6 weeks - October 14 - 20

Brody,

Mommy and Daddy cannot believe you are already 6 weeks old!!! You are growing a lot and you are such a wonderful baby!!

This week on Friday we just relaxed with daddy all day. We were really tired from our OKC trip!! We even stayed in our pajamas all day. Your schedule is still a little off whack but we are getting back to normal! On Saturday, we ran a few errands and relaxed some more! We had a lazy weekend and we all loved it! You and mommy stayed home again from church. Mommy and daddy want to go all as a family and daddy had to be there early for mens prayer breakfast. Next week we will go!!

Mommy got a little concerned about you this week. You kept taking some gasp of air, a few coughs, some sneezing, and congested nose. Monday and Tuesday you were a little fussy and had all these symptoms and mommy called the doctor and they said it should be ok. It is hard with babies because you cant talk and tell us how you feel so its all a guessing game. You were eating and sleeping normally and didnt have a temp so those were all good signs. On Tuesday night you only slept 2-3 hours because your nose was stuffy and you couldnt breath. Mommy called the doctor again and they said to come in. So we did.

You have a little cold. It is not serious and should fix itself. The doctor said babies just get them. You dont have a fever so we dont have to do meds. You weighed 9.7 and have gained more than 8% of babies do at this point with what your birth weight was!!You looked great!! and Mommy felt much better :) We love our doctor!

On Wednesday night, Uncle Jared and his girlfriend Allie came and stayed with us. They love seeing you!!! On Thursday we went to daddy's work with him and Allie and Jared got to see the church. We went to lunch at Burritos and then came home and played some games!!

This week you have been sleeping well at night going the usual about 4-5 hours. But Dr. Pielop said we could let you sleep as long as you wanted so we will try that soon! You are eating well and you usually eat pretty quickly. You eat strictly breastmilk and we hope to keep it that way for the first year. It will make you strong and healthy!! You take great naps during the day as well. Mommy loves to just sit and hold you. I have heard you are not supposed to hold your baby to much, but I dont care! I hold you as much as I want to!! AND I enjoy it! :)

You are our pride and joy sweet boy! We love you with all of my heart!!!

Mommy and Daddy

Alicen visited you

Ellen visited you

Nap time with daddy

Tummy Time

6 weeks old!

Mommy loves you so much!

Week 5 - October 7 - 13

Brody,

This week was a week of a lot of first for you!!

1) You watched your first OU-Texas game on October 8th. Well you slept through it but you were there with your outfit! Texas did terrible though! We lost 55-17. OUCH!! Hopefully they will be better by the time you remember. We went to the Pardues to watch and grill out. You slept the whole time while we held you.

2) You were a month old on October 9!! I CANNOT believe you are a month old. Time is already flying and Ive only had you 1 month!! Before I know it you will be 18 going to college!

3) You went on your first trip with Mommy and Daddy. We left Sunday and came home Thursday. You did so great in the car. You slept the whole way, only waking up when you were hungry to eat! So proud of our little man!!!

4) You met Mommy and Daddy's friends. You met Jeff and and Meagan Smith, Anthony Difabio and Julie Rohm, Michelle and Joanthan Meisner, Laura Poff,  and Misty Jaggers. You also met your Uncle Jared and his girlfriend Allie. You met some more family: Josh, Mindy, Madison, and McKenzie.

You didnt sleep great in OKC but you did ok. Monday we spent you meeting people. Monday night daddy went to his youth pastors conference. He also went all day Tuesday. Mommy stayed at Jeff and Meagan's with you and relaxed. We were both tired!!! Tuesday night we went to Pop's to eat with Jeff and Meagan. You slept the whole time and did great! On Wednesday, we went to eat with Jared and Allie and spent time with friends again! We also went to the Baskett's. On Thursday we set out for home again. Its a long trip but you were a trooper.

You didn't eat great friday at since your schedule was a little off but you slept good. We were all lazy Friday and just relaxed and watched tv.

What a big week for you little man!! It was such an enjoyable week of first for us!!! We loved spending it with you!

We love you!

Mommy and Daddy

Week 4 - September 30 - October 6

Brody,

This week we went and visited daddy at the office again!! We really enjoy going to see him and he enjoys seeing us!!! You did great!!

On Sunday we stayed home and watched church online again. We probably will for a few more weeks just to make sure you are a little older before you go to church.

On Tuesday we met Nicole for lunch. You will be staying with Nicole twice a week while Mommy and Daddy work. Mommy would stay home with you if she could!!! But right now she just cant. I am sorry little man! While Nicole and Mommy were eating Daddy and some people from work walked in so we all got to have lunch together!! We went to Schlotzskys. You slept the whole time and did great!

