Bryce's 1st Christmas 2010

Christmas time is my favorite time of the year! I cherish the time with family and with Bryce's early arrival this Christmas was extra special! We kicked off Christmas Eve with an afternoon celebration at our house. We had over my family and Grandma (Gran) and part of Jason's family-his immediate family, his mom's Dad, and 2 Uncles. We did the same thing last year and it was great! I love how both of our families can come together, celebrate, and have some fun! Everyone brings an appetizer (or several!) and we all just nibble, visit, and do gifts! Christmas Eve night Jason and I headed over to his Grandparent's (his mom's mom and step dad) house in Carrollton. There we celebrate with another part of his family and always have a wonderful time. His grandparents prepared a WONDERFUL meal and then we did White Elephant. I scored some homemade candles that his Uncle Mark made and can't wait to burn them! Jason has a great aunt, Aunt Helen, who is older and lives in a nursing home full time. Her son went through a lot of trouble to try and bring her over, but it was just to hard on her. Before they left to take her back "home" she was able to get a peak at Bryce and I think it was special for her. Jason's cousin, John, and his wife, Amy, just had a baby on the 22nd so they were not able to come, but they were missed! Next Christmas we will all be together and Bryce and Jake will have so much fun! They are just 2 weeks apart! On Christmas morning we headed over to my parent's house which is a tradition in our house. We all have coffee cake and watch the parade (although we missed it this year) and then open up all of our presents! Santa was very good to ALL of us and we are so thankful for all of our goodies. Bryce definitely made out good!! My Uncle Jeff (my mom's brother) moved to Midland/Odessa in August and he came in town for Christmas. I am not used to being far from him so I was so excited to see him! He is the sales manager of the Harley dealership out there and bought Bryce the cutest Harley Davidson baby outfit! After we open presents and do our lottery tickets we just sit around and visit before having an amazing lunch. My mom didn't cook Thanksgiving because they went to the Cowboy game, so we were all excited for her Christmas cooking, and in true tradition she fished for compliments and we definitely gave them! That night we had our final celebration at Jason's other grandparents-his Dad's parents. There we celebrate with his immediate family, grandparents, and 2 Uncles. I have been joining this family's celebrations for several years and always love it. I was still full from lunch and could barely keep my eyes open at this point so during dinner I sat in the living room and chatted with his Paw Paw while holding Bryce so Jason could eat. I love Paw Paw and always enjoy seeing him! We chatted about him growing up, traveling, his family, and much more! It was a very special time I will always remember. After dinner we do White Elephant gifts and then we usually play our traditional game, Chicken Foot. This year we didn't play the game because White Elephant took quite some time and everyone was tired-me especially! I hate that I was such a zombie at this point but I know his wonderful family understands! So our Christmas festivities ended about 9 pm Christmas night and we came home and hit the sack! I know I have said it a million times, and I can assure you this won't be my last, but I am so thankful for my amazing families and all of the blessings I have. Throughout the days I would look around and try to take up as much as possible. Looking at Jason would bring me to tears as I think of the journey him and I have had and am still in shock we are where we are! I hope everyone had a great Christmas and enjoyed time with their loved ones! Here are some pics:

My Sherard Family

Bryce and his Great Grandma, Gran!

P.S. Bryce had his 2 week checkup and he is doing great! He has gained 8 oz since he was born, bringing him to 6 lbs 10 oz. He is still struggling at times when eating but overall he is doing GREAT!! We have started "tummy time" and so far he loves it! Tomorrow is his first real bath so stay tuned for a video and wish us luck!! UPDATE: Our video camera was not working but here are a few pics!

Bryce Austin Sherard

It was Tuesday, December 7th (my Mom's Birthday), and as far as we knew we were celebrating my mom's 59th birthday that night at Cheesecake Factory-and that was it! Jason and I decided to get some Christmas shopping done during the day so we headed out to the Allen/Fairview area. Before we hit the stores we grabbed lunch at Schlotzsky's and the events started! Before we left I decided it would be a good idea to use the restroom. After all, I was 35 weeks pregnant and bathroom stops were pretty frequent! On my way to the restroom I felt a gush of fluid come out of me. Hmm, this is weird, I thought to myself. I always heard that bladder control was tough during pregnancy, but seeing as though I didn't "suffer" from most of the typical pregnancy issues I wasn't sure what was going on. I stayed in the restroom for a few minutes before I found a safe time to leave. I walked up to Jason and quietly said "I think we need to go home." He looked at me like "what is going on" and I calmly said I would explain outside. Once we were outside I told him I wasn't sure if my waters broke or if I was experiencing that bladder control issue I have heard about. He suggested I call the Doctor, but I of course wanted to "see what happened." We then stopped for gas and I experienced another gush. At this point I knew we should go home. On our way home I called my Mom and Jason's Mom to get their input and both seemed to agree it was not just bladder control! Once we were home we called the Dr. and she wanted me to come to her office. Jason had a feeling it was time so we packed a bag for the hospital just in case. We loaded up and headed to the Doctor. Once we were there I felt like no one in the office believed me that my water broke. I sat in the room alone for at least 15 minutes waiting for someone to come see me. Once the floor was covered in fluid I decided I needed to get up and ask a nurse to come in. I tried to clean up but every time I moved fluid gushed out! As soon as the nurse saw my mess the Doctor seemed to be in more of a hurry. After the exam she determined it was in fact my water and I was 4 cm dilated. She advised us to go straight to the hospital!
We arrived at Baylor Frisco around 2:30 and it was time! I will spare you all of the details but I will say that my labor experience was such a breeze and NOTHING like what I envisioned. I was surrounded by family and friends and just tried to relax and take it all in. I even found time to play on Facebook and order Bryce's Christmas stocking! Bryce Austin Sherard was born at 1:12 am on December 8, 2010. He weighed 6 lbs 2 ounces and was 18.75 inches long. The hospital and all of my nurses were fantastic! Jason and I spent 3 nights at the hospital, but Bryce had to stay an extra 2 nights after we left. This was such a difficult thing and my biggest fear all along. Bryce's bilirubin level was elevated and the Doctor wanted to keep him for photo therapy. We were able to visit him as much as we wanted and could take him out from the lights for feedings. We spent both days with him and only went home at night to sleep, or try our best to sleep. On Sunday, December 12th we were able to bring home our new baby boy!

Newborn Pic

   Stats

Aunt Kiki (Katie) got him his 1st cake!

PROUD Daddy

It is now Monday, December 20th and we are adjusting to our new life. During these 12 days I have fallen in a deeper love with my husband then I ever knew possible. To see him as a Father is such an amazing thing. He is so loving, nurturing, and supportive and I am so blessed to have him in my life. Today was his first day back at work and I was dreading this day all along. I spent the day with my Mom but felt it was best for me to come back home tonight and do this on my own! I feel so blessed to be a part of 2 amazing families and have such a close network of friends. I appreciate all of the support not only during this chapter, but throughout my whole life. 2010 has been the best year of my life and such an eventful time!