Thursday, May 28, 2009

Happy Baby, Happy Parents

Brayden is definitely happy in the mornings. This morning everyone was especially happy because he slept from his dream feed at 10:30 to 6:30!!!! I feel like a whole new person today... seriously haven't slept that long consecutively since BEFORE I WAS PREGNANT! Now I have to find something to do to channel my new found energy :)

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Memorial Day Weekend

Drew and I had a fun, semi-relaxing weekend. I say semi-relaxing because quite frankly, my idea of relaxing looks more like laying semi-comatose on the couch watching tv and having absolutely NOTHING on the agenda. We split the weekend up to accommodate both my need for rest and Drew needs for doing stuff.

Saturday Brayden was finally able to meet his Aunt Mare! Drew and I enjoyed getting to visit with Mare and Reid all afternoon. All 4 of us were able to stuff ourselves silly with Guido's pizza-- the best in town! Funny side note: Drew packed a bottle for when we went out to eat, that way we weren't rushed through eating and having a fussy baby. Well, I popped the lid off to feed Brayden, and the bottle was full, but there was NO NIPPLE. Kind of vital! Poor Brayden had to watch us eat Guidos while he sucked on a lame paci-- thanks Dad! Saturday night we had an impromptu dinner party at our house with some of our neighborhood friends. Drew had smoked a brisket all afternoon, so our friends brought over most of dinner and Drew had everyone sample his newfound artwork of smoking meat! A good time was had by all!

Sunday we went to church, and then Drew graciously watched Brayden while I went to the movies with our friends Jason and Susan. We went and saw "Angels and Demons"... SO good. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it. We capped off Sunday with dinner with Jason and Susan followed by a quick game of 12 dot dominoes. Drew won.

Monday was family day, and unfortunately it was raining. Drew and I had wanted to take Brayden on the walking trail but we decided that chancing it with scattered down pours and a 6 week old was a bit too much of a gamble! We instead went to TJ Maxx, Best Buy & Sams-- the stores of choice for families if I do say so myself-- and ate lunch at TGI Fridays. They are having a great special right now where any of their salads and sandwichs are just $5! So we each got a salad (that we could have easily split!) and split a chicken sandwich-- for $15!!! If you're looking for a cheap date, go to Fridays! Then we drove down to the National Cemetery and paid our respects to the men and women who have given their lives for our country. They put flags out on every grave site; I really wish it hadn't been raining AND that I had brought my SLR camera, because it would've been cool to get some artsy shots in. Monday evening we relaxed in the back yard as a family and enjoyed the cool weather the rain had brought in. I SO wish that every weekend was a 3 day weekend...

Friday, May 22, 2009

I still love this guy too!


Whenever you have a baby, it seems everyone makes a comment about how your dog is now 2nd best. And while he definitely doesn't get as much attention anymore, we still love our Tobes SO much! Drew came home from work early today so I went on a walk by myself and brought Toby along for the ride. He loves his walks and has graciously learned how to stroll next to a huge contraption known as a stroller, and given up peeing on every post in the neighborhood :) Tobes, you may be second fiddle now, but you're the best dog in the world!

Thursday, May 21, 2009

We caught it!

Sorry this pic is not set up right, but I just had to share. I was photographing Brayden with a gift he got from his Great-Great Uncle... and he showed me this:

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Learning to Let Go

OK, OK, I admit. I am a perfectionist. It's no secret either, as I quickly aquired the nickname "anal Annie" at my previous place of employment. I am still not sure if that was a compliment or a put down... I guess we'll never know. But back to what I was saying...

Perfectionism runs through nearly everything I do, quite possibly to a fault. My work, my home, my cooking, my cleaning, you name it. Because of how it creeps into everything I do, it's probably been the hardest thing to overcome (do you really even overcome something like perfectionism anyway?!) in my new venture as a mom. There's all of the baby stuff; I want everything to be neatly organized and put in order of size. It was a nice thought before he was here, but 5 minutes to me is now like a pot of gold. Who has time for organizing clothes when you realize that 5 minutes may be all the time you have to take a shower before the baby starts crying because he's hungry?

Oh, and the shower thing. Leisurely showers that consume all of your hot water and then some are a thing of the past. I LIVE for the weekends where I don't have to have a monitor on the counter and I can just enjoy my time to make myself not smell like 1 day old spit up or urine. My goal since having Brayden is to be showered and in "normal" clothes by noon. So far, I've hit the mark every day. I may not have makeup on, and my hair may just be quickly dried, but by darn, I at least smell like mountain breeze (or whatever flavor body wash we have in the shower).

Before Brayden was here, Mondays (or Saturdays when I was working) was my "cleaning day". I cleaned the house from top to bottom; dusted, vacuumed, swept & mopped. Sometimes, if I was feeling venturous, I would actually dust THEN polish the furniture (you know, with almond oil). If you are gasping at disbelief, please re-read the first paragraph of this post. It will explain things. Cleaning too, has had to step back a bit. I now have different days. Some days, like yesterday, is just a day that I make it to the end of the day without crying from exhaustion (Brayden did not sleep through a single nap. Ahhh... the sound of a screaming child!). Today was sweeping and mopping day. Hopefully tomorrow I can dust and vacuum* (*weird side note from Anal Annie: you should always dust BEFORE you vacuum, that way any of the dust that is not collected on the dust cloth and falls to the floor is quickly vacuumed up and therefore kept from once again collecting on your furniture. For those who are less worried about dust, I recommend getting light stained furniture, as it will lessen the need for constant dusting). This weekend will be bathrooms (Drew usually helps me with the showers, and I have to say, that he actually does an excellent job!).

