Cherishing Every Moment

Sweet Henry is 19 days old today.  Where have the past 19 days gone??  It seems like just a few days ago I was sitting around the house hugely gigantic pregnant, obsessing about what he would look like, what his cry would sound like, what he would look like in all his cute new outfits.

I'm not emotional much, except when I see those animal shelter commercials or African orphans. I have been really sentimental lately.  A couple of days after Henry was born I learned that a couple I went to college with got the worst news imaginable.  Their 9 month old son has been diagnosed with an extremely rare degenerative disease, and will not live to see his 3rd birthday.  I read their blog every day, mostly in the middle of the night while feeding little Henry.  I can't even imagine having 9 months with him, then finding out that I will have to say goodbye. As Sam and I talk about taking Henry to his first baseball game, going to the zoo, going to the stock show next year, and how crazy he is going to be in school, I can't help but think about how blessed we are to see that in his future.  That couple does not see that in their son's future.  They cherish every second they get to hold him.

 I read all the books and websites about getting your child to sleep and eat on a schedule.  Research says that you are not supposed to rock them to sleep because they will become dependent on that to get to sleep.  You are not supposed to pick them up when they cry because they will not learn to soothe themselves.  You are not supposed to hold them while they sleep because they will not sleep on their own.  But I don't ever want to think,"I wish I would have held and rocked him more" or "I wish I would have held him more."  There is only one day in my life that I am going to get to rock a 19-day old Henry to sleep.  That's it.  He will never be 19 days old again.  There is only one day that I am going to get to hold a 19-day old Henry and watch every expression he makes while he is dreaming.

Now this is not to say that this kid never has to sleep on his own.  I do put him in his swing to sleep when I need to experience the new "luxuries" in life...like putting lotion on my legs or clipping my fingernails.  And to be completely honest, I put him in his crib and let him cry for 10 minutes yesterday because I could not take it anymore.  But I no longer feel guilty about holding him, despite what the "experts" say.

I don't want to end all sappy and crying, so here is a little Henry news for you:
*His hair is getting really blonde and CURLY!  I wonder where he got that from? He has 2 curls on top of his head that stick straight up after a bath.
*He outgrew his first pair of footie pajamas yesterday.  He is so long and skinny, that he couldn't stretch out his legs. That made this sentimental momma sad.
*He stays wide awake for hours, just looking around and taking in the world.  He will listen to you talk forever.  Unless he is tired or hungry.  Then he makes the cutest cry face I have ever seen.

5 Facts...

Henry is 2 weeks old today! Here are a few Henry facts in honor of his 2 week birthday:

*Henry is going to be tall.  The doctor in the hospital asked if we had tall people in the family because he is going to be tall.  Ummm, no, except for my brother and one of Sam's brothers, we do not have anyone who would be classified even close to "tall".  

Henry and his tall uncle Adam

 *Henry is also going to be chubby.  He has gained nearly a pound and a full inch since last Monday.  He is now 8lbs 3oz and  21 1/4inches tall.  He likes to eat. A LOT.

Getting a little chubby

 *Henry is a Rangers fan.  He is already putting his antlers up, and is super pumped about the acquisition of Yu Darvish.

Antlers up!

*He is the cutest baby ever.  I know this may seem like a biased opinion, but it is a fact.  See example below:

*However, he does not have a future in modeling.  He has the looks, but not the ambition.  We had newborn pictures last week.  They did not go well.  He SCREAMED for 3 1/2 hours.  Three. And a half. Hours.  We did not get the typical newborn pictures where the baby is curled up in a sweet little ball, sleeping blissfully.  This child has to be sprawled out at all times and was wide awake.  I was a little embarrassed because the photographer's son is in my class.  I can just picture her telling all the other parents about how insane my son is.  She was super sweet and patient, and managed to get a few great shots.  Here are just a few:

We are pinning down his arms and legs in this picture

The photographer wanted him curled up in a ball for this picture.  He preferred to dangle.

Well I just love them.

Sweet Boy

Our first attempt at a bath

Poor boy

Lucy loves him!

Sleep deprived!!

