The Last Chapter...

I have so many days where I want to sit down and write about what is going on in our lives and then I remember the million other things I need to do. Blogging has been a saving grace during Mike's travels, our infertlity struggles and an amazing way for me to learn about myself and the person I am and want to be. For right now though blogging is at the very bottom of my to do list. All I can say is being a mom is more incredible than I could have imagined, Parker is the absolute best part of my life and I am loving watching him grow and change everyday. Since I always have my iPhone with me, I capture his special moments on instagram and for now that will have to be enough. If you want to follow me my username is ellericci and I would love to have you. Thanks to everyone who reads this blog for the support you have given me. I wouldn't be where I am today if I didn't have the support I do.

Big Smiles!

I can't believe my little man is 2 months tomorrow and I only have 4 more weeks of spending my days cuddling him, playing with him and watching his personality develop.  Parker has started smiling at things and I love making him laugh and seeing what new things he learns each day.  I have so many things I need to write about so I don't forget but I couldn't wait to post these pictures of him and his big smiles!

Parker LOVES bathtime and it is easily my favorite time of the day.  Mike and I started a nighttime routine when he was a month old which consists of a bath, feeding, jammies, another feeding, kisses and I love yous and it has really helped getting him down for the night.  I also love that it guarantees us some family time and a chance for Mike and I to give all our attention to our little Parker bug.  He is seriously amazing and every day we fall in love with him even more.  I mean look at that face, how can you not just love him and want to kiss him all day long?

Next to bathtime his bouncer is his favorite thing and he is learning that he can move it if he kicks his feet.  I love playing peek-a-boo with him, tickling him and kissing him while he is in it and getting smiles like this out of him. 

 

He truly is the best thing ever and being a mother is everything and more than

 I could have ever imagined.  We are incredibly blessed and can't imagine life without him. 

 

We love our little Parker bug and his big smiles!  They just make us melt.

Sweet Baby Parker

My friend Lisa of Lisa Sweeney Photography took these newborn photos when Parker was 8 days old.  She came to our house, which was so nice (especially after having a c-section) and I absolutely love what she captured.  She was so patient with my unsleepy baby and was a pleasure to work with.  If you are looking for a photographer, I HIGHLY recommend her.  I love looking at these and seeing the pure love both Mike and I have for baby Parker and how incredibly happy we are to have him in our family.  I don't know how we ever lived without him.  He completes us and is the piece of our hearts and our family we have been missing.  He is pure bliss and has shown us the meaning of unconditional love.  We couldn't be more in love with him. 

 

 

On another note, Mike bought me a "push" present, an Elsa Peretti "P" Tiffany necklace for Parker that he gave to me when Parker was finally in my arms.  I love looking at it and knowing I will have a piece of my little man with me always. 

Beyond blessed to have these two amazing men in my life...

Hospital Life...

Thanks to a c-section, we stayed in the hospital for 4 days.  As hard as it was to be away from home, I am really glad we were able to stay that long and get some much needed help and tips for taking care of our new little guy.  I delivered at IMC and had an amazing experience in the maternity ward.  The nurses were great, P and I were always taken care of, I never felt like I couldn't ask questions and Parker was able to stay in the room with me at all times.

 

One of the major benefits of being in the hospital came on Day 1.  I chose to exclusively breast feed and believed Parker was doing great because he was latching like a champ and I didn't have any reason to believe he wasn't getting enough food.  On Day 1 we decided to give him his pacifier to help soothe him after his circumcision and that day he slept most of the day and didn't eat.  At weigh in that night they found he had dropped almost a pound, which is normal but was a little more than the 10% they are ok with.  The nurse suggested we do what they call SNS where they put a strawlike tube on your nipple so they still have the motion of breastfeeding but you push formula through the straw so the baby gets more food.  We chose to wait to try the SNS but when I tried to feed him around 8:00 pm, Parker wailed and wouldn't latch.  After an hour of him screaming and not latching, we called the lactation consultant and she worked with us for 3 hours until he finally calmed down enough to latch and eat.  Mike and I were so frazzled and felt so bad for Parker and we are really glad we were at the hospital because if we had been home, he surely would have gotten a bottle and then who knows how breastfeeding would have gone.  After finally getting Parker to latch, we chose not to give him the pacifier because they thought he was having "nipple confusion", which contributed to him not eating.    

 

The next day we kept with the no pacifier and it was horrible.  Parker wouldn't let anybody hold him besides me and wanted to be attached to me every second of the day.  I was glad he was latching well now and felt we were doing well but at weigh in we found he had lost more weight even though he had been feeding all day long.  Due to his irritablility and weight loss, we decided we would try the SNS and boy was it a lifesaver.  He gulped down 2 oz of formula and once he finally got some food in his belly he was back to his sweet self.  We did SNS a couple more times until my milk came in and he has been gaining weight and eating like a champ ever since.  

 

While in the hospital we were spoiled with visits and gifts from our family and friends and we soaked up these first few days of parenhood by snuggling Parker and enjoying being taken care of so we could give all of our attention to him.  Even though I was in pain, these 4 days were magical and we will cherish these moments for the rest of our lives.

 

Some pictures from our days there... don't mind Parker's blotchy skin.  He was born with an awesome case of Erythema toxicum, which is a harmless rash that many newborns get.  Our pediatrician said he could be the poster child for it though since it was all over his body.  Poor little guy got his mama's sensitive skin.

 

                                                                                Parker and his Mimi

 Grandpa Bob and Grandma Cathy

Parker and Grandma Cathy

Parker, Aunty Hannie and Baby B

Parker, Daddy and uncle Robert

 Parker and uncle Nate

                                   Parker and Aunty Aubree                                 

Parker and his G-pa

Our favorite nurse Donna.  She was the best and even rubbed my swollen feet!

Getting ready to go home!

 

Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures with all our visitors but we really appreciated everyone who stopped by, who sent flowers and gifts and for all the texts, emails and facebook messages both before and after his birth. We are so blessed to have so many amazing people in our life and felt extremely loved during this entire process. Thank you everyone for being a part of our miracle and for all of your love and support of getting Baby Parker here.

Family Features...

Parker was born with a full head of auburn hair, beautiful big blue eyes like his daddy's and was bigger than we expected so it was fun to compare our baby pictures and stats to Parker.  Cathy brought a baby picture of Mike while we were in the hospital and it was surreal how much Parker looked like his daddy when first born.  I pulled out my baby picture today and I can definitely see me in Parker as well, although I am perfectly happy having him look just like Mike.  I also found that I was the exact same weight and height as Parker was and Mike was just a 1/2 inch shorter and a 1/2 oz lighter.  Definitely a fun fact to know!

 

Parker has already changed so much over the past three weeks (he is getting chunkier by the day!)and it's been so fun to watch him learn new things, become more alert and start to develop his litle personality. He is such a joy and a great baby and I am looking forward to watching him grow, although I wish it wasn't happening quite so fast!

 

So, for fun, who do you think Parker bug looks like or which features of mine or Mike's does he have?

 

Mike as a baby

  

 

Parker bug

 

Mama as a baby

 

   Stay tuned, so many more Parker bug posts to come... 

We sure adore this little guy!