Good Times with The Gray's

Days turn into weeks then months and now 6 months have passed since the birth of our first born. Cooper Jackson Gray is celebrating his half birthday today. Not that we did anything special, but I sure was glad that I am off on Christmas break so that I could share quality time with him! Josh has been off of work the past two days with an ear ache :(, but we have gotten some very valuable family time.

I feel like I have been behind on EVERYTHING since I returned from maternity leave in late August. Having a child is the absolute best thing in this world, however my world has been rocked upside down since having him!! I began this school year, wanting to be a mommy and not a teacher, so I delayed getting things ready at school. I did just enough to get by and I think that was a BIG mistake. I did not want to spend one second away from my new little man and it was a great choice because I will never get those precious moments back. I would never trade time with my son for work, but ever since then I have not been able to get back on my feet. I am currently living one day at a time and that is not going to cut it. I am struggling to get my lesson plans and weekly newsletter done in time. My principal has been so understanding and luckily she isn't checking to see if I have those things completed until Monday night or sometimes later in the week. I would like to get to the point where I am thinking weeks ahead.

Dad showing me the flamingos!
Lookin just like daddy!
Monkey mama and her baby...so sweet!
What a fun day! Now I am tired!

Another month has come and gone and my baby boy is 5 months old. I could blog about other things than just my son, but when would I have time? Ha! I am already a few days late on posting his monthly updates, sometimes it can take up to a week or more. So for now baby news is all you get, but that is what you want I'm sure. This family of three is doing great!

This morning was a normal Sunday morning around the Gray house. Daddy gets Cooper bathed and dressed while mommy gets ready, then we load up for church. I love dressing Coop in the cutest little outfits and of course today was no different. I just had him an adorable little Turkey onesie made with his name on it to celebrate his first Thanksgiving. I decided to have Josh put it on him so he could wear it a few times before Turkey day past. We were running late as usual...I am never on time now that I have a baby. It takes forever to get my act and his together to leave the house. We make it to church only a few minutes late and as soon as I park the car, I hear Cooper in the backseat grunting quite loudly!! Outloud I said, "no not now!!" Apparently it was too late!! I took him out of the carseat and immediately smelled trouble! Sure enough I see a leak on his sweet little khaki pants, so instead of going in to church to change him in the nursery I decide it cannot wait. I open the back of my car and lay him down, take off his pants and OH WOW!! I was greeted with one huge disgusting mess! So much for that sweet turkey onesie, khaki pants and jean jacket. I had to scramble to find some sweatpants that were too big and a white longsleeve onesie that was too short in the arms. It would have to work... I almost loaded up and headed back home. I decided that God would want me to stay even though I was super late and traumatized by all the poop that came from my kid. So we walked in 15-20 minutes late and listened to the wonderful sermon. I guess we will try to wear the Turkey onesie next Sunday!

We vistited Mainstay Farms for the first time this past weekend. It was absolutely PERFECT weather to spend the day outside with the family! Cooper was a little fussy when we arrived but as soon as he sucked down his bottle and took a cat nap he was ready to go! We enjoyed a hayride and played in the pumpkin patch! It was a perfect Fall day!

Our baby boy is four months old and he is becoming a smart little boy right before our eyes. At 4 months he weighs 15 pounds 10 ounces and is 26 inches long! That puts him in the 90th percentile for his height and 70th percentile for weight. We have a little giant on our hands! His weight is evenly distributed since he is so long and he still fits in some 0-3 months clothes. His pants are a different story, our gentle giant is wearing 3-6 or 6 month pants/jeans. Cooper, you are eating 4-5 oz. every 3-4 hours during the day, yes you are one hungry boy...that would explain your growth! At night you normally only wake up one time to eat, you love your sleep at night, and momma and daddy love that too! I am still nursing you when I get home, at night and on the weekends and during the day you get breast milk and Good Start Formula. You love them both!! Dr. B said we could begin to give you rice cereal, with a spoon! Only once a day for now and will build up as you get used to it. You are currently wearing size 2 diapers. You love to blow bubbles and "talk" to everyone. You are a squirmer and can move from one side of your crib to the other when you are on your tummy, I bet we have a crawler in the next month or two. When you are in your bouncy chair you jump up and down and squeal and babble! You are one active little guy! You are a paci baby and a thumb sucker and you absolutly LOVE your satin blanky that Aunt Amy got you. It is a MUST have at nap time, you rub it on your face to soothe yourself. Soooo sweet! You are able to sit up while holding on to our hands and would rather stand. You are so aware of your surroundings and you are even trying to hold your own bottle! We call you little Benjamin Button because you seem to be too smart for your age! You had your first major outing to the State Fair of Texas and you were a trooper, considering we were gone ALL day! We are proud parents as we watch you grow! We couldn't imagine life without you! I am sure I will have much more to say about your development in just another month!

