Happy 1 Month, Austin!

Austin, Austin, Austin!

 

I asked you when you were born to not grow up as fast as your sister has, and you're already doing it -- this first month has FLOWN by!!

 

It is so much fun experiencing the newborn stage all over again.  There are so many things I dearly remembered from when your sister was little and couldn't wait for again (the sweet baby smells, the knocked-out milk comas, the snuggles, and ALL the feels you feel when you hold a baby close to your heart) but there is so much I had forgotten about (How much milk do you drink at one time?  How often should you be sleeping?  When do you start a schedule?)  Luckily, you and your sister were born in the Google era -- I can look anything up that I need to! ;)

 

Austin Christopher this month you::

 

are 10 lbs. 8 oz. and are 23 inches long!

 

are wearing size 1 diapers (say it isn't so!!  wahhh!)

 

are showing the beginnings of smiles and starting to coo :)

 

went on your first vacation!  We went to Panama City Beach with your Daddy's family and stayed at Edgewater Beach Resort.  Never again will we stay there.  You and your sister inhaled way more smoke than you ever have in your lives combined during our week there, it was incredibly crowded and everything seemed to break (2 families had to move condos because their air went out, one moved because theirs flooded from a busted water heater, our ceiling started leaking and CiCi & Papa's condo had bed bugs -- ick!)  You were a champ though!  We took you down to the beach almost every morning and you would nap down there on me for about 2 1/2 hours -- you loved it!

 

don't love your car seat as much as your sister did, but don't HATE it either.  It's just not your preferred seating arrangement and periodically on the drive you will cry out just one time and not too loud, just loud enough -- almost as if you're saying "just letting y'all know, I don't like this.."

 

have a blocked tear duct and it makes you have crusty eye boogers in your right eye all the time -- sad!  Although, it doesn't seem to bother you too badly.

 

LOVE your sister!  You watch her and listen to her all the time.  I know that when you're able to, you're going to be chasing her all around this house!  She loves you, too!  She has yet to be jealous of you or our time together.  She enjoys holding you, but really takes pride in noticing when you need your paci and getting it in your mouth -- just right! :)

 

love to sleep on your stomach (shhhh!)

 

eat 3-4 oz. of milk at a time and eat every 2-3 hours.  Breastfeeding didn't work out for us, either.  So you're on Similac Sensitive formula.  The Similac Advanced seems to hurt your little belly. 

 

Even though during the day you eat every 2-3 hours, at night you'll go every 3-4 and sometimes longer than that!  There have been several nights where you have gone 6 hours and those are the nights I thank you for!! :)

 

are hairy!  You were born with a head full of dark hair (although it has started to lighten some and even look a little auburn at times), but also had thick, dark hair on your biceps, thighs, back and forehead -- so funny!  No wonder I had so much heartburn!! :)

 

are a Mommy's boy!  You can be so upset and nothing will calm you -- not your Daddy, not your swing, not your paci, not milk -- and as soon as I hold you in my arms, you're content! :)  Oh, this warms my heart!  You are attached to me in a way Lucy never was.  You and I just fit together when we snuggle. :)

 

look just like your Daddy!  You have his feet & toes, his legs, his chin, and his ears :)

 

Austin, you have brought so much more joy into our lives that we didn't even know was missing!  You have a different relationship with each one of us that really is special!  I love our time that we've had together so far and can't wait to see where your life takes you -- the world is yours, baby boy!

 

With all my love for you,

Your Mama

Happy 3rd Birthday, Lucy!! :)

Happy 3rd Birthday, Lucy!!

I can NOT believe you are THREE!!!

At three years old, you::

Are 31 lbs. and 38 inches tall!

