4 weeks old + failed expectation

I can’t believe it’s already been 4 weeks since having our little Grady. Hopefully I don’t jinx myself by saying this, but we are finally on somewhat of a schedule and I have my sanity back, 3 weeks was definitely our saving grace. I have had my fair share of restless and tearful nights, do not know what I would do without my amazing husband, who would take him in the middle of the night even if he had to wake up and go to work the next day. My expectations got the best of me and I have learned A LOT these past few weeks.

Nursing is HARD and exhausting, in the beginning I was so worried he wasn’t getting enough, so I would wake him up every 2 ½ hours to eat. He would also cluster feed at night so I would feed anywhere from 11-12 times a day. If he eats 20 minutes at a time, you are talking about 4 hours out of your day that you are feeding. Talk about exhausting. Fortunately, he is now eating about 8 times a day for 25-30 minutes. Still 4 hours a day but not as often

When he farts it sounds like it came from Chad. This little man has some old man farts and they hurt his little tummy. He HATES sleeping on his back since it causes him to fart which leads me to my last failed expectation

Sleep, we have discovered that since Grady hates sleeping on his back we have been letting him sleep on our chests. I know this is a bad habit but, if it means him going 4 hours between feedings instead of waking up every 30 minutes to an hour, I’ll take it and hope he outgrows not liking being on his back soon

Grady's Birth Story

Grady has been a trickster from day -8. On November 22, 2015, I was having contractions every 3-4 minutes apart. They were not very painful, but being a first time mom, I was worried that I was going to go from a 2 to a 10 in 30 minutes and not have time for epidural. I had no idea. Plus, all the baby books say to head to the hospital when your contractions are 4-1-1(4 minutes apart, 1 minute long, for an hour), so we wait about 2 hours and then we head to the hospital around 2am. After being checked in and them measuring me (1cm, 80% effaced), we waited about 2 hours to see if I was progressing. Then when they checked me again I was still at a 1, so they sent me home. I asked the doctor when a good time was to come to the hospital next time and she told me when I couldn’t talk through a contraction.

We had our doctor’s appointment the next day and I had progressed from 1cm to 2cm. My doctor said that he expected us to have the baby later that week. Well that week went by and so did Thanksgiving. By Monday I was over it, I’m already an impatient human being and this was driving me insane. I made the decision to tell my doctor that if he wasn’t here by December 3^rd I wanted to be induced. Fortunately, that didn’t have to happen

On November 30^th at about 9:00 pm I started having contractions. They were about 7-8 minutes apart and I just knew it was false labor again so I took a bath and went to bed. Little did I know that things were about to ramp up around midnight. I started to get really nauseous and then I started throwing up whenever I would have a contraction. Note to anyone pregnant out there, when you reach the end of your pregnancy start eating smaller meals throughout the day instead of 3 big meals. Between the toilet breaks and the contractions, I still thought it was false labor. After about an hour of brutal pains and Chad asking at every contraction if I could talk, we decided to head to the hospital. Of course we chose the hospital with the most pot holes on the way.

We arrived at the hospital around 1:00am on December 1^st. Chad was dragging me down the hallway to the maternity ward while I’m trying to find the closest trash can to vomit in. I’m sure the guy in the waiting room got a good laugh in at us. We finally get checked in and they checked me and I’m at a 4. They tell me that they will be admitting me and I begin to freak out. It only takes about an hour (longest hour of my life) for the nurse to fill out all of her paperwork and then we head to the Labor and Delivery room. The anesthesiologist is standing right outside our room and before I know it I’m getting a needle stuck up my back. Literally, the BEST 200 dollars I ever spent. After that it was just waiting time. I was checked around 8:30 and I was a 6-7, the doctor came in around 9 and I was already at a 9 and said that we would be pushing in the next 30 minutes.

