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Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Fun at Gram and Pop's

Knox has been to Gram and Pop's several different times since he's been born and while he's not quite big enough to stay overnight without his mama like his big sisters do, we still love to go visit everyone and get spoiled by Gram and Pop!  In no particular order, these are a few pics from our last few trips...

the kiddos with Marget and Mama Mac
I'm so thankful they know their great-grandmothers!  What a blessing!

Khloe telling Marget something very important!

I think it's safe to say Marget's pretty proud of her great-grandson!

Telling secrets!
Pop's girl!


Reading with Mama Mac

Gram and Pop with their "grand cuties"





Bath time is always fun at Grams!


We also always try to go see Mac at the nursing home.  The girls like to go because they know he'll share some of his snacks...potato chips & Milky Way.

Khloe singing "Jesus loves the Little Children" to Mac






We are so blessed to live close enough to Gram and Pop that we get to see them fairly often. They are my lifesavers and always willing to help out with the kids when I need them and for that I'm so very thankful. The girls LOVE to go stay at their house and honestly I do too because Gram is really good at spoiling us all! : )  I guess that what Gram's are for though!

Friday, August 2, 2013

Knox at 3 months

It's hard to believe that we've had our sweet Knox for over 3 months now! He's growing so fast and I guess since he's our last I wish now more than ever that I could make time stand still and just keep all of my babies little forever!  The girls were both really good babies but Knox is a little dream baby! He's so easy going and has been a great eater and sleeper from day 1! Occasionally, I forget we have him because he's so quiet and laid back. He is such a blessing and brings so much joy to our lives. Not to mention, his sisters are CRAZY about him!!

A few things about our handsome little man at 3 months:

-He is a great sleeper!  From the time we brought him home from the hospital he was going 4 hours between feedings and even then, more times than not, I had to wake him up to feed him! Both of the girls had their days and nights mixed up so I spent several sleepless night up with them.  Knox, thankfully, never had that problem and slept for 3-4 hour stretches since he was born.  He started sleeping through the night at about 9 weeks and now is sleeping from about 9pm to between 6 and 7am!  I am one happy mama!! Occasionally if he breaks out of his swaddle he'll wake up but all I have to do is swaddle him back up tight and put his passy back in & he's out in 2 seconds!
10 days old


 
-He LOVES to be swaddled and that's the only way he'll fall asleep and stay asleep on his own! I love me a little baby burrito! At night I swaddle him and hold him for just a minute or two before laying him in his crib and he'll fall asleep on his own.

-He sleeps in his room in his crib at night and naps in his swing during the day.

-At his 2 month check up, he was up from 8lbs 15oz  and 21.5 inches at birth to 13lbs 7oz and 24.5 inches! Growing like a little weed!!

-He's a great eater and will nurse every 3.5-4 hours during the day.  I love nursing and am thankful I am able to and that I've not had any complications with him.  He takes a bottle just fine too!

-In just the last week or two he's found his hands.  He'll hold them up and just stare at them before trying to stuff the whole thing in his mouth!


-He loves bath time and enjoys being in the water!




-He is not a huge fan of tummy time but is getting better at holding his head up while on his belly!  He really likes sitting in his Bumbo seat though.


-He had his first ear infection at about 2.5 months but after a round of antibiotics he was good to go! Thanks to his big sisters for sharing their germs! : )

-He has become a good little traveler.  When he was a newborn, he wasn't a fan of the car seat and wouldn't sleep in the car hardly at all unless he was swaddled; he would just scream which doesn't make for pleasant car rides : ) Now that he's bigger he will ride and sleep without being swaddled but for longer trips I'll still tuck a swaddling blanket around him so he's nice & snug and he'll snooze away!
-He is always full of smiles and is such a happy boy!


-He loves his sisters!  Kinsey is very good and motherly with him and is a huge help to me while Khloe, on the other hand, is very sweet and has good intentions but not always so gentle.  And just in case you weren't aware, 2.5 year olds have no concept of personal space! I have to constantly remind Khloe to get out of his face!
In their matching outfits Nana made them!  Too cute!

Just a few of him all dressed up for church! He's so handsome!!



His monthly pictures!


