Gardner Wilson

Gardner is now cooing, smiling, and kicking during his "playtimes!" It is so amazing to watch him grow so quickly. It's amazing, really. I held baby Jaden Moorhead last night, the 3rd child of some friends, and he felt incredibly light in my arms....7 lbs. 15 oz! It was then that I truly realized how children can grow up without you noticing, since it's so gradual. Gardner felt heavy compared to him! Gardner has fussy afternoons, but only mildly. He is still far less of a crier than some babies I've been near. He was in his swing yesterday and just would not be consoled. I knelt down beside the swing and grabbed his little hand, then I began to sing. I sang every song that popped into my head...."He's Got the Whole World," "This Little Light of Mine," "Aluette," and even "Amazing Grace." Within two measures of the first song, his little face smoothed out and his eyes gazed into mine. He let out a sigh and...

Here's a Picture of Gardner taken by Angela Harrell while we were at the hospital. Yeah, you could say he's grown a bit since then.

Gardner is 1 month old today!!! Also, 4-week follow-up/check-up with Dr. Hearn today. At last, I can finally resume normal exercise...even abdominals, and kickboxing! :0) Dr. Hearn said everything healed up perfectly; he only had to clip off an extra knot in my stitches. Ouch, but not a big ouch. He was glad to see that breastfeeding is such a success for us, and it further encouraged me that I'm doing it right! Sometimes a mom needs a little bit of confirmation.... My blood pressure was still low, as always (90/70)....I have now lost 16 lbs....9 more to lose if I want to get back to pre-baby weight. But I agree with Ken that I was too skinny before. I plan to start weightlifting again to build more muscle tone. I think what I weigh now is just fine, and Dr. Hearn agreed wholeheartedly. It's refreshing to have a doctor talk with you about every issue, even these, which are not directly related to birth itself. I can really tell he wants to be more than just a d...

Gardner is now 3 weeks and 4 days old! Already we can see so many changes in him! For one thing, he really recognizes our voices. I can walk into a room after being away for a while, and when I say something, he jerks his head around towards me! The same goes for Ken. He has gotten used to Ken's voice because he talked to him every day when he was still in the womb. By far the biggest (and first, I guess) milestone happened today! He smiled when I talked to him! Now, I know there are those newborn reflex smiles (he's had those since he was born), and this was not it. Two distinct times he stared right into my eyes and let out a big grin as I chatted to him! So sweet! He is mama's helper in the kitchen....I set his carrier on top of the countertops as I cook each night, and he especially likes the hum of the dishwasher when it runs. We go for walks 4-5 times a week, and his little eyes can hardly take in all of the autumn sights and colors as they pass by...

I'm thinking he looks surprised. Or excited. I just can't tell.

Here's a shot of Gardner's first picnic. Doesn't he look like he's having a great time!

Here's a snapshot of Daddy and his little boy.

Gardner is 2 weeks old today....can't believe it! It is flying by too fast already. We have had so much fun with the little guy ever since we've been home together at last. He has gotten his feeding schedule down, and I'm able to sleep about 6-1/2 to 7 hours total each night. I am used to my 8-9, though, so I am trying my best to fit in mini naps during the afternoons.... Gardner went on his first "outing" on Friday....we took a picnic to the pond and attempted to eat it....but were chased away by lots of bees! Needless to say, I was very disappointed in that my perfect picnic was ruined and eventually was moved indoors....but at least we'll have a story to tell one day! Gardner and I went on a long neighborhood walk yesterday....the sun was so bright, so I kept up the handy sunshades on his stroller and he was oblivious to it. And last night when Ken got home from the office, we packed up and took him on his first grocery shopping trip to Publix. ...

The Arrival of Gardner Preston Wilson.... My Birth Story My due date was Friday, September 24th. The last 2-3 prenatal checkups I had showed no progression toward labor to speak of….I had not dilated any, and I was about 60% effaced at my last check-up. The baby had dropped halfway down, to -2 station. I had become increasingly uncomfortable due to the more frequent bathroom trips, lack of quality sleep, heartburn, and backaches. On Sunday the 19th, I noticed that the type of backache I had been dealing with gradually changed. We ate lunch with my parents, and while there, it became very uncomfortable to sit in any one chair for longer than a few minutes at a time. I tried leaning and lying down as well, and nothing would help the pain subside. It was high in my back, near my kidneys, so I thought nothing of it. I stayed home from church Sunday night since I was unable to sit up for more than a few minutes at a time. We borrowed some heating pads from a neighbor and ...