I began to push and they noticed that the baby was facing upwards instead of down so they decided to labor down for a while. Grady was not having it though, every time I would have a contraction his heartrate would drop. After a few hours of laboring down, they called the doctor to come and flip the baby. After they flipped him, it was no time before he was here.

At 12:11 our little miracle arrived and honestly it was the best experience of my life. They put him on my chest and I immediately broke into tears. He’s beyond perfect and my heart is overjoyed by this little man. 

Baby's First week

Well we survived the first week of having a newborn. P.S. if you see me out in public please excuse the messy hair, no makeup, glasses, red eyes, and bags under my eyes. We are still adjusting as a family of 3 and on very little sleep. Chad took off the week Grady was born and then my mom has been with us this past week, which has been a life saver. We are finally somewhat on a schedule (still working on it) and things are getting a little easier, knock on wood.

I've gathered a few things that have made this week a bit easier. First and foremost, I highly recommend signing up for Amazon Prime. With their 2 day shipping you can't beat it. Especially when you are sleep deprived and the last thing you want to do is to go shopping with a newborn having only 2 hours of sleep in between feedings.

1. Nipple Shield - After trying to nurse in the hospital, my nipples getting rubbed raw, and me bawling cause it hurt so bad, I decided to finally use the shield. I ended up getting 2 shields so I could have one being washed while I'm using the other one. 
2. Lily Padz - These are the best nursing pads I have used. I tried the gel ones and didn't care for them as much as these. You can put these in the freezer and the cool pads feel AMAZING after a feeding. I also purchased 2 of these so I could have 1 in the freezer and be wearing one. 
3. Rock n Play - We are getting into a habit of not wanting to put our little guy down and just hold him but when we do put him down he loves his rock n play. The first few nights he would not sleep in his pack n play and would only sleep in his rock n play. It is super nice and I love that it has a little bit of an incline to it
4. Pajamas for momma - I totally dropped the ball on nursing items and ended up having my parents go to the store for me, or buy some items online. I love these pajamas, I wear them throughout the day and night. They make it so much easier to nurse in and they are super comfortable. I'll do a post for nursing items eventually. 
5. Noodle and Boo wipes - This is an optional item but we love them. Since you can't bathe them until the umbilical stump has fallen off, we use these wipes to wipe him down at night in place of a bath.
6. Swaddle me - We tried using a few different swaddling sacks and these are his favorite. He also likes the Halo Sleepsacks as well. 

Maternity Pics

Although Grady is already here, I still wanted to share a few of our Maternity Pictures. I'm in love with our photographer she is so talented and sweet. Enjoy:

(Mallory Hall Photography)

Baby Grady is here!

Baby Grady Michael arrived on December 1st, 2015 at 12:11 weighing 7 lbs 10 oz and measuring at 20 1/2 inches long.

We are overjoyed and completely overwhelmed. Everything is right in the world and nothing else matters than when I'm with my family. 

38 weeks

How far along: 38 weeks

Gender: Boy

Weight gained: 20 pounds

Best moment of the week: Spending time with family for Thanksgiving even though we were thinking we were going to be spending it in the hospital. At least our baby will never have a birthday on Thanksgiving now

Miss anything: Everything!!!

Movement: When he moves on the right spot I pee just a little bit which is annoying but it’s fun to play with him while I can

Cravings: As much as I would have loved to indulge in all things Thanksgiving dinner it’s hard to eat a huge meal without feeling nauseous

Queasy or sick: Feeling good, my back and pelvic bone is killing me but hey I can still walk

Looking forward to: Our next doctor’s appointment so we can discuss being induced! 

Homemade Laundry Soap

I first made my own laundry soap last year (adapted by lizmarieblog) and fell in love with it. Not only do I save a ton of money, about $30 to make, but also I know exactly whats in it.

After doing some research regarding septic units I found that Fels Naptha, which I used in my first recipe, isn’t good to use. opps my bad. So this year I changed up the recipe just a little bit to make it septic friendly.

