The Word "No"

Is apparently the funniest word in our household at this moment. A is into EVERYTHING at this point and even though we have baby proofed most things, there are still items that I feel he needs to learn not to touch. I mean, I can't put protective barriers around everything. Especially since our house really isn't that big.

A is learning the word "no". However, when you tell him no, he literally thinks it's hilarious and will crinkle his nose up and start giggling and then go right back at what he was doing. Whether it be trying to pull up on the trash can, playing with the dog food bowl, or sticking the dog's ball in his mouth (yummy, I know). However, the other night we had a little bit of a breakthrough. While at Nana and Papa's house, he was messing with something on the coffee table (a decoration) and Nana and I both told him "no" at the same time. He looked at me and immediately got tears in his eyes and stuck his bottom lip out. Of course, it literally lasted all of 2 seconds and then he was back at it and decided the word "no" was funny again.

Oh well, I am sure it will sink in one of these days. I have tried yuck and ouch also to try to get his attention, but they don't seem to work either. Like I said, I am sure we will figure it out one of these days.

On another note....A refuses his sippy cup while at home. He will drink from it at the sitter's, but will not at home. I also don't think we have any desire for juice. I have been trying and trying and trying and he just isn't having it. I have tried several different sippy cups too. The one that he seems to respond to the best is the N.u.by. Any suggestions?

I am ready for the Holidays. Basically I am just excited to be able to see family and for A to see family he hasn't seen in a really long time. And, we downgraded our vehicle this weekend. We will be saving quite a bit on our monthly payment and also our insurance! Yay!! We needed the little bit that we are saving. Times are tough and they don't seem to be getting any better at this point. It's literally one thing after another...but we are making it! And enjoying every minute with our little man!

A's First Halloween!

Hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween! I know we enjoyed every bit of it with camping and lots of trick or treating!

I'm pretty sure my little Scarecrow enjoyed himself too :)

Planning

I am trying to start planning for A's 1st birthday. I am at a loss! I can't make up my mind what kind of theme I want to go with or even where we are going to have it! Our house is not nearly big enough to have a party in. I'm sure we will be inviting several people, which means they will not all fit in our little house :)

Some of the themes I am thinking are zoo animals or maybe tractors (our family is big in farming and has been since before I was born). A hasn't really shown any interest in one specific thing just yet. We just enjoy getting into whatever we can right now :)

The other thing that makes his birthday hard, it is literally only 2 weeks after Christmas! Can we say crazy?!?! We are going to have sooo much going on once December/January hit. It will be unreal. I guess things will start to fall into place once I decide what type of theme I am going to go with. Decisions, decisions!!

Ear Infections...

We have them....again. Mind you, A just got done with an antibiotic for the last double ear infection this past Saturday. Not cool. This is the third time in just 3 months that A has been diagnosed with an ear infection (or two). Things are not looking so well for my little man.

The first one, I picked him up from the sitter and thought that he had an ear full of baby food that for whatever reason, they missed. Yea, that definitely wasn't baby food the more I got to looking. So, of course, by that time I couldn't go to our Pediatrician and we had to go to Urgent Care (which means you sit for a couple hours just to see the Dr. and then sit in the room for about an hour to see him again...pretty much like the ER).

A kept getting colds through September and then developed a nasty cough a few weeks ago. When I took him in to our Pediatrician, we were told he had a double ear infection and was put on a little bit stronger dose of Am.ox.i.cillen. Went back to the Dr. last Thursday and was told that the infection was definitely pretty much gone. We finished the antibiotic on Saturday.

Which brings us to Tuesday evening. I had to run to the store and A was not having it being in his stroller and immediately had tears when he started fussing. Of course, this was not normal. When we got home I took his temp and gave him some tylenol. He wanted to go to sleep by 6:15 (again, not normal) Of course, I thought it had to be that he was getting more teeth (remember we just finished antibiotic). Had a fever through the night but was then better the next morning. Wednesday was a good day. Thursday (yesterday) I noticed after he woke up that we had a nice full ear....again. So, hubby got the pleasure of heading to the Dr. again. And we are diagnosed with another, wonderful, double ear infection. And back on antibiotic.

My poor little man. I wish there was more that I could do for him. I wish the dang infections would just go away. I really don't want to have to put tubes in his ears, but it looks like we might be heading that direction. Bummer.

