The Trouble with Teeth

Mark Twain said "Adam and Eve had many advantages, but the principle one was that they escaped teething. " And at this moment, who I wish that Sean could too.
Let's go through the list off teething symptoms and see which Sean has:

Irritability - Yep. Cranky all morning. Drives a knife through my gut knowing there's nothing I can do to make him feel better.
Drooling - How do you turn it off?!?!
Cold like symptoms (runny nose, etc.) - I just want to stick a wad of tissue up his nose to keep the snot from coming out.
Coughing - Yes, unfortunately. Combined with the previously mentioned, people think I'm bringing a sick child everywhere.
Chin rash - not yet....
Biting & gnawing - Oh my gosh! Everything! Seriously, nothing is safe, not even my arm.
Cheek rubbing and ear pulling - Not really; he'll stick his finger way back in his mouth and chew on it where the molars are coming in, though.
Diarrhea - Funny thing, Sean actually gets plugged up with teething. Always has.
Low-grade fever - Off and on.
Not sleeping well - Oh, of course! And that means that Mommy is not sleeping well, too.

So, here it is, quarter after midnight, I'm up just waiting for Sean to screech out in pain/discomfort/low grade/whatever, knowing full well that I have to get up at seven (I'm trying to get up at the same time) and work tomorrow afternoon. Not only is teething messing with his sleep routine, it's messing with my (newly established) routine, too. Gotta' love motherhood at night....

Goodnight world.

Instruction Manual on Second Birthdays

What can a mother do when she sits down, reflects, and suddenly realizes that in ten days her little boy will be two? Nothing, that's what.

What should she do? Well, I'm glad you asked!

First, her hands should go cold and sweaty when it finally hits her that her baby's a little boy. Next, start hyperventilating, realizing that two means that potty training is coming faster than a Tobey Dog running for a treat. And potty training scares her.
When it finally sinks in that there are only ten days, her heart should start to race from the lack of 'party' planing she has done, and then be crushed with tremendous guilt that she has to work three weeks strait (and I mean strait, with no days off) - her sons birthday being too close to that stretch. To add to this guilt, she suddenly realizes that his birthday falls on his second day of daycare ever (At least he only is going once a week).
After her son bites her and she loosed her temper a bit, she will morn the baby days where there were snuggles and coos galore. And when that little boy comes running up to her when she gets home and plants a big kiss on her, she'll wish that this stage will never end.
After she has time to digest all of this emotional intake, she should finally takes a deep breath, decides to just roll with the punches and deal with the changes when one day at a time, blog about it, then go to bed.
She should repeat daily until one day after her sons birthday.

Work

What is work? Most people will say it's your job, so if that's true, I have at least six job titles.

• Sales and Assembly - Cookies by Design, my 1st part time job.
• Bakery associate - the grocery store where my 2nd part time job is.

Now for the fun ones:

• Professional chef
• Nurse
• Psychologist
• Personal shopper
  
• Clothing designer
• Doctor
• Dragon slayer
• Veterinarian
• Pop star
• Author
• CEO
• Gardener
• Laundress
• Seamstress
• Waste management expert (whichever 'waste' you decide to go with, I'm both)
• Cleaning professional
• Banker
• Spiritual guide

But my favorite job title is the sweetest sounding of all:
Momma

Sleep Sleep Sleepy

The theme of our house had been "I'm tired" for the past several days.

Tobey, well, Tobey is always lounging around. It's just part of his temperament, but also he's getting old (almost 8). And while he is lounging, he demands tummy rubs... and I am a sucker for an exposed tummy.
I really need to get him together with his dog cousins; they always give his a good burst of energy, since one is a terrier and the other a puppy. Plus, he really enjoys playing with them.

Nate has been tired form allergies. If it's green and grows, he's allergic to it; the main reason I haven't gotten flowers in over two-and-a-half years. He's feeling better now; the sinus infection has been killed with antibiotics and grapefruit juice.

