Grayson Daniel 11 Months

Sweet baby boy,

I remember all too well how I felt 12 months ago. I was in the last month of waiting for you and I was desperate to hold you in my arms. Over the course of the pregnancy I had horrible contractions and by the end of September they wouldn't stop. We ended up at the hospital multiple times because they were so close together and happening constantly. Boy am I thankful I got to spend the end of this September with you! Every day you learn more and try new things.

Here is a little of what you have been up to lately:

*Size 4 diapers

* 12-18 Month clothes

*You are waking up at about 6am, having a 6 ounce bottle and going back to sleep until close to 8am. You have an 8 ounce bottle before bed and 4 ounces every 4 hours during the day. You eat 3 large meals every day plus two snacks. You will eat and eat and eat. So much different from your brother. Most meals you eat more than he does. :)

*Bedtime is still between 8pm-9pm and you wake up now around 8am. You are still waking up 2-3 times in the night. Between 11-1pm you just don't sleep good and waking up fussing/kina crying for just a minute or two and go back to sleep. Even though I don't have to come in there it still keeps me awake just watching you on the monitor. Then you usually need to eat again around 1ish so I come in and feed you. Around 3 I usually have to come get you back to sleep and then you will sleep until 6 to eat again. Killin me with the lack of sleep little man!

* We cut out your evening cat nap which is why I think you are sleeping longer in the mornings. Now you take your first nap around 10-10:30am and your second one around 2-3pm. Right now it is working really well, but we all know you will change up that schedule soon I'm sure.

*I know you are ready to get up from a nap if you sit in there talking and playing. If you wake up crying it is a sure sign you aren't done sleeping and I come in and get you back to sleep.

*I pretty much always hold you to drink your bottle again. I love rocking before your naps and bedtime. It's definitely my favorite time of the day. My brain is constantly going 90mph except when I rock you. Something about rocking you and then if you fall asleep holding you calms my mind and I can simply relax and cherish those moments with you!

*You still don't like sweet potatoes and also noodles. Crazy boy!

*Still only 6 teeth. I think your next two are coming in soon because you have started drooling a lot again and chewing on your fingers.

*You are quite the crawler now and go all over the entire house. The only time you army crawl is if you have something in each hand and can't crawl on all fours.

*You're still saying Momma, Dada, Bubba, dog and are trying to say bye bye

*On October 4th you finally learned how to sit down when you are standing up. For the longest time you would just yell Momma until I came and helped you sit down.

*When you are standing up on something you are now walking along it and reaching for other objects. I think you will be walking in a month or so.

*You are the sweetest/snuggliest little thing. You love to just sit in my lap or next to me on the couch with your hand on me. I love love love it. Your brother was always too busy at this age to just sit with me. Momma is soaking up every single second.

*You give the best kisses around. Whenever you want to love on me you rub your little face on my face or shoulder. It's precious.

*You love your doggies more every day. Kota was in the house yesterday and you kept leaning over trying to kiss him and rub your face on his face.

*You make the absolute funniest faces when you are irritated. You squint your eyes and then snarl up your lip and make a whiny sound. :) Absolutely hysterical. Now if I ask you to make your mad face and then demonstrate it you will usually always do it back.

*Every time I put you in your car seat you have to lean up and turn on your music on your mirror. Then you bounce along to the music and let me buckle you in.

*You do great when we take you to the nursery at church and everyone loves you. So thankful you are getting adjusted to being away from Momma & Daddy much sooner than your brother.

*You have learned how to turn on the bathtub in Mommy's bathroom, unroll toilet paper and flush toilets. :) We have to keep most doors shut now because you get into everything.

*You are still putting absolutely everything in your mouth and it keeps Momma on her toes at all times to make sure you don't choke.

*You did choke two weeks ago. We were sitting on the floor and you had already had dinner but Momma got home from church late and was eating a sandwich. You took a bite and then opened your mouth for another bite, then another. All of a sudden you started to turn red and lunged toward me and I could tell you couldn't breath. I grabbed you, beat on your back and flipped you over. Out of natural reaction I stuck my finger in your mouth when beating your back wasn't working and right as I did you coughed and I felt it come up and I grabbed it. You hadn't swallowed any of those three bites. You scare me to death quite constantly and I don't even wanna know what the rest of your little life will hold.

