Friday, March 27, 2009

I joined a club and Happy Birthday to ME

What club, you may ask?? The EIGHT POUND CLUB, Baby! Whoop Whoop!! Mom and Dad took me to the doc on Wednesday for my 2 week check-up (if you're doing the math, you are correct that Wednesday is actually 2 days shy of my 2 weeks and TODAY is my actual 2 week birthday). Anyway, the rentals undressed me down to my skeebies and I tried to tell them to keep my wet diaper on as that would weigh more but no such luck, the nurse caught us -- so, they carried me to the scale and I did all I could to force out a pee (or poo) but I had nothing left. Turns out I didn't need any wet diaper though and that scale rang true at 8.3 lbs. BOOYAH---a week and a half after I arrive and I go from 7.68 when I left the hospital to 8.3. Who has two thumbs and likes to eat?? THIS GUY. Mom and Dad were so proud of me and the doc said I looked fantastic (I'm not positive but I don't think it was coincidental that he said that at the same time as he was checking out what I was hiding in my diaper..ahem). You may think this picture is a yawn picture but it's actually the face I have when I go to eat---you don't get into the 8 pound club with a closed mouth people. Oh, and so the big deal about me hitting 8 pounds is that I don't have to annoyingly be woken in the night anymore. To celebrate, I slept from 9:30 pm to 4 a.m. last night. Who's a rockstar? It's me, It's me.

So, some other news of the past few days. Those white socks you see in the picture above, yea, they are 0-3 months but already are a little snug. Mom's been noticing the lines they leave around my kankles, I mean ankles, when she takes them off. So, today after one of my feedings I told her NO MORE SOCKS and proceeded to pick out my newest feet warmers. Check it, ladies. ROAR!!!! These things rule b/c A) They keep my huge feet warm (which, at a size 14, isn't an easy task). B) They are low-tops so they look good with almost any outfit. C) The lions also serve as a scare tactic to strangers when they try to approach me. I just kick off my blanket and BOOYAH, I'm throwing lions in their face and they run every time without fail. It's awesome.


Dad and me had our first heart to heart the other day. It was good, I really got a lot of things off of my chest and he listened well. He gave me a few pieces of advice, which were good. I took notes of what he said..it went something like this, "Its his place to impart, one day some girl's gonna break my heart and ooooh, ain't no pain like from the opposite sex, gonna hurt bad but don't take it out on the next, son. Throughout life people will make me mad, disrespect me and treat me bad, let God deal with the things they do 'cause hate in my heart will consume me too. Always tell the truth, say my prayers, hold doors, pull out chairs, easy on the swears, I'm living proof that dreams come true, he loves me and he's here for me..." or something along those lines...I don't totally remember.


Lastly, pretty much I'm 2 weeks going on 4 months. This afternoon after a feeding I had my normal awake/activity time and then about 24 minutes later I was showing signs that I may be tired. So, as every mother would do, mom picked me up out of the boppy that I was chilling in and carried me into the nursery to grab a blanket. She laid the blanket in the crib so I could be swaddled with every intention of picking me right back up and soothing me with the latest stories about celebrities (how many times do we have to talk about why John and Jen didn't work out??), but as soon as she laid me down on that O' so soft and luxurious blanket I decided that sleeping in arms is for 2 week olds and I was ready to nap in my crib like big boys do. I mean, who WOULDN'T want to sleep in here. It's like a king's palace with all this room to stretch out, I feel like I just upgraded from a single to a California King!! Also, I get to sleep with two monkey's staring at me from either corner. How could I NOT feel safe in here with those guys watching me! So, nap I did and I'm pretty sure mom stood over me for like 30 minutes as she seemed to be breathing heavier than I was. I don't think she's going to let me sleep in here at night though---between you and me, I think she's got a LITTLE case of the ole' separation anxiety. Wouldn't you???

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Swagga Like G-money

G-money's first music video written, directed, and starring G-money (special thanks to dad). Turn up the volume.

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Sunbathing and such...

Gray here...just wanting to update you all with some happenings from the first 10 days of my life. Pretty much, life rulz. One reason it rulz is because even though I'm only 10 days old, me and dad sunbathe together a lot and I love that. The doc says I have something called mild John-dis. Well, I don't know who John is and I'm not sure why he's being dissed but I would recommend to all babies being born, GET JOHN-DIS because it rulz. First off, John makes me look really tan and so all the ladies love me and tell me all the time I have great skin. I look great in all colors even though Spring just started. Today I wore yellow to church and I looked HOT...no, seriously...really hot (at least that's what mom tells me). The other reason I really like this John thing is because dad and I get to sunbathe together about 10 minutes a day. Apparently mom has no problems exposing me and my sweet body to the world. So for you ladies that are looking for a younger man, I'm talking to you Harper, Landon, Eve, Mae....or for you ladies that want an older man, I'm talking to you future baby Gravitt and future baby Kennedy, take a good look at what I can offer.

