Abram Rolling Over 5 weeks 2 days

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c7UGigLzhHk

One Month and Then Some!

It has been over a month since our little guy's arrival!  I would still define him as a really easy baby, but as the "doom date" approaches, the nights have become every more frustrating.  He is on a 3 hour eating schedule and is still eating 2.5-3 ounces breast milk at a time (still primary from a bottle.)  He sleeps usually two three hour stretches back-to-back with a feeding and changing in the middle and then stays up for about 2 hours before starting all over again.  Unfortunately, this means that he'll sleep from 8 pm-11 pm and 12 am -3 am, but be up from 3 am -5:30 am after that.  BUT, he does sleep, so we are just trying to figure out how to work around his schedule for right now.    I made a rash decision this last month and traded in my car!  I absolutely never in a million years had any plans to get another vehicle, but I did!  I had to take my car to the shop and the more I added up the "what's wrongs" I realized that there weren't a lot of "what's rights" left in my ole Nitro.  I traded it in and am now a MINI-VAN Mom and couldn't be prouder!  I got a 2010 Chrysler Town and Country.  It has a lot more room and is so user friendly with Abram in tow.  (Even Adam can't deny that it was a smart move for our little growing family)

Developmentally speaking:

Abram can...
Hold his head up for a long time!  He has been able to bob from day one, but the more tummy time he gets, the better he gets at holding his head at a 45 degree angle.
Move around his crib if he starts on his side or stomach.  He hates being on his back and will wake up very quickly if he is put down that way.  If he is on his side, he will roll to his stomach and wiggle around his crib until he is in the corner of his crib and stuck or until his movement monitor goes bizerk (if he moves away from the sensor, it will let us know that it is no longer detecting movement)
Loves to suck on his hands and fingers.  He has also done this from day one and in utero (many many pictures of his hands near his face and around his mouth.)  He has gotten to the point where he will spit out his pacifier and find his hands instead and soothe himself!
Loves to be held or be in his swing or vibration chair.  He really is snuggle bug!
Loves to be swaddled.  He does so much better at night when he is swaddled and *GASP* in bed with us.
He will track objects or Adam or I will his eyes.  He is slow to follow, but will turn is head side to side to find us.
Still has bad startle reflex that will wake him up and it makes him really mad! Hence swaddling...
Hates bath time unless he is actually in the water.  We are switching to his little tub today!
Hates being changed.  He still screams bloody murder during diaper changes, so we do that first and eat second so he calms back down.
Likes his bumbo for about 2 seconds!  Can't believe he can already hold himself up enough to use it!
BIG NEWS!  As of last night at 5 weeks on October 10, 2011, witnessed by Mr. Adam Watson and myself, he rolled from his stomach to his back!  It was amazing!! According to his baby book, this is a milestone that is considered "advanced" for a 3 month old! (Trying to catch him on video soon!)

All in all he is doing great and growing out of his newborn things.  He is in 1 diapers and officially out of his newborn clothes.  He wears some 3 month pjs and onesies, but is mostly sticking to 0-3 month items.  He is putting on a little weight and is measuring about 21 3/4 and 9 1/2 lb.  Just estimates, but his 2 month appointment is coming up quickly.  Think about us as we head to his pediatric dentist appointment to have his fenulem clipped to fix his "tongue-tied" issue on the 25th.  it will be a stressful day for all of us!

After a Friday night game... Tuckered!

One minute happy...

Next not so much.

Friday night date

Our little family one month

One month old

One month old with Pooh

4 Recipes-One Day

I got a wild hair and had a cooking marathon!  Here's what I brewed up!

King Ranch Chicken Casserole

2 pkg (1 lb total) Chicken Faita meat (I use the precooked and cut fajita chicken)
1 pkg (20) corn tortillas
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of chicken
2 cans green enchilada sauce
1 can Rotel
1 (4 oz.) green chilis
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 small tub sour cream
2 cups mixed cheese

Mix all of the ingredients except cheese and tortillas together in a large skillet.  Heat through and layer mixture with a layer of tortillas (6 per layer) and cheese.  Top with cheese and bake at 375 for an hour.

Spanish Rice

4 T. oil
4 T. chopped onion (I now use frozen chopped onion to speed things up)
3 c. instant white rice
4 c. chicken broth
1 c. chunky salsa

Cook oil, onion, and white rice together until rice begins to brown and onions become soft.  Add chicken broth and salsa.  Cook until there is hardly any liquid left and let sit. 