On Wednesday Mommy met Jack and Daddy for lunch at Taco Bell. You slept the whole time again and did great!! You are such a great little boy!!!

You don't mind the car seat once you are in. You do not like the car seat while we are putting you in but you go to sleep once we start going in the car. Again, so great!!!

You are still eating for not very long but I think you are about 8 pounds right now. You are still eating every 3 hours in the day and go about 5 at night. You love to kick your feet and move your hand when you are awake and in the boppy. We are working on tummy time. You do not like it very much but you are getting used to it and don't scream every time we do it. My favorite tummy time is when you are on your tummy laying on my chest...it is the best!!!

You really like your paci now - you cry when you want it and don't have it. You used to not take it all. You still do not like the swing very much but you will go in it sometimes.  You are really starting to follow things with your eyes really well. You watch the mobile in the swing when you hear the music. You also turn your head towards mommy and daddy when we talk you. We love it! We cannot wait for you to look at us and smile. You smile a lot but its in your sleep! :) That is ok but we cannot wait for you to smile while you are awake!

You are sleeping a little longer!! You are going until about 5:30 am now sweet boy!! Good job! You like to sit in your boppy with mommy during the day. You still kick those legs all the time and move your arms. You are also holding your head up really well little man. You have done that since you were born though!You still like your paci a lot. You spit it out and get mad but you like having it. You dont use it to much once you are alseep.

On Wednesday, Mommy took you to youth group for a little while. The teens LOVED seeing you. I kept you in the sling the whole time though. I told everyone you "You can look but you cannot touch" :). I didnt want you getting those yucky germs!! The girls all ran up when I walked in with you! You will be so loved by those teenagers!!

On Friday you were 4 weeks old! Mommy and Daddy cannot believe you are already four weeks old. It has flown by!!!! We love you so much and love being your parents!!! You mean the world to us little man!!!

Love Mommy and Daddy!

Jeremiah 29:11-13

Week 3 - September 24 - 29

Brody,

On Saturday, Aunt Lynnlee, Uncle Chris, Preston and Cooper came over to visit. It was everyone's first time to meet you except for Aunt Lynnlee. Preston loved holding you!! Cooper is only 2 so didnt comprehend meeting you as much but wanted to touch you! SO we let him touch your feet.

Nana stayed home with me from church on Sunday and we watched Aunt Lynnlee preach. On Sunday afternoon, Nana had to go back home. It was really great having her here for the week. She really enjoyed time with you and we enjoyed having her here!!!

This week we went to see daddy 3 times at his office. We went out to eat for the first time with you to Chick-Fil-A. We went there for our last meal as a family of 3 and first meal as a family of 3. We love Chick-Fil-A and I think you will too! The staff at daddy's office loved seeing you too!!! On Monday when mommy took you she forgot the diaper bag - I better get it under control huh!!??! :)

You are still eating well. You don't eat a real long time but you are satisfied between feeds and you are hudrated and Dr. Pielop said that was good. So I am guessing you are getting enough food! You are waking up about 4:30 in the morning after your 12 am feeding that daddy gives you. That is great for a newborn! We are trying to get you to go until 6 am though. We will get there!!

You are sleeping during that day great and you are on content boy!! I love spending the days with you. I wish I could did this forever! It is so wonderful. I love just sitting and holding you! You make my heart melt little boy! I love days just at home feeding you and holding you and watching you sleep!!!

Mommy took you for the first time to the store this week! We went with daddy to Wal-Mart for the first time. We weren't in there for very long. Mommy also took you to Hobby Lobby. You did not like it very much. You cried almost the whole time so we did not stay too long.

You are my favorite little boy in the world and I would do anything for you sweetheart. Always know that Mommy loves you with everything she has!

I love you!

Mommy!

Week 2: September 17-23

Brody,

I cannot believe you are a week old and we have had you in our life for a week! What an amazing week it has been.

Lolly left on Saturday. She didnt like saying goodbye to you very much. It was just the three of us Saturday and Sunday. It was perfect! You complete our family! Nana came on Monday to help out for the week.

You are still doing so great. You are sleeping well for a 1 week old. We are having to wake you up every three hours to eat. You are sleeping the whole time in between. You are doing well feeding and we are getting better at it together buddy. It isnt taking an hour like it did the first week. You are eating pretty well during the day. You just get so sleepy and fall asleep so I have to try and keep you awake :)

Mommy is feeling better and starting to get back to normal. Last week Mommy was still pretty sluggish and sore from having you. It was so worth it!

You are sleeping well too. You sleep most of the day but wake up some during the day. You are a pretty content baby and you dont cry to much. You are perfect! Nana likes to hold you a lot too! She is helping so much so mama can get some sleep. Mommy is tired from waking up a lot in the night but thats ok because its for you!

