Tuesday, December 14, 2010

1 month old James Russell Ashby



James is 1 month old today! Where does the time go?

His current stats:
Weight- 11lbs 1oz
Length- 22inches
Head- 16inches

He can hold his head up very well.
He eats every 1.5 hours (hungry little man).
He sleeps with mommy and refuses to sleep anywhere else, we hope to break this habit ASAP but it doesn't look good since he screams bloody murder until he gets his way.
He smiles at mommy and daddy and giggled for the first time yesterday when mama gave him an Eskimo kiss.
He has deep blue eyes and a little turned up nose.
His cute scowl tells you exactly what he is thinking.
He has the biggest hands I've ever seen on a little.
He has the most perfect pointy little chin.
He has a cute dimple in the middle of his left cheek.
He has his daddy's big lips.
He "talks" a lot, usually in grunts and sighs.
He breathes very loudly which keeps mommy up at night.
He will occasionally allow mommy to put him in the swing, and for about 20 minutes a day he will play by himself in his crib; other than that he requires mom (or dad if dad isn't at school) to hold him all day and all night.
After about a week of fussiness and worries of colic, he has turned a corner and does not seem to have tummy troubles, hallelujah. It was SOO sad to see him in pain and not be able to do anything about it.
He has tiny little ears.
He loves his daddy, and anytime daddy holds him to his chest he has to look up right into his eyes. You've never seen anything sweeter.
His once tiny legs (which earned him the nickname little) have become quite chunky, just like the rest of him.
He can take his binky out and put it back in again, putting his large hands to good use.
He likes to bounce on the yoga ball and rock in the glider.
He has a "zero to ten" personality. He will be perfectly content one minute and completely lose it the next; just like his mama ;)
He HATES getting his diaper changed although he doesn't throw quite the temper tantrums he used to he does however make frustrated grunting noises the entire time he is being changed.
He loves bath time.
He likes his baby carrier, but only in short intervals.
If you try to give him a binky and he doesn't want it, he clamps his mouth shut and flares his nostrils, it's SOO darling.

I love my little man, he's the best thing to happen to me and Sam. Happy one month baby boy!!





Monday, December 13, 2010

Big hands I know you're the one

I ask you, have you ever seen a newborn with bigger hands than this?

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Tough and yet not so tough

Having our new baby boy James in the house is amazing. He's so sweet, and cute, and I just cuddle him all day and all night long. He's so fun to have around and somehow I don't really remember what life was like before he came along. Sam and I are both smitten with this little guy. I take 100 photos of him every day because he seems to change so fast, I want to remember every look, every face, every stage.
Right now I am trying to figure out how to do normal things with a baby. I didn't leave my house for 2 weeks straight. I pretty much sat home and held my little day and night. I realized I needed to go to the market today so I ventured all the way to Safeway (which is directly across the street from where we live) and within 5 minutes of being at the market, James was screaming bloody murder. So much for errands. Is it normal to be scared to leave the house? I've been reassured by all of my friends and sister that this is a temporary thing and in a few weeks James will be much more tolerable of outings. I'm hopeful.
Meanwhile he has the cutest lips I've ever seen:

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Sometimes

James screams and I think it's really cute...

Thursday, November 25, 2010

James Russell Ashby

As usual I'll let my photos tell the story:

































Friday, November 19, 2010

A baby story

I'll keep the details to a minimum but I thought I would let you know a bit about the labor. First of all, I realize my experience may have been a bit easier than most and I am grateful for it. I also realize that my next ones may not be so smooth but here is how it went.
I checked into the hospital Tuesday just before noon.
I was given a softener to encourage the baby to come. Nothing happened.
A few hours later a different nurse gave me the softener again and she was a bit more aggressive with it.
This time within 5 minutes of the application I began having full on contractions.
One on top of another.
Each contraction lasted 1-2 minutes and I would get about 10-20 seconds between each. They were intense.
After an hour of this I insisted someone find the anesthesiologist. He came in, and after just EIGHT tries the epidural was in. Now under normal circumstances his eight tries would have really frustrated me but with the amount of pain I was experiencing, it could have taken him 1,000 tries and I would have felt eternally indebted to him. The result of his eight tries was the best epidural known to man. I had nearly complete control of my legs, but I couldn't feel any pain. It was amazing. At that point I was about a 3 so they gave me a yoga ball to hold and within 2 hours I was at a 10 and ready to push. About 6 (give or take a couple) pushes later my little man was here and forever changed my world.

