Beautiful Weather At Last!F

For the first time in weeks the weather outside is perfect! Its warm, sunny, and almost no humidity! A wonderful change from the blistering 100 degree heat with tons of humidity to boot. I told my husband we're going out! Should I be at home working on the 2 projects I have due tomorrow for my classes? Sure I should... but how many opportunities do I get to spend a perfect summer day outside with Eirik? Not to many! We're going to go to the park and if its not too busy try him in the baby swing! I'm also going to finally get to use my ergo today! Wahoo!

And for your viewing pleasure today's Eirik pictures! He was loving his jumparoo this afternoon!

4 months!

Holy Cow... somehow my little man is 4 months old today!! It really does seem like only yesterday my husband and I bought him home from the hospital and stared at each other going "What do we do with him now...?". We've gone from sleeping most of the day and only waking to eat to playing with toys, giggling, laughing, and trying to crawl! He is really starting to develop his own little personality too! He is a pretty mellow baby, but he gets very frustrated if he can't do something he wants to. for example, he can't crawl so if I put a toy out of his reach he gets angry because he can't reach it. He wants to do what he wants, and if I can't figure out what that is he'll yell at me! Sometimes when he is eating he'll be done with one side and want the other and if I try and reoffer the same side again just to make sure he'll push himself away and go "umm, nope, sorry!".

His new thing today is sleeping on his stomach... yes, he is trying to give mommy a heart attack. It was hot again last night so I put him to sleep in the pack and play. Well, I woke up at 11:30 and saw him laying on his stomach! Of course I jumped off the couch to check him and roll him over... which he didn't like at all! They say that if he rolls himself over in his sleep its fine... so I guess i'll just have to take a deep breath and reassure myself that its him doing it himself so he knows what he likes!

So, official 4 month stats are... 18.9lbs and 26.5 inches! Not the 20lbs I had guessed, but pretty darn close! We didn't see our regular pediatrician because he is on vacation so we saw his sub. She was nice and surprised at how mellow he was. She did want us to come back next month however because apparently his head isn't growing quite as quickly as the rest of him. He had been in the 75% for head circumference and now he is down to 50%. She said it was probably nothing, but she just wanted our normal doctor to check it out. We had to go back at 5 months anyway for shots, so its not a big deal!

I know everyone has a favorite baby stage but so far I have to say I have loved everything! Yes, there have been trying moments... but its so amazing to me watching him grow and develop and learn how to do things. He can change almost overnight! One day he'll topple himself over sitting alone and now he can really sit well and play with things! And, in my humble opinion, he gets cuter ever day. ;) I actually had the nurse at the doctors tell me this today too... so maybe its not just me. I mean, come on, isn't this just an adorable baby...?

You Spin Me Right Round

He may not be able to crawl, but he can spin! Yes, Eirik has found more mobility. This evening he scooted himself in a full circle. Of course that's not what he wanted to do... he wanted to move forward to get the toy in front of him. Unfortunately he hasn't quite figured out how to do that yet. Well, unfortunately for him thankfully for me!

I wish I could report better news sleepwise, but alas last night was just about as bad. A full hour to get him to sleep, then again we were up every 2 hours or so and screamed bloody murder during the middle of the night diaper change! Maybe tonight we'll finally get some sleep!

On a more positive note we are slowly breaking the swing habit. He's been taking at least 1 nap a day in the pack and play and the past 2 nights we've slept upstairs (Thank god for cooler weather!). So... thats at least going well. Now I am working on getting him to fall asleep in his bed rather then nursing/eating... that is NOT going so well. I put him down drowsy and all that happens is he wakes right up and plays with his feet... and then he gets upset and starts screaming.

Tomorrow is his 4 month appointment. 4 months holy cow! When did that happen??

And finally, my cat trying to steal the spotlight away from the baby. Jealous much?

The Full Moon

Last night was fussy baby night. Eirik was just having one of those days. My husband warned me when I got home saying "he didn't nap well today". I thought to myself "well, he'll sleep tonight!" HA! That would have been nice! It was a rough rough night. We were up every 1 1/2 - 2 hours to eat and had a complete meltdown at 11:30 when being changed because he was soaking wet thanks to peeing through his diaper. Oh how hard it was getting up for work this morning...

