3 weeks 3 days

Can you believe that Justin will already be a month old this coming Thursday? Shocking isn't it? Time is just whoooshing along as it usually does when you have babies. Every day something has changed--and if you miss a couple days...Wow! Talk about serious change! I think the chunkey monkey gains an ounce a day because he gets heavier and heavier! LOL! His double chin has definitely outgrown his first chin and his creases are getting deeper and deeper!

Yesterday was his first day at church and it went well. My family managed to be out the door on time and we didn't forget anything! Everyone loved meeting Justin for the first time and naturally loved his hair! Unfortunately, the little bugger didn't sleep during church at all, choosing to wait until 5 minutes before church was OVER to close his eyes! Isn't that how it always works??

I posted a pic of him wearing his first church duds on the left side of my blog. He looked so cute! I even got him in some shoes! Seth wasn't able to wear shoes for a long time because his feet weren't long enough.

Everything is going well still. I need a nap...but what mommy doesn't?? Justin does pretty well at night--typically going 3 hours between feedings. And he usually goes right back to sleep which is wonderful!

Ever since I started my bland diet, his tummy hasn't bothered him during the night which is great. And I noticed his hiccups aren't coming as regularly. Of course now we are dealing with baby acne. It is all over his poor face, but doesn't seem to bother him. In fact, the person it seems to bother the most is John! LOL! We are hoping it will clear up in the next couple weeks before we leave for the Feast.

Can you believe September starts this week? Shocking! My dad and John share September 5th as their birthday, so i need to whip up some birthday cards. I wish we were doing something exciting for Labor Day weekend...but no...however, tomorrow I am heading into Cincinnati to spend some time with one of my friends as well as going shopping! Woohoo!

Well, gotta go do some housework...and sneak in a nap!

2 weeks 4 days

Everyone seems to finally be on the mend here in our house. Seth is improved, though still a bit congested; Justin is just finishing out his anti-biotic for his ear infections; and I'm finishing out mine for my mastitis. It was a rough end of the week and one I hope to NOT repeat anytime soon!

Now I just have to start transitioning myself to bland diets. Justin seems to REALLY get affected by the things I eat, though not something like dairy...more like if I have the smallest piece of chocolate, or a small portion of green veggies...than I pay for it during the night. So I need to just cut myself off of things that I KNOW or even SUSPECT might make his tummy bother him later.

Case in point was last night. I went to bed around 12:30am with John. I was hoping to spend most of the night by his side since he leaves for work in Cinci at 6am Mondays and doesn't come home again until Wednesday. But it wasn't to be. I spent a total of 30 minutes sleeping by his side. The rest of the time I was dealing with an awake and crying baby. Not fun. My 4 hr total of sleep for the whole night--on top of all the sleepless nights I've had over the past few days due to sickness...well, it just isn't making me to energetic today!

So I do what I need to do...cutting myself off from certain things while he's still little. Sigh. It's hard, but mommy's just got to do it!

13 days old...

Just a quick note...Justin had a high fever in the wee hours of the morning today...101.5. Thankfully no other symptoms so they said to just bring him to the pedi a few hours later. Learned he has an ear infection...but a high white blood cell count too. So we headed over to the hospital for cultures to be drawn and an antibiotic shot to be given. By then he was MUCH better and nursing like a pro again.

But now we've go to wait 2-3 days for the result of his cultures...and I learned I have mastitis. Oh yes...It's been a glorious day...but it could have been worse. I narrowly missed a HORRIBLE car accident where I was the first person on the scene and could have been involved had God not intervened by putting me behind a slow car.

So my day could have been a million times worse...and for that I will be thankful...

But prayers are requested for both me AND Justin so that we can both be back to normal ASAP!

1 week 3 days

Life with baby is just wonderful. Justin is so good and just sleeps and eats most of the day. His awake time is getting longer and he's starting to notice things like stuffed animals hanging from his bouncer. And he's moving his hands and arms now a lot more. He will do more gripping of your fingers now. His little legs are plumping up quite quickly and his diapers are getting a big tight around his chubber thighs! We just LOVVVVVEEE pinching those things!

His circumcision is almost healed and the plastibell is hanging--literally--by a thread, so we expect that to come off in the next day or so. His belly button is looking good and will probably come off at the end of this week sometime.

He is just such a pleasant baby. Content to be held and wooled all over. He eats well and other than a few random tummy troubles, rarely cries. He has a much different cry than Seth. It's a lot quieter for one thing! He does NOT wake the dead like Seth could! LOL! And he only cries really, if he's hungry, has gas or is wet. He HATES wet diapers.

So really our transition is going well. I'm able to get blocks of sleep at night which I'm getting adjusted to and since he continues to sleep like that during the day, it is allowing me time to do normal stuff--you know--laundry, dishes, ect...but I also take time for that blessed thing called a...NAP!


Everyone is in love with our baby bundle...even Seth! He likes to lie down on the floor next to him and just talk to him and show him his toys. I'm so glad that Seth is adjusting well. I was worried about it for awhile.

It is tomorrow, Tuesday and Wednesday that will be the real test though. It will be my first 3 days without any extra help from mom or John. Hopefully, Justin will continue to do what he's been doing and it won't be any trouble. I just really have to remember to catch some ZZZZZZ's during the day just in case the nights are rough.

Thanks for all the warm wishes and prayers for our new family!

