Caroline's First Christmas...

Since it has taken me this long to even get around to blogging, I am going to just write one big Christmas post instead of writing five separate Christmas celebration posts (my extended family, my immediate family, Greg's extended family, Greg's immediate family, and our little family of three). Please feel free to skim, as this is mainly just for me to remember things by. This holiday season has definitely been a whirlwind! We started out our Christmas celebration with a trip to North Carolina...Yes, two adults, two dogs, one one-month-old baby, and 7 hours of driving. And guess what? It was fantastic!! Caroline was a champ and only cried for about a total of 30 minutes each way and we still made it there in our usual 7ish hours! On Sunday we went to my aunt's house for an extended family get together. It was great getting to introduce Caroline to everyone! As usual, the food was fantastic and the company was even better! I had a great time catching up with the cousins and just hanging out with everyone. As is tradition, the adults participated in a Dirty Santa gift exchange and we ended up with a cake pop maker and a grilling set, both of which we were pumped about! After an few hours there, we headed over to my grandmother's house to meet Santa (which will be a separate post). After taking pictures with him, we packed back up and headed back to Raleigh to my parents' house. Monday we celebrated Christmas with my parents, brother and sister-in-law, our niece and nephew, and my grandmother. This year we decided to have the adults draw names and it was so nice!! It was fun getting to see who had who to buy for and what they picked out for us! My dad drew me and got me the drying rack I wanted and a new rotary cutter. My brother had Greg and got him extra caffeinated K-Cups for his new Keurig. Caroline got a some new toys, outfits, and cloth diapers. We loved watching the kids open their gifts, their ages are just SO fun this year! On Tuesday, we woke up bright and early and headed back home to Georgia. I was SO glad that we were able to make the trip and spend time with my family!

Our next celebration was the Friday before Christmas with Greg's extended family. Cindy and Thomas hosted this year and we had a great time! The food was so delicious and we had a BLAST playing all the Minute to Win It games Cindy had planned. The first game was to see how many cups you could stack with your dominate hand behind your back, the second game was seeing who could blow their cup across the table the fastest using a straw, the third was balancing pencils on the back of your hand and tossing them up and see how many you could catch, the last was a marshmallow tossing game, but I came in during the end of it so I'm not sure of the objective. It was so much fun seeing everyone's competitive side! After games, the kids all opened their gifts and then the adults played a fun Secret Santa game where each number has a little poem that went with it and told you what gift to get or who to steal from. We ended up with a decorative clock and a movie gift card. We had such a fun time!

Our next celebration was our own little family's! A couple of years ago we started the tradition of celebrating together on Christmas Eve, so we continued with that this year. This was such a special year for us because we've added our sweet baby girl to our family. We talked about how we couldn't get over how last year we were hoping and praying to get pregnant, and this year we were celebrating as a family of three! Caroline was pretty fussy all evening, so we waited to open our gifts to one another until after she was put to bed. Greg got me several new shirts, two pair of boots, pajamas, The Help dvd, and a night away at Lake Blackshear Lodge and Resort, which we will be going to in March! I got Greg a few shirts, wallet, 2 belts, k-cups, and 12 pre-planned/pre-paid dates- one for each month of the year! One Christmas morning, Greg got up with Caroline so I could sleep in a bit longer (so sweet) and then we took pictures of Caroline with her gifts from Santa! Santa got some great deals over the past several months so the gifts have been stored for a while =) She a got a musical table, tiny diner place mat, snack cups, sippy cups, shape sorts, stacking blocks/cups, and a few more goodies! We spent the day in our pajamas then got ready to go to Cindy and Thomas' for our last celebration.

Our last celebration at Cindy and Thomas' was a great way to end the Christmas season. We all enjoyed a delicious meal by Cindy before heading to the living room for our gift opening extravaganza! It was truly a sight to see the tons of gifts under the tree...blessed for sure!! SJ was SO cute this year opening his gifts! It made me excited for next year, since Caroline will be about 3 months younger than that. SJ and Caroline slept through most of the gift opening (although Caroline decided it would be a good idea to cry though a lot of it), but the adults ans KA had a great time going around one by one and opening our gifts. I always love seeing what everyone gets! We received SO many sweet gifts! Greg got several new accessories for his Big Green Egg, some new clothes, and more and I got some nice new sweaters, several gorgeous scarves, a new crockpot and dutch oven, and lots more! Caroline racked up as well with tons of new cloth diapers, outfits, a photo session, books, headbands and more! We had a fabulous time with everyone but had to hurry out after the gift opening to put a very tired girl to bed! She gave us her own Christmas present that night by sleeping 9 straight hours!!

