't pushing the crib. My friend Meredith let us borrow her rock n play and he sleeps in that at night.

takes four ounces with rice cereal in his bottles

is on 3mL of Prevacid twice a day for reflux

smiles at Mommy and Daddy's voices and if we touch his nose and lips. He smiled at Gray for the first time this week and I don't know who was happier, Mommy or big brother! :)

loves lights, ceiling fans and his mobile

is getting better about being a content car rider (PTL again!!)

loves the bath

loves tummy time and even falls asleep on his tummy sometimes

I really think we are going to have a very happy and content baby once we can get these feedings figured out.

Bustin out of these 3 months jeans

I don't think they look alike here, but we've been seeing a lot more of Gray in Walker as he gets older. Both are just so handsome and perfect and we are so blessed.

Gray 2 months/Walker 2 months


 

I''ll post next week with results from Walker's swallowing test and an update on the new house.

An update on life

I hope this post comes across more as "keeping it real" than being negative. Life has been a little crazy lately. All of the details with the house have been pretty stressful and time consuming, Paul has been gone a lot with soccer and we've had a rough few weeks with Walker.

As far as the house goes...we got our inspection report on Thursday night and it's 38 pages. There are over 60 items on there but the inspector was extremely thorough and many of the things are little and either don't need to be fixed or Paul can fix them. We really weren't surprised with the lengthy list knowing it's an older house. My friend Renna's dad is a builder and is meeting us out there today to give us his opinion on what things need to be fixed asap and give us an estimate a few things we want done that Paul can't do himself. We have to give a list of things we want fixed to the seller by tonight. We only have three days left in our due diligence period, which allows us to back out of the house without losing any money. We sure hope the negotiation regarding the inspection list doesn't cause us to have to walk away. After we settle up with that the appraisal will be ordered. It's not looking like we will be able close on August 12th but we hopefully it won't be too long after that. We will have the house painted and a few other things done before we even move in. We still don't have any serious bites on our house as far as a buyer but we have a few options as renters whenever we give the "go ahead" for that. We haven't packed one single box and I really have no idea when or how that will happen.

Soccer season is in full swing and Paul has been gone a lot. Thank the good Lord my mom or Gram have been able to come in the evenings to help me out during the rough witching hours. Walker usually cries from 5:00-9:00/10:00 every night which makes dinner, bath and bed with Gray a nightmare if I'm doing it solo. Daddy has a slow week this week and then no more down time until November and he will be gone overnight three nights again next week.

We went to the beach for four nights last week. Minus feeding Walker was great and Gray had so much fun. Maybe one of these days in my spare time (ha!) I'll post about our little vacay.

It's been a rough few weeks with Walker. He has a few good days here and there but has overall been very fussy. He is rarely awake and happy but thankfully sleeps good during the day. Nights have been so inconsistent; one night he gives us a six hour stretch and the next he's up every two-three hours. He switched to Prevacid for his reflux there weeks ago. Within a week we could tell a huge difference but shortly after took a turn for the worse. There were five days in a row that he screamed through every. single. feeding! It's pitiful and also very frustrating for both of us. Our pediatrician told us to add rice cereal to his bottles because thicker milk usually goes down better for reflux babies. It definitely helps so we've been giving a lot of bottles. Walker is also scheduled for a swallowing test at Brenner's next week because his doctor thinks there might be more going on. If he does have a swallowing dysfunction I will most likely have to exclusively pump. It makes me sad to think about not being able to nurse him and I'm really not sure how I'll find the time to pump for every bottle. I reckon we will cross that bridge when we get there. He has nursed pretty well the past few days so maybe, just maybe, things will start to get better for good. Our sweet chunky boy is two months old today but goes for his well visit on Friday so I will post after that.

Until then I'm off to soak in some time with all three of my boys!