Visit From Aunt Sam

This weekend, my good friend Samantha came to visit and meet Grady for the first time. We met in college during our last two years of the elementary education program. We became fast friends and made many lasting memories... we reminisced on many of those this weekend!

Sam took good care of Grady and gave us a free hand for a while to do things around the house. She experienced first hand how much Grady likes to be held (ALL THE TIME). Luckily she likes to hold babies! We had a fairly uneventful time, but enjoyed each others company... we took trips to Wal Mart, Target, and the mall which are much easier with two adults than alone so it was definitely nice to have Sam here. And of course Grady loved her!






We bought one of those bouncy exercise balls and have made a new use out of it- sitting on it and bouncing Grady. He is mesmerized by the motion and we enjoy the peace and quiet!

He is getting bigger with each passing day. He is 9 pounds, 5 ounces and finally filling in his onesies.

We are still working on a schedule. It changes everyday as we are experimenting to find a schedule that maximizes our sleep time at night! He is feeling better, but he is still a little snotty and congested. Hopefully he will be 100% soon!

Here are some pics from the weekend...

First trip to Lowes...loved it like his daddy, but eventually wore him out!




On the bouncy ball...

Poor, Poor Grady

My poor baby is sick! His little button nose is all congested and dripping down into his throat. He sounds like a a chain saw starting up when he's breathing and he isn't older enough to understand that he can cough it out if he tries. We woke up at 2 am this morning to the sound of gagging and rattling. I noticed a little bit of congestion yesterday, so I took him to the doctor. They said he was fine. Obviously he's not fine, so I took him again today. (Yes, I know, I have a problem). Dr. Mahaffey confirmed there is nothing seriously wrong, he's just snotty. So, being the great dad that he is, Mikey went this morning and got a humidifier, saline drops, and a nasal aspirator from the drug store. He hates the drops, but I think they are helping.


I take back everything I said yesterday. Now I just feel so sorry for my baby, I'm never going to put him down!!

Shut That Baby Up!!!!

It's been several days, so let me update y'all on what's new with little Grady. He's not the same baby we got used to for the first couple of weeks! Once he got used to the world, he replaced sleeping all the time with crying! Mikey and I were in for a rude awakening! We were used to this precious sleeping angel all the time who only cried when he was hungry or had a dirty diaper. I thought, we've got it MADE! NOT!!!

Having a baby is the best thing ever, but for all those people who act like it's bliss 24/7, they are either lying or have a saint baby.... Because when you're up at 4 am after only sleeping a few hours and your bouncing, bouncing, bouncing, shushing, shushing, shushing, and swaying, swaying, swaying all around the house, the thought crosses your mind WHAT HAVE I DONE????? GET BACK IN MY BELLY AND DON'T COME OUT TILL YOUR OLDER!!! I told Mikey the other day, load up the car, we're taking him to the safe house in Nebraska like that one mom did! Of course, I'm only kidding.... I'm sure there's a safe house closer than Nebraska. :)

I was so not used to the crying that I thought something was physically wrong with him, so we took him to the emergency room. Turns out, there's something mentally wrong with me. :) I've got first time mom disorder on top of being a hypochondriac. Deadly combination. We've been to the doctor three times and the ER once since he's been born. And thankfully, he's healthy every time!

So to calm the crying (which the ER doctor attributes to gas and colic), we bought something called Gripe Water which is an herbal remedy said to "calm the fussy baby". We also bought the Miracle Blanket which is a swaddling blanket guaranteed to work. We used it for the first time tonight and baby Grady is sound asleep in his crib before 9 pm. Now let's just hope he's not up wide eyed at 4 am like he was last night!!!!

One thing he absolutely LOVES is bath time. He must get that from me. :) That calms him right down and he just lays there and looks around. He sticks his tongue out and tries to drink the water. I think he could stay there all night long and enjoy every second of it. We got a really neat tub that tells us the temperature of the water and it also allows the water to run through constantly so it stays clean. Good thing, because Grady likes to pee in the water so I'm glad it flows right out!



He's a growing boy. He weighs 8 pounds 14 ounces now. That's 2 pounds since his lowest weight. He still got little chicken legs, but his belly is nice and round. He's like an olive on toothpicks.

