I'll take 1,000 bad days

To get to see this handsome face each and every morning!!!

Just makes all the sleepless nights so worth it to get to see this big smile when we get up!

He doesn't resemble his daddy at all does he?!

So we found some baby pics of Jason...Hudson doesn't look a thing like him huh?!?

My sweet 1 month old!

Wow...one whole month has already passed us by...in that one month a lot has happened! We had lots of waiting, a few (ok maybe a lot) of tears, but in the end it was all worth it to get this precious bundle of joy!

You were determined to make us wait as long as possible so we had to come and get you!

Our first family photo

And from this moment I was head over heels in LOVE!

What's not to love about this sweet lil' face, you have your daddy's dimples! One on your right cheek and the most noticeable one on your chin!

I live for sweet moments like this

And fall in love all over again with the both of you when I see sweet moments like this

You experienced your first holiday at just 6 days old

You have your moments of being wide awake and alert

Then sweet sleeping moments where you make the sweetest sounds

But there's also bad days...

And some tummy time

But you constanstly tell mommy to stop taking photos of you, or just give me the back of your head!

Your umbilical cord finally fell off and we were able to give you your first bath, you didn't know what to think about it at first but you didn't mind it

You love to smile at daddy while we're making fools of ourselves to get you to smile for pictures

But I just love mornings when you are having some sweet dreams and just can't get enough pictures of you

You have good hair days (thanks to daddy!)

But you have certainly had your share of bad hair days!

You've visited the sheriff's department to say hey to your Uncle Trey

So HAPPY 1 MONTH my sweet lil' monkey, Mommy and daddy love you oh so much!!

I can certainly say that having a child has been one of the most challenging things that Jason and I have ever done, but it's the most rewarding thing as well. Each and every day when we see our sweet lil' boy smile at us is what keeps us going. The long, sleepless nights are not so bad when you get to see a big beautiful smile every morning. I've enjoyed every moment of every day over the past month and look forward to so many more. Everyone tells you what to expect, but it's not really understandable until you have your sweet bundle of joy here with you and you get to experience everything on your own!

I can't thank family and friends enough for all that they have done and will continue to do, but mainly I want to thank my sweet husband for all he's done. He's been there for me over the past month and done things for me and there aren't enough words to express to him how appreciative I am for it all. From diapers and burping to dishes and cleaning or even just allowing me to have some "me" time each and every day; he's been there to do it all! I don't know what I'll do when he goes back to work in a couple of weeks, but know that he's been so helpful over the past month.

Whew...well, 1 month down, only 18 more years to go huh?! :)

Look ma' BIG boy shoes!

We started putting Hudson is some shoes before his boats get too big to fit in them...they are so big still on him though!!

Yea, just chillin'

I'm just so dirty I can't stand it anymore!

Since all the pieces of the umbilical cord finally fell off we are finally able to give Hudson a real bath...

I say he was saying "I'm just so dirty, give me a bath!" in this photo.

He did not like it at first, he was very upset

But soon warmed up to the idea...yes I am in the tub with him

And finally done...

It was a success, he only screamed at the very beginning, making me think that I had made the water too hot or too cold, but the thermometer in the tub said it was just right and once he realized what we were doing he calmed down. It also helped that he was hungry, he ate then went right to sleep after this, so maybe a bath at bedtime every night!!!

