I knew that Josh would be a good father before we were even dating. In fact, I can remember the first time the thought entered into my mind.
It was November 2007 at the Spunlogic Thanksgiving Potluck. Josh and I had become work friends at this point, and there may or may not have been a little flirting going on, but that was about it. Company events at Spun were always my favorite, because everyone would bring their kids in, and the pot luck was no different.
Shannon, my boss at the time, brought in her adorable daughter, and she was in a very playful mood! She and I were playing in the conference room where everyone was sitting and Josh joined in. Watching him interact with her, I could see the care he had for someone else’s child and it was so sweet. When we were walking down the hall, he told me that he wanted to have kids one day. The tone in his voice and the look in his eyes said it all. And that may or may not be the day that my crush on him got a little stronger.
Growing up, I never really thought I wanted to have kids. It wasn’t until Josh and I started dating and fell in love that a spark lit inside me and something changed. And I’m glad that it did. I wanted to have a child so that Josh could become the father that he was meant to become.
Holding B for the first time
Watching Josh with B every day brings a smile to my face and it completely warms my heart.
Bath time!
He’s tender and loving and the smile that comes over B’s face when he sees Josh is priceless. I can’t help but fall in love with him day after day.
B loves his Daddy!
Happy 1st Father’s Day, Josh. Thank you for being an amazing father to our wonderful son. He’s got a great man to look up to, and for that, I’m a lucky momma! I love you!
Before B got to be too big (and mobile), Josh and I had a few things we wanted to do around the house. One of the big items on the “Must fix sooner rather than later” list were the windows on our house. From the outside, they looked alright, but on the inside you could feel and easily hear what was going on outside (like, hear the guy four houses down raking his driveway). During the winter, our house would get really cold with air seeping through, and in the summer, it was terribly hot inside the house. Some windows had seals that were broken, so they were foggy. They were dingy and gross to a point we couldn’t easily clean them (especially the frames), the locks were faulty and we had no screens! All in all, I wanted them gone!
So we opted to put that at the top of our house renovation list, and called Champion Windows, as well as Window World, to get estimates. After doing online research, we knew that Champion had high pressure sales people, but everyone that chose to go with them seemed to be really impressed with the quality of the installation and the windows themselves. Window World had 50/50 reviews, but their sales rep was not nearly as high pressure, so that in itself was nice. The only thing we didn’t like about Window World was that all of the items included in the Champion quote were extra costs/fees with Window World. Based on everything we heard, we opted to move forward with Champion and D. Mack Scaife (if you’d like his info, let me know). We had a feeling we’d go with Champion to start with, but wanted to hear what they had to say. The sales pitch took THREE hours – he was very thorough. That night, we decided to move forward when he threw in a new door to our patio (because the guys who flipped the house did a TERRIBLE job installing the door and it constantly stuck to the frame, no matter the season). It was just a nice added bonus. 🙂
A few days later, we had someone out to officially measure all 24 windows that were going to be replaced. They indicated in about 6-8 weeks, they’d be able to come back and install the new windows. The were planning on having the job complete in one day, but said it could spill over into two days. We were fine with that and waited for our new windows.
Install day came and as we’d read, the Champion team did an excellent job removing the old and installing the new windows, and even making things look a little better than they did before on the exterior. They cleaned up after themselves and all we had to do was move our furniture back in place. We are completely happy with the look of the new windows, and the fact that it doesn’t get nearly as hot (or cold) in our house as it did before they were installed. It was almost an immediate difference for the climate in our house!
Before
After
My only complaint was that after the install was complete, Josh received a call from Mack indicating that we still owed him 2-3 referrals. I’d given him one, because I had a friend looking at replacing a couple windows (I also gave her our Window World contact’s info too). No where had we promised him referrals – because it’s so easy to pull those out of my rear end. We reviewed the Marketing Agreement that we signed, and that was not one of the things we’d agreed to (keeping a sign in our yard for 30 days, write a testimonial letter or something indicating we’d seen a decrease in energy bills, etc. – all things we agreed to, referrals were not). He was pretty insistent that we had, but Josh and I pulled out our paperwork as did Mack (after he called us – not before to check to see if this was a valid thing we’d missed) and it was then he realized we were correct. He backed down, but it left Josh and I riled up. Not cool.
