Little Man

Well, it's been a little bit since the last post. We've been busy, busy, busy!

Cassidy is growing and becoming more alert. He's up to 9 lbs, 7 oz and 21 1/2 inches. He's average for height and length. He is in the 90th percentile for his head size, though--that comes from Daddy!

Cass has kept his pretty blue eyes and is focusing better and more frequently. He's starting to smile and laugh (mostly in his sleep). He loves his daddy--he's returned kisses to him. He rolled over already, from back to front. He can hold his head up and loves to look at you when you're holding him on your shoulder. He got his first bath the beginning of this week, and HATED it! It was just too cold, and he was pitiful! He broke my heart with all that crying and carrying on--but he was fresh and clean. The nights are getting easier, too. Cass is sleeping for about 3-4 hours, depending on how much he eats. He's eating great--he could eat all the time! He's such a boy! He definitely lives up to the Reed in his name with his appetite! Uncle Reid Mac would be proud of him!

Mommy and Daddy are holding up very well. We have been sleeping fairly well. We've been going to dinner and doing some shopping. Mommy's been going to lunch and visiting family and friends. Cassidy has been seeing lots of Grammy and Bubby (Yinglings), Birdie and Biggie (McCollum), Aunt Amy and the girls, Grandmama, Gigi and PaPa (Ma and Pa), Uncle Justin, and Auntie Nisha. We've been enjoying Mommy's maternity leave!

Cousins

Cassidy Reed Yingling and Aldret Elizabeth Crosby...born about 27 hours apart.
Isn't this picture priceless?

Cassidy Reed Yingling is here!

He's here! He's here!

Cassidy Reed Yingling was born on Thursday, February 26, 2009 at 11:50 am. He was 20 1/2 inches long and weighed 7 lbs. 9 oz. He is the spitting image of his daddy...with his momma's nose, lips, and hair. He is a sweet, sweet boy.

Here's the story...in a nutshell. On Wednesday, February 25, 2009 Aldret Elizabeth Crosby was born. After work I went by the hospital to meet her and see Amy. While I was driving I noticed that I was having stronger contractions than normal. They were about 15-20 minutes apart at that point. I met Aldret, got a haircut, and went to Mom and Dad's for dinner. I had to leave their house quickly, though, because I didn't feel good--the contractions were getting pretty strong but not closer together. I got in the bed and was obsessing over the clock. My contractions were about 8-10 minutes apart by about 9:00. I finally fell asleep until about 1:00. I woke up to really strong contractions about 5-6 minutes apart. I called the doctor, and she told me to stay at home as long as I could because I'd be more comfortable. So, I took a shower and wasted about an hour. At 3:00 I woke Andy up, and we headed to the hospital.

When we got to the hospital, I was only 1 1/2 cm! They wouldn't even admit me to the hospital! I had to wait until I was 3 cm. I walked down to Amy's room at 4:00 (on the advice of the nurse). At 5:30, I was back in my room asking for pain medicine. The nurse hooked me up to the monitors, and once she saw my contractions she didn't question my pain rating of a 9. I got hooked up to some pain medicine through an IV at 6:30...FINALLY! I went from 1 1/2 cm to 5 1/2 cm in about an hour. The nurse ordered my epidural at 8:00. While we were waiting for it to get there, I got to 7 1/2 cm and my water broke. The nurse told me that we might have had to "abort the epidural" because we were so close. Needless to say, we did not abort the epidural...and I felt like a new person after that! After about 45 minutes of pushing, Cassidy was here.

I fell in love when they put him on my chest. He is absolutely adorable and sweet and good. I cannot imagine my life without him. We are enjoying every minute of our time with him. Andy is an amazing daddy--so attentive, helpful, and loving. We're a really good team.

Cassidy doesn't know how lucky he is.