I have conic insomnia, which always gets worse a week to week-and-a-half before.... um, 'that time' and I'll be up till sometimes 2:30am. It's not like I want to do it or I'm trying to stay up on purpose! I just can't shut off my mind and go to sleep. You think that I should see a doctor?

Last is Sean. Sean slept form 9:45pm to 7am and is now back to sleep at 8am. I don't blame him and I am not worried in the least.
1) Sean had a very busy weekend. Friends came in town Friday, Daddy and Sean ran all over town on Saturday, and Sunday, Sean went to his friend, Tommy's, first birthday party.
2) Sean got his flu shot yesterday. Yes, I vaccinate my child. Look at some of my older post on what I think about it. But tiredness is a very common side effect of the flu shot. I'm keeping an eye on him though, just to make sure nothing new shows up. (A slight fever is also common with the flu shot, but I know how to handle a low grade temp. ^_^)

I wish that I had some more newer photos of Sean... well, I do, but their on my phone and I have yet to figure how to get them onto my computer. But I do have this next one of Sean and Nate and my new nephew dog, Cooper.
~Say good-bye, boys!

Fun Outings with Sean!

Okay, since last night was pretty serious, I'll post something more light-hearted today.
On Sunday, July 19, 2009, my little brother got married! i am so happy for them! I love my baby brother so much and his new wife is an absolute doll. I wish them all the good things in life.
Sean was very good at the wedding. I was standing up for D 'n' B so Sean hung out with my Aunt MaryJane and her daughter, Kaymie. Sean only lost it one time when he saw Nate come to sit down after being usher, but settled down once he was in Daddy's arms. It was a lovely day

Last week, Sean's grandparents, my in-laws, were in town. Dave helped fix the floor right under our toilet on Tuesday, and Sean and I were stuck at my folks after being there all week the week before. So, to make up for it, Grandma and Grandpa took Sean and myself to the zoo and met up with (Auntie) Amy and Austin.
We had such a good time! Sean was in awe of the tiger; it was pacing back and forth and Sean's little head just followed him wherever he went. I would bet anything that his eyes were as wide as saucers behind his sunglasses. Nate called when we were looking at the tiger, and just then, he started to roar. The look on Sean's face was priceless! It was saying, "What is that sound and where is it coming from?"
The only thing that would have made it better, was if Nate were able to come instead of being stuck at work.

The icing on the cake was when my mom took Sean (so that means me too, seeing we're basically tethered to each other) to the Heritage Carousel. We had so much fun! I honestly think I had more fun than Sean did; he was getting tired and was simply mesmerized by all the sights and sounds, it was just too much fun to watch him! All in all, we went around four times!
The carousel has all sorts of different animals, so Sean road two different horses and then the tiger, since he liked it so much at the zoo.


After the excitement of riding the tiger, Sean conked out. Nate was done working with his brother-in-law, so Mom said she would take Sean to their place so he could sleep and Nate and I got to go swiming, just the two of us.

I love my family so much. With everything going on with Stellan and the rest of the MckFamily, I see how truly blessed Nate and I are.
My heart still breaks for the MckFamily and I pray for everything to work out acording to Gods plan. I really hope that plan means that Stellan will be okay; but as hard as it may be to acept, I do understand that God may have other plans. I'm praying for his heart to be okay, but mostly, I am praying for peace.

God bless you, everyone, and have a good night.

Burnt Out

I am burnt out.
I'm just going to do a quick review of the past two weeks.

• Sean decides he doesn't have enough toys out in his room.

(Full story in later post)

• Nate hates his job right now and I don't blame him.

• Sean's pink eye cleared up. (Yea!)

• My friend Lacy came to visit Sean, Tobey and me one afternoon. :)
  

• I get the stomach flu.

• Sean turns 7 months!

• Sean keeps pooping out his diapers.

• Nate and I messed the Tony's because the tape didn't record! (*cries*)

• I find out that Tobey sleeps really funny.

• Sean is fussy from his tooth.

• Sean is trying to cut a top tooth.