Feelin' the Love

Here are some pictures of a few of the people that showered Henry with love in his first few days.  I don't have pictures of everyone yet, but I will get them!  This is a very loved little boy!

 My mom-"Sweetie"

 Uncle Matthew

 Sam's dad-"Possum"

 Cousin Will

 Aunt Lauren

 My dad-"Coach"

 Aunt Becky

 Aunt Debby

 Great Grandfather

 Great grandparents

 Great grandmother

Henry's future girlfriend, Audrey

Henry Gage

I decided to start a blog to keep people up to speed on little Henry's life!  I love to read other people's blogs, but I am not a great writer.  If nothing else, I will try to post lots of pictures :)


Henry Gage was born on January 4, 2012 and has completely taken over our lives (in a good way!). We just sit and stare at him for hours and cherish every day with him because we don't want to miss a single expression or sweet little sound.  Sam and I steal as many kisses as we can.  This little guy is already a wild child.  Everyone says he is super strong and the most active newborn they have ever seen.  He was scooting across the hospital bed and doing push ups while the photographer was trying to take his newborn pictures.  Even the obstetrician would comment on how active he was when I was pregnant with him.  Henry hates to be swaddled because he wants to have his arms and legs free to flail around.  I have a feeling he is going to keep us on our toes for the rest of his life!


I found out I was pregnant on Easter.  I had no symptoms, but was cleaning out a cabinet and found a test and decided to take it just for fun.  Sam and I didn't believe it, so I made him go buy about 5 more tests.  I had a pretty easy pregnancy despite a lot of morning sickness and gestational diabetes.  I wouldn't say I am one of those people who "loves being pregnant", but I was incredibly thankful for each day.  Each day I was sick, each day I had to check my blood sugar, each day I just stared at my clothes because nothing fit me, I would think, "There are thousands of people who would love to be ___ weeks pregnant."  


Henry was due on January 1, 2012.  I wanted him to come before Christmas so I could take lots of cute Christmas pictures, and Sam wanted him to be born before January 1 so we could get a tax break.  Henry had other plans.  


When my due date came and went, my doctor scheduled me to be induced at 5am on Wednesday, January 4.  The doctor told Sam and me to go out to dinner the night before, enjoy a quiet relaxing evening, and get a good night's sleep.  Again, Henry had other plans.  


I started having contractions Tuesday night about 6:00.  Sam and I went out to eat, but spent the whole dinner timing contractions.  I was up all night with contractions.  By the time we got to the hospital at 5:00 the next morning I was already dilated to 5cm!  They gave me a little bit of pitocin, an epidural, and the rest of the labor was a breeze.  It turns out that the "pushing" part of labor is a lot harder than they make it look on tv.  I was thinking I would push a couple of times, the doctor would catch him, and we would be on our way.  Turns out that's not how it works.  After 3 hours of pushing I was about to just give up and be pregnant forever.  When Henry decided to make his big entrance into the world, the doctor was not there.  Henry's head was halfway out, and my nurse was frantically calling other nurses and trying to find the doctor.  They told me not to push, move, or breathe too deeply or he would come out.  After what seemed like forever, the doctor showed up and Henry was born a few seconds later at 3:35 pm!  They put him on my chest, and I was in love.  


He was 7 lbs 6 oz and 20 1/4in long.  He was healthy, but the gestational diabetes caused his blood sugar to be really low.  If he had one more low blood sugar reading, he would go into the NICU.  We spent the first night force-feeding him and checking his blood sugar.  Eventually it stabilized, but his stomach was stretched out 3 times the normal size of a newborn stomach from all the formula we had to give him.  It was very hard to fill him up, which made for very long nights for about a week.  He is doing great now and is on a pretty good schedule, which means more sleep for his mom and dad.  YAY!


This little guy is so loved.  Our family was able to come spend a few days with us and were a HUGE help!  They cooked, cleaned, and held him when Sam and I needed a quick nap.  We have been so blessed by our friends and church family.  They have provided meals, sent flowers and gifts, and have come by to visit.  So many people have blessed us these past 12 days, and we cannot thank you enough for sharing in our joy.  


And now, some pictures of the most handsome baby in the history of babies: