In the last 18 hours or so I feel like I've entered a bit of a bizarro world. Nothing serious, but still...just when I felt like I understood Jacob, he went a little wacky yesterday. First, he would not nap for the longest time. When he gets overtired it's pretty obvious and you know he just needs to sleep before he totally loses it. Five minutes during church, nothing while we were out and about for a bit...and then he got cranky. Despite getting fed and both of us trying to cuddle him, we had no luck for the longest time. Finally at some point during the Bills game he conked out for a couple hours, which was good. Then last night he would not go to sleep. Every time we'd put him down, he'd freak out, which is totally unlike him. He usually goes to bed completely happy, but it took an hour to get him to go to bed. I even fed him once, about an hour and a half after his last feeding, because he seemed hungry...or at least sucking on my neck/shoulder and practically climbing me seemed to indicate hunger. But even that didn't work. Craig sat with him for a long time, unsuccessfully tried to put him down a couple times, and finally got him to sleep a little before midnight. Despite falling asleep so late, Jacob woke up at 5am this morning. Other than the weekend we were out of town for the wedding, that was the first time in four weeks that he's woken up and cried before 6ish. He's had coughing fits wake him up earlier, but he never really cried to be picked up or fed during those. This morning I fed him and he went back to bed (with a little fussing, again) for a few hours. Day care says he's been fine today. He didn't eat much this morning with his first bottle but has been fine since. Hmmmm.
His fussing in his crib was extra crazy because he's getting more mobile. I read something about swaddling being less recommended as babies start hitting the 3-4 month time period because it can hinder motor development. There's also some concern once babies can flip themselves over that being on their belly without use of their hands isn't ideal. He hasn't turned over yet, but you never know when he'll figure it out. Jacob had been getting his arms out of the swaddle most of the time anyway, so I started just swaddling from the waist down to give him more mobility but still give him some feeling of warmth and coziness. I think it's still not cold enough in the house for the sleep sacks...but soon. Anyway...when he was fussing and crying at any point between last night and this morning, he'd get this close to flipping himself over and would eventually push himself up so his head was against the head of his crib. Overnight he worked himself into the top corner. Luckily we have breathable bumpers just in case, but it's still scary. Not to mention that the kicker for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a three month old son that died in his crib last Wednesday. Reading that at 11pm last night when Jacob was screaming didn't do much for my mental state, that's for sure. It hit a little too close to home, and Jacob's out-of-character behavior made me worry there was something else wrong.
Originally I was thinking it was a growth spurt or something...making him hungrier, giving him growing pains, etc. However, my pumping hasn't been quite up to par today, so I'm wondering if he's not getting enough to eat and that's what was causing his issues. I have no idea why my supply would be down. We had a pretty consistent weekend (very few long stretches without nursing), and I'm not feeling sick or on any medication. It's so weird. But seriously, just when you think you've got it down (for now), something else pops up that makes you feel so clueless about parenthood. Let's hope tonight is better.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Health Update
Well, turns out Jacob has bronchiolitis. It's about what it sounds like, an infection in the lung area. I wish they could have figured that out weeks ago when we were at the doctor with him, but at least we can get to treating it now. We've got this crazy contraption to administer the medicine. We have an inhaler ("baby's first inhaler", as Craig put it...something only a parent with asthma could appreciate), and in order to give it to him in a less intense manner, there's this tube with a mask on it. The mask goes over his mouth and nose, and the inhaler connects to the other end of the tube. You press the inhaler and have to watch him take six breaths (there's a little doo-hickey on the tube to help identify a breath), wait 30 seconds, and do it again. He should clear up in about a week. If not we'd have to go back and get a nebulizer type thing. Ugh. He doesn't seem to mind this treatment as long as he's already in a decent mood, but apparently he wasn't a fan of the nebulizer they did in the office. We had to give him the treatment a couple times yesterday at my college reunion event, which probably looked a little funny. Despite that, Jacob did well for most of the day. He got a little fussy a couple times, but usually the solution to that is a good nap. He got rave reviews from everyone and was probably the youngest baby there. It seemed to freak out a couple people to see me with a baby, but then again, it freaked me out to see so many kids there as a whole. We figured out that the per couple average had to be about three kids. I think there were probably 20 couples and about 60 kids. Crazy. And the vast majority of those kids were born in the last 8-10 years. Quite a difference that time made...from college students to parents. Wow. Christians just like to populate the earth, I guess! It was a great event, though.