I guess all this is to say that being a mom has put me on the track of learning to let go. My day will never again be predictable (although I do have to give some credit to Babywise for giving me some sanity with a schedule!), but that's OK. Having a healthy baby boy who is the joy of our lives far outweighs my old priorities of strict regimented housework.

Monday, May 18, 2009

Quick Photoshoot











I will Thank God for You...

  • When you smile at me
  • When you get the hiccups, just like you did in my belly
  • When you cross your eyes because your poor little muscles are still getting strong
  • When you spit up down my back, in my hair and on my 6th shirt of the day
  • When you scream in the middle of the night and I feel like a mac truck hit me
  • When you poop on everything I just put you in, and then top it off by peeing on the wall
  • When you cry through all of your morning naps, allowing me no extra sleep to top off the 3 hours I got the night before
  • When you cry when you get out of the bathtub
  • When I can't go out with friends because I have yet ANOTHER feeding
  • When you'd rather just stare around the room than eat
I am sure I could think of more things, but my brain is honestly fried at the end of a long day. This post is inspired by my friend Rebecca's most recent post regarding the tragedy that has struck her life in the past year. If you have a child, more specifically if you have an infant, when those days get long and you feel like you can't go a minute further without going insane, stop for a minute, breath deeply, and thank God for the baby that you feel is making you crazy. It puts things into perspective very quickly.

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Look What I Found!


Thursday, May 14, 2009

Minor setbacks

Brayden has been known as a good sleeper-- slept through my mom's dog barking, slept through his hip ultrasound, I mean, GOOD SLEEPER. After the doctor told us he could sleep till he wakes up (which was at day 5) Brayden slept consistently 4 hours, and a lot of times 5-6 hour stretches. Before you gasp in disbelief and tell me how blessed I am (which I am blessed, just a bit frustrated at the moment), let me tell you about the past 2 weeks.

For some strange reason he's decided to only go 3 maybe 3.5 hour stretches. This is considered "normal" for a 5 week old, however when momma is used to 5 & 6 hours, it makes for long nights and a bit of frustration. I don't really know WHY he is doing this, but didn't know if all you mommas out there knew if they kind of divert off of the path around 5-6 weeks and then jump back on the wagon? To make matters worse, I think I might have overactive letdown, and so Brayden gets frustrated when he's nursing so he won't nurse as long. I think he's still getting what he needs because his diapers are SOAKING wet, but it's still frustrating for both of us. This has causes interrupted nap times, and so it's a never ending cycle. I am following Babywise, and for the most part he follows the 2.5/3 hour schedule (more like 3 hour schedule), and before all of this change he was going down awake and sleeping through all of his naps. Any suggestions from someone who's been there done that????

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Let's play dress-up


Sunday, May 10, 2009

Happy Mothers Day....

To all of the momma's out there. Hope you have a great day. Remember to not take for granted the little life (or big one if your baby is grown) that has made you a mommy. When I look into this sweet face, I am reminded of God's grace, mercy and providence. Thank you Lord for our precious gift!

Thursday, May 7, 2009

4 weeks old

I attempted a photoshoot with an infant by myself this morning... interesting! It started with dressing him-- he spit up on the first outfit, so we diverted to the one you see. Then, as soon as I took his bib off for the shoot, he spit up again. LOL. At that point I was not about to get him undressed and redressed, so the show went on. It makes for a nice story, don't you think? The pictures didn't turn out quite as good as I was wanting, but they will work. I can't believe he's already 4 weeks old. I seriously feel like we just brought him home from the hospital!


Content Little Man

"Hmmm. Do I really have to put up with this for the rest of my life?"

"Peace Yall"


Cute as a button!

Sunday, May 3, 2009

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

When we were little, my mom had us memorize Psalm 139. I know, it sounds like quite a feat for a 5 year old, but what great words to blaze into a young mind. I am forever grateful for my mom reciting with us every morning; while I can't recount the entire scripture by heart today, there are certain verses of the chapter that I can and still do think about, especially since having a child of my own now. It's hard to look at Brayden and not marvel at God's handiwork. The God of the universe, the maker of the Heavens and the Earth, created, sculpted and made our little man for us to be given the blessing, the opportunity, to raise him here on earth. It's so humbling. As my mom recently said, parenting is so much bigger than just us... than just what we do. I guess my perspective is a bit more sappy also because we tried for so long to get pregnant. We thought that getting pregnant was as easy as dropping the pills and having sex (forgive my frankness, but let's be honest, we all know where babies come from!). 10 months later, we were both tired of trying on our own. I think that looking back, I forgot that it wasn't anything that we could do... God is the giver of life. When I finally relinquished that to Him, He (unexpectedly I may add) granted us our prayer. He formed Brayden from this:
To this:

God is so amazing, and I am reminded of that every time I see Brayden. "Marvelous are your works, and that my soul knows very well."

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Another First


Drew's been dying to help out with feedings since we brought Brayden home, but on the advice from my lactation consultant, we thought it better to wait until he was 3 weeks old. The thought being that he will be completely acclimated to breastfeeding, therefore hopefully eliminating the possibility of nipple confusion. Yesterday was our first try at it, and Brayden didn't even hesitate. I think he got his Daddy's human disposal gene, where as long as he smells edible food, it's in his mouth :) I do have to say that I kind of got sappy and told Drew he couldn't steal all of my feedings. Despite the long nights (and sometimes long days), I really do enjoy breastfeeding. I can already tell I'll miss it once he's weaned... and he's only 3 weeks old :)

PS-- check out the long legs on this kid-- he definitely got my legs!
 

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