1 Month Milestone for P Diddy

We did it!  We survived the first 30 days!  Wow.  This little peanut eats about every 3 hours - sometimes 2 - at nighttime he can be amazing and give us 5 straight.  All that sleep everyone told me to stock up on pre-baby arrival has not helped...I have had to nap frequently throughout the day to keep pace with Mr. Palmer.  Add in a huge battle with reflux, the most amazing amount of gas I've every seen in one tiny package and mommy/daddy who are learning as they go and you've got yourself quite an adventure.  And if you asked Pete or myself at 3 a.m. how we felt, we would tell you crazy in love with this little guy and wouldn't trade a wink of sleep for time with him.  It is truly amazing how a child can change you so drastically.  I do wish we could get out of the house a bit quicker...took us about 2 hours to try and leave for a Christmas party yesterday.  But I know we will look back fondly at this time...or at least we can laugh about how thankful we are that God created vacuums.

To capture his 1 month milestone, I doctored up this cute little photo.  This was not the intended pose/outfit, but for now, it will do.  The "photo shoot" I tried to nail on my own went a bit awry.  Let's just say there were about 50+ photos taken and in almost every one he looks like I'm torturing him.  We will try again in a day or two when Mom has a bit more sleep and patience:)

Dad bought me a bunch of ND and Bears gear (he couldn't wait 'til Christmas so he already gave it to me)

Here's a rough shot of what we were going for.

Hopefully we will redo this sans paci and better positioning and a smile! 

Palmer did have a real photo shoot!  We asked Monique from Brown Eyed Girl Images who did my maternity pics to capture Mr. Doyle in all his newborn splendor.  Can't wait to see how they turned out.  We even took a few with us...and maybe one fun one with Pete in his Christmas pants holding Palmer who looked equally as festive;)

There were some tricky moves to get this sleep to happen!

 And I've finally started scouring the web for adorable baby boy clothes.  I needed some warm pieces for our trip to Chicago in February for his Sip n' See.  I have been less than impressed with the selection of stylish gear for little boys.  I have found a few pieces I love so far, including this adorable coat which Palmer wore to dinner at a friends.

The shopping has begun!

20 days...that's it?!

Life in the Doyle household has done a 180 since the introduction of Mr. Palmer!  He has brought us so much love, worry (who knew you could stare at a video monitor for that many hours a day!) and excitement.  We are enjoying the ride of getting to know him.  It has been a rather eventful 3 weeks so far...

We've enjoyed lots of tummy time!

I always wait patiently while Mom gets ready in the morning.

I love getting dressed up in all of my stylish outfits.
Mom took me to Publix and Buy Buy Baby this week!

Mom sported me in the Baby Bjorn on all of our shopping trips!

I was on my best behavior while Mom picked up lunch from the club...
Oh, how she had missed her aztec chicken wrap.

We met our best buds Parker and Amy for lunch!

As cute as I look..that left little ear is going to get a little help in being not so crooked!
We went to the ENT today and they're going to put an "ear well" (fancy word for plastic mold)
on my ear so it's straight like my other one!  I'll thank my mom later!

We've enjoy the wind in our hair...

I lost my umbilical cord!  Mom found it in my pajamas on Monday! 

And we take lots of naps!  Mom sometimes lets me nap on her when she's not being a meanie
 and making me nap in my crib.

Palmer hit 9 lbs 1 oz this week!  That's up about a pound a half from birth.  Obviously feeding is not a problem for this little man.  We do, however, have a battle with reflux!  He was put on Zantac Sunday after we watched him battle with burning in his throat since birth.  We were trying to see if it resolved itself, but his discomfort was getting worse and we couldn't bear to watch him in pain anymore.  Our pediatrician said it's a common ailment and the Zantac should whip him back in shape soon!  It has already calmed him down a lot and we have lighter hearts knowing we are helping our little man feel better!

Tomorrow we are hoping to make our debut back in our ladies lunch group!  With proper timing we should have a successful lunch date.  Then Palmer will get his ear well on Friday morning just in time for Aunt Lindsay and Uncle Tom to come down from Chicago for a quick visit!  Looking forward to seeing the two of them and sharing our sweet little baby Palmer.  

As we close in on the one month mark (better start thinking of creative ways to capture this milestone photographically!) I am still not quite sure we believe the fact Palmer is here...as our son...forever...as our responsibility!  We always say it seems like he's been here forever, but at the same time it's as if we don't believe he's really here!  I'm sure his presence will become more normal as time progresses, but until then we'll keep spending all of our time staring at him.