All in all, we’re happy with our windows and it definitely got our neighbors talking…haha!
In addition to the windows, we brought Chris from Blue Square Construction to do a few things around the house. Chris came out last year to work on B’s room, as well as put crown molding up in the dining room. We were very happy with his work, we knew he was the perfect choice for the new projects we had in mind.
We loved the look of the crown molding int he dining room so much, we decided we wanted to put some in our master bedroom, as well as paint. We picked the color Refuge, by Sherwin Williams, after seeing it in one of their online publications that Josh received in his email.
Before (pic from listing – not our furniture)
After (excuse the mess and unmade bed!)
And in keeping with our love of green, we chose to use the Behr Rejuvenate color to freshen up B’s bathroom. It was one of the colors we looked at using for our master bathroom, but we ended up going with a darker color (Mother Nature) instead. The lighter green, we figured would be better for a kid’s bathroom – and we were right! In addition to the new paint color, we had Chris add some bead board to give it a little extra something. We love it!
Before (Listing photo)
After – With B’s jungle themed shower curtain 🙂
The color looks a little yellowish in this picture, but I promise it’s not. I’m just too lazy to re-take a photo, because it’s taken me this long to get to writing – I’m not putting off the post anymore!
And lastly, we had Chris paint the living room and add some walls near the steps, so when the time comes we can easily put baby gates up (with B rolling from back to belly, and belly to back – we need to be prepared!). We went with Sherwin Williams Universal Khaki to give the room a bit more oompf. We liked the slightly darker color, and feel it works well with the colors in the room. It was great having Chris’ team paint the living room, as there’s no way we could have done this ourselves!
Before (listing photo)
After
Before (Listing photo)
After (Hey look, there are walls by the stairs now!)
The added walls also give a little bit more comfort as you’re walking down the stairs. Before, there was nothing next to the first step, so it made it very awkward when you were going downstairs! Now, while the handrail doesn’t fully extend up – the wall acts as a guide until you get to the handrail.
Now that we have the walls there, Josh and I have talked about getting a custom built in bookshelf between the walls, and mounting the TV a little higher up on the wall. It’s on the to-do list, but it’ll be awhile before we get there. With all the stuff we had done all at once, we’re going to take a little breather and enjoy the newly updated house!
When I was pregnant, I always heard that after the baby is born, your hair can start falling out. Well, after a couple months of not losing any more hair than normal I was convinced that it wasn’t going to happen.
I. was. wrong.
The amount of hair that I’m shedding on a daily basis is INSANE. Josh’s least favorite thing about living with a female has always been the random long hairs that appear everywhere (laundry, bathroom counter, bathroom floor, the bed, etc.). I told him I wasn’t planning on shaving my head anytime soon, so he just had to deal with it. 😉
So…long… (for my standards)
While B was baking in my belly, I decided to grow my hair out. It got long. As long as it was when we got married – for the first time since we got married 4 years ago. And a couple weeks ago, my hair started falling out, especially when washing it. I kid you not folks, I’ve clogged our shower drain with the amount of hair I’ve lost! Thank goodness for Drano…
I was getting tired of the long hair, and since summer is nearly here, I decided to cut my hair. Since it’s so fine and straight as a board, it doesn’t really do well when it’s long, and little fingers have started pulling on it. I won’t lie, having the ability to throw it up in a bun was nice, but I was relying on that look every day, and I was over it!
I had about 5 inches cut off, and it feels so much lighter and has way more bounce than it did before the hair appointment.
Buh-bye length!
But I’m still losing hair!
This morning, using a wide-ish tooth comb, enough hair came out to ball it up into a nickel sized hair ball. At least it’s not as long as it was…
Gross.
