Wednesday, July 27, 2016

I Get By On Little Victories

Rhodes will be 6 weeks old in two days. Time is flying. That means I'm halfway through with my maternity leave. <- Writing that shattered my heart into 1 billion tiny pieces. I can't think of going an hour without him, much less 12+ hrs. I'm going to cry so I'll go ahead and change the subject.

This week has been a good week. We've worked more on tummy time, but Rhodie would rather do his tummy time on our chests than on the floor. One of our Neonatologists at the hospital once told a parent, "You can never spoil a baby." 

His feet may never touch the floor, until he's ready to walk...and still maybe even after that. 

He's developing his little personality and it's so amazing to watch.  He loves Mommy snuggles and when Daddy dances with him around the kitchen.  He goes from zero to 60 with his temper if he's wet, hungry, or wanting held.  He's so sweet and cuddly.  He's starting to like his swing more, in small doses, so it's a win for this Momma!

Rhodie grew out of newborn sized diapers practically the second day of his life outside of the womb. Of course, we had a TON of newborn diapers, so he wore the fire out of those things until they started squeezing his (not-so-little) tummy. He's been in the size 1 diapers since about Week 3.  He's growing like a weed. Right now he's more round and squishy than long, but I totally don't mind! :)

Yesterday was my mom's birthday.  She doesn't like a fuss made over her (like, ever) so we didn't have a big to-do.  One special thing that did happen was that my aunt and her 4 kids came through town to see Rhodes and my mom on her birthday.  They live in TX and we try to see them a few times a year, but with everyone growing up and going their various ways, it's hard to get together as much as we'd like.  They LOVED getting to see Rhodes though! And he loved the attention. :) He slept HARD after they left, he was so worn out from all the love and attention. So my mom got to see her sister and she got to snuggle Rhodes.  All in all, I think she enjoyed it. 

My mom has been a huge help these past 6 weeks. She comes over to hold Rhodes so I can do things like take a shower or (heaven forbid) go to the restroom for 5 seconds. She also has helped me do laundry, brought me groceries, and helped me decorate my house.  She hung a wall collage in my living room while I nursed/burped Rhodes one afternoon and I think it turned out so cute! And yesterday, on her birthday, she climbed up on the pew at my kitchen table and hung my plates on the wall. 

She's a rockstar.  (insert fist-bump emoji here)

Another fun thing we did today was go on our first stroller ride.  It has been SO HOT lately (gotta love that Southern heat & humidity) and we have stayed inside as much as possible. It had stormed earlier in the day, so it was around 80 degrees and not as humid out, so my hubby suggested we break out the stroller. Rhodes seemed to enjoy it because he fell asleep immediately and on the way back home, he looked around in wonder but didn't make one peep! It was good to get out for a minute to walk and not be drenched in sweat! We walked over to my parents, said hello, and then came home. I'm so thankful to live so close to them.  It's about a mile round-trip between our two houses.

That's all for tonight.  I'm off to feed the chunky monkey and then hopefully we will all get some sleep tonight!

'Tis the Season,
Holly




Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Our Baby Boy: One Month Old (7.17) & A Dr. Visit (7.19)!

On 7.17.16 our boy was officially one month old. I cannot believe how time has flown. Maybe it's the lack of sleep? ;)

Rhodie is more bright-eyed and playful these days.  He smiles in the mornings and after he nurses and has a full tummy! He still likes dancing in the kitchen with Daddy & usually Mommy's arms can fix a lot of problems.  He still loves Window and Ceiling Fan, car trips, and being carried and walked around, and around, and around. He still eats like a maniac but he seems to be getting a little better. I think the boy just likes to eat! :)

I tried to take some one month pictures, but Rhodes wasn't really feeling it. He was a little on the sleepy side.

