Oh Boy, It's a BOY!!

Did I mention I had a baby?

Baby boy Gray was born on Thursday, July 22nd at 5:16 pm. He weighed 7 pounds 15.4 ounces and was 19 and a half inches long.

My super chubby, super ready pregnant self on arrival:



My labor was about 8 hours long; my longest of the three. I dilated pretty slow even though I was at a 3 when I arrived at the hospital. I had kind of a crazy reaction to the epidural this time around. Once I received it, it took a while to work and then it worked TOO well so I quit pushing the button. It made me feel really panicky and anxiety-ridden. And I know it was the epidural and not ME because I have never felt that way before and certainly didn't feel that way before it was given to me. But all in all, it was a good epidural and since I quit pushing the epidural button long before baby Gray came into the world, I was able to experience labor pretty well and feel a lot more than I've ever felt before (but not so much that I thought I was going to die).

My nurse, Janeen and I

Of all my previous labors with babies, this one was by far my most favorite. I planned things so that it could be a really private experience for our family and it was. I also had the most amazing nurse at the hospital. Her name was Janeen and I seriously fell in love with her. She and John were by my side the entire time coaching me through all my anxiety problems. I really felt loved and taken care of. Towards the end of my labor, Janeen checked me and I was dilated to a 7. The second she finished checking me, I had an overwhelming urge to push. I've always been too numb in other labors to experience that sensation. But when I say 'overwhelming', what I mean is that I thought I was seriously going to die if I wasn't able to push right then and there. Sure enough when Janeen checked me about a minute later, I was fully dilated.

But my doctor wasn't there. So she and John coached me through and helped me pant through the next several contractions until they could get my doctor there (who was at a neighboring hospital where his office is). I only waited 10 or 15 minutes for him, but it was the longest 10 or 15 minutes of my entire life. But looking back, it was one of the most amazing experiences to be able to go through so I'm glad it happened that way. But talk about an INTENSE 15 minutes!!

Once my doctor arrived, he got to work and after only about 3 - 5 minutes of pushing, out came our beautiful little baby boy! For those of you who wonder if we think it was worth it by not finding out the sex earlier, the answer is YES! All the nurses and staff were almost more into it than us! It was so much fun having it be a surprise and having John scream out what the sex was. I would do it again in a heartbeat. When they handed Gray to me, I thought he looked like my smallest baby. Turns out he was my biggest. Go figure! I guess you really just forget how tiny they are when they're born.

Right after delivery, I was able to do skin to skin contact with the baby. I hadn't ever done this before with my other babies, but really wanted to this time around. And bonus, the hospital offered it and really encouraged new moms to do it. It was such a sweet experience. Gray was quiet and still the whole time he was on me.




But once they took him off of me to do his vitals, he screamed!!









First Bath


The best doctor in the world, John, Me and baby Gray (he's hiding, but he's there)


Gray had some low blood sugar problems right after he was born and the poor baby's heel had to be pricked and monitored almost my entire time in the hospital.

It was a little frustrating for me because a couple of the nurses kept forcing bottle feeding on me in order to get his blood sugars back up. I was all for giving Gray formula, but wanted to supplement with a tube at the breast instead of a bottle because I have fears of giving my baby a bottle and then having them never breastfeed again (and FYI, they are warranted fears because that's exactly what happened with Levi). Anyway, there was a teense disagreement in the middle of the night in my hammered out post partum/hormonal state where I may or may not have bit the head off of one of the nurses. But other than that one incident, my entire hospital stay was absolute perfection. I couldn't have asked for it to go better. Gray's sugars went up by the end and the hospital (with my pediatrician's help) finally stopped pricking his heel four times a day. Yay.

Proud Daddy


My best friend, Kelly took my kids the day I delivered. She spoiled them rotten and took them out for McDonalds and even pizza. When they walked through the hospital doors to visit the baby and me, they were FULL of excited giggles. It was so cute to see them with the new baby. So far they've both adjusted to the change really well; even Faith. I've been SOOO grateful for that. Please bless it continues!

Kelly, Faith, John, Levi, baby Gray


First family portrait



The Grandparents:

My Mom and baby Gray


John's parents


My Grandma. She's 92!


I know my Dad and step-mom REALLY wanted to see the baby, but unfortunately they live in Washington and had just been in town the week before (wishing the whole time for me to go into labor). Gray still loves you guys! He'll see you soon!

First awake picture!


Getting ready to go home



Don't I have the most beautiful amazing family??