1 box borax (laundry aisle)

1 box Arm & Hammer Baking soda (laundry aisle)

1 box Arm & Hammer Super washing soda (laundry aisle)

4 lbs Oxi Clean (laundry aisle)

Purex Crystals (laundry aisle)

3 bars of Dr. Bonners Pure-Castile Bar of soap

**If you are pregnant please either wear a mask or have your husband mix the ingredients due to the fumes

In a large bucket pour in the Borax, Baking soda, Washing soda, Oxi Clean, Purex Crystals and then grate the bar of soaps with a cheese grater. Mix well and convert to a glass container (found at Walmart). This recipe will make 3 Gallons and lasted us a full year with 2 people!

37 weeks

How far along: 37 weeks

Gender: Boy

Weight gained: 20 pounds

Best moment of the week: Putting our Christmas up. We normally wait until Black Friday to put up our Christmas decorations but since we may or may not be in the hospital we decided to go ahead and put them up.

Miss anything: We went to a housewarming/wine party on Saturday and I am sure missing a bottle of wine. It was such a fun get together, they had a wine tasting set out and I made Chad try all of them so we know which ones to buy after baby gets here!

Movement: He’s still moving like crazy

Cravings: Nothing, I’m at a point where big meals are hard to do so I’m eating small portions every few hours

Queasy or sick: Feeling good, sometimes a little nauseous when I eat too much in one setting

Looking forward to: D-day, we’re getting so close! I can’t wait

Weekly meal plan #2

Breakfast: Breakfast sandwiches

Sunday – Roast beef w/mashed potatoes

Monday – Quesadillas, my new favorite thing is to cook chicken in the crockpot over the weekend and then throw it in the refrigerator for easier meals during the week. I’ll do about 3 lbs of chicken(8 chicken breasts roughly) with a box of chicken broth in the crockpot for 6 hours. Saves so much more time than boiling it the night of and shredded it for certain recipes

Tuesday – Lemon Salmon

                Salmon

                Lemon

                Butter

                Season Salt

With a square of foil, cut up your lemon and place 3-4 slices on the foil and then place the Salmon ontop of the lemon slices with a good helping of butter and season salt. Fold the foil up like a boat and bake at 350 for 20 minutes

Wednesday – Pizza, either homemade or frozen

Thursday – Ritz Casserole (use the shredded chicken that was made during the weekend)

                2 cups cooked rice

                1 can cream of celery soup

                1 can cream of chicken soup

                8 oz. sour cream

                1 t. poppy seed

                1 lb chicken

                ½ cup chicken broth

                Ritz crackers

                ½ stick melted butter

Spread the rice on the bottom of a 9X13” pan. Cover the rice with your cooked shredded chicken. In a mixing bowl, mix together the soups, sour cream, poppy seed, and broth. Spread mixture over the chicken. Crush crackers over top and drizzle butter the crackers. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes uncovered.

**If you are only cooking this for 2 people, I normally only crush crackers on half the casserole so they won’t get soggy. I’ll put fresh crackers on the casserole when we have it for left overs.

Friday – Date night

Saturday – Left Overs

Dessert – Trail mix

            1 box of frosted cheerios

            1 box of rice chex

1 jar of roasted peanuts

1 pkg of M&Ms (I try to use seasonal M&Ms depending on the time of year you are doing the trail mix)

1 brick of almond bark

Mix cheerios, rice chex and peanuts together.  Soften the almond bark and pour over the mix.  Then throw in the M&Ms and mix well. 

36 weeks

How far along: 36 weeks

Gender: Boy

Weight gained: 20 pounds

Best moment of the week: Getting a pedicure, it’s been a long time coming

Miss anything: My 6 month belly, it was so cute and small. Now when I go walking or stand up it never fails that there is someone that says “I bet your ready to have that baby, you look miserable” Thanks I guess…..

Movement: He moves like crazy when Chad has his hand on my belly. Of course he loves it

Cravings: Nothing, I feel stuffed all the time it’s hard to eat anything

Queasy or sick: Feeling good most days, still have a congested cough but overall feeling pretty good.

