Guilty

"Mom, I'm sorry the baby woke up 20 minutes into his nap and won't stop crying now, but did you see that puppy in the cul-de-sac? I mean, I just had to bark loudly for several minutes in order to protect you from him and make sure he knew this was my turf. It was truly necessary, I swear."

"And incidentally, can you hear that baby crying? Don't you want to go in there and do something about it? It's sure not very fun to listen to."


~

Now that it's over

I keep meaning to write a post about how happy I am to not be pregnant anymore. So here it is.

But first, I should say that there are a couple of things I probably didn't appreciate enough while I was pregnant.

One is that I've had tons of canker sores ever since I was a teenager, and I took alfalfa supplements to prevent them but they still didn't always work. And any time I missed taking them for even a day, I'd get like 3 sores in my mouth. Yuck. But when I got pregnant, the midwife said I should probably stop all supplements except my prenatal vitamins. So I did, fearing lots of ickiness to follow. But I didn't get another sore for 8 months. It was awesome. But after a while I didn't even think about it. Until a couple of weeks ago, when a sore appeared. Boo. The good news is that I haven't had any more, and haven't started the alfalfa back. But I really should have been more grateful for the reprieve pregnancy somehow gave me from mouth sores. Go figure.

Also, when I was first pregnant I remember noticing how incredibly strong my nails were. So strong that it was hard to clip them at first. But after about a month or so, I got used to that too. And then about 2 weeks after Hudson was born I tore a nail after barely hitting it on something. And then started getting a bunch of hangnails. Which reminded me that I didn't appreciate my awesomely strong pregnant fingernails enough while I had them.



But now on to the main point.

Things that are great about being finished with pregnancy for a few years:

• Watching the numbers on the scale go down instead of up (and as a side note, not weighing more than my husband anymore)
  

• Not having to pee every 1-1.5 hours around the clock

• Being able to bend down and pick something up when I drop it

• Walking without waddling

• Getting stared at because I have a cute baby with me and not because I'm massive

• Slowly beginning to fit into my own clothes again

• Being able to roll over in bed or get up from bed or a couch without assistance or extreme effort

• Having my normal emotions back! This one is especially nice, even though it took a good 2 weeks after giving birth to even begin to happen. It makes me feel more like myself than anything else.

• Fitting into my wedding ring again

• No longer feeling uncomfortable 24/7

• Being able to do normal household tasks like vacuuming and washing dishes without getting exhausted or having my belly get in the way

• And of course most of all I'm happy to not be pregnant anymore because it means this cute little guy is here and I get to stare at him and hold and cuddle him whenever I want!

~

One Month

I am taking a cue from Kelly (and probably like a thousand other bloggers, but I got the idea from her) and will attempt to post a monthly update for Hudson.


Is that a hint of a smile I see in this picture?!

Hudson, you are one month old today!!!

What are you up to these days?

• You just moved up to size 1 diapers, although we probably should have made the switch earlier...the newborn size were leaving red marks on your legs for several days.
  

• You are mostly wearing 0-3 month clothes, but a few of your newborn things still fit.

• You are a great eater, and we're pretty sure you weigh about 11 lbs now...a (quickly) growing boy! Your face and legs have really filled out in the few short weeks you've been here.
  

• You have become more predictable every week. You're eating every 2.5-3 hours around the clock, but will occasionally go 3.5 at night. During the daytime you stay awake about an hour and 15 minutes and then nap in your crib until your next feeding...although some days this goes more smoothly than others. Most nights you're doing well with eating and going right back to sleep in the pack n play in our room. We are very grateful for this!

• You really like to be in your sling, but we try to only use it if we're out (usually at church) or if you're extremely fussy. You tolerate your baby swing occasionally, but prefer the bouncy seat. You also like laying in your pack n play and watching the mobile, but your favorite is your Baby Einstein activity mat. You'll stare for a long time at the toys and especially at the star that blinks colors in time with the music.

• You love to be in the car and usually fall asleep within a few minutes. Sometimes you'll even continue your nap in the car seat after we get home. I learned quickly and the hard way not to wake you up to take you out!

• You like bath time if we do it right after you eat, when you're good and relaxed. Otherwise you scream. A LOT.

• You have started smiling! This is very exciting for me, and at first I thought I was just being a silly mother and that it must be too early to be real smiles, but your great-aunt Janice came to meet you the other day and she thinks they're definitely real smiles. That's enough confirmation for me to believe it!

• You typically cry for about 15 minutes when we put you down for a nap. But for the last couple of days, it's been more like 5. This mommy could get used to that. I do not like listening to you cry one bit, but you just wouldn't fall asleep in your bed any other way at first.

• You love to have your hands up by your face and get mad when you can't. We swaddle you with your arms up for sleeping, but sometimes you still manage to squirm them out. You also like to suck on your fingers or hands when you can find them, but pacifiers stay in much better. We only use them when you're awake, usually when you wake up early for a feeding.