Welcome, Palmer Anthony Doyle!

We did it!  Pete and I welcomed Palmer on 11/21/2012 at 4:55pm.  It was quite a journey.  My water broke at 10pm on Monday and he didn't make it out until Wednesday evening.  The road to d-day involved taking homeopathic supplements every 15 min to try and stimulate regular contractions, castor oil, 2 chiro adjustments, and an hour marching around Lake Baldwin doing high knees - YES AN HOUR - Pete was a trooper and marched with me the whole way...he did manage to sneak a video of me in action, though.  After all the hard work, our original birth plan didn't pan out.  There was no heartache over the change in plans because all we wanted was a healthy baby and momma at the end of the journey.  We ended up starting a whole new journey to delivery at Winnie Palmer Hospital for Women & Babies.  The experience was wonderful.  Our nurses and staff made us feel so cared for.  Our doula, Michelle Smith, was with us every step of the way.  She brought both Pete and I the confidence and peace we needed to keep going through the twist and turns of the labor!  We couldn't have done it without her.  We are so thankful for everyone who was a part of Palmer's arrival.  

The early arrival meant we had Thanksgiving in our hospital room.  My dad and step-mom brought us a turkey dinner to enjoy with baby Palmer.  It was a great memory to have with our new family!  We had a lot to be thankful for.  We made it home late on Friday night.  The car ride was home fun...Pete immediately decided my car was not going to be acceptable to drive Palmer around in.  He vowed to start looking for a new car for me the next day.  Which of course he did.  He had me at the BMW dealership a few days later to test drive a couple to find my favorite (my first outing sans baby Palmer!).  Seeing as how I've never had a brand new car, they all seemed fantastic to me!  When I stepped in the BMW X3 I immediately knew it was meant for Palmer and me.  Pete was a proud Papa to bring it home to us later that night.  Needless to say, there has been A LOT of change in the Doyle household lately!

I also had three other outings without Palmer this week.  The first was to go back to the dealership to sign my title over for my old car and learn how to use my new one.  The next was to get my nails done.  Pete braved watching Palmer alone!  I received one call mid-nail-service because Palmer was starving.  I had to leave the nail salon, go feed Palmer, then head back up and get my polish finished.  It was actually quite amusing and fun.  My nail tech was like, "Just tell Dad to give him the bottle!" and I responded, while looking down at my chest, "That'd be great, but the problem is the bottles are with me!"  The third outing was last night.  Pete and I had our first date together since being Mom and Dad.  Pete's mom watched the baby (she's in town from Chicago until Monday along with his sister).  It was so weird to leave the house together and sit at dinner.  We use to just walk out to dinner night after night like it was no big deal - now it seemed as if it was the most special treat to enjoy  a meal and conversation together.  We also enjoyed my first glass of wine in 9 months over dinner.  Needless to say, two sips in I was feeling rather nice:)  We appropriately ordered the Palmer Cabarnet at the club.  

Today marks Palmer's official due date.  He arrived 11 days early.  We have enjoyed every minute of our first 11 days.  We know they grow so fast so we are just taking it all in!  I could post a million pictures (pretty sure I've taken that many) to document our first week and a half, but here are some of my favorites thus far:

So patiently waiting in triage @ Winnie Palmer - it had been quite a journey already!

Finally in the room - trying to be a champ and keep my game face on!

Sweetest moment ever!  Pete got to tell me we had a little boy!  We were over the moon!

In our post-partum room.  We couldn't keep our eyes off of him.

Pete's Dad Mug.  He was an all-star!  All the nurses kept telling me how lucky I was to have a man like him.
I assured them I knew how lucky I was:)

Doting Daddy <3

Proud Pappa

Grandma Judy was waiting for us when we got home!

Hi Baby Palmer!

Back at home and kissable as ever!

Aunt Amy visits!

"In the big house" outfit

Well, hello there!

Palmer and Braxton's first play time!  They are gonna burn down Bay Hill one day!

Drunk baby face.

Here is a little capture of our first walk!

His very first Blabla doll!

Mr. Alert during Grampa Wayne's visit!

We have had so much love from all of our friends and family!  We are so thankful for everyone's support as we break in to being mommy and daddy.  I look forward to documenting the first year of Baby Palmer.  Can you believe it?!? After all the waiting and guessing...we had a boy!! Soon we will begin the nursery decorating!  Let the fun begin!