Time Flies

Yesterday Griffin turned one month old. Seriously?? A month has already passed?? Doesn’t seem possible…
So what has Griffin been up to? Well… He is in somewhat of a routine, but not consistent. He nurses one side every 2 hours. This past week, I’ve been trying to establish a 2.5 hour eating pattern. I’ve had some success and am praying it only gets better! We are going through a TON of diapers. I change him before he eats, and again after he eats. Sometimes again between feedings. Griffin likes to pee all over everything too. In fact, he has peed on his own face twice. Bless his heart… I know it’s all my fault, but the boy is dangerous unless he is covered at ALL times. It’s hard to do! Just tonight, as I was pulling his diaper off, he whizzed everywhere. But anyways, he sleeps some nights for 5-6 hour stretches. Other nights, he wakes every 2-3 hours. We usually roll out of bed around nine, sometimes ten. Our day consists of nursing, sleeping, tummy time, and of course changing those dirty diapers. While Griffin sleeps, I try and get at least one nap in with him. Other times, I am cleaning the house, doing laundry, or just relaxing and enjoying my baby. He is the sweetest and easiest baby. I love my new role as his momma!
I am finally feeling more normal at the one month mark. I felt like I was on an emotional roller coaster this past month. Between my new responsibility and trying to figure out how to be his mom, being away from my mom, postpartum endometritisis, and all the hormonal changes, I’ve been feeling a little out of sorts. But I’m feeling much better now. If I could only lose the last 20 pounds of this baby weight and could fit back into my old pants, then I would be SOOO happy!

Griffin's Birth Announcement

Griffin says Hello!!

Cutest Kid on the Block

Whirlwind

The past two weeks have been a whirlwind!
We came home from the hospital Sunday night at 10:00. I had to stay an extra day since I tested positive for Group B Strep at 35 weeks. I think that may have been the cause of some complications yesterday. But more on that later…
My precious mother stayed with us for the first week. She helped me SO much, and I know Griffin must have felt much better knowing he was in capable hands. lol She taught me how to feed him, change him, hold him, nurse him, and everything else. I had rarely been around newborns or babies, let alone been in charge of one! She let me rest and recover while she kept Griffin through the night. She came and got me when he was ready to nurse. It was amazing. Not only did she teach me how to be a mother, but she also did the laundry, cleaned the house, did the grocery shopping, and had mini-photo shoots. My mother is wonder-woman! She left on Friday, one week after he was born. I cried. And cried. And cried. I was so sad.
This past week, I have fallen into my role as a new mom. Griffin has been a pretty easy baby, so he has made my job much easier! We had our first outing on Tuesday. It is difficult to plan outings around his feedings. I put him in what I call a “milk coma” and loaded him up in the car. We went to Rhea Lanas which is a bi-annual child consignment event. I got him a ton of cute clothes for summer for pretty cheap! I just hope he can wear 3-6 month clothes this summer. He is getting pretty big! I felt SO accomplished getting him out on my own. It was also my first time using his stroller. I must say, I like it a lot!
On Wednesday, Griffin had some projectile vomit going on. It scared me. So what did I do…? Well I called my mom of course!! Thank goodness it only happened once, but I began to play the worse-case  scenario in my head. It was awful. My mom tells me I am in for a lot of heartache….
Thursday was Griffin’s two week check-up. I enjoyed his appointment with his pediatrician. He answered a lot of our questions and was fun to be around. He said Griffin was strong as an ox and sweet as an angel. Griffin weighed nine pounds and eight ounces. All of the doctors and nurses call him a moose!
Thursday I began to cramp more and had heavier bleeding. I brushed it off thinking it was just part of pregnancy. I woke up Friday morning with barely enough energy to feed and change Griffin. I took my temperature and was not surprised to find that I was running fever. That with several other symptoms, I knew it was time to call my doctor. They told me to come in immediately. I had a melt-down. I thought for sure I was going to end up in the hospital. Thankfully that was not the case, but it was a close call. I was so unsure of what to do with my baby in this emergency. I couldn’t get ahold of Brandon because he was out of town working. I didn’t know how to get ahold of his dad or his mom. So what do I do…? I call my mom of course!! She came to save the day once more. I called her in tears, partly because I was still hormonal, partly because I was scared, and partly because I was hurting so bad. My doctor diagnosed me as having postpartum endometritis. Basically, I have an infection in my uterus. He said it was very rare to have this condition two weeks after delivery. Usually it occurs days after delivery and requires a hospital visit. However, since my came late, I was given an antibiotic to try before having to go to the hospital. Within 12 hours of beginning my medicine, I could tell a difference. I laid in bed all day and night. I think I got up maybe once or twice for a few minutes. My mom once again came to take care of Griffin, cleaned my house, did the laundry, and went grocery shopping. I felt like a new person today. It’s amazing what some medicine and sleep can do!
So that sums up our first two weeks with our sweet baby boy. There have been lots of tears, laughs, blow out diapers, spit-up, pictures sent via text messages, outfit changes, and so on. Griffin has already outgrown his newborn diapers and outfits. I can only imagine what the next two weeks, and beyond, hold for us. As long as my mom is on speed-dial, I’m sure we will make it!

