Just Shy of 8 Months

I seriously cannot believe how fast time is going. Eli will be 8 months in a little over a week and that just blows my mind. I spent today putting up the Christmas tree and decorations and even though he was sitting there watching me while he played I think it really hit me when I put his stocking up - we get to have Christmas as a family of THREE this year!! He is SUCH a happy and laid back little boy and he is growing like a weed. He had his first sickness this past week (an ear infection) and at his doctors appointment he weighed 21 pounds 10 ounces - yikes! He is getting chubbier and chubbier since he is content not crawling and just laying or sitting and playing and rolling around if he wants something, but he is still really active. He is the absolute joy of my life, even in his most trying moments. This is going to be one heck of a Christmas!!

Happy Halloween!

Yes, I realize I am MASSIVELY behind in posting. Someday I hope to get back to it, but right now is not the time as I am about to feed the kiddo and head out to a carnival with our little Yoda! Hope you all have a great halloween!

Three Months plus some

Three and a half months have passed in the blink of an eye. Every single day this little boy amazes me by doing something new. He goes to town jumping in his jumperoo, he can sit with the help of his bebe pod or some pillows, he can roll from his belly to his back, he is a little chatterbox and he eats like no three and a half month old I have ever seen. His pediatrician had us start adding cereal to his bottle three times a day to hopefully help fill him up a little better so he doesn't gain as much weight as he has been. His daily meals consist of three bottles that are 4 oz. formula and 4 tbsp. cereal and one bottle that is 7 oz. formula. Half of the time he drinks an extra 2 oz. of formula after his cereal because he is still hungry - yet even with all of this food my little guy isn't a big chubby baby! We have tried eating the cereal off of a spoon, but he isn't totally ready for that yet. His problem is he eats fast so when I feed him off of a spoon he can't and that makes him very mad. We keep trying though and he lasts a little bit longer every time we try. He is such a happy baby - he LOVES to play with his frog toy bar on his carrier and he laughs and laughs. Some people focus on the things they gave up when they had children, but I don't even remember those things. I look in his face and it just makes me so happy to know that we have this little boy in our lives. I would give up everything every single day if I had to just to have him in my life. I have never loved someone so completely before - even my husband whom I love and adore with all of my heart. A mother's love is a different kind altogether.

Happy 4th of July!

Hope everyone has (or had) a safe and happy 4th of July!!

Two months old

I am in complete disbelief that two months have gone by. I mean, I have a two month old son, that is craziness! He is pure sweetness though, isn't he?! How could you not love that face?? This has been an interesting past two months. I have to say, we have been very blessed with a child that sleeps well and eats very well and is healthy and happy - we really won the lottery with this kiddo! E is eating a ton - at least 6 bottles a day, 5 1/2 to 6 ounces a bottle. Over the past month he has gone from 9 pounds 15 ounces to a whopping 13 pounds 8 ounces (yep, you read that right!) and has shot up from 21 3/4 inches to 23 3/4 inches tall. He is in the 80th percentile straight across the board for his 2 month check-up! He is sleeping at least 6 hours at night, sometimes more, which makes mama very happy! His pediatrician said that if his weight gain stays this steady and he is over the 95th percentile next month then we will probably be starting cereal after next month's check-up to keep his weight gain and calorie intake under control. He got his first round of shots today and he did really well, although I am a little fearful of tonight because he has pretty much been sleeping all day since we got home so this could be a really long night!

Motherhood is so much better than I ever could have imagined. Maybe if I had a kiddo with more normal eating & sleeping habits I might not be as in love with it as I am, but I am a person who has NEVER considered staying at home with my children and I now wish more than anything that we could afford for me to so I could spend more time with him. I am so thankful every day for the opportunity to be this little boy's mother. He is truly amazing and I love every minute that I get to spend with him. This life of mine is going to be one wild ride ;-)

One Month

One month ago today our lives changed and this great little guy entered the world. Life these days is a little slower, but much sweeter. Eli is getting bigger every day. He eats between 4 1/2 and 5 ounces each feeding, sometimes as much as 7 1/2! He loves to play on the floor, especially laying on his tummy. He turns his head from side to side and lifts his leg like he's practicing for the day when he's ready to roll over. We love to watch him observe his surroundings and coo and smile. Most of all I love when all he needs to relax is to snuggle on my chest - we know how precious these days are and we are loving and cherishing every moment with our little boy.

our precious little boy

So Eli had his first real photo shoot last Thursday on his one week birthday. He was SO good and didn't fuss a bit. If anything he was maybe a little more awake and curious than she was expecting, but we couldn't be happier with the results. Here is a sneak peek at a few of the pictures:

Boys N Berries Photography

Welcome to the world, Eli!

