Video!

Wardrobe Malfunction

Grady got to meet his aunt Catherine on Wednesday! She got into town around 5pm, emptied her car at her new house, and came right over. We had a great visit - it's fun teaching her to hold him, swaddle him and change his diaper. It's great that she is so close by now!

On Thursday Grady had his doctor's checkup - weighed in at 7lb 2oz! The doctor said "You guys are making this look easy" - lets hope we can keep it that way! His next appointment is in 1 month.

After the doctor's appt we stopped by ImageSmith to pick up Grady's birth announcements, which look GREAT! Mary had told Tricia (her daughter and one of our customers) we were coming by and she bought lunch for everyone from Iannucci's! Everyone was so excited to meet Grady - they all say he looks just like Justin.

Kevin, Molly, Elliot and Kam brought us lasagna on Friday, and we had a really nice visit! The house seemed really full with 2 mobile children running around. We definitely need to do some baby-proofing soon! They will be coming over pretty often once football season starts, so we are going to rearrange the living room and baby-proof in the next week.

This week was full of visitors - on Saturday, Matt, Carrie and West came by and brought us lunch! It was really fun to introduce the "future best friends" Grady and West. I am really happy they will be so close in age! Matt and Carrie are getting ready to move to NYC for a couple of years - we will miss them, but hopefully can go visit!

Now the reason for the title of this post "Wardrobe Malfunction" - Friday night, Justin changed Grady's diaper and his outfit into a sleeper and brought him in for his midnight feeding. Within 30 seconds, he pooped. And this was not any normal poop - it shot out the back of his diaper and up his back, onto his outfit! I called Justin back in and he changed his diaper AND outfit again, and brought him back to me. A few minutes later I felt a warm sensation on my stomach... this time he had peed and it somehow escaped the diaper and got on his outfit AND me! Yet again, Justin changed his diaper and clothes, and I changed clothes as well. I do need to note, this is not a reflection of Justin's diapering ability! I think Grady may be close to growing out of the newborn diapers.

Week 2

It sure has been great having Justin home these 2 weeks. It's given us a great time to bond, and he has made it much less stressful for me, since I can't do much around the house. I am feeling better and can do more every day!

Grady got his first bath early in the week. His umbilical cord is pretty much healed up, so we had our first sponge bath. He didn't cry at all! I think he liked the feel of the warm water on his skin. I am excited for him to be big enough to take a real bath in his tub, but the sponge bath works for now! Here is a photo of him after the bath - so cute in his towel! Looks a little like King Tut...

Our favorite outfit!

My mission this week was to get some good photos of Grady to use for his birth announcement. It has been tricky, especially since he doesn't fit into many of his clothes! His skin is still peeling some so it was also a bit tough to get him in the right light. He just doesn't look nearly as adorable in photos as he does in person! In the end I was able to get some satisfactory ones, to send in to John at my office to design the announcement. I'm so excited to see how they turn out!

On Monday, we took Grady for a visit to Festiva. Debbie had been hounding Justin to bring him in, so we stopped in for a while. Everyone made a big deal about him, and it felt really good for everyone to be oohing and aahing over our baby boy! He did pretty good, only crying a little once. He cries when we put him in the car seat, but once he's in it he falls right to sleep. I'm sure we'll be taking full advantage of that in the future when we are having trouble getting him to sleep!

Grady's aunt Catherine is moving to Asheville today! I am so excited for her to meet him, and glad she will be around to see him grow every day. She is moving in with my friend Sara Shuster with the Affiliates, and is looking for a job. I hope it goes well so she can stay!

We are getting our sleeping schedule down now - Grady has been great about being more alert during the day, and sleeping longer periods at night. He has been sleeping about 4 hours at a time at night - sometimes I have to wake HIM up! He also wants to eat more during the day, so hopefully he is gaining as much weight as he should. We have a doctor's appointment tomorrow (Thursday), so we'll know for sure then! Justin has been weighing him on the Wii Fit, but I'm not too sure how accurate it is. 

We are also going to pick up his birth announcements tomorrow and do our first ImageSmith visit. I got a text from Mary yesterday saying "I have been through 2 reams of pink paper and am ready to kill DS" - meaning they are VERY busy. At least when I go back I know I will be appreciated!

First Week Home

Our first week home with Grady has been easier than expected! Justin is taking 2 weeks off from work to help me recover - it has been great to spend quality time as a new family! Grady sleeps about 3 hours at a time, so we trade off sleeping schedules and Justin is handling the shopping and houswork, while I learn to nurse. It was tough at first but is getting easier now.

We have had lots of great friends thinking about us this week! Sarah and Lucille stopped by on Tuesday and brought us burritos and salad, Lesley, Jonathan and Lillian came by Wednesday with Chicken Caccitore, and Katie and Davis brought us Quiche on Friday! Caleb and Aaron, Scott and Ilsa stopped by on Thursday, and Aaron got Grady a Beatle's onesey. It is adorable!

Grady's first doctor appointment was on Tuesday, to check on his circumsicion. It is doing well. He wasn't getting quite enough food as they'd like, so they had us come back on Thursday to be sure he'd gained weight. He gained over 1/2 pound in 2 days!

The pets are doing great so far. Maya and Achilles don't like being locked out of the bedrooms, but they are getting used to it. Stewie and Geno are very interested in Grady, and want to sniff him and rub their heads on him. We are being very cautious still, but so far it is going really well.

We have had fun getting used to changing diapers and.. er... protecting ourselves! Early in the week I was changing Grady's diaper and felt a warm stream on my hand... luckily it ONLY got on my hand, his onesee, the changing table and the clean diaper! Pop Pop told Justin "it's probably the happiest she'll ever be that someone peed on her hand". So true, so true! Also, we've been putting ointment on his diapers so they don't stick to his circumcision area. Unfortunately, the ointment also prevents the pee from being absorbed into the diaper, causing it to flow freely on his clothes, blankets, and us.