*You love swinging in your swing outside. Hudson never enjoyed it but you would sit out there for hours if I let you. You also love exploring the back porch now that you can crawl.

*On Saturday your Daddy and I were talking and he looked up and you were on the fireplace. Apparently you have learned how to climb up on top of things. Just great! :)

Grayson I could literally go on and on about how much we love you and the things you do. I hope some day you love to look back at these and see just how cherished you are. We love you more than words could ever describe. Keep smiling little one! The world is so much better with you in it!

Love you farther than the moon and back again!

Mommy

10 on the 10th

10 pictures on the 10th day of the month!

{Document a snapshot of your life & find beauty among the ordinary things in your day!}

 Beautiful Birthday flowers

Sugar lump playing outside

Christmas wish list :)

He's into everything!

These are the things I want to always remember. The way his little hand holds onto my shirt as he falls asleep!

 Did I mention he is into everything!

 Such a snuggle bug

 I was behind on reading my devotional but it was the perfect page for the day!

Almost finished with the 3rd Season...LOVE this show

More snuggles from the little one...perfect ending

Grayson Daniel 10 Months

Sweet boy,

The fact that you are almost one year old is about to make Mommy have a melt down. I just can't believe how fast this year is going. Momma missed your 9 month update so this one may be a little long. :)

Here's what you have been up to the last couple of months...

*You are still in Size 4 diapers

*12-18 Month clothes

*You are eating 6 ounces of milk in the morning and at night and then 4 ounces three times during the day. Plus the biggest change is you now are eating 3 meals a day plus anything and everything we give you to try. You also are still eating once in the night.

*Bedtime is still between 8-9pm and you usually wake up between 6-6:45am.

*You take your morning nap around 9am and usually sleep for 1.5-2 hours and then go back down around 1pm for 1.5-3 hours. If it is a shorter nap you will usually take a cat nap around dinner.

*I'm so glad that you are letting me hold you to drink your milk again. Most of the time you want to be partially sitting up but I will take that any day over laying you down to drink it.

*The only food you don't like is sweet potatoes which is weird for us because it was our go to food for your brother.

*Here are some of your favorite foods right now. Cheerios, Cheezits, goldfish, eggs, cheese, grapes, chicken nuggets, black beans. You have tried all sorts of things like French fries, bananas, watermelon, pickles, vanilla wafers. So far we haven't tried veggies except for in your baby food. Momma hasn't made all of your food like I did for Hudson because frankly who has time for that with two kids.

*On 8-26 you got your second top right tooth, and on 8-29 you got the left one. You now have 6 teeth altogether.

*The last week of August you started army crawling all over the house. You had been army crawling for a couple weeks but stayed in the living room because you were too scared to venture off. I have now found you all over the house.

*The first week of September you started pulling up on everything!!

*You have become quite the little clapper. Anytime we say yay or you get excited you clap.

*You say Momma, Dada, Bubba and try your hardest to say dog.

*9-7 was the first time you crawled on all fours and it was only a couple of feet to Momma.

*9-9 you have started crawling on all fours longer distances. You still havent quite figured it out yet so if you want to get somewhere quicker you drop down to your belly and take off. :)

*You had your first big accident when you fell out of Mommy and Daddy's bed on 8-30. You had a big goose egg and bruised your left eye as well. Absolutely broke Mommy's heart.

*We usually rock you to sleep now while you drink your last bottle. It is my absolute favorite time of the day. I will always cherish those moments of you sleeping in my arms.

*You love to cruise all over the place in your walker. Within a week you were able to go forwards and backwards.

*I boxed up your swing, Mamaroo, jumparoo, bouncer and all other items that used to keep you contained. You learned how to escape out of them or just screamed while in them.

*You get soooo excited when someone you love walks in the room. Melts my heart.

*Everyone calls you smiley because you are happy 99% of the time.