Pumpkin-Filled Crescent Rolls

(Found a recipe from Taste of Homes and made a few changes)

3 tubes regular crescent rolls
1 regular can of pumpkin
2/3 c. sugar
3 tsp. pumpkin spice

Mix pumpkin, sugar, and spice together and then spread over crescent rolls and roll up loosely.  Bake at 375 until the crescents become golden brown.  Top with cool whip!

Banana Bread

1 c. butter, softened
1 3/4 c. sugar
2 cups mashed very ripe bananas (takes about 3 large bananas)
4 large eggs, well beaten
2 tsp. baking soda
2 1/4 c. flour

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add bananas and eggs.  Combine baking soda and flour and add to banana mixture; stirring by hand, until flour is moistened.

Pour batter into two sprayed loaf pans.  Bake 50-55 minutes!

We had company over and we have nothing left after we cleaned up the leftovers at lunch today.  What a wonderful day spent cooking some fall classics!

Luke "Abram" Watson

Adam and I were scheduled to arrive at the hospital on Sunday, September 4th at 6:00 pm.  Mom came up early and took a quick picture of us before we left our home for the last time as just us two!  We met up with Dennis, Hillary, Madilyn, and Denton in Amarillo for some Ruby Tequilas for our last supper (nerves told me I'd better just eat tortillas!)  Adam and I headed to the hospital and got checked in and gowned up while everyone checked into their hotel rooms.

I am pretty much the luckiest gal in the world to have a mother that will make anything for me on request, so I was lucky to have two adorable hospital gowns for my stay (which turned out to be a lot longer than planned!)  They started Cervidil that evening to soften the cervix and found I was dialated to a one and had been having contractions for a while (explaining the discomfort at the last football game.)  We spent the rest of the evening relaxing, visiting with family, and waiting around!

I got up Monday morning and they removed the Cervidil and let me get ready for the day.  I got to shower, and put on makeup, and even fix my hair before being bound to the bed for the next 36 hours.  This gown was very special with Lexi's birth date and angel wings.  I thought of her a lot throughout the day and felt at peace as the day progressed.

At 7:00 they started the Pitocin to induce labor.  At this point I was still only 1 cm dialated and at -1 station.  Adam's family arrived soon after and we spent the morning getting through contractions and visiting.  By lunch they had started the epidural.  I didn't want to be as uncomfortable this time around so I opted for an epidural as early as possible.  As usual, it was not as effective on the right side and I had to receive extra doses throughout the day to kept the pain at bay.  After lunch, they checked me again and I had dilated to a 4 and they realized that Abram was "sunny-side up" meaning his face was turned forward instead of backwards.  This was going to make it harder for him to make his way down so they attempted to get him turned by laying me on my side with one leg up in a stirrup (fun position when you can't feel a thing!)  The monitors showed that I was still having contractions that were still very close together, but not as strong as they needed to be so they continued the Pitocin beyond their normal limit.  At around supper they checked again and I had progressed to a 7.  Still very slow going!  I even had a teacher from school show up thinking that he'd already arrived, but to no luck.  I was nauseated on and off so family stayed in and out the room for the rest of the afternoon.  At 10:00 they checked again and found that I had not made any further progress in several hours.  At this point, we felt the impending doom!  They called Dr. Freeman (pretty much the best Dr. ever) and he came and broke the news to us that we were going to have to proceed with a c-section.  I shed a few tears from the idea of knowing that this would mean a longer hospital stay, longer recover, and a hell of a bigger bill, but at that point I just wanted him here and healthy.  Adam on the other hand looked like he was gearing up for the Super Bowl.  His nerves got to him, but he quickly digested the information and suited up!

They quickly had me ready for the OR and gave me all kinds of fun drugs to make sure I would be completely numb.  Adam sat right next to me and we held our breath until 11:04 pm when Luke "Abram" Watson made his arrival with a loud healthy boisterous cry.  Overwhelmed doesn't explain the half of it.  Adam was able to see him and bring him over to me in a warmer blanket and then left the OR to celebrate with our families.  The nurses showed me his gigantic footprints and then they dosed me up with Benadryl and spent the next hour fixing me up.  They wheeled me to recovery where I got to see pictures from him getting warmed up and weighed and measured.  He came in at 7 lbs. 12 oz. and measuring 20 1/2 inches long.  Adam admitted that he fell apart once it was all over.

