2 more days....

2 more days and then Daddy has to go back to work...boo! I am starting to freak out just a little bit that on Wednesday morning I have to care for two kids by myself all day long. I have no idea how that will work! I have been so lucky to have John home as long as I did.

I will be honest though, it has been very different and almost a little harder recovery not so much physically but emotionally this time. I am much more surprised how much more emotional and hormonal I have been this time. When we had Peyton, I took care of her most of the day and just stayed in bed reading, resting and being pampered and John did stuff around the house, cared for me so I could recover and helped me occasionally with Peyton and we just spent a whole lot of time together as a family of three. Lots of naps, long conversations and just quality time. When he went back to work, I felt confident I could handle everything and we were good. This time however, John has taken on pretty much all care of Peyton, the house, the cleaning etc and it has just been me and Graham kind of left alone. These past two weeks John typically does stuff with Peyton in the morning (errands, park, fun stuff) and that leaves me and Graham at home by ourselves. And as much as I appreciate that he has taken such great care of Peyton and been bonding with her, I will be honest it has resulted in me feeling a little isolated. It has helped me bond tremendously with Graham and become confident in my ability to care for him, understand what he needs and when and have a great two weeks with him BUT I am feeling in no way prepared to take on both Peyton and Graham in just two days. Give me one or the other and I would be fine!

Here is the latest picture of our precious little boy....who by the way looks just like Peyton at 2 weeks but just bigger....which means that all my children will look just like John which in all honesty is kind of annoying. Maybe he will have my personality?

Just so I remember when I go back to do a baby book at some point in his life...here is what Graham is like at 12 days old....

• He is super easy going, never cries and only really fusses when he wants to eat and even then it is more of a grunting sound.
• Graham is a great sleeper so far and goes to sleep pretty easily and is already falling into the Eat, Play, Sleep routine from Baby Wise on his own. I have been too overwhelmed to give it much thought so he has made it easy for me.
• He LOVES bath time and doesn't cry at all. He is super patient with Peyton helping me wash him and put lotion on him and just loves to look around at everyone.
• He loves looking at his sister and is super interested in her whenever she talks and she loves to tell him that it is "ok" and that he is "cute"
• Graham LOVES LOVES LOVES to eat! The only difference in terms of a boy vs a girl so far is how much this kid eats. He wakes up every 3 hours on the dot during the day (sometimes every 2.5 hours) and every 4-4.5 hours at night. He will eat a full feeding each time and then most late afternoon and evening feedings is still needing a supplement of formula (or breast milk if I was able to pump that morning). I am very curious how much he weighs and will see on Tuesday at his two week appointment.
• Boys also like to poop! He has significantly more bowel movements than Peyton and we are flying through diapers...they say you should have 8-10 wet diapers and maybe a couple of poopy ones...well we have 8-10 wet and 8-10 poopy and not at the same time! I am sure that it is TMI but hey it is our blog and our way of remembering what we can use as blackmail when he is a teenager!

In just a week...

In just one week our lives have completely changed and we have been beyond blessed by the addition of our precious, handsome and sweet little boy! He is so sweet, calm, easy going and so far an easy baby. Make sure he is feed every three hours on the dot and he is a happy man!

I can't believe it sometimes! All my fears of not feeling that instant connection to Graham or loving him as much as I love Peyton have been erased and I don't know how it works but my heart doubled in love. I always questioned it when my mom said that she loved all three of her girls the same amount and again...it has taken me becoming a mom (again) to truly understand what she always told me. Life lesson when Peyton was born was when I finally understood that nothing I could do or not do would affect how much my mom loved me.

This week we have been a little sleep deprived and not because Graham wakes up a bunch but mostly because we are not used to getting up every three-four hours to feed and then care for an active toddler all day and try to do household chores etc. Our house is a little less clean than normal, not as organized and it takes three times as long to do something but we are taking deep breaths and enjoying this phase of life and the memories that we are making!

John took this picture on Monday afternoon after Graham's first doctor's appointment (funny story to come soon about that morning) where he did amazing and they were beyond impressed with how healthy he was. He is in perfect health and he is even back at his birth weight of 7lbs 8oz which is what they look for at the 2 week appointment! How did this baby fit inside....seriously this is the same size he was at birth and look at how much of my stomach he takes up! It is crazy!

