I'm back to blogspot.com, so here are the posts I from Shutterfly. I'm back because I want to be able to include pictures in my blogs, which I couldn't do at Shutterfly. More to come!
He's Crawling!!!
September 1, 2010
After a month of being thisclose to crawling, Dominic finally did it! I was in the kitchen making dinner, Brian was upstairs doing work, and Dominic was playing on the floor of our den. I looked over and he started crawling!!! I yelled for Brian, who immediately came downstairs, but Dominic wouldn’t repeat his accomplishment…at least not until Brian went upstairs. Every time I took my camera out to record it, Dominic wouldn’t do it. Finally I recorded him for several minutes and got him doing it briefly. He finally did it again for Brian to see too.
I’ve been nagging Brian to baby-proof the house for weeks (since he first started “almost crawling”) to no avail, but now Brian will have to start on that over the weekend. Thankfully, it’s a 3-day weekend, so he’ll have some extra time to work on it…or at least get started on it. Videos to come showing our little boy’s accomplishment and at only 6 ½ months old!
I’ve been nagging Brian to baby-proof the house for weeks (since he first started “almost crawling”) to no avail, but now Brian will have to start on that over the weekend. Thankfully, it’s a 3-day weekend, so he’ll have some extra time to work on it…or at least get started on it. Videos to come showing our little boy’s accomplishment and at only 6 ½ months old!
Beach and Back
September 1, 2010
Brian, Dominic, and I went on our first family vacation last week. We went to Amelia Island, Florida and stayed in my parents’ condo there. It was funny because I grew up going there every summer since I was a baby and now took MY own baby there. My mom and dad met us down there after a few days and stayed with us.
Brian and I packed my Accord up, filling it to the prim, and the 3 of us drove down to Florida after Brian got off work (Brian actually did all of the driving). It’s amazing how much stuff a little baby needs on a small trip. I had heard that leaving at night is much better with a baby because they sleep anyway and you don’t have to stop to feed them as frequently, and we found this to be completely true. Plus traffic was nonexistent, which helped us get there faster. Dominic was wonderful driving down there because he slept most of the way.
It was very cute to see Dominic putting his feet in the ocean. That was about as far as we put him in because the waves were pretty rough due to Hurricane Danielle. Our weather the first day was pretty nice, but the next 3 days it was cloudy and rainy. Of course, there was beautiful weather the day we left. We spent more time at the pool than we did the beach because we couldn’t put Dominic in the ocean much. Plus we were worried that Dominic would put sand in his mouth. We managed to avoid that for the most part, which was an amazing feat.
It was nice once my parents came down because they could watch Dominic on the beach or back in the condo as Dominic napped, while Brian and I went boogie boarding in the ocean or whatever.
On Monday, we headed back to around 4:00 since Brian had to get back for work the next morning (and a dentist appointment at 8am that he had completely forgotten about until he looked at his google calendar on the way home). Plus Dominic had his swim class the next morning. Driving in the afternoon vs. the night was not such a great idea. After sleeping for the first part of the trip, Dominic woke up and wanted to play and interact. So he was very upset when he couldn’t do those things. He ended up crying on and off for most of the remainder of the trip. We stopped once to feed him and another time to play with him while taking a bathroom break. Things were better after that especially once it got dark outside, but the poor, little baby had a terrible time on that car ride. Next time, we definitely need to drive only at night!
Dominic is continuing to progress with his “tricks.” At the beach, he started going from crawling to sitting. He still hasn’t started crawling, but I’m hoping it happens any time now. The problem is that now that Dominic is so mobile, instead of going to sleep or staying asleep, he likes to play around in his crib, sitting up, trying to crawl, etc…basically anything but sleep. It used to take him 5 minutes to go down, but now it’s taking 30 minutes.
Dominic had his first 2 swim lessons. The first one was right before we left for the beach and the other was the day after we came back. He was the only baby in the class, which was a bit of a disappointment. We were hoping for some more socialization (for both of us). Anyway, he did an outstanding job. His swim teacher can’t stop praising him for how well he’s doing at his age. She says that he feels very comfortable in the water. The swim teacher was very impressed with how he splashes and kicks in the water even though he’s only 6 months old. Since he’s doing so well, the teacher said he can join the older class at an earlier time if I want him to be in a class with other swimmers. This will work better for his nap schedule but proves a little difficult for feeding him solids. I guess I’ll just have to give him his bottle a little earlier, so I can then give him his solids a little earlier (it has to be 30 minutes to an hour later). Looks like we have a little Michael Phelps on our hands!
Dominic and I also started attending our first weekly playgroup today. Although we’re already members of our neighborhood playgroup, they don’t meet on a regular basis (weekly, etc.). The reason I joined the Dunwoody MOMS Club was so we could participate in a playgroup. This one is for 2010 babies. We are starting to meet every Wednesday at 10:30am. I’m the playgroup leader, giving me something extra to do. There are only 2 other babies in this playgroup – a 2 month old and a 7 month old. Hopefully, Dominic will be able to play with the 7 month old since they are so close in age.
On top of leading the playgroup, I’m also helping to plan my 10 Year High School and I’m on the social committee in our neighborhood. Between all of Dominic’s activities and my own, we’re staying pretty busy. The rule typically is one outing a day but if I wake up early (before feeding time) and am ready to go as soon as Dominic eats his breakfast, then we can do 2 outings – 1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon between naps and feedings.
At this point, our schedule is: Mondays - story time at the library (which will start again soon) and the grocery store for the week; Tuesdays – swim class in the morning; Wednesdays – playgroup; and Thursdays and Fridays are catch up from the rest of week, shopping for non-grocery items, housework (cleaning, laundry, etc.), and social stuff (lunches with friends, trips to the park, etc.).
Dominic is continuing to well with solids. He’s eating oatmeal, sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas, and pears. Next week we plan to start him on yogurt as the pediatrician recommended. Brian and I have started making sweet potatoes and bananas ourselves for Dominic using our food processor (a wedding gift that we don’t use very often), which hasn’t been too hard.
I’m going to start listing Dominic’s “tricks” at the end of each blog as they are starting to add up (yay!):
Brian and I packed my Accord up, filling it to the prim, and the 3 of us drove down to Florida after Brian got off work (Brian actually did all of the driving). It’s amazing how much stuff a little baby needs on a small trip. I had heard that leaving at night is much better with a baby because they sleep anyway and you don’t have to stop to feed them as frequently, and we found this to be completely true. Plus traffic was nonexistent, which helped us get there faster. Dominic was wonderful driving down there because he slept most of the way.
It was very cute to see Dominic putting his feet in the ocean. That was about as far as we put him in because the waves were pretty rough due to Hurricane Danielle. Our weather the first day was pretty nice, but the next 3 days it was cloudy and rainy. Of course, there was beautiful weather the day we left. We spent more time at the pool than we did the beach because we couldn’t put Dominic in the ocean much. Plus we were worried that Dominic would put sand in his mouth. We managed to avoid that for the most part, which was an amazing feat.
It was nice once my parents came down because they could watch Dominic on the beach or back in the condo as Dominic napped, while Brian and I went boogie boarding in the ocean or whatever.
On Monday, we headed back to around 4:00 since Brian had to get back for work the next morning (and a dentist appointment at 8am that he had completely forgotten about until he looked at his google calendar on the way home). Plus Dominic had his swim class the next morning. Driving in the afternoon vs. the night was not such a great idea. After sleeping for the first part of the trip, Dominic woke up and wanted to play and interact. So he was very upset when he couldn’t do those things. He ended up crying on and off for most of the remainder of the trip. We stopped once to feed him and another time to play with him while taking a bathroom break. Things were better after that especially once it got dark outside, but the poor, little baby had a terrible time on that car ride. Next time, we definitely need to drive only at night!
Dominic is continuing to progress with his “tricks.” At the beach, he started going from crawling to sitting. He still hasn’t started crawling, but I’m hoping it happens any time now. The problem is that now that Dominic is so mobile, instead of going to sleep or staying asleep, he likes to play around in his crib, sitting up, trying to crawl, etc…basically anything but sleep. It used to take him 5 minutes to go down, but now it’s taking 30 minutes.
Dominic had his first 2 swim lessons. The first one was right before we left for the beach and the other was the day after we came back. He was the only baby in the class, which was a bit of a disappointment. We were hoping for some more socialization (for both of us). Anyway, he did an outstanding job. His swim teacher can’t stop praising him for how well he’s doing at his age. She says that he feels very comfortable in the water. The swim teacher was very impressed with how he splashes and kicks in the water even though he’s only 6 months old. Since he’s doing so well, the teacher said he can join the older class at an earlier time if I want him to be in a class with other swimmers. This will work better for his nap schedule but proves a little difficult for feeding him solids. I guess I’ll just have to give him his bottle a little earlier, so I can then give him his solids a little earlier (it has to be 30 minutes to an hour later). Looks like we have a little Michael Phelps on our hands!
Dominic and I also started attending our first weekly playgroup today. Although we’re already members of our neighborhood playgroup, they don’t meet on a regular basis (weekly, etc.). The reason I joined the Dunwoody MOMS Club was so we could participate in a playgroup. This one is for 2010 babies. We are starting to meet every Wednesday at 10:30am. I’m the playgroup leader, giving me something extra to do. There are only 2 other babies in this playgroup – a 2 month old and a 7 month old. Hopefully, Dominic will be able to play with the 7 month old since they are so close in age.
On top of leading the playgroup, I’m also helping to plan my 10 Year High School and I’m on the social committee in our neighborhood. Between all of Dominic’s activities and my own, we’re staying pretty busy. The rule typically is one outing a day but if I wake up early (before feeding time) and am ready to go as soon as Dominic eats his breakfast, then we can do 2 outings – 1 in the morning and 1 in the afternoon between naps and feedings.
At this point, our schedule is: Mondays - story time at the library (which will start again soon) and the grocery store for the week; Tuesdays – swim class in the morning; Wednesdays – playgroup; and Thursdays and Fridays are catch up from the rest of week, shopping for non-grocery items, housework (cleaning, laundry, etc.), and social stuff (lunches with friends, trips to the park, etc.).
Dominic is continuing to well with solids. He’s eating oatmeal, sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas, and pears. Next week we plan to start him on yogurt as the pediatrician recommended. Brian and I have started making sweet potatoes and bananas ourselves for Dominic using our food processor (a wedding gift that we don’t use very often), which hasn’t been too hard.
I’m going to start listing Dominic’s “tricks” at the end of each blog as they are starting to add up (yay!):
- Rolls over back to stomach – May 16, 2010 (3 months old)
- Rolled over stomach to back – July 17, 2010 (5 months old)
- Sit up – July 10, 2010 (4 ½ months old)
- Laying to sitting up unassisted – August 29, 2010 (6 ½ months old)
Sitting, Splashing...but not superbly sleeping
July 30, 2010
It’s been a big couple of weeks for Dominic! He’s continuing to begin sitting up by himself. Dominic often dislikes laying on his back now, so he will immediately roll over onto his stomach or try to sit up. Dominic can officially do a 360 degree turn from his back to his stomach and then back onto his back (and then back onto his stomach again)!! I've only actually seen him roll over stomach to back a couple of times, but he does it quite a bit in his crib. I'll come into his nursery in the morning to see him lying awake on his back, waiting for mommy! Such a big boy!
Dominic’s wonderful job sleeping through the night (typically 11 hours straight) regressed a bit last week. He woke up crying 3 nights in a row. Dominic even woke up multiple times in one night. On a couple of these occurrences he was asleep when he cried, which he sometimes does (we think he's having a bad dream). Brian and I picked Dominic up or just turned him over and those things helped some. Thankfully, he’s been sleeping through the night again without any problem the last week or so (knock on wood).
Brian and I have different possible theories for this short regression. I read that at around 5 months old a baby’s sleep cycles may change. This corresponds to his recent change in naps. Dominic suddenly went from being a poor napper, who slept for only 25-45 minutes at a time, to a super napper, who sleeps for an hour or two (or even more unless I wake him up at times). The longer naps in themselves could be the cause as well for Dominic waking up in the middle of the night. I figured that feeding Dominic in the middle of the night was not a good idea since that would just make him become used to eating in the middle of the night again - definitely something I want to avoid!
Another theory is that Dominic's abrupt sleep problems could have been caused by the dreaded teething. This would go along with him constantly having his hand in his mouth and drooling. I'm not seeing or feeling any teeth yet, however. Then again, Dominic never lets me get a good look in his mouth. I'm beginning to wonder when he'll finally get teeth, considering that everyone has been telling me for the last 3 months that he's teething based on all of the "symptoms." Brian spoke with Dr. Smith, who confirmed that all of our "theories" were possible culprits for the sleep problem and that it is important not to start feeding Dominic in the middle of the night.
Regardless of the reason, I wanted to find out how to help Dominic sleep better. Basically, what I’ve found when researching this is not to pick Dominic up and to just let him “cry it out.” Everything I’ve read has said what makes a good sleeper is a baby who learns to sooth himself back to sleep. Therefore, letting Dominic cry it out will teach him this skill and help him improve his sleep habits.
It’s really hard to let Dominic cry like that though. For me, it's like enduring torture having to listen to my baby boy crying and not do anything, but I know that it’s the right thing to help him. All I have to do is base it on the fact that this method really worked for Dominic a couple of months again. I mean, this baby could sleep through the night at 2 and a half months, so we must have done something right! :) However some parents will criticize the “cry it out” method. What's funny about that is these very parents are the ones whose babies didn’t sleep through the night until they were close to a year old. I want to avoid being the type of parent who is afraid to say no to their children and be the "bad guy" even when it's necessary. After doing a great deal of research on the matter (a lot of which was done when I was up at all hours in the middle of the night with Dominic during his first 2 and a half months of life), I firmly believe that teaching a baby to be a good sleeper the earlier you can will make the baby develop into a good sleeper for the rest of his/her life...a very important skill!
Anyway, on to bigger and better things...at the pool, Dominic has started loving to splash, getting himself and whoever is holding him soaking wet. It’s very cute. He primarily does it with one hand but has recently started to splash with both. I can’t wait for to begin our mommy-and-me swim lessons!!
