There's a First Time For Everything

We've been busy as usual so it's taken me a little longer to update this time. This last week has really been amazing. As soon as Beckham hit four weeks, he started doing all kinds of new things.

On Monday morning (April 20th), I was playing with a rattle with him and I noticed that he was able to follow it with his eyes! I had been watching for this for a while so I was really excited to finally see him do it. That afternoon, I took him to lunch with Robin and Jason. We just happened to go to this little restaurant right around feeding time so of course, he put on a show for everyone there. The little booger! Times like these are when breastfeeding is a pain in the booty. I'm not the type of girl to start nursing right at the table!

On Tuesday morning (April 21st), Beckham showed me something else he learned overnight... he was trying to talk! And I don't mean the usual "wa wa". I mean the actual "goo goo ga ga". It was so cute! He's only done it a couple times since then though. Tuesday afternoon, he had his first "play date" with Leonora aka Leah. He would have had more fun had Leah not been sleeping most of the time. Geez, babies.

That night, Beckham had his first real photo shoot! The photographer, Max Trombly, came to our house to shoot him and it was quite a night. He was shooting him naked so there were a few accidents... First, Beckham peed on his daddy. Then Beckham peed on me. And last but certainly not least, Beckham pooped on the pillow he was laying on for the photo! He's not quite model material just yet.

Joshua took off of work Wednesday through Friday because his sister was coming to town from San Diego. She didn't get hear until Wednesday night so Joshua and I took Beckham to the Riverwalk which is where the above photo was taken. After the Riverwalk, we stopped by my mom and Huey's house where my mom held Beckham the entire time we were there. What do you know, he slept in her arms pretty much the whole time.

Later that night, we decided at last minute to surprise his sister, Tasha and her husband, Frank at the airport. They didn't get in until around 12:30am so we weren't planning on going, but Beckham got to sleep the whole time anyway so he didn't mind. After we left the airport, all five of us met Donna and Gene at Denny's for a very late night "snack". And of course, Beckham slept through that too! Because Beckham slept the whole time, Tasha and Frank didn't actually get to meet him until the following day. I swear he's awake a lot! He's just always sleeping when we visit family!


Donna finished the needle point picture she was making for Beckham's nursery and it is so adorable! It has all of our names on it and all of Beckham's stats from birth. Now I just need to get Joshua to hang it up!


Before we went to the airport, we were hanging out at home and I was able to make Beckham smile for the first time! I was talking to him and squeezing his cheeks and actually smiled! It was only a couple times though and I couldn't get him to do it again.

Friday was the first time that Beckham went to the park! We Spent the afternoon with Joshua's family at Audubon Park and it was so beautiful. Joshua climbed up a tree and somehow managed to get down while Beckham slept... like he loves to do! Here's a cute pic of him sleeping with his Pa-pah.


It was first day that I pumped throughout the day and fed him with bottles instead of nursing. It was so much nicer! Tasha and Donna even got to feed him.

Saturday morning Beckham was really gassy and it was soooooo hot outside so we decided to stay home. We ended up visiting my dad, Robin and Kate that evening where they too got to feed him for the first time which Robin has been DYING to do (I even sent her pics the day before of Donna feeding him just to tease her!). Joshua was able to make Beckham smile while we were there by tickling him. I've searched for that tickle spot since then, and I can't seem to find it :(. Before we left, my dad gave Beckham a gift that he bought the previous week while on vacation. He bought one for each of his new grandbabies and he chose it because he thought it's what they would go to before anything else in the room. It was a glittery, gold piggy bank! I think that Beckham will definitely crawl to it once he knows how!



This past Monday, Beckham's "girlfriend", Ariel, came by to visit him. Their relationship was arranged prior to birth and she had been waiting to meet him for the last five months - her whole life! Like a good girlfriend should, Ariel even kissed Beckham goodbye. We took some pics of them cuddling on the couch and I'll post one as soon as I have them.

So far, it's been a yucky week. Tuesday was the first time that Beckham peed in the bath tub. I was getting the soap ready and when I looked up, there was a fountain of pee coming out of the water! And Beckham was just laying there chillin, looking at him like he didn't just do that. Then yesterday he pooped on me! He leaked out of his diaper, through his clothing and all over me! I guess there had to be a first time for that too.