We have loved watching Peyton love on Graham, tell him that it is "ok," and be the pacifier police! She is very concerned when he isn't sucking on his pacifier and since he doesn't want it unless if he is waiting for food she gets concerned when he doesn't have it in his mouth and tries to force him to take it.

John has been amazing in taking care of Peyton, helping me out and taking care of me so I can recover and staying up with Graham so I can sleep and getting up every three hours since it is still a little hard for me to get out of bed. He has been working really hard and has been serving us so well. I am sure he is ready to go back to work so he can get a vacation!

I am in love with my two precious children and my wonderful husband. I love it! I never could have imagined when I met John almost 8 years ago that we could be so blessed and we would have these precious gifts!

Big Sister Peyton and Heading Home

We made it home yesterday from the hospital a full day earlier than expected! I was feeling a whole lot better than I expected I would and Graham was healthy and doing much better with his feedings so I asked my doctor if it would even be a possibility and we were discharged yesterday afternoon. It is so much nicer to be at home, in our own beds, with our own stuff and also to be back together as a family. Peyton had fun at Granny and Papa's but she missed us and I wanted to bring normalcy back to her life as soon as possible.

I also have some more pictures from when Peyton met Graham for the first time. Looking back at them I love seeing her smile. She is doing well adjusting with him around and is very concerned about him. When he makes fussy sounds she starts to sing to him, sings a couple of words and then just tells him to stop crying which is amusing. She is mostly concerned with his pacifier and wants him to be having it all times when in reality he doesn't really want or need it.

The hospital gave us a Congratulations cake with two champagne flutes and sparkling water. I ended up saving it for when Peyton came and told her it was a cake for her......a big sister cake. She was super impressed and proud of her cake. She kept saying..."BIG sister." It was nice to be able to recognize her again the second time she came up and reinforce that she was important too.

As I mentioned, we left the hospital yesterday and Graham wore the outfit his Great Grandma made for him. I need to put him back in it and take some more pictures soon because I feel with the craziness of getting out of the hospital I didn't get enough pictures.

There were a couple of amusing events when we left the hospital that made me laugh. The first was just the contrast that I immediately felt between the calm/peacefulness that we had been experiencing at the hospital and then the go at 100%, loud, full force nature of Peyton. As soon as she got there to go home with us she was going non stop....talking, running, moving and it just reminded me that I have a super active and lively toddler at home! I knew I did but a couple days away and you forget how much work she is! The whole way home it was lots of talking, lots of asking questions and just a reminder that we are getting no sympathy or break from her.

Our first night home went well. My parents graciously made us dinner and made sure to help get Peyton settled so John could help me. It was nice to finally have a shower, be in my bed and be home! After dinner, everyone left and it was just us! We read books together while I fed Graham and then John got her in bed and we went to bed shortly afterwards. Graham was a little fussier than he has been but I think it was just overwhelmed with everything because he was also awake more during the afternoon/evening with all of the new surroundings. He did well with his feedings and I am hoping by the time we go on Monday my milk will be established, he will no longer be doing the supplemental feedings and his weight will indicate that we are good to continue with exclusive breast feeding.

Today has been just trying to relax and our goals for the day were to have as much normalcy for Peyton as possible which meant limited TV time, her helping out, her regular schedule and just getting back into our routines. John and Peyton went to the park and the store which allowed me some time to sleep/cuddle with Graham which was nice and then tonight my whole family is coming over and bringing dinner. My sister is in town from college, my aunt is visiting and we figured it was easier for everyone to come to us so I could take it easy as opposed to all of us go to them. I am looking forward to an evening of family time with our newest addition!

Day 2 with Graham

We have survived at least 24 hours with baby #2 and we are certainly blessed with an easy going non fussy baby so far! Until my mom made it a point to try and get him to fuss and cry while he was waiting to be feed, the only other time I heard Graham cry was in the delivery room. While every other baby on the floor screamed all night, he just slept very peacefully and had to be woken up. He is pretty chill! So, overall we had a great night!