Some other developmental milestones: Dominic now turns to whoever is talking. This means, he is a step closer to responding to his name. Dominic continues to love looking in the mirror and smiling at himself. I recently read that this is a skill he should develop around 6 months, but he was doing it at 4. Such a little prodigy...not that I'm biased or anything.
Dominic absolutely LOVES when Brian and I sing to him. I think he’s the only person in the world that I can say that about because Brian and especially I don’t have the best singing voices. Whenever we sing to him, Dominic gets a huge smile on his face. So adorable. He could be in the middle of crying, but when I sing to him, he stops. Unfortunately, that only lasts as long as I sing to him. Dominic also continues to love when we blow on his tummy and sometimes is ticklish around his neck when I use a wipe to clean the drool around his collar bone.
Peek-a-boo has become Dominic’s favorite game to play. He cracks up, playing it. My sister Stephanie read in psychology that babies at this age think when something disappears from their eye sight that it doesn’t exist any longer. Therefore, this game is fun for them because they become happy when you return into their eyesight. It’s so much fun to play this with Dominic! There’s nothing better than making my little boy happy!!
Dominic’s wonderful job sleeping through the night (typically 11 hours straight) regressed a bit last week. He woke up crying 3 nights in a row. Dominic even woke up multiple times in one night. On a couple of these occurrences he was asleep when he cried, which he sometimes does (we think he's having a bad dream). Brian and I picked Dominic up or just turned him over and those things helped some. Thankfully, he’s been sleeping through the night again without any problem the last week or so (knock on wood).
Brian and I have different possible theories for this short regression. I read that at around 5 months old a baby’s sleep cycles may change. This corresponds to his recent change in naps. Dominic suddenly went from being a poor napper, who slept for only 25-45 minutes at a time, to a super napper, who sleeps for an hour or two (or even more unless I wake him up at times). The longer naps in themselves could be the cause as well for Dominic waking up in the middle of the night. I figured that feeding Dominic in the middle of the night was not a good idea since that would just make him become used to eating in the middle of the night again - definitely something I want to avoid!
Another theory is that Dominic's abrupt sleep problems could have been caused by the dreaded teething. This would go along with him constantly having his hand in his mouth and drooling. I'm not seeing or feeling any teeth yet, however. Then again, Dominic never lets me get a good look in his mouth. I'm beginning to wonder when he'll finally get teeth, considering that everyone has been telling me for the last 3 months that he's teething based on all of the "symptoms." Brian spoke with Dr. Smith, who confirmed that all of our "theories" were possible culprits for the sleep problem and that it is important not to start feeding Dominic in the middle of the night.
Regardless of the reason, I wanted to find out how to help Dominic sleep better. Basically, what I’ve found when researching this is not to pick Dominic up and to just let him “cry it out.” Everything I’ve read has said what makes a good sleeper is a baby who learns to sooth himself back to sleep. Therefore, letting Dominic cry it out will teach him this skill and help him improve his sleep habits.
It’s really hard to let Dominic cry like that though. For me, it's like enduring torture having to listen to my baby boy crying and not do anything, but I know that it’s the right thing to help him. All I have to do is base it on the fact that this method really worked for Dominic a couple of months again. I mean, this baby could sleep through the night at 2 and a half months, so we must have done something right! :) However some parents will criticize the “cry it out” method. What's funny about that is these very parents are the ones whose babies didn’t sleep through the night until they were close to a year old. I want to avoid being the type of parent who is afraid to say no to their children and be the "bad guy" even when it's necessary. After doing a great deal of research on the matter (a lot of which was done when I was up at all hours in the middle of the night with Dominic during his first 2 and a half months of life), I firmly believe that teaching a baby to be a good sleeper the earlier you can will make the baby develop into a good sleeper for the rest of his/her life...a very important skill!
Anyway, on to bigger and better things...at the pool, Dominic has started loving to splash, getting himself and whoever is holding him soaking wet. It’s very cute. He primarily does it with one hand but has recently started to splash with both. I can’t wait for to begin our mommy-and-me swim lessons!!
Some other developmental milestones: Dominic now turns to whoever is talking. This means, he is a step closer to responding to his name. Dominic continues to love looking in the mirror and smiling at himself. I recently read that this is a skill he should develop around 6 months, but he was doing it at 4. Such a little prodigy...not that I'm biased or anything.
Dominic absolutely LOVES when Brian and I sing to him. I think he’s the only person in the world that I can say that about because Brian and especially I don’t have the best singing voices. Whenever we sing to him, Dominic gets a huge smile on his face. So adorable. He could be in the middle of crying, but when I sing to him, he stops. Unfortunately, that only lasts as long as I sing to him. Dominic also continues to love when we blow on his tummy and sometimes is ticklish around his neck when I use a wipe to clean the drool around his collar bone.
Peek-a-boo has become Dominic’s favorite game to play. He cracks up, playing it. My sister Stephanie read in psychology that babies at this age think when something disappears from their eye sight that it doesn’t exist any longer. Therefore, this game is fun for them because they become happy when you return into their eyesight. It’s so much fun to play this with Dominic! There’s nothing better than making my little boy happy!!
Starting to Sit Up!
July 16, 2010
I can't believe it but today marks Dominic's 5 month birthday! On the one hand, I can't believe it's already been 5 months since he was born. It has flown by. I guess what they say is true, "Time flies when you're having fun." On the other hand, it's seemed like Dominic has been here a part of our lives for so much longer. Not having Dominic around seems like it was another life ago, an emptier, less happy life. Either way, this has been the best 5 months of my life. :)
Last weekend Brian, Dominic, and I went along with the rest of my family to Tennessee to visit my aunt Libby and cousin Thad in Oak Ridge. After visiting with them, we spent a day in the Smoky Mountains. It was a nice trip - the first Kittrell trip with the entire family since in-laws and babies came along. It was great to visit with family and see the beautiful mountains, but the highlight for me was seeing Dominic sit up for the first time!!! He's been attempting to lately, but this time he did it. I think he saw his cousin Caroline sitting up next to him (she's 11 months old), and it helped. He's done it a few more times since we've been home, but Dominic seems to like putting "sitting up like a bulldog" as Brian calls it, with his legs spread apart and his hands in between them on the floor. We keep practicing though. I keep telling Brian that this means crawling isn't too far behind, meaning we need to baby-proof soon! Dominic still hasn't rolled over from his stomach to his back yet, so that's another thing we need to work on.
This morning I signed Dominic up for Mommy-and-Me Swim lessons to start at the end of August. I'm very excited. Dominic will have 8 lessons (one a week). Brian and I also have been planning Dominic's baptism. There had been some controversy about the these gowns back when I first became pregnant. We had decided that if it was a girl, we'd have her wear mine and if it was a boy then we'd wear one of Brian's family's dresses. Tonight Brian looked at the 2 Morton baptism gowns. The one that he wore is way too small for Dominic and then we briefly had Dominic try on the one that his mom made for his sisters to wear, and that is too small as well. So unfortunately, it doesn't look like Dominic will be able to wear either. The gown that I wore is very lacy and much better for a girl to wear, so we'll wait for a girl to wear that one, as we had already decided.
I feel badly because we waited so long to have him baptised, but honestly it didn't even occur to me about the gown being too small. Our schedule and our families' schedules have been so busy that we haven't had time up until now. Anyway, I think what we're going to do is buy a little white suit/tux, which is what Brian had said he wanted to do originally anyway. We never really felt right putting our baby boy in a dress, and when he was trying on the gown tonight, he just looked so silly. It's hard enough to tell if a baby is a girl or a boy anyway. The tux will be adorable on our handsome, little man.
The baptism happens to be the same day as my 10 year high school reunion. Kind of ironic, yet kind of fitting at the same time, I guess. Along the same lines, on Sunday, I turn 28. All in all, it's not really a big birthday. I entered my late 20's last year, so no big thing there, but it is scary to think that I'm now only 2 years away from being 30 (old). I can't believe that 10 years ago I turned 18. It seems like only a couple of years ago, but it was an entire decade. I keep focusing on the fact that moms are supposed to be older and that this is my 1st birthday with a baby. At least I'm able to drink a celebratory alcoholic beverage this year as opposed to last year's birthday although I still have to be careful as I'm still breastfeeding. Regardless, I'm excited to spend my birthday with my little family this year. :)
Last weekend Brian, Dominic, and I went along with the rest of my family to Tennessee to visit my aunt Libby and cousin Thad in Oak Ridge. After visiting with them, we spent a day in the Smoky Mountains. It was a nice trip - the first Kittrell trip with the entire family since in-laws and babies came along. It was great to visit with family and see the beautiful mountains, but the highlight for me was seeing Dominic sit up for the first time!!! He's been attempting to lately, but this time he did it. I think he saw his cousin Caroline sitting up next to him (she's 11 months old), and it helped. He's done it a few more times since we've been home, but Dominic seems to like putting "sitting up like a bulldog" as Brian calls it, with his legs spread apart and his hands in between them on the floor. We keep practicing though. I keep telling Brian that this means crawling isn't too far behind, meaning we need to baby-proof soon! Dominic still hasn't rolled over from his stomach to his back yet, so that's another thing we need to work on.
This morning I signed Dominic up for Mommy-and-Me Swim lessons to start at the end of August. I'm very excited. Dominic will have 8 lessons (one a week). Brian and I also have been planning Dominic's baptism. There had been some controversy about the these gowns back when I first became pregnant. We had decided that if it was a girl, we'd have her wear mine and if it was a boy then we'd wear one of Brian's family's dresses. Tonight Brian looked at the 2 Morton baptism gowns. The one that he wore is way too small for Dominic and then we briefly had Dominic try on the one that his mom made for his sisters to wear, and that is too small as well. So unfortunately, it doesn't look like Dominic will be able to wear either. The gown that I wore is very lacy and much better for a girl to wear, so we'll wait for a girl to wear that one, as we had already decided.
I feel badly because we waited so long to have him baptised, but honestly it didn't even occur to me about the gown being too small. Our schedule and our families' schedules have been so busy that we haven't had time up until now. Anyway, I think what we're going to do is buy a little white suit/tux, which is what Brian had said he wanted to do originally anyway. We never really felt right putting our baby boy in a dress, and when he was trying on the gown tonight, he just looked so silly. It's hard enough to tell if a baby is a girl or a boy anyway. The tux will be adorable on our handsome, little man.
The baptism happens to be the same day as my 10 year high school reunion. Kind of ironic, yet kind of fitting at the same time, I guess. Along the same lines, on Sunday, I turn 28. All in all, it's not really a big birthday. I entered my late 20's last year, so no big thing there, but it is scary to think that I'm now only 2 years away from being 30 (old). I can't believe that 10 years ago I turned 18. It seems like only a couple of years ago, but it was an entire decade. I keep focusing on the fact that moms are supposed to be older and that this is my 1st birthday with a baby. At least I'm able to drink a celebratory alcoholic beverage this year as opposed to last year's birthday although I still have to be careful as I'm still breastfeeding. Regardless, I'm excited to spend my birthday with my little family this year. :)
Summer Lovin
July 3, 2010
Dominic and I are loving the summer! Although we haven't spent enough time at the pool (that would be every day if we could), I am truly falling more and more in love with this little boy every day. Dominic is smiling a lot, showing more of his personality all of the time. He went from being a pretty serious baby to a very happy one now. He loves smiling when we talk to him. Dominic's new favorite things are when we blow raspberries on his belly and being raised above our heads as we say "Super Baby!" He, of course, still adores being on the changing table - or at any level where his face is at that distance from us. Dominic loves to laugh and play with us. The higher your voice when you talk to him, the bigger smile - and often laugh - that he'll give you. Dominic's also a big fan of funny faces now. The sillier the face, the louder the laugh.
Dominic has been turning over from his back to his stomach a lot lately. We’re working on turning the other way, stomach-to-back. At night, Dominic keeps turning over quite frequently. This is a bit worrisome for Brian and me since sleeping on the back is what has been drilled in our heads in order to prevent SIDS. He and I both keep going into Dominic’s nursery in the middle of the night to check on Dominic and turn him over. Brian and I have been told that it’s fine for him to sleep on his stomach at this point since he can move his head around, as long as we don’t put anything in his crib with him. Still, I wouldn’t be a mom if I didn’t worry.
Dominic has also started grabbing things much more. This includes our faces. Yes, this means our skin, noses, mouths, cheeks, and other things. Definitely motivation to keep those nails cut short because it can hurt! We just got Dominic an ExerSaucer where he stands and plays with a bunch of little toys around him. It's a lot of grabbing. He loves that for about 10 minutes at a time and then starts fussing. During those 10 minutes, Dominic concentrates on the different toys, trying to figure out how to use them. It's adorable for us to watch his fascination. He's learning something new each time. Dominic is still loving his Activity Gym where he pulls on the hanging toys, looks at himself in the mirror, and rolls over. The monkey mat that Brian gave Dominic tore open in the washer unfortunately.
Dominic continues to "talk" aka babble, and his latest thing is to shriek with excitement...a lot. Very cute to Brian and me, but probably not so much for others who may witness this in a restaurant or other public place. Dominic's not a big crier unless it's nap time or if we're late giving him his food. In fact, people keep telling us what a "chill baby" Dominic is. Several of our friends without babies have told us that they would have a baby right now if it meant that their baby would be as good as Dominic. We definitely love getting compliments like that.
Dominic is officially eating every 4 hours, a drastic improvement over every 3 hours – for me. I feel like I’m able to get a bit more done between feedings, which has been great. It took a few days for Dominic to adjust to his new schedule, but now he is his regular, sweet, smiley-self . We are also continuing with his nap schedule, and he's sleeping a little longer here and there. We've had a couple of naps this week that were close to 2 hours long! His daily schedule looks like this:
9:00 - wake up and eat (lately it's been more like 9:30)
11:00 - (sometimes noon-ish) nap
1:00 - Feeding
2:00 - (sometimes 3) nap
5:00 - Feeding
6:00 - (sometimes 7) nap
9:00 - Feeding
10:00 - bedtime
Since my last blog, Brian had his first Father’s Day. Dominic and I gave Dominic a game for his Wii and a cute “Daddy frame” with an adorable picture of Dominic and Brian to put on Brian’s desk at work. We got our lunch from the new New York deli across the street from All Saints, took it over to Brian’s parents’ house, ate it there, and hung out with Grandpa aka Brian’s dad. Afterward, we went to dinner with my family at Longhorn. Needless to say, it was a typical, very rushed holiday for us. Isn’t it always?
