January Happenings

We've had quite the busy month with the preparation and arrival of our little guy!  Here's what we've been up to:

At 38 weeks, I took a comparison picture of my pregnancy progression!

I enjoyed an amazing spa day at Green Valley Ranch thanks to Jason's Christmas gift he gave me!  I had never been to a spa before this, and it definitely made me want to splurge weekly and indulge in massages!  If only we had enough money to do that!  I had a prenatal massage that was an hour long, but went by so fast!  Unfortunately I couldn't take advantage of the sauna or the whirlpool area, but I took my time, relaxed, and took it all in while I was there.  

Jess and I went shopping to try to kick start some contractions!  We went to Town Square and enjoyed some donuts from PinkBox Donuts, which were super delicious!  I tried a S'mores donut and Scarlett indulged in a hot pink chocolate one!  After our shopping trip, Hudson wanted to experience what a big pregnant belly feels like, so we showed him!  He insisted on putting the ball back in his shirt and thought it was the funniest thing!

On January 14th, we welcomed our little boy into the world!

I took an insane amount of pictures in the hospital, most of the cutest little baby EVER and a few of us as a family!  

We finally got discharged after spending 4 days in the hospital, and Harley got to meet his little brother for the first time.  He wasn't allowed to get too close initially, so he decided he should snuggle with Nolan's clothes, instead:

Nolan slept in his Pack N' Play for his first night home, and looked like a sweet little burrito:

We introduced the pacifier to Nolan, and it's almost as big as his head.  He enjoys this one the best though out of a few we've tried!

He spent time watching T.V. with Daddy:

Nolan watched his very first NFL game, and dressed for the occasion!

He got his firth bath at home and didn't like it too much.  He hated his body being washed with the washcloth, but loved having water poured over his hair and being shampooed. 

We went to lots of doctor's appointments, but this was taken at his very first appointment.  He was such a good boy, he treated mommy to a Sonic corn dog (and hamburger, tots, fries, and a shake) that she had been craving her whooooole pregnancy!

Our sweet boy turned 1 week old!

We tried to take some pictures of Nolan and Harley together, and failed miserably:

So we took a break and snuggled, instead:

We got the cutest video of Nolan having the hiccups while being burped (I melt every time!)

Nolan had his newborn pictures taken with Kassidy Baker Photography (check her out, she's great!)  

Nolan turned two weeks old!

I caught some adorable baby yawns, cuddling with Dad, and dreamy smiles:

I'm sure our months are going to be much more eventful now that we have a little baby boy taking up lots of our time and activities, and we wouldn't want it any other way!  We'll continue to update our monthly happenings as best we can!  I'll leave you with the cutest little sleeper EVER....

Nolan's Nursery

Nolan's nursery is finally complete!  We finished most of it before he arrived, but had a few final details to settle once we got home from the hospital.  I made sure we finished them before we had our newborn photography taken, being as though most of the photos were going to be taken in his nursery.  We went with a vintage baseball theme and wanted to keep the colors decently neutral and very boyish.  I love the final product and how it turned out!  For now, our maternity photos are displayed until we get his newborn photography back (can't wait to see how they came out!)  

The little accents around the room are most of Jason's old baseball collectibles he has had since he was young.  Jason played baseball from ages six to sixteen, but was forced to quit when he had shoulder surgery in high school and never got back into the game.  Scattered throughout the room are a variety of autographed baseballs, vintage toys and figurines, old photos of Jason playing baseball, and an original signed photo of Nolan Ryan (fitting, right!?)  He was one of Jason's favorite players growing up... hence the name inspiration!

Our collage wall is a mix of baseball wall art, the most meaningful and true quotation that I can absolutely relate to now that I have this little baby in my life, and of course, some puppy love for Harley!  I crafted the burlap baseballs hanging in the collage as well as the blue "N", which we used in our maternity photos.  The baseball mitt on the dresser was my mom's when she played softball in her high school days- very vintage!  The yarn wrapped numbers signifying his birthday were part of our table numbers at our wedding that I also crafted.  I knew I wanted to incorporate them into Nolan's life somehow, so by displaying them in his nursery, I figured a part of our special day would be with him all the time.  The blankets on the chair are two of our favorites that we received from close friends- Auntie Erin made the blue and tan crochet blanket, and Auntie Jess bought Nolan the dachshund blanket!  

We wanted to incorporate not only a theme that we enjoyed, but meaningful items, like Jason's childhood baseball collections as well as my DIY projects, into his nursery that add extra special flair!  I think it came out just like we pictured, and we couldn't be happier with the end result!  We just hope this little boy likes baseball one day..... 

Nolan: Two Weeks

Nolan is now 2 weeks old and has already changed so much!  He is SO alert and aware of his surroundings already.  The most comments I get about little baby man are 1. His hair is amazing; and 2. He's so alert, already!  This little guy can get wide-eyed and tuned in when he is up and awake, which isn't too often still since he's a big fan of his sleep!  He listens well when we talk to him and can focus pretty well on faces now.  We're starting to get a little more awake time right after his morning feedings.  He is still going 3 hours between feedings during the day and 4 hours at night.  His jaundice is much, much better after spending some tanning time in the windows around the house!  We're getting better with nursing, but still using the nipple shield as that's the only way we can get a good latch.  Nolan's weight gain is quite slow, so we've been to the doctor's office more times than normal.  We do lots of weight checks, and our last check he was at his birthweight exactly, 6 lbs. 15 oz.  We'll be going back again in three days to track his progress.  

Harley has become accustom to the new baby around the house and although he still doesn't snuggle with Nolan, he is becoming protective of his baby brother and always has to know where he is and what he's doing so he can watch over him or at least be close by.  

Nolan loves his swing and his rock and play, and usually passes out quite quickly and can soothe himself to sleep in both.  He's not a fan of diaper changes and most often not a fan of changing clothes.  He really hates sponge baths, but really loves washing his hair and pouring water over his head.  He's taken to the soothie pacifiers but none others yet.  His favorite thing is snuggling with mom or dad on our chest, and it might be our favorite thing, too.  Jason goes back to work next week, so it will be our first time alone together, starting our new routine!

Check in for more soon!

Nolan: One Week

Nolan's first week home has been nothing short of amazing, loving, sweet, crazy, nerve-racking, and every other emotion that exists!  We are so, so in love with this little guy and still are in a little disbelief that he is finally here.  We are shocked to watch his features change already.  One minute he will look 100% like Jason, and the next minute, 100% like me (see above and below picture for example)!  Since he's been home, he's been sleeping 3 hours between feedings during the day and 4 hours during the night!  We have a deep sleeper on our hands, and we are lucky!  We constantly have to wake him to feed, and if it were up to him, he would sleep ALL DAY LONG!  We are lucky to get decent amounts of sleep in between!  We're still struggling with nursing, but hoping practice makes perfect.  At his 1 week appointment, Dr. Reddy said his jaundice and coloring looked better than at the hospital, so we don't have to supplement with formula anymore!  He's gaining his birthweight back slowly, weighing in at 6 lbs. 12 oz.  He barely fits in most of his clothes, only a select few newborn onesies and pants, which we will be making a trip to Carter's soon to get more!  Harley is slowly adjusting to having a new little brother around the house, and has realized he isn't going anywhere!  He is becoming curious and protective every time Nolan cries, and likes to watch over him when he's in his rock and play from the bed or from the couch when Nolan is in his swing.  So far this week, Nolan has had an outing to his doctor's appointment, two trips to Target, and a visit to Sonic so mommy can get a long awaited corn dog!  

We can't wait to see how he changes week to week, and we'll be updating as often as we can!