Its been awhile!

Well we have all noticed that I haven't blogged in awhile because to be honest blogging is my last priority! I have my birthday last weekend and a group of us went to Santa Rosa. We all had a blast, but I wish the weather was a bit warmer. Here are a couple pictures from the weekend...

Not that bad...

Today was Bowdys appt to get circumcised and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Everyone kept saying how horrible the experience of getting your kid circumcised was so I was preparing myself for the worst. Last week I told Clay that he would be in charge of taking Bowdy, because I didn't want to go, then on Monday I changed my mind. I told him I would at least go to the doctors, but I would stay in the waiting room. My mom didn't agree with my choice on this and she basically told me to suck it up and be in the room. So of course I listened to her and both Clay and I went together, but we both made it clear we wouldn't watch.

After finally getting into the room, Dr. Humphrey just wrapped him in a blanket, strapped him down and got to business. Bowdy cried when her got the numbing shots, but that was basically it. They gave us some "sugar water" and I just dipped his pacifier in that a few times and he went sound asleep. He must like sugar just like his auntie! Dr. Humprhey did assure me that he did better than most kids and that when kids have their parents in the

room they seem to be more comfortable. I'm glad our experience went well, because I was nervous for weeks about it.

Oh and even better than him sleeping during that painful process was that he weighed in at 5lbs 13 oz! Almost 6 pounds! Wonder if Ill have anything to talk about when he is "normal"size!

Below are some pictures we took and sent to the NICU nurses at the hospital. The quilt his is laying on was made by one of them so we sent them a thank you card and include these photos!

Its the small things...

It's the small things in life that make you excited! To most parents putting their kids in their car seats seem meaningless, but today I put Bowdy in his "big boy" car seat for the first time and he actually rode in it while we ran errands. I am a nervous wreck about his neck falling forward, because the nurses told me that if his falls forward he could cut off his air supply since he is so little, well he has gotten super strong, so I decided it was time to get him out of the car bed!

Isn't he so cute?

1 Month Old

I can't believe that it has already been one month since I gave birth to this little boy! It is crazy because it seems like I've had him forever, or at least longer than a month. It is funny how milestones, such as him one month birthday, put things into perspective. When we were in the hospital it seemed like we were never going to leave and now that I have been home for two weeks, the two weeks in the hospital feel almost like they didn't even happen! Everyone always says that you could never love someone as much as your child, and I am another one of those people.

I would say that we are pretty lucky with how Bowdy behaves, and I would love to attribute that to the way he "just is", but the truth is that Clay and I are lucky to have sisters that keep me following Babywise guidelines. I truly believe that is why he is on a strict 3 hour feeding schedule with a little wake time after his feeds(I know Janelle, I'll try harder to keep him awake after the feeds) and he sleeps for the remaining 2 1/2 hours in between. I have to give props to the NICU nurses who trained him as well to eat only every three hours, so I got a jump start before having to do it on my own, now I just make sure to not deviate from that schedule. The second week at home has been more challenging for Clay and I as Bowdy is now developing his personality and has found his voice, but overall we are having a blast raising, or monitoring, our child.

Today we were visited by the home health nurse (for the third time in the two weeks we have been home) and he weighed in at 5lbs and 1/2 oz. He will be in a regular car seat before we know it!

First Doctors Appt

Last Tuesday we had Bowdy's first doctors appointment and he is now weighing in at 4lbs 12 oz, 18 1/4 inches long. He has grown over an inch since birth and seems to be gaining about 1 oz a day which is great and before long we will have a big boy! We have seen the home health nurse twice already and they seemed please with his progression, so I believe we don't have to have them out to the house anymore. At first I thought the home health visits were a little bizarre, but I think they helped reassure me that he was doing okay. We go back to the doctor this coming Tuesday, and I'm hoping to be carrying a 5lb boy!

Thoughtful Friends

With a new baby come lots of visitors, this might be one of my favorite parts to being a new mom. I have always loved having lots of friends, and lately everyone comes and visits and I am enjoying their company. I wish I took pictures of everyone that has either came to the hospital to see him, or stopped by the house.

Amanda and Victoria stopped by the other night and we had lots of fun playing with Bowdy. As you can see in the picture below we put Bowdy in his stocking, this was his dads idea!

I know I talked about Janelle in an earlier post about how "pushy" she can be or maybe she just knows how to get what she wants! There is a loving side to her as well, she is super supportive, just like Danielle and she was one of the reasons I was able to get through the first two weeks spent at the hospital. Since Janelle had some free time she spent a couple nights with me at the hospital and woke up with me at every feeding to help.
As mentioned above we have had many friends visits, but another amazing part to having good friends is that they have cooked dinner for us as well. Below is dinner Natalie Jones made for Clay and I on our 2nd night home. This picture doesn't show how amazing the food was. She made us a pasta dish, french bread, and some good tasting cookies. The cookies seemed to disappeared throughout the night during feeding times...
As everyone knows- hospital food sucks! Tasha and Chrissy came to visit us at the hospital and they brought us an assortment of desserts made made themselves and Natalie. This is a good change from the boring food we had been eating. Somehow treats brighten your day!

Our Little Man