Yet Another Baby Post

I realize that my blog has become overwhelmed with baby posts, but I can't help myself! James was blessed last weekend and a few of our dear friends were able to make it to the event. He behaved the entire time and even went to sleep! I was counting on him being loud and obnoxious the whole time, but other than a loud diaper-filling during the blessing, he was great :)

He had his first round of vaccinations yesterday. I've never seen him turn that color red before. It was sad. He was so mad! But the nurse gave them to him so fast and as soon as I picked him up he calmed down. They also checked out his eyes. They were reflecting light kind of funny so three different pediatricians took a look at them to make sure there wasn't a tumor or anything blocking the light. It made me pretty nervous, but it turns out that his eyes just aren't perfectly aligned, which was a relief! But he has little bruises around his eyes now from the doctors prying. Poor kid was NOT a happy camper yesterday. He has a slight fever today due to the immunizations but is in good spirits so I can't complain.

I love his dimples

In his blessing outfit. He really wasn't a fan of this outfit at all. In fact, when we came home and I took it off he was SOOOOO happy. I think blessing outfits are designed to humiliate kids when they get older.

Goofy smile

His feet.

I told you he fell asleep!

2 Months

James hit the 2 month mark last week. He was all dressed up after church and in a chipper mood (to bad he wasn't in that mood during church) so we decided to take some pictures of our little boy. He loved the attention. We had 2 cameras going at once. Here are a few that we took. Isn't he so handsome? :)

Big yawn!

I have no idea why he does this, but it makes me laugh.

My favorite. He's SO happy and giggly.

I love his little fists. He kept wiggling and would face-plant into the sofa.

Our Summer

I can't believe that it's almost time for Paul to go back to school! The summer has been a blur to me...kind of like sleep. Things are starting to settle down a bit though as we've developed a more regular schedule. James sleeps 6 or 7 hours at night! It's been great because running on a few moments of sleep each day begins to take it's toll. He's happier than a few weeks ago, too. We get lots of smiles and odd giggles. Sometimes it sounds like there's an animal in the room with all his weird little noises :). It's fun to see him smile and develop, even though sometimes I wish that time would stand still and he would just stay a little baby forever!

Now for a non-baby update. We have decided to move...again. It won't be for another year, but we've decided that after Paul finishes at Utah Valley University, he will transfer to Utah State University to finish up his Business degree. USU has a much better business program, not to mention that Logan is WAY cheaper! For a comparable apartment in Logan we would pay 2-300 dollars less a month. It would really help us get through that last stretch of school. The downside? It would be our seventh move and it is colder in Logan. Meanwhile, we enjoy where we are living. We have a great ward, wonderful friends, and the best apartment EVER. Paul has been able to take Saturdays off, which has been a real blessing. He usually lets me sleep on the weekends and takes care of James' early morning feeding. We've also enjoyed some long rides on the weekends. The baby falls asleep in the car, so we just drive all over Utah Valley enjoying the summer from air conditioned comfort.

After James discovered that hair was a great thing to grab onto for dear life, I decided to chop it off. I went pretty short, but I like it! It's easy, and no more hair pulling.

My chubby-cheeked little munchkin.

I love it when he's happy.

We came home from church, laid him down while we changed, and he got cozy for a nap.

We took a trip out to South Ridge Farms in Santaquin. I want to go back and pick up some more Oatmeal Cherry cookies!!

Our Growing Boy

James is over a month old now. Sometimes it seems like we brought him home yesterday, and others it seems like we've had him forever (although, sometimes I think this feeling is derived from lack of sleep). It's so much fun to watch him develop his little personality. He had a checkup yesterday and Paul and I were guessing his weight. I said 10 pounds, Paul said 10 pounds 6 ounces. We were both way off. He is now over 11 pounds (and 3 ounces if you want specifics) and continues to eat like crazy. His eyes have turned light blue and I'm really hoping they stay that way because they're SO pretty. He'll kill me in 15 years for saying he had pretty eyes, but oh well. He has horrible reflux and gas (the last one shouldn't surprise me considering who his daddy is) and it's taken us a while to find relief for him. We tried gas medication, but it just wasn't cutting it. We finally discovered the miracle elixer that is Gripe Water. It's a homeopathic medicine for colic and I'm telling you it's a lifesaver!! I let him sleep on his tummy during the day when I can watch him, which seems to help so he's now a relatively happy baby, except at night when he turns into a fussy monster, but we love him anyway :)

All clean in his little robe. He LOVES baths.

