12 weeks

Oh my goodness, I can hardly believe it has been 12 weeks since our little man was born.  Brock continues to grow like a weed and develop more and more of a personality.  He is smiling and cooing all of the time, and occasionally catches himself laughing out loud.  I still don't think he knows quite how to laugh but when he does do it on occasion he stops and gives a face like, "Did I do that?".  It is quite cute!  Brock can hold and lift his head up.  I had him in his Pod seat the other day and he was able to sit in it for like 20 minutes.  He continues to enjoy his play mat and has stated swinging at the toys that hang from it.  It is so much fun to sit and play with Brock and he is so often in such a good mood I really cant think of anything better to do with my time.  Work continues to go well and I am SO much enjoying Wednesday' and Friday at home with him.  I hope in the next few weeks to try a Mommy and Me We gym class here by the house.  They offer a 0-6 month class so I have been curious to check it out.  

We are still srtuggling a bit with Reflux but are trying a new medicine, Prilosec, and hope maybe this fixes it.  The Dr and I are still just a bit concerned with his horse sounding voice and want to make sure the reflux is not casing pollips that can cause further damage to the vocal cords.  She is going to get in contact with a Pediatric ENT Specialist to ask what other treatment, if any, is suggested for babies Brock's age.  Hopefully I will know more next week.   

Brock weighs 14 lbs 11 oz.  I had to buy 6 month pajamas last week b/c he was too long for his 3 month ones :-(  I love that he developing so well and doing new things every day, but am sad because I feel like he is growing up too fast!  I just want to be able to hold and cuddle him forever but I know his time as a baby baby is short lived.  Everyone warned me about this but I had no idea.  I am cherishing every day that I get to play on the floor with him, take naps cuddling with him, and wind down the day in the bath tub together.  Brock is such a joy to my life, I am not sure how it is possible, but I love him more every day.

    Brock and Mommy

Tummy Time

I found my thumb and I LOVE it!

Brock loves Daddy's shoulders already!

Happy Birthday MiMaw

I am the cutest baby in the world!!!

Mommy, I am getting very sleepy

Brock was my best Birthday present ever this year.

Brock in his Big Boy chair.

2 Months

                                     Hook 'em

What a whirlwind 2 weeks it has been!  Last Monday was my first day back at work and as you can imagine it came with a sea of emotions.  Sunday I was a mess.  I was very emotional and had a bit of a break down to Joe.  He assured me everything was going to be OK and Monday actually went better than expected. Joe kept Brock the 3 days that I worked last week since he was off of work for the entire week.  This gave Brock and Joe time to bond which I am very happy for. Joe did great of course and didn't even act frustrated when I called every hour to check on things.  :-)   

Joe is gone this week to Brazil and Argentina for work so it was good that they got to spend some extra time together.  Being home without him is a real shock!  I am missing him like crazy of course, but am so busy I don't have time to think about it too much.  This week is the first week that MiMaw (Joe's Mom) and Nana (My Mom) watched Brock for a whole day while I was at work.  They are both so good with him, I am so lucky to have them helping us out and for Brock getting to spend time with them every week.  I was very close to both sets of my grandparents growing up, and am happy Brock will have the same.  

Brock went for his 2 Month well check last Monday.  He weighed 12 lbs. 14 oz. and was 23 1/4 in. long.  His Dr is very happy with his weight gain and growth and told us that he is in the 75th percentile for weight and 60th percentile for height.  While we were there Brock had to get his first round of shots.  This broke my heart and was horrible to see him scream in so much pain.  He recovered very well of course, only had a slight fever as a result,  and slept a lot for the remainder of the day.  The Dr examined Brock and was a bit concerned about his horse sounding cry.  I had noticed it as well but always thought it was just his cry since it has sounded like that since he was just a week or two old.  We got to talking about some other of his behaviors, unexplained fussiness, grunting, and spitting up frequently, and came to the conclusion that he was probably experiencing acid reflux.  She gave us a prescription for Zantac and Brock has responded very well to the medication already.  His unexplained fussy spells are much fewer and further between, his grunting and irritability seem to be gone, his spitting up has been significantly decreased and his cry sounds less horse.  I am sorry that he had to suffer while I didn't know what was wrong, but am happy that he is showing all the signs that he is feeling much better.  

I have saved the biggest news for last..... First Brock is smiling all the time and has starting to laugh.  It is the sweetest thing I have ever seen and heard in my life and it makes my heart just melt every time he does it.  Also, Brock is sleeping through the night!!!!  Well at least 9o% of the time anyway.  He goes to bed around 9pm and gets up between 4-6am.  This works prefect because it allows me to feed him before I go to work.  He usually goes back to sleep for about 3 hours after his early morning feeding, which is nice for getting to sleep in a bit on my days off and the weekends.  :-) 

I hope all is well with everyone.  Sending you all of our love,

Joe, Emily and Brock

8 weeks

Today Brock is 8 weeks old and wow are we reaching new milestones every day.  

