March 28

I was thinking this morning as I was gathering laundry in Mr Man's room about some of the things I wish I could do different or had known about.

Like for instance the mobile for his crib. I had gotten 2 through my baby registries and they are so cute! But they're the old fashioned hand turn and the music only lasts for about 2 minutes. Mr Man enjoyed them, but I hated it because they'd run outta oomph so fast. So they sit in his closet gathering dust. If anyone wants them for free, let me know and I'll package them up and mail them out. I have this and one that matches this set still in the package (think beige/chocolate animals, very cute).

So I went out and bought a 3rd mobile and this one, while not as "cute" and it doesn't match his room decor, we both love it. This is the mobile what we got. It lasts for 20 minutes, he can press and play the buttons, the projection pictures captivate him and the remote feature is awesome.

I found the Land of Nod just a couple days ago and finally found the decor items for his nursery that I'd had in my head when I started it. I got some adorable lettering and some cards for pictures on his wall. I'll post pics of what it all looks like before/after!

I wish I had a video camera. I have a small camera (batteries are charging) that can take some video, which I'll use. But when he babbles and talks in the morning, and screeches like a little bird - I wish I had them on video.
Maybe I'll have Sam get us a Flip. I've heard good things about them, and they're inexpensive, small and seem really easy to use.

While I was changing Mr Man this morning I had one of those 'moments'.  You know the ones - where you wish you could capture them for the whole world to see.  He was on the changing table, happy as a clam. He gave me this mischievous smile and then reached over, grabbed a (clean) diaper, smiled at it, smiled at me and shoved it in his mouth. Then he just started talking to it and me and giggling so much.

Such precious moments.

Packing up is hard to do

Well, this week I finished packing away all my maternity clothes and all of Mr Man's birth - 3mo clothing/accessories. So many emotions flooded me as I held those clothes. So many sweet memories.

*blink*
The maternity outfit I wore when I got to see him at the 12 week ultrasound - tiny hands, tiny legs moving around.
*blink*

*blink*
The (white maternity) dress I wore on my wedding day.
*blink*

*blink*
The outfit Mr Man wore from the hospital.
*blink


I can't believe how time has flown by over the months. This time last year I was just in the early stages of my pregnancy . I had so many nervous days in my pregnancy. Was my baby ok inside of me? At the 12 week ultrasound they did a bunch of screens for genetic and rare diseases...I was crying and shaking during the entire visit. Even as the technician was going through the ultrasound and commenting on how good things were looking, I still was crying and fearful. Not until the doctor came in and said that without a doubt in his mind, my baby was perfect.  Oh oh! The joy! I can still recall those emotions as fresh as if they were happening again right now.

I remember how many times at work I called my OB/GYN's office to ask if what I was feeling was normal or if something was wrong. I wanted so badly for my little baby to be healthy and come and meet us as a perfect being. I prayed so hard and so often that God would give me a perfectly healthy and happy baby.

At the 20 week u/s that's when things really started to ramp it up emotionally.  We got to see what he was - no explanation needed. A boy! We knew at that visit that he was Mr Man.  He was rolling around and kicking and so super active - oh the inklings of what was to come!  I prayed constantly to the Lord to make my baby an active one in my tummy so that I'd know he was okay and that his movement would give me peace.  And the Lord answered that prayer as he grew in my tummy he was so active and would kick, hiccup and somersault all over the place.

At the 34 week u/s, oh boy we weren't prepared for what they were going to tell us: your baby is HUGE - expect a 9-11 pounder!  Wow!! You couldn't really even see him on the screen as a 'whole' baby he was so large, they'd have to just show us parts of him in segments. He was so big that every 2 weeks or so they'd do another u/s to keep an eye on his size - I was so thankful that I got to 'see' him more often now versus just hearing that glorious heartbeat on the monitor. At 38 weeks the u/s they took they estimated his birth weight to be 9lb 4oz. Man were they right on the money!

And now, here I am putting them all away in a box to save for when we decide to go for baby #2. I actually would love to get pregnant sometime this year but I just don't think its a smart thing to do. My hips still bother me and I just really feel that my body needs more time to heal and get stronger. I'm hoping that early next year we can start trying! As sad as it made me to put all these clothes with such special memories away, I'm excited that I'll see them and use them again in the not too distant future.

Nights with Mr Man

I cherish the nights with Mr Man. Even though most babies his age seem to be sleeping 5-6hour stretches my little Mr Man sleeps 3 to 4 hours the first stretch and then 2-3 hours after that.
We have him go to bed roughly between 8-9PM and we'll begin our day around 9AM the following morning.

I've not had more than 4.5 hours of continuous sleep since before he was born. I wish I had one of those time-stop devices that Hermoine had in the Harry Potter book. If I had one of those, I'd take a reaalllyyy long nap and deep clean my house from top to bottom.

I must say that even when I'm most tired, my favorite part of the nights with Mr Man are when it gets to around 6-7AM. He starts to rustle and get restless as he sleeps. I usually nurse him and then he sleeps in my arms until we're ready to start the day in a few hours.

I love having him sleep in my arms. I love looking at him, holding him, snuggling him, and loving him. Even when his diaper leaks and soaks my PJ's.

Heartache

Don't worry nothing is wrong at our house. However after reading some blogs (and many, many Kleenex's for all the tears I shed) and such I stumbled upon this charity Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep (NILMDTS).

I am in awe of what they do. I had no idea that something like that was available.

