Sunday, September 29, 2013

The One with the Survey

Happy Sunday night, friends!

Actually I stinkin hate Sunday night because it means back to work tomorrow and a whole five days until the weekend comes again.

This weekend was filled with a lot of fall fun and I will do a post this week about our apple picking excursion yesterday.

In the meantime, a colleague of mine asked me to help her daughter out with a research project she is working on for her nursing degree.

She is doing a project on deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism and has put together a survey that she is asking people to complete about their knowledge of these conditions.  If you have a few minutes, would you please help her out and complete this survey?  You don't have to sign-up for anything and none of your personal info will be collected.

Here's the link: www.surveymonkey.com/s/dvtaware

And here are some quick facts about DVT/PE that she wanted me to share with you:

  • It is the number one cause of preventable death in hospitals.
  • It is the leading cause of postpartum death in new mothers in the United States.
  • It kills more people each year than AIDS, breast cancer, and car accidents combined.
Thanks so much for taking the time to complete this survey!

Enjoy the rest of your night.  

Monday awaits...

Friday, September 13, 2013

The One with the Thursday Thoughts (on a Friday)

I got a little behind this week.

First full week of school.
Open House.
Being a full time teacher and a full time mom.
Having quite the class of little hellions.

Life is a little hectic to say the least.
  • I'm exhausted.  L is definitely experiencing the 4-5 month sleep regression issues.  They are minor compared to other stories I have heard, but he is definitely having some weird sleep situations going on.  Like wide awake at 1 am and ready to play.  Or making tons of noises at 4 am and causing Max to keep getting up from his sleep and going over to check on him.  Or really ready to start his day at 5:15 on a day when Mommy was going to sleep in just a little.  The pacifier will lull him back to sleep in the real middle of the night.  But those times at 4 or 5, he's pretty much awake and therefore so is Mama.  Hopefully, he goes back to his blissful 11-12 hours soon.
  • I'm kinda over school already.  Is that bad?
  • I cannot get on the pumpkin train.  I think it's gross
  • I can, however, get on the other fall tastes, smells, and activities train.  I am looking forward to a weekend at the apple orchard with Hubs and the little man very soon. 
  • The cost of formula sucks.  I really wished my boobs worked correctly.
  • I have had a few meltdowns this week once I got home from school.  I feel like I can barely keep my head above water right now with school and the pressures to be the perfect teacher (I know I never will be, but I still want to try my absolute hardest to be awesome at my job) while dealing with a challenging class and being "present" once I'm home with my family.  I really think this whole working out of the house thing blows.
  •  I put L in his highchair the other day just for fun.  Holy hell he looks like a stinkin toddler in it!  And I must say he loves it.  I was wheeling him from room to room and he thought that was just so much fun.
  • I'm quite excited for the new fall shows and my old shows coming back.  I don't have a chance in hell of being able to find the time to watch any of them, but I'm excited nonetheless.
Okay, I'm off to indulge in pizza and beer.  Hope everyone has a great weekend!
 

Thursday, September 5, 2013

The One with the Four Month Update

Liam Michael you are

FOUR MONTHS OLD!


**This post was saved until you were four months and one day so we could get your stats from the doctor, but we took your pictures on your four month birthday**

What a month it has been!  You and Mommy celebrated her final weeks at home for maternity leave/summer vacation - Mommy officially went back to work on Tuesday.  She is trying her best to be strong and brave, but this is, by far, the toughest thing she has ever done.  Leaving your sweet smiling face every day is very tough, but you are in excellent hands with Nana.

What are your stats and what does the doctor say?
We went to see Dr. G. today and you weighed in at a whopping 17 pounds, 10 ounces. You are 25 1/4 inches long.  He is very happy with all you are doing and said you seem like a very happy and relaxed baby.  You a still our blond-haired, blue-eyed baby.

What are you eating?
You are an eating machine kiddo!  You spent most of the last month eating four 7-ounce bottles a day, but we decided to bump you up to four 8-ounce bottles a day of Similac Advance formula about 2 weeks ago.  You have one every 4 hours or so.  You still have one 1- or 2-ounce bottle after your bath before you go to sleep.

