Thursday, September 24, 2009

One Month

Today, Bryson is one month old! And to celebrate, he slept from 10pm to 5:50am, making two very happy parents.

It's amazing how much he's grown- he's so much more alert!

He's now wearing 0-3 months in clothing, although the pants are a little large. He's still in size 1 diapers. I'm anxious to see his weight at his checkup- I think he's at least 11 lbs now!

We got several packages in the mail this week too- the clothing is from our Aunt Susan and the burp cloth, book and toys are from my Texas friends- the Kidd's.

Overall, its been a good week. Bryson has started on a new formula, and it seems to be sitting well with him. He's on more of a schedule and I've actually started to feel like myself again. I can't wait to see what's ahead!

Monday, September 14, 2009

three weeks

Our little man is 3 weeks old today! My in-laws were in town this weekend to meet Bryson, so the weekend flew by.

Now that you are three weeks old:

* You have slept from 10:45pm until 5am on two occasions- I hope this is a new trend!
* I found you on your side in your pack-n-play when I left you on your back, so maybe you are trying to roll over?
* You stay awake longer- mainly in the mornings and after supper
* You have outgrown a few of your newborn sized onesies- they are just not long enough!
* You still wear size 1 diapers- you never fit into the newborn ones
* You have 'watched' two OSU football games and been to church twice :)
* We are finally figuring each other out!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Grocery deals

I saw some good Quaker deals in the Homeland ad this morning, so I thought Bryson and I might stir out sometime this week and attempt the trip.

But Brandon, being the awesome husband he is, encouraged me to go ahead and make a grocery run while he stayed home with Bryson! I jumped at the opportunity!
Here's how I did:
Total Spent: $31.57
Total saved: $57.88
% saved? 67%

* 9 boxes of Quaker granola bars + Cap'n Crunch Cereal, 5/$8 sale
-2 $3/5 Quaker coupons= 10 Quaker products for $1 each AC
* 2 Knorr Lipton rice sides= $0.04 AC
* 4 Ronzoni pastas for about $0.50- $0.75 each after assorted coupons
* Hungry Jack syrup= $1 AC
* Welch's juice= $0.99 AC
* 4 cans of pillsbury grands products- FREE after coupons
* 2 Peter Pan Peanut Butter- $1.50/jar AC
* 2 Pace Picante sauce- $0.94/jar AC

Not too bad for my 1st trip :)

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Number 5, baby!

Our amazing Oklahoma State Cowboy football team is #5 in the AP rankings this week. #5!!!
Whoa.

It's been since before I acknowledged college football that OSU was this good! So, to celebrate, here's some photos of my 2 OSU babies :)
My parents kept Bryson and Leia on Saturday so that Brandon, my sister and I could attend the OSU vs. Georgia game. It was great to be back in the football stadium, and to have some 'adult' time. We sure did miss Bryson- but a Cowboy victory and some Mexico Joes salsa helped console me :)
I'm told Bryson enjoyed his time with his MiMi and Granddaddy, and he even watched some of the game on TV!

Friday, September 4, 2009

Fun faces

I can't believe how much little Bryson has grown in a week and four days! Here's some of my favorite 'at home' photos- this is from his first weekend home...
And I took this one a night or two ago- He keeps making such serious faces and doing funny things with his hands..he just looks to be in deep contemplation! Brandon was home with me all week, and we made an effort to get out of the house every day. We went to Wal-Mart yesterday and I price-comped a few good deals from Homeland. I didn't get anything for free, but it was still better than paying full-price for watermelon, chinet plates and potato chips!
I'll have clearance to drive again after Labor Day, so I'm excited to get back into couponing and get on a more regular schedule once Brandon returns to work.
Hope you have a wonderful Labor Day!

Thursday, September 3, 2009

The lowdown on c-sections

Our c-section was scheduled due to Bryson's estimated size on ultrasounds. I felt pretty prepared going into the c-section, as I had researched it on the Internet and read my baby books.
BUT- there are a few things that I wasn't prepared for, and I thought I'd share 'em!

1. Swelling
I had no clue how bad the swelling would be after the c-section. I was told it had something to do with the IV fluids, etc. My feet were swollen for over a week, and it was very painful. It felt like my skin was going to rip open. yuck.
What did I do to help reduce the swelling? We started walking every evening for 30 minutes and I've been drinking a TON of water.

2. Gas
Gross, I know- but my whole belly was filled with gas about 24 hrs after the c-section. I had actually read about this, but I wasn't prepared for it to be that severe. If this happens to you, make sure and tell your nurse sooner rather than later! They have medicine that can help!

3. Feelings
I was talking with my friend Kacey the other day about my 'baby blues'. She made an excellent point- and I thought I'd share it. :)
With a vaginal birth, you go through all this pain, but the pain goes away when your child is born. With a scheduled c-section, you have no pain at the beginning. You lay on an operating table and your child is surgically removed from you. Then, you have intense pain right after the birth of your child.
I had amazing doctors and nurses who managed my pain medication very well- and within 24 hours of the surgery I was feeling pretty good.

4. IV's and catheters
I knew I would be receiving an IV and a catheter, but I didn't realize that the IV would be on my wrist. Yuck. It was difficult to hold Bryson and to push myself up in the hospital bed with the position of the IV. The IV was in place for a little over 24 hours. The catheter was in place overnight since my c-section wasn't til early afternoon. It took a while after the catheter was removed to feel like I could use the restroom 'normally'. Enough said.

Overall, I just wasn't mentally prepared (and I don't know if you ever can be) for the birth of our little one. As soon as I prayed about it and accepted that Bryson's birth and breastfeeding experience was different than what I had expected, things got much better.
It was fine for me to have expectations, but I need to learn how to roll with the punches a little more. So much of Bryson's birth and first week home has exceeded my expectations! I can't wait to see what the future holds.