Last weekend was our good friends', Stephanie and Derin’s, wedding. I was a bridesmaid, so Brian took my sister Stephanie as his date during the ceremony (my idea). Dominic stayed at my parents’ house for the rehearsal on Friday and the wedding on Saturday. It was a lot of fun, but of course I missed Dominic the whole time. I have to say that it’s quite a different experience going out these days. Although I have a lot of fun out, hanging out with my friends and doing something different from the typical, I always have Dominic in the back of my mind. I keep wondering how he’s doing and looking forward to seeing him. I also am a little sad when I can't put him to bed myself. I wonder if I'll be this way with our 2nd child. It doesn’t help that I’m also feeling as if we need to get home to the babysitter and by a "decent" hour. No more staying out till 2 or 3 in the morning. At midnight I turn into a pumpkin. It’s one of those things that I always knew would be different, but I never knew how differently it would feel for me.
After our wedding weekend, Brian and I celebrate our 2nd anniversary. I can’t believe we’ve been married for 2 years. On the one hand, it seems like we just had our wedding, but on the other hand I feel like Brian and I have been married for much longer (in a good way of course). Anyway, Brian and I went to our favorite restaurant in the world, Flemings, while Dominic stayed at Brian’s parents’ house. Yes, Dominic got to see a lot of his grandparents over those few days. Brian and I got to drink the wine that we saved since last year from our first anniversary. For that anniversary, we spent the night at Chateau Elan, had dinner, a massage, and wine tasting, but I had just found out that I was pregnant, so I couldn’t actually drink any way there. I had to spit it out. It didn’t help that I was nauseated the entire time and the taste/smell of wine made that even worse. We bought some wine there to save till this anniversary. Next year, hopefully we get to do something a little bigger, but this year we didn’t want to be away from Dominic for very long. Plus this one-income budget limits what we can do. Totally worth it though.
Tuesday night Brian and I, along with our friends Lauren and Scott, took Dominic to his first Braves game. Brian and I dressed Dominic in a Braves outfit that my parents got for him. He looked adorable and was extremely well-behaved. He only cried for a couple of minutes before he needed his nap, which he took in Brian’s arms during the game. Dominic was such a delight and so cheerful and smiley that I hardly saw the game at all. We lost, so that was probably a very good thing.
I have pretty much finished moving my classroom stuff out of the living room (yay!!!), but that just entailed moving the boxes into the “Elf’s Room” (the little storage room under our staircase) and into the guest room and hallway upstairs. I was motivated because the entire neighborhood is invited to our house for a neighborhood board meeting next week. This is because Brian was recently elected president of the homeowners association. Anyway, we’re looking at buying a couple of bookcases because we have a ton of children’s books for Dominic. Brian and I plan to put one in the upstairs hallway, so Dominic can access the books easily. Then we will most likely put another one down in the den to house the puzzles, board games, and everything else. My next project is now to get those bookshelves assembled (most likely by Brian) and then organize the guest room. This is assuming that we find bookshelves this weekend (and ones that are childproof). Will the work ever end? Something tells me the answer is no…
Dominic has been turning over from his back to his stomach a lot lately. We’re working on turning the other way, stomach-to-back. At night, Dominic keeps turning over quite frequently. This is a bit worrisome for Brian and me since sleeping on the back is what has been drilled in our heads in order to prevent SIDS. He and I both keep going into Dominic’s nursery in the middle of the night to check on Dominic and turn him over. Brian and I have been told that it’s fine for him to sleep on his stomach at this point since he can move his head around, as long as we don’t put anything in his crib with him. Still, I wouldn’t be a mom if I didn’t worry.
Dominic has also started grabbing things much more. This includes our faces. Yes, this means our skin, noses, mouths, cheeks, and other things. Definitely motivation to keep those nails cut short because it can hurt! We just got Dominic an ExerSaucer where he stands and plays with a bunch of little toys around him. It's a lot of grabbing. He loves that for about 10 minutes at a time and then starts fussing. During those 10 minutes, Dominic concentrates on the different toys, trying to figure out how to use them. It's adorable for us to watch his fascination. He's learning something new each time. Dominic is still loving his Activity Gym where he pulls on the hanging toys, looks at himself in the mirror, and rolls over. The monkey mat that Brian gave Dominic tore open in the washer unfortunately.
Dominic continues to "talk" aka babble, and his latest thing is to shriek with excitement...a lot. Very cute to Brian and me, but probably not so much for others who may witness this in a restaurant or other public place. Dominic's not a big crier unless it's nap time or if we're late giving him his food. In fact, people keep telling us what a "chill baby" Dominic is. Several of our friends without babies have told us that they would have a baby right now if it meant that their baby would be as good as Dominic. We definitely love getting compliments like that.
Dominic is officially eating every 4 hours, a drastic improvement over every 3 hours – for me. I feel like I’m able to get a bit more done between feedings, which has been great. It took a few days for Dominic to adjust to his new schedule, but now he is his regular, sweet, smiley-self . We are also continuing with his nap schedule, and he's sleeping a little longer here and there. We've had a couple of naps this week that were close to 2 hours long! His daily schedule looks like this:
9:00 - wake up and eat (lately it's been more like 9:30)
11:00 - (sometimes noon-ish) nap
1:00 - Feeding
2:00 - (sometimes 3) nap
5:00 - Feeding
6:00 - (sometimes 7) nap
9:00 - Feeding
10:00 - bedtime
Since my last blog, Brian had his first Father’s Day. Dominic and I gave Dominic a game for his Wii and a cute “Daddy frame” with an adorable picture of Dominic and Brian to put on Brian’s desk at work. We got our lunch from the new New York deli across the street from All Saints, took it over to Brian’s parents’ house, ate it there, and hung out with Grandpa aka Brian’s dad. Afterward, we went to dinner with my family at Longhorn. Needless to say, it was a typical, very rushed holiday for us. Isn’t it always?
Last weekend was our good friends', Stephanie and Derin’s, wedding. I was a bridesmaid, so Brian took my sister Stephanie as his date during the ceremony (my idea). Dominic stayed at my parents’ house for the rehearsal on Friday and the wedding on Saturday. It was a lot of fun, but of course I missed Dominic the whole time. I have to say that it’s quite a different experience going out these days. Although I have a lot of fun out, hanging out with my friends and doing something different from the typical, I always have Dominic in the back of my mind. I keep wondering how he’s doing and looking forward to seeing him. I also am a little sad when I can't put him to bed myself. I wonder if I'll be this way with our 2nd child. It doesn’t help that I’m also feeling as if we need to get home to the babysitter and by a "decent" hour. No more staying out till 2 or 3 in the morning. At midnight I turn into a pumpkin. It’s one of those things that I always knew would be different, but I never knew how differently it would feel for me.
After our wedding weekend, Brian and I celebrate our 2nd anniversary. I can’t believe we’ve been married for 2 years. On the one hand, it seems like we just had our wedding, but on the other hand I feel like Brian and I have been married for much longer (in a good way of course). Anyway, Brian and I went to our favorite restaurant in the world, Flemings, while Dominic stayed at Brian’s parents’ house. Yes, Dominic got to see a lot of his grandparents over those few days. Brian and I got to drink the wine that we saved since last year from our first anniversary. For that anniversary, we spent the night at Chateau Elan, had dinner, a massage, and wine tasting, but I had just found out that I was pregnant, so I couldn’t actually drink any way there. I had to spit it out. It didn’t help that I was nauseated the entire time and the taste/smell of wine made that even worse. We bought some wine there to save till this anniversary. Next year, hopefully we get to do something a little bigger, but this year we didn’t want to be away from Dominic for very long. Plus this one-income budget limits what we can do. Totally worth it though.
Tuesday night Brian and I, along with our friends Lauren and Scott, took Dominic to his first Braves game. Brian and I dressed Dominic in a Braves outfit that my parents got for him. He looked adorable and was extremely well-behaved. He only cried for a couple of minutes before he needed his nap, which he took in Brian’s arms during the game. Dominic was such a delight and so cheerful and smiley that I hardly saw the game at all. We lost, so that was probably a very good thing.
I have pretty much finished moving my classroom stuff out of the living room (yay!!!), but that just entailed moving the boxes into the “Elf’s Room” (the little storage room under our staircase) and into the guest room and hallway upstairs. I was motivated because the entire neighborhood is invited to our house for a neighborhood board meeting next week. This is because Brian was recently elected president of the homeowners association. Anyway, we’re looking at buying a couple of bookcases because we have a ton of children’s books for Dominic. Brian and I plan to put one in the upstairs hallway, so Dominic can access the books easily. Then we will most likely put another one down in the den to house the puzzles, board games, and everything else. My next project is now to get those bookshelves assembled (most likely by Brian) and then organize the guest room. This is assuming that we find bookshelves this weekend (and ones that are childproof). Will the work ever end? Something tells me the answer is no…
Attachments:
Dominic's Braves game
Dominic's Braves game4 Months Later...
June 16, 2010
Dominic is 4 months today!! The last 4 months have flown by, but so much has happened. Brian and I took Dominic for his 4-month check-up this morning. He’s in the 75th percentile in height, weight, and head size, weighing 15 lbs 9 oz and being 26 inches tall.
Dr. Smith said that we could start introducing rice cereal to Dominic. After discussing it with him and having researched the topic and learning that the earlier you introduce solids, the greater the risk for obesity, I think we are going to hold off on starting the rice cereal till he’s closer to 6 months.
Dominic also had to get some more vaccines. These were the worst so far as Dominic screamed for 10 minutes afterward. It was so sad for me to see him smiling and Brian and me until that needle went into his little leg, his face turned bright red, and then he cried and screamed. Heartbreaking!
Since we’re going to stick to feeding him breast-milk and supplementing it with formula for a bit, I’m going to move Dominic to eating every 4 hours. This means eating 4 times a day instead of 5, consuming more at each meal. We’ll see how that goes. I’m planning to have him eat at 9am, 1pm, 5pm, and 9pm. He has been eating every 3 hours (5 meals per day) at 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, and 9pm.
We’ll see if this upsets his sleeping schedule. I know it will be a rough 3 or 4 days till he adjusts to the transition, but I think it will help me get more done throughout the day. It has been very difficult feeding him every 3 hours. I feel as though by the time I’m done feeding him and getting him down for a nap, that it’s time to feed him again. That leaves me with little or no time to get anything else done.
Last week Dominic and I worked on his nap schedule. He’s basically on a schedule sleeping around 11am, 2pm, and 5pm. However, these times fluctuate. My problem has been that Dominic is a real catnapper. He sleeps for 30-45 minutes at a time. Dr. Smith said that’s more of a problem for me than Dominic since I can’t get anything done, but it’s fine for Dominic. Other moms I’ve talked to about this have said that he’ll sleep better once he starts crawling and getting exhausted throughout the day.
I also was able to get my closet cleaned up finally after months of being too tired from my pregnancy/new baby or too busy taking care of Dominic. My next goal is to get the “elf’s room” (the little storage room under our staircase) cleaned out, so I can move and store all of my classroom supplies and files that should not go in the attic there. That’s a big project, but I’ve started it. I need to get this done before Dominic’s baptism since we’ll be having a reception at our house afterward.
Dominic and I have also enjoyed going to the pool here and there. I’m thinking that once the summer is over, and we don’t have the pool, park, or lunch dates my teacher friends, then I’ll be able to keep the house very clean since I’ll have nothing else to do to procrastinate. Wow...it's scary to think that Dominic will be 7 months old by then and probably crawling!
Dr. Smith said that we could start introducing rice cereal to Dominic. After discussing it with him and having researched the topic and learning that the earlier you introduce solids, the greater the risk for obesity, I think we are going to hold off on starting the rice cereal till he’s closer to 6 months.
Dominic also had to get some more vaccines. These were the worst so far as Dominic screamed for 10 minutes afterward. It was so sad for me to see him smiling and Brian and me until that needle went into his little leg, his face turned bright red, and then he cried and screamed. Heartbreaking!
Since we’re going to stick to feeding him breast-milk and supplementing it with formula for a bit, I’m going to move Dominic to eating every 4 hours. This means eating 4 times a day instead of 5, consuming more at each meal. We’ll see how that goes. I’m planning to have him eat at 9am, 1pm, 5pm, and 9pm. He has been eating every 3 hours (5 meals per day) at 9am, 12pm, 3pm, 6pm, and 9pm.
We’ll see if this upsets his sleeping schedule. I know it will be a rough 3 or 4 days till he adjusts to the transition, but I think it will help me get more done throughout the day. It has been very difficult feeding him every 3 hours. I feel as though by the time I’m done feeding him and getting him down for a nap, that it’s time to feed him again. That leaves me with little or no time to get anything else done.
Last week Dominic and I worked on his nap schedule. He’s basically on a schedule sleeping around 11am, 2pm, and 5pm. However, these times fluctuate. My problem has been that Dominic is a real catnapper. He sleeps for 30-45 minutes at a time. Dr. Smith said that’s more of a problem for me than Dominic since I can’t get anything done, but it’s fine for Dominic. Other moms I’ve talked to about this have said that he’ll sleep better once he starts crawling and getting exhausted throughout the day.
I also was able to get my closet cleaned up finally after months of being too tired from my pregnancy/new baby or too busy taking care of Dominic. My next goal is to get the “elf’s room” (the little storage room under our staircase) cleaned out, so I can move and store all of my classroom supplies and files that should not go in the attic there. That’s a big project, but I’ve started it. I need to get this done before Dominic’s baptism since we’ll be having a reception at our house afterward.