Back to the grind tomorrow. Bummer.
Back to the grind tomorrow. Bummer.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Off to the Doctor...
Jacob is at the doctor with Craig right now and I am at home waiting for my friend Mary to arrive (for the second weekend in a row!) so we can head off to Geneseo for a little reunion event this afternoon. Jacob's had his cough for over a month now, and I'm pretty sure it's an allergy thing. Though they say environmental allergies don't usually show up in babies this small, I've read some first-hand accounts of when they do, and even though those people were told it was other things but couldn't test until their babies were older, it turned out that their symptoms were indeed allergies. Jacob's got it coming from both sides of the gene pool, though we'll just be happy if he avoids Craig's asthma. The cough still doesn't seem to bother him a ton, but it still can't be fun waking up coughing or having a coughing fit in the middle of his feeding. I always feel better when he gets through a coughing fit and immediately starts smiling again.
I had called the doctor yesterday to ask a question about the use of saline nasal drops (though I deduced later last night that his nose isn't the problem...it doesn't run, and for all the congestion he seems to have, it doesn't seem like a lot makes it to the nose) as well as get their thoughts on a new product I saw. There's now a gel that you put around your nasal area to repel allergens. Apparently allergen ions are charged one way, and this stuff is charged the opposite, so when the allergens come close to your nose, the ions repel and less allergens make it into your system...so you end up with fewer symptoms. It seems a little crazy, but a reputable company came out with it and it seems plausible. It's non-medicated so it is sold as safe for all ages, but the doctor didn't recommend it anyway. Hmmm. But they did suggest we bring him in again to get checked out. Another $20 co-pay and probably very little that they can do. I would have gone with them, but this morning we've been running late--from waking up late (Can't complain! We were up at 6am thanks to a coughing fit and subsequent feeding, but Jacob went back to sleep no problem until about 10! I woke up at 9:30, which was about half an hour later than I imagined I would) to a mid-feeding poop that needed attending to. Mary should be here any minute now and I didn't want her coming to an empty house. I also had to get things packed up for our trip to Geneseo today, so I figured it just made sense to stay home even though I really wanted to go to hear what the doctor had to say.
The trip to Geneseo should be a lot of fun, regardless of how the weather holds up. A lot of people I haven't seen in ages will be there, along with their kids. A lot of them will be the folks I've already seen around Facebook, so it will be neat to see everyone in person. And it's always nice to go down to Geneseo and relive college a bit, not to mention enjoy Mama Mia's Pizza and Aunt Cookie's Subs, which I never fully appreciated in college because I was cheap and ate off my meal plan 99% of the time. We've more than made up for it since, eating at one place or another whenever we happen to visit. It will be Jacob's first trip there, so it should be a fun day. If the weather is decent, we should have some time to take a walk around the campus before the picnic, and it will be interesting to see if I can get his stroller up the hills!
Have a great weekend!
