In Hayden's Words...

Hello, all! Hayden here again. Today was my first day in the nursery at church. Mommy and daddy waited until I had my 2 month shots before leaving me. I had a pretty good time; the ladies learned just how long it takes for me to eat a bottle. That's because I just enjoy mommy so much more! Here's a picture of me on my way to church. I love going places!

Here's what else I've been up to lately: keeping mommy up! Well, sorta, that is. I sleep very well from about 8:30-11:30 or midnight. Then I'm up and down until about 3, then it's lights out til usually 5:15. I'm just trying to help mommy get ready for going back to school when she'll have to get up very early! Mommy and daddy have tried everything to help get me to sleep longer or to push my bedtime back, but I get VERY fussy about 7 and can hardly keep my eyes open! But I sure do love my bed! Mommy puts me into this swaddle contraption that's green, and then sure enough, she calls me her little green bean! Yuck! Who wants to be a green bean? I don't even know yet if I like green beans! Or vegetables in general! (Be on the lookout--she might just post a picture of it sometime!)

Daddy also doesn't always shave everyday. I HATE when he kisses me with that scruffy stuff! I let him know right away how I feel about it. He always laughs, though, when I protest!

I've almost mastered the giggle. Boy, you should see the silly stuff my parents do to get me to smile and giggle. I like to laugh when they least expect it! It always catches them off guard! Sometimes it sounds like I say "ow" and "momma," too. And of course, I have "ah-goo" down pat!

My little legs never stop moving. I'm surprised mommy doesn't have bruises from me! I'm also getting so long, I nearly hang off my carseat already. Maybe they should put a brick on my head!

Oh, my favoritest place to sleep ever is on my stomach on mommy's chest with my hands tucked under my face. I usually snuggle in as close as I can and push up until my head is in her neck. I can never get high enough! Sometimes Mommy can't breathe because I've pushed up so far into her throat. Don't tell anyone, but she absolutely loves it! When I'm all stretched out, my feet rest past her waist in this position. But I love it because I can hear her heartbeat and I know all is right in the world.

Next feat? Rolling over, I suppose! I can support myself on my legs already somewhat (yes, I'm strong! [and modest!]) and I love the mirror! But what baby doesn't?

Blue Camoflauge Bandaids

My little trooper got his 2 month shots this morning. It's so crazy to believe he's over 2 months old now! He did so great! The first shot seemed like it was a little slow going in, but by the time he realized it hurt the other 2 were finished. He's been fussy and grouchy since then, but thank goodness for baby Tylenol and the "perfect spot" on mommy's chest to sleep! Check out his cool blue camoflauge bandaids. I think they rock!

My bandaids!

Telling Daddy all about the "traumatic" drs. visit!

2 month stats:
Weight: 15 lbs. 4 oz.
Length: 25 1/2 inches
Head: 16 1/4

Each day is one day closer to me being back in the classroom. I'm looking forward to a fresh, new year, but the thought of leaving Hayden makes me want to just cry! On that note, for those of you that have been praying with us about childcare, we may have found someone. I don't want to give too many details yet, but please continue to pray. We need this answer soon!

Father's Day

For David's first Father's Day we had Hayden dedicated at church (First Biloxi). Apparently getting a bath before church and merely getting ready wore him out!
June 21, 2009
We then had some family and friends out to our house for burgers and hotdogs and all the trimmings. All in all, it was a good day! I wish we could have done more for David's first Father's Day, but I think he was pretty pleased with it. He got new grilling utensils and Hayden "made" him a framed poem entitled "Daddy's Boy."



ps. I've yet to understand what it is that makes me feel this way--there are many times I want/I need a break from my son. You mothers know how it is. But then when someone else has him, it's like I can't wait to get him back in my arms. This happened yesterday with a friend. Hayden was completely content and slept in her arms. But I was itching to have him back. Is it jealousy? It stirs me to no end when Hayden fusses and screams and then someone else takes him and calms him right down. It's as if as his mother I should be able to always do that. But I can't, and I know it. However, 9 times out of 10 when he's fussing while someone else has him, I can pick him up, console him, and soothe him like no other. I know those times someone else has that power are those moments when I'm aggravated and tired (or whatever other emotion I'm projecting) and he feeds off of me. I think I'm doing better at controlling these emotions of jealousy or whatever they are, but it's difficult to understand why I want a break then desire to have him immediately right back. Maybe it's just one of those things as a mother. Like how my husband can sleep through Hayden's screams coming through the baby monitor, but at the slightest whimper I'm wide awake. Hmmm...

