Graham - Month 4

Sweet little Graham turned four months old the day after the Fourth of July. He loved his first fireworks show at Nana's and Papa's house. Aunt Tina held him during the show. She said he would sit up when they were low, and would lean back when they were high in the sky. 

Graham wants to sit up most of the time now. I can strap him in his bouncy seat, but he is working hard to sit up straight. So I bought him this cute little chair. I like it much better than the bumbo!

Graham had his four month check up today. He is ahead in his gross motor skills. Yay! He weighed 16 lbs 6 oz and was 26.75 inches long. He is tall! He didn't have a major growth spurt like he did at his two month appointment, but he's still ahead. 75th percentile in weight and 95th percentile in height. He is in a size three diaper still and 6-9 month clothes. 

He is grasping for objects. He chews and  sucks on any and everything. Today I have him his paci in his hand, and he brought it to his mouth. He's also already trying to hold his own bottle. They just don't stay little long! 

I introduced formula this month. He has worked up to about five bottles a week. I usually only give him formula if someone else is watching him or we are out and about. He drinks it like a champ! It has however made him start pooping in the middle of the night which makes him wake up and has given him some diaper rash. And his diapers are STINKY. The past three nights he has been up around 1:50 with a dirty diaper. After I change him, he won't go back to sleep until he nurses. I think it's starting a bad habit! 

Brandon can really get him to belly laugh by tickling his neck. It is the sweetest sound!! I haven't caught it on camera yet. 

Brotherly love 

He was smirking at me across the room. 

Graham also had his first bowl of rice cereal. He did a decent job of getting it down. Dr. Bartlett wanted to see how he would do with the spoon. I think by next month, he will be ready for some baby food. Blows my mind!!!

Drew and Audrey spent the night after the Fourth of July party. Drew loved on Graham so much. It was so sweet. 

Daddy and G shot off some fireworks while he was home too. Griffin loved it! 

So this isn't a photo of Graham.... This is Brandon when he was a baby! Holy cow!! They are twinkies!

My sweet momma came down and spent three days with us while I was in training. Two days I was in training from 8am to 6pm. She brought Graham to me every two hours. She is such a blessing!!! 

The weekend after Father's Day, Graham was dedicated at our church. Pastor Morris did a great job. Afterwards, we had lunch at our house. It was a great time to celebrate little Graham. 

Graham - Month 3

Graham is three months! Time is flying. I only have two more months off, so I'm trying to enjoy every second! 

So I have to say the second baby is so much easier. I guess it's just because everything feels familiar, and I'm more comfortable taking care of a newborn. Or it might be because babies just need their basic needs taken care of. Whatever the reason, adjusting to life with two kids has been very easy for us. Praise the Lord!

Speaking of adjusting, Griffin is back to his old self. All the major life changes that happened back in March really threw him for a loop. I wasn't really sure what to do with him! However, I was consistent with discipline and routine (even when I wanted to lock myself in the closet and cry), and it's paid off! He is sleeping in his own bed again all night, putting himself to sleep, using his manners, and following directions. He's not perfect by any means, but we are in a much better place now! He hasn't been in trouble at school either. I'm SO thankful! 

Back to Graham...

He is wearing 6-9 month clothes and a size three diaper. He weighs around 16.5 lbs. He's my little chunk! He's very long! He started sleeping through the night right after he turned 12 weeks. Our days are very routine. He goes down around 8:00 at night and sleeps to around 5:00 in the morning. After he eats and burps, he goes back to sleep until 7:45 when I usually wake him up to nurse before taking Griffin to school. Griffin wakes up between 5-6. I just tell him to go play in his room until I'm ready to get up (usually around 7:00). After I drop Griffin off, Graham and I come home and walk at least two miles in the neighborhood. I've been trying to get this baby weight off! Graham loves to sleep in his stroller too. When we get back, he nurses again and is ready to play. He is starting to participate in the world around him more. He can track objects and is trying hard to grasp objects. He loves hanging out in his bouncy seat or playmat. He is trying really hard to roll over, but hasn't quite accomplished that feat yet. He also loves chewing on his hands after staring them down. After a couple hours of play time, he's ready to nurse again. After his lunch, he takes a really good nap in the middle of the day. He will sleep for 2-3 hours. I love it because when I have both boys at home, they're on the same nap schedule. It's total bliss! After nap, he eats again and we go get brother. We come home for some more play time with Griffin. I cook dinner and we eat around 5:00. Baths are at 5:30, nurse again, we watch a movie at 6:00, and Griffin is in bed by 7:30. I nurse Graham once more and he goes to bed. It works great for us! I think kids thrive when they have a routine because it helps them feel safe.

