ALL HAIL AVEENO!!

A few weeks ago, I noticed Trey getting some baby acne. I am convinced that I cursed him with it. The night before it showed up, I had just thought about how lucky I was for him to not have it. (It takes all my will power not to pick at those things.) Then, after a few days, it started to get worse. REALLY red cheeks and then a few days later, the redness had a rough scaly feel along with it. I knew it had to be eczema. The doctor was going to be my first call when we got home from the valley. For sure we would have to put some kind of steroid cream on his cheeks to remedy this awful symptom. I ran into my friend Rachel Gannon (previously Bingham) at church and she said that her little one had it bad. An allergist (?) told her not to use the cream the docs gave her and recommended she use Aveeno 2-3 times a day until it gets better. I tell you what -- THAT STUFF WORKS!!!!

My precious Treyson cheeks were 3 times better after just 2 applications. I was amazed. This picture shows the beginning of the redness and irritation:

Then it got even worse. This next picture is after the 2 applications I told you about. So try to picture it three times worse than this:

This next photo is one I took today. A day and a half after we started the treatment. Can you believe it?!

SO MUCH BETTER!

Dictionary entry:

"LASTERDAY"

Definiton:

The word used by certain Gardner sons (named Griffin) to describe the timing of tasks or events that have taken place any time prior to the present day.

"Do you have a problem with that?"

Livin' Large

Baby Treyson is 4 weeks old today. It doesn't seem like it's been that long. He is such a good baby. Fussy at times, yes. But, now having gone through two other babies, I can usually figure out what's wrong with him pretty quick. And apart from a few times the first week he was born, he has gone right back to sleep after his feedings at night. In other words, no day/night confusion. I couldn't ask for more. Except for maybe a lighter baby. He was weighed yesterday and is already at 10 lbs. 6 oz. Good eater.

We blessed him this past Sunday and I wanted to thank all the family that was able to come up. It meant a lot. I'll have to dress him in the blessing outfit again to get a picture of it. We have used the same blessing outfit for all three boys now. It's the same outfit that Jeff and all his brothers wore too. Not complaining, but it was polyester and it was fairly warm that day. So as soon as we got home from church, I changed him without taking any pictures. What a horrible mom I am. Now we'll never have a picture of Treyson with all the family that came up that day. ARRRGGGG !!!

Bosom Buddies

Today a pistachio fell down my shirt, and I smiled. I've never been known for my "bustiness", and as most girls would tell you, it doesn't feel womanly to be small. But when I nurse, they do tend to fill out....... a little. ~~ (Shouldn't we be PERMANENTLY "blessed" for giving our children the best?)~~ And it's not like I was wearing this super low-cut shirt either. I was dressed in this cute little number Jeff's dad bought for me at the Basement Marketplace here in Flagstaff. LOVE IT !! Love the shirt, love the store, love it !!

And speaking of "cute little numbers" -- check out the makeover I gave my "digits" last time we went down to the valley:

No, I didn't necessarily want a picture of my long toes on the Internet, but the argyle was too cute not to share. My sisters and I went to a salon called "Quality Nails" in Chandler. They have HUNDREDS of design choices. So go about 15 minutes early if you want time to decide.

"Numba' Fidy"

For those of you who don't understand my attempt at Ebonics...... the title of this is referring to my 50th post. I'd like to say I have something really spectacular to write about, but, nope. Just another catch-up.

We went down to the valley this past weekend for my brother's graduation from Mesa High. Just to give you a taste of how non-traditional my family is with certain things ........ here is his Graduation Announcement:

Unfortunately, because of weather conditions, they moved the ceremonies inside the school. Half in the gym and half in the auditorium. Each graduate was given only TWO tickets for friends and family members. Yeah, I was mostly sad and upset....... but a little glad. Sorry Kevin, but those things are WAY too long. I would have said the same thing about my own graduation. Especially with kids. There's no way a two and three year old are going to sit quietly listening for their uncle's name to be called.