Also, life rulz because mom and dad's friends, Jordan and Liz, bought me this seat that is like every man's dream. It vibrates, the fabric is INCREDIBLY soft, it has this head rest that keeps my little head secure and helps me keep my hair (everyone keeps telling me I'm going to lose my hair but I'm determined to keep it till I'm at least 65). Oh and it comes with it's own entertainment. One sweet mirror for me to look at my tan body and then this green animal thing that as soon as I can figure out how to intentionally operate my lanky arms/legs (note that as of now they move constantly but all I know is that I'm not controlling any of that), I'm going to tear that thing down. Look at all this space I have too...I welcome visitors and love to snuggle so if any of you fine people want to join me in here, I can move over.

What else? Oh, mom and dad have friends over quite frequently. This turns into a win/win b/c I get to be held by all these fun new people. Here is a pic of Wei Wei and me. Wei Wei is one of mom and dad's friends from work and he's real tall and I like that b/c I like being high and people keep telling me I'm going to be real tall so I'm just getting used to breathing air at the higher elevation. I actually spent lots of time being held by Wei Wei's wife, Amanda, which was awesome but the pic dad took didn't come out too well so I'm not going to post. Props to Amanda though b/c she kept me awake for a good 35 minutes and that's not an easy task. I also want to give a shout out to mom and dad's friend, Shannon. She is a ROCKSTAR at holding me and held me for a good hour and a half at a baby shower yesterday and I loved it. I loved it so much I unloaded on her. Some would think that's gross but I just want Shannon to know it's a sign of how comfortable I am with her. So far I've only unloaded on my parents and her. You may think in this picture I'm unloading on Wei, but I'm not..that's just me getting used to the air up here. Don't judge me.


Lastly, I got to visit last night with my Uncle Aaron and cousin Caitlin. I love them. Caitlin colored me a SUH-WEET picture that I have already hung on the fridge and Uncle Aaron teaches me sign language. I'm pretty fluent at this point. I taught him a new sign as well, which I sign often. I just take my hand that is peacefully resting on my chest and jerk it straight up and shake it just a little before resting it again on my chest...that is a sign for, "FUH-GED-ABOUT-IT" - Uncle Aaron picked it up pretty quickly. Fast learner.

Oh, I forgot..one last thing that ruled about my first 10 days. I got to go to my first church service and LOVED it. I prayed silently to myself the whole time. They started a time of confession in the beginning and I just was convicted of so much I didn't let my confession time end until it was time to eat again. Speaking of eating again...it's about that time. I'm out.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

March Madness and Bath 101

Here are some pics!

Kyle is thinking of becoming a stay at home dad....

Kyle also wanted some input. Does Gray resemble his father at all? This is their blue steel:

It has been said that not many have been able to see Gray's eyes (taken upside-down)...let's fix that:

I chose NC to go all the way in March madness and since MM started today, Gray picked his outfit to support his mom's decision (let it be known that as of 10:30 a.m. this outfit was already in the hamper. Awesome :))



And lastly, here is a collage of bathtime for little G last night. The pics go in order.






And then Daddy fixed his hair to look like a little Rascal.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

home again, home again

Hey team...Jenny here just checking in as I didn't want you to fear for a minute that just because labor and delivery are now over (could you imagine if it wasn't over by now...and all you Brock n' Roll fanatics were still pressing REFRESH every 30 seconds?!?! We would ALL be cranky I'd imagine...) and our professional photographer has disappeared that Brock n' Roll would soon too be just a distant memory. No, no, no, sweet friends...this blog is really JUST beginning.

So, as foreshadowed in the titled, all three Brocks are now home safe and sound. I would imagine you are wondering what we all were wearing when we arrived home but unfortunately we only captured what the cutest Brock member was wearing....

The hospital was really a great experience for us. So many friends came by to visit and Grayson was able to meet his Uncle Aaron and Grammy Curry, which was such a joy, and so many of his parents great friends stopped by so Gray could properly introduce himself. And introduce himself he did! It pretty much went like this, "Hi (insert name), my name is Grayson Ryan and my favorite activity is sleeping. Bye" Over and over and over again he introduced himself like that - at least he was polite.

