Fun with the water hose

Oh boy! Topher absolutely LOVES playing outside and the only thing he loves more than that is playing outside with WATER! Give this kid a water hose and he's in for hours of good clean fun. Well actually, it's not so clean afterall...see all the mud? But that's ok. He's a boy and boys are meant to get dirty...really dirty...disgustingly dirty sometimes. :)

One Month Stats

Believe it or not, Cole has gained 2 pounds 2 ounces since his 2-week check-up (3 weeks ago)! He is currently weighing in at 10lbs 8.5oz, meaning he has gained 3lbs 4.5oz since birth. He has also grown 1/2". I told you he was a chunk! The doctor also noticed that he's starting to focus on his hands and is trying to coo. He should be smiling and cooing before we know it. Can't wait!

Update to yesterday's post...

Well speak of the devil! Cole only woke up for one middle-of-the-night feeding last night. I knew it would be soon. Hopefully it wasn't just a fluke and it will be the new norm. Fingers crossed.

Four weeks already

I can not believe it's been FOUR WEEKS since Cole was born. He's becoming so much more alert these days. He's really starting to stick to his feeding schedule, which is great. He still eats every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. I'm waiting with bated breath for the night when he finally only wakes up for 1 middle-of-the-night feeding instead of two. Should be any time now. I actually have been getting really good sleep lately. Eight non-continuous hours each night for the past few nights. It's been awesome. His 1-month check up is scheduled for May 13th, so I'll update then with his weight and such. I'm guessing he's gained at least a pound since his 2-week visit. This kid is a chunk. A sweet, adorable, cuddly chunk. :) Here are some pictures (and in case you're wondering, I'm trying my hardest to get pictures of both boys together, but Topher is not wanting to cooperate). :(
And here are some recent pics of sweet big brother...

2 Week Post...A few days late (a long post)

Well I'm a few days late getting Cole's 2-week post out. It's been kind of a hectic week. Cole is doing really well with his eating and sleeping schedule, though we have had some off days. He eats every 2 1/2 to 3 hours. He's beginning to have more and more "wake times" each day so that's been great. My main goal at this point is to keep him from "snacking" so I do all I can to make sure he gets a full feeding each time I nurse. Getting into this habit is the first step in getting him to sleep through the night. Topher started sleeping through the night at 12 weeks. My goal with Cole is to have him sleeping through the night at 8 weeks. Wish me luck!

Cole had his 2-week check up on Wednesday. He weighed in at 8lbs 6.5oz and is still 22" long. We can definitely tell that he's filling out. He's getting quite chubby. On another note about weight, I have to brag on myself again...as of Wednesday, I've lost all the weight I gained during the pregnancy plus one pound. And I weighed again on Friday just for grins and giggles and I had lost another 2 pounds. So all in all I have lost 19 pounds since giving birth to Cole. I couldn't be more thrilled!!!

Mimi and Papa Morris were here to help out this week and it was great having them here. They were a huge help. They left today so now we are officially on our own. It's good, though. Bryan and I have to figure this whole "parenting a toddler and newborn" thing out for ourselves at some point, so here goes. Wish us luck. Oh and Topher woke up with a stomach bug this morning. He is having trouble keeping anything down so we're in for a true test. You might wanna say a few prayers for us while your wishing us luck. ;)

Here are some new pictures of Cole and a few of his proud grandparents as well. By the way, Cole is their TWENTIETH grandchild!! Wow!!!

And here are some pictures with his big brother. Topher is still in the "I'm not sure about this" stage, but I'm sure he'll come around soon.

One week old

Cole is one week old today and he's growing like a weed. He had his 1-week check up with the doctor and he has gained NINE AND A HALF OUNCES in 6 days!! He's also already grown 1/4 of an inch and is in the 97th percentile for height. I shouldn't be surprised. This kid is a pro at nursing.
On another note, Topher is becoming a fantastic big brother. He makes sure to keep Cole's swing moving and likes to give him his teddy bear. He also blows him lots of kisses. He really seems to be adapting quite well to the new addition which is a huge relief to mommy and daddy. I am going to try to take some pictures of the both of them today or tomorrow. I'll post them as soon as I can. In the meantime, here are some pictures of Cole with Grandma and Grandpa Padgham and Uncle Jon. They came in last Friday and have been a huge help. Grandpa had to leave on Monday so he could work this week, but Grandma is staying until Saturday. And then Mimi and Papa Morris will come to help out for a week. We're really looking forward to their visit and will post pictures as soon as possible.

More pictures

Cole Michael Padgham

On Wednesday, April 8th, we were blessed with our second beautiful baby boy. Cole Michael was born at 12:19pm weighing in at 7lbs and 4oz and was 21 3/4" in length.