Imagine my surprise this morning to read not one but two status updates from friends on facebook who had a similar night last night! I told my husband this and he goes "well, it was a full moon". Humm... correlation? I wonder...

Here's hoping tonight goes better!

Study Break!

I knew I was jinxing myself yesterday when I didn't take full advantage of Eirik's 3 hour afternoon nap. I should have been working hard on my midterm that is due tomorrow by 5pm. Instead I was relaxing and unwinding. I thought to myself "no biggie, I have all day Sunday to work on it!" Of course Eirik didn't get the memo. He has had a no nap kind of day... his longest nap was for an hour and then when he woke up at 3 he decided he didn't need another nap till bed time. Needless to say I had a VERY grumpy baby on my hands by about 6:30! It also means I didn't really get a chance to seriously start working on my midterm until about 5:30. I guess this will teach me to put things off till the last second!

So, I am taking a mental brake and sharing more adorable baby images. Who can say no to that?

First up we have Eirik showing off his new rolling skills. He rolls over and then finds himself face to face with Caligula! He and Caligula then "fight" over the blanket. ;)



Next we have him showing off his sitting skills. He's getting really good at it! Of course he still doesn't stay upright for long periods of time and likes to topple over!



And lastly, prof I haven't forgotten my cats. Here is Caligula sleeping in the most awkward spot he can find. On the couch under the futon mattress.



I'm excited because we had a huge thunderstorm roll through today which cooled everything off and means... I CAN SLEEP IN MY BED TONIGHT! WAHOO!!!

Now off to finish this midterm so I can get myself in to that nice bed!

Can we turn down the heat please??

Stepping outside makes one feel like they have stepped into an oven! My poor husband is outside as I type this installing Eirik's new carseat in my car! Of all the days we decide to do this! The upstairs of my house isn't air conditioned... needless to say I am spending the day downstairs. Sadly our house isn't that big so that means all day i'm pacing between the kitchen/dining area and living room. Its almost like when I just got home from the hospital and was stuck upstairs! I have decided that this afternoon we're all going to the mall just because I am going crazy sitting around the house!! I should stay home and work on my midterm... but walking around a cool air conditioned mall with a ice cold starbucks coffee just sounds too nice to pass on! Here is a picture of us playing dress up with Eirik today... he's ready to go brave the heat as you can see!



I have come to the conclusion that Eirik is fully capable of sleeping for 6 - 8 hour stretches at a time. I've noticed at night when he's in the swing he sleeps really well...and not even when its turned on! Last night around 11:30 I woke up from an insanely bad dream... the kind where I rolled over and clung to my husband for an hour and had to convince myself it was just a dream. Anyway, I decided to turn off the swing and let Eirik wake up to eat. Surprise surprise he didn't wake up till 3! That means he slept from 8 - 3... and from 11:30 - 3 without the swing on. So, my thought is the reason he sleeps badly upstairs is because of the heat. Either that or he just doesn't find the cosleeper comfortable anymore because he's getting so big. So this brings us to the question... where does he sleep now??

As i said in my last post, the swing is near the end of its lifespan so hes going to be sleeping in a pack and play in the living room for a while. But what about upstairs in my bedroom? I am not quite ready yet to move him to his own room for so many reasons... i love cosleeping with him... and i love spending a few hours at night bedsharing. HOWEVER... i do enjoy getting sleep without him kicking and squirming next to me. Hence why the cosleeper was wonderful... i could reach over and touch him but still have my space! With the cosleeper also nearing the end of its life span the options seem limited... bedshare all night or move him to his own crib. Well, i've done a little research and talking to coworkers and come up with a few alternatives. First off is let him sleep in a pack and play in our bedroom! A coworker of mine said her son slept in one till he was 18 months old and now sleeps with them. This is nice because he'd be close to me, but i would still have to get up to get him. BUT if he limits his waking to only once a night then it wouldn't be so bad. Option 2 is this...


http://www.drmomma.org/2010/01/turn-your-crib-into-cosleeper.html


Yes, I am fully aware some of you probably think I am loony and insane for wanting to turn my crib into a cosleeper.  Buts its such a great option! I have him close and he has his own space and I have mine! The biggest issue here is the fact my bedroom is pretty tiny so i'm not sure if this would even work. I also have to convince my husband that moving his crib into our room like that is a good idea! Option 3 is to just move his crib into our room and share a room. Who would have thought that I would have such a huge dilemma over where he was going to sleep??