• I'm going crazy; nothing new.
  

• Sean gets a new toy.

(A play yard! So much fun!)

So...

Sean had a tummy ache and teething pains yesterday, wouldn't stop screaming, wouldn't take a nap, finally settles down just in time to go get his shots! He slept well last night (we were at Grandma and Grandpas from baby sitting and we were traveling with them today), but woke up at 5am with poop leaking out of his diaper, running down his legs and between his tows, all over the porta-crib and then won't go back to sleep!
We traveled to Auntie Mary Jane's today to give her her retirement gift, stayed for about two-and-a-half hours, then turned around and came home... a six hour trip both ways. Sean is not happy! At least he's asleep.
And speaking of sleep, I'm going there now. Thank you for listing to me vent! :)

Kansas City, Gonna take my baby there sometime!

We just got back Monday from KC (the Kansas one, not MO) to help my cousin celebrate her high school graduation and to celebrate Nate and my two year anniversary, which was yesterday.
It was a lot of fun to just get away from it all and we had a lot of fun! It was so nice to see the "Shawnee Six" as we call my aunt and uncles, plus kids. We went over to see them Saturday evening and Sean had to show off his amazing crawling skills. He's really getting this hands and knees crawl down, but still likes to do the elbow schootch a lot. Brenden, my youngest cousin, loved to stroke his head and Clara, my other youngest cousin (yep, twins) liked to make silly faces at him. Maria was tired from just getting off work and Laura, the oldest, was at a graduation party.
Dean and Patricia (with the help of Brenden) lead me through the photo albums of their France holiday. They were super cool. I love my family

Sunday, Nate, Sean and I went to the KC Crown Center, a huge shopping center/live theater and also the headquarters and visiting center for the Hallmark Card Co. I really wanted to see the Hallmark place, but that area was closed for the long weekend. But we still had a great time, Sean really liked taking in all of the new sights and sounds and smells and laughing at us. He did get lots of photos, more if the batteries hadn't died. My favorite photo is of Sean in front of the Crayola Color Wheel in the Crayola Store.

(The quality is real crappy, I know. I couln't get it sized right with it's resolution)

In the hotel, Sean really loved the pool. He loved being pushed around in his little boat and when Nate or I would just carry him in the water, those little hands were just splashing and splashing! We do have photos of him swimming that I'll post later, once I get the card from my father.

Sean did well in the car, but is happy he doesn't have to be strapped in his chair anymore at the same time. Yesterday, he was a holy terror. He didn't want to nap, he was wanting to nurse all the time and when he didn't want nursed, he just wanted held. I really do understand that he was settling back into things, but at the same time, I was tired too and ready to pull my hair out!
Yesterday was just pure chaos! The repair man can for the washer, Tobey was ballistic and Sean got his little chubber leg stuck in the slots of his crib and I couln't get it out. I finally did after a lot of loation and him screaming in pane and fear. You now see why I almost went crazy?
But, I love my life; however crazy it gets, I know I wouln't swap it for the world.

Sean's new trick!

My mom is starting him young!

My Mom likes Pepsi, when I drink an occasional soda, I like Coka Cola.
My mom is turning him to 'the dark side' at a young age:



Don't worry! He's really not drinking that sugary soda. I myself don't drink much soda (I did get addicted to warm ginger ale when I was pregnant, though....), but my mom can't get through the day without a Pepsi. We were having our monthly 'girls night' with Sean.
He just so happens to love gnawing on plastic bottles. He was fussing and Grandma let him chew on her bottle top. We loved how it looked like he was actually drinking it!
And even though I don't agree with giving children soda with exception of a special occasions, I do think that this was adorable!

