Mother's Day and 1st Bath

I had a wonderful 1st Mother's Day! Even though I've been a mommy for less than a month, Grant made me feel so special. He knows the way to my heart is with an Olexa's cake. We chowed down on cake all weekend, and the two of us managed to eat the entire cake by Sunday night. He also got me 2 books I've been wanting to read, and I thought I'd be able to start one of them today but William had other plans for me :)

William wanted to ring in Mother's Day with me so he decided to stay AWAKE all night on Saturday and into the wee hours of the morning on Sunday, so we spent Sunday lounging around the apartment for the majority of the day. William did surprise me with one gift himself - his umbilical cord stump fell off! This meant William got his first REAL bath in the tub.  He really loves his baths!

I've been dreaming about being a mother my entire life, and I must say, it is even better than I ever imagined.  Even during the late night feedings and my eyes can barely stay open or when he starts to cry right when I finally drift off to sleep, I still feel so incredibly blessed that God chose William to be in our lives.

First Day Out!

Friday was a very big day for me and William! We were literally out and about all day long, and we both had so much fun. The day started with a morning walk with Jenny and two precious twin boys and their mom. It's still challenging to get out the door because there are so many important items that must make it to the car. Just to name a few - diapers, wipes, pacifier, swaddle blanket, extra outfit, nursing supplies (which entails a lot!), car seat, stroller, and BABY! I never imagined it would be so difficult to take a baby out of the house. I'm pretty sure William enjoyed his hour stroller ride, and it felt SOOO good to exercise! I don't think my heart rate had been up in 10+ months so the hills were killers!

After our stroll, we went back to Jenny's and I nursed William using my new nursing cover that allows me to nurse in "public" without being too obvious. I NEVER thought I'd be comfortable doing this, but you do what you have to do :) After one hour of nursing, Kori arrived in town from Mobile, and we headed to lunch at O'Carrs. William slept peacefully in his car seat the entire time. After lunch we stopped by a cute baby store in Cahaba Heights, had a little ice cream, and then William and I came home to freshen up for round 2!

That night, several college friends were in town for a wedding, so we grilled out over at Jenny and George's house. After a very long, fun day I was a little worried about how William would do getting out again, but he did great and never made a peep. It was Mommy and Daddy that pooped out at 8:45 and decided to head home.

Lauren was very hesitant to hold the little guy, but eventually she came around and held him for about 3 minutes :) 

So Fresh, So Clean

Here are a couple of pictures I snapped of William after one of many sponge baths the other day. We are hoping the umbilical cord stump falls off ASAP so we can put him in the tub and give him a REAL bath. I thought he looked so cute in his little hoodie towel wrap that his great-grandmother, Jan Jan, gave him.

One Week

As I sit here reflecting on William's first week of life, I am flooded with so many emotions, but more than anything it's an indescribable feeling of intense love and passion like I've never felt before. I always hear mothers talking about this feeling, but until you experience it for yourself there are no words to describe it. Enough with the emotions babble...we have honestly had a great first week (almost 2 weeks now) at home. In an effort to keep it real, there have been sleepless nights, frustrations, hormonal mood swings for mama, and overwhelming times BUT I've felt more happiness this past week than I have in my 27 years on this earth. I had William solo on Tuesday, Wednesday, and part of Thursday last week and we did surprisingly well, just the two of us. We are still trying to figure out our "routine," but each day I'm finding more of a new "normal." Here are some phone pics from our first week at home...

He loves snugglin' with Daddy!

Look at that little smile :)

He would be perfectly content in his swing all day long if we didn't want to be holding him 24/7!

WIDE awake before bed one night!

Trying out his crib during the day.

In the car on the way to the photo shoot

Relaxing on the apartment swing. It's nice for me to get some fresh air so I think we'll be visiting the swing daily. 

My mom came back on Thursday for William's first pediatrician's appointment, and I'm very grateful for that because we wouldn't have made it out the door without her! William had gained 1 oz. from his birth weight, so he weighed 8 lbs. 4.5 oz. Since I am only breastfeeding I was very relieved that he hadn't lost any weight! He wore his Peter Rabbit gown that my mom made. I had to snap a few pictures in his crib before we headed out.

 He claws his face when his hands aren't covered so we try to keep mittens on him all the time.

Getting comforted by his Juju after his heel stick :( He did such a good job and barely even cried. He'll get a shot at his 1 month visit and I'm already dreading that. 

Grant, William, and I had a relaxing weekend just enjoying each other. He had his newborn photo shoot Saturday morning, and he was an angel! My Aunt Sara and Uncle Bobby were so kind to let us use their house for the shoot. Here's a picture of mommy and William before we left the apartment Saturday morning. It was quite a circus at the Davis house getting out of the house! 

Meeting Granny

William got to meet a very special person last Saturday, his Granny (Grant's mom)! She arrived mid-day on Saturday and left Tuesday, so he got lots of lovin' from her. William is Granny's first grandson but third grandchild so she has lots of experience with babies. We are already looking forward to Granny's next visit in June when William will get to meet his beautiful girl cousins, Payton and Finley, and his Uncle Greg and Aunt Dana. I know the Davis cousins will have many wonderful times together in the future!

Bringing Home Baby

We got released from UAB on Friday, April 27th at 4pm. It was bitter sweet. Part of me couldn't wait to get home and the other side of me really enjoyed all of the TLC from family, friends, nurses, and doctors while we were at the hospital. Our nurse called security to bring up a wheelchair for me at 4pm (this is a mandatory policy) but they didn't come until 5:15 which left us plenty of time for an impromptu photo session. My mom made William's coming home gown that is such a gorgeous labor of love that I will always cherish. Grant has come to terms with the fact that you may see our baby boy in a beautiful gown dress from time to time :)

 Juju dressing William

 Love his little hands tucked up by his face. This may be my favorite picture yet.

 Sweet lips.

One last family picture in the hospital room

Baby ears

 Baby hands

 Baby toes

In the wheelchair and ready to go!

 First time outside!

 First ride in the car! 

 Grant drove 10 miles under the speed limit the whole way home. We had some serious precious cargo!

 Home sweet home. He loves his Nap Nanny!

 Melts.My.Heart.

All swaddled up ready to sleep through the night...HA HA!