One Month Old

It's hard to believe that Baby Boy is already a month old! Didn't we just get bring him home from the hospital?? Alex and I are falling more in love with our sweet boy every day and thank god for blessing us with such a sweet baby. The first two weeks, he was sleeping between 6-7 hours at night but once we got home from my parents house, he was waking up every 3-4 hours with an occasional 7 hour stretch. I have learned that even a baby as young as 3-4 weeks old can be spoiled just by being held so much and as much as I wanted to just hold him ALL DAY, I was afraid that we were already spoiling him. Don't get me wrong, I still hold him a lot but I have learned to just put him down and let him go to sleep. He continues to nurse on average every 3 hours and at first I would set my alarm to wake him up to feed at night but stopped that and just fed him when he was hungry. He'll go 4 to 5 hours during the day sometimes but mostly every 3 hours. He had a doctor's appointment at 3 weeks which was his 2 week check up and he weighed 9lbs 8oz which is 6oz above his birth weight.  He gave me his first smile on Christmas Eve just shy of 4 weeks which daddy was sad that he missed:(! He has become way more alert in just a couple of weeks and we are loving watching him change each day! He is now in size 1 diapers and can wear very few newborn outfits but mostly 0-3 months only because of his length.   Mak, you continue to amaze us everyday and we are so blessed that we are your parents. We can't wait to watch you continue growing into a handsome little boy! Mommy and Daddy love you very much, sweet boy!

First Bath! {13 days old}

Baby Boy's belly button thing fell off last night so it was time for his first bath! We are still at Grandmama and Granddaddy's house{partly because Grandmama doesn't want us Mak to leave and partly because Granddaddy was suppose to go out of town} and everyone was gone for the night so Alex and I decided to give Mak his first bath...in the sink! Baby Boy did NOT like his bath at all...

Definitely didn't like it...

Trying to get him clean fast

'this is not fun mommy'...

poor guy didn't like it..maybe because of the small space

this was his face for maybe a second...

until we got him out of the water and into his towel but it didn't take long for Daddy to calm him down...

and he was all better!

All clean and happy to be in Daddy's arms!

Mak meets Grandmama Watson!

As the time got closer and closer for our son's arrival, I couldn't wait for everybody to meet him but there was one person that I was most excited about meeting him, my grandmother Grandmama Watson!  In the past few months, Grandmama's health had declined and she went from her house - to the hospital - to a rehab center - to the hospital - to a nursing home - to the hospital and finally back home with 24 hour care. She wasn't able to do anything on her own but her mind was all there which was the hardest part of it all. I kept praying to God that he would bring my son into this world before he took my grandmother because as much as she was hurting, I knew she wanted to meet him! When she made her last trip to the hospital before coming back home, she made an 180 degree turn FOR THE BETTER! Although she is still needing 24 hour care, and a wheelchair, she was sent home and spent Thanksgiving with her kids and grandkids! What a blessing it was to have her home with us for Thanksgiving! We were all SO THANKFUL to have her home with us! Mak was born and we came home from the hospital on Thursday and waited for Mom and Dad to get home so we could walk Baby Boy next door to finally meet this wonderful woman! There was nothing sweeter than seeing her face light up as we introduced her to our sweet little "Mitchell" and having her "Mitchell" there with her too!  It was a sweet first time meeting that we will cherish forever!

