Only 2 weeks old and...

I've been hoping to update this for several days now, but things have been a bit crazy around here! Our poor lil' Griffin is only 2 weeks old and he's already experienced trouble nursing/feeding due to a tongue tie, a double eye infection, and then he had a frenulectomy (cutting of his tongue tie). He sure is a tough guy though! Through it all, he's been pretty mellow and content for the most part.

My friend, Molly encouraged me to take a picture of Griffin each week. This is my goal and so far I have the 1st two weeks down! :) I think it will be fun to put them all in an album and look back through his every week of his first year. He's already changed and he's only been here for 2 weeks!

So, last Friday we noticed green gunk in Griffin's left eye. I called our family doctor and they just figured it was a blocked tear duct. They encouraged us over the phone to just put a warm compress on it. Well, later that evening the green gunk was now running down his face and his eye was pink on the inside and outside. So, luckily we got on the phone and talked with an on-call doctor who said it was an eye infection from what we described. He called in an antibiotic and thankfully there was one pharmacy still open at 9:30 on Friday night. He said it would clear up very quickly. However, we got up the next morning only to see the infection had spread into his other eye. Poor guy. So, he's still on antibiotics.

From the get go, we have had a hard time nursing. One of the lactation consultants at the hospital noticed Griffin had a tongue tie. So, yesterday we met with an ear, nose, and throat doctor to get it clipped. My mom has worked for an ENT for about 22 years and explained how their office did the procedure (parents stay in the waiting room). Well, Nate and I were in for a real shock when we learned we had to help hold Griffin down and experience it all right along with him. First they put some numbing gel under his tongue while Nate held him and then they brought in a board and strapped him to that. That ticked him off right away, rightly so. The doctor then gave him 3 injections under the tongue to numb the area which broke mommy and daddy's hearts. His poor little mouth was full of blood and he was screaming like we have never heard him scream before. Then the doctor clipped the skin and put 2 stitches in...all while I was helping hold Griffin still and crying over him as I was holding his hand talking to him. Thankfully, he sacked out shortly after the procedure. We then headed to the hospital afterward to work with the lactation consultant, but Griffin was too exhausted to work on that, so we were unsuccessful and will go back next week. As soon as we got home, I snuggled with my handsome lil' guy for as long as I could.

Today he seems to be doing well though both stitches already fell out. Anyway...here are a few pictures and I really really really hope to share the birth story very very soon! It's amazing how much longer things take these days. Of course, we are loving every minute with Griffin. He brings us so much joy and we love love love him! Enjoy the pictures!

Love,

Joy, Nate, and Griffin

1 week old1 week doctor check up weighing in at 7lb.8oz.

2 weeks old

1st trip to McDonalds :)
Mommy's favorite...McDonalds Coke
(Nate and I realized we are having way too much fun with this baby boy!)

Thinking...

Just sitting here thinking about when it's time to eat again... Well, Nate and I are having the time of our lives! We are absolutely in love with our Griffin John. He's been so content and mellow. We are beyond blessed!

We have had a bit of a challenge, however. Griffin is struggling to eat directly from me. It has become quite exhausting for us all. We have been working with the lacation consultants from the hospital and spent 2 hours there today. We learned he has what is called a "tongue tie" making it difficult for him to latch on. If this is not corrected now, it can also later affect his speech. Poor guy. We have our one week check up with our family doctor tomorrow. The lacation consultant said he will need to make a referral to one of the pediatricians who is trained in doing this procedure (to cut the tongue tie).

On a different note, we ventured out to Meijer today for a few things (he slept through his entire first trip to Meijer) and managed to clean our entire house while Griffin slept in his bouncy seat!

Now...now it's time for bed...actually...it's past bedtime for this momma! Goodnight all and thank you for sharing in our journey!

