Eleven Months

This month has probably been the most adventurous yet!  You have gone on two trips, a plane ride, and even said that word we have been working on J

Ma-Ma has made its way into your vocabulary!  You don’t actually know what you are saying, but hearing it in your tiny little voice could be the best sound I have ever heard!  You say it only occasionally (da-da is much more frequent), but when you do it is fantastic.  You continue to get more and more talkative, and you are adding new sounds every day. 

You are now moving and grooving!  You are getting more and more curious too, so that means you are getting into EVERYTHING!  We have officially started baby proofing.  Things you used to ignore (the inside of the cabinets, the wine rack) have become things you must play with.  We have had to put the locks on the cabinets and get very creative with our barricades.  If there is something to get into or anything to be found on the floor or anywhere within your reach, you will do whatever necessary to get to it.  You are quite persistent to say the least!

You took two major trips this month.  The first was your inaugural trip to Panama City Beach.  A place I am sure you will go over and over again.  You were a great traveler, and you seemed to really enjoy the constant company of your Nana and Papa Bear.  You loved the pool and your strolls with Papa Bear, but one thing you didn’t seem to be fond of was the sand.  We put your feet in the sand, and you were not having it.  You wanted right back up.  The ocean took you a little bit to get used to, but you started to tolerate it.  We played, took naps, went out to dinner, and spent lots of time enjoying our first Cleghorn family vacation.  Your Nana even entertained you the whole way home J  One big thing that happened at the beach was you first steps!  You took only two, and that was it for the whole trip…but they were still your first steps none the less!

Your next trip took you on your first plane ride!  You were great going up, but struggled a little bit coming back.  Both times, though, once you were asleep you were perfect…even after you woke up.  We flew up to Cape Cod to visits some of your Costa relatives and this marked your first Barden family vacation.  We did a lot of strolling through town, hanging out with family, and napping J  We slept with all the windows open at night, and you slept great.  You got to see Uncle Kyle and Aunt Cameron, and your Grammy and Papa were your constant companions this go around.  You began your signature wave around this time, and it became the universal symbol of everyone on the trip.  You hold your arm straight up with the hand facing you, a very regal gesture, and this was how everyone greeted and said goodbye to one another throughout the trip.  Your wave will now be seen in New York, Massachusetts, Chicago, Arizona, California, Texas, Wisconsin, and even Russia as the people you spent time with were headed to all those places after the trip.  Basically, you’re famous. 

Another big thing this month is table food!  You are now eating the lunches at school with the rest of the kids.  You still eat some baby food, but you really enjoying your big boy food.  I haven’t found much you don’t like, and you just continue to eat and eat.  Still one of your favorite thing J  You have also started to make a high pitched coo sound.  You seem to use it to show excitement, and I have no idea where it came from.  It isn’t a laugh or word or anything like that, but it is more of a squeak type of sound or maybe a whistle.  Whatever it is, you do it frequently, and it is super cute of course.  

One of the sweetest things you have started to do is to clasp your hands in a prayer position every night when I put your pajamas on.  Hands clasped and placed against your ear (like you are asleep) is the sign for “go to sleep”.  I like to think you have picked this up from your teachers, and you are saying night-night.  It is so precious, and it proves that you are definitely the smartest baby ever.  You only do it when I put your pajamas on, so it is almost like you are saying your prayers and communicating with me at the same time.  So perfect J

And…for the not so sweet.  You are getting really good at releasing your gas.  One of your favorite times is when you are in your highchair because it makes a louder noise.  You find this to be hilarious, and you are definitely your father’s son.

Love you my giggles,

Mama 

10 Months

It is official!  You have reached the double digits!  Ten whole months old…and you are all over the place! 

You are beginning to talk more and more.  You still say lots of da-da, ya-ya, and maybe even the occasional ba-ba.  Still no ma-ma, but we are working on it.  You now enjoy playing more games…especially handing things back and forth.  You hand me your comb, I say thank you, I hand it back to you, and then you hand it back to me.  For some reason, this game makes you giggle and giggle, and you will play it over and over and over again J  You continue to be a happy, chill, and inquisitive baby.  You are always in constant motion, never sitting still.  You will play all the way up until bed time with no breaks.  You rarely sit still! 

This month marks a new first for you - teeth!  You have your first ones coming through.  One of top and one on bottom…maybe even more.  You are handing it well, but we can tell you get uncomfortable at times.  It is so funny to see tiny teeth in that little mouth. 

You moved up to the next class in preschool, so you are now with Miss Jenny and Miss Betty.  Miss Dot still gets to see you in the afternoons too!  Since you have been in this class, you have grown and developed at a very fast rate.  Your ability to get around is improving every day.  You are now able to stand on your own for a little bit at a time, and you finally are crawling on your hands and knees!  This makes getting around much quicker for you.  I can’t take my eyes off of you these days because you can get to another room in no time!  You have also taking to “cruising” around.  You can go from sofa to loveseat to coffee table to toys without ever sitting down.  As long as it is in arm’s reach, you can get there.

Being in your new class means you get to experience lots of new things.  You have water day on Mondays, and you love it!  You wear your bathing suit to school, and you get to play outside on the water mat all morning.  Your teachers say this is one of your favorite things.  Another first was a birthday party!  Everyone celebrates their birthday at school, so you got to join in this time and have your first cupcake.  Something you definitely loved.  Being in this new class also means new germs, and you have had you first bout with pink eye.  It doesn’t’ seem to bother you at all, but you definitely don’t like to have the drops put in your eyes.  After using the drops, we ended up with thrush.  I never would have known that you had it had I not gotten it also.  I had to use a cream and you have to have some medicine, but it cleared up quickly.  This all happened during the time of us slowly ending our nursing. 

I quit pumping the day you turned ten months because I only got on ounce form an hour of pumping.  Shortly after that, we went from morning and night, to just night, to none at all.  I was a little sad to pack up the nursing pillow.  It has been used multiple times a day, every day for your whole life.  I miss that time with you, and it makes you seem so much older to me.  No longer that tiny little baby that could easily curl up on top of the pillow, but a big boy who wants down to play and doesn’t have time for all that nursing!  You began to show signs of disinterest (probably because there wasn’t much there for you), so it ended up being a good time for both of us.  You transitioned with complete ease, and had no problems with the change…just like everything you have tried.  You are a very adaptable baby.  Always going with the flow, and that is just one of the many things that makes you incredibly awesome. 

