What A PAIN!!!

So I have decided that it ROCKS to have a baby in the fall!! :) I was not thinking that when it was 105 degrees all summer...but now I am LOVING IT!! The weather is really starting to be amazing, football season is in full gear, and all of that other fun stuff that comes with this time of the year. I cannot wait to get out more in the next few months, enjoy the wonderful weather, and just be outside. :) Thinking ahead...we are also excited that we get to dress the little man up for Halloween, his first Thanksgiving and Christmas!! :) YIPPEE!! So much fun!! :)

So I had a pretty awesome pregnancy, a really good labor and delivery, quick recovery, and have had a very well behaved baby to date. I guess that my luck was bound to run at at some point. HA! :) I think it ran out about a week after delivery when all my pain meds wore off. :) Gotta love it! I had some pretty challenging things that crept up like an allergic reaction to those horrible mesh undies they make you wear in the hospital, night sweats, and low milk supply. And all at one time! HA! Where is the love? :)

I would say the most challenging thing that I have dealt with in the past couple of weeks is some pretty miserable back pain. What in the world? UGH! I am pretty sure it is either from the epidural, the actual pushing during labor, or a combo of both. Boo. :( Once the pain killers wore off after the first week or so, I just started to feel a lot of pain on my right side (hip, lower back, etc). I thought that was interesting since my right leg was the one that did not go numb after the epidural. I thought it was connected to that somehow. I started limping all around and that change in posture caused additional aches and pains. After a few days of that new "walk", the pain spread to my entire lower back. Over the course of the past two weeks since I have been having the pain, it has not really gotten any better at all. I have tried ice, heat, Bengay, Motrin, etc. My OB's office just said that it is common and might take up to 6 weeks to go away, and that we will discuss it more when I come in for my 6 week post partum visit (if it is not gone). Apparently this happens more often then not, however, I don't think I knew that pre-labor. :( Boo again. :(

Since waiting 6 weeks was unacceptable to me, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I definitely took the advice above about ice for the swelling, Motrin, and Bengay, etc. However, I also went to get a massage, and started going to the chiropractor. Friday is my 3rd visit to a female chiro that specializes in pregnancy, and I am PRAYING I get some relief when this is all over. It is pretty debilitating as it is about all that I can do to just spend a half hour walking around Target. I spend most of my days in the sitting or lying position...and that is just NOT me. I look forward to the day that I can take Braden on walks and just enjoy being outside more. Hopefully it will be here sooner than later. I have to remind myself that I am still healing (since I am just 3 weeks post delivery)....but that is not easy for me either. It is something that I have had to learn quickly. :)

I hope to post some better news in the very near future. I am praying for a full recovery! Pain, pain..please go away! :)

So Very Blessed!!!

This is going to be a super short post today. :)

As I sat outside in the rocking chair with Braden today, I thought about how very blessed I am. WOW!! It just hits me at such random times. I cannot believe how immensely blessed I am to be married to the most amazing man I could have ever asked for. And along that same note, I cannot believe I have this precious son that I get to take care of. What an honor to be a wife and mom to both of them!! Thank you Lord!! :)

That is all from me today! :) Just had to share... :)

Two Weeks of Parenthood...

So we survived the first 2 weeks of parenthood!! YAY!! :) It has been a huge learning curve but a fun one at that!! :) We have so enjoyed watching all of the new things that Braden does-the cooing, the smiling, the fact that his neck is so strong and he can lift it everywhere, etc!! SO NEAT to watch this little person grow up!! :) He is so funny to watch during tummy time, as he moves along the mat like a little inchworm! HA! :) It really does crack us up. :)

He makes us smile on a daily basis and he really is such a joy in our lives. He is pretty easy to read, and really only seems to cry when something is wrong. Overall, he is really content and sleeps well, eats well, etc. What more could you want, right? :) We hope all of this continues b. c we know that we have been blessed in a HUGE way so far! :)

We took him to his 2 week check up on Thursday, and they just wanted him to be back at his birth weight by then (6 lbs 13 oz). But lo and behold...he was already 7 lbs 5 oz!! Love it!! :) We were super excited and so was the pediatrician! :) She said we can actually let him sleep as long as he wants at night since he is gaining weight so well. We don't have to wake him to eat...which means we are sometimes getting as many as 5 hours of sleep in one stretch, and that is awesome!! :) That part is going really well! :)

We were blessed again this weekend to have family and friends in town to hang out with us. Chris's mom and his godmother both came into Austin to play for the weekend. We loved having them here...and they got to love on Braden for a long time as well. :) We got to go out on a date on Friday and Saturday nights again..which was a HUGE treat! :) We headed to Alamo Drafthouse on Friday night to have dinner and see "WhiteOut". Pretty freaky movie for sure. Then on Sat night we went down to a fun new place in Austin called Chedd's (which is a gourmet grilled cheese place). Very fun!! :) We grubbed it up and then headed to see "Extract". Hysterical!! Seriously laughed! :) We were able to go to church again on Sunday as well...which we were very grateful for! :) Then we came home to some of my mother in law's famous meatloaf. YUM!!! :) Thank you Jan and Joyce for being here this weekend!! We loved hosting you...and thanks so much for taking such good care of Braden! :)

Here are a couple of pics of the past few days with our little man....

Happy 2 Week Birthday Braden!! :)
Some more bath fun.....he really gets into baths these days! HA! :)
Just hanging out watching the lights.. :)
Good sleep...
More sleep with those hands raised up beside his head...he loves that position. :)
Hanging out on the fun playtime mat...

