Tucker and I have been going-it-alone this week. Sadly, Daddy started back to work on Monday (tear!). We were very blessed that he was able to take a week off to be with us. But, it made it that much harder when he had to return to work. Mommy and Tucker miss him so much through the day and anxiously await his arrival home in the evenings.

And, I must say that I have been very impressed with myself. I have only called the pediatrician one time (knock on wood, there's still a day and a half left to the week!).

Here is a pic of Tucker and Daddy upon Daddy's arrival home.

In other news, Tucker is 2 weeks old today! We had a doctor's appointment yesterday and he has surpassed his birth weight by 5 1/2 ounces! He now weighs in at 7 pounds and 7 1/2 ounces and is 21 1/2 inches long!!! What a big boy!!!!! :)

A Little Sun for my Son

Tucker is a little jaundice. Not so much so that we have had to put him under a bili light or anything, but the pediatrician recommended a good sun bath when the weather permits. Tucker doesn't mind at all. He just lays in his bassinet by the window, Mommy plays his favorite cd, and he soaks up the sun. Ahhh, the life!
See for yourself:

You Might Be a Mom of Newborn If......

You might be the mom of a newborn if....

* It's 2:45 pm and not only have you not showered, but you haven't brushed your teeth, washed your face, or put on deodorant yet.

* It's 4:00 pm and you suddenly realize that the reason you're already hungry for dinner is because not only have you skipped lunch, but breakfast as well.

* You have had multiple very sophisticated conversations about bodily functions, namely poop.

* Your dogs look at you like you've neglected them for so long that they are beginning to think if they run away and get caught by the dog catcher, they may have a more lush life.

* You suddenly find yourself developing a deep appreciation for dairy cows.

* A 10 minute shower feels like a spa day.

* You feel well-rested if you get a 3-hour span of sleep.

* You no longer have use for an alarm clock.

*Getting "dressed up" now has an entirely different meaning, and more than likely, includes sweat pants.

* You look into the eyes of the little 7 pound human living in your house and you absolutely melt and think how everything is so worth it and you wouldn't change one single sleepless moment!!!!

Happy Birthday Aunt Jenny Pooh!!!!

In my lack of sleep haze, I almost forgot a very important post! I'm 2 days late in posting a Happy Birthday post!

Happy 14th Birthday to one of Tucker's favorite aunts, Jennifer (Wes's sister)! We love you and hope that you had a wonderful birthday!!!! Tucker can't wait to see you and give you lots of birthday slobbers! :)

Here is a pic of me and Jennifer at my baby shower. As you can tell, she is very tall for her age! And she isn't waisting that height! She is an up and coming basketball player who I know will go far!!!!

FAB BAG Giveaway

A friend of mine, Rachie, posted a bag giveaway that a friend of hers is doing on her blog. The "FAB BAG" is too cute, so I couldn't resist a chance to win. (Not to mention that I am still in need of the perfect diaper bag! I thought I had found that a couple weeks ago when I ordered a cute black one with white polka dots with intentions of getting Tucker's monogram on it, HOWEVER, once I received it, I realized the interior is a bright pink.... Now, my bambino can't go around with his mommy carrying a diaper bag with pink on it!)
Anyway, for a chance to win this FAB BAG, check out the post here. You're sure to fall in love and you have until Thursday to register for your chance to win!

"Tucker's Mom"

When we were at the pediatrician's office, I had asked the receptionist a question. She wasn't sure of the answer and said that she would ask the nurse. While we were in the waiting room, we heard her ask the nurse the question. In doing so, she indicated that "Tucker's mom wants to know." It brought a tear to my eye. "Tucker's mom." I like the sound of that! :)

1 Week Old

I can't believe Tucker is a week old! I mean, seriously! At 4:00 today, Wes asked me, "What were you doing this time a week ago?" I responded, "Pushing!"

I know that time will FLY by. I told Wes that in a year from now he'll be asking me that same question ("What were you doing this time last year?") and it will have gone by so fast. I just want to cherish every single moment of every single day with my Tucker Bug. :)

Already, Tucker has changed some and has begun to develop a little personality. To my surprise, Tucker was born with a head full of black hair. (I say "to my surprise" because for some reason, I just expected that he would not have any hair, not sure why, maybe because I had like no hair until I was 2 years old!) His head of thick black hair has begun to thin out (tear). His hair is naturally thicker right down the middle of his head, like a natural mohawk. So we decided to take a picture of Tucker with a little mohawk before he loses enough hair that we can no longer do it.

