First bottle

I finally got to start pumping this week which meant that Ben got to feed Kevin his first bottle! We're only doing 1 bottle a day for the next few weeks and will start increasing that number the closer it gets to me going back to work. Kevin did great and didn't seem to care that it was a bottle feedig him instead of me! I was glad he did so good and Ben loved being able to feed him.

Kevin is feeling much better and is back on his regular feeding schedule. He is sleeping pretty good at night - falling asleep between 9:00 and 10:00 and waking between 5:00 and 6:00. An excellent schedule for me when I go back to work! He takes a small nap during the day..usually around 11:00 and is awake the rest of the day. No more fussing and crying when he's awake either. He either plays on his little mat or sits in my lap and looks around. He's starting to notice more things now...especially when he hears one of the dogs. He looks in the direction of mine and Ben's voice - I love that!!! When he's done eating, he just lays on my shoulder and looks at me. I still can't believe he's here and that he's ours! We just love him to pieces. He's our "little buddy", "little man" and "pumpkin"....all the nicknames we've come up with. He's rarely called Kevin unless we're talking about him to others!!

Going to try to get a little nap in before he needs to eat again. Enjoy the pictures.






Kevin and daddy enjoy their first bottle experience









Look at him go!





Playing on my mat








My shirt says "my crib rocks". How cute is that?










Bath time!





Drying off


"hurry mom - it's cold"


Warm and cozy in my robe

Kevin and Mommy's ER Visit

Today Kevin and I visited the ER.... He started spitting up and having diarrhea yesterday and since his midnight feeding - he wasn't keeping anything down. I talked to the nurse at the hospital and she said to go ahead and take him into the ER. Of course...it has to be on a day that Ben is at work and my parents are already at church. I was in tears most of the way to the hospital but pulled it together before we got there. Kevin hasn't really slept the last 2 nights (except when he sleeps in my arms) but what do you know...we get the hospital and he passes out. We were there 2 hours and he slept almost the entire time! The doctor said he has a stomach bug and there isn't much we can do. They gave him some medicine to help with the nausea and vomiting. It seems to have worked because he hasn't spit up since we've been home. Oh..and I was worried that all the fluid he was losing would cause him to lose weight. Yeah right - our chunky monkey weighed in at 9 lbs 9oz (with clothes)!!! He's eating good and even though he's lost a lot over the past few days, he must have some in reserve or something!!!

We got home, both ate lunch and took a good nap. Daddy is home now and is loving on Kevin. We're planning on staying in for the next week until he gets to feeling better and we're limiting his visitors. This last week was too much for his little body. He's getting into a good routine (eating and sleeping) so we're going to continue working on that and hope it continues.

We're thankful for....

Just want to point out that my post a year ago today was sharing with everyone that we were thankful for my successful surgery. We also found out that the chance of us getting pregnant was good with the help of fertility pills. Fast forward 1 year....and all our prayers and dreams have become reality. Our little miracle is here and we are so thankful for him.

Today was a crazy day! We spent most of the day with my family (all 20 of them!) and Kevin wanted no part of that. He pretty much cried from the moment we got there until we left. We then spent time with Ben's mom and sister (and family friends)...and he wasn't too thrilled about that either. It was too long of a day for him. It took us 10 minutes to get home and he cried the entire time. And I don't mean fussed...I mean cried. Loud, high pitched, mad at the world cried. I felt so bad for him. I fed him when we got home and he passed out. I think he'll sleep good tonight and we're spending the day just hanging out at home tomorrow...just him and I. Poor baby is worn out!!!!

And can you believe that it snowed today? 2 days ago it was in the 80s and today snow! Only in Texas.... What a great memory for Kevin's first Thanksgiving.

Enjoy the pictures of today. If you can't tell...his onesie says "Baby's 1st Thanksgiving". He got too hot in it so we changed him into a little football onesie to help cheer on the Cowboys!!

More pictures....

We had a great day...and we're hoping for another great night! Ben is off tomorrow and Thursday so it'll be nice to have him home and actually off for Thanksgiving! It's been at least 4 years since he's been off on Thanksgiving so we're going to enjoy it!

