Tuesday, August 30, 2011

2 months!

It's August 30th, and my sweet boy is 2 whole whopping months old today!

Crazy how time flies.

Here's what Mr. T is looking like these days. What a cutie pie!

























You can see that we're "chunking up" quite a bit, filling out those thighs, "chubbing up" the cheeks, smiling, cooing, making lots and lots of baby talk and giving big toothless grins too.

Just precious. And so fun to see his little personality start to shine through.

Here's a look back over the past eight weeks:

1 week old: not a big fan of mr. elephant

 
 

2 weeks old: not again!
3 weeks old: at least now i know he doesn't bite


4 weeks old: what happened to my hair?

6 weeks old: getting used to the bald look

8 weeks old: getting big enough to take down mr. elephant if i had to


Thursday, August 18, 2011

Baby Trey - 7 weeks old

So being a mother changes things...like your ability to blog regularly. (Trust me, it's a good day if I keep him alive and get a shower, so blogging has definitely been on the back burner.)

Trey is 7 weeks old today. Those 7 weeks have been quite the journey - birth, coming home, back in the hospital due to an infection I developed in my cesarean incision site, home again, trying to figure out what we are doing, lots of feeding, sleeping, diapering, bathing (repeat, repeat, repeat).

Joyous moments, lots of tears, feelings of inadequacy, thoughts of how in the world we ever lived without our little man, grateful hearts for a healthy baby boy and the joy he brings each day. With motherhood comes the full range of emotions and everything in between. I'm not going to expand here, but if any of you are expecting and want to chat just call me. I'll shoot straight about our experiences - both the joys and struggles.

Parenting is by far the hardest thing we've ever attempted. It teaches you total dependence on God, which is a good place to be but very humbling and hard at the same time. It is also very revealing about just how selfish your heart is. But it also teaches you the gospel is whole new ways, especially in helping you understand God our Father's unending love for us.

As a dear friend put it:
"One of the things that has been so awesome to see with this whole baby thing is the picture of the Gospel that it has painted for me. Caring for this person that is so helpless and immature and loving her so much no matter what she does really helps me understand my relationship with God so much more."

In summary, parenting = Gospel 101. Good for the soul. So is this precious guy. I mean, what's not to love?



As far as blogging, for now I'm just going to pick up where we are at week 7, blog what I can when I can, and continue to post lots of pics of Trey to facebook.

Week 7:
  • Lots of smiling!!
  • Lots of stretching
  • Lots of talking/cooing
  • Loves back (and some yummy) time and exploring the world around him
  • Getting quite chubby, especially around the tummy and thighs
  • Filling out his footie PJs, which make him look so big
  • For the most part, continuing to improve at sleeping longer at night
  • Very alert
  • Not very good at soothing himself, so putting him down to sleep at night or for naps has been more difficult. This should get better as he gets older
  • Loves to be held, rocked, and to snuggle. He's a cuddly fellow
  • Likes to sit up and see, be part of the action, be social and awake when we are
  • LOVES his swing. I think we love it more. That swing is indispensable!

Saturday, July 2, 2011

Introducing Baby Trey!


















Robert Stephen "Trey" Adams III
June 30, 2011 - 5:52 a.m.
7 lbs, 8 ounces - 20 inches





















Robert Stephen "Trey" Adams III made his big at 5:52 a.m. on June 30, 2011, weighing in at 7 lbs, 8 ounches and 20 inches long! We are all doing well and are so grateful to the Lord for a healthy baby boy.

We arrived at the hospital for our induction June 29 at 39 weeks pregnant. I was slow to progress with the pitocin and after 22 hours in labor and delivery we ended up having a c-section early in the morning on June 30. (Luckily, I had a wonderful epidural and got some of the best sleep - off and on - during labor!) I did spike a fever during the night which meant I had an infection that was threatening to pass to baby Trey the longer I labored. At 5 a.m. at 9 cm dilated the physicians made the call to perform the section due to my failure to progress fully and the infection I presented with. Less than an hour later we met our sweet baby boy who was healthy and well (no infection) and had a full set of hair! It has been such a joy getting to know our son these past three days. He is breastfeeding like a champ, and for that I am especially grateful.

We're currently at UAB's Women & Infants Center (Room 6391) and will go home on Monday, July 4. Our stay was extended a little since I have to finish a round of antibiotics due to the infection.

Thank you for all the wonderful and encouraging prayers, texts, calls, facebook messages, tweets, and emails. We have been so blessed by your love and support and appreciate your visits and calls!

We look forward to introducing you to Trey! He has loved all his visitors.

Friday, June 24, 2011

38 week update

No real news to report here except that all is on track for our induction in FIVE days on June 29th. Where has nine months gone?

We had our 38 week appointment on Thursday and Trey passed his BioPhysical Profile ultrasound test with flying colors again at 38 weeks, moving around enough to satisfy the ultrasound technician and breathing well. My amniotic fluid levels were again good, and my blood pressure was the best it has been in about four weeks! It's been in the normal range all along but was slightly elevated (above my norm) in the past month. This week it dropped back down to my normal rate, 100/62, so I was pretty pumped about that. The swelling in my feet, though still present, also seemed less prominent this week, I think because the rain has cooled off the temps. I swear there's a direct correlation between the heat and the size of my feet.

We (I say "we" now because Trey is contributing a good 7 plus pounds) weighed in at 154 pounds on Thursday - 32 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight. While meeting with the OB I fully expected a vaginal exam to check for dilation (and had prepped Robert accordingly to witness the traumatic experience since he accompanied me on this last appointment) but to my surprise, and honestly relief, she didn't even bother with it. Seems it's not a big deal either way at this point since we know we're going to go in and get him on Wednesday regardless of how my cervix is cooperating. Little Buddy's cookin time is about to officially expire.

