Back To Work I Go!

Grayson all ready for work!

Yesterday was my 1st day back to work! I am a lucky girl because I get to bring Grayson to the office with me or stay at home and work. The challenging part is finding a balance to do it all. Let me tell you it is tough! Yesterday was a bit overwhelming! I am not sure if it felt that way because I have a lot to do to get caught up or the lack of sleep. I hope once I get caught up and in a routine with work and Grayson I will feel better. I have a few mommy friends that work from home that I am going to speak with to see if they have any tricks or secrets they want to share with me. The hard part for me is when the phone rings and Grayson is crying what do I do? This hasn't happened yet, but I know it will. Do I pick up the call or call the person back? Plus yesterday when we were at the office I didn't feel like I had everything I needed for Grayson. I forgot to bring several blankets and I forgot to bring another swaddle blanket because Grayson ended up peeing all over his swaddle blanket and clothes (I did have a change of clothes...yeah ME!) It was interesting put Grayson to sleep at my office we have some what of a routine at home and I usually put him in his room where it is dark with music to take his naps. At the office I ended up putting him in his Nap Nanny in my office with the room somewhat dark and I played his music through my iPhone. He did GREAT which surprised me! I thought he would get upset and not nap, but I was wrong.

See...

Now if I could only get in a routine with Grayson and work I would feel better. As for me the tough part is the lack of sleep I am getting over the past two days. Usually in the AM if Grayson goes back to sleep I would join him, however this is not the case anymore I have to get up and start my day. Plus I am struggling to get a night time routine down with Grayson. I feel like we are changing it up every day based on how he is doing each day. I feel at the end of the day I am in survival mode and doing whatever will make Grayson happy and each day it is different. So what do I do to get a schedule down and stick to it? Or is it too early?(he is only 6 weeks old).

See this picture!

So all of you know that Grayson does not take the paci for me. He takes it for Chad, anyone else that holds him, and in the car. But yesterday at the office he took the paci several times throughout the day from me, but as soon as we got home and I tried it he would not take it! What is the deal? I think he must know we are home and it is his security... I don't know. But I did think it was FUNNY!

Thanks to all the tweets, facebook messages, and emails over the past two days wishing me the best as I start work again. You are all too sweet! Now back to work!

Friday with G

Friday with G

We had plans to have lunch with some sweet and fun girls, but we had to cancel because this Mommy was tired.  Why was I tired because Grayson was up all night!  It was nice that the girls understood why I had to cancel.  Thanks girls :)

Grayson finally sleeping after a rough night of no sleep

(picture taken with my iPhone)

 So needless to say once Grayson did fall asleep at 7AM I slept too.  I woke up around 10AM, I needed to sleep.  I had time to eat some breakfast and do things around the house.  Then he was up a little after 11AM and my schedule of Babywise started.  I fed him, changed his diaper, and we played.  I ended up rocking him a bit before he fell asleep and then I put him in his crib.  He slept for 2 hours!  YEAH!  He then woke up a bit after 3PM, I fed him, changed his diaper, and we played.  I again rocked him until he was about to fall asleep and put him in the crib.  It seems to be working.  Hopefully this will continue.  If we can only figure out the night times so both Mommy and Daddy can sleep. 

So I haven't been out of the house since Monday, I have a little case of CABIN FEVER so tonight Chad is taking us out for dinner.  Tomorrow I have a "Mommy Day" I am getting my haircut and I have a few errands to run.  I wonder what Daddy and Grayson will do while Mommy is away!  I know that they will have FUN! 

Here are a few pictures of Grayson bouncing in his bouncey seat today!  I put him in front of the window.

Have a great weekend!

Play Time

Play Time with G

It is so exciting to me to see Grayson alert and looking around when he is awake. We have started playing with his play mat this week and I think he likes looking at all the colors. It doesn't last long, but I love just staring at him when he is playing.

Breastfeeding update:

So I have eliminated spicy food, orange juice, and chocolate over the past two days and it seems to be helping. He is less fussy and gassy. As for Mommy the chocolate break is TOUGH. I think about chocolate and how much I want it. I usually have a glass of chocolate milk every morning and chocolate at least once a day if not more. So lets just say I have had a headache the past 2 days, but IT IS TOTALLY WORTH IT! I am hoping by Friday I will feel better and no more headaches.

