Three months.. with our sunshine!

James was blessed on March 6, 2011. Above are some pictures that my sister-in-law Lucinda took about a week before. (We love her!) James is wearing his blessing outfit. Our ward began at 9:00am and it was rumored there could be about 7 blessings but there were only 2. We had an awesome showing of family members and some good friends. Karl performed the blessing, how grateful I am to be married to a worthy priesthood holder. James was blessed to be a baby that smiles and other special things.

Afterwards we had a little soup and salad luncheon at our little duplex home. We had borrowed chairs and tables to host it outside but of course it decided to rain and be cold, so we crammed about 40 some people in. Chairs were everywhere even in our bedroom, and you only ate one thing at a time because there was no where to set it. It was a crazy fun experience and I'm glad we did it :) Everyone was so nice and didn't complain and actually stayed to visit for a good time.

These pictures don't do it justice.. :)

James on the actual blessing day on our awesome green couch from Grandma Anderson.



Some of this months highlights:

James is starting to splash at bathtime
He has a grip now, grabs my hair (gently so far), our shirts, hands and once a rattle

He was introduced to the swing and was fascinated with the bears!

His hair has grown back on the top of his head

He has rubbed a bald spot on the back of his head, I used to say my baby would never get that because I would hold him so much, but when James falls asleep he rubs his head back and forth quickly and alot!

He got to meet Lance and Allison!!

He started sleeping 7-9 hours 3 nights in a row, now back to 2 feedings a night, oh well...

He weighs 13 lbs, wears size 2 diaper in luvs and is still fitting in his 0-3 month clothes.

He has started attending all 3 hours at church.

He loves the jogging stroller.

He is starting to pick favorites just a little bit and tends to cry a little bit more with his poor daddy!!

He has beautiful long lashes!!!

He likes to eat his hands and the pacifer occasionally but he's not way dependant.

He makes a cute lip smacking noise :)

He tends to snort occasionally, I think due to a constant stuffy nose.

He is cooing and smiling lots more, he still has the lizard tongue.

We sure love our little man!!!

What new moms do...

A few weeks back I realized I was getting really sick of watching movies, sleeping and playing the same 3 games. I texted my sister in Rexburg for fun ideas, she went to her new mom friends for ideas. The list: walking/running, puzzles, trying new recipes.

Now that the weather is warming up James and I have been on many walks occasionally with the company of Karl or my friend Brittany and her son. We walk all over the residential area, on a paved path, and to the Timpangoes temple. Yea for spring!! The other morning I attempted my first run since I was 2 months pregnant. It was awesome! I ran to the temple, just wish I had dressed a little warmer.. I am feeling muscles that had been getting pretty soft! Karl was a sweetheart and stayed home with James. We saved a little extra money on taxes, so I've been watching KSL for a running stroller and we got a Jeep stroller that is awesome! James has liked it so far and I am excited to be able to take him running with me. Now if the weather would just stay warm..

puzzles.. haven't done any...yet

New recipes. My favorite!!! My textbooks have become: Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book and The 75th Anniversary Joy of Cooking. Also a few family and school printed cookbooks. Since I am nursing and I have to eat really well, and I'm not supposed to take James out too much because of the danger of RSV. Cooking has kept me sane! Desserts have been my favorite to explore.. I know not the best, how am I supposed to lose the baby weight doing that...


I only started taking pictures so I'm afraid you can only salivate over a few, the rest you will have to use your imagination. :)

Desserts and Meals

Cake Doughnuts

Red Velvet Cake

Crepes

Mini Cheesecakes

three cheese stuffed chicken with red sauce

sweet and sour chicken

barbeque chicken pizza

Mom's Chicken Pot Pie

I have really enjoyed reading the cooking basics. I have learned alot and still have a lot more to read.

- Tomatoes should not be refrigerated. Loses the fresh taste and picks up tastes of the fridge

- Should have 2 cutting boards that look different. One for cutting raw meat and the other for vegetables etc.

- Olive oil is not to be used for frying.

It's been 2 months!

Crazy it's been two months! This outfit was worn to his daddy's work banquet at the Marriott in Salt Lake. He was a big hit, in his little tie and outfit. Karl's new job as a financial professional is going really well. He comes home everyday and tells me how much he loves it. He has applied his living scripture tracting to his new job and is having great success. Many of his fellow coworkers are anxious to learn his skills... If anyone is looking for a financial professional I highly recommend Karl. The picture below is the closest I've caught of a smile on camera. The smiles are becoming more often, hopefully for next month I'll catch more :)


Our little man visited our pediatrician for his 2 month appointment and is looking good. He weighs 11 lb. now and is 22 1/2 inches long. Being a new mom I had no idea that this appointment would entail shots. The poor little guy got shots in both his thighs and took one orally (that is a new development he ate it). James did not like the shots at all, it is sad to watch.. But he is a tough little guy, we gave him lots of cuddle time and he was surprisingly good at the banquet. The second day he has been a little more emotional.


