Due Date

I love the frog tushie!

Say Cheese!

"Hey World, I'm awake"

What a cutie!!!

FINALLY...Made it to 40 weeks gestation. I am finally supposed to be here!

8.23.10
Wow. Today was my due date with Grayson. I can't believe that it is finally here. The weird thing is, all day I have felt as if I need to celebrate something. It is a weird feeling. My cousin Lauren called it Grayson's Fake Birthday, and I guess that is kinda how I feel. I will never forget this day, even though it really is and has been uneventful, it is still special.

Ever since Grayson was born, we have always said, "well, he isn't even supposed to be here yet" when we talk about things he is doing or supposed to be doing and now we can no longer say that! That kind of makes me sad to think about just how much time has already gone by.

Grayson still has his heart/apnea monitor and is still on caffeine. I know that Dr. Yajnik has reviewed the first download of information (I know this because the EOB came in the mail), so hopefully Dr. Head will be able to share the interpretation with me on Wednesday. I just paid for an entire months worth of cafcit for Grayson but I'm not sure how much longer he will be on it. He has not had an apnea episode since last weekend (like over a week ago) and he only had one bradycardia episode lately, but that was while he was eating so he may have just refluxed or something (it scared the $*#*% out of me though!!).

Grayson still sleeps for most of the day. He did stay awake for a while tonight. Around 8-9pm he wants to be up looking around. He doesn't want to lay in the bassinet or in the bouncey seat, he wants to be held facing outward so he can look around. He did enjoy laying on the floor tonight for some tummy time though. He is just the sweetest, cuddliest thing ever! He is still very small, probably only about 7 1/2 pounds, but to me, he has grown SO much.

Jones really has been great with Grayson. There have been a few times that Jones has gone to time-out for throwing things at Grayson, but I know that Jones is just jealous. Jai and I have been very good at making special time just for Jones, to do things just with him. I know that Jones' world is completely different now that we have Grayson, but sometimes when Grayson is napping in his bassinet, I think that Jones completely forgets that he even exists! Jones LOVES to rub Grayson's head and he is very gentle with it. He also likes to point at Grayson's ears, eyes, and nose! Jones is very gentle, but we don't let him touch Grayson's face at all. They are such sweet boys, we are truly blessed.

I will get some pictures up tomorrow because it is definitely time to go to bed. I did manage to get some up on my Facebook page tonight though.

8.17.10

Aunt Gigi and her bestie dressed alike!

Two loves: yogurt and a "poon"

Jones wanted to get snuggles from Mommie too (but i'm not sure what is up with the birds nest on my head??)

Jones just rubbed Grayson's head...my hand is ready for his next move!

I'm a little brother!

Sunday morning snuggles with Mommie! We are both sound asleep!

8.17.10
I can't believe how fast time goes by! Grayson will be 8 weeks old on Thursday! He has really put on the pounds, or should I say ounces, here lately. Seems like he has had a huge growth spurt and you can tell when holding him. He is now filling out his newborn sized clothes too! He still sleeps for the majority of the day. There are two really alert times, around 11am and 8pm. He will hold open his big eyes and just  look around, very content.

Jones went for his 18 month check up yesterday. Lucky for me, Jai took a personal day Monday so I didn't have to take both boys at the same time (I was really stressing about that!). Dr. Head thought that Jones looks great! He got one shot, which was three vaccines, and he did really well. He didn't even cry all that much. He just kind of looked at me, like "what was THAT Mom?" We then went to McDonald's and at hot cakes and I'm sure the shot was long gone from his mind! He is now saying about 2-3 words together and we are working on his colors too! This age is probably my favorite so far, it is just so much fun!

We had a great time with Aunt Gigi this weekend. Jones is pretty much attached to her hip the minute she walks in the door and cries and cries when Aunt Gigi leaves, or when he thinks she is leaving. We went to the Mad Platter and painted some really cute pottery on Saturday and even made a surprise for Daddy...pictures to come later. It was a great weekend!