I had called the doctor yesterday to ask a question about the use of saline nasal drops (though I deduced later last night that his nose isn't the problem...it doesn't run, and for all the congestion he seems to have, it doesn't seem like a lot makes it to the nose) as well as get their thoughts on a new product I saw. There's now a gel that you put around your nasal area to repel allergens. Apparently allergen ions are charged one way, and this stuff is charged the opposite, so when the allergens come close to your nose, the ions repel and less allergens make it into your system...so you end up with fewer symptoms. It seems a little crazy, but a reputable company came out with it and it seems plausible. It's non-medicated so it is sold as safe for all ages, but the doctor didn't recommend it anyway. Hmmm. But they did suggest we bring him in again to get checked out. Another $20 co-pay and probably very little that they can do. I would have gone with them, but this morning we've been running late--from waking up late (Can't complain! We were up at 6am thanks to a coughing fit and subsequent feeding, but Jacob went back to sleep no problem until about 10! I woke up at 9:30, which was about half an hour later than I imagined I would) to a mid-feeding poop that needed attending to. Mary should be here any minute now and I didn't want her coming to an empty house. I also had to get things packed up for our trip to Geneseo today, so I figured it just made sense to stay home even though I really wanted to go to hear what the doctor had to say.
The trip to Geneseo should be a lot of fun, regardless of how the weather holds up. A lot of people I haven't seen in ages will be there, along with their kids. A lot of them will be the folks I've already seen around Facebook, so it will be neat to see everyone in person. And it's always nice to go down to Geneseo and relive college a bit, not to mention enjoy Mama Mia's Pizza and Aunt Cookie's Subs, which I never fully appreciated in college because I was cheap and ate off my meal plan 99% of the time. We've more than made up for it since, eating at one place or another whenever we happen to visit. It will be Jacob's first trip there, so it should be a fun day. If the weather is decent, we should have some time to take a walk around the campus before the picnic, and it will be interesting to see if I can get his stroller up the hills!
Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Ugh...
That's all I could muster for a title after a conversation I had with one of my many co-workers with a new baby. As you may recall, there were four of us pregnant at once, plus one guy whose wife was pregnant. Jacob was born on June 20, and the rest were born within the next six weeks or so, with the exception of the one who's still pregnant. She just told me she feels "like a cow" and has 29 days to go...and is feeling crappy enough today that she's now off to the doctor. Earlier I spoke with the guy whose baby was born August 8th, and he asked me how Jacob was sleeping. I probably should have been a little less boisterous in my response, but when I respond to that question with most people they're more than ready to celebrate with me, and let's face it, I'm pretty darn psyched that Jacob has figured this whole thing out (for now--no guarantees from everything I read). However, this guy hasn't been so lucky, with either of his kids. The first one took six months to sleep through, and this one isn't much better so far. He admitted that he slept with his older son last night just to get some peace and quiet. He was detailing all of the frustrations they went through with their older son, the crying fits and how he wold never settle down for bed no matter how long you sat with him. I felt so bad for him.
Despite how things may have seemed in the midst of it (lack of sleep makes things so much worse), I know now that Jacob was practically an angel. I try to put those wide-awake-at-2am nights and twice-a-night feedings out of my head these days, but in reality I know that they didn't last nearly as long or happen nearly as often as they could have. While the two to three month period seems to be when babies are physically able to sleep through the night, I know it doesn't always happen that way. We were pleasantly surprised when Jacob started right on target (10 weeks on the dot), and are even more pleased that he's kept it up. These days he seems to have a coughing fit around 5am, but he never cries so I don't know if he basically sleeps through it, or if he's content enough laying there awake for however long the fit lasts. It kills me to hear that, but there isn't much we can do. And if he falls back to sleep on his own, no sense going in to sit him upright and potentially waking him up more. If it starts sounding extra bad, sure, I'll get up and go in. But so far it hasn't been necessary. When we've been in the same room (hotel or at my parents'), I have gotten him up and put him in the boppy next to me, for both of our sanities...it is a strange setting, after all, so I don't mind helping him out a bit. But anyway...his consistency so far is awesome. I just keep hoping it doesn't disappear down the road, during growth spurts or when he's old enough to know better. On the bright side, at least I'll have all these weeks of good sleeping under my belt and won't just be piling exhaustion on top of already existing exhaustion.
