9 weeks and 2 month well baby checkup

Patrick is healthy and growing. What every parent strives to hear!! He had his 2 month well baby visit today. He's weighing in at 11 lbs and 7 ozs. Measures 23 inches long (or 24, he was pretty wiggly!) and took his shots like a champ. I think he really didn't like being held down, but he seemed to recover rather quickly from the shots. He's been a little extra fussy today and sleeping a little more, but I think he'll bounce back just fine! The doctors office was full of sick kids though. We are being hit hard with the flu etc. A lot of schools were closed last week and continue to be closed this week. I just wish parents would keep their sick kids in the 'sick kid waiting area'. But we kept Patrick covered up and hopefully kept all the germs away!!

I also got the proofs back from our family pictures. They are great and I can't wait to go through them again to pick the ones we like the best!! I think I'll go look through them right now while Mr. Patrick is still asleep!!

2 months

Happy 2 month birthday sweet Patrick! It's been a great month! He has met some new friends, gone on a few outings to the park, pumpkin patch and grandmas house, had friends over to the house and received so many wonderful gifts. We had a great time at the pumpkin patch and really enjoyed the fall weather. We haven't had much of that this year. It's back to cold and rainy now. Patrick is growing bigger. We have 1 sleep 'n' play that is too small now. I'm sure there are more to follow soon! He is going back to the doctor on Tuesday for a check up and shots. I'm a little nervous to take him to the doctor because of the major outbreak of the flu here. Dozens of schools have been closed last week due to illness and I'm sure that doctors office is crawling with germs! We are still working on the sleeping/napping situation. For the most part he is sleeping through the night. He woke up one night, but he didn't even seem that hungry and wasn't really crying. So who knows what that was about. He has had a few nights that he doesn't want to go to sleep which is far more frustrating. I think it's because he's over tired. He doesn't like to nap and by the end of the day I think he's just tired. But last night was the worst. He cried and cried and I couldn't get him to settle down. So in the midst of him crying, I was crying and pleading with him...like that will help. But I think a momma breakdown was just what I needed. I'm not really the emotional type, but it had been building up. But he's napping better today, so that's a plus.

We booked our flights to Florida for Christmas last night. Another reason for my meltdown, but that's a different story. I'm excited to be going, but of course nervous. At least I know the place really well (we've been going there since I was 8). And it's a laid back vacation with my family. Spending most ever day at the beach or pool. I'm nervous about going out to dinner since the evening isn't our best time, but it's still 2 months away, so it could be different by then.

I've been looking into mommy and me swimming classes but we can't do them until he's 6 months old. So now I want to look for something else. I plan to work part time (which starts in a week and a half, boo!) in the morning. And I think most activities are in the morning. I'll probably start looking a little harder after the 1st of the year. Once I get an idea of how all this is going to go. And don't even get me started on going back to work. I'm already dreading it. I am dreading the people, being away from Patrick and being tired. Every aspect of it!! I'm sure there will be many posts about my dislike for work!

Well I had better take advantage of this new found nap time!!

Mommy needs wine

It's been a long night of screaming. Not sure why but every time someone comes for dinner he has a major screaming fit. I'm thinking of banning dinner guests until he can figure this out....because my head hurts now. I guess I should go help daddy give him his bottle and get him ready for bed. Tomorrow is a new day right??

8 weeks old

And again another week gone by. Patrick is smiling more and more and seems to really enjoy the toys that hang from his play mat. He's starting to 'talk' more and more when he's playing too. I love hearing those little baby sounds! So sweet. Yesterday we went to the pumpkin patch. It was finally a nice day and I really wanted to at least get a picture of him with a pumpkin! Even though he won't remember or care, it's just something I wanted to do. And then we went to my moms to hang out for the afternoon. I'm still not great at taking Patrick out and about, I'm always worried he's going to have a breakdown or be hungry or something. I'm getting better, but not great. And now with all this hype about the swine flu, it makes me even less excited about taking him places! I went and got my flu shot today (my first ever) and am on the list to get a call when they get the swine flu shots in. I'm not against vaccines but I've never had a reason to get these until now. I can't imagine being sick with a baby....it would be a lot harder! Especially THAT sick! So for now, I'm in serious hand washing/sanitizing mode and trying to avoid any type of illness. Now that being said, Patrick has his 2 month doctor appointment in a week. I am going to do everything I can to keep him AWAY from all those germy little kids!

