6 Days Old

Jude is growing growing growing. He found his hand tonight.

 He wakes up about every 3 hours to get in a good meal and a clean diaper.

 Then he entertains us with silly faces before falling back asleep.

 He is squirmy.

                                                     And adorable.

                  So far, he is a dream. He even lets us sleep most of the night!

 Tomorrow he meets Dr. Rigby. Hopefully he will pass his appointment with a big fat A.

Big brother Maddox calls him "Baby Jew."

He loves to look at him. Today Jude got his first bath. Maddox didn't miss any of the action.

And when he isn't watching over baby brother, he's on the GO. Check out his curly rat tail. Jude almost has enough hair for one himself!



He's Here!

Jude Daniel came into the world at 1:16 pm Sept. 21.

He has a head full of hair.

And though he adores his sleep, he is quite alert when awake and a VERY wiggly little boy.

He is tiny (born at 7 lbs 2 oz). And wrinkly. Andrew has nicknamed him Lawton, after my grandad. But eventually, he will "fluff" out.

Maddox loves his new little brother. He is very protective of him already and likes to give him pats and kisses.

We are now a family of FOUR. Things can get crazy, and will get more crazy once all our helpers (family) leave, but we are in love with our sweet boys and wouldn't change a thing.

This is our new life and it feels just right!

So...welcome to the family Jude! We love you and can't wait to watch you grow....

The Time Has Come!

Since the last few days were filled with doctor visits and a sick sick little boy, I had to put off my list. THE list. THE get-everything-ready-because-baby-is-almost-here-and-so-are-the-grandparents list.
So, Friday came. Fast. Maddox was back to normal. And that meant...my entire list was jampacked into one short day.
By some miracle, I even managed a 2-hour nap with Maddox and still got almost everything done. And lucky for me, Maddox rode in the shopping cart - time after time, store after store - with no whining.

Aren't my sunflowers pretty? I walked by them three times at the store today and then decided enough was enough: they were coming home with me. Every celebration calls for fresh flowers, after all!

And we are about to REALLY celebrate. Baby Jude is on the way - only 4 days to go! I am surprised he didn't just fall out as I ran across the Publix parking lot today (holding Maddox, I might add!) to get the very last racecar shopping cart for my 2-year-old.

Don't mind the devil looking horns on my head.

This is the last picture (I hope) of me still pregnant with Jude. As you can see, he is about to pop out.

The Never-Ending Day

Maddox has not been his happy-go-lucky self since about the weekend.

Then about 2 days ago he started crying on the potty and didn't want to go. He became clingy....Putting him down for a nap meant we either had to rock him to sleep or dance him to sleep with country music.

He started waking up during the night and crying, talking about a "bobo" and saying "back hurt."

Today I knew enough was enough. He wasn't getting better and I started to think something could be seriously wrong.

Last week, Maddox met Dr. Rigby.

Today he met Dr. Shelton.

He also met a catheter and an Xray machine.

I wanted to cry as I held him down for the nurse to cath him. I wanted to cry when they took him away for his Xray and he called "Mommy!" over and over.

It was a long, rough day. I had great plans to clean and grocery shop but I ended up at the doctor and CVS for most of the afternoon.

Thankfully, Maddox did not have a blockage and his urine looked good (but they are still doing a urinalysis to check for bacteria). The doctor said his Xray showed a lot of stool and gas in his tummy. So...Mr. Maddox is getting a little laxative mixed in with his drink.

Maddox never went a whole day without pooping, so I never thought he'd be THAT constipated...to the point of screaming and crying. I still wonder. For the time being, though, I'm going to trust the doctor's orders and hope my happy-go-lucky little boy comes back.

SOON.

Go Gamecocks!

Even on the potty, he is a fierce Gamecocks fan.

11 Days

11 days until I can dress little Jude in one of these adorable outfits.

I am very relieved that Andrew will be home the next two nights. Tonight the power went out for a few minutes...then the toilet started leaking again...then Maddox flushed a washcloth in the good toilet...and to top it all off, a disgusting palmetto bug dropped in through the fireplace and I had to chase him down with a shoe. Gross. When it comes to bugs and reptiles, Florida is CURSED.

Being 11 days away from a c-section has me both excited and on edge.

I am very excited to hug my mama and daddy, to hold my sweet baby Jude, and to shrink this giant belly :)

I know I have a lot of blessings in my life and should look foward to the future without fear ... but sometimes that is hard for me to do.

Check out Mr. Maddox's post-nap feast (but ignore the massive laundry pile that is waiting for someone to fold it all).

Pretty soon there will be another cute face to photograph...I sure am ready to see it!

Maddox Meets Dr. Rigby...and Other Stuff

Maddox has enjoyed the fact that I move sloooow these days. He can trash the house twice as fast and nearly outrun me.

I knew today would be a "testy" kind of day when he grabbed my eye makeup remover, unscrewed the cap and dumped it ALL down the drain in 2 seconds. I'm certain I looked like a raccoon at his 2 year check-up...leftover mascara is hard to scrub off with no makeup remover!

...Speaking of that check-up, I love Maddox's new pediatrician Dr. Rigby. Maddox cried with the nurse but even he -yes, even he- loved Dr. Rigby. He started the visit off by talking directly to Maddox and then he washed his hands, made big soap bubbles and blew them Maddox's way. Maddox of course popped the big bubble and said "More!"