It definitely makes me wonder, though...why us? Why is Jacob sleeping through the night and other babies don't? Are we just lucky? Is there some technique that we don't even realize we're doing? Was it that week in the special care nursery that desensitized him to noise, or did the white noise from the humidifier teach him to sleep? Is he just that stinkin' happy that he doesn't mind waking up alone in the middle of the night? My co-worker thinks his baby has colic, and that is so hard. I honestly don't know how those parents do it...Jacob was fussy most of the evening last night (though smiley and happy when I put him in bed), and we were going a little nuts passing him back and forth. But as gassy as he is, we're lucky it mostly manages to come out because I can only imagine how miserable he'd be if it didn't. I will say that I'm relieved that we put him in the crib from night #1, because I think that helped...no battle about that to worry about later on! Still, I can't help but wonder how baby #2 will be down the road. We've been very lucky with Jacob, to the point that it can almost only go downhill from here. My hope is that I will be that much more experienced as a parent by then and know how to deal with issues that pop up...so even if our next baby isn't quite as lovely as Jacob, I'll have some methods ready to compensate for the added stress. Who knows. But yeah, this whole conversation today reminded me how lucky we are to have such an amazing little boy. He's the best.
Despite how things may have seemed in the midst of it (lack of sleep makes things so much worse), I know now that Jacob was practically an angel. I try to put those wide-awake-at-2am nights and twice-a-night feedings out of my head these days, but in reality I know that they didn't last nearly as long or happen nearly as often as they could have. While the two to three month period seems to be when babies are physically able to sleep through the night, I know it doesn't always happen that way. We were pleasantly surprised when Jacob started right on target (10 weeks on the dot), and are even more pleased that he's kept it up. These days he seems to have a coughing fit around 5am, but he never cries so I don't know if he basically sleeps through it, or if he's content enough laying there awake for however long the fit lasts. It kills me to hear that, but there isn't much we can do. And if he falls back to sleep on his own, no sense going in to sit him upright and potentially waking him up more. If it starts sounding extra bad, sure, I'll get up and go in. But so far it hasn't been necessary. When we've been in the same room (hotel or at my parents'), I have gotten him up and put him in the boppy next to me, for both of our sanities...it is a strange setting, after all, so I don't mind helping him out a bit. But anyway...his consistency so far is awesome. I just keep hoping it doesn't disappear down the road, during growth spurts or when he's old enough to know better. On the bright side, at least I'll have all these weeks of good sleeping under my belt and won't just be piling exhaustion on top of already existing exhaustion.
It definitely makes me wonder, though...why us? Why is Jacob sleeping through the night and other babies don't? Are we just lucky? Is there some technique that we don't even realize we're doing? Was it that week in the special care nursery that desensitized him to noise, or did the white noise from the humidifier teach him to sleep? Is he just that stinkin' happy that he doesn't mind waking up alone in the middle of the night? My co-worker thinks his baby has colic, and that is so hard. I honestly don't know how those parents do it...Jacob was fussy most of the evening last night (though smiley and happy when I put him in bed), and we were going a little nuts passing him back and forth. But as gassy as he is, we're lucky it mostly manages to come out because I can only imagine how miserable he'd be if it didn't. I will say that I'm relieved that we put him in the crib from night #1, because I think that helped...no battle about that to worry about later on! Still, I can't help but wonder how baby #2 will be down the road. We've been very lucky with Jacob, to the point that it can almost only go downhill from here. My hope is that I will be that much more experienced as a parent by then and know how to deal with issues that pop up...so even if our next baby isn't quite as lovely as Jacob, I'll have some methods ready to compensate for the added stress. Who knows. But yeah, this whole conversation today reminded me how lucky we are to have such an amazing little boy. He's the best.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Post baby body
At risk of boring my brother, who didn't particularly enjoy my many posts about maternity clothes way back when, I figured it was about time to dedicate a post to my thoughts on how my body turned out post-pregnancy. While things haven't quite gotten back in place, I am relatively happy with the way things turned out. At first glance I probably look pretty much like my old self. Weight-wise I'm at or just below where I was pre-pregnancy, but I don't think that's entirely representative of the current state of things. I think I lost a lot of muscle tone during my months away from the gym, and my once a week class probably hasn't entirely recovered it. Muscle weighs more, so I could theoretically be fatter but weigh less because I don't have as much muscle. And to some degree, I think that's the case. Most of my body seems pretty okay (it never really got that out of control to begin with), but my stomach still hasn't quite snapped back into shape. There's definitely an extra layer of flab there. It's merely the difference between looking thin and average...meaning I don't look bad, but just not as good as I did before, and no worse than your average person out there. I just have to be extra conscious of what kind of clothes I put on...things that are fitted around the belly aren't ideal right now. While I don't enjoy looking at the belly and would love to make it disappear, it's not really that bad and I'm not sure I have the time to dedicate to working it off anyway. I suppose I could take in less calories, but I'm enjoying cheating a bit (less than pregnancy, but more than I used to) while I'm still nursing and have a few more calories to burn. I'll have many more years of perpetual dieting ahead of me, so no sense going nuts now.
