MONTH FOUR

I cannot believe my baby is already four months old. 

I was thinking about all the things he can do now: 

Hold his head up, smile, laugh, kick, grab things, hold his hands, put things into his mouth, keep his head up during tummy time. 

He is a good eater and sleeper. During the day, he takes cat naps (30 minutes usually), but only wakes up 1-2 times during the night. 

Stats: He is 15 lbs and 25 inches long. What a cutie. 

Things we did this month: 

We went to a pumpkin farm just outside of Fayetteville called Dickey Farms. It was mainly a photo op because Paul is still little :) I did get to introduce him to a dog for the first time. Also, he had his first encounter with pumpkin! 

We are loving fall in the South!

Erricka sent Paul some toys in the mail and he loooooooooves this crinkly book. 

 I love that he can hold things by himself now. It seems like such a small task, but the fact that he can grab things without me putting them in his hand and then drag them to his mouth is so exciting! It is so fun to see babies develop!

We had the chance this month to drive to TN to see family. It was so fun to introduce Paul to my family and to see my cousin before he leaves on his LDS mission this week! 

 Paul was a good traveler. He is SOOOOOOO drooly now.

While in Memphis, we went to the Peabody Hotel, this yummy snow cone/ice cream place, and stopped at Graceland.

 One of my all time favorite parts of the weekend was getting to spend time with my brother! He got to meet Paul before we left Idaho, but he is so enjoyable now that he can smile and interact with you. Jace was the cutest uncle. Always holding him and playing with him.

We are super excited to be reunited at Thanksgiving!

I love my baby. That's for sure. Being a mom has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. It stretches you and forces you to grow and learn and adjust like nothing else does.

Also, it's so fun to have a little guy around that looks like me AND Matthew. 

P.S. We did "Cops and Robbers" for Halloween. 

Southern Living

Matthew and I recently moved to Fayetteville, AR. These are my thoughts and opinions on living here:

Our apartment: I will write a post on our apartment and my home decor adventures at another point.
It was hard for Matthew and I to choose a place to live here in AR strictly over the internet. In hindsight, we totally should have contacted people here and asked for suggestions, but, too late!
We chose to move into a townhouse. It is pretty inexpensive and has much more square footage than our last apartment.
If you looked around our complex you would see a lot of college students and old people.
We had a scare a few weeks ago when a domestic disturbance ended up in a murder/suicide just three doors down from us. EEK! I would be lying if, since that happened, I was not super paranoid at night and making sure my doors are locked.

Fayetteville and Baby Paul:
People are constantly commenting on cute baby Paul. Older people especially. Mostly about his head of hair. A lady yesterday offered to trade me a puppy for Paul. HA HA.
A retired NICU/Labor-Delivery nurse told me that Paul was one of the lucky "cute" babies. "Not all babies are cute, don't you know"

Friendly People: I was getting back into my car after shopping at Walmart this week and this old lady knocked on my passenger window. "Where are you from?" she shouted through my window. I rolled it down and answered, "Idaho." "Well, welcome to Arkansas" she replied.
Most of the time I really appreciate the friendliness of the people here. In fact, basically all the time. Window knocking lady only kind-of freaked me out, ha!

Events: There is SO much to do here! It has been a nice change from living in Idaho. Since we moved here there has been two festivals, there are flea markets EVERYWHERE, the library here is ginormous, and this weekend there is a puppet festival at the city park. So fun. I won't lie and say I go to every event, but Matthew and I have enjoyed walking through flea markets and attending the county fair (the bull riding was so intense!)

Weather: I had a lot of dreams/nightmares about tornados when we first moved here, but that has ebbed away (mostly). We moved here at the end of July and felt the humidity instantly!
It doesn't really bother me at all living where there is humidity. A lot of the time I really enjoy it actually. The only thing I really loathe is when I am cleaning my house and feel humid and sweaty even with our A/C. Ick. I have been told this summer was very mild compared to the usual, so I reserve the right to change my mind about AR summers next year!

Scenery: I assumed AR would be flat and brown/yellow, like my memories of Kansas. I was SO wrong! It is beautifully green here! Matthew and I plan to drive to one of the National Parks close to us in a few weeks so Matthew can take some photographs.

Overall, I am really enjoying living in the Natural State!

MONTH THREE

Paul's third month was the best and worst month so far.
Let me summarize with bullet points.

WORST:

• Herpangina: Paul spent two weeks of the month sick. Matthew and I woke up on a Sunday morning and Paul was inconsolable. He cried and cried and cried. Paul is a fantastic baby so we were not used to so much crying and it was exhausting. We went to the doctor's office (for S-H-O-T-S) and the doc said it was Herpangina. Herpangina, aka a throat ulcer, aka what I understood to be a canker sore, made Paul not want to eat. It made it hard for him to swallow because it was in the back of his throat. Which made it hard for him to eat. I was mentally fried. Also, as aforementioned, he was sick and THEN we also got shots. While he was sick. It took me 30 minutes to calm him down and then he fell asleep. 

• Teething/Cold: Now, no pearly whites have popped yet, BUT drool. Lots and lots of drool. In fact, so much drool that he has a hard time swallowing it all. I got a cold while he was sick and passed it to him and so then Paul had drool and mucus. Not so bad during the day. Terrifying during the nighttime. Okay, only one night time. I woke up and saw Paul flailing. He was asleep and basically choking on his mucus. I'm pretty sure I scared him as I turned him over my knee to pat his back. Poor thing. After that we got saline drops to help thin the mucus. So scary. 

Also, bigger baby = bigger poop. Not as enjoyable. 

BEST: 

• Personality: Paul is sooooo smiley. I wake up almost every morning to Paul chattering to himself and as soon as I open my eyes he gives me a big, gummy grin. He also gets exasperated with me. When I am talking to someone and not paying enough attention to Paul, he yells at me! It happened once at church when I was talking to this lady and once when I was talking to my sister on the phone. So funny. 

• Strong: Paul is still a hater of tummy time, but excels in strength in other areas. This month he started grabbing and holding onto objects. His favorite toy is this ball my mom bought. He fell asleep holding it the other day. I wish I would have gotten a picture! Paul loves to stand and has also started to do this thing that cracks me up. While laying on his back he lifts his head off the ground and lifts his feet off the ground. (He looks like he is doing a crunch) I think this is his way of saying he wants to sit. He loves the Bumbo. He sat in it almost all day today. 

• Observant: Paul is very observant. He follows everything with his eyes. He likes to "read" books and watches the mobile on his swing constantly. 

• Laughs: He started to laugh this month. It has been possibly the most rewarding growth so far. The gave a few giggles to Matthew while Matthew was singing The Noble Duke of York song to Paul. The first time I heard a really good laugh was right after I got out of the shower. Paul was "starving" so I fed him before I had a chance to run a brush through my hair. Matthew brought me my brush and actually brushed my hair while I was feeding Paul. Paul thought this extremely silly and was grinning at me. I looked at him and said, "Hey! I look good!" and he giggled. Then I said, "YOU look good!" And he laughed! So cute. Then I said, "Daddy looks good!" and he looked at me stone faced and I laughed! HA HA!

MONTH TWO

Right before his "Two Monthiversary" we flew to Utah for a wedding! Paul was a super flyer! He slept most of the plane rides and many of the flight attendants commented on how well behaved he was!

I don't know how I would have made it without Matthew. He is the best daddy.

We got to do lots of fun things with Matthew's family in Utah. We ate lots of yummy food, Matthew and his dad/siblings went zip lining, played games, and felt the love at the wedding! Here are some of my favorite pics from the trip.

Another fun thing about month two was that Paul started actually smiling. For reals!
He had smiled a lot since he was born but it was mostly in his sleep. Then he would give us little grins. Month two arrived and he started with small smiles and they grew to big, gummy grins!

(My friend Patrice knitted this adorable octopus for Paul. He was so excited to receive it in the mail!)

I can't even. I will never get over his cute smiles. 

We went to the Washington County Fair as a family. Paul slept through all the animal viewing we did (the usual: cows, pigs, chickens, alpaca, etc.) 

After walking through the 4H stands, we went to the arena to watch BULL RIDING. It was so cool. Serious stuff. 

FaceTime and Skype have been my saving grace since moving across the country. I love that Paul's grandparents can see him when he is little! I also love being able to see my niece and nephew grow up! 

Tummy time is the bane of Paul's existence. He hates it. Now that he has found his fists, he prefers to just lay on the ground and eat his hands. haha. 

I can't get over how cute Paul's outfits were this month! Grandpa Bruce made sure Paul was outfitted with some Harley gear! Matthew L O V E S the dinosaur feet on the pajamas below. He likes to see them poking out of the blanket when Paul is swaddled and sleeping in his swing.

At two months Paul weighed over 12 lbs! Wahooooo! I am obsessed with these little overalls.

MONTH ONE

Honestly and truthfully, this is basically what the first month of Paul's life looked like:

I mainly have pictures of Matthew and Paul sleeping, but I definitely slept too. Not enough to feel human most of the time, but, ya know, occasionally I caught an hour or two haha.

My favorite story from this first month occurred just a few days after Paul was born. Let me preface the story by saying, Paul was born on a Friday and we checked out of the hospital on Sunday evening. My mom and sister left early Monday morning so Matthew, Paul, and I were on our own. 

That being said, I have A L W A Y S needed 8 hours of sleep a night. I am a terror without it. Well, I obviously wasn't getting anywhere close to 8 hours of sleep a night after Paul was born. I think I averaged three. 

Okay, favorite story: Matthew and I were sitting on the couch (I was holding an adorable sleeping Paul in my lap) SOOO exhausted and sleep deprived and I started to cry (I pretty much cried at the same time every night for two weeks. Sleep deprivation combined with a little baby blues, I think) Anyways, Matthew saw me getting weepy and started to tear up just a little bit. Then he made this cry-wheeze sound that neither of us had ever heard before in our lives and we both exploded into hysterical crying laughter that we couldn't stop for a good five minutes. 

 Man, good times. Welcome to parenthood!! 

The above picture was from Paul's first at-home bath. I think he was three days old. 

Paul was (and continues to be) just a sweet baby. He loved to be cuddled and to sleep on your chest. 

He was suuuuuuuper long and skinny! 

Matthew and Paul on our first family walk. Also, aren't baby yawns just the cutest?!

When Paul was exactly one month old, he was blessed at church. This is my favorite photo from the event. My sister's adorable family with my own cute family. 

Shortly after his "one monthiversary," we moved from ID to AR. Wowza! 

So, Paul has been through Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and has visited grandparents in Montana! 

He was a fantastic traveler. He slept basically the entire time. Plus, look at those kissable lips. Ah! I love him. 

During our drive we spent the night at my grandparents house in Kansas. Paul got to meet his Great Grandpa Dale Maxwell (his namesake). It was adorable. I love my grandparents and it was so fun that they got to see Paul when he was just a tiny tiny baby! Now, we can't wait to revisit at Thanksgiving time! 

Paul was 9 lbs 13 oz and 22 in long at one month old. And totally adorable. Look at that belly! 

Making an Entrance

Warning: birth Story coming at ya! 



I went to bed on Thursday (June 25th), but woke up at one in the morning to discard all the contents of my stomach. Walking back to bed, I began to wonder if I was having contractions. I was so tired I couldn’t even focus enough to decide if I was having steady contractions or if I was having Braxton Hicks. I finally decided that it didn’t matter if I was having contractions because most women contract for forever before going into active labor, so I decided to go to sleep. 

I woke up around six the next morning (something that had been happening for a few days) and immediately thought I had peed my pants. (This was surprisingly shocking because I had only peed myself once during pregnancy and it was due to a deep hacking cough) I stood up and felt liquid running down my leg (this was about 6:20 in the morning.) I stood there in a stupor of thought and decided I should probably tell Matthew. I called his name and finally had to poke him in order for him to wake up. He looked at me with really big eyes like I had scared him, so I said, “Matthew, I think my water just broke. I am going to take a shower.” 

He followed me to the shower and told me, "I am going to close the windows and then… go back to sleep.” 

After I got out of the shower, Matthew and I were trying to figure out what we should do, knowing in the back of our mind that we needed to go to the hospital. We called my mom and told her (she was very excited and told us she was coming to Rexburg as soon as possible) and she said to go to the hospital! 

Next, we called Dr. Jones and told him my water had broken and he said that once we got all set up at the hospital, he would meet us there! He said that we had 12-24 hours before infection set in (since my water had broken) and that we would be having a baby that day! AH! 

Matthew then hopped in the shower and I think I called my big sister. She told me that she and my mom were coming to Rexburg! Then, after gathering a few things, we headed to the hospital! (At this point I was still having pretty soft contractions, it pretty much felt like pulsing menstrual cramps, if that is a thing and they were about 10-15 minutes apart)

When we got to the hospital (around 7:30), we were brought into a small room in order for them to make sure things were moving along. They gave my a gown to change into and used some sort of strip to make sure my water had actually broken… and it had! 

Then the nurse tried to “check” me, which failed miserably. I guess my cervix was up way too high. She tried twice and I almost cried. So painful. I remember having the thought that it was going to be a LONG day. (I was pretty anxious, but also excited)

I was then moved into my labor/delivery room and started on Pitocin. I was given an IV in the top of my hand. They tried to do it further back on my arm, but I guess I have a crazy vein that goes perpendicular to my arm rather than horizontal with it? Weird! I also had two monitors on my tummy. One that monitored Paul’s heartbeat and one that monitored the pressure of my contractions. 

Dr. Jones showed up and checked me again. He told me I was at a one and only about 30% effaced. Dr. Jones told the nurses that I could get an epidural whenever I wanted. His words were something like, “You have been uncomfortable carrying this baby for 9 months. Whenever you want to get that epidural, you get it!” Then Dr. Jones left and went back to his practice. 

The nurse, her name was Kendra, kept asking me if I wanted to lay down, but I most certainly did not! I sat on the bed cross legged for most of the morning. Every time Kendra would come in to up my Pitocin, she would tell me it would probably not kick in for an hour or so, but I ALWAYS felt my contractions were so much more painful right after. Around 10, my contractions were killer. I have always been the type of girl that likes to be alone when I am in pain (I never let Matthew in the bathroom when I was throwing up), but I knew that Matthew needed to be a part of my labor and I needed him there with me. Matthew was super helpful and fanned my face for who knows how long, but then the nurses brought in a fan (yay! It was SO hot— over a hundred degrees that day!) After the fan made its appearance, Matthew held my hand through contractions. I only got upset at him once. I was having a contraction and Matthew squeezed my hand. Let me tell you, when you are feeling tons of pressure inside, you most definitely do not want added pressure from an outside source! Also, my sister, Kyler, Lyla, and mom left Montana around 10 a.m.

Around 11 a.m., I was checked again and was at a 3. Contractions got more and more painful until, finally, at 1 p.m. I was at a 5 (90% effaced). The anesthesiologist came in and asked if I wanted an epidural. YES I DID! At this point, my contractions were killing me. I quickly used the bathroom and then headed back to my bed to be stuck there the rest of my labor. 

The anesthesiologist had me sit on the edge of the bed when he stuck the needle into my spine. Everyone had told me getting the epidural was pretty painful, but I didn’t think so. The only bad part was, right before sticking the needle in, the anesthesiologist said, “Don’t move,” and I did. I totally flinched. The second try I was super still though and felt instant relief. 

After the epidural, I took the greatest nap. 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. is pretty hazy. I do remember Dr. Jones coming to check on me around one and then coming back around 5. I also remember my sister and mom arriving at some point. I’d guess around 4:30 as well. Right after my epidural, Matthew left to go get some food. I wasn’t allowed any food, but had been munching on ice chips. 

I was so glad my sister and mom made it to the hospital before I delivered! It was so fun to chat with them and to be surrounded by not only the daddy of my baby, but my mom and one of my favorite mommy role models- my big sis! 

I decided I wanted to start pushing around 5:30, so my sister and cute niece left and mom stayed. With my nurse Kendra on one side and Matthew on the other, I started to push! Dr. Jones came in and was helping Matthew coach me through pushing. I pushed for an hour and then Dr. Jones used a “soft vacuum” to help Paul. He was stuck. Dr. Jones tried three times, but, because Paul was blessed with so much hair, the vacuum kept popping off his head. I got an episiotomy and cute cone-headed Paul came into the world at 7:02 p.m. 

Right after he was born, Dr. Jones placed him on my chest and asked what baby's name was. I said, “Paul Maxwell.” (People told me I would know what to name Paul when I saw him, but I didn’t! Haha, Paul sounded good though, so Paul it was!)

Instead of crying, Paul was grunting. He had some fluid in his lungs. They took him away and cleared out his airway and weighed/measured him. Paul weighed 7 lbs and was 21 inches long. (At his two day appointment, he measured only 20 inches long. I still feel a little guilty about that…haha) Then Matthew bathed Paul before handing him back to me. 

We did the usual- I showered, fed Paul, family came and held him, etc. But I mostly remember not sleeping that night because I just wanted to stare at my beautiful sleeping baby! Now, Paul is almost three months old! Ah! I can’t imagine life without  my sweet, smiley Paul!