2 months already!

Wow!  Ace is 2 months old.  I can't believe it.  It really does seem like yesterday when I was counting down the days until he would be here.  And now, he's been here for 2 months!!!!  He has grown and changed so much.  He is now 11 pounds, 13 ounces and 24 inches long.  In his short 2 months he really has done a lot...

SLEEP:

The little man takes after his mom in the sleeping department.  He is a great sleeper.  By two to three weeks Ace was sleeping through the night.  He usually sleeps 5 to 8 consecutive hours at night!  I know, we're lucky.  He naps throughout the day and always in the car!  When he is asleep there is little you can do to wake him up.  He will sleep through anything; band practice, HOG meetings, gatherings at the house, a noisy restaurant, and even his first concert!!!  Anytime his dad holds him they BOTH go right to sleep.  What is the deal with that?

AWAKE?:

He is awake more and more everyday.  When he is awake he is quite active.  He started smiling on December 30th.  It is so fun to make him smile, too cute!  He coos and talks to us all the time.  I love to watch him try and figure out how to get the sounds out.  He loves to listen to his mom read him Dr. Seuss books.  He likes his rainforest gym.  He will lay there and kick and coo and check everything out.  He really watches his mobile when we change his diapers.  I think hi favorite thing of all is to look at the ceiling!  If there is a fan, even better.  We love watching him learn and explore this big new world.

BATH TIME:

When Ace's umbilical stump finally feel off after almost 5 weeks he got a real bath.  We have this cool little rainforest bathtub.  It has a hammock in it for Ace to lay on so we can wash him easier.  Well, the hammock isn't actually in the water so it gets really cold, really fast.  Ace is NOT a fan of being cold.  He did not enjoy his first bath too much.  The next time we bathed him Buster constantly sprayed him with the sprayer.  It was like a mini shower.  Ace was ok with his "shower."  Now that he's bigger he lays in the tub and I hold his head.  He loves bathtime now!!  He smiles and kicks and coos.  He's even ok with the water getting on his face.  And, he is SOOOO cute in his little robe!!!

FAMILY:

This little guy has so much family that loves him.  He is the 5th generation twice, the fourth generation once and the last boy Bledsoe.  I think he has two real Grandmas and about 50 other "Grandmas." We will never be short on babysitters!!!  His Aunt Linny loves him so much, (she tells me all the time)!  She is learning how to take care of him.  I think she is preparing for her first babysitting adventure.  His Daddy, his grandpas, uncle Brandon, and uncle Clint are waiting on him to grow some more.  They want to teach him how to ride bulls, play the guitar, drive a racecar, ride a four wheeler, ride a Harley, go fishing, and cuss.  I better enjoy my time with him now!!!

HOLIDAYS:

Ace has celebrated 3 holidays.  He was barely a week old at Thanksgiving.  I think he was awake for about 30 minutes.  We had a ton of friends and family in to meet him and enjoy the yummy food.  Our house was full of oohs and awws.  Ace got to meet a ton of people.  I wonder if he'll remember?!?!  

I was amazed at how many Christmas presents Ace got this year.  He was only a month old and already needed a huge toy box.  I opened all of his presents while he slept.  I can't wait for him to get to join in all the fun at Christmas!  We had a great Christmas this year and enjoyed all the time we got to spend with our families. 

He got to spend New Years with his Grandma Ronda and Grandpa Charles and they rang it in!  Buster'e band played in Hereford so that is where we were.  I really thought Ace would sleep into 2009 but he didn't.  When I went to pick him up at 2 am he was wide awake.  They were up watching tv and having a good ole time!!!

HAPPY TIMES AND SAD TIMES:

We celebrated his Great Great Grandpa's birthday.  We went to Albuquerque to celebrate Jim's 80th birthday.  I can't imagine the stories Jim could share with Ace.  

We suffered a great loss this December.  Buster's cousin Rod had a heart attack and passed away.  It came as a huge shock to us all.  It makes me sad to know that Ace will never get to know Rodney.  He was a great guy.  He loved to spend time with his family, ride his harley and cheer for his favorite NASCAR driver, Tony Stewart.  We are all going to miss Rodney so much.  I will miss the phone calls I got from him everytime Jamie McMurray wrecked.  I wish I were better with words so I could truly express how much Rod meant to us all and how much he will be missed.  R.I.P. Rod, you are loved and missed.

We went on a mini vacation a couple of weeks ago.  We went skiing in Los Alamos.  (The guys skiied anyway.)  We stayed with Stevie and Jeri which is the best place to stay.  Jeri is an excellent chef, we had tons of great food!  We got to hang out and enjoy each others company.  Ace just hung out with the rest of us.  He is such a good baby!!!!  (Sorry, no pictures.)