Love to dance!  It is not uncommon for you to just tell me "I need music!" I turn some on my phone and you will twirl around the room throwing your hands in the air and wiggling your fingers.  You took ballet this last year through the Vibe at Learning Safari, but will take both ballet and tap this next year in studio.  This summer, you completes two of their dance camps.  One was "beach" theme and involved ballet and tap, the other was "camp swagger" and involved hip-hop dance.  You're definitely more into ballet and tap! :)

Love to sing and are actually really good at it!  You can carry a tune well, and love playing instruments -- any kind!  You love your little piano and your guitar. You'll carry it around for hours and actually hold it like you know what you're doing.

Know all of your letters (upper and lowercase) and the sounds that they make.  You're even beginning to blend sounds to make words.  Thanks to some apps on the ipad, you know a lot of the -at and -an word families.  You can also recognize your name and do an okay job of writing it (pretty much only legible to me, but that's ok!)

Can count to 30 (but usually skip 15?)

Love to look for deer when we are out riding the golf cart

Love to swim in the pool (with puddle jumpers floatie) and are even braving jumping off the sides/steps in the deep end.  You are terrified of the diving board, though! 

Austin Christopher Giles

Oh, sweet boy, where do I start?

First, perhaps with an apology for not blogging more often during my pregnancy with you or any sooner than now.

Let me begin with a recap of my pregnancy with you..

Your Daddy and I love your sister so much, we couldn't wait to try again for another blessing.  When we found out we were in fact pregnant with you, it was just a day or two before we went to Disney and we were ecstatic!!  Of course, this meant I couldn't ride any of the big rides at Disney, but you were every bit worth it!

My pregnancy with you was so different than my pregnancy with Lucy.  It was so easy with her.  Aside from a few weeks of nighttime nausea, it was every bit of expected pregnancy discomforts.  With you though... I was nauseous all day, every day until about 14 weeks.  I never actually got sick, but I had a tinge of nausea that stayed with me all day long, regardless of any medications the doctor gave me to try to help it.  And just as soon as the nausea ended, it seemed as if the heartburn/reflux/indigestion began!  And it lasted the whole pregnancy... I also had bad foot cramps and pelvic discomfort with you as, unlike your sister, knew which way the exit was, and were low and in place for a long time.  Part of the hardships with my pregnancy with you could have also been attributed to the fact that I was chasing around your 2 year old sister, that I was working a more rigorous full-time job, that it just was my second pregnancy, that you were a boy, etc.  I was also very anxious to meet you, and so I couldn't wait for the pregnancy to be over and have you in my arms!!

The day we found out you were a boy, I could not stop smiling!  I knew in my heart the whole time you were a boy, and couldn't wait for the changes having a son was going to bring to my current life of tutus and hair bows!  I was also nervous because I know (& love) the girly-girl world that your sister lives in.  I find so much enjoyment in hairbows and ruffles and glitter and pink and frills and sparkles!  How do I change tracks to rugged and sports and cars and mud? I want to be able to invest all things boy into you like I've done all things girl for your sister.

You were actually due on July 4, 2014, but we were able to schedule your c-section delivery for June 25, 2014!  I started counting down months ahead on my phone and would text your Daddy with updates.  I kept a countdown in days remaining on my desk calendar at school and looked forward to marking through the number every morning.  Towards the end of school, all teachers countdown to the end of school, and it did that too, but I was way more excited about the countdown to YOU!

After school ended, Lucy and I had about a month together before you would be here.  I loved and cherished that time with her as our only child and tried hard to prepare her to be a big sister.  She seemed to understand about being careful around my belly and why I couldn't do as much playing as I used to with her.  Oh, she loved you so much in my belly!  Every night, she would say "Can I talk to Baby Austin?" And she would lift up my shirt and get really close to my belly button and say "Hey, Baby Austin!  It's Lucy.  Come play with me!"  She'd give you her Lovie because she thought you were sleepy, and cover you with her blankie when she thought you were cold.  Then she would give you "jamurmus" (ginormous) hugs and kisses.  It really was the sweetest thing, and I just hoped she would love you on the outside as much as she did on the inside.

