Merry Christmas

We are so glad Bryson decided to come early enough that we could do our usual Christmas plans. We were very busy Christmas eve & Christmas day! Christmas eve morning we went to Meredith's dads house for breakfast.

Santa's Little Helper

After breakfast & gifts at Grandpa's we headed to the lake for Christmas with most of the McCowan family. Bryson got to meet his great grandma & Honey, Aunt Kimbo & Aunt Kathy for the first time. They fell in love with him (just like everyone else)

Bryson meeting his Great Grandma "Nana"

Honey & Bryson

Aunt Kimbo

4 Generations

(Nana, Paw Paw, Daddy & Bryson)

It has always been a tradition when Mommy was younger to read Twas the Night Before Christmas every Christmas Eve, so Grannie B & G-Pop wanted to be sure we carried on the same tradition with Bryson. They made the recordable story book just for Bryson. So, Mommy & Daddy held Bryson as he listened to Twas the Night Before Christmas for the first time :)

Christmas morning we opened presents at our house then we headed off to Meredith's Nanas house.

Our BEST Christmas present ;)

Bryson's new Monkey Mat! He <3's to nap on his new mat!

Our Sweet Baby Boy

Here are some random pictures of our sweet Bryson since he came home from the hospital. We just love him to death! He is so sweet & of course adorable (yes, we are biased!!)

Bryson's 1st Bath (Spounge Bath that is)

He LOVES to take a bath, unlike most babies, but HATES it when we take him out!

All Wrapped Up

Snugglin' with Mommy

Hanging out with my friend Emma Paige (3 months old)

Snoozin' with Daddy

Happy Birthday Bryson!

I know I already posted a blog about his arrival, but what good is a blog with no pictures?? So, here are some pictures of the the arrival of our sweet bundle of joy!

Mommy & Daddy patiently waiting

Mommy with Aunt Melissa & Aunt April

Love at first sight

Bryson Michael McCowan

December 9, 2011

5:15 am

6 lb 15.3 oz 19.5 inches

Proud Daddy

Our First Family Photo :)

Us with Dr. Jarvis

NeNa & Paw Paw

G-Pop & Grannie B

Grandpaw

Getting ready to come home :)

Meeting "Big Brother Elmer"

These are just a few pictures of our sweet boy! I will try to post lots of pictures of our little man! He is such a joy to have in our arms!!

He's Here!!

I have been a little behind on blogging due to trying to get everything together for Christmas & Bryson's arrival. Well my doctor sure knows his job...he told me the day before Thanksgiving I would be home way before my due date, he would surely be here by Christmas, he didn't expect me to have a baby Thanksgiving week or the next week, but thought we would have one the next week! Guess what?!?!?! He was RIGHT!

Thursday, Dec 8th- About 12 noon I was at work & my water broke! (I was a little unsure that's what it was since it wasn't a huge gush) but quickly called the Dr & they wanted me in very soon to "check on things". So I got a 3pm appointment & sure enough my water had fully broken, I was 3cm dilated & 100% effaced. He told me to head to the hospital. I asked who was on call to be sure that one of my doctors would deliver him! He said "Dr. Jarvis comes on call tonight at 6pm & will be on call for 24 hours." Then I proceeded to ask who was on call after that. He said oh its no worries Dr. Jarvis will deliver your baby!! You will be a mommy before mid morning tomorrow! (needless to say at this point I fully believed him because he had been right on everything he had told me!)

So, we head to the hospital & they send me up to Labor & Delivery asap! The L&D ward was "hopping" all the rooms were full & babies were being born right & left. They want you to have the baby within 18 hours of your water breaking or it is high risk of infection. So, they asked if I wanted to start Petocin to speed things up so there would be no reason to worry with infection. I said go for it. They started the Petocin around 7pm (I think) & it pushed me right along. I started having terrible back labor & decided to get an epidural (Lets just say the next pregnancy there will be no waiting until I hurt...I'm going to walk in the door asking for an epidural. It is AmAzInG!!!) I was scared to get it because I watched a video on it & what all took place, well it wasn't anything like expected! I asked the lady how much longer until she was going to start & she said "oh honey, it's all in place I'm just taping it down!" Within 10 minutes I was completely pain free! The Dr. wanted me to take at least an hour nap so I would be ready for labor. So I took about a 45 min nap (which felt like I slept all night) & the Dr came back in & said "I can see his head, so lets get ready to push!" They prepared the room & got me in position & I pushed for about 30-40 minutes & Mr. Bryson was here!

