{a mama and her little man}

My dear sweet sister, Josie, came to visit me when Quincey was 2 weeks old and she took a few photos of me and my little man.  I edited them -- there are a few others I may try to edit later, but here are a few for now.

 

 

 

 

 

{one month}

One month...oh where, oh where does the time go?  They weren't kidding when they said time flies faster the second time around.  I cannot believe Quincey is one month old already!  I know each month I will be saying the same thing, but really how can it be???

Here is his one month photo and a photo of him with his big sister.

 

 
I have to say, this may be the last photo you ever see of the two of them together...ever! lol  Lets just say it's no walk in the park trying to get a decent photo of an infant and an uncooperative 3 year old.  Oh well...at least I have a photo of them together, right? :-) 

We still haven't gotten into a day-to-day groove yet.  Quincey is still all over the place with eating and sleeping.  I'm not going to lie, I'm exhausted.  I have a major case of sleep deprivation, which has definitely taken a toll on my emotions and most of all my patience.  It's amazing how much lack of sleep can drastically affect the way you respond to a given situation versus when you are fully rested and in your right state of mind.  I don't feel like myself and I can't stand it.  Kaydence is the one taking the brunt of it, which is the last thing I wanted to happen after adding a new member to the family.  So, to put it all out there, we are struggling a bit.  Kaydence has been such an amazing big sister, so helpful and understanding when I can't help her with something because I'm nursing or changing her brother.  She has shown no signs of jealousy or resentment towards her brother or us and for that I'm so grateful.  However, as every parent of a three year old knows, this is such a fragile time of discovery for them.  Discovery of their voice that is.  Ah yes, we have officially entered the world of "back-talking."  Fun times.  So with my lack of sleep, and my patience hanging in the balance, I haven't exactly responded to those situations in the way I know that's best.  It's like I know what I *should* say or do, but my emotions get the better of me and it's like watching a train wreck.  So with that said, I'm hitting the reset button this weekend and starting fresh next week.  I really want my Kaydence back and I know she really wants her mama back, so it will be going back to basics for us next week.  We have nothing on our calendar and I'm keeping it that way.  The last two weeks we have been running here and running there to various playdates/classes and I feel the pressure to get out of the house at a certain time every day is taking its toll on us.  So no plans next week.  We're just going to try and figure this all out together.

As many of you know, Teirney and I are strong supporters of the principles we've learned through a parenting course we enrolled in called Positive Parenting Solutions.  We have taken the course and have learned some invaluable tools that we have already found effective in this journey we call parenting.  Amy McCready, the founder and president, has also authored the book called "If I Have to Tell You One More Time..."  The book is just as excellent as the parenting course and has become our "go to" resource for how to handle tough situations.  I cannot even begin to tell you how this program has changed our lives for the better.  I know I sound like I'm trying to sell this program/book, but it's only because we've seen how effective the principles are when applied correctly. 

I came across the program last year when Kaydence was going through her hitting phase and we were at a loss for how to address it.  We enrolled in the program, and after applying the principles (and corresponding directly with Amy McCready on how to handle the situation), the problem was corrected in a matter of weeks.  In addition, we have established a way to go about our daily routines that has fostered a very compliant child for the most part.  However, as with everything related to toddlers/children, they don't just learn it and do it and everything is peachy-keen for the rest of your lives (don't we wish -- lol).  It's a continual training process, which requires consistency and reinforcement on the parents' part.  So we have had some relapses because we (as parents) have slacked off a bit at times, so then we go back to the basics and do some re-training and we always get back on track.  So that is where we are at right now. 

With being so busy before Quincey was born, and then even more so after, we have definitely slacked on our part in dealing with certain situations correctly, so now it's time to regroup, start over, and hope we find ourselves in that happy place again.  If any of you are struggling with a strong-willed child, or just need a resource for those day-to-day run ins we all experience with our children, I highly recommend this book (and the program if you're able to afford it).  I wish  I could hand this book out like candy to every parent I meet just because it has been such an amazing life saver for us.  I am so grateful that God has placed Amy McCready in this world to share these tools with parents like us...I don't know what we would do without her!  Ok, off my soup box now. lol  But seriously, go check it out!

Moving on...