Luckily Josh wasn’t around to see that. 😉
So soon-to-be moms, know that it’s coming – even if it doesn’t happen right away, your hair can fall out up until your baby is a year old (GASP!). You may even wonder if you’ll go completely bald with the amount falling out (you won’t…or at least you shouldn’t).
But hey, maybe if I did go bald, Josh wouldn’t have to deal with random hair everywhere! 😉
I realized recently that I never posted final pictures of B’s room, after I first posted about it.
Up until two weeks before I went back to work, B slept in our room. It was so helpful during the middle of the night feedings, and to keep an eye on him, but honestly, I don’t feel I slept all that well with his little breathing noises, stretching, grunting, etc. So once B started sleeping through the night (well, 10 pm to 4 am) around 10 weeks, we started putting him in his crib at night. Thank goodness for the video monitor!
From then on, B slept in his crib at night, and left us some restful nights. Granted we still have our nights when he wakes up, mostly due to him teething, but I consider us lucky that he’s done so well so far!
We still have a couple things we want to do to his room, but for now we’re pretty close to being finished!
View of the primary wall, with crib. We have two newborn photos on either side of his name.
Here’s a close-up of the mobile. Purchased from Target.com. Love this little thing! I saw it on Pinterest, but every time I went to purchase it, it was sold out online and never available in store. Towards the end of February, it was available and I jumped on the chance to purchase it! I feel that it’s perfect for the room!
Here’s the view from the opposite side of the room from the entry door. We got our wall art up from PrintChicks on Etsy. They were quick to fulfill, and we love the prints! We got the alligator peg hanger from Pottery Barn Kids as it was on clearance. We actually bought two, just in case something happened to the first…we really liked it.
Here’s the storage area that we setup for B’s toys. We got the pieces at IKEA, and loved the fact that we can interchange the storage pieces, but for now they’re lined up to match my compulsive need for symmetry. 😉
And here’s the corner where we spend a lot of time at night, and it’s one of my favorite places in his room. I love cuddling in the glider, and I absolutely adore the picture of B we had made on Canvaspop from an Instagram photo I took one night after his bath.
Here’s a close-up of the pic. The canvas turned out great!
And that’s B’s room for now!
[Don’t forget you can sign-up for my blog posts to be emailed to you. Check out the box over on the right side of the screen –>. You’ll receive an email verifying that you want to receive them – so be sure you look for that email, otherwise my newest posts won’t end up in your inbox!]
In my last post, I focused on my favorite phone apps since B was born. In this post, I’ll focus on our favorite items that we’ve used with B. And then in Part III, I’ll tell you about the products we really wanted to love – but they didn’t make the cut!
I’ve linked to all the items using Amazon.com, but there’s a chance you can find each product cheaper elsewhere (especially if it looks really high). We didn’t purchase most of these from Amazon, but it’s the easiest site to find everything online at once!
Products (In order of usage)
Itzbeen Pocket Nanny Baby Care Timer
After playing around on Amazon.com, looking at baby product after baby product, I came across the Itzbeen. It’s a little timer that helps you track feedings, diaper changes, medicine, etc., by allowing you to track how long “itzbeen” since you did “X”. In the first few weeks, there’s no mentally tracking the time between events. You’re tired, the baby is crying, you just can’t easily keep track of that kind of thing (without writing it down, using a timer, etc.). This timer can follow you room to room via the belt clip (that Josh broke a couple weeks in…not very sturdy) or you can just carry it and place it on a table/counter with the “kickstand” on the back. Tracking events is as simple as hitting a button. And if you’re nursing, it can help you keep track of where you last nursed, with a switch that indicates “left” or “right”.
I realize there are apps out there that do this too, in fact, Total Baby does all of the above (and I LOVE it), but I’m the only one that can tracks events on the app because it’s on my phone – I can’t sync it with Josh and have us both update on there. With a physical timer, either one of us could push the button, and if one of us left the house (or the room) and came back, we’d know what took place while we were gone.
Admittedly, after awhile, I stopped using the timer for diaper changes because there were so many of them, I did use it for feedings and sleep. And now, we don’t use it anymore. We pretty much stopped using it right before I went back to work, but it was VERY helpful at the beginning when time went by quickly due to lack of sleep!