Chunky Monkey

Yep....I'm referring to our little man! We had Kevin's 2 week check up today and he now weighs 8lbs 13oz and is 21 inches long. He gained 10 ounces in 1 week!!! We all know he is eating very good around here - thanks to daddy's cookin'. And thanks to me feeding Kevin - I have lost 30 lbs. It feels so good to be wearing my rings again.

Afterwards we ran by my office to pick up our employee appreciation gift card. (Sorry we missed you Aunt Libby!) What a huge blessing....The new president of the hospital gave each employee a $400 gift card to Wal Mart - just to say "thanks"!!! Let me say it again...what a huge blessing.

We just got finished eating dinner and after Kevin eats around 9:00 - I'm off to bed. He only woke up 2 times last night and has stayed awake more today..so I'm hoping for a good night's sleep.

Our day without daddy

Today was Ben's first day back to work. Kevin and I did pretty good just the 2 of us. We slept in the living room last night so Ben could get a good night's sleep in bed. Kevin did good in his pack n play....only waking up every 2 - 2 1/2 hours to eat. He slept most of the day today so we'll see how tonight goes. He's changing so much every day and I can't believe he'll be 2 weeks tomorrow. We go for another weight check and part 2 of his newborn screening tomorrow...I'm thinking he's back to his birth weight - if not more.

I don't think Kevin has any idea of what is in store for him on Thursday.... He does have an adorable "baby's first thanksgiving" outfit that we can't wait to put him in. I'll be posting tons of pictures of Kevin meeting his extended family and friends for the first time.

More sleepless nights.....

It has been said that a baby will follow the same schedule as they had when you're pregnant....and I'm convinced that Kevin read that memo! He is awake from 11:00pm until 6:00am - the exact same schedule he had when I was pregnant! I sleep a lot during the day (thanks to Ben!) so Kevin and I can have our 7 hour slumber party. We have really good talks and when a Maverick game is on - I explain the rules of the game to him. He's very interested...trust me!

I'm learning what is on TV and what is not during this time. Thank you Discovery Channel for showing Babies: Special Delivery at 4am every morning. I love that show and it makes that last stretch of time go by fast. Ben goes back to work tomorrow so we'll see how well I do by myself. Ben has been great!!!! He fixes every meal, does the laundry and cleans house. When he knows I need a break - he holds or changes Kevin. I am so lucky to have a wonderful husband and Kevin has a great daddy. We are definitely going to miss him.

Here are the latest pictures of our sweet (and sleeping) baby. I should start taking pictures in the middle of the night when he's awake : )

Daycare decision and Ben's experience!

We decided on a daycare for Kevin. We will be taking him to a center right across the street from my work. It is a very nice place, great staff and of course it's location makes it convenient! We turned in our application and registration money this morning - so Kevin is on the list.

After dropping that off, we went to my mom's work to visit her and let her show Kevin off...which she did like a pro! He did great and let everyone hold him - after my mom insisted that they all wash their hands before touching him!!! We left there and went to visit Ben's mom at her work. She didn't want to share Kevin at all but let everyone come in and see him.....it was all G-mama time : ) Kevin actually woke up for this visit and enjoyed being held and loved on. It's funny to watch everyone comment on "all his dark hair" and then ask who he got it from. I understand the amount of hair but the color..seriously? Look at us - is there any doubt? We're home now and Kevin should be waking up to eat and then we nap. Ben goes back to work on Sunday so we'll see how well I do by myself.

Now..for Ben's diaper changing experience. I wish I had my camera when it happened but I think everyone can use their imagination. Ben changed Kevin last night while I was in the living room. I hear him tell Kevin "you think that's funny don't you?" Apparently, he wasn't finished going poopy when Ben took off his diaper so he put a wipe under his bottom to catch what was coming out. Kevin thought it'd be a good time for him to go tee-tee, too. Ben tried to cover it up but when he lifted his bottom, Ben laughed and all I could hear him say was "old faithful!!!!" He had poop on the changing table, urine on his arm, diaper genie and wall (not to mention on Kevin). It was too funny!!!! I gave Kevin a bath to get the urine off his little face and chest and Ben cleaned up the nursery. Now we're both cautious when we change our little guy so we don't get another surprise...and in Ben's case - 2 surprises! Way to go Kevin.