Today was the first day that he was all smiles! This morning I was sitting with him on the couch and when I looked down at him, he was just looking up at me with a huge smile. I started talking to him and he was trying to talk back, all the while smiling. I brought him over to Robin's and he was all smiles at her and Kate. Now I just can't wait to hear him laugh!

Old and New Generations

Beckham got to meet his little cousins for the first time yesterday! Athens, who is only 5 months older than him, was baptized yesterday morning. From the time I found out that his mother, Brandi, and I were pregnant at the same time I couldn't wait to put our little babies together to take pictures. So yesterday, we sat them together and snapped away. Athens was so sweet... he was petting Beckham and trying to kiss him. They are just adorable together!

After we got some pictures of the two boys together, I had to get some shots of Beckham with all of his little cousins (Athens has two older sisters, Alyssa (4) and Victoria (21 mo). The girls were too precious. They were all over Beckham, and Victoria kept talking about him but all I could understand was "baby". I thought it was so cute when Alyssa asked Joshua, "Is he going to grow up?".

Before the christening, I was laying in bed with Beckham and he was crawling all over me. He's so strong and he's able to move himself all over. Of course, I took pictures!

T0day, Beckham visited his Great Great Grandmother Marian and I brought along the camera to capture some moments of the two of them together. She was bouncing him so they're a little blurry but still so lovely :).

Did Anyone Go To Medical School?

I'm furious! First, Dr. Love at Children's Hospital tells me that he feels humidifiers are useless because "New Orleans is humid enough" and then the nurse from Beckham's pediatrician's office tells me that the lump next to his eye is just a symptom of his blocked tear duct and nothing to worry about. Well, thank God for motherly instincts because after doing my own research last night I learned that the swelling near his eye was actually an infection caused by the blocked tear duct, and it needed to be treated immediately to prevent further damage.

When we saw Dr. Love, he noticed that Beckham's right eye was a little pussy and told us that it was most likely caused by a blocked tear duct but it could also be caused by an infection instead. Just in case it was actually an infection, he took a swab of it to be tested and wrote us a prescription for ointment to use in case he called us to tell us it was indeed infected. At the time, there was no lump and we never got a call saying that it was infected so we knew then that it was just a blocked tear duct. Well, after reading last night that swelling and tenderness beside the bridge of the nose, next to the affected eye was a symptom of infection, Joshua and I decided to use some of that ointment to treat it until I was able to call the pediatrician. I was totally ready to call this morning and demand an appointment ASAP because he's been having this lump for over a week now (thanks to the nurse); but when we woke up this morning, the swelling was practically gone! I guess our little trip to the emergency room wasn't for nothing after all!

Here are a couple pics I took of him with my phone this morning. He's wrapped in the blanket his Nana made for him.

The Third Week

Beckham is over three weeks old now and I feel like I just left the hospital yesterday. It blows my mind how fast time is flying by and I just want him to stay a baby forever. Although, I wouldn't mind not having to change poopy diapers :).

So, Beckham's been a busy boy over the past week. Let me catch you up!

On Saturday, April 11th, Beckham went to his very first crawfish boil at Jay Jay's (my brother, Jason's) house. He didn't get a chance to actually try the crawfish (it was a little too spicy for him) but he did seem to enjoy being bounced from person to person ;). Beckham's Grandpa (my dad), Great Grandmother Marilyn and Great Great Grandmother Marian were also there so we took a 5 Generations picture! Check it out along with some other snapshots!

The following day was Easter Sunday and Joshua and I made a little basket for him. It had little plastic fish that were shaped like eggs and filled with candy in them along with a lolly pop and some chocolate. Obviously, nothing in the basket was actually useful to him but it was still cute so we took a picture of him with it. We then took Beckham to visit his Nana and Papa D (my mom and Huey) and his Nonna and Papah (Donna and Gene). It was a really nice day and Beckham was a little angel.

Beckham ended up getting so much stuff for Easter that it was a good thing I didn't really buy him anything! He got so many gifts on Saturday and then more on Sunday. Most of it is pictured below, but he also received some $$$.

Last week I wrote about when Joshua and I took Beckham to have his first picture taken with the Easter Bunny, and now I have it to share with you. He looks so tiny next to that big bunny!