Dominic and I have also enjoyed going to the pool here and there. I’m thinking that once the summer is over, and we don’t have the pool, park, or lunch dates my teacher friends, then I’ll be able to keep the house very clean since I’ll have nothing else to do to procrastinate. Wow...it's scary to think that Dominic will be 7 months old by then and probably crawling!
A Work in Progress
June 4, 2010
So last week was my first full week back at home. I had a lot of goals and feel like I didn’t get a lot done. We switched out the bathrooms for the most part but still have a lot of stuff on the floors in both bathrooms that need to find a home in one bathroom or the other…or in a trashcan. I started my thank you notes (and found some that I never even remembered to send from a month ago, which I’m very embarrassed by) but have yet to finish all of those either. Still working on sending out the last of the announcements (another unfinished task). I have yet to even start my closet or the task of organizing/putting away all of my stuff from my classroom.
I’m trying to get Dominic on a schedule. He’s still on the same feeding schedule of every 3 hours (9:00, 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, 9:00) during the day, but I am trying to get his naps on track. At this point, he’s trying to fall asleep at 8:00 every night because he’s so wiped out, but if we let him sleep that early then he wakes up 11 hours later. We'd like him to wake up no earlier than 8. I had been letting him fall asleep whenever, but I’ve noticed that he’s getting really fussy and needs a nap but won’t take one – especially if I put him in the crib. I’m going to try to put him in the swing (where he always tends to fall asleep) at his nap times for a few days until he starts getting used to sleeping at those times. Then I’ll try to get him to sleep in the crib at those same times since he should be on a schedule where he’s ready for a nap then. We’ll see how that goes…
I’ve been looking into Moms’ groups in the area, so Dominic and I can socialize some. So far though that hasn’t been a problem since I’ve been going from one lunch date to the next. That should die down by fall though since all of my teacher friends are out for the summer too right now. I’m also planning on taking Dominic to a Storytime at the Library this week. I know he’s a bit young, but the group is for 0-12 month olds. I’m hoping to get on a routine of going to these things, so I can expose Dominic to reading and to other kids, while I can meet other moms. The biggest problem I’ve seen is that most women my age with kids still work and/or don’t live in Dunwoody. Dunwoody in general doesn’t have a lot of 20-something homeowners let alone stay-at-home moms in their 20s. I’d love to find some other young moms in the area.
This week my sister Stephanie returned from her trip to Mexico with Montezuma’s Revenge, so my mom took her to the doctor at the same time that I took Dominic to the doctor because Dominic still had a cold after 14 days. He didn’t have a fever – which I took rectally for the first time – but had been a little fussy the last couple of days. I wanted to make sure he didn’t develop an ear infection, which I’ve been told frequently develop from colds. Luckily, he was fine and appears to no longer have his cold. J
I’m trying to get Dominic on a schedule. He’s still on the same feeding schedule of every 3 hours (9:00, 12:00, 3:00, 6:00, 9:00) during the day, but I am trying to get his naps on track. At this point, he’s trying to fall asleep at 8:00 every night because he’s so wiped out, but if we let him sleep that early then he wakes up 11 hours later. We'd like him to wake up no earlier than 8. I had been letting him fall asleep whenever, but I’ve noticed that he’s getting really fussy and needs a nap but won’t take one – especially if I put him in the crib. I’m going to try to put him in the swing (where he always tends to fall asleep) at his nap times for a few days until he starts getting used to sleeping at those times. Then I’ll try to get him to sleep in the crib at those same times since he should be on a schedule where he’s ready for a nap then. We’ll see how that goes…
I’ve been looking into Moms’ groups in the area, so Dominic and I can socialize some. So far though that hasn’t been a problem since I’ve been going from one lunch date to the next. That should die down by fall though since all of my teacher friends are out for the summer too right now. I’m also planning on taking Dominic to a Storytime at the Library this week. I know he’s a bit young, but the group is for 0-12 month olds. I’m hoping to get on a routine of going to these things, so I can expose Dominic to reading and to other kids, while I can meet other moms. The biggest problem I’ve seen is that most women my age with kids still work and/or don’t live in Dunwoody. Dunwoody in general doesn’t have a lot of 20-something homeowners let alone stay-at-home moms in their 20s. I’d love to find some other young moms in the area.
This week my sister Stephanie returned from her trip to Mexico with Montezuma’s Revenge, so my mom took her to the doctor at the same time that I took Dominic to the doctor because Dominic still had a cold after 14 days. He didn’t have a fever – which I took rectally for the first time – but had been a little fussy the last couple of days. I wanted to make sure he didn’t develop an ear infection, which I’ve been told frequently develop from colds. Luckily, he was fine and appears to no longer have his cold. J
I’m officially a Stay-at-Home-Mom!
May 30, 2010
I did it! I survived my 3 weeks of being a “working mom” (a term that’s pretty redundant)…but really I should say WE survived! Poor Brian was forced to take on the brunt of the extra work, having to wake up in the early morning with him and do a lot of housework. The waking up portion - something we all know Brian hates - entailed waking up usually between 6am and 8am with Dominic for his early morning feeding. Prior to me returning to work, Dominic was waking up at 5am, but after my 1st 2 days back, he started sleeping till closer to 7. That actually made me pretty sad for the first week because I didn’t get to see him in the morning, being that I left for work each day by 6:30. Anyway, as we went through the 3 weeks, Dominic was waking up later and later.
Brian would dress Dominic before taking him to my mom’s house for the day. Then I picked Dominic up in the afternoon. When Brian got home from work, he would cook dinner and also handle cleaning the bottles and other household things like laundry. The bottles continue to be that task we despise most in the world. I would handle the pumping and of course Dominic, while Brian would do all of that. At school I was also pumping in the closet of my classroom (did I mention that the closet door doesn’t have a lock?) with a couple of close calls of having students and co-workers almost walking in on me. The worst part of the whole thing was missing Dominic so much each day. It was terrible and tear-inducing especially the first week or so, and I honestly don’t know how working moms do it each day.
Now that that hell is over, I am officially a stay-at-home mom. It is the best job ever!! I get to see my little boy all day every day. Dominic is sleeping through the night from about 10pm to around 9am. He is turning over from his back to his stomach. Dominic’s tummy problems are also much better now. He seems to be able to pass a bowel movement without straining anymore thankfully (sorry if that's tmi), and the reflux medicine is working well. Dominic is smiling and laughing each and every day and has just started babbling a lot, which is all so much fun for Brian and me. Dominic’s little personality is really developing! He is just finishing his first cold. It hasn’t been too bad. He only had one day (yesterday) where he was miserable, but other than that, he has been very happy. Dominic just has had a stuffy nose, running nose, sneezing, snoring, snorting, and wheezing. He probably caught it from me as I’m sure I carried something from school home to him. Just another reason that I should be staying at home with Dominic instead of teaching.
Brian started a new job at the same time that I went back to work. For the first time in years, Brian seems to be enjoying his job. His boss is a former co-worker from HowStuffWorks, and they get along really well. The best thing is that the job is only about 10 minutes from our house, so Brian is home MUCH earlier. What an improvement from the 45 minute commute at his previous job! Plus he has flex time, so he can choose his own hours. Right now he’s waking up at 8 or 8:30, working 9 to 5, and getting home by 5:15 each day. That’s a huge improvement from previously when Brian would wake up around 7:00am, work 8:00 to 5:00 and get home at 6:00 or so.
Now that summer is finally here, we joined the swim and tennis club across the street from our neighborhood. This was a rival swim team to the one I grew up going to about a mile away, so it’s kind of funny for me. We’ve taken Dominic swimming several times at Village Mill (our pool) as well as Vermack (my parents’ pool). He seems okay with the water even though he doesn’t love when it’s cold. We try to put him under each time we take him swimming – just for a second at a time – and he never gets very upset by that, which is good. We want him to become comfortable with the water early on. I plan to join and mommy-and-me swim class in the fall where they start helping moms teach their babies to swim. I'm hoping to have him be able to swim (supervised) by next summer...yes, it can be done!
Other things on my to-do-list are finish my thank you notes which I’ve been terrible about writing. People have been so sweet and generous to give Dominic such wonderful gifts. We also still have some people we need to send Dominic’s birth announcements to. We had them done for about a month before we actually started sending them out and still have some people whose addresses we had to track down. Also, our living room is completely full of boxes from my classroom – that is not an exaggeration. Since we unfortunately don’t have a basement, I’m going to have to sort through everything and figure out what can and cannot go in the attic. Anything with paper – which is most of it – shouldn’t go in the attic. Plus Brian’s going to have to add some plywood up there before we can move anything up into the attic. Additionally, I have to switch out our bathrooms. The hall bathroom will now primarily be Brian’s and Dominic’s bathroom, while the master will be mine. When I was the one waking up early, my bathroom was the hall one in order to avoid waking Brian up, while he had the master bath. Dominic has to take his baths in the hall bathroom's shower-tub. I have to clean out our closet as well. My sister Stephanie will be getting her pick of my younger, thinner person (pre-pregnancy) clothes before I start giving them away to Goodwill. Then I need to start putting the baby clothes that Dominic has already outgrown somewhere (can you believe he’s already outgrown clothes?)? I'm still working on losing weight too. I gained 40 pounds when I was pregnant. I have lost 32 pounds of that weight, so I still have 8 more to go. I'm hoping swimming, walking, watching what I eat, and breastfeeding can help with that. I would like to continue to lose even more weight after that, but we'll see what happens. And I can’t forget that I have every intention of updating this blog more often (I promise to try). In other words, I’m going to be very busy for the next several months, but I’m happy just to be at home with my favorite baby!!
Brian would dress Dominic before taking him to my mom’s house for the day. Then I picked Dominic up in the afternoon. When Brian got home from work, he would cook dinner and also handle cleaning the bottles and other household things like laundry. The bottles continue to be that task we despise most in the world. I would handle the pumping and of course Dominic, while Brian would do all of that. At school I was also pumping in the closet of my classroom (did I mention that the closet door doesn’t have a lock?) with a couple of close calls of having students and co-workers almost walking in on me. The worst part of the whole thing was missing Dominic so much each day. It was terrible and tear-inducing especially the first week or so, and I honestly don’t know how working moms do it each day.
Now that that hell is over, I am officially a stay-at-home mom. It is the best job ever!! I get to see my little boy all day every day. Dominic is sleeping through the night from about 10pm to around 9am. He is turning over from his back to his stomach. Dominic’s tummy problems are also much better now. He seems to be able to pass a bowel movement without straining anymore thankfully (sorry if that's tmi), and the reflux medicine is working well. Dominic is smiling and laughing each and every day and has just started babbling a lot, which is all so much fun for Brian and me. Dominic’s little personality is really developing! He is just finishing his first cold. It hasn’t been too bad. He only had one day (yesterday) where he was miserable, but other than that, he has been very happy. Dominic just has had a stuffy nose, running nose, sneezing, snoring, snorting, and wheezing. He probably caught it from me as I’m sure I carried something from school home to him. Just another reason that I should be staying at home with Dominic instead of teaching.
Brian started a new job at the same time that I went back to work. For the first time in years, Brian seems to be enjoying his job. His boss is a former co-worker from HowStuffWorks, and they get along really well. The best thing is that the job is only about 10 minutes from our house, so Brian is home MUCH earlier. What an improvement from the 45 minute commute at his previous job! Plus he has flex time, so he can choose his own hours. Right now he’s waking up at 8 or 8:30, working 9 to 5, and getting home by 5:15 each day. That’s a huge improvement from previously when Brian would wake up around 7:00am, work 8:00 to 5:00 and get home at 6:00 or so.
Now that summer is finally here, we joined the swim and tennis club across the street from our neighborhood. This was a rival swim team to the one I grew up going to about a mile away, so it’s kind of funny for me. We’ve taken Dominic swimming several times at Village Mill (our pool) as well as Vermack (my parents’ pool). He seems okay with the water even though he doesn’t love when it’s cold. We try to put him under each time we take him swimming – just for a second at a time – and he never gets very upset by that, which is good. We want him to become comfortable with the water early on. I plan to join and mommy-and-me swim class in the fall where they start helping moms teach their babies to swim. I'm hoping to have him be able to swim (supervised) by next summer...yes, it can be done!
Other things on my to-do-list are finish my thank you notes which I’ve been terrible about writing. People have been so sweet and generous to give Dominic such wonderful gifts. We also still have some people we need to send Dominic’s birth announcements to. We had them done for about a month before we actually started sending them out and still have some people whose addresses we had to track down. Also, our living room is completely full of boxes from my classroom – that is not an exaggeration. Since we unfortunately don’t have a basement, I’m going to have to sort through everything and figure out what can and cannot go in the attic. Anything with paper – which is most of it – shouldn’t go in the attic. Plus Brian’s going to have to add some plywood up there before we can move anything up into the attic. Additionally, I have to switch out our bathrooms. The hall bathroom will now primarily be Brian’s and Dominic’s bathroom, while the master will be mine. When I was the one waking up early, my bathroom was the hall one in order to avoid waking Brian up, while he had the master bath. Dominic has to take his baths in the hall bathroom's shower-tub. I have to clean out our closet as well. My sister Stephanie will be getting her pick of my younger, thinner person (pre-pregnancy) clothes before I start giving them away to Goodwill. Then I need to start putting the baby clothes that Dominic has already outgrown somewhere (can you believe he’s already outgrown clothes?)? I'm still working on losing weight too. I gained 40 pounds when I was pregnant. I have lost 32 pounds of that weight, so I still have 8 more to go. I'm hoping swimming, walking, watching what I eat, and breastfeeding can help with that. I would like to continue to lose even more weight after that, but we'll see what happens. And I can’t forget that I have every intention of updating this blog more often (I promise to try). In other words, I’m going to be very busy for the next several months, but I’m happy just to be at home with my favorite baby!!
Easter, etc.
April 5, 2010
It has been a long couple of weeks! Things have been hectic with Dominic’s thyroid tests and my mastitis. First things first, on Brian’s birthday, we received the results of Dominic’s most recent thyroid test. It was positive once again, confirming that there is a problem of some sort. Dr. Smith directed us to take Dominic back to Children’s for yet another blood test - this time to determine what type of thyroid issue he has.
