Last night, Emma was feeding G and I finally got a picture of him doing this:



He usually does this when he gets really hungry. After he tries to eat his hands because he is so ravenously hungry. Life is so hard for this baby. ;)

Yesterday was... lots of crying, lots of eating and a little bit of gas made most of yesterday pretty frustrating. He ate so much before 2pm that I actually called the pediatrician to see if there is anything I can do to keep him full. They are concerned about the amount he's getting (seriously, he eats a LOT) so I am pumping, measuring and recording every ounce of breast milk or formula that I am giving him and burping him extra long and hard to make sure it's not just gas. He did pretty well for the rest of the afternoon/evening and then got pretty fussy again at 4am. Paul got up to help me and we were up until he had to get ready and leave for school. Gray is just so hungry at certain times during the day that almost nothing will satisfy him. Sometimes it takes a 4 oz bottle of breastmilk (that is a LOT for a newborn not even three weeks old) and then 30 minutes later a couple of ounces of formula on top of that. Hopefully his appetite will either calm down or we can get it worked out soon.

In happier news, Gray had his first "real" outing last night (meaning it was not to the pediatrician or the hospital). My parents came to keep me company for a little while and we took G out with us to Panera for dinner. We gave him a bottle about 30 minutes before we left and when we got there we pretty much holed up in a corner where no one else was sitting. He slept the entire time! My parents really wanted me to get out of the house with him so I would feel a little more sane and even though I was SO tired from yesterday's frustrations, it did feel really great to get out for an hour. Maybe we will get a little more "adventurous" in the near future and I will introduce him to the Starbucks drive-thru. :)

Here is G chillin at Panera:


I really need a shower and a nap but how sweet is this?

Before I know it, he will be too big and too cool for cuddling with me.

i can't wait...

... until I see this face and it isn't related to gas.  :)

my mom is awesome. and i love chai.

One day last week when my mom came over to keep me company and help with Grayson she also brought a bunch of snacks, cleaning supplies and little things to keep us full, clean and happy. She put everything away in the cabinets for me while I fed G so I didn't really take a look at what she brought. A few days ago I was a little hungry/exhausted, so I opened the cabinet to get a snack bar and I saw this:

(!!!)

If you know me, I don't even have to explain.
[I LOVE chai lattes!]

My mom is awesome. I think she knew I would need a little of that this week. :) She has got to be one of the most thoughtful people ever. I'm not sure she has EVER forgotten a birthday, anniversary or special day in any of her friends' lives. She can seriously name the birthday/anniversary of almost anyone we know off the top of her head! She always sends cards or calls. She ALWAYS sent me care packages and cards "just because" while I was away at college. Always calls, especially now, to make sure I'm feeling okay. And while now she is always keeping G Baby in mind and making sure he/we have everything we need, she even remembered my love for chai. :)

A quick picture with me after we checked into the hospital the night I went into labor (just don't mind me looking like a crazy haha):


My favorite picture of my mom ever, holding Grayson for the first time:


Thanks, mom! "Chai" love you! (Yea, I'm all cheese.)

my dad

(two weeks old post below)

My dad is definitely one of the sweetest people I know. I love him. Paul loves him. My friends love him. (Brittany thinks he's the cutest/sweetest man and when she told him that at the hospital he just said, "I know I'm cute!" Haha!) He's sweet, considerate and enjoys hard work as much as he does relaxing afterwards. It's hard for me to imagine him as/doing anything but working hard and enjoying the simple things.







And he's a pretty great Grandpa. He calls every day to ask how we're treating his grandson. :)




Well... I very vaguely remember that my dad told me once or twice about the pet monkey, Mary Ann (I think that's right), he and his friends had in Vietnam. I always assumed he was kind of joking or there was more to the story, so I was a little surprised when his good friend and "Georgia boy," Wendell, emailed him a few pictures. He wanted us to have them so Grayson could see his Grandpa and "Uncle Grandpa" (Wendell) during their more youthful days. My dad forwarded the email to my account and I just had to smile when this is what I saw:


Wendell and my dad. Look at my dad! He looks almost the same!


And the proof that there really was a Mary Ann! So funny. (I've heard those monkeys are MEAN, though. I haven't asked Mary Ann.)

two weeks old

Our Grayson is two weeks old today!

From Baby Grayson

So weird to think how it all started here:


This week was filled with a lot of challenging days/nights for me. Mostly Thursday and Friday. Paul was basically gone for 48 hours straight between his 16 hour work shift Thursday and then staying late at school on Friday night. So I was mostly on my own with G Baby. My mom came and held, fed and watched Grayson on Thursday while I ran out to Target to do a few things and started on some laundry. And Emma came to keep me company during Grey's because I was SO tired and a little stressed out even by Thursday night because Grayson hasn't been sleeping as well at night. Once we finally get him down the first time he is usually okay but sometimes it takes an hour and a half or two hours to go through feeding, changing, soothing, probably feeding again and so on before he will fall asleep. Luckily, once he's down he's usually down for at least two hours, if not three (and on Friday night he was even out for four at one time!). On Friday those "baby blues" really started to creep up on me again because I was just so worn out and couldn't get a nap in. And even this morning I had a little emotional break because I am just feeling tired and sick, but Paul was there and let me cry it out on him haha. For selfish reasons, I really hope this two week mark means that we will be getting out of the house soon for some short "outings," especially while the weather is a little warmer.

