Back To Work.

It's been 6 weeks which means that I am back to work.  I've dreaded this day since the middle of October but I guess it was bound to happen.  When it came time this morning to leave, I couldn't do it.  S had to take Baby E.  I couldn't stand the thought of dropping him off.  For some reason S taking E out of the house was ok but I couldn't drop him off.  I'll learn to let go a little bit at some point but it's not fair that just when he starts to smile at you, and coo and discover that I have to let him go.

The first day, once I got there, was good.  I do enjoy my work and am glad to be back.  I have a great support system there as well.  I'm very lucky to work for and with class act people who care.  I'll be going back taking pto on Tues and Thurs off for all of December to ease the transition.

I have my 6 week check up tomorrow.  I'm hoping to get the "all clear".  I'm really looking forward to running, spinning and hopefully swimming.

This past weekend we celebrated Thanksgiving with S's family and had an opportunity to take some photos.  They aren't professional but they will work for a couple that can't seem to get their act together enough to take their infant son to a photographer to get proper pictures taken.

Happy Holidays!

5lbs and 5 Weeks

My little boy is growing up so fast.  He had his 1 month checkup and I'm happy to report he's a healthy baby boy weighing in at 10 lbs 14 oz.  He's smiling at me and starting to follow people and objects.  It's amazing to see him hit those milestones.  I'm starting back to work part time next Monday and it's breaking my heart but more so I was nervous that he wouldn't take a bottle since to date he's not successfully done so.

My mother in law came over on Monday to try and he successfully took a bottle from her which made me feel so much better.  I'm ok if he won't take one from me at the time.  I get it.  He wants the real thing.  His healthy eating habits have done great things for my midsection.  At the gym tonight, my weekly weigh in shows that I'm 5 lbs away from pre baby weight and I couldn't be happier.  Once I can start doing complete workouts I'm hoping that will come.

Sunday Baby E was also baptized which I was happy about.  He was surrounded by loving family and will be supported in his spiritual life by great god parents.  

Maternity leave has allowed me to get some Christmas shopping done. We've gotten a lot of things on line but I've been able to get out a little bit with him before the malls get busy to get a couple other gifts.  Everyone has almost been taken care of.  We've found some great things this year.  Baby E is a good shopper.  

I'm also starting to generate my own wish list which always include new clothes so that I can show off my almost pre-baby weight.  Also included is:

1. New Running Shoes - Nikes, Asics or New Balance are my favorites

2. Lap Counter - Sometimes when I swim I forget what lap I'm on.  This thing is ingenious.  

3. Michele Tahitian Jelly Bean Watch - I think this watch is perfect for me.  It's sporty while still being sophisticated and classic.  :)

4. Hudson Diaper Bag - I still want this bag.  I love it.  

More to come...

1 Week Left

Maternity leave is coming to an end and I'm freaking out a little bit.  Baby E has sort of regressed.  He is refusing to take a bottle from my husband and continues to be fussy for everyone (including me).  I'm thankful that it's my mother in law that will take him for the first month and not a sitter.  She will be able to dedicate much more time to him and hopefully get him acclimated to life where mom isn't always around.

We are finding some new things that E seems to enjoy.  At a visit to my sister's earlier this week, we set him in a swing that was previously used by my niece.  Turns out he likes it.  So you can imagine that I begged and pleaded to take it home.  It has provided me with some time during the day where I have both hands free.

When Will They...

invent a way for more things to be done one handed.  Lately my hands have been full of baby which has made it hard to blog about said baby but in the VERY rare instance where he is sleeping, and not on me, I try to get on and provide a little insight into my life as a mommy in a very random sort of way.

Baby E is 4 weeks old now and has survived his first trip home (that's 2 2 hour car rides).  Maybe I should say I survived the trip.  We were able to introduce baby to many very important people in my life which I was more than proud to do.  An additional bonus, call it Karma, but once I did get Baby E down for the night at 9:00 p.m. on Sunday night,back at home, he stayed asleep for 4 hours.  Yes, you heard right...4 hours!!  Now that hasn't happened since but I'm fortunate for the night it did happen.  I also got to meet my girlfriend's baby who was born 2 weeks ago.

Baby E at 4 weeks is very much a momma's boy.  It's amazing how much he knows who I am.  I enjoy the bonding but it makes it very hard to get anything done.  I'm hoping when I go back to work in 2 weeks he will adjust to someone else watching him.

E and I have been attending a mommy and me class at the hospital.  It been great to meet other mothers and listen to them talk about their experiences.  I've gotten a lot of good advice and its made me more confident taking him out, even when he is screaming.  Thanks to Nit for introducing us to a great group of girls.

He also has his 1 month appointment coming up and I do have a list of questions for the doc (I'm partially recording these here so I have a record of them):

1. His right eye seems to tear up more so than the left.  I'm assuming it's ok but it's a little strange.  Is that ok?

2. He's too young for sunscreen correct?  I just want to make sure I protect him the best way I can when we go to Florida.