With me still being sick and feeling like – you know what – Brian came home to take Dominic to the hospital for the test. I went with them because I couldn’t bare to let Dominic get blood drawn again without his mommy. So the 3 of us went again. This time Children’s was incompetent. It was completely overcrowded in the waiting room – something I was happy about considering our newborn baby was being exposed to God knows what with all of those people around. Dr. Smith’s office had faxed the order to Children’s, but when we got there they couldn’t find it. They didn’t bother to tell us that until I had to ask them why it was taking so long. Then we had Dr. Smith re-fax the order, but the lab staff claimed they still didn’t receive it even though they had given us the fax number. This back and forth happened multiple times for about an hour all together until finally after I stood at the front desk and refused to move until they followed up on this, they finally received the order and a few minutes later Dominic had his blood drawn. Needless to say, this experience did not help make this a great birthday for Brian.
The following Monday Dr. Smith let us know that the tests confirmed that Dominic does have a unique, genetic thyroid condition that thankfully does not require medicine or cause any apparent issues. The only “problem” is that thyroid tests he takes in the future will indicate that Dominic has a low thyroid level; however, his body functions perfectly fine at this level. Dr. Smith said that at the next appointment, he will give me paperwork that Dominic will need to have for the rest of his life. That way when he’s an old man getting a thyroid test, Dominic can present this paperwork to the doctor to let them know about this condition. Thank God Dominic’s thyroid issue is not serious and will not really affect his life. This was such a relief to us!!
As this went on, I was feeling much better after my mastitis. However, by Wednesday I had another fever, chills, aches, and pains. The infection was back. Luckily, I already had my 6-week OBGYN appointment scheduled for that morning. My mom had already planned to come with me, so the 3 of us – Dominic, my mom, and me – returned to the doctor’s office. She extended my antibiotic prescription to fight the infection some more. Dr. Soufi also examined me and said that everything looked great.
By Friday, I was feeling better…and then something happened that made me feel the best ever. Dominic smiled at me!! This time it wasn’t because of gas or while he was asleep. It was a real smile. This was his first social smile. It came out of nowhere. He didn’t repeat it for several days. I was just talking to Dominic, same as usual, about something stupid that evening. I can’t even remember what I was saying. Then he smiled. I yelled for Brian to come see, but by the time he got over to us, Dominic’s smile had disappeared.
On Sunday, it was Easter. The Easter Bunny had filled Dominic’s little blue Easter basket with Reese’s eggs, Crunch eggs, and Kit Kat bars. Obviously, Dominic can’t really eat candy yet, so Brian and I were forced to help him eat it. It’s a tough job but somebody’s got to do it. :) We then dressed him in a 0-3 month golf shirt and shorts. The shorts were so big that Brian had to safety pin them to fit around Dominic’s skinny, little waist. Brian and I took Dominic to church for the very first time where we met my parents and sister, Stephanie. He was great. He slept pretty much the whole time.
After going to church, Brian, Dominic, and I went over to Brian’s parents’ house for Easter brunch/lunch. Once we finished there, we briefly returned to our house for a short nap before heading to my family’s house for Easter lunch/dinner. By the end of the day, we were obviously exhausted. Dominic did not behave as well at the Nonna and Papa’s as he did at Grandma and Grandpa Morton’s. I had to leave the table at my parents’ house to take Dominic upstairs because he became so fussy. I think it had been a long day for all of us.
What a week!!
Today was a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day...in the words of Alexander from one of my very favorite children's books. The night before I had come down with a fever and was incredibly achy, feeling as if I had the flu. Dominic has been especially fussy lately and this continued during the night. When you're not feeling well, being woken up multiple times by a screaming baby isn't the best medicine. I don't get sick very often other colds, allergies, and sinus infections. The last time I got truly sick was 4 years ago when I got strep throat. Being around filthy, germ-infested students all day has really helped my immune system. So, when I do get sick, it's pretty bad.
After a long night of chills, a fever, body aches, and multiple night feedings with Dominic, I woke up in the morning - or should I say was woken by my cute little alarm aka Dominic at 7am on the dot, which has become his usual wake up time each morning - feeling even worse than before. After Brian left for work, having left his cell phone on the kitchen table to boot, I called my OB and made an appointment with a physician's assistant for 11:30. Keep in mind, that Dominic already had a scheduled appointment with Dr. Smith, the pediatrician, for his 1 month check-up. My mom had already planned to come to that one, so I called her and asked if she could go to both. I was worried that the OB appointment would run long, so if that happened my mom would take Dominic in my car (with the car seat in it) to his appointment and my brother Ryan would come pick me up from my OB appointment when I finished.
We arrived a little early to my appointment. It was funny answering questions on the sheet in the waiting room about when my last period was and my method of birth control (um...pregnancy?). We waited a while in the examination room, and my mom had to feed Dominic, who was sleeping, formula. The PA came in and diagnosed me with a blocked milk duct, which caused an infection in my left breast called mastitis - or in layman's terms a boob infection. She made me pump there and put the milk in urine test cups (hmmm...yummy for Dominic). The cause of the infection is that Dominic falls asleep nursing every time and does not end up finishing. The PA said that I need to pump if he doesn't finish, and we need to work on him finishing. She prescribed me an antibiotic that I was supposed to take 4 times a day.
After she finished, we started gathering our things to head to the next doctor's appointment with about 45 minutes to go till that one and the pediatrician being about 30 minutes away. Dominic needed a diaper change, so I started changing his diaper on the examination table. In the middle of it, Dominic pooped all over the new diaper and the examination table paper and managed to get some on his cute outfit. As I started to continue to clean him up, he peed on himself (including his face and the table). Just when I thought he was done, he peed again. And then stopped...and peed for a 3rd time. He was soaking wet and I was beside myself. Luckily, my mom took over. I already didn't feel well and then this? Really??? I felt bad leaving the dirty diaper and dirty paper in the trashcan, but we had no choice.
We hurried to the pediatrician at this point and ended up getting there just on time. Dominic was measured and weighed. He's 8 lbs 14 oz and 22.5 inches. That put him in the 35th percentile in weight and the 85th percentile in height (tall and skinny!). Dominic's head size put him in the 50th percentile. Dr. Smith also diagnosed Dominic with reflux, which explained his frequent hiccups and recent constant fussiness, straining, and red face. So, he prescribed some reflex medicine for him. Dr. Smith also said that it was fine for my mom and me to take Dominic on a trip to New Orleans for my mom's family reunion in April. He agreed with me that it would be better if we drove in a car instead of flying. I've been concerned with dealing with all of Dominic's things on top of the flight restrictions plus the high possibility that he could get sick on the plane being in such close quarters. Not to mention, if his ears get stopped up due to the altitude, that would not be a fun plane ride for us or the other passengers. Dr. Smith directed us to go to a LabCorp to get re-tested for the thyriod screening that he had been positive for before.
Once we were finished at the pediatrician's office, quickly got lunch, fed and changed Dominic, and dropped off Dominic's and my prescriptions at the pharmacy, the three of us went to St. Joseph's hospital in order to get Dominic's blood drawn at LabCorp. However, after parking in the deck and making our way through the hospital, when we got to LabCorp the lady at the front desk informed us that the technician drawing blood was not certified to draw blood from babies under a year old. The lady at the front desk offered to do it instead but said that she had only drawn blood from infants a couple times. Yeah, thanks but no thanks. She said we should take Dominic across the street to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (Scottish Rite Hospital). So, we drove down the street to Children's, parked, and asked numerous people around the hospital where LabCorp was. No one seemed to know the answer but finally we were directed to the lab. So we made our way through yet another hospital to the lab. Finally, they drew Dominic's blood but out of his arm and we left around 5 that evening.
But our day didn't end there...we still had to pick up the prescriptions. My mom called the pharmacy as we left the hospital, while I drove us to the pharmacy. Picking up the prescriptions had some problems. Problem #1: It turned out that one of my prescriptions was incomplete. They had enough to get me through the next few days, but I'd have to pick up the rest when it was delivered in a few days. Then there was problem #2, Dominic's reflux medicine - the one that I was extremely anxious to get him started on - was not in stock at the pharmacy. Luckily, the other Kroger pharmacy a few minutes away had it. Problem #3: the insurance company required a pre-approval (whatever that means) for his medicine, so I wouldn't have that for several days. I agreed to pay the whole amount in order to go ahead and give it to Dominic early. They told me that one the pre-approval came through that I would be able to get a reimbursement from Kroger for the difference. Problem #4: the other Kroger pharmacy was very busy and couldn't have his prescription ready for another hour. My mom had to get home, so I'd have to have to wait for Brian to get home to watch the baby while I picked up the prescriptions. Dominic, my mom, and I drove into the 1st pharmacy parking lot just as my mom got off the phone with them. I went in to get my prescriptions while my mom waited in the car with Dominic. Then we went back to my house. Once Brian got home and my mom left, I left Dominic with Brian while I went to the other pharmacy to get Dominic's prescription. Finally, at close to 7:00, I got home after an exhausting day...when I already felt run over by a truck. Not a fun day.
After a long night of chills, a fever, body aches, and multiple night feedings with Dominic, I woke up in the morning - or should I say was woken by my cute little alarm aka Dominic at 7am on the dot, which has become his usual wake up time each morning - feeling even worse than before. After Brian left for work, having left his cell phone on the kitchen table to boot, I called my OB and made an appointment with a physician's assistant for 11:30. Keep in mind, that Dominic already had a scheduled appointment with Dr. Smith, the pediatrician, for his 1 month check-up. My mom had already planned to come to that one, so I called her and asked if she could go to both. I was worried that the OB appointment would run long, so if that happened my mom would take Dominic in my car (with the car seat in it) to his appointment and my brother Ryan would come pick me up from my OB appointment when I finished.
We arrived a little early to my appointment. It was funny answering questions on the sheet in the waiting room about when my last period was and my method of birth control (um...pregnancy?). We waited a while in the examination room, and my mom had to feed Dominic, who was sleeping, formula. The PA came in and diagnosed me with a blocked milk duct, which caused an infection in my left breast called mastitis - or in layman's terms a boob infection. She made me pump there and put the milk in urine test cups (hmmm...yummy for Dominic). The cause of the infection is that Dominic falls asleep nursing every time and does not end up finishing. The PA said that I need to pump if he doesn't finish, and we need to work on him finishing. She prescribed me an antibiotic that I was supposed to take 4 times a day.
After she finished, we started gathering our things to head to the next doctor's appointment with about 45 minutes to go till that one and the pediatrician being about 30 minutes away. Dominic needed a diaper change, so I started changing his diaper on the examination table. In the middle of it, Dominic pooped all over the new diaper and the examination table paper and managed to get some on his cute outfit. As I started to continue to clean him up, he peed on himself (including his face and the table). Just when I thought he was done, he peed again. And then stopped...and peed for a 3rd time. He was soaking wet and I was beside myself. Luckily, my mom took over. I already didn't feel well and then this? Really??? I felt bad leaving the dirty diaper and dirty paper in the trashcan, but we had no choice.
We hurried to the pediatrician at this point and ended up getting there just on time. Dominic was measured and weighed. He's 8 lbs 14 oz and 22.5 inches. That put him in the 35th percentile in weight and the 85th percentile in height (tall and skinny!). Dominic's head size put him in the 50th percentile. Dr. Smith also diagnosed Dominic with reflux, which explained his frequent hiccups and recent constant fussiness, straining, and red face. So, he prescribed some reflex medicine for him. Dr. Smith also said that it was fine for my mom and me to take Dominic on a trip to New Orleans for my mom's family reunion in April. He agreed with me that it would be better if we drove in a car instead of flying. I've been concerned with dealing with all of Dominic's things on top of the flight restrictions plus the high possibility that he could get sick on the plane being in such close quarters. Not to mention, if his ears get stopped up due to the altitude, that would not be a fun plane ride for us or the other passengers. Dr. Smith directed us to go to a LabCorp to get re-tested for the thyriod screening that he had been positive for before.
Once we were finished at the pediatrician's office, quickly got lunch, fed and changed Dominic, and dropped off Dominic's and my prescriptions at the pharmacy, the three of us went to St. Joseph's hospital in order to get Dominic's blood drawn at LabCorp. However, after parking in the deck and making our way through the hospital, when we got to LabCorp the lady at the front desk informed us that the technician drawing blood was not certified to draw blood from babies under a year old. The lady at the front desk offered to do it instead but said that she had only drawn blood from infants a couple times. Yeah, thanks but no thanks. She said we should take Dominic across the street to Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (Scottish Rite Hospital). So, we drove down the street to Children's, parked, and asked numerous people around the hospital where LabCorp was. No one seemed to know the answer but finally we were directed to the lab. So we made our way through yet another hospital to the lab. Finally, they drew Dominic's blood but out of his arm and we left around 5 that evening.
But our day didn't end there...we still had to pick up the prescriptions. My mom called the pharmacy as we left the hospital, while I drove us to the pharmacy. Picking up the prescriptions had some problems. Problem #1: It turned out that one of my prescriptions was incomplete. They had enough to get me through the next few days, but I'd have to pick up the rest when it was delivered in a few days. Then there was problem #2, Dominic's reflux medicine - the one that I was extremely anxious to get him started on - was not in stock at the pharmacy. Luckily, the other Kroger pharmacy a few minutes away had it. Problem #3: the insurance company required a pre-approval (whatever that means) for his medicine, so I wouldn't have that for several days. I agreed to pay the whole amount in order to go ahead and give it to Dominic early. They told me that one the pre-approval came through that I would be able to get a reimbursement from Kroger for the difference. Problem #4: the other Kroger pharmacy was very busy and couldn't have his prescription ready for another hour. My mom had to get home, so I'd have to have to wait for Brian to get home to watch the baby while I picked up the prescriptions. Dominic, my mom, and I drove into the 1st pharmacy parking lot just as my mom got off the phone with them. I went in to get my prescriptions while my mom waited in the car with Dominic. Then we went back to my house. Once Brian got home and my mom left, I left Dominic with Brian while I went to the other pharmacy to get Dominic's prescription. Finally, at close to 7:00, I got home after an exhausting day...when I already felt run over by a truck. Not a fun day.
