Grayson's Best Friend

Grayson already has a best friend!  Grayson received alot of stuffed animals as gifts, but one has become his favorite.  It is a black and white kitty (that is super soft).  I set it in his crib when Shane brought it home since it was black and white (those are the colors he can see right now).  Every now and then I started to catch him looking at it.  Over the last few days, he has started making more sounds and smiling more.  Now when I put him down for a nap, he will just lie there and "talk" to his kitty until he falls asleep. It is the absolute cutest thing ever!  Tonight I got a picture of them together.  I have never seen him so happy! 

Grayson and Kitty

 

I am not sure if we need to be upset that it his best friend is an inanimate object, but he seems super happy when they are together so I can't complain!

Santa

My mom and I took Grayson to meet Santa yesterday!  Of course Grayson slept the whole time but Santa didn't seem to mind.  Grayson is definitely on the "nice" list this year!

Grayson's Newborn Photos

I finally got Grayson's newborn photos back from the photographer!  They are so cute!  Again, a huge thanks to Mike & Jess at Absolute Photography.  I am really happy with how they turned out and some of the cute pictures we captured of him when he was so tiny. 

*Note, you may not believe this, but we did not pose his left hand...he did that naturally!
Saw'em off!

*My absolute favorite!  :)

1 Month

Grayson is 1 month old! 

Here are a few things about Grayson we noticed in his first month:

• He loves to be swaddled.  He seems to sleep better when he is swaddled so we have been using swaddle sacks every time he goes down for a nap or at night.
• He seems to favor his right side.  When he is swaddled or lying on his activity mat, he rolls to his right side.  This has me concerned that his right ear is going to be permanently squished.  :)
• Each time he sneezes, he sneezes 2-3 times in a row.
• He loves to be held.  Neither of us object to this!
• He doesn't cry alot.  But we are starting to be able to decipher between all of his cries now (hungry, dirty diaper, gas and needs to sleep).  We did endure some long crying sessions a few days/nights.  Now that we know what each cry sounds like, we have been able to calm him down much quicker or allow him to cry it out and put himself to sleep.
• He is very independent.  He wakes up on his own alot and just lies in his crib until I come get him.  I can even lie him on his activity mat and he can entertain himself for alittle bit before going down for a nap.
• He eats really well.  Sometimes I have to fight to keep him awake so he can get a full feeding but most of the time he does great.  Currently he eats 8 times a day.
• He is a good sleeper at night.  Usually he sleeps between 4-5 hours at a time so I only have to get up once in the middle of the night to feed him. 
• When he first falls asleep after I feed him, he smiles and laughs out loud.  It is really cute!
• He gets the hiccups all the time.  He had them when I was pregnant, too.
• He enjoys getting a bath.
• He loves tummy time with his mommy and daddy.  We try not to let him fall asleep on us too much so he doesn't get used to it. He loves to sleep on his stomach though.

It was a fairly easy month for us overall.  From the advice of many friends, Shane and I decided to follow a book called Babywise in order to get Grayson on a consistent schedule.  So far it has worked out pretty well.  Grayson pretty much put himself on a 2 1/2 to 3 hour schedule so the transition was easy.  We learned something new every week so I think we have the hang of things now.  There is still alot we need to learn but I think we have a good routine in place. 

I can't believe how fast this month went by. I tried to enjoy every minute but sometimes it can be hard when you're trying to figure things out as you go. I also wish I would have taken more photos. :( Believe me, I take alot of photos, but I felt like I didn't get enough of him during the smallest phase of his life. I spent so much time just trying to take it all in that I would forget about my camera.  I can say without a doubt, this has been the best month of our life and we are looking forward to so many more!

Here are a few more photos from this past month:

Other November News
We took Grayson to meet his great grandparents last week.  This is my grandmother and grandfather on my mom's side.  They were all so happy to meet him.  My grandfather, Bob, is 96 years old.  I am so glad he was able to meet Grayson!   (Side note: my grandfather's real name is Bob.  He didn't want to be called "grandpa" or "granddad".  He said those names made him sound old so we have always just called him "Bob".)

