Letter to Baby

Dear Luke,
You are a whopping 2 months old today!  I can't believe how time flies when you're exhausted :)

At last check, you were 5 pounds 8 ounces and 19 inches long.  I have a sneaking suspicion that you're well at 6 pounds by now...your little belly isn't so little anymore!  You're so alert and soaking in everything around you.  You love to be swaddled and rocked when you're upset.  You're a great eater and have only spit up on us a couple times so far.  You even got mommy's work clothes a couple days ago :)

You go to work with me for now, and even though everyone loves having you there, sometimes it gets a little hectic.  The patients adore you and even more, your Pa adores you.  He takes you from me from the moment we step through the door and feeds you your 9 a.m. bottle while I see patients.  You did spit up all over Peggy the other day so we arm ourselves with burp cloths now!

M was on Spring Break last week and came to keep you at the office while Pa was at Dr. Vallery's working and I was seeing patients.  She loved holding you and feeding you and barely let me have you back at the end of the day.  Even though she and Pa would love to have you spend the night, your mom and dad can't bear the thought of being without you for a whole night in a whole other city.  There's plenty of time for that when you're older :)

You smiled a real smile (not a gas smile) at me a couple days ago.  It melted my heart and made me cry a little.  I know, go ahead and roll your eyes, your mom is a dork.  I can't believe that you've reached that milestone, but you have the most adorably beautiful smile and I love it.

Everyone says you know me (mommy) and when I talk, you look around to find me.  You calm down when I hold you.  You and I have that special bond that only a mother and child can have.  I love you.

We love you.
Mom and Dad

fugetaboutit friday

It's Friday!  And I'm going to fugetaboutit.  Have I mentioned I love fugetaboutit friday?  I do...it gives me something to look forward to :)

This friday I vow to fugetabout the mess that seems to accumulate on the ottoman (it's where all the mail and newspapers land) and just enjoy the time I have to cuddle with my beautiful baby boy and chat with my hubby.  I also vow to enjoy time with friends tonight and plan on getting to know new friends.

It's friday.  Go ahead, fugetaboutit...you know you want to :)

Luke

I just received the images from Luke's newborn photo shoot and had to share a few (or more) of my favorites!

Hope you love them, too!

Events of the day

8:45 a.m.: arrive at the office and feed Luke

9:00 a.m.: hand Luke off to pa and go pump

Crisis #1
9:15 a.m.: come out of the office and look at Peggy, who is holding Luke

9:15 a.m.: realize Luke spit up ALL OVER Peggy's shirt

9:16 a.m.: take Luke from Peggy and let her leave to go home and change

10:20 a.m.: feed Luke again

10:40 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.: Luke sleeps!

1:45 p.m.: feed Luke

Crisis #2
2:00 p.m.: change Luke.  Where he proceeded to poo all over everything.  And pee.  All. Over. Everything.

2:20 p.m.: pack us up to head back home

2:30 p.m.: Screams Like Banshee (aka Luke) spit out his pacifier and began screaming like a banshee where there was nowhere to pull over.  For miles.  Miles I say. At least it felt that way

2:35 p.m.: Pull over and fix his pacifier

Crisis #3
2:40 p.m.: Realize I'm speeding right as a cop passes me.  Look in my rearview mirror and he's slamming on his brakes.  Realize a SUV is flying by me and the cop is going after him...not me.

Crisis #4
2:50 p.m.: Screams Like Banshee spit out his pacifier again.

2:52 p.m.: Pull over at Target and put it back in.

3:03 p.m.: Arrive home.  Put poo clothes in wash.  Start coffee.  Put on PJs and call it a day.

I don't think I handle Crisis #5 if and when it should happen.  I'm too tired from the poo incident...otherwise known as Crisis #2.

Calling all Mormons (or non Mormons...whatever)

I have a quick question about missionaries.

What do you do when your missionaries are socially awkward and pushy?

Allow me to explain.  We all know my hubby is not LDS, and that's just fine by me because he supports my beliefs and attends church with me.  And who knows, maybe someday he'll be converted...and if not, I'll get him when he's dead :)  But now we've moved and are back into our old ward (which we love) and the new missionaries are annoying the heck out of us!  I don't mind inviting them over so they can attempt their speech on Chris (he's heard it a million times in the almost 11 years we've been together), but one thing that definitely does not work is when you come to our home and sit and stare at us and then when you do speak, badger my husband about why he's not LDS.  I realize they have to be a little pushy, but that's one sure fire way to keep him from becoming LDS.

So how do I politely tell them to take it down a notch?

fugetaboutit friday

It's that time again!  fugetaboutit friday!  Are you playing?  You should, it's fun and what better day to fugetaboutit than friday?!?

