The Many Faces of Riley Bramlett

I could sit all day and watch our son, especially when he's first waking up. He makes the funniest faces! Daniel's grandmother kept saying I should take pictures of them, but every time he started to do them, I realized my camera was in another room, or in the diaper bag, or...you get the picture (no pun intended!). Finally, just the other day I caught him in the act! So, I'll quit babbling now and let you see some of what I get to experience on a daily basis.

Before you think I'm cruel, I don't enjoy watching my son cry, but I had to include this picture because even though I don't like to hear him cry, he's pretty cute when he does!

And now begins the pics of him waking up just the other day...

In other news, I started back to work today. I'm working half days this week and will go back full-time the day after Labor Day. I thought it would be really difficult to leave him this morning for 4 hours, but honestly it wasn't. Does that make me a bad mom?! :) First of all, I knew he was going to be with his father the whole time, so that definitely made me comfortable leaving. Also, I needed to restore a bit of "normalcy" in my life. One can only watch so much "Price is Right" before going crazy! I know my life will never be the same as it was before sweet Riley, but for me, going to work helped me to see that there are a few aspects of my life (not many!) that did not completely change when our son was born. I've never been a huge fan of change, so this whole experience has been quite an adjustment. Don't get me wrong...I absolutely adore Riley, and I wouldn't trade him for anything in the world, but motherhood is difficult and draining at times. He's completely worth all of it, of course...it's just so much more than I imagined it would be. Daniel asked me the other day when I wanted to have our next child. I quickly responded, "Not anytime soon!" lol! I definitely need some more time to adjust to this first one. Speaking of the little man...he's ready to eat, and when that time comes, it's wise not to dilly dally doing my own thing, if you know what I mean! :) More updates soon...

6 to 9

I took Riley for his 1-month well-baby visit this past Friday. Imagine my surprise when the nurse put him on the scale and I saw this...

9 pounds 12 ounces?! Woah! Daniel and I guessed he was around 8 pounds, but had no clue he was almost 10 pounds! He's also 2 inches taller now, measuring 21.5 inches. Needless to say, the doctor was quite impressed with his growth. We're so thankful that he is healthy and growing strong! Here's the cutie on the examining table at the doctor's office...

We'll go back for his 2-month appointment on September 23, and I can't wait to see how much he weighs then! Too bad he has to get 4 shots on that day... :(

One month

Yesterday Riley had his one month birthday! It is so hard to believe that a month ago our son was born! In some ways it feels like it was just yesterday, yet in others, it seems like he's been a part of our family forever! He is such a sweet boy, and honestly, a very good baby! He loves to eat...we'll go back for his one month check-up next Friday (8/28), and I can't wait to find out how much he weighs! I realize I used this picture in the last post, but I have to show you the difference a month can make!

Riley's Birthday

July 20, 2009…I like the sound of that!

That’s what I told the nurse when she asked if we had any plans the rest of Monday or Tuesday. We were taken to the labor & delivery floor where we talked with our doctor about our options. Originally she said she wanted to start an induction, but after checking to see if my body was ready for labor she told us we’d need to decide between induction and a scheduled c-section. She said if they tried to induce, I would probably be in labor for a very long time and then may end up needing a c-section in the end anyway. So, Daniel and I discussed it and decided that since Riley was in possible danger and I might end up needing a c-section anyway, we should go ahead and have one that day. So, around 4:00 pm I walked into the O.R. (yes, you read that right!) and the procedure began! Riley was born at 4:13 and I was back in the recovery room by 5:00. So, let me introduce our son…

Riley Whitlow Bramlett
Born July 20, 2009
6 lbs 1 oz
19.25 inches

And here are some more pics from the big event…

Waiting to go into the O.R.

Surprise! We get to meet our son today!

Excited and nervous daddy getting ready to come into the O.R.

Just minutes old and already praising the Lord! :) By the way, look at those hands!!!

My first time to see the precious boy up close

A small 6 lbs. 1 oz.!

My absolute favorite picture

We're going home today! Even though the outfit is WAY too big for him, daddy insisted he go home in his Arkansas Razorback onesie. :)

38 weeks

Not the best picture ever of me, but you'll read below about how I wasn't feeling well this day

Here I am on July 15^th at 38 weeks. I went to work with a horrible headache that would not go away. I tried regular strength Tylenol and even a nap at lunch, but nothing helped. I didn’t think much of it…however, in the back of my mind I thought about how I’d read that as a pregnant woman, if you have persistent headaches that won’t go away with Tylenol, you should call your doctor. I was going to my scheduled weekly appointment the next day, so I decided I’d just talk to the doctor about it then.

The next morning (Thursday) when the nurse took my blood pressure, the excitement began. It was 130/100, so since I was full-term, my doctor decided to send me to the labor & delivery assessment area to see if I had preeclampsia. After 4 hours of testing and monitoring, they sent me home and said to call if my headache didn’t go away or got worse. Friday I called because I still had the headache, so they had me come in for an appointment that afternoon. They ended up keeping me overnight at the hospital for monitoring…oh what fun it was to be hooked up to all types of machines while I tried to sleep! They decided on Saturday that I didn’t have preeclampsia, I “just” had gestational hypertension (the precursor to preclampsia). Once again, when I left, they said to call if my headache came back, but otherwise I should come back Monday morning for some more monitoring. We did not go to the hospital Sunday (halleluiah!). We got there at 8:00 Monday morning expecting to hear that everything was normal and then we'd go home to wait for Riley to decide it was time for him to enter the world. However, after being on the monitors for about 45 minutes, the nurse midwife spoke with our doctor because she was concerned about the lack of variation in Riley’s heart rate. Evidently, when babies move in the womb, their heart rate should go up 10 bpm for 10 seconds. Riley’s would go up, but then immediately go back down to what it was before he moved. The doctor was concerned about him being too lethargic, so she decided it was time to introduce him to New Orleans.

To be continued...

Fourth of July 2009

*I apologize for not updating our blog in almost 2 months! I’m going to attempt to back-track a little to bring you all up to speed.

Seeing as how I was 9 months pregnant when 4^th of July came around this year, we decided it was best not to travel, but to stay in the city and celebrate with some close friends. We began the festivities by grilling out at Thomas and Amanda Hudson’s house. Here is the meat dish we contributed to the meal…

After a delicious dinner, we headed across the river to Algiers Point to watch the New Orleans “dueling barges” fireworks show. Every July 4^th they place barges at two different locations on the Mississippi River and when the show begins, they shoot off the same fireworks at the same time. Before the show began this year, though, we had a ton of fun playing with some sparklers leftover from our wedding.

New Orleans skyline as the sun was setting

Resting after hiking up the levee!

Amanda and JT

Daniel having fun with sparklers

Amanda and JT get in on the action

And then we got creative!

And then the show began…

We had a wonderful 4^th, and we’re so excited about next year when Riley will get to see the fireworks and not just hear them! :)