3. How old does E need to be to enforce sleeping in his crib?  He's still struggling with sleeping anywhere but on me or others.  He does get about 40 minutes in his crib before waking up and screaming.  I would really like for his daily naps to be about 2 hours but he never makes it that long then he's crabby all day.

I just thought this was a cute picture.  Did I mention he loves his bathes?  He also loves lounging on his changing table.  I'm tempted to buy a second one to put in his crib.

On a side note, I'm 7 lbs away from my pre-baby weight and very happy to be back in most of my regular clothes.  Once I can start doing ab exercises and am able to lose the belly I should be back in everything.  S has also become more confident with E which means I'm able to get to the gym a few times.  I haven't been able to do much but getting there and focusing on something else other than baby is still refreshing.  I'm up to 30 minutes on the treadmill-walking/running.  It feels good to do burn some calories.  I'm hoping to get the green light on running full out at my 6 week appointment in December.  I'm SOOO looking forward to getting back into a more disciplined routine.

3 Weeks Old

Baby E is 3 weeks old and had provided S and I with plenty of challenges but you know what the best thing in the world is?  That time when I've just finished feeding him and he's curled up on my shoulder breathing into my neck and smelling oh so sweet.  Sometimes I just don't go to bed so I can sit there and enjoy it.  It makes all the challenges worth it.  I never thought I would feel the way I do when I look at him.  It truly is an amazing feeling that I wouldn't trade for anything.

Today I went to a Mommy and Me group at the hospital we delivered at.  It was a great opportunity to meet other mothers and talk about some of the things we are struggling with.  My girlfriend goes every week and told me about it.  I was so nervous to take Baby E out.  I was nervous about the car ride, about how he would behave in public and how I would be able to soothe him.  This class was the perfect way to test the waters.  The class was full of other babies who would go have their own demands and it just felt like a good place to be.  After that the mothers and babies go to lunch and Baby E and I were invited.  Challenge #2 - lunch in public.  Again, the same nerves came up but we went if for no other reason to figure out how to deal with whatever would come about.  At least I would be in the presence of other moms that are also challenged.  Baby E was a saint the entire time.  Slept mostly but woke up to eat at the end.

So today was all in all a good day that allowed me to get a little more comfortable with taking him out.

S is also getting more comfortable with him.  He's been able to stay home with E for a little bit while I try to get back into gym mode.  I'm still only doing 20 minutes walking on the treadmill and some upper body weights but it's something.  Hopefully it won't take too long to lose the last 10 lbs.

S and I knew when we bought the treadmill that we'd use it quite a bit but we've found a new use for it. Its one of the only ways we can get Baby E to sleep.  I guess that's my fault for working out so much when I was carrying him.

I can't leave you without a new picture of my son (still weird to say).  He's the new center of my life. :)

Notes From a New Mommy

Baby E and I have been together now for almost 3 weeks and I learn something new about him or myself everyday.  Here are just a few of the random lessons learned:

1. Always make sure you're fully dressed before answering the door...This is based on a potentially embarrassing experience I had this week.  We want to get some concrete work done outside so I had a contractor come to give us a quote.  Right before he came, I had been feeding Baby E.  When the doorbell rang, I positioned E on my shoulder and answered the door.  I led the contractor to the area we need the work done outside when I felt a draft that I couldn't place.  As he was taking measurements, I looked down and realized that I hadn't buttoned up my shirt and there was a special part left out in the open.  Luckily, baby E was covering it but not enough to keep me from feeling a draft.

2. Music in the car can SOMETIMES stop a screaming kid...This lesson is courtesy of my sister.  On our way to the doctor, little man wouldn't stop screaming.  I called P to see if she had any suggestions.  Here's what she said.  Find some calming music and turn it up louder than his crying.  Sure enough, I found the SPA channel on Sirius and cranked it.  3 minutes later he was quiet.  Amazing!

3.  Sleep whenever you can...Babies have a mind of their own and they sleep when they want not when you want them too.  S and I are getting good about trying to let each other sleep but I still haven't been able to get more than 2 hours consecutive sleep but I sleep whenever I can.

Baby E continues to make me feel very fortunate for having bought our treadmill when we did.  We've found that it's one of the only ways we can get him to calm down and/or fall asleep.  I think for our anniversary, S and I are going to invest in a better tv for down there.

Look Who Got His First Bath

Baby E got his first real bath today.  Given his constant fussy state these days, I was positive that this experience wouldn't go well.  To my surprise, it went fine.  I think he almost enjoyed it.  S taped it in two parts - First being the majority of the bath and the second being his hair washing which if you've seen this kid isn't just washing the scalp.  He's got a full head of hair to take care of.  

I'm trying to load the video of the hair washing.  Let's see if it works.  It's taking forever.  In the mean time, here's a picture of the events leading up to the bath.