We had our 1 month appointment today (7.19..16) and Rhodes surprised us!  We knew he had been gaining weight, you can really tell in his face and his little potbelly, but we didn't know how much weight he had gained! The other night, my mom brought out a scale she had an just set him down for just a second (he was a little bigger than the scale -ha!) it read 11lbs. We thought it might have been wrong, but we knew he had to be over 10 lbs! When I put him on the scale today, I'm pretty sure my mouth fell open. He weighed in at a whopping 12 lbs 0.8oz!!! That means he has nearly gained a full 3 bs in 1 month! I'm definitely not worried about him not getting enough to eat anymore! :) He's a BIG BOY. He's grown in weight, obviously, and his head has gotten a little bigger, which isn't surprising because his Mommy has a big head (lol!). As for the growth charts, he's 92.5% in weight, 53.48% in length, and 97.57% in head circumference. I am so proud of my big ol' boy!

 My mom came with us today because my husband was out of town with work. I'm so thankful to be close with my mom, both in relationship and in physical distance. We live about a minute away from each other in the same town and it has been SUCH a blessing. 

We also finally got to meet our new pediatrician today and she seems really nice! I think it will work out just fine! She was very sweet with Rhodes and easy to talk to. She is also a mom…so, she gets it and that's very comforting.

Our Rhodie also got his 2nd Hep B. shot today and he handled it like a champ! He only cried for a few seconds, but after some snuggles with Mommy, he was calm enough to fall asleep in the car on the way home. I, on the other hand, broke out on a sweat in the office because of nerves and because MY BABY WAS SAD. But he did get a pretty cool Spider Man bandaid to show off too, so I'm sure he thought that was pretty cool. ;)

Our morning consisted of some sweet baby smiles and our afternoon has consisted of sweet baby snuggles.  He deserved it after his big day :) It's been a good day for all…minus the whole shot thing…which I'm still sensitive about.

We love our big Rhodie man! 

I want to get back to snuggling my little guy!

'Tis the Season,
Holly


Saturday, July 16, 2016

Our Baby Boy: 4 Weeks (7.15.16)

Our little man turned 4 weeks old today! 

He'll be a month old on Sunday.

Excuse me while I go bawl my eyes out…..kidding….kind of……

It doesn't seem like it has been a month since we drove to the hospital and I was in labor. It doesn't seem like a month ago when I saw my baby boy for the first time.  It doesn't feel like 4 weeks have passed because all my days and nights blur together. AND IT IS WONDERFUL. I'm thankful to have had 4 whole weeks with our Rhodie. It has been the best 4 weeks of my entire life.  Despite the sleepless nights, the poopy diapers, getting spit up on, and everything else in between, I couldn't be happier.  We have been blessed with the sweetest, snuggliest baby ever. He fits right in and it's like we've found the little nugget we've been missing all our lives. 

Rhodes had his smiliest day of his life on July 14th.  He smiled at his Daddy when he left for work and while Mommy played with him and nursed him.  It totally melted my heart.  He may not quite realize what he's doing, but it makes my whole day. I got some pictures and I look at them all the time. He also has a "secret dimple" on the left side of his face that I'm obsessed with and I love when you can see it, especially when he grins :)

We had our first outing on the 14th also.  My mom and oldest brother (aka Uncle Fred) came over and brought us lunch.  We piddled around until we decided to just bite the bullet.  We loaded up Rhodie and the diaper bag and the four of us went to Hobby Lobby. Things we learned: 2 minutes in the store and Rhodie does NOT like the ergo carrier. At least, he doesn't like it YET.  I think he got hot. It is summer after all. But practice will make perfect.  So I ended up taking him out of the carrier and just holding him. That's where he wanted to be anyways :)

Rhodes had several visitors this weekend. My brother and his wife came in on Thursday and then my inlaws and my SIL came on Saturday. So we had a good weekend! I'm off to spend more time with my sweet little nugget!

'Tis the Season,
Holly




Saturday, July 9, 2016

Our Baby Boy: Week 3 (7.8.16)

I can't believe we are already 1 week shy of our little man being a month old! 

Time seems to be flying and dragging all at once, and as I said earlier, if ever there was a time that I wish I could speed up and slow down time all at once, it would be now.

Last night our little boy went SEVEN hours between two feeds. SEVEN. Being a first time mom, instead of taking it for granted, I freaked out and worried that he was going to starve to death. Obviously he was fine. And this momma slept from 12-4 (partially thanks to my awesome husband, who got up with him around 12 and took him into the living room to settle him down and let me sleep) and I was a new person at that 4am feed. PTL!