Fisher Price Rock n Play Sleeper
The Rock ‘n Play (RnP) is one of those products that every mom I knew loved. It was the one thing everyone told me I needed. Many used it as a location for their baby to sleep at night, until they moved them to the crib, worked great for babies with reflux, etc. And this is what B slept in for the first two weeks that we were home, because his other bassinet was upstairs and we were camping out on the lower level of our house because I couldn’t walk up the stairs after my c-section.
Then I got on the internet and started reading the reviews, and they freaked me out. I stopped letting B sleep in it overnight once we moved back upstairs, and only put him in it during the day when I couldn’t hold him or while we were eating. Not saying that you can’t let them sleep in it overnight, we just chose not to do so.
It’s a great chair for him to sit in because he can see things going on around him better than if he were laying down. It’s lightweight and it folds up, which makes it easy to move around. We still use this daily, while we’re eating B sits in his RnP and watches us (and lately, giggles at us). 🙂
Hanging out in his RnP
After moving back upstairs and having access to the rest of our house, B started sleeping in his 3-in-1 Napper. It was the perfect height to sit next to the bed in our room – so I could keep an eye on him when he slept. I wasn’t ready to put him in his crib right away, so we didn’t. 🙂
B slept in this when he napped during the day, and at night. It has a mobile that hangs over the top that plays music (peppy music and lullaby music). There’s also a vibrate function on the base of the napper. When B got fussy to the point nothing would calm him down, we’d “buzz” him and turn the vibration and he’d calm down and sometimes even just fall asleep.
I will say the vibration is listed as being quiet on the site, but I found it to be loud and somewhat annoying. Plus, when you turn it off, it’s a sudden change and it can sometimes wake the baby if they’re sleeping. I’d always try to turn it off before he fell asleep for that main reason!
The Napper can be used in 3 positions: flat, slightly inclined, and sitting up. Now that B has better head control, we put him in the Napper now to sit while we’re getting ready for work in the morning, etc. We keep the Napper upstairs at all times, and the RnP stays on the main level, so we’re not moving things around constantly.
Formerly used for sleeping, now it’s used for sitting!
Munchkin Steam Guard Microwave Sterilizer
Every night when I wash bottles, I sterilize them in this microwave sterilizer. It’s nice not to have to boil things the old fashioned way. In two minutes, I can have 4 bottles knocked out (was able to do 4 bottles, 4 nipples, and 4 connector rings when we were using the smaller bottles). I typically wash 7-8 bottles at night, and can have everything done in 3-4 microwave sessions. I like that it’s simple and easy to use!
Munchkin High Capacity Drying Rack
We started off with the Boon Grass drying rack, but that wasn’t cutting it for the number of bottles we were using. When I pumped we had a LOT of bottles that accumulated and it just wasn’t big enough to hold them all when I did a mass washing. I sought out something bigger, and found this. I love it! Super easy to setup, it has 16 different rungs, so you can get a lot on there. I use the bottom area for bottles (8), and then use the top section for the connector rings (8) and nipples (8). The bottom shelf area is where I let the lids dry, and pacifiers goes up top for drying.
Aqua Scale 3-in-1 Baby Bath Tub, Scale and Water Thermometer
When B got a little bigger (two weeks away from being 2 months old), our first bath option quickly became “not an option”. Josh and I went out one afternoon while my mom was watching him and we went to Babies R Us to see what our options were. There were the standard plastic tubs, the bath seats, and then this overly gadgetry bath tub – that tells you the water temperature and it has a scale built in – so you can weigh your baby.
We went with the fancier one, because that’s how we roll (and we like gimmicky things sometimes). Plus, it was on sale.
The tub has an infant “butt rest” to keep them from sliding down into the water, that’s removable for when they get bigger. B loves his bath, and seems to enjoy them more now that he has room to splash and kick!
We use this on the bathroom counter for now, and when he gets a little bigger, we’ll move it to the tub. For now, I’m saving my knees and back and standing while bathing him!