As mentioned before, Christmas was a whirlwind this year, but despite all of the hustle and bustle, we always remember the reason for the season and thank the Lord for what this holiday truly means. We have been abundantly blessed and I hope to never take it for granted!

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One Month...

Caroline turned one month old on Tuesday! I just can't believe it! In some ways it seems like time has absolutely flown and in others it seems like she's been here a lot longer than a month. I know everything is a first with a newborn, but with it being the holiday season it seems like we have packed in a ton of firsts into the first month! Some of the big ones are first Thanksgiving, first time meeting Santa, first road trip to North Carolina(!), and of course all the others like first bath, first nap in her crib (and partial night), first doctor's appointment, first time out in public, etc. We have had so much fun getting to know her and figuring out this parenting thing =) She truly is such a sweet baby and we have been so blessed with how "easy" she is (pray this continues lol). She is a great sleeper at night (we're still working on days) and a great eater, which are such huge blessings! To have a one month old sleeping 5-6 consecutive hours, waking to eat and going right back to sleep for about 3-4 more hours is HUGE! Here are some one month facts about Caroline that I'd like to remember:

What she loves:

• Being held! She is definitely spoiled in this department. I'm pretty sure she didn't get put down AT ALL while we were in NC! And of course, she is asleep on me as I type this =)
• Bath time. She is so content in the tub and only cries when you wash her hair (and that's only sometimes) and when you take her out. But she stops when you lotion her up after her bath.
  
• Being swaddled...but only at night.
• Riding in the car- praise the Lord! Hope this on sticks!
• Being patted on the back...f.o.r.e.v.e.r.
• the Moby Wrap- only if she is in the mood.
  

What she is not a fan of:

• her pacifier...I'm working on this because she sucks on her hands and I don't want a thumb sucker
• naps...lame. Not everyday.
  
• Being swaddled during the day
• Wet diapers...if she is crying she is either tired, hungry, or wet... she doesn't mind poopy diapers which is lovely lol.
• Her carseat when it is not moving

One Month Stats:

• Weight: 9 lbs even (41%)
  
• Length: 21.75 in...which is still up in the air. At birth they say she was 21.5 inches, at her first appointment they said she was 20.75 inches...so either she shrunk lol, or the got it wrong in the hospital. either way (84%)
• Eating: every 3 hours, around 3-3.5 ounces
• Sleeping: Our routine is a bath around 8:45, eat around 9pm, put down for bed around 10pm. Wakes to eat around 3-3:30am, sleeps until 6ish and wakes to eat, sleeps until around 8:30 and eats at 9am to start our schedule for the day.

Milestones:

• First Real Smile- TODAY!!

Randoms:

• Baby acne came on STRONG this past week...booo!!
  

More pics from this month:

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2 weeks old...

Well, this post is a few days late, but oh well! I can't believe Caroline is already 2.5 weeks old! When people say time flies, they aren't lying! All of my days run together and I absolutely cannot believe how quickly December is going by. I feel like a recluse because I can't take her out yet, so we spend the days chillin inside which is only so much fun for a few days. I've taken her out a few times just in the car so I can grab lunch or something...and because she falls asleep immediately in the car (I promise not to make that a habit lol). The past 2 weeks have been exciting, exhausting, sweet, eye-opening, and so much more! I really enjoyed having my mom and dad here for a few extra days, because that was a HUGE help!! And a few afternoons this week Cindy has come to keep her while I take a nap, which is also a huge help because Caroline has decided it's a good idea to stay awake pretty much all day. However, she is awesome at night, so I figure it evens out! Last night I was d.o.n.e. after a full day of barely any napping and a lot of crying, so Greg took over around 8:30 for bath time and I went to bed until it was time for her to eat again and that was excellent! Then she slept most of the night...success! Other than her lack of wanting to nap during the day, Caroline is an excellent baby! She is so sweet and is generally content...especially if she is being held. I've tried really hard not to just sit around and hold her all day...buuut then I figure she's only this little for such a short time and I've held so many other babies all day, so why not hold my own?! I'll probably pay for it later when she won't sleep in her crib, but until then it's a price I'm willing to pay =) She is a great eater which has been such a blessing because I was nervous about not being able to breastfeed. Now I will say, this has to be one of the most selfless acts of all time because it hurts like hell most of the time, no one else can help out, takes forever, and there have been days where she cluster feeds and has literally nursed for almost 3 hours straight...and yes, we were both crying! BUT despite all that, I do enjoy it and I enjoy knowing I'm doing the best thing for her. On that note, Caroline successfully took a bottle from her daddy this week which made me SO happy! We had tried before with the Avent bottles and she nearly drowned herself, so I went and bought the Tommee Tippee bottles and she did great! Hooray for being able to share feedings with Greg and babysitters! She also started to take a pacifier much better this week. I was hesitant to introduce it, but she keeps her hands in her mouth otherwise, even at times when I know she isn't hungry, she's just trying to soothe herself. She hated the paci at first but the past 2 days she has taken it pretty well. That's about all the time I have for now...time to go feed a hungry girl!