But all of that said... I would still do it again for this little boy. Even when I am about to go crazy because I can't remember if I just fed him or changed his diaper or wait, did he just wake up from his nap? Or when I wonder if I've even eaten that day. He is worth it and I know that sometime soon (or at least eventually) we will have a more stable routine and after some time passes I will miss this cute and cuddly stage of baby land.

He's so cute he even pinches his own cheeks...
(Friday night, after my parents came to visit with the Thompsons. 12 days old.)

From Baby Grayson

I don't know if I ever posted about this but at my last appointment before I went into labor, the girl doing the ultrasound printed out this picture for me because she could see his huge cheeks even on the ultrasound haha! (It's pretty hard to tell on this one but you can see his big cheek in the top center of the photo.) What a chunky monkey :)



(If you've been waiting on that post about my sweet dad that I talked about last week... stay tuned, I've scheduled it to post later on tonight.)

daddy daycare and a new mom's day out

Paul really wanted me to get out of the house today so I could just be in the fresh air and so he could spend some time with Gray. (I've been going out of my mind in this house for the past few days!) I showered, pumped, put him in a clean diaper, let Paul pick out his clothes (see below) and this is how they were set up when I left:

From Baby Grayson

From Baby Grayson

Very appropriate for a day with his dad, don't you think? :)

Before I left, I finally caught one of his little smiles on the camera:



So... since my husband was sweet enough to watch Gray and kick me out of the house, I ended up doing a few errands, did a little shopping since I'm going to have to slowly build up a new work wardrobe, took my car to the 3-minute wash and (finally) got pictures developed from the Gauntt family baby shower (they turned out pretty dark but I posted the best one below). I was going to do a couple more "Amanda-like" things (like creep at Borders for a while, maybe get a pedicure if I could get over paying for it right now, etc.) but I thought we were going to have visitors so I just came back after two hours and doing what I needed to. I missed Paul and Grayson when I was gone but it was really nice to even have a couple of hours alone.

My outing today made me realize what a Clark Howard I'm becoming when it comes to my clothes. Here is my wardrobe problem: I was pregnant when I started work so almost all of my work clothes are maternity. Obviously, I am going to need more work-appropriate clothes. But since my body has changed, I also need some every day/weekend clothes that fit. (This is really weird but my rear is actually smaller than it was pre-baby. No more ghetto booty. I missed it for about five seconds and then I got over it.) So anyway... my goal is to buy mostly, if not only, clothes that I can wear in both "work land" and home/family life. I didn't imagine it being difficult to shop for clothes but it was actually really hard! And I was even looking on the clearance racks! I finally decided on a shirt (only $8!) that fits my "either/or" goal, a gray cardigan (also easy on the wallet and suits the goal) with a little ruffle-age going on - just enough to make it cute and more fun than a normal cardigan but not frou-frou, and a pair of good wide leg jeans (we wear jeans and spirit wear on Fridays at work). So... if you happen to be out shopping for clothes somewhere and see some great deals that would also fit my work-life/everyday life goal and you happen to remember this post and think of me... pass it on!

Back to a baby land topic... here is the best picture that came out from the Gauntt family shower back in November :)

From misc.

Grayson will be two weeks old tomorrow, can you believe it?

what do you do with it?

Last night, Grayson's little umbilical stump fell off. Just wondering... what do you do with it?? I put it in an really small ziplock but I don't know... do people save them for the baby book? Does saving it seem creepy to you?

And, just for cuteness (minus me and my crazyness hair), look at my little coffee bean wrapped up in the baby k'tan:





This is how I'm getting things done today (vacuuming, laundry, etc.). And hopefully getting Gray baby to learn that this is daytime and nighttime is for sleeping :)

not havin' it

This little baby is 11 days old and I STILL do not have a picture of me with him outside of the delivery room. Everybody else holds him and loves on him while I take the pictures, haha! I started to get a little sad about it tonight after my mom left so, remembering that my computer has Photobooth, I attempted a self-photo. But he was just not havin' it. Here's our best attempt (after trying to get him to "say hiii!" about 3 times before this one, I just gave up and started laughing):



I think it's time to get someone else to take the pictures.

babywearing

Today, I am starting to test the "babywearing" waters.  I've been reading some from the Sears' The Baby Book.  So far, I really love this book!  I haven't read very much past what I have questions about, but it is VERY informative and presented in a style that I appreciate.  I'm not a super fan of everything about "attachment parenting" but babywearing is one of their ideas that I am on board with.  Or that I at least want to try.  I got a sling carrier when I was with Brittany a few days ago but it was a little too snug so Paul and I exchanged it yesterday for the bigger one and it's great!  (Paul's mom came over to snuggle with G Baby and she watched him while we got out to do some errands.  Even though we were just getting some things done, it was SO nice to be out of the house and with Paul instead of by myself.)  Gray really loves to be held right now (I'm pretty sure all babies do) and while he is not fussy at all if I don't hold him, I want to be able to do that and share time with him while I get things done at the same time.

mom brain

I should probably just go ahead and make Mom Brain a series on this blog because I can already feel it happening.  (I used to get distracted doing things around the house but this is a whole new level of distraction and forgetfulness.) Last night, I was trying to find G's socks (he kicked one off on the changing table and the other I don't know where).  I found one, got distracted doing I can't remember what and then continued my search... only to realize that I had already lost the first sock I found.  Tonight I was putting something away in the food cabinet and look what I found:

From little hebert family

It's pretty funny and I laughed but all I can say is... seriously?!