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!