*Even though you are happy most of the time that 1% that you are mad you can be a little bear. No one sees that side except Mommy and Daddy and man oh man you have quite the temper little guy.

*We had quite the battle the other day for you to take a nap (you were overtired) and once you fell asleep in my arms I sat in the rocker with you and started thinking about the day you were born. I remember going to the doctor with no expectations of meeting you that day. When she said it was time I started crying because I was so ecstatic. I sat and thought about the whole day. Having to lay on my left side cause you were having a hard time, how fast you came when it was time, and that first time I got to hold you. Those are moments that are etched so tightly in my heart I can relive them like it happened 5 minutes ago. Then once everyone went home, your Daddy went home with Bubba, and Mimi went home to grab her stuff to come back up to the hospital, they brought you back to me. I remember it was just the two of us for almost 45 minutes. You laid in my arms with your little eyes wide open just listening while I talked to you. I told you how long I had waited for you, how cherished you are, how God was heavenly Daddy and he had loaned you to us and we were beyond thankful, that your daddy and brother also loved you more than you would ever know. Those 45 minutes will always be some of my favorite time with you.

*Whenever music comes on you sit on your bottom and bounce around to the music. So cute!!

*You love to sit and listen to your Daddy play his guitar. I think you would sit there as long as he played!

*Your favorite toys are not yours, but your brothers. You love his Jake & the Neverland Pirate stuff and his Little People Farm.

*You pulled a first for Momma and ate the top of a ketchup packet. I found it the next day in your diaper.

*Mickey Mouse is still the only tv show you will give more than 2 seconds of your time.

*Nanny got you and Hudson a bunny for Easter that sings a song and you have decided its the coolest thing ever. Every time it comes on you clap your hands and dance along with it.

Right now as I'm typing this you are pulling on my chair trying to stand up and just jabbering away. I can't even adequately describe how much you are loved. You are pure joy. Our hearts just overflow each and every day with you. We are beyond blessed God chose us to be your parents! Keep smiling little one. The world is so much better with you in it!

Love you with all my heart and more,
Mommy

10 on the 10th

10 pictures on the 10th day of the month!

{Document a snapshot of your life & find beauty among the ordinary things in your day!}

Love waking up with this sugar

Most of my life is still spent pumping.

Finally starting to sleep in my arms again. I couldn't be happier!

He always sits with his little feet crossed. LOVE IT!!!

 Always a happy day when this little gem comes!

 Grayson and Asher. They still just aren't quite sure of each other.

 Painting a birdhouse at sweet Lola's 4th birthday

Nanny's birthday present came today. LOVE Paper Concierge and their phone cases

He will eat absolutely ANYTHING

 This guy insisted on sleeping with Iron Man. Love him

Konnect starts this weekend. Looking forward to what God is going to do in the lives of the kiddos!! 

Anything but Easy

My journey with Breastfeeding

I had always believed breastfeeding would be easy. Everyone has done it since the beginning of time. How hard could it be?? Boy was I wrong.

With Hudson we had problems from the day he was born. It took him 24 hours to latch and actually start nursing and I was a ball of stress the whole time. I was so sad that my baby couldn't figure it out and that he was going so long without eating. We finally had success with using a nipple shield and although annoying I thought we would have smooth sailing from then on. Once again I was wrong. I got mastitis 4 times within 4 months and my milk dried up. If you have never had mastitis pray you never do. It is horrible. Two of the four times I had a high fever and seriously felt like I might die. At four months we were forced to switch to formula and that was that. No other options. 