Love you my giggles,

Mama    

Nine Months

Well, I thought you were mobile before and boy was I wrong!  Now you are all over the place.  We have to actually block things off and keep things out of your reach.  You went from hardly crawling to being a super speeder in no time.  Also, you pulled up on the coffee table for the first time.  In a matter of a few days, you ended up pulling up on everything!  You have had your share of bumps and spills, but you only cry for a little bit, and then it is back to it.  You do not stop moving, and this fact has been confirmed by Miss Mary Sue and Miss Dot (your teachers).  They have to keep their eyes on you all the time because you can move so fast…and because of that, you are moving up in your class.  It is crazy to think that you are already old enough to move up.  Nine months!!

The month marked a visit to Charlotte for Memorial Day and your Uncle Taylor’s birthday, and our first trip to the beach.  In Charlotte, you loved watching your cousins Oliver and Sullivan and the dog Bailey run around and play.  They moved fast, and you tried hard to keep up.  It is funny to think back to this time (just a short month ago), and you were hardly crawling J  You also had your first trip to the pool, and you just loved to watch everyone around you and splash the water.  You do really well in the water.  During this trip, you came down with Croup.  It made for some very long nights, but other than that, you didn’t seem too uncomfortable.  Your cough was horrible, especially at night.  You seemed okay during the day, but you definitely weren’t your usual smiling self.  Croup ended up leading to your second ear infection, but, once we go that taken care of, you were smiling more than ever. 

Not long after the Charlotte trip, we headed to Hilton Head for our first beach trip.  This was to daddy’s convention, so we didn’t do much beach related activities…but we had fun anyways.  We slept a lot, we read, and we played in the pool.  We made a quick trip down to the beach to take our first family pictures, but, other than that, we didn’t spend any time at the actual beach.  Between nap times and feeding times, it is tough to schedule in beach time, but you will get plenty of that in about a month with your Nana and Papa Bear. 

Speaking of Nana and Papa Bear, you had another big first this month.  Your first (and second) spend the night party!  You stayed with Nana and Papa Bear overnight…twice, and you did great!  You did a lot of strolling up and down the driveway.  You visited the goats and Granny, and you even got to ride the golf cart (your favorite!).  You slept well, ate like a champ, and played all day.  I think Nana, Papa Bear, and Granny had even more fun than you! 

You have become incredibly inquisitive!  You study and concentrate on new things and people like you are trying to figure out exactly what they are about.  You are now showing a little bit of stranger anxiety when someone holds you that you don’t know.  It takes you a few minutes, but then you realize you don’t know them, and you start to cry…but it is short lived once you see your mama or daddy.  Then, you go back to the new person with no problem.  You love to explore every corner and surface, and you are fascinated by the tiniest of things.  A small piece of fuzz on the floor becomes something that you must pick up and figure out!  It is so interesting to watch your little mind go to work! 

You have also started talking much more.  You say ya-ya, da-da, most short “a” sounds…except ma-ma of course…maybe one day soon.  I hope!  You will just babble and babble to yourself in the mornings and when you are playing.  You have little conversations all the time where you will just talk and talk.  We respond with similar sounds and you just keep talking.  The little noises you make are just fantastic!  I feel like it is a little hint to how your voice will sound when you are really taking in the future.       

Your favorite things these days are always eating and your pacifier.  Then, I would say JUMPING!!  You love to jump, jump, and jump some more.  When people hold you, you want to jump in their laps, you want to jump on the floor, and you definitely like to jump in the jumper!  You also still loved to be strolled, but mostly you want to stand and walk around (assisted).  Once you actually start walking, I don’t know if you will ever stop to sit down J

You wear me out these days with the up and down and running around.  It is tough to hold you for long because you squirm so much.  It is quite the workout.  Keeping up with you is getting more and more challenging, and I know it is only going to get more difficult, but seeing you grow and develop makes it all a wonderful experience.  Now, if I could just get you to say ma-ma.

Love you my giggles,

Mama

Eight Months

Well junior, it is official.  You are MOBILE!!  You don’t actually crawl yet, but you can scoot on your belly to wherever it is that you want to go.  You pull and pull yourself forward, kicking you little legs, and grunting the whole way.  It is hard work for a baby, but you will do anything to get to that pacifier!  We now put you on your pallet on the floor, and I have to pick up and block off things because it only takes a second for you to get Hank’s bone in your mouth J  This has been the biggest change in your eighth month. 

Some new things you love are copying us and standing.  You like to stick your tongue out and blow raspberries after we do.  When we hit the table or floor with our hand, you do the same shortly after.  It is very exciting to see you begin to understand things.  Your newest favorite thing is standing.  We give you our two index fingers, one in each of your hands, and you pull up to a standing position.  Sitting is now beneath you J  You want to stand!!  When you are sitting down, you begin to seek out someone’s fingers to pull you up.  Of course these news things have not taken the place of number one and two…eating and the pacifier.  I didn’t think you could become more in love with your paci, but you have! 

You now do a lot more talking to yourself, and when you play, I can just sit and listen to you babble on and on to yourself.  You like to put your face on the floor and just talk and talk when you start to get tired.  You go up on your knees with you butt in the air and just talk and talk.  You personality is continuing to grow and grow, and you are very sweet and smiley most of the time.  You have become quite the mover and shaker.  It is difficult to hold you for long periods of time because you want to be everywhere!  Up, down, sideways, want to grab this and that, pull my glass and hair,  climb up and down…just all over the place.  You can give mama quite the workout!  However, you still stay pretty content in the stroller or car seat as long…as we are moving.  Now, if we stop, you wake up within moments ready to take on the next task. 

You are quite the social butterfly at school.  Every morning I take you in and put you in your favorite bouncer, and you just jump and jump and smile and smile.  You love being near the other kids and watching what they do.  You like to hold hands and talk to the other little ones, and it is so cute!  You teachers say you have the best disposition, and that you are such a great baby.  You sleep really well, eat really well, and play really well.  You want your food fast and lots of it, but as long as someone can keep up…you stay happy!  You also had your first set of school pictures, and they are the cutest for sure J

You continue to change and grow, and it is a joy to watch.  Your smiles are contagious, and your excitement when you see me in the afternoons is one of the best parts of my day.  You are such a happy baby, and we are so blessed to have you…so lets play so more Peek-A-Boo!

