1 month old

Well Cody is now over 1 month old! I can not believe it has been more then a month since the 18 hour labor that turned into a C-section. Cody is growing so much every day and is becoming more and more handsome! I think Justin and I are finally getting into the lifestyle of having a baby, the feedings have become easier, the changing has becoming a little easier and quicker, and bedtime seems to go smoothly. Cody is sleeping any where from 5-6 hours at night (minus the 4am wake up call for his pacifier) I love that he is starting to look around more and be able to enjoy his playmat. I am ready to go back to work, even though it is nice being home during the day. It just seems like I have been cut off from the world. Plus Cody likes going to Nanas during the day because she loves up on him. This weekend is going to be cold again which is no good...but we will be getting ready for yard sale season wooohooo!

Cody and Hailey

I must say we have the cutest kids in the world! Now all we need is a picture of addison, hailey and cody together in their outfits!

Making a schedule

Well its been a while since my last blog...sorry for those of you who like to keep updated. 3 weeks now since Cody has finally joined our family. It definitely has been a learning curve for me and Justin. Now that Justin is back to work I am home to try and get me and Cody on some sort of schedule. I mean that is what you are supposed to do right? From a huge load of baby laundry every other day to the changing diapers every 2seconds (so it seems) It doesn't seem like there is a whole lot of time for a set schedule. I love being a mom and watching Cody grow every day. The sleeping through the night is more sleep then most babies get from what I hear so I can complain there. He is not a super fussy baby (only when its time to eat, or when he has gas) He already has a cute personality that I cannot wait to watch him grow up into a handsome little boy!
Justin went back to work this week, which has been good for the both of us, but lonely at times during the day for me. Yesterday the dog decided to have an accident all over my dining room floor, which freaked me right out! So last night we went to Wise rented a steam cleaner and Justin cleaned the whole dining room in no time flat! Other then that nothing else too exciting, I will try and keep posting new pictures or Cody as he grows.

Stop and Smell the... well... baby poop.

Ok, so... by popular demand, I am taking another moment in time to brand my thoughts for the day into cyberspace. I never really saw this coming, and it really is developing slowly, however I may just make some sort of regular 'appearance' if you will on this blog. Who knows, I may just visit some others too, as if they were the daily news. Still no Twitter... just a blog or two.

As for my recent feelings regarding our new addition, allow me to refer to a short passage from a conversation I had with an acquaintance recently. I was asked, "how are you hanging in there?"

At that point, I could only reply with, "I'm exhausted."

The acknowledgment I got in return was, "Yeah... I bet you're still in that adjustment period."

In retrospect, I have come to the conclusion that the "adjustment period" quite likely began last week on February 24th at about 7:42AM, and it may very literally last through the rest of this century. What I am getting at is that round about last year this time, Amanda and I chose a walk on a much different trail than we had ever traveled before; a walk that comes complete with twists and turns, and the occasional poopy diaper (at which, by the way, I am pretty decent at changing). We've only been home from the hospital for about 2 or 3 days so far, and although in a perfect world I could report that everything as going just peachy... in all actuality, echos of this "adjustment period" bounce through my every task at hand. At times, it can become a bit frustrating. Lets be completely honest... no one enjoys a quad-nightly interruption in their sleep from a beckoning baby, or a poop rocket into a perfectly clean, just-changed diaper. No one can honestly say that they enjoy an interruption in their dinner to feed a baby or prepare for future feedings (pump). The Army teaches its soldiers to adapt to the contemporary operating environment utilizing lessons-learned from the battlefield to maintain themselves accordingly. Encompassing this mentality, and lessons-learned from the nursery, I know that with all the turmoil and craziness that is child-rearing, one needs to find an outlet or outlets to maintain their sanity.

In the past day or so I have learned to be one of the quickest diaper changers ever, paying little attention to the screaming child on the table in from of me because of an internet-based program recently introduced to me, Pandora.com. Listening to a station I love allows me to refocus all of my energy from the shrill cries and get the job done efficiently. Yet another outlet I have found is in my wife. I know she thinks the world of me right now, and she loves the support I have attempted, but, truth be told, I am no Super Man. I am not invincible, and I too, need my breaks from the action. Whenever I am on edge, she is very quick to help bring me back down to the speed of life, to make me stop and smell that baby poop. Below is just one example of her efforts... Officially, I must say though, in closing, that I am not here to judge her; you can draw your own conclusions. I am just presenting this for the viewing pleasure of the public. Until next time... Justin.

Home Sweet Home

Yesterday we got to come home! I woke up pretty early saturday morning to tell the nurse that I had to go home! Which was easy because they all thought both the baby and I were doing really well. The discharge process was a bit frustrating considering a million different doctors and nurses have to come in and check you and the baby and then make my baby upset so then I get to take him home screaming (thank you) Once we got Cody calm, fed, and changed we packed up and came home. I am super happy to be home in my own space where I can get up and go to my kitchen for whatever I want on my own! Don't get me wrong being waited on by nurses hand and foot is nice but after 5 days of being in the hospital, you really start to miss the comfort of your own stuff.
Cody seems to be adjusting well, I am sure it will take some time for all of us including whiskey to get the hang of things around here. I really wish I wasn't in so much pain still I hate not being able to sit or stand at a normal pace or walk up and down the steps more then once daily. I want to just go get in my car and do whatever I want to do, but this is all for the better and hopefully I will be feeling pretty good here in the next few days. I will try and post some more pictures on here either today or tomorrow!