Monday was Joshua's first day back at work after Beckham's birth and boy did we miss him. I gave Beckham a bath and it was the first time he didn't cry during it. Since then, he hasn't cried during a bath again! Since Beckham and I were alone all day, I pulled out my camera and took some shots of him. If ever you wonder why he is wearing mittens all the time, just remind yourself of the picture below. Sometimes I think he tries to rip his face off!

I think Beckham must have gotten spoiled by everyone holding him over the weekend because most of the week he was so fussy and he just wanted me to hold him! Maybe he just missed his daddy.

On Tuesday, my friend Gina finally had her baby!! She somehow managed to wait until the birth to find out the baby's sex, and she was very excited when she popped out a little GIRL! Beckham's new little friend's name is Leonora Odile and I took him to meet her the following day. She is absolutely adorable and so so squishy! Beckham was being a little booger and fussed most of the time we were there, but Gina and I did manage to get a photo of the two together. Please pay no attention to my humongous boobies that are about the size of their heads!

Thursday was another exciting day! I got to find out the sex of another baby that has been driving me crazy not knowing. My sister, Kate found out that she is having a GIRL too! Yay! A little girl for me to buy cute, frilly things for! Now I just need to find out what Jason and Sam are having!

One of my favorite things to watch Beckham do is smile in his sleep. Right before he does it, he starts panting and then his eyes open. Then he does a little half smile right before the big one. It's precious! His Papa was able to catch one on camera on Easter, and I was able to catch one the other day when he was awake. I just love it!

So many people have been so incredibly generous and one group that I definitely want to give a special thanks to for all of their help is the Marines in Joshua's shop. They came by and brought us 1,392 diapers and 720 wipes! We are so grateful and I just want to give all of them a big hug. Thank you!

A little update about Beckham's health.... He has still been having some trouble breathing at night but it is worlds better than it was before I got the humidifier. I'm starting to relax a little more at night, and I only jump up to check on him about 2-3 times now.

His right eye where he has his blocked tear duct is no longer gooey with the exception of a tiny bit in the corner every once in a while. It was so bad before that his eye would be glued shut every time he would wake up from a sleep. However, the tear duct is now swollen instead and the pediatrician said it could stay this way for months and even up to a year. I was waiting for the swelling to go down before I had his picture taken for his birth announcement, but now I'm just going to go ahead and have it done this week. I can't wait!

Hopefully it won't take me another week to post an update. It will be much easier once I get Beckham in a set schedule, but it's so difficult when he eats every 2-3 hours and it's not always at the same time. I'm working on it though!

The First Two Weeks

Wow, Beckham is 2 weeks today!! I tried to update the blog a couple times but my internet has been up and down, and it just happened to be down when I had free time so now I have lots to write about. I better get started!

On Wednesday, March 25th, I woke at 4:30 am with contractions. When I felt the first one, I didn't think anything of it because I sometimes felt them randomly in the middle of the night. I thought it was strange when the second one hit me ten minutes later so I checked the time and decided to keep track if I felt another one. About 10-12 minutes later there was another one... and another... and another. At around 5:30am, I went to lay on the couch since there was no way I was falling back asleep. In the meantime, Joshua had woken up and left to go to P.T. where he told his supervisor that he couldn't go into work because I may be in labor. At 7am, the contractions were still consistent so I called my mom before she went to work to let her know to keep an eye on her phone because I may be calling her to go to the hospital later, and then I hopped into the shower. When I got out, the contractions were gone! An hour later, they came back and were only 5 minutes apart but they were only lasting about 30 seconds each. I called Robin to let her know what was going on and I stayed on the phone with her while she timed the contractions for me and listened to me squirm in pain. By the time we hung up about an hour or so later, the contractions were 3 minutes apart and lasting for about 45 seconds each. They continued this way for about another 30 minutes before I decided to call my doctor. Once I did, they told me to head to the hospital. So here's the timeline from then on...

11:24 - Arrived at Touro

11:45 - 2-3cm/70%/-2

13:39 - 3cm/70%/-2, Broke my water bag (the worst pain I've ever felt!), Dr. Von Almen tells me he has to leave to go to the Hornets game at 5pm!

13:57 - Started Pitocin

14:53 - EPIDURAL!

