July 4th Weekend and Status Update

We visited Gigi and Pawpaw in Mobile for the July 4th weekend.  We headed down Saturday morning and the trip overall wasn't bad (except a stint of about 45 minutes when we were either stopped or just creeping along I-65).  It was really smooth sailing once we passed all the beach exits.  Nicholas did really well thanks to several movies keeping him preoccupied. 

Over the weekend, we ate like kings in Mobile with steaks on Saturday, a shrimp boil on Sunday (thanks to Brian and Cindy for that one) and then pork tenderloin on Monday.  Gabe and I were even able to get away for about half a day and let Gigi and Pawpaw dote on Nicholas a bit.  We headed over to Biloxi Sunday afternoon.  This time I remembered my license and yet did not get carded even once.  Oh well.  We first visited the Beau Rivage, which was extremely busy and wasn't that kind to us monetarily, so we took Cindy's recommendation of the Palace Casino.  This one was much nicer to us (we actually came home with a little more money than we brought - thanks in part to Gabe's work at a blackjack table and me mistakenly hitting the max bet button on a slot, which worked out in my favor) and with a smoke free environment it was much cleaner as well.  We had a good time just getting away for a bit.

For the 4th, mom and dad mentioned going over to Brian and Cindy's house (my aunt and uncle) to watch fireworks.  They apparently have a neighbor that puts on an amazing fireworks show.  We said sure why not, since we weren't about to trek downtown to watch the city version.  Needless to say the show we saw was probably 10 times better than what Mobile put on.  No joke...  The fireworks started around 8:45 and last a FULL HOUR!!  They looked professionally done and were as big as city shows.  The nicest part about it was we watched the whole thing from their screened-in porch.  Can't beat that.  I was surprised by Nicholas' reaction to the fireworks (or lack thereof I should say).  He watched a little bit, but wasn't all that interested.  Luckily he wasn't bothered by the noise at all.  Nicholas did really well sleeping in the pack n' play even though he just about had to sleep diagonally just to fit in it, which brings me to the latest stats update for him.

I took Nicholas to the doctor this morning for a belated 2 year well visit.  According to the pediatrician, he is 36 1/2 inches long (90%) and 28 lbs (50%).  The doctor said he is doing really well.  Nicholas did have one shot he had to get today, but recovered quickly.  His next check-up will be at 3 years old.  I can't thank God enough for how healthy Nicholas has been since he was born.  Hopefully that trend will continue...   

I was bad about taking pictures this past weekend, but here is one Gabe got of Nicholas "swimming" in Gigi and Pawpaw's backyard.  He loved playing in water and with their tennis balls most of the weekend.  I hope everyone had a safe holiday weekend! 

    

Doctors Visit

Yesterday was Nicholas' second visit to the pediatrician. He now weighs 12 lbs 5 oz and is 24.5 inches long. The doctor said that he is "thriving"! Unfortunately yesterday also included four shots in addition to a vaccine given orally. When the nurse looked at his thighs (the location of all the shots) she said they were great - I guess it pays to have rolls in your legs when going through this process... Luckily the nurse went very fast and it was over in a few seconds. Of course he screamed, but I was able to calm him down pretty quickly. Afterwards, he was very content and even slept on the ride home. All in all it wasn't too bad.

Our next doctors visit isn't until he is 4 months old. I pray Nicholas will continue to grow and be healthy.

First Doctors Visit

Today was Nicholas' first doctor's visit and he did great! He was content throughout the whole visit and was just a little fussy when they had to prick his foot at the end.

As of today he weighs 9 pounds and 10 ounces. Even with all the dirty diapers he's gone through, he is up over a pound since he was born! His length has not changed. Dr. Whitaker said everything looked great - eyes, ears, heart rate, coloring, etc.

On Monday his umbilical cord stump fell off - I say fell off when it was really helped off by the elastic at the bottom of the gown he was wearing that kept riding up when I would hold him. Gabe says thats his way of saying "Don't put me in a gown mom!" Hopefully Nicholas will enjoy a real bath more so than the sponge baths he's had and really hasn't been a fan of.

Belly Pics

We have documented my belly pretty much throughout the pregnancy. You can tell from the pictures below that some days are better than others. I have to say I'm blessed to be so tall as I can still reach my toes, shave my legs, etc even with my gigantic belly. Our next appointment is on Wednesday (exactly 39 weeks). I'm hoping to get an update on my progress since I didn't get one last time.

We did have an ultrasound at my last appointment. Apparently Dr. Favor (not my doctor) is super cautious and when I told her Nicholas wasn't moving as much, she was concerned. Everything measured great on the ultrasound and his heart rate is normal as well.