Boogies, boogies and more boogies

Yes, it is true my little man already has his first cold. I really noticed it Monday afternoon when I picked him up after work. He seemed to be sneezing and was just really grouchy, which is very unlike him. Then by Monday night everytime he sneezed he was blowing boogers everywhere. I called the clinic and spoke to the doctor on call, he said to just give him some Infant Tylenol and prop his mattress up, if he began to cough then call them back. Well Tuesday night he had started coughing so Wednesday morning we called our doctor and she wanted to see him.

He had no fever so she said it was just a cold and it would probably pass by the weekend. Mommy got him some nose spray and Infant Tylenol plus Cold. I can already tell a difference this morning. It is just so sad to watch him cough, he just looks so upset and confused. I hope my little bear feels better soon.

Smiley Boy!

Is this not the cutest baby you have ever seen?

He is to Me!!!

In the past week Gabe has started smiling so much and it is adorable. He loves for me to prop my legs up on the ottoman and he sits on my lap looking at me. While I talk to him he moves his mouth like he is trying to talk back to me and when he does get a noise out it startles him. He loves when I do Peek-A-Boo with him, that is when he smiles at me the biggest.

Mommy's Check-Up

I went last week for my post baby check-up and Dr.Mammel said everything was great. While I was there I asked him about Gabe's low birth weight and what may have been caused that. It is said that birth weight usually is close to what the parents size was at birth, when you are full-term.
He believed that I had developed toxemia and that was the reason he was going to induce my labor. That was the reason for the extreme swelling in my hands and feet and all over for that matter and the reason for the huge rise in my blood pressure. He said that chances are I won't develop that again, it is common in most first pregancies. Also that next I probably won't be so lucky to give birth to such a tiny baby.

1 Month

I really can't believe how time flies it seems like yesterday we were driving home from the hospital... Gabe started out a tiny little thing, not at all like any of us were expecting but is growing so quickly! At about 3 weeks he started sleeping in his crib in his own room and even gets himself to sleep, sometimes he doesn't even cry at all. I only started so soon because I got really frustrated one night trying to get him back to sleep after he nursed and went and put him down in his crib. Within 7 minutes he was sound asleep and slept until after 8 the next morning. I guess between the dogs and Michael and I moving around all night he just couldn't sleep well. He has slept through the night once but is waking up just once a night to nurse and then back to bed. At 3 1/2 weeks he grew out of his preemie diapers and clothes and into his big boy newborn sizes! The pooping and peeing out of his diaper has stopped so we don't have to change his clothes every half hour. I think the Pampers diapers had a lot to do with that, they just fit better than the Huggies. He is such a handsome boy sometimes I can hardly believe he's mine!

Hard Life!

I had to post this picture because it is the cutest picture ever. He loves taking naps in his Boppy Newborn Lounger that Gigi and PopPop got him. I love my Lil' Man so much it is just unreal!!

A Day of Firsts

Well on Sunday, July 8th Gabriel had a very busy day.
Since his umbilical cord had fallen off he was ready for the pool! His bathing suit was huge on him even though it was a newborn.

He actually really liked the pool and being out in the sun. Sorry I somehow took no pictures of him actually in the pool, but I will next time he is in. I guess our family has another little water baby on our hands.

As well as his big day of swimming Daddy and I also took him to his first baseball game.
We went to the Lakeland Flying Tigers game at 6pm that evening.

Ok so Gabe slept through the entire game but we are pretty sure he still had a great time.

I am sure that we will enjoy many more games together.

Also Gabe and Mommy took a shower together when we got home and Gabe LOVED it!!!

Check-Up

Well this past Friday was his 2 week check-up and it went great. He head grown to 20 3/4 inches long and now weighs 6 lbs. 14 oz. I can not believe how much my little man is growing and how fast. The doctor was very proud of how well he is eating and so is Mommy and Daddy. His umbilical cord had fallen off the day before so we gave him his first real tubby bath with the help of Gigi of course. He loved just laying there in the warm water!

Happy 4th!!

