Precious

Just a few precious pics of my baby...



Being a cutie after bath time with Daddy. He and Daddy love their bath time!


The hair after bath time... Parts of it def have some curl! Ha! Still not sure what to do with it...


After our dreamfeed before I swaddle him back up. I think he is so cute with his arms up like that! Ha!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Seasons

I have been walking on campus more these last two weeks, mainly because Beckys out and I have to take stuff up the hill. Anyhow, I have been seeing lots of this:



Couples all giddy and holding hands all over the place. (yes I randomly snapped a pic of one)
It takes me back...

Back to the Fall Semester of my senior year at WKU. That's when Mr.Pate and I started dating. We were so giddy and could not get enough of each other. We would be overjoyed at the opportunity to walk to class holding hands. What a sweet time.

I am finding that I love the seasons of our relationship, though they have all been so different. I loved when it was all new and we had so much anticipation over what it would become. The season if engagement was one of my favorites with the planning and investing for our future together. Life as a newlywed seemed so carefree and spontaneous. When we went through a season of hardships with job loss and health issues, we truly learned to depend on one another. Buying a house was both exciting and terrifying. And our new season of Becoming a family of three has been maybe the sweetest of all.

Seasons. The hand holding reminds of seasons. We are always excited for the start of a new season. Then we get restless and annoyed with it, and then we look back fondly at the memory of it.

I am thankful to be weathering the seasons with my man. I can imagine it any other way. So maybe tonight I will go home and be as excited to hold his hand as I was on the way to MMTH that Fall seven years ago.


- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Things

• Tomorrow is Thursday.
• That means only two more days or dropping Griffin off this week, only two more days of work, and only two more days till I get my boy for two Whole days!
• The Big Bang Theory comes on tomorrow night too!! Woo hoo! I think that show just gets funnier and funnier. But I am ready for Prea's (sp?) character to be gone. She just doesn't mesh well. Amy Farah Fowler on the other hand, was a genius addition to the cast!
• Guess who is in the country? Karen, Heath and their new daughter Reese! They live in Mexico. And we get to see them Saturday!!! I am sooo excited! It is very last minute. Heaths grandmother passed away, so they didn't get to come to the states for a fun visit. But I am glad I wil get to see them before Christmas.
• I am loving this weather!



- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Another Day 2

So this is Day 2 of dropping Griff off at a daycare. Up until now he has stayed with a friend or my family and I have not had to worry one bit about the kind of care he is receiving. I knew he was being loved and cared for. End of story.

But now we are embarking on a whole new journey.... Daycare.

I know I am not the first. It will be fine. I grew up in daycare and look how fabulous I am- ha! But it is just a different experience leaving your pride and joy with complete strangers. Yesterday I worried all day about the type of care he was receiving. Were they loving on him? Did he nap? Did he get fed when he needed too? It was horrid and I was a complete mess.

When I picked him up he seemed fine. I got very annoyed bc they did not fill out all of his "cuddle gram", the piece of paper that tells me about how he ate and napped and diapers etc. It did not say a thing about his naps, or his last two feedings. Really?? So Mr.Pate is going by today to talk to them about that, and just to pop in and see what is going on in the middle of the day.

As with everything these days, they say it gets easier. When is that supposed to happen exactly? Because I am not really feeling like any of it is easier, but harder as I go. Ugh.

But you know what? The Lord is gracious. This morning I was blessed to have a smiling and cooing and hilarious baby boy, that continued to look up at me and smile like a goof during nursing. He was such a ray of hope and light to start my day. That is the Lord's mercy to me. Thank you Lord, for blessings I do not deserve!

"22 The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
24 "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him."
25 The LORD is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
26 It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
27 It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. " Lamentations 3:22-27



- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

If...

I saw this on another blog and thought it would be fun to wonder "if"... Maybe you want to join in? Answer each thought after the underlined part... feel free to put it in the comments or on your own blog.

