Happy 2 Months Mr. Andy

Our little Andy is 2 months old! We love him more with each passing day and can't believe what a (time consuming) blessing he is.

At 2 months Andy...
-Is huge! He looks like a different baby. His weight has almost doubled. 11 lbs 13 oz (50th percentile) , 22 1/4 inches (25th), and head circumference in the 85th percentile. He's so chubby! His legs, cheek, and tummy are so fat...we love it. And obviously he's inherited his mom's big head.
-Is so alert. He looks around all the time and loves social situations.
-Loves being sung to! It almost always calms him down. I guess he likes whistling to, but I'm not a good whistler so I leave that to the aunties.
-Is very happy after a good poop. Sometimes he struggles to get them out, bless him.
-Is very smiley! I can't pinpoint the day he had his first smile because in the beginning we weren't sure if they really counted. I would guess at about 5-6 weeks? Now he smiles all the time. Especially when we poke his nose with a binky and make funny noises.
-Has the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen. And his eyelashes are soooo long! They're gorgeous.
-Spits up all the time. He goes through many many outfits every day.
-Loves his swing. Our sleep book tells us not to, but we let him sleep in it because he'll sleep for so long in it! 5 hours the other day. It was amazing.
-Loves to nurse. We're so happy we've finally figured this out. We had to pump exclusively in the beginning and we're finally to the point where nursing is comfortable and (shock) even enjoyable! This has made all the difference since feeding is such a huge part of life with a newborn.
-Loves walks. They always calm him down.
-Still loves his car seat and sleeping in the car. In fact, he sleeps really well everywhere other than at home.
-Is actually a much better sleeper than I give him credit for. He usually goes back to bed after his night feedings now, which is such a blessing. He eats 3 times a night--once with Cameron. Cam and I are finally sleeping in the same bed again, which is so nice. We're starting to feel more normal. He still saves his long sleeping stretch for during the day rather than night, but overall everything is much better.
-Loves to pee everywhere when I least suspect it. It always surprises me and I scream.
-Makes all sorts of strange noises. We sit and listen in the monitor and laugh at what we call his dinosaur noises.
-Still loves baths.

In no particular order, some pictures from the last while...

Why I have loved living with my grandparents

Cam and I have had the opportunity to live with my grandparents (in their basement apartment) this summer. It really has been an amazing opportunity. Initially, I was a little worried about how it might all pan out, but it has been such a blessing. I have really treasured this time to get to know them better and spend so much time with them. I will miss them so much when we move!

Things I will miss...
-The way my grandma dresses up everywhere she goes. She looks like a movie star when she goes to church and picks out every outfit so carefully. It's adorable.
-How my grandpa dyes my grandma's hair for her. How sweet is that?
-How they bicker all the time. That might sound bad, but it really is hilarious. Mostly it's my grandma yelling at him for silly things like leaving out the Pam. Or picking the wrong parking spot. (Important stuff like that.) He's the most patient man I've ever met.
-Teaching my grandma to use her computer. She couldn't figure out how to double click...bless her.
-How they love each other and depend on each other. It's so cute. Married 65 years.
-How my grandma always says, "Getting old isn't for sissies!"
-This might sound mean, but I'll miss the way my grandma forgets things. I've heard some of the same stories dozens of times this summer. It's really cute. "You know...I was 45 when I had Marilyn." "You know...my mother had 12 kids." "You know...I nursed all my children except for Diane." .
-How hard they work! My grandpa is 90, my grandma 87, and they work out in the yard for hours at a time. They'll hardly let us help with anything.
-How they put cokes in the freezer to get them cold quick and set the timer so they don't explode a few times a day. Except--they can never hear the timer when it goes off and we have to go upstairs to tell them their coke is ready.
-How they eat so much fried food! My grandpa definitely grew up in the south and his cooking shows it. You name it, they fry it--french toast, zucchini. Not to mention my grandma eats her cereal with half & half.
-How they do little things together like go to Arctic Circle for a hamburger. So cute.
-Hearing their stories from growing up. I've learned so much about them.
-How much my grandma bakes. She bakes dozens of cookies at a time. Banana bread too. She spends hours in the kitchen and works so hard.
-My grandpa's thick southern accent. And how he says his sister Juanita's name.
-Sharing meals with them. They're so quick to share everything with us.
-How honest my grandma is. "You know, __________ needs to lose 40 pounds." "They shouldn't be having a baby shower. They should be having a party to help take care of their lawn." "I'm not going to stake conference. It's always the same every year."
-My grandma's sense of humor. She has such a cute personality and always gets all my weird jokes.

Andy's 1 Week Photo Shoot

Andy got pictures taken a week after his birth at Fotofly in Draper. (We LOVED it there and highly recommend it. Awesome prices!) We couldn't be more happy with the pictures. He was a little angel and cooperated for each pose. Here are some favorites:

Andy's First 3 Weeks

What an adventure the past few weeks have been! It's amazing how the presence of this new little person completely changes your world. It is way more of an adjustment than we ever realized it would be, but we're loving it. He screamed solid the first few days home from the hospital, but seems to be more adjusted and happy now. At his 2 week appointment he weighed 6 lbs 13 oz (10 more oz than his birth weight) and 19 3/4 inches. We're definitely seeing him fill out. He has an adorable little gut and his cheeks are getting increasingly chubby.

Andy likes...
-Eating! He eats lots and lots of mom's milk, which makes him very happy and instantly calms him.
-His hands. They are always up by his face. He loves sucking on them.
-Sleeping on his left side.
-His binky. This boy has a strong urge to suck! He also enjoys sucking on dad's pinky and mom's pointer finger.

