Max is 2 Months Old!!!

This month has been such a fun one for us and Max! My chunky monkey weighs 11 pounds 2 ounces and is 23 inches long! He's started to smile and laugh with a purpose now, and gets so excited when you play with him. He's gotten even stronger, thanks to his LOVE of tummy time and can hold his head up while on his tummy for a long time. He's also trying really hard to roll over and has done it a few times already (but not consistently). He's a good sleeper (although Mommy wishes her hungry boy would sleep through the night more often) and is also super-alert when he's awake. His favorite toy is still his playmat, but now he's becoming aware of all of the toys on it and trys to grab at them. Max has had lots of fun outings this month. But I'm sure his favorite was his first Louisiana Tech football game!!!

Max's First Month

So I'm a little behind! But that's how it goes as a mom of two!

At one month old, Max weighs 9 pounds, 2 ounces and is 21 1/2 inches long. He definitely doesn't have an eating problem since he's growing like a weed! He's a very happy baby and loves to play on his playmat and watch his sister. I can already tell he simply idolizes her! And speaking of Bailey, Max is really starting to look a lot more like her when she was his age. Max is very easy-going and has started smiling, which melts my heart! He's also really strong and is very good at holding and lifting his little head up. Here's some pics since we've come home from the hospital!

Worth the Wait

Max William Doyal has arrived!!!

Like sister, like brother! At 37 weeks, I knew Max's arrival would be soon, but just wasn’t quite sure when. But just like Sister, Max decided to show up on the weekend of the 37th week. The past few days had been especially hard on me, but the evening of Saturday, August 20, I knew without a doubt that it was time. Good thing that David and I were packed and prepared this time. We dropped Big Sis off with Grandy and Popaw and hurried to the hospital. My contractions started at 5 minutes apart, and by the time we got to the hospital, they were 3 to 4 minutes apart. The nurses said I was only dilated 1 ½ centimeters, but my water was ready to break any minute and Max was coming fast. I was really hoping to wait one more day so that my doctor, Dr. Waltman, could deliver Max. But I told everyone that, at this point, I'd take anyone off the street corner!!! I also had to forgo pain medication because of the impending C-section and was in excruciating pain.

The entire family arrived, including Bailey who was thoroughly excited to be up past her bedtime! At 10:30 the anesthesiologist arrived, and so did Dr. Darrell Sandifer and his wife, nurse practitioner Aimee Smiley. It was a whole different experience this time since I was actually awake during the surgery. Daddy was ready with the camera and the doctors and nurses began. A few minutes later, at 10:49 PM we heard little Max's first cry- and what a loud cry it was! Aimee told us how beautiful he was, but we already knew that! As they took Max to get checked out, Daddy followed close behind to document. When they told us that he was 7 pounds, I was confused. What happened to the enormous baby I was expecting??? Then they measured his length to be 21 inches, and we knew THAT was what I had been feeling those past few months! After a quick hug from me, Dad took Max out to meet the rest of the family. They were all ecstatic! Big Sister Bailey was especially excited and liked watching the baby through the nursery windows.

I had a much easier recovery this time, and enjoyed all of the friends and family who came to meet Max in the hospital. Bailey came to officially meet Brother and was very impressed that he came bearing Big Sister gifts for her. She called him “Santa Baby!” David and I know that, like all children, Max is a miracle from God. But, because of all of the complications with this pregnancy, we know that God was especially watching out for little Max! We are now so happy that our family is complete!

Meeting Mommy and Daddy (glad I remember it this time around!)

7 pounds, 21 inches

Sweet boy

Getting some love from Daddy!

First photo as a family of four!

WOW! I'm finally a Big Sister!

Checking out Baby Brother

37 Weeks!!!

37 weeks pregnant! I never thought I would make it this far!!!

If you never heard the story, my sweet SILs planned a baby shower for me on Saturday, April 5 at the Glenwood Tearoom. I attended the shower in all my ENORMOUS glory and then went into labor that night!!! (Bailey was due on April 25) That's why when my sweet friends called a few weeks ago and asked about throwing me a baby shower I said, let's do a Sip n See or something afterwards because I don't have very good luck with baby showers!

Here is a picture of me when I was 37 weeks with Bailey and in the same shirt (and way too-tight pants) with Max.

35 Weeks and Still Cookin

Another doctor's appointment today and I guess no news is good news. Still not dialted, but cervix is thinning and Mr. Man is very, very low (and they tell me this like I don't know!). My attitude is getting worse by the minute, but I know that every day that he stays in there is good, so I'm trying to be at peace with that. My doctor comes back in town (from what I told her was the longest vacation ever!!!) on Monday so that relieves me as well. So as for us, we're packed and ready and waiting. Any day now...

In other news, a few weeks ago before the bedrest, I got my trusty tripod out and revved up the self-timer to take some maternity photos of myself. It's pretty sad since I have lots of fabulous photographer friends who I know would have taken pictures for me. Maybe this is just part of my losing control of everything else in my life so I wanted to still feel like I could do something. Anyway... here's what I got. It definitely beats the 3 or so snapshots that I have of myself while I was pregnant with Bailey. I've tried much harder this time around!