To Great-Grandmother's House We Go!
March 19, 2010
Dominic had a busy week! Last weekend Brian, his dad, and I took Dominic to meet his great-grandmother for the first time. Dominic seemed to adore her, and Marie had definitely not lost her touch over the years because she was great with him. That evening my parents came over and babysat as Brian and I went on our first date since before Dominic was born. We went to see a movie and then went out to dinner for our friend Beth's birthday. It was great to get out, but Brian and I were both glad to get home and see Dominic. We missed him!
Tuesday was Dominic's 1 month birthday. I can't believe he was born a month ago! On the one hand, it has flown by, but on the other hand it's hard for me to even remember what it was like before Dominic was with us. To celebrate, Brian and I ate Moe's (yummy). Then Dominic slept in his crib for the first time that night. It was most traumatic for me as I kept checking the video monitor throughout the night. He did great though! He's been sleeping through in his crib ever since. On his 2nd night, I went in to feed Dominic and he had flipped over on his stomach. Yes, at a month old! Granted the mattress is slightly elevated which I'm sure helped him, but still! I think we have a prodigy on our hands...
Tuesday was Dominic's 1 month birthday. I can't believe he was born a month ago! On the one hand, it has flown by, but on the other hand it's hard for me to even remember what it was like before Dominic was with us. To celebrate, Brian and I ate Moe's (yummy). Then Dominic slept in his crib for the first time that night. It was most traumatic for me as I kept checking the video monitor throughout the night. He did great though! He's been sleeping through in his crib ever since. On his 2nd night, I went in to feed Dominic and he had flipped over on his stomach. Yes, at a month old! Granted the mattress is slightly elevated which I'm sure helped him, but still! I think we have a prodigy on our hands...
Home Alone...with Dominic
March 7, 2010
This week Brian and I have continued falling more and more in love with our little boy. How could you not? He's so precious. This was my first week staying home alone with Dominic while Brian went to work. Monday was my first day with him, and I'll admit it was a bit of a challenge. Washing those darn (we're trying to clean up our language for Dominic) bottles from pumping and the pumping parts has become the most annoying chore. Dominic's been awake more and being much more alert, which is nice. However, with that comes the crying. Also, when he's awake it's hard to get much done around the house like washing those pump parts and bottles. We're still working on getting Dominic to sleep more at night. The problem is that Dominic seems to be a bit nocturnal. So, we're attempting to get him to stay awake/take naps during the day and sleep at night instead of the reverse.
Taking a shower has been difficult for me. I try to wait for Dominic to fall asleep before I take a shower during the day, but literally as soon as I step into the shower he's been waking up and screaming. The worst part is that I have to spend my entire shower listening to him (on the monitor) bawling his eyes out - not that he actually has tears yet. Coming from a person who loves her half hour showers (yes, I know I'm probably the source of our recent drought), this has been a huge adjustment for me.
The biggest problem that I've been experiencing though is that because Dominic isn't allowed out in crowded public places until he's 7 weeks old, I can't run errands or do anything but sit at home with him. This is probably better for my finances especially considering the medical bills that are arriving from my delivery and Dominic's NICU stay, but it makes me a bit stir crazy and not feel very productive. Not to mention, the lack of adult conversation. By the time Brian gets home (exhausted) in the evening, I'm eager to go out in the car to pick up take-out or do just about anything to avoid spending more time in the house. If the weather was better, warmer and drier, then Dominic and I could go to the park or go outside during the day, but that's not the case.
In fact, it snowed for the 2nd time in Atlanta during Dominic's lifetime on Tuesday (the 1st time being on his actual birthday - or so Brian and I were told but never actually saw as we were a little busy in the hospital). Obviously, I couldn't take Dominic out in the the more recent snow. He hates the cold and would scream. The closest he got was sitting by the window even though I'm sure he couldn't actual see out there with his newborn vision.
After hearing from a friend about a program called Moms on Call to get your baby on a schedule and sleep through the night, I decided to try it. I completed the online tutorial and started implementing these strategies with Dominic this week. It's supposed to take 3 days to go into affect. We started it on Wednesday and it seems to be starting to work. Dominic eats every 3 hours during the day and then every 4-5 hours at night. The last hour before each feeding during the day has been a struggle as he mainly spends this time crying. We try to use the pacifier, which helps, but when he's REALLY hungry he spits it out, and it really doesn't pacify him at all. Another helpful object has been Dominic's swing, which he loves. When he's in it, he'll either fall asleep or be wide awake loving it.
On Friday, we got a call from the pediatrician's office to say that Dominic's thyroid test from last week came back positive again. Dr. Smith had said that the previous one probably was positive because of the antibiotics that Dominic had been on plus the fact that this test often has false positives anyway. This had been his 2nd positive test though, and the results are required to be submitted to the state. Upon getting the call from the doctor's office, Brian rushed home from work early to go with Dominic and me to a LabCorp to get a third blood test. However, Brian ended up hitting TERRIBLE traffic even that early in the day. My mom agreed to come with Dominic and me to first pick up the paperwork from the pediatrician's office and then go to a LabCorp to get the test done.
Wow...was that an awful experience. To begin with the LabCorp lady that administered the test was rather unfriendly (not a big deal). I knew something was weird when she had me put little Dominic up on the examination table and started trying to tie off his arm to draw the blood from there. I politely tried to ask about it by commenting that all of the other times he had had his blood drawn (which at this point has been way too many for such a little baby) it had been done in his foot. She rudely blew me off. I started to play with his foot so she would see all of the marks that are still on his foot from the previous blood drawings. This finally clicked with her as she was also having trouble drawing blood from his arm as I expected. Finally, she started to draw the blood from his foot instead (duh). I've never heard such horrible sounds as I did when she drew the blood. Dominic cried and screamed. My poor little boy. My mom and I held his arms and his other leg as all of this went on for what seemed like an eternity. His cries truly broke my heart. Then the LabCorp lady made the comment that he wasn't really crying because he didn't have tears. Moron...newborn babies don't cry actual tears yet. As soon as the lady finally finished, the three of us got out of there.
By the time we got to the weekend, Brian and I had some friends over to socialize (I was desperate for adult contact) and show off our cute little baby by having a little cookout at our house. The weather had been better, but it ended up still being pretty cool. I had a beer. With Dominic around, I'm honestly too busy to drink more than a beer or two. I haven't had more than a beer/drink in one day since he was born. It was nice to have an adult evening like that for the first time in a while. Dominic was our entertainment for sure though.
After the cookout, Brian and I attempted for Dominic to sleep in the crib in his nursery for the first time. Brian has been having a lot of trouble sleeping with Dominic in the room with us. He makes a lot of little noises throughout the night, which wake Brian up. These sounds are a comfort (and honestly a joy) to me as they reassure me that Dominic is breathing and okay in his bassinet. Since I'm not working (well, at least not going to a job besides taking care of Dominic which is actually a big job), I wake up with Dominic to feed him during the night and let Brian sleep. I take the baby to his nursery to sleep. With the strategies the Moms on Call program recommends, a nursery actually makes more sense. We have to wait for the baby to "cry it out" if he wakes up before the designated times in order to train him to wake up then. It would be hard to allow Dominic to cry in our room if he's in the room with us especially with Brian.
Unfortunately, that attempt was rather unsuccessful. That evening began a period of several days where Dominic was ravenous and did not stay on his schedule at all, waking up more than he had been at the beginning of the week. It seems like he may have sensed that something was going on and reacted to that (according to what I've read at least). I don't know that I was ready to let him sleep outside the room anyway. And I know Brian hated the light from the video monitor, which lit up the room like a TV did. I constantly watched Dominic moving around in his crib that night, causing me not to get much sleep anyway. I definitely slept better once we brought him back into our room. We'll try again a different night.
We're learning a lot...
Taking a shower has been difficult for me. I try to wait for Dominic to fall asleep before I take a shower during the day, but literally as soon as I step into the shower he's been waking up and screaming. The worst part is that I have to spend my entire shower listening to him (on the monitor) bawling his eyes out - not that he actually has tears yet. Coming from a person who loves her half hour showers (yes, I know I'm probably the source of our recent drought), this has been a huge adjustment for me.
The biggest problem that I've been experiencing though is that because Dominic isn't allowed out in crowded public places until he's 7 weeks old, I can't run errands or do anything but sit at home with him. This is probably better for my finances especially considering the medical bills that are arriving from my delivery and Dominic's NICU stay, but it makes me a bit stir crazy and not feel very productive. Not to mention, the lack of adult conversation. By the time Brian gets home (exhausted) in the evening, I'm eager to go out in the car to pick up take-out or do just about anything to avoid spending more time in the house. If the weather was better, warmer and drier, then Dominic and I could go to the park or go outside during the day, but that's not the case.
In fact, it snowed for the 2nd time in Atlanta during Dominic's lifetime on Tuesday (the 1st time being on his actual birthday - or so Brian and I were told but never actually saw as we were a little busy in the hospital). Obviously, I couldn't take Dominic out in the the more recent snow. He hates the cold and would scream. The closest he got was sitting by the window even though I'm sure he couldn't actual see out there with his newborn vision.
After hearing from a friend about a program called Moms on Call to get your baby on a schedule and sleep through the night, I decided to try it. I completed the online tutorial and started implementing these strategies with Dominic this week. It's supposed to take 3 days to go into affect. We started it on Wednesday and it seems to be starting to work. Dominic eats every 3 hours during the day and then every 4-5 hours at night. The last hour before each feeding during the day has been a struggle as he mainly spends this time crying. We try to use the pacifier, which helps, but when he's REALLY hungry he spits it out, and it really doesn't pacify him at all. Another helpful object has been Dominic's swing, which he loves. When he's in it, he'll either fall asleep or be wide awake loving it.
On Friday, we got a call from the pediatrician's office to say that Dominic's thyroid test from last week came back positive again. Dr. Smith had said that the previous one probably was positive because of the antibiotics that Dominic had been on plus the fact that this test often has false positives anyway. This had been his 2nd positive test though, and the results are required to be submitted to the state. Upon getting the call from the doctor's office, Brian rushed home from work early to go with Dominic and me to a LabCorp to get a third blood test. However, Brian ended up hitting TERRIBLE traffic even that early in the day. My mom agreed to come with Dominic and me to first pick up the paperwork from the pediatrician's office and then go to a LabCorp to get the test done.
Wow...was that an awful experience. To begin with the LabCorp lady that administered the test was rather unfriendly (not a big deal). I knew something was weird when she had me put little Dominic up on the examination table and started trying to tie off his arm to draw the blood from there. I politely tried to ask about it by commenting that all of the other times he had had his blood drawn (which at this point has been way too many for such a little baby) it had been done in his foot. She rudely blew me off. I started to play with his foot so she would see all of the marks that are still on his foot from the previous blood drawings. This finally clicked with her as she was also having trouble drawing blood from his arm as I expected. Finally, she started to draw the blood from his foot instead (duh). I've never heard such horrible sounds as I did when she drew the blood. Dominic cried and screamed. My poor little boy. My mom and I held his arms and his other leg as all of this went on for what seemed like an eternity. His cries truly broke my heart. Then the LabCorp lady made the comment that he wasn't really crying because he didn't have tears. Moron...newborn babies don't cry actual tears yet. As soon as the lady finally finished, the three of us got out of there.
By the time we got to the weekend, Brian and I had some friends over to socialize (I was desperate for adult contact) and show off our cute little baby by having a little cookout at our house. The weather had been better, but it ended up still being pretty cool. I had a beer. With Dominic around, I'm honestly too busy to drink more than a beer or two. I haven't had more than a beer/drink in one day since he was born. It was nice to have an adult evening like that for the first time in a while. Dominic was our entertainment for sure though.
After the cookout, Brian and I attempted for Dominic to sleep in the crib in his nursery for the first time. Brian has been having a lot of trouble sleeping with Dominic in the room with us. He makes a lot of little noises throughout the night, which wake Brian up. These sounds are a comfort (and honestly a joy) to me as they reassure me that Dominic is breathing and okay in his bassinet. Since I'm not working (well, at least not going to a job besides taking care of Dominic which is actually a big job), I wake up with Dominic to feed him during the night and let Brian sleep. I take the baby to his nursery to sleep. With the strategies the Moms on Call program recommends, a nursery actually makes more sense. We have to wait for the baby to "cry it out" if he wakes up before the designated times in order to train him to wake up then. It would be hard to allow Dominic to cry in our room if he's in the room with us especially with Brian.
Unfortunately, that attempt was rather unsuccessful. That evening began a period of several days where Dominic was ravenous and did not stay on his schedule at all, waking up more than he had been at the beginning of the week. It seems like he may have sensed that something was going on and reacted to that (according to what I've read at least). I don't know that I was ready to let him sleep outside the room anyway. And I know Brian hated the light from the video monitor, which lit up the room like a TV did. I constantly watched Dominic moving around in his crib that night, causing me not to get much sleep anyway. I definitely slept better once we brought him back into our room. We'll try again a different night.
We're learning a lot...
Dominic's 1st Pediatrician's Visit (and 2nd)
February 28, 2010
Sleeping has been something that I haven't been getting a ton of. This has been the biggest challenge for Brian and me. Dominic seems to want to eat ALL of the time. Every hour or so. The problem is that he keeps falling asleep as he's breastfeeding. We try everything to wake him up. We take his clothes off, so he's cool, put the fan on, mess with his feet, and put cold things on his face. Nothing works! This kid loves to sleep. Most people don't even get to see his eyes because he's always asleep when they see him. He does wake up to eat...every hour. He likes to snack, which is a problem. We're working on it though.
Monday was Dominic's 1st doctor's appointment. Brian and I took Dominic to Dr. Smith's pediatrician's office. Brian worked from home this week, so he took his lunch break at the doctor with us. Dr. Smith was both Brian's and my pediatrician growing up, so it was definitely a little strange seeing him as the parent instead of the patient for the first time. He gave us a long spiel, explaining everything we need to know about Dominic's eating, sleeping, and pooping. It was extremely helpful. Dominic was weighed and was back at his birth weight (7 lbs 1 oz) after dropping to 6 lbs 10 oz in the hospital (as expected).
