We really missed our boys. The house was very quiet, no fights, so spankings, just baby duty... And painting! By the way, Zack asked me to paint his room the same color as the dining room! He approved and said it was very beautiful!

The boys had an incredible time at Grandmas. Here are some pictures of them when we met at the Pizza Hut for lunch.

home improvement project

So what do I do when my oldest boys are at Grandma's for 3 days?



The color "fresh moss" is a few shades lighter than the living room.

buzzsaw baby

This is a gift from T's squadron, the Buzzsaws.

Zack the builder

Zack enjoys building with Lincoln Logs. He and daddy built a car and then Zack built a "place where people wait for trains" or better known as a train station.

Hunting for wild bears

Sammy's Nocculars

older boys

Speaking of older boys they went to grandma's for a few days. I know they will have a blast and we are getting a little more sleep. since we can sleep through the normal wake up time. I did miss Sammy's "Mom-ma, Mom-ma, this morning.
The house seems very empty

3 weeks and 9 lbs later

Bright Eyes

Just over the last 2 days Nate has started looking at things. His alert periods are getting a little longer and he's been interested in looking around. We still haven't taken him out-he's only 2 1/2 weeks. Plus it's a good excuse to enjoy a quiet house while Dad and the boys go out.

Sam boy

Sammy just loves Nate. He has been so sweet about letting mommy take care of Baby Nate, he just gets a little jealous when Daddy holds Nate-- he makes sure that Daddy holds them both!

can you say 33?

Zack has a race car that has the number 33 on the side. He calls it Free frees- when he says it it sounds like: free fleas!

Latest pictures

I just cannot believe that we've had Nate for two weeks now. He still is a pretty easy baby. However, we've had two long nights. I just ended up holding him on the couch and we both slept between cries, etc.
It's funny to see three kids in pictures and think that we're parents to three. These boys are just incredible.

first bath

As you can see, he loved his first bath!

first checkup

Natie boy had his first check up today. He was up to 7lbs 6 oz and 19 inches. He is growing. The doctor was really nice and seemed pretty impressed with Nate and Nate's daddy! The handout that they gave us talked about how fathers today should spend time with their newborn babies by holding them at least once a day! Apparently dads a few years back had a much different role!
We might be overworking our daddy-- but he's been happy to help.

And his umbilical cord fell off today. So Nate has a belly button now! I think the boys were happy to see that his belly looks like theirs.

eat,eat, eat

and sleep sleep sleep... That's all that Natie boy has been doing! I'm tired since he has been waking every 2 hours to nurse (last 2 nights) But he has gone back to sleep after each feeding. So, it could be worse. I'm guessing he's hitting a growth spurt. I don't really want him to hit one yet--He's been a perfect little newborn and I'm kinda sad to think of losing that.

Anyway, I'm finally seeing my ankles! The swelling has gone down and I'm very thankful for that.

one Week!

Just thought I'd post some pictures to mark Nate's first week.

12 points

Natie boy is finally off the bili-blanket. His count was 12 today so that means it's finally falling. Maybe now I can dress him in some of the cute baby clothes before the outgrows them. He weighed 7 lbs this am at the doctors office.
He has been spoiling me-- Zack and Sammy both had their days and nights mixed up. Nate, however seems perfectly happy to sleep at night and visit during the day. The last two nights he has started his night sleeping at about 9 and wakes only to nurse then goes right back to sleep. That schedule goes on until about 7 am.
Now that I wrote that he will probably be up all night!

Everyone is napping so I'm going to get a little rest too. Thanks for all the prayers.

baby Moses

We have a little "toy" basket that was just the right size for Nate's use. Can you see he's glowing from the bili-blanket?

Mom and Nate

Nate has to use the bili-blanket all the time. No clothes just wrapped up in blankets or just a diaper. He is a sweet little boy.

Update

Natie-boy is still on a bili-blanket. His count was higher- 13.5 so we go back again on Wed to have his blood tested again. I'm looking forward to putting my swollen feet up tomorrow. We have no doc appts so I'm gonna make it a priority to "pamper" my ankles and feet.

My body has just ached the past couple of days. So, I've been taking the pain meds but I guess I haven't been the best at tuning out everything and napping when our "wonder boy" does.

Speaking of our wonder boy. The first night home slept 4 hours straight. Last night it was 3 1/2 hours, and thankfully he has been going right back to sleep or a brief wake up period. So I don't feel completely exhausted. Nate has been a very easy baby. He is very content. If he gets upset he can be settled by picking him up or changing his diaper or feeding him. I always kidded that this kiddo agreed with me during pregnancy and he has been just as agreeable outside the womb. The boys love him and are so happy about their little brother.

Jaundice update

We ended up renting a bili- blanket for us to use tonight and Sunday. We will take Nate back to the doc on Monday for another heel stick to find out how his liver is processing the bilirubin. His level went down just a bit today from 11.7-11.3 during his time in the "tanning bed" so hopefully we can keep it down with the use of the bili-blanket this weekend. He is supposed to be on it the entire time we have it.

Other than that, all is well.
I'm exhausted, however, Nate is a champion sleeper. Hopefully we can all get some rest.

My first time home

Grandma and Aunt Amy planned a Birth day party for me. Complete with food, cake and gifts. Nate slept through the 2 renditions of "Happy Birthday" so we could video our small party.

Discharged from the hospital

First Baseball Game

Yes, even Nate appears to be a Braves fan. He and daddy "watch" his first game together and the Braves won!

"Son" bathing beauty

A little more jaundiced, so they are giving him some photo therapy. It looks like a sun tan salon in our room. He's even sporting his eye protection. Nate is such a trooper, he just rests and is calm. If he gets upset, we talk to him and he calms down and goes back to sleep.

What Nate did today...

Slept!