The day you were set to arrive, I was beyond ready!!  Surgery was not set until 12:30, so your Daddy and I didn't need to be there until 11:00.  I, of course, was not able to eat past midnight the night before, but didn't much feel like eating because I was a ball of nerves and angst!  We were a little bummed we didn't get the 7:30 surgery time slot, but this actually worked out better, because we were able to just wake up and take things slow and make sure we had everything before leaving.  There was no rushed, anxious, feelings.  Your Daddy and I dropped Lucy off at CiCi and Papa's and left for the hospital in Macon.  We checked in and immediately things got started.  They hooked me up to monitors, put in my IV, etc.  from there on, it was just a waiting game.  With Lucy, surgery kept getting pushed back, and we ended up waiting almost 4 hours, but everything was on-time for you!  What a nice change! :)

For whatever reason, I was so nervous about throwing up during surgery.  I don't know why.  I didn't with your sister, so not sure where this angst came from, but it was definitely there.  I told every nurse that stepped in my room that I didn't want to throw up, I didn't want to throw up, I didn't want to throw up.  Thankfully, I didn't!

Just like my pregnancy with you, my delivery with you was different, too!  Perhaps because Lucy was sideways, but they were literally having to push you out of my ribs so hard, I swore they were going to crack or break one of my ribs!  I just remember thinking, "but he's worth it!"  And at 1:01 pm when you were born, they held you up over the curtain and I could see how worth it you were!   They wrapped you up and let me home you immediately for about 10-15 minutes, something I was not able to do with Lucy.  My heart, in those first few moments with you, immediately grew 7 lbs. 12 oz. and 20 3/4 inches bigger!  Oh, how I loved you so much!!!

They had to take you away and clean you up really fast while they finished stitching me up, but we were soon reunited again in my recovery room, again, something I was unable to do with Lucy.

Those next two hours with just you and your Daddy were so sweet!  We just watched you and loved on you, and just soaked up your sweetness!

When we got back to the room, we wanted Lucy to be the first one to see you.  Your Aunt Kiki brought her back and videotaped y'all's first meeting.  It was love at first sight!  She just kissed on you and loved on you --  I could tell immediately how great she was going to be with you, and could tell y'all are going to have a lifelong friendship.  Before much longer, hey brought in your grandparents, and Pop, and my friend Kendall :). They all loved you!

You were born with a head full of dark hair that was so long it came past your ears.  Your Daddy joked that we were gonna have to set up your first haircut before we left the hospital.  In fact! You were hairy all over!  You had hair on your legs and arms -- so much testosterone!  No wonder I had such bad heartburn/reflux with you!  You were only slightly jaundiced in the face, but all of your bilirubin levels were low, so no heel pricks or lights for you!

You were born on a Wednesday afternoon and we were able to go home Friday morning.  Bringing you home and settling in as a family of four felt so weird but so right all at the same time!  You just fit right in!  Lucy loves giving you your pacifier anytime you cry, and looking at your "tiny everything". She thinks you're "so cute" and loves when you wake up and look at her!  She's given you a couple of bottles and likes to hold you.  When I asked her the other day her favorite part of being a Big Sister, she rolled up all her favorites into one and just said "Baby Austin!"

Baby boy, we love you so much and are so happy you're in our lives!  You are just precious to me, and so far, I'm LOVING being the mommy to a little boy!  I know it's only going to get more fun!  Your CiCi said the other day "I want to hold him, but y'all always look like you fit so well together, I don't want to disturb him." And we do!!  You just snuggle right into my chest and we sit like that for hours!  Oh, I soak it up, because I know now it won't be long before you're flying around our living room fighting pirates, and defending our castle from dragons! 

All my love,
Your Mama :)

Dear Baby #2 (13w5d)

Dear Baby #2,

Hi! :)

I want to first apologize for this being the first post to you.  People always said "you'll do things SO different from the first:  won't take as many pictures or keep up with info the same." And unfortunately, as much as I baulked at their comments and remarks, they were right.  But trust that it does not mean we love you any less!  Trust us, we love you a lot!  And in my defense, this pregnancy with you has been so different from the one I had with your sister.  I'll get to all that in a bit.  First I want to catch up on where we've been up until this point!