Time at home has been really neat thus far. Little Gray is doing well and we've even started to learn a few things about him already. I'll let Gray write about himself now...1) My cry comes in two different forms: a) I'm starting to get hungry or upset and b) it's too late...I'm done letting you know that I'm GETTING hungry or frustrated and now I'm just straight mad that you didn't react fast enough, or if you did I'm not a fan of HOW you reacted to my cry, so I'm just gonna go about 17 pitches higher (he'll even hold one hand to his ear so he can hear that he raises his pitch by 17) until you hold me closely and whisper sweet nothings in my ear. 2) I don't love shots...period. When I get shots I skip cry #1 and go directly to #2. 3) That's fine if the doctor wants to stick something in my rear-end to get my temperature, but mom and dad, be ready for a required 4 handed diaper change when you get home and as you're changing it, just because mom is laughing so hard she's crying at this diaper change I will pee all over you both (and me a little) but I don't care b/c I'm already naked. 4) I LOVE my hands and want them in my face ALL the time. I even know how to suck my thumb already and sometimes just b/c mom thinks it's cute, I'll curl my first finger up over my nose. 5) I'm UBER cute. period. Just straight cute. Lastly, 6) I have a little (lotta) gas. So what. It's mom's fault it has the most potent smell in the world and each time someone new holds me and I let loose they think I just poo'd all over myself. Nope, just a toot...maybe I don't like soy and mom does? Or maybe I don't like anything mom eats? We're still trying to figure that out.

So, all that plus sleeping is life for the Brocks so far. He has been a good sleeper as of now and a decent eater as well. As he discussed above we had his first doctor appt. this morning and he's gained 2 oz. in two days putting him at 7 lbs 9 oz (he dropped to 7.68 when we left the hospital), so the doctor was pleased for that and as soon as we get him to his birth weight we no longer need to wake him for feedings. So, Grayson has been eating all day. Literally, I haven't let him stop since we got home--we're gonna get this boy back to 7 lbs 15 oz. before the sun goes down tonight :).



He really has been such a joy and is just the best blessing we could have asked for. We are thankful to the Lord for this amazing life and are just in awe of him. He loves his daddy passionately and there is nothing that will quiet him faster than being held by his dad. It's VERY sweet to watch. Alright, we will keep the updates and pictures coming. Now that we are home and settled we hope to get back into the groove of things quickly. Thank you for all the cards, gifts, meals, visits, etc. You all have served us in tremendous ways and made this transition so much better than we could have hoped. G'night, ya'll!! No..literally, even though it's only 7:15 p.m. -- this is crucial sleeping time :).





Saturday, March 14, 2009

Grayson Photo Slideshow

Follow the instructions below and turn the volume up for a phenomenal slide show of our boy. Mucho Gracias to Julie Ramsey for the phenomenal shots and the slideshow. Image #14 is breathtaking.

go to - www.bellababyphotography.com
choose "website"
click "client"
password = 0313grayson

Friday, March 13, 2009

Gray Gray


























Grayson Ryan Brock

Gray arrived at 3:17. Mom is doing well. Gray is 7 lbs 15 ounces. More pics to come later...he's a stud though!

more progression

We've progressed fairly rapidly in the last two hours. There's a good chance we could have this baby by 4. The nurses have gotten the room ready for the delivery process. Here we go!

Progress

The epidural is in and we're feeling good. The doctor checked in and we've progressed and she's happy with where we're at. We're on track for possibly delivering before 7. That's a long day for Jenny so keep her in your prayers.


Jon & Kate Plus 8 & Technology Musings

We're watching a little Jon & Kate plus 8 while we wait...it makes the idea of having just ONE of these little guys not seem so overwhelming. How do you potty train 6 kids at once??? Also, isn't technology great? Jenny was sending a text, while I was updating the blog/sending out an e-mail and someone called...we're so virtually connected.

Other half

Jenny said no more pics for now...and the rooms not that interesting...so here's the view of the other half...we're doing well. They've upped the Pitocin and Jenny's around a 4 on the pain scale. Still waiting. We're probably 30 minutes to an hour away from making the call to the anesthesiologist.

Update

We woke up to some snow this morning. Made the drive in a little interesting, but now that we're in the hospital...bring it on.


We're on the 4th stage of the pitocin drip. Pain during contractions is a 3 on a scale of 0-10 right now...hunger pains are increasing. Thanks for your prayers!

Technology

We love technology...still waiting...





Grayson's Birthday

Water is broken, contractions are flowing...the anesthesiologist is on alert...here we go.



Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Eviction Notice has been Served


Well gang, I will try to keep this short, sweet and to the point but we had the 39 week appointment today and if Grayson doesn't decide he'd like to come before Friday he has officially been served his eviction notice for THIS Friday...yes, Friday the 13th...muahahahaha.

