Firsts

When raising a child there are many firsts... but I wasn't prepared for SO MANY firsts in such a short amount of time!! 

First picture...

First diaper change...

First family photo...

First outfit...

First time in a car seat...

First time meeting siblings...

First stroll around the block...

First bath at home...

But the first that came the quickest... 1 month birthday!!

Happy One Month Birthday Evan!!

Check-in for more of Evan's Firsts! :) 

Thanks for stopping by!

Love,

The Winter's

Lots of Visitors!

Since before Evan was born, we have had lots of visitors.  


     Grandma Cindy came on June 4th to make sure she was here for the birth.  We could have planned it so she came out later, but with babies, you never know! But while she was here she was super helpful by making meals, grocery shopping for us, and taking Kingster for walks.  And after Evan was born, it was nice to have another mom around to make sure I was doing what I was suppose to do! :) Thank you Mommy!! 


     And since she lives so close, Great Gram Shirley came up to meet her newest GREAT grand baby! Evan is so lucky to have 4 Great grandparents to spoil him. While Gram was here, she also did a lot of cooking, cleaning, and helping out with Evan.  I could tell she loved every minute with him. :) And little did she know she had a BIG surprise headed her way! 


     Grandpa Eric waited until Evan was born to book his plane ticket to guarantee he would be here to see a baby. Although we booked his plane ticket a day or two after Evan was born, he couldn't wait to get here to hold his grandSON! And since Auntie Janel couldn't make it out for Evan's birth, we decided she had to meet her new nephew; and Brinley HAD to meet "baby Evan." (Thank you again Roger for letting both your girls come and visit! We enjoyed their company, but wished you could have made it too!) Since Gram hardly ever gets to see Brinley, we decided to surprise her.  I was so excited that Janel and Brinley were coming that it was hard to keep the secret from Gram.  Ryan and I both slipped, but luckily Gram didn't catch it! 


I think we surprised her... what do you think??

     We had a blast with everyone here.  Since Brinley had never been to the ocean, we planned a trip to Myrtle Beach.  Although she wasn't keen on the water, she LOVED playing in the "dirt" aka sand.  We started out swimming and playing in the sand but got a little hungry.  After having lunch at the Land Shark, we headed over to Broadway at the Beach to check out some of the attractions.  Brinley, Grandma Cindy and Janel went to the aquarium to see some fish, while Ryan, Grandpa Eric, Evan and I went to WonderWorks. Evan did so great, even being in the hot South Carolina heat!  

     Myrtle Beach was our big trip, we also went to Swan Lake Gardens here in Sumter but most of the time we spent at our house so everyone could soak up some time with baby Evan.  

     Auntie Janel just bought a fancy new camera, so we decided to try it out on Evan.  These are some of the pictures she was able to capture! :) Thank you Auntie Janel!

     Everyone but Grandma Cindy left on the 28th and then Grandma Cindy left on the 30th.  It was nice to have the house back, but it was pretty quiet! 

     Luckily the quietness at our house didn't last long, Ryan's parents came on the 1st.  They too were super excited to meet their newest grandson. But since they had never been to South Carolina, we had to show them around.  Our first trip was to Charleston. We took them on the carriage ride around the city and had lunch at our favorite place "Toast."  They aren't big swimmers, so we just toured them around the shoreline.             

     4th of July was spent at our friends place.  Most of the people there were young military guys, so of course the 4wheelers and dirt bikes came out.  Ryan asked me if Evan could ride on the 4wheeler with him... I was a little aprehensive, but I knew Ryan wouldn't do anything to hurt Evan so I agreed.  (Don't worry, I had my eye on him the whole time!) And to top off the evening, all of them shooting off fireworks.  Evan wasn't liking them very much, so him and I spent most of the time inside just listening to the fireworks. 

     Our last trip before they left was a trip to North Carolina to see some NASCAR stuff.  Ryan grew up watching NASCAR with his family, so it was only fitting that we visit the NASCAR Hall of Fame and Charlotte Motor Speedway.  During our tour of the speedway, we got to ride in a 15 passenger van around the track.  Let's just say Evan wasn't happy during the tour until the tour guide went about 60 mph around the track.  I think he is already a speed demon! :)

We had a blast with Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Mark. 