6 & 7 months

So, today you are 7 months old.  We are going to have to do six and seven in this post because mama didn’t get to six months.  It was the crunch time of tax season, so cut me some slack!  You have grown and changed leaps and bounds in the past two months.  You wouldn’t even recognize that five month old you used to be. 

Your little personality is starting to show, and if it is any indication of your future self…I think I am going to have my hands full!  You are all boy that’s for sure.  You have learned the art of manipulation at an early age, and the fake coughing has reached a whole new level.  We are trying to ignore it so you won’t continue, but some people aren’t on the band wagon…mainly your Papa Bear.  I have heard that when I leave the room, you two fake cough back and forth the whole time…but I guess that is what grandparents are for.  They do all the stuff you want to do instead of what you are supposed to do J

Your favorite things are still eating and the pacifier… with which you are pretty much obsessed.  You also still enjoy being outside and your car rides.  You love to make noise, talk, yell, blow raspberries, fake cough…ugh, and everything in between.  You roll and roll and roll and love to play in your bed.  You also love your bear because you can cover you face with him, and play peek-a-boo which is your favorite game.  When your face is covered you will just giggle and arch your back, and you give me the biggest grin when you are uncovered.  We could play this game for hours! 

You now use the highchair to eat your meals, and you eat like a champ as always.  You always finish your food at daycare no matter how much I send, and you still love your bananas most of all.  You had a real banana a few days ago, and (as long as it is ripe) you love it just the same.  You now even have banana flavored cereal that you enjoy much more than the others.  And…you even hold your own bottle for your daddy! 

You are still a snotty mcsnotters, but we have been told this comes with the first year of daycare, so hopefully, after that, you won’t have it so much.  We are still waiting on some teeth, but it could be any day now.  You can now poop and poot with the best of them, and some days you give your daddy a run for his money!

As far as your mobility goes, you can now sit up, roll over and over, and you love to stand and jump, jump, jump.  You have a jumper that you love, and it is hard for you to sit still.  You can hold on to things and stand up on your own too.  You are starting the basics of crawling.  You get on your knees and scoot around.  Currently, you go backwards, but I bet you be going forward in just a matter of time. 

You really love other kids and dogs.  When there is another baby near by, you want to play!  You like to baby talk back and forth, and you always reach out to touch (or grab) the other baby.  Whenever Hank, Bogey, or Roxy comes around, you just watch and laugh!  There is something about a dog that just cracks you up.  And speaking of laughing…you laugh out loud now, and it is probably the most wonderful sound I have ever heard.  It could be the cutest thing ever…next to yourself of course J   

At your six month visit, you weighed 16 lbs!  You have been growing and growing and growing.  You were so little for so long always barely fitting into your age clothes, and now you can wear some nine month outfits at seven.  You are even catching up to your best bud Sailors who has always been much bigger than you.  Our tiny little baby isn’t so tiny anymore.  You had shots at this visit, and you took them like a champ…barely crying at all!  You are getting better with your sleep, but we still have some rough nights here and there.  Most nights we have to get up at least once, but you usually don’t eat anymore.  Mostly, you need the pacifier, or you need help flipping back to your belly.  It is much, much better than it used to be…but we still have a little ways to go.

Everyone always comments about how cute you are and how great your hair is.  It is wild and crazy, but I think that just helps with the cuteness.  You are still a favorite among your teachers, and, since you are the last to arrive and the last to leave, you get some nice one on one time with Ms. Dot or Ms. Paige.  They love to rock you, play with you, or stroll you around with one of the older babies.  When I get there, you now reach for me and seem excited.  This is definitely the best part of my day.  Seeing you recognize me and be happy that I am there just fills me up!  You are the absolute best J

You keep laughing, and I will keep tickling…but lets see if we can keep the fake coughing to a bare minimum.  Deal?

Love,
Mama

Five Whole Months!

You are five months old today.  FIVE!  Where has the time gone?  Seems like only yesterday that I was feeding you 24 hours a day :)  Out of all your months so far, I do think that this one has been the most eventful. You have grown so much this month, and you are doing many things you have never done before!

You have settled in to daycare nicely.  You are a favorite among the teachers, and they all talk about what a good baby you are.  You only fuss when you are hungry, and you eat like a champ, so once you have your bottle...you are good to go!  You sit at the table with the big boys, and you even play in the exer-saucer.  Very big boy activities if you ask me.  You talk and make so many different sounds, and, before long, I think you will do a full on back bend on your changing table.  You are probably about 13 1/2 pounds now, and you wore your six month pj's for the first time last night.  You are very long, so you are still small for your length, but you have definitely filled out your little legs, and you even have a double chin.  My little, teeny baby has a double chin!

You eat some real food now.  So far, you have had rice cereal and bananas.  You hate rice cereal and you love bananas...so we mix the two together so you can get your iron from the cereal.  You cannot eat fast enough, and you chase the spoon with your mouth and get angry when you aren't fed fast enough.  When you had bananas for the first time, it was like a whole new world!  You were so excited to eat and eat and eat.  We quickly realized that you could easily work the spoon when there was something other than rice cereal on it :) Right now you are eating twice a day, and doing great with it.  And when you nurse these days, it is twenty minutes or less.  Who would of thought we would ever see that day!

We made it through our first sickness.  You had a horrible cough and congestion that led to a fever and ear infection.  You were never overly whiny or upset, but you could definitely tell that you didn't feel good.  You looked very tired and did not have the energy you usually did.  Shortly after starting the antibiotic, you were back to your old self...happy as could be!  You are still congested, and you still get stuffed up when you sleep, but you don't let if affect your mood.  After you, mama and daddy also had to go through the same sickness, but we all came out good as new on the other end.  Guess this is what comes with daycare.

You now like to be tickled, and you are generally a very happy, giggly, smiley baby.  You even laughed for the first time at your Granny.  You love to play with a cloth diaper, and it can keep you entertained forever!  You play peek-a-boo with yourself, and you love to put anything you can get your hands on over your face.  You also like to sit in your chair and watch the baby channel on TV.  It is like your very own easy chair.  Also, we got to use the jogging stroller for the first time because you are finally big enough, and you love it...promptly falling asleep shortly after we get started.  Same goes for the Baby Bjorn.  We read lots of Dr Seuss these days, and you love looking at the bright pictures.  You still love your mobile, and anything that hangs over head.  You take your bear with you to school everyday, and you love to put him over your face when you nap.  Seeing you cuddle with your bear is just the sweetest thing ever!!