Thanksgiving...

We obviously had a LOT to be thankful for this Thanksgiving, but top of the list would have to be our sweet baby girl who was born just four days before Thanksgiving day. This year was, of course, MUCH more low key than previous years and we celebrated turkey day by my grandmother cooking our traditional Thanksgiving meal at our house and eating it with her and my parents. We had to skip out on Greg's family's celebration this year since it included the extended family and we couldn't take her around that many people yet. Plus, with just two days of being home, I'm not sure I would've been able to make it out myself! However, we still got a sweet visit from GiGi, Granddad, Aunt Katie, Uncle Saunders, and Katie Anne and SJ. This was Caroline's first time getting to meet her cousins so I was excited about that! SJ is SO cute with her and kept smiling so big every time he looked at her. Katie Anne was adorable as well and I know that Caroline will look up to her so much and have so much fun following her around! It was a relaxed day of eating and football watching and baby holding...the perfect Thanksgiving! Unfortunately, we didn't have the flash on the camera so all of the pictures are very yellow. Oh well! At least I remembered to take a picture lol.

(They're not uploading...I'll try again later- someone tiny has to eat)

Our Hospital Stay...

We made it to our recovery room around 9ish and had nurses with us until around midnight. At that point we had been awake almost 40 straight hours and were e.x.h.a.u.s.t.e.d! Caroline's temperature was low, so they had to keep coming to check her and finally take her to put her under a warming lamp, so that postponed nursing a bit which I was really worried about, but luckily she's a great eater so the delay didn't seem to impact her. The first night was great! We stayed up for a little bit longer just looking at her and talking about how perfect we think she is...typical new parent stuff. She barely made a peep and we were both so tired that we both actually fell asleep. I was so paranoid though that she would stop breathing for some reason so I kept waking up to look at her and make sure she was breathing haha. Monday we enjoyed visits from our family and a few friends. We really appreciated our parents bringing food because the hospital food was pretty bad and that way Greg could have something other than McDonald's. Monday night was a little bit more difficult than the previous night, as Caroline decided that would be a good time to party, but considering she only cried on and off for a couple of hours and the baby next door screamed all.night.long...I'd say we still had it pretty easy! Tuesday morning our nurse came in to tell us that we would be getting to go home as soon as Caroline's jaundice results were back. We were so excited to be getting to go home! Even though she did have jaundice, it wasn't bad enough to keep her, so around 2pm we packed up and headed home! The nurses at Northside were AMAZING and we really appreciated all there help, but we were so glad to be getting things started "for real."

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Caroline's Birth Story...