15:45 - 5cm/80%/-1

16:45 - 6cm/80%/0

19:00 - 8cm/90%/0

20:00 - 9-10cm

20:40 - 10cm, Started pushing with Dr. Donna Waters

21:40 - Beckham came out!

The day after Beckham was born, I ended up breaking out in hives really bad while I was at the hospital. My lips were bigger than Angelina Jolie's and my throat was swollen. My arms looked like two huge hives with fingers attached to them and the rest of me had hives scattered about. What sucked the most about it was that they had to hook me up to the IV again. They gave me steroids which got the swelling to slowly go down, but I ended up breaking out again really bad once I got home. Over the first few days I was at home, I was drowsy from Benadryl and had a rough time keeping up with all the visitors we had. Luckily, the hives finally went away and didn't return. I think they were brought on by all the excitement rather than something I ate or inhaled.

At home, Beckham did well right away. He did great with nursing and slept most of the night. We couldn't and still can't believe what a good baby he is. He only cries when he's hungry or needs a diaper change. Well, he also cries when we change his diaper or clothes and when we put lotion on him.

Everything was going great until he was 6 or 7 days old when we first noticed that he was having some trouble breathing at night due to mucus in his throat. Over the next 3 or 4 days, it gradually got worse and he started having trouble sleeping and eating. Of course, I wasn't getting much sleep either because I stayed up all night making sure that he was still breathing. When I called the pediatrician's office, the nurse told me that it was common with newborns and that we needed to put saline drops in his nostrils and use the ball syringe before each feeding. After trying that for a day, it still got worse; and when he was 10 days old, he started choking on the mucus. It was the middle of the night and there was no way I was going to even close my eyes until I knew that he could breath better so at 3am we decided to bring him to the hospital to see if they could suction out the mucus.

After waiting for hours and hours, we finally saw Dr. Love who had his nose suctioned and an x-ray done on his chest. He was still breathing the same after they vacuumed his nose, but they were able to test what they did get out for the flu and RSV. The x-ray and the test all came back clear. Dr. Love told us that he just had a cold and there was nothing we can do other than the saline drops. After being there for 6 hours, the only good that came from the visit was that Dr. Love wrote him a prescription for some ointment to use on his eye where he was developing an infection.

Although Beckham still has the eye infection, it does seem to be gradually getting better. As for his breathing, I bought a humidifier which has done wonders for him. He is breathing sooooo much better now!

I've been nursing Beckham so, of course, I've been the only one feeding him which is no fun for Joshua. I had planned on waiting until he was 4 weeks old before starting to pump and feed him through a bottle; but on Monday, April 6th, I gave in and Joshua was able to feed him for the first time. Well we actually tried when he was 4 days old but he fought it the whole time and I decided again that I would wait. It took a lot of hard work to get him to finally take it. He also doesn't care for pacifiers. He usually spits them right out or locks his lips when you try to give it to him.

Also on Monday, Beckham's umbilical stump fell off! We were so excited because we were finally able to give him his first bath which we didn't end up doing until today. We found another thing he doesn't like. He cried the whole time! He just really doesn't like being naked.

Yesterday was Beckham's first visit with his pediatrician. The doctor that we chose was out of town so we had to see someone different, and we ended up liking the temporary doctor so much that we're going to stick with him. Beckham now weighs 6lbs 12 oz so he gained 4 oz, and he is 20 1/2 inches long so he grew almost an inch.

After his bath today, we took him to have his picture taken with the Easter Bunny. Donna bought him a precious little outfit to wear for it and he looked just like a baby doll. He ended up crying for the picture because he didn't like his little bonnet and he was getting hungry. I know, I said he was such a good baby and now I'm writing about all these things he doesn't like! LOL

These last two weeks have been so special and Joshua has been so wonderful. He was such a great help and did so much for me when I was in the hospital and he has been just as helpful and loving at home. He is amazing with Beckham and I know it's going to be hard for me to readjust when he goes back to work next week. I'm so fortunate to have had him home for so long though. Yesterday was our 2 year wedding anniversary and it was a joy to have Beckham here to spend it with.

Before I end this, I want to say thank you to our incredible family who have been more than helpful to us. This experience has been even more special because of all of you!