Quincey is growing like a weed!  At his first appointment with the pediatrician after he was born, he weighed 6lbs, 4oz (10%), was 20 1/2 inches (75%), and his head circumference was 33cm (10%).  When we took him for a weight check a few days later, he was 6lbs, 8oz.  She then told us we didn't need to come back for another two weeks.  So we went back when he was 3 weeks old and he weighed 8lbs, .5oz.  Our pediatrician was thrilled and so were we.  She told us we didn't need to come back until he was 2 months.  However, I did need to bring him in to get something else checked out last week (4 weeks) and he weighed 8lbs, 12oz.  Yay!  Our little 6lb, 10oz baby is growing bigger by the day!  His newborn sleepers are already getting tight on him.  I can't believe it because Kaydence seemed to stay in those for a much longer time.  I think he must be longer than Kaydence was at this point.  They won't measure his length again until his 2 month appointment, so we will find out then.

Quincey is such a good baby boy...so sweet and snuggly.  I finally got a snuggle bug!  He doesn't really cry unless he has a belly ache/gas bubble.  Other than that, he is as content as content can be.  He sleeps so much right now and is sleeping well at night too.  He just wakes up frequently to eat and as every new mom knows, you can't just do a quick feed and then put them straight back to bed.  The entire process takes at least an hour (if not more depending on whether or not they have a gas bubble, etc.).  You feed them, you burp them, you change them, rock them and put them back to bed.  So even though he sleeps well between feedings, the actual amount of time that I get to sleep is limited when he wakes up every 2 hours to eat.  Around his second week, he was giving me 4 hours between feedings at night, but then he went to 3 hours, and then to 2 hours.  Now we are back to 3 hours.  I did have a couple nights where he gave me 5 hours and that was like heaven, but it seemed to be short lived.

We moved Quincey to his crib at 2 1/2 weeks and we gave him a bottle for the first time when he was one day short of three weeks.  He took it like a champ and has been taking one bottle a day since.  Teirney always gives it to him at night at either the 8:00/8:30 feeding or the 11:00/11:30 feeding.  Like I said, we still haven't figured out a good routine for bedtime with him yet (sometimes he eats at 7:00 p.m. and sometimes 9:00 p.m. and he doesn't have a set bedtime yet or anything).  I feel like it was so easy with Kaydence -- maybe because we didn't have to juggle another child's bedtime with hers?  I don't know.  It just seems like she fell into a really good rhythm and routine right away, but maybe that's all in my head.  I wish I would have written down what her actual daily schedule was...it would be helpful to look back on right now.  It's amazing how much you forget.  Oh well.  

I apologize that this post ended up being a novel, but I just wanted to document some of this stuff for my own records.  If you've made it this far, you must be a dear friend...bless your heart! <3<3<3  I hope I can write again soon and post more photos.  I'm still working on the photos from the actual birth, so I hope to get those done soon so I can post them before he is a year old. :-)

{quincey's nursery}

I'm finally getting around to posting these, so it's sort of old news, but in case you care...Quincey's nursery.

Quincey Gray

Let me introduce you to the newest member of our family.

Quincey Gray -- born April 6 at 1:53 p.m. -- 6lbs 10oz -- 20 1/4 inches

I'll post the rest of the birth photos when I get them all edited.

Photos by my sister, Josie Young, edited by me. 

Birth Story: So I had my baby...

...and he will be one month old in two days!  My blog has been severely neglected and for that I apologize, but as you can imagine I've been a little busy (and sleep deprived) these days.

He was born on April 6 at 1:53 p.m.  He weighed 6lbs 10oz and was 20 1/4 inches long.  He is perfect in every way and we adore him!  Here is a quick birth story for you.

My blood pressure had been creeping up at my last two appointments.  At my 38 week appointment my blood pressure was 130/86...not horrible, but higher than it had been and considering my history of pre-eclampsia with Kaydence, so my midwife was taking note.  That appointment was on Tuesday, April 3 and she said to come in the next Monday (after Easter), and since I would be 39 weeks at that point, she said wouldn't hesitate to induce me if my blood pressure continued on this path.  She said to take it easy the rest of the week and to call her if I had any headaches, swelling, or vision changes.

I really wanted to avoid being induced if I could, so I was praying that I would just go into labor on my own.  I thought Easter weekend would be nice since then all our family could come down and not have to take off work, etc.  Well, Thursday (April 5) night I got a headache.  I was of course up all night worrying about it and figured I would call my midwife in the morning to discuss.  I got no sleep that night and around 4:00 a.m. I ate 3 bowls of cereal and went back to bed to try and sleep.  I fell asleep around 4:30 and slept for about an hour.  Around 5:30 a.m. I remember waking up and just laying there in bed thinking, worrying, and praying.  I prayed that my water would just break on its own so that I wouldn't have to be induced.  Ten minutes later at 5:40 a.m. it did just that!  It was truly an answer to prayer.  A couple nights prior, I told Teirney that we should put some towels under our sheets just in case my water breaks in bed.  He laughed at me at the time, but I'm so glad we did that!

