Smiles Smiles Smiles

I can't but help post this very cute pic of Carson smiling. Just this week he has started to smile a lot in the mornings. I'm sure there will be so many more to come, but I just love this smile. I know there is red eye, but he is still so cute.
I have a couple that I caught on my phone but I can't put those on my computer until I get a card for it. So for now until I get more, here is the cutest smile I've ever seen. :-)

Then I added a couple more because I just think he is so cute!!!!!!!!!! :-)

Frugalness

So I've been wanting to post this for a while, and have just now got around to it. I cannot take any credit for this because someone gave this to me at a baby shower. I think it is so great, and am proud of myself for doing this now. (You see this whole frugalness was not bred in me, I'm trying to learn it all, and I blame that on living in a third world where sales, coupons, garage sales, consignments shopes and clearances don't exist. So my married life I have really been trying to work on this, and learn and get better.)
I hope that all the mothers that don't know about this can find this beneficial.

It's HOMEMADE BABY WIPES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
here is the recipe.

1/2 Roll of BOUNTY (yes invest in the best and it pays off) paper towels w/0 the cardboard insert.
2 cups of water
2 Tbsp Baby Wash
2 Tbsp of Baby oil

Mix water, wash, and oil in Container.
Place paper towels in mixture.
Turn Container upside down to allow towels to absorb mixture.

They are great and last a while.

One Month

We survived one month today!!!!!! Carson is officially one month old and he is growing so much. I had an appointment today but they had to call and reschedule so now I won't know how much he weighs or has grown until Monday, but he is fitting into newborn stuff now perfectly and soon will be wearing all 0-3 months stuff. I think he is starting to focus more on me now, and sometimes I think he actually is smiling purposefully at me. It is so cute. And definitely this week he has been more alert and awake without crying, which is nice too.

This month did come with some challenges. My mom was here for almost all of it, and I know that is a long time but it was perfect for us. The 3rd week of Carson's life I got pretty sick with an infection and then a side effect of the antibiotics, it was terrible and I almost gave up nursing every day. But I pushed through it, and only got through it because I still had my mom here. She was so so helpful with everything. I really believe that God knew I was going to get sick and perfectly worked out the timing of her stay here. She is a godly woman who always sacrifices so much for her children. I really hope I can show my kids that sacrificial love like she always does to us. She was away from her husband for over 3 weeks (which I was hard for her, and I don't know if I could do that) and she helped financially and time wise with so many things while she was here. God thank you for a wonderful mother.

My best friend from College (kristen lownes (steinmentz)) came that week too. I was pretty emotional and did not plan on spending our time together as sick and crying as I was, but she was such an encouragement to me and helped me through it. I loved spending so much time with her since we are so far apart now. She is truly my best girl friend and we have so man memories together. She really is a good example to me of a christlike wife and homemaker, and I am so thankful that God put her in my life to challenge me to be more like Christ. I can see her desire to be a godly woman and she always challenges me, even if she doesn't know that.

SO I survived through the worst of nursing I hope and came out on the other end still nursing. ( I won't go into too much detail in case there are male readers).
Now we just have to make it through one more week of school. The end of the semester is always pretty terrible, and I think it's mostly because throughout the rest of the semester school is always what gets put off first, so then we pay for it in the end. But this week has been pretty hard on Richard, and then I am hard on him too. I hope that one day I will not be selfiish about things. It really is so so hard and sometimes I think impossible to not be selfish about his time, but I know that God can help me through it.

My mom left on tuesday this week and so far I've been good. :-) I am still really enjoying being home all the time.

The month of May will be pretty busy and at the end of the month I go back to work, so I have much to accomplish in May. My grandparents and my sister Juli are coming that month too which I'm really looking forward to.

We just can't wait until the summer. We have high expectations of enjoying this little boy together as a family without school work. :-) I hope it doesn't go by too fast.

Carson William Gardner

So as all of you already know (because facebook is so much easier to notify quicker), I am no longer pregnant and have a BEAUTIFUL baby boy in my arms.
I started having contractions on sunday 3/22 about 4 or 5pm. They didn't hurt so I was basically convinced that they would just stop, so I didn't get excited because I didn't want to get my hopes up. Then about 9 or 10 pm Richard said (because they were coming so rythmically, although painless, just tightening) " Maybe you should go get some things together for the hospital just in case". We were going back and forth about what we should do. But at about 10:30 or 11 we figured, well it will probably continue like this for at least a day if not more so let's just try to get a good night's sleep and went to bed. Once I layed down the contractions started becoming slightly painful, and then I got up to use the bathroom and then my water broke. Oh Boy!!!! WE just looked at eachother (it was unmistakeably that my water had broke) and were like, "ok, lets do something now":-) So I called the hospital and they said to go in. So we got the bag that we had just gotten ready and drove to the hospital. (and by the way, once your water breaks, it just keeps flowing, it's not just one gush, it will flow for a while, I didn't know that).

So we were in for a long night and day. I was in labor for a while and once the pitocin started things progressed great, and I got an epidural, and then I was feeling good. Up until the epidural (at about 5-6 cent.) I thought I was going to die. It was not very fun. But after that point, thing went great!. I was feeling good, and got to the pushing stage. WE were so so so excited that it was almost here. So I started pushing through a few contractions and felt great and was doing a good job. Then all of the sudden the doctor and a whole slew of people rushed into the room and said no questions asked, we had to go to a c-section. I was very very disappointed but trusted teh doctor. (throughout most of the contractions once the pitocin was started Carson's heart rate had been dropping a lot, and I had to keep moving posistions to try to help it, and I guess the pushing was making it drop way to much and he was under way too much stress). I really was looking forward to it being over soon, but instead was rushed to a c-section which was not fun, and now have had quite a longer recovery.
But he was born on Monday 3/23 @ 4:22pm. He was 6lbs and 13 oz. and 19 inches long. He has quite a bit of blonde blonde hair and was the talk of the hospital that day. Every nurse that came into our room said, oh this is the blonde baby that everyone is talking about. :-) I felt so proud.
For a day or so every nurse that walked into our room and said how cute he was I got so teary eyed. I have never thought that anything was so precious and cute as when they brought him over to my head after he was cleaned up (see pics on fb).

So we left the hospital on thursday afternoon and were so thankful to be home. Jerelyn was here for that day and the next until my mom got here. Richard went and picked her up from Newark airport on Friday night, and she has been the biggest help with everything.
So this week has been a process of learning about nursing, and enjoying my beautiful baby. Richard had all last week off of school and work, but this week has jumped right back into everything. It's going to be a long 5 weeks until the end of the semester for him, but I know he can do it. I sorta feel like I can't ask him to help me with anything so he can rest, and do homework and work, but at the same time, all he wants to do is hold his son and help me take care of him. So we will just all be glad when this semester is over, and we have the whole summer together!!!
I'll add a few pics, but for a lot more just look on facebook. :)