Of course surprises are fun every now and then! This week we went to the zoo with Megan and her two girls. Griffin is also enrolled in a cooking camp. He loves to help me in the kitchen, so he is learning about food every Friday in June. Summer time is the best! 

Graham is the sweetest baby. He rarely cries. When he does, he's either hungry or has a gas bubble. He's smiles with his entire body and has started to giggle. I'm so thankful God entrusted me to be his momma! 

I love pouty faces!

They are my biggest blessings! 

Griffin's first cooking class

Future photographer! 

At the zoo! It was HOT! 

My new boy mom shirt. Ha!

A bad idea. Lol

Graham - Months 1 & 2

Little Graham is already 2.5 months old! He is practically the same baby as Griffin. Seriously. The similarities are crazy! 

That first week my precious momma stayed with us to help us adjust. Graham pretty much slept all day long. I love that sleepy newborn stage! When she left, I found out quickly that taking care of a baby is pretty easy. Your main job is just keeping them alive. Now Griffin on the other hand.... He was a completely different kid for the first six or seven weeks. Between moving to a new house just a few months ago, Brandon becoming a police officer and starting crazy shift hours, and now a new baby, his world was turned upside down. I thought that he would've taken it out on Graham, but he loves his little brother. He was always so sweet to him. Instead, he took out his insecurities and frustrations on me. He would do any and everything for attention. He's gotten a lot better, but he still wants all the attention. However, I think we are all going to make it now when those first weeks I wasn't so sure we were! Ha!

But back to Graham! He's the sweetest and squishest baby ever. He is also a great sleeper! I put him down around 8:00. Some nights he wakes up at 2. Some nights it's not until 3. A few times he has gotten up at 4! So his first stretch is 6-8 hours, then he nurses and sleeps for another 3-4. During the day, he nurses every two hours. He likes to cat nap, but will take one really good nap in the middle of the day. He's gotten to where he eats, then stays up for an hour, sleeps for an hour, and does it all over again. He spits up just like his brother. He takes forever to burp just like his brother. He prefers to nurse laying down just like his brother. And he doesn't mind being in a dirty diaper, just like his brother. Sometimes that's not good because I'll forget to change him!

The past couple of weeks he has noticed his hands. He sees them flailing around and will stare them down. He also loves to suck on them. He likes to suck on something most of the time. He will be a paci baby, just like his brother! 

He lost a lot of his hair those first weeks, buts it's starting to fill back in. It's not near as dark, but it's not blond either. He loves to sleep on his belly, just like his brother! I was a nervous wreck when Griffin figured out how to roll over. I couldn't get him to sleep on his back no matter how hard I tried. With Graham, I would let him nap on his belly starting at about three weeks. He slept in his rock and play at night. At four weeks, I transitioned him to his crib and let him sleep on his belly. The video monitor eased a lot of my fears because I could watch him without disturbing him. He's been in his crib since then and is doing great!

At three weeks Graham started smiling. He has the biggest and sweetest grin! He also coos really loudly, and likes to "talk" to us. 

At two months old, he weighs 15 lbs and 5 oz. He is 25.25 inches long. He wears 6 month clothes and a size 2 diaper. He can lift his head up while on his belly and can track objects across the midline. He's a big, healthy baby!

Recovery this time has been a million times easier. I felt pretty normal right after delivery, and I was much more comfortable with a newborn.  I didn't even have a total melt down when my mom left! Ha! I did miss her a lot though. At three weeks, I was back in the gym. I wasn't consistent though because finding a new routine is hard. Just last week I started the Couch to 5k program so I can get back to running. I'm still up an extra 20-25 lbs. Nursing does NOT help me lose weight. However, I am not going to wait a year to start working out like I did with Griffin. I refuse to buy bigger clothes!!! Hopefully by August, I'll be able to wear my old clothes without feeling like I'm gonna bust a seam. Last week I dropped 5 lbs by eating better and exercising. It's just going to be a slow process for me. 

Life is good right now. Two kids are great. The transition was not nearly as hard as I thought it would be (esp now that Griffin is doing so much better). And if you were wondering, I still want another. :) I'm trying to talk Brandon into it though! 

Mother's Day 2016

Welcome to the World Graham Preston!

I am finally writing Graham's birth story. It was a pretty different experience than his brother's! 