28 Months!!

We got to celebrate another anniversary date this past weekend! YAY!! :) Saturday the 5th was our 28th month anniversary, and we were so excited to be able to go out and celebrate with our monthly date! WHOOP! :) We thought those might be over once the little one got here...but Mom and Dad were amazing and kept Braden while they were in town this weekend. YIPPEE! :) Thank you, thank you! :)

We headed to Perry's Steakhouse downtown and grubbed it up!! That place is so stinkin good!! Hello please! :) We got some awesome chow and just enjoyed being together and catching up. It seems like when you have a newborn that you really don't have much time to catch up with your spouse. HA! :) So that was lots of fun to reconnect out on the town. :)

We had to take a couple of pics to remember the night (of course). Gotta record those memories! :)

Moms Are Such A Huge Help!

We were very fortunate to have my mom here for a week and a 1/2!! YAY!! We loved it! :) It was so fun to have her, and she was a HUGE help!! WHOOP! :) I felt like she took care of everything for us...and now that she is gone, I have realized that she really did! HA! :) She cooked and cleaned a TON, and she kept Braden so Chris and I could nap whenever we wanted (we were very sleep deprived that first week!!). :) She fed him and changed him...and loved on him. And that was the best part of all!! :) So we owe her BIG time for all that she did for us. WOW!! :)

My dad came in over Labor Day weekend to pick my mom up and take her back home. It was great to see him too, and we enjoyed hanging out with Papa Jet! :) Chris and I were able to go out on a date on Friday and Saturday nights! AWESOME!! Having a baby makes you appreciate date nights with your spouse sooo much more!! :) We got to go out to dinners and run our errands, etc. It was so nice to just get out for a couple of hours. They also kept Braden so we could go to church on Sunday too...which was such a treat. We got to see lots of friends and just being able to be social again so soon was a big help!! :)

Thank you so much Mom and Dad...for all you guys did the weekend of his birth...and the past week and a half. YOU ROCK!! :) Love you! :)

The First Ten Days....

We are back!! :) So sorry that we have been deliquent at posting pics since Braden arrived!! :) I thought we did a pretty good job getting those first few pics up but then 10 days passed, and blogging got pushed aside to take care of the little one. :) We are trying to get back into the swing of things at the Bugbee house...and everyone knows that pics are a big part of that! HA! :)

Braden is 10 days old today...and if things continue to fly by like this then he will be starting Kindergarten tomorrow!! Sheesh!!

We are still LOVING up on him and all of the super cute things that he does. :) We can spend hours just sitting and watching his funny expressions...and talking about the new things that he is interested in every day. :) We are having such a ball!! :)

Here are a few pics of his first week of life.. :)

Hanging out with Daddy at the hospital. Hmm...isn't that my bed they are laying in? HA!

Getting dressed to get ready to leave the hospital....
Waiting to be discharged......

Braden's first time in his new carseat! He loves it! :)

Car seat close up...
Loading up the car and ready to get to the house...

Finally...arrival at home!! WHOOP!
Lots of super fun family there to greet us! :)

Welcome Home cake...yum! :)

Braden's cute little wreath all complete with his stats... :)

First pic of Daddy and Braden hanging out in the house...

Braden loves his swing....


And he loves his Boppy lounger... :)

And he REALLY loves to sleep! :)

And sleep some more... :)
More pics with Dad...so we look alike? :)

More close ups....

Go tummy time!! He is starting to like this more. :)
Hanging out with Mom...........

First bath at home...he loves to have his hair washed....

Post bath time... :)

More pics to come!! :)

I Believe What You Told Me Now....

Hello there!! Well it has been a little over a week since our little one joined the family..and I feel like I have been on a whirlwind tour of how to be a mom. :) HA! It has been a little overwhelming at times (as I am sure many of you new parents can agree with)....but after awhile you start to feel like you are picking things up. That is the good part! :) It is amazing how motherly instincts that you never knew you had just seem to kick in. :) Praise the Lord for that! :)

And I have been AMAZED at what an AWESOME dad Chris is. WOW!! Don't get me wrong..I always knew that he would rock at this new role but he has blown me away. What a blessing to have a husband that helps out with every little thing for our baby. It has spared my nerves for sure..and he is so cute with Braden. I love how he has conversations with him...and always wants to spend time doing things for him and with him. Chris-you are a wonderful man and a wonderful father!! I am so excited about going on this incredible journey of raising our son with you. :)

We got so much advice before Braden got here...and so many things that people said we would not understand until we had a child of our own. Ok, I believe you all now! HA! :) It is all so true! :)

Here are some of the things that folks told us..that we did not know until now..

1) You would do anything for this child.
2) You never get to sleep...but somehow it all works out.
3) It takes forever to get anything done, and you wonder how your days can fly by at the same time.
4) You are instantly in love from the minute that you meet your precious baby.
5) Breastfeeding is very emotional for the first couple of weeks..no matter what your expectations are before the birth.
6) You have no idea how much your life will change when this little one enters your world, and at the same time, it is such a wonderful blessing!
7) No matter what time you leave, you are always late! HA! :)
8) Someone seems to always be criticizing or questioning your parenting skills-either out loud or silently (just b.c they might do it a different way).
9) Nap when the baby naps!! Easier said than done but so very true.
10) Parenting is definitely hard work...and it is the best job you will ever love!! :)

We love you Braden..and we are so excited for all of the memories ahead, and for all that you will teach us! :)