The Story of Griffin

Griffin's birth was way different than Grayson's. I ended up having a c-section with Grayson after hours of pushing. I also ended up having quite a few complications afterwards, one being pretty scary, so I opted to have a scheduled c-section this time.  I know that a scheduled c-section is not for everyone, but I had the best experience with Griffin!

This was my last bump picture with Griffin. We had to leave our house at 5:15 to get to the hospital for check-in. Can I just say that it is so weird setting your alarm the night before so you can wake up & have a baby?!

We got up to our room a little before 6:00am. I changed into my beautiful hospital gown, took my contacts out, & they started pumping me with fluids through the IV. Also? We got the suite...biggest room on the floor!

The one thing I was so afraid of this time was the spinal. My OB assured me about 1,000 times that it really wouldn't be that bad but that was what I was dreading most. Ben got scrubbed up & they wheeled me back to the OR around 7:30.  I switched beds and sat up so I could get my spinal. The worst part of the whole entire delivery was the lidocaine shot they gave me right before the spinal. It burned for about 30 seconds & was just really uncomfortable, but other than that, I didn't even feel the spinal. I felt a little sick for about a minute as my blood pressure dropped right after the anesthesia, but then I was fine.

Ben came in at around 7:45 & they began the surgery. I felt so much less this time with the spinal versus the epidural. I actually had to ask the nurse if my OB had even started! That's when you know that you have a great anesthesiologist!

Griffin was born at 7:56am & he barely even made a squeak at first! The first comment my OB made when she got him out was that he was a good bit smaller than Grayson. He looked teeny!

Griffin had a little bit of an umbilical cord issue that the nurses noticed right away. The cord had been wrapped around his neck & had torn a little bit by his belly button. Apparently it was bleeding quite a bit so they had to clamp it twice to get it under control & then put silver nitrate on it to close it up. Other than that, our tiny boy was perfectly healthy!

Our first picture with our newest boy. Such a sweet moment! I could not get over how small he looked in comparison to how big Grayson was!

Ben went to the nursery with Griffin & got to show him to our parents through the window. Everyone said he had a great set of lungs! Griffin weighed 7lbs 5oz...a whole pound and a half smaller than his big brother!

 I got to really "meet" Griffin about 40 minutes later in our hospital room. He immediately nursed like a champ for about an hour & I just stared at him. There is seriously no love like the love you have for your child. Nothing compares!

It was so nice to have some alone time before everyone else came back. Ben & I both enjoyed those newborn snuggles!

 Both sets of parents were there during the surgery & met Griffin after he had eaten. These are my parents, Nana & Baba.

 These are Ben's parents, Mimi and Pops.

our first "official" picture with Griffin...he was being so sweet!

 Grayson had spent the morning with his buddy, Gray, and didn't meet Griffin until after his nap. We figured that would be the best time for him! He walked in & immediately started looking for "baby!"  When he saw that Griffin was in my lap he wanted Ben to pick him up so he could get a better view. He was SO confused as to why everyone was taking his picture.

 Grayson did so much better than I expected! He sat right next to me and kept saying "hi, baby!"

 Then? He kissed his baby brother & my heart just about melted to the floor. SO sweet!

 He loved his baby brother & thought he was really cool when he opened his present from Griffin: a weed eater! G played with that for 2 hours in our hospital room. Good shopping, Griffin.

All in all, this delivery experience was a breeze & I am so thankful that our baby boy is healthy and such a great eater! My recovery has been about 100 times easier this time around & I am so ready to be at home with both of our boys.

Thank you for all of the sweet words & prayers for our family as we transitioned into a party of 4. We are truly feeling blessed!

Welcome to the world, Griffin!

Hello! I'm here:)

Griffin Andrew May

Born on July 30, 2012 at 7:56am

7 lbs. 5oz 

20 1/4 inches

Griffin is absolutely perfect & we are in love! 

a letter for our baby boy

Dear Griffin,

It is hard for me to believe that it is already time for you to be here. Pretty soon I will be holding you in my arms! Your daddy and I love you so much already & have been crazy about you since the first moment we knew about you.

Griffin, I am so excited for you to meet your big brother. I never got the opportunity to have that brother or sister relationship & it makes me pretty giddy to know that you have a built-in best friend for life. Grayson doesn't really understand that he is getting a baby brother, but I know he will love you & teach you so many things. You boys are lucky to have one another & I pray that y'all cherish that relationship always!

We were so excited to find out you were a boy. I was even more excited when we decided on your name: Griffin Andrew. It made you seem so much more real & I could start praying for you by name.  My biggest prayer for your life is that you desire to have a relationship with the Lord. He loves you so much & has big plans for your life! I hope you know just how loved you are...always.

I can't wait to meet you & see who you look like. I can't wait to watch you develop your own little personality. I can't wait to watch you & Grayson develop a relationship and become best friends. I can't wait to hold you, kiss you, snuggle you, and love on you! 

Your big brother was the one who made me a mama & now you are making us a family of four.  I am so thankful for that! Griffin, I am sure I will tell you this a million different times throughout your life, but, I love you more than you will ever know!

Love, Mama

39 weeks with Griffin

Also known as: DONE & DONE! This is my last pregnancy update...for a while anyways:)

 Let's see some progression, shall we? It's still amazing to me that my body can stretch & grow this much...even the 2nd time around!

39 weeks with Grayson {left} and 39 weeks with Griffin. Grayson definitely sat higher up than Griffin has which was probably why I was so miserable at the end last time. Griffin is much lower & I can definitely feel the difference! 

*How far along?: 39 weeks
*How big is your baby?: the size of a watermelon. Grayson was 9lbs 1oz at 40 weeks...I am guessing that Griffin is 8lbs 12oz. Ben says 8lbs 6oz. We will find out early in the morning!

*Total weight gain?: 24 pounds total...that is exactly what I gained with Grayson. Weird.
*Sex: boy!

*Maternity clothes: I can't wait to wear real clothes again!

*Stretch marks: not yet & crossing my fingers it stays that way!

 *Movement: Griffin has pretty much run out of room. He's ready to stretch his little legs!

  *Sleep: all I've got to say is thank God for benadryl.

*Symptoms: stronger BH contractions than I've had...lots of tightness at the top of my stomach!

*Best moment this week: Spending the week with my big boy before he becomes the big brother! We also went to the hospital Saturday for my pre-op stuff. Everything is set--just have to show up at the hospital tomorrow morning!

*Food cravings: ice cream
*Labor signs: not dilated. not effaced.
*Belly button in or out: OUT.

*What I miss: is it terrible that I saw Budlight Lime-a-ritas on sale at Publix this week and could not wait to try them?! Don't answer that.

*What I'm looking forward to: meeting this sweet baby boy & introducing him to his big brother! 

Overall differences this time:

• I didn't get ridiculously swollen this time. With Grayson, I lost my ankles around 34/35 weeks and it was awful. My feet were SO swollen and hurt SO bad...this time? Not swollen at all. 
• I gained all my weight at the end of my first pregnancy & was pretty opposite this time. I gained a lot more at the beginning and then slowed down in the 3rd trimester. 
• I generally have felt better this time at the end. I'm not nearly as uncomfortable as I was with G. He was so high & it constantly felt like my ribs were about to crack in half for the last 6ish weeks.  I'm a lot more tired, but I think that comes with the "chasing around a rowdy toddler boy" territory. 
• Griffin is low.  Sometimes I literally feel like he may just fall out of me. That's something I never felt with Grayson. Lots more pressure this time!

Operation: Spoil G During His Last Week of Being An Only Child

This post could also be called A Gigantic Photo Dump. 

We hit the 1 week mark on Monday & I decided that was a pretty big deal. Not only was it a big deal because we only had a week until we meet baby brother, but it meant we only had one week left with just Grayson. Only one week left of my first baby being an only child. That's a pretty big deal & I decided that we needed to celebrate. All. Week. Long. Here is how we spent our last week as a family of 3:

We had lots of fun at G's favorite {shady} park! 