Looking forward to: D-day, I’m definitely growing a Chad inside of me. He is perfectly content and seems to not want to move down to my pelvic area. As for me, I’m ready to meet him and hug him and kiss him

Pregnancy brain was at a full time high this week. I went to go deliver something to someone’s desk and completely got off on the wrong floor and delivered the item to the wrong person/desk. Luckily the person wasn’t there when I dropped it off and when the correct person picked it up. Also, you know it’s bad when you’ll be telling a story to someone and then forget what the story was about half way through telling it to them. 

35 weeks

How far along: 35 weeks

Gender: Boy

Weight gained: 18 pounds (down 2 pounds from last week)

Best moment of the week: Getting our maternity pictures done and also getting the group b strep test out of the way

Miss anything: I came down with a sinus infection this week so currently I’m missing being able to take Nyquil

Movement: He’s starting to slow down but still pretty active

Cravings: Nothing, feeling like a bloated whale and being sick. I really haven’t been in the mood to eat

Queasy or sick: Haven’t been feeling too good. Braxton hicks have been ramping up plus coming down with a sinus infection. I guess this is the reason why they tell you to not wait until the last month to get stuff done lol. My husband has been amazing though, he’s been taking care of the house when I have gone to bed extremely early as well as putting Vicks on my feet every morning and evening

Looking forward to: Getting our maternity pictures and D-day. We are getting so close which means I have mix emotions of being excited and terrified.

Besides being under the weather we were able to get a ton of stuff done this week! My amazing mom came over to help deep clean the house on Saturday and then we went shopping and got a lot of Christmas presents purchased. On a funny side note: I experienced the not so great things about pregnancy this week. While I was standing up at work I felt a sneeze coming on and totally snarted(sneezed and farted). Too embarrassed to turn around to see if anyone was looking I just pretended no one heard me. 

34 weeks

How far along: 34 weeks

Gender: Boy

Weight gained: 20 pounds

Best moment of the week: Doctor’s appointment, baby is growing so fast. He’s at 6 lbs with 6 weeks left to go. I might be giving birth to a Guinness world record baby.

Miss anything: Wine, coffee and being able to breath

Movement: He was sure showing off at our doctor’s appointment moving all around. We were able to see his face again since he was facing my back the past 2 times.

Cravings: Nothing, I feel like a stuffed turkey 24-7

Queasy or sick: I have good days and bad days but majority of the time it’s good

Looking forward to: Our maternity pictures!! I can’t wait to see our photographer, she is amazing and I just adore her

33 Weeks

How far along: 33 weeks

Gender: Boy

Weight gained: 15 pounds

Best moment of the week: Getting to see my nephew and niece, we got a surprise visit from Chads brother’s family this past week since we were not expecting to see them until Christmas.

Miss anything: Sleeping on my back, queso blanco cheese dip, and a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte

Movement: He’s running out of room and so am I.

Cravings: I haven’t really been craving anything specifically but the whole eating healthy is out the window. I have officially hit the end of the road in caring about what I’m eating. Sounds horrible I know but if it’s between fruit and cookies, I’ll take the cookies and not regret it one bit

Queasy or sick: Starting to feel uncomfortable, beyond tired I can’t think straight, just ready

Looking forward to: Is it too early to say I’m looking forward to D-day

The “line” appeared this week. I really wasn’t too worried about this or dreading it until it appeared. It’s really fine and not too noticeable but of course I notice it and the most annoying part is that it’s not even straight. I mean come on now. The least you can do it make the line straight 

Diaper Bash/Baby Shower

We are incredibly grateful to everyone that helped out for the diaper bash and baby shower. Originally, our plans were to have the diaper party the same time and place as the baby shower but since we were not able to do that our good friends came to the rescue!

Chad had an amazing time hanging with his guy friends for his last hurrah before our baby gets here, plus we had a huge success. Operation stock up!

