Life in CA

We survived the trip out to SF! Actually Chase did great on the flight (both of them!) The air pressure didn't bother him in the least.

Here is Chase taking daddy's seat! In reality he was on our laps the entire flight. On the flight from Baltimore to Ft Worth we asked for seats A and C with the hopes that no one would sit in B and it worked! We had all 3 seats to ourselves!


Here we are meeting up with dad in the airport!


Here we are in at El Dorado in Sonoma and dad is drinking a Leatherface Mary. Basically this drink is hot sauce with habanero vodka... that green blob is a roasted jalepeno. I took one SMALL sip and was feeling it for at least 15 minutes! Very yummy!

So far we have had a great time. Sunday we went to Sonoma Valley... we visited the lot where my Aunt Winne and Uncle Bob are building a cottage (gorgeous BTW!), we toured Gloria Ferrer winery, ate at El Dorado and walked around the main square.

Yesterday Adam, Chase, Dad and I toured around SF, mainly around Fisherman's Wharf and Ghiradelli Square ... we took the Muni, a streetcar and the cable car.

Dad took this picture of us on the cable car! Yep, that is us hanging off the side with Chase strapped into the Bjorn! I was extremely nervous but it ended up being a great ride! Chase really liked the cable car... except when it stopped, then he got mad ;~) The Bjorn is definitely one of the best gifts we received! Every parent should have one!

More to come! We are headed to Muir Woods today!

Busy Busy Busy!

We are leaving tomorrow for San Francisco to visit my dad and Stacie! Today and yesterday are all about packing and making sure we are ready to go. In a few hours Riley will be heading to the kennel... don't worry, he loves it! I actually cried the first time I took him because he didn't give me a second thought... just walked back with no problem!

Just wanted to touch base... I am off to get some more packing done and maybe even get a shower! Wahoo!

Oh and here is Chase with his Christmas present from daddy and I. If you press one paw, daddy says something and if you press the other, I say something. Love Build A Bear!

Merry Christmas

Much love and peace to everyone!



Love the G's!

Stolen from the Townleys

Had to share this video... enjoy!

Our little crossdresser

The young marrieds bible study had our traditional Christmas party last night. Unbelievably I think we were about 17 couples strong... and a few couples had to miss it! We have 2 groups but we may need to reorganize and split again! Babies were the theme this year since at this time last year Kristen was the only one pregnant and she was only 4 months! Now we have Ava Grace, Chase and Lilyanna among us and Anna Stuart is on her way!

Close the start of the evening Chase spit up on his shirt and upon changing his diaper we discovered that he 'leaked through' onto his pants... so we switched outfits... a cute little sleeper outfit, which about 10 minutes later he annihilated with some extreme spitting up... so now we are down to a onesie. I honestly thought I had enough clothes... go figure. The onesie, while cute, was not enough coverage, his little legs were chilly. So beautiful and gracious Lilyana lent Chase one of her sleepers... hence our little crossdresser!

Diane picked a very gender neutral one but Adam and I are still enjoying the fact that Chase is technically a crossdresser. We are such great parents!



Thank you Diane and Lily!

Fun with the video camera

Meant to post this a while ago

Chase's first Christmas tree.

6 hours!

Ladies and Gentlemen... Chase and I slept for 6 straight hours last night. From 2 am until 8 am we peacefully slumbered. Boy does it feel good!

Perhaps Chase's ability to sleep so long has something to do with partying it up at 'the manse'. He's learning to be a real party animal...

Center of attention much?


Chase and Marat partying it up...


Chase's Christmas present from the Combs ;~)


In other happenings... Chase and Lilyanna had their first playdate on Friday. Don't they look just adorable together???


However, back at the homestead, Anna seems to be laying claim to Chase's affections. This is Chase's first EVER Christmas present. In case it isn't clear, it says "Anna Stuart is my home girl" You know he will be wearing that when he meets her for the first time!

Snow, Ad.com and Sleep

Chase's first snowfall!


Chase chillin with Rachel


Chase visiting Lisa, Erin and Stacy from HR and Karen from Legal.


This is the face of someone who let me sleep, and slept himself from
12 to 4 and then again from 6:45 to 9:30! Yay for us!


This is the face if my midnight companion!

