Go 'Dores!!

The Tournament starts today- GO VANDY!!!

Who Ya With?!?!

What a good boy- putting up with Mom dressing him in all the still too big for him Vandy clothes he has!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!!!

For the past week Grayson has been spending some great time with his grandparents. Janet, Matt's mom, is in town for two weeks and Jerry, Matt's dad, just left this morning after some fun filled days here in Carmel! We've been going on walks, out to lunches and dinners and enjoying the amazing weather that, without fail, seems to come out whenever Matt's family comes to town. Yesterday the weather was incredible so we went to lunch down on the Wharf and then took a walk through Point Lobos. Here are some pictures!

The only green Grayson had for St. Patrick's day were socks...

We are SO incredibly lucky to live here!

Grayson doesn't look to excited but we are!

This little man gets about a million kisses a day, especially when the grandparents are in town!

With Matt's parents


Seriously, SO grateful to live here!


Even the spider webs are pretty

Happy Dad!!

Chubby wubby baby face

Happy Grandpa!

'Freckles'

Talking about 'Freckles'

Picture with 'Freckles'!

Checking out Grandpa

With 'MiMi'

Pooped after a long day of eating, hiking, holding, and kiss getting.

He's a happy happy baby and we're having a great time!

Some more pictures!

Today was a great day- my aunt Gayle and cousin Lauren came down for the day to meet Grayson. He had a big morning consisting of a bath and some serious farm animal time so he was pretty tuckered out when they got here and slept most of the day. His sleepiness made him pretty easy to pass from arms to arms so everyone got some good baby holding time in! Not much is better than holding a sleeping baby :)

So, the question here is- is Riley really starting to enjoy some time with Grayson or is she just trying to figure out how to get to the farm animals???

Pooped from all his farm animal gazing

Lauren and Grayson

I can't believe it's been about two and a half weeks since Grayson arrived! It's really strange how two and a half weeks can fly by so quickly but his actual birth and labor seem like years ago. They aren't kidding when they say that you forget the pains of labor and pregnancy once you have your little baby. Now, this doesn't mean I've forgotten about the pains of labor- it's just not something you think about at all once you have your baby sleeping in your arms.

As for Grayson- he is doing great! We've started using the cloth diapers (gDiapers) we bought and so far so good! They say to start using them at 8lbs and since Grayson was weighing in at 7lb 14oz at his Dr.'s appointment last Wednesday, we figured he's about the right size now to start. There is definitely room for him to grow into but even so we haven't had a single problem with leaks- let's hope I didn't just jinx the diapers because we've finally just about run out of all our newborn diapers. Here he is getting some tummy time and showing off his cute gDiaper butt!
We've been going on lots of walks and Grayson is a big fan. He lets us know how much he loves our walks by falling asleep within 5 minutes, haha. I guess you can't expect much more from a two week old! The walks have been a nice way to get Grayson some fresh air and help get mom back in shape. I had to laugh at how out of breath I was after going up a tiny hill on one of our first walks! Here is Grayson calmly putting up with us putting him in clothes that are still far too big! It takes a bit to get used to being able to tell what they will fit into- it's all so small. This picture really cracks me up- his face just says 'um, guys? This is a little big'
And while we're on the topic of clothes- Grayson has officially outgrown his first outfits! I find this simply shocking... when we brought him home his feet didn't hit the end of these onsies and now I have to stretch the fabric to get the buttons to snap! He's a growing boy, that's for sure. When we were at his last Dr.'s appointment she showed us where Grayson landed on the height and weight chart- his birth weight of 8lbs 1 oz put him between the 55th and 60th percentile while his length of 21 inches put him in the 97th percentile for height! He was in the 95th percentile for the circumference of his head. So, according to the charts he would be 6'2'' to 6'3'' once he's done growing. I know you can't put too much faith into these charts- they said my sister who was also 21 inches when she was born would be crazy tall for a girl but we're the same height, a nice 5'7''- but I still think it's crazy to look at him now and think about how tall he might be someday.

Other than eating, sleeping, pooping and going on walks Grayson hasn't been up to too much else. Yesterday I put him under his Farm Animal Play Gym for the first time and he was completely content for almost an entire hour! So, that's what we're currently doing at the moment as well- I'm on the floor next to him typing this post and he is staring at the pig.