You are starting to watch the mobile more when you are awake and in the swing (when you will go in it - you dont like it to much). You are starting to look at things and respond when you hear noises. You are doing so well. You are also holding your head up more and learning how to control your head and your neck.

Thursday of this week we went to Dr. Pielop for your 2 week appointment. You are doing well!! You are such a good little guy and we are so proud of you. You weigh 7.1 and growing like a weed. You still have a little jaundice but not enough to have to treat. You had to get some blood taken for some testing. They pricked your heal and got it that was for 5-10 minutes. You screamed and it was awful watching you go through that!! I just wanted to make her stop. It brought tears to my eyes because I didnt like seeing you in pain! The test all came back good though. You're our healthy little boy and we are so thankful that you are. The Lord has blessed us!!!

The second week with you was fantastic!! We are still learning about you and you're learning about us. We are becoming a wonderful family of 3. We are so happy and blessed to have you in our life!! We love you with all of our hearts little man!

Mommy and Daddy

The rest of Week 1

Brody,

We brought you home on Sunday September 11, 2011. Nana, Papa, Lolly, Peeps, and Aunt Steph were all here when we brought you home. It was such a great feeling having you in our home. It didn't seem real at first though that you were ours and we were at our house to start our new life. Mommy felt a little overwhelmed with everything. We were trying to learn our new "normal" with you. 

The first night at home was a little rough. You slept in the basinet right next to Mommy's bedside. You didn't sleep to well so Mommy didn't either. Sleep was a little rough for me this whole week because I woke up at every sound you made. I was constantly making sure you were breathing and not choking and ok. I had to make sure my little boy was just fine. Monday - Thursday night you began sleeping better and would sleep for the 3 hours that you were supposed to between feedings. 

You are learning to latch and eat well. It is taking a while to feed you but that is ok. You and Mommy are both learning how to do this thing. Daddy wakes up and helps change your diaper and talk to Mommy while I feed at night. During the day we have to try to keep you awake while you eat. We get a wet wash cloth and use that or tickle you. 

On Tuesday this week we went to Dr. Pielop for the first time. You have a little bit of jaundice so we had to go before your 2 week check up. You barely have it so we don't have to treat it. You also weigh 6.3 pounds. You were 6.2 when we left the hospital. It is great that you are already gaining it back because babies don't usually start gaining weight back until after their first week of life and you already have started after a few days! Good job buddy! You look great and Dr. Pielop is very happy with you!

On Friday - your week old birthday - we had pictures done. You did so great. You hardly cried and let us move you around and take pictures of you for 4 hours! That's my little trooper! :)

You are a calm baby! You hardly fuss and sleep a lot. You don't really like your paci yet but use it a little. You also are not a huge fan of the swing. You go in it sometimes but you dont like it all the time. You also got your first bath this week but you did not like it very much! You were cold because we had to give you a sponge bath because of your circumcision and umbilical cord. Your circumcision is looking great but we still have to do the gauze and vasaline. Your umbilical cord fell out quick! It fell out on Wednesday September 14, 2011 - you were only 5 days old!

Lolly stayed with us this week and helped out. It was a huge help because Mommy and Daddy were really tired adjusting to our new life with you. It is very surreal that you are our baby! We love you so much and are so happy you are in our life! We love you little man! You are our pride and joy!

Mommy

Birth

Brody,

Your birth was just as much a blessing as the pregnancy. Mommy went to the hospital at 11 pm on September 8, 2011. I was 38 weeks 3 days at this point. I got hooked up to an IV and started some medicine to help you come.

I was on some mild medicine all night and had small contractions that I didn't even feel. I woke up at 7 am and was having some stronger contractions but nothing to bad. I went to 9:30 am without any more medicine. At 9:30 am, Mommy started Pitocin. They warned me that your heart rate might drop but not to worry because it was common. You are my little trooper. Your heart did not drop ONCE he whole day. You did so great little man!!!

At 11:30 am, Dr. Lin came in and broke Mommy's water. After this, Mommy's contractions got really strong and hurt a lot, but not as bad as I imagined. Mommy went through labor without any pain killer until 3:30 pm. At 3:30 pm, Mommy got an epidural. This made Mommy's legs and tummy go numb. It was really weird feeling. Again, through all of this you did great!! Your heart rate stayed really high and well!!! So proud of you buddy!!!

Mommy stayed in labor until 8:35. At 8:35 Mommy pushed for about 15 minutes and at 8:51 pm you were here! I remember them saying, "look down", and I did and saw you for the first time. Then they layed you on my belly! You had great lungs and were crying and breathing so well!! I remember saying "Hi baby" and "He's so cute"!! I remember just looking up at daddy and smiling. He had tears in his eyes looking at you and kept saying "That's so cool". He was so excited to meet you!!