And here's a picture of a proud daddy. More pictures to come and updates on Gardner's developmental milestones.

Gardner Preston Wilson is here!! He arrived Tuesday morning at 11:52 am....weighed in at 6 lbs. 15 oz. and was 19-1/2 inches long. He has lots of brownish-auburnish hair, and long fingers and toes!! We can't decide exactly who he looks more like. I hold that he definately looks like Ken when he's sleeping. :0) I ended up having an "emergency" c-section due to placenta and cord problems causing him to have a decelerated heart rate. A scary time for a while, but after I heard his cry and saw his little face, it didn't matter anymore. :0) He is the most precious little baby boy in the world! We arrived home yesterday and we've already got him on a good schedule...in fact, I was able to sleep a total of 6-1/2 hours last night (good, I think!). We are having so much fun just hanging out with him, dressing him, talking to him, singing to him, and even watching Clemson football with him on TV. :0) Ken will be arranging an assortment of photos of ...

Well, it is 2:30 in the morning and I am up and awake! I am having what (I guess) are real contractions....regularly patterned tightening with pain. My back has been hurting constantly since Sunday morning. Now that pain intensifies with each contraction, and after about a minute of that, the tenseness radiates around to my abdomen...Ken even felt it move around...and my belly gets really hard all over. They are lasting about 1-1/2 minutes and are about 4-5 minutes apart. I called Dr. Nordeen, who is on call tonight, at about 10:00. He said that with first-time moms, there's no need to rush to the hospital until they're about 3 minutes apart. I can still talk okay through them, although my breath is noticeably shallow. I have tried every position possible, and no relief is found....so there went my first theory that they were just Braxton-Hicks (which get better with physical movement). I am about to head to the bathroom to draw a warm bath.....hopefully it wil...

Four more days....barely a breath left! I cannot believe this may be the final week that is it just the two of us in this family. I have been having excruciating back pain this weekend, mainly yesterday and today. I have no idea what it might be. It could be anything from the simple weight of the baby pulling me forward and straining my back.... Or it could be him pressing on a nerve.... Or it could be (as my ever-referenced books say) true pre-labor backaches, which are often constant instead of coming in waves like contractions do. I don't know, all I do know is that it HURTS. I am safely able to use a heating pad for 15 minutes per hour, so I have tried that to relieve it some. I don't want this to become a complaint log, but it is hard to think about anything else when you're in pain but the sleep you're losing, the appetite that's fading, and the unachievable desire just to find a comfortable way to sit or lay down!! I am so ready to get this show ...

Well, early morning happenings sent me to the doctor's office a day early for an unexpected checkup. I woke up at 2 am and was convinced I was seeing the beginning of my water breaking. I was up till 5, reading, researching, being frantic! I finally settled back down and slept till 7. Ken convinced me to go ahead and call the doctor, and by 8:30, we were on our way to be checked. (By this point, by the way, I was telling Ken, "But I think I'm okay! I think I'm just overreacting." Ken had to prod and push me to go by the end of it all.) I saw Dr. Nordeen today; he was the only one there at that time. The verdict? Well, as you can tell by the fact that I"m posting a blog right now, it was a false alarm. Without going into too much medical detail, what I thought was my water breaking is just the routine happenings of late pregnancy....who would've thought that my body would STILL be going through such definite changes at this point. The pains I...

Well, this baby is definitely on his merry way! I have been going through so many changes since last time I posted a blog.....I mean, wow. We're on the fast track now. I have been having more pain since this weekend....more bathroom trips (a LOT more), and a lot of pain and heaviness/pressure in my upper thighs and hips. I only hope this means he'll be here that much sooner....I don't know. I am scrambling around thumbing through my books, emailing friends, and researching on the web to uncover more clues as to whether I'm feeling the beginnings of the real thing or not. This makes me excited, but kind of freaks me out a little bit because I haven't finished a few little last-minute things yet. Ken and I plan to switch vehicles tonight (we're both reluctant to give up our cars!), putting the carseat in and the little baby-view mirror. I have to finish the "call list," the phone chain we're planning so everyone will be notified once I...

