rubber ducky love...

could it be that my baby is getting used to his world?!

honestly, it took forever for his umbilical cord to fall off. it finally fell off, on the day he turned one month old! we were then able to give michael david a real bath. i guess the other sponge baths lying on a towel were just too cold for him. the past few baths in his blue bathtub with his rubber ducky floating around him have been quite enjoyable. he actually smiles and coos and cuddles into his towel afterwards. it is the sweetest thing!

ahhh...it feels so good to know that things are looking up!

a birthday to remember

today was my birthday, my 28th birthday. my first official birthday as an old lady. my first birthday as a mom. it was weird. i still had to wake up at all hours of the morning to feed a baby. i was still way tired when i got out of bed for the final time and still had plenty of work to do....it's my birthday for cryin' out loud! :)

i spent yesterday telling michael that i would not open my present early. he finally ran into the room this morning, practically shoving the gift in my face. i readily passed over the baby and ripped out the tissue paper. dun...dun...dun....

the camera i wanted!!! we're also expecting another lens that michael david got for me. it should be here friday!

mom and dad arrived around 11:30 with the traditional cupcakes for my "class". this time, there were 5 huge carrot cake cupcakes. yummo! we went to a delicious lunch at maggianos and then for a little shopping. mom took me to pandora and bought me a charm bracelet with the most beautiful peridot charm to represent michael david's birthday...the biggest thing to happen to me this year. it's gorgeous! while there, i found a ring that i loved and michael got me that for my birthday too!

i got a super sweet amount of calls, texts, emails and facebook comments wishing me a happy birthday. i gotta say, it all made me feel pretty darn special.

this has been a wonderful day. definitely one for the books!

photoshoot

i realize my camera and picture taking skills aren't quite up to par, but he's still pretty stinkin' cute!

a prebirthday treat

while michael kept michael david, i took myself on a date. an amazing pedicure and manicure later and i'm feelin' really good.

i might schedule a second date pretty soon! we hit it off big time!

withdrawal...

i haven't had a bit of caffiene in 2 years, 7 months, 16 days, 13 hours and 57 mins.

that's what it feels like anyway. it's really only been about a week, but i've had headaches like crazy. how long does it take a headache to learn to go away without a dr. pepper?

dr. pepper, oh dr. pepper, sweet-heavenly nectar...i miss you so and i am praying on bended knee that i will soon be with you again. right now, though, the consequences of your 23 flavors are more than i can handle. do not forget me while i'm gone. i am coming back. this i swear.

one month old

did i ever live before you?

mama and michael david

the one thing i know from all of my friends is that pictures of them with their babies are few and far between. that trend has already proven true for me so i decided to take one today.

what makes him happy...

mama...

and daddy.

ha!!

what i'm reading these days...

my dear friend amazon sent me these books the other day. i, of course, searched them out and paid for them, but i'm happy to have them in my possession. you don't see a trend do you?


yes, they're all about getting your baby to sleep and be happy. i'm guessing lots of moms read stuff like this. it's time i joined the ranks.

how do i know at least one of these books is gonna work for us? i've had several people tell me about baby wise and how it worked wonders for them. also, the afternoon after i ordered these books, jenny tells me to get the happiest baby on the block. the last one i just picked out on my own. can't hurt, right?! :) good luck to us and happy reading!

a good day

today, we had a pretty good day. i think it's like teaching, you have a good day every once in a while to survive the bad. yesterday was one of the worst days so far. today...one of the best!

we had a pretty good routine of eat, play and talk then sleep. michael took one nap in his swing and the rest were upstairs in his bed. of the naps in his room, he was a little fussy until i laid him in bed, then he settled. i stayed and patted him until he was blinking slowly, then i left and he fell asleep on his own. his awake time was mostly happy, smiling and cooing. so nice!

now, i'm not saying it will be like this tomorrow but having it today was a life saver. thank you, michael david and Jesus, for such a great day!

oh-and to top that off, i put on my regular jeans this morning and not only did they fit...they were a little loose! hurray for a FANTASTIC day!

4 weeks

today, you are 4 weeks old.

you are the absolute light of my life. you're a tough one, and i've asked many a mom advice on how to best make you happy, but i wouldn't trade you for the world.

at first, you hated almost everything this world had to offer. now, i can change your diaper without you crying. you thoroughly enjoy your swing and if i'm holding you when i turn it on, you hear the music and start blinking your eyes very slowly. i can tell a difference between your sleepy cry and your tummy hurting cry. you still love to be swaddled, although you sometimes put up a fuss when your arms get tucked in. if you could have it be, you would keep your hands in fists under your chin at all times. you look especially sweet that way. you have started smiling at me and cooing. we have great conversations on the boppy after you eat. you are definitely most happy then. i am most happy then, too. you, of course, love outside! to make that even easier, you love riding around in the jogging stroller. i anticipate many lovely walks in our future.

i really enjoy being your mama and watching your daddy with you. he treats us both very well. i get up with you during the night to feed you. he always gets up with you around 8 and lets me sleep for another hour or more. you've started sleeping in your room upstairs but don't worry, i have a video monitor so i can see you any time i want to! you love it up there and since i moved in the noisy fan (thanks aunt jenny!) you seem to want to be there even more.

i am very proud of you and can't believe you'll be 1 month old in just a few days! i think i'll cry then. i love you, michael david. what sweet joy you give me!

sigh...

you in your beloved swaddle & swing!

