Pajama Party Time

Dear Gage and Gabe,

We all got new jammies for Christmas. Sissy wasn't able to stay with us on Christmas Eve, so we opened them a day early. Everyone loved their new jammies, and Gage, you especially loved your Plex outfit. You couldn't wait to put it on. Of course, then you wanted to watch Yo Gabba Gabba. We had a great time at our Pajama Party.


Sissy loves her new jammies

Looks, its Brobee

Sissy and Gabe in their new jammies

Wearing our new jammies. Gage really did have fun, I promise.

I love you,
Mommy

Visit with Santa

Dear Gage and Gabe,

About a week and a half ago, we took you boys to the mall to meet Santa Claus. Gage, you met him last year, but you didn't seem to remember him. You were a little afraid to sit on his lap, so you talked with him from the safety of Daddy's arms.

Santa and Gage (and Daddy)

Gabe, you were a perfect little angel. You let Santa hold you and didn't make a peep.

Gabe and Santa

I love you,
Mommy

Gabe's First Bath

Dear Gage and Gabe,

Gabe - Your umbilical cord came off on December 16th to reveal a very cute and precious belly button. Once the cord falls off, it means real bath time. I was so excited to give you your first bath, but you didn't share in the excitement. The first bath was not fun for you and you spent the majority of the bath crying. Your second bath was much better and the third was even better. You are now a bath time pro and love them!

Gage - You like to watch me give Gabe his baths and you try to help. You like to fill up the cup for me and play in the water. You are a great bath time supervisor.

Look at that cute belly button :)

Not loving it

This is not as fun as you promised, Momma

All bundled up after bath number 2

Woohoo, this is fun!

I love you both,
Mommy

Brothers

Dear Gage and Gabe,

I was looking back through some pictures when Gage was a newborn and compared them to some recent photos of Gabe. I can see a resemblence and you most definitely are brothers. See for yourself.

* Wearing the hats the wonderful nurses in the nursery made for you.

Gage 1/29/11



Gabe 12/5/12

     

* Sweet sleeping angels.

 



Gage 1/28/11

Gabe 12/5/12



 

* Taking you home! Boys, I didn't plan to take you home in the same outfit, but sometimes fate has a way of working its way out!

 

Gage 1/30/11

Gabe 12/7/12

* Funny faces :)

Gage 2/4/11

Gabe 12/12/12

I love you both whole bunches!
Mommy



Sissy's Birthday Party (11/30/12)

Dear Gage,

Sissy turned 15 on December 3, but we celebrated a few days early because I had to work on her actual birthday. She invited two of her friends over for dinner and one of them spent the night with us. I cooked her favorite meal (Cajun Shrimp and Sausage Orzo Pasta) and made cake pops for dessert. You helped Sissy blow out her candle and then she opened her presents. She got an iTunes card from Sarah K, card and money from Maddie, a cute contact lens case from Emily, and a bag full of goodies from us. We took her shopping so she knew what she was going to get, but I did throw in one surprise: a new Harry Potter t-shirt. She had a lot of fun at a her little birthday party and we were happy to celebrate it with her!



Happy Birthday Sissy!

Contact lens case from Emily

Awesome Harry Potter shirt :)

I love you,
Mommy

Boyce Christmas Parade (12/2/12)

Dear Gage,

On Sunday, December 2, we went two miles down the road to Boyce to watch the annual Christmas parade. Your Sissy was marching with the Allen County Scottsville band, so we couldn't miss it. Your Granny Clarice, Granny Dows, Auntie NeeNee, KD, Jett, and Brian met us here at our house and we carpooled down to the parade.

The parade started out with police cars and fire trucks. You really liked the sirens and lights. We saw several floats, old cars and tractors, minature horses and Santa Claus. Most of the floats were throwing out candy, so you had fun picking it up and handing it to me. The highlight of the parade was watching Sissy march with her band. The band played Christmas carols while the color guard, decked out in Santa dresses, danced and twirled batons. They put on a wonderful performance. We are very proud of Sissy!



Waiting for the parade to start with your cousin Jett

ACS Color Guard

Sissy's friend Emily plays the flute

Sissy playing the clarinet. She's in the row to the right, furthest from us.

Miniature horse

Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus

I love you,
Mommy

Cuddle Bugs

Dear Gage and Gabe,

I now have two cuddle bugs, instead of one.

Cuddling before bedtime

Dozing in the recliner

I love you both,
Mommy

Brotherly Love

Dear Gage and Gabe,

Since there are two of you now, I have decided to write my entries to both of you. I'm sure there will be some confusion with this, but I will do my best to keep things straight :)

Gabe, we brought you home from the hospital on Friday, December 7 (shiver, shiver). We were out of the hospital by 11:45 that morning, which was a surprise to us. We hadn't even been at the hospital for 48 hours, but we got the green light from my doctor and yours. Of course, we were ready to get home and see your brother.

