3 Months Old!!

Wow! You can see my big guy is a happy little camper! Today he is 3 months old and the light of my eye.

At 3 months old you:

• are sleeping 8-9 hours at night
• go to bed around 11pm with no trouble
• like using your paci when putting yourself to sleep
• nurse every 3 hours
• hold your head up great
• are starting to grab things
• like to chew on your hands
• still do not like tummy time
• have outgrown all 0-3 months clothes
• are too long for some 3-6 month clothes
• are wearing size 2 diapers
• occasionally giggle if we work for it
• love going for walks in your stroller
• don't give daddy much trouble when mommy has to work

I think that about sums it up! I love seeing what each new day has to bring and I can't wait to watch him grow.

Work is going good and I seem to be surviving on about 4 hours of sleep each day. I worked an extra shift this week so it was a little harder than it normally will be. Since I work in the ICU it is hard to slip away every time I need to pump because someone else has to watch my patients for at least half an hour, at least twice a shift. So if my people are busy, and other patients are busy...that makes it a big inconvenience. Thankfully everyone is pretty understanding and doesn't mind much.

My hubby has been sick the last few days. They sent him home from class Thursday morning because the flu has been going around so much. Evidently Oklahoma is one of the hardest hit with the H1N1 flu so far. Yay for us! But he seems like he is starting to get better so we're grateful for that! I swiped some masks from work for him to wear since he has to take care of Bradley while I'm working/sleeping. We don't want him getting sick!!

This morning I got my flu shot at work, and they say the H1N1 vaccines should be coming in next month. Yes I will have to get that too. If any of us come down with the flu, we can't come back to work for at least a week. But I haven't been sick in a few years so let's hope I continue that trend. Any of the patients that they suspect to have the flu are put on precautions until it is ruled out. Can't wait to see what this winter holds!

Working, Wedding Presents and Baby Sneezes

We kind of bypassed the "12 Week" marker, for that I apologize! But this Saturday is the big **3 month** day so we'll make up for it then! First off, here is the most recent picture of my growing boy:

I am officially back to work now. I started last Friday night and I have to admit, I kind of wanted to throw up on the way there because I was so nervous. Thankfully it all came back to me and I had a pretty easy assignment. I guess it's like riding a bike! I remembered my routine and had excellent time management. Of course I had to fit in calling my husband every hour though :)

All in all, he did very well with Bradley over the weekend. He only has to feed him twice and then it's bedtime around 11pm. We have him into a pretty good routine so he doesn't give us any trouble going to bed now! And thank you so much Jesus it is getting a bit earlier and earlier every week. We are so blessed that he sleeps good at night--I hear so many stories of the babies that don't sleep at night for months.

For me on the other hand...I get VERY little sleep during the day because I feed him when I get home around 8am...and then around 11am...and then around 2pm...and usually after that I can't go back to sleep so I get up then work all night and do it again the next day. And since I'm just working Friday and Saturday nights right now, I get up around noon on Sunday so that I can switch back over to a regular schedule. Did I mention that I suck at naps so on Friday I am up from 8am until 8am the next day? Yeah. And whenever I have to work a weekday, I will have to stay up until noon the next day to wait for Nick to get home from school before I can sleep. *sigh*

Anywho, a coworker is getting married next month so some of us are rounding up presents for an impromptu bridal shower. I had the grand idea of monogramming a set of bath towels/handtowels/washcloths! I think they turned out fabulous:

Her new last name is going to be "Fry". After folding them, I wrapped a beautiful ribbon all around and packaged them into this adorable giftbag!

While we are on the subject of crafts, you recall the Batman costume I am making Bradley? Well we have had a minor setback. Evidently the plain white Gerber onesies you can buy are LYING when they say 3-6 months. Maybe if your child is skinnier than Nichole Richie. Of course I had already dyed the stupid thing grey for the costume before I tried it on him. That's what I get for trusting Gerber. I couldn't even get the stupid thing buttoned!!! But I'm sure if I had, the neck would have been pulled down so low he would have cleavage! Grrrr. So now, I have to go buy MORE onesies (6-9 months this time) and MORE grey dye and dye them once again. I'm glad I got started early!