• If I were to get pregnant again I would probably have an emotional breakdown thinking about how it all played out last time and how we would afford it. Then I would be super excited to have another fabulous child.
• If I could have any job in the world I would get paid to be at home with Griffin and keeping Mr.Pate organized. Why doesnt anyone want to pay me for that? Or I would be a paid blogger. Or a photographer.
• If I had a day to myself I would sleep in, drink coffee, watch girly movies and read.
• If I could get married all over again I would have a destination wedding where it is warm and beautiful, and then have a reception here. Better pictures that way, ha!
• If I could live anywhere in the US I would live somewhere where the temperature is always in the 70s?
• If Griffin were a girl he would have been named Adalei/Adalay (of course we never agreed on the spelling).
• If I could have any talent in the world I would be good at photography.
• If you met me in real life I think you would like me, but think I am short and bossy.
• If I could go back to school and get a different degree I would major in photography or counseling.
• If money were not an object I'd live in my same house but add a master suite on, drive a new minivan, not work , and I would eat out all the time.
• If I could meet one celebrity I think I would want to meet  the One Tree Hill cast.  
• If I could only shop at one store for the rest of my life it'd be TJ Maxx.
• If we get another pet I would want a chihuahua! Or a dwarf giraffe (my niece wants one! ha).
• If I could go on a trip, RIGHT NOW, I'd want to go to Cancun.
• If I had to chose between a house cleaner and a personal chef, I'd pick the personal chef. 
• If I had the option of plastic surgery I'd get laser hair removal on my legs and underarms. It would save sooo much time!

Two Months Old!

Griffin is 2 Months Old! 

Wow this is going sooo fast! I cannot believe our little guy is a 2 month old! 

Here he is at 2 weeks old:

And at 1 Month Old:

And at 2 Months Old:

Two Month Stats:

• Griffin weighed in at 11 lbs 11 oz at his checkup. He is 24" long now! He has grown 3" since birth, and he was long at birth! I think its funny that my son is long... ha! This puts him in the 38th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for length! Ha!
• Clothing: He is wearing 0-3 month clothing and some 3-6 month clothing. He is too long for all of his newborn clothes now. Most of the 0-3 and all of the 3-6 are still big width wise, so I guess he is kinda skinny. But I dont think he looks super long and skinny? Who knows. 
• Nursing: We are still going strong with the nursing. He is getting better at it and rarely fusses now. A typical nursing session only takes about 15 minutes now (instead of 45 like it used to!). 
• He is still spitting up a lot. 
• Schedule: Still on a 3 hr schedule usually, where we eats, has playtime and then naps. Every since I came back to work naps have been interesting. He will usually sleep about an hour during naps on weekends, but during the week he is waking up on and off during them. And fyi- he is not a happy camper when he wakes from a nap early. And usually one nap a day is 1 & 1/2 hr long. We start our day at 6:30am. Here is what the typical day looks like for him right now:
• 6:30am wake and eat
• 7:30-7:45am I leave and he goes down for nap
• 9:30am eat
• 11:00am nap
• 12:30pm eat
• 2pm nap
• 3:30pm eat
• 4:45pm I get home! catnap somewhere in this time frame
• 6:00 or 6:30pm eat
• 7:30pm or 8pm down for the night
• 9:30 dreamfeed (I get him up to eat then he goes right back to bed)
• Nightime Sleep: As soon as I went back to work, Griffin started sleeping long stretches at night! Woo Hoo! It was the Lord's grace I do believe. Currently he will usually sleep from 7:30ish until the dreamfeed, and then I put him back down at 10ish. He will sleep from 10pm-6:30am!!! Not every single night, but most nights now! Yay! Isnt that incredible? On the nights that he doesnt do that, he usually wakes up around 3am for some reason.
• Griffin loves to smile now and has the cutest smile ever!
• He is loving to make spit bubbles these days and slobbers a ton.
• He is making all kinds of noises, which we call "talking" to us. It is so fun!
• He loves his playmat! He is just starting to bat at the hanging things. 
• I saw him reach out and grab a toy for the first time last week! Yay! 
• He is obssessed with eating his hand. 
• He sits in his highchair at the table with us and loves it. He is also just starting to sit in the bumbo and seems to like it too. 
• Still hates tummy time. A lot. 
• He has lost a strip of hair around his head, where he lays on it. But he has a thick strip of hair at the bottom and top, so it looks super funny. I have to take a picture soon. 
• Still not a fan of the swing. He likes his bouncer, but I just dont put him in it often. 
• He still falls asleep in the car everytime, and on walks. 
• We now wear him in the flip carrier and the moby. Love wearing him around!
• He got Joey kisses for the first time this month! And he loves it! Haha! 