Kevin had a great night again. He only woke up 3 times to eat and then went right back to sleep. He really is becoming a good baby - regardless of what I thought last week when we got home. Kevin is becoming a thumb sucker - it's the cutest thing ever. I've taken several pictures of him sucking his thumb that I'll post later.

Off for our afternoon "snack"....

A great night and daycare dilema

Kevin and I had a GREAT night last night. From 7pm-7am, we got about 8 hrs of sleep! I would wake up after an hour thinking he'd be awake...but he was fast asleep.

I think we wore him out yesterday. We were informed Sunday night that the girl who was supposed to watch Kevin is not going to be able to now. I was in total shock and of course cried about it for a while. I just kept saying "are you kidding me?" We're had her lined up since I was 4 months pregnant and we find out a week after he's born that we have nobody to watch him. We'll be "daycare shopping" the rest of this week to find somewhere for Kevin to go when Ben returns to work in April.

Here's a picture of the girls checking out Kevin. Jersey doesn't really care that he's here. Meghan is our baby watch dog! When Kevin sleeps, she stays in the nursery and sleeps, too! It's so cute. When he cries, she is right there "helping" us change him or feed him.

Can't get enough pictures!

We had a good day...after a not so good night. Kevin's tummy was not feeling good and he spent most of the night spitting up, crying or eating. After all that drama, he slept most of the afternoon and is having a good evening so far. Things are starting to come together and we're figuring out this parent thing a little bit at a time. It's hard to believe a week has almost gone by.

More pictures coming soon.....

Kevin William Sasser is here!!!!!

Kevin William Sasser entered the world on Monday, November 5th at 10:34pm weighing in at 8lbs 7oz and 19 1/2 inches long! Enjoy the pictures. I'll post more about our labor and delivery experience later - Kevin only sleeps about 30 minutes in his crib before letting us know he's not happy.

Almost a family of 3.....

Our last weekend of "just the 2 of us" was great! We ran some final errands Friday night and went to bed early - my kind of night. We attended a friend's wedding on Saturday. The reception was held at the Mira Vista Country Club. Can't think of a better way to spend an evening than surrounded by million dollar homes, great friends and expensive food.

We went to church this morning and made our way to the hospital for my pre-op. I had a great nurse who took so much time explaining to me what was going to happen tomorrow. She pretty much assured us that we were good to go at 10:00 tomorrow morning!!!! They have plenty of rooms and one person that was scheduled for tomorrow had her baby this weekend.

We ate dinner with Ben's mom and sister tonight and now we're home watching the Cowboy game. Our house is clean and bags are packed. I can't believe we're less than 24 hours (hopefully) from holding Kevin. Ben has rubbed on my belly more today than he has the past 5 months : ) I have loved being pregnant and am very grateful for such a smooth and uneventful pregnancy - but I am very ready to lose the belly.

Our prediction of Kevin:

Candi: 7 lbs 10 oz and 21 inches long born at 6:25pm
Ben: 7 lbs 2 oz and 19 inches long born at 8:30pm

We both predict he'll have a head full of dark hair!!!!! Can't wait to post pictures of our new baby. Keep us in your prayers.

3 more days!!!

I talked to my nurse today and we are officially scheduled for Monday at 10:00! Still doesn't seem real and probably won't until we're at the hospital and in a room.

I'm spending this weekend resting and cleaning. I am attempting to attend a wedding on Saturday - we'll see how that goes. Our doctor's appointment went good yesterday. Dr Maxwell laughed at my huge swollen feet and said "yep - those are big all right!" Kevin's heart rate was great and he estimated he was 7 lbs.

Today I woke up to get ready for work and realized this is one of the last times I wake up and just get myself ready! And probably the last time I wake up to an alarm clock and not a baby crying : )

I'll update more before Monday....and will post final pictures of my belly!