You are now a roller!  Most mornings you flip yourself over when you wake up, and this means that you get to sleep on your tummy at daycare.  Your naps in your crib went from one hour to two and a half.  I am sure this makes your teachers very happy :)  You hold you head up really well when you are on your tummy, and you have no problem rolling from tummy to back...you haven't gone from back to tummy yet, but I am sure that is just around the corner.  Your favorite things are still eating, your pacifier, and anything that moves.  You still fall asleep on most car rides and stroller strolls.  I love to give you endless kisses, and you just smile bashfully up at me.  You are the cutest baby ever by the way.

We have gone a little backwards with our sleep these past couple of weeks.  You are waking up to eat in the middle of the night again.  When you were sick I let you sleep instead of waking you for your last feeding because you had a hard time going to sleep.  So, this would mean you would usually need to eat in the middle of the night sometime.  Now you are all better, but still eating in the middle of night.  Maybe you just got used to it again, or maybe this is a growth spurt...but, hopefully, as we add more food you will sleep better.

We are so lucky to have such a happy, loving, precious little man.  You cuddle, hug, and love on us every day all the time.  You love to be picked up and toted around the house.  You make me happier than I ever thought possible, and I just can't wait to see your smiling little face when I get off work...and even when I wake up in the morning.  You are usually in such a good mood, and it is infectious to all of us around you.  You just can't help but smile when looking at your beautiful face.  You have changed our lives completely, and even when it is overwhelming and tiring and stressful, it is still infinitely better than before.  You have made us a family, and I love you endlessly.

Love,
Mama  

38 weeks and 2 days...otherwise known as...THE DAY!

It all started at about 7:00 in the morning…

I woke up, having contractions, but I had been having contractions for weeks, so this was no different.  I got up to go to the bathroom, sat on the toilet, and then…POP…and out came warm water.  My immediate thought was, of course, did my water break?  Then I remembered people saying you couldn’t stop the flow of this water like you can pee, so I tried to stop it and I did, so was this it or not?  Then my next thought, how lucky am I to have it break while I am on the toilet…no clean up!  I told Jonathan I though this was it, so I called the doctor and explained what had happened.  She told me to change positions and see if I noticed any changes, I did, so it was my water breaking.  We were having a baby!!! 

First I was a little nervous, then excited, and then I had my first contraction after my water breaking, and OH HELLO THERE CONTRACTION you were very different than all those before.  Then it set in that this is what an actual contraction feels like, not too pleasant, but not unbearable…yet.  I had my bag packed, knew what I was going to wear, and was told by the doctor that there was no need to rush, so I took a shower, made some breakfast, and then started getting ready to leave.  As I was finishing up making breakfast though, things were starting to get more intense than I expected, so I told Jonathan it was time to go then, and I was eating my breakfast in the car…oh, and guess what time it was…about 8:00 on a Friday morning and we have to go down 400 to Northside Atlanta.  Yeah traffic!  So we get on the road and the contractions are getting worse.  I am convinced we will be using the emergency lane and the entire time I am asking Jonathan “should we get over and use the emergency lane”, and he is saying “should I call a hero unit?” and I am saying, “I don’t know just get to the hospital as soon as you can”.  He goes “I am”, and I ask him to run red lights (after looking of course) once we are off the highway, and he doesn’t and is patient.  And no, we didn’t need the emergency lane or to run red lights.  Jonathan is right again. 

I am breathing and trying to not be in so much pain, and we pull up to the front of the hospital and go in.  I waddle, slowly, up to the front desk to check in, and the lady is not in any hurry.  Does she not see I am in pain?!?  Why isn’t she rushing me to my room?!?  I was a little irrational at this point.  This lady sees this all day everyday and knows there is plenty of time, but all I can think is what is taking so long!? 

We are waiting in the lobby for our room, and next thing you know…Mary Beth and Smith (our neighbors) walk in!  Turns out MB’s water had broken early that morning, and we were going into labor on the same day!  She was a couple of days early, and I was 12 days early, so it was crazy to be there at the same time!  We chat with them a bit, and then the contractions are getting worse.  I have Jonathan ask how much longer it will be.  Tell them I am already dilated!  Like I said, irrational.  The nurse comes out and calmly tells me my room will be ready in 5 minutes, so I try and breathe through the pain.  You are not having the baby in the lobby Brandy, chill out. 

We finally get up to the room and I get changed and hooked up to the monitors.  Family has started to arrive (we called everyone on our way down), and we are settling in for the delivery.  I went in three centimeters dilated, and I was still three centimeters at about 10:00, so I was trying to hold off on the epidural until 5 or 6.  I was doing okay, and then they became much more intense and closer together.  Also, I had to constantly go to the bathroom, not fun.  I was hurting more than I ever have in my life, but I was trying to breathe through them because I didn’t want the epidural to early, and I was scared of not being able to move my legs.  My plan was to wait and see what I was doing as far as the epidural went, but I quickly figured out I was getting one, I just didn’t know when J  The nurses asked me if I wanted one because of my obvious pain, and I said I didn’t know, and then came the vomit.  The pain was getting so intense it was making me physically sick, so I guess it is time.  I was kind of upset with myself because I figured I was maybe 4 or 5 centimeters, and I wanted to hold out longer, but it wasn’t happening.  They came in to give me the epidural, and when they did, I immediately felt better.  I still could move and feel my legs, and I could still feel the pressure of the contractions, which I liked, so I was very happy with my decision.  The doctor come in and checked me again (it was probably about 1:00 now), and I was 9 centimeters!  I flew through the dilation process, and I was probably a 6 or 7 when I got the epidural.  So I held out as long as I had wanted!  Yeah for me, and no wonder I was puking J  

At this point, the folks who aren’t staying are asked to leave, and we start prepping to push.  And here starts the long, long process of pushing…2 hours and 45 minutes to be exact.  I dilated like lightning, but our little man was face up and not fitting through, so the pushing took forever.  The pushing was hard, confusing, and the pressure, OH THE PRESSURE!  I had an epidural, and was still in tons of pain because of the intense pressure.  I couldn’t believe it hurt as much as it did, but I was going to be fine, I was going to do this!  After pushing for so long, I started to get a fever, and they started to worry about junior being in there for so long, so then came “the talk”.  My doctor said that they had to get the baby out now, and that they would try the vacuum two times, and if he didn’t come out then, it was off for an emergency C-section.  My response was to do whatever it is they needed because I just wanted a healthy baby!  So, in come the whole crew of doctors and nurses to try the vacuum…but first, I had to be cut to make room.  Ouch, and thank goodness I got that epidural.  Well, we try the vacuum the first time and it doesn’t work, then it pops off on its own (so doc doesn’t count that one), so here we are at my final push before an emergency C-section.  If he doesn’t come out now, I will not only be cut “down there”, but also across my stomach.  Not cool.  This one nurse comes in, grabs my leg, and tells me this baby is coming out now!  So here we go, I push with all I have, everybody cheering me on, and then…he comes flying out and there is instant relief.  No more pressure, and there he is.  Jonathan turns to me and goes its James Macneace, and we find out we have a boy.  A little bitty baby boy J  6 lbs, 8 oz, and 20 inches long, but I am pretty sure three of those inches were due to his giant head from the vacuum!!  Jonathan said I wouldn’t have believed how hard the pulled on that thing to get him out!