He already looks a little bigger (HUGE tear!). He only has to gain 3 1/2 ounces to be back up to his birth weight. I'm sure with a whole week to go, that he'll get there!

He is eating like CRAZY! Breastfeeding has definitely been a challenge over the past week, but Tucker and I have made a lot of progress. He started breastfeeding when he was 9 minutes old, and believe me, he knows where (or from who) his milk comes from!

Speaking of eating, what goes in, must go out... I NEVER realized how many diapers a little 7 pound human could go through! I mean Tucker needs a diaper change every time Daddy and I turn around. I'm not complaining, that's definitely a good thing. It means that he is getting plenty to eat. However, Wes and I are definitely considering buying stock in Huggies!

Tucker does not enjoy his sponge baths. He does not like to be naked. This is about the only time he cries. Mommy tries to get through bath time as quickly as possible, but Tucker feels that Mommy is a little slow.

Tucker looks so freaking cute in a "man dress"/I mean sleep sack! These are definitely a must! No messing with snaps at 4:00 am. I just wasn't sure how my little man would look in one of these. He just looks so yummy!!!! Wouldn't you agree?

Tucker has a wide range of facial expressions. He cracks me and Daddy up! When we talk to him, even when he's still sleeping, he will change his facial expressions a million times during one conversation. I told Wes we are going to have to catch this on video.

Wow! It's ONLY been a week! Wow! It's ALREADY been a week!!!

Mommy loves you Bubby!

As I read the title of this blog: "The Keene's" it now has an entirely new meaning to me. One that is filled with more love and emotion than I can even begin to put into words. Only those of you who are Mommies and Daddies can even wrap your brain around the type of love and emotion that I'm referring to.

It's the kind of love that just overwhelms your heart at the mere mention of your child's name, that will melt your heart when your little one cries, that will give you the will power to move heaven and earth to meet the needs of your child, that will bring you to your knees in awe of God's blessing every time you look into the eyes of your sweet baby.

Our family of 2 is now so much bigger as a family of 3.

James "Tucker" was born on October 15th at 4:40 pm, weighing 7 lbs 2 ounces and is 19 1/2 inches long. He is absolutely PERFECT!!! I mean P-E-R-F-E-C-T!

I never knew my heart could hold so much love!

Just look at this undeniable cuteness:

Mommy just taking advantage of those ever-so-kissable cheeks!

The one below is one of my FAVORITES! This is exactly how he was curled up inside me. I know from where I felt all those kicks and punches the last several weeks. My little "Bubby!"

Off into dreamland...

* I'll have details about Tucker's "journey" into the world to come :)

Happy Birthday Tucker!!!

Mommy and Daddy love you so so much!

You did what.....

OK this is Wes.... Tiffany is laying in a hospital bed relaxing as we awaiting Tucker's arrival. Long story short... We are at the hospital and it looks like Tiffany will be induced in the morning. (I'm sure tiff will have more to come on this.) Anyway... We were supposed to be at the hospital at 6pm, but no beds were available. So we decided to grab a bit to eat. As we pondered where to go, I suggested Red Lobster. My thinking, why not have a good meal before we officially began our journey down Labor and Delivery. Tiffany looked at it more as a last meal. After eating we still hadn't received a call from the hospital letting us know that a bed was available so I suggested...... let's go get a pedicure. Yep that's what I said. Now I've made comments like this in past, but they were just that. This time Tiff was like, "hey, sounds good to me!" Thinking to myself, "what did i just get myself into!" But then I realized what she about go through to bring Tucker into this world. So I swallowed (Gulp!) head up, chest out, shoulders up, back, and down, and proudly strolled into Red Nails! Where I sat in a massage chair while my toe nails got cut, filed, and buffed, and my feet got massaged! To my surprise I really enjoyed it! Tiffany and I both enjoyed a great time together just relaxing. It was a sacrifice on my part, but it doesn't compare to the sacrifice of Tiffany carrying our son with a smile, and without complaints for the last 9 1/2 months! Just as we were finishing up we got a call from the hospital letting us know they were ready for us.

Ready or not, here Tucker comes!!!

Happy 17th Birthday, Luke!!!!!

Today is the birthday of one of my two "baby" brothers! I cannot believe Luke is 17! Here is how I still think of him sometimes (pictured with my other baby brother, Nick): And this is him today (pictured with his sweet, sweet girlfriend, Shelby, who I LOVE!):

Yeah, not so much a baby anymore! But, he'll always be my baby brother! We love, love, love you Luke! I hope your day is perfect!!!! :)

(Yes, the picture above is old, from last Christmas, but I'm getting a little tired of being very pregnant in every picture! So here is one where Holli is very pregnant! lol!)

Clean Sweep!

I have the most amazing sisters ever! I am so very blessed, because not only are they amazing sisters, but they are my best friends! I am so lucky and thank God for blessing me with such wonderful individuals whom I have known for my entire life (well, more like their entire lives! Since I'm the oldest, I guess there was 1 1/2 year of my life that I didn't know them! LOL!).

Anyway, Bridgette and Holli both had last Friday off work. Bridgette who has just moved into a new apartment has plenty of things to do at home, not the least of which include unpacking! And, Holli has a 7 month old baby girl who keeps her very busy. So, I know they had bigger and better things to do on a day off of work, but instead, they spent their day off cleaning my house! I didn't even ask them to do this! They just called and said that they were coming. Now, let me just say that Wes does a great job of helping out around the house. I could not be more blessed to have such a supportive husband who has never viewed housework as my job simply because I'm a woman. He dives right in with the housework and over the course of the past several years, can clean a room almost as completely as if I had done it myself. I am so grateful for that!

However, my sisters did some deep-down, nitty-gritty cleaning. The kind that I have not been able to do in a while due to an infinite lack of energy and due to my most recent "situation" of bed rest. Let me tell you, I have some of the cleanest blinds, windows, base-boards, and trim this house has seen. Pictures were taken off my walls, dusted and windexed, and put back up. Marks on the walls were erased with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. And, my kitchen and bathroom floors were cleaned and sanitized with Holli's Steam Shark (I gotta get me one of those things!).

Thank you all so much! You have no idea how much it means to know that my house is so clean for Tucker's arrival! :)

I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Update on Mommy & Tucker--37 weeks

First, everything is good. Tucker is looking great, doing everything he's supposed to in order to get ready for life outside Mommy's belly. His heartbeat is always perfect and strong, he is growing just as he should be, he is a very active little guy, and his breathing is always great!

However, what Mommy was hoping would not happen during her pregnancy has occurred....I am officially on bed rest. I think it sounds much more serious than it actually is. It's actually a preventative/proactive measure, nothing serious is going on right now. I have had a couple visits to the doctor where my blood pressure is elevated. Not severely elevated and not always elevated, it fluctuates from normal to mildly elevated. (Even within one office visit, it can go from normal to slightly elevated in a 45 minute time span.) To be honest with you, I think it's because I have come to consider a simple blood pressure check as this "test" I have to pass, which causes some anxiety, ultimately artificially elevating my blood pressure... But, because I have some excellent doctors, they want to make sure this high blood pressure thing doesn't develop into something more serious, such as Preeclampsia. Now, it is important to note that I do not have any other symptoms of Preeclampsia. My blood pressure is not consistently elevated, I do not have protein in my urine, my lab work always comes back normal (which they re-check with every elevated reading), I do not have any headaches or blurry vision, etc. But, because there is a risk that hypertension can develop into Preeclampsia, my doctor felt it best to put me on bed rest for the next few days. My next appointment is Wednesday at which time we'll get another biophysical profile (BPP) on Tucker (which, he has always gotten a score of a 100% on), and of course, do another blood pressure check.

So, what this means for me over the next several days.....Lots of one-on-one time with the bed and the couch.... This is the part that I do need some prayers! I have already found myself "cheating" and it's only been one day! I am not one to sit and watch TV for hours, "relaxing and laying around" is very boring to me! I develop lists in my mind of things that need done or that I could be doing... Luckily, I have an absolutely amazing husband who has already tried to do everything that he thinks I may try to do before I have the chance to do it. He has also rented movies, cooked some good food that just makes you want to take a nap after you indulge, and he has given more moral support than I can convey in words!

I'll keep you all updated! Thanks in advance for the prayers and support! :)
Oh, and on a side note, my amniotic fluid level was completely normal this week. (Last week, it was slightly elevated.)

Happy Birthday Bridgette!!!

Happy Birthday (yesterday) to not only one of my two favorite sisters, but one of my two very best friends in the whole world! Me, Wes & Tucker love you very much!!! You get more fabulous with each year! :)