Love,

Joy

Our beautiful Griffin

So, I have a few minutes to post a few pictures. Enjoy! We sure are! :)

Our lil' ducky

The cutest Easter bunny ever! Compliments of Grandma and Grandpa Moore

Our 1st outing to Grandma and Grandpa Anderson's for Easter
Snuggle time with Daddy

Get these mittens off of me!!! (Griffin loves having his hands out and about to explore)

Introducting Bailey to Griffin

Hanging out at the hospital

Griffin has found a love for his index finger (Mommy used to always suck hers)

First family photo 4-8-09

Our precious family

Aunt Mandy and Aunt Kara (Joy's sisters)

John and Griffin (Griffin's middle name is after John)

Mary and John adoring Griffin

Just a couple hours old

Hospital Pictures of our precious Griffin John

You can view some pictures of Griffin at:

http://www.bvhealthsystem.org/

To find the pictures, search for the babies born on 4-8-09. I promise, you are going to fall in love! :)

Of course, I'd love to post more pictures, but time is limited right now. Daddy just finished feeding Griffin and changing his diaper and Mommy is ready to snuggle with him.

Love to all!

Joy, Nate, and Griffin, too!

Announcing the birth of...

Griffin John Anderson was born on Wednesday, April 8th at 4:30am. He is 7.5 pounds and 21 1/2 inches of pure perfection. Mommy labored for over 21 hours and Daddy did awesome coaching. And Griffin...well, he is absolutely amazing! More of the birthing story to come later (we're still at the hospital now) and pictures, too!
Love,
Mommy, Daddy, and Griffin

Last Post Before the Big Day!!!

Well, this will officially be our last post before our baby boy arrives! Today we are just doing last minute things around the house. I've had some contractions the last 2 days, but still not enough to make us go to the hospital earlier than our induction. We will head to the hospital tomorrow at 6am. We're excited, nervous, scared, anxious, and so many more things! We can't wait to introduce you to the newest member of our family! I have attached a few "last" pictures of my belly.
Much love!
Joy (Nate & Baby Boy, too!)

39 week/4 day baby boy belly

Us with our dear friend, John. He and his mom came to visit us yesterday.
John and Bailey...best buds
Nate aka Daddy doing last minute things to the baby's room.

Induction scheduled...

Well, this may be my last time writing while I'm pregnant with this baby boy. We had our routine OB appointment on Tuesday. Because I have been in so much pain from the baby laying on my sciatic nerve, the doctor said I could be induced. It was like a dream come true to hear those words come out of Dr. Doty's mouth!!! I truly saw Jesus in her! :) So, she told us to pick a day...so, of course we did (our 1st pick was Thursday---as in today). The nurse called the hospital, but the hospital didn't have an opening until Tuesday, April 7th (our actual due date). The hospital only allows 3 inductions per day between all the OBs here in town. So, that just means a few extra days of baking to perfection. I'd rather him be healthier than to have him early just to relieve my pain. So, bake on, kiddo! Of course, we'd be thrilled if he decided to come on his own before then, but I have a feeling it will probably be Tuesday. Only time will tell.

Other than the sciatic pain, things are moving along. I no longer walk, but waddle. I sit up in bed to sleep most of the night because it seems to be a bit more comfortable (as comfortable as sitting up in bed can be). I do have to say I am thankful that baby boy has decided to give me some relief by not being so far up into my ribcage. Thank you thank you thank you! It's still a little sore, but not nearly as much which shows he has dropped a little more. I have had a few contractions, but nothing consistent and nothing that makes me want to cry (yet, anyway). Ha! and I'm very thankful to have such an amazing husband who takes such good care of me. Nathan is going to be an amazing dad!!!

Nate and I are beyond anxious and excited to meet our little guy, as we've been learning many others are, too which makes us feel pretty special. Seems like every time our phone rings and we answer, the other end of the line says, "You're still at home?" Or...when we call someone, the other end of the line says, "Are you at the hospital?!" My sister-in-law, Danielle just called today and asked if I wanted to walk tomorrow to help things along. Ha! So, as I said, we are excited and we are blessed to have family and friends that are so excited along with us. Our little miracle is so loved already. Did I mention we are so excited to meet him???

Nate took a couple pictures of me this morning. So this is my 39 week/2 day baby boy belly.

Much love,

Joy (Nate & Baby Boy, too!)