Alex is almost 5 weeks old already!

Wow.  People weren't kidding.  Enjoy every minute, because the time flies by!  No kidding.  I'm really, truly making sure I enjoy every moment with my baby.  He is so amazing.  Every day I swear he looks different and he does something different.  He's so beautiful and I am still so amazed that I MADE that!  So he is 5 weeks old now and I will be returning to work soon.  

I dread the day I drop him off at daycare.  D-R-E-A-D it.  I bawled my eyes out when I had to leave my cat at the vet overnight.  Can you imagine?  I'm going to be a total wreck.  But, it's part of life I guess and I know he will be in good hands.  

It was green, runny and smelly and I swear it laughed a me as I was gagging..

The things that come out of my child.  Shewwee.  Geez!  Only a mother could deal with THAT!  I don't think I need to explain where I encountered the title of this blog.  

Alex is better...it has nothing to do with his cold.  

Alex has a little cold

Even though I have stayed indoors for weeks, somehow I got a cold.  And now my little son seems to have it too.  

Guess you can't protect them no matter what you do.  

Mini Identity Crisis

Alex is 20 days old today and he and I both are getting into a groove with each other.  I love being a Mom, but I'm sort of having a mini identity crisis.  How do I be who I was and be who I am now at the same time?  Sound confusing?  It is.  No matter how many people said "a baby changes everything", I really didn't GET IT until now.  A baby truly does change everything.  For the better, but it's an interesting life-altering change.  I can't just come and go as I please the way I used to.  It's  not necessarily about what I want now.  Alex comes first.  When his needs are met, I can think about taking care of something I want or need.  

It's interesting.  

Two weeks old today!

Alex and I have successfully made it two weeks!  It's been an interesting journey learning about Alex.  He has very distinct cries.  I have figured out a couple of them so far, but there are a few that remain a mystery.  He has pretty much kept the crying to his basic needs, but each evening he seems to like crying for no reason.  Can't quite figure that one out!  

He is a beautiful, healthy baby boy and he is developing nicely.  And like his Mommy...the boy likes to eat!  ;)

What's with all the snaps???

Baby Clothing is interesting. You can hold up two newborn outfits side by side and one is bigger than the other. Like huge. Same goes with the upward sizes too. It's the strangest thing. I suppose baby clothes aren't that different from women's clothing? You know how you can try on a size in one brand and try the same size in another brand and they are totally different?

Looks like the same goes for baby clothes. And what's with all the snaps? Geez. You get the outfit out, undo all the snaps, lay the baby in the clothing and then it takes forever to get the snaps to match where they snap in the right way. I have found that clothing with zippers is much better. But some of the cute stuff has snaps! So I wait for a less-frustrating day to make my son more fashion savvy.

Oh, and nightgowns are the best! Open at the bottom? So much easier to change him in the middle of the night. I can't imagine dealing with snaps at 4am.

Make sure you have plenty of nightgowns.

Pacifiers have legs...

One thing we have noticed is that there is the constant dilemma of the missing pacifier. One minute you have it, the next minute you don't. You'll swear you have it, you'll get all settled in with the baby and the blanket and the burp cloth and then you realize, you don't have the pacifier. The frustration of it all.

I swear that pacifiers grow legs and walk off when you aren't paying attention.

Eat. Sleep. Change Diaper. Repeat.

Alex is 8 days old today. He is amazing and I can't stop staring at him. I have fallen into the schedule of motherhood. We eat, we sleep, we change the diaper and repeat. It's a fairly simple process. We have been lucky with Alex so far in that he only cries when he needs his basic needs met. About once per day he will start crying and after realizing that his basic needs have been met, we can only scratch our heads with curiosity. But we have found a few methods that work to quiet him down. The walking shake and butt pat works. Mylicon works if we feel he's gassy. And carrying him outside works well too. Let the adventure continue!

It's 11:13pm and it's our first night at home...

Ahhh...the joys of motherhood. I don't think I have slept 8 hours in 3 days. I'm sitting in a chair in the babies nursery listening to him sleep and updating my blog. I am so exhausted that I CAN'T sleep. I'm not sure where this energy is coming from, but it's bound to end soon. I haven't slept since 4am this morning.

I've had some mini-breakdowns. One yesterday after I had a lot of visitors. On top of that, Dr. Martin came in to circumcise Alex. It was great seeing her but there was so much commotion in the room that I really didn't get to talk with her or absorb what she was telling me. I need to call her on Monday to ask her what she told me.

Then Dr. Feld, the Pediatrician came in to check on Alex. It was calm then so we had a nice visit with him. Alex has a dimple at the base of his spine. We were told this when the nurses checked Alex right after birth. Dr. Feld's NP checked him and said it was closed and everything was fine. Thank God because that could have been Spina Bifida. We dodged a bullet there.

Then the picture lady came to take some newborn pictures of Alex. So all of that was going on while we had a room full of visitors. The pictures turned out beautifully though.

The the lady came to do the hearing test. He passed. Whew!

So then finally...finally...I had a moment of peace and quiet. My nurse came in and asked me how in the heck I handled all of that. As it turns out, I didn't. After my nurse left the room a lady brought in my lunch. I had ordered the roast turkey with mashed potatoes and gravy. I was so hungry. I opened the lid and there was NO GRAVY! What kind of southern establishement doesn't bring gravy with the mashed potatoes???? Well that was it. I lost it. I started crying hysterically. Everything hit me all at once and I just started crying and couldn't stop. Well a poor unsuspecting nurse came in to get something and noticed me crying. She asked me if I was okay and I said I was, I was just overwhelmed. She went and told my nurse and my nurse came back in to talk with me. She has four children of her own and knows how overwhelming it all is. She asked me if I intended to leave that night (Saturday). I told her yes and she said, "I'm not trying to tell you what to do or give you unsolicited advice, but I recommend that you stay tonight and let us help you". Well after that? I totally decided I wasn't ready to do this on my own at home. I decided to stay one more night and I'm so glad that I did. There were a few things I was able to do like feed him and change his nasty diaper all by myself. I learned a lot. I had sent my husband home for the night to try to get some real rest. One of us needed to rest at least. so I got some good experience and felt a lot more confident coming home today.

So here I am, midnight now. I had to take a break because Alex had pee'd up his back and was miserable. I got him changed, swaddled and he is now sitting with me as I type this. I hope to put him back in his crib soon so I can try to get some sleep. Wish me luck.

Alex Laine

Alex Laine
Born August 21, 2009
12:10pm
8 lbs. 2 ounces
21 inches long

Love of my life...
Jennifer