Sick mama...

So... here I am. Round two of strep. Meaning, this is the 2nd time in a month that I have been down for the count with strep throat. Mind you that prior to these two occurances I hadn't had strep since I was a small child... however, now here I am.

What does life look like in our house with a sick mama? A little crazy - that is for sure. I am AMAZINGLY blessed in that we have so many incredible people who are close by to help us out... my amazing husband, my mom who drops her whole life the moment she hears I'm not feel well, my aunt who skipped dinner last night to take me to urgent care, my dad and Pat who were in town visiting and did all kinds of things to help out... really... when a mama is sick - it takes a village.

Though Caden could certainly tell that something was wrong (and was a little more fussy than usual) - all of his needs were met, and this mama could rest a little easier. And rest I have. In the past 24 hours I have slept 14 and about to head to bed again.

To all of my mama friends - know that in the times I've been up sick - I've been praying for you specifically. Hugs to you all.

The fourth month in photos...

It blows my mind how fast these four months have flown. Here are some cute new shots of his 4th month. :)

My two babies :)

Favorite new bib

Who? Me? 4 months?

Cutest 4 month shot

Loving my new jumper

Happy happy boy

Sweet sleepy boy...

FOUR months!

So, you can tell that life is at least a LITTLE less crazy, because this post is actually ON TIME! Caden was four months old yesterday. At this point he is a BUNDLE of life. :) This is what life is like in our household...

1. As of Friday night Caden has moved from the little bed that was in our room into his big crib in his own room. This has been a WONDERFUL move for everyone involved. He now goes down for the night about 9:15pm and stays asleep until around 6:15am. Nine blissful hours. I know this could be temporary - but let me tell you - we are savoring it while we can.



2. We have also added in 1-2 lay down naps during the day (prior to this he would fall asleep here and there with someone holding him, and we could lay him down on the Boppy for a bit...) but this is scheduled "ish" - typically around noon. Again, I never knew I could savor one short hour of my life so much - OR get so much done!



3. Cloth diapering is still great - and I try to tell anyone and everyone I can how much I LOVE IT. We have even managed to travel using only cloth on THREE different occassions. It really has become just another regular part of our life.



4. As for his wardrobe, it is getting bigger and bigger each day. No - I haven't start shopping - it's that little man is getting BIGGER AND BIGGER - requiring larger clothes! Now we are in some 3 months, but mainly 3-6 month clothes.



5. During the past month Caden has become a lot more active. He is talking up a storm and LOVES people. He also has started to like tummy time, has gotten really good head control, and ROLLED OVER for the first time (tummy to back)! YAY!



6. He loves his play gym, but his favorite two toys are his Baby Einstein lion and his glowing Fisher Price Seahorse.



7. With all of the postitive things, the one big issue we are having is SPIT up. YUCK. We go through at least 4-6 bibs a day. He is healthy and fine - but lots of spit up can ruin an outing... and an outfit. Hopefully this mellows out soon...



8. Last Friday night we had him weighed and he was 14 pounds! We go for formal stats Wednesday this week, so I will update you guys. (As well as load our 4 month photos... I know you're excited!)

Until then... thanks for reading... and for loving us. :) You are all amazing.

Our adventure into... Travelling with an Infant.

Because we have family that live elsewhere we have taken Caden on three separate trips since he was born. The first time we travelled with him he was only two months old. Though I am far from an expert - there are some things that I have learned that I feel I should share.

1. This is a time for PAIRS. Caution! Do NOT try this alone. IF you must try it alone, I would suggest doing it at nighttime so the baby will sleep. For us, we travel in teams. Personally, I can not see how it would work otherwise.

Picture this: Driving down the road - pouring rain - screaming baby - unable to access the backseat or even really see how the baby is doing because those mirrors that show you him don't actually work when you're driving at nightime or in the rain and others lights are on. How can you be both super safe driver AND mommy of the year?!?

You CAN'T. (Or at least I know I can't) So you need two. For two of our journeys we were lucky enough to both be able to go, but for the third journey - I enlisted the help of a friend who is COMPLETELY out of her mind someone I can always count on. And. We. Survived.

2. You must bring your home with you. Suddenly you are responsbile for bringing everything that your baby could/would/should need to make it through your journey. Though none of our trips have lasted more than 3 days - I have found that it takes the same amount of baby STUFF to last one night as it does three. So you are forced to pack up the packandplay. boppypillow. outfits. bibs. burpcloths. diapers. pacifiers. entertainmentforthebaby. BIBS(we use QUITE a few of those in our household). Pretty much just bring along everythingthatyouuseonadailybasisthatyoumightjustpossiblyneed. SIGH. It can be exhausting. But trust me - this is one place where planning ahead will HELP you more than you can realize. Bring out the kitchen sink - you're probably going to need it.

3. You must not only think that you need to bring these things - but also think about WHERE you are going to put them in the car. Baby is spitting up do you really want the only other outfits you have to be buried under all of the junk in the trunk? The answer is no. Make one bag that is easily accessible. Or at least make sure your diaper bag is WELL STOCKED.

4. Be FLEXIBLE. There is no way that you can COMPLETELY stick to your schedule when you are in someone else's place - however, at the same time, remember you are the only advocate for your baby - so don't be afraid to speak up and say when you need to get your baby to sleep or if you need to have them TURN THE NOISE DOWN. :) Not that I'm speaking from experience or anything.

Overall, when you're preparing to travel, know that you WILL survive. It IS possible to keep your baby in somewhat of their normal routine. And in the end... home is ALWAYS waiting for you on the other side.

Our Adventure into... The Church Nursery.

