way too long

so things here have been busy which is why I haven't posted lately for the two people who actually read this, but it also means this post will be long.

Rylan was just a month old as of the last post and now he is just days away from being 2 months. We have had our challenges, he has a little bit of reflux and a milk allergy, so the last few weeks have been spent trying to figure that out, we still aren't completely there, but much closer. He is still amazing and I love watching him grow. He continues to smile, and greeted me with a huge one on Christmas morning, best present ever! He also is starting to talk more and more. For Christmas James and I got him one of the play mats that have all the hooks and toys, and he loves laying on it and talking to the toys. Christmas was wonderful, my mom was able to come up that week and spend a few days with us. Rylan had changed so much since she had seen him last. They had a great time together and she sure did spoil him, and not just with the gifts she brought :). James and I did our Christmas Eve and it was great to have Rylan here with us, even if he won't remember it, we will. The next morning we went to James' parents and had a very nice time. John and Amanda were there with Sam who is now almost 7 months old. He is so adorable.

We have also learned that Rylan loves to stare at Christmas lights so we took him to a flower shop here that has large front windows and ever year they do different Christmas decorations in each window. Rylan was just mesmerized, it was really great to watch. I don't know what we are going to do when we take down our tree.

The day after Christmas, Rylan gave his grandpa a run for his money by fussing the whole morning, but grandpa kept up well. We also discovered that my EIGHT week old is teething, yes I said teething and trust me we didn't believe it either, but sure enough one of his canine teeth is coming up. After we took care of that, we spent time with the extended family. We have been blessed in the baby department this year, James' cousin Mary had her first, Dylan, on 2/28 and then Sam on 6/1. This was the first time all three boys had been together so it was a lot of fun. It was also fun to think about how next year is going to be with them.

2009 has been such a blessed year, with of course Rylan being the icing on the cake. He truly is the best gift ever, and although I have never been so tired in my life, every moment of it is worth it. Can't wait for it to continue into 2010. Happy New Year everyone!

The laundry can wait

Some times it is nice to just be needed. This morning Rylan was fussy; I had fed him, changed him, played with him on the floor, and read him a story, and none of it helped he was overly tired but was fighting sleep. I did manage to lay him down for a nap in his crib by playing a cd that I use to play for him when I was pregnant, but that lasted less than 15 minutes and then he was up screaming again. So I picked him up and held him close and sat in a chair and was able to rock him to sleep. He didn't need anything but me, and even though there was laundry to be folded, dishes and bottles that needed to be washed, and countless other things, I just sat there and rocked my baby, and we were both happy. My son won't wait, and as a poem I recently found says, he won't keep. Rylan won't be this small for long, and there will come a day when he will tell me he doesn't want me to hug him outside school any more, so this morning I ignored the things around the house that will keep another 5 minutes or even another day, and just held my sweet wonderful son. Here is part of the poem: "But children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow. So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust, go to sleep. I’m rocking my baby. Babies don’t keep."~Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

And as amazing as it seems, Rylan is a month old today. Sometimes it feels like we just found out we were pregnant, but most the time I can't remember what life was like before him. He slowly starting to smile when you smile at him, and he smiles in his sleep. Talking about sleep, he has always been a good sleeper at night, he typically eats between 9 and 10 and then we put him in his bassinet and he usually wakes up between 3 and 4 and then again between 5 and 6, but two nights ago he slept from 10 till 5! Of course I still woke up every hour from 1am on to check on him and make sure he was ok :-) I have been bitten by the mommy bug, that is for sure.

We put up our tree this week and had a great time showing it to Rylan. He seemed to enjoy looking at the lights and contrasting colors. I am really looking forward to this holiday season, we have a lot to celebrate, and even though Rylan is still very young and won't remember this year, we will and I can't wait to start making new holiday memories. Here are some pictures of the best Christmas present under our tree.

So Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving. This year we have a lot to be very thankful for, and believe me I am. I am so thankful for James, my wonderful husband of three years. I can't tell you how much I love watching him with his son. Words can't explain it, even if it means that Rylan is already daddy's little boy; Thursday after we got home from James' parents house, James tried to lay down for a nap and I TRIED to feed and take care of Rylan so James could sleep. Rylan was not having any of it, and no matter what I did, he cried. I tried consoling him in the nursery so I wouldn't wake James up, but James could still hear him so James got up, took Rylan and sat down in his chair, and less than a minute later Rylan was calm and just looking around, and then calmly finished his bottle. I guess James just has that special touch.