Splish splash!
Samsung SEW-3037W Wireless Pan Tilt Video Baby Monitor Infrared Night Vision and Zoom, 3.5 inch
Even though there are only 16 steps between my bed and B’s crib in his room, I wanted a video monitor. Call me lazy, or just know that I like my sleep. Having the ability to check on B at any point in the night, without crawling out of bed, is amazing. There’s a setting you can keep it on at night so that when they make a sound or movement, it’ll turn on. I usually hear him moving before he does something worthy enough for the monitor to turn on, but I hear that’s just a “mom thing”. And since B makes noises in his sleep, I’m able to tell if he’s truly awake or just making noise in his sleep – again, without getting out of bed.
Lately, B’s noises have been legitimate (getting over being sick AND teething), and require me to get out of bed – which is fine, but at least I can tell without prematurely getting up!
The night vision on this monitor is great, I can see B’s chest rise and fall as he’s sleeping, and it rotates and pans pretty well too!
“I always feel like…somebody’s watching me…”
TinyLove Gymini Move and Play Activity Gym
B loves his activity gym! The music, the animals, he lights up when we play on it! I realize that most activity mats are the same, and this is one of the links that displays a price higher than what it originally was (thanks Amazon!).
The animals hang and are easily moved. The music player also lights up, which B enjoys watching. It’s flexible too, so we can adjust the arches and have the light up area closer to the floor when he’s doing “tummy time” rather than keeping it above him.
There are multiple sensory items on the mat: some toys vibrate/shake when pulled, some make crinkling noises, etc. He’s still just pulling on toys, but that keeps him entertained. And sometimes, he’ll even pull the elephant’s foot down and into his mouth. Gotta love teething! 😉
The music that plays is repetitive, and will play for about 12 minutes before it turns off (I’ve timed it). There are too volume settings: quiet and not quiet (but not loud).
I’m a fan of the TinyLove products, and it just so happens the music on his mat is the same music that the mobile on his 3-in-1 Napper.
He LOVES that elephant!
Since B is going to daycare, we have to label all of his items. As a new mom, I used a Sharpie marker to put his name on his bottles, and when we arrived the first day, they asked that I used something else. I didn’t understand why until I washed bottles. Doh. It came off like it was never there!
Thankfully, my 409 ladies are a wealth of knowledge and experience, so I can go to them for advice and product recommendations.
My friend Amanda suggested that I go with Kiddo Tags for my labels. I went on their site, and I’m so glad she recommended them! I opted to go with the KT Value Pack because I knew we’d end up labeling many things down the line, and I wanted to just have the stickers on hand. I’ve labeled the tops and bottoms of his bottles, his pacifiers, and his school bag so far. With the different sizes, I can use them as I see fit for each item.
These stickers are DURABLE. I’ve yet to have one appear to weaken on a bottle, and they get washed every day!
If you want to order anything from their site, use the discount code “REFERRAL” for either a 15% or 20% discount. They ship quickly too – which is nice.
Note: They also have iron labels, temporary stickers, etc. Lots of options at Kiddo Tags!
Baby Jogger City Mini stroller
Looking for a stroller was pretty easy, since the first two or three people I asked quickly recommended the Baby Jogger City Mini stroller. I was curious as to why it was so amazing, and when I was volunteering at a golf tournament last fall, a sorority sister had her City Mini with her. She let me try it out, and it was love at first site.
First off, it’s REALLY light. I didn’t want a stroller that would be a struggle to push, or put into the car. Second, it turns on a dime – SO easy to maneuver this thing. And third, it folds in half very easily! There’s a small fabric handle on the seat, and once you have your hand around it and lift, it folds in half. No struggling to fold, and it’s easy to snap into place with the folded position.
Highly recommend this one! And to make it easier on us, we got one of the car seat adaptors, so we can place B’s car seat on the stroller and go. It snaps into place and it’s easier than taking him out of the car seat, putting him into a stroller, taking him out of the stroller, and then back into the car seat. He *hates* getting into his car seat. 🙂
Baby Jogger Car Seat Adaptor Single, Mounting Bracket
To allow us to use B’s carrier seat on his stroller, we purchased this mounting bracket. It was VERY easy to install (I did it, and no tools were involved). Once B outgrows his infant carrier, we can take this bracket off and use the stroller directly.
