The Crib

I was going to start having Matthew sleep in his crib at night this weekend, but I ended up caving and having him sleep with us because I was tired. I'm always tired, but was past exhaustion this weekend. So here is my decision. Starting today, Matthew is sleeping in his crib for all naps, etc. I'll put him in the bouncer only if I need to use the restroom,  or to let him hang out and play, but not for his naps. If I see that he is getting tired, I'm going to get him up and take him to his room. I realize he is only 6 weeks old, but I really want him to feel comfortable in there and not be confused when he wakes up in there at night. I want him to associate his room with sleep. I have NO CLUE if this will work, but in my crazy head this is logical and makes sense. Is it more work for me? Yes, because it is so much easier to put him in his bouncer or swing and plop on the couch. However, I think it will pay off in the future when I'm back at work and he has to sleep in a crib at his babysitter's house. 

I pray that he sleeps well tonight in the crib, because I really am enjoying my 5-6 hour stretch of sleep at night! 

Our First Big Outing

This weekend was a big one! We live south of Atlanta where there is absolutely NO shopping and nothing but your typical chain restaurants (applebees, outback, etc.), so this weekend we decided to drive an hour to North Atlanta for our first official family outing. I had something to return at Nordstroms, we needed some organizational items from the Container Store, and we had a $50.00 gift card to The Cheesecake Factory. After gathering all baby materials, we hit the road. Cheeks slept the entire way there, and when we arrived it was time for him to eat again. (Does anyone else feel like they are constantly feeding their child?) I fed him a bottle (pre-pumped!) while my husband did some shopping in Barnes and Noble. We did our first public diaper change (thank God I bought one of those portable changing bag things so I didn't have to take the whole diaper bag), and it went well.

We did some shopping. I found a nursing bra that fit better than any others that I've tried. I have been having a hard time finding one that fits (I'm large chested), and is comfortable. Did our return at Norstroms, and then it was time to eat again. However, my idiot self left the other pumped bottle AND my nursing cover in the car. So I had no choice but to nurse in public WITHOUT a cover. I found a spot in a Dillard's restroom that had a nursing area and did my thing in the wide open. All the ladies that came in to use the restroom were very supportive and even gave me a "Way to go!" on their way out. That was reassuring because sometimes people can be very vulgar about nursing in public. (Side note: after sitting in the restroom for a long period of time, it is truly amazing how many people don't wash their hands after they are done.) Once we were done we made our way to dinner and enjoyed some excellent food for FREE! = )

The little guy pretty much slept the ENTIRE time from 1:00 until we got home at 8:00. I was pretty much prepared to be up all night, but he kept sleeping until 2:30 AM. I fed him and then it was go time - this little guy was WIDE awake from 2:30 until 5, and had a short 45 minute nap and was up at 6. Thankfully I got up at 2:00 and pumped because he didn't eat hardly anything from 6:00 on. I nursed him on one side at 8:00 for like 5 minutes and he was OUT. So, needless to say my ladies were ROCK HARD and uncomfortable. I pumped out 8 ounces in a matter of minutes. I'm glad I pumped because I made my husband get up at 6:00 and give him a bottle so I could stay in bed and catch up on the 2 hours of sleep I missed.

Doing the normal things we used to do pre-baby is definitely a whole lot longer of a process, but still possible and requires team work from both the hubs and me. Without him, I'd probably never leave the house!

Here's a pic of the little guy passed out in his stroller at Barnes and Noble:

Officially Done!

I am officially done with pregnancy. I had my 6 week check today and I am free to do as I please. I can exercise and I can do the horizontal tango if I please! Of course one of the questions she asked was what we would use for birth control. I kind of giggled inside and wanted to say NOTHING because I had trouble getting pregnant in the first place, but in all likelihood if we had sex tomorrow I'd end up pregnant which is the LAST thing I'd want at this point. I responded with condoms because we do want to try for #2 sooner rather than later and I don't want to deal with pills or an IUD at this point. After #2 I'll be getting an IUD, no doubt about it.