In other baby news (and I hope this doesn't jinx it for me), Patrick has been sleeping through the night for a week now. We had one night that he didn't want to go to sleep, but he still slept 8 hours. Other than that, he goes down between 9 and 10 and gets up between 7 and 8. I consider myself lucky, not sure if it's something we're doing or if he's just a good sleeper. I'm sure we'll have times where he does wake up, but for now, I'll take it. He isn't really napping during the day, so maybe when that changes his night time schedule will too.

I'm still in countdown mode to going back to work. And dreading it more and more each day! The people are still bat shit crazy and every time I hear a story about one, it makes me less and less excited about the idea of going back to them everyday. I'm trying really hard not to think about it. I still have 2 weeks to enjoy my sweet boy!!

Today

Today is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Rememberance Day. I can't imagine my life without Patrick, but will rememeber the previous two pregnancies that ended too early.

Please keep all the families who have had their lives changed, turned upside down, by infant loss in your thoughts today.

7 weeks old

Another week gone by. Patrick is growing and learning every week. He's started smiling at us and acting like he recognizes us more and more. He loves the toys that hang down from his play mat but he's not too interested in the rattles we hold for him. He loves the music and lights on his play mat too. And he seems to like music in the car, it quiets him down when he's crying! He's growing so fast, soon he'll be sitting up and crawling around, yikes!

We had family pictures yesterday. They went well, although Patrick had enough after about 45 minutes. But I'm sure we got some good ones! I might try to do a little photo shoot of my own one of these days.

I went into work for a quick meeting this week. It made me really realize I have no interest in going back there! The drama and bullshit is too much for me to handle. I'm glad I'm only going back part time. But I go back 3 weeks from today...boo. I'll have to make the most of it while I'm still home!

Exciting times!!

We had a little bit of excitement around here last night!! We've been trying to do more tummy time lately (mostly because I keep forgetting!) Anyway, last night Patrick made it quite apparent that he was having no part in it!!

We kept flipping him back over and he would roll right back! It was too funny. And of course super cute!! And so we got the video camera out...I mean what else is it for??

And then, to top it off, the little guy slept through the night. Granted I'm pretty sure I heard him talking to himself in his bed til at least 11. But I was in bed too and he slept til after 7!! I woke up at 6:15 in dire pain (I'm pretty sure milk was coming out of my eyes!) and realized he hadn't woken up! Pretty cool. I think that's the 3rd time since he's been born. I don't expect it to be a common occurrence yet, but hey, I'll take it when I can get it!!

6 weeks old

Another week gone by. This one was quick because of our trip to California. We're back home and back to normal...well as normal as it can be with a baby!

Updates this week:
Patrick seems to notice us more. And he follows my voice around the room if I'm not holding him. He's getting really good at tracking toys and watching our faces. His hands have found his mouth. I catch him sucking on them all the time (and I don't say 'catch' like it's a bad thing, I don't care if he sucks on his hands!). It's actually really cute.

I've been out a few times on my own this week too. It's been nice to get away but I miss the little guy when I'm gone. And of course I'm worried about how he's doing, if he has enough to eat, when I'm going to get home to feed him or pump...always worried about something! But not worried enough to skip going out to get my hair done. It's been WAY too long and I need it. Plus we're getting family pictures done next week. A good friend of ours runs a photography business and gave us a session for my baby shower. Such an awesome gift. Although I'm sure we'll be buying tons of pictures from her!! I'm so excited for it, but nervous of how I'll look on camera. I know it's not that big of deal, but body image is tough on women. But I'm mostly excited to have really good pictures of Patrick!!