3 weeks old

Oh my sweet lil' monkey, you are growing like a weed these days! You eat non-stop, which is good for milk production but very confusing for mommy and daddy because we just don't know where you are holding all that milk?! :) You are sleeping (and letting mommy and daddy sleep) for the most part through the night. We feed you around 9:00pm and you sometimes go down right after but usually by the time the news is on you are asleep and will sleep to anywhere between 1:00am and 3:00am, just depends on how messy your diaper is :) then you let mommy and daddy sleep until your 6:00am feeding, mommy usually lets daddy sleep in until your 9:00am feeding though. You are getting better at sleeping during the day between feedings and not being too fussy but you do still have you occasional "fussy moments" here or there, for this we have enlisted the help of pediatrician recommended Gripe Water, and it works wonders! You still get the hiccups all the time, usually after your feedings but you are dealing with them better. You still have some trouble with spitting up and choking while eating but learning to deal with that as well. Daddy has a really good way of calming you down when you are fussy, I guess it's cuz you know you aren't getting any food from him if you cry??? You are starting to show more emotions on your face, smiling a lot more, grimacing while making prizes for mommy and daddy, raising your eyebrows at different voices and starting to coo. I love watching you while you sleep, you make all these faces and all sorts of sweet noises that make mommyhood so worth it! You are starting to get a little too big for some outfits, i.e. below, but still too small to fit into the "0-3 Month" outfits that we have. You have just about a handful of onesies that we put you in all the time, people probably think you don't have any clothes, it's not that, you have tons, you just can't wear them yet!!! However, you are eating more and more with each passing day so I have a feeling you will be in those outfits before too much longer!

My sweet boys!

A night alone!!!

Today was an exciting day, we had our first adventure out of the house and took Hudson to lunch with some friends. We got Hudson all dressed up in his Aggie onesie and then he slept the entire time we were there! Oh well, it was a pretty calm afternoon then Jason was gone that evening. He signed up to work at a Chamber event last night so that left me home alone for about 8 hours with Hudson for the first time! Can you say AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!?! Everything was fine though, a friend brought me some movies, my mom brought us dinner (and allowed me to take a shower) but in the end Hudson went down right after his last feeding and was out cold so I really didn't have to worry about much! Woo-hoo this mommy business is getting a little easier...I think!

My chunky monkey!

Well we went to the doctor today for Hudson's two-week check-up, yea a few days late but we insisted on seeing his pediatrician this time so we had to wait. Well, his weigh-in was 8lbs 6oz!!! That's 1lb 2oz in a week!!! Holy cow, he's going to be my chunky monkey afterall! That's ok though, check out those chubby cheeks...I just can't get enough of them!!

Doctor says you are doing good though, nursing good and putting on weight so that's a plus! Umbilical cord is still on so the doctor put some meds on it to dry it up and says it should be off soon, they drew some blood from your lil' foot too, I think mommy had a harder time with it than you did! I don't know how I will handle your 8 week shots!!! All-in-all you got a good bill of health and we are scheduled to come back in 6 weeks. 

2 weeks old

Another onesie from your Aunt Jaclyn (that we also thought was going to be too small!)

My oh my where has the past 2 weeks gone?!?! You are starting to let mommy and daddy sleep through the night some, we had our first few nights of 4 1/2 hour "naps" at night time...we are loving it! You are very colicky these days, makes for a stressed out mommy and daddy but we are learning to deal with it more and more with each day that passes. You are eating well, starting to fill out more and more throughout your little body. I'm sure at the doctor this week you will have packed on some pounds! You are getting better at not spitting up so much, although mommy and daddy still have to learn to hold you upright after you nurse or you will spit up! We have just about gone through all the newborn diapers we had, and we didn't even think we were going to need newborn diapers and here you have gone through them all! You have now spit-up, pooped and peed on mommy and I love every minute of it! You sneeze a lot and it scares Dixie, our dog and you get the hiccups all the time! You have a hard time burping, we are giving you Mylacon to try to help with it but you just can't seem to get those bubbles out of your belly at times. All in all, it's been an ok second week, mommy and daddy are learning more and more with each passing day but we are loving every minute that we have with you now!

I love moments like this!

Jason caught this sweet moment...just melts my heart!

And this one later one...

Yes if you notice, he does have two different onesies on...Hudson hasn't learned yet about his refluxes so we change outfits quite often throughout the day! :)

1 week old

We had our first doctor visit this afternoon, Hudson is putting weight back on, he now weighs 7lbs 4oz, almost back at our birth weight!! He doing good though, doctor says he's looking good so back home and we'll be back next week for our 2 week check-up.

How can you not just fall in love with this lil' guy?!?!

