Happy Half Birthday, Justin!

How time seems to fly!  Justin is 6 months old (on Wednesday)...halfway to his first birthday.  We are enjoying every moment with our sweet baby.  His little personality is quickly turning into a BIG personality!  Some of my favorite times of the day are when he is just waking from a nap and gets his first glimpse of me peeking over the crib rail.  It always results in the biggest toothless grin, and it melts my heart!

We took Justin on his first real vacation earlier this month.  We drove from Dothan to Townsend, TN (a 9 hour trip with stops for feeding figured in).  He did extremely well under the circumstances, especially since he's never been a fan of the car seat.  We drove through the Smokies taking in the colors, wildlife, sights, and sounds.  The temperatures were in the mid 50's for the whole trip, so it was perfect!

Moving into the holiday season excites me so much!  I can hardly wait to share Justin's first Thanksgiving and Christmas.  This is such a sweet and precious time.  Don't get me wrong, I miss my squishy little newborn, but now that he is happy and somewhat mobile, life is SO fun!  I want to freeze us at this moment and never let it go.  So, I do all I can while he's this age to savor and remember...because I'm pretty sure when he's 13 he won't sit in my lap and let me smell his hair.

5 months!

Our Justin-credible is 5 months old today!  He is growing and changing almost right before my eyes.  It's such a blessing being able to stay home with him and watch him meet milestones--seemingly daily!  He is such a sweet boy.

Justin is already eating veggies!  I make pureed sweet potatoes, butternut squash, zucchini, etc.  He seems to enjoy sweet potatoes the most.  He is also very ticklish!  He laughs and squeals with delight if you even mention you're going to "get him."  Justin also absolutely loves to be read to.  Any book will do, but he wants to see the pages and help you turn them...and possibly taste them if he can get close enough.  ;)

Continuing Education...Mama style.

I've always been a learner.  Not to say that other folks aren't, but in my case, I always found that being a student of ___ (fill in the blank with whatever you desire) was much more natural to me than teaching.  Can I say that the past year has taught me more than the lifetime before it?  It's certainly true. Feel free to laugh (or sympathize) at these observations and lessons from the school of motherhood, and I'll go ahead and apologize if some seems like TMI...

Things learned while surviving newborn-hood...

• Take every premonition and expectation you dreamed up while reading those well-meaning pregnancy books, listening to advice, and planning the way you thought it should be, and THROW THEM OUT.  Go with your gut.  Roll with the punches.
• There are books, articles, and lectures on how to raise your child.  Take them with a grain of salt, and know that whatever choice you make, if you feel good about it, is the right thing.
• Everyone says "You'll never sleep again..."  Not true!  You'll fall asleep sitting straight up, in the middle of conversations, you name it.  Sleep isn't the same, true, but it happens.
• And on the subject of sleep, dad will sleep through those nighttime cries.  Don't get mad at him.
• Breast feeding is a wonderful bonding experience, but not in the first few weeks.  It hurts, it's frustrating, and the baby wonders what's wrong with you...but if you stick with it, the benefits outweigh the hardships.
• If you have a c-section, don't expect to be able to walk upright for the first couple of days.
• The phrase, "This, too, shall pass" comes up wayyyyyy more than you expected.
• Growth spurts are the devil.
• Plugged ducts are the devil.
• Gas pains are the devil.
• Poo stains are the devil.
• Always take a spare change of clothes when you're out.  Hiroshima-sized blow outs happen.
• Extra crib sheets are a must, too...
• Swings, play mats, and nap nannies were invented by GENIUSES.  Get them.
• Take pictures.  Babies change hourly (seemingly).
• Keep a baby book or journal!  You will forget the day to day things that were so amazing.
• Just because you ended up 5 pounds from your pre-pregnancy weight doesn't mean your new found big booty will fit into those pre-pregnancy jeans.  
• And also in regards to the above statement--NOTHING about your body is the same.  Other folks may not notice, but you totally will. Totally.
• You will wonder, "How can something so small poop so much?"
• The first few weeks of baby's life will be consumed with poo concerns.  Never have you ever paid so much attention to poo...amount, timing, consistency, color, etc.
• Even if you never had a silly bone in your body, you will find yourself doing anything to get a glimpse of that toothless smile.
• You will fall madly in love with your husband again watching him hold and talk to the baby.
• You will develop a sense of pride in your family when they hold the baby.
• That outfit you splurged on that he'll grow out of in a week?  Yeah, he just pooped on it.
• Shaving your legs is a luxury.
• If you have a boy, point it down when you change his diaper.  Don't know why?  You'll find out.
• If you have a boy, cover it up when you change his diaper.  Don't know why?  You'll find out.
• When people ask you if you need anything, without hesitation respond with, "DIAPERS."
• You will accidentally baby talk to other people.
• That whole mom thing with licking a finger to clean a face starts early.
• No matter what Stacy and Clinton say, sweat pants and t-shirts are perfectly acceptable postpartum.
• Baby blues are almost unavoidable.  Find someone you can talk to.
• You will mourn your pregnancy as if it was a close relative that died.
• That pregnancy brain that made you forgetful and loopy?  It won't go away easily...if ever.
• That advice about napping when the baby naps...take it.
• Learn how to operate the buckles on the carseat before you try to take the baby home from the hospital and spare yourself the embarrassment.  (no, not us, right??)
• Random things will make you cry:  Johnson and Johnson commercials, not having time to clip your toenails, one of your wedding photos, someone took the last kleenex, etc...
• Even though there was some serious pain, stress, and worry, you will want to have another baby.  Amazingly.

Better late than never...