Dr. Smith told us everything with Dominic's jaundice was okay, which was a relief. Brian and I were really not looking to having to pay even a bigger medical bill to have a nurse come out to our house to put Dominic under those lights.
Friday was Brian's last day working from home. We got a call from Dr. Smith saying that Dominic needed to come into the office to take another thyroid test. Apparently, the results of the test that was administered at the hospital a week before all came back negative except for this one. Brian said he was too busy with work to come with us, so my mom thankfully came over and went with Dominic and me to the doctor to get a follow-up test. Everything went okay and I was able to put Dominic's carrier into the car seat base as well as take it out without too much a problem (my 1st time doing either). Dominic cried some when they pricked his foot but was fine.
Also, Dominic had developed a rash on his stomach, arms, and chest the last couple of days. Of course, being a worried new mom, I was concerned. Brian had called Dr. Smith at home (I'm sure he was a big fan of that), and Dr. Smith said that it was probably this very common rash that is the result of sensitive skin. He recommended that we begin washing all of Dominic's clothes in Dreft detergent. This is something I'm very familiar with since I have very sensitive skin as well. I had been using Dreft for years until Brian had me try All Free and Clear in recent years, which is what we've been using. Apparently, it's not mild enough for Dominic's sensitive baby skin.
When we went to get the thyroid test, Dr. Smith also looked at Dominic's rash and confirmed what he had theorized over the phone a couple of days before. He also suggested that we double rinse his clothes. Now Brian and I are washing all of our laundry in Dreft. That way when we hold him, Dominic's skin won't be affected.
Overall, Dominic's 1st full week at home went pretty well. Things were a little crazy at times, but we're starting to get the hang of things. Now we'll see how it goes next week when it's just Dominic and me at home alone together. Until next time...
Monday was Dominic's 1st doctor's appointment. Brian and I took Dominic to Dr. Smith's pediatrician's office. Brian worked from home this week, so he took his lunch break at the doctor with us. Dr. Smith was both Brian's and my pediatrician growing up, so it was definitely a little strange seeing him as the parent instead of the patient for the first time. He gave us a long spiel, explaining everything we need to know about Dominic's eating, sleeping, and pooping. It was extremely helpful. Dominic was weighed and was back at his birth weight (7 lbs 1 oz) after dropping to 6 lbs 10 oz in the hospital (as expected).
Dr. Smith told us everything with Dominic's jaundice was okay, which was a relief. Brian and I were really not looking to having to pay even a bigger medical bill to have a nurse come out to our house to put Dominic under those lights.
Friday was Brian's last day working from home. We got a call from Dr. Smith saying that Dominic needed to come into the office to take another thyroid test. Apparently, the results of the test that was administered at the hospital a week before all came back negative except for this one. Brian said he was too busy with work to come with us, so my mom thankfully came over and went with Dominic and me to the doctor to get a follow-up test. Everything went okay and I was able to put Dominic's carrier into the car seat base as well as take it out without too much a problem (my 1st time doing either). Dominic cried some when they pricked his foot but was fine.
Also, Dominic had developed a rash on his stomach, arms, and chest the last couple of days. Of course, being a worried new mom, I was concerned. Brian had called Dr. Smith at home (I'm sure he was a big fan of that), and Dr. Smith said that it was probably this very common rash that is the result of sensitive skin. He recommended that we begin washing all of Dominic's clothes in Dreft detergent. This is something I'm very familiar with since I have very sensitive skin as well. I had been using Dreft for years until Brian had me try All Free and Clear in recent years, which is what we've been using. Apparently, it's not mild enough for Dominic's sensitive baby skin.
When we went to get the thyroid test, Dr. Smith also looked at Dominic's rash and confirmed what he had theorized over the phone a couple of days before. He also suggested that we double rinse his clothes. Now Brian and I are washing all of our laundry in Dreft. That way when we hold him, Dominic's skin won't be affected.
Overall, Dominic's 1st full week at home went pretty well. Things were a little crazy at times, but we're starting to get the hang of things. Now we'll see how it goes next week when it's just Dominic and me at home alone together. Until next time...
Hospital
February 20, 2010
The next 2 days we went down to the NICU every 3 hours to help with Dominic’s feedings and changings. Upon Brian’s request, I fed Dominic, and Brian changed him. At this point, we mainly were feeding Dominic formula. In between feedings, I met with a lactation consultant and started pumping colostrum (the milk that comes from breasts the first few days after the baby’s birth that helps the baby’s immune system more than anything people can duplicate). Brian and I would then take it down to the NICU to give the baby mixed in with the formula.
Brian and I kept talking to the doctor and waiting to hear when the baby would be coming home with us. We were hoping he would be able to go home with Brian and me on Thursday when I went home. However, the doctor was waiting to see Dominic’s test results. They wanted to keep an eye on how much Dominic was eating in addition to his jaundice and body temperature as well as give Dominic time for the antibiotics to fight off the infection. At each feeding we HAD to make sure Dominic ate the stipulated amount of formula. If not, the nurse would have to put a feeding tube down his throat. That was the most terrible thought I could have for my new baby.
On Thursday, with the help of another lactation consultant, I breastfed Dominic. She called him a “born breast feeder” as he was able to latch on very well. This was very encouraging for me to be told something positive after hearing and experiencing so many negative things in the last couple of days. It was definitely an interesting experiencing having an older lady mess with my boobs during that session though.
After waiting around to speak to the doctor we were told that Dominic would not be able to go home with us Thursday night. I was devastated. Brian and I attempted to have me stay at the hospital another night too because I was still feeling very weak and lightheaded. Plus multiple nurses had commented to me that I looked very pale. The nurses all suspected this was from my blood loss. However, the on-call doctor told me to take iron supplements to help with this.
I cried the entire way home from the hospital. It was so sad knowing that the last time I was in our car we were heading to the hospital expecting that we would be taking Dominic home with us the next time we were in the car. When we got home, Christina and Tom (Brian’s sister and her boyfriend) had stocked our refrigerator and pantry for us, tidied up (even making our bed for us), and decorated our house with flowers and a balloon. It was exactly what we needed – specifically the chips, queso, and Oreos that they brought over.
Friday we returned to the hospital for another feeding. We met with the on-call doctor, who told us Dominic would most likely be going home that day. Brian and I were required to take a CPR class though – a requirement for all parents of NICU patients to take. We had to take 2 hour course that afternoon. My OBGYN also scheduled to give Dominic his circumcision. As we left after his feeding, Dominic was being wheeled off for the procedure. Parents (especially fathers) are prohibited from watching the procedure.
Brian and I went home for breakfast and then went by Babies ‘R Us to buy a much-needed breast pump for me. As we were walking in there, my OBGYN called me and told me that the circumcision had been done, but there was a lot of bleeding and they had to clot it with silver nitrate. She warned me that his little penis looked pretty scary. I later found out that after the procedure my doctor left and had to come back when the bleeding didn’t stop. The nurse warned us later on that newborns do after a short-term memory, so Dominic would probably get upset when we went to change him (and she was correct).
After lunch and taking the CPR class at the hospital, Brian and I went to another feeding and headed home again briefly (can you tell how much back and forth we did that day?). Then we returned to the hospital for the last time (yay!) for another feeding and waited around to get the final okay from the doctor for Dominic to be discharged. The doctor finally okayed it, telling us that he wasn’t even sure that Dominic ever had an infection because he responded to the antibiotics so quickly. The doctor also told us that we needed to go to the outpatient part of the hospital for more tests tomorrow (Saturday) and then to the pediatrician on Monday and follow up about the jaundice. If his bilirubin level did not decrease, then a nurse would have to come to our house and treat him using the special lights. I was just thankful to be taking Dominic home!
Brian pulled up the car for us, and I was required to be wheeled to the front of the hospital (even though I was no longer a patient). Brian carefully placed Dominic in his car seat in my car. I rode in the backseat of the car on the way home as Brian drove us. Dominic slept the entire way. After barely crying at all in the hospital, the baby kept us awake all night that night, laying in his bassinet in our bedroom. It was worth it though…completely and totally worth it. 
Dominic Conway Morton
February 20, 2010
Dominic Conway Morton was born on Tuesday, February 16th, 2010 at 2:05pm in Northside Hospital. He weighed 7 pounds 1 ounce and was 20 and 3/4 of an inch long (I prefer to just go ahead and say 21 inches though). He is the cutest, sweetest, most precious baby I've ever seen...but I'm a little biased.
After being given a drug to soften my cervix on Monday evening along with an Ambien to help me sleep, I was woken up with terrible stomach pains around 2:00 Tuesday morning in my hospital room. By 3:00am, I was in terrible pain with these contractions. I'm in the minority as a person who actually went into labor due to the first drug given to me. Usually, women don't until they are given the primary drug to induce them, Pitocin. The nurse gave me the Pitocin around 6:00 or 6:30 that morning to help move my labor along. I was in so much pain that I requested drugs (and lots of them). The nurse was going to give me some drugs to help with the pain, but because I was already 4 cm dilated at this point and moving right along, the doctor went ahead and instructed the nurse to give me the epidural (thank God) at around 7:30 that morning. I went through the rest of the morning not feeling my legs or lower portion of my body - and in turn not feeling my contractions which was wonderful. The side effect of the epidural that wasn't so wonderful...nausea and vomiting. Brian spent time in the hospital room by my side, giving me ice chips, holding my hand, and collecting my vomit bags. In other words, being the best husband I could ever have asked for.
Around 1:15 or so, the nurse came in my room, told me that I was fully dilated, said she could feel the baby's head, and called the doctor to the room. When Dr. Soufi came in, she said, "Why don't we try to push a little?" She said it casually as if it was something we were just going to try. I had no idea that about half an hour later the baby would be in my arms. I only had about 5 or 6 contractions during the period she was in there with me, and pushed 3 times per contraction. After the first round of pushing, they set up a mirror so I could see the baby's head and the progress I made. I had always said that I would never watch that process in the mirror like that, but I have to admit it was very helpful and pretty amazing to get to see what happened. The nurse held my left leg, while Brian held my right leg and cheered me on. Before I knew it, the baby's was here…at 2:05pm to be exact. It was pretty amazing and extremely quick. Brian [timidly] cut the cord, and then they put the baby in my arms before taking him to be examined quickly as Brian took lots of pictures. They gave him back to me before Brian finally was able to hold him. I tried to breastfeed him, but he did not seem to want to. My family came into the room and got to see the baby as a nurse examined Dominic, weighing him and all of that. I had to watch from my bed across the room. During that time, I texted my friends and updated my facebook.
Eventually, we were taken up to our new room where we would spend the next few days. The baby slept for the next several hours, and I was very out of it thanks to the long day and the drugs (epidural and pain pills). Dominic’s body temperature was still very low, so I tried skin to skin contact. He was still not interested in breastfeeding unfortunately. That evening I unfortunately had severe bleeding, preventing me from sleeping. It was a very scary experience that involved me almost passing out.
Then around midnight the nurse took Dominic for some tests, assuring that she would bring him back in an hour or two. Instead of bringing him back though, she came back a couple of hours without him. The nurse told us that there were some problems with the tests, and they had to admit Dominic into the Special Care Unit.
The nurse then took us down to the NICU to see Dominic and talk to the nurses down there. She told us that Dominic’s low body temperature was a problem and that he had fluid in his lungs. They believed it could be an infection such as pneumonia, which was causing the low body temperature. Most likely this was due to the fact that I pushed Dominic out so quickly, that not all of the fluids were squeezed out of him. They started him on antibiotics in the NICU to help fight the infection. They weren’t sure when he would be released but they hoped in the next few days.
While the nurse was talking about Dominic’s health issues, I started feeling very light headed and had to sit down, drink water, and then get a wheel chair. This was due to my blood loss from earlier in the night. I required the wheel chair when visiting Dominic for the next couple of days in the hospital. We then got to go see Dominic in his bed in the NICU. Poor little baby, sleeping in his bed in the NICU was so hard to see. He had to lie under a heat lamp to help his body temperature. It was absolutely heartbreaking having to see him like that. The worst part was when we had to go back to our room and leave him there. We were told the best times to come back and see him each day were at feeding times since Dominic would most likely be sleeping the rest of the day, which we wouldn’t want to interrupt. He was being fed every 3 hours.
Brian and I finally returned to our hospital room to finally get some much-needed sleep after the most exhausting day either of us had ever experienced. After all, we wanted to be up for Dominic’s 8am feeding. However, it was impossible for me to go to sleep I was so upset about Dominic’s health issues and having to leave my newborn baby down there. It was the first night I’d spent away from him in 9 months.
When I finally did get to sleep, I got the absolute worst night’s sleep of my life…something I didn’t think would be possible after the last several months of pregnant sleep (if you could call it that considering how badly I slept during those months). Sleeping in a hospital is even worse though. Perhaps it was in part because of my need for sleep after an utterly exhausting 24 hours, on top of the stress and sadness that I was enduring over Dominic’s health issues. This was only compounded by the constant visits received throughout the night from nurses, techs, and other hospital staff to check on me. Oh, and did I mention that all of this was done while I was attached to an IV pumping me full of fluids, which I had to drag with me to the bathroom all night? Ironically, pumping me full of those fluids made me have to use the bathroom ever couple of hours. On top of that, I had to get Brian to help me use the bathroom because of my bleeding issues. The nurse wanted to make sure I didn’t pass out like I almost had in the shower earlier. It’s pretty safe to say that I got a total of about 45 minutes straight of sleep at a time – at most – that night.
Although this had been the best day of my whole life because I gave birth to Dominic and finally got to meet him, it was also the worst day of my life in a lot of ways because my baby had to endure so much in the first few hours of his life. Either way, it was a wonderful yet exhausting day…that’s for sure!
He's on the Way!
February 16, 2010
Brian and I are sitting at the hospital right now, having just started the "induction" process. My dcotor advised me to be induced today due to my higher than normal blood pressure. Typically I have low blood pressure, but the last month or so it has been much more elevated. To avoid all of the bad effects that high blood pressure can have on someone especially a pregnant woman, having the baby a week early was highly advised.