I leave you with a cute video. Thank you and goodnight :)

Cooing in the Dark

Post #100

100 posts in one year--not too bad! I started this blog as a record for my IVF, and as an outlet for my thoughts and happenings. It is time for reflection...time to look backwards and remember what I was doing on this day last year.

September 15, 2008 was the first day of my last cycle. It was a BIG day for us because the timing had to be just right on all of the stimulants I was taking for the IVF. I remember by the end of the day I had already figured that if I were to get pregnant, my due date would be June 22, 2009. And by the grace of God that cycle worked and now our lives have forever been changed by our precious little boy!

In other news, I go back to work on Friday...*sigh*. I guess it's just the "mom" jitters because I know Nick can handle Bradley, and I'm sure he will be able to put him to bed...but I won't be there for it. I mean, I have been the one to put him to bed every night of his little life so far! I just hope everything works out smoothly and that I eventually relax.

Picture time! My mother and I are big holiday nerds, and we love to decorate for the fall and winter holidays. We usually wait till Oct. 1 to decorate for fall/Halloween, but this year we got extra ansy and decided to do it early! So a few days ago I helped her do her house, and she helped me do mine:

Yes I even decorated my son. Those two pillows behind him are some of my first sewing adventures many years ago. As soon as Halloween is over, I will take down the jack-o-lanterns and put up my turkey stuff to go with the fall decor. Can't wait! And of course, there is a pumpkin spice candle burning in the background...

Lastly, Bradley and I will be accompanying my mother on a flight to Cincinnati, OH in a couple of weeks! My mother's parents and sister live there and we only see each other every few years. It's kind of a spontaneous trip and we are leaving the big boys at home. We are leaving on the 28th and returning on the 1st. Let's hope my little guy does well on the plane and at the airport!

11 Weeks Old

Little man is 11 weeks old today!! He gets cuter everyday I think! It makes me a little sad that his hair is not as thick as it was before, but it will beef up again. The funny thing is it looks like it's coming in a bit lighter!

He likes his bath time! He has officially outgrown the little tub that we were using before, so now we fill up the big bath tub a few inches and use this neat foam thing that we got at his baby shower. He likes it, and likes to kick his legs and splash the water. For this bath, he chewed on his right hand the whole time! Usually I can get him to laugh and smile a bunch.

After we use up the last of our size 1 diapers, we are going to try on a size 2 to see how it fits. He is getting big quick!

Well this is my last weekend off for awhile. Next Friday night I go back to work. I have to soak up my little boy throughout the week! Hopefully his daddy gets the bedtime thing down easily and doesn't have too much trouble entertaining him while I sleep.

Labor Day Fun (With a Video)

The B-man had a fun first Labor Day weekend! It started off Sunday with us all driving out to Tuttle to see Grandpa Tony for some dinner. After that, we headed back to his 5 acres and hung out in the shade to wait for dark. While waiting, Nick took Bradley all around the field in his stroller, and Bradley got to watch daddy feed the neighbor's horse some grass. When it started to get dark, they chased lightning bugs.

After it got dark, my dad whooped out some leftover July 4th fireworks and lit up the night sky. I thought the noise would scare Bradley, but he watched them go up and explode and didn't squawk one bit (until he got hungry). We come home later that evening and relaxed at home.

The next day we headed over my mom and stepdad Gary's house for a noontime cookout:

(My mom recently lost 80+ pounds and looks fab) We ate burgers, hotdogs, potato salad, baked beans, etc. and it was delicious!!

Then grandpa Gary went in and brought out a present for Bradley...sunglasses! He loves them. Whenever we go for a walk now we put them on him and he doesn't have to squint in the sun.

For today, daddy ditched school and before it got too hot we got some bread and headed out to the duck pond. We were the only ones there, and those birds were hungry! Last time we went, they had been fed and wouldn't eat our bread so we had to feed the turtles, ha!

The bread store didn't have anymore old bread, so I only bought one loaf. After we got done feeding them, we took a walk around the park and took in the beautiful scenery.

