More One Month Pictures

Y'all know I just couldn't resist!

Sweet baby!


He loves his Mommy!

Not a fan of being weighed! It's a towel on a casserole dish on the food scale. He's almost 9lbs 7ozs...this was about a week ago. He's probably is close to 10 lbs now.

Sweet smile!

Chillin' on Mommy and Daddys's bed!

One month old!

One Month Already?

Dear Reese,

It seems just like yesterday we found out we were going to have a baby! The next few months went by fast and suddenly you were with us. You have been a sweet, precious baby this first month and we are very blessed to have a baby with such a sweet disposition.

You are a really good eater...a little piggy, in fact! You love the time that we spend together when I'm nursing you and I love it, too! As you've gotten a little older, you're getting a little more fussy, but nothing a normal newborn doesn't do. You tend to be more fussy in the late afternoon, early evening. You are a fairly good sleeper, although you have had a rough couple of days completely missing naps because you just didn't want to sleep! You were more interested in what was going on. We were playing music for you while you were sleeping, but Daddy figured out it may be keeping you up, so we quit and you've been falling asleep much better without it (something you may have inherited from Daddy). We put you in your miracle blanket for every nap and you sleep really well when you are in it. You have started socially smiling at us and your grandparents. Aunt Emmie really makes you smile, too. You've started trying to let us know how you're feeling, aside from crying, by cooing and ahhhing. It's very sweet!

You are a very strong little boy and have been holding your head up fairly consistently pretty much since we came home from the hospital. It's gotten really strong the past couple of weeks. You like to be up on our shoulder and just look around. Your legs are so strong, too! You like to push off Mommy's lap when I hold you up.

You spit up a lot, but it's getting better. You are gaining weight really well, so we're not too worried about it! We have to keep a bib on you all the time or else we'd be changing your outfit a million times a day. We like to give you a bath so you don't smell like spit-up. You don't really like to take a bath, but you like the tub better than being bathed off with soapy water. And you HATE getting your nose sucked out, but Mommy has to do it so you can breath better through your nose.

Reese, you are the light of our lives and although it's only been one short month, I can't imagine what life was like without you here. You are truly a miracle and we thank God for you every day. We love you so much!

Love,

Mommy and Daddy

Who's Your Mama?

Poor Cameron...he gets so tired of people saying how much Reese looks like me. But, it's true! He knows it's true, so he can't really get too upset and really, he doesn't. He kinda jokes about Reese really being his! So, to add insult to injury, I dug out some old newborn pictures of me for comparison. It really is spooky how much he does look like me!

Reese on the day we went home from the hospital.

Me, I assume while still in the hospital.

Reese while we were still in the hospital.

Me, I assume shortly after coming home from the hospital. BTW...how cute is my sister!? It's cracking me up how she's petting me.

Reese is one month old today! I can't believe it. I'm gonna try to take some 1 month pictures and do a post later, but it may not happen till tomorrow!

And Now Deep Thoughts by Katie Garvin

Sometimes I wonder, between the breastmilk leakage and spit up, why do I bother even changing my shirt?

Perfect Baby

Medically speaking, anyway! Just kidding! We have truly been blessed with a healthy, perfect baby. We had his "2 week" well baby check up yesterday and things are great. Reese's pediatrician said he was perfect...heart, lungs, and hips all look good. He is very strong, too. And he's a little chunk! He weighed 7lbs 11ozs at his visit two weeks ago and yesterday he weighed 8lbs 15ozs! He's filling out! His little cheeks are getting so plump. We have to go back when he's 2 months old when he'll have to get his first round of shots. Big news! Reese's umbilical stump fell off the other night. Cameron was holding him and my mom took him to go change his diaper and she noticed it had fallen off. We didn't find it anywhere, so I'm pretty sure Ella probably ate it. She's gross like that!

We are having a bit of a spit up issue. Reese spits up during, right after, and like 20-30 minutes after just about every meal. He does not seem to be in any pain so the doctor does not think it's reflux, so that's good. Another issue we're having is that he's been a bit of a fuss bucket lately, mostly in the evening and at night. We have decided that we are getting into a really bad habit of holding him too much, especially when he sleeps. I know that sounds harsh, but he refuses to sleep in his basket when we put him down for bed. We change his diaper and nurse, which is when he usually falls asleep, so I swaddle him up really tight (we got a Miracle Blanket yesterday!) and lay him in his basket. He's fine for a minute and then starts screaming. As soon as you pick him up, he's fine. I did not get in the bed until 2 am last night because I slept (with one eye open) in the recliner holding him in my lap. He was fine as long as I was holding him. So, Cameron and I have decided that we need to get more on a schedule and routine and quit holding him so much. It'll be hard because we want to hold him all the time, but we're just not doing any of us any favors by doing that. I'm trying to do Babywise, but I need to step it up a little bit and try to implement it more. We are also going to try and get Reese to nap and sleep in his basket in his crib to get him used to the nursery and try to teach him to self-soothe. I know he's still so little, but obviously what we're doing is not working because it's like this every night. So, if you have any pointers, please share and keep your fingers crossed that we can work this out sooner rather than later!

We are being very slack with the picture taking lately, but we'll get some more done and I'll post some soon. The picture at the top was taken on my cell phone, so that's why the quality is iffy. But it's just so dang cute!

More Pictures of Reese's First Week Home

Here are some pictures of Reese's first week home! I know there's kind of a lot, but he's just so dang cute, I couldn't resist!


Family photo!


All pooped out! It's hard to be this cute!
His first Sunday! Outfit courtesy of Aunt Emmie!

First bath...not a fan, apparently.

GO DAWGS!! Even though they are having an off season, he will be raised a bulldog.

This is the stuffed animal we will be taking his growth comparison pictures with to see how much he grows.

Look at those cheeks!

Wide awake.

Chillin' with Daddy!

He turns two weeks old tomorrow...hard to believe!

Reese's First Week Home

Well, it's hard to believe that my sweet baby is already over a week old, let alone that we've been home for a week! Motherhood is one of the hardest, most exhausting jobs in the world. But, it is by far the coolest, most rewarding thing I have ever done. I still gaze down in awe at this little human being cradled in my arms and just can't believe Cameron and I made him and he's ours. I truly do not understand how someone can experience the miracle of bringing a new life into this world and not believe in God. Okay...enough of the mushy stuff.

This week has been a difficult one, but my wonderful husband and mother have been key in making it easier. My sister also was able to help out a good bit before she had to move to Jacksonville on Monday. Reese misses her! We are doing great with nursing. Reese seems to be a natural and loves feeding time. He gets so worked up and excited when it's time to eat that he actually starts snorting. He's nursing about every 2.5-3 hours, sometimes he goes between 4 and 5. Luckily those times have been at night. My mom has been spending the night this week since Cameron's gone back to work, so that he's been getting a full night's sleep. It's working out great! I have never seen so much poop come out of one little body, but he's a poop machine. I'm not complaining though because at least it means he's getting the nourishment he needs and that all his systems are working. He's changing so much every day. He doesn't even look like the same baby he was this time last week. And he is truly his mother's child...he sneezes all the time and more than once! Usually three times. It's so cute! We're all still learning but we're making it. I miss getting a good continuous chunk of sleep, but I know it's worth it. My Aunt Prissy told me the other day that when Granny came to stay with her when my cousin Shelly was a baby she gave her some good advice. On a particularly bad day when Shelly wouldn't stop crying, Granny looked at Aunt Prissy and said "this too shall pass". I know the time we have will fly by so I'm gonna try to cherish every moment...even the fussy ones!

Giving Birth is Not For Wussies

I still cannot believe what just happened! I knew labor and delivery would be hard, but I was totally not prepared for the utter exhaustion of the whole process. So, here is the story of how Reese Kendrick came into this world. I will try not to be too graphic, but some things just can't be avoided.

I was scheduled at 8pm Sunday the 27th to have my labor induced. At about 2 am early Sunday morning I started having fairly regular, but not too intense contractions that were about 10 minutes apart. I immediately noticed the pain would start up high on my abdomen and move down and around my lower back. They were just a little uncomfortable! So, Cameron and I did not get a lot sleep that night. We thought maybe I would just go ahead and go into active labor before my scheduled induction. Well, the contractions kinda subsided, so no luck on getting started early. Cameron and I headed to the hospital at the appropriate time to get the party started.

We got back to the labor and delivery room and the nurses got my IV going right away. I was only 1cm dilated so we had to do something called Cervadil which helps prepare the cervix. The kicker is it has to stay in for 12 hours before they could start the Pitocin to really get things going. My first thought was "oh my gosh it's gonna be a looooooong night and day and this bed is so uncomfortable!" I started having really good contractions maybe around 2am. They started getting pretty intense so I asked for some pain medicine. The nurse told me she would have to call the doctor and probably check me which might mess up the cervadil so I tried to stick it out a little longer. About 3:30am I was trying to rest and took in a deep breath and my water broke when I exhaled. It was totally gross and totally unexpected. However, it was a blessing because that meant the nurse had to check my progress which meant I got some pain medicine...yay! Once I got the stadol I was good to go for a little while. Around 8 the nurse checked me again and I had progressed enough for her to call Dr. Paul to get the go ahead for the epidural. Once I got the epidural I could not feel anything and was able to get some rest. I did experience a pretty weird side effect of the epidural where I had uncontrollable shaking with slurred speech and chills. It did not scare me, but everyone else was kinda freaked out about it.

I started progressing really quickly going from 3cm to 7 cm in about 3.5 hours. Dr. Paul pedicted I would deliver between 12 and 1. That's when I stalled out for about 2 hours. My contractions started to wane and my dilation slowed considerably. Dr. Paul was a little concerned he might just not come on down. After a little while longer things picked up and Reese entered the world at 4:42 pm, 20 hours and 45 minutes after my labor was induced. He did not weigh quite as much as we were thinking, which was a blessing. He was a good 7lbs 14ozs and 20 inches long! I could not have done this without the help of my husband and my family and of course, Dr. Paul.

We are all very tired, but Reese has been a good baby. He really only cries when he's hungry, wet, or gassy. He does have his days and nights confused, but we're working on it. We had our first pediatrician visit yesterday and everything checked out perfectly! He weighed 7lbs 7ozs when left the hospital and was back up to 7lbs 11ozs at his doctor's visit. We go back in 2 weeks! Here are pictures of the whole experience!

Yay for the epidural!

Oh my goodness, give me some clothes!!

Dr. Paul and Reese

I love my Daddy!
Look at those cheeks!