Another First

Tonight was Alpha Omega (a Christian get together that my husband started years ago). We tried taking Sean along with us in the early days and lying him down to sleep in a side room, but he would get too excited or we would be too loud and he never slept well and would be up about every hour or so during the night.
My folks had been watching him over night and then I'd bunker down at their house after the event, but Nate and I wanted to give them a night off. Last week, some very good friends of ours, Rob&Lauren and Alex, moved just a few blocks up down the way from us and said that they would be more than happy to watch him tonight. Yea!
Sean was dropped off at 6:30 and We hung our for about 10-15 minutes so he wouldn't be to overwhelmed by the new environment, and help Rob and Laurens three year old understand that she couldn't hold him.
Everything went pretty smooth. Rob called once early on because Sean was hungry and he couldn't figure out what Baby needed. We said, mix up his bottle and that'll solve the issue (a mother knows her sons cries) and we would check back in a bit to see if that worked. It did and he was a good boy the rest of the night.
Lauren was home when we picked him up, Rob was out, and Sean had just woken up not knowing where he was. He had been asleep when Lauren got home at 9:30 and she let us know the Rob had changed a poopie and he had been good. Sean/I needed a nursing so Lauren did get to play with Sean for a little bit. She (and Rob) is going through baby withdrawal and are working of remedying that, but for now, the love Sean; so much so that they are 'Auntie' Lauren and 'Uncle' Rob, just like Nate and I are 'Auntie' and 'Uncle' to their little girl.
I told Rob and Lauren that I would pay them in brownies. Rob said that we didn't need to pay them, but they would still take brownies! I love those guys!

Earlier, the three of us went out to the kid’s consignment shop, right next door to where I work, as needed, so I got to show Sean off to my co-worker, Jenny. She and I have always gotten along well and she was all over the little boy! When I told 'Grandma Dee' (one of the consignment shop ladies) said "She was going to make you into a cookie and eat you up!"
Sean is so loved by so many people. I feel very happy for him.

Half way

Six months old today! Where has the time gone? Everyday I fall in love with something new.
Sean is looking more and more like his daddy with each passing day, but the one thing he got from me that hasn't changed at all are the eyes. Every one says he has my eyes and I couldn't be more thrilled!
Sean is playing with Nate at the moment. It's always so much fun to hear them over the baby monitor. Sean just adores his daddy.
I adore Nate, too... but he does have his moments where I want to strangle him. That is why I made the promise to never blog in the moment when I'm irked at him. It's true that he may deserve my wrath, but the rest of the world doesn't need to know. I get over it, and I see that it's either: 1) so trivial that I don't know why I got upset in the first place; 2) I know what I need to do to work it out; 3) I was just so tired, I was crabby.

Nights are hard at the moment. Sean keeps getting up at 12 midnight like clockwork. I just went to the library today and picked up the book Solve Your Child's Sleep Problems by Dr. Richard Ferber, which was recommended by our pediatrician, and Nate and I are going to read it together. I think that Sean's problem is he has associated sleep with getting fed/sucking. When he wakes up he likes to nurse, and 80% hes not eating, he's just sucking. When he doesn't nurse to sleep, he just likes to be held until he calms down and can be put in his crib with minimal whining: he absolutely HATES Nate snuggling him to sleepy town. This makes me sad for two reasons 1) I'm the only one who can calm him down at 3:30 in the morning when I'm dead tired, and 2) there is no better feeling than a baby snuggling up to you and getting sleepy and I feel like I'm robbing Nate of that. We'll figure something out and start it AQAP (As Quickly As Passable).

I just wanted to shair this...

A week ago today was hard for me... or so I thought.
In preparation for my future sister-in-laws bridal shower, I had only gotten three hours of sleep Saturday night and on Sunday night, Sean slept poorly and so did I. Monday I was a wreck when Sean wanted to get up at 7:30.
I was beyond exhausted and crabby, so I sent Nate an email with maybe some forceful tones to let him know how I was feeling and to warn him that I may be snappy when he got home.
At ten, after Sean had some quiet play time and I had woken up a little more, I was feeling a little better, so I decided go give Nate a call to see how he was doing... he said that he was 10 minutes away from home and that he would take Sean for the rest of the day so I could get some of the sleep I desperately needed.
Have I mentioned lately that I love this man!
While I was sleeping, Sean and Nate ran some errands and some time during that time, must have remembered that I commented that there weren’t many recent photos of Mr. Sean and me. At 2pm, Nate brought Sean in, laid him by me to wake me and proceeded to snap a few photos.
This one is my favorite:

(Please ignore the mess on the dresser. I had been sick the week before.)