Gage, you had been staying here at our house with Granny and Pa, so you were here waiting for us. When we got home, you kept your distance. You still weren't too sure what to think about this tiny baby. I think you were a little upset that we brought him home with us. You kept your distance most of the day and only peeked at Gabe sleeping in the bassinet. We didn't try to force you to hold him for fear that doing so would push you further away. On Saturday, however, you asked to hold baby Gabe. You sat very calmly in the recliner and waited for me to place him in your arms. You were so delicate and loving with him. It was so precious. After about 2 minutes or so, you said, "I'm done." I'm so happy you love your brother and are so eager to hold him. Talk about brotherly love.

Taking a peek at baby Gabe sleeping

Gage holding Gabe for the first time :)

Gage loves baby Gabe

Mommy's sweet boys

I love you,
Mommy

Gabe's birth story (12/5/12)

Dear Gage,

On Wednesday, December 5, I had my weekly appointment with Dr. Sutton. We listened to the heart beat and Dr. Sutton used his tape measure to measure my belly, just like he's done at every appointment. Once the exam was finished he told me that he thought your brother was measuring a little small and he would like for me to come back in for an ultrasound. This had me worried because my measurements from previous weeks had been normal and there hadn't been any talk of a small baby. As soon as I left the office, I called your Daddy in a panic. He calmed me down the best he could over the phone, but I could tell he was worried too.

Since I had worked the night before, I laid down to take a nap soon after getting home. Your Granny Clarice stopped by on her way home from work to pick you up, so you wouldn't have to go up to the doctor's office that afternoon. I didn't sleep well and kept having anxious thoughts about the ultrasound. I was so worried about your brother and I just prayed everything would be ok.

Your Granny Dows met us at the office for my 1:30 pm ultrasound. I got called back to the little room and the technician went right to work. Before long we were able to see your baby brother's precious profile up on the screen. The technician did measurements on his head and his femur and he measured the amniotic fluid. He also monitored the placental blood flow and the blood flow through the umbilical cord. He did confirm that the baby seemed small but the blood flow looked adequate. After doing some calculations, he determined your brother was probably around 5lbs 8oz. Five pounds! I couldn't believe it. We were only a week away from the delivery date, so I knew he wouldn't grow much more than that before then. The amniotic fluid level was also a tad low, around 75% of what it should be.

The technician took the results back to the doctor while we went into one of the rooms. It didn't take long for the doctor to come talk to us. He expressed his concern about the size of the baby and also his concern of waiting until the following week to deliver him. I thought he meant to wait until the next day, but he said he wanted to deliver your brother that afternoon! Talk about panic time. I was not expecting to hear that and neither was your daddy. I cried and your Daddy and Dows calmed me down. Dr. Sutton left to make a call to the Medical Center to book an OR since we were going to have a c-section. He came back and told us we were scheduled for 5:30 pm and that we needed to get over there immediately for the pre-op blood work.

We drove right over to the hospital and your Granny Dows met us there. We went right up to Labor and Delivery and they took me to a triage room. I was instructed to change into a gown and then a fetal monitor was strapped to my waist. Gabe's heart beat was very strong and sounded great. Once your Dows got up to the room, your Daddy went home to grab our things. I already had Gabe's bag packed and our suitcase was half packed. Daddy finished packing the suitcase and grabbed a few other things and was back up at the hospital before long.
 

While we waited for 5:30 to get there, I was kept busy with several visits from nurses and technicians. I was asked a hundred questions, had blood drawn, and an IV started. I was started on fluids and they made me very cold. I was really worried about my blood work. When I was pregnant with you, my platelet levels dropped below 100,000 which meant when it was time for the c-section, I couldn’t have an epidural or spinal, but I had to go under general anesthesia. This was not something I wanted to experience again. The last time my platelets were checked at Dr. Sutton's office, they were a little over 120,000, so I had my fingers crossed they would be above the anesthesia cut off.

A little while later, we got the first bit of good news we'd had all day, my platelets were 110,000! That meant I could have a spinal block and not go under general anesthesia. Soon after, the nurse anesthetist came in to talk about the procedure. I would be able to be awake for Gabe's birth and your Daddy would be able to be in the room with me. That made me and your Daddy very happy. Dr. Sutton came in to check on me, and it was about time for the surgery so he said a prayer with us. We felt an overwhelming wave of comfort and we just knew everything would be ok.

