A checkup, strep throat and a few other randoms

These three are buddies already.  Greyson can't wait to get up and move with them...and I think they are just as excited for that stage too.  I on the other hand am not ready for any of that just yet because I need to invest in a pair of good solid running shoes first.  I'm taking recommendations now!

This is how we kept the boys entertained while we tried to finish up hanging things around the house recently!  They just want to do what Daddy's doing with Daddy's tools. Luckily for now their play tools do the trick ;)  The goggles are a nice touch!

Owen went to the doctor for his five year checkup a few Mondays back. He was 45 and a 1/2 inches tall and weighed 47 pounds.  He had to get a blood stick and two 5-year vaccinations.  He was a trooper and other than working on his VERY limited diet issues, he's a healthy little guy.  We celebrated with a stop for cookies after the visit and this Momma enjoyed one-on-one time with her oldest little guy more than he'll ever know!

Unfortunately, that very same night he came down with a case of strep that should go down in the record books. Who knows where it came from...but I think coupled with shots that gave him a bit of a fever and the aches, it was a double whamy.  He started throwing up at 11pm that night and for the next 2 days threw up about 7 more times.  Only after he complained of ear pain did I get him to the doctor thinking it was another ear infection and maybe a stomach bug.  Thankfully our office got him in super fast, it was a quick fix and we were on the road to recovery within less than 12 hours.  I've never been so glad to have him ask me for a cup of chocolate milk and crackers in my life! 

Once we got him sleeping again, Jeremy and I settled in for our first solid night of sleep in about a week...only to be woken up by a distinctly electrical burning smell.  I darted out of bed and began investigating.  I woke Jer and remember telling him that I thought the house was on fire because the smell was strong and awful.  We searched the house top to bottom and the boys rooms were fine, basement, garage, no smoke...just that smell. Panic began to set in that it was for sure a wall fire. On my way to grab my cell phone to call the fire department and begin gathering up the kids I happened to pass our dishwasher and for whatever reason noticed our lights on the front panel weren't on...but it was running. Not normal. After nearly burning my finger off trying to hit the cancel button I quickly realized that the dishwasher was causing the awful smell.  The front panel had shorted.  We had to kill the circuit to the dishwasher and this is what it looked like:

We are so lucky I smelled it and we caught it.  The what-if's that could have been make my stomach turn in knots.  Thank you God for sending down an angel to tap my shoulder.  I swear I woke up just in time and I instantly knew something wasn't right.  I have no doubt that was Your way of keeping us safe.  Our new dishwasher took a day to install, but thanks to Uncle Jonnie and Daddy...our kitchen is back in normal working order.  Talk about being thankful....this girl sure is right here!  And nothing like a little dish washing by hand to appreciate modern conveniences!

This adorable little face just makes me happy.  That is all!

Coop is on the road to potty training...I think he's going ot pick it up quick, but in the mean time...diaper and pull up changes are somewhat interesting sometimes!  One such change there was a bit of thrashing around...not even a lot mind you.  And I am still baffled at what exactly happened...but he scrapped his nose open.  We're talking a pinhole-sized spot.  And it bled.  A LOT.  So much so a bandaid was required to stop the bleeding.  If there was diaper-change thrashing, imagine what this looked like...mayhem.

He is so good with his baby brother...and not grabbing his hands and singing right in his face was hard for him while he was sick!  Here he is post strep contagion....happy to be back in close proximity to Mr Grey again.

Our first two weeks!!

Greyson is officially two weeks old today!  It's hard to believe that this time just two weeks ago we were meeting him for the first time and spending our first afternoon adoring is little features and feeding him his first bottles.  But here we are...two weeks later!  I've neglected our blog but not on purpose!!  Life with 3 and life with a new baby are proving to be very busy!  So...with that said...here's a photo catch up of our first week home with the amazing Mr. Greyson Oliver :)

24 Hours new...this little guy was a hit with the nurses and the owl hat ;)

On our first night at the hospital, we had Daddy with us. And boy was I glad! I was hooked up to lots of things and wasn't able to get out of bed...so I had some of my worst sleep in months. But on night two, he was heading home. After a long trying day for me (I battled headaches which were worried to be related to my spinal from my c-section...and also pretty awful nausea from pain medicine) there may or may not have been some tears shed over Daddy's departure!! But we rallied and Greyson and I snuggled in with a bottle before bedtime and thankfully got a pretty powerful nights sleep!

