One Month Old!

I can't believe my little boy is 1 month old. It is so strange because on one hand I can't believe it has been that long and on the other it seems like he is older. We are having so much fun with him and watching him learn every day. He is getting so much more alert and looking around at everything. He is so strong and holds his head up all of the time and stands on his legs when you are holding him. We have been playing with him by holding toys out for him to look at them and he has started batting at them or brushing them with his hands. It is so amazing to watch him work it out and try to touch the toy. Yesterday he smiled for the first time and it was so amazing! He has smiled when falling asleep or unintentionally when making different movements with his face, but yesterday he looked at me and smiled really big and then relaxed his face and did it again. It made me cry and love him even more. Since then he has done it a few more times and it is so wonderful.

Henry also had his first visit to church today and did great. He slept most of the time and everyone thought he was so cute. It was so great to be back at church and was so refreshing and encouraging. Thursday Henry and I went to Small Group for the first time and had a great time. Daniel had to work and wasn't able to go but we did pretty well just the two of us. Our leaders oldest daughter, who is 2, said she really liked him. It was so cute.






The other big event recently is that we started Henry in cloth diapers. Now I know many of you reading our blog will think I am crazy, but it is really fun. We decided, after much research, before Henry was born to use cloth and I have really been looking forward to it. Cloth has come a long way and there are lots of choices. I found a website, jilliansdrawers.com, that has a "Try Cloth" kit. They send you several different types and you can try them for 21 days, decide what you like and send back what you don't want. We have been trying them for a few days are are figuring out what we like. I am looking forward to being a cloth diapering mom full time. And he looks so cute in them!

Afternoon on the lake

Saturday we went on the boat with Henry for the first time. (Since he was born) It was so nice to be out on the lake and just relax. Henry slept the whole time! We were out for about 2 hours and he didn't wake up once. I think the roar of the motor and the sound made him so relaxed. We just can't wait until he is bigger and can really enjoy playing at the lake, but that will be a while. We will just have to enjoy it for him for now.

2 Week Check Up and a Play Date

So I am posting Henry's 2 week update at 3 weeks old. I am a little behind. Last Friday Daniel and I took him for his check up and he is doing great. He is off the chart for his height at 22 and 3/4 inches long and 75th percentile for his weight at 10 lbs. He is a tall, long boy and the cutest one around! He also had to get his first shot and it was so sad to watch. He got the most pitiful look on his face and cried a cry I had not heard yet. Daniel said he just it was like he was so offended and hurt that we did that to him. It was so sad. But, as he does most of the time as soon as I picked him up he was all better. He is such a sweet boy.

Yesterday Henry had his first play date and slept through the whole thing. But, it was more for the moms anyway. Lindsey used to work at the seminary too and her son Griffin was born 2 days after Henry. Griffin weighs 2 lbs less than Henry and looks so small. Lindsey and I had a great time walking and talking and I think the boys enjoyed being outside. I am sure they will have more play dates in the future.

Blessing

A friend of my parents gave them a blessing plaque for Henry's room. They wrote a blessing for him and we put it behind the plaque and put the plaque on the wall. Dad read it to Henry in his room and then we put it up. It was so sweet, we all cried. And it was a great moment until our dog Roux decided to throw up in the middle of my dad's prayer. Oh well, that is how really life is. :) Here is a photo of dad reading the blessing and the blessing he wrote.



Dear Henry James Grady,

We speak the blessing of God upon you, our precious grandson:

May you grow up to keep God's word in your heart and obey it with your life.

May you be strong and courageous, not afraid or discouraged.

May your strength be equal to the challenge of your days because the Lord is with you always.

Most of all, our cherished one, may you love Jesus Christ and others with all of your heart for all of your days.

Your Grandparents, Bruce and Kathy Tippit

April 30, 2009

I DON'T KNOW IF I COULD LOVE THIS LITTLE BOY MORE!!

First Bath

We gave Henry his first bath. He actually liked it ok until we washed his hair.








After we dried him off we put him in this little baby robe sack my girlfriend Natalie gave him. It was so funny! He just laid there and looked at us like "what are you doing." But he got so still. I think he was really cozy. He liked it so much he slept in his swing for a long time.

Henry Coming Home

Here are some pics of Henry's first days at home.

Leaving the Hospital. It felt so good to get out of there!





Daniel's Mom (Yaya) made the pillows and a blanket for his cradle. They came out beautifully.



Henry in the cradle that his daddy and Uncle Ryan used and in the gown his Yaya made that his daddy and Uncle Ryan wore.

Henry's Birth Story

We are finally at home and I am finally have a minute to sit down and write out Henry's birth story so you all get the scoop.

It all started the weekend before his due date. I was having lots of cramping and some contractions around the clock. When the time came for my appointment on Thursday I was having contractions 10 min apart. When the doctor checked me I was 4 cm and 90% effaced at 2:30 in the afternoon. The doctor told us to go walk around and call him when the contractions were 5 min apart. So Daniel and I went to this pretty outdoor shopping center near the hospital and he had lunch and I had a snack expecting not to get to eat for a while after that. We called our parents to tell them this was it and they were so excited. My parents found a flight and were so excited that they locked themselves out of the house! Thankfully they had already gotten all of their things in the car and just asked someone who had a spare key to their house to leave it at the church for them when they got back.

Daniel and I sat outside at the shopping area as long as we could and called the doctor at 6:00 when the contractions were 4 min apart. He told us to go to the hospital and he would be right behind us. He got to the hospital at about 6:30 and broke my water. Not long after that the contractions started coming about 1 min apart and they were strong! He was so long that the contractions were keeping me from being able to breath in. I had all I could take and asked for an epidural. It was very painful (he had to do it twice) but well worth it. There is no way I could have done it without it. My advice to any pregnant moms, relax as much as you can while getting the epidural and it will be much less painful. I tensed up and caused the catheter not to go in. I wouldn't recommend it. But, after the epidural, oh my gosh, it was amazing! I could barely feeling the contractions. It was great.

At that point we just waited and at 2:00 am I started pushing. I pushed for about 45 min and then he was here! We could not believe how big he was. We had no idea. Everyone kept asking if I had a C-Section and could not believe it when I said no. But, I have to say it really wasn't that bad and my recovery has been really quick. I am sure the fact that a lot of his weight is length really helped.

Things went really well after that until Henry got jaundice. His bilirubin level was really high at 16 (single digits is normal). So they asked us to start supplementing him with formula and pumping after he ate. Basically giving him as much food as we could. He also had to wear a photo blanket that made him look like a glow worm. This was really hard for me. We were so ready to go home and I really didn't want to supplement but it was the fastest way to get his level down. After feeding over night and laying on the blanket his level had not gone down enough so he had to be put under special lights and lay on a light too. He was admitted to the pediatric unit, but thankfully we were able to stay with him. It was so hard to only be able to hold him when he was feeding. Finally his level came down and we were able to take him home on Monday.

It has been so surreal to have him home. Some times I just look at him and think "I can't believe I am your mom". In so many ways it still doesn't seem real. We are having so much fun and I can't believe how good of a baby he is. He is so sweet and sleeps and eats so well.

We love him so much and can't wait to see his little personality come out. We are just praising the Lord for our precious little boy!