They put him on my stomach first, then took him to get his first check up and bath.  They did all they needed to do to me (get out the placenta and stitch me up) and him (clean out nose, ears, lungs, bath, etc), then he came to me to be fed for the first time.  That was interesting to say the least, but he did well and we made a perfect little team.   

It was scary, exciting, confusing, intense, difficult, life changing, but whatever the process was, it didn’t matter because we had a beautiful, healthy baby boy.  

33 and 3 days to 38 and 1 day

So here we are at 33 ½ weeks, and I get to leave the hospital on two conditions.  I have to take Procardia twice a day (a low dosage blood pressure medicine that is thought to relax the uterus), and bed rest…the dreaded bed rest, but, it turns out, that bed rest for a week really isn’t so bad, so long as it only lasts a week.  The doctors told me the big thing was to get to 35 weeks, so bed rest it was until 34 weeks and 5 days…

I started out the bed rest doing just that.  Recovering for the hospital stay was actually a little more difficult than I expected.  Being in the hospital bed doing absolutely nothing for 3 days, strangely enough, really makes you tired.  We have an adjustable bed (no we aren’t 60), so that was where I stayed for the next week.  It wasn’t super strict bed rest, as I could shower, sit up, etc…I was really just supposed to stay off my feet as much as possible.  I was at a client’s office the day I ended up going to the hospital, and she was such huge help in making it through my bed rest without going crazy.  She scanned in all the documents I would need, so I was able to do exactly what I would have done that week from the comfort of my adjustable bed J  I kept myself busy with my actual work, and it helped me save some vacation time.  She is a great lady to work with!

At my 34 week appointment, I was still one centimeter, so things didn’t seem to be progressing that quickly.  I finished out my bed rest and watching a lot of TLC and HGTV…again, and I was allowed to go back to work the next Monday…two days before I was 35 weeks.  I was still to take it easy, but most of my restrictions were lifted.  At my 35 week appointment, however, I was told I was two centimeters.  The doctor checking me told me this was actually a good thing because I wouldn’t have to go from zero to ten on the delivery day.  It was exciting to start thinking about my little guy coming!

This is also when I had to start counting contractions.  And, when you have tons of contractions, you do a lot of counting.  I had little pieces of paper in my office, in my car, in my living room, next to bed.  They were everywhere!  I felt like all I did was count contractions!  The little man was moving and grooving, and so was my uterus.  However, they were never regular for more than a couple of hours at a time.  When I would get nervous about it and call, my nurse would be shocked when I told her how many I was having, then I would explain that I had been having lots for a while, so then we would assess the situation a little differently.  Apparently, I had a ridiculous amount of contractions for a ridiculous amount of time.  Also, when you walk around dilating for a few weeks lots of things make an appearance on your tissue if you catch my meaning.  My plug came out slowly over the course of a week or so, and there were plenty of other…umm…snotty things to deal with.  Of course, I made multiple calls to my nurse over this time, and was reassured that this was all normal.  Toby, my phone nurse, is a saint J 

On Friday, September 9^th, I thought my water broke in the bathroom of Cinco’s.  We were eating dinner with Brian, Jeni, Lindsey, her husband, Smith, and Mary Beth (who was also very pregnant and jealous of my possible delivery J), so we went up to Northside Forsyth (because it was so close) to get checked out, and turns out, it wasn’t my water breaking, so either I have horrible aim, or pregnancy made me incontinent too among all the other things.  Sure it could have been some other fluid too, but we will never know.  Hospital visit number 2 was under my belt.  And, we even made it back to the restaurant before everyone left!

During the next two weeks, I had several nights when I thought it was time.  I was having tons of contractions that were much more painful, but I would relax, lie down, do some deep breathing, and eventually they would subside.  I would try and go to sleep knowing that if it were true labor, it would wake me up, and, sure enough, I would wake up the next morning still very pregnant.  It was a constant guessing game, and I was a huge mix of emotion.  Nervous, excited, confused, elated, pretty much everything but sad J  I also had all my showers during this time, and was unbelievably blessed by all our friends and family.  We got so many wonderful gifts.  The generosity of everyone was astounding.  We hardly had anything left to buy…which is a very good problem to have!

I went to my 36^th and 37^th week appointments, and I was growing great and Mac’s heartbeat was sounding fantastic…and at my 37^th week, I was three centimeters.  I was dilating at a rate of about a centimeter every two weeks.  At this appointment, my doctor remarked that she probably wouldn’t see me for my 38^th week appointment, but I had always thought from the beginning that I would make it to 38 weeks, and it seems that Mac had the same idea.  I don’t know why, but from about August on, people would ask, and I would say that I thought I would go to at least 38 weeks.  No real reason, just a gut feeling.  Another client of mine (who is a wonderful lady) was praying for me to make it to 38 weeks.  I had told her about my first hospital visit, and at her own selection she decided to pray for 38 weeks.  I had not told her that I thought I would make it that far…it was just a coincidence, or, as I like to think, God at work.  So, we surprised the doctor and showed up for our 38^th week appointment, and three days later Mac decided it was time to make his debut…

33 weeks...or my first trip to the hospital.