My 3rd full day in the hospital the boys finally made it up to visit!!  I was so excited to see them I couldn't hold back tears as I heard them come down the hall to my room!!  Here's some pics from our first family of 5 pow-wow!

 My favorite of all time....ever!!

On our final day we were all cleared to go home as soon as we were ready...so we waited for a photographer to do some hospital baby shots...then we packed up and waited for Daddy to rescue us!  This girl was absolutely ready to be home. Up at 6am, showered and enjoying coffee with my little mister...by 6:45...I had the room packed and everything ready to go before 8am.  Going home was the promise of being with my whole family again and I told Greyson that morning as we stared out at the snowy cold..."We are so lucky buddy!! Wait till we get home.  It's the best place on earth."  And I was never so glad to get there!

Carseat shot.  Such a tiny little guy in a great big seat!  And how fast that is going to change!!

There has been an absolutely awesome outpouring of love in our direction since Greyson's birth.  We were visited by wonderful family and friends at the hospital.  We also came home to a week and a half of meals provided by more wonderful family and friends!  Our first night home we enjoyed soup and an adorable cake from our good friend Missy!!  It was so fun to have a little celebratory snack as we enjoyed night one of rest of our lives as the Linley 5 :)

 Owen is a mother hen.  He absolutely cannot get enough of Greyson.  He is kind, gentle, loving and simply amazing with him.  Owen you make Mommy so proud of you!!  

 This kid is amazing to snuggle!!  He curls up in a tiny little ball and lays his head under my chin.  It's newborn baby bliss at it's best!!

 Gigi made her first visit over to see him and was so smitten with him, I think if she could have, she would have taken him on home with her!

Daddy got the chance to take off work and be home with us for a whole week and a half after Greyson's arrival.  I could not be happier we were able to have this time!!  While he was off we ventured on our first outing for fresh air, sunshine and a Goodwill drop off (note the giant boxes in the back that aren't always there!!).  I have to say getting out of the house was a bit chaotic...very reminiscent of a circus.  I suspect we'll get better at this as times goes on.  But part of me fears it's only going to get worse!!  I just heard a voice in my head saying "Welcome to your noisy, crazy life Ms. Linley!!  Enjoy!"

 I love this guy so much I just don't even have words.  He's an amazing Dad and I'm so thankful he chose me to take along on this journey. He also happens to make me laugh. Also, yes those are my sun glasses...he doesn't usually make a habit of faux-gold eye-wear accessories...but his are no where to be found!

More snuggles with little mister!!

 I asked him to say cheese.  I got this.  Gosh two years olds have attitudes!!

 Owen had a couple days of school during Jeremy's week off work at home with us.  Greyson and I thoroughly enjoyed our first quiet, around-home morning.  

 After Greyson's first bath at home, we gave him first hawk...he has SO much hair!!  Then snuggled him up! He loves being warm over everything else!!!

 At his first doctor's appt we relished in the words "He's perfect!" and "Everything looks wonderful!"  We also enjoyed the encouragement of "You guys are pros at this!!  Have fun!!"  There is something so calming to know he's doing exactly as he should and we have no concerns!!  Healthy babies are a blessing we cannot be thankful enough for!

 Owen took off on an overnight with my Grandma and Grandpa on our last weekend home before Jer headed back to work.  Here he is getting some Greyson snuggle time in before taking off!!