On a brighter note, my hubby is on vacation starting tomorrow all the way through Halloween. Should be a good week! My living room/dining room/hallway is getting painted! Yay! And I plan to put him to work doing lots of cleaning that I can't seem to EVER get done :) Oh, and we will be camping over Halloween weekend. It should be a really nice weekend! A is going as the scarecrow from Wizard of Oz because my neice is going as Dorothy! I will post pictures later!

9 Month Checkup

......was today :) Little man is getting way too big for his britches! He weighs just over 21lbs and is in the 72nd percentile. And is in the 76th percentile for his height. Not sure the exact measurement for that, but he is tall for his age.

He had to get 2 shots today. One for the first round of flu vaccine and the other for the final Hep B vaccine. He usually does pretty well with the shots and only cries a little bit and today was not any different than normal. It probably helped that he was ready for a bottle when he was done too. Ah, comfort food! We all have it. lol

And...we are finally crawling! Well, when we really, really, want something or are removed from something that we don't need to have. He is still trying to figure it out fully. He has been trying to pull up on everything too. He can get to his knees, but not all the way to his feet without some extra help.

He has become so interactive and I am absolutely loving this age! My little man is full of smiles and giggles almost constantly. You tell him no, and he giggles...you make a funny noise and he giggles...and so on. I love it!

We have been battling a couple ear infections for the past couple months. He had one in August and then had a double ear infection just this past week, but with the follow up today things are looking much better. Which is fantastic. However, his Dr. is already on his toes considering it's not even ear infection season (if there is such a thing?? because according to the Pediatrician there is).

My little man is really growing up now. I wish that time would just stand still for a little bit so that I can keep him little for as long as possible. Like I said, I am loving this stage right now :)

Almost to the 9 month mark!!

A will be 9 months old tomorrow! I really can't believe it! We go back to the Dr. on the 14th, so we will know then how much he has grown since his 6 month checkup. I am going to venture to guess that my son is now around 21lb. We are starting to fit into 12 mos. clothing. We are still wearing some 9 mos items, but our sleepers are definitely getting too short in the sleeves and legs. We have bought some 12mos pj's, but not sleepers. The sleepers just look sooo big. :( I want my baby to slow down a little bit haha.

So, some of A's accomplishments recently...

1. We finally started sitting ourself up from laying on our belly yesterday. He had been doing it in his crib for a couple nights before yesterday, but finally started doing it more throughout the day.

2. We still aren't quite crawling. He is so close right now! He is rocking on his hands and knees like crazy and starting to get the motions of moving his arms, but he just scoots his legs. Or if something is out of his reach, he will literally launch himself toward it from his hands and knees and land on his belly just within reach of it.

3. We now have 4 teeth! His top two teeth came in just last week and he has decided that it's really fun to grit them together. For me, not so much. I hate the sound that it makes and it makes me cringe every time he does it.

4. We love spitting. We are constantly spitting. It makes it really hard to feed him when all he wants to do is spit as soon as he takes a bite. I think I usually end up wearing more of it than he actually eats. He had actually figured out the spitting a few months ago, but has recently decided that it's really a lot of fun again. I know this is just a phase, but it gets a little frustrating at meal times...lol.

5. We are trying all kinds of new foods! We had dinner at Nana and Papa's last week and he got to try some meatloaf. I figured it was soft enough that he could figure out what to do with it and he did. He LOVED it. And of course, he enjoys pieces of biscuits and rolls. And has had some scrambled egg. I don't think we have found anything that he will not eat. Which is awesome! I have a really good eater on my hands. I'm hoping that will make me start to eat a little bit better once he really starts eating more than just baby food.

I think that's it. I am sure there is more, but that's it for now! My mom mentioned to me yesterday that I needed to start planning A's 1st birthday soon. Especially since it's literally right after Christmas and only 3 months away! I can't believe it...it makes me sad.

And by the way...hubby is already talking about baby #2. Yikes! My Dr. actually told me at my August appointment that yes, we needed to really start seriously thinking about #2 soon. That really scares me as money is really tight right now and I'm not sure I am ready for #2. I want to enjoy my little man and all his milestones for now. We shall see. Until next time!

Weaning... :(

So my supply has been slowly dwindling down for the past couple of months. I am not really sure what caused it to do this. The only thing I can think of, my body was not responding well to me having to pump. I haven't been able to keep up with A's intake for quite some time now and we have had to supplement with formula at least one bottle a day throughout the week. Of course, on the weekends, I would try to breastfeed as often as possible to try to get my supply back up, but it just isn't happening.