Hospital Stay

The rest of our hospital stay went by pretty quickly! I was able to start eating food again on Saturday and got the IV out, so I was feeling much more human. We had lots of visitors on Saturday - Grandma and Pop Pop Hunter, Grandma and Grandpa Loftis, Nicole, and Kevin, Molly, Elliot and Kam. Fortunately everyone was spread out, so we were able to get some rest (and for me to practice nursing!). We met our pediatrician, and scheduled Grady's circumcision for Sunday morning.

Grady slept really well both nights in the hospital - I kept him in the bed with me, and when he'd wake up I'd feed him. It was really nice and calm. About 6am on Sunday morning, I was up with him and had an incredible moment - it was one of my favorite moments ever. I was just sitting with him and he was so peaceful, and I looked over at Justin asleep on the bench couch, and out our window the sun was coming up over the misty mountains. It was just so perfect and beautiful I wanted it to last forever!

Sunday morning the pediatrician came around 9:30 for Grady's circumsision. He was gone for about 30 minutes, and didn't seem TOO distressed when he returned! We set up an office visit for Tuesday. The pediatrician said Grady was doing great, and as far as he was concerned we could go home that day. The final word would come from my OB/GYN, and when she came in she was pleased with my progress and gave me the go-ahead to go home!

The nurse for the day on Sunday was really great. She was a bit of a "hippie" and said she had 4 kids in 3.5 years! She showed us her swaddling technique she calls the "Straight Jacket" and it works awesome! Grady looks like a little peanut all wrapped up in it.

We had to have a couple more tests and vaccinations that afternoon, but we were discharged and sent on our way about 4pm! Justin had me sit in the backseat so I could check to be sure the baby was OK in the carseat - he did just fine. We stopped by CVS to pick up my prescription, and headed home. Grandma and Pop Pop Hunter were there when we arrived, and helped keep the dogs under control while we got Grady and us in the house. It was a relief to be home but also lots to do to get settled! Grandma, Pop Pop, Chris, Sarah and Lucille took Justin out for dinner (Grandma's birthday) and brought me back some paella. What a big weekend!

Grady's First Day

On Friday morning, we headed to the hospital at 10am. Mom and Dad Loftis (from now on will be referred to as Grandma and Grandpa Loftis) beat us to the hospital! They met us at the emergency room entrance, which was great to see them and know they were there with us. I was getting very nervous - going through surgery was almost as daunting to me as the result of the surgery - having our baby boy!

We got checked in, and Justin was able to be with me through the whole process. I got an IV put in, and then they took me to the operating room to put in the spinal block which made me numb from mid-chest down. Then Justin came in with his scrubs on (looked almost like a doctor!), they put up the blue sheet and within minutes we heard tiny baby cries. They dropped the curtain and held him up Simba-style from the Lion King and said "Here's your baby!". What an incredible experience. The nurses then took baby Grady to a warming table to get him cleaned and dried off - Justin was able to watch and take pictures. He then cut the umbilical cord, and they weighed Grady and took his footprints. I was able to watch from a TV screen by the operating table, so I could see what was going on. Once they had him wrapped up, Justin brought him over to me so I could see him close up and touch his face with the tips of my fingers (I was strapped down so couldn't move too much). I am getting teary-eyed just remembering those first moments. It was simply incredible.

Afte the doctor had me put back together, we were wheeled into the recovery room where we'd stay for what seemed like forever - it was really 3 hours. A nurse came in and helped me to nurse Grady for the first time. No small feat, considering I was lying flat on my back! We made it through, got Justin (now referred to as Dad) a snack, and waited for the numbness to wear off. There were a flurry of texts/e-mails giving all our family and friends the first few shots of Grady's new life. Grandma and Grandpa Loftis were getting very antsy in the waiting room!

We were finally sent off to our private room around 5pm, and the Loftis' were waiting for us there. They were able to hold Grady for the first time as Grandma and Grandpa! We were able to spend a few hours with them that evening, just getting aquainted with our new family member. Grandpa would step out when it was time to work on nursing, and nurses/doctors came and went about every hour.

Our room at the hospital was SO nice! It had the standard hospital bed (which I certainly appreciated, since I had some considerable trouble getting in and out of bed), a small table with chairs, and a long bench seat which doubled as Dad's bed. The view out the windows was beautiful - of the lush green mountains!

Grandma and Grandpa were shoo'd out around 8pm, Chris, Sarah and cousin Lucille stopped by, and my boss Mary also. After that, we had the rest of the night to rest and get to know our baby. The night nurse was very friendly and helpful; she really made the night go very smoothly.

Around 3am they took Grady to get his hearing test. The nurse said it would be 5-20 minutes. After 45 minutes we started to get very nervous! I called for the nurse and she did come back in the next few minutes, assuring us that she hadn't stolen our baby (not what we were worried about anyway), and that they did have to wait to take the test and he did pass just fine. Shew!

Surprise!

My due date was August 21, 2010. On the 37 week doctor's appointment, Dr Garbarino realized that Baby Grady was breech. If he didn't get turned around, we'd need to do a c-section. Over the next week, we tried a few techniques to get him to flip - I went to an acupuncturist who tried Moxa treatments, and massaged my belly, but to no avail. On the 38 week appointment, we confirmed he was still breach and my fluid levels were a bit low. She assured us it wasn't an emergency situation, BUT that she wanted to schedule my c-section for the next day, Friday. We had 24 hours to ready ourselves for Grady's arrival! Justin and I both went back to work to try to wrap things up.