I just love this photo! It may not be the best quality in the world; but it captured and reflects a tender moment between my son and myself. It reminds me of the love and concern that my husband has for me that he took a rare day off work during a busy week.
Recently my hormones have been doing some weird things, and I sometimes have some distorted thoughts that Nate is working to avoid me... and that action just blue that thought out of the water.
I admit that being a stay at home mom is hard - especially when I have no form of transportation during the day. More often-than-not, I'm shut in the house most of the day, maybe getting out for a walk weather permitting; most of my friends work during the day and my best friend (who has a son that's Sean’s age) moved to the other edge of the state. It get's lonely sometimes. But then something nice, like Nate's surprise holiday, happens and I feel refreshed. And on a daily bases: When I don't want to wake up yet and Sean is making his "I'm awake and I've played in my cribby by myself enough so pick me up now!" whine and then when I come in and he looks up at me and flashes me a million watt smile... that alone makes it worth getting out of bed.

I have been blessed with the most wonderful family. We may not always be perfect - but we're perfect for each other. God has been good to let us begin and end each day as a family.

Wow...

I'm having a hard time believing that it is taking me so long between posts! Then at the same time, I don't have a hard time believing it, because my life is crazy!
Sean is five months old now! What the F....!?! When did he get so old?! He's doing all of these new things everyday that just amaze me!

First off, he's sitting up by himself. We'll just set him on the floor in a sitting position, and he takes it from there.
Second, he's starting to crawl. He isn't doing a full out hands-and-knees, cruisin' around the house crawl; it's more along the lines of a slow, sloppy army crawl. He'll kick with his legs and push himself along with his elbows. My brother and his fiancee, who are both military, think it's the cutest thing! And let me tell you, he can get around!

Sean also had his first ER visit a few weeks back. Nate and I were getting him ready for his night time bath in his room; I was getting a sleepy sack and Nate was undressing Sean, My back was turned and all of a sudden I hear "Oh, sh*t!", a thud! and Sean scream: Sean had quite literally jumped out of his dads arms (around a four foot fall)! I turn around to see Sean face down on his floor (which is a blessing he fell there, because it has new carpet and carpet pad, so it was the softest break for his fall) and Nate with a deer-in-the-headlights look on his face.
So we run him to the ER and he screamed the whole way, but started to doze off right as we were turning into the lot... then got mad we moved him and screamed even harder.
We got in, got admitted, got checked out, x-rayed, diagnosed and released all under two hours! Everything was fine: no head trauma, no broken bones, no major injuries at all, thank God. They still told us to wake him every three hours to check him for any symptoms that may be new. So I did at 12:30...... and he screamed till 7:45!
My mom rocks for coming to drive us around at 3am! Nate had an obligation at church (the very first thing) and was thinking of staying the whole service... but at 5 I called him and said if he didn't come right after the opening that "I swear to God, I'll make your life a living hell!" That got his attention. He came. I love him. Sean didn't want to nurse for a week!

Sean is all better now and nursing again, but was run back to the ER again last week with a fever of 101F. That came down very quick, just a cold bug. He still has a little congestion and a wee bit of a cough left, but he gave it to both his dad and me. All last week, we all were whining for death. Thank God for my Grammy for helping with Sean so I could recoup!

Easter was wonderful! We went to Ill to Nate’s folks and then further to Wiss to see his grandparents and extended family. Sean was very well behaved during Dad’s services (FIL is a pastor) and his grandma and grandpa ate him up… so did their Husky!

But, it’s late, so I’m going to get this rounds photos up and hit the hay!
~Night!



Baseball with Grandpa

Grandma Loves me!