Rolling Rolling Rolling...

Yep, thats right. I have a little man who loves to show off his new rolling skills! Monday's rolling over was apparently not a one time deal. This evening we were laying on the bed together and he kept insisting that he HAD to roll over. I'd roll him back to try and sleep but nope, back on his stomach he went. I think he was amused by the noise he could make running his nails over the sheet! He usually hates being on his tummy but for some reason he kept putting himself there!

We are also having some serious teething going on here! I know its been going on for a while but now he's actually biting on anything he can! I've been giving him gum massages which he loves. He's quite happy for you to stick your finger in his mouth and rub around for 10 - 15 minutes! I am ready for some of these teeth to make an appearance!

In sad news, I have come to the conclusion it is most definitely time to retire the swing. Not only is he quickly approaching the weight limit but he has come up with a new game... trying to grab the sheep that hang above it! We have the very adorable little lamb swing (thanks to my parents!) and it has this adorable lamb mobile. Well, he can now reach them when he stretches himself out. I am worried he is going to tip himself out of the swing! I am borrowing a pack and play from my friend next week so once I get that the swing will go down and the pack and play will become his new downstairs sleeping place. I'm so sad because the swing is so cute... but it did get a ton of use! That thing has been used every day!

Maryland is having another lovely heat wave at the moment... a high of 101 tomorrow and with humidity it should feel like 110. YUCK! I am spending the day either at the mall where there is A/C or sitting downstairs with my window A/C running full blast!!

And here is today's picture. Its the photo my husband sent me while I was at work today. You can see the little man is kind of growing a baby mohawk!

You Know You're A Mom When...

Over the past few months I've slowly collected a list of "you know your a mom when" moments. I'll share some with you now...
You know you're a mom when...

The discussion of poop becomes perfectly acceptable dinner conversation
You enter the store and hear a baby cry and instantly think its your own, even if you don't have yours with you
You never used to drink coffee yet suddenly every morning the first thing you do at work is get a cup
Your house slowly becomes taken over by baby toys and items
You make a beeline for the baby section of the store hoping to score a great clearance deal on something adorable
Your mornings are spent scouring the deal a day discount baby websites
You run into a coworker after pumping and have a 10 minute conversation about pumps and which one you have
You go to an after work dinner meeting and your coworker asks you what you did with your milk!
You are sitting at your desk and suddenly find your shirt front soaked so you go to the bathroom and "spill water down yourself".
Your freezer contains more breastmilk then food
You enjoy waking up at 5am because you get greeted with the biggest smile ever which melts your heart and makes you forget that its 5am
You get to work thinking you are hiding the fact you're exhausted only to be told "You have that mommy face... rough night?"
You wake up in the middle of the night and can't find your baby so you hunt through your entire bed before remembering your husband has him downstairs.
You carry your phone with you everywhere when you are separated from your baby, checking it every 10 seconds just in case you miss a phone call or message.
Your computer is filled with thousands of pictures of the baby by month 3

And here is one of those thousands of baby pictures... ;)

Rolling Over!

eirik rolls over!

So I really hope the link above works for you guys! I apologize now if you can hear my excited squeaky voice in the background!

EDIT: the link will open the video directly into windows media player or whatever you view videos with! Just a heads up if your browser starts trying to block a pop up or asks if you want to download or view something. =)

We Have Rolling Over!

Yes folks, thats right! Today Eirik rolled over from back to stomach! Even more exciting is I managed to capture it on video by accident! So why isn't that video here for your viewing pleasure? I just got a new cell phone yesterday and I'm having technical difficulties getting the video from the phone to the internet. Hopefully tomorrow!

I put him on the floor to just let him try and play with some toys this evening and then pulled out my phone to send a quick video to my husband to be cute. Well, I start the video and get it aimed at him as he's rocked on his side and next thing I know he's all the way over! I was shocked! He's been rocking and rocking for AGES now but finally tonight he got it all figured out!