Every day I think Gray looks different than the one before. And every day I wish I could freeze time so he doesn't get any bigger or grow anymore. I don't want him to stop folding himself into a little tiny ball or pull his legs up when I put him on my chest. This little newborn time is so sweet and so precious and SO SO SHORT! You're lucky if I let you hold my baby right now because I seriously want him all to myself. I don't care about night time feedings or poopy diapers or having my boobs out nursing all day long. It's my favorite. I'm livin' it up! My obsession with his newborn-ness is at an all-time high. I'm even feeling bad about his umbilical cord stump falling off soon. It hasn't yet, but when it does that's one less 'newborn' thing he'll have and one less 'mommy' connection. So sad!



Today marks one week since Gray was born. I'm feeling a little less like I just gave birth and a little more like a mom of three. It's a GOOD TIME right now and I'm really living in the moment, so to speak. Everything about my life feels a bit blissful and I feel overwhelmed with all that's been given to me and grateful for every single tiny little thing. I have amazing kids and a wonderful spouse who listens to my needs and supports us 100%. I couldn't have gone through either of my infertility trials (both with Faith and with Gray) without his amazing support and sweet understanding ability.

Having a newborn in the house is like having a little slice of heaven right there in your arms and in your home. And as long as heaven is here, I'm not giving it up for anything.

We love you, Gray! You were well worth the wait!!

Take a Guess, Win a Prize

So for those of you who don't know and might possibly be living under a rock, John and I have decided NOT to find out the sex of the baby. In fact, our big ultrasound was just a few days ago (I'm 21 weeks for those trying to calculate in their heads) and we didn't find out. As John and I were sitting there while the sonographer was using the ultrasound, we were agonizing over the fact that we were NOT about to find out what we were having. However, everything was fine until the lady that was doing the ultrasound said she was going to go crazy if she didn't find out herself. She asked us to turn out heads while she looked. We did. We saw NOTHING. But knowing that SHE knew and we didn't... well.... that's enough to drive anyone a bit crazy.

As fun as this whole thing is, I think it might be more fun if I share the crazy with all of you.
Click the below website and enter a guess. You must guess gender, weight, length and birthdate. The winner gets a prize. I don't guarantee it will be to you until 6 weeks postpartum, however, so you'll have to be patient. But I will definitely DELIVER a prize... and I don't just mean my baby (which I'm not sharing).

Humor me, won't you?

Guess Who's 11 Months??

Can you believe this little cutie is 11 months old? I can't. The one year old mark is just a month away and I'm feeling sad about her growing so fast. It seems like when babies are a year old, people quit calling them "babies". I'm still calling her a baby. I don't care what you say.

Some things Faith is doing right now:

• TALKING. Yup. It's true. And she's not just saying a couple words either. She's got a few sentences down, people! She says the following words and phrases:

Mamma

Dadda

Look at that!

Who is that?

What is that?

GET THAT!

Hello

To call Levi she'll say, "AH LA!!"

• She could LIVE outside
  
• She's very interested in what I'm doing. Especially if I'm eating something. She wants to have whatever it is I have even if she has the same exact thing in front of her. She wants MINE.

• She sometimes gets worried when I walk away.

  


• She is into EVERYTHING!!! She wants to crawl to the grossest, most dangerous areas possible.


• The knees on her clothes are nearly impossible to keep clean.


• She is an extremely messy eater.


• She can go up stairs all the way and come all the way down all by herself.


• She's still nursing. And sometimes she bites. But I screamed once and she hasn't bit me since.


• She's been sleeping through the night for the last three weeks. I'm talking from 8pm to 7:30 am. It is pure HEAVEN.


• She has 7 teeth


• When you're holding her, she flaps her arms up and down and leans out until you take her where she wants to go.


• Like outside. I'm not kidding when I say she likes it out there. She wants to go out CONSTANTLY.


• The tops of her feet are totally raw and calloused from crawling so much.


• She loves any and ALL furry animals. She likes to visit the horses daily but shies away and laughs when they put their long noses near her. She's in love with our dog and the neighbors dog too.


• She is almost completely impossible to change. I'm always searching for the perfect entertaining item just so I can fasten the tabs on the diaper before she flips over and screams.


• She has taken a few steps and can get up from a sitting position to a standing one without needing support from someone or something else.


• She poops in the tub. Sometimes she does it when Levi's in there with her. Levi's freak-out session when he sees her poop is priceless.


• She is totally and completely in love with having her back scratched. She will stop whatever she's doing and curl forward. She gets her love of it from me.
• She loves to go on my runs with me. Sometimes I get lucky and she sleeps.
• If you can't tell from the picture, she also loves her Cabbage Patch baby.
• 

Instructions For Baby

I just knew there was a book of instructions for baby!!

This must be it...

(Thanks to my sister Joyce for the FUNNY)

Does She Look Like Me?

Here's a picture of Faith and a baby picture of me. I'm thinkin' we kind of look alike! What do you think?