My Husband Rocks! Friday

Well I cannot believe its Friday for one. Two more days and we can go home from the hospital. My Husband ROCKS he has been super supportive and loving and caring this last week. From the minute i went into labor, to helping me get in and out of bed after my c-section, to changing almost every diaper since we have been here with Cody. I cannot even begin to express my appreciation and respect I have for him. He really has been my rock and strength this week. Justin loves being a dad I can tell already because every time Cody needs something and I try to go and get him Justin is right there telling me to lay back down and rest. Justin is probably one of the best swaddlers I know he watched a nurse do it one time and since then it seems to be one of Codys favorite things. I really love my husband so much and God knows how much i needed him this last week and with out Justin I wouldnt have this very handsome little boy as a son. SO this week I wanted everyone to know how much my Husband ROCKS!

Daddy's First Post

So "we've" been blogging for months now, and truthfully, I've never been a part of the creation of ANY of the posts. Mostly, they still have been reflections of our life experiences, just through the eyes of Amanda. Notwithstanding, all of the posts have been pretty accurate depictions of what is was like waiting for our first son to arrive (except the picture where Whiskey was frolicking happily through the snow during 'the Blizzard of 2010'; that was more of an optical illusion, as that dog would NEVER voluntarily put himself into a position where he is anywhere within a 50 mile radius of snow). Continuing, the extent of my involvement in these blogs so far has led to me reading them and reflecting on the happenings around us. I'm not much of a blogger; never claimed to be, never will... be forewarned. I don't have a twitter account and I only use Facebook so I can harvest my crops on FarmVille. My MySpace account was created to connect me to the outside world while I was serving in Iraq, and truthfully, I've barely signed onto it since I returned on Father's Day 2006. I have Blackberry Messenger on my phone, and my contact list is a whopping 1 friend long. The point is, this blog post may very well break every blog rule that ever existed- blog length, blog content, blog etiquette... anything goes.

What I AM aware of however, and what I do know is that the birth of a child is anything but predictable. To enlighten you on my initial thoughts as to how this whole process was going to play out, I've highlighted several key points:

1. I prepared myself for an annoying experience with my mother-in-law in the delivery room.

2. I prepared myself for an excruciating experience with my wife. I truly thought she was going to become the chick from the exorcist.

3. We arrived at the hospital at about 1:30PM on Tuesday, and I projected a delivery in the next few hours.

4. We talked about a natural birth, and every nurse and midwife said it'd be no problem.

5. "Daddy" is expected to stay with "Mommy" during recovery, and there just HAVE to be comfortable pullout beds for him... I just KNOW it...

As you may well be pondering already, this experience for me(US) was anything but surrounded by predictability. At about 10:00AM on Tuesday, I read a text message for Amanda from her mother... "I'm coming over no matter what Justin says". Shortly after that, no matter how much I tried to convince myself in my mind that her presence wasn't a necessity, I soon realized that she was nothing less than a God-send. Kim was THE MOST SUPPORTIVE person for me from START to FINISH. Had I voiced my opinion on her initial arrival at our house, I may very well not have had what I needed to make it though it all. In the words of Kim Wilson, we were, “the best birthing team in the whole world.” To further impress me, Amanda handled her labor pains with ease. She took to our encouragement and suggestive remarks and quickly fell into a routine as each contraction came. There were no expletives or flying medical supplies… just courage, concentration, and steadfast heroism. Needless to say, I have a new found respect for my beautiful wife. She is my HERO. As time went on throughout the day on Tuesday, I glanced at the clock; and each time I did, my nerves got more and more anxious and my body fell more and more into a drunken stupor, completely deprived of rest. Kim and I took turns on labor watch, and eventually we were into our second day of events. It was determined that a natural birth was not possible, and thus a Cesarean style delivery would be performed. Not only would Amanda receive a life-long reminder of her birthing experience by way of an incision, but her delivery was performed while she was under full general anesthesia. She met Cody for the first time in our recovery room after he was born at 7:42AM - 8lbs 8oz. While I am inclined to return home for my own selfish reasons (a perfectly comfortable, personal queen sized bed), I feel I owe it to Amanda to stay with her and assist through some if not most of the evenings here at the hospital. The accommodations here are more than generous for the spouses [sarcasm]. I can’t wait to conclude this blog and sleep on my spring loaded mattress as it jabs me in the sides while I sleep [more sarcasm]. At least the hospital food is awesome [I need not comment on the sarcasm here]. Concluding, this pregnancy and delivery of our first child has been anything but predictable for me. I think though, what I’ve learned is that it’s the unpredictable things that are the most memorable in the end. I’m so excited for all of the future surprises that lie ahead, and if I can add one more thing… I LOVE my newly renovated family. 