Hungry, Hungry Hippo

I was going to write a very lengthy post on all that has been happening the past week or so+ with Hayden's eating. But it's a very long story, and I'm not in the mood to get all detailed. Here's the long and short of it:

Due to Hayden's size, it seemed as if he wanted to eat all the time. At least every hour to hour and a half he was rooting and gnawing on his fist. That was getting old quickly. Then suddenly he started rejecting the bottle and spitting up every time he fed--bottle or nursing. I still believe he's exhibiting signs of some acid reflux, but that's not the big issue currently. I made an appointment with the pediatrician. As she looked at his chart, she just burst out laughing and kept laughing. I began growing indignant because I was very concerned and getting very frustrated with feeding times. I need Hayden to be able to take a bottle because I do need breaks every now and then and it's good for David to be able to feed him. Plus, we need to be able to go out and do stuff, not be confined to the house. Nursing in public can be difficult, though I will say that dressing rooms at the mall are perfect in a pinch! So back to the dr.---apparently, Hayden is overeating. Let's just say that exactly a week ago at the cardiologist he weighed 13 lbs. 12 oz. Today he was up to 14 lbs. 8 oz. Since his last ped visit he had gained like 52 oz. That didn't mean much to me until she explained: babies should gain about a 1/2 oz. to an ounce a day. Hayden has been gaining over 2 a day! WHOA, JOE! So we're slowing him down. Today I stretched him from 1 and 1/2 hours between feedings to at least 2 1/2+. It wasn't as bad as I thought the day would be, but we still have the night to go. I can already see and feel a difference. I have quite a few mixed emotions right now and maybe there were some things we could have tried sooner, but he wasn't gaining weight this rapidly before (and remember, 1. I am a first-time mother and 2. I was a political science major, not nursing or pediatric--I am learning much!). At least now I know I can hold him off; it was definitely harder for me than him, I think! On the plus side, he slept for 4 hours straight last night and probably would have gone longer or done it again, but our air went out and we were both sweltering.

This is an entire learning process. I am not perfect in my parenting, nor will I ever claim to be. I am very slow to offer advice to other mothers or tell them what to do (I've had a cousin do this to me repeatedly--nothing has worked that she recommended!). For now, we're thickening his bottles when we do feed that way, I'm stretching his feedings out (and he eats more rapidly then too), and we're working on the sleeping. All in all, while I feel like it's taken so long to get here and why didn't we realize all this sooner, I am so thankful we are at 7 weeks and not 7 months! At least we're getting there!

Friday Photo Shoot

Hayden, 7 weeks

Postpartum Exhaustion

I get weekly emails from baby sites, and I thought this one said it best about postpartum exhaustion:

Postpartum Exhaustion
"I knew I'd be tired after the birth of my baby — but this is ridiculous. I haven't gotten any sleep in weeks, and I'm just exhausted."

Welcome to the new parent club — a club for card-carrying (and baby-carrying) human zombies whose motto is "I'm so tired!," whose favorite beverage is anything containing large amounts of caffeine and sugar (preferably taken through continuous IV drip), who give new meaning to the phrase "energy crisis" (the crisis being, they don't have any), who would choose four hours of sleep (in a row) over — well, over just about anything.

It's no wonder you're exhausted. An average day for you would exhaust even the Energizer Bunny — and yet you keep going, and going, and going (as if you have a choice!). Endlessly feeding, burping, changing, rocking, pacing, and repeating. Not enough to fill 24 hours? There's the pile of laundry that seems to grow larger and more daunting each day. The thank-you notes that haven't been written. The shopping (out of diapers — again?) and the schlepping (who knew how much stuff you'd need just to make a four-block trip to the bank?). All done on an average of about three hours sleep (if you're lucky) a night — with a body that's still recovering from childbirth. In other words, you have multiple good reasons to be exhausted.