Saturday we woke up to another morning of no baby! Since we already had our induction set for Sunday, I didn't have my hopes set too high on going into labor on my own, even though I really, really wanted to. Throughout the day I was pretty crampy, but I had been having Braxton Hicks and cramps for about 2 months, so it didn't really bother me. Greg and I spent the day relaxing and running a few errands (one being taking back a few newborn clothes since we had been told she would probably weigh around 9lb 2 oz), then we went to Henry's for dessert that evening. We went to bed around 10:00 and watched a movie. Around 11:15pm I had a few pretty strong contractions, but decided to just go to sleep and see if they passed. By 12am they were too strong to stay in bed, so I went and got on the computer and started timing. They were already consistently 6-7 minutes apart and I timed for over an hour before going to tell Greg that this may be the real deal. Around 1:30 they moved to around 4-5 minutes apart and were VERY strong. I called my midwife, Judy, and told her what was going on and she said, "well, do you wanna have a baby today? If so, come on over and I will meet you in labor and delivery!" I woke up Greg and told him we were going to be going to the hospital so I was going to take a shower. We both got ready very quickly and were out the door by around 2:15am. The contractions were painful but bearable at this point and I remember thinking "I'm already 4 minutes apart, I must at least be getting close to 5 or 6 cm, I can do this natural thing after all"...how little did I know =) Once we got to the hospital and checked in, my midwife- who I am SOO thankful was on call she is my favorite in the practice and I've seen her the most- came in to check me. Well guess what? I had barely changed from Friday! I was still sitting at barely 3 cm! This was very discouraging because the contractions were already pretty painful and I knew we had quite a ways to go. We decided to walk the halls for a while to see if that would move things along. I spent the early morning walking, sitting on my yoga ball, using all kinds of Bradley stretches and relaxation techniques, and by around 9:30 am I was in PAIN! Greg was AMAZING and the absolute perfect couch, but the contractions were coming so close together that there didn't seem to be a break in between. I started getting very nauseous and eventually got sick in between contractions. I had the midwife come back and check me around 10am, and guess what?! STILL only around 3 cm!! After almost 11 hours of active labor, I'd barely progressed a full cm! I was SO upset because I knew I couldn't take it anymore and if I didn't have some kind of relief I was going to be too exhausted when it came time for pushing. So, I finally had to throw my "plan" out the window and go for the epidural. I cried about it and felt disappointed that I couldn't go unmedicated the way I had wanted and planned, but I knew it was right for me at the time. So around 10:45 I got the epidural and then guess what...I was in heaven! I finally felt like I could breathe and I was able to enjoy the whole process. Around 3 pm, Judy came in to check me and to break my water. FINALLY some progress! I was already 7 cm, which was music to my ears! She told me that after my water broke, things would probably go even faster so she was going to be back in little bit to start pushing! I was so excited! She came back around 6pm, checked me and said, "well, are you ready to start pushing?" Greg and I just looked at each other and grinned, we were PUMPED! After the first couple of pushes Judy said that she didn't think I'd be pushing long so she recruited some nurses and told them to get ready because this baby was going to come fast. I ended up asking for the mirror so I could see everything and I was so glad I did because, I could see the progress the pushes were making and it encouraged me to push harder. After 40 minutes of pushing, our sweet baby girl was placed on my chest! It was SO emotional and Greg and I were were both crying and trying to look at her. After a few minutes, they took her to the table to clean her up and to let Judy stitch me up. Greg went and stood with Caroline to take pictures and watch her get weighed. After a few minutes she was brought back over to me. It was so surreal finally getting to hold my baby girl who I had been carrying around for 9.5 months! Greg was AWESOME and was so encouraging through the whole labor and my midwife was amazing! After a few minutes of just the three of us, Greg went to tell the family that Caroline was here! We had everyone come back to see her before we headed up to our recovery room, but it was a quick visit because they were trying to get us upstairs quickly. I'll stop here for now and write about our stay next...

Anxiously awaiting daddy!

Before the epidural

Caroline Gray makes her appearance at 7:09pm!

Weighed in at 8lb even and 21 and 1/2 in long
Me and Judy- my midwife

Getting to hold my baby girl for the first time =) Heaven!!

Out with the old...

Day 19:

Ever since we moved into the house we made a checklist of things we wanted to change or update, and a few of those things were our kitchen appliances. We got the dishwasher first, then did so many other things around the house we kept putting off the stove and refrigerator. Well, for the past couple of weeks we've been deciding on what new stove to get and then decided we really wanted a new refrigerator first, SO we did lots of shopping around and then just happened to browse Craigslist and happened to find one of the ones we were looking at! It is only a year old, and a fraction of the cost! Brand new it cost around $2,000 and we got it for less than $500...DEAL ALERT! They were selling it so cheap because they had actually won it in a Lowes' survey a year ago, and now they were moving and their new house already had a new refrigerator. Score! So, Thursday night Cindy and Thomas came over to help us go pick it up and then Thomas came back last night to help Greg switch it out with our old one. Unfortunately, our measurements were slightly off, and it wouldn't fit under our cabinets, but luckily Greg and Thomas are two of the handiest men I know, so they simply sawed and sanded the trim of the cabinet and it was able to fit perfectly. I'm SO glad to have a side-by-side instead of our old one and this one has so much more room which is nice. Next up is our stove, which we will get in a few weeks, we figure we'll wait until things calm down a bit considering we'll be having a baby in the next few days =)

I forgot to take a picture of the old one, but I did find a picture of the kitchen...

In with the new...