One more step towards being mobile... i had better start babyproofing!

Almost 16 weeks!

Where does the time go?? I feel like I am saying this all the time... but my baby will be 4 months old soon!

It seems like in the past week he has suddenly developed in leaps and bounds. His grabbing skills are excellent! We put him on his bumbo next to a box of tissues and next thing I know we had tissues all over the table! This also means my hair, clothes, and glasses are fair game. Needless to say we are being extra careful about what we leave within his grasping reach! He is vocalizing like crazy and just the other day began really blowing rasberries/making wet noises. He also has developed a real sense of humor! At first we discovered he would laugh hysterically when we ticked his stomach but just in the past day or two he'll giggle when we do other things. Its so much fun trying to get him to laugh now! This morning he ALMOST rolled from back to tummy! So close! And sitting up? He's trying so hard! I'll prop him up and he'll try and balance himself and reach for a toy at the same time. Of course I am there for when he topples himself over... but he is trying so hard. He gets angry because he wants things but can't reach them.

He has also discovered... the cats. Whenever one is within his eyesight he stares. Sebastian could care less and just ignores him. Caligula is very passive aggressive... he wants to sit near me but not near Eirik. The second I move Eirik from somewhere Caligula has to go sit there afterward. Jealous much? Hesiod and Laia on the other hand will come up and rub against him in hopes of being pet. Today Hesiod was rubbing his head against Eirik's food enjoying some foot petting!

He went to the doctor last Thursday about his eyes. No infection yet but more eye drops... =( We are also now massaging his tear ducts to help unclog them. He goes back on the 29th for his official 4 month visit but his weight last Thursday was 18lbs! No wonder all those 12 month clothes fit! No clue on his height yet. I told my husband next weekend we are installing the new convertible carseat in my car. His infant seat is only good up to 22lbs... which is rapidly approaching!

And now for your viewing pleasure... Eirik laughing! Yes, that is me trying to get him to laugh and making the silly roaring noise.



and a picture of him staring at his feet. =)

A Moment To Reflect

I had an entirely different post planned for this morning, however reading a few articles yesterday as well as some blogs this morning has made me change my mind about what to post. I can save today's Eirik update for tomorrow.

I would like to share an article with everyone out there: Breaking The Silence On Infertility

This article was printed by Self magazine and its something everyone should read, regardless of if you are trying to have a child or not... if you got pregnant your first month or your 24th month of trying... if you got pregnant naturally or with some form of assistance... male or female... it should be read by all. The women struggling with infertility will read it and cry and the people who have no idea what it is like will finally get to go inside and see what its like. The article goes on about how infertility is a disease no one talks about... and how true that is. I spent 18 months not talking about it because the few times I did i got the response of "oh, just be patient, it'll happen". This is quite possibly the worst thing you can say to someone who is coping with infertility. The people who say this are always ones who have no problem getting pregnant or have no interest in having a child at all. I consider myself one of the lucky ones who got pregnant right before beginning treatment. 18 months, 1 miscarriage, and lots of testing showed that my ovaries and eggs weren't quite as good as they should be and my husbands sperm was okay but not stellar. When I tell people we were about to start fertility treatments to get pregnant when I got pregnant they say "oh, see! That's how it works!". I cringe when I hear this... it makes me want to argue with them and say "no, that's not how it works. I was lucky!" but whats the point? They don't understand and would look at me like I had two heads. How could I argue with them when here I was, with a 3 month old?

I find that now I have Eirik I have no problem telling people about our hardship to conceive. Is this because now I feel like I have to justify to others just in case they are giving me the same jealous looks I used to give pregnant women? I was one of those women talked about in the article who avoided anything baby related and wanted to cry whenever I found out someone I knew was expecting. I would glare at pregnant women in the store and refused to look at a baby in a stroller. Now I find myself looking at pregnant woman wondering "did she get pregnant right away or did she suffer like I did?" I find myself correcting people when they say "oh, you had no problem getting pregnant right?". I quickly spill out the details of how long it took and how difficult it was.

