Two Months In...

You on February 22, 2010

Dear Hayden,

Four days ago you turned two months old! So much has happened in the last month and each day you bring more and more joy to our lives!

• You had your two month appointment yesterday and handled the shots so well! Much better than Mama did. Of course, the doctor said you are perfect!
• You hated when the doctor looked at your ears!
• You are now 24 inches long.
• You now weigh 13 pounds and 11 ounces.
• Your head circumference is 41 centimeters.
• You are in the 50-75th percentile for your weight and length combined and head size. Just your weight at your age puts you in the 90-95th percentile.
• You had your first walk outside the day after you turned one month old and it put you fast asleep.
• You like to ride in the front carrier when we go to the store. This helps me have my hands free and I can cuddle with you while I get my chores done.
• You now wear size 1-2 diapers.
• You are in size 3-6 month onesies and shirts (even some 6 - 12 month ones) and wear size 0-3 month pants.
• You held a rattle for the first time by yourself when you were seven weeks old!
• You grin and coo at us all the time and it absolutely melts my heart.
• You are an expert Skyper!
• You are already a model - our cousins put you on their website.
• You had your first ear infection - a slight one in your right ear - as a result of being so congested. This made Mama and Daddy very sad!
• You laughed out loud for the first time when you were eight weeks old and do it all the time now. You like mornings best and when Daddy gets home- you smile and play so much then!
• You'v lost most of your baby hair - except at the back, so you kind of have a "skullet." Your crazy hair just keeps growing.
• You are not a huge fan of your car seat - but you are getting better at being in it.
• You had your first airplane rides last week! We went to Texas to visit friends and family. Daddy had to stay home and work and BOY did he miss you! We sent him pictures every few hours. Everyone loved meeting you and you were such a good boy! You just let everyone love on you. Mama is still recovering from our trip - all of the running around made us both exhausted. You did awesome on the flight - you ate and slept the whole way through.
• Yesterday you did the cutest thing! You were in your bouncy chair while I was on a business call. I walked over to get you after the call ended and you smiled so big when you saw me. It melted my heart!
• You are so adorable and wonderful - Daddy and I are still debating if I will go back to work... It's a tough choice but I know we will do our best to make the right one for our family.
• You have started rubbing your eyes when you're sleepy - so cute!
• We have stayed in the house a lot this month because we have had SO much snow and I don't like to take you out in that. This has actually been a record breaking month of snow and I will be glad when spring is here so we can go on walks outside!
• You love music - country music is your favorite!
• Man can you blow out a diaper! It's pretty funny and pretty messy!

We love you so much, baby, and are so proud of you! You are growing so fast and amaze us with all the new things you do each day.

Love,

Mama

Not So Much...

Before Hayden was born, I thought I was pretty well prepared to be a mommy. I had worked at several daycare centers in college (and for a few months when we first moved to Pittsburgh) and have friends and family with babies and kids who are pretty great about sharing with me. I have watched my little cousins by myself while their parents were out of town, kept my godchildren and babysat. I was nervous about the whole labor part, but not about the whole bringing baby home and being a mommy part. How quickly I discovered how little I knew! Everything is so different when it's your own and when that little one is your responsibility 24/7. I definitely have a new amount of respect for all of my mommy friends. WOW! Being a mommy is certainly the most rewarding and the hardest job on the planet (as is being a daddy - this is just written from my perspective and in no way is meant to downplay the importance of dads). Here are some things I have realized since becoming Hayden's mommy.

1. Sometimes you're doing good just to find time to brush your teeth. Seriously, especially after my Mom went back to Texas, finding time to brush my teeth can be hard. Some days, Hayden just needs me more in the morning and then I am busy doing household chores while he sleeps, so I don't find the time to brush my teeth. I do manage to get them brushed before Chip gets home from work. Now, I have figured it out, after I feed Hayden at 6, I give him to Chip for morning Daddy snuggle time (and Daddy changing diaper time) while I go to the bathroom, take my birth control (weird since I haven't taken it in almost five years), wash my face and brush my teeth. I normally take a shower during one of Hayden's morning naps or I wait until after Chip gets home.



2. Yes, it does take three hours sometimes to get out the door. It's the getting out the door part taht is so important. For my mental health, and Hayden's, we need to get out and about - even though it may take me three hours and we only run to Target. The fresh air, seeing other people, it's what we both need. That being said - I won't get out if the weather is iffy - I trust myself, just not other people and don't want to put Hayden in harm's way if I don't have to.



3. Spit up down the boobs, in the hair or on your shoulder is just a way of life and can also been thought of as your new perfume. Now, it just makes me laugh. I clean up Hayden and then realize that crusty substance on my chest is from Hayden. I also have learned how important it is to change those pads in my bra, because eww! Not a nice smell.



4. There is SO a difference in diapers and diaper rash ointment. I didn't completely get this until Hayden. We have to use a different brand at night because he will wet through his diaper and pj's if we don't. We use Pampers Swaddler diapers during the day and Pampers Baby Dry at night. We have tried many, many brands and these two work the best for us.



5. What works for other babies may or may not work for yours and sometimes that changes day to day. You learn that you do what works for your family and go with that. Most importantly, you learn not to judge what works for other families. I was given two books that some friends of ours used and loved - Becoming Babywise and The Happiest Baby on the Block. I read both and tried some techniques from both. Some worked awesome and others failed miserably. From Babywise, I tried following the schedule recommended and putting Hayden down before he was asleep and letting him cry. This went on for 10 minutes - he was so upset that he was doing the hiccup crying. Then I started crying. This didn't work for us - I can't do it and that is okay. One technique that did work from Babywise was, at night, to feed Hayden when he woke up and put him right back down. This normally works - some nights it doesn't and I am okay with that. Chip or I will rock or hold Hayden to settle him down. Crying is his way of telling us that he needs us and we are happy to oblige and comfort him. From Happiest Baby, the swaddling and shhshhing works for us. Hayden doesn't like to be swaddled any longer - but for his first month, he really liked it. Right now, we have a hybrid version of parenting - baby and parent led, attachment, babywise and happiest. This works for our family. Hayden sleeps in his new monkey or in the bassinett beside our bed. He naps wherever he falls asleep - be it his crib, pack and play, monkey, swing or infant seat. Sometimes he sleeps in my arms on or Chip's chest at naptime and we just enjoy those sweet moments, because, before we know it, those moments will be gone.



6. You won't hesitate to buy something for your baby, but you (happily) put yourself on the back burner when it comes to buying for yourself. For example, buying a monkey infant seat for your baby and telling your spouse that is your Valentine's gift from him to you.



7. You wouldn't trade one moment of your life and now know that your life is complete. The love we have for Hayden is indescribable. He was well worth the wait and we love him so very much. Look at his sweet face - how could we not fall in love the instant we saw it (and before)?

The Weather Outside is Frightful...

Our house

Chip's truck

Our street - after being plowed on Sunday

Normally, I tend to think that the news hypes up the weather - they will talk about a severe snow storm and we only get a few inches. Well, this time, the weather lived up to the hype it received. The news said we would get about a foot of snow beginning Friday afternoon and ending Saturday afternoon. In reality, two and half feet of snow is what fell from the sky. The official reading is 21.3 inches, making this snow storm the 4th largest in Pittsburgh history - the last snow storm of this magnitude was in 1993.

So, how did this Texan cope with all that snow? At first, I was mesmerized by how beautiful it was and looked forward to a lazy weekend in my pj's with my two favorite guys. I thought about how exciting the snow will be next year when we can play with Hayden in it. Then, at 1:30 on Saturday morning, we lost power. I freaked - we have a six week old baby and a vehicle snowed in with streets that weren't plowed. I have experienced power outages in the blazing heat of Texas, but not in the cold. Luckily, the low was in the upper 20's, so it wasn't SO scary. We bundled Hayden up in his fleece sleeper, socks, hat, fuzzy blanket and slept with him on our chests to make sure he stayed warm. At 9:00, the temperature in our bedroom was 60 and it was 54 downstairs. We text messaged three of our friends who lived nearby to see if they had power. They all did and invited us over. Chip went outside and started digging out the Durango (thank God we have a 4x4 vehicle and that Chip knows how to drive in this madness). Our friends that live a half mile up the road invited us to their house. It took us until 10:30 to get there due to Chip having to dig out the car and driveway and then to drive there on unplowed streets. I have never been so grateful for power!







Chip went back and forth between their house and ours several times to check on the girls (they were doing fine upstairs where the temperature stayed around 60). When the 9 o'clock news said the low would be 8, Chip headed to our house to get the dogs and bring them to our friends to stay in their basement. When he got to our house and our power was back on, so he came back and picked Hayden and I up. I am very thankful that our power company had our power back on so quickly and that we have friends who took us in.







Now, the news is predicting another 10 inches by tomorrow afternoon. This is crazy! Hayden and I will stay house bound - poor Chip has to go to work. The snow is gorgeous though - it does look like we are in a snow globe. I will be thankful when Hayden and I go to Texas to visit next week - we need to thaw out!


:::

On another snow related note, how is it that the news finds the most interesting people to interview? They did a segment on people who didn't have power and two of the people interviewed had little ones! One had a three month old and two younger kids and were using a kerosene heater to warm their home. NOT SAFE! Another family had a one year old with sickle cell amenia and couldn't have his breathing treatments since they had no power. My heart just breaks for those kids to be in such cold houses. Chip and I had talked and, if we couldn't get out, were going to call 911 to come get us and take us to a hotel. Once we saw the news, we realized that there are warming stations all over the city for those without power. I have never heard of such a thing - but Chip knew about them.

February Pictures Link

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=146232&id=573142638&l=1d5a545aa2

Post to come tomorrow

Updated January link

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=137626&id=573142638&l=787173a6fc

Snow pictures
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=146239&id=573142638&l=fe809d39ca

Resolve

My New Year's resolutions this year are to be the best wife and mommy that I can be - to give my family the love and attention they deserve. As any new mom can tell you, when you have a new baby, things like housework, laundry, meals, etc. get put on the back burner a bit (actually a lot). I am a task oriented person, so while I am at home on maternity leave and "my job" wasn't getting done at the level I wanted it to, I felt worthless. How was I being a good wife when I wasn't keeping a good home? Chip never made me feel this way, he doesn't equate being a good wife with those things. I just have to be me. Why couldn't I just be happy with that? Many wives would give anything to have a husband like mine. Then I had a realization - our sweet baby is NOT going to be a baby for long - there will always be housework. Pretty obvious, right?

Having this moment made me realize that by being a good mommy and taking care of our baby boy that God has blessed us with, I am being a good wife as well. I am so amazed at the awesome gifts in my life. God is so good to us! He even provided a way for me to keep at least a handle on the housework through the form of a website that my friend Mia shared - justmommies.com. Try the Home Organization Plan under Tools. It's pretty great!

So now - I still resolve to keep my resolutions and I can't think of anything else that I would rather do. Excuse me - I'm off to cuddle my little man before he won't let me anymore...