Note: There are different mounting brackets that support different infant carriers. We used the Chicco KeyFit 30, so this was the one for ours. If you order something like this, check to see if it fits your carrier!
Mesh laundry bags
I know this one sounds a bit out of place in the list, but they’ve been one of the best things to have when doing laundry. I use them to collect B’s socks at the end of the day, rather then throwing them in with his other clothes in the hamper. Since they’re so small, they can easily get lost in a big load of clothes – so having just socks in the mesh bag helps me keep track of his socks.
If there’s anything on this list that you’re going to get – get the mesh laundry bags. I picked mine up in the laundry aisle at Publix!
And for now, these have been our favorite products! As we find more that we love, I’ll be sure to share them. Are there any products that you’re a fan of? That you give at every baby shower? Is there a “must-have” that we should try?
The next post will cover products that we really wanted to love, but they fell short of our needs/expectations!
Note: I was not paid for or given any of these products by any company to review. They were purchased either by us or gifted as baby shower presents, and I wanted to share them with friends. Now if you’re out there and would like for me to review a product of yours, feel free to contact me at wishiweretherenow at gmail dot com. 😉
Note: WishIWereThereNow.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.
Since having little man, I’ve had a couple months of sorting through different baby products. I know in the grand scheme, there’s plenty more to learn, but I figured I’d blog about the items that I’ve really enjoyed thus far. Plus, I have a few pregnant friends that have been asking me about certain products – so I wanted to put my thoughts in one spot!
To start, I figured I’d talk about the phone apps that helped keep my sanity during the first few weeks/months. In Part II, I’ll get into actual products from our registry (and ones we picked up that weren’t)!
Sleepy Sounds
On the night B was born, he cried. A lot. We were at a loss what to do when Justin Timberlake music stopped working. I remembered someone mentioning “white noise” as something that would help sooth babies, so I frantically downloaded several white noise apps from the app store. Sleepy Sounds (free version) ended up being our favorite app. It was (is) B’s kryptonite. When he would start crying, but couldn’t quite convert over to sleep, we’d turn this app on and let it run. You can use the timer function for up to 99 minutes, and it’ll gradually get quieter before time is up so there’s no jarring sound change for the baby OR you can let it run indefinitely. I’ve used both functions. 🙂 It worked so well on my phone, I had Josh download it onto his Android phone, so we’d both be armed with tools to help B calm down!
Links: App website | iTunes | Android
Sleepy Sounds app
The name of this app made me laugh, who wouldn’t? When you’re attached to a pump, you kind of feel like a cow (not going to lie to you folks!). I had no interest in actually breastfeeding, but figured I’d give pumping a try at the last minute (I was planning on formula feeding from the get-go). B still got the “good stuff” and I wasn’t the sole person responsible for feeding him at all times of the day, and that in itself made pumping completely worth it!
This app allows you to track all of your pumping sessions, and catalog the amounts you produce throughout the day. You can combine bottles with the app, show which amounts are in the fridge vs. freezer vs. en route (if you pump at work or while out), etc. I found this app when B was 2 weeks old, and it actually made pumping more fun (for me) because I could see statistics and the actual totals over time that I pumped. You can time each side separately, and even export the data if you want to use it for something.
All in all, an excellent app!
Milk Maid app
I found Total Baby the day B turned 2 months old. I was looking for something that would help me keep track of the number of diaper changes he was having in a day. Just surviving the day, I couldn’t tell you how many times I’d changed him…and it’s ALWAYS something they ask at the doctor!
This app does way more than just track diaper changes, my friends, it tracks EVERYTHING. Diaper changes, feedings, baths, play time, medication, sleep, doctor’s visits (including a place to chart weight, length, vaccines), allergies, milestones, and you can even keep a diary of important events (and you can add photos).