His great grandfather, Bob

His great grandmother, Great Nana

 

His great great aunt, Hestie
(my grandmother's twin sister)

We also had our first Thanksgiving together as a family.  It was delayed until the Saturday following Thanksgiving because one of my nephews was pretty sick.  We decided it was better to delay the holiday than risk Grayson getting sick.  My brother was kind enough to host our family at his house.  Shane and I definitely have so much to be thankful for this year!

Aunt Kissy with Grayson

Our first Thanksgiving
(Shane is covering up the A&M logo on his outfit)

Grammy and Grandpa

Someone lost their first tooth!
The tooth fairy was very generous, too! 
We plan on sending Grayson to their house when he loses his teeth.  :)

Three generations

Daddy

Shane had to go back to school today.  :(  It was so nice having him home with us over the last 4 weeks.  I can't believe how quickly it went by though.  Shane is such a great dad (and husband).  Grayson and I are going to miss having him around the house.  Luckily he only has to work 4 more weeks and then we'll get to spend 2 weeks together again! 

 

Three Weeks

Grayson turned 3 weeks old yesterday!  He is growing so quickly.  Last Friday we took him to the pediatrician for his 2 week check up.  His weight is now 8lbs, 14oz (50th percentile) and he is 21 inches long (45th percentile).  While the doctor was examining him, she kept commenting on how easy he was and that he was pretty much the perfect baby (things Shane and I already knew).  :)  It reassured us that he was eating well and growing like he should be!

He spends most of his day sleeping but we do get some wake time with him.  He is looking around alot more and starting to focus on objects that make noise when you hold them in front of him.  He can hold his head up pretty well when you lie him on your chest, too.  Not a day goes by that we are not mesmerized by him or completely in love with him. 

His umbilical cord finally fell off so we were able to give him his first official bath!

 

 

We have had a pretty hectic couple of weeks since my last post.  After we came home from the hospital, we noticed Aspen did not seem himself.  I just assumed he was entering a state of depression since he was not getting much needed attention from me anymore.  After a couple of days, it seemed like he was in pain.  We took him to the vet and they did not think anything was wrong with him.  The next day, I really felt like he was sick.  It was about to be the weekend and I could not watch him in his current state anymore.  Shane took him back to the vet so they could do some x-rays and blood work.  They discovered he had a really bad ear infection and gave us about five medications for him to take.  Within 24 hours, he was back to himself.  This past Tuesday, they cleaned his teeth since they thought his gums might be infected, too.  Friday night Shane had to rush him back to the vet since Aspen had been throwing up so they needed to give him a shot to stop the vomiting.  It was a combination of all his meds and the anesthesia from the teeth cleaning.  It seems like he is slowly getting back to his normal self.  Thank God!

Last Tuesday Shane woke up and took Aspen for his teeth cleaning.  I was up with Grayson and went to wash my hands.  I noticed we were not getting hot water in the bathroom so I tried the kitchen sink.  No hot water there either.  When Shane got home, he checked out our hot water heater....yep, it was out.  We called our good friend and plumber who confirmed our hot water heater bit the dust.  Thankfully he was able to install one that afternoon.

This past weekend Shane's parents, sister and niece came into town to see Grayson and spend some time with us.  We rarely get to see Shane's sister, Sandee, and his niece, Rowan, since they live in Oregon.  It was nice to catch up with all of them.  Rowan was head over heels for Grayson and wanted to hold him every chance she could. 


Aunt Sandee and Cousin Rowan

 

Cousin Rowan

 

Grammy D & Granddad

 

Aunt Sandee and Cousin Rowan

 I was able to work in some craft time lately and made a few things for Grayson's nursery.  Shane cut me some wood and I decopauged his birth stats and a quote from a song ("You Are My Sunshine") and book that Shane loves to read to Grayson (Guess How Much I Love You).  Shane plans to get the book quote with Grayson's footprint tattooed on his chest one day. 