When do you sleep and eat?
You are still a great sleeper at night.  You are doing between 10 and 11 hours a night, and even surprised us with an 11 and a half hour night last weekend!  Things are little more complicated in the mornings now that Mommy is back at work, but you are up sometime between 6:00 and 6:30.  Mommy gives you your first bottle of the day in your room while you stretch and wake up.  You either hang in your bouncy chair or go to sit with Nana while Mommy and Daddy eat breakfast, pack lunches, and get ready for work.  Mommy tries to leave between 7:15 and 7:30 (usually with lots of tears...from her, not you!).  Sometime between 8:30 and 9:00 you sleep for about 30 minutes in your bouncy chair.  You are still getting the hiccups right before you fall asleep.   When you wake up, Nana says you read stories, play on your mat, or sing some songs.  You eat again around 10:00 and then you and Nana do some more playing.  You usually take a longer nap between 12 and 2, but it's often broken up into smaller increments.  We are working on a nap routine, but you are really afraid you are going to miss something and don't like to take long naps!  You have another bottle around 2:15 and hang out with Nana until Mommy gets home from school.  When Mommy gets home, you help her make the lunches for the next day and tell her all about your day with your coos and gurgles.  You usually take another short nap around 4:30 and then Mommy or Nana takes you for a walk when you get a little cranky.  You have your last bottle around 6:00 and we start getting ready for bed by 6:45.  You are usually asleep by 7:30.

What do your routines look like?
Mommy was supposed to start a nap routine with you before she went back to school, but it just didn't seem to happen.  So Nana is going to work on that with you.  You love your baths at night and like to kick and splash in there.  You get your massage with special lotion after your bath and you are still getting swaddled like a burrito every night.  You have a 1- or 2-ounce bottle and we read a story together.  Mommy rocks you and sings you a song before you go to sleep in the Rock 'n Play.

What size clothes and diapers are you wearing?
All of your 3 month clothes are all packed away.  You are wearing all 3-6 month and 6 month clothes, you big boy!  You are wearing size 2 diapers.

What are some things you love?
You love just about everything little boy!  You are just one of the happiest babies we have ever seen.  You love to grab at objects and put them in your mouth, especially your Sophie the giraffe teether.  You really like to hang out in your stroller and like when we take you on walks.   You love to lay on Mommy and Daddy's bed and kick your legs.  In fact, you love to kick your legs no matter where you are!  You have so much fun smiling and talking and really seem to listen when someone talks to you.  You like to pull yourself up with someone's help and you definitely prefer to be sitting with help as opposed to laying down.  You like rides in the car and usually fall asleep.  You are super happy on your changing table.  You also seem quite amused when Max licks you.

What are some things you don't love?
You really do not get fussy often, but you definitely let us know when you are tired and need some quiet time.  Tummy time is still a struggle for you, but mean Mommy makes you do it anyway!  You lift your head like a big boy, but haven't figured out how to use your arms to push yourself up yet.  Your little personality is already displaying itself and you get mighty frustrated when you are trying to make your hands bring something to your mouth and it doesn't work the way you planned

What can you do?
You are still full of smiles almost all the time and your laugh is almost there.  Right now it's more of an opened mouth catching of your breath, but we know the giggles are coming soon!  You pull your head up all the time now and are not content to be just lying flat.  You grab things that are in front of or above you.  You have found your thumb (only on your left hand) and like to put it in your mouth for short amounts of time.  You have also found your left foot and like to grab it.  You track things moving around the room and turn toward voices and noises.  You are sitting up with support and love to look around.  You raise your eyebrows and it is just the cutest thing to see.  You also learned a new trick on the day you were baptized.  You put your tongue over your top lip and suck on your lip.  Mommy has tried to recreate this herself, but you appear to have the upper hand on this one because it cannot be replicated!  You also do this fake cough that cracks us all up.

Here's the lip suck...no idea how you manage to do this!

The eyebrows are so blond, but the expressions are priceless!

