Sunday, October 30, 2011

One Week Old

Our little man is already one week old!  His mommy and daddy were on a steep learning curve this week.... how to hold a baby, how to change diapers, breastfeeding, deciphering cries, and so much more.  James has been growing and changing a lot as well.  He is an excellent eater, so much so that the lactation consultant we visited with on Tuesday said, "Don't buy anymore newborn clothes, because with the way this guy eats, he won't be fitting into them much longer."  She was right; while he fits into his clothes for now, he gained 6 oz. from his visit to the pediatrician on Tuesday to his appointment on Thursday.  Body builders everywhere are jealous of that kind of weight gain!  His strength seems to be increasing as well; his grip is much firmer than earlier in the week.  

We had a great time cheering on the Cardinals this week.  James was obviously pumped about the World Series victory.  He slept on his daddy's chest throughout all of the games. 
All in all,  James is a pretty good sleeper.  On a full belly, this guy can sleep for four hours straight which is awesome for us when that time happens to fall during the middle of the night.  So far, we've taken a tag-team approach to late night/early morning feedings.  I get up first to change the diaper, feed, then change the diaper again.  I scream politely call Kyle's name, and he rocks James to sleep/changes 1 to 4 more diapers. We haven't been terribly fatigued-yet, but I'm thinking that will really set in this week since Kyle has to go back to work.
We're so glad our little man is here!  We're enjoying our adventure in parenthood and love watching this little one grow each day!  

P.S.  Check out the bump page!  It's hands down the cutest picture yet. : )

Friday, October 14, 2011

Week 38: We're Getting Closer!

On Sunday night, I was a little bummed.  I told Kyle, "I was really hoping I wouldn't have to go to work tomorrow."  It's true- I wanted to be in the hospital effortlessly popping out the baby.  Alas, I went to work and made it a good day.  This week I had parent-teacher-student conferences since I won't be able to meet with parents at actual P-T-S conference time at the beginning of November.  This resulted in me working three 11-hour days in a row.  Needless to say- I was ready for Friday!

I have a new fear: my water breaking at church, specifically on the way up to communion.  Also, I wonder what would happen if I tried to do a cart wheel.  I seriously think about the cart wheel thing at least a dozen times a day.  During conversations with Kyle, parents, other teachers, Buster, really anyone,  my mind wanders to the question, "What would happen if I tried to do a cart wheel?"  I'm sure of 1 thing:  it would feel weird.  I'm also pretty sure if I'd fall forward onto my stomach as if sumo fighting the ground.  Sometimes I'm amazed at how intelligent my thoughts are.

Monday marked our first visit from our Parents as Teachers consultant, Linda.  It was mostly a get-to-know you visit, but we learned a lot of interesting stuff about newborn babies.  One of the most interesting topics was vision.   Babies can only see gray blurriness at 3 days!  I knew their vision wasn't fully developed, but I was surprised at how blurry it really was.  We should expect him to focus his attention on black-and-white, high contrast patterns.  So now I'm on the hunt for highly-contrasted books.  Look LOOK! got great reviews on Amazon!
 
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 Little man will also enjoy gazing at our faces.  Although, maybe I should wear a mask....

We can also expect him to briefly observe his environment.  So we should place him in a seat and move it around the house to give him a change of scenery. Something tells me he'll be intrigued by these two.  Our PAT teacher said they would actually be good for tracking!
As far as things we still need to get done for baby- choosing a pediatrician and daycare are on the list.  We also need to find a mobile for his crib; after learning about their vision, I think we might go for one of those high-contrasted black-and-red mobiles, even though it will NOT match the nursery. 

The bump is constantly growing- it measured between 38 and 39 cm at the doctor's office this weekend, which means it's finally the right size as opposed to a cm behind which it had been previously.  I can tell he's in the process of dropping, and I've had a few contractions (I think I have anyway...).  I've been getting around alright though, just recently getting from sitting to standing has become more difficult.  My goal for this next week is to walk at least 1 hour each day.  I think I can get it done too, since this week has only a few meetings and no conferences! 

Oh yeah, if I were planning to be pregnant for Halloween, I would totally wear this shirt!
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Saturday, October 8, 2011

Parents Can Take Care of Everything

Remember when you were younger, or maybe still now, how you thought your parents could fix anything? Literally, if anything went wrong, you could whiningly yell, "Mom!" and you'd be assured she could come help. Parents are pretty amazing and can do anything, and Kyle and I are trying to be like that for James.

Just yesterday night, I told myself I was ready for him to come! After hours and hours of working after school this week, my sub plans were finally complete enough that if I didn't come to school for the next 8 weeks, the sub would know what to teach. They aren't particularly detailed, but there's a good outline for her. On top of 'finishing' sub plans, I came home to a wonderful surprise- Kyle had cleaned the whole house! I immediately breathed a sigh of relief and said, "We're ready!"

Fast forward to today, not even 24 hours later, and I've had to tell the little guy to stay in for a little while longer. Why? Our washer broke! Something like this was bound to happen; last night was just a little too blissfully happy. However, now that the washer is broken, I'm in total parent mode- we've got to get this fixed ASAP! We have only two clean crib sheets!

Mom and dad to the rescue via Whirlpool repairman who's coming on Wednesday. : )

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My doctor's appointment went well yesterday morning- little man had a heartbeat of 150 and surprisingly, my blood pressure was normal! I thought it would have skyrocketed with all of the stress I had felt this past week. For now, we're enjoying watching all of his movement. He's a little running man in in there with all of the 'feet' we see going across my stomach. Websites have said that baby is developing his sleep/wake cycle at this time. If that's truly the case, we've got a little guy who doesn't like to rest! Especially between 9:30 and 10:30 at night.

Our trip to the Farmer's Market was glorious this morning. We picked up a 3.75 lb zucchini for baking and only $1!  Of course we bought a 7.75 lb butternut squash for making soup ($2.50)! Talk about value!  Can't wait to dig into the zucchini bread Kyle's already whipped up!  Now to figure out what to do with the pound and a half we have left...
Hope everyone's enjoying a beautiful weekend.  The weather in Columbia couldn't be better.  We're on our way to the park for my second walk of the day!