Sandi & Parker as Babies

Parker & Eli

Parker holding the bear that Eli gave him.

Just plain funny!

A proud big cousin!

Eli loves baby Parker. We went to visit the Corns this weekend, and Eli skipped his nap just to spend time with him. He was quick to try to share his toys with him and quick to rub his head or hold his hand. He was very attentive. He was even a bit of a baby hog always wanting to steal Parker away from whoever was holding him.

Tummy Time

As you know, many babies hate tummy time because they are so accustomed to laying on their back for sleeping. We put Parker down for tummy time, and he worked out for a bit before he fell right asleep and stayed asleep for 45 minutes!

Jasmine & Parker Photo Shoot

We tried to do a shoot with Parker and Jasmine, but Jasmine just acted awkward and crazy! These are the best pictures that we got!

Colic, The Witching Hour...Whatever you Want to Call It

It seems that our angelic little newborn is having some tummy pains each night between 8-10 p.m. that make him a little less than angelic for a couple of hours. Maybe it's colic, maybe it's a witching hour...who knows? It's just tough. Hopefully, we will work through the witching hour before Jared heads back to work. Right now, each of us take turns trying to sooth him until something finally works for one of us. It's just so sad to hear his really, really sad, ear piercing cry and not be able to sooth him in any way. We tried the "colic hold", a pacifier, holding him tight, laying him on his belly in our lap, patting his back, the baby bounce, and combinations of all. I also start giving him mylicon during the 4 p.m. and later feedings hoping that it will relieve some of the stomach pain. Still there is no avail! A friend told us about something called Gripe Water. Maybe that will be our next strategy. My mom said she used to give us some medication that was derived from opium (although, I'm sure she didn't know it at the time). For some reason, that's not available to us. ;-) Go figure, all of the good remedies were given out in the "old days."

GranJill's Visit

Wide eyed and awake around 9:00 p.m. -- a few hours after GranJill's departure!

Asleep, asleep, asleep when in her arms!

Are you smiling for us?

Watching Clemson with Daddy...go Tigers!

Daddy whipping up some hot breakfast, yum!

Parker tends to bring out the best in folks.

My mom came to visit Parker this past Saturday. She provided Parker with some care that provided much needed naps for both me and Jared. She held Parker most of the day, and he slept most of the day (oh how our boy loves to be held...constantly!). Of course, after she left, he was wide eyed and awake...until 1 a.m. :) Here are a few pictures.

Our New Camera

Monday we bought the camera that I've been dying for. We even got it for a better price than we thought we would. I love that it takes such wonderful close ups. Check out our first one. We took this picture on the 14th. Yesterday, we had a newborn shoot here at the house. I can't wait to see the pictures! We should get them in two weeks or so.

Parker's First Graduation

Today, Parker received a diploma from the lactation center at South Cobb Hospital! When we first arrived home from the hospital, our little bundle of joy when from just that to a screaming, unhappy baby. He would not sleep unless he was being held. We took turns/shifts in the middle of the night sitting up with him in the recliner while the other slept.

Tuesday, we took him to the pediatrician to discover that his weight was down to 5 lbs 5 oz. Very worrisome. My milk still had not come in so the pediatrician wanted us to supplement his feedings with formula. I was devastated, but I knew that he'd lost too much weight, so I was open to it. I asked if there was a way that we could feed him formula w/o a bottle. She told us that there was a feeding tube we could pick up from the lactation center at the hospital.

We went to the lactation center to be told that they didn't just give out the tube feeding systems that you needed to be taught to use them through an appointment. I asked when the soonest appointment was and was told it would be Thursday. I fell apart and begin to cry saying that my baby had already lost too much weight, and I was supposed to start supplementing him that night and that I couldn't wait until Thursday. The lactation consultant on duty, Adrienne (also known as lifesaver) took us back to a room and promised she would make a plan for us for that night and would try to see me the following day. She taught us how to finger food and found out that one of her Wednesday appts canceled. She sent us home with a plan for the night for which we were very thankful.

That night Parker's feedings took up to an hour and a half to complete. After he fed from each breast, we had to feed him an additional half ounce via a feeding tube. However, it was worth it the next day when we saw that his weight was already up! She taught us to supplement using the feeding tube at my breast, and she asked us to come back in on Friday for a weight check. She couldn't be there, so she introduced us to the consultant who would be in that day, Shannon.

Friday, his weight was up even more. He was almost back to birth weight. He registered at a little over 6 lbs. Shannon determined that we no longer needed to supplement with formula and that we would come by for a weight check again the following Tuesday.