Most of my old clothes fit me again, though I still have some issues with short tops due to my larger chest from nursing. Some of my pants, which were big before, are finally big again. Good problem to have, I know. I don't quite have the free time I used to have to go out and work on my wardrobe, but I discovered during my pregnancy (and reaffirmed when I was out shopping recently) that there was a secondary reason that I always shopped the clearance racks. Besides being cheap, it made for less decision-making. If I were to shop the entire store, there's just so many racks and so many styles to choose from. Many of them were newer shapes and I'd have no idea (and not enough patience to figure out) what styles would work best on me. Shopping for maternity clothes was nice, because it really narrowed down my options. I could do a sweep of the store and be sure I had covered everything. Now that I'm pretty much back to normal, I have two problems. First, I have to figure out how to work around my belly. Second, I feel like I'm so out of touch with current fashion and my own body that I'm not even sure where to begin when I do shop. I can once again shop the "normal" racks, and still limit myself to clearance for the most part, but I feel like I have no clue what I should be wearing at this point. Does being a mom matter? If you watch "What Not To Wear" it does. Where I used to be able to get away with it because I looked young, now with a baby in tow, I'm not so sure I want to get away with it. And again, not a lot of opportunities to figure all of this out since clothes shopping is nearly last on my to do list right now (middle of the priority list, but actually being able to get out and do it just seems to fall to the end of the practicality list). Oy.
Long story short, I'm glad I did all the work I did while I was pregnant to ensure that I had the best shot at getting back in shape. I'm not sure I could have done much more. It turned out pretty much as well as could be expected, and for that I am grateful. I have more work to do, however, and will go through these same fears the next time I get pregnant (not for a couple years, at least)...because they say the second time around it's that much harder to snap back into shape. Ugh. But at least I look normal now. Whew.
Most of my old clothes fit me again, though I still have some issues with short tops due to my larger chest from nursing. Some of my pants, which were big before, are finally big again. Good problem to have, I know. I don't quite have the free time I used to have to go out and work on my wardrobe, but I discovered during my pregnancy (and reaffirmed when I was out shopping recently) that there was a secondary reason that I always shopped the clearance racks. Besides being cheap, it made for less decision-making. If I were to shop the entire store, there's just so many racks and so many styles to choose from. Many of them were newer shapes and I'd have no idea (and not enough patience to figure out) what styles would work best on me. Shopping for maternity clothes was nice, because it really narrowed down my options. I could do a sweep of the store and be sure I had covered everything. Now that I'm pretty much back to normal, I have two problems. First, I have to figure out how to work around my belly. Second, I feel like I'm so out of touch with current fashion and my own body that I'm not even sure where to begin when I do shop. I can once again shop the "normal" racks, and still limit myself to clearance for the most part, but I feel like I have no clue what I should be wearing at this point. Does being a mom matter? If you watch "What Not To Wear" it does. Where I used to be able to get away with it because I looked young, now with a baby in tow, I'm not so sure I want to get away with it. And again, not a lot of opportunities to figure all of this out since clothes shopping is nearly last on my to do list right now (middle of the priority list, but actually being able to get out and do it just seems to fall to the end of the practicality list). Oy.