Welcome to the World Griffin Blaine!!

My last post was written just four days before my little boy decided to make his debut. How much can change in such a short amount of time!!
I am going to try and remember as much of that day as possible. Unfortunately, a dose of Fenagrin and Demoral clouded a portion of this exciting day!
On Friday, February 24th, I finally fell asleep about 2:00 in the morning. I got up several times to use the bathroom which was unusual, even at 39 weeks and 6 days pregnant. During one of my short bouts of sleep, I dreamt that I was having contractions and was timing them. I hadn’t been feeling that great, and finally at 5:00 a.m. I decided to go ahead and get up to time my contractions. Thankfully, I have an app on my phone that did a great job keeping up with them! I ate some poptarts for breakfast, and sat on the couch with my phone. They were anywhere from two minutes to eight minutes apart. Since they weren’t very consistent, I wasn’t too concerned. However, they were not letting up! I texted my mom just to let her know what was going on. She was ready to drive directly to Russellville, but I talked her into waiting at least until 8:00, which was when my doctor’s office would open. From 6:00 – 8:00, my contractions became stronger and more consistent. They lasted about 45 seconds and were 2-3 minutes apart. I decided to go ahead and finish packing my hospital bag and picked up the house. I also did a load of laundry since all my sweat pants were dirty.
At 8:00, I called my doctor, and of course they didn’t answer. I called the hospital, and they said I could come in to get checked. I really didn’t want to go in and be sent home, so I waited another hour. My contractions were getting stronger. Bran was a substitute bus driver this morning. I texted him after I called the hospital and asked him to go ahead and come home. I was taken aback when he replied with, “Well I have an appointment at 8:30.” I didn’t say anything back… Fortunately, his boss made him come home. He helped me pick up the house, and by 9:00, Dr. Escue’s nurses returned my call. They basically laughed at me and told me to get to the hospital ASAP. My mom was already on her way when I texted her to tell her that we were going to go to the hospital.
My contractions were getting more painful. In our birthing class, they told us to enter the hospital through the Emergency Room. When we got to the ER, I couldn’t believe that they made us walk across the hospital, find the elevator, and go up to the maternity ward. I was appalled, especially since I couldn’t  walk through my contractions! Two sweet physical therapists could clearly see that we were lost and helped us find the elevator. A sweet old man that was a volunteer got me a wheelchair as well. I was so thankful.
Finally we made it up to the correct floor, and they wheeled me to a room. I was immediately hooked up to a bunch of stuff, and they began my check in process and blood work. When they checked me, I was already at 4 cm and 80% effaced. Just the day before at my doctor’s appointment, I was stuck at 2 cm and 50% effaced. My doctor also told me that Griffin was still up very high and was going to be a small baby. I was not expecting it to happen this fast!!
Since I couldn’t get my epidural until my blood work was completed, they decided to give me a dose of Fenegrin and Demoral. If only I would’ve known what that was, I would’ve refused!! Demoral is crazy stuff. I was so loopy and had no idea what in the world was going on! I hated it. Once my mom showed up, I couldn’t even carry on a conversation with her because I was so out of it. It was ridiculous. Never again!
At noon, Dr. Massey came in and gave me my epidural. I was at 6cm and 100% effaced. I had an excellent epidural! I was much more comfortable after that. In fact, the only pain I really felt was my stupid blood pressure cuff that took my blood pressure every five minutes. It was very annoying! Dr. Escue broke my water at about 6 p.m. when I was 8 cm. An hour or so later, I was at 10 cm. However, I didn’t start pushing until 9:30ish. They wanted me to “labor down” which basically meant letting my contractions push the baby down lower into the birth canal.
Pushing was a different experience… I had absolutely no feeling at all. In fact, my right leg was so dead. It felt like it weighed at least 600 lbs. It was hard to determine if I was pushing correctly, but the nurses and my doctor said I did a great job! Bran and my sister stayed on my right side, while my mom and a nurse were on my left side. Bran was so encouraging the whole time. I think he truly enjoyed the entire experience. I asked him to remain by my head and not to look “down there,” but I’ve found out over the past week that he saw everything! Labor is a humbling experience… Anyways, my sister reminded me of how to push which kept me focused. And my precious mother counted for me. They were all amazing, and I couldn’t have done it without their support!
After an hour of pushing, Griffin Blaine was born at 10:25 p.m. I cannot describe the feeling of watching him being born and seeing him for the first time. I could not believe that God had blessed us with a perfect 9 lb boy that was almost 22 inches long with white blond hair! Being a mom is so humbling. My doctor held him up for us to see, and I burst into tears. I could not believe that this moment was finally here! Brandon cut the cord. Dr. Escue asked if I wanted to hold him, but I wanted to wait until my delivery was completely finished and I was in a bit more comfortable position so I could truly enjoy the first moment with my son. Once my placenta was delivered, I was so overwhelmed with relief and the sense of it finally being over. I then got to hold precious Baby G. He is absolutely perfect.

He’s the cutest kid ever!