Here he was yesterday.... yes, still in his pj's- I love these sleeping gowns. They make diaper changing in the middle of the night easier and I just think they are cute!
Here is Riley checking him out.
This next picture just makes me laugh. We already look alike when we sleep :)

So, that's all for now. Today I'm hoping to master the Moby wrap (http://www.mobywrap.com/) so we can take a quick trip to the grocery store and he can help me fold some laundry. Lucky guy- doing chores already!

Grayson's Second Homecoming

Grayson had his second homecoming this morning after a two night stay in the hospital. At our doctors appointment on Friday Dr. Aerola was a little concerned that Grayson's color hadn't improved since she saw him on Wednesday in the hospital. After some blood work Friday afternoon and Saturday morning the on-call Dr. from our pediatric group decided Grayson should spend some time under the billi lights (aka the tanning bed) at the hospital. It was pretty tough to take our little guy back and leave him at the hospital but it was pretty apparent once they put him under the lights that he was nice and warm and happy as a little clam! So, for the past two days we've been going back and forth to the hospital every three hours for feedings. I pumped and left some milk with the nurses in the nursery so we could take a break at the 3am feedings. This morning Grayson's blood work returned with great results so we were able to bring him home at 9am! One nice thing that did come out of Grayson's little stay in the nursery is that he is much better at sleeping in a bassinet now! We were having a tough time getting him to sleep anywhere but in our arms which, of course, was fine with us but it was getting a little tiring. So while we'll still have lots of late nights and 2am feedings at least we'll be able to sleep in the bed rather than one of us in the recliner holding him.

Catchin' some zzz's in his tanning bed.

So, that's all for now. We're happy happy happy now that Grayson is home and are planning to show him the beach for the first time this afternoon! It's been a while since the dogs have gotten much attention so we're planning (all depending on Mr. Grayson's mood) to take a little trip down to beach to let them run around.

Grayson's Big Day!

What a time the past few days have been! This could get long but I'll start from the beginning... It all began around 11am on Saturday morning when I started feeling mild and relatively inconsistent contractions. They were mild enough that I could get up, walk around and even take a nap but it certainly got frustrating that they weren't getting longer, stronger or closer together like they are supposed to if it is true labor. Saturday night was pretty restful so I didn't hold out much hope that Sunday would bring anything more than the same mild, annoying contractions- boy was I wrong!!!

Around 1 o'clock Sunday afternoon the contractions started coming in a more consistent pattern (every 6-4 minutes) and were getting longer (lasting anywhere from 45 seconds to a minute and a half). Looking back I realize that they weren't getting stronger yet, I was just getting tired and I wasn't dealing with the pain as well. We decided to go walk a few laps around the neighborhood to see if we could get things moving along and just that bit of walking definitely helped. When we got home I called Labor and Delivery to see if they thought it was time we start thinking about heading that way. They suggested that we come in and get things checked out so off we went! The monitors showed that I was having contractions but they weren't coming at regular enough intervals and I wasn't dilated enough to need to be admitted. Mildly disappointed but not surprised we headed over to my mom's for dinner. We had quite a few good laughs about what I call 'my obligatory first time mom false alarm'. More than once I mentioned how much I hoped my water would break so I wouldn't have to worry about heading into the hospital just to get sent home again. At least if your water breaks you know something is about to happen! Well, it turns out I got exactly what I asked for!

Around 7:30pm I looked at Matt and said 'we need to go home now'. We had been laughing about something and I thought 'oh no, not only did I just take us into the hospital for a false alarm but now I'm peeing my pants when I laugh'. A bit embarrassed, I didn't share this with anyone but just said I was getting tired and wanted to head home. On the ride home I had a contraction that was much much stronger than any I had felt up to the point- strong enough that I made Matt pull over and stop the car. This had me secretly hoping that something was starting. Well, by the time we got home it was very obvious that this was not just another embarassing pregnant moment. I told Matt I thought my water had broken but of course neither of us wanted to jump the gun and head back to the hospital if this wasn't the case. I walked around for a few minutes and once I was absolutely certain that something was going on I called L&D again and they said to come back in.