Wednesday, March 2nd, I started having contractions. They were consistent enough that I could time them, but not painful enough to warrant a trip to my doctor or the hospital. I was barely dilated to 1 cm the week before, so I was hoping these contractions were getting me further along. They were coming every two minutes the entire day at school. That evening I had my baby shower at church with my Soul Sisters. They gave me a monetary gift to buy a video monitor for the nursery. I was so thankful!!

The next day, the contractions started up again at work. I powered through though because I could still walk and talk through them. I guess these were just Braxton Hicks. However, I never had those kind of Braxton Hicks with Griffin. I had a doctor's appointment that afternoon, so I was excited to see my progress! I was at 4 cm! It was crazy because I was in the hospital at 4cm with Griffin. They also gave me an ultrasound to check Graham's weight. If he was big, they were going to induce me at 40 weeks. The tech estimated he weighed about 8 lbs and 4 oz. Dr. Escue was on call that weekend, and he thought I would be having this baby this weekend. I went home and had some more contractions, but fell asleep just fine. 

Friday morning I woke up around 4 am with contractions. Since I woke up with them and they weren't work induced, I thought that it was finally the real thing! I texted my boss and my long term sub and said I wasn't coming in. Thank goodness I had been preparing for this for the past month! However, I had just a few more loose ends to tie up, so I headed to school about 6:00 that morning and worked for a couple hours. The contractions were coming every two minutes. I was having to stop and breathe through them, but it wasn't excruciating just yet. I was excited! I headed back home with one of Megan's ball chairs to bounce on while I labored at home for a little while longer. 

Brandon took Griffin to school with an overnight bag packed. Dan and Kim were going to pick him up if this was indeed the real thing. He brought me home a smoothie for breakfast. I was starving but wanted something light in case I got sick during labor. 

I took my last belly picture at 38 weeks and 2 days. Our hospital bags were packed and in the car! It was finally time to meet our second son!!

Just as I was about to say let's go, the contractions eased up. What?!? I was thinking this cannot be happening! What a cruel joke! I told Brandon we were going for a walk! So we walked out road. But they were easing up even more. By 11:00, they weren't even worth timing. I felt extremely tired, so I took a short nap . In hindsight, I really wish I would've listened to my body and slept all afternoon....

It was so disheartening to answer everyone's text messages with a "sorry, false alarm". I was so frustrated. I called my doctor's office, and they assured me that it just happens sometimes. I told Brandon to take me to Hobby Lobby so I could walk some more. 

When we got back from Hobby Lobby, there were still no signs of any contractions. They had completely stopped. Kim and Dan had picked up Griffin and brought him to our house. My mom called and said they were in town. They thought I would be in the hospital by now, even though I told them not to come! I felt so bad, but they wanted to take us out to eat. Around six, we headed to Brangus. I had a steak and baked potato. My contractions started up again during dinner, but they were like 20 min apart. My parents said they would get a hotel room if I thought this baby was coming, but I told them this baby wasn't going to come for another two weeks. Ha! So they went back home. 

I was still pretty frustrated that night. I went to bed around 9, still having very spaced out contractions. I may have gotten an hour of restless sleep. By 11:00, the contractions started to get consistent and extremely painful. I was in immediate discomfort. It was around this time I also lost my mucus plug.

I was sitting on the edge of the bed trying to decide what to do while breathing through each contraction. Brandon came into our bedroom. He had been asleep on the couch watching some show. I guess I woke him up! Despite seeing me in obvious pain, he decided to crawl under the covers and say, "I'm going to get as much sleep as I can."  I couldn't believe he said that.... I decided a shower might help manage some of the pain, so I took a very hot shower. By the time I got out, the contractions were so intense. I told Brandon that we were going now, and to call my mom. He finally woke up and started to get excited! We got our bags in the car, got up our sleeping child, and Brandon helped me get dressed, and we were off. 

I found out I'm not one who can be silent during a contraction. Breathing and moaning and maybe even a squeal here and there seemed to help. Haha! I tried so hard not to make a sound while Griffin was in the car. But man, they were coming every two minutes and were hard. I gritted my teeth, but Griffin could tell something was obviously wrong. He kept saying, just breathe momma! It'll be okay! And he prayed the sweetest prayer over me. I so wish I had that on camera!! Greg met us at the hospital Saturday morning, March 5th, at 1:30am. Greg later told us that Griffin did not go back to sleep that entire night...

I could only take a few steps before the next contraction hit. It took us a little while to get up to labor and delivery. Once I got there, they got me checked in really fast. I was in so much pain! For the past four years, I've told all expecting moms to skip the Demerol because it made me so loopy last time. However, I was ready for something!! I asked them to do just half a dose of Demerol or give me something else. They gave me something, I don't remember the name, that made me feel more relaxed. It didn't help the pain during a contraction, but I felt better between each one. I was also completely coherent which was the best. 