I love to sleep on Daddy

Doggy Kisses!

SOOOOO Big!!

Daddy and Me Lookin' sharp

I can Sit... And Crawl!

Holy Crud!

Has it seriously been over a month since I last posted?

Sean has changes so much too fast. He turned 4 months this last week.

He is a really social baby who loves to 'flirt' with just about everybody. But out of all the people he visits on a regular bases, he talks the most to my mother. I honestly thing he’s going to be ‘Grandma’s Little Buddy” when he’s older. My mom just loves being Grandma.

I just love how we can see his own little personality sparkling in his eyes. He is so curious! Everything he looks at, he look at it with a sense of wonder... and “okay, how can I get it in my mouth?” and I mean everything! His feet, blankets, toys, our glasses... you name it, it’s in his mouth. Time to start baby proofing! Especially since he has figured out how to flip from his back to his tummy – then back to his back. He’s getting too big too fast, so I’m just going to love every stage while it last... True there are times where I need a break – either to get some things done or for a ‘mental holiday’ – but I have a wonderful support group of family and friends who are my God-sent angels – and Nate is my everything!

Nate is so good with Sean! Sean just loves his daddy’s fuzzy beard and pulling off his glasses. If Nate weren’t here, I most defiantly would be loosing my mind more than I already am.

This is going totally off the baby topic, but this is something that I feel pretty bad about and need to get it off my chest. About three and a half weeks ago, there was a severe house fire on out street. Everyone was okay, but their house in now uninhabitable. The night of the fire, I went down to the scene to see if they needed any help with first aid administration (since I know how to do that) and there were, I swear, five people, probably between the ages of 17-25, all with their camera phones video recording the fire. Two hours later, my husband found the footage on YouTube with things like ‘so cool’ and ‘awesome!’ in the description box.

I’m sorry, that makes me livid! I am tired of using other people’s devastation for a laugh or two. The next day while taking Sean and Tobey Dog on a walk, the family who lived there were trying to salvage what they could. I had about $40 of mad money stashed away and I figured that they needed it more than I did. The lady of the house was so overwhelmed and heartbroken. Those neighbors who were using that for entertainment just make me sick!

Back to baby.

Here are photos!:

Teddy Bear

I like Beef!

Sunshine

Chomp!

And this is because I am so tired of girls getting all of the cutesy outfits:

I took a 50¢ onesie I got at my friends store and an old cloth diapie that had a fun pattern. I’m very happy with how it turned out. Now what to do with the other one….

3 Months

Where has the time gone? I know it's cliche, but it really does feel like it was just the other day when Nate and I brought Sean home. And now, yesterday he turned three months!
He has changes so much! At his last check-up he weighed in at 14lb, 10oz and measured in at 25 inches, the 97 percentile for both. Doctor says he's growing and developing very well. He also had his first round of vaccinations. it just broke my heart to hear him scream like that when he was stuck, but after we changed his diaper, he quieted down.
(I know that there are a lot of people out there who say that vaccinations cause autism, but I know that this is entirely false, medical research has proved it. I think that some parents found out that their child had autism and were just so angry because of the "this could never happen to my child" mind set, and they needed something to blame.)
Sean has started to 'talk' and coo; he's smiling at Nate and me, plus flirting with all of the ladies at my knitting group; and just this past Monday he flipped from his back to his tummy!
He is also one of the most hick up-y baby I know! He gets the 'naughty hick up's' at least two times a day, but at least he doesn't cry when he gets them any more; he laughs at them now!
He is a very happy baby. He loves his glow worm and to stand on our tummies and chests; he likes getting his diaper changed and getting dresses and um-dressed; he thinks The Wiener Dog Song is the coolest song in the world, and he eats like a little piggy! He loves his Mummy's Milk!
I love him so very much! Tobey Dog is getting more accustom to him being around and has started to acknowledge him some, but not all of the time.
But anywho, it's photo time!


I'm one cool dude!