Plus I have started some news things with Grayson during the day! Eat, Wake, Sleep. I read Baby Wise before Grayson was born and have a few friends that used this strategy so we are going to give it a try. After each nap I start by changing his diaper, then I feed him, next I change his diaper again (if needed), then we play and stay awake for at least 30 minutes, and finally I rock him to sleep. I am hoping this will put him more on a schedule and he will sleep longer at night. We will see...

Because last night Grayson was up from 10PM-1AM...that was not fun for mommy! Plus last night I was on my own Chad slept in the guest room so he could get a WELL DESERVED full night of sleep.

Plus for any new mommy's or mommy's to be we have the NAP NANNY and Grayson loves it! He takes his naps in this (I put it in his crib) and at night I put it in the pack n play. The other thing we do for sleeping is a dark room and music that sounds like the womb. It has worked for us and Grayson sleeps great, now if we could just make the night time sleep longer all would be perfect. :)

Any other suggestions please leave me a comment. All of you were helpful with breastfeeding and I have enjoyed reading your thoughts.

Peaceful Monday & Melissa's Learnings

Happy 5 Weeks to Grayson!

Peaceful Monday! I love them! Grayson and I have had a great day today.

I have finally figured out a few things. First Grayson is only fussy if something upsets him. Last week he cried on one particular day every time after we finished eating and I could not figure out why? Then the next day he would eat, play, and fall asleep with no issues. So I thought about what I eat the day before and it occurred to me that I did have a glass of orange juice, which I normally don't have. So I have decided that the orange juice did upset his stomach...so no more orange juice for me. Then yesterday G was fussy all late afternoon and evening. I figured it was something that I eat again and at lunch time I had some spicy pasta. So no more spicy food for me. I hate when Grayson gets upset. The sad part is that I started pumping last Thursday and yesterday I pumped a lot of milk for Grayson and guess what I dumped it. I was afraid that if he drank it it would upset his stomach and it is not fun having a fussy baby. After doing a few GOOGLE searches on breastfeeding I have learned that chocolate also can upset a baby's stomach... oh no! I love chocolate! So for a few weeks I am going to try to eliminate chocolate from my diet. Grayson has been gassy and I think this might be why. We will see...

I guess this mommy thing and breastfeeding is trial and error. But I do wish someone would have shared these little details with me. It would have saved me a few times. I wish I would had read a breastfeeding book before having Grayson. Now it is too late I don't have time to read a book. GOOGLE has become my best friend. Plus my iPhone is my best friend during the late night feedings I am able to GOOGLE, Facebook, Tweet, and catch up on blogs. So any expecting mommy's I recommend reading a breastfeeding if you plan to breastfeed. I have a few other recommendations, but I will do a separate blog post on that subject.

Grayson has been so alert over the past few days... he loves looking at his hands, lights, and any bright colors. He is enjoying his bouncy seat more and will sit in it for awhile before he gets upset. I took these photos of him this morning in his bouncy seat.

Just a side note: I wish we could get our groceries delivered to our house from Walmart. Grayson and I went to Walmart this afternoon and he did great, but it stresses me out the entire time. I always think that he is going to have a melt down and what do I do with a basket full of groceries? I don't want Grayson crying the entire time. So along with a drive thru Post Office I think it would be great to have Walmart deliver groceries.
Don't you?

Daddy's First Father's Day

Happy 1st Father's Day Chad!

Grayson, Bella, and I love you so much!

Grayson and Bella are lucky to have you as their daddy. 

After several years of infertility we have our son and it is a blessing to be celebrating Chad's 1st Father's Day!

We have had such a wonderful Father's Day!

Chad started the day with a 40 mile bike ride (Grayson got his daddy a new road bike for Father's Day) then we went to church and what I heard of the service it sounded like a great sermon.  Grayson and I had to go to the quiet room again this week.  It seems each Sunday that we end up in the quiet room half way through the service because Grayson needs to eat.  I love the series our pastor is going through right now that I think we will need to purchase the CD of this series. 

After church we went to Johnny Carino's for lunch and then ran a few errands.  Once we got home and fed Grayson and put him down for a nap Chad and I spent time together playing Phase 10.  It was great to spend quality time together rather then watching TV, working on the computer, doing laundry, cleaning house, or yard work.  The rest of the evening we are just hanging out with our little guy and getting ready for the week.  This is my last full week before I start working on June 29th, 2010. 