 

 

We are looking forward to Thanksgiving this Thursday with my family.  My brother is hosting at his house.  The plan is a lazy day of eating, lying around and watching football!  All things we have mastered over the last few weeks!  :)

 

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!!  I know we have so much to be thankful for this year!!

 

Here are a few other pictures from the last 2 weeks:

Tummy time with Mommy

 

Tummy time with Daddy

 

Wake time with a smile!

 

 

 

First Week

We survived our first week as parents!  Shane and I have really taken a liking to this parenting thing and have enjoyed every minute with our little man.  So far Grayson seems to be a very simple baby.  He rarely cries at all.  In fact, while we were in the hospital, we had no idea what his cry really sounded like until we got home.  Even then, the only time he lets out a peep is if he needs to be changed or he is hungry.  We realize we are lucky in this aspect and know it could change at any minute.  For the time being, we will continue to say we have the "perfect baby"!

He has been eating and sleeping well, too.  Right now he eats just about every 2 1/2 to 3 hours which is a pretty good routine.  He sleeps great at night which has allowed me to get a couple of hours rest between feedings.  After various feedings, he is pretty alert and we are able to interact with him.  His facial expressions always bring a smile to our face.

We had his first pediatrician appointment on Friday and the doctor said he looked great.  He was back up to 7lbs, 3oz (had dropped to 6lbs, 14oz when we left the hospital) and she said that was exactly where he needed to be.  We go back in two weeks for another check up.

I'm starting to be more active now and able to do more around the house.  With my type A personality, it is hard for me to sit and feel constrained to a few positions and locations.  It's also nice to be able to do things I wasn't able to do when I was pregnant.  In fact, I almost forget I was ever pregnant.  I decided to put all of my weekly photos together to see how much I changed each week.  It's crazy to see the transformation of your body and then to see it back to normal.  Overall I only gained 12lbs with the pregnancy.  I weighed myself this morning and I only have 4lbs to get me back to my starting weight.  (Yes, many curse at me when I give those details but I can't help that my family genes gave me a good metabolism). 

I have to take a minute to acknowledge my mother.  The week leading up to delivery both of my parents were essentially on-call.  They had their bags packed so they could head up here whenever we made the call.  Last Saturday, they left as soon as I told them I was having contractions.  Not knowing if they were false or not.  By the time we were admitted, they were in the waiting room.  While Shane was taking care of me, they went to our house to feed the boys then brought Shane something to eat since it looked like we were in for a long night.  They headed to their apartment to get some sleep but were right back up at the hospital before Grayson made his arrival. 

Ever since we came home, my mom has been at our house every day.  I can't even begin to tell you what a HUGE help she has been to me and Shane.  She has done laundry, run numerous errands (we have now learned there are so many spontaneous things you have to get), cooked dinner, watched Grayson so I could take a nap, and just helped around the house.  It has made this week seem so easy just having her here.  I honestly have one of the best mothers in the world and I am so thankful for everything she does for not only me, but also Shane and Grayson.  I hope I can be half the mother she is.

Grammy and Grayson

Last night my brother and sister-in-law came over so Aaron & Andrew could finally meet their cousin.  They were at the hospital when Grayson was born but Aaron had been fighting an infection so we decided to wait to introduce them.  Andrew's 4th birthday is today so we also had a mini pizza party for him since we were confined to the house.  Both of them really seem to love Grayson already and could not stop smiling at him and touching his little hands and feet.

Meeting the cousins

Proud cousin, Aaron

Andrew the birthday boy

Uncle Jay Jay

First week down!



 Last, but not least, I got to spend some time watching my Aggies take it to Mississippi State yesterday.  Grayson was all decked out in his Texas A&M apparel.  I think he looks good in maroon!

 

My future Aggie, class of '34