I am so incredibly in love with this little guy. Beginning motherhood was rough for me I think. The emotions were overwhelming. But I am now totally obsessed! Ha! I went back to work when Griffin was 6 weeks old, and that has been a tough transition. We are still working on it. I miss him so much during the day. Looking back at his 1 month post made me remember being at home with him all day every day in the beginning. He was in the NICU at first of course, and then the first two weeks he was home I was so overwhelmed that I couldnt really enjoy it.  So I feel like I really only got 2 good weeks of maternity leave before coming back. I came back part-time for two weeks so that helped a lot. Emotionally I feel much more like myself this month vs last month. I sooo adore seeing Mr.Pate with Griffin. He is such a good dad and an amazing husband. Sharing this parenting journey with him really does make me love him even more!

Happy Two Months Griffin! (Or as I often call you- Cutie Potootie) 

Still around

• I have been meaning to finish a post about Griffin being 2 months old all week...
• Work is crazy bc Beckys in fancy smanchy Europe. Whew!
• My dad is coming up all week to stay with Griffin. Looks like he is having a good time to me:



• Last night at church, however, he was not a smiles! Let's just say we had an off night.
• Encores and More consignment sale tomorrow night with my Sis. Woo hoo! This boy needs fall and winter clothing!
• On that note, it is sad the amount of clothing Griffin has in his closet that hr will not get to wear due to sizes and seasons. There are some really cute outfits that are totally for Summer that I am pretty sure he will be too big for by next summer, but he is too small for now. Sad times.
• I am digging fall weather. I love the change of seasons, it always refreshes people. Everyone seems happier when the season changes.
• Time to work! Happy Thursday people!


- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Woo hoo!!

It's Friday afternoon!!! I have never looked so forward to the weekend before. Here's an update on us:

- Griffin spent his first full day with Daddy today, and they dud great(of course).
- We are walking in the MS walk tomorrow morning. If you are free (and live in BG) you should join us! It's at Preston Miller, there is no set registration fee (anything helps) and there is free Starbucks coffee! Registration is at 9am.
- Our babysitter is going to London next week, so my mom and dad are taking turns coming up and babysitting Griff. They are excited!
- we are starting community groups (small groups) at our church. And the first meeting is thus Sunday night. Super excited!!
- Today is gorgeous! Can't wait to get out and enjoy it!

Happy Fall Weekend!


- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

A little dust on the bottle

Well I guess there actually may be some dust on our bottles bc my house is a wreck these days! Ha! Anyhow, now that I am back at work full time, Griffin has 3 feedings from a bottle each weekday. We thought this would be no problem. Everyone says if they take a bottle once they will always take a bottle. So Griffin started with bottles and did great with them. Then at three weeks old we stopped giving him a bottle and he didn't have one again until I went back to work at six weeks.

The first week I did part time he took the bottle great. He ate 3 & 1/2 oz and gobbled it down. Then week two he suddenly started fighting the bottle and crying during his feedings. She could barely get him to take an ounce or two. This has continued into this week. We have tried a different bottle to see if that was the issue, and we have done both fresh and frozen breastmilk. He has nursed great, just won't take the bottle well. He will occasionally not cry and just take 3 oz, but usually he fights her and barely gets 2 oz.

It's bizarre and frustrating. I want him to get enough food and I am sad that he is so distraught.

Anyone got any ideas??


- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

The difference 8 weeks makes

I haven't mentioned how nursing is going lately, so I thought I would take minute (while nursing actually) to reflect. If you read this blog then you know we have had a rough time with nursing.