Bryson Michael McCowan was born Friday, December 9th, 2011 at 5:15am. Weighing 6 pounds 15 ounces & 19.5 inches long! He was 13 days early, but Mommy & Daddy could not be happier!

Pictures will be posted soon! :)

A little behind!

I have been so busy here lately I haven't had a chance to update often. Between getting everything ready for Bryson, Thanksgiving, Christmas shopping, wrapping & decorating we have been busy! Not to mention work & just life in general.

35 weeks

I went to the Dr on Wednesday & had the Group B Strep test & my platelet levels checked again since they were low last time I had blood work. I am hoping that they went up or at least stayed the same so we don't have to go through a whole lot more blood work! (We all know I am not a fan of having my blood drawn or even seeing blood!!!) The Dr checked & I am dilated 2cm as of Wednesday. I got back to the Dr this coming up Friday, so we will see how things have progressed! I will keep y'all posted!! :)



Baby Shower #3

My 2 best friends got together to host a wonderful baby shower! It was so much fun & was a HUGE success! We didn't have to go buy anything except a baby monitor & another car seat base, but we didn't have to spend any of our money because of all the wonderful gift cards we received! A BIG thanks to April & Melissa for EVERYTHING!

The hostesses!

(April & Melissa)

Diaper Cake & Diaper Wreath

Yummy Monkey Cake

Cute Corsage

My friend Carlie & "Baby Hannah". We have the same due date & cant wait to meet Hannah & Bryson :)

Baby Shower #2

Baby Shower #2 was a huge success! It was for all of mine & Justin's family. I cant begin to say how much we appreciate EVERYTHING we received! A huge thanks to our cousins Emily, Lisa & Tina for hosting the shower!

The AWESOME cake that matches Bryson's room perfectly!!

The cute diaper cake!! Made by Emily Brooks :)

My Dad's side of the family

(Mama Mary, Me, Linda & Aunt Mary)

My Mom's Side of the family

(Nana, Mom, Me & Aunt Laura aka Aunt Queenie)

Justin's family NEVER wants to take pictures so therefore we don't have any pictures of them, but they were indeed there!

Bryson's adorable jungle blanket handmade by Aunt Nette from Texas!

Cute Monkey corsage

Of course we cant forget the WONDERFUL hostesses

(Emily, Lisa & Tina)

Thanks again!! The shower was AWESOME!!

My last Dr appt was last Friday & it went well. Dr. Andrews said everything looks great & Mr. Bryson is going wonderful. We also, went to Prenatal Peek (an ultrasound place) for our anniversary instead of buying each other gifts. It was a fun experience but Bryson wasn't wanting to show us his face!! We got to go back again this week to try again. He was a little better this time, but still not the best. They said we could come back again but I think we are going to pass. The ultrasound tech told us..."Well, I have good news & I have not so good news! Good news is he is in the "birthing position" but not so good news is he is in a bad position to get ultrasound pictures!" So, we said well...we only have 7 more weeks (maybe less ;) so we will just wait and take all the pictures we want to then!! He looks just like Justin & has cute chubby cheeks :)

I go back to the Dr. this coming up Wed! I get to meet a new Dr this time! They try to rotate you around so you are at least familiar with everyone! It is fine with me, but I still love Dr. Duncan & hope he delivers Bryson! (And to think I said I would NEVER have a man doctor...boy was I wrong!! He's the best!!)

Baby Shower #1

I had my first baby shower this past Sunday. It was a huge success thanks to my good friends Stacey, Casey & Jennifer! The shower was at the church we got married at so that made it seem even more special since tomorrow is our 4 year anniversary! Here are some pictures from the shower!