I had my 6 week postpartum visit yesterday. Everything looks normal. My incision is looking good and ute is back to normal size. She said to give my finger a few months (yep, months) before resizing my ring...because it still doesn't fit. She said some people's fingers never go back to normal size (crap!) And we talked birth control. She wants us to wait at least 6 months before trying again to give the incision etc time to heal. She gave me the options of con.doms (or other over the counter stuff), the mini-pill, or IUD. I do not intend to get pregnant before the 6 months is up, but I'm not sure what I want to do. I don't want an IUD. I'm sure it works for some people, but I don't want to have something put in me that doesn't need to be there. And then have to go back and get it taken out. And we've never been the con.dom type. And I know several people who have had real trouble with progesterone type birth control. It causes increased appetite (i.e. weight gain), moodiness, and other emotional issues. We need to talk about it more and make a decision. I'm going to go ahead and fill the prescription and go from there.

The only other thing weighing on my mind right now is going back to work. No one has asked me about my thoughts or plans about it. My dad is at a conference right now, but when he gets back next week I plan to talk to him about it. I'll feel better when it's all figured out.

Well, better take advantage of nap time!!

Tips for traveling with an infant

1) Don't do it.

Just kidding. Sort of. Our trip to CA was fine. Patrick did great on the way out there. He stuck to out MI time pretty good. It was nice for me because I could put him to bed pretty early and still have some of the evening to visit and relax. However when he was up at 5am for the day, that was a little rough! I opted out of a lot of excursions my mom and aunt took. It's just too hard to be gone all day with a baby. Worrying about when/where he'll eat, will he get enough sleep, be comfortable enough etc. The list goes on. I did venture out to my grandmas apartment one day. And we did go shopping one day. Other than that I basically hung out at my aunts house with him. The trip home was an entirely different story however. We left Thursday at 9 am from my aunts house. We had a shuttle come get us because we didn't rent a car. Got to the airport around 10 and went right through security. The line was short and we didn't want to risk it by waiting. Our flight left at 11:50 but I would rather go through security in an organized fashion rather than try to rush! Everyone is super helpful when you have a baby though. Makes it a little less stressful!!! We get back to the gate to find out our flight is delayed to 1:45. UGH. So we wait. Then they decide we can board at 12:45. So we load up our stuff and get on. Patrick is crying and we're just trying to get to our seats. I nurse him and he goes right to sleep. The pilot says we're leaving at 1:10. At 1:10 he says we're delayed an hour. At 2:00 he says we're delayed another hour. At 2:30 they tell us we can get off the plane if we want. Then they change their mind. At 3:00 they tell us we have to get off the plane. So we load up again and get off. At 3:15 they re-board. We get settled and push back from the gate (wahoo!) Only to end up on the runway for another few minutes while they figure out what the weight of the plane is. We finally take off around 3:45. We're supposed to get in around 7:00PT/9:00CT which means we'll have missed our flight. And of course there are no other flights out of Minneapolis to Kalamazoo that night. But the agent told us that most flights have been delayed due to the weather and so maybe ours was too. We get land and de-plane. They have printed boarding passes for flights on Friday because of course our flight has left already. It actually left on time. The next flight we can get on is 7:50 on Friday night. So my mom talks to a very nice gate agent and he re-books us on a 7am flight to Midway. At least then we can rent a car and get home! So by the time this is all done it;s 10. Patrick is hungry again and so are we. We found a restaurant in the airport that has decided to stay open later than normal because of all the delays! So nice!! I go feed Patrick in the family room (a wonderful room for nursing mothers!!) and my mom got us a table. He fell asleep and we got some food. There's no hotel attached to the airport so the gate agent suggested we sleep in the family room since we'd have to be back at the airport by 6 (and could also avoid going through security again!) So we did. They offer small mattresses to passengers so we got a few of those and hunkered down in the family room with a few other people. Of course I couldn't sleep. Worried about my baby and our stuff and not sleeping on a real bed made for a long night!! Finally 6am rolled around and we headed for the gate. Got on the plane and took off for Midway. My wonderful husband met us there and took us home. I was worried about either of us driving since we basically got no sleep. We walked in the door at home sometime after noon ET (9am PT), 24 hours after we'd left my aunts. The.longest.day.ever!!! But I must say, Patrick did really good. He hardly cried and put up with everything so well. I couldn't ask for a better baby!!! It made it a little easier on all of us!!

Despite the travel issues, the trip was fun and I enjoyed visiting with my aunt and grandma. I can say, however that I don't know if we'll be traveling again anytime soon!! I think I'll enjoy home for now!!