Thanksgiving

Trey's first Thanksgiving

We have so much to be thankful for - I just don't think I take the time to truly and intentionally BE thankful. When I was in college, a friend of mine would end each day specifically thinking through 5 things she could thank God for. It's easy for me to come up with 5 things to be thankful for - I just don't practice that enough. I'm convicted about this and want to be purposeful about voicing my gratitude to my Father. My 5 that instantly come to mind are :

1) Jesus and His perfect love for me - He pursues me in so many quiet, gentle ways

2) My husband who took care of Trey this morning by holding him, giving him his bath, and getting him ready for the day so I could get some extra sleep from being up in the night

3) Our baby boy that God has given us the incredible privilege of loving and raising - he is the greatest purpose in life we have ever had

4) Friends and family who check in on me as a new mommy on a daily basis

5) A place to live that is so close to David's work so that he can come home for lunch every day

We had a good day with David's family. We love spending time with his cousins and their families. We went to see a movie that night with Trey and he slept through almost the entire movie. We saw "Dan in Real Life" - a very good choice if you can ever see it.

I made an apple pie

His cord fell off...next he'll be going to college

19 days old

Trey's umbilical cord fell off tonight - believe it or not, it was a little sad for me to see it go because that is what connected him to me and to life when he was inside me. I know, I know, crazy but it was still a little hard. He does have a cute little belly button.

In celebration of his cord falling off, we gave him his first tub bath - he liked it okay and seemed to be thinking back to the days when he spent all his time floating around in warm fluid. He didn't cry until we took him out to dry him off and lotion him.

Thank you

Grandma giving Trey his daily sponge bath

He clearly doesn't enjoy it!

Lunch together before Mom left

My mom went home on Thursday - I was so sad to see her go. I'm not sure why I felt so overwhelmed to be at home alone with Trey, but it was a hard to be here without her. David and I wandered around that night feeling like there was someone missing. I know that we are capable of taking care of Trey but it was so comforting to have Mom here. She gave Trey his sponge bath every day - his cord still has not fallen off so we haven't had any tub baths yet. I am so thankful for the 2 and 1/2 weeks she spent with us, and we look forward to being home with my family at Christmas. David has saved a lot of his paternity and vacation time so that we can be home in PA for an extra long time. Thank you, Mom, for your love and support - you were wonderful to have here and we miss you! Trey sends big kisses!

We love you, Mom (and Grandma)!

Happy Birthday, Mom!

Mom with my nephews Aaron (L) and Benjamin (R)

My brother Mark and our babies - Mark is holding Victoria (7 months)

Today is my mom's birthday, and it has been a couple years since I have been able to be with her on her birthday (the last time was back in 2005 when she, my dad, Grammy, and Aunt Sharon came to Arizona and we spent her birthday at the Grand Canyon). My brother Mark hasn't been with mom on her birthday in probably 17 years when he was in high school. We decided to go see Mark and his family in North Carolina which is about 4 hours away. We left at about 8:45 am - I fed Trey right before we left and he did so great travelling. We stopped about 3 1/2 hours later for about 20 minutes while I fed him. We had a fun time celebrating our Mom - she has been such a faithful example of God's love and mercy. She is one of the most positive and the most giving people that I know. She loves her family and her church family so much, and she serves our Father faithfully and never grudgingly. We have much to celebrate when we celebrate her life! And of course, this year it was special because she has been here with us the past week and a half helping us in this transition of having a baby.

Mom and her 2 youngest grandchildren (she has 10)

Aaron holding Trey- he was so proud and so gentle!

David and Trey having a Sunday afternoon nap before heading back to TN

10 days old

I took some pictures of Trey I wanted to share - he is such a sweet baby. He is eating very well and wakes up to feed every 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours. When we went to the pediatrician on this past Monday, he had alreaady gained past his birth weight and weighed 6 lb. 15 oz (he had lost down to 6 lb. 6 oz. 2 days after birth). My mom is still with us through some time this week, and we have been so blessed to have her here with us.

Big yawn

This is what he does with his hands a lot when he is sleeping

A tough couple days

Look at this sweet face - we love this boy

Trey under doublebank phototherapy with eyeshields in place - he was so good and actually looks like he might be enjoying himself

We brought Trey home on Wednesday evening (Halloween) - just 36 hours after he was born. We were so happy to come home. My parents and sister were here with us and David's parents and his brother Matt and his wife Renee came to visit us as well. The first night home was good but tiring. We took Trey to the pediatrician the next afternoon. Dr. Herron was concerned that he looked jaundiced. She had us go to Parkwest to get some blood drawn from his heel. His bilirubin level that night was 16.1 and for his age, that was too high. Dr. Herron ordered us a biliblanket that we placed on Trey's back whenever he wasn't eating in order to help us get his jaundice under control. I set my alarm that night for every 2 hours when I woke up to feed him. I am breastfeeding and my milk had still not come in at that point, but thankfully he was feeding well. The next day we had to get blood drawn again and then go see the pediatrician. Trey was still looking very jaundiced that day. When we saw the pediatrician, she said that his bilirubin level was 19.4 (despite being on the biliblanket all night and day). She said she wanted to admit him to Children's Hospital to have intensive phototherapy. We came home, packed our bags, and headed to the hospital. He was under phototherapy for 24 hours - I continued to feed him. By this point, my milk had come in. We could only take him out long enough to feed him which was so hard for both of us. David and I stayed in the room next to his crib all night and all day long. His bilirubin level came down to 12 - which amazed our pediatrician - and we were able to come home last night. We are so thankful that Trey is better and that we are able to be here with him. It was so hard for us to see him have to get bloodwork done and to see him cry and not be able to hold him close to us. I would have given anything to take his place. The emotions and love and sense of protection I have experienced this week are among the strongest, most intense I have ever felt. He is such a sweet little boy - we adore him and are blown away that God gave him to us.

Daddy watching over his little boy

Trey

Our first family photo with Trey

Us with Dr. O'Kelley who helped us safely bring Trey into the world

Just a few minutes old but looking great - his Apgars were 9 and 9

Thomas David Ashworth III (we are calling him Trey) arrived yesterday on October 30 at 4:26am. He was 2 weeks and 1 day early, but we are glad he is here safe and sound. He weighed 6 lb. 14 oz. and is 19 inches long. I started having some contractions Monday night - I had worked that day for 8 hours, so I was trying to relax a little after work. by 9pm the contractions got stronger - we went to the hospital at 10:30pm and I labored for a little under 6 hours before Trey was born. David was such a great support through the whole process. We just arrived home tonight and are going to get some sleep now for a little bit before it is time for him to feed again. We are so thrilled to have Trey in our lives - he is such an incredible blessing from God!

Girls I work with who were a part of our delivery - Ashley L., Ashley W., Kelly, Leigh, & Carmen

We love this boy!