This, of course, makes me incredibly sad because I was really hoping to breastfeed through this whole first year. So, I have started to wean my little man slowly. I am now down to pumping only once during the day and then I breastfeed him right before he goes to bed and then throughout the night and for his first feeding in the morning. I will soon be taking out either the morning feeding or the right before bedtime feeding. I am leaning toward the right before bedtime feeding in hopes that he will stop waking up every night at midnight for a snack...lol. That would at least cut out one time of waking up (hopefully). He still wakes up at least 2 or 3 times a night for a little snack. Anyone have any suggestions as to which feeding would be the best to stop next?

I think I have done really well getting to the 8 month mark (this sunday...oh. my.) especially given how much trouble we had in the beginning. And maybe that's why I have never really been able to keep up with how much my little man consumes from a bottle. I don't know. I just know that this is really hard for me right now because I love the bonding time we get. But I will make it through :)

P.S. We are loving our new daycare!!! It's so nice to have a happy baby when he gets dropped off and when he gets picked up!

For your enjoyment....pictures!

So these are definitely late considering A is 7 1/2 months old and these were taken at 6 months, but the photographer did such an awesome job and I absolutely love them!! I have also been extremely busy and my internet time has been next to nothing when I am home...so therefore, you are just now getting to see the product of 6 mos pics/family pics :) But here they are!! Enjoy!

We couldn't get Blaze to cooperate for the family picture where we are sitting, but the ones that he took with A turned out awesome! They both did so well that day!

Hopefully I can start posting and commenting more since A has started to go to sleep a little bit earlier and I can get some things done in the evenings now! However, we are battling our first ear infection right now. Doesn't seem to be too bad of one. We had a rough night Sunday night, with mommy only getting about 3 1/2 hours of sleep, but we made it through and we both slept much better last night...thankfully! It's a little challenging to function on 3 hours of sleep with an 8 hour work day...

Oh, you mean you actually entertain the babies?!? They don't just lay there?

I have found a sitter!!!!! Whoo hoo!!!!!! And she is FANTASTIC!!! Absolutely wonderful! When I left from meeting with her, I wanted to cry I was so happy. She even got down on the floor and played with Aiden while she met with me. She took the time to speak with me for over an hour and let me know all the wonderful activities they do with their kids/infants throughout the day. I am so excited about sending A to her facility that I can not wait to see how he responds! He will be going from noon to 5 every day which will give my hubby, G, a little time before he goes to work at 2 to do whatever he needs to do. I am so incredibly excited with this lady. She sounds phenomenal, her facility is fantastic and clean :). I am so glad that I was able to find her. Yay!!!

A little update about A. He has a nice little cold right now. Which, is why he had been so fussy and not wanting to sleep at night. Last night he finally slept for a good chunk of time. He is not wanting to nurse right now because I think he is too stopped up to do it. So, I had to pump at 3:30 this morning while he sat and waited for me to feed him. Poor little guy. Then, of course, he didn't want to go back to sleep after he ate. Normally during the night he will nurse right back to sleep after about 10 minutes and I can lay him back down, but not last night.

These last couple of days not being able to nurse have made me really miss that precious time we have together. Not sure what I will do when it's time to start weening him from me. It makes me a little sad because I know it will be coming sooner than later. I guess I will cross that bridge when we come to it.

Teething Troubles

A is going through one heck of a time with getting his teeth right now. We had one pop up last Thursday, which my mom found, and I noticed a couple looser stools and a slight fever. Then, just the other day (Monday), the sitter I have for right now informed me that he was very fussy for her (extremely unusual) and was chewing on everything he could get his hands on. That evening, I noticed the top of another tooth. Both of these teeth are on the bottom.

Last night and today have been BAD. Last night, my poor little man was up nearly every 3o-60 minutes fussing. We tried the pacifier (sometimes helps when he chews on it), nursing, teething tablets, and tylenol. My hubby finally took him to the la-z-boy and they fell asleep for the rest of the morning (from about 5-6). Hubby has been reporting to me most of today that A has been pretty much non-stop fussing. He did take about a 2 hour nap late morning, but was fussy again when he woke up and was running a little bit of a fever. So, hubby gave him some more tylenol and teething tablets.