Elijah Royal Burks was born on April 8, 2010 at 4:57pm. He weighed a surprising and whopping 9 pounds and was 21 3/4 inches long - quite the big boy!! We are home and he is now a week old - time is already flying by like the blink of an eye. We are adjusting to life as a family of three, but loving it all. It is amazing how much your heart grows when you meet your child for the first time - Greg and I never could've imagined loving someone so much that we were just meeting.

The end is in sight!!

Well, I have spent the past 3 days laboring to have this baby and my body apparently has other plans. After having contractions ALL day Sunday and all morning Monday my doc sent me to triage to be monitored and check on Monday afternoon. After spending a few hours hooked up they determined that while I was having really good and regular contractions, NOTHING was changing. So they sent me home and I spent all day yesterday having regular contractions and continue to have them this morning. I did have my appointment this morning though and while I am STILL having regular and good contractions (that have gotten stronger mind you) only a tiny bit has changed. Since this is the case and since it is making me uncomfortable and unable to go to work I am getting checked in to the hospital tonight so they can give me some meds that will move along the effacement process and then tomorrow morning they will induce and Eli will join the world sometime tomorrow!!!

It's about that time....

Well, I have about 10 days left until my due date. I am still in shock that it has gone by so fast! At my appointment this week I was dilated to a 1, but he is still sitting high and I was not effaced at all so she didn't want to schedule to induce just yet. She said to wait and see what the next week brings and we'd revisit the idea next Wednesday. I was having contractions while I was there though, which was nice because she was able to tell me that they were real ones and not Braxton Hicks like some of the others I've been having. I continued to have them all Tuesday and Wednesday, varying from 45 minutes apart to 5, but not consistent enough to matter. They have kind of tapered off a bit today, I have had a few, but not as many as the past two days. I do have a lot more energy today though and feel better in general, so maybe that is a sign that labor is on it's way? Greg and I are sure ready for Eli to be here though.

Last night we finally installed the base to the car seat in my car so if he should come we can bring him home now anyway ;-) Greg's car will be done later - after it's cleaned! Eli's room is all ready to go and so is the cradle in our room, so we are completely just waiting now. There are a few things we could still do around the house, but I just want to try to relax a bit until he's here - we've been so busy with one thing after another for months now it seems, so we might as well get in some down time while we can! We have been making a point of going out to eat, just the two of us, once a week for the past 2 or 3 weeks so we can get some good quality time together. It has been nice to sit and chat over dinner, usually we eat at home and then split off to do our own things around the house for the rest of the night. Greg has been awesome though, making sure I don't over do it and taking charge of the laundry and such so I don't have to worry about it. He is such an incredible husband, I can't wait to see him with Eli - he's going to be FANTASTIC!

Well, hopefully the next post will be about Eli's big arrival! If not, it will be about the planning for it, including a date. Either way, we're pumped and can't wait to start this new chapter in our lives!

Eli, are those your toes....in my ribs?

I am 32 weeks along this week - 8 more to go! I am still enjoying pregnancy, although the feeling bad part is hitting me fairly frequently these days instead of early on in the pregnancy like a lot of people. I am nauseous a lot and get sick very suddenly with the only warning of a sudden acid reflux kinda of feeling. I have started having problems with my back, which I feared from the start since I hurt it almost 4 years ago. And then there is laying down.....I can't really breathe that well when I pay down so last night I started sleeping on my back with my head/chest propped up in a reclined position. I have to say, I feel like I slept better last night than I have in a while - only waking up twice (thanks to a full bladder) and quickly going back to sleep (which is unheard of lately)!

I went to the doctor last Wednesday for the start of my twice-monthly appointments. She had some suggestions for my recent issues, and I have started taking her latest advice and so far, so good! I get the pleasure of wearing a support belt from now on to see if it helps my back, but it doesn't get delivered until today so we'll see in a few days or so if it helps. I get to take Z.antac once or twice a day as needed to help with the acid issue - and boy does it help! The only day I've gotten sick since Wednesday was Sunday and I think that was because I forgot to take a Z.antac that morning - not anymore, I'm taking one every day from now on!! Unfortunately my blood pressure has been a bit high the past two visits with her, so I got to do a 24-hour urine collection on Sunday (yes, it's as glamorous as it sounds) and have labs taken yesterday for her to use as a baseline in case it keeps going up. They can also test for a protein that I think can indicate if preeclampsia is a possibility (if not it could just be gestational hypertension)....either way, oh goody! So my dear hub has been doing his best to make sure I take it easy and stay as stress-free as possible......he is truly a blessing and such an incredible man....he will be a phenomenal dad, even if he's unsure....I can just tell! So now I just get to wait and hope I don't hear from the doctor's office....no news from them means good news for me!