Long story short, I'm glad I did all the work I did while I was pregnant to ensure that I had the best shot at getting back in shape. I'm not sure I could have done much more. It turned out pretty much as well as could be expected, and for that I am grateful. I have more work to do, however, and will go through these same fears the next time I get pregnant (not for a couple years, at least)...because they say the second time around it's that much harder to snap back into shape. Ugh. But at least I look normal now. Whew.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Too short
The weekends are officially too short. It never ceases to amaze me how much different weekends are now than they used to be. It always used to be about sleeping in and getting things done, and while that's still the case, it's all done under such different circumstances. Sleeping in now either means that I wake up early and feed Jacob before going back to bed for a couple more hours, or just sleeping later than my usual 6:15-6:30. Running around to do errands takes a lot more coordinating than it used to, and most of the errands are baby related anyway. Yesterday we ran to Babies 'R' Us and Target, and 95% of the stuff we bought was baby-related. It's crazy but fulfilling nonetheless. Makes my old weekends seem rather self-centered. Now when I look forward to the weekend it's mostly about hanging out with Jacob. It's always nice to know that for a couple days, he's all ours...no work, no day care. And as I've said before, it's getting tougher to take him back to day care each Monday because the weekends are generally becoming more and more fun.
This weekend was no exception...lots of smiles and a little playing, though he's still trying to figure out how toys work. We keep trying to help him along by putting things into his hands. He'll get it soon...after all, he can pull hair and necklaces like crazy. Let's see...other highlights of the weekend...two very good dinners with my college roommate Mary...we'd have hardly known he was there, except that we stared at his immense cuteness the whole time. We read a couple books at bedtime, which he sat patiently through. After a week of waiting we got a big BM yesterday...no blowout, thankfully. This stuff was VERY stinky...darn formula. I know this is probably nothing compared to what's in store for us come solid foods, but still, it was pretty nasty after all these months of less stinky breastmilk poo. He did well with all of his bottles this weekend. I'm hoping he's still interested in breastfeeding come Wednesday morning, because he's becoming quite the bottle pro. I will say that it was nice to not always be the go-to-girl every time he got hungry. Craig and I switched off quite a bit with the feeding, which I think was good for both of us...good bonding time, a little bit of freedom, and good practice with bottlefeeding in general.
On our big shopping trip yesterday we got some new sleepwear for Jacob. He's pretty much over the swaddle thing at night...he manages to get his arms out every night now. That wasn't such a good thing when he was sleeping in onesies, because his arms would end up chilly in the morning, but now I have him in long sleeved onesies so it's not so bad. However, heading into the winter I wanted something more substantial that kept him cozy but gave him the freedom to move a little...apparently important for his motor skills as well as for safety once he can turn himself over. I found these great sleep blanket things from Carter's that are basically like a sleeper up top and a sleeping bag on the bottom. And thankfully, Babies 'R' Us had their Carter's stuff Buy One Get One 50% off...and gift cards are truly great things to keep handy. Anyway, the SwaddleMe folks have a similar product with no sleeves, just armholes, but I wanted sleeves so I could put him in a onesie inside it, until the house gets colder come winter. Then, once he's in sleepers inside it, if it appears he's getting too hot I'll have to check out the other ones without sleeves. We'll see. I'm still trying to figure out winter outerwear right now, too, so we have a lot of learning to do in the coming months.
But anyway, it was a great weekend. Next weekend will be considerably busier, with a couple trips down to Geneseo for this big reunion weekend, but it will be a LOT of fun. I always like showing Jacob off, and going to Geneseo is always great...and I haven't done that in a while. Mama Mia's, here I come! Or maybe Aunt Cookie's...hmmm....maybe both! But I still have a long work week to get through before I can look forward to that. Ugh.