I told him to put a wet washcloth in the freezer for a little bit and then give it to him later to chew on. Hopefully that will help a little bit. We have teethers that he has been chewing on. Any other suggestions?? I hope he sleeps better tonight...it makes me wanna cry when my baby boy is not feeling well and I don't have an immediate solution. I just hope he starts feeling better soon.

We had some late pictures taken of our family and Aiden. I will post some as soon as I get the cd mailed to me. From what I have seen so far, they are awesome! I love them! Can't wait to see the rest!

6 months already?!?! Where has the time gone??

Wow....it has been a long time since my last post. A lot has happened since then too! Where the heck do I begin??

We are 6 months now!!! A turned 6 months on the 5th of July! He finally decided that he could roll from his belly to his back before getting too ticked off for being on his belly. However, once he is on his back, he is perfectly content to just stay there. He will roll to either side, but has yet to go from his back to his belly. He will get there one of these days!! :)

We have begun solid foods. We started these around 5 months. He is very interested in everything that mommy and daddy are eating and drinking, so he is enjoying having something else to taste other than breastmilk throughout the day! He has enjoyed carrots, green beans, sweet potatoes, bananas, apples, and peaches so far. My child is not much on the cereal front, but he is getting better!

The newest development...we are starting to sit up unassisted. Well, in the tripod position. This includes making sure his arms are helping to keep him stable in between his legs when sitting up, but we are getting there! I can't believe it!

We had our 6 month checkup today. Here are our stats:
Weight - 18lb. .5oz - 57th percentile
Height - 27in. - 67th percentile
And of course, we had to get a few more shots. My heart breaks every time! I can't hardly bear to see him cry after the shots.

And lastly...my son has managed to, at 6 months old, get kicked out of the sitter's. How you may ask? First off, lets keep in mind the sitter only had to watch him 3 hours a day 4 days a week. The rest of the time he is with my husband and on Fridays, my MIL watches him. Well, the friday before the 4th, I am informed by my sitter than she "just can't do it anymore". She said that he required way too much of her attention and wanted to be held too much and it wasn't fair to the other kids. Lets also keep in mind that she had no other children under the age of 18 months. All are able to walk and feed themselves and pretty much keep themselves entertained, for the most part. So, since my son required a little bit of extra attention, he was ousted.

I, of course, decided that I really don't want my son going there anyway if she felt that a 6 month old (who actually wasnt even 6 mos yet) required too much attention. I don't know about you guys, but I don't really want my child laying in a pack and play the entire time he is at the sitter's. So, I now have someone coming into our home, whom I trust dearly, giving him all the attention he could possibly want for the time being :) This is until she has to go back to college in the fall. Which means I have to continue looking for a more permanent solution. But, it got my son out of the old sitter's house quickly!

Sorry I have not updated in such a long time. I also have to mention that I had a recent job change. As in, the 6th of July, started with another agency. Still doing social work, case management, but with another agency. Hoping this will be a nice change for a while :) Until next time!

The teeth...they are coming...

I would just like to say.....I believe we have begun the teething process. The last 3 nights have been, wonderful *sarcasm* :) A has gone back to being up every 2-3 hours and then when he falls asleep, wakes up as soon as his head lays on the mattress. I blame my hubby for this by the way....the whole waking up as soon as he is laid down part. Hubby likes to sleep with him in the la-z-boy pretty much every morning. I think he has gotten used to it. Which makes it incredibly hard for me to put him down at night and throughout the night. Any sudden move wakes him up immediately.

So, on with the whole teething thing...yea, I do believe that is what is happening. I know that at this stage everything goes to the mouth as soon as it's in his hands anyway, but instead of sucking on his pacifier, we are now literally gnawing the dang thing. There is no more sucking, it's all out going to town gumming.

I ended up getting, oh, about 4 hours of sleep last night. He was literally awake for about a 2 1/2 hour stretch at one point. Let me just say, almost all of last week, we were getting anywhere from 5-7 hour stretches at night. It was heavenly! This all came crashing down Sunday night.

So, last night, we went for the infant tylenol, baby orajel, and a teether. It worked for the most part. He at least slept for another hour and a half.

Are there any other suggestions?? Something I might be missing? I have been told to get teething tablets. Not exactly sure what these are, but dang it, I am heading to T.ar.get tonight to get some! :)

Lots to report!

We have hit a milestone! My son has been sleeping for 5 to 6 hour stretches during the night! It's absolutely fantastic! It makes me feel much more rested when I get up for that early morning feeding. And puts me in a much better mood the rest of the day :)


A has discovered his hands! This actually happened about a week ago. Every chance he gets, those babies are in his mouth and he is just gumming away and slobbering them up! :) I love it!


He is getting so much more vocal now too. He will let out a little scream if no one is paying attention to him to let us know "Hey, I'm still here!". He coos and babbles like crazy! I am still waiting for the giggles, but we get lots and lots of smiles now. His smile lights up the room!


A is also lifting his legs every chance he gets and really working his muscles. He is also really starting to hold up his head much more steady. We still have the occasional bobble, but for the most part, we have got it!


I really can not believe how much he has grown just in 4 months. I swear he changes daily! :)

We have both had a rough past week or so because we have been sick. A has actually gotten hoarse from crying :( That is not fun...I hope he is not like his momma and end up getting sick every time the weather changes. We shall see. I just hope he gets to feeling better soon!

Wanna win a really cool prize?!?!

I am reaching out to my fellow blog readers! Bon is needing assistance in raising money to help with the adoption of their little girl in Africa. Currently, they are working on turning in their second payment to their agency, which assists with their daughter getting into a safe foster home in Africa, working on getting the adoption going through the African government, visa, passport and many other items to get them that much closer to getting their little one here safe and sound in their arms!

Every week Bon has been giving away cool prizes here. If you click on this link, you will see the extra awesome prize that is being given away through May 2nd!! An Apple iPod Touch!! Everybody loves iPods! You can do so many things with an iPod Touch....play games, listen to music, check your facebook, and the list goes on and on! So, please, please, please, if you are reading this, check her raffle out and chip in! If you want to enter to win, each entry is $5. Each entry is given a number and when they are ready to draw for the prize they pick a number through random number generator. It's for an excellent cause!! Lets help Bon get their little girl home quickly!!

Also, you can help in other ways too! Check out the sidebar and you can purchase plants through a site that is also assisting them with their adoption. There is only 5 days left if you are wanting to purchase some beautiful plants/flowers to put out for late spring and early summer! So go check it out!!! THANK YOU!!!!

Brotherly Love

I imagine A saying in this picture..."What do you think you're doing in my picture? Dad! He's in my picture!" Blaze..."Would you stop crying about it already. "

A...."Okay, lets act like we like each other so we can get this over with."

Really, I do think Blaze is finally figuring out what this is all about. He still gets a little jealous at times and we have to watch his big feet, but all in all he is doing really well :) They will definitely be best friends before we know it!

Helping out a friend :)

For anyone who is interested....head on over to B&K's adoption fundraiser!! She gives away great prizes every week for just $5/entry :) Of course it's for a great cause to bring home their little girl from Africa! In order to do this, they need your help!

They also have a fundraiser for ordering flowers that you should check out! If you love gardening and planting flowers, check it out! There is a button to click on her sidebar to head over to the site! I plan on making a few purchases here really soon! Thanks everyone!

Pictures! :)

Wanted to post a few pictures of my little man! Enjoy!

My sister got him this little outfit :) And here is the back...

(sorry the picture didnt rotate) If you can't tell, the exclamation mark is actually a little sword :)

This is a few days after he turned 2 months old :) Getting so big!

And I caught a smile!!

2 month update!

We have hit the 2 month mark! Well, we actually hit the 2 month mark on the 5th, so I am a little behind on posting updates :)

Our little man is doing so well!! Since he was 5 weeks early, developmentally, we are supposed to add a month and a half to the normal, full-term milestones, which makes him only around 3 weeks or so. So...we are finally cooing a lot more and just getting ready to start smiling at mommy when she makes funny faces. I can get little smirks out of him occasionally, which works for me! I know it's just right around the corner.

He is also doing really well with lifting his head. He looks like a little drunk man most of the time, but is really working on those neck muscles! Mommy is so proud :) We also love our tummy time when we are wide awake and will sigh and coo like crazy! It's so stinking adorable!

Blaze update...he is getting better at not being quite so jealous. There for a while, as soon as I would start feeding A, he would decide that he needed a drink from the sink (yea, I know...the In-laws started that), go outside even just to stand and not do anything, or play. And by the way, when he wants something, he will just keep barking at you until he gets it. And...his bark is incredibly loud given how large he is. So, he is getting better at understanding that this little thing that cries and poops and disturbs his sleep, takes a little more priority. I know that one day he will be so incredibly protective of A and they will have the best relationship. He is already to the point where he will come running when A is really crying and make sure that I am not doing anything to hurt his baby. It's pretty cute :)

So back to my little man...we had our 2 month check up yesterday. He now weighs 10lb. 15.5oz and is 23 inches long! He is growing so much!! I just can't believe it! We also got a couple shots, which almost made mommy cry because he was crying so much. But we made it through and do not have to go back until he is 4 months! Pictures to come soon!!

Lots to report!

Ah, I have so much to update!! I truly am finding it impossible to blog while I am at home...so now that I am back to work, I will try to update as much as I can :)

Which brings me to my first topic....I am back to work. It sucks. I wish I could stay at home with my little man. However, the hospital bills on top of all of our regular bills are pounding at my doorstep. So, back to work I had to go. This is my second week back. My first day back didn't go too bad, it was just super long. Each day slowly got better. As long as I am keeping myself busy, I am okay :) Even though, I miss my little man like crazy! I rush out the door at 5 so that I can pick him up from the sitter as soon as possible.

He is doing really well at the sitter's. She only has him for a total of 3 hours a day. The rest of the day he is with his daddy. They are getting along great too :) I am so proud of my hubby!

We have made a breakthrough!! I am pleased to report that he is now fully nursing from me! (well, when I am home from work) This Saturday was the first day it happened. I was so excited!! And, he has decided that he does not have an issue with my right side anymore, which makes me very happy! No more having to use the nipple shield to get him to nurse!! Yay! It's exciting stuff I tell you...

And I am not really sure where the time has gone, but my little man will be 2 months old this Friday! He is getting really good at holding his head up (we still wobble a little, but he is getting steadier) and he is starting to make a couple more little sighs. He is also starting to notice things more. I can't believe how much he has changed since we brought him home from the hospital.

We go for our 2 month checkup on Monday...he is getting more shots and I think I might cry at this one. The nurse warned us that the shots this time are much worse than any of the others he has had. I am definitely not looking forward to it. I don't like to hear my little man crying.

I think that's all for now! I am trying to catch up on blogs and send comments...so please don't think I am not reading, because I definitely am!

One Month old!!

I havent updated for a while now, so I figured I better let everyone know how things are going over here! We are doing well so far :) Aiden is growing like a weed! We had his 1 month check up this past Friday and he now weighs 7lb 14oz and is 20 1/2 inches long! I am amazed at how he is changing with each passing week!

We are still having nursing issues. I am still supplementing with a bottle after he nurses. And, I am still pumping away every 3-4 hours. It's very time consuming. He has also decided that for whatever reason, he does not like my right side. I have been using a nipple shield to help with this because it seemed as though he was not able to latch on like he should. It has been helping, but when I take it off, we are back at square one. Definitely a little frustrating.

It's tiring. We have somewhat of a schedule right now...he usually eats about every 3 hours and sleeps great! He is a snuggler. So, sometimes he won't even think about sleep unless he is cuddled on mine or his daddy's chest.

I have two more weeks until I have to go back to work. I am not liking that fact. I can't stand the thought of leaving my little man with a complete stranger while I am at work and DH is at work. Luckily, it will only be for about 3 hours a day. And he will be with his grandma on Friday afternoons.

Someone is getting fussy :) I apologize for not commenting on blogs lately...I promise there will come a time when I can do that again! lol

***One Month***

We are home!!

Now that we are finally home and getting settled...I am going to do a quick post. I will try to get caught up on everyone's blogs here before too long. I think I am starting to get in the hang of things...

However, I am a little frustrated. I have been breastfeeding since day 1. He will occasionally have a good run, but then yesterday, he would not nurse from me at all. Now, I have been pumping since the day he was born and I am going to be completely honest, it's getting old. I know he is premature and small, but it would be nice to not have to spend an extra 15 minutes pumping after I have spent at least 30 minutes with him either trying to nurse, or taking a bottle (of course, it's all from me via bottle...but still). I am at a loss of what to do. And it's frustrating. And by the time I get done with all of that, I have maybe an hour to relax before we have to start it all over again. Sorry, I have to vent.

I know that he is eating well, I would just like for him to start taking more from just me and cutting out the bottle. I know it's going to take time, but it's hard when one time he will go for 30 minutes with me and the next wont even latch at all.

So, other than that, things are going great. I can't believe he is actually here! I am definitely enjoying every minute that I get with him because I know our time together is going to fly by. :(

Oh yes, we came home on Friday afternoon from the NICU :) Yay!! And I leave you with a picture...