Yesterday, we went in for our final weight check. Parker weighed 6 lbs, 9 oz! Both lactation consultants were there, and they both cheered for us! They seemed almost as excited as we were by Parker's progress! Adrienne discussed a pacifier with me along with when I should begin to pump. Now, Parker is no longer on strict every 2 hour feedings. He feeds "on demand" which gave us a little more sleep last night. What a big hump to get over. I am glad we did successfully and with me still breastfeeding!

Parker's First Visitors

Since we came home from the hospital, we have been fortunate to receive lots of support from our family and friends. Some came with meals and some came with gifts. I have yet to cook a meal since we got home!

Monday the Corns came and brought us two delicious meals. Parker got to play with his cousins, Eli and Atticus, and we even got a picture of the three of them. Eli was very attentive to Parker telling me how cute he was and often touching him. I think he's going to be a big helper when Niblet 3 comes along. Atticus was not so interested...except when Jamie was holding Parker then he was trying to climb up in Jamie's lap as well!

Saturday, Keith, Carolyn and Anna and Grace came to visit bringing Parker some cool clothes! He got his very first pair of overalls...gotta love em! Grace was great with Parker and so excited to see him. She enjoyed holding him. I think we have a future babysitter! Anna was more interested in playing with Jasmine and Jared, but she warmed up to Parker in the end.

Sunday, Ann and Jim came to visit bringing us a delish casserole. Our neighbors, Walker and Sidney, also stopped by to meet our little guy. Ashley came to visit later that evening and brought over Willy's for dinner. What a treat! Willy's has to be my favorite "fast" place to eat. We were able to hear about her trip to the UGA v. UT game. It was a busy day!

Tuesday, Jennifer, my old boss, brought us dinner and a frozen casserole. She lives so close that she was able to walk over with her two kids. They peeked in at Parker and visited about 15 minutes. Just 8-9 months ago, Jen had her second baby. She was so big. They grow up too fast!

Today, our friend, Julie is bringing us lunch/dinner!

It's so nice to get visitors. I feel a little cooped up in the house. I am not a homebody at all. Jared is much more of a homebody than me. If we can't get out to visit, I am thankful for the visitors that come to us!

Bye, bye Credit Card

Jared and I paid off our last credit card today. Hip hip hooray! And now, we save for a house.

Parker and Jasmine

One question I've gotten a lot is, "How is Jasmine doing?" No worries. Jasmine is not exhibiting any signs of jealousy, and she just LOVES it when she gets a chance to lick Parker. When she does, she wags her tail so hard. She is being so gentle to the point of being skittish around him. One day, he was in his swing. She was sniffing around, and her tail hit a blanket and made it fall off of her. She immediately looked worried and scolded thinking she had done something wrong by sniffing too close. She is constantly trying to peek over the top of the pack and play...she's just precious, precious!

Fortunately, we have still worked in some time for Jasmine. Check out the Jared/Jasmine couch bonding time from this evening.

Jared and Parker as Babies

Soooo...what do you think? Does he look like his daddy?

Our First Walk

Today was a beautiful day, so we decided to take a walk to help clear up Parker's jaundice and enjoy the lovely October weather. Thanks for our pimp stroller, Julie!

Parker's Birth

Our new family, Daddy, Mommy and Parker

A little facebooking -- after the epidural!

Let's see that big ole belly one more time! It won't be here much longer!

Me and my first nurse.

I couldn't drink water b/c I was nauseous. I just wanted a lollipop to keep my mouth moist. In that whole bag of dum dums, there was not one lemon or lime...can you believe it? Yes, Jared went through EVERY one!

Parker is 6 lbs, 1 oz!

Parker being poked and prodded

Parker and Daddy

Mommy and Parker

After having my membranes stripped (and the Scalini's eggplant parm) on Thursday, I started having contractions that I couldn't sleep through early, early Friday morning at around 1:15 a.m. I decided to get up and take a bath hoping I could relax and work through some of the pain. I wanted to let Jared sleep. In our birthing class, they said that I should let him get as much rest as possible if labor began in the middle of the night. During my bath, my contractions were varying from 4-8 minutes a part. I woke Jared up b/c I knew we were supposed to go to the hospital if they got to be 5-6 minutes a part. I wasn't sure what to do so I called my midwife. She told me that she didn't think it sounded like I was in true labor because my contractions didn't seem strong and regular enough. She said that I could come on in and they could check me and send me home if I wasn't far enough along. I told her that I would hold out a little longer to see if they became more intense.