• Your eyes are dark blue right now, but we think they may end up being brown.

• This has been the most difficult and the most incredible month of my life. I am constantly learning more about your personality and about how to take care of you. You are worth every single minute.
  

• We love you very very much and are so happy to have you in our lives! It is already hard to imagine life without you.

Happy One Month Birthday!

~

Happy Halloween!

I have never felt very strongly about Halloween, pro or con. But how could I not be a little excited when it means getting to dress my baby up in this little outfit?!


The funny thing is, last year on Halloween weekend Jonathon and I kept my nephew who was 7 weeks old at the time and since this outfit is a hand-me-down from him, I dressed him in it a year ago...having no idea at the time that just a year later I would be dressing my own baby in the same thing.

One day I will get a picture of him making a cute or smiling face. Most of the ones I take now are of faces like this:


But look how chubby those little cheeks are getting already! What can I say, the kid eats like a champ.


He is already enjoying his 'activity gym,' especially looking up at the star thing above him that lights up different colors in time to the music. There was a hint of a happy face in this one. Maybe because the flash wasn't right in his eyes.


And the best part of all about his Halloween outfit?

The pumpkin butt!

Hoping my sweet pumpkin baby feels better tonight than last night. I apparently ate something that upset both our tummies. And I could really go for more than 3 hours total sleep tonight.

FYI, Hudson had to wear his special outfit today because his daddy was adamant that he would not be allowed to wear orange on the day of the Georgia/Florida game, Halloween or not. So we dressed for Halloween today and tomorrow he will be donning his red and black.


~

Family visits

I am already finding that most of my days are so similar now that it's hard to know what to write about.

Sunday was different. I guess I'll write a little about that.

After a wonderful weekend of hanging out with friends who graciously came to Athens to visit us, we went to church Sunday morning. It went much more smoothly than the previous week, mostly thanks to keeping Hudson in a sling for most of the time we were there. He actually got a little sleep and I suppose he felt protected from all the noise and people since he was up close to me. Plus I had my hands free...always a plus.

After church my mom, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew came to our house to celebrate Mom's birthday. We had a good time hanging out, eating lunch and cake, and watching little ones. Here is what it looks like when you attempt to take a picture of a grandmother with her 13-month-old and 3-week-old grandsons:


At least 2 of them were smiling in that last one. Not sure what kind of face my sweet child is making though.

Today my Dad came to visit while on his fall break (he's a teacher). He's pretty much the baby whisperer. Seriously, I am always amazed when you hand that man a newborn how comfortable he is with it and how much he enjoys it. He is better than I am with newborns, hands down.

And he watched Hudson while I went to do a little work and went to the mall to get some stuff I've been needing and I picked up lunch. Hooray for getting out of the house!

We did take pictures while he was here, but they're all on my dad's camera. Hopefully he'll send some and then I'll post them. To tide you over, here is one from story time last night. Jonathon read Dr. Seuss to Hudson while I sat across the room and realized that I still have most of "I Am NOT Going to Get Up Today" memorized.

In other happy news, today was the first day that it has felt like my attempts at implementing Baby Wise are actually starting to work. Hudson has had about an hour of awake time with each feeding and is currently taking his third nap of the day that has lasted to within 15 minutes of his next feeding time. I was in need of an encouraging day like this. Hopefully there are more like it in my near future.


~

Weighing in

Headed to see the doctor:


When Hudson was 4 days old he weighed 7 lb 9 oz. That was 14 days ago and they expect him to be gaining between 2/3 of an ounce and one ounce a day at this point.

Today he weighed 8 lb 12 oz.

For those of you who have trouble with metric math, that's 19 ounces. In 14 days. This baby is going to be beautifully chubby in no time. =)



And like a good growing baby he ate last night at 10 pm, then 3 am, then 7 am. And I feel like a new person. Apparently infant gas drops are awesome and seem to be doing the trick.

Everything else looked good too at the pediatrician today. Woot.


"I don't know about this place, Dad."


Is that better, Erika? I had to figure out how to upload pictures on our laptop, which is why I haven't been posting any. I've been using this computer but all my pictures were on the other one. I'll try to be better about pleasing my audience.


~

In keeping with my theory from yesterday, I am going to refrain from telling you how our night went last night.

Hopefully I will get to continue not telling you anything.

Tomorrow is Hudson's 2-week checkup, where hopefully they will tell us he's gained even more weight since Saturday.

I have already changed his clothes 3 times today and mine twice. Out of necessity, not for fun.

I also crossed 4 things off my to-do list. And took a shower. And it's not even dinnertime yet.

It's amazing what a few hours sleep can do.

Dang it, I wasn't supposed to tell you how the night went.


~