It has been tradition ever since Zachary was a newborn to rock him to sleep at bedtime. This has continued pretty much every night of his little life. He's come to expect it. So when I say it's time for bed, he says "Rocking chair?" Yep, the good ol' rocking chair is where you'll find us saying our bedtime prayers and singing a few songs. "Jesus Loves Me", "Jesus Loves the Little Children", "You are My Sunshine", and "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" particularly.
Tonight when I got to the last song, he joined in with me. It was like a little duet. Definitely a special moment for me. I do think that Zach has gotten the Gray music gene. He loves to dance and listen to music. I've even considered getting him his own drum set in the future so he can be like his Uncle Ben and play for the worship team. (I know, I'm setting myself up for a headache, but as long as we get a house with a basement and I can stick them down there, I'll be good. :) I did grow up listening to them being banged on for most of my life.)
After we go through the routine he lays his head on my shoulder and we rock away. Then I switch to cradling him. I love looking at his peaceful face as he starts to doze off. For about 20 minutes I'll rock and then lay him in his bed with his monkey, blanket, and cup. There he'll sleep the whole night through, which I am VERY thankful for.
And there you have it, a special moment that I look forward to every night. It's mama/Zach time during the week and on the weekends Jeff rocks him for his special time. It will never get old!
Thursday, August 2, 2012
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
It's Been a While...
Almost two years ago I wrote on this blog...before now the purpose was the update each week how Zachary was growing inside of me. Then I wrote out his birth story. Now that baby has become a toddler - 2 years old or 26 months to be exact - and he talks up a storm. Ever since he started coming to school with me back in December of '11 he has learned so much and his vocabulary has grown immensely. He talks in sentences and I'm finding it so fun to have conversations with him. I'm really proud of the little man he's growing in to.
I know I say this all the time, at least to myself, but I wish I were more of a writer and could keep a blog. This time I hope to keep that promise to myself and keep up with this. I might not be interesting to some, but at least I'll have down "the zany things Zach says!" or just fun stories involving him. :)
*On the way to the airport at the beginning of July, Zach was in the car with Rick and Laura and his cousin Anthony. They were stopped at a light and he looks over and says "Oh wow! Monkeys!" Laura looked over and saw a couple African American men in their car. Now, this is the first time he's ever said anything like this and we certainly don't encourage it, but it was funny because he was associating the color of the two. His little brain made a connection. Since then, thankfully, this has not happened again!
*The other night during bedtime prayers, we finished with "Thank you, Jesus. Love you. Amen." Zach says, "Zach do it." He starts at the beginning, "Dear Jesus, thank you for mama, daddy, etc." Then says, "Thank you, Jesus. Love you. Bye." We cracked up laughing because he was totally serious when he said it and had gotten the ending of the prayer mixed up with how we end our phone calls with Daddy. :)
As days go by I'm reminded more and more of how time passes by so quickly. The days are slipping through my fingers of the time I have to enjoy Zachary before he won't need or want me to rock him to sleep, dress him, brush his teeth, or prepare his food. I know I'll always be his mama but I don't want to see him grow up! :)
I know I say this all the time, at least to myself, but I wish I were more of a writer and could keep a blog. This time I hope to keep that promise to myself and keep up with this. I might not be interesting to some, but at least I'll have down "the zany things Zach says!" or just fun stories involving him. :)
*On the way to the airport at the beginning of July, Zach was in the car with Rick and Laura and his cousin Anthony. They were stopped at a light and he looks over and says "Oh wow! Monkeys!" Laura looked over and saw a couple African American men in their car. Now, this is the first time he's ever said anything like this and we certainly don't encourage it, but it was funny because he was associating the color of the two. His little brain made a connection. Since then, thankfully, this has not happened again!