Where have you gone?
This month was quiet for trips.  We finished up our Mommies' Group and went to visit Mommy's school a few times.  We tried to take a day trip to Newport but there was big thunderstorm that day and we had to come home.

Who has visited and watched you?
Nana is your full time babysitter now that Mommy is back at work.  She is having so much fun with you!

What was Mommy's Mother of the Year moment this month?
On Mommy's first day back to work, she was so excited to come home to see you.  You were sitting in your bouncy chair on the kitchen island while Nana cooked something for dinner.  When Mommy went to take you out of your seat, she bumped your head on the light above the island.  You looked like you were going to cry for a second, but then started grinning at Mommy.  I felt awfully bad for hitting your head, but you didn't seemed too bothered by it!

What are some of your nicknames?
Pumpkin, Cookie, Peanut, Bug, Punkin Pie, L.  Some of your aunts and uncles also call you Cinco because of your birthday on Cinco de Mayo.

What are we looking forward to in the next month?
This month, we are going to celebrate your friend Sophia's first birthday with a trip to Connecticut.  Daddy's birthday is also this month and we will definitely do something special to celebrate.  We also have a cookout with our friends from the summer Mommies' Group.  Most of all, we will just be soaking up as much time as possible with you now that Mommy is back to teaching and Daddy is working quite a bit of overtime.

Pictures from our photo shoot when Mommy got home from school yesterday...



 Yes, that is a huge string of drool hanging from your mouth.




And just for comparison purposes...


You are the best little boy in the world and Mommy and Daddy love watching you grow and change every day!

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

The One with the Thursday Thoughts

School is officially back in session as of today.  I truly don't know where the summer (plus the 7 weeks I had off before that) went.  I feel like it has all flown by and I cannot believe I am starting a new school year with new kids with a kid of my own at home.

Onto the Thursday thoughts...
  • Fall is upon us and I must say I'm excited.  While I would have loved more time off with the munchkin, if I have to go back to work, I want the weather to cool off a little.  Just enough for sweaters and warm drinks...not enough for snow and arctic temperatures.
  • Speaking of fall, I am enjoying my last few lightings of my summer candles and scent bulbs before I switch everything over.  
  • And more fall things, I cannot wait to go apple and pumpkin picking with Liam this year.  Obviously he won't be able to participate, but the whole process is just so exciting to me.  And after fall comes CHRISTMAS!  Don't even get me started on how ecstatic I am about the holiday season now that I have a child.  It's like normal excitement times a jillion!
  • Am I the only one who finds immense satisfaction out of using the booger sucker on my kid?  It feels like a great accomplishment when we get a good one out.  ::crickets::  Yeah, I was pretty sure it was just me.
  • I have a slight obsession with bibs for Liam right now.  I try to match them to his outfit every morning.  Any recommendations for good ones from a store or an Etsy shop?  We have the teething ones from Carter's and I like those.  Normal velcro irritates Liam's neck so it needs to have that soft, flat velcro or a snap.  I picked up these ones from Carter's the other day.
  • The beginning of the school year makes me feel like a CD set to repeat.  There are so many routines to teach them at the beginning.  It's all worth it in the end once they learn them, but boy is it tedious in the beginning.
  • We borrowed a Bumbo seat from a friend this week and L seems to really like it.  I didn't originally register for it because I felt like we really didn't need another piece of baby junk, but this is nice for my always curious and nosy little boy.  He can do some more sitting up in it, although he isn't loving that he can't move his legs as much.  I also need to pick up or have a cover made for it because his chubby thighs get stuck to the seat!
And yes, I know the risks of putting him up on the counter on the seat.  He is never unsupervised in it.  Ever.
  • I am a self-diagnosed hater of Halloween, but I must admit I am a little more excited about it this year.  I have already started looking at costumes for Liam.  I know he's only going to wear it for like a split second but I am already imagining the cute pictures.  I am thinking an elephant or a lobster.
  • Going back to work has been really tough, but I already appreciate every single second I do get with L even more than before.  But damn it would be really nice to be a SAH mom.
Off to enlighten more minds...or at least teach them how to stand in a line quietly!