Wednesday, September 29, 2010

10 days to 10 weeks

Just as a comparison I thought I would take some photos to document how much Jay has grown. The 10 Day Old photos are from his newborn shoot (scroll down for more about that). The photographer for the 10 week photos was yours truly so they are nowhere near as beautiful nor are they edited, but it is fun to compare to see how much Jay has changed.

10 Days....

10 Weeks....

 

10 Days....


10 Weeks....


10 Days....


10 Weeks....

See how the wrinkles have given way to rolls? Can't wait to compare these to 10 months. (Wait a minute, yes I can--time is going too fast already!)

Have you seen his newborn gallery?


You can see that Miriam did a wonderful job getting some cherished photos of Jay during his first few days. Miriam will be taking Jay's 3 month pictures very soon and is a native Nashvillian, like me. She is a professional photographer who shoots in Tuscaloosa/BHM as well as Nashville and Middle Tennessee. Did I mention what a great gal pal she is to me as well as a remarkable woman of God?

Falling in love(y)

Jay has a few loveys (lovies?) that were given as gifts at showers or after his arrival. Off and on over the past 10 weeks I have offered him a lovey during playtime, car rides or times when he seems to want a little something to do with his hands.

Consistently over the past week or so he has always had a lovey with him, sort of as an afterthought on my part. Last night we were up and down, up and down--not needing a bottle or a diaper change just needing a little cuddle then back to sleep. I realized at about 4 a.m. that perhaps Jay needed a little love from a lovey (i have not put him to bed with a lovey at this point)--to provide a soft nuzzle while he drifts between wake and sleep--so I went to his "toy box" and placed a lovey in his hand....then I snuck in to take this picture nearly 5 hours later....

So there you have it. My son has found his first love outside of his family. I am happy he is so sweet and peaceful and can comfort himself this way. I know we are fortunate to have a baby who is so easy on his all-too-new-to-this parents and am so thankful that he is healthy and happy. I am also just a wee bit jealous of that tiny blue bear. Good thing that lovey can't prepare a bottle or change a diaper or we might have some competition on our hands.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Another week in the books...

Yesterday marked the end of a great week for us, here are some of the highlights...

We went to Jay's 2 Month check up to learn that he has grown 3 inches (now 24" long) and weighs 11 pounds and 7 ounces. After having a round of various vaccinations Jay ran a fever for about 48 hours and felt pretty puny for the first time. I am SO glad that I am still on maternity leave and could be home with him. Let's just say that I think I cuddled the fever away.

Jay also got a new tummy time mat-here is a picture from the first use, approximately 90 second into tummy time.



He has improved through the week and now waits 5 or 7 minutes before falling asleep on it. They definitley did not warn me about that on the package, but I think it is hilarious!

We also had a great outing as a family on Sunday--Jay's first trip to church. It was a proud moment for us as parents to bring Jay into church for the first time. Not that we were there to see anyone in particular, it just really touched my heart to bring this precious gift we have been given into God's house for the first time. Jay did a wonderful job--he was lulled to sleep by the music and had a brunch bottle during the sermon--AMEN!

After church we took a few pictures at home to mark the occassion, someone got a little fussy!



Thursday, September 23, 2010

Net 60

Here it is, a full 2 months into our life as a threesome and I have yet to officially begin the blog.

I could never have known how drastically and wonderfully our lives would change with the birth of our son. The last 2 months have been the happiest days of my life and it is hard for me to remember how I imagined things would be, but I know the reality far exceeds my greatest expectations.


Just to catch up,we had a wonderful experience at Brookwood Medical Center and welcomed Jay into our family on July 20, at 8:17 a.m. The waiting room was full of grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins awaiting his arrival.





We came home as a family on Saturday, July 24








We spent most of the first few days at home getting used to our new schedule (as determined by Jay) and meeting family and friends. Mimi stayed a few weeks and made another trip back a week later, Dede and Papa are right across the street and were here anytime we needed them for the first several weeks. Uncle Bubbies and Aunt Janice and Matt, Uncle Charles, Aunt Karla and Kelsey and CJ, Nanny, Cousins Cathy, Zane and Cate, HG, Bob and Gayle all visited from Nashville and Aunt Jennifer, Uncle Sean Weston and Davis dropped by often to see us and see how much Jay was growing.








We've had our first bath....



Our first time in the swing....


and our first smile....
(not the best picture, but that was the same day that he smiled at me for the first time, I was attempting to get the 2nd smile while holding the camera and this was as close as I got).

I bet 100 different people told me that I would never be the same after I gave birth to Jay. Friends, acquaintances and even strangers try and warn you that having a child will forever change your life. That life will be forever richer, fuller and more meaningful. How right they were. Richer. Fuller. More meaningful. Miraculous. Overwhelmingly joyful. Extraordinary. I could use any of these words to describe any single second of my life since Jay arrived.

I cannot believe 2 months have passed so quickly and how full every moment has been. The first sweet sleepy days and nights that turned into cycles of feedings every 2.5 hours followed by sweet cuddling then Jay lulling off to sleep before the next feeding came around. Then the 2.5 hour cycles began to include a few minutes of alert play time as Jay became more and more aware of the world around him. Our 24 hour days then began to have more rhythm as Jay began stretching the 2 to 2.5 hour feedings out a bit at night to 3 and 4 hours--it became clear to me that he was learning how life worked and when we should sleep and when we should be awake. I must admit this was hard at first, I realized that the more he slept at night would mean I would not see him as often through the night, I realized every night as I put him to bed that another day was gone and I hoped we had made the most of it because we would never get it back again.

Over the first few weeks I questioned my instincts, my intellect and possibly my identity. I knew I would be the best mother I could possibly be, but the sleeplessness and scheduling caused me to wonder at times, "what if I am making a mistake?". I cannot tell you how many times I wondered if I were making the best decisions day in and day out over every little thing. Then, one day I reminded myself that God had given me this gift of a child and it was not right for me to question every single decision I made. Before we were born God planned to give Joseph and I this son and equipped us to be the best parents to him all throughout our lives until this moment. I have clung to this realization every day since and have not looked back.

Truly, we are the happiest family I know. I hope everyone is this happy in their lifetimes and I am so thankful we have come to this place. We are blessed beyond measure and fortunate to have this life to live together as a family.

My goal is to continue to update this blog (only regularly this time) to serve as a snapshot-scrapbook of our lives. We shall see.....