10 Weeks Old and Pictures

My little sumo wrestler is now 10 weeks old and his sad mommy has to go back to work in 2 weeks. Earlier this week we got him a cute umbrella stroller, and so far every night we have taken him for a walk in it!

This is mostly what he does the whole time ^. Do you think he starting to teethe??

I have also been working on some more bibs and burp cloths with new ribbon that I got on sale at Hobby Lobby (I heart that store!). I am making the burp cloths a bit bigger than the last time I made them.

And last but not least, it is time to start thinking of Halloween costumes for the little guy! He will be four months old, and we can't wait to take him out. I looked at several ideas, but my dear hubby made an executive decision that THIS is what he should be this year:

So I am going to fashion the costume myself using this picture I stole from a costume website. I bought a onesie to dye grey. I already have black fabric for the cape, and I think I have some black pants. And I bought black and yellow felt to make the bat emblem and belt!!! Don't worry, I'll show you what it looks like when I get done...

2 Month Stats

We just returned from the pediatrician, and I was guessing Mr. Wonderful would be maybe 13lbs...well here is what the scale showed (and we ALL know the scale does not lie):

2 Months:
14 lbs
24 inches

Wow!! He also had to get 3 shots and he did NOT like them at all. My little baby was crying big time. Thankfully he only cried for a few minutes then I was able to distract him by getting him dressed and in the carseat. I will be extra cuddly with him today!

PS Did you guys hear the Duggars are expecting a 19th child?????????? Their grandchild will be older than this one!

Shirt Refashion Into Bag

I'm always up for a challenge, so my mother presented me with this one: Turn a 1x shirt into some sort of purse/bag. She has recently lost 75 lbs (yay!) and has some ginormous clothes that need to be done away with. This particular shirt was one of her favorites so she wanted me to fashion it into something else so that she didn't have to get rid of it.

The front side had the design, and the back/sleeves were plain white. So first I cut along the side seams and sleeves so that I just had one piece with the design on it.

Then I folded that in half (wrong sides together) to get a basic bag shape and cut up the sides to kind of straighten them out. Keep in mind this is my first one, and she just wanted a floppy bag.

Next I took the side that was all white (for an inner liner) and laid it on top of the designed piece. I cut it to basically the same shape and made an inside pocket out of the back collar part. I pinned that on and took some leftover scraps to make handles.

I sewed the pocket onto the white liner, then pinned the whole liner to the design piece (wrong sides together).The strips for the handles were sewed into tubes (right sides together) then turned right side out and pinned in place.

I then folded the bag in half (right sides together) and pinned the sides.

I sewed the sides together then turned it right side out. I realized that I did the handles wrong and ended up making another handle out of leftover white fabric and sewed it to one side, then trimming the previous handle to a matching length and connected it together on the other side.

I sewed the top edge together and here is the finished product! Not perfect but not too bad!

2 Months Old, Pictures and a Video

Yes today it has been 2 months since my little boy entered the world and changed our lives forever. He is still growing like a weed, and next week we get to see how much he weighs and how long he is now!

At 2 months old you:

• Are sleeping 6-11 hours at night
• Don't go to bed any earlier than midnight
• Don't like to take naps longer than 30 minutes
• Are wearing size 1 diapers
• Have outgrown all newborn outfits and some 0-3 months
• Can hold your head up pretty good
• Smile big, but haven't LOL'd yet
• Rub your eyes when you are tired
• Nurse every 1-3 hours

On Sunday, the three of us had lunch at Long John Silver then got some day-old bread and headed to the duck pond. Unfortunately the ducks had been well fed and weren't all that excited about us being there. We mostly fed the turtles and a few geese. We ended up giving the bread to a little kid so we could leave. And Bradley slept through the whole thing so I didn't take any pictures of him.

After that we picked up a cake from the store and drove an hour down to Elmore City where the in-laws live. Nick's sister and her baby, and their parents all live with their grandparents so we all had dinner together and chatted for awhile. His parents are building a house outside the town there so we took a trip to go see it. Here is a picture of Bradley with his great-grandpa:

And this is Bradley enjoying his playmat! He still shuns tummy time, but he did lift his head up a bit!

