a YOUNG fan

A Thanksgiving tradition here in Texas is to watch the Longhorn vs. Aggies game as you let the food digest. Neither of us are crazy football fans but we enjoy a good game now and then. Unfortunately, this has not been the Longhorn's year. Which is doubly unfortunate because I found a super-cute hat at a garage sale that I have patiently been waiting to bust out. I decided this game was the perfect opportunity for Blue to begin to show his school spirit.

It is too bad Blue didn't arrive in time to meet my Grandpa Burchfield. They would have had a fun time together dancing and singing. Wasn't he handsome!

a FAMILY feast

Our last set of family visitors arrived last week for Thanksgiving - my grandparents from Paris, TX. Now Blue has officially met all his living great-grandparents. We even captured their first meeting on video...hiccups and all. He had a great time laughing and chatting with Mimi and G. I seriously don't think I held him for more than ten minutes all week there were so many hands ready to give him a squeeze.






























And Mimi will be happy to know that he escaped unspoiled - he has napped today just fine lying on the bed watching me type.

some DAD time

Graham had a short work trip this past week to Connecticut so Blue had some catching up to do in terms of time with dad. We took advantage of an early Friday afternoon and went out for a daylight stroll. Here we have Blue and Graham modeling the ever-popular Baby Bjorn...and the new iPhone4.






















We are still down to one car which Graham usually takes to work. This leaves me little to no time to run any sort of errand. But with Graham out of town I had full access so Blue and I spent some time at the local thrift stores looking for cute duds. Since we waited to find out the sex, I didn't get to do much fun clothes shopping ahead of time. And then we received a load of newborn clothes and it still didn't seem necessary. But he is growing so fast and he needed some larger PJs and that is all the excuse I needed. These cute overalls were only $1.59 at Goodwill!

the diaper FAIL

Ever since Blue's umbilical cord fell off around week two we have been using cloth diapers. Specifically, we have been using a brand called gDiapers. There are so many different cloth diapering options out there - we chose gDiapers because I had heard generally positive reviews and they had some nice features. Like disposable inserts for traveling and covers that could be used multiple times before washing. And they worked pretty well for the first two or three weeks. Granted, the covers got soiled more often than I had expected but we could usually get two uses out of one cover.
















Which meant I only had to wash diapers every other day or so. I don't know what happened this week but at every single diaper change Blue has leaked through his diaper and soaked his clothes. Which meant I had to wash diapers every day in order to have enough and we were going through multiple outfit changes each day as well. So I am looking for new cloth diapers. The ones we have would have been too small within the month anyway so this just speeds up the search. In the meantime I have occasionally been putting him back in the disposable diapers. Last night he slept for six straight hours and I am convinced it was because he felt nice and dry.

sip AND see

This past Saturday the Davis grandparents hosted a "sip and see" at their place in Houston so all their friends would have a chance to see Blue. It was a quick visit for us - down and back within 24 hours - but we had a good time and it was fun to go on a little trip. I was excited that Blue finally got a chance to wear his "coming home from the hospital" outfit that my mom got him! It finally fit him perfectly and everyone got a big kick out of his little man clothes. Blue was his usual charming, mellow self. He spent the first 30 minutes or so of the party asleep but then was happy to be awake and looking around for the rest of the evening.

We even sneaked in a little dinner.


















































Post-party relaxing...

made with LOVE

My mom's dad's mom, Mrs. Eva Ford from Paris, Texas was a lifelong quilter and crocheter. Not sure that is a word but she was handy with the crochet needle. I was about seven when she died but we would often spend our time together making something with our hands. Before she passed, she made both my sister and me a crocheted afgan. Brown for me and purple for my sister. Funny how those colors still fit. Well, Blue's mom's dad's mom came for a visit this past weekend and surprised us with an afgan for Blue. I honestly can't imagine any gift more special. You can tell Blue feels the same way!






























And here is my Granny with me and the cousins.

the genetic LINK

As the nurses were rubbing Blue off right after he was born, from across the room, the first thing I noticed about him were his hands. They were flying around in the air and it was like Graham's hands in miniature. Little did I know just how similar they were.
















Both of Graham's pinky fingers are crooked at the knuckle. He was two weeks overdue so his family had always thought that maybe they got formed funny in the womb. No one else in the family had crooked pinkies. Lo and behold out comes Blue and he has the exact same crooked pinkies. Apparently it is genetic.























It is one of my favorite things about my boys.

ONE month today

Happy one month birthday to my sweet boy!

a GREAT visit

My grandmother came for a visit this past weekend, making the trip all the way from St. Louis, Missouri. It was a lot of fun to see her and Blue together. She had four boys of her own and now has quite a few great-grandchildren so she is a pro. Aren't they sweet together!













































Here is the whole gang from left to right:
Andy, my sis Mal, Grandma Burchfield, me and Blue, and Graham.

down in WIMBERLEY

Graham's sister Ashley and her husband Jeb traveled down from Boulder this past weekend and we had an awesome time doing all sorts of fun Austin activities. Blue was a trooper, hanging out in his Baby Bjorn carrier. We spent most of Saturday down in Wimberley at Graham's parents' new river house. As promised, here are some pics from the family photo shoot.







































































































All photos courtesy of the wonderful Ashley Davis (www.ashleydavisphotography.com).

the birth SAGA

The birthing experience is so unpredictable.

