WBW: And He Grew!

Last I checked, Bradley was 8lbs 3 oz. It's hard to believe that he'll one day grow up to become a man.

But... I suppose it's inevitable.

Here's my cousin, Adam, at around Bradley's age:

That's me holding him with some awesome bangs.

Here's his mom, my Aunt:

And my mom, his aunt!

Being such a little baby, it was hard to imagine him growing up to become a man.
(With his sister, my cousin, Laurel:)

But he did! Here is that same tiny little boy... all grown up at 6ft, 7in!!
(With his girlfriend, Harley:)

It's fine with me, though, if Bradley takes his time getting there... we're enjoying his little toes, tiny sighs and sweet cuddles for now!

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Bradley's First Bath

Bradley did not enjoy his first bath. At all.

He started off a little unsure:

and as soon as dad came at him with the sponge, he got quite concerned:

Chris was quick, but thorough:

Look at this concentration!

But Bradley was an unhappy baby!

Soon enough it was over... and mom swooped in to save the day:

And all was well again!

To my future, sixteen-year-old son, Bradley: you're welcome for me posting these "going to be embarrassing later" photos of you on the internet. Now go clean your room.

Bradley: Month One

We've made it through the first month (plus 6 days by the time this will post)!

At times we were all uncomfortable:

But we survived:

Despite a fair amount of tears:

Looks like Bradley has a question!

He wants to know his Month One stats!

Bradley, you are in newborn diapers and newborn clothes (and the newborn clothes are even a little big).
You are 7 lbs, 1 oz (I think... had a hard time reading the scale).
At your two week appointment you were 20" long, but I'm pretty sure you've gotten longer-- getting you into your sling has been harder the past few days!
We don't really have a schedule, but you seem to want to eat... alot. Then you go to sleep. With an occasional hang out time or forced tummy time mixed in.
You once slept for 6 hours in your crib! But usually it's more like three hours at a time.
You've been spoiled to have Mom AND Dad home this month, but that's all going to change now that Dad is going back to work.
Your nicknames are: Squealy-Bopper, Fussy Face, Little Buddy (not Fuzzy Buddy-- that's our dog), Houdini and Sir Grouchy Pants. 
You met your 97-year-old Great Grandpa Beard this month (as well as Papa T, Papa P, Mimi, Aunt Jojo and Cousin Maria).
We're still learning why you cry and what we can do to help you... but it's a process! You seem to like to be bounced, rock in your rocker (sideways), be swaddled and hang out with mama in the sling. You also love to eat with mama (but will also take a bottle of milk-- woohoo!) and your pacifier wab-a-nubs. Sometimes you like riding in the car and going for walks in the stroller, but other times you scream. So... not sure how you feel! You started the month loving the sound machine app on our iPhones, but after about three weeks it stopped doing the trick.
You found your lungs and now know how to SCREAM when you're unhappy. You also started producing tears-- which break my heart!
You have some great facial expressions and seem to look serious/concerned most of the time. You furrow your brow often. This makes us both laugh as we imagine the boy and man you will become.
My favorite time is your early morning feedings (around 5am). After you're done we snooze in the chair until Daddy wakes up for diaper change.

We are sleep-deprived and get a little frustrated when we can't seem to keep you from crying... but usually you're a happy, adorable baby and we love having you in our family!

WBW: Changing Times

The past two Way Back When-sdays I documented Bradley's birth. He was born at Women's Hospital, which is also where I was born! I found some photos of that day...

Here's my mom getting gassed up for the c-section:

I asked for some of the gas mask (due to my self-diagnosed pain intolerance) but I guess they don't do that anymore.

Pretty soon I was born and my parents took a similar photo that Chris and I took 5 weeks ago:

And just like Bradley, I got my footprints documented:

Later, I was weighed (by someone with awesome hair):

And for some reason put into this cooker:

I adore this photo of my mom and I:

When it was time to leave, it appears as though my mom was wheeled out by a thirteen-year-old volunteer.

And look at all those plants!

Want to share a Way Back When-sday story from your past? It's easy!

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The Long Road Home

Driving home from the hospital with Bradley started out great!

 I was able to catch his little feet on camera:

And he held onto my thumb for the first few minutes of the ride:

So precious!

Then things got bad:

Real bad:

I think it was the silly bear straps... because a few days later we tried again and he was 100% content!

Don't you worry, Bradley... we'll wait a few months before we try putting those on again!

You're on Your Own Now

Forty-eight hours after giving birth to Bradley, the hospital told me I was free to leave. With the child.

Yikes.

I dressed him in a darling little outfit:

It's particularly meaningful because it was one of Chris' outfits from when he was a baby!

Once we made it downstairs we strapped him in the carseat... that only took four people...

Then, with no written test, no mandated video or classes... they trusted us to leave the hospital with a helpless human.

(We learned pretty quickly that he is way too small for those little bear strap things.)

And we headed home with our new tiny roomate. 

WBW: Four Weeks and Counting

Today's Way Back When-sday, we'll go all the way back to a MONTH ago-- the day Bradley was born. I can't believe it's been a month!!

Last Wednesday I shared much of the day, but today I'll share more from the Labor & Delivery room. I have been nervous about giving birth for the past nine months. I am self-diagnosed "pain intolerant" and have seen enough TV shows to know that what happens in the Labor & Delivery room is not pain-free!

Almost immediatly after I was induced (which just means they gave me some meds that started contractions) I had an epidural (which is what blocks the pain of labor). This all happened around 8am. I was nervous, but in good spirits.

Soon the contractions were starting (though I couldn't feel them) and the L&D nurses were monitoring everything from my blood pressure to the baby's heartbeat. I wasn't allowed to eat anything but popsicles. And since I've heard that labor can last over 24 hours (and I get pretty grumpy without food) I decided to eat as many popsicles as Chris would get me!

In between eating popcicles, entertaining the family that were coming in and out of the room and getting my temperature checked, I also spent some time surfing the web on my iPad:

This was not the dramatic day I've seen on TV...

At 1pm or so they checked everything and realized that the baby was ready to come out! For those keeping track, that's 5 hours of labor-- most of which was spent eating popsicles.

The nurse gave me some instructions and all of a sudden the room was full of medical people! I was warned that I might have to push for at least 30 mins if not 3 hours (first time moms usually go for at least an hour). I was nervous about this part, but ready for what I knew to be the hard part of the day.

I started pushing a 1:46pm. Bradley was born at 1:47pm. I pushed twice. They say God only gives you what you can handle? Well thank you God for knowing I couldn't handle much!

My little champ.

Our new family:

Bradley Danger weighed in at 6lbs and 9oz:

And has the correct number of fingers and toes:

 My doctor wasn't able be there, but one of her partners came and was great:

I can't recomend the ladies at Complete Women's Care Center enough!!

And my Labor & Delivery nurses were also amazing.

Fun fact: I delivered Bradley at the Women's Hospital... which is also where I was born!

After the shockingly easy 5.5 hour labor and the even more shocking 1 minute delivery... I was able to eat:

So I did:

Chris was laughing that mine would make a pretty boring TV show... but I am a-ok with that! And, of course, the best part of the day was spending time with this little man:

Want to share a Way Back When-sday story of your own? It's easy!

Step One: grab a button and to put on your WBW post (that will send readers here):

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Step Two: fill out this easy form and a link will pop up here to send readers to YOUR WBW story!