Since he is so chill however we have encountered some feeding issues which were the focus of today. Yesterday we noticed his blood sugar was low so we started supplementing with formula. It also didn't help that he would latch on when approached with breast feeding but wouldn't bother to try and suck. Then when we started with the bottle we noticed he didn't have a strong suck and swallow reflex there either. By this morning I had almost given up on attempting to get him to latch on and even the bottle was frustrating. We switched to a non lactose formula in hopes that it would be easier for him to digest and not make him so sleepy and then I ended up meeting with the lactation consultant and we are using a Supplemental Nutrition System which is pretty cool. Essentially Graham is feed formula through a tube but it is put in his mouth when he latches on to breast feed. He learns how to properly latch on, suck and breast feed allowing my body the stimulation it needs to produce milk soon and also gives him rewards and encourages him to work on his reflex while also making sure he gets food and doesn't have low blood sugar which we battled with all yesterday and night. We have had three feedings so far using that and it is going wonderfully. He is getting stronger and he is more alert and healthier looking! I am still praying for continued success and that my milk comes in soon so we can convert to exclusively breast milk.

Other big news of the day...Peyton got to come and see her little brother! She was very timid and not really sure of the whole situation but was very sweet with him. My mom brought her up and then Peyton just hung out with us for a couple of hours and then John took her to lunch at Chick Fil A and then back to Granny and Papa's. Peyton brought Graham his own lovey and opened her present from him (books) and then just cuddled with me and watched cartoons. We went on a walk around the hospital floor where she got to push Graham in his bed. She is having a hard time being away from us and is asking a lot about us and clinging to whoever is around. John will be bringing her up here tomorrow and I am even thinking about maybe him staying the night with her tomorrow and then coming up Friday to go home as a family.

So...me saying John could stay home tomorrow night brings me to my next big development of the day....I feel amazing! I am in little to no pain at all, have been up and about all day, gone for a walk and am doing 100% better than I expected. I even asked my doctor if I could go home tomorrow which is a possibility. I mostly want to stay to Friday to make sure Graham's feeding is going well and we have that sorted but I am feeling great! When I had to get up for the first time today I was ready for utter pain but it was easy! I am recovering so much easier this time and it feels good. And, since John went to Katy for the whole afternoon/evening to attend his Aunt Cheryl's funeral, it has been just me and Graham most of the day anyways and we have done great! We had a nice nap together with him on my chest, we have done great on feedings, I am able to get around easy enough to get him out of bed so we are good. It is amazing how much more confident you are with your second, I would have never let myself be alone with Peyton less than 24 hours after she was born! It was a nice day though having Graham all to myself!

This whole birth experience has been a huge answered prayer! The help from my family and friends, the ease of the c-section and Graham being born healthy, the ease in recovery and the staff at this hospital has been AMAZING! I thought I had good nurses at Clear Lake with Peyton but the staff here has been even better and are outstanding!

I am one blessed mommy with two beautiful children!

Graham Ryerson

Graham Ryerson Acord

March 8th, 2011 at 9:43 AM

7 pounds 8 ounces

20 inches long

May God protect him and be with him all the days of his life.

Getting Ready
7 pounds 8 ounces

Ché did so well with the c-section.

Proud Father

What a strong woman!

A Blessed Family

Our new Bundle of Joy

38 Weeks

We made it to 38 weeks and not a week longer...as we get to meet Graham today! Finally!



I was thinking this morning around 2 AM (and discussed the same topic prior to going to bed) when I couldn't sleep and I was thirsty but I couldn't drink anything (or eat after midnight) of how different this whole pregnancy was and that with so much going on in day to day life of being a mom to a toddler plus any other stuff that you are dealing with and lately we have been going through a bunch...you just don't have the chance to sit and dwell and get anxious and the fact that you have done this all before takes the newness out of it. It is a weird feeling. Doctors appointments, shopping, registering, making the nursery and reading baby books all feel like an item on a to-do list because you are just trying to get through your day huge, uncomfortable and pregnant while managing a strong willed and opinionated toddler. And when your pregnancy involves three months of vomiting, three months of cramping and three months of constant monitoring and blood work...it gets old. Don't get me wrong, I feel beyond blessed and am so thankful to be able to become pregnant again and carry this baby to past full term. But I have been so scared that I am never going to have that excited feeling and forget about how I am scared I can't have enough room in my heart to love him like Peyton. So, unlike the first time when you are scared about bringing home a baby, what to do, when to feed him etc, this time it is a different and more complex set of fears and emotions.