Me and Grandmama with "Our Mitchells"! Four Generations

Mak's Birth

I have always heard child birth is something you will never fully understand until you experience it for yourself and I can now officially say, I 100% agree! I'll take you back to November 19 when I had my second to last prenatal visit, 1 day before my due date, in hopes that they would say I was dilated more than 2 cm and that I would be induced on my due date. Unfortunately, Baby Boy was not ready to come, however we were able to schedule our induction for November 27th, if he had not made his appearance on his own before then. The days passed and we got through Thanksgiving, then we got through the Carolina-Clemson game{which the Gamecocks won!} and I was convinced after the nail-biter of a game we experienced, if I had not gone into labor from that, we weren't going to meet our little man until I was induced Tuesday morning. We had an appointment scheduled for Monday November 26th, for my last prenatal appointment, to see if I had progressed at all and again, in hopes that they would just send me to the hospital. Monday morning, I woke up with signs of labor at 5:45 am and freaking out, I frantically woke Alex up and told him but I ended up lying on the couch and waiting until our appointment at 10:45, which seemed like FOREVER! We headed to my appointment and was put on a monitor to track my contractions and they were 5-7 minutes apart. The doctor checked me and I was 3 cm dilated, however, Dr Ridenhour(the doctor on call) told me she wouldn't be surprised if she saw me later that day at the hospital. Frustrated at the news that we were so close yet so far, we left the doctor's office and came home. My poor husband came down with a cold/sinus issue THE DAY BEFORE we were about to welcome our son, so he took some meds and went to bed while Mom and I ran some errands to get things off my mind and hopefully put me into labor. The doctor told me to track my contractions and call if they got to every 5 minutes, so as were in the car, I experienced my first contraction and then another and another all within 5 minutes, some 4.5 minutes and some 3 minutes. We called my sister who has become the expert at having babies and she said to call the doctor and let them know. After a quick call back to the doctor, within maybe 2 hours of leaving the doctors office, we were headed back in! Having to wake Alex up, he met me and Mom at the doctor's office and the doctor checked me. Dr. Ridenhour said, "You're 5 cm, I think it's time to head to the hospital" and I wish I had a camera to capture Alex's eyes when he heard her say those words. HILARIOUS! I was wheeled over to the hospital at 5:19 pm and was admitted to the hospital to HAVE OUR BABY!!! After getting hooked up to the IV and talking with the nurse, she said that I was way too calm to already be 5 cm and not in much pain. I was debating on not getting the epidural because my contractions weren't that bad and I could tolerate the pain. I was more worried about feeling the epidural being injected into my back{not cool!} but after a while, I decided to get the epidural before it was too late, which later proved to be in my best interest! Every 2.5 hours, the nurse would come check me and unfortunately, I was only progressing 1 cm each time. My entire family got things together and headed to the hospital as soon as they heard I was going in and we had a room full of waiting and waiting! Some stayed in the room, and others went in the waiting room and slept as we got well into the night. After 12.5 hours of being in the hospital, it was finally time to start pushing! HOORAY! I was going in expecting to push for 30 minutes, maybe an hour. Our sweet little boy just couldn't make his way out and after THREE{3} LONG HOURS of pushing and help from a vacuum suction, at 9:24 am Mak made his entrance into this world! I can't even remember the last 2 hours of me pushing, and I had to receive some oxygen and Baby Boy's heart rate was dropping after every contraction I had. They immediately took him to get oxygen and drain some fluid he got after being stuck for so long and sent him to the NICU. All I remember was praying to God he would take care of our precious Baby Boy, as I watched my husband stare at all the nurses giving our son oxygen. We didn't hear him cry when he was born and it took a while before we heard the smallest of cries from him before Alex went with the nurses to the NICU. We were told he could be in the NICU for 6-8 hours or for the entire stay but they just didn't know. God was watching over us and our son, because at 12:00 Alex and I were allowed to go see Mak for the first time and hold him. The moment I held that sweet boy, it's like he knew exactly who I was and all was okay. We are thanking the Good Lord Above for watching over our little miracle, and at 1:30 just 4 hours after he was born, he was in our room with us and never left! Child birth is seriously an oxymoran, its the most painful thing I have ever gone through yet the most rewarding thing I have ever gone though. Right after Mak was born and I had pushed for 3 grueling hours, I looked at Alex and told him this might be our only child, but quickly changed my mind as soon as I held our sweet baby boy! All the pain in the world couldn't overtake the love I have for my son. My poor family waited and waited, slept and slept{in the hospital room and waiting room} all night and morning long, and we can't thank them enough! We were so fortunate to have them there with us even if they stayed there for 16 hours! We had a great hospital stay and left the hospital on Thursday November 29! Below are some pictures taken from his birth and throughout our hospital stay! {WARNING: PICTURE OVERLOAD!}

 

 

4 hours old!

 

 

 

Going Home!

 

 

 

Welcome to the world Mitchell Alan "Mak" Kubas!!

After 16 hours of labor, Alex and I are pleased to announce the birth of our son, Mitchell Alan "Mak" Kubas born November 27, 2012 at 9:24 am weighing in at {larger than expected} 9 lbs 2 oz and 22.5 inches long! He is absolutely perfect and we are over joyed with the love we instantly had for him the minute we saw him! All three of us are doing great and ready to get home to start our family of three! Mak's birth post to follow!