And no, I won't get used to it. ;)

Today (7.9) was a good day. My in-laws came over to see Rhodie.  My MIL, BIL/SIL, other SIL, Aaron's Aunt, and Aaron's mom's parents came over. The Aunt and grandparents came all the way from AL! My husband grilled burgers and hot dogs for lunch and we all got to catch up a little bit.  It was a little stressful having a 3 week old and 7 guests (plus 1 other dog -don't even get me started) in my house but it ended up being a fine day. I'm glad Aaron got to see his grandparents and I'm glad they got to see our little guy!

But we were WORN OUT! Rhodes has napped most of the afternoon and I'm hoping that doesn't affect our bedtime too much!

Rhodie has had an eventful 3 weeks of life. He is more interactive every day and we are so thankful for him! He loves his Momma :) and dance parties with Daddy! He seems to like country music (yikes!) and his best friends are Window and Ceiling Fan. He likes to scream his head off at bedtime and he holds his breath when he gets REALLY mad. Thankfully, that doesn't happen too often. :) We've also discovered that he likes the white noise/wave noise on his giraffe sound machine (SCORE!) and we are trying to use that more at bedtime to get him quieted down. His favorite game is seeing how many diapers he can go through in a 24 hour period. He's determined to get the count to above 12. He cannot STAND to be wet AT ALL. He's so funny that way!

We are so blessed to be his parents and our hearts grow more and more in love with him every day!

Cheers to 3 weeks!

'Tis the Season, 
Holly




Monday, July 4, 2016

Our baby boy: Week 2 (7.1.16)

We have made it through another week! Our pediatrician appointment on Monday went well, and we ended up seeing a pediatrician instead of a nurse practitioner, which is what was originally planned. It wasn't the pediatrician who we intended to see, but it worked out well because we go to church with the man we saw! Rhodes passed our appointment with flying colors and weighed 9 lbs 2.2oz! :)

This week was better than last in terms of getting used to our new normal. We've had a few (rare) 4 hour sleep sessions and we praised the Lord for them. We've also had a few (rare) instances where he feels like he needs to eat every 2-2.5 hours, which can wear on a mommy. 

This week Rhodie (what Aaron nicknamed him) is becoming more interactive. He is trying to focus his sweet little eyes on faces and objects (like the living room ceiling fan) and has gone a couple of stretches in between feeds where he is wide awake! It's fun to watch him figure things out. It melts my heart when he studies my face. I just want to kiss all over him!

It's also fun to watch my hubby interact with Rhodes. I love coming into the room and hearing him sing to him (usually something silly and made up) or to look over at them snuggled on the couch. And Marley, our yorkie, isn't usually too far away from his baby brother either.

Rhodie is such a blessing to our lives. He's already changed so much in two weeks! We had our newborn pictures made on Wednesday and I CANNOT WAIT to see how they turned out! I don't know if my heart…or my wallet will be able to take the cuteness! We tried to get Marley to participate in the fun aaaaand it was a borderline disaster. He did NOT want to be in the same space and his new baby brother, which is funny because usually he wants to be right beside Rhodes and whoever is holding him.

Sorry for the shorter post, but he's due to eat in about 5 minutes ;)

'Tis the Season,
Holly


Friday, July 1, 2016

Our baby boy: Week 1 (6/24/16)

Our first week with our son Rhodes is in the books. 

I've already cried about it. Not that I'm even that sad about it. But I am. Or maybe it's the lack of sleep.

We came home on Monday and our new reality set in. I'm trying to nurse every 3 hours (give or take) and let's just say…momma's parts are sore. Yee-ouch! 

Our 10 year old yorkie is adjusting too. The first day we were home, he shook and acted like every little noise freaked him out. Now he gets up and goes with us every time we take "his baby" out of the room or runs over if Rhodes as much as sneezes. 

Our first pediatrician appointment was Wednesday. We might have been late…like 5 minutes after our appointment time (we needed to be there 30 minutes early for paperwork) so, whoops! It ended up being fine. We saw a nurse and she did an assessment and a jaundice check and our boy weighed albs 7oz, which is what he weighed at discharge, so we could tell that he was still eating well! She didn't even want to stick him (thankfully!!) for a bilirubin check because she said he looked great. :) So proud of our boy!