So what has happened in one week. Well, we came home just 4 days ago so not too terribly much has happened. You still have your days and nights mixed up, but I don't mind. You sleep well in your swing, and that makes me very happy!!! Me and daddy are happy to be home, but we got spoiled while in the hospital with all the nice nurses taking care of us. I can't look at you enough, I can't hold you enough, I just can't get enough of you! I never really believed in "love at first sight" until I saw your sweet face just one week ago. I cry when you cry, I smile when you smile, I just love you so much. Daddy is so proud, I love seeing him interact with you; changing diapers, trying to console you when you are upset, everything about him as a father just makes me love him that much more. You are feeding well obviously since you are putting weight on, but just not very long. You nurse about every 3 hours, sometimes more and sometimes less, it really just depends on the day. You have a little problem with spitting up, some days it's really bad and we change you about 10 times, others you are ok and we only have to change you maybe once. Each and every day with you is different and so much more fun than the day before. If the next 7 weeks are as fun as this past week has been, I don't know how I will ever go back to work!

Our first holiday!!

Well, Happy 4th of July EVERYONE!!! It was a pretty uneventful day in the Casa de James. We went to my parent's house for lunch and lots of photos of the families. It turned out to be a pretty fun day though.

It's a little grainy but you get the picture

Hudson got to wear a onesie his Aunt Jaclyn got for him, that we actually thought was going to be too small for him! Who'd thought he'd be so small!?!? No fireworks this year for our lil' man but maybe at New Year's he can see some. We did watch the firework show in New York on TV tonight, it just about brought tears to my eyes remember 3 years ago when Jason proposed to me under the Statue of Liberty just before the fireworks in the Hudson...where my sweet monkey got his name from :)

Our family photo :)

The Oldham familia

The James family

Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!

Fun times in the hospital

So because I had surgery I was kept at the hospital all week long. You know, in the beginning, I remember thinking "I'm going to stay in the hospital as long as I possibly can!" Well after the third day I was done! I spent 5 days in the hospital and was so ready to come home! We had lots of visitors but when you are confined to the hospital bed for 2 days it makes your time there really boring!!! Thank goodness for my mom's laptop and all the friends and family members that came to visit us all the time. Hudson even had the chief of police come to visit him in the hospital, actually lots of officers came, we were the talk of the hospital, everyone wondering why all the cops are coming up to the hospital. It was a good laugh for us. The days really are a blur, I couldn't tell you what day was what while we were there. During days we kept Hudson in our room, at night time we sent him to the nursery in between feedings so we could get some rest, the papmering was quite nice!! We had some awesome nurses too, at the push of a button they were at my beck and call with whatever I needed or wanted. My first night after he was born, my night nurse finally was able to sneak me some broth, it was the best damn broth I have ever tasted!!! The next day my nurse was able to get me on solid foods by lunch time and ordered me a grilled chicken sandwich and it was sure yummy! Friday finally came and we knew that we were going to be able to go home! I couldn't wait. I was ready to go around 9am, my nurse informed me that discharges usually took place between the hours of 10:00am and 1:00pm so I knew I would be home by lunch or shortly after...well we came marching in around 4:00pm. Lots of babies were being born and things just got really hectic at the hospital and unfortunately we were the ones that took second chair to it all. Hudson was so tiny, the newborn outfit we took just swallowed him, I know they grow up so fast but oh my he was so tiny! He looks so small in his car seat, I was scared the whole drive home that something would happen to him in that car seat because it seemed so big for him but the nurses assured me that everything was fine with him and even though he was tiny, he would be ok.

All 6 pounds 13 ounces of him...so tiny in that car seat!

So excited to be heading home!!

He wasn't as thrilled as we were about being home...he was hungry!



We are glad to be home now, we know the first few days will be filled with visitors but Jason and I are just ready to be parents to our sweet lil' not-so-chunky monkey. Our first real test is going to be this evening, our first night with him...can't call the nursery tonight to send him off once we are done feeding...EEEK!