This weekend was no exception...lots of smiles and a little playing, though he's still trying to figure out how toys work. We keep trying to help him along by putting things into his hands. He'll get it soon...after all, he can pull hair and necklaces like crazy. Let's see...other highlights of the weekend...two very good dinners with my college roommate Mary...we'd have hardly known he was there, except that we stared at his immense cuteness the whole time. We read a couple books at bedtime, which he sat patiently through. After a week of waiting we got a big BM yesterday...no blowout, thankfully. This stuff was VERY stinky...darn formula. I know this is probably nothing compared to what's in store for us come solid foods, but still, it was pretty nasty after all these months of less stinky breastmilk poo. He did well with all of his bottles this weekend. I'm hoping he's still interested in breastfeeding come Wednesday morning, because he's becoming quite the bottle pro. I will say that it was nice to not always be the go-to-girl every time he got hungry. Craig and I switched off quite a bit with the feeding, which I think was good for both of us...good bonding time, a little bit of freedom, and good practice with bottlefeeding in general.
On our big shopping trip yesterday we got some new sleepwear for Jacob. He's pretty much over the swaddle thing at night...he manages to get his arms out every night now. That wasn't such a good thing when he was sleeping in onesies, because his arms would end up chilly in the morning, but now I have him in long sleeved onesies so it's not so bad. However, heading into the winter I wanted something more substantial that kept him cozy but gave him the freedom to move a little...apparently important for his motor skills as well as for safety once he can turn himself over. I found these great sleep blanket things from Carter's that are basically like a sleeper up top and a sleeping bag on the bottom. And thankfully, Babies 'R' Us had their Carter's stuff Buy One Get One 50% off...and gift cards are truly great things to keep handy. Anyway, the SwaddleMe folks have a similar product with no sleeves, just armholes, but I wanted sleeves so I could put him in a onesie inside it, until the house gets colder come winter. Then, once he's in sleepers inside it, if it appears he's getting too hot I'll have to check out the other ones without sleeves. We'll see. I'm still trying to figure out winter outerwear right now, too, so we have a lot of learning to do in the coming months.
But anyway, it was a great weekend. Next weekend will be considerably busier, with a couple trips down to Geneseo for this big reunion weekend, but it will be a LOT of fun. I always like showing Jacob off, and going to Geneseo is always great...and I haven't done that in a while. Mama Mia's, here I come! Or maybe Aunt Cookie's...hmmm....maybe both! But I still have a long work week to get through before I can look forward to that. Ugh.
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Three Months
Well, it's officially been three months. Three months ago today, I gave birth and Jacob came into our lives. We blissfully slept through 2:40am this time around (this sleeping through the night thing is amazing and we feel VERY lucky that Jacob's doing it. Especially when I talk to people with older babies who don't!) and woke up fairly late this morning. When we were all hanging out in bed this morning around 9am, when I realized that by that point in the day he'd already been whisked off to the special care nursery,which started one LONG week. Just thinking about that time in our lives (and the couple months or so that followed), I get tired. I just remember the sheer exhaustion at that point...from my physical recovery, breastfeeding issues and sleep deprivation to the emotional challenges of new parenthood and having a baby in the hospital, it was a rough time. It definitely took a while before I really saw the whole "children are a blessing" thing. I mean, he was amazing from the beginning, and I knew that, but sometimes it was hard to get past all of the craziness and just enjoy him. Somewhere in the last month things got a heck of a lot easier, between him sleeping through the night and eating every three hours instead of two. I'm sure the smiles we've been rewarded with have helped as well. Interestingly, my boss asked me yesterday if I wanted to have another one anytime soon. I think the way I was gushing about him and how big he's getting already, she probably figured I was wishing for another one. I'll definitely do it again, but it's going to take a couple years before I'm ready to go through any of it again--pregnancy, childbirth, or 2am feedings. I did get a little wistful when I was at the doctor this week, though. Even the smell of their soap reminded me of all of my visits there over the nine months, and the excitement building up to the end. But still, I know better.