I found out I was pregnant with you two days before were to leave for Walt Disney World - how magical!!  Like with your sister, I had not been having any symptoms, but knew it was about time to test.  Since Lucy and I were on fall break from school, your daddy went to work while we continues to sleep.  When I woke up, I talked myself into taking a test (he was already gone for work), and checked Facebook while I waited the 3-5 minutes.  After I was sure it had been enough time, I went in to check, and OMG there were two very obvious lines!  I could NOT believe my dream of having a second child had come true!!  I knew this week at Disney would be magical, but not THIS magical! :) From there, I really didn't know what to do.  Your daddy was at work, and I was about to bust keeping it in.  I didn't want to tell him on the phone, so instead I just recorded a message by myself for y'all. ;) I tried to convince him to come home for lunch so I could tell him, but he couldn't, so Lucy and I met him for lunch instead.  I dressed Lucy in a "promoted to big sister" shirt and met him in the chick-fil-a parking lot.  As soon as he saw her shirt, he said "are you serious?" And I proudly got to nod my head "yes!" :) we were so excited!!!

Keeping it a secret was just as hard as it was with your sister.  We didn't wait long though!  While at Disney, we had Lucy wear the same "promoted to big sister" shirt to wear in front of my side if he family to see if they noticed.  Big Daddy saw first (after some prompting) and was elated!  Kiki noticed next, then Sara, and last was your Memaw, and they were all equally as ecstatic! :) the family standing in line behind us got a big kick out of watching them all find out.

Being pregnant kept me from being able to ride some of the rides, but that was fine -- you were worth it! :)

When we got home from Disney, we had Lucy wear the shirt one more time to CiCi and Papa's house, when they thought we were just coming to eat dinner and tell them about our trip.  Lucy wore a jacket, and when CiCi toon it off she saw it, but wasn't sure she read it right.  So, she asked Lucy to turn around so she could see her shirt better and was tickled!  Papa caught on after a bit and was just as happy! :) after dinner, we rode to Kacie and Wesley's to tell them.  As with Lucy, they were excited another cousin was being added to the family! :).  At this point, I was just about 5 1/2 weeks pregnant with you.

We had our first appointment on Nov. 12, 2013.  The 4 week wait times between appointments don't seem as long since I have your sister to keep me busy, but the wait for that first appointment seemed to take forever!  I just couldn't wait to see you on the ultrasound!

When that day finally came, we were able to not only see you, but were able to see your heart beating AND hear it!  What a treat!!  Your heartbeat was in the 150s.  Which was fantastic they were even able to hear it that early and that it was so strong!  You measured 6w4days, and we determined your due date was July 4! How fun!! :)

We eventually told other family and friends as it was brought up in conversation, and eventually announced on Facebook.

Lucy is only 2, and though very smart, she didn't totally grasp the whole baby in my belly thing, or little sister/brother concept.  As the pregnancy has progressed though, she's becoming more aware and interested.  She, on her own, will ask to play with you by tickling my belly or patting it.  She also helps you "take a nap" by covering you with her blankie and giving you her lovie.  She already loves you as much as we do, and I look forward to the special bond and relationship that the two of you will have.  It'll be so different than anyone else's relationship with you or her, one only the two of you will have and know -- :)

I haven't taken the weekly belly pictures with you like I did with her yet, because as I mentioned earlier, this pregnancy with you is very different than mine with her.  With Lucy, I would feel great all day until around 7pm and then be nauseous as all get out!  A medicine, zofran, helped calm the nausea with her and I'd feel better.  But with you... I've felt nauseous all.day.long!!!  And zofran wouldn't touch it.  So I just haven't felt my greatest.  Besides, I've been very bloated, so not much to see baby-wise.  I'll start taking weekly pictures now that I'm in my second trimester and feeling much more like myself! :)

We love you so much, and can't wait to find out if you're a boy or a girl on January 18! :)