Grayson's appointment

8.11.10
Time goes by so fast these days! I took Grayson to see Dr. Head Monday (8.9.10) for a weight check and, drum roll please...Grayson is 6 pounds and 12.4 ounces! I was a little disappointed that he wasn't 7 pounds, but Dr. Head said that he should be gaining about 1/2 -1 ounce per day right now. He was weighed 14 days ago and gained 11 ounces, so he is right where he should be with weight gain! Yay big boy!!! He really feels bigger and I can definitely tell by looking at him that he is filling out.

Grayson does have a heart murmur. It is weird because no one had mentioned that in the hospital and it wasn't until he came home that I heard it (I have to check an apical pulse everyday for his caffeine). I am normally the worst at hearing murmurs so I was quite impressed that I heard it. I asked Dr. Head about it and she said that it is something that he should grow out of by about 6 months of age, if not Grayson will have an ECHO and see a pediatric cardiologist (hey, maybe we can just see Luther at the beach?). I'm not going to worry myself over it, I am just hoping that he does grow out of it.

Dr. Head said that Grayson will have a hemoglobin and hematocrit check at his 2 month appointment, as well as another weight check. Hopefully by then she will have received the report from SleepRX so we can determine what the heart/apnea monitor is picking up. He hasn't had any apnea alarms in 3 days, so that is great.

Tonight I moved Grayson up to 3 ounces per bottle. He does nurse too, maybe about 1-2 times per day and I nurse him once at night. I would like to nurse him all the time but his medication schedule doesn't allow that. It is also so much easier to give him a bottle when Jones is around because it is so quick. Anyway, that's neither here nor there because he is at least getting breastmilk and that is what is important.

So, Jones has his 18 month appointment Monday morning. It will be my first outing with both boys! I am a little nervous and I'm not quite sure how I will manage! Especially since I'm sure Jones will get shots and he will need lots of tlc and a sursie afterwards for being a good sport (kinda like when my mom use to get us yummy peanut butter cookies after the dentist!). We will see how it goes...wish me luck!!!

picture time!

Just call me crazy

8.9.10
Neat, today is 8.9.10, just noticed that! So, as everyone that knows me knows, I am scared to death of germs, to the point that my hands look like they are shedding because I wash them so much around Grayson (ok, so maybe not shedding but they look like it is the dead of winter). Because of germs, I have had this major dilemma around daycare and picking up Jones from there for these reasons:

1. I don't want to take Grayson inside until I absolutely have to
2. If I don't take him inside, I would have to leave him in the car...I can't turn it off because it is August in SC, but if I leave it on, I'll worry that someone would steal it (yes, these thoughts actually go through my head).

So today, I had to take Jones a blanket because we forgot to pack it and I would hate for wittle lovie to nap without one. I pulled up into the circle drive of Windsor Academy and left the car running, ran inside and dropped the blanket off in front with Rhonda (my car was in my sight the entire time), but just as I was leaving one of the sweetest teachers was leaving and asked if I had Grayson with me. I can't lie, so I said yes, and of course she wanted to see him. This is where I say to just call me crazy because I said that she couldn't see him while he was in the car. Now, I know that I am nuts, but now I feel bad like maybe that was a little too nuts! I'm sure that it would have been perfectly ok for her to just look at him, but I just couldn't do it. It's like I want him to stay in a bubble for as long as he possibly can. Of course she understood and said that she would be the same way, but I still feel awful about it.

So when is it ok for people to just look at him, or to take him inside daycare...? I know no one has the answers but I do plan on getting Dr. Head's advice this afternoon (she is so wonderful if anyone needs a pediatrician in Lexington). Regardless of what she says, I think the answer has come to me...it will be ok when I am finally ok with it or when I just have to let it happen. For example, I will have to take Jones to his 18mo check up in 2 weeks and I will not leave Grayson in a running car when I can't keep my eye on it or never one that is turned off , so I will have to take Grayson inside daycare to pick up Jones...That is where these things will come in handy:
 

(Thanks Mom for telling me about them! http://www.touchytags.com/)

I LOVE THE WOMAN THAT CAME UP WITH THESE! Whoever she is, I believe we would be the best of friends and chase people around with hand sanitizer together and laugh about it. If only I had come up with her idea...

I will end with saying that I feel so blessed and thankful that people want to see Grayson, especially those that have followed his journey and my pregnancy and one day, I promise everyone will be able to meet him!

Craziness...