Checkup today....not much progress to tell of, though! :0( The baby is at -2 station, which means he hasn't dropped into the pelvis yet. I am now 60% effaced (or so), but still not dilated at all. The achiness and pains I've been feeling (and extreme lethargy) is normal, Dr. Duniho said, for this late in a pregnancy. Plus, he said there's an illness going around right now that is just causing general aches and pains with no specific symptoms....just a general "don't feel good" kind of thing. But on the bright side, the baby's heartbeat is strong, his movements are strong, and my measurements are still on target. There are still so many things to be thankful for! Weight gain to date is 26 lbs.....which I think it a tremendous amount, simply because I've never weighed this much in my whole life. But really, people keep telling me that's really, really good, and it's still under the prescribed weight gain I was given at the beginni...

It was a weekend of "firsts" (sort of) for our little Oliver..... One, his first Clemson game was Saturday. No, we did not physically attend the game, nor was he actually out to be able to know there was even a Clemson game going on. All he had to go on was the muffled sounds of our TV broadcasting the duel with the Demon Deacons....and the occasionall "Go, tigers!" that I might have yelled outloud. But I insisted to Ken that it was his first Clemson game, and that was that. :0) Two, last night was his first fireworks show. There was something called "Celebrate Anderson"... and there was a spectacular fireworks display at the Civic Center, a mere mile or two from our house. Ken and I stood outside in our street and watched it all from here. Ken kept his hands on my belly and said Oliver was kicking and squirming a lot. Who knows whether he loved or hated the loudness....I guess we'll find out next year! Ken and I just layed around on the f...

Having a fun weekend so far!! We've been able to hang out with many of our best friends the past two nights....which is great, considering once the baby's born we will most likely feel tied to our house for a little while, detatched from everyone! Everyone is asking how many days I have left (19, to be exact!), and thus the pregnancy talk starts. I have gotten so much comforting and useful advice from so many new moms. It is really nice to know that everything I will be going through shortly (and am now) is not unfamiliar to many of my friends. Some friends let us borrow a video monitor.....so now we have it plugged up and in "nighttime" mode. It is so cool that we can look at the little monitor in our bedroom now and see how the little guy is laying and what he's up to. Just more peace of mind for a mom who's going to be jumping at every little sound and movement for a while.... :0) Meg

The doctor's appointment yesterday showed that I have not begun to dilate, but I have effaced from 10% to 50% in the past 2 weeks. So that's progress! The back pains I've been having are just mild contractions (Braxton-Hicks), and they are to be expected at this time. Just something I will have to deal with until the "real" thing arrives.... We went to Greensboro for the day yesterday and ended up leaving so late Ken was too tired to stay awake! (and I was too tired to stay awake to keep HIM awake!) So we did something crazy and got a hotel for the night. I think I had some people nervous that I was going to go into labor while we were up there, away from all my doctors and everything. But it was all ok! One of life's little adventures that we can laugh about in the years to come.... We're not home safe and sound, and I do believe that I'll follow my instincts and stick close to Anderson for the duration of this home stretch. On our way ...

We spent a fun weekend with the Matthis's, friends of our family for years! Christy and I had a blast, as usual. She is telling me she wants to come back down from Greensboro once I go into labor, especially if it's on a weekend. I'll try to aim for that, but of course, I can't promise anything! :0) They brought us a baby bathtub full of cute and useful gifts. We are close to having all that we will need for this baby! :0) Such wonderful, generous friends we have.....we are so blessed. My back has been hurting on and off all weekend....still hurts today. I can't tell what kind of pain it is.... And I am starting to see subtle signs that I'm swelling just a little bit, especially in the morning and late at night. My wedding rings are just a tad tight, but as the day gets started, my fingers return to normal. My feet haven't really puffed up, thank goodness. Another thing, I just feel different. I can't put my finger on it. I don...