Last Saturday night we celebrated my 26th birthday by eating at Trail Dust in Arlington. I had such a great time with the family as I usually do, but being a mama this year has made my special day EVEN more special!! I got some really great birthday gifts...a new digital camera, it's a Nikon! I also got some clothes and a Cricut machine, which is SUPER awesome! But I would have to say the best gift of all is having my little Cooper man! My how things change. I spent the whole time at dinner staring at him, thanking God for making me a mama! I adore my baby boy and my husband more than life itself. On Tuesday-my actual birthday Natalie surprised me by bringing Cooper up to school to visit for lunch! It was awesome that I got to hold and love on him during my lunch break! I did not want him to leave! Here is a pic of mommy and Cooper at school!
These are pictures from Trail Dust! My sweet baby boy all dressed up for mama's birthday! He was rockin his polo shirt and jeans!! Adorable!!

Cooper oh my goodness, you are growing so fast! We notice a small change in you every day and it blows our minds that you were inside my tummy just 9 weeks ago!

Josh is one wonderful daddy and boy does Cooper love him! Josh calls several times a day while he is at work to check on his family and to get an update on Coop. He enjoys giving Cooper his baths, I hardly ever get to because Josh loves it so much. He has nightly chat sessions with him and it is so adorable. He still gets up throughout the night to change diapers and does not gripe. I love listening to him talk to Cooper while he is changing him in the middle of the night. We are both still happy people at 4am, believe it or not! I knew Josh was going to be a good daddy, but he is a fantastic daddy! Cooper and I are so blessed to have such a great man in our lives.

Cooper,

Induction day! One of the last pictures with Cooper in my belly :)



A thumbs up from my hubby in between contractions, notice my hand in his pocket...it was the best way to cope with the pain! Love you babe...you were so great! This was before we were whisked away for an emergency c-section.

Seeing my baby boy for the first time wishing I could hold him in my arms... I love him and his daddy so much!

Daddy and Cooper...right after he was delivered! I love my boys!

Finally holding Cooper in my arms...oh how Josh loves us! We are so blessed!

We have been so blessed with a brand new baby boy! He is absolutely perfect and he takes my breath away each time I look at him. I can't get over the fact that Josh and I made him...his eyes, feet, hands, skin...having a baby is a miracle and truly a gift from God!!

For the last 3-4 weeks of my pregnancy I had trouble with my blood pressure. It wasn't too high, but it was creeping up and Dr. Alexis was paying very close attention to it. She made the call to induce me on June 29th, unless I went into labor on my own. I was dilated to 3cm at 37 weeks, so it was possible that things would move along with no help, this did not turn out to be the case. I had to go to the hospital twice to be monitored and have blood/urine checked in the week before the 29th. My blood work/urine/blood pressure heart rate were all fine so I was told to stay on strict bed rest until June 29th.

Tuesday June 29th-Josh and I were up early and ready to have our baby!! We made our way to the hospital at 7:30 am and things progressed pretty rapidly from there. Dr. Alexis was quick to break my water and I was given a small doce of pitocin to jump start labor. I dilated from a 3 to a 5, then I requested my epidural...which only worked for a little while. The anesthesiologist had to return 2 times to give me MORE! I progressed to a 7 then a 9.5, and the labor was still SO painful! This should not be happening I had a catheter in my back for goodness sakes. Thank goodness I quickly dilated to a 10 and it was time to push...it was around 4:30-4:45. As I began pushing my blood pressure went up and Cooper's heart rate went down. It was then that Dr. Alexis had the nurse call down to the OR to see if there was room available. Josh was freaking out...I was shockingly calm. I was immediately wheeled down and prepped for surgery. More medicine was administered into my epidural and it did not numb me completely...so he added more, then had to make one last attempt or else I would have to be put to sleep. I was so scared when I kept having to ask for more medicine...I wanted to be awake and I wanted Josh by my side to experience the birth of our son!! Thankfully the last attempt was successful and Josh was able to scrub in. The c-section was not a pleasant experience, I felt so much pressure the whole time and when it was time to pull Cooper out I thought I was going to die. He was wrapped up very tightly inside me and it was so difficult for them to get him out that the anesthesiologist had to help by pushing on my chest to help dislodge him. All of the pain quickly faded away when I heard our lil guy cry for the first time, I was instantly distracted and totally obsessed with him.

Josh was so wonderful! He was by my side cheering me on the entire day! He kept telling my how strong I was and that he adored me for being so amazing. I have such an incredible husband! We found a deeper love after experiencing such personal moments together.

The drama didn't stop there...after the c-section, my blood pressure continued to act up and I had to be put on magnesium sulfate. Oh man was that rough!!! It made me hot and very sleepy! It was such a yucky feeling, especially after just being cut open and stitched back up. The worst thing about the magnesium sulfate is that I had to be on it for 24 hours, I could not eat and I could not fully enjoy my new baby boy! Josh stepped in in a big way and changed all the diapers and even had to help me nurse Cooper.