*The other night during bedtime prayers, we finished with "Thank you, Jesus. Love you. Amen." Zach says, "Zach do it." He starts at the beginning, "Dear Jesus, thank you for mama, daddy, etc." Then says, "Thank you, Jesus. Love you. Bye." We cracked up laughing because he was totally serious when he said it and had gotten the ending of the prayer mixed up with how we end our phone calls with Daddy. :)
As days go by I'm reminded more and more of how time passes by so quickly. The days are slipping through my fingers of the time I have to enjoy Zachary before he won't need or want me to rock him to sleep, dress him, brush his teeth, or prepare his food. I know I'll always be his mama but I don't want to see him grow up! :)
Monday, September 13, 2010
Zachary's Birth Story
(It's 3.5 months overdue but I've been meaning to get this written down for a long time.) :)
On the night of May 17 I was as nervous as could be. I was told that the hospital would be calling me between the hours of 4-6am to let me know when we could go the hospital for my scheduled induction. I went to bed that night but woke up at 2am and couldn't fall back asleep. At 4 my eyes never left my phone and I kept asking Jeff what was taking them so long in calling. At 5 I called them to see if they knew yet. The lady said she was going down her list and had to wait until a room opened up. I decided to get a bowl of cereal because I knew it was the last thing I would be eating. Finally at 5:30 we got the call to be at the hospital at 8. I didn't even bother trying to sleep anymore because I knew I wouldn't, so I got in the shower and got ready. The entire time I was nauseas.
We got everything ready to go and left at 7:15. The whole way there I had several things running through my mind. I couldn't believe this was finally happening and I was so excited but so nervous! I kept looking at Jeff knowing that it would be the last time we were a family of two. I could barely talk because if I did I would start to cry. The drive wasn't long and before I knew it we were there. We parked the van and made our way to the labor and delivery floor.
We got checked in and we made our way to our room. When we got inside, I was hooked up to an IV and changed into my gown. Around 8:30 the nurse came in to start the pitocin. And then we waited. And waited. I went in at 3cm dilated and 50% and I went in thinking it was going to be a quick process but man was it taking long to deliver this baby. :) For most of the day I pretty much slept as much as I could, watched tv, or was online. I had really nice nurses who would come in and check up on me very frequently. It made the whole experience comfortable. Around 4 I decided to get the epidural. I could've waited longer but what the heck, I wasn't doing anything else. Haha!
A couple hours after the epidural I had dilated to 4 and around 7 that night they broke my water and I quickly dilated to 5 with 80% effacement. The breaking of the water I felt a little bit but Jeff said there was a huge gush of water. TMI, maybe, but I want to remember all details. :) A couple hours later I dilated to 7 and 90% effaced. I was starting to feel more pressure as the baby moved down more. Around 10:30 I told Jeff that I was starting to feel the contractions and the need to push. He called the nurse in and she said they would check again. At that time I was finally a 10 and 100%.
By 11:30 I was told I could start pushing. I was sooo ready! Jeff held one leg and a nurse the other. Everyone was encouraging me to push and even when I felt like I couldn't anymore I knew there was the strength in me to do it. I was also determined to have my baby on May 18 because it was my due date and I have a thing about even numbers. :) A couple minutes before midnight I was telling myself to keep going and felt that the next one would be it. Nope.
I gave a couple more pushes and my doctor said to look up and watch my baby come out. By 12:15am on May 19 I heard Jeff say "It's a boy!!!!!!" We also couldn't believe he had hair! I was so so happy and so so relieved. I would've been happy with a boy or girl but I was really hoping for a boy. I got my wish. Zachary Michael had arrived! We both started crying and I was so tired from pushing that I didn't even hear his first cries. The nurses immediately took him to be cleaned, weighed, and measured. He weighed 8lbs 9oz and measured 21 1/2 inches long. I told Jeff to go over and look at his son while the doctors were working on delivering the placenta (which hurt sooo bad and no one ever told me). ;)
Finally an hour later I was able to hold my baby boy for the first time and I just stared. He was beautiful. Completely 100% and perfect. I was in love from the moment we made eye contact. I was exhausted but couldn't sleep because I was running on adrenaline. A couple hours later we were moved over to recovery. It was all a surreal feeling of being a mom and finally having this baby that I had carried and dreamed about for the last 9 months. But it was real. And I was loving it.