It's amazing to think how our lives have changed in the last three months, but thankfully things seem a little more normal now. It's still a challenge to go out and do things freely, but other than Jacob's explosive BMs and the threat of a meltdown (and still little ammunition at this point to contain it), I'm way less nervous than I was about taking him out. When we are out, he gets a lot of smiles and "awwww"s, with lots of people asking how old he is and what his name is. He's a pretty darn cute kid. He's a favorite at day care because he's such a good snuggler, and pretty much every time I get there to pick him up, someone is cuddling with him. He's a really good boy and I couldn't ask for anything more.
In other news...I'm very happy it's the weekend, because I feel a heck of a lot less stressed. I have more time to get things done than I do on any given evening, and it's just nice to hang out with Jacob. The no-nursing thing is still killing me and I can't believe I have to do it for three more days. Despite some fussiness, Jacob's done well with his feedings. He's still missing breastfeeding a lot, though. Any chance he gets he'll turn toward my chest, looking for his next meal. Poor guy. I can't decide whether he'll be uninterested by the time he can do it again, or will suck the life out of me in excitement. Pumping and dumping isn't too fun (seems like such a waste!), but I had the realization I could have a drink without a problem! I haven't yet, but maybe tonight at dinner. It's been fun having my college roommate Mary here this weekend, even if it hasn't been for long. We had a nice evening last night, but she's been at a conference all day today and will stick around through dinner before going back to Syracuse tonight since she's got some stuff going on tomorrow. No worries, though, because she'll probably be back next weekend for a big InterVarsity Christian Fellowship reunion down in Geneseo. It should be a really great time and it will be nice seeing people I haven't seen in years, complete with their kids. I've gotten a preview with this whole Facebook thing, but in person will definitely be cool. Anyway, I'm off to enjoy the rest of the weekend! You do the same!
It's amazing to think how our lives have changed in the last three months, but thankfully things seem a little more normal now. It's still a challenge to go out and do things freely, but other than Jacob's explosive BMs and the threat of a meltdown (and still little ammunition at this point to contain it), I'm way less nervous than I was about taking him out. When we are out, he gets a lot of smiles and "awwww"s, with lots of people asking how old he is and what his name is. He's a pretty darn cute kid. He's a favorite at day care because he's such a good snuggler, and pretty much every time I get there to pick him up, someone is cuddling with him. He's a really good boy and I couldn't ask for anything more.
In other news...I'm very happy it's the weekend, because I feel a heck of a lot less stressed. I have more time to get things done than I do on any given evening, and it's just nice to hang out with Jacob. The no-nursing thing is still killing me and I can't believe I have to do it for three more days. Despite some fussiness, Jacob's done well with his feedings. He's still missing breastfeeding a lot, though. Any chance he gets he'll turn toward my chest, looking for his next meal. Poor guy. I can't decide whether he'll be uninterested by the time he can do it again, or will suck the life out of me in excitement. Pumping and dumping isn't too fun (seems like such a waste!), but I had the realization I could have a drink without a problem! I haven't yet, but maybe tonight at dinner. It's been fun having my college roommate Mary here this weekend, even if it hasn't been for long. We had a nice evening last night, but she's been at a conference all day today and will stick around through dinner before going back to Syracuse tonight since she's got some stuff going on tomorrow. No worries, though, because she'll probably be back next weekend for a big InterVarsity Christian Fellowship reunion down in Geneseo. It should be a really great time and it will be nice seeing people I haven't seen in years, complete with their kids. I've gotten a preview with this whole Facebook thing, but in person will definitely be cool. Anyway, I'm off to enjoy the rest of the weekend! You do the same!
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