I wish I had the courage to do that when I was trying. I wish I had the courage to stand up and say "I am going to be late for work today because I have to go to the doctor to find out why I can't get pregnant". I wish I had told people at work "I had a miscarriage". I wish that I had that sort of strength... but I didn't. I didn't want to answer the questions or get the looks or have people talking behind my back about "I wonder if she's pregnant?" But if I had spoken up sooner could I have helped someone else? I guess I'll never know.

Having a Baby Is Bad On My Wallet!

I never knew how addicting baby stuff could be... I see things ALL the time and think to myself how much I would love to buy it for Eirik! Of course 9 out of 10 times I talk myself out of it unless something is an amazing deal that I really think will get use. Sadly the internet makes buying all this adorable baby stuff even easier! So today i'll share my favorite online bargain websites!

www.babysteals.com - new item posts at 11am EST Monday - Saturday!

www.babyhalfoff.com - new item posts at 10am EST Monday - Saturday!

www.mamabargins.com - items are posted till they are gone, then a new one appears!

www.ecobabybuys.com - new item posts at 9am EST Monday - Saturday! All their products are ego friendly! Added bonus!

http://www.babyearth.com/baby-sale - every hour they have a new "steal". The item drops in price every second... the trick is to get it for the best price before it sells out!

kids.woot.com/ - One deal a day till its gone! posted at 12:01!

I also love the blog babycheapskate! They are always posting great deals on all sorts of baby items!

Working Mom Woes

I realized I've been back at work for just about a month now... where does the time go?? And while I have my routine down more and am now used to being back I am finding it more emotionally draining then I anticipated. Typically when I leave in the morning he is still asleep... sometimes he is awake, but usually he just wakes up as I am getting ready to go out the door. The earliest I walk in the door is 4:40. If i get there at 4:40 he's usually just getting ready for his evening nap... if i get there much later he's passed out already. When I go get him at my friend's on Monday and Wednesday he's usually awake but the second he eats he passes out. By the time he wakes up again I get about 20 minutes of playtime before he turns into grumpy baby who wants nothing more than a bath and bedtime. If we don't do this he yells and screams at us. He wants bath and he wants bed.

All in all I am currently getting about an hour of quality time a day with him... and that KILLS me. Some days I come home and he looks different. I can see how much he's changed. I enjoy working, I just wish I could work part time instead of full time. I wish I had a job closer to home and could cut my commute time... or I could go home for lunch and spend time with him. I knew it would be hard... but its so much harder then I ever imagined. Last night I wanted to cry as he yelled at me, signaling the start of bath time and then bed. I look forward to putting him to bed at night because its 30 minutes of the two of us just relaxing together... he eats and then I either rock or cuddle him to sleep. Looking into his half asleep eyes just makes me want to call out of work the next day. The thought of all the things I have been missing while I am at work... he just does new things every day! Today I put him in his bumbo which was next to his little toy container. There is a little orange stuffed cat that was sitting on top and he was staring at it, and then grabbing at it and he did succeed in getting it into his hands and briefly into his mouth. Just a few days ago this is the toy he had problems holding on to.

I know as he gets older and stays awake longer things will get easier... instead of coming home and having him take a nap he'll actually be awake and ready to spend time with me. I just want to spend all that time cuddling him and being with him now.

Sharing

Eirik has learned the joys of sharing early. He has nicely decided to share his cold with both me and my husband. How thoughtful of him!

Being sick while breastfeeding is only SLIGHTLY better then being sick while pregnant. All those lovely cold medicines that line the shelves? nope. None for me! At least my options of what I can take are wider... but they still don't recommend taking mutli drug pills (like cold and flu medicine) while breastfeeding. Its lot of water and OJ for me... along with sucking down zinc lozenges like they are going out of fashion!

Eirik on the other hand is feeling better. Still under the weather, but he doesn't sound really bad. His eyes are a mess so my husband is calling the doctor today to try and get him an appointment. Probably another round of antibiotics. I really really hope these tear ducts unclog soon!

My cats have gotten braver about being near Eirik when he's awake. Before they stayed as far away as possible but now they like to sit close by and watch him. Poor cats are going to be in for a shock soon when he becomes mobile and can chase after them!