 Cooper is also loving and kind like his older brother...but he is a crash and bash two year old...so gentle and quiet are not his speed!  We've done lots of reminding about how to be with Greyson and over the past few days he's been getting better and better!  As of late he has asked to "pet" Greyson's hair...and he very much enjoys ripping off his hats and mittens to see his hair and hands!  He also likes to kiss him and then me.  AND tell Jeremy "Mommy holt Greyson Daddy.  You holt my hand."

 While Owen took off on his own little adventure...we did the same thing with the remainder of our crew!  Cooper crashed and Jer and I enjoyed a car ride looking over our frozen river and watching to spot eagles.  

 The next day when Owen got home we ventured out to get a little drive thru lunch and more of the plentiful sunshine!!  Upon our return home we found a silly Owen singing and dancing while he waited for us to open the car door.  Donning Jer's hat he started making silly faces and asking me to take his picture.  He's a clown...through and through. And every day his silly side reminds me of his Daddy.  And I love it!

 Day one without Daddy...and Greyson was NOT amused!!

 Day 2 without Daddy...Mommy and Greyson selfie!

 Our laundry is looking mighty different these days:

 A little Greyson snuggling...this week he's begun having some tummy issues...and needed some extra snuggling!!

 Daily photog of mister adorable!! We like to send one to Daddy since he's back to work. We are missing him a lot right now....but life must go back to normal right????

And that about wraps up our first two weeks home!  As I said we've been blessed with delicious meals, wonderful family around us and a confidence that comes with time and practice.  I've been trying to take time every day to soak up this amazing baby phase we are in.  And cherish it.  It's fleeting and I know it won't last long!!  

Also just for record keeping sake...Greyson is a rock star! He is quickly falling into routine napping/sleeping times.  He is eating around 3.5 oz every 3 to 4 hours except at night when he often goes 5 and 6 hours at a time between bottles.  He often will sleep from 8pm to 2am...waking for less than an hour to eat...then sleeping again til 7am.  We even have had a few nights where he's been sleeping from 10pm till 5 or 5:30am.  This is unheard of in our house.  While Cooper was a good sleeper by comparison to Owen who never thought much of sleep until he was around 3 and a half years old.  But we have never had babies sleep this long this early!  It's been kind of strange and so lovely!!  

Thanks Greyson for keeping this first little bit at home easy.  Mommy and Daddy are so very much in love with you already.  We are so glad you are finally here with us safe and sound!!  I cannot wait to see what life has in store for you and us little buddy!!  If these first couple weeks are a preview of what's ahead...I certainly can't think of anything better to be blessed with!!  I've said it a few times already on this journey with you...but adventure awaits buddy. And I for one cannot wait to see where we go from here!!

A Greyson Checkup...week 34

This Friday brought another Greyson checkup.  I was 34 weeks and 2 days!

At this appointment we learned that I'm measuring 36 weeks and he guessed Greyson most likely weighs at least 5 pounds.  His heartbeat was a nice steady 130 (yay!).  We are doing great other than that the first blood pressure reading came out at 143/90.  So it was mildly high.  The nurse took it first.  Then after my appointment Dr. Talsky took it again.  When he took it was 118/80...so it was perfect.  He said had it read high again he would have had me come back in 4 days to check it again. Basically if I end up continuing to have that high of a blood pressure reading I will end up getting monitored on an NST and have labs drawn.  Then likely be put on bed rest to control it.  If it that were to not work and it would go into the extremely high ranges I should be prepared to deliver at any time.  Um GULP.  I know that any time after 36/37 weeks they allow labor to continue and if were to happen, I'd head in for a c section as soon as it did.  But with all 3 of my kids hearing be prepared for any time if...it always gets me.  Oh yeah.  We're having a baby....and we're way closer to the finish line that we were before!  again GULP!!