Maddox scored an A on his check-up. And according to Dr. Rigby, he will be around 5'10" and 140 lbs (what a skinny minny!) at age 18. We'll see. I was supposed to be 5'7" but what happened?

Tonight was long. And TESTY. I knew it!

I wanted to pass out by 7 pm. And then my washing machine stopped, full of water and towels. I wanted to cry. Nothing was making it start. I texted Andrew and he said "Relax it will be ok." That made me mad. As I troubleshooted my washer, Maddox started screaming about "peepee" and "doodee." I had put on his nightime diaper so I said "Go in your diaper." I heard the WORST noise ever...like pure liquid. I was certain there was poop running down his leg, but nope, the diaper held it all. Then he screamed "Bug!" He always calls trash on the floor a bug so I didn't even look. I was focused on that washer!! He screamed again. So...I looked down and there was a horrible cricket/ant mutant bug on his foot. I felt like  a bad mama and in that exact moment I wanted to cry and curse Florida and all the Florida bugs and the fact that my husband had to be at work tonight and that my family was so far away and I was alone and...you get the point. Pity party!

But all is good now. My house is a wreck and my leg is throbbing, but the washer started up again (I took out a towel and voila! I guess I put in too many towels) and Maddox is sound asleep and I will be sound asleep, too...SOON!

Hoping for a better day tomorrow. At least it is the start of the weekend!

Labor Day Weekend

Wouldn't it be nice to go into labor on Labor Day Weekend? A part of me says YES, GET THIS BABY OUT! but of course it wouldn't be ideal. Obviously we didn't go to the Greek Festival...since I am a Hopalong for the rest of the pregnancy. The cherry on top is that Maddox and I have nasty nasty head colds. I hope TaTa doesn't catch it!

TaTa has come in VERY handy lately. He and Maddox have been best buds this weekend while I hobbled around washing baby clothes, watching HGTV and popping Tylenol.

Maddox is finally warming up to his trike. He saw the neighbor's girls riding their bikes and I think it inspired him. At least he will sit on it now without screaming!

He and TaTa played outside today (thank God for slightly cooler weather!) and apparently TaTa found some chalk and wrote our kids' names on the steps. I got worried when I saw "Daniel Jude." I asked, "Um, you do know it's Jude Daniel?"

He assured me that yes, he knew that. I pictured me knocked out in the hospital and him signing the birth certificate backwards....

Well what a boring post, but at least it includes cute pictures of Maddox! I no longer have the desire to leave the house for ANYTHING (except ice cream maybe). To those that know anything about me you know that this is unlike my nature! As Dad has said...I like to "burn up the roads." So what does this mean?? Probably it means I am getting close to popping a baby out, I feel like crap, and it takes a lot of effort just to brush my teeth. You should see my hair - yikes!

Luckily I find humor in all this, and yet...I will be very glad when Sept. 21 gets here!!

finishing the race!

Growing a baby is a loooooong road.

Two weeks to go doesn't seem like very much, but when it includes constant heartburn, constant peeing, insomnia, backache, leg pain so severe I feel slightly handicap...you get the point...the road still seems long.

I told Andrew tonight that every pregnant woman deserves a beautiful pair of shoes at the end.

I showed him *ahem* these beautiful shoes.

I think these would make my long road a little shorter...and happier (though with my poor leg I won't be wearing them until Mr. Jude is far far away from my sciatic nerve).

GO GAMECOCKS!

Maddox can say "Go Gamecocks!" He can throw the football pretty well. And he has an awesome jersey.

I think Spurrier should go ahead and sign him.

His blood, after all, HAS TO run garnet and black. I mean, c'mon, Andrew and I graduated from USC...AND both sides of his genetic pool include diehard fans.

Tonight was the opening game of the season. We won! I was a good mom and dressed Maddox in his jersey. I turned the channel to ESPN. Maddox watched one of our players and yelled "Go man!"

He then curled up in "his" red chair with a blanket and watched about 2 minutes of the game. After that, he made me a taco and a billion other things in his kitchen, but I think it's a good sign of his future Gamecock loyalty.

Oh Wednesday.

This is how I sleep at night. Clinging toddler plus giant belly plus aching hips = insomnia. Well, not always...I guess I sleep pretty good considering all the factors against me!! But still...that empty hospital bed with a pillow just for ME sounds pretty heavenly about right now :)

I love Wednesday because it pushes you ever so close to the weekend. And this weekend is a 3 DAY WEEKEND for Andrew. That means:
*I won't have to stress so much about geckos when the sun goes down (it really is sad that those little guys scare me so much, but they do!)
*we are going to the Greek Festival, which means = yummy Greek food!
*I won't have to lift Maddox, which means = relief for my sciatic nerve!

I found out that Jude weighs 6 lbs 1 oz at my check-up today. The doctor said that is right on target. His head is down low at my left side. That explains why my left leg often goes numb and why that part of my back/hip is always KILLING ME! 20 days. 20 days....

Maddox woke up with all the signs of a cold. He was such a good sport today, though. He is becoming less of a baby and more of a little man every day. He has started this thing where I make a statement and if he agrees, he says "YUP." Just like that.

Such a cutie.