 My mom, sister, and mother-in-law did an amazing job with the baby shower and were able to incorporate our woodland theme perfectly.

(I'm a sucker for elbow patches)

(Isn't this the cutest sign you have ever seen)

32 weeks

How far along: 32 weeks

Gender: Boy

Weight gained: 15 pounds

Best moment of the week: Treating myself to a wax……since it’s a foreign country down there now and I’m not one to be able to grow it out.

Miss anything: Sangria, a full night sleep and a deli sandwich

Movement: He’s still pretty active and loves the wedge his feet into my right side

Cravings: Ice, Ice cream, salt, cheese, M & M’s

Queasy or sick: Feeling good

Looking forward to: D-day

Traveling with Fairmont Hospitality in Mind

Chad and I love to travel, but honestly who doesn’t? We’ve traveled to Mexico, Dominican Republic, and the West Coast (Utah and California) together; with Mexico being our favorite destination so far. So when the Fairmont Hotels and Resorts wanted to explore new ideas on hospitality, I began to compare the hotels we have visited in the United States to the resorts we’ve stayed at internationally. The one thing that was always a constant in my mind when thinking hospitality was the atmosphere of the resorts, everyone and everything is so inviting and welcoming. 

My favorite thing is the night life when the resorts come alive. There is normally something different every night at the resorts we have stayed at, but my absolute favorites are the social hours where they pass around specialty beverages and appetizers. Something I thought that the San Diego - Fairmont could incorporate is having a social hour with Mojito’s as their specialty drink, or a drink that makes you think California dreamin’. Alternatively, their Scottsdale resort could incorporate a spicy drink, maybe something that included cactus juice. Each night of the week could have a different theme. With a different creative palate for each hotel, the options are endless. This is one way the customers could mingle with the staff or just enjoy themselves over a bonfire overlooking the resorts stunning sceneries.  Of course, since the Fairmont is kid-friendly, they could whip up a specialty drink to include the kiddos as well.

Speaking of the kiddos, this is their vacation too now isn’t it? Instead of having the kids stuck inside all day, while their parents are enjoying themselves, the Kid’s club at the resort could incorporate fun activities for the kids each day. For example, Monday could be “Art” day, Tuesday “Swim” day, etc.

One other key item that the hotel could incorporate to feel more inviting is by having a pool service: someone to find them seats, get guests towels, take their order, etc. Along with providing sunscreen to their guests as well. 

Also, wouldn’t it be ideal if all hotels included a universal cell phone charger in each room or at least to rent from the front desk? This is always one item that tends to be forgotten while I’m packing. We either have to turn around to go back and retrieve it or it’s forgotten all together, which means finding a store to purchase one. 

31 weeks

How far along: 31 weeks

Gender: Boy

Weight gained: 15 pounds

Best moment of the week: The baby shower, it was a huge success and our doctor’s appointment. I passed my Gestational diabetes test!!!

Miss anything: Being able to hold my bladder. I can’t seem to stand without the urge to use the restroom or the feeling that I’m going to pee my pants during yoga class.

Movement: He loves my right side and I’m pretty sure he dropped hence the never ending bathroom trips.

Cravings: Bread with butter, planning out meals is getting a little more difficult. I haven’t had any food aversions but the taste and sound of left overs make me sick, which is completely not normal for me

Queasy or sick: feeling ok

Looking forward to: Is it too early to say I’m looking forward to D-day

30 weeks

How far along: 30 weeks

Gender: Boy

Weight gained: 12 pounds

Best moment of the week: Chad’s Diaper party, We are stocked up on diapers!

Miss anything: Walking normally and keeping up with everyone, being able to get up from the car/couch without a little 1…2…3…and go. Any normal activity in general.

Movement: He likes to nudge his feet into my side

Cravings: Burnt pop tarts, captain crunch cereal, and cinnamon toast. Needless to say we have had breakfast for dinner a few nights this past week.