Finally Wednesday night at 6pm I was free from that nasty drug and I was able to get out of bed, eat a Subway sandwich and LOVE on Cooper! I was a happy girl! A few hours later I was transferred to a postpartem room and discharged Thursday night!

A week has past and I am 100% in love with my new family! Being a mother is so special and I am so thankful that God blessed us with a handsome baby boy! I would do it all again Cooper Jackson...you are one perfect baby boy and your mom and dad LOVE you to the moon and back!!

Cooper Jackson Gray
June 29, 2010
8lbs 4oz
22in

These are just some of the wonderful photos snapped by Jennifer Matlock! She took these when I was 32 weeks preggo...we had such a fun time with her in the park! I am so glad we have these photos to look back at! Some of you may gag when I say this but my pregnancy has been 100% perfect and I wanted pictures illustrate such a special time in our lives. I can't wait for her to capture our first family photos in the next week or two! Enjoy :)

Oh my goodness where has the time gone? I swear it was just the other day that I found out I was pregnant! In all actuality it has been 37 weeks and 3 days, but man has the time flown by!! I am being induced tomorrow morning because my blood pressure has been acting up for about the past month. Josh and I were shocked when just last Tuesday Dr. Alexis told us that she was going to put us in the books to be induced June 29th. She checked to see if I had dilated at all and to our surprise I was at 3 cm and baby had already dropped very low!! She said I was a very favorable candidate for induction since my body was beginning to do the work by itself. I am going to insist that she break my water and see if that will be the push that I need to get this party started. Party..ha!

My how things can change drastically in just ONE year. Last year on June 15- I had a D&C and just one year and two weeks later we are going to welcome a healthy baby boy into this world. God is definitley in control and I will never ask why that pregnancy didn't work out. I KNOW he has a plan and you can't ask why when things go wrong, you just have to have faith that there are other things in store.

Josh and I are sitting here on this rainy afternoon watching Tour de France clips from past years...do you think we are anxious?!! This sounds kind of pathetic-but Josh loves Lance Armstrong and he is ecstatic about the 2010 Tour de France that will begin this Saturday. However we ARE twiddling our thumbs to pass the time because we CANNOT wait to meet Cooper!! It will be so amazing to see Josh hold our son for the first time!! We have anticipated this moment for a long time now and in just 24 hours (more or less) we will be a family of 3!

I am not sure how I will sleep tonight, but I do know that I will try my best because sleep as I know it will be non-existant after today. This is totally okay because we are as ready as we will ever be. Everyone that decides to have children will have sleepless nights, you just have to pay your dues. What a small price to pay for such a precious gift! Now...off to double check our bags and finish up a few things around the house. A new chapter of our lives will begin tomorrow and life as we know it will be no more, but we are up for the challenge!

The trip was NOT for this mama to be, but rather for the daddy to be. Tuesday night about 9:30 I was changing clothes in our room when I hear all kinds of curse words coming from Josh's mouth in the living room. Those of you who know Josh know that curse words coming from his mouth is not an unusual thing, however there was some terror in all his shouting. I raced half dressed into the living room to find a trail of blood leading into the kitchen. There Josh was draped over the sink...he had cut his hand with his very large pocket knife... and he was bleeding like a stuck pig. He doesn't like to say what he was doing because he says it was a sissy accident...but he was putting together Cooper's high chair and cut himself while trying to cut off the zip ties. The cut was at the base of his thumb and it was deep, so we decided to go to the hospital to get him stitched up. We joked on the way to the hospital that there is never a dull moment and boy is that true. We were in and out in less than 2 hours and his wound is healing nicely! Hopefully the next time we race to the hospital we will come home with a precious baby boy!

I went to see Dr. Alexis today for my 34 week appointment...when on Friday I will actually be 35 weeks! Anyway here is the latest on Mama and Baby Cooper... I gained a few more pounds for a total of about 17 pounds so far, my blood pressure was a little high, my feet are beginning to swell, my belly is measuring a little bit ahead...so all things suggest it is ALMOST time. She did not say bedrest, she said to keep my feet UP as much as possible and drink LOTS of water.

My pregnancy has been picture perfect thus far and I am so thankful for that!! I will do everything in my power to make sure Cooper stays cozy for a few more weeks.

His nursery is just about finished...only a few small details remain...so I'm a little OCD...I already know that. I promise to post pics of the completed nursery very soon!!

All 4 baby showers are over and they were fantastic! I am so blessed to have so many people in our lives that care for our soon to be family of 3. The little guy inside me does not have to be worried about having people to love him...we are smitten with him already. Stay tuned for more updates...it won't be long now!!

Much Love,

Bron