About the birth: I started having pre-labor contractions at about 2am but that only lasted about an hour. I was able to sleep from 3am-4:45am, but then the contractions started becoming a little more intense. At that point, I knew that I was going to have a baby that day. I woke Bryan up around 5:30am to let him know things were happening. He needed to go into the office to get some things taken care of since he was taking time off after the birth so he went ahead and got up and went to work. I got up and got some things ready...between contractions that is. I got Topher up at about 7am and got him dressed, fed and ready for school...between contractions. Then I got myself ready. I even put make-up on for some reason...between contractions. ;) The contractions were not regular at this point (they were anywhere from 4 minutes to 12 minutes apart), so I knew there was plenty of time to get things done and then get to the birthing center to get checked. So I drove Topher to school (during 3 contractions) and then called the birthing center and told the midwife what was happening and that I was on my way. I got there a little before 9am and at this point the contractions were becoming regular at about 4-5 minutes apart. She checked me and verified that I was actually in labor at 4 centimeters and 90% effaced. So I called Bryan and told him to come on over to the center because we were about to meet our baby.

Ten minutes later, Bryan and I were outside at a beautiful park next to the center walking around trying to progress labor. We walked for a good hour and a half before I got really tired and just wanted to sit down. I have to say that being able to walk through the labor felt great. I stopped for each contraction, but as soon as a contraction ended, it was as if nothing was going on. I felt great between each one. And the contractions themselves didn't seem all that painful either. Very uncomfortable, yes, but also very manageable.

At about 10:45 or so, we went in and the midwife suggested I go ahead and get into the whirlpool so did. I labored in the whirlpool with Topher, too, and it was just as fantastic this time. I don't know why every pregnant person doesn't do this. It is the most relaxing, greatest feeling a pregnant women can experience during labor, in my opinion. So as I'm relaxing in the water, Bryan and I get to visit and talk and joke with eachother...between contractions, of course...which were beginning to get more intense and closer together. At about 11:30, the midwife checked me again and that's when my water broke. She said it wouldn't be long now and she was right. My contractions became the most intense at this point. I could no longer do anything during a contraction except concentrate on breathing through it. This was what they call "active labor". I felt the first urge to push a little after 12pm. After two huge pushes, the head was out, but there was a problem. The shoulders were stuck or "tight" as the midwife put it. There was a mad rush to get the baby out. After the head comes out, there's a very short period of time to get the rest of the baby out before major complications can occur. So they pretty much had my legs behind my head (I never knew this was even possible for me??) and told me to push the baby out NOW so I gave it all I had and thankfully it worked. I swear it felt as if he were being ripped from my loins (which will be the way I'll always describe it...especially when the day comes that I need to put a big guilt trip on Cole). But he was out and immediately on my chest and he felt so great and looked so perfect. I didn't get to keep him long, though. It was a very traumatic birth for him so they took him to make sure everything was ok. Which, as it turns out, everything was perfect. He came back to me about 20 minutes later and I was amazed that he immediately started nursing with absolutely no problems whatsoever. He nursed for a good hour at least and then fell right to sleep.

It was such a perfect day. The weather was gorgeous and so was our new baby. Bryan went to pick Topher up at school at about 4:30 and brought him back to meet Cole. When we asked him if he wanted to meet his little brother, he said "No. No druther." He just needed a little bit of time to warm up to the idea, I guess.

We left the birthing center at 6pm that evening. Everything is going really well. He's eating and sleeping like a champ, which is all I can ask for at this point. So that's Cole's birth story. You can read Topher's birth story as well here: IT'S A BOY!!! Thanks so much for reading. More pictures and updates will be coming in the next few days I'm sure, so check back when you can.

Love to all.

Blooms

So many of our new plants are already blooming. They are so pretty. We covered everything up last night because of the impending freeze, and thankfully, everything seems to have survived just fine. I hope I labeled all of the pictures correctly...

two...more...weeks...

Ugh! No changes since last week. And I'm showing no signs whatsoever of delivering this baby early. That makes me sad. I'm just really ready to meet the little guy. And I'm getting a little tired of being pregnant. But that's ok, I guess. Cole is welcome to stay in his comfy home for as long as he needs to. The midwife says he's probably right at 7 pounds now and thinks that if I go the full two weeks, he'll be an 8 pound baby.

I'm still feeling good other than my tummy being really heavy these days...and all the potty breaks I have to take. Allison and I are still trying to walk as often as possible. We don't get to do it every day anymore, but that's ok.

Anyway, that's that. I just wanted to update you all. I'm gonna go waddle to bed for a little nap now. I guess I should be thankful that I'll still have two weeks to get good naps in. :)

Trinity Audubon Center

Allison and I took Luke and Topher to the Trinity Audubon Center (http://www.trinityriveraudubon.org) this morning for a class on nature. We walked along the nature trail and saw birds and flowers, and of course mud puddles, which were way more fun than anything else. They also got to plant flowers, play with turtles and a lizard, and see some pretty big fish. It was a very interesting morning. I think the boys had a good time.

3 more weeks...maybe

Saw the midwife this afternoon. I've already started dilating (meaning my cervix has started to open...sorry if that's TMI) at 1cm and am 40% effaced. Now, I have a friend who had dilated to 2cm and still took almost a month to go into labor and they even had to induce her a week early and she ended up giving birth to a 10.5 pound baby boy the au natural way (Kristy, you are my hero)!!! So, all that said, there's just no way to tell when Cole will make his appearance. It could take the full 3 weeks or it could happen tomorrow. The midwife told me not to get my hopes up for it to happen that soon, but she also thinks I won't make it the full 40 weeks. YEA!

So anyway. Just wanted to update you all on the situation. I'll let you all know when and if anything changes.

Spring Break Work

The Padgham's came down to visit during Spring Break and helped us get all kinds of work done inside and out. We can't thank them enough for everything they've done. The two biggest projects were finishing up the irrigation and putting most of the plants in (still a few more to come). Here are some pictures. I can't wait to see the landscape in a few months after it fills in some. It's going to be so pretty.

I can grow people. What's your super power?

I remember going through this towards the end of my pregnancy with Topher. But this time I'm having even more trouble dealing with it because I know this will be my last pregnancy. I am so blessed that both of my pregnancies have been so super easy. I have loved being pregnant...both times. What I love the most is feeling that little miracle moving around in my tummy. Knowing that I'm growing a human being right there inside of me. Knowing that a little part of me and Bryan will go on forever. I just don't think it gets any better than that. ;)

Ok, so obviously I'm a little hormonal these days. I'll stop this post now before I get too emotional and I'll end with a belly pic so everyone can see how big I am. I AM HUUUUUUGE! But I am loving it.

Six weeks to go

As ready as I am to meet our new baby, I have to admit I am getting really nervous. I keep remembering the things I said right after I gave birth to Topher without pain meds, "I will NEVER do this again!" Now sometimes I wonder why I've changed my mind. But I guess I know why. As bad as the pain was, and oh...my...God was it bad, it was everything that happened right after giving birth that made it all worth it. So these days, I'm trying to focus all my thoughts on those memories. How it felt when they placed Topher on my belly immediately after he came out. Being totally awake and aware of everything that was happening the entire time. Being able to go home 5 hours after he was born. And recovering from the entire ordeal in no time at all. But even with all that in mind, I think a little freaking out on my part should be expected over the next few weeks.

Anyway. A little update. I went to see the midwife last Thursday. I was at 33 weeks gestation and the baby was still measuring 2 weeks ahead at 35 weeks. So I was told to lay off all sweets and cut way down on carbs so that the baby wouldn't get too big. My weight gain is still going great. Total amount is 15 pounds so far, however, I lost 2 pounds this week after getting a mild version of Topher's stomach bug he had last week. So I'm back to 13 pounds total.

Other than all that, I think I'm entering the first stages of "nesting". I'm getting all my lists together and am planning to get things cleaned and organized over this weekend. I'm actually looking forward to this so it must be nesting because everyone knows how much I hate to clean.

I have another midwife appointment next Thursday (3/13) and then I'll go every week after that since I'll be in my last month. I'll keep you all posted.

My Perfect Valentine's

Oh, how I love my husband. He is such the perfect husband and perfect father. I got the greatest gift of all from Bryan and Topher yesterday and I will always cherish it...

Welcome to the world, Jack

Our newest nephew, Jack Charles Morris was born today. Proud parents Chuck and Michelle and big sister Averie couldn't be happier. He is just perfect and I can't wait to meet him. Bryan, Topher and I will be making the trip to Houston next weekend. Here's a picture of the sweet angel. And a video message to him from Topher...

Birthday Celebrations

We had a play date at the park for Topher's birthday last Friday. Topher's friends, Lydia, Pete, and Luke all came to play and then we had a picnic. We had a great time...until the boys found the mud and got filthy...

Then that evening, we had a nice quiet dinner at home to celebrate his birthday. I made his favorite dinner; hot dogs & mac & cheese (mommy and daddy had chili-cheese dogs...YUMMY!). Then we topped it all off with cupcakes. What a great day.

The end of this video is so cute. Listen to what he says after the candle finally gets blown out...