The Playdates Begin

First things first... Thanks to everyone for the kind words and support. Sometimes bearing your deepest feelings is the only way to get past them. I have been feeling much lighter and more ready to take things as they come.

Kristen came to visit yesterday and so begins the playdate mania!

Ava and Chase chilling on the couch... perhaps we should institute the 12 in rule now!


Chase getting ready for a bath and Riley attempting to help clean him. Riley really is a protector of Chase... it's been great that we haven't had to do anything to train Riley to accept Chase.


We are starting to spend more time on the playmat that Aunt Becky bought Chase. So far he isn't extremely interested but I am sure that will change over time.


Here is daddy's little man with daddy's hat on. This kid couldn't be any cuter ;~)

I am going to take Chase to Ad.com today. Most people there haven't met him yet so this should be fun.

Been meaning to post this...

Last Saturday (Nov 24) Nancy celebrated her wedding with a huge party to which Adam, Chase and I were invited! Here are pictures of Chase at his first shindig ;~)





Thanks for a great party and Congrats! I couldn't be happier for you and Dave!

More medicine

So as it turns out, Chase has thrush... which also affects me since I am breastfeeding. Adam and I started to put the pieces together this past Sat... Chase's mouth has the white rash (which masks itself as milk residue but doesn't go away), and he has a general grouchiness about him... I have sore nipples still and that shouldn't still be happening this far into breastfeeding. Actually, I saw my PA/friend on Sun and she noted that I have severely cracked nipples (she was actually aghast at them... yay me!). So basically what I have here is the perfect storm of baby/mommy issues. Gas problems, acid reflux, thrush, nipple issues and breast pain... all which result in almost constant pain for me, extreme fussiness from Chase and no sleeping or sleeping only on me from Chase which results in very little sleeping for me. Couple all this with some VERY unrealistic expectations that I had in my abilities and this has been a rough 6 weeks.

I have always been around children and more than that I have always been around babies. I spent countless hours babysitting one family in particular (love the B's!) and I helped welcome 3 of our their children home from the hospital... I was holding them when they were days and hours old. So having all this experience and knowledge, I figured that I would be ahead of the game when it came to motherhood. 'Bring it on... I got it' was my mentality... which leaves very little room for humility. As it turns out, I don't know everything and I shouldn't need to be the best at this. I am learning (through forced realization) that it is ok for me not to have this all figured out. I can just be a first time mom struggling to figure out how to live life with a newborn.

The funny thing is... if I didn't have such a demanding, sick (for lack of a better term) and fussy baby, I wouldn't have learned this lesson. Rick G* spoke about leaving and arriving this past Sun... how you can't arrive somewhere new without first leaving... which makes leaving not such a bad proposition. I think this is my 'leaving'. I need to leave the notion that I have to be supermom and that I have all this figured out and I have to 'arrive' at being a new mom with struggles and consequently, lean on God for my strength and knowledge. Now to put this in practice... that's always the harder part ;~)

I have also been struggling with this idea that I would instantly be bonded with my child. I thought the moment I met Chase I would have this instant connection and that nothing he did would make me sad. I wish I could say that but over the past 6 weeks its been a getting to know you game. Don't get me wrong... I love my son fiercely and if anyone were to try and harm him... well there is nothing like a mother's wrath so watch out. However, there are times when he is crying that I don't know what to do with him... I have to just put him down and walk into the other room for a moment... which makes me feel like the worst mom and I am sure Chase doesn't feel great about it. There are times where I didn't feel like I could go on breastfeeding and I hated the idea that I had to feed him again... generally within 3 hours... a lot of those times I saw stars when he latched on and I would just cry. Fortunately my commitment to breastfeeding has continued to win out because I really wanted to do this but there were times I really wanted to quit. All of this made me feel more like a caregiver than his mother and I was sure that I was ruining our bond by not feeling the right way.

I talked to Christine about this one day and she reminded me that I just met Chase and we are both seeing the worst in each other right now because we aren't getting a lot of sleep and everything is new. She reminded me that developing a relationship with someone takes time... that I can love and fiercely want to protect my child but an actual relationship is work and takes time. Seems apparent enough but her telling me that really helped.

Saying all this is really difficult because I feel exposed and somewhat vulnerable but I have been keeping a lot of this in (with the exception of Adam who knows me inside and out ;~) but regardless.... keeping this all between him and I is making me insane. Sometimes it just feels better to open up and get everything off your chest.