Waiting to go back to surgery

Before we knew it, they were wheeling me back to the operating room. Your Daddy was garbed up from head to toe in white and blue surgical attire. I was taken into the operating room to get prepped for surgery while your Daddy waited outside the room. I was moved over onto the operating table and they were ready to give me the spinal. First the nurse anesthetist used a local anesthetic to numb the area, and then came the big injection. It didn’t hurt, but I felt a lot of pressure. I was laid down on my back and the nurses started to get me ready for surgery. I felt a lot of tingling and warmth run down both my legs and then nothing. I was numb from the waist down, so that meant it was time to meet Gabe.

Mommy on the operating table. I look rough, but I'm so excited to meet your baby brother

Your Daddy was brought in and Dr. Sutton started the surgery. I started to feel nauseous, so I was given some medicine. It didn’t take long and I was feeling better. I couldn’t feel any pain, but I was able to feel some pressure and tugging in my belly. Before I knew it, it was 6:14 PM, and I was hearing sweet baby cries! Gabe Jaxson Payne had arrived! Dr. Sutton brought him over near my head and I was able to see your precious, tiny brother. I was so happy he was healthy and perfect that tears started to run down my cheeks.

 

The doctor took him over to the nurses, and they started to clean him up. Daddy went over and snapped a few pictures before getting to hold him for the very first time. I got to sneak another peek at him and give him a kiss on the forehead before Daddy took him out to the nursery for skin-to-skin.

Gabe Jaxson Payne

Daddy's hand on Gabe

 It took quite a while for the doctors to finish stitching me up, and afterward I went down to recovery. Meanwhile, Daddy took Gabe out to meet the family. You weren’t really sure what to think when you saw Daddy come out with his mask on and his hair in a net, holding a little baby. But once he took those things off, you knew it was your Daddy and weren’t so scared. You were very skeptical of the little being in Daddy’s arms. You just stared and stared at your baby brother. Daddy didn’t have long to visit before he had to get to the nursery for skin-to-skin. He held Gabe next to his bare chest for over an hour to help regulate Gabe’s body temperature and for the bonding experience.
 

Daddy doing skin-to-skin with Gabe

Finally, around 8:15, I was wheeled out of recovery and into my new room. You were there waiting for me. You didn’t know what to think when you saw me. You just stared at me with a scared, sad, confused look on your face. Why was Mommy laying in a big bed with wires hanging out of her hand? I was so happy to see you and Daddy, and I couldn’t wait to see your brother. It was a little while before they finally brought Gabe in to meet his family. I held him and you kept your distance. You wanted to sit with me, but every time Daddy brought you close, you got scared. Finally we were able to pose for a photo. You were able to stay for a little while longer. Everyone got to hold Gabe and love on him.

Mommy holding Gabe for the first time :)

First family photo

While Gabe’s birth story wasn’t exactly the one we had in mind, we got our healthy baby boy! He weighed in at a whopping 5 lbs. 15.5 oz. and was 19.25 inches long. The ultrasound technician was fairly accurate with his calculations. We are so very blessed to have two healthy and handsome boys in our family.

I love you and your brother more than you’ll ever know!

Mommy

Momma's growing belly

Dear Gage,

You still don't quite understand that in 9 days Momma will be having another baby, your little brother. You really haven't seemed to notice my growing belly, as you still jump and climb all over me like you used to. This is going to be quite an adjustment, not just for you, but for us as well. I know everything will work out but it's a little stressful to think about. We keep praying for you to be a loving and understanding big brother, and we know you will be.

Here's some progression of Momma's growing belly:

18 weeks

24 weeks

30 weeks

33 weeks

37 weeks

38 weeks

I love you,
Mommy

Visit with Grandma and Grandpa Hall

Dear Gage,

The week before Thanksgiving, we drove up to Snake Run, Indiana to visit with your Great Grandparents. We were not able to make it up for Thanksgiving and we won't be able to make it for Christmas either, so we decided to get up there for a visit. You were a really good boy for the two and a half hour ride, of course having the DVD player in the car to keep you entertained helped out :)

Grandma had lunch on the table when we arrived so we ate our fill of homemade lasagna, salad and fruit. We finished it all off with some homemade blackberry dumplings and frozen yogurt. Yum! You and Daddy went down to the basement and played while I visited with Grandma and Grandpa. We had a great time visiting and catching up and you had a lot of fun playing with Daddy. A lot of those toys that you played with were toys that I used to play with when I was young. That basement brings back a lot of wonderful memories for me and it's great to see you making your own down there too!

Posing with Great-Grandpa and Great-Grandma

Hugging Grandpa

Giving Grandma kisses

 

We all had a wonderful time and it was so great to see Grandma and Grandpa. I wish we were able to visit more often, but we made sure to make the most out of the time we had.

I love you,
Mommy