I am also so thankful for Rylan. It was only a few years ago that I was told that I would likely have to take medication to be able to get pregnant, but first try and we were blessed. Then they found the cyst on Rylan's brain the day we found out he was a little boy, but after 4 weeks of praying, we were thrilled to find out that he was perfect. And although he didn't want to come out on time, he is a healthy, happy, amazing little boy, and I am so thankful for that.

He is also now almost 4 weeks old and doing great. At his two week check up he was already 8 pounds 15 ounces. And he has changed so much. Every day he looks more like a little boy, and he has such a personality, which we knew was the case even before he was born since he would kick anything and everything that touched my belly as if it was invading his space. He continues to hold his head up more and more everyday and he loves to stare at fans, whether they are on or not. He also has started smiling, and I caught him laughing a little in his sleep. He makes the greatest facial expressions when he sleeps, and has made James and I laugh out loud at some of them. I never believed it was possible to love some one so much, but everyday I love him and his daddy more! We have way too many pictures to post here, but I believe the few people who read this have access to his photos in other places.

1 week old

I really can't believe it, our "little man" is already 1 week old. He is doing really well and is already not quite as newborn as he was just a few days ago. Yesterday when I was trying to burp him he was starting to try and hold his head up. He was turning his head and looking all around. I know everyone says they grow up fast, but I really wasn't expecting that. The family is doing good. I have to wake Rylan up to eat at night, so we try and feed him every two hours during the day and every 3 or so at night. James has been and continues to be incredibly helpful and is so in love with Rylan. Two nights ago had been a rough night for me, so he got up with Rylan after the 5 am feeding and let me go back to bed. Next thing I know it is a little before 8 am and James is bringing me breakfast in bed. It was very nice. We also gave Rylan his first bottle today to get him use to it and I think James was very happy to be able to feed him. We have also given him two baths at home which he doesn't love until you get to washing his hair, then he is in heaven. We also went to our first doctor's appointment with him last Monday and he was already back up to 8 pounds and very healthy. Overall, we are all doing good. James and I are a little tired but trying to get at least one nap in a day.

some pictures

here is a link to some pictures from the first few days.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=29991&l=ec56534551&id=1667568938

He's Here!!!

Rylan is here!!! I wanted to give a quick update between feedings. He born 11/4 at 3:20 pm, 8 lbs 1 oz and 20 inches long. The induction started at about 7:45 am 11/4 when the doctor broke my water and then at about 8 they started the pitocin. I asked and received the epi about 11:25 and was checked shortly after that and had dilated to 4.5cm so we were thinking he would be here around dinner time. Well the doctor came back to check on me at 12:15 and I was 9.5 almost 10 cm. Rylan was still a little high so they let me just labor down till 2:40 at which point the nurse took one leg and James took the other and we started. It was intense but the epi is a wonderful thing. they had me stop pushing at just after 3 so the doctor could come in and set up. We resumed at about 3:10 and at 3:20 he was here. Words can't describe the feelings then or now. James and I both cried. He is just amazing and I can't believe it. James has been beyond wonderful both during delivery and now during recovery. I am so blessed by him, and we are both so blessed with our happy, healthy little boy. We got to go home at 11:30 on Friday. It has been very nice to be back in our own place and Buster is adjusting well to Rylan. I promise to post pictures soon, we haven't had a chance to get through them all yet, but we are all doing well.

40 weeks and 1 day

so our due date has come and gone and although contractions have sent me to the hospital twice already still no Rylan. I had contractions starting on Sat 10/24 at around 6:30 pm they got to 5 minutes apart lasting about a minute for about 2 hours so we called and they said to go into the hospital. We went and got all hooked up to the monitors but despite the contractions, nothing was happening so home we went. The contractions continued and got to about 1-2 minutes apart on Sunday afternoon and were increasingly painful so after about 2 hours of that we called and were sent back to the hospital to be checked, but still nothing so we were sent home. Thankfully, since the contractions weren't really doing anything, they did stop Sunday evening. My mom came up for a few days after that to be with me in case I went into "real" labor while James was at work. Nothing major happened so on 10/28 I had my 40 week appointment. It seemed that the contractions had helped me efface some so they weren't completely useless. The doctor suggested that if Rylan has not shown up by then, that we induce next Wed so Rylan now has an eviction date. James was hoping that he would be here by this Saturday since it is GA/FL weekend and Halloween but it's looking like Rylan is still a little too comfortable inside.