We had a couple of rough nights this week. Thankfully, Aaron has been home all week and we've been able to tag team the diaper changes and holding our fussy baby in the wee hours of the morning. I'm thankful.

On his fourth day of life (6/21) we were trying out our baby swing. He seemed to be enjoying himself.  THEN we heard the noise. If you've ever been around a baby, you know the noise I'm talking about. The dirty diaper noise. Being a NICU nurse, I know that sometimes, you can change a baby when you think they are done with their business, only for them to wreck the next one, two, or four diapers because they are, in fact, not done. BEEN THERE.  So I decided to wait a few more minutes. 

More noises. 

Then my older brother Joshua said "Whew! Rhodie!" and we began to smell the dirty diaper. I walked over to scoop up the baby and while I was standing in the living room, my mom gasped and said the diaper was leaking. 

SURE ENOUGH.

It continued to drip the whole way to the nursery. 

Did I mention we have WHITE carpet in the living room?! WHITE. 

I finally got him changed and came back to the living room to the funniest site. My husband and my baby brother on their hands and knees scrubbing baby poop out of the carpet, my oldest brother Joshua climbing the walls to get away from the mess and the smell and ALL OF IT (ha!) and my mom rummaging through our cabinets trying to find stuff to clean with.  We didn't have much. We moved in at the end of May and I hadn't quite stocked our new house up with everything we needed. My bad ;)

I sat down on the couch and lost it. I laughed so hard it hurt my incision.  My husband was pacing the living room and researching how much it would cost to put in hardwood floors. It was just SO funny! 

Our first week with our baby was eye-opening. I work with babies but it's still so different having your own. I'm sore, I'm tired, and I'm hormonal. BLESS my husband's heart. But we make a good team and I told him it's only going to get better. We are so blessed with a sweet, snuggly baby. We love him so much. I can't imagine life without him now. I look at his little face and thank the Lord for him all day long. Especially during those hard hours from 12am-5am. He doesn't really care for that time of day. :)

'Tis the Season,
Holly

He's Here! Part 2

I always wondering, throughout my whole pregnancy, what my sweet boy would look like.  Not that I cared, but I was always imagining in my head.  Well it turns out, he's absolutely perfect. 

He has a big round head (even after pushing for 2 hours), some deliciously squishy cheeks, and the prettiest lips I've ever seen. I just want to eat him up!

Oh, and his hair. He's got a head full of hair. Precious.

He is the first grandchild on both sides of our families so our families are both pretty smitten.  I think my family has tried to see him every single day since he's been born, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Plus it's always nice to have an extra set of hands.

We had lots of visitors in the hospital. Family, friends, co-workers, bosses, it was wonderful.  I wish I had taken more pictures! 

From my perspective, our hospital stay was a blur. We went in on Friday at 8am and were finally discharged around 2:00 on the following Monday. 

There were long days and longer nights and I felt pretty useless the first two days.  I remember Aaron changing lots of poopy diapers.  I'm pretty sure those are the first diapers he's ever changed in his life.  He was such a trooper. He slept on that tiny couch and didn't complain…except for being cold. He said he was cold every single day. But this Momma was HOT. 

They took out my epidural Sunday morning around 4am. I had my first shower later that morning too. I felt like a new woman. Walking was hard, my incision hurt, and I could definitely tell that my epidural was GONE…and I missed it. 

My nursing staff was pretty wonderful…minus one chick who I think I saw maybe twice in 12 hours…but I digress.  I even had a nurse that I went to nursing school with, which I was skeptical about at first, but she ended up being one of my favorite nurses.

I am very fortunate that my husband was able to take a week off of work to be home with us. I'm also fortunate that my family lives (literally) a minute car drive away.  It made this first week go by pretty smoothly…or as smooth as it could go. :)

Things we learned over our hospital stay: 1) our baby doesn't like having his arms swaddled; 2) he doesn't like being put into the carseat; 3) he LOVES riding in the car (zzzzz); 4) he loooves to snuggle and I will NOT be complaining about that! 

Our hearts are FULL.

'Tis the Season, 
Holly