Long Overdue

Wow... I don't even know where to begin. Things have been kinda hectic. Joey has entered the one month crying phase lol. We thought he was colicky but after switching him to strickly formula he is doing much better. According to a piece of paper I got at the doctor... babies this age tend to cry more and may only be quiet during feedings and naps. Guess I should be thankful for the times I can get him to sit in his vibrating chair happily for 15-30 minutes lol.
Frankie got a job! He started a week after my mom left so she turned around and came back towards the end of the week. We are so thankful that he was able to find a job so fast but boy is he exhausted =o) He works 10+ hour days but its a job. I, of course, am still on the hunt for one so hopefully that will work out soon.
I had my postpartum doctor visit and everything was a-okay. Joey had his one month visit this past Friday. It's hard to believe he is already a month old! Other than the thrush returning (which led to a yeast infection on his lil bootie) he is a healthy baby! He is now 8lbs 13oz and 22in. long... he is getting so big. I'm starting to wonder where this height is coming from haha.
Today we are getting Joey's one month pictures taken and we plan to do a family picture as well. Other than that there is not much to share... Pawpaw is coming down in a few days hopefully so it will be nice for Joey to spend some time with him.
Below are some pictures. The Easter Bunny pic will always bring back memories... Joey was sleeping so I decided that would be a good time to take the picture... Nana decided she would help by getting Joey out of his stroller... needless to say she bonked him in the head with his glow worm and he woke up screaming... and continued screaming during his photo session... Thanks Nana lol

Coo Coo Ca-Chew

The other morning after being fed, Joey cooed himself to sleep in my lap. I thought it was cute so I grabbed the camera and caught a little bit of it before he drifted off to sleep =o)





His thrush has also cleared up =o)

Time Flies

It's hard to believe Joey will be two weeks old tomorrow. I swear it feels like we were just at the hospital to deliver him. He is now used to his feeding schedule of every 3 hours and is waking up on his own during the night. It's nice not having to set an alarm now =o) I was having some issues with the "baby blues" but his adju stment has helped that tremendously. We still hate having our diaper changed but I'm sure with time he will get used to it. We have been fortunate enough to have a diaper change here and there with no tears.
Joey ended up developing thrush (which we noticed last Thursday) but that is clearing up with the help of his antibiotic. He also lost him umbilical cord stump today. I know it's not supposed to be painful but I think it is. Anytime he would bump it within the last 24hrs. he would scream so it's a relief that it is off now.
Joey also had his first bath at home on Saturday. He loved it =o) I think the warm water and stimulation was a plus for him. He didn't fuss one bit. Other than that he has been enjoying time in his vibrating chair and on his play mat.
Nana left today but she plans to come back soon. Even though she didn't help out much with baby care, it was extremely helpful having her here to help with the household chores and dinner. It also helped having some extra moral support. I was able to catch on some sleep too while she watched Joey if Frankie was out of the house.

Presenting... Joseph Douglas

He's here!!! My water broke early Tuesday morning. We went to the doctors office and I was dilated 5 centimeters already so they had me head over to the hospital. When I got in my room I had dilated another 2 centimeters and my contractions were already 2-3 minutes apart... OWWW. I can't honestly say I remember what they felt like but I will say I remember it hurting. I requested the epidural =o) and was in heaven once it kicked in. A short time later I was able to start pushing and a little over an hour later he was born... 2:59 PM... 7lbs 11oz... 20.5 inches. It was quite uncomfortable pushing but completely worth it once he arrived. It's amazing how much love you can have for someone you just met. We were discharged from the hospital Thursday, even though his bilirubin level was slightly high. The doctors weren't too concerned at his newborn checkup so now we go back in a month for his next visit. We're having a rough time with our night time schedule but over all Joey is a great baby. Mom is here helping out during the day so that we can try to catch up on sleep (yeah right!!). Right now Joey really seems to like using his play mat when he is awake. His eyes go all over the place while the music plays. I placed him on his stomach today for some tummy time and within a minute he already rolled over. Pretty strong for a newborn baby =o) Below are a few pictures of Joey and you know there will be more to come... as for now I'm going to nap while Joey sleeps =o)

Making Progress =o)

Our baby appointment went well today. Joey's heartbeat was 136 and he still appears to be measuring just right. I found out that I am 2 centimeters dilated and 90% effaced so I've made some good progress so far. Because of the new update my grandmother will be booking a flight to Charlotte in the next day or two so that she can be here for the birth of her first great-grandson =o). Everyone I've spoken to feels that I will deliver within the next week... I guess we'll see. Below is my 38 week belly pic.

Getting closer... and definately READY!!

Well as of tomorrow I will be 38 weeks pregnant... and I must say (as excited as I am to have the baby) I'm ready for him to be in my arms rather than my belly =o) It's been fun but these last couple weeks (especially the last week) have been kind of miserable. My back/rib/hip pains are getting more intense and my swelling is getting worse. I try to stay in bed or on the couch for the most part but I don't like sitting still. I'm trying to behave though because we've noticed that the swelling is in my entire leg now, not just my feet. We tried to called the doctor's office just to be safe... the nurse was going to call back with in the hour. Well that was 4:30 PM yesterday and still no word. We have a doctor appointment Tuesday so I'll just talk to him then I guess. I'll post a new belly pic with that update =o)

Thursday night mom and I went to dinner with the nursing girls. It was fun getting together and catching up one more time before the baby comes (although I know we will still be getting together afterwards). They are all convinced that I will go early... one friend Kerri is convinced I will go in the next week =o) I hope so. Her instinct is pretty good... after all, her mother and she were the only ones who predicted I would have a boy. I'm hoping she's right with this too!

37 Weeks!

Well... I'm now a little over 37 weeks! We had our baby check up this morning and had our third ultrasound. Everything checked out great! Lil Joey is so much bigger than when we last saw him... it was amazing. They estimate his weight to be about 7lbs., his heartbeat was 144, and so far he is on track with his growth. My mom is in town now until he arrives she got to go to the appointment with us. She was so excited to see him on the ultrasound. I'm glad she was able to experience that =o) I had my first experience with false labor last Thursday. All of sudden my back started cramping up for brief moments so I made sure I checked the time. It happened at 8:57, 9:17, 9:37, and 9:53. In my head I was freaking a lil because that's pretty regular (I was having contractions with the back cramps). I decided to lay on my left side and it all went away. Unfortunately I still have the back pain now. I talked to the doctor about it and its just ligament pain. But at least I'll only have to deal with that issue for about 2.5 weeks... right? Below are some of the ultrasound pix. We tried to get some 3D images of his face but were unable to get any real clear shots. His poor lil face is squished up against me so it flattened his nose and made all the pictures distorted. But there are 2 profile pix that show his squished nose and I put one 3D image where you can see his chubby cheeks and half of a smile =o)






Dad was in town for a couple of days last week so it was nice getting to see him. We went out to eat at Kristopher's... our usual hang lol. We went with my aunt/uncle and a family friend. Frankie had a meeting at work so after everyone was done eating, my dad and I just hung our watching the Olympics until Frankie got done. It was nice having the one on one time to just cut up like old times.

I have my last diabetes appointment tomorrow (besides the postpartum visit)... Yay!! I'll be so glad when I don't have to do that anymore. I'll really be excited when I don't have to check my sugars and I can eat what I want. I've already told Frankie we will be going to Chick-Fil-A...getting an 8 pack combo with fries and a SWEET tea lol... I can't wait... I can taste it now =o)