We had such a fun 4th of July! Aaron, Angela, Charles, Alex, Mandy, Emma, Gigi and PopPop all came over to our house for the day. It is really important to all of us that the kids all grow up together and are close to one another. Gigi fixed a delicious lunch of ribs and baked potatoes and Angela brought a tasty dessert. We planned on going swimming but the weather really didn't allow it. While Gigi watched Charles and Mandy and Emma went home to take a nap the rest of us went and saw Transformers, which was a great movie.

Daddy insisted on the sunglasses even though they were huge on our Lil' Firecrackers face!!

Church Boy

At only 10 days old Gabriel had his first Sunday at church and he was a perfect angel. He was awake for all the praise and worship then slept through the message.

Michael and I have been attending Lake Morton Community Church for the last 3 months. We are really enjoying it, all the people are great.

Sunning

Well of course Gabe couldn't get in the pool yet because of his umbilical cord but him and I enjoyed sitting out under the umbrella by the pool.


I can't wait for him to be able to go swimming with everyone!!

Gabe and Daddy!

Here a just a few adorable pictures of Michael and Gabriel together.

I couldn't be more proud of Michael and the way he has stepped up to the

challenge of being an amazing Daddy.

Gabe is such a lucky boy!

Already 1 week old!

First off on the last post I put that he was 21 inches long when he was born, but he was only 20 inches.

Well it is crazy to think that he is already a week old, time really does fly by. For as small as he is he is very strong. Grammie and I did this little photo shoot so you could all see how much he has grown in a week.

He is such a good baby, Michael and I are so blessed. He only wakes up once a night and barely cries at all.

He's Here!!

I went to the doctor on June 20th at 3pm. When I arrived my blood pressure was really high as it had been the last 3 times I had gone. Also my protein levels were really high and Dr. Mammel said he was concerned about my health. He said that Gabe would be fine considering I was more than 39 weeks, so nearly full term. He told me to be at the hospital at 9 am the next morning. So we decided to go to dinner with Alex, Mandy, Emma, and PopPop. At 5:45 I started having contractions, we went on to dinner and they continued about 10 minutes apart. They all needed to go to Target so I said we would go and I could walk around to see if they continued. Well they did and were coming about every 8 minutes. Mandy said I needed to hurry up and call Dr. Mammel at the hospital, he was the one on call that night and the next day. Michael and I went on home because I wanted to straighten up and take a shower, the contractions were then coming about every 6 minutes. At 8:40pm I called the hospital and Dr. Mammel told me to come on in, we got in the labor and delivery room at 9:00. They got me all hooked up and Dr. Mammel came in about 9:30 and broke my water after that things really progressed quickly, by 1:30 am I was pushing. Gabe was born at 2:54am on June 21st. He weighed 5 lbs 11 ozs and was 21 inches long.

Gabe's Room

For all of the people that live out of town or just haven't made it over to see Gabe's room I thought I would post some pictures. I put a lot of time and thought into putting it all together and had lots of help as well.

The bookshelf and table by the glider were made by Papa, Michael also helped. I think it is really special for Gabe to have those things that were made just for him by the people who love him most. Grammie and Papa also bought the glider for us, which is the most comfortable seat in the house. Then my parents bought the crib and changing table.

Surprise!!

The first week of May my work threw me a surprise baby shower! I couldn't believe it, it was so nice of them to do. All the ladies in the office cooked food and had presents, then money was collected throughout the whole dealership to buy me stuff as well. With the money collected they got me the Pack-N-Play we wanted and a playcenter as well. Then all the ladies in the office had clothes, diapers, and tons more stuff for Gabe as well. It was so much fun and really meant a lot to me.

Doctor Update

I went to the doctor today, I am now 34 weeks! I have been cycling through the doctors in the group so that I will at least have met them once in case they are the one on-call at the hospital when I go into labor. They have now taken me off the Prilosec and put me on a prescription drug called Prevacid, for the heartburn. It is not fun having chest pain for hours in the middle of the night, hopefully the Prevacid will be a little stronger. They also checked and said that Gabe is head down and ready to go, but I haven't started dilating yet. Everything is looking good, we are counting the days!!

Relaxing in the Pool

The past couple weekends have been spent outside here at our house. Alex, Mandy, Emma, Gigi and PopPop have been cooking out and swimming. Emma loves getting in the pool and is not scared of putting her face right in the water or anything, she is such a water baby!!
I am sure the next couple months weekends will be spent much the same way!!