Now for the horizontal tango...this may be TMI, but I don't even know where to start. It has been SOOO long since we've been together without having a goal in mind. Now that we have baby Matt, we're back to being together because it's fun and because we love each other. Meanwhile I have leaky boobs and stretch marks all over my belly, how "sexy" is that!? I'm sure whenever we embark on this "activity" it will be an adventure for sure!

Nothing Really New

I don't have much to post other than things are going really well! Baby Matt is sleeping through the nights still, pretty much from between 8 and 9 PM until between 4 and 5 AM. Once I'm done feeding him in the morning I am pumping off the rest because I am super engorged. I've been getting between 6 and 10 ounces in the morning which is great! I've been freezing lots of milk for when I go back to work and Matty boy goes to daycare.

On Saturday I left the baby with Adam and went shopping for 3 hours. I needed to go to babies r us to get more bottles for my breast pump so I'm not constantly washing the same 4, and then I was on a pursuit for nursing bras. I am a larger chested lady and am having a highly difficult time finding bras to fit. I got measured, but the bras that are that size don't fit right. I'm either spilling out of the top or out the sides. It's pretty frustrating. I WILL be getting a reduction once I'm done having children. I've always struggled with my chest size and finding bathing suits and bras to fit right. I'm over it and can't wait until I can have fun shopping for those items.

I've also started counting my weight watchers points and attempting to exercise. I said I'd give myself a month to really get used to nursing and eating whatever I want, but now it's time to get serious. I'm on day 2 and it isn't going too bad. I struggle with finding things to eat at lunch, so I'll be going to the grocery store later today to get some inspiration!

Matthew is also starting to smile and interact with us more. Today we had a good play session on the floor where he was kicking and punching and smiling back at me as I talked to him. I'm so excited to see what these upcoming weeks and months will bring!

1 Month Old!

Happy 1 Month Matthew!!!

I can't believe that our little guy has been here for 1 month already! Time has certainly flown by, but this honestly has been the most rewarding month of my life. To think that this time last year I was hoarding money to afford IVF, and now I have this miracle baby to love and adore for many years to come. Adam and I couldn't be more blessed with this gift from God - which is what the meaning of his name is. 

We had our 1 month doctors appointment at the pediatrician today. Our chunky monkey is up to 11 pounds 10 ounces which puts him in the 85th percentile for weight, and he's in the 63rd percentile for height and 70th percentile for his noggin. In other words...I've got a big baby on my hands. It's also nice to know that nursing this little guy is going well and doing what it is supposed to do. I have no worries about my supply. He slept through the night again and I was so engorged after I fed him that I went downstairs and pumped and got 8 ounces! I typically get about 6 ounces after a normal feeding. I'll be freezing 2 bags of breast milk today! GO ME! 

Since we had a lot of visitors to our house yesterday, I didn't get a nap, and I'm feeling it today. I'm off to go take a nap while Cheeks is napping, too!

CHEEKS SLEPT!!!

My chunky monkey slept for 7 hours straight last night!!!!!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!!!! I am almost positive that it was a fluke and that this will NEVER happen again (or won't happen again for awhile), but thank the good Lord because I feel so much more rested than I have felt in a LONG time!!

How did it happen? I'm not sure, but I am attributing it to us staying on a pretty strict schedule. I try to do the same thing with the little guy during the day and night. One of my friends told me she read a book and has applied something she read to her kids schedule and it always worked for her. It's called EASY. E for Eat, A for activity, S for sleep, and Y for YOU! After the babe eats do an activity even if they are drowsy or falling asleep. I've found this hard at this stage because there are only so many activities to do with a 1 month old. I usually just hold him and talk to him and walk him around the house and show him things. Once your activity is over then let the babe sleep. While the babe sleeps it's YOU time! This "schedule" also promotes a healthy eating schedule since you never want to go to sleep after you eat so you can burn off the fat calories you take in.

At night we've also been doing the same thing. Around 8 o'clock or as close to his 8 o'clock feeding we go up and take our bath or have our sponge bath, get into our jammies, eat, rock/read our book, get all swaddled up and down we go! Since I've started doing this I have not had a fussy baby at bed time once. I know I will at some point, but not yet. The principle of a well rested baby is a baby that sleeps better at night is also true. Matt has been getting plenty of rest and is starting to fall in to a napping pattern, which I believe also allows him to sleep fairly well at night.