After LENGTHY conversations with my doctor and the nurses we all decided that it was go time this Friday. The great news is that my doctor is on call this weekend so we can be assured that she will in fact be the one delivering the baby (barring any unforeseen circumstances in her own life). That actually was a large factor in the decision for both of us. In addition my body has been at a pretty decent standstill for the last few weeks despite all our trying to induce labor on our own (see previous posts below), and from the looks of that noggin above (at 20 weeks) I do fully understand that thing isn't getting any smaller. I trust my doctor and she has served Kyle and I really well and I am thankful for the conversations we had to arrive at this decision.
Now that a date is set and it's so darn soon I'm getting a little nervous (as to be expected) but we would ask for your prayers as we head into these next few days and into Friday morning. Pray specifically that Kyle and I would just be trusting and clinging to the Lord's provision for this baby. Pray for the baby's health and for the delivery and lack of complications. Pray that He would be in control of the details and that no matter what happens on Friday, that we would trust He is good and for us. Have I mentioned that I HATE not having control...because apparently lack of control is not a specialty of mine. OH and can I add one more...pray for the EPIDURAL..that I would get that junx within minutes of getting into that hospital gown and that it would take and take quickly...very, very, very quickly. If they offer an epidural for the epidural..sign me up.

There's a good chance it will be a long day for us so please feel free to shoot emails or check in with texts, calls, whatever you'd like. We'd love to keep people as posted as possible. We will have wireless Internet there and we'll have both cell phones handy. If you're local and would like to come and hang out (assuming this is a long day and I am fairly comfortable), we welcome visitors..just give a call first.

Here is some helpful info:

Kyle's Cell: 804.426.5059
Jenny's Cell: 804.614.8421

Hospital Address:

Henrico Doctors' Hospital
1602 Skipwith Road
Richmond, VA 23229
(804) 289-4500
Thank you for loving us well and praying for us. We look forward to meeting Grayson ourselves but then getting to introduce him to all of you!!

Monday, March 9, 2009

39 Week Appointment and a Happy Birthday


The ole' 39 week appointment was rescheduled till tomorrow. Umph. Doc had an emergency C-section to attend to and thus either left me with the nurse practitioner again today pulling the ole' washing machine measurement, or reschedule with my regular doctor tomorrow. As I'm now retired I figured tomorrow was just as good as today (I mean, who keeps track of what day it is when you're retired?) and so reschedule we did. At 4:15 in the afternoon today when my original appointment time was, I have to wonder just how "emergency" this alleged C-section was or was it more an emergency I want to get the hizzy out of here and enjoy this beautiful afternoon?

I digress..either way, no appointment today. Therefore, be sure to tune back in tomorrow (appt. is at 1:00) to see if we schedule any official induction dates. Lots of exciting dates in which we could induce: 1)me and the little bambino sharing a birthday on the 16th; 2) St. Patrick and the little bambino sharing a birthday on the 17th; or 3)asking for an induction at 39 weeks and 6 days putting the little bambino and "Jason" sharing a birthday on Friday the 13th (not Jason as in my brother but Jason as in Jason from the movie). I hear so many stories of scheduled inductions though and the baby decides it's time to come the night before the scheduled date. I wonder if this whole induction thing is more of a scare tactic than anything else--if that's the case, induction is scheduled for tomorrow at 8:00 a.m. (shhhhhh..).

Other than that the weekend was good. I tried to walk the baby out of me...no luck. I tried to eat an entire pineapple in 2 days to get the baby out of me...no luck (well, luck eating an entire pineapple in 2 days..no luck with the baby). I ate the spiciest meatball sub of my life (and I don't do spicy very well) to put fire to his bottom and get him out of me...no luck. I put together a patio table and chairs on my own to try and get my water to bust...no luck. My dad painted a picture last night which I appreciated. Grayson head down, one hand on either pelvic bone and one foot pushing up against each rib cage and just holding back for dear life. His strength is extraordinary and for that I must be proud.

The other tactic that Kyle came up with was reverse psychology. We woke up on Sunday and Kyle did his usual inquiring as to whether my water had broken in the night (again, does he not think I'd inform him??) and was I sure that just an average pee break wasn't my water. Once I was able to affirm with 99% confidence that my water had not broken and I had full control over anything that came out of me during my bathroom breaks, he said, "I wonder if maybe it's because we're TOO anxious for him to come. Maybe we talk about wanting to meet him TOO much so he's just playing it cool. I think we should try some reverse psychology." From then on out Kyle proceeded to announce quite loudly that he was very content to NOT meet Grayson right now and that he was REALLY enjoying life being quiet and just the two (three-love you, Daisy) of us. How he hoped Grayson didn't come for another month so we could continue going out to dinners, watching movies with no interruptions, and not have to change any diapers for a few more weeks. Outcome...NOTHIN'.