Jared and I sat up for hours timing contractions. Finally after he called work to let them know he wasn't coming in, I sent him to bed at 6 a.m. so that he could get some more rest. I fell asleep on the couch at 7 a.m. and woke up to a contraction at 8:00 a.m. When I sat up, I felt my water break. I immediately woke up Jared to let him know that we needed to be on our way. He popped up (like the firefighter he is) and immediately began loading up the car. On our way out, my doctor's office told me that I should come to their office for assessment before heading to the hospital (they are right across the street). My midwife confirmed that my water broke and told me that I was only 2 1/1 cm dilated. I was discouraged by my dilation, but she sent me to the hospital.

We checked in around 9:15 a.m. They started me on pitocin around 10:30 a.m. Man, oh man, did the contractions intensify with the pitocin. I was trying to be strong and breath through them. The nurse told me that they wouldn't check my dilation very frequently since my water was broken, and that increased the chance of infection for me and for Parker. Jared's parents arrived shortly after lunch (my meals for the day included fruit popsicles and crangrape juice), and about that time, I requested an epidural. I was done trying to be a strong women. I was ready to enjoy the day and enjoy the arrival of my baby. The midwife came back to check my dilation, and I hadn't budged. She said that the epidural would help because they could then crank up the pitocin! At 1:30 p.m., Dr. Fishman gave me my epidural. It was great. I could still move my legs, but I couldn't feel contractions. What a relief!

Nikki came. She was our chief videographer and photographer of the day. She brought fun gossip magazines to entertain me. My mom arrived (after getting lost, of course) and brought a laptop. How fun was that. Throughout the birth, I was able to give facebook updates and receive encouraging words from friends and family. So fun! It was like a party with some of my favorite people in the labor room.

Labor still progressed pretty slowly. After reaching 7 1/2 cm, they had to give me oxygen and turn the pitocin off because Parker's heartbeat kept dropping, and repositioning me was not helping. The contractions were so intense, they were traumatizing Parker. After they turned it off, I didn't budge. Later they turned it up again, and I progressed quite quickly. During this time, we also discovered that I had a fever and likely an infection. They administered antibiotics to me and told me that Parker would have to have blood tests done immediately after birth as a result. At times, his heart rate would drop, so they put in an internal monitor to keep an eye on him. The contractions once again became too intense, and they couldn't reposition me so that his heart rate was stable. I was very concerned. I was back on oxygen, nurses were surrounding me trying to move me to a position that would help. Soon after, I learned that I was dilated to 10 cm and would begin pushing soon.

Everyone was kicked out other than Nikki and Jared, and then the pushing began! Because of the epidural, I couldn't feel a thing. My midwife, Michelle, and the nurses were great guiding me through. Jared was right by my side and incredibly encouraging. Nikki was the greatest cheerleader ever. I had a mirror, and every now and then, I could see the progress I was making. It was so exciting...yet pretty exhausting. After about 40 minutes of pushing, Parker made his big entrance! What an amazing, incredibly rewarding experience. I felt so close to Jared and so excited to see this baby I'd been carrying around all this time.

He was whisked away to be cleaned up and poked and prodded. During this time, I felt so helpless and so far away from him. I wanted my baby back, but I understood that he needed to be taken care of. Shortly after, the grandparents came and were introduced to their new grandson. Pictures were taken, people went home and we were moved to our new room. The end of the night, quite honestly, is a bit of a blur. What a day, what a night!

Stripping the Membranes

So, when we went to the doctor today, I was dilated 2 cm and effaced at 85%. The midwife felt the baby's head, and he was ready to go. She said that I was looking pretty "ripe" and that I likely wouldn't go past my due date. She asked if I wanted her to "strip my membranes." She said it could kick start labor. I asked Jared if it was ok with him, and it was, so we went for it. My membranes have been stripped. It was pretty uncomfortable. She said that if it was going to jump start labor, it would likely happen in the next 48 hours or so.

• Stripping or sweeping the membranes. If your cervix is already somewhat dilated and there's no urgent reason to induce, your practitioner can insert her finger through the cervix and manually separate your amniotic sac from the lower part of your uterus. This causes the release of prostaglandins, which may help further ripen your cervix and possibly get contractions going.

We followed up our visit with a trip to Scalini's which promises a onesie and $25 gift card if you have your baby w/i 48 hours of having their eggplant parm.

I woke up at 1:15 unable to sleep through my contractions. I took a hot bath during which the contractions were 4-8 minutes a part. It's now 6:00 a.m. and they are averaging 5-8 minutes a part but more intense. We're gonna hold out here a little longer before heading to the hospital. Wish us luck!