you smile and smile at me until i get out the camera. i guess you are so fascinated with that big black thing in your face that you can't think about me anymore...

i'm gonna call this the pattern picture. you were so content to lay in your boppy on my paisley chair, with your striped blanket and striped socks, i just couldn't move you! :)

i did it!

see below...a post with nothing about the baby! :)

hehe!

birthday month

in exactly 10 days, i will turn 28 years old!

i wonder if my husband knows he married an old woman?!?

i've given a birthday wish list with just one major item. we'll see if i get it (sshhh...it's a camera).

happy birthday month to me!

baby post insanity

i want to post something that has nothing to do with the baby. yet, all i can think about is why he won't sleep for longer periods of time. i mean, the child will be 4 weeks old tomorrow, isn't he still supposed to be sleeping most of the day? he was so tired after he ate, he cried, i walked him to sleep, put him in bed, 40 mins later...awake and crying again. what am i doing wrong here?



next post...free of baby thoughts.

cold turkey

yesterday, i decided to give up caffeine. well, the caffeine found in drinks anyway. so, yesterday...day 1 had michael david falling asleep easier and without all of his colicky fussing.

today...not so much.

i went to lunch with my aunt karen today. we had burgers at red robin and enjoyed a nice conversation. i ordered water and then changed my mind when the waiter said something about root beer. root beer is caffeine free, right? i was sure i remembered that from pregnancy days.

i really started thinking about it this evening though when michael david's nightly hard-to-get-to-sleep routine was quite apparent.

i got online to double check my thinking on root beer. sure enough, it is caffeine free. most brands are anyway. all except barq's. well...crap. what did i have at lunch today? you guessed it, barq's!

so much for quitting cold turkey. i'll give it a go again tomorrow and hope it gets better!

and so it begins...

for room and board and "miscellaneous services" my hospital bill totals $12,602.24.

i'm just wondering...does "miscellaneous services" include a C section?

wowzers.

9.11.01

i can't believe it's been 8 years.

9.11.01

i was babysitting for my boss. he and his wife were in vegas on a much needed vacation and i was in charge of cody and madelyn for 4 days. that morning, i had gotten them up, ready and dropped off at school. i went back to the house to get myself ready for the day and was putting on my makeup watching the news. i was horrified to see what happened to the twin towers that day. so many people lost their lives. i am praying for their families today.

boss and his wife were, of course, unable to fly home because all flights had been grounded. i ended up spending an extra week and half as mom.

it was a time that i am sure no one will ever forget.

sweet boy

hard work

this parent thing is really hard work. really. it's so hard to hear MD cry and not know what he wants. his diaper is clean. he's fed. he's not screaming like he does when his tummy hurts. he just cries. he falls asleep until it's time to lay down and then he's wide eyed and awake. if you leave him lying there to fall asleep...he cries some more.

it's hard not to get frustrated. it's hard when i do get frustrated and then immediately feel terrible. i know babies feel tension so i try and stay relaxed. i've been praying a lot.

michael does his best to help out and calm the baby. he takes over when he can tell i'm no longer helping the situation. but still...

i just want to make sure i am nurturing and growing a happy, healthy baby. sometimes i wonder if i am. mom says that all babies cry and that things will look up eventually. it's still hard.

in the middle of the day, things seem so sweet and wonderful and i feel like a pretty good mom with a pretty good baby. then it seems about the time for michael to get home, michael david gets fussy and i just want his daddy to be able to see him sweet and happy.

i know it will get better and even now, it's totally worth it. i love him more than i ever thought i could love anything. i love being his mama, just for now...it's hard work.

speaking of wet stuff falling...

everyone told me to watch out for little boys peeing on you.

no one. and i mean NO ONE ever said anything about watching out for poop.

thanks a lot.

wet stuff!!! it's falling from the sky!!!

in the past two days, we've actually had rain! it's rained for at least a couple of hours each morning soaking the ground and helping to cool things off a bit. yesterday afternoon, we were driving to the doctor's office and the temperature gauge said 80 degrees. 80 degrees in the middle of the afternoon!!! it's unheard of here!

this morning, michael david-swaddled tight in a blanket-and i sat on the front porch just listening and watching. it was so comforting to sit there with my calm, relaxed child and smell the sweet air. watching the water fall from the house and run down the street made me wish for a good book and a nice blanket. instead, i've cleaned the kitchen and started a load of laundry while the child sleeps in the swing (finally). my how quickly life changes when a baby is a part of it.

thank you, Jesus, for the rain!

first outing without him...

tonight, i left michael david for the first time.

mom, sarah and i went to ichibans for dinner and pa was on babysitting duty. i did really well and only checked to see if my dad had called about 3 times. :) we got home and found pa rocking a sleeping michael. it was a sweet sight.

thanks pa for being okay with a baby boy who likes to cry. :) and thanks, mamo, for a nice night out. it was a good time! we both love you so much!

picture post of MD's birthday

these are more pictures from mom's camera on the day of michael david's birth. i wanted to post them so i could remember them forever.

i didn't take pictures of my belly throughout my pregnancy. it's important to me to remember the way i looked growing my son, swollen feet and all... :)

warming bed where michael david would soon lay.

a note from the best nurse on the planet, chellee!

daddy praying for me, baby and a safe arrival.

michael praying for me, baby and a safe arrival as C section begins...

my daddy holding my hand, just happy to have us back and safe.

proud new daddy.