Picking up from where we left off in the previous post…

I went in to the doctor to be checked out for my cramping.  I saw a midwife that I had never seen before, and she was great!  She had the foresight to swab me for some protein before she checked my cervix.  If this protein is present, then the odds of preterm labor are high…if it isn’t there, chances are you aren’t going in to labor.  The thing is, once you have your cervix checked, you lose your chance of testing for the protein because touching the cervix messes it all up.  After she checked my cervix, she was very proud of herself for swabbing for the protein…as she should have been J 

So I talk to her about my cramping, she checks my cervix, and then she looks at me and says, “I am going to send you to Northside.”  And my reaction is…Really?  No nervousness, no worries, just really?  She proceeds to tell me that I and dilated one centimeter, and that I need to take the swab and head down to the hospital.  She says there is no reason why I can’t drive myself, so I hop in the car and head down the highway.  I call Jonathan, and he meets me there while I am waiting in the lobby. 

I am first put in a very small room because they think I will just be there for a few hours.  The first thing they do is hook me up to the monitors and start an IV for fluids.  The baby sounded great, but one thing I didn’t know was that I was having contractions…and some pretty big ones at that!  I had absolutely no idea.  The nurse would ask, “did you feel that one,” and I would say No.  Come to find out, the tightening of my stomach was a pre-water breaking contraction, and I just didn’t know it.  I could feel them.  They didn’t hurt.  And there was a lot.  About every 8 minutes or so. 

The first thing they gave me was a shot in the arm.  I forget the name of everything now (except magnesium, I will never for get that stuff, but that comes later), but it made me extremely jittery.  Hands shaking, heart racing jittery.  That did not stop the contractions, so I have another shot a few hours later.  Jonathan sleeps in the chair, me and my mom watch Dance Moms, and I continue to have contractions.  They then decide they will keep me overnight and monitor my contractions.  They give me a sleeping pill, and off I go to sleep in my tiny room with Jonathan sleeping in the chair. 

We wake up Thursday morning, and I am still continuing to have contractions, and I had plenty of them throughout the night.  They then decide that I will need to stay and have some steroids to help Mac’s lung grow just in case he is born early.  Also, I have had more cervix checks than I would like to count, and they are all about the same.  So, we get a bigger room and settle in for the long haul and lots of TLC and HGTV which Jonathan was super excited about.  I get one steroid shot, and I will get the next one in 24 hours.  In the mean time, since my contractions have not subsided, they start me on magnesium.  May you never have to have magnesium.  It is not a pleasant experience, and I had to have it for 24 hours.  The entire time, I felt like me eyes were swimming, just my eyes.  I couldn’t focus on anything and it made me nauseous for the ENTIRE 24 hours  It was awful, and, by far, the worst medication I was given while I was there.  So, here I am on my second “stop the contractions” medication, and I am still having them, but the silver lining is Mac was sounding great, moving a lot, and doing well. 

After my second steroid shot, and the completion of my magnesium (hooray!!) on Friday morning, I was still having some contractions.  They took me for an ultrasound, and everything was looking great.  They estimated him to already be 5 lbs...which will turn out to not be the case.  Mac was the constant in this whole process.  He was doing awesome J  So, I have taken two medications, and I am still having contractions, but not dilating any further, so they decide to try one more medication.  A pill that I can take home with me and take until 35 weeks.  They decide to keep me overnight again just to make sure, and then I can go home on Saturday if everything goes well. 

I wake up on Saturday morning still having some contractions, but still not dilating anymore, so I get to go home!  After three days of hospital food, an uncomfortable bed, and more medicines and cervical exams than I care to remember, I am on my way home!  The only downside, I don’t get to hear Mac’s heartbeat all day anymore…guess I will just have to settle for feeling his kicks J Personally (and based on how things progressed from here), I think this was just how my body was going to do things.  I continued to dilate very slowly over the next few weeks, so I think my body was just readying itself and was going to take it's sweet time.  However, I have a beautiful, healthy boy now, so I wouldn’t change a thing!  Also, I was never nervous, anxious, or worried the entire time I was in the hospital.  It was like deep down I knew that everything was going to be okay, and I had nothing to worry about.  I am sure prayers helped too J

And now, it is on to bed rest…

0 - 33 weeks

So, we are going to back track a bit.  These next few posts are mainly for me.  They are to help me remember all the little and big things that happened during my pregnancy, so that, when I do this again, I won't go crazy on the internet checking my symptoms...I will just think, "oh, that happened last time".  When I say all the things I mean ALL the things, the good, the bad, and the gross.  Lots of lady talk in this one Dad.

In the beginning, the end of January to be exact, I was cramping and cramping and cramping, and my period would not come.  It had been over a week, and my boobs were very sore which was not typical for me as I usually have zero PMS symptoms because I only got periods every couple of months (and I only had them that often because of Dr. Annie, which is a whole other post).  I was talking with Courtney at work, and her exact words were "stranger things have happened," so at her push (thanks goodness she did!) I went and bought a home test, took it when I got home, and there were those famous two pink lines!

Craziness!  No way!  Is this real!?!  Those were my main thoughts.  I told Jonathan (in no cute or special way...I should have, but my mind was very preoccupied), and then the next morning I called the doctor and then went in that day for an ultrasound.  Being that my last period was at the end of November and the fact that they were always irregular, they wanted to check me a few times in a row to gage the growth to get a due date.  At my first ultrasound, there was nothing to see, but my blood work looked good, so I tried to stay positive.  Seeing nothing on that little screen can be discouraging, but they reassured me that I was very early (maybe 4 weeks), so they made me an appointment for two weeks later.  At this appointment there was a sac (!!) and on that sac a tiny little circle that flickered.  There is was, for the first time, Mac's little heart just a beating.  It was surreal that something that small and so new could have a heartbeat.  They estimated me at 6 weeks.  Then two more weeks later Jonathan and I went in, and there he was, my little gummy bear with his heart beating away.  The estimated me at 8 weeks and gave me 10/5 as my official due date.  I could not believe how much the tiny circle had changed in just two short weeks, but there he was, looking like a little baby already!  The doc was comfortable with my progression, so from there I went to my monthly appointments, but first, I had to be prescribed progesterone because mine was a little low, and I continued to take one pill twice a day until 12 weeks.