During my entire pregnancy with Grayson I prayed for things to be different. I just knew that because of the power of prayer we were going to have a successful breastfeeding journey this time. Once again I was wrong. When Grayson first attempted to nurse he latched on instantly and started nursing. I knew my prayers had been answered. What a relief that it would be easy this time. The second day in the hospital it was like he completely forgot what he was doing. Once again we started using a nipple shield and it worked great. We were headed home with high hopes and a baby that was nursing great. By the time he was 7 weeks old I knew something was not right. He was crying all the time. Not sleeping and his poop had turned weird colors that weren't considered normal. I started weighing him every few days and he was losing weight. I started to panic. I called the doctor and got him in and sure enough at 8 weeks old he was barely a pound over his birth weight. The doctors were concerned that he wasn't absorbing nutrition and my greatest fears started to surface. I was told to pump every three hours and give him a 3 ounce bottle. If I didn't produce enough we would supplement with formula. Within 3 days he had gained weight and I knew I wasn't producing enough milk. I was crushed. It was such a feeling of guilt, defeat and complete devestation. I was his mom, this was my job, why couldn't I succeed at something God intended? So many questions raced through my mind. 

After the 3 days and on Christmas Eve the doctor said to let him nurse again for 3 days and we would see if he gained any weight. Well that was a great plan except after three days of a bottle Grayson refused to nurse. I was devastated once again. I just decided I had been wrong and nursing wasn't going to work for us probably ever. I decided to continue pumping for him to get as much milk as I could. As he got bigger my milk was not increasing and I was having to supplement more and more. 

My dear friend told me about a page on Facebook called Human Milk for Human Babies. I was honestly floored as many of you are and kinna grossed out that people would give their child someone else's breast milk. Then I started thinking. This is the VERY best thing for my son. Whether it's my milk or someone else's it didn't matter. Why would I give my kids animal milk freely yet not another Mom's milk. I made the decision to find someone to donate milk to us. My sweet husband and my parents weren't all for the idea in the beginning. It was weird and unheard of to them. My mom was the first on board with the idea and I had made up my mind that was the route we were taking. One of the girls in my LifeGroup heard my prayer request for God's provision and said she had TONS of extra milk she wanted to donate. I was shocked and so excited. I remember crying that night because another prayer had been answered. Then a few weeks later I was on HMFHB one day and saw a donation post from a girl I went to OSU with and was in my sorority and she lived in Tulsa. I was ecstatic. Someone I knew had extra milk. What an answered prayer. She donated tons of milk and we were well on our way to making it. Then as if two people weren't enough I had another friend ask if I needed milk and also donated TONS and has donated more than once. What a blessing. Even though it might have seemed small to those three girls the gift they have given me and my baby will be treasured forever. 

When Grayson is on formula he pukes insane amounts. When he is on breast milk he spits up maybe once a day. Right around when he turned 8 months old I was almost out of all of our donated milk. I was so torn about what to do. Look for more donors, stop pumping and looking for donations and just make the switch to formula. Oh what to do? Another big decision. I ask my chiropractor what she thought and she suggested renting a hospital grade pump and seeing if that would help. I was desperate because I had maybe two days left of milk. I found a way to rent the pump and went the next morning to get it. At first I didn't notice much difference. I sent out a text to the girls who had previously donated and no one had anymore milk at that time. THe third girl who donated told me she would ask around and see if anyone else she knew could donate. A couple days of supplementing and puking and she told me she had a couple days supply she could give me. Within a day of her giving me more milk Grayson started finally eating baby food. 

Now that he is eating three meals a day I AM PRODUCING ENOUGH MILK for him!!!! My milk supply has gone up and after almost 9 long excruciating months we have made it!!!! Yesterday as I was reflecting on our journey I realized what God's plan was this entire time. He has been teaching me perseverance. I have always been one to give up easily. If it doesn't come naturally to me I stop and try something else. I've never been one to try and try until I succeed. I give up. Its a terrible quality and I have always known that. God has tested me to my limits. Exclusively pumping for 9 months is horrible. There is nothing fun about pumping in the car, sitting in a room by yourself at family gatherings, scheduling your life around pumping because your baby wont nurse. For some reason I had a different attitude this time and continued to push on and keep trying. I wanted the best for Grayson and I was able to give it to him. I am so thankful for how my God provides for me and my family. Even though it was in ways I never imagined we are here and we have made it 9 months. I have complete confidence that we will make it to a 1 year and possibly beyond.

