Matthew is a Month Old!

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but Matthew has already been here for a month! Everyone always says how fast the time goes, and now I know what they mean! At his one month doctor's appointment he weighed 11 lbs 6 oz and was 23 inches long! Matthew has had lots of new experiences this past month. He has been to several stores and restaurants, gone to church, attended his first concert, had his first real bath, stayed with a babysitter, visited his other baby friends, had lots of visitors, and strolled around downtown Winston-Salem. He has also begun holding up his head during tummy time, tracking things that make sounds, laughing and smiling randomly, and perfecting his "I have a gas bubble" scream. He is only waking up once at night now, and is going right back to sleep afterward which makes his mommy very happy :o) Here are some photos of his recent adventures.

Adventures in Parenting Begin

Brian and I have been making the transition into parenthood the past few weeks. We have learned that babies can fart louder than adults, sometimes they cry for no good reason, and they make really funny faces when they're sleepy. While we are both tired, we are enjoying our new roles and our little man. When we went to the pediatrician on Friday he weighed 9 lbs 12 oz, which was 11 oz more than he was a week ago! Needless to say, he has the eating thing down. It was also great to have my mom here this past week. She was a tremendous help with things around the house, and had the magic touch to make Matthew stop crying! Here are some pictures from the past few weeks.

He's Here

Just when we thought he would never come (mostly Erika)... He's here. Erika had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday afternoon and the baby was 9 1/2 pounds. After the ultrasound, Dr. Lewis shook Erika's hand and seemed like he was about to leave the room. Erika said "can you strip my membranes or something? He said "I'll do you one better, go to the hospital." Erika got checked in and monitored up and I arrived after getting our bags from home and letting Cajun out.

They started oxytocin and she started having pretty strong contractions pretty soon. After about an hour of good ones coming every couple of minutes Erika quit being a hero and got an epidural. After that it was pretty amazing because she was texting and chatting on the phone during pretty strong contractions... the miracle of modern medicine.

It seemed like about an hour but really about 8 hours later Erika started pushing. The doctor showed up within 25 minutes and he didn't wait long. Erika asked the nurse if his birthday would be the 26th or 27th. She said it would be a miracle if he was born on the 26th. Within 20 minutes he was out, at 11:56pm... and way bigger than I expected! It was like the movies where the baby comes out as a toddler!

All the tests and exams for mother and baby checked out beautifully and we left the hospital this afternoon after a day and a half. Matthew slept most of the day yesterday. He's been really good so far. I'm especially impressed by the wonders of swaddling. It's like an off switch for crying.


We read a book about acclimating your dog to a new baby. I think it was a waste of time because Cajun has been about as good as you could expect from any dog. We brought Matthew home and and then let Cajun out. Cajun gave him a couple good licks on the head and then looked up at me to say "He's cool, let's play, I haven't seen you in two days." Erika thought it would be funny to get Cajun a shirt that says "Big Brother".

I guess due dates are just suggestions...

So today is officially my due date, and so far no sign of the baby. I guess I should have seen this coming, since I was 10 days late when I was born. Alas, I couldn't help but let wishful thinking get the best of me. Thankfully I feel fine, and am not a miserable pregnant person. The only thing that really stinks is that every time I call someone they assume I'm in labor, and I am forced to think about the fact that the baby is not here yet, and probably won't be for at least a few more days. I think I'm going to stop calling people until he arrives or I go into labor! The baby is being very considerate though. He has allowed me to get everything on my to-do list done and to enjoy some time resting and catching up on my sleep, which I'm sure I won't have much of in the weeks to come. I don't have much else to report, but hopefully I'll be adding a new post with pictures of the baby in a few days!

4 weeks left!

The past few weeks have really flown by, and now we find ourselves 4 weeks away from our due date! Hopefully we will be able to find time between all of the preparations to enjoy the last few weeks as a two-some before number three arrives! We will be getting another ultrasound sometime next week to see how big the baby is so far. My fears will either be confirmed or dissipated, depending on what we find out! Here are some recent pictures both of me and of the nursery.

Baby Shower

Things have been busy around here, and I haven't updated in a while. We have now finished the nursery (for the most part) and as soon as I finish putting away the boxes that are on the floor, I will take some pictures and post them! Last weekend Brian and I went down to Bradenton, where my mom threw us our first baby shower! We were able to visit with lots of friends and family, and celebrate the new life that will be joining us in about 8 short weeks! We were also very thankful for the many things we received in preparation for the new arrival. Here are some of the pictures. There were a lot more of family, but for some reason they didn't copy to my flash drive and I don't have them. I'll have to get them from mom later :o)