This fugetaboutit friday I vow to have a wonderful weekend lazin' in my pj's and baking cupcakes.  I vow to not stress about not producing enough milk for Luke and just do what I can.  I also vow to let myself off the hook...this postpartum roller coaster is getting old!

So, like every friday...fugetaboutit.

Supply and Demand

This is geared towards the moms that read this blog, so men, consider yourself warned.

I don't think I'm producing enough milk.  I pump after each feeding during the day, but skip pumping after the midnight and 3 am feedings.  My concern is that although I am producing milk, I don't think it's enough to keep up with what Luke needs as he continues to grow.  When I first came home from the hospital I was getting 2 bottles with at least 60 ml each.  Now I'm lucky to get 60 ml total.  And that's after 20 minutes of pumping.

So my question is: Is there anything that you have done to increase your milk supply?  I'm concerned the supply isn't keeping up with the demand and I need to find a way to fix this problem!

Please provide your wisdom as I don't have any...

fugetaboutit Friday

Yay! Friday is here!  And there's a lot I would like to fugetabout this Friday.  Forget parts of this week happened and move onto the weekend...and enjoy every moment of it!

So this fugetaboutit friday, I vow to move on...put the bad out of my head and enjoy the moment.  Enjoy the weekend and my family.  I plan on going to a wonderful friends baby shower with Luke and hopefully catching up on sleep.  I also plan on arriving on time, which I have always been very good at, but children sometimes put a kink in your routine.  I also plan on taking Luke to church for the very first time (he's finally able to be around groups), but again, we'll play it by ear since it is Daylight Savings Time (boo...hiss) and I may be a zombie.

Fugetaboutit.  It's Friday.

Letter to Baby

Dear Luke,

I love how you cuddle on my chest.  You seem to fit perfectly, and I love these moments we share together.  I can't wait until the next time...

Love always,
Mom

Luke

We had Gretchen Davis come to our home and do some newborn photos of Luke.  She just blogged the preview and I'm in love...can't wait to see the rest!

Go check our baby boy...he's pretty darn cute :)

Click here to go see them.

Fugetaboutit Friday

So my dear friend, Lindsay, has decided to start 'fugetaboutit friday' and I figured...why the heck not!  You can check out her post here and any other post your little heart desires.  And if you want to participate, you may just make her Friday.

Here's my vow for this fugetaboutit friday:
I vow to enjoy my adult only night with my SIL and some other awesome women tonight.  I also vow to trust that my husband is perfectly capable (he really is, but as a mom I worry anyway) of taking care of Luke for just a few hours without causing harm to himself or our son.  I also vow to keep my emotional outbursts to a minimum.  Consider it a gift to the general public :)

It's Friday.  fugetaboutit.

Letter to Baby

Dear Luke,

You were born one month ago today at 9:00 p.m.  Your arrival was a bit of a surprise, I definitely didn't see it coming, but I wouldn't have it any other way.  Your father almost didn't make it into the operating room because you were having some complications and the doctors decided they needed to get you out and fast.  They weren't concerned with your dad, they were concerned for you.  And because of that, the quick thinking and experience of an awesome team of doctors (we can thank your Uncle Jon for that), you were born and given the very best care any baby could receive from the start.  From start to finish, it took about a minute to get you out.

Once you were born, you were handed to another team of doctors from the NICU to be evaluated.  Your dad walked around the operating table to be by your side.  He cut the umbilical cord, took a few pictures, and was escorted with you to your room in the NICU.  I got to see you for a split second, touch your forehead and off you went.  It was 25 hours later that we finally met face to face.  It was incredible.

After four short days in the NICU, we were able to bring you home.  Your dad and I were thrilled, we had been told to expect your stay in the NICU to be 2 to 4 weeks.  We brought you home and got settled in right away.  For the most part, you stay on a fairly consistent 3 hour feeding schedule.  And for now you sleep in between those feedings.  Sometimes you stay awake for a little bit and we play and sing songs, but then you fall asleep again.

Speaking of sleep, it seems that every time we get you to sleep and put you down, get comfy and start to fall asleep ourselves, you start getting fussy or start making noises whether it be sucking on your pacifier so fierce like Maggie from The Simpsons or just 'talking' to yourself.  It's like you know when your dad and I are asleep.  It's kind of evil.

Here are a few things that we love about you:
You're a little Houdini...no matter how tightly you're swaddled, you seem to always wiggle your arms out.
You pucker your lips out if you are done eating or don't want your pacifier.
You shake your head back and forth like a mad man if you do want your pacifier.  It's hilarious!
You hate having even the slightest dirty diaper and you despise having your diaper changed.  But once it's done, it's like nothing ever happened and you're as cool as a cucumber.

We love you, Luke.
Mom and Dad