40 Weeks!!

We are officially at 40 weeks today and still no baby..boooo! I had made ZERO progress the last time we went to the doctor at 39 weeks and I was beginning to get extremely frustrated and grumpy! Yesterday, we had our 40 week visit in hopes of SOME progress! We ended up having an ultrasound to check to see if there was enough amniotic fluid for the baby and there was! We also got the news that Baby Boy has LOTS of hair! Then I had a stress test for about 30 minutes to monitor the baby's heartbeat and any contractions I was having. Everything was great with the exception that the machine kept alarming and scaring this {very} pregnant mama! And then it was time to meet with the doctor to see if I had dilated at all..and almost at 3 cm!!! I've never been so happy! Not only had I made progress but we were also able to schedule an induction date if our sweet, yet stubborn, little boy hasn't made his appearance with no assistance for NOVEMBER 27th! As hard as it is to have to wait, we were so excited to finally have something scheduled and set in stone! Now that I've made progress and such a huge jump from only 3 days, we have packed our bags, put the carseat in the car and now just waiting waiting and waiting! With Thanksgiving only 2 days away, everyone keeps asking "what if he comes on thanksgiving??" and my response{thanks to the way my dad raised me} is always "as long as he doesn't come on Saturday during the Carolina-Clemson game, we are good"! And after yesterday's appointment and the news of my process, both Alex and my dad have said he's coming on Saturday{HA!}! As long as the Gamecocks win, I guess it's fine! We are so ready to finally meet our sweet baby boy and ask that you keep us in your thoughts and prayers this next week for a safe and healthy delivery as we welcome our son!!

40 week belly pic..

35 weeks down..5 to go!

Today marks 35 weeks of being pregnant with our precious little boy. I can't begin to tell you how excited Alex and I are about meeting our son but I can tell you, being at the hospital to welcome our second niece, Anna West Dupree, just 5 days ago, made it all the more real that we'd be back at that very hospital, on that very same floor just like we have been every time Amy and Aaron have had a baby, but the next time we'd be in their shoes welcoming our first child, a son! {whoa, hey run on sentence!} Although, the day one of my nieces or nephews were born has been exciting, October 11, 2012 was special. It's like everything that went on that day, I pictured us being there 5 weeks from then..welcoming our sweet boy and introducing him to our families. I kept picturing Alex holding him, I kept picturing our families coming in to meet our baby for the very first time, I kept trying to picture who he'd look like, how much he would weigh. Yes, I would think about the pain of birthing a child but soon that worry would leave as I thought about the fact that we get to take him home and have him forever! Just like my mom said to me tonight, I've talked about having babies for as long as I can remember and in just 5 weeks, those dreams will come true. I can't wait to hold you, kiss you, see you with your daddy and share you with the world, knowing you are apart of your daddy and me, always and forever. I know I will pray the days slow down when you get here but we are wishing them away so we can finally meet you!

Here's a nice belly picture at 35 weeks

Carolina vs. Missouri {9-22-2012}

I have been so bad about blogging so I figured I would start from the most recent events and make my way back to the spot I left off! Football season has started and our weekends are now revolving around Gamecock Football! With football season in full swing, that means we are that much closer to meeting our sweet little boy!! There is nothing more exciting than waking up on Gameday in Columbia! Although their hasn't been any rain to keep us from the games, the weather has been pretty hot but nothing we couldn't handle! After our win today against Missouri, the Gamecocks are now 4-0 and will head to Kentucky! Sadly, I will be staying home while Alex, my dad, John and some other guys head to Lexington, Kentucky to cheer on our Gamecocks but I am excited for Alex to get a weekend with the guys before our lives are forever changed{for the better, of course}! GO COCKS!!

MAK

I don't know why I ever thought I could wait to find out what we were having because my patience are non existent. Once we found out we were having a boy, I swore I wasn't going to tell his name because I don't like always referring to him as his name when he is still "baking in the oven". Even before we got pregnant, we had always had a boy's name and to be honest, I don't remember when we came up or decided on the name but all I know is we have never questioned his name or thought twice about calling our first son anything but the first name we picked out. Well my patience ran out when my sister, Kat, ordered Baby Boy some monogrammed stuff from Pottery Barn Kids and I couldn't resist not posting them! After that we announced the name of our first born son:

MITCHELL ALAN KUBAS 

Picking out a boy's name was fairly easy because I have known for a while that I wanted to name my son Mitchell after my dad and Alex's dad's middle name is Alan, which worked out perfectly because Baby Boy is named after his two Granddaddies middle names. It just so happened to work out that his initials spell out Mak which is what he will be called: Mak Kubas! Alex and I love the name and so glad we were able to name him after our dads! 