Thanks for listening! And here is a recent picture of my handsome man... BTW... he is 10 lbs and 14 oz at last check... growing like a weed!


*It's not up yet but it will be soon enough if you are interested, the link to the Sermon Archives is here. Just scroll down and search by speaker... Rick G. He is a great pastor and will be sorely missed!

Sleep Deprivation

Now I have gone without sleep before... especially in college. We would have a big project due the next day so an all nighter would be pulled in the photo labs (pays to know the people that work there ;~). It was great... we would order pizza as late as we could... smoke out the windows on the fourth floor... work on our projects and generally have a great time. The next day I would be framing my project as the prof walked in, give a flawless speech about the artwork, wait as everyone else did the same, go to work after class and sleep that night as if nothing ever happened. Better still, back at Anne Arundel, Jaime and I would go to a specific bar on Monday nights because the bartender liked us and drinks were flowing. We would have a great time, head home late in the night and crash. Then be up for class at 8 the next morning. I am sure we weren't ready for Ms. America but we still looked good and managed to get to class and retain knowledge (at least until the final exam ;~).

I was at least 10 years younger then and they were, at any given time, one night occurrences. Sleep deprivation for over a week at a time and at my age has a distinctly different effect on me now. Look at me, I am growing up ;~)

Anyway, hopefully the bulk of the sleep deprivation is over... at least for prolonged nights. Chase has started sleeping for 3-4 hours at a time again and has even slept in his bouncy chair, on his own, a couple times! Thank the Lord! For a time he was only sleeping on me and when he wasn't sleeping, he was eating and when he wasn't eating or sleeping, he was staring at me begging to be stimulated... all of this resulted in my butt growing roots to our couch. But as I said, things are starting to improve which means I have time for laundry, dishes and general housekeeping tasks... not to mention time for a shower! I am just prayerful that this keeps up and we can start to have a regular routine again!

This weekend will be interesting as I think that Adam and I will be traveling to NY. My dad's mother passed away yesterday and we are going to try to make it to the funeral events. Adam's grandmother is also having a funeral service but hers is on Thursday. Adam's grandmother actually passed away in Dec of last year but her ashes are being buried in Arlington National Cemetery, due to her husbands decorated time in WWII. It's a pretty big deal and many G's are flying in from all over the country. So Adam and I will be juggling that service with my dad's mother's service in NY. Please keep your prayers out for the 2 families as one is dealing with a recent loss and the other will be dealing with emotions from past loss.

Not to end on a sour note, I will just say this... Watching all the loss around me now and having the pain of experiencing loss in the past makes me very thankful and grateful for the life that I have right now. I mourn for those that are passed but I am ever mindful to not take what I have for granted.

Another miracle!

Congrats to Scott and Carrie Shippy!!! They welcomed Tyler Scott into the world on Nov 25.





This is one loved little man already!

First Thanksgiving

What a nice relaxing day Thanksgiving was... sitting around with friends and family, everyone telling me how cute my son is... it was great! Here are a few pictures from the day...


Uncle Jimmy imitating Chase


Grandma Sandy soaking up Chase's cuteness


Family portrait!


Boys being boys in the bar room


Uncle Logan loving on his nephew


Logan carving the turkey


Chase's first visit to Starbucks


Adam introducing Chase to his mecca ;~)

It's been a great weekend... having Adam home for 4 days was a lot of fun! I am sad he has to go back to work tomorrow ;~( We (Chase and I) have a busy week coming up... Doctors appointment, hair appointment, Grandma G's funeral service at Arlington National Cemetery and this Friday we are heading to Hagerstown for the weekend for the first time since Chase was born!

With Thanksgiving comes a list of things that I am thankful for... 1. my husband, 2. my son, 3. my family, 4. good friends, 5. a God that meets my needs, 6. my apartment (I love it here), 7. Tivo, 8. my health, 9. my awesome dog, 10. Coffee Toffee Heath Bar Crunch. I am sure there are many more things but that is what came to mind right off the bat ;~)

I hope everyone out there had a great thanksgiving!