2 months
We are completely in love with our sweet little boy and look forward to watching him continue to grow!

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Kinsey and Khloe meet Knox!

We had a great 1st night in the hospital once we finally got a postpartum room.  I had Knox around 7pm and they didn't have a room available to move us to until about midnight.   Knox stayed with us until then before they took him to the nursery to bathe him good. Ryan and I took advantage of Knox being in the nursery, got settled in our room, and zonked out! I'm not sure how long he was gone but he was asleep when the nursery nurse brought him back to us so we all got several hours of sleep & he didn't even make a peep! It was wonderful!
All nice and clean after his first bath! His nurse spiked his hair!


Pete & Nana made it a little over halfway before stopping and spending the night in Chattanooga Friday night. I think they were very eager to meet their new grandson because they made it to Nashville early Saturday morning & came straight to the hospital! Of course they fell in love instantly like the rest of us!




We were blessed to have the wonderful Aunt Callie stay with the girls Friday night while I was in labor and it was nice to know they were in good hands.  Callie, Gram & Pop brought the girls all decked out in their BIG sister shirts to meet Knox around lunch time on Saturday.  They were both so good and sweet to him and it just melted my heart to see all of my babies together and know that our family is complete. I'm one blessed mama!  


Checking him out (or probably poking him in the eye)!
Sweet baby!



Ready to head HOME!


Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Knox's Birth Day!

So Knox will be 3 months old in about a week and I'm just now getting around to writing his birth story...at least I have 3 cute excuses : )  I had the privilege of having my wonderful friend and photographer, Mandy, take pictures during labor and delivery.  I'm so thankful she was willing to capture these priceless images for us.

Before we get to the big day, just a little history of the week leading up to Mr. Knox's birth.

On Thursday, April 18th, I had my weekly appointment with the midwife and had been having some contractions so I kind of expected to be dilated a little more than 1cm (which is what I was the week before) but was shocked when she told me I was dilated to 4cm's!!  I was absolutely positive leaving my appointment with the midwife & being 4cm's that he was coming soon, like in the next 24-48 hours. Boy, was I WRONG!  I was so ready & had my hopes up all weekend but my little man just wasn't ready to come. That Saturday I walked like 5 miles hoping it would get things going but to no avail. Sunday, I was an emotional basket case (poor Ryan) and by Tuesday (my actual due date) I had come to the conclusion that I was going to be pregnant FOREVER!  Ryan normally travels quite a bit for work but worked from home all week just waiting on Knox. I was nervous about me going into labor & him being out of town. Needless to say, it was a LONG week.

Finally, Thursday, April 25th rolled around and I had my 40 week checkup. (Mind you, an appointment I didn't think I was going to have to keep because I really thought that he was going to come by then.) Ryan went with me and while I was really disappointed to find out I hadn't changed much, still dilated 4 cm's and about 60% effaced, I was thankful Knox's heartbeat was still good and strong and everything with him was fine. I had already decided to be induced at 41 weeks, if need be, which would have been the following Tuesday so the end was in sight, although I really didn't want to wait that long.  I agreed to let the midwife strip my membranes in hopes that would jump start labor and she also told me I was a great candidate for a cocktail known to get contractions started within 2 hrs of taking it.  She gave me the recipe and warned us to have our bags packed and to be ready to head to the hospital if I decided to try it because it had never failed any of her patients! On the way home from my appointment, Ryan and I discussed whether or not I should try the cocktail and we both decided to wait to see if anything happened that night and try to get some rest.

