Carlyn

Luther is really growing. His little legs and cheeks are filling out. He is still breastfeeding very well and seems to be getting faster. I think his tongue is getting stronger. He is now 6 weeks old! We had a great Thanksgiving. James was actually off wed, thur & fri. Unfortunately he a really bad stomach flu and was sick all day on Friday. I was so scared that Luther would get it. I confined James to the couch and disinfected the whole house several times. I did not let him touch Luther for 2 days. I kept praying the whole time that he would not get sick. Well, God answered out prayers and neither I nor Luther got it. So other than that, we enjoyed visiting with family and eating lots of food. Of course Luther was the center of attention. Everyone fought to hold him. He is the first baby in my family in 14 years. At times during thanksgiving someone would be holding him and 5 or more people would be standing about just watching him. I had a rough few days with him after everyone ...

Luther talking to his Great Aunt Jenny Daddy and Luther Daddy burping Luther. This is one of Daddy's most important jobs!! My first overalls. I finally grew out of my preemie cloths and have moved up to newborns. My first real bath, I loved it! Luther is now one month old. I can’t believe how the time has flown by. He is such a joy to be around and I am loving being a mom. James can’t wait to get home everyday to see Luther. He is such an awesome dad. He is great with Luther and has changed tons of diapers. Luther weighed 7 lbs 14 oz at his last doctor’s appointment. He is has continued to breastfeed well. I am so grateful for that because it makes all of the pumping and getting his tongue clipped worth while. Now that he is eating so well I am trying this week to work on his sleeping schedule and to come up with some sort of routine, so everyday is not like starting from scratch. Well I hope everyone has a wonderful thanksgiving. We are looking forward to spending ...

Stretching out in my crib hanging out in my favorite chair Daddy and Mommy reading me a book about colors!! My first walk Bath time My first trip to the mall Mommy reading me nursery rhymes

I'm 3 weeks old!! Do you like my hair?? Mommy fixed it. Man, i love to sleep!! So cute!! Happy 25th Birthday James!! Our little family Last Saturday was James’s birthday. He was actually off, so we went to my grandparent’s house and spent the day. Luther got to be spoiled by my family. They kept him while James and I went out to eat. It was nice to be together and reflect about all that has happened in the last few weeks. It was Luther’s first big outing. He did really well, but did not sleep much that night. He also made it to church for his first time on Sunday. Since he had been up all night, he had no problem sleeping through the whole service. This week has been busy with lots of appointments. On Monday, Luther had his tongue clipped. He did very well breastfeeding that afternoon and evening. Then on Tuesday, he basically refused to breastfeed. I think his tongue was sore, but it was very upsetting. I was glad my mom was still here because I had a total melt down. Wednes...

I LOVE MOMMY!! I LOVE MY DADDY!! Luther is now 2 weeks old. He weighed 6lbs 8oz at his check up this week. He is growing, but not quite back up to his birth weight yet. His preemie cloths are starting to get snug. He is eating well now, but I am having to pump and give him bottles because he is still not back to breastfeeding yet. We are thinking this is due to him being tongue tied. He has a doctor’s appointment on Monday with and oral surgeon to hopefully get this fixed. Please pray this will help, because pumping 8-10 times a day is getting really old at this point. My mom is still here helping, with has been a major blessing. James started his OB-GYN rotation on Monday and has been putting in 12 hr days. Mom is going to stay until we see what happens with this tongue clipping and how it changes everything. Luther is really a wonderful baby. He is so alert and always seems to be learning. He is very easy going and really does sleep well at night. If only I did not have to get up ...

Luther's first outing to see his pediatrician Bili light at our house Syringe feeding Luther IV and blood pressure cuff at the hospital Bili Light at the hospital Abigail the "Good Health Fairy" came to visit Luther in the hospital Finally home from the hospital!!! Wow, it has been a crazy week. We took Luther for his first doctor’s appointment on Monday. His weight had dropped to 5 lbs 7 oz. He was very jaundice and his bilirubin had jumped to 17. It was only 9 when we were discharged from the hospital on Saturday. Our doctor had a bili light sent over to our house and we were to start syringe feeding him each time after he nursed. We were disappointed but not really surprised. Jaundice runs in mine and James’ family and my brother Patrick had to used a bili light as well. I had had trouble getting him to nurse all day long on Sunday and had been worried about his weight gain as well. As the day went on L...

On Monday I went to my regular visit to the doctor. My blood pressure was up, so my doctor sent me over to the hospital to stay overnight for tests and to be monitored. While I was there, I had an ultrasound and estimated that Luther was only around 5 lbs. The doctor was very concerned about his drop in growth and said the safest thing was to get him out. They decided to try to induce me and keep a close eye on him to see how he responded. They tried all day long on Tuesday and Wednesday to induce me with several different meds. I had regular contractions the whole time but never dilated. Luther stayed strong so they were able to keep trying for so long. My blood pressure continued to be an issue and of course we were very concerned about Luther, so by Thursday morning we decided that the best thing for both of us was to just go ahead and have a c-section. Little Luther Samuel Layton was born healthy and strong at 12:22pm on Thursday Oct. 19th. He actually weighted 6 lbs and 11 oz an...

The Girls: Mendi, Talia, Faith, Me & Jacque Me & James Cha-Cha Slide These pictures are from last weekend when our friends Riki & Brett got married. It was a beautiful outdoor fall wedding with dinner and dancing afterwards. I somehow got talked into doing the cha-cha slide and James, to my surprise, captured the event on camera. Now everyone can see that you can still dance when you are 9 months pregnant. I was just hoping it would make me go into labor. Unfortunately it did not work, but I am to the point I would try anything. I am really sick of being pregnant and I am really ready to see this baby. Luther did drop earlier this week and I have been having contractions every evening, so maybe it won’t be much longer. I pray everyday, pretty much all day long, that I will go into labor. Next week is James’s last week of psychiatry and then he has a week off. I really want Luther to come sometime soon so James can enjoy him on his week off before he has to star...

This shirt says it all!! it is definately my new favorite. 37 weeks!! i am now offically "full term"

Every night I have been trying to pick a small project or two for James and I to do together to get ready for Luther. Last night we installed the car seat in the car and put together his pack-n-play. Now there is a whole corner in our living room for Luther. He has a bouncy seat to lounge in, a swing to ride in, a glider to be fed and rocked in and the pack-n-play for diaper changing and naps. I hope this little area will keep me from running up and down the stairs all day long after he arrives. This evening we took a bunch of my old nursing books to a used book store and traded them for some children’s books for Luther and a book on breastfeeding for me. I was fun picking our books for Luther. I can’t wait until he gets here and we can have story time. Sometimes at night James reads him a story. He responds a lot to James’s voice. I think he is a daddy’s boy already. I love hearing james say “my son” when he talks about Luther. My old roommates jen & jen(aka klocken) d...