From Ethiopia With Love

How excited was I for this weekend? First off, I was super-pumped to see "my girls!" These are friends from college who (although we've gone separate ways geographically) still remain close friends. We get together about twice a year and always pick up right where we left off. Although there are some of these girls that I only see a few times a year, I can always count on them for anything, anytime!

We've gone from celebrating graduations and weddings to now celebrating babies. And this weekend, we had a very special celebration, a Sip N See for my friend Lauren. Lauren and her husband Ben adopted a precious baby girl from Ethiopia and have a long, but wonderful story with a very happy ending!

The girls set me up a chaise lounge in the corner of the room (my fabulously funny friend Holly W said I was kind of like Weekend at Bernies) and I photographed the shower from there. Good thing I brought my zoom lens! Here are some pics!

The Hostesses with the Mostesses

Pom Pom Decorations

Fabric Flower nametags that could be turned into hair accessories for Miss Eden


The tablescape and adorable cake made by Mindy's SIL



Bath salt favors

And now for the guest of honor!!! I can't say enough wonderful things about this precious angel! First of all, who could resist those big brown eyes??? And her personality is a dream! Lauren and her husband Ben were warned about some of the adjustment issues involved in bringing a baby home from another country, but Eden has been a trooper. She absolutely loves people and will go to anyone- she even let me feed her a bottle! Of course her schedule was a little off since she was staying with Grandma for the weekend and so she didn't have a nap that day. But (unlike other children... Bailey), she was happy as a lark!

Here's Eden and my friend Elise's little girl playing!

Growing, Growing, Growing! (Doyal Family Update)

It seems like everything is growing around here lately (except my poor dead grass)!

Bailey is 3 years old now and is getting bigger by the day! I have been very nostalgic lately as I've been going through her baby things trying to prepare for Max's arrival. Bailey talks non-stop (not always in public, but ALWAYS at home!!!) and has developed quite a cute and loving personality. She is very compassionate and empathetic. She also has quite a silly sense of humor (like her Mama) and loves to make people laugh. Her favorite activities include reading books, playing dolls and Barbies, pretending she's a puppy dog, dancing around in tutus and princess outfits, and listening to music with Daddy. She will be going to the 3-year old class at Mother's Day Out next year and just "graduated" to Children's Church at our church. She is currently taking swimming lessons and will be starting some summer gymnastics lessons this week. Depending on the day, she's super-excited about being a Big Sister (which might change when she realizes we can't send Baby Max back) and LOVES to talk about what she'll do with him when he gets here. I'm pretty biased, but I think she's really smart: she can almost count to 20 and identify numbers to 12; she can identify most of the alphabet letters and all types of shapes and colors; she can generate rhyming words; and she can write the letter B (we're slowly working on the rest of the letters in her name!). I can't believe in just 3 short years how much she's grown and matured, she truly is a blessing in our lives!

Classic Bailey- All dressed up with nowhere to go!

Swimming Lessons with Miss Randi

First Sunday in "Big Church"- She LOVED it!

My Pretty Girl

As for little Max, he's doing great and growing too! He's somewhere around 16 1/2 inches long and weighs almost 3 pounds now! I'm very thankful to have FINALLY made it to the third trimester, and consider it a blessing each day that he stays in my belly a little longer. I wish I could give you a recent picture of him (I do have quite a large stash since I get ultrasounds every time I go), but he seems to only be concerned with showing us one thing (and it's something I'm not going to post on the internet!). My current "issues of the month" include never-ceasing contractions, which have caused me to stay on "limited activity," but have not become bad enough to warrant complete bedrest yet. I also have an umbilical hernia which will need operating on when I have my C-section, if not before. I go talk to the surgeon in a few weeks to decide if an operation before the baby is necessary (we're really hoping not). So for now, I have to wear this belly band thing (which I lovingly equate to about 5 layers of flannel Spanx) to make sure my insides don't fall out!!! People always ask me why I'm so candid and non-chalant about my pregnancy problems and I always reply the same way: What can I do? I've given this pregnancy over to God and He is in control. He's dealt with each problem as it has arisen and I know He will continue to keep me and little Max safe. So I ask for your prayers to continue for the next few months as we anxiously await his arrival!

Another Day, Another Doctor's Appointment

Another day, another doctor's appointment. That's the story of my life right now!

But today came with mostly good news, which was a very welcome change! I guess the good part of having so many appointments/ultrasounds is that you get to see your baby more. I could already fill up an entire scrapbook with just ultrasound pics! Max looked so cute and gave me some good profile and head shots- he's still a little alien looking, but I think he's adorable! And everything seems to be right on track with him.

I'm slowly coming around too. Patty the Placenta (thank you Anne for naming my body parts!) has moved her way up to the top of my uterus, so no more fears of placenta previa/accreta. I do have an umbilical hernia (which is very evident if you've seen me and my belly button that arrives 5 minutes before the rest of me!) that will have to be surgically repaired at the time of my C-section. I also was told to "take it easy" since I have started to have a lot of frequent Braxton Hicks contractions. Yeah, right- tell that to my 3 year old!!!

It's been a really eventful month to watch and feel Max moving around. David can now feel him and (if we're patient) we can spend endless amounts of time watching my belly move as Max gets his groove on in there!

So, here's the good stuff: some pics from today's ultrasound. Max was (as always) very wiggly, but cooperated enough to get some good shots.