A Baseball Baby Shower

My mom and sis-in-laws threw Michael and I the best baby shower a couple weeks ago. It was all baseball themed, since that is what Gabe's room is all done in. We could not believe how many friends and family came and all the wonderful gifts we recieved. It is such a blessing to have such a great support system around.

We have nearly all the essential things we need for his arrival and are now just awaiting him anxiously!!

Gabriel in 4D

We went to Look Who's Kickin' today and had our 4D ultrasound, it was amazing! It was incredible to be able to see all his features and everything while he's still in my belly. When she first started he had his foot up in front of his face like he was trying to suck on his toes.

He is making Mommy so unflexible, while he is incredibly flexible himself!! We got to see him sucking his thumb, blinking his eyes, and smiling. His Daddy yelled at him to turn over and everyone started laughing, then Gabe starting smiling. It was the cutest thing I have ever seen! We have the entire thing on a dvd so I will be watching him all the time until he gets here. We think he has my eyes and Michael's lips. He has a sweet little button nose and strong jaw too. We are so ready to meet our son!

Happy Easter!

I hope that everyone's Easter was as nice as our's was. We started our morning out going to church at Lake Morton Community Church, where we have been attending for the past month. Michael and I are really enjoying it, we want to find a church home to raise Gabriel and our future children in. After that we had to run home and grab the fruit salad and corn casserole I

made for lunch at Grammie & Papa's.

It was so nice to have the whole family together Aaron, Angela and Charles came from Orlando for the weekend and Alex, Mandy, and Emma were there too. As well as Uncle Andy, Aunt Angel, Cierra, Cailey, Caleb, Grandma J, and my parents. Lunch was so delicious I cleaned my plate and that rarely happens anymore. After lunch Mom and Dad had to give their grandkids Easter baskets, even Gabe got a Superman Easter basket! It also had baseball booties, bid, hat and socks and other cool stuff. I know next year he will have a blast hunting Easter eggs with his new basket. Emma and Charlie had such a good time with eachother, that was until Emma started beating him on the head. I think she scared him more than she hurt him, she just doesn't realize her own strength. Of course we had an egg hunt for the younger kids and Emma did really well for never having done it, Michael even found some for himself. Grammie also has a candy hunt for all the big kids since we don't want to hunt eggs anymore, I found enough candy to last me the next couple months. It was just a really great day, I can't wait till next year when Gabe is here to enjoy it all with us!!

Our Pool Escapades

When Michael and I bought the house last August the pool did not look like this as most of you know already. I think it was about November probably when during the night someone came into our backyard and opened up our filter and then turned it on so the water was pumping right out of our pool. The pool was completely empty, we decided we weren't going to fill it back up till Spring because we wouldn't be using it again till then anyways. Well since now and then from the rain, water was filling up the deep end along with leaves galore. It was absolutely disgusting!!
Michael and I have been trying to figure out how we were going to get the water out, until someone finally told us about a sump pump. So this past Saturday we went and rented the pump and started to work. My Mom came over and later my Dad as well when he got done working. It was not a fun process but we got all the water out with the pump, then sucked up all the wet leaves with Dad's shop vac. Then the guys pressure washed as much as would come up. After that we poured bleach all over the deep end and the black stain came right off. They pressure washed all the bleach down and then sucked up the water left with the shop vac.

We turned the hoses on at about 4:00 p.m Saturday afternoon and by 6:00 p.m Sunday afternoon the pool was full again. It looks so beautiful! I can't wait for next weekend when it's hot and we can swim again.

Doctor Visit Update

I went to see Dr.Mammel yesterday and everything went good. I have finally put on weight above what I weighed at my first visit, it was a wopping 3 lbs. I have started walking on the treadmill and working out some with Michael, hopefully I can only gain about another 10-12 lbs. Dr. Mammel has put me on Prilosec OTC, hoping that it will prevent my horrible heartburn I have had this entire pregnancy. I had my sugar test as well and it was all fine, no gestational diabetes this time!! I now will be going to the doctor every 2 weeks, I can't believe I am that far along. Gabe is now moving around ALL day long, he is such a busy boy in there. Next weekend we will be going to Tampa to have a 4D ultrasound done and we are so excited!!