So I had all these dreams that I'd be blogging about being a new mom and all the joys and pains that come with that, right? For those of you that were initiated into motherhood before me, spare me the "I told you so's"...I get it.  But I love being too busy to update you on the joys of my new life.

Justin Michael made his appearance 3 months ago today.  I'm not all sappy (yet) wondering where the time has gone, but it does sort of blow my mind that a quarter of a year has gone by almost without me realizing it.  Let me tell you, if you want time to fly, give birth.

April 17th was quite a day for us.  We were laboring at the hospital for between 12 and 13 hours before Justin was born.  It was a smooth day up until the end, and from there it was all a little too dramatic.  We ended up with a c-section because Justin was sunny side up (aka not in the right position) and refused to leave his comfortable quarters.  I was placed under general anesthesia for the ordeal as well due to my chiari malformation, and an epidural that had run out right at the 10 centimeter, push for your life, get-this-thing-outta-me point.  So, I was not awake for his birth, and I remember nothing until the day after his arrival.  Really my memory only gets clear from the point we brought him home.  Thank goodness for videos that I have watched, sobbed over, and re-watched innumerable times.

Aside from the soap opera entrance into the world, Justin is one incredible little dude! (Hence his daddy's nickname for him: Justin-credible.)  Admittedly, motherhood has not been the most natural feeling thing for me, but we've kind of grown fond of each other since he came home.  He is such a happy baby, and, if I may say so, is so very handsome!  His little smiles just melt my heart, and make my soul sing.  He's rolling over, cooing, and holding his head up on his own.  He just loves to be outside to look around and explore his world.  I can hardly wait to show him all of it...or at least as much as we can.

As for Kerry and me, we're still the same old us!  We spent so long wondering how we could ever manage to grow from a family of 2 to a family of 3, and now we can't imagine not being this way.   Even Otis is in love with the new addition.  We are tremendously blessed, and we aren't afraid to say it.

We are so excited for what the future holds!

It's the Final Countdown!

(cue dramatic music)

The final countdown is ON...this week we will hit the 36 week mark, and venture into the ninth month of pregnancy. It has flown by and crawled by at the same time (how is that possible?).  Things are still going smoothly.  I'm slowing down, tiring out, and just edging into the "waddle like a duck, would rather wear my husband's clothes, swell like a water balloon" phase of it all.   Several folks have told me I look great for being this far along, but really, does it help to say that to someone who has never weighed this much in her life?!  You're telling me it could be worse?!  Wow.  Haha!  And yes--I know the end result will be worth it and so much more.

Dr. Nicholls says things are progressing right along and that if anything I shouldn't be OVERdue, but then again, do we really ever know when and how these things get geared up?  Justin's room is ready, all his stuff is put together, and my bags are packed, so whenever he's ready I assume I am too.  ;)  Although, I'm pretty sure I'll have that glazed over look of shock for the first few months after he's born.   Newborns are strange and foreign concepts to me--and I imagine to Kerry as well!  He's great with kids, but I've never quite been able to picture us as parents to anyone besides Otis.  Besides, that maternal instinct thing has never been me...hopefully that comes with the territory.  I imagine our mothers will be tired of seeing our phone numbers pop up on the caller I.D.!

Kerry is loving his job, and we are still loving our new home!  We're still working on nailing down a church to attend, but we feel we've narrowed it down to a much shorter list than we started with.  I'm so glad it's springtime and we can get out and enjoy our yard!  It really has been beautiful the last month.  I get tickled watching Kerry mow the grass and pull weeds because that's not really been something he's had to do since we've been married, and he LOVES it.  Good thing for me, right?

Keep paying attention in the weeks to come!  Justin will be here before we know it!

32 weeks!

Oh my...are we really at 8 months!!??  Holy moly!  Not too much longer, and I'll be writing about adjusting to new parenthood.  Exciting stuff!

This past weekend we had our maternity portraits done, and we are thrilled with how they turned out.  Jay from Click Photography is easy to work with and does fabulous work, if I do say so myself.  (That's a couple of the shots up there at the beginning of the blog).  I can't wait for her to take photos of Justin when he's here!

The aches and pains are creeping in on me, but I still feel pretty great.  I get out and walk and exercise a pretty good bit, and the normal chores are still easy enough for me to tackle, and I still sleep like a baby.  I tend to get a little apprehensive about taking care of a newborn, and I know we won't necessarily be winging it with all the help we've been offered.  We attended our childbirth/parent prep/breast feeding classes not long ago, too.  So maybe we're pretty well prepared??  Or not?   AHHhhhh!  Prayers will be appreciated in the months to come--for our safety, health, and sanity!

30 Weeks and counting!

That's right...30 weeks down, 10-ish to go.  Sounds kind of bizarre knowing we've already come this far, but somehow when I sit around and think about it this doesn't seem real.  Even as I typed that I got my little reminder that it IS real in the form of a kick in the ribs. ;)  Sometimes I sit in the rocking chair in his room and just daydream.

My last appointment with Dr. Nicholls went well, and he is proud of us for being "perfect". (HIS word, not mine.)  We had our 4D ultrasound the following day, and just as we thought, he's adorable!  I've started having a little bit of swelling in my fingers, but it doesn't usually stick around all day.  My energy is slowly leaving me again, and I'm back to napping off and on just like in the first trimester.  Everyone says that's normal, and thank goodness I have a little time to give in to the nap urge.  We'll go back to him in 2 weeks--lots more frequent visits now!

Our first baby shower is this weekend, and I'm so excited!  I never liked showers when we got married because the attention made me uncomfortable, but this time it's not necessarily for US but for Justin, so I feel differently about it.  Kerry will also run his first half marathon this Saturday!  I hate I can't be there to support him, but I know he'll do great.  He's pretty great at anything he does ;)