I call this the "cursed" onesie. It says "Worth the Wait" on it, but every single time I have put it on him, he has either peed, pooped, or spit up on it within a few hours. Now he has almost outgrown it so we have to get a few good pictures in it!

Here's a video of him playing on his playmat:

8 Weeks

A few more days and he will be officially 2 months old!! Time seems to go by slow but then when we look back on it, it has flown by.

He seems to be getting over the fussiness, and getting back to his agreeable self :) The two nights before last he slept 8 hours in a row, and last night **drumroll please** he slept 11 hours in a row!! I absolutely could not believe. Neither could my boobs--I had to pump! HAHA. He is slowly getting better at holding his head up--still a little wobbly though. And he doesn't really like tummy time. He just kind of rubs his face on the mat grunting until he gets frustrated and starts crying. We're working on it!

I think I am in denial about going back to work. I really need to get up there and make my schedule. I am hoping they don't give me any crap about working Friday and Saturday nights for awhile. Luckily, my good friend is a supervisor, and I have pretty good seniority there so cross your fingers they accommodate me.

That's it for now, gotta feed the little guy!

Pictures and a Recipe

This is our little guy wearing his daddy's glasses:

And fresh after a bath yesterday!

He has been a little fussy these last few days, but I think it may be due to his bowel movements (or lack thereof). And he still insists his bedtime is no earlier than 1am. Gotta love him!

As for the recipe, I thought I would share this with the other cooks out there. This is a recipe for cheddar broccoli soup that I made the other day and it turned out divine. I have made a couple other kinds before but they all tasted like crap. This one is the best so far. I think I got the recipe from kraft.com but don't hold me to it! I did change a couple of things to accommodate my supply.

1/2 stick butter
1 small diced onion
1 tbs minced garlic
1/2 tsp ground pepper
16oz frozen chopped broccoli
2 cans chicken broth
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 c milk
8oz sharp cheddar
salt

Melt butter in a large pan. Cook onion in butter until soft. Add garlic and pepper, cook for 1 min then stir in broccoli and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and simmer until broccoli is tender--approx. 10-15min.

Whisk flour and milk in a separate bowl until dissolved. Slowly pour into soup while stirring frequently until thickened. Reduce heat and stir in cheese until melted. Season with salt to taste and serve!

7 Weeks, The Park, and Crafts

Yes he is already 7 weeks old! Thank you Jesus he is still sleeping 6-8 hours at a time at night...except that he doesn't like to go to bed until about 1am! We are working on that next. He kind of snoozes off and on through the beginning of the day, then is usually wide awake the rest of the evening until bed. And still eating nonstop. I feel like a dairy cow :)

As for crafts, I am almost done working on a wide array of bibs and burp cloths. Most are gifts for other babies, I made a couple for Bradley though. I have been experimenting with different patterns, and fabrics, and stitches...and bias tape! That stuff is kind of hard to do around curves but it looks very nice when you are done. Thanks to Youtube I learned what to do with it.

I embroidered them with the baby's name and on some I added a little picture. I absolutely LOVE my machine!! Best birthday present ever.

If you click on this one ^ you can see the detail better. The two blue bibs aren't done yet, but the pink one is. I put lace around the edge, and ribbon for the tie. Some have asked about patterns...I really didn't use a pattern. I just cut out a basic bib shape for the bibs, and burp cloths are kind of a peanut shape. There are several different ways to do the bibs depending on how you want it to secure in the back. I am making them with ties but you can do snaps, buttons, velcro, etc.

After dinner we went on a family outing to the local park! The weather was actually tolerable and there was a nice breeze.

He may have gotten a little tan out there! After that, Bradley and I headed over to grandma's house to hang out with her and my friend Sara. I showed them the bibs and stuff, then we chatted for a bit before we headed home.

That's it for now! Nick starts his classes on Monday so he will be gone M-F from 8am-4pm. Hopefully my little guy doesn't give me too much trouble while his daddy is gone...