You did great on your APGAR test. You got 9 and 9. You weighed 6 lbs 9 oz. You were 18 1/2 inches long. Nana, Lolly, Aunt Lynnlee and Aunt Steph were in the room. Soon after you were born they left. Daddy and I got to spend the first minutes of your life as just a family of 3. We took lots of pictures, hugged you, and kissed you a lot! Mommy got to feed you for the first time. Most importantly, we prayed over you and gave you to the Lord. We know that you are from Him and you are not ours. We trust you with Him.

You had to go to the nursery for 4 hours the first night. They put you in a warmer and gave you a bath which you hated!  We also had you stay in the nursery the rest of the night so we could all rest and have a great day on Saturday. Jack visited Friday. He also came back with Glenda on Saturday. Ron, the Rickeys, Uncle Matt and Aunt Tracy came to visit you at the hospital. Plus you had lots of family there!

Saturday was long for Mommy and Daddy because we were tired but its was so enjoyable having you for the first day!!!

You did pretty well feeding and learning our to eat from Mommy. You didn't cry much at all and were so calm and relaxed!!! You were so small that none of the clothes really fit you that we brought. Saturday you had pictures taken, passed the hearing test with a 100%, and meet lots of family!

Sunday in the morning you got circumcised. It was not fun seeing you in pain but you wont remember and its better for you. We had family come again. The pediatrician checked you out and you looked great! Again, my little trooper! You have a little bit of jaundice but nothing to concerning. We will go see your doctor in a few days to make sure its ok. Sunday we went home!! Such a blessing to walk out of that hospital with a healthy little boy!

You were just so cute and had great color. You had a lot of dark hair and dark eyes. You were perfect little man!!! We love you buddy. You are our greatest joy and we cant imagine life without you now. Mommy and daddy will ALWAYS be there for you! We love you so much!

Pregnancy

Brody,

My 25th birthday was the best birthday I have had yet. It was January 4, 2011 when I found out I was pregnant with you. Daddy and I were surprised by how quickly you were coming! Your due date was September 19, 2011. The night we found out we went to eat for my birthday with the Rickey's, Holt's, Pardue's, and Rainey's. We did not tell them though. When we got home we skyped Nana and Papa and Lolly and Peeps and told them our good news. We also told Aunt Steph and Uncle Jared and Aunt Lynnlee and Uncle Chris and Uncle Matt and Aunt Tracy. Everyone was SO excited. Lolly didn't believe us at first because we had told them at Christmas a few weeks earlier that we weren't pregnant (we didn't know we were yet).

You made being pregnant a breeze! I only felt sick a few times and never threw up! What a blessing! :) I did have some indigestion and my right hurt hip a lot of the pregnancy, but for the most part I felt great the whole time! I wasn't too tired and did most everything I wanted to! Mommy gained 24 pounds during the pregnancy. I did become somewhat of a worry wart :) I just wanted to make sure I protected you as much as possible!

May 3, 2011 was a fantastic day. That was the day we found out you were a boy. Mommy and daddy were SO excited! I remember laying there and hearing "It's a boy"! I yelled yea!!!! and daddy just smiled and laughed and had the biggest grin on his face! He is so excited to do "boy" things with you like sports and watching football, etc.

Everything was really great in the pregnancy like weight gain, blood pressure, etc. until about 34 weeks (August 11, 2011). It was at this time at we realized that you had low amniotic fluid - called Oligohydramnios. I measured 32 weeks instead of 34 (they take a measuring paper and measure mommy's belly). We got an ultrasound and your fluid was a 7. 8 is the lowest it is supposed to be so it was one under the lowest amount it is supposed to be. Dr. Lin had me drink lots of water the next week to make sure I wasn't dehydrated. At the next appointment, 35 weeks (August 18, 2011), the fluid was a 10! That was great. At 36 weeks (August 25, 2011), your fluid went to an 8, which is still ok but not great it dropped. At 37 weeks (September 1, 2011) I measured normal so we didn't measure the fluid. (We had to measure the fluid through ultrasound) At 38 weeks 3 days (Sept. 8, 2011), I measured 36 weeks - small again. So we got an ultrasound. Mommy and daddy were hesitant about another ultrasound but I am glad we got it! The fluid was a 4! 5 is the point were doctors get concerned and yours was a 4! Dr. Lin told us we would go to the hospital that night and induce me (Sept 8, 2011). You were born the next day September 9, 2011!! You were 10 days early.

What is this blog about???

This blog is created for Brody to be able to read later in life and for us to document things that we may otherwise forget if we didnt write them down. I will try my best to do a weekly update on his growth and progress and write letters to him. It is not really anything to do with me but about his life and whats happening. You are more than welcome to read!