Pictures, Doctors, and Jeeps

1. Fresh Grace Photography
http://www.freshgracephotography.blogspot.com/
My good friend Lauren Winter is an amazing photographer! She came over and got some pictures of Whit when he was only a few days old...go to the link above and check her out. You will love her work and she is oh so affordable!


2. Whit
Whit is 3 weeks old today. We headed off to the doctor this morning for his newborn check up. He now weighs 8 pounds 2 ounces and feels like he is growing so much (however I realize that he is actually still very tiny).

3. Kate
Kate could be one of the most independent 2.5 year olds ever. And now she is an independent 2.5 year old behind the wheel of a car with ZERO sense of direction! Every kid on our street has a motorized vehicle and the people we bought our house from left us a Barbie Jeep where all we had to do was buy a battery. Kate loves riding and driving these jeeps and 4-wheelers so this past weekend we got her jeep up and running. She is like a wild woman on this thing. And just a few hours ago she flipped it going down our driveway so we are going to have to reevaluate letting her drive it period. (she is actually okay with only a few scrapes...i just knew for sure we were going to be headed in for stitches when I saw it flip).

Can I get a Hallelujah!

Can I get a Hallelujah?! Kate spit up 100% of the time and the most foriegn thing is happening with Whit...he actually burps! I don't know what to do with myself not having to have 4 burp cloths each feeding and I find myself jumping every time I hear him burp and then realizing that is was only a burp, no spit up!!! I must say it is quite glorious! On another note, Kate's umbilical cord took 5 weeks to fall off and Whit's came off this morning after only 1 week. We are still doing really well over here and I am just enjoying being a mom.
We are still sunbathing over here. Whit's billi count is starting to go down but they are still keeping an eye on it. I think Jason might have a heart attack if we have to pay our co-pay one more time for them to prick Whit's heel.

First Days Home

Our first few days at home have been really good. I realize that Whit is only about 5 days old but he just seems like a more content baby then Kate was. I didn't think I was ready to care for a newborn again but you really do forget just how precious and sweet they are and I am enjoying every minute. Everyone asks how Kate is doing...she has responded how I had hoped but not how I had expected. She is very sweet to Whit and doesn't seem to mind that he is home with us. We have had a few melt downs and have been a little whiny but for the most part the transition is going really well.
Whit is a little jaundice. Right now we only have to put him in the window to do a little sunbathing. But we are having to go in everyday to have his heel pricked so hopefully his numbers start going down and don't continue to rise or he will then have to go under the lights.

Kate loves to hold her little brother. When he is in her arms she says "hello baby Whit, I am your big sister Kate." It is really sweet to watch.

Whit Brantley

Andrew Whitlark Brantley
May 4, 2010 @ 10:22am
6 lbs 12 oz / 20.75 in

So after all my complaining I went to the doctor on Monday for a regular appointment and had progressed to the point where she was more than willing to let me come in the next day and be induced. So I went home, picked up the house, made some plans for Kate and finished packing my bags and then off we went the next morning at 5am!! I was a little nervous about being induced but everything went really well. I went from 3cm to 10cm in about 1 hour and then only had to actually push him out as he was already crowning on his own. Jason and I were in a little disbelief as everything happened so quickly since by 10:30 that morning we were proud parents of a little boy (which Jason made sure to double check when he came out!) Our nurses were great and it was nice that my doctor got to deliver me. Whit is doing really well and big sister Kate is probably actually in denial! :)

Kate was interested in Whit but not like I thought she would be.

She was quite shy about taking a picture with him. Probably because a handful of her favorite people were here at the hospital, including her Pop. She even went right past me to tell Bry (Jason's sister) hello when she hadn't seen me in days!
And she was quite excited about her McDonalds too. So I think our effort to make her feel special and it not be all about Whit was successful...so successful that she probably still doesn't quite understand that he will be coming home with us to live!