As most of you know, My name is Ashley. I married a wonderful man named Ryan 2 years ago on December 17th.
A year and a half ago we moved from our native state of Pennsylvania to pursue our careers as music teachers and to live in the state of Alabama.
After a few months of Alabamian living we bought a house and upon our house closing we found out we were expecting our first child.
Seven weeks ago I delivered a healthy and beautiful baby boy! Braden Lee Gresko. 9lbs 3oz
20 1/2 inches long. Born at 2:34pm on October 24th.
The first week home my parents came and helped out. I honestly don't know what I would have done if they hadn't been here. I may have gone back to the hospital and said, "please take him. I don't know what the heck I'm doing!"
I was very overwhelmed the first few days. I had a very hard labor followed by 2 hours of pushing that ended up in an emergency c-section. I was bullied into giving Braden a bottle at the hospital, which ended up in him being nipple confused and we had a very hard time breastfeed for about a week after that. Thank goodness I have a wonderful friend, Emilly, who found me a lactation consultant and I was able to get back on track. Needless to say, I needed my parents both physically and emotionally!
The second week home Ryan's parents came to visit. They were so nice to see and they spoiled us by ordering take out and picking up Sonic slushes. mmm... my favorite!
The 3rd week home my twin sisters Elizabeth & Kathryn came to visit. Kathryn brought her latest edition, Baby Hugh. It was the first time I had seen him since he was born 3 months earlier! We all spent the day talking and giggling like school girls. It was so much fun! The first day we never even changed out of our PJs! And both Elizabeth & Kathryn made the yummiest home cooked meals!
The 4th week home was the first time I was really alone with Braden. I'll be honest: I was nervous at first, but I finally got use to it and although the house was messy and I didn't make dinner & sometimes I didn't even get to take a shower, I got through it. And Braden survived my inexperienced mothering and we even had a little fun. :-)
Now things seem to finally be settling down. Other than a few nights of hourly feedings, which I can only attribute to a cold or a growth spurt; Braden is sleeping and eating well. We have so much fun during the day.
He love to play, lay on his tummy, take baths, and go for walks in his stroller. I feel blessed to have such a wonderfully healthy and happy baby. Some days I am cranky & look forward to going back to work in January and others I tear up and the thought of missing so many smiles & baby noises.
I know that going back to work is what I need to do in order to establish my career and to maintain my reputation as a reliable educator. I also know that financially it's neccesary, because we recently purchased a home and had to buy a new car when Ryan's broke down. It might be a different story if we lived closer to family and had some of their resources, however, that's not the case. I still stand behind our decision to move to Alabama. We have been provided with so many opportunities both professionally and personally. We have truly learned to rely on each other and it has helped us to be more independent from our parents, which has helped us to have a closer and stronger marriage.
I'm so thankful for the experiences we have had so far. I love my husband and my son so much and just look forward to each day as it brings me some new wonderful part of life!
"The Greskos"
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