I plan on enjoying every moment with Grayson. 

This post would not be complete without mentoning that this is Chad's 1st Father's Day without his dad and he seems to be doing well and we have had a lot of discussion on how he is feeling today and he does miss his Father very much, but he knows that he is in a better place and he will get to see him again.  Plus he is a Father this year and looking at his son makes everything better.  His Father is no longer hurting and we are lucky to have a special Angel watching over us each day, but he will be always missed!   

Happy Father's Day to all the AMAZING dads I know!  I hope you had a blessed day!

Mommy's 1st Outing

Thanks to my loving husband I got to get out of the house and get a pedicure and manicure!  It was wonderful and I needed it... the last pedicure and manicure I had was a few days before Grayson was born.  I missed Grayson, but it was nice to do something for myself.  I think all mommy's need a mommy day or at least a few hours to themselves.  Next mommy day will be to get my haircut.  See you soon Julee!  I was gone for three hours and I only texted twice and called once.  Grayson was WONDERFUL for his daddy!  He slept, eat, played, and is still sleeping as I write this post.  Chad sent me a few pictures of there afternoon together.

Just woke up!  Don't you love the onesie? 

Look who is sucking on a pacifier...he won't do that for me! 

Just finished eating that was yummy! 

  

It was a special treat and thanks Chad for letting me have some me time!  

We are off to a graduation party have a great Saturday night! 

1 Month

HAPPY 1 MONTH OLD BIRTHDAY GRAYSON!

I can't believe that today you are 1 month old. It has gone by way to FAST. I was just looking through pictures from the day you were born and you have changed so much. You don't even look like the same baby.

At your last appointment you weighed 6 pounds 14 ounces you are still our little peanut, but I think that you are over 7 pounds now. We will see at your next appointment.

You are starting to get your days and nights straight and seem to be sleeping better at night. This makes for a happy Mommy!

You are breastfeeding like a champ! We still need to work on getting you not to breastfeed to fall asleep. Mommy is working on getting you to take a pacifier to help with falling asleep. Some days it works great and other days you HATE the pacifier.

You are starting to look around at your surroundings and seem so curious. I love watching you. I especially love it when you smile at me. I think you know who your mommy is...

You attended your first birthday party at the beginning of June for Miss Avery she turned 1!

You love to be swaddled tightly with your arms out because you sleep with your hands by your face.

The nap nanny is your favorite thing to take naps in. If I put you in the pack n play or your crib you wake up instantly.

You enjoy baths now that we can put you in the water. Mommy loves how you smell right after your bath.

You are wearing newborn diapers.

You are still wearing preemie and newborn clothing. You have a few 0-3 month onesies that fit.

 You are wearing 0-7 pound pj's each night. You prefer the gowns vs the footy pj's. It is funny if I put you in footy pj's your feet never stay where they are suppose too.

You still like the car seat and riding in the car, but if you are upset you hate it!

You take one long nap(3 to 4 hours) during the day and three other shorter naps(1 hour) throughout the day. In the evening we have been blessed to have you sleep most nights up to 3 to 4 hours. There are some nights that you wake up every 2 hours.

You do not like the bouncy seat or swing at all. I really hope that changes soon.

Mommy and Daddy could hold you all day and just look at you. When you are sleeping I just want to scoop you up and hold you in my arms and watch you sleep.

Happy One Month Birthday Grayson...Mommy and Daddy Love You!

One Month Old Video of Grayson

Tomorrow is Grayson's One Month Old Birthday! I thought that I would put together a slideshow of all the photos we have taken over the past month for our memories.
Plus I am sure the our family and friends would love to see the photos too!

There is music to the video too! :)

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Things I have Learned

Being a Mommy is wonderful!