The next couple of days included many visitors and very little sleep. I was so glad to go home but very nervous (again) to be by ourselves without any help. I mean, we didn't know what we were doing! But it went very well for a first night. I've gotten used to the lack of sleep and Zach is growing like a weed. Tall like his daddy and cute like his mommy...right?! :)
From there up until now we have learned sooo much and are still learning. Being a mom is the best job in the world and I catch myself thinking about him several times a day. Zachary is a great baby and we are spoiled. I love being his mom and hope that we can always provide a safe and loving environment for him to grow up in. May he never forget that he is loved by us and many others. Our prayer is to raise him up to be a wonderful man of God who knows the Lord at an early age and continues to walk with Him for the rest of his life. Of course we'll we can't do it all ourselves and count on the help of our family and friends.
Praise God from Whom ALL blessings flow.
On the night of May 17 I was as nervous as could be. I was told that the hospital would be calling me between the hours of 4-6am to let me know when we could go the hospital for my scheduled induction. I went to bed that night but woke up at 2am and couldn't fall back asleep. At 4 my eyes never left my phone and I kept asking Jeff what was taking them so long in calling. At 5 I called them to see if they knew yet. The lady said she was going down her list and had to wait until a room opened up. I decided to get a bowl of cereal because I knew it was the last thing I would be eating. Finally at 5:30 we got the call to be at the hospital at 8. I didn't even bother trying to sleep anymore because I knew I wouldn't, so I got in the shower and got ready. The entire time I was nauseas.
We got everything ready to go and left at 7:15. The whole way there I had several things running through my mind. I couldn't believe this was finally happening and I was so excited but so nervous! I kept looking at Jeff knowing that it would be the last time we were a family of two. I could barely talk because if I did I would start to cry. The drive wasn't long and before I knew it we were there. We parked the van and made our way to the labor and delivery floor.
We got checked in and we made our way to our room. When we got inside, I was hooked up to an IV and changed into my gown. Around 8:30 the nurse came in to start the pitocin. And then we waited. And waited. I went in at 3cm dilated and 50% and I went in thinking it was going to be a quick process but man was it taking long to deliver this baby. :) For most of the day I pretty much slept as much as I could, watched tv, or was online. I had really nice nurses who would come in and check up on me very frequently. It made the whole experience comfortable. Around 4 I decided to get the epidural. I could've waited longer but what the heck, I wasn't doing anything else. Haha!
A couple hours after the epidural I had dilated to 4 and around 7 that night they broke my water and I quickly dilated to 5 with 80% effacement. The breaking of the water I felt a little bit but Jeff said there was a huge gush of water. TMI, maybe, but I want to remember all details. :) A couple hours later I dilated to 7 and 90% effaced. I was starting to feel more pressure as the baby moved down more. Around 10:30 I told Jeff that I was starting to feel the contractions and the need to push. He called the nurse in and she said they would check again. At that time I was finally a 10 and 100%.
By 11:30 I was told I could start pushing. I was sooo ready! Jeff held one leg and a nurse the other. Everyone was encouraging me to push and even when I felt like I couldn't anymore I knew there was the strength in me to do it. I was also determined to have my baby on May 18 because it was my due date and I have a thing about even numbers. :) A couple minutes before midnight I was telling myself to keep going and felt that the next one would be it. Nope.