Thank you all for coming out to visit us (even though we all know you came to see just Evan!) We are blessed to have such wonderful family members who love and support us! :)

Thanks for stopping by! 

Love,

The Winter's 

Evan Aust Winter

The guessing is over, Little Bit is a BOY!! 

Evan Aust Winter

June 14th, 2011

7.77 lbs 20 inches

     Grandma Cindy arrived on June 4th in order to be sure she would see her newest grand baby arrive.  After she made herself at home, she made me walk EVERYWHERE, everyday we would go for a walk whether it be around the block, the mall, Walmart, at a park... really anywhere I could walk, I did! She was bound and determined to WALK this baby out.  But Little Bit had other plans! On June 11th (3 days before my due date) we made plans to drive to Myrtle Beach for the day. I am not sure if I gained a lot of baby before the trip, but it seemed like everyone was "Ooo"ing and "Aww"ing at my belly! I was stopped by a police officer who told me not to have the baby here (at the beach) to make sure I made it to the hospital! Haha! But mom's plan didn't work, no baby after walking about 7-8 miles around Myrtle Beach! 

     At 4:45am on June 13th my water broke. At first I was not sure my water actually broke since it hardly happens with first time mommies. But I was sure I didn't pee my pants! I was able to fall back asleep until about 8:30am when my contractions started getting to the point where I needed to move to keep my mind off the pain.  I was told if I am shooting for a natural birth, I needed to stay home until my contractions were 3-5 min apart lasting about a min.  My contractions were at that point by 5pm but when I called my midwife, Jennifer, she told me to stay at home if I was comfortable because I was getting no urge to push. By 7:15pm I was ready to get to the hospital... Man was that a bad ride! Ryan did awesome though, he tried so hard to go slow over the bumps, but I was feeling every divot in the concrete by that point. We went in through the Emergency doors and I was told to wait until the nurse came to get me, the longest wait ever!! But when I saw my nurses face I was so relieved! It was Kim Gardner who we taken all the baby classes with, not only that, but she was a huge advocate for natural birthing mothers! 

     The next few hours were just going from labor ball, toilet (the most comfortable spot!), and the side of the bed. They had me lay down on the bed to try to get Little Bit to turn but I was in so much pain because I was not able to move, I had to get up! Since no one in the room knew what the gender was and it is hard to talk about a baby using the word "it", we established that on the even hours it was a girl and on the odd hours it was a boy that way we could use he/she during labor.  

After 18 hours of being in labor about 11pm, I was given an IV with penicillin to treat/avoid infection.  I wasn't too happy with the idea, but it wasn't looking like this baby was going to be delivered anytime soon.  

     From what everyone told me, I was pushing for 2.5 hours. But it felt like I was pushing for 30 min.  My body was AWESOME I got breaks in between contractions for about 5 min.  I really needed these breaks because I was struggling to catch my breath between contractions.  I didn't realize how much my body would tense up when I would push. 

      Jennifer asked Ryan if he wanted to deliver the baby, he was a little apprehensive, but he agreed and put on some gloves! When the head was starting to show, Jennifer showed Ryan where to push to help me deliver the head.  He did so awesome!! Once the head was out, he helped me deliver the shoulders and I was able to pull our beautiful baby Evan onto my chest!! 

     They tell you that you forget the pain of childbirth, and I can say now that they are right.  The moment I laid him on my chest, I was in heaven.  There is nothing more amazing than holding your baby in your arms for the first time in 9 months!! Evan never cried, he was just soaking in all the sounds and voices and kisses he was getting! Since I didn't have any pain medication, I was able to walk over to the nursery to help Ryan give Evan his first bath and first diaper change! :) 


     If you are wondering about how he got his name... Evan is a name that I have loved from day one.  Ryan wasn't too thrilled with the name, but when Evan was born that is what his name became.  Aust is my grandmother Renee's maiden name.  The coolest part about his name is that he was born on my great grandma's birthday (Renee's mother).  Grandma Renee really wanted Little Bit born on June 14th from day one, since it is her mother's birthday and also Flag Day.  My grandma told me a story about how her mother was convinced that all the flags flying on June 14th were for her birthday, and now Evan can say the same! :) 


Thank you all for helping us welcome baby Evan into this world!! We are thrilled to have him in our lives!


Thanks for stopping by!


Love, 
The Winter's