Griffin was in the NICU for the first two weeks of his life, so the beginning was slow. He didn't get to eat period until day four of his life, and we did bottles of pumped milk and a little formula then. We got to nurse for the first time on day six or seven maybe? Griffin did great with it and latched on awesome right away. We of course had trouble keeping him awake during the feedings (like most moms do). We continued to do bottles as well during his hospital stay bc me going up at every feedings would have been nuts!

We got to "room in" with Griffin the weekend before he got discharged from the hospital (meaning we got to stay in a hospital room with him for all day and night). This was our first experience nursing exclusively, and it seemed to go really well. We continued to nurse exclusively when we took him home that Monday.

Then that Tuesday he suddenly had issues. He would scream his head off during nursing sessions, every session. He pulled off a ton and did not want to stay on and eat. But he was fine the rest if the day, so it wasnt colic or reflux. By that Wednesday night I was exhausted and discouraged. Justin made me pump and sleep and he took over Griffin. I so needed that! After that it got a little better but it was still a struggle every session. We ended up going back to pumping and bottle feeding at every other feeding, thinking he was just a lazy nurser maybe.

I went to a lactation consultation and they thought I probably had too much milk from pumping, so my letdown was probably too strong for Griffin. I had to nurse in only the side lying position for awhile, because it slowed the flow. Nursing improved a ton at that point!! Around this time though, he started throwing up more.

So from then until I started work nursing was ok, but still not great. He still screamed quite a bit. But when I went back to work something changed or clicked for Griff, because nursing has been great!! He is nursing faster and so much better. It's a sweet time and I LOVE it now!! It really is a special me and him time that I am really treasuring these days! So glad I didn't give up. I thought about quitting sooo many times during the hard times.

So that's our nursing story (more for my records than your amusement). Currently Griffin eats every 3 hours and usually sleeps eight hours at night, so we nurse 3 to 4 times a day and he gets 3 bottles. He actually is really struggling with the bottles, but that's another post.

What was your experience with breastfeeding or feeding in general? Or if you don't have kids, what are your questions about it?


- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Here's to it...

Heading into my first full day back. Pray for peace and a quick day and lots of energy left at the end of the day for my two favorite men! (and my fav doggie)



- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Busy weekend & Griffin's week

Whew, I am already exhausted and we have a crazy day coming up. Tomorrow I am throwing a baby shower for my dear friend Melanie and her soon to be arriving daughter Maeve. I am so excited to see all of my friends and celebrate with Mel and Jeff!

And then right after Mr.Pate and I (and Griffin) have to rush off to the wedding of soon to be Mr. & Mrs. Jeremy Broady! The wedding is on her family's land which overlooks the lake! I am sure it will be beautiful. I can't wait.

Then of course Sunday will be busy as always, and we are starting youth small groups back up too. We have yet to figure out how to make Sunday's not so crazy for Griffin. He gets pretty cranky by mid-afternoon because of all the going I guess. Poor guy!

So it's a packed weekend for us, and then I head back to work full time Monday. Please be praying for that transition! I am usually exhausted by 5pm, and I don't want to be exhausted during the only time we have as a family. Ugh!!

Hope everyone is having an awesome weekend!

Oh and some random pictures of the kid lately-



We have started sitting Griffin in his highchair after he eats (he needs to sit-up for awhile to help with the spitting up). He loves it and so do we! It's neat having him at the table with us.



This is Griff when you wake him from a good nap to eat! He just stays passed out, regardless of how you hold him. It was like I just threw a sack of potatoes over my shoulder, ha!



He decided to start riding the pony we got him... Haha!



I just like the striped shirt.



We re-tried our ring sling and it went much better.



We had a fussy night where he would only nap on someone. How cute is he?!


- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Cloth Diapering: Changing a Cloth Diaper

*Warning: There is poop shown in this post. 

So for some of you, you are wondering what exactly you do with a cloth diaper after you use it. I wanted to just show you. I could not actually change the diaper and video one handed, so I am picking up afterwards. Ha. Let me know if you have questions. 