I gave a couple more pushes and my doctor said to look up and watch my baby come out. By 12:15am on May 19 I heard Jeff say "It's a boy!!!!!!" We also couldn't believe he had hair! I was so so happy and so so relieved. I would've been happy with a boy or girl but I was really hoping for a boy. I got my wish. Zachary Michael had arrived! We both started crying and I was so tired from pushing that I didn't even hear his first cries. The nurses immediately took him to be cleaned, weighed, and measured. He weighed 8lbs 9oz and measured 21 1/2 inches long. I told Jeff to go over and look at his son while the doctors were working on delivering the placenta (which hurt sooo bad and no one ever told me). ;)
Finally an hour later I was able to hold my baby boy for the first time and I just stared. He was beautiful. Completely 100% and perfect. I was in love from the moment we made eye contact. I was exhausted but couldn't sleep because I was running on adrenaline. A couple hours later we were moved over to recovery. It was all a surreal feeling of being a mom and finally having this baby that I had carried and dreamed about for the last 9 months. But it was real. And I was loving it.
The next couple of days included many visitors and very little sleep. I was so glad to go home but very nervous (again) to be by ourselves without any help. I mean, we didn't know what we were doing! But it went very well for a first night. I've gotten used to the lack of sleep and Zach is growing like a weed. Tall like his daddy and cute like his mommy...right?! :)
From there up until now we have learned sooo much and are still learning. Being a mom is the best job in the world and I catch myself thinking about him several times a day. Zachary is a great baby and we are spoiled. I love being his mom and hope that we can always provide a safe and loving environment for him to grow up in. May he never forget that he is loved by us and many others. Our prayer is to raise him up to be a wonderful man of God who knows the Lord at an early age and continues to walk with Him for the rest of his life. Of course we'll we can't do it all ourselves and count on the help of our family and friends.
Praise God from Whom ALL blessings flow.
Monday, May 17, 2010
The Night Before...
Every emotion is hitting me right now:
*excitement - after 10 months of carrying this little miracle, the time has come for us to see him or her!
*nervousness - not sure what to expect or how it will all go, but trusting God completely!
*anxious - wanting to get to the hospital and get it started!
*fear - that I won't know what to do or do it well!
*happiness - our family of two is becoming three!
I think back to September 2009 when I first peed on a stick and the pink lines showed up. =) I was feeling all of these emotions back then. It's been a roller coaster of a pregnancy - from being sick the first half and then finally getting to the third trimester only to have that be the hardest and longest. It seems like it took "forever" but it's finally time for Baby Rot to be welcomed into the world.
Jeff and I are ready, as ready as we can be. Please pray for us as we begin this journey, another chapter in our lives together.
We love you all!
*excitement - after 10 months of carrying this little miracle, the time has come for us to see him or her!
*nervousness - not sure what to expect or how it will all go, but trusting God completely!
*anxious - wanting to get to the hospital and get it started!
*fear - that I won't know what to do or do it well!
*happiness - our family of two is becoming three!
I think back to September 2009 when I first peed on a stick and the pink lines showed up. =) I was feeling all of these emotions back then. It's been a roller coaster of a pregnancy - from being sick the first half and then finally getting to the third trimester only to have that be the hardest and longest. It seems like it took "forever" but it's finally time for Baby Rot to be welcomed into the world.
Jeff and I are ready, as ready as we can be. Please pray for us as we begin this journey, another chapter in our lives together.
We love you all!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
My Pregnancy - 39 Weeks
Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
My Pregnancy: 38 Weeks
Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 6.8 pounds and she's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). She has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.
Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)
Wondering what color your baby's eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she's born with brown eyes, they'll likely stay brown. If she's born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she's 9 months old. That's because a child's irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she's born, but they usually won't get "lighter" or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
My Pregnancy - 37 Weeks
Your baby is now considered "full term," even though your due date is three weeks away. If you go into labor now, his lungs will likely be mature enough to fully adjust to life outside the womb. (Some babies need a bit more time, though. So if you're planning to have a repeat c-section, for example, your practitioner will schedule it for no earlier than 39 weeks unless there's a medical reason to intervene earlier.)
Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.
Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.
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