The awesome hostesses- Casey, Stacey, & Jennifer rubbing on Mr. Bryson

UNC/Duke diaper cake

The Grandmas to be (Grannie B & NeNa)

Some of the guests (some of the best friends a girl could ask for)

All of the goodies for Mr. Bryson! :)

Thanks again to Stacey, Casey & Jennifer for hosting a wonderful shower & thanks to everyone who came!!

Cant believe I will be 8 months (32 weeks) tomorrow! Tomorrow is our anniversary & this year Justin & I decided to not get gifts for each other, so we are going to go to "Prenatal Peek" to have an ultrasound of Bryson & get a DVD of the whole ultrasound! Just hope he isnt stubborn this time ;) I return to the Doctor for a routine visit on Friday & Shower #2 is on Saturday! Busy next 3 days, but I will keep you posted on all the events!!

30.5 weeks

Well, Bryson will be here before we know it. Only 9.5 more weeks until my due date :) I went to the Dr last Wednesday for just a routine check up & to find out the results from my gestational diabetes test. I don't have gestational diabetes which is great news :) but, my platelet levels have dropped :( The usual platelet levels should be 400-150 at 11 weeks my level was 155 & at 28 weeks it had dropped to 126. The Dr. said there really isn't anything I can do or not do to make this level rise. It's just one of those things that happens. They did tell me that I will be checked again at 36 weeks. As long as it doesn't drop to 100 or below I am "good to go." If it does drop below 100 I wont be able to receive an epidural (if needed) & could possibly have to have a C-Section & have a platelet transfusion. So, please pray that my platelet levels at least stay the same or better yet that they rise!

I am obsessed with Google, so of course I Googled if there was anything I can do to make my platelet levels rise & all the websites basically told me what the Dr told me, but I could try to eat red meat to increase my iron levels, or eat lots of protein, whole grains, oils, & leafy greens. So, we shall see if any of this helps at all!

On a happy note, this weekend is my first shower! I cant wait. I have a shower for the next 3 weekends. I will be sure to post pictures!

29.5 week update

Sorry for the delay in the blog, but the Gestational Diabetes test wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. You could pick from Orange or Fruit Punch drink. I had heard better reviews of the orange. It tasted like a mix between Hi-C Orange & flat Sunkist. I wouldn't go & purchase the drink but it wasn't that bad! The worst part was waiting an hour to have your blood drawn! I am proud to say that I didn't pass out this time either!!

They told me they would call me if there were issues with my results or if I did indeed have gestational diabetes. Well, I haven't got a phone call from them & I looked up my results on my digital chart but of course I had no clue what the numbers meant. So, I decided to google the results! I looked on 3 different websites and all 3 websites told me the same thing & said I didn't have gestational diabetes. Since I haven't heard anything from the doctor I'm assuming everything is good. I now have to go to the doctor every 2 weeks until 36 weeks. My next appointment is tomorrow morning, so I will update you with new news tomorrow :)

The Nursery

Well we have pretty much finished up Bryson's room with the exception of the odd & end things. I just love to go and sit in his room & look! It's my new favorite room in the house!

The before...well its not technically the true before because we had already painted the walls & added the furniture in

His bed & monkey bedding

The painted letters from Aunt April & Uncle Jared

The letters over his bed

I made this for less than $5 :)

His Monkey Mural <3 A huge thanks to our friend Damian Holder! He hand painted the monkeys & the tree on the wall. This picture just does not do it justice! We couldn't be happier with the mural!

His curtains made by Pam Temple. We couldn't find the perfect curtains, so I decided to take the bed skirt & have the back that is against the wall made into curtains. They turned out so good & of course match better than any other curtains we could of found!

Our comfy glider & ottoman (in half of the picture) thanks to my sweet Aunt Laura & Uncle Bert. Of course Mr. Elmer loves the glider! Every time one of us sits in it Elmer thinks he should too! Luckily there will be plenty of room for Mommy/Daddy, Bryson & Elmer. I mean how could you not just love that face??