Out of all these thoughts though I have to tell you the one thing that I was hoping WOULD spur Grayson to give an extra hard kick to my water..and that was for the sake of a good story. As Kyle and I walked into Church yesterday morning I informed him that maybe we should sit in the back of church in case, well, you know---explosion. Without hesitation and like he'd already considered this he said, "Jenny...let's just sit in our usual b/c if you're water breaks just let me know and I'll pee my pants and then we'll both just get up and calmly walk out together. If anyone questions me/you/or us we'll just say, 'You're not cool...unless you pee your pants' and leave." I have to admit, all service I prayed for my water to spontaneously combust so I could just see Kyle pee his pants because we all know I would have held him to it.

Alright, that's all I got. I will leave you with a big Happy Birthday to some of our favorite friends here in Richmond. First, our friends, the Purdy's, have two VERY sweet boys that just happen to share a birthday. Owen turned 3 on Friday and Baxter turned 1, and Kyle and I were very excited to attend a little birthday celebration and even snap a few photos! Happy birthday, boys!!! Sorry Grayson couldn't share in the fun of a March 6th birthday with you! Also, our great friend Stephanie Kennedy has a birthday TODAY. Unfortunately she was not a part of this joint party and therefore have no shots of her but we think the world of her and her husband and their sweet 2 (soon to be 3) little girls. :)








Wednesday, March 4, 2009

No baby? No baby.

Everyday, at least twice a day, I get an email from Kyle that typically has no words in the body of the email but the subject line reads, "No baby?" and I press reply and just respond, "No baby." I wonder sometimes if he ever thinks I'll reply with, "Yes, baby...you missed a good show." Either way, that's all just to state up front that in fact there is still no baby (clarification: there is still a baby, you just can't see him yet). But, just like anything else in life, in order for something to become habit or routine (second nature, if you will), you have to be proactive and practice that behavior, no matter how uncomfortable it is, so that it slowly becomes normal.

That, my friends, is the point of this post. Practice, Practice, Practice.

We had the 38 week appointment yesterday. All was pretty routine. A little progress from the last appointment so that was good. She also was able to tell he was, as the Phd's call it, Sunny Side Up ("SSU"). For those less educated, SSU means that although he is head down, he is face up rather than face down, face down being the natural position for delivery. I didn't ask too many questions about it all (I mean, why ask questions to your doctor when you can just go home and google it and read about every terrifying thing that can occur b/c he's SSU so that you live in more anxiety the next week and a half), but the doc didn't seem concerned in the slightest and so long as everything else is okay I can still deliver normally. In fact, I read up on it when I got home and the baby can still turn at any point, even during active labor before he comes out. Sometimes the doc can even turn them as well (I shall go no further with this thought for fear of causing any visuals that people don't wish to have at the moment). The little man and I had some talks about this in the evening as I also read when they do come out SSU, labor is typically a little/lotta more difficult for mom and it can also make recovery a little/lotta bit more painful (see Note above how Google is the devil).

The doc also pushed around a bit on the belly and thinks he's measuring about 7 lbs. Although I would be content with that, I don't hold much faith in the estimate b/c let me tell you, nothing of what the lady was doing was scientific in the slightest. In fact, I just kept imagining it was probably extremely irritating to the baby (I would compare it to the idea of being put in a washing machine) who's in there going, "Oh yea?!?!..and for that I shall stay put another 2 weeks." Thanks, doc.

Other than that. All is typical. Our snow day on Monday was wonderful as Kyle and I could be home together. At one point Kyle came up to check on me and I had mentioned I wanted to go shovel the driveway to get it cleared before it got icy again at night. He clearly started to panic and was throwing on winter clothes and telling me that I should NOT be shoveling driveways at my state and he would go do it. Yet, my snow pants (i.e. his wind pants) were already on and I managed to get out the door before he did. As I started shoveling he quickly arrived to the scene and removed the weapon from my hands. I'm no fool though as I realize this baby isn't coming out by me just sitting around, and before Kyle could count to 5, he turned around again and found me with a rake cleaning off the cars and continuing to clear out the snow. He shook his head in disgust and politely reminded me that the nurse has called our baby defiant on numerous occasions and why it was he wasn't surprised.

I leave you with a photo of Daisy and her snow-mate. They really were best friends on Monday (until Daisy chewed off his nose - oh well, fun while it lasted).