We took a little family picture for our valentines to send to our grandmas. Does it matter that we took it at 10:30 pm? Considering it turned out pretty well. We think our little guy is so cute in church clothes!

Other ways we have adapted as parents. James and I get all bundled up and walk to the timpangoes temple as often as the weather isn't too crazy. We love our walks! James can sleep in lots of different positions, luckily he is getting better at sleeping in his bed.

We have left James for about 40 minutes to go to a stake valentine dance. It was not easy at all to do, having only left him with the nicu, my mom and karl. This time we left him with one of Karl's old mission companions and his wife. The dance was ok. Sadly they only played one slow song and the band took a break while we were there. Bad timing... oh well.

I learned to help clear up a stuffy nose use drops of saline solution aka salt water. James doesn't like it but he helps him breath better. Also to clean his goopy eyes we bought cotton balls and used boiled water to wipe them clean. My mom also said she would massage the tear duct area to help them open, I asked my doctor if it really helped and he said optometrists disagree on if it helps but said if it makes the mom feel better it won't do any harm.

James and I went to all three hours of church once and got to experience the mother's lounge. Very entertaining talking with other moms. Sadly our pediatrician said RSV has increased and for the next month we need to be more careful. Our little friend just got it, poor guy, hoping he recovers quickly!

James is nursing more efficiently and instead of a half hour he's usually done after 10 minutes. SO nice! He eats every three hours but at night can sleep about 5 hours, we usually wake up at 3 and 7 am. He now fits in 0-3 month clothing and size 1 diapers. He's growing, he sleeps often during the growing time.

That's all I can think of at the moment. James did get to meet some of his cousins. Talmage was really cute with him at the wallace's always wanting to be close and gave him toes to play with. Brayden also was really excited to meet James and asked to hold him multiple times. He was very good at holding him so sweetly. Karleigh tried to eat his toes, she was funny with him. James is looking forward to meeting more of his cousins at his blessing. Hoping none come sick...

Life is good. We love being parents!!

James Karl Young has stolen our hearts and our sleep :) We love this little guy so much! He's leaving his mark on our clothes and even has his aim down so well with spitup that he landed it right in Karl's pocket with his business cards and left a mark on about 50 of them. That way his daddy will be reminded of us while he is away at work. :)

My little prince... I bought this outfit when I was a teenager and have stored it these last few years waiting for my little prince to come. I brought it to the hospital to bring him home in and it was too big. Now a month and a half later it is getting too small!

Many people when they meet James make a comment about his tongue, he is our little lizard often sticking it out exploring.

James is our little redhead, or we say strawberry blonde. It is really cute, who would have thought we would have a redhead. But who knows it could turn blonde, we shall wait and see. His eyes are currently blue.

He's growing! Another mother skill I am learning is sorting through clothes to adapt to my little man growing. Here I am learning one outfit too small, a newborn one, and the other huge, 0-3 month outift. Luckily he is a patient little man as I explore the wonderful clothes my sister-in-laws have given us.

James has had fun meeting lots of his relatives, aunts, uncles, and grandparents. Sadly I forgot to take pictures of lots of them but I did take a few and here they are.

It's been a month!!

Our sweet baby James has been with us for a month now. We love him to pieces and have been learning alot!

WARNING THIS IS LIKE MY JOURNAL, SORRY NO PICTURES AT THE MOMENT JUST BORING WORDS.... WILL UPDATE PIX LATER..

New skills Karl and I are developing..
Me: functioning with my sleep being interupted every three hours throughout the night.. Some times four hours when we're lucky. and being able to go immediatetly back to sleep!!
Karl: sleeping with a light on and sleeping through loud crying.
Both of us: occasionally sleeping with a baby in our bed, alittle nerve racking and not restful but keeps you from having to get up every few minutes to calm him...
Me: Laundry skills: Wow a little boy goes through alot of clothes!! Thanks to my sister in law, Lucinda I have improved my skills of stain removing, his clothes are looking alot cleaner!!

The first month James has endured baby acne, loss of hair on the front of his head, and a flaky scalp. Poor boy we are learning together how to overcome these little baby challenges, I am grateful for the book the first few years of your child's life, it has answered alot of my questions. His fingernails are starting to grow and he is starting to scratch his face, Karl wanted James' nails clipped and I was scared to do it, with good reason...

I was really nervous to give James his first bath. I had only ever seen bathtime in the kitchen sink where the mom holds onto the slippery baby and tries to clean him. I was really scared!! My mom left before she got to show me the tricks. So Karl and I attempted bathtime together. One of my friends gave us a little bathtub with a hammock that holds the baby (the greatest invention ever!!) Karl began to fill up the bath tub as I got James ready for his first bath. I felt the water and told him it was too hot, so he added some cold, then it was too cold, I had him dump it out and start over. It took us a good 5 minutes to get the water an agreeable temperature. I nervously lowered him in and we let him climatize and began to wash him when he released a bowel movement all over the tub and water. Needless to say we laughed about all that time we took to get it perfect, I quick took him out wrapped him in a towel and Karl cleaned the tub and filled it for a more successful bath. :)

When we first brought James home my mom was here to help with the cleaning and meals. What a blessing she was! When she left Karl was home for a few days and we enjoyed out little boy together. Karl is wonderful about changing diapers and bathtime and helping with the car seat, shopping, laundry and cleaning. After my mom left I was just a little overwhelmed and wonder how I would ever function as a normal person. My maternity clothes were too big and my prepregnancy clothes were too small :( I was sleeping everychance that James was, and struggling to remember to eat and drink enough so that I could nurse him. I felt like I needed a mom to take care of me as I learned to become James mom. I also felt it was important to keep James at home away from anyway that could get him sick. so my social life was nonexistant. My mom was not able to come back, but she sent my wonderful sister Amy, who helped with the cleaning, holding James and making sure I was eating. She was awesome. I also had a wonderful friend and neighbor who brought us meals for a few days. Karl's mom brought us some easy to cook food and my mom sent and brought meals for us. The past month we have eaten thanks to the wonderful people in our life!!!! I am now to the point where I don't have to sleep when James does, my prepregnancy clothes are fitting, I can cook again and feel a lot more balanced!!! Who would have thought it would take a month to begin to adjust to life and heal from labor!! I was completely clueless. I am proud to say I can only remember having one emotional breakdown and it didn't last long at all, I was just lonely.

James milestones:
When James first came home he only fit in newborn clothes, which mom and friends were wonderful to get us some because we only had 0-3 months and they drowned him!! They are now starting to fit him.

He is begining to smile and make more cooing and grunting noises..

He is starting to make eye contact, is a lot noiser sleeper, loves bathtime and is staying awake for longer periods of time during the day. He spits up a lot more and sometimes just cries when he is really tired and wants to be asleep. He is becoming more vocal.

We took James to his first movie... Mega brain. we all loved it and he pretty much slept through the entire thing. I was really nervous to take him out to such a public place. On sundays we sneak in after sacrament has begun sit in the foyer and sneak out before the closing prayer. My baby was in the hospital a week too long and I do not want him to have to go back for RSV!!

Our Best Christmas Present Ever!!

I have a very talented sister in law that takes really good pictures and we were a benefactor of that talent. Here are some of those adorable pictures. James was really good for the whole photo shoot. Isn't he an adorable boy!!

James is Here!!!

A lot has happened in the last three weeks.. On wednesday Dec 15 I found out for sure that I would be induced on Thursday Dec 16 but was not given a time to come in. We were told that we could get a phone call anywhere from 5:30 am until who knows when. I had been on bed rest since the begining of the month due to high blood pressure. I was driving to Murray 4 times a week for stress tests, weekly doctor appointments and blood draws, etc. I also was to be monitoring my blood pressure daily to make sure it didn't get too high. On wednesday I could feel that James had dropped down and I was dialeted to a 4 and 80% effaced. I was sore and tired. The house was unorganized and many things needing to be done before James was born. A huge blessing happened that Claire was in town from Missouri to visit me and go to Amy's BYU-I graduation. Claire and Karl got the nursery ready, cleaned the house, and dried my apples for me. Lots of the things that had been stressing me. Claire did wonders with the nursery, before it was just a clutter room. Thursday morning at 8:15am I got a phone call from labor and delivery asking if we could be there by 9. We hurriedly got ready but didn't get there until 9:30. It was slow going for awhile claire came and visited and Dad surprised us by driving down from Idaho. They left until later, James was born around 11:45 pm and as they were cleaning him realized he wasn't breathing deep enough and whisked him away with Karl to the NICU. After an hour I was able to finally see my sweet baby, though he was hooked to lots of wires they did let me hold him for just a minute.





James didn't get to go home for almost a week. He was off of his blow by oxygen within 24 hours but then they were waiting for a 48 hour blood test to come back to make sure he didn't have an infection. When that test came back negative he then had jaundice and had to stay on the lights for two days and then a day without to make sure his billiruben levels didn't go up. Each day I thought we were closer to going home but then a little hiccup would come and I would be told it would be another few days. It was really stressful for me, though when all is said and done we were only in the nicu for 6 days and home the 2 days before christmas. Also we were very blessed to have me stay at the hospital for just $30 a night to be able to nurse James around the clock. Karl stayed with us on a couch until sunday night and then had to get back to work. Mom came and stayed with me until James got to come home!!



Karl was a sweetheart and made our first dinner home. It was homemade spaghetti very yummy!