Queasy or sick: Starting to feel really uncomfortable but can’t complain too much.

Looking forward to: The baby shower and organizing all of his clothes and items.

29 weeks

How far along: 29 weeks

Gender: Boy

Weight gained: 12 pounds

Best moment of the week: My doctor’s appointment. Baby boy is measuring a week ahead of schedule but my doctor won’t change his due date. He’s also head down ready to go.

Miss anything: (Might be TMI, I apologize in advance) normal looking vagina. Suddenly my pubic area became extremely swollen –puffy according to Chad.

Movement: Now that I know where he’s positioned, I can somewhat guess what he’s doing. He likes to shake his butt hehe or maybe it’s just him trying to get comfortable

Cravings: Can’t get enough water!

Queasy or sick: Getting to be uncomfortable but can’t complain too much

Looking forward to: Chad’s diaper bash and the baby shower the following weekend

My mother-in-law went with me to my last doctor’s appointment. I asked him to look at my swollen pubic area, thinking that he would look at it afterwards, he just pulls my tights down right then to look. So, my mother-in-law got a good eye sight of my puffy goodies…. Thanks doc! He did mention that is was due to pressure and nothing to worry about, just uncomfortable. 

28 Weeks

I'm a little behind on my bump updates, please excuse me!

How far along: 28 weeks

Gender: Boy

Weight gained: 9 pounds

Best moment of the week: Our wood floors being installed! They look amazing and Karl loves them

Miss anything:  Walking normally, it’s more waddling now a days. Karl’s getting a little impatient with how slow I’ve been walking on our evening walks. Oh and my memory, pregnancy brain is a real thing (getting dumb according to my co-worker)

Movement: He’s still really active, sometimes it feels like he’s doing the wave in there.

Cravings: Nothing

Queasy or sick: still feeling really good

Looking forward to: Doctor’s appointment next week

27 weeks

How far along: 27 weeks

Gender: Boy

Weight gained: 9 pounds

Best moment of the week: Not getting a speeding ticket from the super nice officer who must have felt petty on me

Miss anything:  Sleep, getting up 3 to 4 times a night is getting old

Movement: He is very active 

Cravings: None, chocolate every now and then but it’s not a got to have it craving luckily.

Queasy or sick: Feeling good starting to get really tired

Looking forward to: Our wood floors, and baby shower

26 weeks + Babymoon

How far along: 26 weeks

Gender: Boy

Weight gained: 9 pounds

Best moment of the week: Not giving birth in Florida! I was terrified that I was going to go into labor while we were in Florida visiting my sister. 

Miss anything: coffee, sleep, and being able to perform normal activities like clipping my toe nails, etc.

Movement: He is very active after I eat breakfast and at night when we start to settle down for the evenings

Cravings: Haven’t had any cravings this week. I think he’s going through a growth spurt though. I can’t seem to get enough to eat lately

Queasy or sick: Feeling great

Looking forward to: The baby shower, and putting his room together

It probably wasn’t the best idea to travel at 26+ weeks pregnant but since we had this trip planned well before Grady came into the picture, I decided to suck it up and go for it. We went to visit my sister and her husband who moved there about a year and a half ago. Our initial plans were to spend a few days with them and then trail off to do our own mini babymoon. Well by Sunday (the day for our babymoon), we were both beat from exhaustion and mosquito bites that we ended up just going to our hotel room. We watched a little television, went to dinner and then went to bed. Exciting I know. Let me just say that flying while big and pregnant is not fun at all. I felt like my tailbone was being crushed and my poor husband having to hear me complain the whole time. Our friends, however, did buy me the Belly Laugh book by Jenny McCarthy. And all I could think to myself was at least I’m not her and at least my pregnancy isn’t THAT bad. Great read, definitely puts everything into light that we aren’t alone with our pregnancy pains even celebrities have hard times as well. Hope everyone had a good Labor Day weekend!!