Wow-2 weeks to go

I can't believe that at the longest, in a month Rylan will be here, my doctor has already said they won't let me go more than 2 weeks overdue. I had my showers in Sept. and I can't thank everyone enough that helped throw them and that came to celebrate with us. We are very blessed by all the love. I started my leave this week and it is nice to be able to sleep in and not deal with rush hour traffic any more, but at the same time I am still feeling overwhelmed by how much our lives are about to change. It's exciting, and amazing, and kinda nerve racking. So far everything is still going really well, I am healthy and just dealing with normal 9 month pregnant aches and issues, and Rylan is still doing great and already is showing quite a personality. I can't wait for him to get here and meet him. James is also beyond excited and is really ready for him to be born. Hopefully the next post will be once he is born!

Maternity pics

A friend at work convinced me that I might regret not taking some maternity photos, especially since I have been very blessed and have yet to get stretch marks. James took them with his new camera and I think he did a great job. Here are a few of my favorites.

Nursery

Yay! The nursery is painted and the furniture is put together. James did an amazing job. I got excited and now that we have the dresser I have starting washing the clothes we have for Rylan. It was a very surreal moment when I realized that I was sitting on the couch folding these tiny little clothes for MY son and that he will be here in about 10 weeks. I can't believe how lucky we are and I am just amazed with everything that is going on. Shower planning is under way and I can't thank all of those involved enough. Gifts have started being mailed including the beautiful blanket that my Aunt Carol made for us that is in the picture over the crib. Words can't really describe how I am feeling right now, it really is just amazing.

3d Ultrasound

We got to see Rylan again today at our 3d ultrasound. The pictures came out great, although Rylan tried to keep his hands in front of his face most of the time. We were interrupting his nap though :-). It was wonderful to see him again, he is now one ounce shy of two pounds and the tech said everything looks great.

Just a few days over three months till he is here, I can't believe time has gone by so quickly. I am so excited to meet him in person and can't wait to hold him, but at times I am overwhelmed by all that needs to be done in the next three months. James is steadily working on the nursery, and right now it is a work in progress but it looks great. I can't wait till the painting is done and we can put together the furniture.

One of the pictures, the others can be seen here http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=20035&id=1667568938&l=4404cb4696

New Arrivals

Rylan's cousin Sam was born on June 1st at 12:10 am and my best friend, Jessica, had her little girl, Caitlyn on May 30th at 12:59 pm. Both little ones and families are doing very well. Of course having spent time with both of them and seeing Amanda and Jess take care of them makes me want Rylan here. I did get a small taste of what life is like with a one month old when I stayed with Jess for the weekend which was very nice. Now I can't wait till we are able to finish converting the office into Rylan's nursery. James has some really great ideas for painting the room and I can't wait to see it all put together!

Sam and the happy family

Caitlyn

It's a.....

BOY! On 5/21/09 we found out that we are having a little boy. We were so excited to find this out and it was amazing to get to see him again. There was one small concern on the ultrasound, they found a cyst on his brain which they explained is usually nothing, but it can be a marker for chromosomal diseases. Because of this they set us up for a follow up ultrasound 4 weeks later at a high tech center.

On 6/16 we went to the level 2 ultrasound and the detail was incredible. We are so thankful for everyone’s prayers; the ultrasound showed the cyst was completely gone. Also, the ultrasound checked everything; his brain, heart stomach, everything, and the doctor said it all looked wonderful. We have a healthy little boy growing inside. We had decided shortly after finding out about the cyst to leave it in God’s hands and it was a wonderful sense of relief knowing that everything is ok. Now to start working on little Rylan’s nursery.

5/21 ultrasound

6/16 ultrasound

Mother's Day 5/10/09

I celebrated my first Mother's day morning with James. He gave me a very sweet card when he got home. Then it was off to church and lunch with mom and dad Hughes and John and Amanda who was also celebrating her first mother's day. The picture is of her and I after lunch. It was such a nice day and I can't believe that by this time next year our child will be here and be about 6 months old. It is just so amazing.

first peak

Here is the first ultrasound picture that was done on 3/20/2009 8 weeks and 2 days. We couldn't believe that there was a little person growing.