I'm going to start reading a book called Bringing Up Bebe. A friend said something about it on her blog and I read the synopsis of it and it sounds interesting. I'm going to see if any of it can be applied to how my husband and I want to parent our little buddy. Plus, I'm reading a book right now that I'm not very in to. If I don't find a book interesting by 100 pages I ditch it - I have too much I want to read to be stuck with a book I don't like.

Cheeks is waking up so I must resume my spot at the lactation station on my couch! = )

Cheeks Sleeping

Here is baby Cheeks sleeping in his crib for the first time. I think it is hilarious that he sleeps with his arms spread out like that.

Transition

I'm getting used to the exhaustion, thank the Lord! We've pretty much gotten in to somewhat of a schedule at night so I know when to expect Matthew to wake up to eat, and when he decides to sleep longer I cheer and shorter I want to scream! Haha! We've been getting him down to sleep between 8:30 and 9:30 and he sleeps until 1:30 or 2, wakes up to eat and goes back down very easily. Then he's up again between 4:30 and 5. Sometimes I stay up after that feeding and sometimes I go back to bed. Matthew typically doesn't fall back asleep after that feeding, so it depends on how tired I am and if I want to go downstairs and start my day, or lounge in bed until Adam gets up at quarter to 6. I know when I go back to work that I'll probably end up staying awake afterwards to get ready for work. I still have a good long while until I have to think about that though.

Matthew's been sleeping in our room since we've gotten home from the hospital in his rock'n'play sleeper/cradle. I am not sure if I'm ready for him to go to his room yet, but I'm getting used to all of his sounds and movements that I am not constantly checking on him to see if he's okay. He isn't used to sleeping flat on his back so I've been trying to swaddle him and put him in his crib in his room for one nap a day. He typically takes a long nap in the afternoons so that is when I've been doing this "transition." I believe that slow and steady will win the race, so we'll work our way up to sleeping full time in the crib. It would be a lot easier if I just stuck him in his swing in the living room because I know he'll fall asleep instantly, but being a parent isn't going to always be easy so I need to just forfeit my nap so I can get him sleeping where he'll be sleeping for a long time.

I've also been doing a decent job of pumping and freezing one 4oz bag of breast milk a day. I could do more, but for now that is good enough for me. Once I get closer to going back to work, I'll try to do two 4 oz bags.

In other news I've been a complete waste of space while I'm at home. I got a netflix subscription and have been watching all kinds of tv! I watched the complete first season of Downton Abbey and wish that season 2 was available to watch. I've also been watching the show One Tree Hill. All of my high school friends got in to it when we were still in high school, and I never did. It always seemed like a show I'd like, but I never wanted to start watching it mid season. So now I've been watching it and I'm completely addicted! It makes me wish I could go back to high school and those care-free days of hanging out with friends, playing sports, and no obligations. For some, high school wasn't a fun experience, but I absolutely loved it, and would go back in a second.

Well, since the little dude is napping - IN HIS CRIB! YAY! - I'm going to go park it on the couch and watch One Tree Hill and hopefully nap, too! = )

P.S. Congrats to all the celebrations happening with my blogger friends. Megan and Bird both welcomed a beautiful baby girl this month! What beautiful blessings.

And I'm always keeping Lindsay and Laura in my prayers. I'm praying everything continues to go well for Lindsay and her husband and bundle of pink on the way and that Laura has success SOON, because she and her hubs need a BFP ASAP!!

xoxo

Exhausted

Wow. I. Am. Tired.

I knew being a breast feeding exclusive mom that I would be up frequently feeding this little guy, but wow am I beat. Matthew has been eating every 2 to 2.5 hours day and night. I would do anything for a 4, 5, or 6 hour stretch of sleep. I don't function well on little bits of sleep, and I am starting to feel the effects of lack of sleep. When I'm over tired all I do is cry. Today, my hubs came home and asked how my day was and all I said was that all I want is to sleep for a long stretch of time. I know that eventually Matthew will sleep for longer periods of time, but I'm struggling a bit right now. The plan for me to get more sleep is that I will pump a bottle for Adam to give Matthew on Saturday morning for the 6:00ish feeding.