Cloth Diapering: Using Cloth Wipes

      We are using cloth wipes along with out cloth diapers, and I love them! They are soft, work great and are easy. For some reason, when I was preparing to cloth diaper I was most nervous about using the wipes. I am not really sure why, maybe because there are so many different ways to do them? So I am very glad it has worked out so well. Here is what I do for cloth wipes:

 I store my wipes in a huggies disposables container. It works great. And I have a travel wipes container for the diaper bag ( I actually have two. I can only fit 4 wipes in one, so if you need more for a day away then pack two). 

24ish baby washclothes 

2 Cups Water

2 tablespoons baby shampoo

1 & 1/4 tablespoons baby oil

** Mix ingredients in a large bowl. 

** Take a stack of baby washcloths (folded in half) and dunk in water. 

** Remove them one by one and lightly ring out excess liquid (the first time I hardcore ringed them out and they dried out pretty fast). 

** Place the wipe in the container. 

Easy Peasy! If you are going to use cloth diapers then I say you just have to do wipes too! If you dont, then every diaper change you have to make sure you have a trash can near you to throw the disposable away. Or you have to put the disposable in the diaper and then it gets all weird in the wash. Because you see, with a disposable you put the wipe in the diaper, ball the whole thing up then take it to the trash. But with a cloth diaper, you ball the whole thing up and put it in a diaper pail or wet bag.

And thats how I use cloth wipes.

Working it Out

I made it through week one of working part-time. I have one more week of part-time and then I am back to the full-time daily grind. So far I have been a hot mess! I cried everyday except Friday. In fact, I was so upset over all of it that my dad was worried I was dealing with PPD.

BUT I am doing much better I think. I have been thinking about it all a lot, and praying a bunch. And I am starting to feel ok with it all. Here are the things I have been struggling with:

- One of the biggest things I think I was struggling with was the fear that Griffin would like the babysitter better than me, or that we would not have as close of a bond as stay at home moms have with their kids. I just felt like I wouldn't know him best. And I want to know him better than anyone... But the thing is I am his momma. Only me. And he and I were literally inseparable for almost ten months. He likes me so much he wanted to stay in for two extra weeks! I just have to know and trust that the Lord made me Griffin's mom and Griffin will always know that. Apparently this is a normal fear?

- Many of my friends stay at home with their kids. I think I have really been struggling with feeling like I must not care as much for Griffin if I was not willing to quit my job to be home with him. So often people say that anyone can stay home if they are willing to sacrifice. But for us the only way I can stay home is for Mr.Pate to completely change jobs. 1. Getting a job that doubles your salary is not something you can do with a snap of the fingers. 2. We love our church and feel very called there. I need to quit comparing.

- I have also struggled with feeling like it is more godly for the woman to stay home, so I have felt mad that I can't stay home. But this is just dumb. Working isn't wrong and neither is staying home. The Lord directs our paths, and everyones journey is different. One is not more spiritual than the other. Now I do believe my main role from the Lord is to be a wife and mom, and those roles should be my top priorities. But for our journey right now, we need me to work to be a good wife and mother.

- I have just struggled with wanting to stay home but not being able to and feeling like it's not fair. Woe is me- I have a great job that is not hard or burdensome and is with great people. Some people cannot afford to feed their families, poor me for having to work. Basically I have been almost pouting because I can't have what I want. There are people who can't even have children, and they would be thrilled to have a few hours in the morning and at night with their own child.

It's all in our perspective. I would love to stay home, but since that is not feasible right now I need to choose to joy anyhow. Talking to my friend about this, she said "don't we have to choose to be happy sometimes?" And it's true. My husband deserves a wife that is rejoicing in this fun new season of our family, not one who is whining. The Lord knows the desire of my heart and will always lead me where I need to go. For now I am clinging to Paul's words in Phil 4:11-13

11 Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.
12 I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.
13 I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Please continue praying that I will have a content heart in all aspects of my
Life!

- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone

Some other August Happenings

Before I went back to work, we spent a day down in TN doing Doctors visits and meeting family. Here are some pics from Griffin meeting his Mema (my mom's mom).

 And we have been spending time with Uncle Dustin...

 And Daddy gave Griffin a beard like his! Looks good doesnt it? Ha!

Did you miss him?

I haven't posted pics of my boy in a few days, did you miss him? Ha!












- Mrs.Pate via my iPhone