I'm there. Especially the lucky-if-I-get-3-hours-sleep-at-night. I know "it won't be like this for long" (Darius Rucker) and somedays I wonder how I've made it 7 weeks, but you do what you have to do. If we can just keep the boy full, all is right with the world!

Trial & Error

If any of you have seen my Facebook status, you know that it currently relates how I'm learning that parenting is a process of trial and error. And while we've received well-intended advice and well-wishing, very little has applied to our son and worked. Part of that has to do with his size. He's easily close, if not over, 12 pounds. Very little fits, especially not his newborn shoes! It has taken us 6 weeks to realize that our poor baby is starving. I'm not getting him what he needs fast enough. If I can pump and give it to him in a bottle, he can go a few hours. If I solely nurse, he's hungry again with an hour to an hour and a half. My mom and I believe it's because he's working so hard to get what he can when he eats (and yes, I do everything to keep him awake and eating constantly while he nurses) that he wears himself out and can't stay awake. So then I can literally time it--he's ready to eat again shortly. But pumping is taking me a great deal of time right now, especially with him nursing often. This process repeats day and night, which means very little sleep. We started supplementing at night (which I hated, but had no choice). I'm calling his pediatrician tomorrow about starting to incorporate rice cereal. Everything I have read says he's too young, but I can't have my baby starving. I will continue to nurse and pump because that time with Hayden is so precious to me. There's something about being the only one who can feed him (even though I gripe sometimes when he's ready to eat around the clock!).

Oh, and please take this kindly: before you start leaving advice and wondering how we knew he was hungry, it took me doing 2 days (Thurs. and Fri.) of curriculum work in Vancleave at the county office to come to this conclusion. I left bottles I had pumped that my mom and the sitter gave him while I was gone. I texted all day asking how much he had been eating, but surprise! He was going 3+ hours between feedings! When I got home, he was the happiest, content baby. I could hold him without him immediately diving to my chest and me feeling like Bessie the milkcow. He cooed more, played, and was just happier. Fast forward to Saturday: I solely nurse, he's fussy, eating all day, and unhappy. This continued for a few days. At night, we started supplementing and started sleeping 3+ hours instead of waking to eat every 1-1 1/2 hours. Blessed sleep. So there you go. Oh, and we've discovered no more pizza or homemade tacos for me! It kills him! Bummer.

Guard Kitty

The ferocious Tyrone!


David has been bugging me about getting a dog. According to him, every boy needs a dog. Right now I think we have all we can handle with Tyrone. Yesterday and today I spent some time at the county office doing work on curriculum pacing guides and district assessments. My mom kept Hayden yesterday, but today a sweet girl from church, Lindsey Parker, kept him for us. Unfortunately, Tyrone is very territorial and doesn't like new guests in our (her) house. Lindsey came by last night to go over some things before she got here at 8 this morning. Things were fine then. Not so this morning while we were gone. Lindsey texted David who then called my mom and our friend Mo because Tyrone had positioned herself between Lindsey and Hayden. Ty was hissing and blocking Lindsey from picking him up. I found this touching because Tyrone wants nothing really to do with Hayden, but darn it if she'll let someone she doesn't know touch him! My mom and Mo both came (David wasn't sure who could make it first to help so he called both), and Tyrone had to be locked in the bathroom. I received all of this via text! Thus, I texted David that we don't need a dog, we have a guard kitty!

5 Weeks

It's so difficult to believe that if I wasn't out for the summer or if I had had Hayden at another point in the school year, I would be going back to work after next week. NO!!! That's way too soon! How can we possibly expect new parents to bond, establish a routine, and be ready to function 100% (and be overly cordial) with a 6-week old at home? Maybe some new mothers can do this, but I know that I would not be able to. There is no way I would be able to deal with my 8th graders and come home and be up all night. I love Hayden, but lack of sleep and gassy tummies and other newborn issues do not always make me a pleasant person to be around (ask my husband). But I did want to publish a few pictures of him at 5 weeks. Hayden's so big. Most of his 0-3 month clothing is too small or almost too small--especially his sleepers. When he stretches out they pull down at the chest--very sexy! Anyway, we're steadily working through his closet!