*Brock has started to smile at Joe and I.  It is the most precious thing I have ever seen and my heart just melts every time he does it.  

*Brock slept through the night about a week and a half ago!  I know that there is more to come of this is in the near future.  His usual is once a night, he goes a 6 hr stretch then a 4 hr stretch.  No complaints here! 

*Brock is now in cloth diapers.  Some of you knew about my decision to use cloth diapers months ago but for those of you who didn't, no I am not crazy.  I actually love it and Brock's cronic diaper rash has already cleared up  because of it :-)

*Brock's Thursh is completely gone.

*At 5 1/2 weeks he weighed 10 lbs. 13 oz.  Up 2 lbs. 2 oz. form him birth weight.  I estimate that he is at least 12 lbs. now.

*Brock and Mommy took a road trip with Nana to go see both my Grannie Jackie and Hopper and my Grandma LaVerne.

*Brock is loving Tummy Time.  He is getting very strong and can even hold himself up from his belly up with his arms.  

*Brock had his first out of state visitors over the 4th of July weekend.  My cousin Pam and her husband Naresh from California and her parents Greg and Jan from Colorado.  

I will update again next week after Brock's 2 month Dr appointment and after my return to work on Monday :-(

Brock at 6 weeks holding his head and chest up during Tummy Time

I thought he looked like a little old man asleep in his favorite chair.

napping with Daddy

enjoying his play mat

Wow a Month has come and gone

I was hoping I would be able to keep up with this more often but time has seriously flown by!  I am in shock that Brock was a month old last Monday and I am amazed at how much he has changed.  Brock weighed 10lbs 4oz just 5 day before the 1 month mark.  The Dr is so proud of his steady weight gain.  He has also grown at least an inch as he was 22in at our 2 week appointment.  So long as everything is good we will not go back to the Dr until he is 2 months.  At that time he will get his first shots and I am seriously dreading that!  Just don't want to see the little guy in pain, but I know it sure beats the horrible diseases that the immunizations protect against.  Brock had quite a poster child first month.  He continues to eat very well and pretty much eats every 3 hrs to the minute during the day.  A night Brock goes anywhere from 4-8 hours between feedings.  The average is 5 and I am NOT complaining!  This means I only get up 1-2 times a night and sometimes he sleeps until 9:30.  I think he was born knowing how much his Mommy likes sleep so he is doing it to make me happy :-)  We did have to go to the doctor for a non-check-up.  Brock got a rash that lasted a few days and although I was sure it was nothing being a first time Mom I was still concerned.  So, we took him in for that and for what I thought was an infection in his mouth.  Sure enough he did have Thrush (an oral yeast infection) but the rash was nothing to be concerned about, probably just sensitive babies skin but no on really knows for sure.  Brock is a very strong little boy.  He has very good head control for his age and is constantly surprising me, and everyone who holds him, the amount of strength he has.  

The average day in the life of Brock usually consists of a long morning walk outside with Mommy.  Brock enjoys being outside so I like to get him out before it gets scorchering hot.  He stays awake for most of the walk but dozes off sometimes too.  Then around 12 Brock settles in for a LONG afternoon nap.  Usually 2-3 hours.  He of course naps all day long but usually just cat naps that are an hour or so long.   After his long nap Brock usually stay awake for awhile and we either play on his activity mat, he sings in his swing, or plays in his bouncy seat.  He isnt so much into the activity mat but I think he is just too young.  I am sure in  he next month or so he will start liking it more and more.  In the evening Joe comes home from work and gives Brock his daily vocabulary lesson and tries to get him to say "Da-Da".  They play for a bit and Brock cat naps here and there until around 9:00 when he has his last feeding for the evening.  Brock is such a good and easy baby Joe and I are so very lucky!