I understood this fact going into labor but honestly figured that my pretty standard pregnancy would result in a pretty standard labor and delivery. The baby had been in a great position for months it seemed and I thought that after a pretty good amount of work and discomfort it would just slide right out. Here is what actually happened.

Thursday, October 7, 2010:

My PUPPS rash which had been on the verge of unbearable finally decided to chill out. I was able to actually get work done without wanting to claw my skin off. At the same time, my belly began to feel different. Not painful, just like something was adjusting itself inside.

Friday October 8, 2010:

1:45am - My water breaks. I hadn't been sleeping well because I knew something was coming and my body just would not shut down. I was in that half-asleep/half-awake state and I actually felt the water break from inside my stomach. I had really not expected this. I thought I would feel the fluid and that would be my clue. But instead it felt like one really solid, sharp kick right in the center of my abdomen.

2am - Back to bed. Still not able to sleep.

5am - Finally fall asleep. No pain yet, just not "tired".

9am - Wake up. Nothing really going on so Graham decides to go into work. My mom heads to the house to help do some last minute cleaning and tidying.

Noon - The midwives stop by to say hello and see how everything is going. Still not having contractions so they give advice on how to proceed. They suggest food and a nap.

3pm - Wake up from nap and bust out the breast pump. Contractions begin to start and we use breast pump to help increase their frequency and intensity. Thinking about using the breast pump seems to work just as well as actually using it. Each time I reach for the pump a contraction starts up and I turn it off.

4pm - Experiencing pretty regular, intense contractions. Along with this comes some back pain which causes sitting to be uncomfortable. Spend most of the next four hours standing beside the dining room table for support.

7pm - Midwives arrive and start filling up the birthing tub. Contractions are now pretty intense, lasting for about a minute at two minute intervals.

8:25pm - Midwives check cervix for progress. They like the laboring mom to be about 5cm before she gets in the tub. I am 9cm with only a small lip of cervix left. Hooray! I still realize it could be a while but think to myself "hey, this is going pretty well!" Into the tub I go.

9pm - The tub is heaven! Now just waiting for the urge to push.

10:25pm Get out of tub since contractions have slowed. Decide to try a more active approach.

10:55pm Internal exam reveals I am fully dilated at 10cm but still no urge to push. So we try the birth stool and lying on my side.

Saturday October 9th, 2010

12am Take a shower

1am Still no urge to push. Over the next several hours we try everything in the book. Mostly though Graham and I are just walking circles around the house trying to get the contractions going again.

4:30am We decide I should take a nap if I can. Contractions are mild and 20 minutes apart.

6:05am Midwife gives me a dose of antibiotics since it has been over 24 hours since my water broke. Without the amniotic fluid to protect the baby the risk of infection increases.

6:55am I never thought I would willingly take Castor Oil but at this point I was willing to try anything. The midwife mixes it in with some OJ to help it go down easier. The theory is that the bowel contractions induced by the Castor Oil will also encourage the uterus to pick up the pace.

7:30am Take another shower.

7:50am I feel refreshed after my nap and shower and start up the walking circuit again.

9:30am More antibiotics...

11:30am More walking...

12pm Even though I still have no urge to push and only minor contractions we decide to try pushing again. Midwife monitors the progress to see if the pushing is moving the baby down. It isn't. We can tell the baby is positioned sideways in the womb, instead of facing front or back.

2pm Decide to transfer to hospital with the hope that Pitocin (a drug that increases the strength of contractions) and the resulting contractions will encourage the baby to rotate and drop.

2:54pm Arrive at St. David’s.

3pm Fill out paperwork.

4pm After a not so lovely encounter with my new doctor the Pitocin and pushing begin. Contractions do begin to increase in strength and frequency but are nothing compared to the contractions I had experienced while dilating. Still no urge to push but we give it our best shot regardless. In addition to being sideways, the baby's head is tilted up and to the side (it needs to be chin down to make its way through the birth canal).

6pm Decide on c-section as baby has not budged.

7:03pm Blue Michael Davis is born! It is amazing how quickly they can get those babies out once you give them the go ahead!

trick or TREAT

Happy Halloween!

so clean CLEAN

Bath time!













































We had just been doing little sponge baths waiting for the umbilical cord to fall off. It took us a while to get around to it - how dirty can babies really get? - but we finally found some time for the full on immersion bath. I think he was a little cold at first as he kept his usually active hands clenched at his chest. But as the water level rose he seemed to warm up. All in all I think he liked it. Not even a hint of fussing...until I tried to wash his right hand. He really wanted to keep that one to himself.

And just for a little extra cuteness...