Husker fan in training


I love to stand on Granddad


Having fun with my new toy


Buddy time with Uncle Derick


My mid-morning nap

Two Weeks

Today is Sean's two week birthday; he is growing like a weed!
I can't believe how much he has changed in just this short amount of time! It's crazy! I can already tell he's longer and chubbier and half of his cloths don't fit him anymore!
He's starting to recognize day and night now. He gets up early (like his daddy) and is up most of the morning. He'll have a feeding around 9:00 then take a nap till the noon-ish hour and eat again. After that he'll be awake for a tiny bit, then nap right about till Nate comes home (between 3:30-4:30), eat, play with Dad some and then crash till evening. We'll eat and all watch CSI, Law & Order or Criminal Minds or something of that like, eat when the news comes on and head to bed. He get's up about twice a night now to eat; I take one shift, Nate takes one, so it's all good. (This account does not include all of the diaper changes that happen through out the day)
His 'schedule' may be a little off today. Yesterday, he was really fussy. I had some of my mom’s lasagna the night before last and she used Italian sausage instead of hamburger like she normally does. The seasoning must have gotten into my milk and upset his tummy. The only times he was comfortable yesterday afternoon was if he was held somewhat upright. He slept really well last night, though from all of the fussing.
His stub fell off this morning! It was right after a diaper change and I picked him up to pull his rubber pants over his bottom and when I put him down, his stub was gone! I was all excited (I don’t know why) and put it in a baggy to save with his other baby mementos. And, of course, I had to tell Nate right when I got back to bed. (Should I have mentioned it was a 5am diaper change?)

Right now, he's playing very nice and quiet on his blanky at my folk’s house. We're going to a 'Mommy and Me Breastfeeding' support group today and my dad is taking us. Sean and Granddad had some nice play time a little earlier while Sean was awake and all alert (he still is and is looking at the dogs toys and cooing up a storm). I’m so proud of my baby.

He and Nate and I are also going to his two week check-up this afternoon. I’m sure that he’ll pass with flying colours!

Happy Birthday, Sean! Mommy and Daddy love you!

The Joys of Motherhood

Today, Sean is five days old and we're getting use to being a mommy and daddy.
Friday, I was able to go home from hospital, but not right away. Nate had to work Friday, so my dad picked us up and we went to their place for a little bit till Nate got off. I was dead tired: I had opted to keep Sean in my room after his feeding at 1:00am (we finally got this latch thing down!) so if he was hungry or anything else I could take care of it. I though that I could sleep okay-ish, that he may cry sometime; no, I was up with every little sniffle and hick-up. So, no sleep at all.
(The funny thing was Nate brought my going home clothes and chose a black sweatshirt. Me being as tired as I was, two nights poor sleep and recovering from an operation, I was pail; that black made me look like death warmed over!)

That night, we ate, we feed Sean, changed him and all of the other good things that parents do and headed to bed. Sean has his times mixed up; he thinks that day is night and vice versa, so he was up a lot. I was also paranoid because he was having some problems with spitting up earlier and I was checking with every noise to make sure he wouldn't choke. That was the hardest night
so far.
Last night wasn't much better, he was just fussy and wanting to 'play' and be alert and act like it was day time. I think tonight may be similar, he's slept a lot today. And, it's a little hard for me; i decided that I would take the 'night shift' so Nate could sleep because he goes to work at 7:00 in the morning. He starts to take over around 5-ish (normally he gets up at six, with no alarm clock, so it's not that big of a deal for him) and will keep Sean happy and fed and clean. Tomorrow he'll goes to work again, but my mom took this week off work to help out around the house and get Sean into some kind of grove. We're very lucky, we have a lot of help and we are grateful because not every young family does.

Today was Sean's first doctors visit. He's putting weight back on (he lost 14oz before we came home) and is pretty much healthy over all. He is a little jaundice-y but is still in the normal range, the high end; normal enough to not do anything yet, high enough to have him come back tomorrow for another heel sticking.
But I have to go for now, he's asleep and I should be, too.