My main symptoms in the first trimester were nausea, fatigue, and hip pain.  I was crazy tired.  Not only was I tired just because I was pregnant, the progesterone quadrupled that tiredness, AND it was tax season.  So here I am, hardly able to keep my eyes open, nauseous every morning, and working 50-60 hour weeks.  Fun, lots of fun, but no amount of unpleasant symptoms could put me in bad spirits because I was having a baby!  Not even the hip pain…oh, the hip pain.  At about 10 weeks or so, I started having intense hip pain.  I couldn’t sleep, and I couldn’t get comfortable.  No matter what I tried, my hips just ached and ached.  I researched pregnancy pillows, and decided on the Snoggle.  And that was one of the best purchases I had ever made!  It wasn’t complete relief, but I could finally sleep.  And that thing went with me everywhere (Charlotte, Illinois, etc)…except New York because it wouldn’t fit in my luggage :)  That was pretty much it for the first trimester, but the main thing for me was just making it to that magic number…12 weeks.  For some reason, when you get to that point, you can breathe a little easier.  I never stopped worrying, but it was a little easier after the first trimester.  I also got to end the progesterone pills at 12 weeks, and (so I thought) my energy would increase (it definitely didn’t).  The second, however, is a different story.

This is the fun trimester.  I started to look pregnant at the very beginning, but I wasn’t so large yet that I was uncomfortable.  I tried on my first maternity clothes at about 16 ½ weeks, and my first thought was…why did I not start wearing these 6 weeks ago?!?!  I started feeling little movements that I finally figured out were kicks, and that was amazing.  From the very first kick to the day of delivery, feeling him move in there was wonderful every single time.  There is an indescribable amount of joy every time you feel those little...or big :)...movements.  It never, ever gets old.   Throughout this trimester, the kicks got bigger and bigger to where I could see the movement, and I would just sit and stare at my stomach ALL the time…I loved it!!  At about 20 weeks Jonathan felt his first kick, and his eyes lit up!  At about 21 ½ weeks I saw my actually belly jump for the first time.  My monthly appointments were going well, and I loved going so I could hear the heartbeat!  I did have a time where I had some green discharge at about 5 months…ewww right?  I, of course, thought the worse…my plug!...but it was actually just a bacteria infection that I took an antibiotic for, and I had to repeat this same thing about 6 weeks later.  I had the glucose test and passed, but I didn’t eat as soon as I should of, and I crashed hard afterwards…but it was nothing a little food couldn’t fix.  I called the doctor often.  Pretty much every time I had a question.  I was not shy about that at all…and I was not googling for answers because that just sends me to the worst possible conclusion.  During this trimester, I also flew to New York with no problems and had a fantastic time at my brother-in-law’s wedding.  I did Pilates until the end of this trimester, and I generally felt pretty good.  Tired, but good. 

The third trimester was also fun, but towards the end…I was pretty uncomfortable.  This trimester was also very eventful.  More so than I would have liked, but it all worked out for the best!  This is when I started to lessen my activities.  I stopped Pilates, but I continued to walk with Hank as much as I could, but some days were just too hot.  It was the hottest summer, and I was 30 pounds heavier.  Not the most comfortable of seasons for me :)  My appointments were again going well.  I was gaining about a pound a week, and measuring just the right amount of inches.  I continued to watch my belly grow and the movements inside become more and more noticeable on the outside!  However, at about 33 weeks, I noticed some cramping.  I had an appointment and mentioned it to my doctor.  She told me to call if it didn’t quit or got worse.  Well, that night it actually kept me up, so I called the doctor and went in.  This is where I will pick up with the next post…            

Four Months :)

Where does the time go?  You are four months old already, and you are becoming a little man right before my very eyes J  This month marked mama’s return to work and you starting daycare.  You have adapted wonderfully.  When I take you in the morning, I unpack your little bag and then cuddle and hold you until you fall asleep so I still get to put you down for your first nap.  I hate leaving you everyday, but you don’t seem to mind.  You get to play with all the other kids, swing in the swing, bounce in the chair, and play with all the different activity mats.  They have way more to do than we have at home!  When I pick you up, you are usually napping in one of the many bouncy seats, and are just as content as you can be.  All the teachers talk about how good you are, how little you are, how big and beautiful your eyes are, and how crazy your hair is!!

Now that you are in daycare, you eat from a bottle three times a day, and you take your bottle like a champ!  You eat much more than one would think someone of your size would (12 lbs 4 oz, 25 inches).  You take 6 oz at every feeding!  So, needless to say, we burned through my frozen milk pretty fast.  I can’t quite keep up with you while pumping, so you get the occasional formula bottle…no big deal, you like it just as much as the other. 

You have become much more active this month.  Your new thing is little mini back bends.  While you are on your back, you love to put your feet down and lift up your butt into a half back bend.  You love to stand, kick, and just wiggle around in general.  Your talking has even changed.  You make new sounds all the time, and watching you grow and change is fantastic!  We tried cereal for the first time, and you seemed to neither like it or dislike it.  It confused you more than anything.  I think you got some to go in to your belly, but the majority of it was on your bib.  It is hard to feed a baby a liquid by spoon, so we will just keep working on it.    

We have much more of a routine these days since I am back to work, and you have even started sleeping through the night some nights!  Your typical time is 10-5, pretty early, but way better than getting up in the middle of the night J  You even did 10:30-6:30 this week!  So, I can see the sleep slowly improving.  Hooray!! 

Your favorite things are eating, eating, and eating – still #1, and as I have said before, you would eat all day if I let you.  Your pacifier is number two, and a close third is anytime you can lay on your back or stand, and kick, kick, kick.  You also love to look at yourself in the mirror, chat in the mornings, and smile J  One of my new favorite things is a new eating habit you have started.  You will be nursing, nursing, nursing, then you will stop, look up at me, give me a huge smile, then dive back down, eat, eat, eat, then stop, look up at me, show me that beautiful grin, and then repeat.  It is the cutest, sweetest thing ever!  I love, love, love it!

Every day is a blessing, and you have made me and your daddy the happiest we could be.  We love you little buddy!

Lots of Love,

Mama

So, about breastfeeding...

So…breastfeeding…ummm, how to say this nicely…SUCKS (to start)!  And I feel like it is the one thing that no one talks about when you are pregnant.  You hear all about delivery stories, pregnant stories, baby stories, but no breastfeeding stories.  

The first two days were okay because I was in the hospital and had help.  I saw a lactation lady (please do this if you have the chance), and she said my little guy did great.  I got this, no problem, this is a piece of cake.  Then, I got home, and Mac decided to not sleep all day like he did in the hospital.  The first two weeks were miserable.  Not only was I one big raging hormone, I basically felt like I had to nurse 24 hours a day…read that again…24 hours a day!  That is exactly what it felt like.