I love James so much; which I realize is kind of a given but he is the best thing to happen to me and Sam. We stare at him all day, entertained by the smallest noise, or the littlest facial expression. He's such a good baby and he has the cutest face a mom could want.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Michael Bublé "Haven't Met You Yet"

The words to this great song make me think of my little James and I tear every time. I'm so excited for him to get here. I just hope he waits until Sunday:)Press play on my playlist if you want to hear it:

I'm not surprised, not everything lasts
I've broken my heart so many times, I stopped keeping track
Talk myself in, I talk myself out
I get all worked up, then I let myself down

I tried so very hard not to lose it
I came up with a million excuses
I thought, I thought of every possibility

And I know someday that it'll all turn out
You'll make me work, so we can work to work it out
And I promise you, kid, that I give so much more than I get
I just haven't met you yet

I might have to wait, I'll never give up
I guess it's half timing, and the other half's luck
Wherever you are, whenever it's right
You'll come out of nowhere and into my life

And I know that we can be so amazing
And, baby, your love is gonna change me
And now I can see every possibility

And somehow I know that it'll all turn out
You'll make me work, so we can work to work it out
And I promise you, kid, I give so much more than I get
I just haven't met you yet

They say all's fair
In love and war
But I won't need to fight it
We'll get it right and we'll be united

And I know that we can be so amazing
And being in your life is gonna change me
And now I can see every single possibility

And someday I know it'll all turn out
And I'll work to work it out
Promise you, kid, I'll give more than I get
Than I get, than I get, than I get

Oh, you know it'll all turn out
And you'll make me work so we can work to work it out
And I promise you kid to give so much more than I get
Yeah, I just haven't met you yet

I just haven't met you yet
Oh, promise you, kid
To give so much more than I get

I said love, love, love, love
Love, love, love, love
(I just haven't met you yet)
Love, love, love, love
Love, love
I just haven't met you yet

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Am I ridiculous?

One obvious worry I have as an expectant mother is the health of my baby. Is it ridiculous that I requested all family members (on both sides) who would be within baby range before his 3 month mark get their DTaP? Or that I am considering getting him a baby mask to wear while flying to Utah for Christmas (recirculated air in December, no thank you!)? I want my kiddo to be healthy. My friend at work sent this photo below to be funny, but when I saw it I thought, "That's a great idea!" does this make me a little overboard?

Monday, November 8, 2010

GAP 30% off

In store only, I learned this the hard way last time :)



Enjoy!!

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Changing Table

I bought the cutest dresser/changing table at a garage sale last week. It was perfect. It just needed a little paint. I kind of remembered to do a before photo this time:


The "Before" shot, even though it is after I'd removed the drawers and primed the top.


All primed and ready.


Love the grey color (I know the lighting isn't the best).


Tada!!

And the lovely knobs are from Hobby Lobby.
A special thanks to Brooke for the coupon that saved me 40%!

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Random thoughts...

-My nephew was born this morning!! Baby Ashby-Stevens 7lbs 11ozs, SO excited for James' cousin to be here.
-I turned my playlist off. You can click on play if you want to hear the music...
-My ribs ache but other than that no complaints about pregnancy. I hit 9 months this week... Well kind of, I am 36 weeks and 2 days. I am not sure if that's actually 9 months but if not, it's close.
-I asked my doctor if I will get a little relief when baby "drops". He said not to count on it. My doctor thinks the baby is very long and even though he seems like he is high, he is also low. I was hoping the largeness I have come to expect would happen after he was born...
-2 more weeks until the kiddo is here.
-I have SO much clothing for this boy he can probably wear a different outfit every day for the first 6 months of his life.
-I bought a changing table but it came with a dresser and twin bed which I have no room for. It's all shoved into the nursery right now. And I plan to paint the dresser/changing table ASAP.
-Brooke and Liz threw me an amazing shower today. It was so much fun and I appreciate my friends being so good to me.
-I wake up several times throughout the night and people LOVE to tell me to enjoy my peaceful nights while I can... Funny.
-Lots of women have mentioned the last 3 weeks of pregnancy dragging on. I feel like it's flying by and I have too much to do before he arrives. I mean I still need to wash all of his clothes, buy a baby carrier, paint the changing table, etc...
-Sam keeps staring at my stomach. I try not to take it personally because it isn't like my large tummy is all that big but he's been doing it a lot lately. When he sees that he's been caught staring he'll say, "It's just so crazy our son is in there." It's pretty adorable actually.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Work Shower

My team at work took me to The Cheesecake Factory for a baby shower. It was so much fun! The best part? Sam came too!