Over the past month I have learned so much about being a Mommy and some of the things I had no idea would take place:

like the first time Grayson peed on me

or

the first time I had poop all over me

or

the amount and length you bleed after having a baby

or

the time it take for you to heal after having a baby

or

the time it takes to breastfeed and once we are done we start over again just a few hours later

or

the amount of time I have spent at home and not leaving my house for days

or

how fast the days go by

or

the first time running errands on my own and what use to be a quick trip into the post office turns into a much longer trip because I can't just get out of the car and run in I have to get Grayson out of the car too. Someone needs to make a drive thru for the post office. I have to go there today to mail our birth announcements

or

the first time you have to cancel or change plans with friends because I was not ready for the day because my morning didn't go as planned

or

the times Grayson has peed all over his outfit and we are not home and we didn't bring a change of clothes. Because of this I have learned to always bring a change of clothes and a extra blanket

or

the first time you have to breastfeed in the car because Grayson is having a meltdown

or

the times you have plans to get a lot done around the house, but nothing gets done

or

the times I have stayed in bed until noon because all Grayson wanted to do was eat

I guess that this is what being a Mommy is all about!

Love it!

Happy Birthday to Grandma

Today it is my mom's birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

Grayson sends you a big kiss and a hug to you Grandma on your birthday!

I love my mom she is beautiful on the inside and the outside!

We were blessed to have my mom here with us shortly after Grayson was born. My mom lives in Montana and due to the long distance drive to Arkansas she was not able to be with us for Grayson's delivery, but she joined us 6 days later and spent 8 days with us and we appreciate all the love and support she gave to us during her visit. These photos were taken when she was here visiting.

Happy Birthday Mom and Grandma! Grayson and I made a video for you today. It is short because he was starting to get upset plus we were going to take more photos, but then he cried for awhile so I fed him and now he is sleeping. So now I have a free moment and wanted to get this posted before the little man wakes up. We will try for more pictures later.

Happy Birthday Mom/Grandma!

Chad, Grayson, and I love you to the moon and back. I hope you have a great day and that all your birthday wishes come true. See you soon!

(The noise in the background is Grayson's bouncey seat!)

Our Monday

Our Monday was a little like this...

It was our first Monday together just Grayson and I without family with us.  We had a lunch date planned and we had to cancel as we could not get ready and out of the house on time.  Sorry Kristi and Grayson, we will see you next week.  We did manage to run a few errands later in the afternoon.  I have found that Grayson is the best during the hours from 1PM-5PM.  If I let him sleep he would sleep the entire time.  But I am really trying to wake him up more during the day so he will sleep longer during the nights.  I think he has his days and nights mixed up.  I am exclusively breastfeeding Grayson and starting this week I am going to attempt to start pumping as I go back to work in two weeks.  Wish me luck!  I hope it continues to go well! 

Our Tuesday plans for Grayson and I are to just snuggle and love on eachother.  I am so looking forward to it. 

So how was your Monday?

Amazing

Sorry I have been MIA lately.  I have been busy with little G.  I am enjoying every moment and find it difficult to find time to blog, but I do know that you understand.  Even though I do miss writing and capturing what is taking place with us each day I love spending every waking moment with Grayson.  Grayson will be 4 weeks tomorrow and we have had a busy 4 weeks with family and friends.  Grayson is already a blessed baby.  He has met both sides of the family and most of our friends in Arkansas.  The four weeks with Grayson have gone by WAY to FAST!  In fact I need to be better at taking pictures of Grayson each day he is changing so much.  I take a lot of pictures of Grayson with my phone as I always have it with me.  Plus our parents have requested a photo of Grayson each day so we try our best to send a text each day.  But I need to capture more photos of him on our camera.  Here is a picture of Grayson that I took yesterday.  He is growing and that makes this mommy happy :)

In fact this picture was taken shortly after he finished eating.  I love how he has his arm behind his head when he is sleeping.  He always has his hands by his face when he is sleeping. 

Isn't it AMAZING?

That this little bundle of joy laying on my belly was once inside my belly.  Every time I look at this picture I think about the nine months Grayson spent in my belly growing.  It reminds me of all the movements, hiccups, and kicks he made while in my belly.  Some days I miss that special bond we had together.  But the one thing I do love is when Grayson falls asleep on my belly and we snuggle for hours.  So as I cherished every moment Grayson was in my belly I am now cherishing every moment I have with him outside my belly. 

Have a great week blogging friends and family!

Love Melissa and Grayson!

Grayson's Birth Story

Grayson is 3 weeks and 1 day old today and I am now sitting down to document his birth story.  First I would like to start by saying that I have a plan for everything in my mind. I always hope and wish that my plan will turn out. So yes I had a plan for how I wanted my labor and delivery to take place. I wasn't pushing at all to go into labor as I was very HAPPY being pregnant. So when the day arrived I was a bit shocked! My plan was to go to the doctor and they would send me to labor and delivery to have Grayson. Plus I wanted to have my sister Amie and our good friend Mary here, as I wanted to have both of them in the room with me during delivery. That was my plan...