We got a call last night that told us our new crib was in, so we made our way to B'R'Us to pick it up after dinner......I think we are going to LOVE it! Greg didn't feel up to putting it together last night, so that is on tonight's agenda....unless he decides to do it today while he is off work. Either way, Eli's room will get put back together tonight and I will be able to take some new pictures! In case you haven't figured it out, we are naming our handsome little guy Elijah Royal Burks, Eli for short. Royal is after Greg's grandfather who passed in October - he was a big part in Greg's life and was thrilled to hear in September that he would be having a Burks great-grandbaby....unfortunately he passed before we found out it was a boy or had any pictures to show him, I know they would've loved each other!

Eli is very active still.....this past week it has felt like he has moved from the lower left side of my belly and taken up residence right under my rib cage. All morning I have felt the bizarre sensation of something on the bottom of my ribs.....I can only guess it's his fingers or toes playing around in there! Such a strange feeling, but still so very cool! Greg will put his hand on my belly when Eli is being active at night and just sit there commenting on how strange that is - and I respond by telling him he wouldn't disagree if it was his belly moving. Very natural feeling to me, but there is still something a little strange about it!

On a different note, he has finished his main PT sessions and they have asked our insurance for approval to do 24 more sessions with him. He had a new x-ray done last Friday so we are hoping they can tell if there has been any improvement. He has had hardly any lower back pain at all since he's been going, but now his upper back is hurting more so we're not sure if that is just the PT working it to strengthen it or what. Hopefully though he does good.....he's actually been taking it easy when he hurts and using a heating pad like a normal person instead of ignoring the pain like he usually does, so that in itself is improvement to me!!

sweet baby E

beginnings

I have been really bad at keeping up with posting, as my cousin so lovingly points out from time to time ;-) Well, she's just got a better way with words than I do, and more to say I guess. Hopefully this year will inspire me to write more, I'm sure I'll have a ton to day after my little love arrives in April. I ended last year with a trip to Alabama with my family to see my Grandma, aunt, uncle and cousin who met us there from Mississippi. My cousin's hub couldn't make the trip and neither could mine, but it was the closest thing we've had to having the entire family together in a while. It was really great to see everyone, although I did miss joining in on the late night wine drinking and chatting - I still chatted, it's just not the same without a glass of wine in hand! We enjoyed a bit of sight-seeing at a local Frank Lloyd Wright house and stopped by Helen Keller's birthplace for a picture, but mostly we just enjoyed being together.

Christmas was an adventure this year. Christmas Eve started things off with a bang by bringing Oklahoma their first blizzard (at least the first on in my lifetime). It was crazy, snow blowing everywhere with drifts in front of our house over 2 feet tall! We managed to make it to mom & dad's for the afternoon for Christmas with my family, although it took us 30 minutes to get there where it normally takes about 7. Gef had a windshield wiper break on the way there so he dropped his fam off and headed to the store to get a new one. Lisa's significant other got stuck on dad's driveway so the men spent a good deal of time in the cold trying to get his car out, eventually succeeding and allowing Mike to get his boys to their mom's for their Christmas with her. We got stuck backing out of the driveway and had to have dad and Gef push and rock our SUV to finally get us moving, only so we could get home and not even be able to get up our driveway! Christmas Eve in Norman with Greg's dad's side was cancelled but his brother caught a ride home from work and got dropped off at our place to do our annual Christmas Eve movie night and spend the night since his SUV was stuck at work. Christmas day started off a little better with the weather clearing up a bit and roads becoming easier to manage. Greg's mom, stepdad and older brother came over to do our normal Christmas day activity. I got a headache shortly before they got there and ended up in bed by 3 with a migraine that wouldn't go away. Greg's family stayed until around 6:30 and then got stuck a few blocks from our house and Greg had to go pick them up and bring them back to wait for a tow truck, which finally arrived around 8:15. Christmas in Norman was rescheduled for the following Tuesday, which ended up bringing us more snow. Luckily this was just wet snow so it didn't cause any travel issues and we were able to have a nice Christmas with the Burks family.

New Years Eve was quiet for us, which is fine by me. Greg painted the ceiling of the nursery and got the walls ready for me to paint on New Years Day. His older brother came over and we had another movie night and rang in the new year before heading to bed. Quiet, but great. New Year's Day I painted the nursery and in the days to follow we moved the furniture back in and put the bedding on and installed a new closet system. It looks like an actual nursery now!! If I were to have him now he would have a room to come home to ;-) I catch myself standing in the doorway now just staring, in disbelief I'm sure that this room will be inhabited in a few short months by a little person that we made!! I will post some pictures soon, they are at home.

Now we are into this year, getting ready to celebrate Greg's birthday tomorrow and to see our sweet boy's face on Friday when we have a 3D ultrasound! I am not sure I could be any more excited for Friday - I will post all of the good pics we get from our session so you can see his precious face too! He's really a mover - if that's any indication of things to come after he's born we are in for a crazy ride!!! I hope you all had safe and happy Christmases and New Years and that this year brings you a whole new world of possibility, I know it will for us - this year is the beginning of a whole new world!