2 week update

{Look how big I am!}

So Bragan is officially two weeks old. I cannot believe that he has been here for 2 weeks already! Time has flown by in a blur of feedings, diaper changes, snuggling, and extreme sleep deprivation. I said after the first few days that medical school had prepared me well for the sleepless nights, but I am not sure that is the truth. At least after a 30 hour call shift you get a post call afternoon to sleep it off...not the case with a new baby. There is no post call coma to recover from this sleep deprivation! :) We are making it through and night times have gotten much better. He is eating about every 3 hours at night and usually goes back to sleep after he finishes eating. Because his weight gain has been so good, the pediatrician said we could stretch him out longer between feedings at night if he will let us. He also told us it was a good idea to go ahead and try the bottle...so we did tonight. He took it like a champ and acted like it was no big deal! We were so excited because he will need to take a bottle by the time I start back to school. I was worried the bottle might make him not want to breastfeed, but he breastfed the next feeding after the bottle without skipping a beat. Praise the Lord! :)

{Snoozing on my blanket that FerFer made}

Here are his stats from his 2 week visit: (they did not give us the percentiles)
Weight: 9 pounds 2 ounces (birth weight was 8 pounds 3.5 ounces)
Length: 22.5 inches (birth length was 21 inches)
Head circumference: 37.5 cm

{Smiling while my big sister gives me a smooch}

In other news, we have made our first official outings together. Bragan and I took a trip to Target to pick up diapers and some other things yesterday. I put him in his car seat right after he finished eating thinking that he would be happy...boy was I wrong. As soon as I had a few things in my buggy he started screaming! I could not get him to calm down, so I had to cut the trip short and head home. He was already hungry again! My mom went with us on our next outing to Kohl's to return some things. He was so well behaved when Grammy was there that we were even able to go to Old Navy. Grammy's got the magic touch, I guess! :) I did manage to get a few errands done today by myself with Bragan and he was excellent.

And here are some sweet pictures for you to enjoy!

{Double chin!}

{Smiling in my sleep}

1 week update (2 days late)

...so we survived the first week and are having a blast loving on our little guy! He is the sweetest baby and boy does he love to eat! When he is hungry, he better get that milk right away or it is not pretty. :) We have spent so much time snuggling, cuddling, and just staring at him!


We have been to the doctor a few times for weight and bili checks because they let us leave the hospital early. On Wednesday, his 1 week birthday, he had surpassed his birth weight and was 8 pounds 6.5 ounces so they told us we could let him sleep as long as he wanted at night. No more waking him up for feedings, I just let him choose when he wants to eat. So far, I have had 2 nights in a row with a 4 hour stretch of uninterrupted sleep. That is a beautiful thing! I feel like a new woman. He has not had a hint of jaundice. Jaundice is pretty common in breast fed babies, but this little guy likes to eat so much he has stayed nice and pink :). I still cannot believe that he is here! We feel so blessed.


Madison has been such a wonderful big sister. Everyday when she gets home from school she can't wait to kiss him and hold him. She has adjusted well to no longer being the center of attention. We have only gotten a few comments about the baby getting all the attention or Madison missing her mommy and we have been able to talk them through with her. I can't blame her...it's been the three of us for 6 and 1/2 years, so this is a huge adjustment. I think I would be worried if she didn't express these feelings. I am so proud of my big girl!

Harrison "Bragan" Gray, Junior...the birth story

We are so excited to report that Bragan has arrived! So here's how the story goes...


At my 38 week appointment on Thursday October 7, I was told that I was 4 cm dilated and could go any minute. Well at my 39 week appointment the following Monday (October 11) there was no change. So on Tuesday we decided to go ahead and schedule an induction for Friday October 15 since Madison had the day off from school. I told Harrison that I just knew he was going to come now that we had decided to "plan" it...and I was right! I woke up at about 2 am Wednesday morning (October 13) because my water had broken in my sleep. I told Harrison and we proceeded to run around like chickens with our heads cut off to get out the door. Madison was sound asleep upstairs, but was able to wake up and get herself dressed and ready to go quickly. We dashed out the door after grabbing a few last minute things as most of our bags had already been packed and put in the car. I remember that I had woken up at 2:04 and we were in the car by 2:25 and at the hospital by 2:45am. We called the doctor and our families on the way to let them know the baby was coming!