The nurse checked me when I arrived and I was already at 7cm. I told them I wanted an epidural, but they weren't sure if I would get one since I was so far along. Next kid, I'm coming in earlier!! If I would've came in on Friday morning, Dr Escue would've kept me and helped me along. But that's what I get for trying to labor at home!

It was around 4am that I finally got my epidural. I was at 9cm! I was more than ready. My contractions were so intense and so painful. I was tired of Brandon telling me to just breathe, and I hated having to lay down through them. I swung my legs over the bed and the nurse pushed my head down to arch my back like a cat. It was so awkward and even more painful to have to stay there for several contractions. Then my water broke!! I had never experienced my water breaking on its own. It was a huge gush of liquid everywhere! And with each contraction, more would come gushing out. I told the nurse, "I've either peed the bed, or my water broke!!!" Bahahahaha! I know they got a good laugh at my expense! 

My momma finally made it to town right as I was getting my epidural. With Griffin, I didn't feel a single thing. With Graham, I needed to push about 15 minutes after my epidural. It didn't have time to really take effect. I could still feel my contractions, but the epidural took the edge off. I didn't feel like I was going to die anymore. Ha! 

I pushed for almost two hours straight in every position imaginable. I had enough feeling in my legs that I was able to squat, get on my knees, roll over, and do all sorts of things. It was very frustrating though that I wasn't making much progress. I was doing all that I could, and nothing was happening. I told them that I just couldn't do it anymore. I needed a break. So around 6am, with Graham in the birth canal, they packed up shop! Everyone left, turned out the lights, and told me to go to sleep. 

My mom and Brandon were the only ones left in the room. They were encouraging when I was so discouraged. I didn't know why it was taking so long. 

After about an hour, they came back in. Dr. Escue said he was going to help me this time. It was then they discovered Graham was facing up instead of down. He couldn't get past my pubic bone. So after about another six minutes of pushing, Graham finally made it out with Dr. Escue's help. 

I didn't cry this time like I did with Griffin. I think I used my tears during that time of rest. I was just so happy he was finally here!! I did hold him before he got all cleaned up. I didn't do that with Griffin. Graham was way more goopy than Griffin too! Brandon cut the cord, and it was finally over! 

I'm not one of those women that look all glamorous during labor! Haha! I don't think I've ever been so hot and sweaty. Everyone else was shivering because the room was at 65 degrees. It felt like a sauna though. 

8lbs and 10oz. 21.5 inches long. Born at 7:06 am. 

He had an interesting head shape when he first came out, but it didn't last long! He also had some bruising on his head that lasted about a week. 

Greg and Theresa brought G to the hospital, and Griffin was finally a big brother!

We were all in love with little Graham immediately. 

I loved that we were all at the hospital enjoying this new miracle and no one else knew besides our parents. Before posting the news on social media, I texted a picture of Graham to some friends and family. It was a fun surprise!! When I did post it on Facebook, I asked for no visitors until after dinner. I had been up for over 24 hours, and was completely exhausted. I just didn't have it in me to talk to anyone at that point. When we had Griffin, there was a constant stream of people. I just wanted a nap and to hold my baby. Everyone was very understanding! Leslie and Cora came late that night as well as Brandon's brother. 

My momma is such a life saver. She was so helpful during labor. Afterwards, she took Griffin home so they could both get some sleep. She left in the early evening to go back home because she didn't bring anything with her. Griffin stayed the night again with Brandon's parents. 

We had a relatively easy first night with Graham in the hospital. All of the nurses were super helpful. Graham had some issues with his sugar, so I had to be very diligent in feeding him every two hours on the dot. They pricked his heel after each time I nursed him to check his sugar. Late the first night, I had to give him some formula because it dropped too low. He also had some jaundice so we had to come back to get him checked the next few days. Both of those issues I did not have with Griffin. 

We were finally discharged from the hospital the next day, Sunday the 6th, around 1:00pm. My mom came back down around 4ish. She brought a carload of groceries! She is an angel!! I don't think I've ever had so much food in my kitchen. Greg and Theresa had also stopped and got us some bread and milk, as well as two freezer meals. That night, a friend brought over dinner. In fact, we've had a dinner brought over every night since then! Our church family is amazing!

I have so much more to say, but this is the longest post ever! Next up: our first week at home. Stay tuned.