24 Weeks

Today, Alex and I had our 24 week appointment for Baby Boy! Dr. H told me that I had gained some weight since the last time I came in and told me to make sure I drank a lot of water with the weather being so hot! Last time we went to the doctor, I was measuring 20 weeks at just 19 weeks but this appointment, I am measuring right at 24 weeks! We heard Baby Boy's heartbeat which was at 142! All in all, everything looks great! Dr. H said that we are now on cruise control and that it will fly by until the last month, then it'll just drag! {BOOOOOO!}. The nurse gave me a nice little "goodie" bag equipped with some orange drink, nursing freebie with breast milk bottles, and our Hospital Registration form! Crazy! It's hard to believe that we only have 16 weeks left until we meet our son. I haven't really had any cravings anymore, Grouchos was a huge craving at first but not so much anymore. I need to get one of those Boppy pillows because I am starting to feel real uncomfortable at times when I am lying down.  Here is a photo of my belly today..crazy!

                            {Ignore the ugly wallpaper! We're in the process of removing it now!}

Happy Birthday Emory!

Happy Birthday to the sweetest, most beautiful 5 year old I know! I can't believe she is already five! It seems as though yesterday, we were welcoming her at the hospital, Amy and Aaron's first born, Mom and Dad's first grandchild! She is a princess for sure, but it also helps that she is the only girl and we will see if she stays the only granddaughter for the time being, come October! Happy Birthday sweet girl! Quit growing up so fast! We love you!!

It's a BOY!!

Alex and I are so excited to announce that we will be welcoming a Baby Boy come November! We went to our doctors appointment today and it was pretty clear what we were having. We got to see how much Baby Boy has developed since the last ultrasound and we even got some 3D pictures of his face and legs and arms! We are a couple days shy of 20 weeks which means we are almost HALF WAY THERE! Ahhh! I've always wanted to have a boy because I feel as though I can handle a boy better but we, of course, would have been just as happy with a girl! Alex had a HUGE grin on his face when he realized he was gong to have a son! We got several ultrasound pictures during this visit..

 Baby Boy's sweet face

Proof from the Nurse that HE is a Boy! and Baby Boy's Foot

Baby Boy's body all curled up in mommy's belly!

After our appointment we headed over to my parents house to relax before everyone came over for dinner and to find out if we were having a Baby Boy or Baby Girl! When we were leaving the doctor's office, I told Alex not to go in the house because Mom would automatically know we were having a boy because of his huge grin on his face. Alex got to my parents house before I did, and he was already outside cleaning a dog pen out for Maya. Mom starts grinning and said "Alex is up there cleaning his sorrows away, it must be a girl"! I just started laughing and went on with my business.

I didn't want to use the original gender reveal ideas but wanted to include the kids because I knew that'd enjoy it! Joanna and I headed out Sunday to get a Pinata, some candy and toys and I printed out two puzzles, one that said "It's a Boy" and one that said "It's a Girl" and included all of the pieces for the boy puzzle! I also put in some of the pieces to the girl puzzle to throw everyone off. 

The Loot

The anticipation kept building up and the kids were ready to get outside to hit the pinata. I told Emory before hand that she would be the one putting the puzzle together and which ever puzzle she had all the pieces together, that's what we were having. The rest of the crew got to Mom and Dad's and we were ready to reveal if we were having a Boy or a Girl! The kids took turns swinging..

Then the kids handed the broom bat over to Aunt Jo to bust poor little Nemo. The kids ran to all the candy and toys while I picked up all the puzzle pieces. 

And then Emory put together the puzzle! At first everyone thought it was a boy because there were more blue pieces, then they started putting together the girl puzzle and it looked as if it was coming together, until they realized the last piece to the boy puzzle was there and IT'S A BOY!!

It was fun having the pinata and Emory is obsessed with puzzles, although I think she was more interested in the candy and toys inside the pinata! She did a great job!

For more pictures of the reveal, check out my sister, Amy's, blog post!