Lifting up his heavy little head.

1 Month old!

Our little cutie!

3 Week Update

Three weeks ago today I went in to the hospital to have baby James. What a crazy time it's been! I'm starting to feel a lot better, although I am no good on my feet for much over 20 minutes. Still, it's a lot better than a week ago! James is getting bigger every day. At his 2 week checkup he had gained over a pound and grown an inch since birth (and his head is in the 75th percentile. Still has a huge melon!). I can't seem to keep up with how much he eats. I'm told that a normal baby of his age will eat 2-3 oz per sitting, and little James here is chugging down anywhere from 4-9! He's going to be a huge kid. I've attached some pictures so you can see how much he's grown...and of course how cute he is!

He holds his soothie in his mouth since he can't seem to keep it in otherwise.

He falls asleep in the weirdest positions...just never at the right times...

He used to only do the pouty lip in his sleep, but now he's taken to doing it to get his way. He's going to be a handful!

Most days I just dress him in a towel. Less laundry.

James is Home!

James is finally home! After being in the special care unit for 5 days it was such a relief to finally bring him home. At first he couldn't come home because of respiratory problems. After that was resolved they were concerned about his eating. Because he had been on an IV he hadn't really felt hungry and wasn't feeding very well. Luckily there was an amazing lactation consultant who gave me the confidence to nurse him even though the special care unit nurses acted like I was in their way. Every day they made a new feeding goal for him, but it was difficult because he didn't like the formula very much and I just wasn't able to be there all day long. Another problem with this was that the nurses put him on a feeding schedule that didn't match his needs. They were feeding him every 3 hours, but he would be hungry more frequently. By the time they fed him he was so upset that he wouldn't eat very much. This is when I started showing up for 4 feedings a day so I could make sure that he was getting what he needed. After that started improving he became very jaundice and so they wouldn't let him come home for that reason. It was very frustrating because every time we made some progress in one area, another problem would pop up. I was more active than I probably should have been and my healing has been very slow. We were finally able to bring James home on Father's Day, and while it's tiring taking care of a little newborn, I'm just so relieved to have him home.
I had a doctor's appointment last week to get checked out and get more pain meds. I have been in so much pain and the doctor figured out that a few stitches have come loose causing me extreme pain. He says that it should heal fine without having to get more stitches, but that it is going to hurt for the duration of the healing :( Sad news. I feel like I haven't made very much progress where my healing is concerned. It is very frustrating because I want to get on with life! I'd love to be able to take care of my apartment and be able to stand long enough to make a meal. I feel horrible relying on Paul so much. He works all day, then has to come home and do all the work around here because I can't get out of bed too much. :( Every day gets a little better. This week I have to James in for his 2 week checkup and circumcision. I'm not looking forward to it! Because his birth was traumatic, we decided to wait until his head wounds healed to circumcise him so his body wouldn't be dealing with so much pain at once. Still, it's going to be a VERY sad day!

Hi guys!

In the car on the way home.

Happy Father's Day!

Paul has been my strength this past week. I couldn't have married a better man. He stayed with me and saw some pretty horrifying things throughout labor (so I'm told). He was so supportive and loving during the whole 21 hours of hard labor. I saw the look of fear when I was hemorrhaging and when James wasn't doing so well. He was up when I was up. He was there for me when I had to leave my baby in the hospital to go home and every few hours he set an alarm and woke me up so that I could pump for the baby. He would have it all set up before even waking me. He drove me to the hospital multiple times a day so I could feed James. He made sure we had dinner every night and never complained once. He dealt with my constant emotional state while James was in the special care unit. I honestly couldn't ask for more. James came home on Father's day and what a great gift it was! So here's to Paul, the best husband and father of my son I could ask for.