first family picture

first bath

an Angel

playing with Daddy

Week One

Wow, I can't believe it, Joe and I have been parents for a week.  Brock is the most precious Angel we could have ever asked for and we wonder daily how we ever lived without him.  He was delivered via c-section at 3:44pm on Friday May 22 and weighed 8 lbs. 11.4 oz and was 21 inches long.  He is a very healthy and strong little boy and we are so blessed to have him.  We stayed in the hospital two nights then made our journey home to start our new life.  It was a big move after only two days but everything went perfect!  Joe and I really work as a team and when one of us is stressed the other takes over.  Joe is an excellent Father and has taken to parenting like a natural.  Day one and two were the hardest.  Since I was still recovering from the c-section there were many simple tasks that were still very difficult to do.  I had to sleep on the couch the first two nights because I was too sore to get into our high bed.  After the second night I was able to use a small stool to get into bed and was able to sleep much better in between Brock's feedings.  Brock eats pretty consistently every 3 hours.  This gives me about 2-2 1/2 hours between feeding to relax or do small things around the house.  I honestly don't feel sleep deprived or too overwhelmed like many new Mom's (I follow that statement with a knock on wood so I don't jinx myself).  I feel like Brock is a very good baby and I have such an awesome support system that helps me out tremendously!  Brock took to breast-feeding like a champ.  Joe says he is a "boob man" but whatever it is I am so thankful!  I had really hoped that breast-feeding would work out for us and so far we have had great success.  I hope to keep Brock on an exclusive breast milk only diet for 6 months.  Of course things happen and we will certainly adjust if we need to, but that is what we are shooting for.  My recovery is going very well and every day is better than the one before.  I am still quite sore but really can’t complain too much.  I go for a 2-week check up with my Dr on Friday and I think by then I might be almost back to normal.  Wait, normal doesn't exist anymore.  haha Brock had a 4-day check up on Tuesday that went perfect.  He has already started gaining back the small amount of weight he had lost in the hospital and showed no signs of Jaundice.  The Dr kept saying he was "perfect” I have thought that all along, but was happy she agreed :-)   Thursday we had Brock's newborn pictures taken.  He did really well and stayed awake the entire 2 hour photo shoot.  It was incredible!  I have posted a few of the pictures and will post more when we get them back in a week or so.   The ones I have seen so far are awesome; I don't know how I am ever going to pick a "favorite"!  Friday I was needing to run to Target and Joe wanted to go to Sears so we made a big move and had my mom watch Brock for an hour and a half so we could quickly go run our errands and get back.  I missed him terribly but knew he was in good hands.  I checked my phone about 1,000 times, sent a few text messages to my Mom, and stared his pictures on my phone often!  Brock did great, Nana gave a good report, and it felt good to get out of the house.   I don't think she put him down for one minute the entire time we were gone. :-) 

Next week we look forward to Joe's parents and Sister visiting on Monday.  I also hope to get around to starting a few photo alums of Brock and filling out more of his Baby Book.  Joe will be home again all next week so that we can continue to get the hang of this parenting thing and bond as a new family.  Also, since I am still unable to drive, he will make sure we get to all of our important Dr's appointments safely.  I am so happy that he has been able to take these two weeks off of work to stay at home with us.  It is so wonderful having him around and just hanging out as a family!   

I want to spend the last part of this blog thanking all of our amazing friends and family who have helped us so much and have showed us such love and support throughout these first couple days.  The flowers, the cookies, the visits, the phone calls and emails, it is all more than we could have ever asked for and we truly appreciate all of your compassion.  

 Speck Photography by Cindy

Today is the First Day of the rest of our life.

Joe and I have spent our last days as "parents-to-be" relaxing and doing small things around the house.  Last night we went to dinner at PF Chang's (Joe hates Chinese food but I love it so he was quite the trooper) and really enjoyed ourselves.  Since we have not been eating out much lately it truly felt like we were dating and out for a special occasion.  It was everything I could have asked for in a date after 4 years of being together.  Today is the biggest day of my life and although I am full of excitement I am not nervous one bit.  We will head to the hospital around 11 a.m.  and I will check in around 12:30.  My c-section will start at 3:00 and Brock will be born not too long after that.  I most anticipate seeing his face, holding him in my arms, kissing his tiny head and feet and seeing the Man I love become a father.  I know Joe will be a fabulous Dad and am so blessed to have him as my Husband and the Father of my children.  Brock will be welcomed into this world with a mountain of love.  My parents, Blake and Katy, Joe's Mom, and Lauren will be there to greet him and many of our friends and family plan to visit throughout the weekend.  I am overwhelmed with happiness and excitement to meet my Son and love him more than words can say. 

Borck, if you read this one day you are the light of my life.  I promise to spend the rest of my life providing for you, protecting you, teaching you how to be a strong and confident man, as well as give you all the love one person could possibly ever give to another.  I love you and am the luckiest Lady to have you as my Son.  

Love,

Mom

last night out as a family of two

12 more days

Brock is scheduled to arrive in just 12 days and we are so anxious!  Everything is ready; our bags are packed, the room is equipped, we just need him.  Joe and I could not be more excited and we already feel so blessed to be Brock's parents.  We are very thankful that the third-trimester Previa complications are looking up and that Brock did not come too early.  Brock is definitely a Bungo, he appears to be very healthy and his estimated weight is around 8 1/2 pounds!!!  Joe says he is going to be a defensive-end I say he is going to be my little Prince.   

I want to say thank you all of our wonderful family and friends for all of the love and support they have shown us.  You are all so very special to us and we can't wait for Brock to meet each and every one of you.

Here are a few pictures of the Prince and his castle, we will be post more as soon as he arrives. 

All of our love,

Joe and Emily