Once again we got what seemed like strangely few and far too simple official induction instructions: 1) no eating or drinking for me after midnight, and 2) be at the hospital at 7 a.m. Wednesday morning. I think we can handle that. We also got the warning the induction could take a long, long time. I'm fully expecting a late afternoon or Wednesday night baby but apparently it could even be much longer than that. I might need to rethink what I've packed for our waiting-time entertainment and beef it up a little. But hopefully Trey will get with the program and do his thing.

This week I've been in high gear (major adrenaline rush) trying to wrap up everything at work. Seriously haven't had this much energy in weeks. When I start back in late September after my 12 weeks of maternity leave I'm going to be transitioning to a new position as a major gifts officer for UAB's College of Arts and Sciences in a part-time capacity. I'm super excited about this opportunity to be more of a front-line fundraiser and expand my development experience as well as the flexibility it provides to have some time at home with Trey each week. But, due to the transition, I've had to wrap up some projects for my current position, Assistant Director of Stewardship and Donor Relations, as well as pack up my office since I'll be relocating to a new building across campus. And, the lady who is temporarily replacing me until a new Assistant Director is hired couldn't start until Monday, so I'll be cross-training her for good chunks of the day next week on Monday and Tuesday with limited time to wrap up the few projects remaining. All that to say this workday was spent in high gear packing up my office, sorting files, finishing projects, etc.

Robert has actually been in nesting and cleaning mode, tackling cleaning out our attic this week and doing some major sorting, purging, and reorganizing of the crazy amounts of stuff we've accumulated up there in four and a half years of marriage. So thankful for his willingness to take on this project and knock it out before Trey arrives.

This weekend we're taking a fun date night out and I'm also grabbing lunch with a sweet college friend and former roommate, Leigh. I can't wait to see her baby boy, Jack, who I'm sure has just grown like a weed since I last saw him. And of course I've got the pre-delivery pedicure on the weekend agenda.

I'm also hoping to straighten up the house and wash the sheets. And probably double check our hospital bags just to make sure I've packed everything. (A little obsessive compulsive? Probably. But if I sleep better Tuesday night it will be worth it.)

This week I commenced and completed "Operation Cake Pops," putting together some special treats for our friends and family who come to visit and welcome Trey in the hospital and after we get home. Robert was slightly appalled at the shear number of cake pops in our kitchen and now in our freezer. But seriously, everyone knows cake pops come in the dozens. There's just no other way to make them, Plus there's no way you can eat just one. We've been thoroughly enjoying my trial batch the past several weeks anyway. Hmm...maybe that's contributed to those 32 pounds of baby weight we're tallying up to these days.

And finally, though they really aren't pretty, here are the pictures at 37 and 38 weeks, respectively.











































The first was taken on Monday, two days shy of 38 weeks. The second was taken today (Friday) at 38 weeks, 2 days. (Both with our brand new Nikon camera Robert ordered which is amazing. I think it will be perfect to capture all the memories of our little man as he makes his debut.)

You can see that I'm pretty much ginormous (even Ashton Kutcher's camera can't make that look good), but as large as I look and feel Trey really feels so much larger instead me these days. He moves and literally my whole abdomen responds to the "sea monster" rolling and tumbling in there. Certain body parts (especially his little hiney) are very recognizable these days. I think he's a little cramped for space.

Last weekend we wrapped up shopping for baby and the only items left to order are our Bob Revolution jogging stroller. His cute little monogrammed diaper bag from pottery barn kids arrived this week, so I think we're good to go.

I think...

Sunday, June 19, 2011

The Bucket List























This is my dad and his best friend, Neal. This past Saturday, they crossed a big item off of Neal's "Bucket List." They went skydiving.

Neal is an awesome man who loves Jesus and loves his family and friends. He has rock-solid faith in his Lord no matter the circumstances. He also likes to do crazy things like jump out of planes. He was recently (within the past year or two) diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease), a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is causing his to slowly lose his muscle function. Each day brings new challenges to Neal, but he is living life to the fullest, enjoying the time he is blessed with on this earth, investing in his family and friends. And talking my dad into doing crazy things like jumping out of planes with him. For any of you who know my dad, this is a big deal. He is a great guy, but one who likes to manage his risk, keeping his feet on the ground, avoiding life-threatening danger.

I'm not sure he would have done this for anyone else, but he did it for Neal. And boy did they have a good time. Just check out the pics!
 

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day to our sweet daddies! We love you both and appreciate the lifetime of prayers, encouragement, and support you have given us, mostly importantly modeling to us the Father's love for us as his children.

And also a Happy Father's Day to Robert who gets to have the officially title of "Daddy" is 10 days! Can't wait to see how the Lord uses him in this new role!

37 week update

I'm a little tardy on this post but wanted to share some quick stats from our 37 week doctor appointment last Thursday.

But first, hallelujah for making it to full team! It's very comforting to know that should something (aka, labor or an emergency that requires going into labor) happen with little buddy at any point, he's got most all of his systems in place to not only survive but thrive outside the womb. When you are part of a high risk clinic, you realize just how amazing of a feat this is, and not one to be taken for granted. We are very thankful for the health God has blessed us with throughout this pregnancy.

So, in addition to another weekly biophysical profile test (which Trey scored a perfect 8 out of 8 on), we also measured his this week. According to his growth stats, he's in the 63rd percentile weighing in at 6 lbs, 11 ounces. If he incubates another two weeks prior to induction on June 29, we're looking at approximately another pound of weight gain before birth.

Also, my fluid levels and blood pressure were good.