Teirney knew I had a rough night since I was in and out of bed all night long, so at 5:40 a.m. when my water broke in bed I said "um, honey, my water just broke."  I'm not sure he believed me at first.  He said, "are you serious?"  I laughed and said "um, yes."  I got up and called my midwife.  I was told to call when my water broke because of my high blood pressure.  I wasn't going to be able to labor at home because they wanted to keep a close eye on me.  I wasn't having any contractions, but all night long I had felt like I needed to have a bowel movement (sorry if that is tmi), so after my water broke, I *really* felt like I needed to have a bowel movement.  It may sound silly, but I had wanted to ask my midwife if I should because I didn't know if the pushing would be bad. lol  But I ended up going before I could even ask her and all was fine (haha).  I still wasn't having any contractions though.

When my midwife called me back I told her my water broke, etc. and she then told me the sad news that she wouldn't be able to deliver my baby that day because her and her husband were going out of town for Easter.  I was so sad and I know she was too!  Fortunately, there was another midwife who I had a few appointments with who was going to be there, but it just wasn't the same as having Cheri there with me.  She told me I could shower and get ready and then come up to the hospital...she said I didn't need to rush, but that I should come up as soon as I was ready.  So we ran around trying to pack up last minute stuff and I hopped in the shower.  Still no contractions.

Oh I should mention, the awesome part of all this was that Teirney's parents had come into town on Thursday and were planning to stay for Easter weekend, so it was perfect because they were already there and were ready and willing to take care of Kaydence.  Things couldn't have been timed more perfectly (well, except that I had wished my midwife would be there).  

We got to the hospital around 7:45/8:00 and they put me in triage (just so they could make sure my water really broke...hehe).  I still wasn't having any contractions (well, at least none that I could really feel).  My blood pressure was 130/97, so they had me lay on my left side (which is how I labored with Kaydence too) and when they retook it it was 126/86.  So that pretty much determined that I would be laboring on my left side again for this baby.  My blood pressure kept fluctuating because at 8:30 a.m. it was back up to 132/82.  At 8:45 a.m. I was 3.5 cm, but still no contractions.

I was beginning to worry that this was going to be an extremely long day and that they might have to start me on pitocin because I wasn't contracting at all.  They moved me to a room around 9:00 a.m. and I finally started having contractions around 9:30 a.m.  The following is what Teirney recorded for me.

11:03 a.m. - 4.5 cm (steady contractions -- not too painful)
12:35 p.m. - 6 cm (contractions more intense -- can't talk through them -- epidural)
1:00 p.m. - 7 cm (contractions 2-3 minutes a part)
1:23 p.m. - 8 cm
1:43 p.m. - almost 10 cm
1:53 p.m. - 2 pushes and our little boy came bounding into the world

When his head was out everyone said he was turning his head and looking all around trying to figure it all out.  So cute!  My sister and mom came just in time to see him being born.  He scored an 8/9 apgar.

I feel so blessed to have relatively quick labors.  With Kaydence, from the time my water broke until the time she was born it was about 8 hours and it was the same for this little guy, so I'm hoping that is what I can expect for the next one too.

We're still trying to get into some sort of routine.  My parents stayed with us for the first two weeks and then Teirney took paternity leave last week (after my parents left).  So this was the first week of just me, Kaydence, and Quincey during the day.  It went pretty well for the most part, but Kaydence is going through a bit of an adjustment (obviously).  I think it will take some time for her to get used to the new "normal."  She is such a big helper and adores her brother though.

My sister was there taking photos for me.  She had borrowed my DSLR a month prior with the hopes to learn how to use it before the birth.  And learned she did!  I thought she did an amazing job! And then considering she had only picked up a DSLR for the first time a month prior, she impressed me.  She shot the whole birth in manual...I was pretty proud.  I was hoping to have the birth photos all edited before posting my birth story, which was why it took me so long to write this, but it just hasn't happened.  So I'll post a couple teasers and then I'll post the rest another time.

I'll post an official introduction in my next post...I realize I didn't share his name yet. :-)

Thank you, Josie, for doing such a wonderful job on these!  Photos by Josie Young, edited by me.