Lifestyles of the Young + Suburban

Archive for April, 2008

This week has been a good week for both our boys…at least on the scales.

Today Grayson had his two week (and one day) well check up. He weighed in 7lbs 7oz (from his 6lbs 11oz birth weight). He grew an inch, too — talk about a growth spurt! The doc gave him an A+ on his report card. Can you guess what we have hanging on our refrigerator?

Jackson also had his check up at his dermatologist’s (yes our dog has a dermatologist). Lisa last took him in this past December and five months later, it appears Jackson gained a whopping 12lbs and is now weighing in at 67.7lbs. And we thought all the new wrinkles were stress related in his efforts to be the best big brother ever…

We’ve been talking up Uncle Zach and (soon-to-be Aunt) Amy’s visit from Florida for the past week. Grayson (and Jackson) are excited about meeting daddy’s big bro and his future wife tomorrow for their long weekend visit.

Here is a pic my Mom took last night while we were over for dinner.

Now that Lisa and I have nearly mastered the art of the quick diaper change and Lisa had Grayson’s feedings deeply ingrained in her internal clock, we kinda feel like we are getting the hang of this mom and dad thing.

I continue to ask Grayson for an informal evaluation, but the faces and grunts he makes are still a foreign language to me. Though he does seem to be happy baby and enjoying his surroundings and our affection for him.

On Friday, to celebrate his 10 day birthday, we  ventured out of the apartment over to my parents for dinner. It was great to get out and with the weather looking so gorgeous this Saturday morning, we may just take a stroll out to the nearby lake.

Grayson received a clean bill of health at his first doctor’s appointment yesterday. He was back at his birth weight and passed the initial exam with flying colors. We go again next week and then on the regular well check up schedule after that (1 month, 2 months, 4 months).

Lisa snapped this shot of the two of us as we made our way through the parking lot.

Yesterday afternoon I picked up Jackson from my folks, who were kind enough to welcome the crazy furball into their home while we were at the hospital. When he first came into the apartment he seemed to know something was different (and it wasn’t that the apartment was unusually clean). He sniffed at the swing, walked into the nursery and did a few 360’s, sniffed around the bedroom and spent an extra couple of seconds at the pack n’ play.

It wasn’t long for him to find his special chair and join Lisa and baby Grayson for a nap.

Although we are keeping our two boys away from each other for the time being, that doesn’t mean that Jackson hasn’t already figured out that he has a new job as big brother – The Protector.

Here is he standing guard at the doorway into the nursery (notice Grayson asleep in the back).

Last night went well with the scheduled feedings just about every three hours, both Lisa and I woke up this morning feeling pretty good. Grayson enjoyed his first night at home and seems to be adjusting well to his new crib (terrible, I know).

We’ve already gone through three outfits this morning, but before he spit up on his Georgia outfit, we took this video of the future Dawg

Three generations of Manchee’s

After sticking around an extra night at the hospital we left this morning after both Lisa and Grayson were given flying colors by the hospital staff. Lisa had her staples removed and her c-section scar looks like it will be pretty minimal and is already healing.

We loaded up the car and headed home. It’s been a long time since I followed the posted speed limit with such accuracy, but there was a new profound sense of protection for Grayson, Lisa and our family as a whole. I gave at least 8 dirty looks to people who were driving too fast, playing their music too loud at a stop light, or following too close. Who says I am getting old?

Mom (Austin) spent her non-hospital visiting time this week cleaning up our unprepared and somewhat disastrous-looking apartment to which we are both incredibly grateful. It was great to walk in to clean home and get away from the sterile confines we had become accustomed to.

We put Grayson down for his first nap and enjoyed a quick and very welcomed bite to eat magically delivered by Mom (Manchee). Aunts Lora and Melissa were kind of enough to knock out a weeks worth of grocery shopping that included newborn-sized diapers — who knew our little guy was going to be so little? At least we have a hefty supply of the next sizes up as he continues to grow.

Lisa and I were able to enjoy some rest and relaxation in our own bed. After watching many of the household chores done before our eyes, we were hungry and enjoyed a good home cooked meal.

Now off to bed…

Although we can’t wait to get home, we decided that we would take advantage of an extra day at the hospital. Last night’s decision to have the nursery watch Grayson turned out to be a great idea, we both got about 4 or 5 hours of sleep, which is a huge improvement over the previous nights.

Jackson at Grammy and Gramps waiting in anticipation to meet his new lil bro:

Here is Grayson posing for the hospital pictures we had taken yesterday:

The debate is over. The votes have been tallied. The child has been named. Go here for a full video breakdown of this morning (if we were animated lions in a Disney movie, of course).

Grayson Davis Manchee looking as cute as ever earlier this afternoon:

Proud mama and Grayson enjoying some shut-eye after a feeding:

And one from yesterday afternoon of Grayson and me.

Grayson is doing great and really progressing well. He is getting comfortable feeding, using his pacifier, and obviously looking rather suave for any photographs.

The nurses have been fantastic and we are contemplating if we want to take an extra day and stay through Saturday. Lisa has been taking laps in the new mama ward and this afternoon we took Grayson out for a walk to enjoy the hallways.

We’ve got lots more pictures, and will get some of them posted soon. Thanks again for everyone’s well wishes for both the baby and the baby’s mama.