-The car. He'll be screaming, but as soon as we start driving he's a happy boy.
-His bouncy seat.
-Sleeping all day and partying with mom all night. We already have our favorite tv shows picked out.
-Peeing on dad when he changes the diaper.
-Holding his head up. I'm amazed at how strong he's getting!
-Sitting up.
-Bath time. He wasn't so sure about the first bath, but likes them now.
Pictures of his first bath at home:




Andy hates...
-Getting his diaper changed and getting his clothes changed.
-Tummy time. He doesn't mind the first few minutes but then face plants and gets very frustrated.

Things to remember...
-He is always making all sorts of strange noises. He snorts when he cries. He makes this noise when we put his binky in his mouth like he's going to eat it.
-He is learning to hold his binky in his mouth.
-Everyone comments on his giant hands and long fingers. (Piano hands?!)
-He smiles in his sleep. It's the cutest little smile I've ever seen. I can't wait until he starts doing it intentionally!
-He is so alert! He loves looking around.
-I think his eyes are blue. They seem to be getting bluer all the time.

My reflections thus far...
-Will I ever sleep again?
-Nursing has been way harder than I ever imagined.
-I am amazed at how many clothes Andy goes through and how much laundry I do now.
-I don't know how people have more than one child.




With great-grandma Bonnie:

The Birth Story

We are so thrilled to welcome little Andy into our home. We're definitely still adjusting to the constant demands of parenthood, but we're so grateful to have this sweet guy with us. We fall more and more in love with him every day.

Labor and delivery went better than I expected. I think I've been scared my entire life to deliver a baby. The "story" begins on Tuesday, June 14. I went to the doctor and they were concerned I was measuring smaller than the week before. (I'd measuring small the whole pregnancy, so we weren't too concerned.) They sent me in for a non-stress test and an ultrasound to make sure the baby was still growing okay and doing well. In the non-stress test, I was having contractions 5 min. apart, about a minute long. Because of that, the nurse said she thought we'd deliver in the next couple of days. (Ha! I continued to have the same contractions all week long...) The ultrasound put the baby smaller than the doctor hoped--they figured the placenta wasn't giving baby what he needed and he'd do better outside of me than inside of me. The doctor called me on Friday the 17th and told me they'd induce me Sunday night, when I was 39 weeks. I'd convinced myself the whole pregnancy I'd have the baby a week late, so this came as a bit of a shock.

39 Weeks, right before we left for the hospital:


We went to St. Marks on Sunday night, expecting to be put on Petocin around 8 or 9 and to have the baby sometime early Monday morning. However, apparently they don't just give you Petocin straight away--they give you something to soften your cervix for 12 hours before they start you on Petocin, meaning we probably wouldn't have the baby until Monday night sometime. We were a little disappointed. They put me on the monitors, but I was contracting too frequently to give me the stuff that softens my cervix. Long story short, they ended up giving me Petocin around midnight.

Petocin got the contractions moving a little bit and my waters broke about 4 AM when I was dilated to a 3. That's when the real labor began. The contractions were so painful. I had an epidural put in an hour or so later. After that, they checked me again and I was already at an 8. Thanks to the AMAZING epidural, I pretty much slept until I got to a 10 a couple hours later. The nurse couldn't get ahold of my doctor for almost an hour, so we just kinda sat there in transition, sleeping. Finally, she talked to the doctor who had me start pushing with her and made his way to the hospital. Pushing was way harder than I thought it would be. I pushed for about an hour, and little Andy was born at 10:32 AM on Monday, June 20.

Cameron was an amazing support the whole time. It was such an amazing thing to experience together. My mom and my sisters Sara and Rachel came in for pushing and the birth, which was really neat. They handed Andy to me right after--I was so overwhelmed by the whole thing I couldn't stop crying. We were so happy he wasn't too small--6 lbs 3 oz, 19.5 inches. He was perfectly healthy. Funny enough, we were concerned he didn't cry very much in the hospital. We maybe heard him cry 3 times there? We thought we had a mellow baby. HA--this baby can scream. He just saved it for his parents once he got home. :)

We took forever to decide on a name. Our ideas before the birth were Max, Owen, Andy, Beck, and Jackson. My favorite was Max; Cameron's favorite was Jackson. We finally narrowed it down the morning we left the hospital to Max and Andy. I liked the name Max more than Andy, but it just seemed like Andy was his name. Who knows--maybe baby #2 will be a boy named Max.

Just minutes after birth:

Dad's 1st time holding Andy:

My first time holding Andy after he was all cleaned up:

1st Bath:

The Baby Is Coming!

I'm being induced tomorrow (Sunday, June 19th) night! This means the baby will most likely be born on Monday, June 20th. Very exciting! I'm a little disappointed I have to be induced. I really like the idea of the baby coming when he is ready. However, the baby is measuring small (about 6 pounds), so the doctors are concerned the placenta is no longer functioning optimally and it will be better for baby boy to be born at 39 weeks. At this point, they say he'll grow better outside of me than inside of me. So...ready or not, he's coming! 9 months is so long--and then suddenly it's here. I'm so excited, nervous, and scared I can barely stand it! We can't wait to meet the little guy.

I guess one advantage to the doctor worrying about the size of your baby is that you get plenty of ultrasounds! It's fun to see him grow and change.

10 Weeks:

15 Weeks:

20 Weeks:

32 Weeks:

35 Weeks:

38 Weeks: *Let me just mention as a side note that the ultrasound tech told us during this ultrasound our boy has hair! This may be a silly thing to be excited about, but I'm very excited. Babies with hair are so cute!


And one last belly picture of me at 38 weeks:

The Bump Progression

23 Weeks:


27 Weeks:


32 Weeks:




33 Weeks:


36 Weeks: