Meet Miles Bishop Boyd!

It's hard to believe that our son, Miles Bishop Boyd, was born almost three weeks ago on August 10, 2011. Our big boy was 21.5 inches long and weighed in at a whopping 9 pounds! We arrived at Northside Hospital for an induction on August 9th around 4:30 with our bags in hand and smiles on our faces. We were there until Sunday, August 14! It was a long and emotional stay that involved a C-Section and a little battle with jaundice, but we eventually got released and made the trip home to start our life together as a family of three!

Yep, I brought ALL this stuff with me to the hospital. lol.

So excited to meet baby Miles!

Papa getting a little concerned...

Time to meet Miles!

Love.

Doodle Bug found his thumb!

BIG Boy!!!

Cuddle time.

How cute!!

My handsome Glow Worm!!

Best Hubby...he brought some for my mom too. I cried. :)

Our family finally gets to go home!!

Boy oh boy, that first week was a tough one! It made me wonder how (any WHY) so many women sign up for the job of being a mother. By no means has Miles been a difficult baby, it was my own adjustment period that made things hard. It was as though my heart had grown so much bigger in such a short period of time that it wasn't capable of dealing with day to day worries, accomplishments, love, frustration, etc. There were tears of all kinds that week. My first trip outside the house was surreal, like one of those movie moments when sound stops and everything is in slow motion. I stood in the grocery store and looked around, almost in awe of all the mothers I saw. Now I know what it feels like to be a mother and I have a whole new respect for parents.

At the end of that week, the fog was beginning to clear and it was time for Miles first vacation! We filled the car with all things baby and we were on our way to meet grandmas and grandpas in Pensacola, FL. Thank goodness for this trip. Taking a week old baby on a trip might seem like a crazy thing to do, but I felt like it helped me regain my sanity. I had all the help I could ask for, and I was able to spend some quality time with my husband (this was a BIG deal for me. Many of the tears the week before were worry for what our relationship would be like with a baby at home. It was really sad for me to loose time with Matt at a time when I loved him more than ever....but as they say it gets easier. And it has.)

Papa couldn't wait to take his little boy swimming!

Miles and GeeDee doing some bonding.

Not sure if I should admit this...but I crack up everytime I look at this picture.

Does that make me a bad mom? 

Three Generations

Miles listening to his papa.

Life has been filled with so many exciting "firsts". Miles first vacation (where he had a huge blow out in the parking lot of guest check in that left mom and dad gagging in the parking lot). Miles first doctors appointment (where he peed AND pooped at me, Lisa, and the nurse). Miles first bath (good thing he got nice and clean just to pee all over himself and the floor before I could get his diaper back on). Miles first bbq with friends (where he managed to pee directly out of his diaper all over mom's shirt and pants). Seriously, this kid will pee, poop, and scream whenever and wherever he pleases. Good thing he is so cute because he has no shame. I'm still waiting to become shameless also, because while these things might not phase Mr. Miles, I still find public poop a little embarassing.

Matt getting Miles ready for his first bath.

Found the thumb again!

He loves his bath time!

Snuggie baby!

It seems like every day with Miles presents new challenges and new adventures. I am so extremely thankful to be able to tackle the challenges and enjoy the adventures alonside my phenomenal husband and with the support of our fabulous family and friends. Lots of Love till next time!

Haha!! Grumpy looks like the baby from Ghostbusters.

Hangin out

Looking like a big boy.

Our happy family

Miles meeting Bella for the first time.

All ready for bed!

Looking like a little peanut. Pictures where this baby looks small are rare.

As of his last doctors visit he was in the 98th percentile for his height and weight.

At 2.5 weeks he was 11 pounds!





It's the Final Countdown!

Well, we are in our final weeks as a family of two. Miles should arrive within the next 3.5 weeks. Many have made me aware that first time mom's often go past their due date, however Miles and I have discussed this at length and we came to the conclusion that on or before the due date suits us best. As a matter of fact, we have a date coming up at a local restaurant whose claim to fame is their eggplant parmesan known to motivate babies into making their worldly debut. To date, more than 300 of the pregnant women customers who ordered the eggplant have given birth within 48 hours, and the restaurant dubs them the "eggplant babies". If you read it on the internet it must be true right? Feel free to research it here: http://www.scalinis.com/Bambino.htm

A few weeks ago Matt and I escaped for our last mini vacation before baby arrives. I had never been to Gatlinburg / Pigeon Forge before and I was under the impression it was a quaint little mountain town along the lines of Helen or Dahlonega. WRONG. I remained amused at the Panama City Beach style strip in the middle of the mountains all weekend long. The people watching was fantastic, and Matt and I had a fantastic trip with many laughs.

This is pretty much our entire condo. It was soo tiny but absolutely adorable. We can't wait to go back!

Tiny Living Room

 Tiny Kitchen

 Tiny Bedroom

Huge Me...how did I fit into that tiny condo? 

View from lunch

Awww...Papa Bear!

                                                One of the many unique Gatlinburg attractions.

Last but not least, we have finished the nursery! With all required pre-baby projects complete, I still find myself with occasional "nesting" energy that I hope will keep me busy and pass the time until Miles gets here.

I LOVE this guy!!!

Everyone keep your fingers crossed that Miles is a punctual baby! Until then, Lots of Love!!

It Takes a Village

Last weekend I was surprised with my much anticipated baby shower! It turned out fabulous and it was very apparent how much thought and work went into planning it. I am so grateful to the hostesses as well as to everyone who attended. On that day as I looked around the room the old African proverb "It takes a village to raise a child" came to mind. I thought, "these are the people who will make up my baby boy's village". He is one lucky little boy! Matt and I are so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family.

The Village!

Baby Shower Goodies



Things continue to progress with growing little Miles. My midwife says that I "rock out pregnancy". I guess that is a good thing! I hope I "rock out" motherhood too! Miles has made things pretty easy on me thus far but his father gets slightly annoyed with my ice cravings. Hearing "CRRRUUUNNNCH. CRUNCH CRUNCH CRUNCH " as he attempts to drift off to sleep every night is probably pretty obnoxious, but since my weight gain is still "on track" and not "off the charts", I'll take the ice craving over the ice cream craving any day (don't get me wrong, I still put away some ice cream but I did that before I got pregnant too!). I am officially an ice connoisseur and I am known by first name at every QT  between Alpharetta, Woodstock, and Kennesaw. It takes a very fine pallette to distinguish ice from different QT locations. No, they are NOT all the same, although my husband would say that they are. (The Kennesaw location off of Barrett has the best in case anyone needs some really high quality ice)

YUUUUUUMMMMMM!

Although I think I will miss it when it is gone, for the time being I am just about over the fun of having a baby bump. At this point I don't think what I have is really even considered a bump. It's funny with pregnant bellys. They go from cute to cuter to "holy. shit. look how huge that pregnant girl's belly is. I can't stop staring at it." I am settling nicely into phase 3. This phase comes with other fun aspects of "motherhood" that need not be mentioned. Woo Hoo! I have spent plenty of time facebook stalking my pregnant friends in order to gawk at how freakishly huge their pregnant belly's are, so although I am no longer super excited about my belly pics, I will post them for all to gawk at. :)





24 Weeks

26 Weeks (We must have hit a growth spurt between 24 and 26!)

28 Weeks

Almost 33 weeks. Yes. I am aware that it doesn't look like I am going to make it to 40 weeks. :)

Ha! Cha Cha Cha Chaaanges!

Papa isn't so sure about giving up any of his precious space in the bed. 

Thats all for now folks. The next post will be nursery photos (promise!) and after that will most likely be baby pics!!! Lots of Love!!



Its a Baby Boy Bump!

Well we finally found out that we are having a baby boy!

"Hi Everyone!"

The weeks leading up to the "anatomy scan" appointment was probably the longest most obsessive time of my life. I was so completely consumed with with wonder and excitement and the ever present motherly worry that I was literally sick of myself. To be honest, finding out that our little peanut is a boy was....bewildering. Leading up to the appointment I truly didn't feel that I had a gender preference, and maybe I didn't, but leaving the appointment I didn't really feel the way I expected too. There was excitement, and happiness, pride, and flashes of Saturday morning t-ball games, and then there was this other feeling that wasn't as fun. A boy seemed so unreal to me. I never really thought a boy was a possibility for me (weird but true). Along with the blissful images of t-ball games came flashes of evil teeny bopper bimbos after my precious boy, a worry that I would be outnumbered as he grew older and had more in common with his dad than me, a fear of never having a mother-daughter relationship or picking out tiny flowered sundresses.......and a dread of the day far far away when that I would have to let him go. It seems silly, but I really felt....kind of sad. At first I felt soooo guilty for not having 100% positive feelings because I thought this sad feeling was related to the fact that I was having a boy. Several weeks later, I still peek longingly at the little flowered sundresses, but I think the majority of that cloud on my sunny day was called reality setting in. I really think that had I been having a baby girl there would have been a different set of fears. This little "it" growing inside me became so much less of an abstract thing. He became so much more real. The baby website I frequent asks, "When did you start to feel like you were a mother?". It's funny how many different answers there are and how wide the timeframe is. For me I think it's a gradual process, but that day a feeling of motherhood hit me like a brick wall. I was so worried when I found out I was pregnant and I was told that I would be worried about my baby far beyond pregnancy....that day I began to understand that statement.

 Pregnancy is emotional! But not all about worry. We are at 21 weeks now....beyond half way!!!!! Rather than feeling like the time is slooooooowly ticking by I truly feel like we have made it over the hill and speed is building. Bedding has arrived (this was a MAJOR task that took hours on top of hours to conquer. Baby won't even remember the damn bedding but his dad will have nightmares about this process for the rest of his life) and crib and dresser are on their way. Belly is groooooooowing!
    

    

For various reasons it took me a little longer than most mama's to feel my little one moving and kicking, but it is finally happening and it is AH-MAZING. It's another way to make this pregnancy seem more real and I feel so much more bonded to my little boy. I'm working on finding his schedule so that Matt can feel him too. I can't wait for that day. It seems like Matt experiences these baby emotions and epiphanies a bit after I do (which I understand is the norm) and sometimes it stinks that we can't experience these things together, but it's also kind of neat to have an understanding of something and then get to watch him experience it. The other day I found a baby shirt that looks just like his work shirt and it brought the biggest smile to our faces. I get the biggest thrill thinking about our son wanting to be just like his papa.

This weekend Matt is going to be busy painting. Our room this weekend and baby's room next weekend. I hope it isn't strange that we have been putting so much effort into our own room. I just want to have a peaceful and pretty place for me and Matt to relax once the chaos begins. Hopefully the nursery will be painted next weekend and furniture will arrive soon. Pics will be posted as soon as it's ready!

Lots of Love!'

It seems like every baby company on earth received a memo saying Jenny Boyd is pregnant! Here is her address, mail her tons of crap! Our mailbox if flooded with all things baby. Today I came home to this lovely surprise.....

The Victoria Secret Swimsuit Catalog. Hmpf. Apparently, THEY MISSED THE MEMO!