Despite the crying, the lack of sleep, and the fact that our house is dirty and the laundry is piled up, we LOVE that baby boy. I look at him everyday and can't believe that God has truly blessed Mikey and I with a precious son that means the world to us. He's changed our lives and made our relationship stronger than we could ever imagine. I'll remind myself of that later when Grady is screaming in my ear and swatting at my face!

Uh-oh... there's the sleeping beauty now. So much for the Miracle Blanket. SIGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH......

Free Stuff!

Yesterday, we received LOADS of free baby items from a friend of a friend. Mikey went and picked it up and his entire truck was filled with toys, clothes, and shoes. We got a portable swing, a walker, a bouncer, a "Play Hut", a rocking horse, and a car for when he gets a little older. There are even more toys that I cannot remember. We also got two Rubbermaid bins full of clothes and shoes- many with tags still on them! I've washed 4 loads of laundry so far. I took pictures of his shoes because they are just so cute. He's going to have a shoe fetish like his mama and he already has more shoes than his daddy!




We also got this really cute Harley Davidson vest! Not that I am a Harley fan, but it was cute anyway!



The other day it was pretty cold outside, and we were headed to Grandma's, so I wanted him to wear his cute blue coat that a friend of mine gave him. Unfortunately, it's a little big! When I put it on him, it reminded me of Ralph in The Christmas Story!


Mikey's gotten to feed Grady two times now! He loves feeding him but I will have to get used to letting him do it some, because I feel like it's "our" time together... it's hard to let that go! But Grady did take the bottle really well and the pump worked well too. (Hope that's not too much information!)

Here are some pictures of Grady on his activity mat. He really enjoys laying on his back looking around, but tummy time is not his favorite, like I mentioned the other day. However, I'm trying to make sure he meets all his "developmental milestones", so I'm making him lift his head and use those muscles! Plus I don't want his head to be flat in the back! That's what I get for being a teacher and having one sister that is a physical therapist and another that is a speech therapist!!!


Enjoy the pics!

2 Week Check-up

This morning we had Grady's 2 week check up with Dr. Mahaffey. Everything went well, I asked all my paranoid questions and Dr. Mahaffey said Grady is "perfect". Can't ask for much more than perfect! She checked all his joints and assured me he is not bowlegged. He's also gained some weight and he is now 7 pounds 10 ounces. His length is now 21 inches. He's a growing boy!

Grady's been doing some "tummy time" and really is strong. He doesn't enjoy it very much, but he kicks his legs and lifts his head very well! We have to get busy building those muscles if he's going to be a defensive end like his daddy wants!

No, Grady is not stuck at 4 days old!

We have been super busy the past 2 weeks with visitors, visitors, and more visitors... so I have had little time to post an update. Not to mention that Grady takes up most of our "spare" time, so spending time on the computer is more of a luxury. Man, how life has changed! It's partially my fault because I am a little OCD about putting him down. I feel guilty putting him in the swing all by himself. Sometimes I sit on the floor next to him so he's not alone. No wonder I don't have any time for myself!

Since Christmas Day, we have had nonstop company! Here's a list of our family and friends that came to see Grady:

Auntie Em (Emily)

Uncle Brian

Aunt Robin

Uncle Beau

Aunt KK (Katie)

Big Daddy (Dad)

Nanny (Charlotte- Oops, no picture!)
Mimi and Papa

Steve
Nancy
Carol
Cathy
Mrs. Marler
Maggie
Aunt Jenine

Uncle Tom
Gerri
Uncle Steve

We will be adding more pictures of our visitors as they are sent to us!

So as you can see, we have been very busy! We definitely enjoyed spending time with our family and friends, and Grady especially enjoyed all the cuddles and hugs! While everyone was here, Emily surprised us with the news that she is engaged, and Katie surprised us with the news that she is pregnant! So, I guess if you want to have a baby, come spend some time with Mikey and I- it seems to be "catchable"! Grady will have lots of little cousins soon!

Grady has really changed the past couple of weeks. He is awake a lot more during the day and very alert. He loves to lay back and stretch his arms and legs. We love just sitting around and watching his funny faces and listening to his sweet sounds... (well, most of them are sweet- those of you who have visited know that he can make some not so sweet noises also!). He's been sleeping pretty good at night lately. We get at least four hours at a time, which we think is great! He wakes up to eat and then goes right back to sleep most of the time.

So we are slowly trying to settle into a routine and get used to our new roles as mom and dad and enjoying every minute! I will try to do better posting pictures and updates. He is changing so fast and I don't want y'all to miss a beat!!!!