 We went on a nature walk on the neighborhood trails looking for bunnies, dogs, & fish. (The toddler was looking for those things) G wanted to hold my hand the whole time. Be still my heart.

We ended every single day with a bubble bath.

 We played baseball & threw the ball "high! high!" ...it's one of G's favorite things to do & that boy has a cannon. Seriously.

We had the best! morning! ever! & got to watch the trucks tear up our street so they can {eventually} repave.

Thursday our church had a Splash Day for the preschoolers. We met a bunch of friends there & G had a blast!  It was so hot but of course he didn't mind. I am pretty sure he played with all the water toys that were set up!

We had to finish off Splash Day with a "boo" popsicle!

 G ate pizza approximately 485783020 times because, right now, it's his absolute favorite. Next week I'm sure his favorite will be something completely different!

 Ben's "babycation" started on Friday so we decided to head down to Centennial Park & let G feed the ducks.

It combined 2 of his favorite things: animals & throwing. Great combo!

We didn't last long on the playground. It was HOT. But, really, look at those baby blues. I can't deal!

 We went next door on Friday night to eat dinner, watch the Opening Ceremony for the Olympics, & let Gray and Grayson play.

 Team USA! G loves to represent.

 Gray & Grayson had a great {as always} time running all over the place & playing with every toy in sight. We are so thankful to have the Garlington's as our neighbors!

I think our last week together as 3 was a success...I can't believe next week we will have another little boy at our house!

a room for baby Griffin

Almost two years ago I revealed this nursery on the blog.  This room began as a labor of love for our sweet firstborn boy, Grayson.  We decided to move Grayson into a new big boy room & let Griffin keep the nursery. It's one of my favorite rooms in the house! A lot of this nursery stayed the same, but we did add a few new touches just for Griffin. Here's our new baby boy's room! 

This is what you see when you walk in. The baby swing will move downstairs once we are actually home...you know, with a baby.

I love these curtains!! My mom made them when I was pregnant with Grayson & they match the crib bedding. The best feature? They have blackout lining! Seriously, new moms, invest in blackout curtains. It may just save your sanity. 

 Grayson's name was exactly the same. I really wanted to do something different, but, since so many letters are the same, we just switched a few out. Paint + wooden circles & letters from Michael's = easiest name above crib ever.

I love, love, love this crib bedding. This was our first purchase when we found out Grayson was a boy! I had this custom made by Javis Davis and I'm so sad they don't do crib bedding anymore! 

Griffin's JellyCat stuffed animal {Hugs the Bashful Pony}, a free printable from Pinterest, & the piggy bank that G picked out for his baby brother. "Hat! Hat! Hat!" Behind that piggy bank is our 2nd beloved Homedics sound machine. Besides blackout curtains, this is what I recommend to all new moms. G can now sleep through maniac dogs barking, the doorbell ringing, thunderstorms...you name it, he sleeps through it. I'm a big advocate for sound machines! 

 The stripes are my favorite part of the room & the main reason I didn't have it in me to redo this room! I'll be sad to ever see them go.

The hanging sign is new, the animals are new (and G tries to spider monkey climb his way to that giraffe every single day), and I just threw together that little monogram the other day with things I already had at home!

We really had our hearts set on a new glider for the nursery, but, we decided to save our money & keep this one. The animal prints on the wall are made by Dinky Cow.  They have lots of cute wall art for kids! I bought that side table at a local antique mall when G was closer to 1 & I love it. It's perfect for this room! We did add a lamp recently for those late night feedings...something we should have invested in the first time! 

Griffin's closet is insane. This baby boy has SO many clothes! My cousin let me borrow a ton of her newborn things & I am very curious to see if Griffin will wear them. Grayson never did! 

...and for my personal favorite little toddler touch? G put his Pooh Bear stuffed animal in the swing for the baby. Sweet big brother! 

Now all we need is little Griffin!