Anyway. The rest of the weekend was spent just hanging out. We played with cousins in their inflatable pool. It wasn't planned. My sister-in-law and I were just talking outside and the next thing we knew.... our kids are playing in the rain puddle left by the aforementioned unfortunate weather. Thank goodness for extra swim diapers. Griffin has an issue with wearing wet clothing, so after his decision was made to get in the water, he came running out of the house naked. He wanted to keep ALL his clothing at a safe distance (in the house) from the water.

Jeff had gone upto the Showlow Softball Tournament a few days before us and we met up with him later. I have to pat myself on the back for making it the entire trip without going crazy and only yelling once. The usual 3.5 hour trip took us only 4 hrs. because of a nursing break in Payson. The tournament was not the funnest I've ever been to. The wind was TERRIBLE. The boys and I only watched one game. Sorry Jeff.

All in all, the trip was good. We love being with family. Griffin especially loves to go places with Grandma Hope, because the money she plans on spending for groceries or graduation gifts, usually ends up buying grandkids new gifts and toys. Shown below is Kai sporting the Ninja Turtle Mask that was part of this trip's gift.

INTRODUCING........

TREYSON DOUGLAS GARDNER

May 9, 2008

8 lbs. 1 oz --- 20 in. long

He's here!!! And I'm glad we made him come when we did. Who knows how much bigger he would have been. For those of you with bigger babies, sorry, but this one was my biggest and I like the small ones better.

For those of you who DO NOT want to know the labor details...... skip this paragraph. Like I told you before, we went to the hospital at 3:30 pm. I made sure that our amazing nurse, Bethaina, knew my wishes. I told her that I would try for a bit without an epidural and let her know if things got too bad. If I wasn't going to progress very fast, she knew that I wasn't opposed to help. The doctor broke my water at 4:22 pm. The first little while, I wasn't feeling much. A semi-strong contraction came around 4:45 pm -- it was tolerable. I just kept walking around in the room. Jeff was getting bored. He was used to the fast paced previous labors and didn't really know what to do. His prediction was that this labor wasn't going to go quite as quick and we were going to be there for a while. My sisters, Jill, Shannon, and Celynda made it up there around 5 pm. Shannon and Celynda left to pick up Griffin and Kai. Jill stayed. She's wanted to be there for my other births, but never got the chance. The contractions started getting stronger. Jill started timing them for me around 5:15 -- they were 2 minutes apart. Jeff came back in the room just in time to suggest calling the nurse to check my progress. The moment she came in, I was ready to push. The pain was crazy. She checked and, indeed, I was fully dialated. From that second, until the baby was born, I'm not sure I opened my eyes at all. The pain came so fast and so intense and it seemed like one contraction just rolled into the next with no breaks. Treyson was born at 5:41 pm -- 1 hr. and 19 min. after they broke my water.

Note to self -- get the epidural next time.

Anyway -- we got home the next night and everything has been going well. Griffin LOVES Treyson to death and wants to hold him all the time. He has put Trey to sleep twice for me now. Kai -- not so much. He'll look at him every once in a while, but he's content just being crazy as always. Pretty soon, they'll all gang up on me, but for now......... I'll take advantage of how cute they are.

To be....or not to be (in pain). That is the question.

Okay -- so the day has come. I saw my doctor this morning and he thinks it's best if we induce my labor this time. Both he and I are worried about the possibility of the labor going so fast that the speeding tickets on the way to the hospital might not be worth it.

IT WILL BE TODAY!!! I go in at 3:30 pm and he'll come break my water probably around 4 pm. The title of my post is because the doctor said that I can have an epidural before he even breaks my water! I've never been able to experience labor pain free before, so I'm tempted. On the other hand, I've done it before, I should be able to do it again. Especially if it goes as fast, or quicker. My plan, as of right now is to NOT get an epidural and see how speedy I progress.

I've wanted this baby to come for a while now, as a lot of you know, so I'm glad I know the WHEN part. But I am filled with so much nervousness, excitement and anticipation...... I don't know what to do with myself. CARSEAT -- installed, BASSINET -- set up, HOUSE -- semi-clean. Holy cow, am I seriously ready to bring another baby home!?

WISH ME LUCK!!!! I'll get some pictures up as soon as I can.