Well... today was our first time that we left Caden in our church nursery. Up until now, from the time he was 5 weeks and first brought him to church until last week we had been bringing Caden into worship with us. Well, recently Caden has been super chatty "ooooh"ing and "aahhh"ing all over the place... which is not quite so amazing while the sermon is going on. Soooo... we decided it was time.

So this morning after Sunday school we gathered all of our stuff and went to the nursery. Now, let me just say, they were amazing. However, overall, our first church nursery trip was An. Epic. Failure. How, you may ask, does one FAIL at dropping their child off at the nursery? Well... allow me to explain.

It all starts off great. Thinking everything is there. And then you and your darling husband go and sit with your mother in church. Who is sitting in THE MIDDLE of the pew. Four people to crawl over on either side if I have to get out (which as soon as I realize this I am now CERTAIN it will - that is just my luck - right?!)

It was about six or seven minutes into the sermon that I realize - there is NO bottle in the diaper bag. Three servings of formula - enough to last him all day long -but NO bottle. That is in the car. Hmmmm... what to do.... We're in the middle of prayer and I am pondering my strategy. Then it occurs to me... I will let my sweet husband go. He only has TWO people to climb over, and this is something he can handle. So I write him a note:

"No bottle in the diaper bag. During the offering go and either see if the nursery has extras and make a bottle or go to the car and get it." Sweet Christopher gets all of this message and nods and off he goes. I think - man I am so lucky to have such an amazing husband.

And then my beeper vibrates in my pocket. If you're dropping a baby off in the nursery they give you a beeper (like what you have in restaurants) in case your baby is in distress - and apparently - as my beeper vibrates - mine is. ::Sigh:: Here I go... four minutes into the sermon... climbing over the people who chose to share a row with us (that are now regretting the choice)... heading to the nursery.

I get there, and see my sweet husband, and my (now crying baby - bless his heart). The conversation goes something like this:

My sweet amazing husband: "I had them page you - they don't have bottles - what do you want me to do?"
Me: "Oh, it's okay, just go to the car and get it - like the note said"
Husband: "The note said that? I didn't read that part..."
Me: "Haha... it's okay... just go get it now, I'll hold Caden"
Husband: "I can't... the keys are in my jacket" (STILL IN THE CHURCH PEW!)

Epic. Fail.

There is no way at this point that either of us are climbing BACK over poor Jim, Susan, and Robbie to get the keys in what is now the MIDDLE of the sermon. So now I am holding the crying baby (who I attempted to nurse - which he wants nothing to do with - another post in itself)... and I continue to hold him, until he cries himself to sleep. Both Chris and I missed the sermon, and we wound up at the church until the last people were leaving because we had to feed him AFTER the service ended.

Sigh. The adventures of being new parents. Here's to hoping next week is a LITTLE more successful. :)

THREE months!

This post can serve as a testiment to how NOTHING in my life seems to get done on time these days. I was telling someone the other day that I feel like I am never on time anymore. For most of you who know me well, you know this is something that makes me feel QUITE uneasy. I frequently find myself either 20 minutes early or 20 minutes late - and these days it tends to (almost always) be on the late side. All I can say is that there is a LOT involved with getting our little man ready to roll out the door. But alas, no excuses, it is something I am aware of and working on.

Caden turned 3 months old on January 12th (meaning that I am going to be writing his 4 month post here shortly...) but I did want to do a brief recap on life during his third month. It is hard to believe that my sweet little baby is THREE months old. I mean, seriously, I look at his in the pictures of his first few months - and check out the differences. Holy cow.

Three months old - December 24, 2010

It. Blows. My. Mind.

In the third month he is:

1. Best estimate is that he is about 11 or 12 pounds. He still eats every 3 hours... and is eating 4.5 ounces at a time. BF is still going on, but has become much more difficult since going back to work... ::sigh::
2. Wearing mainly 0-3 month clothes. But they are starting to get TIGHT because of length. He is grooooooooooooowing. Man.
3. Talking up a storm. "Ooooohhh... Ahhhhh.... Oooohaahhh..." - such a precious sound (except when it is going on during church services or other QUIET events!)
4. Pushing up and starting to enjoy tummy time (which is better than before when he would scream when placed on his stomach).
5. Finally enjoying bathtime - which is a delight. He coos and splashes (sometimes) and just seems overall content. MUCH better than the SCREAAAAAAAAAAAAMING that previously occurred.
6. Recognizing who we are and smiles BIG BIG smiles at us when we come into the room. Probably the best part of my day is when I first come to his crib in the morning and he smiles up at me... and then when I get home from work in the afternoon and he comes to my arms from the sitter. I. Love. It.

Each day with him is more precious than the day before. I love it. Can't wait to keep updating you all! :) But for now, this mommy MUST sleep.

Three months old - January 12, 2011

AMAZING (long lost) FRIENDS

Christopher and I will be the first to tell you how lucky we are to have the friends that we do. Having Caden has been such a blessing in so many ways - but one of the most fun ways is that all of the people that we love most have come to meet him! November and December were filled with LOTS of people that we LOOOOOVE.

The week before Thanksgiving Heather and Matt came into town and stayed with us for several days. I can not begin to describe how AMAZING they were. Aunt Heather and Uncle Matt TOTALLY spoiled Caden (and his mommy and daddy!) The best house guests we could ask for. It was SO SO FUN.

Over Thanksgiving my dear sweet friends Jeanne and Chris came into town and got to meet Caden for the first time. It was SO fun to have them here - and extra special to have Jeanne - since we've been so close for so long (and she was unable to make it to my wedding because she was serving in the Peace Corps). It was so incredible to spend time with her and Chris and Caden got lots and lots of hugs!

The week after Thanksgiving sweet Cathleen came into town and kept me company while Chris was at work. It was so great to have her here and get to catch up and visit for such an extended period of time. Plus Caden got lots of love! :)