On the way to the hospital, I started having some mild contractions but nothing serious. When we got to the hospital we zipped up to L&D and checked in as my contractions started getting worse. By the time I was all hooked up to the monitors I was having contractions every 5 minutes. The doctor came in and checked me and I was 5 cm. I told them that I wanted to go ahead and get things moving for the epidural since I did not get it in time with Madison. They told me we had to get a CBC and I had to have a bolus of fluids first and that the anesthesiologist was busy in the ER anyways. I just knew that meant bad news for me! After about an hour of pretty strong contractions that were 1-2 minutes apart, I started to feel a lot of pressure. The doctor checked me and I was 8 cm dilated. The anesthesiologist came in a few minutes later and said it was late for the epidural, but it might help with the pushing. Well, that epidural was the worst part of the entire night because it is nearly impossible to hunch over on the side of the bed without moving when you are having contractions 1 minute apart and are fully dilated. As soon as he finished, it was time to push and let's just say the epidural kicked in about 10 minutes after the baby was born! Fortunately, I only had to push for about 5-10 minutes before he arrived.
Bragan came into the world with a good, strong cry weighing in at 8 pounds, 3.5 ounces and 21 inches long at 4:43 am. That's right, water broke at 2 am and baby born at 4:43...what a whirlwind! Since then, things have been a blur of cuddling, feeding, dirty diapers, and trying to squeeze some sleep in there somewhere. We are so in love with this little cutie and cannot believe he is here. Madison is adjusting well to not being the only child and has been doting on her baby brother nonstop. She is so sweet to him and for the most part has been handling not getting all the attention well. I am so proud of my big girl and I know she has so many cool things to teach her baby brother! We are so amazed at this incredible blessing God has entrusted us with. What a miracle!

38 weeks

{I cannot believe how big that thing is!}

How far along: 38 weeks on the nose
Total weight gain/loss: I plead the fifth
Maternity clothes: Yup...so sick of wearing the same thing over and over!
Sleep: Off and on. Woke up this morning at 4:45 am and was not able to go back to sleep.
Best moment this week: Baby shower yesterday with some friends and family
Movement: Still very busy in there.
Cravings: Nothing I can think of right now.
Gender: BOY!!
Labor Signs: Having more frequent contractions, but none are regular yet. Some have gotten quite uncomfortable and made me wonder...is this the real deal??
Belly Button in our out? Out
What I miss:Hugging Madison close and bending over easily.
What am I looking forward to? Smelling that sweet baby smell when I am snuggling with the little cutie.
Weekley Wisdom: Prop those feet up any chance you get!!
Milestones: Full term plus some!

37 weeks...FULL TERM!

Sorry there is not a picture to go with this one. We just have not gotten around to taking one this week. I will post one soon!

How far along: 37 weeks and 4 days
Total weight gain/loss: +28 pounds :(
Maternity clothes: Yes! Haha I don't have a prayer of getting into any non-maternity clothes. In fact, some of my smaller maternity shirts are riding just a little short under the belly!
Sleep: So/so. Getting more and more uncomfortable, but once I am asleep I am good.
Best moment this week: Last night when Harrison was talking to the baby he was wiggling all around and poking out like he knew we were talking to him!
Movement: Still wild and crazy in there. I remember reading that the movement might slow down since he is running out of space. It doesn't seem to stop this little guy!
Cravings: Ice.
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: Lots of Braxton Hicks contractions like usual.
Belly Button in our out? Out.
What I miss: Being able to hug Madison really close without a big beach ball getting in the way.
What am I looking forward to? Seeing my sweet boy's face and snuggling him!
Weekley Wisdom: I got nothing!
Milestones: We are now FULL TERM! Hoping to make it all the way to our due date so I don't have to make up any days from this rotation.

As a side note...not really baby related. I have officially submitted my residency application and have scheduled 10 out of my 11 interviews. December and January are going to be very busy with traveling to all of these places. Please pray for us to have wisdom and guidance as to where God wants us to end up.

Soccer Star

Madison had her first soccer game this Saturday. She did great and actually went after the ball! It was so much fun to watch. So proud of that little pumpkin!

Get it, girl!

Figuring out her plan of attack

Showing those boys how it's done :)

Hot and sweaty, sweaty, sweaty!

Preparing to kick

We are excited to see how her skills progress as the season goes on. I was so proud that she was running towards the ball and not running screaming in the other direction like I feared she might! :)

36 weeks

{Photo credit: Amber Privett}

How far along: 36 weeks
Total weight gain/loss: Haven't weighed myself this week...it has been fluctuating a lot with the fluid I have been retaining. I am avoiding the scale in general these days!
Maternity clothes: 100%
Sleep: Getting more difficult. Once I am situated I sleep great, it's just getting into a good position that is the hard part.
Best moment this week: Having family pictures taken on Sunday (see above). Thanks Amber and Jonathan for putting up with the heat!
Movement: Less kicks and more rolls and jabs. Lots of hiccups still.
Cravings: None this week.
Gender: BOY!
Labor Signs: Having more and more frequent contractions, some are actually uncomfortable. Still none of the real deal though.
Belly Button in our out? Out
What I miss: Being able to keep up with Madison. I feel badly when I am not as energetic as usual.
What am I looking forward to? Snuggling my sweet baby boy and introducing him to his awesome big sister.
Weekly Wisdom: Can't think of any.
Milestones: Almost full term...and it's officially less than 1 month away from the big day! 27 days and counting. Just ask Madison, she keeps up with it daily!

{The final touch to the nursery! Ordered this decal from Etsy...I could spend hours on that site}