Friday, April 26th, I woke up still pregnant and was DONE! I told Ryan that I was headed to Walmart to pick up the things for the cocktail and Knox was getting his eviction notice! The cocktail called for 1 glass of champagne (or anything fizzy) mixed with 4 tbsp of almond butter and 4 tbsp of castor oil. I passed on the champagne since I don't drink and opted for a strawberry limeade from Sonic. That didn't sound too appetizing mixed with almond butter so I mixed the almond butter and castor oil, took it by the spoonful, and chased it down with my limeade.  I managed to get it all down and only gagged a few times. I was also a little worried about the side effects of the castor oil so I only took 3 tbsp each of the almond butter and castor oil and, honestly, I don't know if I could have done another tbsp! I laid down with Khloe for a nap in hopes of getting a little rest in case it did work. An hour rolled around--no contractions. Two hours passed by and still no contractions.  I began thinking that I would be the one patient who the cocktail wouldn't work for! About 2:30, I got up from resting and almost immediately after getting up I noticed a few contractions within a decent amount of time of each other.  They kept coming so I decided I probably needed to start timing them. I told Ryan I was starting to have contractions but was trying not to get my hopes up but after about 30-40 minutes of timing contractions and them being 5-6 minutes apart, I realized I was finally in labor and we probably needed to start getting ready to go to the hospital. The cocktail had worked!! We had a about a 45 minute drive to Vanderbilt in Nashville so I didn't want to waste time. Around 3:30 my friend Rhonda called to check on us and offered to come by to stay with the girls. By the time they got to the house a little before 4pm the contractions were coming about 3-4 minutes apart and were getting much more intense; I was having to stop and breath through them.  In between trying to finish packing, multiple potty breaks (the castor oil had set in), and telling the girls good bye I kept telling Ryan, "We really need to go." I was getting more and more uncomfortable and just prayed Ryan wouldn't be delivering our baby on the side of the interstate!

We made it to the hospital about 5pm and Ryan said he was never so relieved than when we pulled in the parking garage because he knew he wasn't going to have to deliver a baby by himself!!  Between the parking garage and making it to triage we had to stop a few times for contractions but we finally made it.  I had to sign a few forms before they could admit me. I made it about halfway through them but Ryan had to finish them because I could not concentrate! About 5:15pm, after getting my lovely gown on in between increasingly intense contractions, the midwife checked me and I was dilated 6 cm's so on to labor and delivery I went.  It was officially baby time!!

While the nurses were getting me all set up, checking my blood pressure, Knox's heartbeat, & asking a million questions, Mandy showed up and started snapping away with her camera!    





 About 6:20pm I asked to be checked again because I could feel Knox moving down and was becoming VERY uncomfortable so my nurse tracked down my midwife and 10 minutes later...
 ...after watching me through a contraction she informed me I wasn't quite ready yet. She told us she would be back in a few minutes and would check me then.  I must say I was a bit perturbed at the time but she knew what she was doing. 


Anxious Gram
                                    

I was 9.5cm when the midwife checked me about 6:50pm and was really having to fight the urge to push so she said I could bear down if I needed to.  To say I was ecstatic it was pushing time would have been an understatement.  Thankfully I only had to push about 3 times before it was all over & totally worth it!
                                                                       He's HERE!
                         Knox Benton Blount - April 26th 2013 - 8lbs 15oz - 21.5 inches - 6:56 pm



Ryan didn't want to cut the umbilical cord for the girls & didn't care to with Knox either so we gave Gram the honors. As you can see, she was thrilled!!


 Daddy getting his bracelet!
                   Even though Knox was just 1oz short of being a 9 pound baby he was still my smallest!
                                                    Proud Daddy finally got his BOY!


                                                   
                                                    Pop meeting Knox for the first time!


Introducing Knox to good ole' technology just a little while after he was born to Face Time with his sisters! Khloe was more interested in trying to figure out what in the world I was wearing than in asking about her new little brother!
                                                                        

                                                                       Proud Gram
I couldn't ask for a better husband, friend, birthing coach, or father than this guy right here! Extremely blessed to call him mine & share this crazy, wonderful life with!

                         
                                                            Our 3rd little, perfect blessing!

Knox's birth was by far the fastest & easiest labor and delivery I experienced. From just 4.5 hours from the beginning of contractions to the time he was born and only 2 hours at the hospital, it couldn't have been more perfect! I feel so very blessed to have had 3 very normal, by-the-book labor & deliveries and thankful that I was able to have them all naturally. After I had Knox, I was amazed once again at just how awesome our Creator is and that He could create such a perfect little being inside of me. James 1:17, "Every good gift and perfect gift is from above." Bringing life into this world is truly a miracle & I couldn't be more grateful to God for another beautiful, healthy baby!  We are blessed beyond measure!