To those who don't see it right away - basically they are a volunteer organization of photographers all across America who at short notice can and will go to hospitals to photograph very premature and/or otherwise dying newborns and their families. These are babies who are stillborn or have genetic diseases or other medical complications which will take their life in a matter of hours or days. These wonderful people go in, at no cost to the families, and photograph the most precious lives in the most tender way possible so that the families have pictures to remember their sons and daughters by. And then they send the pictures on CD/DVD to the families so that they can reprint or view them whenever they like.

My heart goes out to all these families. After my miscarriage, I lived in fear every day that something bad would happen to Mr Man while I was pregnant. I can only say, I'm so incredibly thankful that nothing happened with Mr Man while I was pregnant nor with him after he was born.

I do want to spread the good news about this wonderful organization in whatever way I can because what these families have to endure is so terrible and what this organization can do for them is so wonderful.

Babies Galore!

Babies galore coming soon!

So I went into work last week to have lunch with Sam and so everyone could see Mr Man. While we were there, one of the gals' granddaughter came by. She's 10 months old and weighs the same as Mr Man and is only about 1.5" longer than him. I guess that puts into perspective for me just how big Mr Man is haha.

But the real story is that there are like 6 people at work now who are going to be having babies this summer/fall! Hooray!!

I've started compiling some information (via request :P) for them regarding pregnancy, what to expect during delivery (lets hope theirs is 100x better than mine), and what to expect once the baby comes home.

So to start - here's some information regarding pregnancy and some things to do to prepare for baby.

My first recommendation to them was a couple good books to read while pregnant.

1. Breastfeeding Made Simple If you are thinking about breastfeeding this book is beyond awesome.
2. The Happiest Baby on the Block, by Dr. Harvey Karp We'd heard about this book in our pre-birth class but hadn't really known much about how powerful the 5 S's are. I purchased it when Mr Man was about 4 weeks old. This is amazing for the first few months, I wish I'd had it sooner.
3. Baby Bargains - this should be the latest edition. When thinking about baby stuff, I was like, I want the safest and the best. But how do I know what that is - there's so much stuff. These folks use the safety testing from places like Consumer Reports and also parent feedback to rate just about every baby product so that parents can make an informed decision on safety, reliability, and cost. The goal: get the best stuff at the lowest price. I just went through the book, figured out what I would want then registered or purchased those items. It is updated yearly and really made my life just so much easier.
4. The Mayo Clinic Guide to a Healthy Pregnancy - I liked it because it was a good resource of how the baby is growing inside as you progress each week but also to read up on some stuff that could be good to know or to have on hand.

• Buying all the baby stuff online is a lot cheaper in many instances than going to the baby stores. After we did our registries we purchased a lot of our 'big ticket' items from Amazon since we have Amazon Prime. We got it cheaper and with free 2 day delivery it was amazing. I really recommend that route.
• Next up is to get either a Sam's Club or Costco membership - you'll save a lot on diapers, wipes, formula (if you're gonna go that route) and even baby clothes. They get some really cute Carter's stuff for a lot cheaper than the stores have them. For instance we even bought our crib mattress from Costco. Not positive if they take the coupons from the formula manufacturers however.
• Try to get your nursery furniture assembled/painting done (aka the big stuff) by the end of your 27th week. As you go into your 3rd trimester you'll be as tired, if not more, than in your 1st trimester and you'll have a massive belly to get in your way. Now this of course is purely how I did things because I'm OCD and like to plan and be prepared for just about as much as I can. But the huge belly in your way is totally true and does make doing big jobs near the end of your pregnancy really hard. And really draining.
• Use the time/energy during your 2nd trimester to get a lot of things done. This would be a great time to go traveling if you so desire. Also if you're planning any sort of big to-do stuff around the house - this is also the time to do it. (carpet cleanings, air duct cleanings etc).
• Make sure to buy your baby's car-seat early (I'd say around the ~30th week is a good time) and schedule the installation at that time. Reason being is the wait list where we live here in MD is typically 4-6 weeks for an appt. You have to have the car seat installed before you can bring your baby home. Do it early imo.
• Even if you and your Dr think you'll be all set for a vaginal delivery - do at least read up on a C-section. Because you never know if something will happen during delivery or at the last second to warrant it - better to at least know a little ahead of time.

Rawr!

So we went to the doctor for Mr Man's 4 month checkup. He weighs 18.6 lbs and is 25 3/4" long. She gave us the go ahead to start him on some solids - 1 meal a day to start. If he really likes it and does well we could go to 2 meals a day. So far he's had some rice cereal, some bananas and some peas.

He's pretty good about eating - takes about halfway through the meal before he really sort of gets the hang of the spoon. He takes about a tablespoon or so and then he has some mommy-milk.

Supposedly adding these solids as an evening meal are going to fill him up more and sleep longer. So far...nadda! Mommy is really hoping that after a few weeks he can sleep longer than 2-3 hour stretches. I'm tired!!

He's definitely started the teething process - though it could be weeks/month+ before we see any. Until then...poor fussy Mr Man. And tired mommy.

4 Months

I can't believe its been four months already. Lordy how the time has passed. Mr Man is such a joy and a funny little guy.

With each day I smile and laugh more and more. Its amazing to see how fast he learns things. He's able to rock from his back to his side. He hates being on his tummy -- tummy time is not a favorite daytime activity. He actually watches the book's pages when I read to him. He's playing more and more with his new activity toys.



Teething?

The last week or so has been a bit rough - we think Mr Man is teething. They're not cutting through his gums yet but he's got all the signs. His 4mo checkup is tomorrow, we should know for sure then (btw we think he's pretty close to 20 lbs). It truly breaks my heart to see him in such pain, even with the Tylenol.