The 2:30(ish) am post

Things my son does:

• smiles when you enter the room
• coos and talks and sings
• rolls over constantly
• eats rice cereal (once a day)
• scoots around (by rolling, kicking, pushing, any way possible) on the floor and explores his space
• chews on everything in sight
• plays with his feet / toes
• recognizes mama, daddy, and even the words mama and daddy (pretty sure!)
• plays with toys (some.... but increasingly interested in them)

Things my son doesn't do:

• Sleep for more than 2-3 hours in any one stretch at night

Okay, there are more things he doesn't do... but right now, that's the biggest one.  And the issues is not that he only sleeps for 2-3 hours (if I'm lucky - often it's 1-2) at a time.... it's that he then decides sleep is for suckers and doesn't go back down to sleep.  It's like all day - 24x7 - he just wants to take a nap, play a little, eat, repeat.  That's great during the day.... but nighttime is for sleep, and for whatever reason he doesn't get that any more. 

We're going on 3 weeks (not really sure exactly how long, but I think this change occurred sometime between Christmas and New Years) of this.  Many / most nights I get 4-5 hours of sleep - in two spurts.  I'm exhausted.  I don't work (well, I have my online shop, but I don't have to leave the house!), but that doesn't mean that I can just drop everything and take a nap when he decides to during the day.  I mean, I could, but it's hard to just shut everything off and make yourself take a nap in the middle of the day.  By the time you do, the baby is waking up.

So instead, I take a drive 5 miles down the highway and back up the highway and through the drive-thru Starbucks at 6:30am because I realize those 4 hours of sleep I got are all I'm going to get.  And I look forward to Friday night / Saturday morning because I can force (okay, ask) Jimmy to get up with Colby after the second 2-hour stretch, and I can go back to sleep - for a glorious 3 hours.

Then and Now

Then: January 4, 2010

I'm not sure what I did during the day on January 4th.  I do know I wasn't working (I worked Tuesday through Friday).  It had been a rough week - my Grandpa had passed away exactly a week before on December 28th.  I'm guessing I went to the grocery store, hung out, probably spent money (I'm good at that).  But January 4, 2010 will remembered not for what I did during the day.  It will be remembered for the fact that on the way home from work, Jimmy stopped at the grocery store to buy yet another pack of home pregnancy tests.  At this point we had been trying to get pregnant for just over a year.  I had bought and peed on an army of those tests.  I was not about to buy another one.  (oh, and I hadn't heard of the cheapo ones you can use during the TTC process that you then would only have to buy the spendy ones when you got a positive on the cheapo and really wanted to see if it was true or just the result of buying tests at the dollar store.  I now know about these gems and will definitely be using them next time!)

But back to the story.  Jimmy got home from work and instructed me to pee on the stick.   While my cycles weren't regular, if they had been, I was due to have a visit from Aunt Flow that day - and had no signs of that happening.  I was VERY reluctant (to put it mildly).  I had peed on soooo many of those things with so much hope over the last year..... but I obliged.

I did what was necessary, and planned on leaving the test upside down until I was out in the kitchen where Jimmy was.  That way he could understand and maybe feel a little bit of my frustration.  But I peeked.  And was FLOORED.  Was that a + I saw?!  I walked out of the bathroom with a "WTF?" look on my face and I'm pretty sure Jimmy knew instantly what was going on.  He looked at it, I think he jumped and smiled.  Finally a smile broke on my face.  Was this real?!

Of course, the next logical move would be to take another test.  But I was empty! ;-)  So I chugged and chugged and chugged water.  When I felt prepared I took another.  With another +.  Wow.

January 4th, 2010 was a very exciting day - one I will remember forever. 

I called my OB's office the next morning and set up my very first checkup.  Of course, I peed on another stick that Thursday or Friday just to make sure (plus we were going to tell my parents Friday night, so we wanted to make sure!)

Test #1 - Definitely a + sign!



Tests #1 and #2

--------Fast Forward One Year---------

Now: January 4, 2011

Today I have a 4 month old.  Amazing.  My baby boy is 4 months old on the exact day (one year later) we found out we were going to meet him!!!

Today started nice and early (which I'm sure you have already gathered seeing as this is posting right about 4:45am PST).  I guess Colby decided he needed to celebrate his 4 month birthday (and the 1 year anniversary of us finding out about him growing inside of me) - we went to bed at 10pm last night (our usual) - and Colby woke up at 12:15am for a snack (not his usual) after which he would not go back in his co-sleeper, so he slept on my arm.... until 2:45am.  At 2:45am he decided it was time for more food (or maybe his arm pillow twitched?).  I fed him, he fussed, and finally around 3:15am while Jimmy was trying to get Colby back to sleep (he had fussed loud enough and long enough to wake his dad - that's impressive!), we fed him another 2oz through a bottle.  Finally around 3:45am he went back down.  But only for 10 minutes - just before I poured my cereal (yes, I decided I would get up because after being up for an hour I was STARVING and no longer sleepy) I heard him waking up on the monitor.  So I headed upstairs, scooped him up, and we spent some quality time in the glider.  He fell back asleep, and I put him back in our bed.  Here's hoping he sleeps 'til 8! :-)

Our plans for today are the usual for a Tuesday - with a minor twist.  Tuesdays we spend hanging out in the morning, meeting my friend Dawn and her two kiddos at the YMCA mid-day for Zumba, lunch afterwards, and a playdate afternoon.  Then I make dinner at Dawn's place for all four adults and their 2.5 year old son.  Jimmy and Will (Dawn's husband) get to their place around 6ish - we eat dinner, hang out, and head home between 8 and 9.  I *think* we will do this today (we'll see if we stay awake through it all!)