Lets start with Sunday May 16th, 2010... all morning I was having extreme pain and cramping that would not go away and I was so uncomfortable. We went to church and through out the service I was having pain, which now I know were contractions. After church we had lunch and went home so I could lay down and see if things would change. I did not want to go to the hospital and they tell me that I was experiencing false labor. But after laying down for an hour things did not change. So I called the clinic and they suggested that I come in. So at 2PM on Sunday afternoon we made our way to the hospital. They got me settled into a hospital gown and hooked up to all the machines and I was in fact having contractions. They were not consist while we were there so they gave me the choice to stay or go home, plus I was only dilated to 1 CM. I really didn't want to spend the entire Sunday evening at the hospital and have nothing happen so we decided to go home. The fact was that I had an appointment the next morning with my doctor and we could discuss what to do then. On Monday May 17th, 2010 I had a 8AM appointment with Doctor H and we did the normal checks. I did not gain any weight from my last appointment and in total I gained 20 pounds during my pregnancy. My blood pressure was great. Grayson's heartbeat was 143 during the appointment. I was dilated to 2 CM. The only concern that we had was that Grayson had not moved all night and all morning. This was after having a glass of chocolate milk that morning too. So Doctor H decided to do a stress test on Grayson and after about 30 minutes or so still no movements only hiccups. They decided that it would be best to start inducing me that day as they thought that maybe my fluid levels were low and it was causing Grayson not to move as much. So at 9AM we were sent to the hospital to begin the process of labor and delivery. It was so surreal and I could not believe that on that day May 17th, 2010 that we would have little G. The amazing thing was that May 17th was the day I picked Grayson would be here. Isn't that funny!

The day progressed slowly and around 1PM they decided to start me on pitocin to help move things along. At this point I still did not have any pain medicine or an epidural as I wanted to wait until I had dilated more because at that moment I was on dilated to 2CM and I did not want the epidural to wear off. Throughout the afternoon I had strong contractions but nothing I couldn't breathe through at 3PM Dr K rechecked me and I was still at 2CM dilated. It was decided that they would wait until I was a solid 3CM to break my water. At around 5PM Dr K came back in and I had progressed to 3CM so they broke my water. The only thing that I didn't have at this point was my epidural. Let me tell you once they broke my water the CONTRACTIONS were horrible. I requested that all visitors leave at this point as I was in tears and the pain was unbearable. I had to wait an hour before they could give me the epidural as the anesthesiologist was seeing another patient. So during the wait Mary and Chad kept me calm and helped me through each contraction. I finally was able to get my epidural and all the pain was gone and I felt so much better. It was perfect timing as my sister Amie arrived shortly after I got my epidural and I was so happy to see her and the boys. It was very important to me to have her with us during the delivery of Grayson. I got to see the boys for a few hours before they left to go to the Fisher's house for a sleepover so their mommy could be with me during the labor and delivery. After a few hours of receiving my epidural they checked me at 9PM and I was completely dilated to a 10! It was time...

I was blessed to have my loving husband, my beautiful sister Amie, and our dear friend Mary with me to support me during labor and delivery. They were all amazing support to me. I loved all the nurses that were with us throughout the day and they were wonderful and patient with me during the entire process. My Dr H was not available to deliver Grayson, but I was not disappointed at all because we had our wonderful Dr K that took her place and she had such a calm spirit. So back to the labor and delivery. At around 9:15PM I started pushing and it was hard work, but 35 minutes later Grayson arrived and all the pain, the hunger I felt, and how tired I felt was gone! Grayson was finally here! It was AMAZING seeing him for the first time and hearing him cry. It was unbelievable that Chad and I created this little miracle! It was great to hold Grayson in my arms, it was AMAZING to see Chad hold Grayson for the first time, and it was beautiful to see my friends and family meet and hold Grayson for the first time.

Our Grayson arrived at 9:50PM weighing 6 pounds 10 ounces and 19 inches in length. God is amazing and we feel so blessed!
Here are a few pictures that my sister captured during the labor and delivery!