Lucky girl

It has really hit me since having Smith how lucky, blessed and fortunate I am. I have a healthy baby, amazing husband and family and friends who are incredible to me. It almost makes me cry tears of joy when I think about it. Sometimes I forget to stop and realize what a great life I have. It is so hard not to compare your life to others and want what they have but sometimes things aren't always what they seem. My life is not perfect, but it is mine and the only one I've got, so I better enjoy it!

I had special visitors come this week to meet Smith! Mimmie came and it was so great seeing her with him. She is going to spoil him rotten. She has such a soft spot in her heart for children and I know she will be a great mom some day. I was also lucky enough that Sarah came through town and she got to meet Smith today! I haven't seen Sarah since our last girls trip in January 2010. It does make me miss my high school girlfriends even more when I get to see them but like I have said before, I am lucky I have friends that I can miss. It was really special talking about children and parenting and things that have worked for her and her children. It is always nice to get different ideas, advice, etc from others who have been there! I got to meet her sweet Kate and she is adorable and so super smart. She is one of the cutest little girls I have ever seen! What a fun week I have had! It makes not having sleep bearable, haha!

Smith got his 2 month shots yesterday and while I am so happy we can be out and about and around other kids now, it was heart breaking. He was so happy and laughing and then all of a sudden a look of terror spread across his face and the blood curling screams started. OMG, broke my heart. How did I use to be involved with painful procedures every day for a living??? But, we found out he weighs 12lbs, 3.5oz and is 23 1/4 inches tall! The doctor was pretty impressed with the stats so I was/am thrilled. It does look like he is eating enough after all!

Smith is taking his first big road trip tomorrow (sounds like he is big going on a crazy road trip with his buddies; probably will be here before I know it). I'm a little nervous because he has hardly been in the car but am praying/hoping he likes it and it goes well.

I honestly can't believe Smith is over 7 weeks old! He is changing so much everyday and I don't want to forget all of the precious things he is doing. About a week or so ago he started smiling purposefully. It is just the sweetest thing ever! He really gets going when his daddy puts him on the bed and plays with him after work. It is so cute. He laughs sometimes too. He is definitely more interested in toys, noises, etc. He has been holding his head up, I swear, since the day he was born. When you put him on your shoulder and comes off of it and just looks around for awhile. It is nuts. He is not a huge fan of tummy time but can handle it in short spurts. He will lift his head up a little and look around and then collapse from exhaustion. There is no pattern yet to his sleep but I think that is pretty normal. My sister's best friend is a pediatrician and I called her last week to discuss sleep and she pretty much said that is more the norm than not. She said some parents get lucky and have a good sleeper from the beginning but anywhere from 2-4 hours is typical until about 4 months. He slept for a 4 hour block on Saturday and you would have thought we won the lottery we were so excited! Last night he was back to the 2 1/2 stretch, but I know he can do 4 hours so I'm optimistic.

We had a successful trip to the hospital last week to meet with a great lactation consultant. He did awesome and I am feeling more confident. He had to be weighed before and after eating on each side and the beginning weight was 10 lbs 5 oz! Wow, he is getting so big! We did kind of put together that we think his reflux is the reason he would fight the feedings so much-he was in pain. So, I have been giving his medicine 2x/day instead of 1 (doctor prescribed 2x but I was just giving 1). It seems to be working fairly well and he doesn't fight quite as much. He is still a wild little man but I can usually get him to eat without too many punches and scratches from him, haha.

We still just look at him and wonder how lucky we got. I still can't believe he is ours. He is the cutest thing ever!

Houdini???

There are already a few things that I will do differently from the beginning if we are blessed to have another baby-sometime. For one, I will wait to give him a bottle/paci until he is at least 4 weeks old. We have had quite a difficult time with nursing and I think those are the culprits. I have a meeting with a lactation consultant tomorrow and I'm hoping she has some advice for us. We should have the hang of this by now but alas, that is not the case. Another thing I will do is not wake up the baby during the day. I started with a more strict schedule than I should have and I would not let Smith nap for over 2 hours during the day. This has not helped one bit on the night sleep as he does not sleep for over 2 to 2 1/2 hours at a stretch. It might not make any difference but I think it is worth a shot. I have started letting him sleep as much as he wants to during the day. He seems to be happy, so I'm just going to go with it! Also, I didn't swaddle for the first few weeks..mistake. I am a huge fan of swaddling now! It keeps him from waking himself up over jerky movements when he is sleeping. But, our little man is quite the escape artist! We have tried so many different types of swaddling blankets and he always figures out how to get out of them. We have even watched a dvd made by nurses to get the most effective swaddle. It didn't even contain him! We have tried the kiddopotamus, snug n tug, swaddle design blankets, and halo sleepsack swaddle. None of them have worked but I am very optimistic with something I just received today-the Miracle Blanket! I am hoping it works tonight!

Laura Godwin, a Fort Smithian, took the pictures of Smith when he was about 4 1/2 weeks old. I thought they they turned out so cute!

Great weekend

We had some very special visitors this past weekend! Emily, Kelli and Laura came to Nashville to meet Mr. Smith! He loved getting to meet his aunts and I'm pretty sure they loved him too. I'm not sure I held him all weekend, haha. We didn't do anything at all but catch up, eat, drink and relax. I even had a glass a champagne and it was yummy! I miss those girls so much but like I have said before, I am thankful I have friends to miss. Thank you girls for coming to Nashville and for our girl time. I enjoyed it so much!!