Tonight I was given part 1 to induce me and will receive the second part tomorrow morning at 7:00. That should be when the real fun - the labor - begins. So hopefully, Baby Morton will end up being a Mardi Gras baby, being born tomorrow (Mardi Gras). We're about to attempt to go to sleep now. Poor Brian, who is sleeping on the bench in the room with me, is going to have to wake up every time that I wake up to go to the bathroom to help unplug me from the monitors. Considering that I wake up every hour or two a night to go to the bathroom, I'll be waking him up most of the night. What a great husband!
We'll try to update the blog at some point tomorrow. Thanks for all of the good wishes and prayers!
Tonight I was given part 1 to induce me and will receive the second part tomorrow morning at 7:00. That should be when the real fun - the labor - begins. So hopefully, Baby Morton will end up being a Mardi Gras baby, being born tomorrow (Mardi Gras). We're about to attempt to go to sleep now. Poor Brian, who is sleeping on the bench in the room with me, is going to have to wake up every time that I wake up to go to the bathroom to help unplug me from the monitors. Considering that I wake up every hour or two a night to go to the bathroom, I'll be waking him up most of the night. What a great husband!
We'll try to update the blog at some point tomorrow. Thanks for all of the good wishes and prayers!
He's Full-Term Now!!!
February 2, 2010
This week we hit 37 weeks in my pregnancy...which means that if Baby Morton is born he will be considered "full-term." In other words, he would be healthy...and I would be happy. I'm very much ready for him to get here! Although my tailbone pain has gotten so much better in the last several weeks, that pain has been replaced with even more extruciating pain in my pelvis. This is apparently from ligaments becoming loose to prepare for the baby's birth. It was terrible for about a week but has improved as long as I don't do a lot of walking. It still hurts when I'm laying down and move around, but is getting better thankfully.
Last week, I went to the doctor and for the first time ever I had high blood pressure. Although higher blood pressure toward the end of pregnancy is supposed to be normal, as a person who usually has low blood pressure, this was a bit alarming and could be a sign of pre-eclampsia. As a result, my doctor is having me measure my blood pressure three times a day (morning, at school, and at night). Today I'm also having to collect my urine for 24 hours in a huge jug, which I then have to store in my refrigerator (how disgusting is that?). My blood pressure is looking better, but it's still a concern.
On to fun pregnancy stuff...BABY SHOWERS!! The last two weekends friends and family have given baby showers for us. The first one was a fiesta baby shower that Brian's sister Christina and my friend Lauren gave for DCM and me. There were tasty frozen drinks (the first time our margarita maker wedding gift has been used since I got pregnant), yummy Moe's (everyone knows how I LOVE mexican food), and cute baby shower games. Then this past weekend my sister Stephanie threw a co-ed shower for Brian and me. Brian seemed thrilled to be recognized at this shower. I think all of the guests had a great time at both showers, and they were way too generous to us. We have so much stuff for Baby Morton that I don't even know where to put it all! We have all of the necessities (I think) at this point, so we are ready for Baby Morton to get here already!!!
I'm all packed...and Brian is pretty much packed. We have washed enough baby clothes for the first week or so. We weren't really sure if we should wash all of the newborn stuff in case the baby is too big for them when he's born. So we washed several of the 0-3 month old outfits. Brian even questioned whether the baby will fit in them. If the baby is that big, then he may have to stay in my belly! The bassinet linens are washed and made, and the nursery is all set. Brian put up the beautiful painting that his grandmother painted for us for Christmas. He also put up a shelf on the wall above the changing table for diapers, wipes, etc. All that is really left is another wall shelf where we can put up all the books that we've received as shower gifts and putting up the letters of the baby's name on the wall above the crib. We have to wait until right before he is born for that, so nobody will see his name.
At work, I'm busy trying to get everything prepared for my maternity leave. I still have so much to do...perhaps that has a little something to do with my high blood pressure! Let's just say that I'm questioning working so close up to my due date every day that I'm at work. My last day is on Friday, Feb. 19th. Then I'll have the weekend before the baby's due the following Monday. On the other hand, I don't know what I would do if I had to wait around a long time between going on maternity leave and the baby getting here. I'm waaaay too impatient for all of this waiting!
I have to admit that I'm really sad about leaving my students. They keep telling me that they don't want me to leave. They are so sweet. They finished their persuasive essays, attempting to convince me to tell them the baby's name. I'm stalling as long as possible before I tell them because once I tell them, the secret will be out. They aren't so great at keeping secrets. The kids did a little baby pool with the baby's weight and birthdate. They apparently all think he'll be late (great), and their weight predictions were absolutely ridiculous. Some of the highlights were 100 lbs, 15 lbs, and 16 lbs. They must think I'm HUGE. I really will miss them while I'm on maternity leave.
I almost forgot to mention our last ultrasound. Brian, Stephanie, and I all went a couple of weeks ago and got to see the baby at 35 weeks. Everything looked great, and they estimated his weight to be at 5 lbs 13 oz. at the time. They also predicted that he will be born at 7.5 lbs when he's born. That's a big more than I would have hoped, considering Brian was only about 5 lbs, and I was about 6 lbs when we were born. We will see what he ends up being!
Keep your fingers crossed that he gets here soon because I don't know how much longer I can wait to hold Baby Morton!!
Last week, I went to the doctor and for the first time ever I had high blood pressure. Although higher blood pressure toward the end of pregnancy is supposed to be normal, as a person who usually has low blood pressure, this was a bit alarming and could be a sign of pre-eclampsia. As a result, my doctor is having me measure my blood pressure three times a day (morning, at school, and at night). Today I'm also having to collect my urine for 24 hours in a huge jug, which I then have to store in my refrigerator (how disgusting is that?). My blood pressure is looking better, but it's still a concern.
On to fun pregnancy stuff...BABY SHOWERS!! The last two weekends friends and family have given baby showers for us. The first one was a fiesta baby shower that Brian's sister Christina and my friend Lauren gave for DCM and me. There were tasty frozen drinks (the first time our margarita maker wedding gift has been used since I got pregnant), yummy Moe's (everyone knows how I LOVE mexican food), and cute baby shower games. Then this past weekend my sister Stephanie threw a co-ed shower for Brian and me. Brian seemed thrilled to be recognized at this shower. I think all of the guests had a great time at both showers, and they were way too generous to us. We have so much stuff for Baby Morton that I don't even know where to put it all! We have all of the necessities (I think) at this point, so we are ready for Baby Morton to get here already!!!
I'm all packed...and Brian is pretty much packed. We have washed enough baby clothes for the first week or so. We weren't really sure if we should wash all of the newborn stuff in case the baby is too big for them when he's born. So we washed several of the 0-3 month old outfits. Brian even questioned whether the baby will fit in them. If the baby is that big, then he may have to stay in my belly! The bassinet linens are washed and made, and the nursery is all set. Brian put up the beautiful painting that his grandmother painted for us for Christmas. He also put up a shelf on the wall above the changing table for diapers, wipes, etc. All that is really left is another wall shelf where we can put up all the books that we've received as shower gifts and putting up the letters of the baby's name on the wall above the crib. We have to wait until right before he is born for that, so nobody will see his name.
At work, I'm busy trying to get everything prepared for my maternity leave. I still have so much to do...perhaps that has a little something to do with my high blood pressure! Let's just say that I'm questioning working so close up to my due date every day that I'm at work. My last day is on Friday, Feb. 19th. Then I'll have the weekend before the baby's due the following Monday. On the other hand, I don't know what I would do if I had to wait around a long time between going on maternity leave and the baby getting here. I'm waaaay too impatient for all of this waiting!
I have to admit that I'm really sad about leaving my students. They keep telling me that they don't want me to leave. They are so sweet. They finished their persuasive essays, attempting to convince me to tell them the baby's name. I'm stalling as long as possible before I tell them because once I tell them, the secret will be out. They aren't so great at keeping secrets. The kids did a little baby pool with the baby's weight and birthdate. They apparently all think he'll be late (great), and their weight predictions were absolutely ridiculous. Some of the highlights were 100 lbs, 15 lbs, and 16 lbs. They must think I'm HUGE. I really will miss them while I'm on maternity leave.
I almost forgot to mention our last ultrasound. Brian, Stephanie, and I all went a couple of weeks ago and got to see the baby at 35 weeks. Everything looked great, and they estimated his weight to be at 5 lbs 13 oz. at the time. They also predicted that he will be born at 7.5 lbs when he's born. That's a big more than I would have hoped, considering Brian was only about 5 lbs, and I was about 6 lbs when we were born. We will see what he ends up being!
Keep your fingers crossed that he gets here soon because I don't know how much longer I can wait to hold Baby Morton!!
32 weeks and counting
December 28, 2009
Sorry that I keep having to switch the baby website. I'm hoping this will be the permanent home for Baby Morton's webpage.
We're in the homestretch now! Less than 2 months to go! Brian and I are growing increasingly more excited and impatient for Baby Morton to get here! Not only is it because I'm becoming more and more uncomfortable, but also because we want to see our baby in person. Now that he's so much bigger, he's poking out of my stomach a lot. It's a little creepy when he moves and you can see him moving and feel him, but I love it. I keep trying to figure out what position he's in, but we're just guessing. The only time we can really tell is when he has hiccups, which he tends to have at night when I'm trying to fall asleep.
Sleeping is becoming a distant memory to me. Between getting up 3 or 4 times a night (6 times the other night became the new record), tossing and turning, and being kicked a lot, I'm not able to get too much good sleep. Naps have become my new best friend especially over winter break. It's definitely more difficult to take a nap when I'm working and don't get home till 5 or 6, but that should just encourage me to leave work on time over the next several weeks. The only problem is trying to get everything organized for my long-term sub before I leave. All of that stress on top of getting everything ready for the baby to arrive is a lot.
On top of the exhaustion I've been experiencing the last few weeks, my tailbone and back pain have been excruciating recently. My father-in-law was kind enough to give me a cushion to sit on that works very well. Brian also bought me an inflatable doughnut as well. The problem is that I'm tired, so I sit down a lot. Sitting down causes my tailbone to hurt. So I stand up, but standing for a long time causes my tailbone and back to hurt. In other words, whatever I do I'm in pain. The joys of the last trimester!
Over the last month I've had 2 baby showers. The Rasts were kind enough to throw me one at their house and then some of my co-workers threw one for me with all the teachers from school. People were very generous with their gifts, and we were able to get the nursery looking much more like a baby's room than a storage room. Brian and I also went ahead and bought the glider and ottoman for the nursery using some of the gift cards I received at the shower along with the Christmas sales and coupons. I'll post some more pictures soon.
We have one more ultrasound left at 35 weeks, which will take place on MLK Day. Brian and I can't wait! We feel like we haven't seen our little man in way to long. And then to think that from there it will only be 5 weeks till our due date!! Brian and I did go in at 25 weeks for another 3D ultrasound. Unfortunately, little DCM was a bit shy and buried his head his hand and the side of my uterus, so we could see half of his cute, little face. From what we saw though, he is adorable. :) We also got to see him sucking his thumb.
Now that I'm in my 3rd trimester, I get to have doctor's appointments every 2 weeks instead of once a month. This week when I go in, my appointment will be with another doctor in the practice as will the next one. This way if my doctor isn't on-call when I go into labor, I'll be familiar with whichever of the two other doctors who ends up delivering the baby.
I'll try to do a better job of updating our blog. Maybe Brian will end up writing one as well one of these days.
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We're in the homestretch now! Less than 2 months to go! Brian and I are growing increasingly more excited and impatient for Baby Morton to get here! Not only is it because I'm becoming more and more uncomfortable, but also because we want to see our baby in person. Now that he's so much bigger, he's poking out of my stomach a lot. It's a little creepy when he moves and you can see him moving and feel him, but I love it. I keep trying to figure out what position he's in, but we're just guessing. The only time we can really tell is when he has hiccups, which he tends to have at night when I'm trying to fall asleep.
Sleeping is becoming a distant memory to me. Between getting up 3 or 4 times a night (6 times the other night became the new record), tossing and turning, and being kicked a lot, I'm not able to get too much good sleep. Naps have become my new best friend especially over winter break. It's definitely more difficult to take a nap when I'm working and don't get home till 5 or 6, but that should just encourage me to leave work on time over the next several weeks. The only problem is trying to get everything organized for my long-term sub before I leave. All of that stress on top of getting everything ready for the baby to arrive is a lot.
On top of the exhaustion I've been experiencing the last few weeks, my tailbone and back pain have been excruciating recently. My father-in-law was kind enough to give me a cushion to sit on that works very well. Brian also bought me an inflatable doughnut as well. The problem is that I'm tired, so I sit down a lot. Sitting down causes my tailbone to hurt. So I stand up, but standing for a long time causes my tailbone and back to hurt. In other words, whatever I do I'm in pain. The joys of the last trimester!
Over the last month I've had 2 baby showers. The Rasts were kind enough to throw me one at their house and then some of my co-workers threw one for me with all the teachers from school. People were very generous with their gifts, and we were able to get the nursery looking much more like a baby's room than a storage room. Brian and I also went ahead and bought the glider and ottoman for the nursery using some of the gift cards I received at the shower along with the Christmas sales and coupons. I'll post some more pictures soon.
We have one more ultrasound left at 35 weeks, which will take place on MLK Day. Brian and I can't wait! We feel like we haven't seen our little man in way to long. And then to think that from there it will only be 5 weeks till our due date!! Brian and I did go in at 25 weeks for another 3D ultrasound. Unfortunately, little DCM was a bit shy and buried his head his hand and the side of my uterus, so we could see half of his cute, little face. From what we saw though, he is adorable. :) We also got to see him sucking his thumb.
Now that I'm in my 3rd trimester, I get to have doctor's appointments every 2 weeks instead of once a month. This week when I go in, my appointment will be with another doctor in the practice as will the next one. This way if my doctor isn't on-call when I go into labor, I'll be familiar with whichever of the two other doctors who ends up delivering the baby.
I'll try to do a better job of updating our blog. Maybe Brian will end up writing one as well one of these days.
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