Here's to Hope

Okay, we've made it 2 weeks so far...and counting. Ah, newborn-ism does come to an end. Someone tell me that I will wear regular clothes again. I will put on makeup again. I will brush my hair and eventually get my haircut again. My pregnancy acne will clear up. I will lose these last 10 pounds. I will look at my husband with loving eyes again. I will not question my sanity again (at least not to this degree). My boobs will heal. I will shower on a regular basis again. I will sleep again. I will drink caffeine again. Yes, here's hoping that these first few weeks will be a distant foggy memory soon. Don't get me wrong...I love the new man in my life. I don't handle surgery well. If I could "pop them out" like my sister, I'd have a dozen more.

Back to reality. We had our 2 week checkup today! Mattox weighs 7 lbs. 10 oz!!!!!!!! Wow! And they were worried about his size in utero! ha! He's showing them! Seriously, he's great...still a bit jaundiced and has clogged tear ducts. He loves to eat! Such a boy - although we did force him to sit through a photo shoot with Jeanelle last week. He finally decided to christen his room...and me...with urine. I feel like I got initiated into a club or something. For me, comparatively speaking, I think changing a girl's diaper is much easier than a boy's. Between the circumcision ring ointment, booty ointment, and alcohol for the belly button - that's just too much going on in one tiny little area. He will sleep 4-5 hours most of the time although he hit his first growth spurt the other day so we've been going every 2 hours for a few days. He's not totally sold on a pacifier and the same tricks that worked first go-around aren't working this time. He's proving to be all boy and quite opposite of MC. We still aren't sure who he looks like. Any guesses? When they pulled him out, I seriously questioned if he was mine. Of course Matt looked at me and asked who the daddy was.

I wouldn't have made it without Mom. Thank you, Mom! She has been taking care of MC for me. They went to TN for the week and will be back this weekend with my sister and nieces. She spoils me...never too old for that. So! I need advice on how to handle 2 kids at the same time (when my family leaves and Matt is at work). How the heck do yall do it??? When do you sleep??? Here's hoping that sleep eventually returns.

Welcome Mattox!

Mattox William Wesley Miley arrived at 7:30 am on March 9th, 2010. He weighed 7 lbs 7 oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. He is absolutely beautiful! To me, he looks like Mati Claire did at birth yet he doesn't have her hair at all. His hair is lighter and has 2 blond "spots". I'm thinking this could be his birthmark maybe but its cute nonetheless. We got home Friday and we didn't sleep at all that night. Since then, its been better. He lost down to 6 lbs 12 oz but has gained 1 oz at our 2 days checkup - so he weighs 6 lbs and 13 oz now. He wakes up every 4 hours right now...and only cries when he's hungry. He is an excellent eater! We had no latching problems with breastfeeding so I was pleasantly surprised by that! In shock really. So feeding is much easier this time around. He seems to be a little serious man. We've only gotten a few smiles so far but he takes in all the lights and sights and has the funniest expressions. I don't remember much about last week, but thank you to everyone who visited and I apologize if I said anything that I shouldn't have or rude. I have been heavily drugged the last few days. Here are the pics!


A few minutes old.

Proud Daddy!

Big sister!!!!

Um, yeah...don't look to the left. Family pic.

Last Bash

We are so lucky that Matt works for wonderful people! The ER threw me a baby shower this past Wednesday and they just amazed me! They had already sent me more than enough gifts earlier, and then gave me even more at a "non-gift" shower! Here are a few pics (I had already packed my camera so these were taken with my phone). I know they look at the blog in the ER, so here's another BIG thank you to everyone (especially Tammy) for the food, setup, and gifts!

Such a darling cake! I loved it! Half vanilla/half chocolate!

Matt grabbing a bite to eat before heading back to work.

Gumbo, BBQ sandwiches, salad, cake, MS caviar with chips, punch, etc...

Mati Claire is getting ready to become a big sister. She says "Look at me Momma, I a big sisser!" I am so glad Gigi and Poppy will be here Sunday for almost the entire month of March! They are leaving their house "under-construction" to come visit! Thank you thank you thank you!

Matt may not want me sharing this news, but I'm so proud of him... He delivered his first baby yesterday! And it wasn't ours! Then Aunt Rachel took care of the baby in the nursery! Too funny! The family named her Olivia and she is doing fine. My OBGYN said she would let Matt scrub in and help deliver Mattox... for some reason Matt doesn't want to ?!?! Did I mention that I'm scheduled for March 9th now. I still have ALOT of contractions so there is a chance he may come earlier, but we are hoping he will stay put til the 9th. The appointment went well yesterday.