The only addition to our usual is that today Colby and I will be making a trip to the Post Office.  Today the very first orders for Eggo In The Oven will ship out!  This is soooo exciting!  I have been told for a while that I should sell the handmade goodies I create - and I'm finally doing it!  Opening weekend (this past weekend) was a success - and once I'm out from under all the orders from those few days, I'll be listing even more items in my store.  Feel free to stop by - or check it out on Facebook (just search Eggo In The Oven) - I have a larger selection there, and will do periodic specials only good through Facebook.  I am very excited.  I love to craft, and I'm having sooo much fun getting this little business started!!!

Oh, and of course Colby and I will have to do a 4 month photo shoot this morning!!! ;-)

Colby yesterday - modeling the onesie and legwarmers I made! :-)

(and being super cute, as always!)



No time to blog

I can't believe it's been 15 days since I wrote a blog post.  I suck.  In those 15 days we did a lot - Colby has changed a bunch - and we celebrated his first Christmas!!!

Alas... I still don't have time to blog.  Tomorrow is opening day of Eggo in the Oven - my online shop selling handmade goodies by yours truly.  So for a little while I'm going to be a bit preoccupied.  But I will return!!!

Happy New Year to all my bloggy friends - what a year 2010 was and I'm sure 2011 will be!!!

my bff

Text conversation from this afternoon:

Me: "I am pretty sure the swing is my very best friend.... ever.  That's right, I said it - we're bff's"
Jimmy: "You might be bff's but your also sdd (super dorky dork)"
Me:  "Well you married me... and really, who's the dork - I used a well known and popular abbreviation.... you made one up."

Oh, and yes, he still doesn't know the difference between "your" and "you're".  There, their, and they're are also an issue.

It's true though.  Thanks to our swing, I am not a stinky, starving, cranky mama (most days).  Thanks to our swing I can, on occasion, blog with both hands (reducing my writing time immensely).  Thanks to our swing, our house isn't the messiest house ever.... it's just a really messy house.

It makes me sad to think about the day that the swing does not hold the magical powers it has since Colby was probably only a couple weeks old... or the day that he gets bored with it.... or the day he doesn't fit in it.  So I don't think about those days.  Those days are *way* off in the future, right?!

So thank you, swing, for all that you do for me.  I use you all the time, and you don't put up a fuss at all.  You provide a safe place for my baby boy to relax, nap, or just hang out chatting away while I do things that are very difficult if not impossible with a baby in tow.

This blog post, and the shower that preceeded it, are brought to you by my bff.

Weightloss Wednesday

I know it's been a while.... and that's not a good thing!

I think the combination of stress and being sick for a while has taken a toll.... I'm up a few pounds - and not budging!  Grrrrrumph.  I'm 37 pounds off my big weightloss goal..... a long way to go!

But until the new year my goals are:  make it to the gym 3-4 times a week, drink more water, make more meals at home, and eat healthier.

I'm doing decently with those goals.  Days like today I'm just lazy and don't want to go through the process to go to the gym.  It's not just as simple as heading to the gym - you have to get dressed, make sure baby is in a disposible diaper, make sure you have extra clothes and diapers for baby, feed baby, make an extra bottle for baby, head to the gym (hoping he falls asleep in the car), check in, drop off kiddo at childcare, start workout (hopefully make it through the whole workout without the childcare girl coming to get you), pick up baby, often feed baby, drive home, maybe grab a shower (either at the gym or at home).  It takes about 2.5 hours to get a hour workout in!!!  But I'm not making excuses.... just recognizing that some days I just don't feel like doing it!

A positive post!!!

We have fallen in love with GroBaby / GroVia diapers.  They have worked for us very well, we rarely have leaks - we love them.  Well they debuted some new prints on December 10th - and did a special that everyone who placed an order on the 10th would be entered to win a free shell in one of the new prints (they would randomly select 40 orders from that day).  I found out yesterday morning I was one of the winners!!!!!

Sooooo excited!  I ordered two shells and will get a third for free!  They are soooo cute!  Don't tell Colby but they'll be wrapped up under the tree for him!  (I know, so exciting)! :-)

Here are the two diapers I ordered:

Sooo cute!!!