One week and one day

It is hard to believe that Justin is already a week old! How fast the days go by. He's changed so much already--packing on the chubbers and filling out that wrinkly skin! He weight 8lbs 13 oz at birth...then was down to 8lbs 6 oz on Sunday...but yesterday at his WIC appointment he was up to 10lbs 2 oz! That is shocking...we are a bit skeptical, but he is chunking up fast. I put an outfit on him today which he wore earlier this week. It was a night and day difference on how it fit him! So maybe he is nearing 10 lbs already! We just love his double chin and his chubby thighs we can't keep our hands off of them. LOL!

Mom went home yesterday which was bittersweet for her. She hated to leave us behind, but since it had been 3 weeks, she was itching to get back home to dad and my brother. We are so thankful we have SKYPE so we can video chat every night. Not to mention it's only 6 weeks until we see each other again--this time WITH my dad and brother--when we keep the Feast of Tabernacles in Bushkill, PA! We are all staying together in a big house which will be soooo much fun!

I'm itching to get back to my normal activities which thankfully will be easier to do since Justin is such an *easy* baby that just likes to eat and sleep all day long! He rarely cries and if he does it's just because he's either wet or hungry. Both of which are easily dealt with.

Our nights are going great. Last night he did a 4 hour stretch and then a 3 hour stretch giving me a delightful 7 hours of sleep! Sigh. So nice. I think he'll do a full night sleep before too long. I've started cathing my nursing leaks and discovered I leak about 2 ounces per nursing session! That is a LOT which is why I'm capturing it in a bottle! I will easily fill a 4 oz bottle every day!

See, again proof...that's why he's so chunky! LOL!

Seth adores being *in charge* when I have to use the restroom or go grab something. I tell him to keep on an eye on Justin for me and he goes over to wherever Justin is and talks to him and rubs his skin while I'm gone. It's so precious. I'm sure eventually he'll get tired of doing it...but right now it's a responsibility he enjoys.

Well, time to get crackin' on some things I need to get done today.

4 days old

It's been 4 days since Justin's birth, but it already seems like he's been in our lives FOREVER! We love to just sit together and gaze at him while he's sleeping and everyone competes for a glimpse at his little sleepy smile. He's such a darling little lovebug and I just drink in his baby smell. What IS IT that makes them smell like that? It must be a special perfume created by God to captivate you and make you willing to drop everything just for a chance to snuggle that precious bundle and drink in that intoxicating scent again.

I love how he loves mommy best...what? You KNOW he does because I'm the feed bag! LOL! But when he gives me little rooter kisses and turns to me when he hears my voice...how he scooches out of John's arms to root his way into mine. What's NOT to love? I don't mind that I'm connected to him. I adore every moment. Even the 2:30am ones.

So far, he's just an easy baby. Sleeps and sleeps and then loves to do time just sitting and looking around. He hardly ever cries and when he does, he just doesn't have that full blown baby wail that some do. At least not YET...

Yep, we all love him. Even Seth. Seth tells everyone that he LOVES his brother. But he's very particular about one thing. You had better not call him--or refer to Justin---as "Bubby". Nope. Seth made it VERY clear that Justin is to call him "Seth" and that Justin is his "brother" or "baby" or "Justin" NOT "bub" or "Bubby". He clears that up right away whenever someone refers to him or Justin as such. (snicker)

Well, time for a nap...for mommy!

Here's a mini slideshow of some of my favorite shots we've taken thus far...

Justin Walter is here...

I'm pleased to announce the birth of our newest addition to the McKinney family!

Justin Walter arrived in a timely fashion after a few hitches at 6:54pm on August 5, 2010. The date that my OB told me was my due date, by the way! LOL! He was nearly the same measurements as Seth--but just a pound bigger! He was 8lbs 13 oz and 21 1/4" long. His head was the same as his brothers measuring 14cm. His little chest measured 12. He has the most AMAZING hair! It's about 3" long and consists of three different colors: black, brown and blond! It will be interesting to see what it ends up being. He's like a little basset hound with lots of wrinkles and skin to be filled and we think he's going to be quite the little chunky monkey.

His face is perfect and round and sweet and seems to already take after the McKinney side more than the Browning side. He is quieter than a mouse and rarely makes a peep. He lets anyone hold him as long as he can just sleep and slept through his first messy diaper change! I know it probably won't stay like this, but while it does we are LOVING IT!

Big brother Seth is itching to see him and will be arriving at the hospital tomorrow with my mom and mother-in-law for the big introduction.

As for me, I'm doing great! I feel amazing and being able to go natural this time around was WONDERFUL and even though I went through a VERY ROUGH patch in delivery it still didn't hardly take long at all once I got pushing to get him out and into this world. I only tore a tiny bit and had a mere 3 stitches...compared to my 30+ with Seth THIS IS AMAZING!

Well, it's late and my new family of 4 (minus Seth at home) is sleepy...time to nurse my little monkey and get some sleep.


Sigh. God is good and wonderful among all things. He answered all my prayers. I have my precious bundle and he is very sweet indeed.

To all of you out there who have been thinking and praying for us...I can only quote William Shakespeare:

"I can no other answer make, but thanks and thanks."

Sincerely,

Lisa

40 weeks 1 Day

Dearest baby of mine!

Come out! Come out! It's time for you to come out and play! You have been baking in there for 40 long weeks and now you need to come out and see us. We want to hold you and kiss you and tickle your little toes.

Mommy's doctor is sure that I will go anytime/anyday and doesn't think I will even make it to my inducement date on Monday! Woot! You hear that, baby? Come out!

I can't wait to see your fat little tummy and kissable cheeks! I want to meet you! It's time to stop hiding and present yourself!

Looking forward to meeting you anytime--anyday!

Love you always and forever!