I was so thankful that our families and friends got to see him get his bath and get measured (things that are normally just done in the delivery room.)  After 7 1/2 hours for most of them, it was a fun experience for them.  I was back in a room after 1:00 AM where I finally got to officially meet my little man.  He was able to nurse and go down for a few hours.  The next day was spent just grasping the idea of the long few days ahead.  I was able to get up and moving after lunch and showered and cleaned up that evening.  I refused pain meds via IV until I could get oral medication at 5:00 pm.  I didn't want to experience any nausea with the now very sore stomach.  After that, we spent a few days relaxing, visiting, learning the ways of Abram (who could wet his bassinet like no other) and living on cloud 9.

We were able to get released on Thursday after 4 nights in the hospital.

We left, ate Furrs, did some shopping and got home.  Adam had to quickly run off to his first Junior High football game (which he won).  Nursing was quite difficult because the little guy is "tongue-tied" meaning he gums everything instead of being able to use his tongue.  From this point on, I have been pumping for all of his feedings and he is able to get breast milk from a bottle.  It is a little more challenging because it is time consuming, but he is tolerating it well and is still receiving the benefits.  

The day after we got out of the hospital, Mom drove me to Adam's football game in Stratford.  I am thankful to be pretty pain tolerant and be able to have gotten out of the house and enjoy going and doing!

Saturday, Adam's family joined us to meet the baby and have a hamburger cookout.  I can't believe they made the long trip, but thoroughly enjoyed their company!

Mom stayed another week and we went to Amarillo and shopped (love my jogging stroller!!), took Abram's newborn pictures (which is a lot harder than it looks) and she spent time making things for Abram's first homecoming.

 After falling apart a million more times, Mom left on Saturday after being in the Panhandle two weeks.  She took a picture of us as a new family of three before she left.  I cannot be more thankful for what she did for us while she was here!!

We went to Abram's two week appointment (as well as mine) and found out that he was now 8 lb. 1 oz. and 21 1/4 inches long!  They let us know that would eventually need his tongue clipped to keep from having speech problems in the future and to also allow him to nurse easier.  We have that scheduled for the 25th of October.  He got his second PKU test at the hospital, got to see the Urologist for his sharpened  pencil checkup, and I saw my Dr. at which time I was able to confirm that I was 20 pounds down from my PRE-pregnancy weight (I had only gained 5 pounds from start to finish.)  Dr. Freeman told me to continue to take it easy, but to see him again at 6 weeks.  From here on it's been smooth sailing.  He's got his days and nights mixed up so I am trying to feed him every few hours during the day and disrupt his sleep and see if he can sleep better at night.  We are at four weeks since his arrival with only two weeks before I go back to work.  He is an absolute blessing to us and I have enjoyed every waking second of him being in our lives.

Abram's Room Part 2

I think we have finally put the finishing touches on Abram's room.  We are ready for him to get here! 

 

36 weeks and 1 day at 11:00 pm AFTER the first day of school!

Baby Shower!

I will let the pictures do all the talking and explaining as to how wonderful my mother is!  We were gifted with friends and family showering us on July 30th.  It was amazing!  I can't believe how many wonderful ideas my mother came up with for this special day for Adam and I.

Beautiful quilt made by my Aunt Laurie

Quite the spread with an amazing cake!!!

These ladies are such a blessing!

Party Favors

Adam enjoyed opening presents!

Look familiar?

It's Bed Time! (Or Crib Time I guess)

We received the crib last Thursday and were so excited to put it together.  We got everything out of the box and found the last piece was broken.  I was so upset, but Target got us another crib shipped out and to us in less than a week, so I guess I can't complain!!  We were able to put it together and I am so happy with the way it turned out.  It shows fingerprints like crazy, but we'll just have to work with that!  Thanks Moose and Carmyn for the crib.  It's awesome!  It has a toddler rail and once we purchase the side rails, it will turn into a double bed later down the road!  (Thankfully that is a long time from now)  I have also decided, for now, what Abram's coming home outfit might be.  Eubie McCrary made the cute onsie and I hope the little chunk can muscle into it.  It's just so cute!