Owen's Arrival!

Last Tuesday (July 14th, 2009) we became the proud parents of a 7lbs 6 oz bundle of joy named Owen Lloyd McReynolds. Labor was LONG and had its challenges...but we made it through with the help of some great nurses, Dr Tessen, and fabulous family support. During labor, Melissa had thoughts of never wanting to go through another one...but delivery was a piece of cake (in comparison to labor)...and is confident that she can go through L&D again...especially with the reward of a precious baby at the end!!!!


At 10:47pm, Owen entered the world




Nonnie and Pop McReynolds were there to meet him


As were Gram and Pappy Lloyd


We had a few visitors in the hospital...The Harris Family, The Murray Family, Hal Noble, Erin Rahn, Jason Rios, Michelle and Terry Minter, D.R. and Dave. Only one of which we remembered to take a picture of (Miss Erin is featured below holding Owen sporting the hat she knit him and the Miracle Blanket Nonnie made). Gram and Pappy took care of everything at our house, which was a big stress reliever for us. And, they brought us home cooked food (so we didn't have to eat the nasty hospital food) that made all the nurses jealous! I am sure the whole maternity floor could smell the wonderful chicken pot pie that we had for dinner on Wednesday night and we stayed healthy by eating fabulous cantaloupe and cherries for dessert.


After the birth, we were focused on getting everyone checked out by the doctors, getting some rest and looking forward to being discharged. We successfully got discharged 36 hours after Owen was born and we loaded Owen up in the car for his first ride. Nash was waiting for us at home with Gram and Pappy


The hound dog in Nash really likes to smell Baby Owen. His concerns when Owen cries are lessening, but he still needs to check out the baby when he makes a peep. Here is Owen's "Arriving Home" picture!


Shortly after arriving home, we got right on a feeding schedule. Nash is a great guard dog!!!


Owen had a busy couple first days at home. Eating, Sleeping and Pooping were not his only activities. He enjoys swinging and sleeping in his bouncy seat, but did not enjoy his first bath. Baths are getting easier!





At our weight check on Saturday, Owen weighed 6lbs 10oz. We had to step up his feeding schedule a little bit...which had Mommy feeding Owen every two hours and Gram feeding Owen from a syringe in the middle of the night. This was a life saver for Mommy, as it allowed her to get a solid 5 hours of sleep. Not many new mommies are that lucky! But all the hard work paid off, as Owen weighed in on Monday at 7lbs. We continued with the same regimen and again were rewarded with a weight check of 7lbs 8oz on Wednesday. What a heavyweight!!!! To be 2 oz past his birth weight at only 8 days old is AWESOME!! So...we've scaled back on the feeding schedule. Now Owen gets fed every 2.5 hours, and Gram still pulls the graveyard shift complete with a feeding to get him through the night.

We are loving being parents and are so blessed to have Gram and Pappy here to help us out. It is allowing us to get the rest we need to ease into this new stage of life and care for our new addition.