Anyway, because my blood pressure fixed itself...for the time being he said to look for headaches, dizziness, blurred vision and swelling in one foot or hand another vs both sides equally. My hope is that it was just the hustle and bustle of getting to my appointment that created the spike.  As long as everyone behaves themselves I shouldn't have to go back till December 20th.  At this appointment I will have my group B strep test done and make sure everything else still looks good.  All of this makes me a little nervous and the rub in that is that stress plays a huge roll in the rate of our blood pressure.  So I'm trying to take my best friends advice...think happy thoughts and relax!!

We are currently in the process of getting the boys moved into their new room and after that our goal is to finish rearranging their room for Greyson...and getting bags packed for the hospital.  There are a lot of things we need to do on our Get Ready for Greyson list...and after this appointment we just bumped the priority up a notch!  Life sure is interesting with remodels, two kids and the holidays to juggle!!  I have joked it would be our third child we are the least prepared to bring home!  That in itself makes me laugh!!  Hang in there Grey...we're trying to get ready for you!!  And if you could wait till January so you're nice and healthy...and we have everything all ready to go...we'd be ever grateful :)

 

32 Week Checkup, Christmas Lists, the loft and a few other updates!

I know I am amidst a lot of big things right now...so I figured a singular update was easier than trying to fit in several different posts!  Here comes some updates from the Linley Crew parts of the world!


Checkups!
The Tuesday before last, before Owen and I began ADAPT, I went to my 31/32 week checkup for Greyson.  Boy was this one WAY more relaxing than the last...thank you God for calming my nerves!  At this appointment we learned that my glucose test and blood work look wonderful.  He said my numbers look better than normal for a pregnant woman in the areas of glucose and iron and a few other things.  My blood pressure was slightly elevated from my normal, but he said not to worry too much about it at this point...b/c everything else looks so good.  Greyson's heartbeat was 129/130 and nice and steady (YAY!).  He is also guessing his weight between 3 and a half to 4 pounds...which makes him a big boy...and Dr. T said he could likely be our biggest!  We go back December 4 for another check in and he said I had another five weeks of not going into labor (they will stop it). After that they will just do a c-section!  I'm fine and dandy just waiting till his 40 week due date...so he is as healthy as possible!  Hang in there G.  We're doing good.  Let's keep it up!  Oh and here's a belly shot!!  2 months and counting folks.

Momma splurges

I took a trip to Target last week...and between the One Spot aisle and my love for hats and scarves I had quite an amazing trip.  I left with this new bad boy and could not be more excited! I think accessories are a pregnant girls best friend!!

I also happened to stop for this on my way.  Probably not a healthy, thoughtful splurge...but oh so delicious!!

More Cookie Stops!

What our first couple days of therapy looked like!!

We've gotten very used to our life with Mom at home.  So heading into a "gone all day" scenario was interesting!!  But we were prepared with some pre-made meals, laundry caught up etc.  Regardless I snapped a few pictures to help remind me where we were with these days.  Something tells me photos or not, I'll never forget my experience!

Owen crashed about 5 minutes after our second day!

One wiped Momma who wished she could have napped on the ride home!

I left Coop a note and snack in his Lightning McQueen backpack!  I am missing my little crazy one :)

Homework...there have been worksheets and homework to sit down to a few nights. I usually organized it and left it till the kids were in bed.  Boy did I feel like I was back in college!

Loft Reno Progress

HELLO!!!  Progress abounds!!!  Here are some updated photos of the space...with more to come!!  Also carpet installation and actual, colored paints have happened.  We still have a pretty good list of to do's...but considering how far we've come...it's serious progress folks.  Serious progress.  And I could not be happier!!!

Christmas List Making

The boys have been really into the toy catalogs that have come in the mail for Christmas this year!  Owen is getting so big and so mature...that this year we decided to start a real, honest to goodness Christmas list.  I titled it Owen's Santa Wish List...and we began cutting pictures he's seen out of magazine and glueing them to his list.  He is so visual it's a fun thing for him and it honestly is a great way to keep track of the things he's wishing for.  He even reminds us sometimes...Mom, I want to put that on my list.  We started one for Cooper too and it's funny b/c Owen thinks he needs to add to his as well!