2 months old!

This little guy is growing up so fast. We just had his two month check-up and he is 13 lbs, 23 inches long. Grady is one healthy, happy baby boy. As his pediatrician, who I absolutely adore, was checking him out, Grady gave her big smiles. Needless to say, A+ report from the doc.

He has learned to roll on his side. This means mom is now very nervous and crib bumper is gone. Every night after he goes down and before I go to sleep, I walk in and just stare at him. He is such a good sleeper. Ever since we moved him from the bassinet at 4 weeks old, he sleeps "through the night". (Sleeping through the night at his age is anything over a 5 hour consecutive stretch.) The bassinet was Dave's mom's originally and 34 family members have slept in it since. Each baby has their name and date of birth written on the bottom under the mattress. Grady is number 35 - how cool?

After bath time (still his favorite) he goes down around 8 pm and doesn't usually wake up until 2-3 am and then goes right back down until 6 - 8 am. God love this kid! When he wakes up for his middle of the night feeding, he doesn't cry. He lets out a few yelps and we all sware it sounds just like he is saying "hey". It is hysterical and I'm going to try to get it on video so that I can always remember it. Im hoping in the next few weeks he will skip the middle of the night feeding and sleep 10-12 hours straight. But even if he doesn't I am not complaining about his sleeping habits one bit!

His face is changing more and more each day and maybe its wishful thinking, but I think he has my smile. He still looks like mini-Dave, but I see a little something different now. Some say he looks like my mom and I can see that too.

We couldn't be more blessed with such an amazing addition. As we celebrate 5 years of marriage today, we can't stop smiling and thanking God for such a wonderful little family.

XOXO,

Court

When Life Throws You Lemons, Have Your Gall Bladder Removed

Ah, if only it were that easy. Two weeks ago I was sitting on my couch looking at some gorgeous photos our friend Jeff took of Grady and us (new post to follow with these awesome pics!), all of the sudden I shot up in the air with the most horrific pain I have ever felt - yes, including labor contractions - and told Dave he had to take me to the hospital ASAP because I couldn't breathe. I wasn't sure if I had a blood clot in my lungs, was having a heart attack, or what was going on but I knew I needed help ASAP. Poor Dave, he looked like a deer in headlights as he had just fallen asleep watching TV when I woke him up. He grabbed Grady and ran him over to our next door neighbor's house until his parents could get to our house and then we raced to the hospital. Turned out I wasn't having a heart attack, I was having a gall bladder attack. Final diagnosis - gall bladder stones, pancreatitis, and chronic colonitis. Not sure what all of that meant exactly but I was admitted and had my gall bladder removed the next day. Although I wasn't feeling perfect and had a fever, the hospital discharged me on day 3 and I came home for what I thought would be a relatively easy recovery considering I just had a c-section and that was pretty rough. Well, not so much. Dave called the surgeon because I was only getting worse and we ended up back in the hospital 24 hours later. This time, I was really doing bad. I was jaundice, had a fever, wasn't eating, etc. Turns out the seal didn't hold where my gall bladder was removed and I had a slow leak of bile going into my liver and abdominal cavity. Awesome! I had to have a second procedure which was a stint inserted to stop the leak - which it did. However, the damage was done and I spent the next 4-5 days in the hospital slowly trying to recover and eat and feel better. The worst part about this whole ordeal was being away from Grady for 10 days. It was the worst feeling in the world. Thank God for family because I don't know what we would have done! Grady was fine with Nona, Aunt Sarah, Aunt Katie, and Grandma and Grandpa Schoen. As long as he had a bottle, he was happy as a clam. I, on the other hand, was a mess and had multiple meltdowns each day missing my little guy and feeling like a failure as a mother for abandoning him for so long.  Dave was so sweet, he came to my hospital room every night after racing home from work to see Grady for an hour and he stayed with me every single night I was there. He is such an amazing husband and father, I am so blessed!

Well I'm home now and every day I feel a little better than the last. It will take a long time to get my energy back and to be able to keep up with Grady's nursing demands. This kid is such a serious eater, this may be one of the reasons I had the gall bladder attack in the first place - I just couldn't keep up. I had a pretty decent supply of frozen breastmilk so the transition from breastmilk to formula was smooth for Grady. I was so worried about it while I was in the hospital. Now we are switching back and I hope it goes as smoothly.

This little hiccup in life has given me perspective on what is important, who will be there for you, etc. There is nothing more important that family! I could care less that there is dust all over the house or that I didn't make it out to pick out a cute Easter outfit for Grady, or anything really. All I care about is holding my little guy and for the three of us to be together as much as possible. This is our little family and we are so blessed!

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts, prayers, meals, help, etc. We really appreciate it. Grady is one very loved little guy!

XOXO,

Court

7 weeks old

Well our sweet lil man is now 7 weeks old. Which means we've had the best 7 weeks of our lives so far! As far as new milestones, the boy has found his hands, especially his thumb. Every night in the middle of the night I go in his room to feed him and just as soon as he sees me he smiles and shoves his chubby little hands, which he balls up into fists, into his mouth. Ok, it's confirmed that he knows me as the lady with his food. And as he shoves his chubby little fists into his mouth he makes the cutest noise that I can only describe as a soft, excited pant. Oh melt my heart at 2:00 am.

And his thumb, boy does he love jammin on that thing. In fact he is a big fan of his thumb. When he wakes up  from his naps in a very dramatic fashion, he crinkles his face up, shoves his tushie way out, and sticks his thumb out like a hitch-hicker. Much cuter to see in person rather than this sorry attempt of a description, but for what its worth.

In other not-so-cute news, Grady has an umbilical hernia. No big deal, but his belly button sticks out really far. His doctor says it should resolve itself by the time he is 2. So, although not the cutest belly button, it doesn't bother him so it doesn't bother us.