I didn’t use a pacifier for the first two weeks because of nipple confusion, so I was the pacifier.  He cried (I would cry), then to the boob.  He was hungry, to the boob.  Basically any other reason, to the boob.  I felt like I was tied down.  I was never going to be able to leave the house again!  I was nursing every two hours, but he took almost an hour to eat because of all the falling asleep, so I started nursing, an hour later finished nursing, then in about 45 minutes to an hour later, I started nursing again.  Not horrible right, but then came the evenings and cluster feeding.  Then it really was constant.  He would probably be off for about twenty minutes, then crying, and back on again.  And I am supposed to start building my supply by pumping…when exactly!?! 

I thought I had supply issues, I thought he had latching issues, I thought everything.  Then I called the lactation consultants at Northside (these women are wonderful!!), and she told me everything I was experiencing was normal.  Really?  Normal?  Why did no one tell me this?!?  I called Beth (sister-in-law), and she confirmed that it was in fact normal…and then gave me the most used and most useful pregnancy advice...“It will get better”  And boy did it ever!

In order to keep myself from going crazy, I started giving myself goals.  I will solely breast feed until 4 weeks…4 weeks came, and it was easier.  I will solely breastfeed until 8 weeks…8 weeks came and went.  Now, we have reached 16 weeks, and I am still doing it.  And guess what, I LOVE it.  No joke, love it J  It is our quiet time together.  A time when I have him all to myself.  When he looks up at me while he is eating, with those big beautiful eyes, I just melt.  If he is ever crying and I can't get him to settle down (like he was after his four month shots...nothing worked, the pacifier, rocking him, waking him, nothing) I just nurse him and within seconds he is calm and quiet.  I have never been unable to console my baby, and that is a good feeling.  We had a horrible case of the stomach bug in our house, and while me and Jonathan were laid up in bed for 24 hours (on different days), the little man never even showed the first sign (I continued to feed him through my sickness), and I think this is just another good thing about sticking with breastfeeding.  He was getting the antibodies in the milk, and his body was building the defense before he even had the chance to catch the bug.  When it came to being out and about, I stopped stressing about how I was going to feed him, and now, if it is time to eat, I feed him no matter where or when.  I pull out my nursing cover, and we do what we need to do.  No heating necessary!  And, since I have stopped worrying about it, it has only gotten easier and more enjoyable.  Also, did I mention the ridiculous amounts of money that it has saved me.  I have only purchased two of the smallest cans of formula in four months, and my second can is still over half full.  Some people would have to buy two of those cans per week!!  So, I will have only spent about $30 on formula in probably 20-22 weeks!  You can't beat free food :)

I now pump at work three times a day to try and keep him just on my milk, but, here in the near future, he will probably be on one formula bottle a day as I can’t keep up with him (he has quite the appetite)…and that is okay because he will still nurse or get breast milk in a bottle at every other feeding.  Now, I actually dread the day that I am all dried up.  Talk about a change of heart…from complete anxiety to no problem at all!  For me, the pros far outweighed the cons, and it is easier for much longer than it is difficult.  If you can get through the first month of breastfeeding, you can get through anything and will be so glad you did!

Three Months!

Well, it is official.  You are no longer considered a newborn.  I can not believe it has already been 3 whole months.  I am so glad I got to stay home with you this entire time because you have been a different baby this past month.  We finally got a schedule down, and I could count on 3 hours, play time, and regular naps.  Mama was actually able to do things around the house!  We became much more mobile this past month also.  You have probably seen the inside of Target many more times than you have cared to :) 

This past month you have grown and changed more than any other.  You entertain yourself sometimes, and notice things is a whole new way.  You notice when I leave the room, you watch me walk around, you can even see my funny faces from far away!  You smile constantly, and you are generally a very happy baby.  You eat and play, and then at about an hour and a half in you get a little fussy which means it is time for the rocking chair...then it is off to sleep for about an hour and a half...sometimes less, but you usually are happy to play until the next time to eat.  You could almost set a clock to your schedule these days, and that has helped mama tremendously!   If only I would have know at week one what I know now!  How much easier things would have been, but you live and learn, and I have learned a lot :)

Your favorite things have changed somewhat now. You now love your toys!  Well, basically anything that hangs over your head that you can swing your arms at :)  You got a new mobile for Christmas from your Great Aunt Ronnie and Great Uncle Max, and you are obsessed!  I turn it on, and you just stare and kick and talk and squeal...it makes you as happy as can be.  You also love your activity mat because you can lay on your back and hit the little creatures that hang down.  You still love your car rides, and still number one and two are eating and that pacifier!  You eat a little quicker these days, but you still like to eat about every three hours around the clock, so we are still working on the sleep thing.  You now sleep on your belly, and you like that much better.  You put yourself to sleep much easier that way!

Some physical changes are that you are GROWING!  You are becoming mama's big boy!  You are now in three month clothes, and you seem to get longer everyday :)  Another change is you are starting to lose lots of your hair, but don't worry, so are mama and daddy.  Mama's because of hormones, and Daddy's because of...genetics...so we will all just be a big hair losing family together. 

Some big firsts this month were Christmas!, daycare, and formula.  You had your first ever Christmas which also means your first ever Barden Bowling Bonanza!  You slept almost the entire time you were at the bowling alley, and everyone just passed you around :)  You got to visit with all kinds of family, and you got some super cute clothes.  Santa brought you an outfit too!  You also had you first taste of formula at 11 weeks, and you couldn't of cared less.  You either couldn't tell the difference, or didn't care.  I think you will eat anything, so probably the latter.  We give you a little at night sometimes, and daddy uses it to feed you in the middle of the night when he is on duty, and you take it just fine.  Lastly, is daycare.  This is both good and bad.  Good because you get to meet all kinds of new folks and play with them all day, sad because it means mama is going back to work.  I will miss you like crazy!  What I will miss most is our hang out time after your first morning feeding.  It is usually around eight or nine o'clock, and you are just so happy and talkative.  You are full of smiles, and it is the perfect way to start the day.  I will miss rocking you to sleep at nap times, and watching you eat all big eyed :)  I will mss cuddling with you in the morning, and playing with you in the afternoon.  I will even miss changing all those diapers.  You have had two practice days, and you did well.  You have a hard time sleeping there, but I am sure that will improve with time.  Truthfully, this transition will probably be harder for mama than for you.  I will probably cry much more in that first week than you will becuase I will be painfully missing my little buddy...

I love you junior, and I look forward to all the changes in store this next month and those after.  You amaze me every day, and I am so proud to be your mama.