The Big D

and I do mean Dallas! We spent Valentine's weekend in the Big D for our last get away. There are NO vacations planned for the rest of this year so we went all out. We spent Saturday night in a really nice hotel and we both planned to get sleep. Get your mind out of the gutter. I didn't sleep at all that night. I told you about this burst of energy I've got...not sure where it's coming from. At 2:30 am I took a Tylenol PM (per on call doctor's advice from previous hospital stay) and even that didn't work. I think it was a combination of being hot, pregnant, bed too soft, people next door being loud, and being a window away from downtown noisy Dallas. Hello sirens at all hours of the night. Woke up early to enjoy our awesome breakfast! Then we headed to Al Biernat's Restaurant for lunch! GREAT restaurant! Highly recommend it! Thank you Lori for the tip and Heather for making the reservation for us. We went to the movies to waste some time before we headed to the NBA All-Star Game at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington. Let's just say I'm not a fan of the new stadium. Glad we went and had a good time overall, but the stadium story would take all night. We did get to see Usher, Gretchen Wilson, Shakira, and Alicia Keyes perform. Glad we made it home safe and without a newborn! Dr. T did not want me traveling or going out of town this late in pregnancy...but I just failed to remind her about that last week. You know these contractions don't mean anything! lol! Seriously, we kept our fingers crossed all weekend and did some heavy praying.

We got home at 5 am Monday morning! I was expecting a little more welcome from MC, but all I got was "Noooooo! Chachel! Chachel!" Thank you Ray and Rachel for babysitting all weekend. You were sorely missed on Monday! We came home to 2 new and LAST teeth! Yay! We are done with teeth until they start falling out in a few years! It explained her sleep problems in the last month but I don't think it explains her behavior.... she's just terrible at being 2! hahahaha!
I'm loving me some Mati Claire right now because every day is a "happy balentime" day!

Let it Snow...and Go!

Maybe I should take that flag down...I've had enough!

After the Saints won the Superbowl, Mississippi had its "big snow" last week (total of 4 times this winter). Hell has officially frozen over. I think we got close to 7 inches. So here are a few snow pics even though we weren't out there long. I kept slipping which made me nervous being preggo... and since I'm top heavy, I couldn't really enjoy helping and playing with Mati Claire. If I bent over, I could barely get back up. Matt made the quickest and sorriest excuse of a snowman ever but MC LOOOOOVED every minute of it! With every step she took she yelled "YAY!"

Superbowl Party III

Michael, Carla, Meghan, and Brandon. Thanks Michael for the spectacular wings!


Kaytlin and Tiffany


Babies due in March: Macy Kate and Mattox

Carrie, Lori, Candice, and Tiffany

Sarah and Jennifer

How cute are these guys? Jack looks like a mini-Brees!

We held our annual Superbowl Party (I know a little late posting). I always try to be fair since I'm not sure who is a fan of who. We had a great turnout this year with about 25 people and 12 kids. I was so busy watching the game and the house that I didn't have time to get my camera so I'm swiping these pics from Tiffany's Facebook page! Hope you don't mind Tiffany! We had a great time! WHO DAT???

Baby Blues

How cute is this shirt Gigi bought him???

Here are a few pics from the baby shower my Sunday School class threw for me back in January. Pamela and I are due just a few days apart so Mattox and Macy will always be in the same class! Love Love Love all the gifts I got! Thank you again to everyone. I agree that boy clothes just aren't as much fun but I'm learning to love it. Today I was on a mission to buy his "Easter/Mother's Day/Baby Dedication" outfit (after a Mistletoe Marketplace mishap). Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself excited...no, stoked about his outfits! ha!

I've been having ALOT of contractions in the past 2 weeks. They don't hurt at all - just uncomfortable. After the first few woke me up at 2 am (flashback to Mati Claire) I went in and got sent home. They ruled out UTI, but told me I was possibly dehydrated... whatever - I drink plenty of water (back to actually craving it). But they also weren't so sure it was Braxton-Hicks because those should get better with rest, and at the time I only noticed them when I was resting. Now I notice them all the time resting or not. I've had 8 today so far. I'm scheduled for a section on March 12th as of right now...unless he comes early! We're just hoping to make it to March. I think he has cabin fever like the rest of us. I never had any signs that Mati Claire was coming when she did. In the last 2 weeks I've experienced him "drop," contractions, cramping, and even bloody noses...weird. Then I've had a burst of energy this past weekend...even weirder. "She falls in a well, eyes go crossed, she gets kicked by a mule, they go back again...I don't know."