SHOTS:

We went to Ace's 2 month check up and shots.  It was a sad day.  Dr. Maaytah said Ace looks great.  He is healthy and growing well.  His weight is average for a 2 month old and his height is average for a 3 and a half month old.  Not sure where the height comes from?  I predict he will stop growing by the time he is 5'8".  The poor little baby had to get 3 shots and take a vaccine orally.  He was ok with the oral vaccination.  He looked at the nurse a little crazy but was ok.  Then, she stuck him.  He was not happy with that at all.  His fists were clinched and his face was red, tears were coming out of his little eyes and he was screaming louder then I had ever heard him.  After she finished the next two shots I was able to pick him up.  He calmed down after about 15 seconds.  Yes, I cried too.  I felt bad for him.  I do not like to see him hurting.  He was pretty good after his shots most of the day.  His legs were swollen and sore.  They were hurting pretty good later that afternoon.  I gave him some tylenol and put cold rags on his legs.  That made him feel better.  We survived the day and slept well that night.  I think he has already forgotten about the shots!!!

I never knew I could love one little thing so much.  He has made mine and Buster's life a million times better.  I am excited for the next 2 months and beyond.  Hopefully he won't be walking by the next time I bog!  I wish everyone well.  God Bless!

The day Ace was born!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008 was the greatest day of our lives. That is the day our son was born. It started at 4:00am. I was being induced because Dr. Appel was afraid I was getting pre-eclampsia (sp?). We had to be at BSA by 5:00am. By 6:00am I had my IV in and was started on the pitocin. I was afraid of the contractions, I hadn't had any yet and was not sure what to expect. I know that drug induced contractions are supposed to be stronger. They weren't too bad. My wonderful nurse, Janet slowly upped the dosage. Dr. Appel broke my water around 10:00am. Shortly after I got my epidural. I wasn't hurting that bad but Dr. Trehurn would be unavailable for and hour or two. I was afraid the contractions would get worse and I'd have to wait in pain. So I went ahead and got the epidural and it was nice!! By 3:00pm I was dilated to a 6. Janet couldn't tell which way Ace's head was facing so I tried different positions to make him turn face down. An hour later I was still at a 6. Janet thought Ace's head was turned to the side so we tried a position called the fire hydrant. I was turned way over to the left and my right leg was up in a stirrup. That was not fun. My epidural drained over to the left side and I could feel contractions on the right side, very painful. Ace didn't like that position so we quit that position. At 5:30pm or so Dr. Appel came by to check me and I was still at a 6. Dr. Appel said Ace's head was turned to the side and she wanted us to try the fire hydrant position again. Lucky me. This time it didn't seem to bother Ace so I was in that position for 30 minutes. I felt every contraction on the right side. I thought I might not make it. They hurt SO bad. All I could do was cry. I have NO idea how anyone can go through labor without an epidural. They must be very strong women. After 30 minutes Dr. Appel wanted me to go for another hour. I did not want to go for another minute. Janet talked her into checking me again. Guess what? Still a 6, no change. We decided to go ahead and do a c-section. I really didn't want to have a c-section but by then I just wanted to stop hurting and wanted Ace to be here already. So off we went to the OR and I was still feeling the contractions on the right side. Finally (after maybe 10 minutes) Dr. Trehurn pumped me full of some good stuff and all my pain went away!!! Then I could hear and sort of participate in everyone's conversations as they were getting everything together. Jalen had a cd in that she wanted to listen to. Michelle took the cd out because she said Ace had to be born to country music. I was trying very hard to feel Dr. Appel cut me. I didn't think it would hurt, but I thought I would know when she did it. I didn't. I only felt a lot of pressure when they were taking Ace out. And guess what was on the radio...George Strait. Can you believe it? Carrying Your Love With Me was on the radio when Ace was born. I couldn't see him because of the sheet and he wouldn't cry. Michelle said he was holding his breath. When he finally did cry I did too. When Dr. Appel pulled him out she said he was little. He was 6 lbs, 15 oz. Everyone thought he would be big, like 8 lbs. I also heard her say his cord was wrapped around his neck twice and there was a true knot in his cord. There was NO way he would have come into this world without a c-section. We are very lucky things worked out the way they did. When Buster got to bring Ace over for me to see him I was speechless. I had been dreaming about meeting my son and imagining what he would look like. It was an amazing moment. I was so happy (doesn't quite explain it)! Buster and I have been blessed with an amazing and wonderful son. He is the new love of our lives. We can't wait to watch him grow and to see the world through the eyes of our child! I love you Ace!