I love having data, so this quickly became my daily app once I stopped pumping. However, they also have a way to track pumping sessions, in addition to everything else, so it truly could be your one-stop app should you choose to try it out. The down side is that it’s only available on the Apple iOS platform.
Links: App website | iTunes
Total Baby app
Obviously, this isn’t a baby app, but it’s been great to have on your phone. I’m constantly taking photos of B (I’ve filled up my phone storage at least 10 times since he’s been born with video and pictures). I like the filters on there, and the ease of use. B has his own Instagram account, so we do a daily photo on there as well. Plus, there are several cool sites that can print products using your Instagram photos like Foxgram and Canvaspop. We have used both and were happy with the results! I’ll share pics of our most recent Canvaspop purchase when I get the final photos of B’s nursery together!
Links: App website | iTunes | Android
B’s Instagram account – I may or may not scroll through the photos from the past daily. 😉
Again, not a baby specific app – but I’ve used it a few times for side by side comparison photos of me and B (our baby photos side by side) and photos of B that we’ve taken each month. Easy to use, if you don’t have it – download it today!
Links: App website | iTunes | Android
Side-by-side with Diptic
Those are my favorite apps for now – am I missing out on any great ones? If so, please share in the comments section! I love me some apps, so if you love ’em, I’ll probably download them!
And stay tuned for Part II!
Months later, we learned that I would become a mother to a little boy. And earlier this year, I actually became a mother to the most adorable little boy, B.
Little man looking at his daddy
I don’t have any wisdom to disperse, as I’m still very much winging things right now, but being B’s mom has given me a whole new perspective on everything. Some of the little things that I used to care about – they’re not remotely important anymore. I’ve realized things about the people around us that I never noticed before, and have realized who in our life will be there for us no matter what. And I’m still learning about unconditional love, and how amazing it is.
I’m also learning how hard it really is to be a mother (a parent really, but since it’s Mother’s Day, I’m going with that). The energy is zapped from me daily, but I feel it’s entirely worth it when I see the one little dimple on B’s right cheek appear. I try my best not to complain knowing there are so many women out there that wish to become mothers, but truthfully the times where it might cross my mind to do so are few and far between. I would do anything for this kid, and God help anyone that tries to hurt him.
And it’s now that I’m starting to realize what my mom went through with me, and often look to her for advice. It’s not easy being responsible for taking on the needs of a tiny person and I’m lucky that I’m not going at it alone (Josh has been an amazing father and husband).
We both have pretty awesome mom’s, and must say, they did a great job raising us to be two awesome adults. 😉 My only hope is that when B gets older, he feels the same way about me.
Happy Mother’s Day to our mom’s, we love you!
Me and my mom
Josh and his mom
That morning I had a visit from a lactation consultant to make sure I had everything I need, and we decided to rent a pump for a week to see if I wanted to keep at it. B’s pediatrician came by and said he looked great, and that we needed to make an appointment for Monday or Tuesday.
By this point I was more mobile than I’d been since the delivery, but I was still very slow and sore! We packed up everything and cursed packing so much. Why on earth did we think we’d need everything we did?
I ate hospital food for lunch, since we were still there. (Note: I realize I didn’t talk much about the food while I was in the hospital, but Northside’s food was actually pretty darn good. There was only one meal that I wasn’t a fan of – but everything else was great, which is weird for hospital food.)
Josh took a load of things down to the car before he drove it up to the loading area. Once he returned, he took the cart FULL of the rest of our stuff, again, way too much! After loading all of that into the car, he came back up to the room to get me and B. During this time, I took a few more photos of B in his going home outfit.
My sweet angel
Ready to go home!
The tech wheeled me down with B in tow, and we took a family photo for us before we exited the building.
Holy puffy face, Batman!
Except the car wouldn’t start.
You read that correctly. The car that Josh had just driven over would not start.
Oh people, if you could have seen the look on Josh’s face. You see, about a month earlier, he’d taken his car to get a full check-up to make sure it was in good working order, knowing that I’d be driving it with B inside. For the car to all of a sudden stop working put him into a bit of a panic and lots of anger.