I had to take him to the doctor because of a rash he developed on his neck, shoulders, and chest. Turns out he is more like Dave than I thought. He has "sensitive skin" or dermatitis - just like his dad. Unbelievable. This too will go away shortly. While we were there he was weighed and would you believe he is now 12 lbs? Let me remind you that he was 7 lbs 8 ounces just 7 weeks ago. Wow. Even though I was a little concerned about the answer, I asked the nurse what percentage he falls into. Grady is in the 75th percentile for length and weight. He is a very happy, healthy baby boy and we are so blessed!

We went and saw daddy at work this week and took him out to lunch. I explained to Grady that this is "where the magic happens" so to speak and thank God for this job because it allows us to play at Baby Gap, a lot! (sorry Dave)

Finally, I think Grady's eyes are changing colors. It may be a little too soon to tell, but I feel like I can see light brown around the standard baby blue/gray color he has been sporting. Only time will tell but Im guessing he is going to have his daddy's dark brown eyes rather than my hazel eyes. Is he going to have anything that remotely resembles me? I mean really!

In closing, I leave you with some random new pictures of us...

Uncle Dave and Ryan

Why does Porter look so concerned?

LOVE me some baby feet!

XOXO,

Court

6 weeks

Here he is at 6 weeks old and I realize I keep saying this but I can't get over how fast he is growing. Grady is a big baby, at least that is what everyone tells me. He is a very happy little guy, expect from 5 pm til 8 pm - this is his cranky time. Poor Dave, I feel so bad that by the time he gets home from work Grady is a little hand full. I know he misses when Grady was a week or two old and would just sleep on his chest when he got home. Thank God I found gripe water (organic fennel and ginger extract to help with tummy troubles)!

We have had some more firsts in the Schoen household. My favorite is that Grady is definitely smiling back at us when we talk to him. Before it was just gas. Of course every time I try to capture this killer smile, he stops. Oh well, you'll have to wait until his professional infant pictures are ready to see this smile. He tracks toys when we move them left to right in front of him and gets captivated by the fireplace, curtains, and of course his whale paintings.  He is really good at holding his head up for a short time too. We do tummy time a lot and I can't get over in one week how much stronger he got.

We also had our first road trip to Raleigh to see my family. Grady did so good for the 5 hour trip - he slept the entire time. (Yes concerned parents, we stopped halfway to feed, change, and let Grady stretch out!) I swear the weekend flew by - it just goes too fast every time we go to NC, but even more so now with Grady. I love seeing my parents and sisters with him - they are so in love.

Aunt Sarah got up all night and came to our room hoping to rescue Grady, but he stayed quiet and sound asleep the whole weekend.



Aunt Meghan finally got to give him that bottle!

I think Aunt Meghan and Uncle Jon may have been bitten by the baby bug!



Grady got to meet Uncle Jon and loves him



Sarah and Jonathan let us crash their house - and I do mean crash. We took over their guest room and when we had Jonathan's brother Jeff take Grady's pictures we also took over their room! (Pictures to come soon, I promise it is worth the wait!) They were so cute getting the house cleaned and ready for Grady. They even brought in an antique rocker that Jonathan's dad was rocked in as a baby - so sweet.





We went and visited mom, excuse me Nona, at work so that she could show off her grandson. Somehow I didn't get pictures with Nona and PopPop the whole weekend :(

We had lunch with Carson and Reaves. Dave and Carson's husband Joe grew up best buddies. It is so cool now that Dave and Joe have sons 9 months apart. Somehow I think these two will get into trouble together - like father like son!

Love me some Reaves!

Switch. I can't believe Grady is going to be that big someday!



We were also able to stop by and say hi to Chad, who is expecting his first baby this June. Babies, babies everywhere this year!



And finally, the beautiful bride-to-be Kristin came by to meet baby Grady. She is such a natural with him - look out Kristin it is definitely in the water!

I can't wait to share with you the amazing pictures Jeff Massey took of Grady, coming soon...

XOXO,

Court











5 weeks old

Grady had his one month check up today and although I already knew this, the scale confirmed he is really plumping up. He clocked in at 10 lbs 10 ounces - whoa! I didn't ask what percentile he falls into because I knew I would obsess over it. His doctor says he is a perfectly healthy little guy and that's all that matters to me. He is a really good eater - he nurses every two hours when he is awake and every 3-4 hours when he is asleep. If I give him a bottle, he takes down all 4 ounces like its nothing! He is more alert now than ever and he loves looking up at the ceiling fans and curtains. He also chats with his whale paintings every time I change him. And speaking of changes, we are going through a ton lately. Just today, he peed on himself twice so we are on outfit number three and its only lunch. He still grunts up a storm, which reminds me on the movie Slingblade. And I know this is mean, but every time he wakes up he grunts and makes these silly noises like a grumpy old man and I just laugh and laugh. He found his hand in the last week or two and shoves it in his mouth every chance he gets.

We met a neighbor's baby girl who is only two weeks old and I couldn't get over how much Grady has changed from two weeks to five weeks old.



 (Yes, I realize this outfit is a tad too big, but its too cute.)

I finally feel comfortable taking him out of the house so we've been going on little dates. And it has been so nice out we've been taking long walks around the neighborhood. I've convinced myself he loves our walks, but he sleeps most of the time. I have also convinced myslef that his smiles (which absolutely melt my heart) are real smiles and not just a reaction to passing gas. A girl can dream right?

My new favorite thing is how hard he grips my finger with his little hand. I study every roll and line on that little hand of his - precious! Don't even get me started on his thigh rolls :)

XOXO,

Court