Well, today when I finally gave up on sleep around 5 AM I woke up with an anticipation and excitement. I even talked to Graham and told him to get ready because around 9:30 AM someone was pulling him out whether he was awake and ready or not! I can't wait to hold him, I know that God will give me the capacity to love him just as much as Peyton but in different ways and to appreciate the unique man that he will be. I am trusting in God and having faith that He will continue to guide us and give us the right discernment in raising Graham as He has been our source of strength with Peyton. I am ready and so excited and made sure to wear waterproof mascara!

Off we go to the hospital.....

The 3 Musketeers...

...will soon add another to their group.



We had a wonderful weekend spending time together and getting ready for the big addition to our family. Sunday, my sister took Peyton to the Rodeo so John and I took the opportunity to go out for brunch together at a place we found in Houston Heights called Java, Java. It was a wonderful way to spend Sunday morning and enjoy each others company and spend some time together. We then visited a couple of furniture stores in the Heights, made our way to Pottery Barn and then headed home to do some housework. Peyton had a blast at the Rodeo and slept for three hours when she got home (in addition to the hour in the car) so she was pooped! When she finally woke up we headed out for Mexican food and I enjoyed fish tacos from my favorite place, La Brisa! Since Peyton slept so much we went to Granny and Papa's for a late night visit and then all went home to bed.


Today Peyton and I had music, finished packing our bags and cleaning up the house and then we went for our final family dinner as a family of three. When John and I went out the night before we had Peyton we went to Saltgrass in Kemah...this time.....because I was tired, didn't want to deal with Peyton and a real restaurant and because I had my fish tacos the night before...we ended up at the glamorous Chick fil A! But we did get a visit from the cow and got our picture with him! Fun memories!

In just a little bit I will be putting my precious daughter to bed knowing that tomorrow I will be the mommy to two precious little children. I am so excited and feel beyond blessed to be adding to our family but at the same time am sad that it will no longer be us three. It is a weird mix of emotions and so hard to explain!


I can't wait to hold Graham, finally see him not on a ultrasound and kiss him! I am also beyond excited about seeing Peyton finally "get" her baby brother and see her grow into her role as a big sister. I know she will do wonderfully and I am excited for her and for Graham. He has a pretty awesome older sister! And I am overjoyed that John gets to have a son and that I get to see him interact with his son! It will be a good day for sure!


Please pray for our family this week though as we are dealing with a wide variety of emotions. Today Cheryl Acord, John's aunt, passed away and our hearts are very heavy with sadness for the loss and for her family. She was a wonderful woman who loved so many and served so many. She was beyond gracious to so many people and such an influential person in John's life and the stories I could say about how she truly helped form him into the man he is today and helped shape his life in the direction it went are numerous. We will miss her terribly and our hearts and prayers are with her husband and three children. The funeral is Wednesday so John will be headed out to Katy to attend that and I hate that I can't be there with him and also say my own goodbyes.

Overall, a week of sadness and loss but excitement and anticipation with the welcoming of Graham. Please pray over tomorrow and the delivery and that he arrives safe and healthy and for my recovery to be smooth and healthy and then pray for Wednesday for John and his family as they say good bye to Cheryl.


We will update tomorrow with pictures of the little guy as soon as we can!

Breakfast with Friends

Two years ago, John and I ventured out and following God's calling decided to become Navigators of a small group. Our church is centered around small groups and feel that the best growth and the best way to help each other become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ is through a small group setting. Stepping up from just being members of a group to leading a completely new group was scary but God so richly blessed us with an amazing group of people and a wonderful experience. That first group lasted about 16 months before one couple moved to Saudi Arabia and then the rest of us decided to split into two groups to support our church's mission of multiplying groups. John and I are now leading a group with one of the other "original couples."

Well, the couple that moved to Saudi Arabia in August, The Perry's, were in town for a visit and we all gathered Saturday morning for breakfast (minus one wife who was out of town) and enjoyed a wonderful time of fellowship, hearing about how God is moving through them in Saudi, what everyone else is up to and also watching all of our children play together.

What is amazing is that when we started this group the only kids that were born were Peyton and then the Perry's son, Gavin who were only around 6 months old at the time........