I don't think I've ever been quite so excited and relieved as when the nurse said that my water had definitely broken and she was going to get our admitting papers started. WOOHOO, we were here to stay!!!! Matt called my mom and she headed over and a short time later my sister Caroline arrived. Thankfully, the contractions picked up in intensity and established a regular pattern on their own and I didn't need any Pitocin to help things move along. There was about a thirty minute stretch where the time between contractions lengthened and then BOOM, three incredibly intense contractions came one right after another. This was my breaking point- it was time for some drugs! I decided to get a dose of Fentinol (sp?) which doesn't stop the pain but helps take the edge off. The first dose typically lasts about 45 minutes so I decided to get the first dose and once I felt the need for a second dose to call the anesthesiologist and have him head in and get ready for the epidural. Since it was late Sunday night the anesthesiologist wasn't in house and had to be called in so they told me to plan to have to wait about 30 minutes for him to get there. So, I worked through the first dose, got the second and then called for the epidural.

Once the epidural was in it quickly became obvious that it was only working on my right side- I still felt every little bit of the contractions on my left side. They had me lay on my left side to see if that would help the medicine naturally work down into my left side. Eventually it did but I was still left with that they call a 'window' on my left side where the epidural didn't take effect. A few hours later that also went away and the pain was much, much better.

I got the epidural around 1am and I was dilated to about 5cm and by 5am she said I was 10cm and fully effaced but the baby hadn't yet completely dropped- it was time to call the Dr.! At 6am Dr. Keith called the nurse and told her to have me start doing some practice pushes and he would be there around 6:30. At that point she checked me again and said 'no practice pushes for you, I don't feel like delivering a baby this morning!'. When Dr. Keith got their at 6:30 he was surprised to see that the baby was crowning so hurried off to change into his scrubs and while the nurses quickly got the room and bed ready for delivery apparently all I could think of to ask the nurse was if the baby had hair! At this point she could easily assure me that yes, our baby had a lot of hair! Once everyone and everything was ready, all it took was two and a half contractions to get Grayson out. Later that day the nurse told me that on average, first time moms push for around two and half hours- boy did I get lucky!!!

The three of us just got home this afternoon and have settled in nicely. We are all sleeping and resting much better than we did in the hospital. While our experience was absolutely great, there really is no place like home! The dogs and Grayson are getting along very well and Tate seems to have taken it upon himself to monitor every little sound that comes from Grayson.

Below I've posted some more pictures of our time with our little man so far.

He's started grabbing onto his ear when he sucks his thumb.

Getting ready to go home!

Tate just jumped up and curled around Grayson. I think Tate's in love too!

Home sweet home and loving his swing!

Grayson's Arrival

Grayson Matthew Gallegly was born this morning at 6:45 AM, Feb 22, 2010 at Community Hospital of Monterey Peninsula in Monterey, CA. He weighed in at 8 lbs and 1 ounce, and measured 21" long. He is as healthy as can be, and a little cranky from his busy morning.

Some more pictures of his arrival are posted here.

So far we have spent the rest of the day today at the hospital going through the usual post-birth routine tests. Grayson has had his first bath, and his full head of hair is looking quite dapper. He has also had his first couple of tiny meals.

Stefanie began experiencing contractions around midday on Saturday, and the contractions were increasing in frequency throughout the night Saturday and into Sunday. After they were coming every 4 minutes or so, we contacted the birth center at the hospital and they recommended we go ahead and come in to check things out. As was expected, everything was fine and they sent us back home to continue labor for a few more hours or days...

Then, about 7:30 PM on Sunday evening Stefanie got quite a splash when her water broke suddenly. Although only about 15% of women's water will break on its own in such a dramatic fashion, it was a welcome signal that it was in fact time to go the hospital for real.

We arrive at the hospital around 8:00 PM and settled into our room. As the water had broken, contractions started increasing pretty steadily for the next several hours. By 1 AM the anesthesiologist had arrived and administered the epidural, at which time we all got some rest as things continued to progress. After several more hours, the nurses decided it was time to call the doctor at 5 AM. He then arrived at 6:45 AM at which time Stefanie pushed through 2 1/2 contractions and Grayson was born! All in all, labor lasted about 11 hours.

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