8.8.10

The last few days have been interesting, either a lot of fun or no fun at all. Friday night Jai kept Grayson and Jones (after Jones went to sleep) and I was able to go see my work girls! It was Barbie’s “moving up” dinner and was a lot of fun. It was also fun to get dressed up for once! I finally know why moms end up on shows like “What Not to Wear” because when you are home all the time and you don’t go anywhere except to the doctor or grocery store, all you wear is sweats and t-shirts! So it was a lot of fun to put on a casual dress and some fun gold jewelry instead of yoga pants. Although those yoga pants are extremely comfortable, I am determined not to be one of “those moms” on any TV show! Most importantly, I got to see the girls that I truly love and miss. Although I am enjoying my time at home with my boys, I do miss work…or shall I say my friends at work!

I had a great time Friday night and was home by 11:30, just in time for Grayson’s bottle. Once again, the little booger wanted to sleep with his momma and so we snuggled all night until about 7am Saturday morning…that is when the “no fun at all” comes in. I woke up and just knew that I didn’t feel good, and sure enough within a few minutes, I knew I had a stomach bug (either that or food poison). So, back to bed I went and Jai had both Grayson and Jones to take care of. Grayson was himself and slept most of the day. We kept him upstairs in our room to sleep so that Jai could look after Jones, although the hard part came when Grayson needed to eat. I think that is when Jones got the most jealous and acted like a toddler going through the terrible twos. I’ve never seen or heard Jones so fussy in one day, so I really think he was jealous of all the time that Daddy spent with Grayson. Poor little guy, I felt bad for him but it was just one of those days. Let’s just say that by 9pm, Jai was ready for bed and in need of a full night of sleep…we all were.

Today has been a great day. I am back into my mommie mode, cleaning, feeding, pumping, more cleaning, etc. Jai and I have both made it a point to do something special with Jones today. Jai took him to Publix where they sampled blueberry muffin flavored pudding, and bought it. I took him to K-Mart and Frank’s car wash. Now Jai is making ribs, Grayson is sleeping, and Jones is just being Jones! Tomorrow Grayson has an appointment with Dr. Head at 2:10 for a weight check and questions and boy do I have questions!

Simply Amazing

That is my hair curling up in the back.

uhhh sooo cute!!!

8.2.10
Children amaze me. Every stage is so different. I found that when Jones was a baby (well, he still is, but when he was a wittle thing), I was always thinking that I loved the stage that he was in, until another stage came along, then I loved that one more. Now Jones is entering the "terrible twos" a little early, but it is a lot of fun. Jai and I have to turn our heads so he won't see us laughing when we have to send him to time-out. All we have to say is, "Jones, go to time-out" and off he goes to the pantry door (we make him sit right in front of it). He has to put his little bottom all the way up against the door and then slides down it so that his back is perfectly lined up against it. He will sit there for about 30 seconds before he starts to get up and looks at us for our "permission." He is a mess, but a darn cute one!

It is really neat to look at Grayson and think that he is still supposed to be in my belly. I would be 37 weeks pregnant this week, but I never really thought that I would make it to 37 weeks. Anyway, I looked at Grayson today and just thought that babies and children are just simply amazing. All Grayson wants to do is be cuddled, sleep, poop/pee, and eat, what an awesome life! And it is truly amazing that we are making him do all these things that I am supposed to be doing for him and he does it pretty much with no problem! Grayson loves to be held. When ever we lay him down in the swing, crib, or bouncy seat, he grunts, moans, cuts up and carries on until he is picked up and then he goes right to sleep on our chests. Too sweet! He is so little and soft and cuddly that he feels like a little kitten when I snuggle with him. I just love it.

Grayson's monitor goes off about once per day showing apnea. I have noticed a pattern that it is usually when he is lying on his stomach on our chests, sleeping hard. The monitor has not gone off with him alone in his crib unless the leads are loose. Since he is approaching his due date, maybe he will grow out of it soon. Longs Medical came and did the first download the other day, so maybe on Monday when we see Dr. Head she will have an update.

Life is good. I am taking full advantage of sleeping when Grayson sleeps, although I have this strong urge to clean and organize closets....maybe because I would be nesting right now if still pregnant? So, off to clean...maybe I'll get better at updating this soon...pictures to come later.