In addition to Peyton and Gavin, another couple was pregnant at the time with their first due 6 months after our group started, so essentially three kids at the start of our group..... NOW....we have five kids that are born, Graham on the way and another one on the way in July....7 KIDS!!! Talk about multiplying in another way! And I think it is amusing that Peyton is the only girl among those seven!

Even though we are all not in small group every week together and one of us lives in another country, we are still all there for each other, praying for each other, guiding each other and helping each other learn to love God and others more. It has been such a wonderful example of how biblical community should work and we have been immeasurably blessed by these relationships in addition to the relationships we have formed in past small groups.

It was a wonderful Saturday morning for sure!

Clean bill of health

For the past three months I feel like every time I leave the doctor it is something else. Well, of course, the week before my scheduled c-section and when all my doctor's expected me to be sent to the hospital today, we get our first clean bill of health in months.

Ultrasound showed great fluid levels, a healthy placenta, great practice breathing and everything working as it should. My Non Stress Test showed great heart beat variations and contractions every five minutes apart however when she checked everything I have no changes so no worries. Blood pressure was normal for me at this stage and the high risk doctor sent me on my way with instructions to send her a picture of Graham when he comes!

SERIOUSLY GRAHAM!!!!.....you and my body have caused problems constantly this pregnancy and now everything is normal! I just had to laugh when I walked back to my car knowing that I didn't have to visit the hospital today, that I could actually pick up Peyton today from school and that I had a trunk full of bags that just needed to be moved back into the house! So...unless something changes in a week (my water breaks or I start going into labor) we will be meeting Graham next Tuesday morning...oh how unpredictable babies can be!

37 Weeks and Ready for Baby

We have made it full term! I am 37 weeks tomorrow but since I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning and there is a huge possibility I will be sent straight to the hospital to have Graham after the appointment, I figured I should do my 37 week post tonight!

Since my last post we ended up spending another 4 hours at the hospital on Thursday. This time I was supposed to do a Non Stress Test for about 30 minutes to 1 hour but since my regular doctor doesn't do them at her office so I had to go the hospital. While I was at my appointment however I mentioned feeling nauseous the night before and that morning so she wanted to do some blood work at the hospital as well. No big deal...and 6 vials of blood later nothing! BUT, during my NST at the hospital I started showing contractions every 5 minutes! Are you kidding me! I wasn't really feeling any pain and after another 90 minutes of monitoring and getting checked to confirm that the contractions were causing me to dilate etc I was sent home. My doctor called me and told me what to look for and also to mention that she really didn't even see me making it to my newly scheduled date of March 8th and to just have my stuff ready to go on my appointment Tuesday with the high risk doctor and that she was even marking her appointment book to note that she would probably be delivering me that afternoon. She reiterated that as annoying as all this is, she really wanted me to make it to 37 weeks at the minimum and that is why she hasn't thrown in the towel and just delivered him.

Well, tomorrow is 37 weeks....and this is how I am looking....HUGE! I feel like my stomach is a lot bigger than it was with Peyton and some of my maternity shirts are even too tight with Graham. I believe I have gained right around the same amount with both of them and maybe slightly more with Graham but interesting enough I haven't gained any weight these last two weeks with him which has been nice considering all of the Girl Scout cookies I have been eating.

Peyton - 37 weeks Graham- 37 weeks

Since my Thursday visit to the hospital I have been feeling pretty good until yesterday. Last night I started having discomfort in my lower abdomen and tightening and just feeling awful. I attributed it to doing too much over the weekend and since it didn't get worse I just went to sleep. I woke up this morning, somewhat uncomfortable but nothing too bad and made sure to sleep a bunch today....which meant tons of Dora, Diego and Barney for Peyton. Well, at 4:00 PM today I started having the same pain, discomfort and even started feeling some contractions. They have been coming off and on all night, the pain getting a little more intense but nothing regular and mostly staying in my lower abdomen. I do think that he has dropped a little which is weird since he is breached but even a friend noticed he was lower today so maybe that is what is going on.

Since it hasn't gotten more regular or worse as the night as gone and I have an appointment tomorrow morning, I didn't call my doctor but it makes me feel like my doctor is probably right that he will be coming tomorrow...or I have a week of annoying discomfort, pain and more doctor's appointments. I am fine either way as long as have a healthy little boy in my arms at the end....so....T-minus less than 24 hours or a week.....we will see!