Of *course* I took a picture!
I on the other hand, laughed. That’s what I do when I’m nervous (I laughed when Josh proposed to me). This wasn’t the first time a car broke down on an important day of ours – our getaway vehicle after our wedding reception broke down on I-75S one exit after leaving our venue (NEVER rent from ‘A White Rolls Royce’ in Atlanta!).
I digress, back to the predicament we were in.
It was nearing time for B to eat again, we’d given up our hospital room, and we were stranded at the hospital. All of our family members had gone back home the day after we delivered, so no one was nearby to help.* My brother and his wife were about 45 minutes away, so I called Brian to see what he thought the problem could be while Josh ran back inside to see if we could get our room back – just in case we couldn’t get the car started again for awhile. Luckily, the room was still open and they stocked it with some more diapers and burp cloths so I could feed B.
I was wheeled back up to the room with B while Josh waited for the security guard to come help out. As I got situated with B in the room, Josh called to say that security was able to jump start the car – and that I could come back down again. Ha! So I called my nurse and she had someone wheel us back down to the car.
We got home and the cats were a little skeptical about what we’d just brought into the house. Runner didn’t want anything to do with B. Birdie wanted to check him out, but didn’t get too close.
Brian and Stephanie came by to check on us, and for Brian to check out the car. He said we probably just needed a new battery, that the cold weather had probably weakened it while it sat in the parking deck for a few days.
Uncle Brian and Aunt Stephanie to the rescue!
Josh went to fill my Rx for the pain meds and came back with generic versions, that had warnings stating not to use while breastfeeding. I freaked, I wanted the non-generic that I’d been taking in the hospital that was fine for the baby to ingest! I called the pharmacist and she was a complete witch and really rude to me. I lost it. I blame the hormones – they make you crazy, but that’s a topic for another time!
After talking with Rachel (one of my oldest friends, who is also a pharmacist) and Dr. Mary Frances, they both assured me it was fine to take the generics (even though the stupid papers that come with medicines had warnings against it).
We were exhausted and I was emotionally spent. I could barely move, and ended up sleeping on the sofa because I couldn’t get into our guest bed. In fact, we setup camp in our family room because there was no way I could get up and down our big set of stairs. B slept in his Rock ‘n Play that night, because I wanted him near me. And that night was the first night in our home, with our newest family member. There wasn’t much sleep, but there was a lot of love. 🙂
My brother and sister-in-law got to Atlanta a little late the night before, and since B was on the light treatment and couldn’t come off for more than 30 minutes, they decided that they’d come visit us today instead.
B was still on the light treatment when Brian and Stephanie arrived, so we ended up sitting around talking for a little while. While they were at the hospital, Josh ran home to check on the cats since they’d been alone since we left the morning I was induced!
Uncle Brian and Aunt Stephanie
Right around lunch, the nurse came in and said that his levels had dropped and that they could take him off the lights. We were excited that he didn’t have to stay on them too long! Plus, Brian and Stephanie were chomping at the bits to hold the little guy!
It was time to feed B, so Brian and Stephanie both attempted to get him to eat, but he was not interested at all! It wasn’t for another hour that he finally decided he was hungry. After B ate, we hung out some more and Josh came back with lunch. Birdie had gotten into a few things, and Runner made it clear he was NOT happy being left alone with little surprises around the house…
Once Brian and Stephanie left, Josh and I spent some quiet time in the room. He went to go get dinner from the cafeteria while I fed B, and while he was gone he saw Hines Ward walking down the hallway. Random encounter!
We decided that since it was our last night in the hospital, we’d keep B with us. We had to get used to having him around while we were attempting to sleep, so we figured we’d take the plunge before getting home! We split shifts feeding him during the night and contemplated when we wanted to attempt to leave the following day. It was so nice having people bring me food, clean around the room, and help with B, we really didn’t want to leave! 🙂
After we had some sleep, B came back to the room, and breakfast arrived. It was a relatively quiet morning, thankfully!
B under the lights