Thank you Father for being the ultimate Provider and my Strength when I was so so weak. Thank you for making this journey anything but easy so I would trust in you! Once again you have proved all I need is to put my trust completely in you and you will always provide!!! 

10 on the 10th

10 pictures on the 10th day of the month!

{Document a snapshot of your life & find beauty among the ordinary things in your day!}

This month I fell majorly behind so these 10 pictures are from the 9th, 10th and 11th.

Fun decorating cookies with our LifeGroup.

So serious and careful 

This kid takes up half the bed

Morning snuggles are my favorite

Hudson is alergic to mosquito's and this is what happens when he gets bitten. Scares me every time and breaks my heart. 

I'm pretty sure he knows I'm watching him through the camera

Such a happy little toot

This boy loves his snacks

Pinot's Palette 

Relaxing evening with a good friend!! 

Gray 8 Months

Grayson,

8 Months old on June 29th. Where in the world has the last 8 months gone? You change so much every single day and are turning into the sweetest little guy! Here are a few things you have been up to this last month.

*We switched you to size 4 diapers.

*I am slowly transitioning you to size 12-18 month clothes because you are so incredibly long!!

*You still eat 6oz of Breast milk every 4 hours during the day and still wake to eat once in the night.

*You still go to bed between 8-9pm sometimes 7pm depending on how you napped that day and you wake up between 6-7am

*You usually take 2 main naps every day with a couple of cat naps in between.

*You no longer want to be held to drink your bottle and you want to be the one to hold it. Breaks Momma's heart. Since you became semi mobile you don't want to be still that long so it is struggle to hold you!

*On June 6th we welcomed your little cousin Maddox into the world. You are 7months and 8 days apart. I'm pretty sure he will be one of your best friends. He's pretty sweet just like you!

*June 16th Daddy celebrated his first Fathers Day as a Daddy of two. He sure loves you and you sure love him.

*Every day when Daddy gets home you get so excited just like your brother does. Makes my heart smile.

*June 20th We went to OKC for Brooke and Steven's wedding. On June 21st you went swimming for the first time with Aunt Jetta, Daddy, and bubba while Mommy was at the Bridal Luncheon. That night you went to your first wedding and did so so good.

*You had another ear infection and the doctors said they wanted to do tubes because you had 3 in a month and a half. Monmma wasn't so happy with that plan so we started seeing Dr. Opal. She does Upper Cervical Chiropractic and it has helped a TON!!! We went back to the doctor and they were SHOCKED at how much better your ears looked! Such a huge relief that your little body will be able to heal itself better.

*You love your Jumperoo and bounce like a mad man. Your bouncer is almost a thing of the past because you are getting so big. You LOVE your Mamaroo now and Momma loves it cause you will sit there and watch me cook dinner or do the dishes perfectly content.

*You also LOVE Mickey Mouse. Anytime anything else is on tv you usually don't pay any attention, until Mickey comes on. You become glued. So stinking cute how excited you get.

*We started real food. I purred your first sweet potatoes and you loved them, then we tried avocado and that was your favorite. We also tried carrots and puffs this month. You love sitting in your highchair and eating your puffs all by yourself.

*You have become a little fish when we take baths. You are always trying to get away from me and kicking your little legs like you're going to take off swimming.

*The only way you like Mommy to hold you to fall asleep is with your head on my chest. Melts my heart.

*You have become quite the loud little talker. Always saying DADADADA. Wish you would start with MAMAMA :) Oh well anything you say is super precious.

*You FINALLY mastered sitting up and look so cute doing it. You still topple over every so often. When you fall it's usually because your brother ran by fast and you jerk to try to see what he's doing.

*Your brother is definitely your favorite person and the way things are going he always will be. You want to be involved in everything he does so so bad. I pray he always is sweet and patient with you and lets you be apart of his life.

*You reach for people when you want them to hold you or take you away from whoever has you currently.

We look forward to each and every day with you. Each moment is cherished and we will store them in our hearts forever. You are trying a little joy and we couldn't be more blessed that you are ours. We love you to the moon and back. Keep smiling little one! The world is so much better with you in it. You have my heart always and always.

Love,
Mommy