We have our little man safe and sound :)

Well...it has definitely been a whirlwind of craziness!! Let's get started shall we?? A little rundown...

Dr. appointment last Tuesday my BP was up too high. My Dr. checked my cervix and I was dilated 1-2cm. He sent me down to Triage to be monitored for up to 24 hours. (This was around 9:30am). I was going to be put on bedrest after my monitoring for the rest of my pregnancy. I was showing major signs of pre-eclampsia.

We had an ultrasound done to see how the little man was measuring and we couldnt get a great reading. We were told around 5lb. 12oz. Back to the room to be monitored. Went to the bathroom....and my water broke. 34 weeks and 5 days. We checked to make sure that was what happened and of course, it was. I was checked into a room and labor was starting. I was upset. This was not how I had foreseen things to happen. But, like it or not, he was coming.

They started me on Pitocin to get things going. My contractions started to be right on top of the other and I was given my epidural just in time. They actually took me off the Pitocin to put more space between contractions. About an hour or two later I was dilating quickly on my own.

Aiden was born at 9:13pm on the 5th of January. Just a few short hours before my 26th birthday. What a birthday present huh?? :) He weighed 6lb 7oz and was 19 inches long. He is beautiful.

We are in the NICU as I write this. We will be in here until at least Friday. Things are going well, just have to be monitored a little more. He is a little jaundice, so he has to be under the bilirubin blanket most all times. They are also giving him caffeine for a couple episodes of apnea that he has had. They have to monitor him for that.

I will post more later....this is the first time I have been able to do anything!

And what will tomorrow bring??

I have another Dr. appointment tomorrow in the AM. I am really hoping that things will be looking better at this one...however, I am not so sure that will happen. I think my blood pressure was up a little bit today. Also, a lot of my coworkers noticed that my face is definitely a little puffy :( Not cool.

My feet are still swollen pretty badly and all I can really wear are my slip-on beaver creeks. Even those are a little tight. And it scares me to wear them because they tend to be a little slippery on the bottoms...I had a pair on when I busted my butt at work before Christmas.

I will be updating tomorrow sometime after my Dr. appointment. Again, really hoping that things look a little better! I know they weren't horrible last week, but the Dr. definitely did not like my results...so we shall see! Until tomorrow...

More Nursery Pics!

As promised...some updated pictures of the nursery. We are still working on it, but it's pretty much done for the most part :) I would like to get something hanging above the crib because the wall is a little bare, but we will see!

Blaze decided that he wanted to be in the first picture...Of course, there are still things that I would like to get put somewhere. But it's definitely much neater than what it was a few days ago. I still need to make a shelf in our kitchen for bottles and cups and all things baby :) Also, I still have lots of clothing items that need to be washed. And I still need another valance. Hopefully they will get more in soon!

Yay for getting more and more organized!

A new year!

Things are starting to come together with getting ready for our little man!! I have washed all of our blankets, socks, bibs, sleepers, and some other things. Now, I just have to start washing actual clothes.

I am still making my list of things we still need to have by the time he gets here, but it's coming along! His bag is pretty much packed...minus the outfit we are bringing him home in. Now, I just have to start packing mine! I got some comfy new PJ's from my Mom to take with me (they are nursing ones!) to the hospital, now I just need to get some comfy new slippers!

I have still been swelling quite a bit in my feet. My hands are getting worse too. I have to wear a brace at night on my right hand, which helps some, but not totally. I go back to the Dr. Tuesday morning. We will see if my BP is still up or not and whether I still have protein in my urine or not. If so, I will be seeing him weekly until this baby comes out on his own, or the Dr. decides that it's time for him to come out.

My 26th birthday is Wednesday. Wow. It's craziness. I will probably be spending the evening at home by myself because hubby will be working...oh well. :) I am sure I will be doing more laundry!

Hope everyone enjoyed their New Year. Hubby and I spent the evening on the couch watching a movie in our PJ's and went to bed shortly after the ball dropped. It was nice. And uneventful :) A fantastic evening.

2010 is going to be a great year for us :) I am really excited to get things going. Lots of changes are in store for our family!! I will be posting more pictures of our nursery before too long. We finally got new blinds and are now waiting to get our other valance (currently out of stock in store and online) to make it complete. Car seat bases are in both vehicles and ready to go and everything that needed to be assembled is also ready to go :) I can't believe how close we are getting!