Can't wait to see which print the free one is in!!!  And to take some pictures of our little guy in his new stylish diapers!!! :-)  I'm thinking I'll need to make some shirts for him to wear with just the diapers (around the house)!

This mama stuff is stressful!!!

I know I'm usually a happy, upbeat, carefree mama - but I'm a bit stressed right now!!!
On Saturday (I think) Jimmy asked me if I had noticed lately that it seems like Colby gets a little pooch down in his groin area when he gets really angry. Colby has had an umbilical hernia since birth - and at his 2 month appointment the Pediatrician said it looked just fine and would heal itself - umbilical hernias don't tend to be an issue. But if we noticed any others pop up in other places, to give them a call. I hadn't noticed the one down in his groin (of course, making me feel like a bad mom - I change his diaper how many times during the day and dad changes probably 2 diapers a day and has noticed?!), and Jimmy pointed it out. It doesn't portrude that much, but it feels exactly like the umbilical one. So I called the doc's office first thing Monday morning and we're set to go in and have the Pediatrician check it out in the afternoon. 

Of course, Colby was happy as a clam during the whole appointment, which meant that the hernia didn't show itself.  But based off my description, etc., his pediatrician determined it sounded like a "textbook" inguinal hernia (hernia in the groin area).  This means she sent a referral to a surgeon at Children's Hospital.  The plan was I would call them on Thursday or Friday and set up an appointment for evaluation / consultation.  Then, most likely, he'd eventually need surgery to repair the hernia.

Well, this afternoon Colby took a great nap (probably around 2.5 hours - I'm not sure - I didn't quite keep track!), woke up, and I changed his diaper.  Then I proceeded to feed him - he should've been pretty hungry and usually when he's very hungry he's pretty serious about eating - he won't mess around.  But he was kinda distracted as he was eating, fussy, and just kinda kept pulling off of me and screaming.  So I switched him to the other side, figuring I had just run out of milk on that side (I've been having issues with keeping up with him - see below!).  Again, he ate some, but was fussy.  At the appointment yesterday, the pediatrician said that if we were noticing increasing fussyness we should check his groin area and see if the herina was bulging.  So I did.  And freaked out.  It was portruding much more than I had seen before - and it was pretty taught - and when I poked at it it seemed to make Colby even more unhappy.  So with tears in my eyes, I called Jimmy.  I described what was going on and he said he had seen that before too (which instantly put him on my shit list - I didn't realize it had been that bad before and hadn't told our pediatrician that!).  He said I should call the pediatrician's office and talk to the nurse (which was already my next step, but I wanted to let him know what was going on).

My call to the nurse took a while.  She confirmed that the referral had been sent, so she said I should call as soon as I was off the phone with her and ask to set up the consult - and let them know that I thought it was getting worse.  The nurse also said that if we noticed he wasn't eating well, wasn't having as many poopy diapers, seemed to be in pain, was vomiting, or had a fever, we should head straight to the emergency room at Children's - that would get him an immediate consult and he'd be where he needed if they decided he needed surgery sooner than expected.  Of course, just the thought of that makes my belly turn!

So I called Children's.  I gave them a bunch of info to basically pre-register, and then worked on scheduling the consult.  Amazingly enough, they do clinics outside of the Seattle area, and tomorrow they're going to be in Everett - at the Womens & Children's Pavillion where I delivered Colby (and where all my prenatal doc appointments were)!!!!  Perfect!  And they had an opening at 2pm!  So Colby and I will be meeting with a surgeon (I believe) tomorrow to see what they think.  I hope they have a way to feel / find the hernia better than the pediatrician could - otherwise I'd guess we'd have to try to piss him off to get it to show itself!!!

I'm prepared for the fact they'll likely say our little guy needs surgery.... but still not happy about it!  I know it's a very routine thing, and many babies have hernias and need them repaired, but it still isn't fun to think about!!!
Finally, I'm not sure if Colby's going through a growth spurt or what, but suddenly Sunday he basically wanted to eat on both sides every feeding (usually he just eats on one side). This was fine for part of the day, but by the evening, I was about empty even when he was hungry! When I went to feed him before bed, I don't think he really got more than an ounce or so from me! So we had to pull some milk from the fridge (not really that big of a deal) and feed him a bottle. He did great, downed it, and went to sleep. Then this morning when we got up for the day, I fed him on one side and pumped the other (my usual). Well only about an hour later, he was hungry - and I had nothing to give him! I fed him the pumped bottle (again, totally fine, but a little frustrating), and he was happy. But again today he's wanting to eat on both sides each feeding. My body doesn't seem to have gotten the memo!!! So I'm slightly stressed 'cause of this too!

I know that giving him bottles of breastmilk is just fine - and even if we needed to give him some formula that would be okay too - but it is just kinda the icing on the cake right now with me being confused / stressed / etc.

Luckily Colby doesn't seem to be too bothered by any of this - I mean, he was fussy today at one point (when I saw the hernia popping out more), but basically he's his happy self most of the time!

Will update as I know more!!!