Update

Consensus is in... Chase is suffering from Acid Reflux. The doctor wrote him a prescription for Axid which is basically the same as Zantac without the alcohol content. Unfortunately the doctor said it could take 7 days for the medicine to take effect but I am holding out hope that it will start to work sooner. He looks so uncomfortable most of the time and he is so tired all the time from not sleeping properly. He tends to sleep better when he sleeps next to me... which I am not a huge fan of because of the thought of rolling on him but I am being very careful and positioning him just right... he sleeps better but needless to say, my nights are not all that restful ;~) Anyway, please continue with prayers that this will work and both of us will be happier!

In other news... Chase is 9 lbs. 1 oz!!!! Freakin' huge! This was great news to me because it means that he is eating just fine and gaining weight appropriately! We have had some trouble learning breastfeeding so knowing that he is getting what he needs is music to my ears!

On Saturday Craig and Ali came down to meet Chase (and they brought dinner which if you know Ali, you know that is a total treat!) In preparation for them coming over I wanted to vacuum the apartment but Chase did not want to be put down so this is what ended up happening...


And here is Chase in one of his favorite sleeping positions...


and a close up...


This kid is so awesome.

One month old!

Wow, it's been a while since I posted... sorry about that. Every day I think about posting a picture or writing something up but unfortch it hasn't been a great past week here in the G household so spare time has been spent catching some zzz's.

Chase started off life with a pretty good sleeping schedule but last week he started waking every hour to hour and half. Needless to say, I wasn't getting much sleep and neither was Chase so together we were very tired and emotional. There were several joint crying sessions.
And unfortunately sleep deprivation plays into every other facet of life... it determines how much I get done around the house, how much I can do outside of the house, how feeding goes (we are both still learning how to breastfeed), if I get a shower that day, ect... not to mention the havoc it reeks on my mind. So like I said, it's been a rough week. He still isn't sleeping enough so any prayers that you guys might want to toss out there would be greatly appreciated.

Here are a few pictures of the little man... I can already see changes in him. I think he is fattening up a little although he is still pounds behind some of his friends!


Chase showing off his "I Love Daddy" onesie... still a little big but cute nonetheless!

This is Chase in his carseat getting ready to go out... I just love the look that Adam captured!

Adam and I actually made it out this past Friday to the Bay Area Golden Globes where our church awarded those that volunteer and serve... a small thank you for all they do. This is Seth with his award! Congrats Seth!

Family shot! Chase didn't adhere to the 'black tie optional' and wore his CK sweat suit!

Seriously, how Guido does he look... I love it!

So, I started this post a couple days ago and I have an update... I just spoke to Chase's pediatrician because I was becoming very concerned about his fussiness and not sleeping... she thinks that he has baby acid reflux. He has a lot of the symptoms and this is about the age that it surfaces. We have an appointment tomorrow afternoon and hopefully we will be starting medicine. Please keep us in your prayers that this is it and we can get some relief!

Almost 3 weeks old!

I can't believe Chase has been here for almost 3 weeks. Adam and I are still in amazement that we have a son... it still seems very surreal that he is all ours!

Life is settling into a little more of a routine lately. I have been working on breaking Chase's schedule so that he sleeps more and longer at night and less and shorter during the day. If last night was any indication, things are going well. I actually slept from midnight to 20 of 5! Breastfeeding has been going better and I think both Chase and I are finally getting the hang of it. The best part is that the baby blues have subsided. Just about on time too... all the websites I read say they show up 3-4 days after the baby is born and go away in about 2-3 weeks so I am in good shape!

I have learned that there are 3 types of tasks that I can accomplish when little man is down for a nap. I can either 1. sleep, 2. get stuff done around the house or 3. run errands in the outside world. Generally 1 and 2 are my defaults but either today or tomorrow I am going to attempt to run an errand during one of his naps... fingers crossed!

Here are a few more recent pictures of little man. I try and take some each day but that doesn't always happen ;~)


This would be Chase mistaking Adam's nose for something that dispenses milk! We laughed for a long time about this one ;~)


This is the 'breastmilk drunk' that we look for when he is done feeding... he is seriously sleeping while being propped up like that. He is his father's son!


Chase is popular already... caught him chatting on daddy's phone!


I love this onesie.... it's on loan to us from the Tomassoni's! Thanks guys!


Best onesie ever.


This kid makes some of the BEST faces!


Here is the silly smiley face I mentioned in the previous post... it cracks me up every time!


I am so in love with this little guy!