I would suggest to pump a bottle for a middle of the night feeding, but Adam has had 2 more seizures since the post I made in February. He had one in November, and another one in the hospital the last night we were there when Matthew was born. We've pretty much linked the seizures to being over tired/exhausted. Therefore I have been responsible for all middle of the night baby duties. I am happy to do them because it's what my son needs, but it is also what my husband needs. I need him to be the best person/dad he can be during the day as he is working full-time and being super dad when he gets home and on weekends. He needs his rest to be healthy. I feel less anxiety about the seizures, but it still makes me a nervous wreck to know that it can happen at any time. The doctor upped the dosage for his meds, so hopefully he doesn't have any more.

So far, the hardest part of being a new parent is the pure exhaustion I feel at this point. I pray that this little boy give me a long stretch of sleep SOON! = )

New Blog Title and Pampers

Since Baby Shu has obviously arrived and this blog will be keeping family, friends, and blog friends in the loop about baby Matt, I changed the name. Since he was quite a large baby, and has undeniably (I am biased) chubby cute cheeks we've been calling him "Cheeks" at home. I'm sure it is a nick name he will absolutely hate if it sticks around, but right now I think it is one of his most adorable qualities.

Also, for all of you new mommies out there that are using pampers products, make sure you go to pampers.com and register for the gifts to grow rewards. There are codes on diapers and wipes and you enter them on the website. As you accumulate points you can earn free things. You will fly through diapers and wipes faster than you can even imagine, so the points will add up! We bought a huge box of size 1 diapers at Sam's Club last weekend and are more than half way through the box. It doesn't help that our little guy is a pooping and squirting machine! We're about ready to put plastic wrap along the walls behind the changing table, since he seems to pee right when I get ready to switch the diaper from dirty to clean! So frustrating - diaper changing is not my strong area of parenting.

Hope y'all had a great weekend!

Nursing

Nursing the little guy is going really well! Breast feeding is always something that is up in the air until your baby arrives, and I am thrilled that it is working out for our family. I have to use nipple shields since my nipples don't quite stick out far enough for him to latch on to. I'm sure if I tried hard enough right now that he would be able to latch on, but I don't want to frustrate him or myself if I don't have to.

The first week of nursing was hard. Matt was eating every 2 to 2.5 hours around the clock and I was definitely not used to being awake that often. They don't lie when they say your nipples will hurt! I made it through the nipple soreness by using lots of lanolin cream and ice packs! I didn't notice much with engorgement when my milk came in, it just seemed to show up. However, now I can definitely tell if he hasn't eaten in awhile. I've been lucky with some 4 hour sleeping stretches at night, and sometimes my ladies will definitely hurt!

I've also started trying to pump a bit after a feeding here and there. I'm not concerned about nipple confusion because of using the nipple shields. I haven't really figured out how long I need to pump for, but I've been getting a decent amount of ounces and Adam has been able to feed our big little boy two bottles. I love hearing him interact with Matthew and laugh at his little intricacies while feeding. I get to laugh and smile at them all the time, so it makes me happy that Adam gets to experience that, too. It is also much easier to give him his Vitamin D supplement in the bottle than with the dropper in his mouth!

Another benefit to nursing, which I know you all hear, is how the weight just melts off! I've already lost 30 plus pounds since birth 3 weeks ago. I'm not hungrier during meals, but I am hungry more frequently. I've been trying to remember to keep some snacks in the nursery for midnight feedings, because that is when I am most hungry and I don't always feel like going down stairs to find food in the middle of the night when all I want to do is get back in my warm bed!

Well, that is my recap of how nursing is going. I'm so thankful and blessed to be able to do this for my son, and for our family. Formula is not cheap!

Sterilizing all those breast pump parts!

First frozen 4 ounces of liquid gold!