Back to the grind

Monday was my first day back at work and Brendan's first day at daycare. We are bringing him to a woman who watches 5 kids at her home. One, because I'm more comfortable having him in a smaller setting and two, because it's a crapload more affordable than sending him to a big daycare center. Anyway, I dropped him off Monday morning and cried. Then I got in my car and balled on the way to work. Then I got to work and every time someone came over to welcome me back and ask how it was dropping him off I'd get teary eyed again. Brendan, on the other hand, had a grand old time being with the woman who watches him and the other kids. I'm sure they're a lot more entertaining than dear old Mom. Needless to say, it ended up being way more traumatic for me than it was for him. Now, at my third day back at work, it has already gotten much easier. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that I know he's well taken care of and he's having a good time.

Here's a pic of Brendan on his first day of "school":



Work has been going well so far. The 12 weeks off did wonders for my patience because the few people who used to irritate the shit out of me with their "I can't do what you're asking, everything is impossible" attitudes don't bother me one bit. At least not yet. I'm all smiles and sunshine for now.

Brendan seems to be getting bigger and older by the second. He'll be 3 months old next Tuesday which, frankly, is just insane. Because it means he'll be 16 before I know it and because it also means I'm 3 months closer to turning another year older. The little ball of mush who used to fit in the crook of my arm is now too heavy to hold for very long (granted, I'm a little out of shape at this point but that's besides the point) and can't sit still long enough to cuddle with me unless he's fallen asleep on me. But hey, I'll take what I can get.

So Halloween is just around the corner. And being the thoughtful and compassionate mother that I am, I searched high and low for the perfect costume for my little man. Let me tell you, costumes for infants under 6 months are hard to come by. Every time I thought I found the perfect costume I'd get all excited only to find out that it didn't come in his size. Unless I wanted him to be a hot pepper or a pea in the pod, my options were very limited. Well, on a shopping trip where I was supposed to be getting myself some new pants for work, Grandma Annie happened to stumble upon a very snazzy costume. And they had one in his size! We scooped it up (along with several pairs of pants and sweatshirts -- for Brendan) and proceeded to run back to Grandma's house to try it on. I think I've sent most of you the pics but here are the shots, for anyone who hasn't seen them. The costume came with pants but we thought it best not to press our luck just yet:








Brendan is 2 months, 3 weeks, 4 days old today!

Two Month Check-up

Today was Brendan's two month check-up at the pediatrician's office which meant it was time for his first shots. Daddy took the day off of work to come because Mommy was too chicken to go by herself and see her baby get upset.

Our little nugget is growing fast! He's up to 12lb 4oz and is 24" long which puts him at the 50th percentile for weight and the 75th percentile for height. No doubt that he will be up in the 90th percentile for height very soon given how tall both parents are! He has a bit of a flat spot on the right side of his head because he favors this side when he's laying down. We've been trying to turn his head as much as possible but it hasn't gotten any better. We also noticed that he has a more limited range of motion when he turns his head to the left so the dr suggested that we take him to a physical therapist to learn some exercises we can do at home with him. It may also be possible to get a sonogram to help loosen the muscles a bit. She doesn't seem to think it will be a problem down the road if we work on getting it fixed now.

Brendan was being his usual chatty self with Daddy while we were waiting for the dr to come in. This is his latest thing and it's absolutely adorable. He stares intently at your mouth while you talk then coos and gurgles a response back. His neck muscles are getting stronger so he's constantly lifting his head to look around. Don't even try to cradle him in your arms, he'll have none of that! He likes to be sitting upright so he can see what's going on around him. He seems fascinated by lights these days. The other night he couldn't get enough of the clock on the cable box. He also has a habit of head butting us when we're trying to burp him. I guess his little head gets a bit too heavy when he gets a good start at lifting it.

Anyway, back to the appt. All was well while the dr was examining him, he was a model patient just kind of watching her and letting her do her thing. Then the nurse came in and gave him the first shot in his thigh and he let out a wail that broke my heart. He was supposed to get three shots today but there is a shortage of one of them so he mercifully only got two. He just about forgot about the first shot when she stuck the second needle in his other thigh. That did it. He started crying, I started crying. Oy. Poor Daddy had to console both of us. I knew I would cry though, I hate seeing someone I care about hurting. And now multiply that when this is your child and you can't explain to him why this is happening.

When the nurse was done I scooped him up and smothered him with hugs and kisses until he stopped crying. Then we put him in the carseat and he passed out for a an hour and a half. He seemed fine when he woke up but around 6pm he started to get really cranky and miserable so I gave him some Tylenol and that seems to be helping. Thankfully we have another 2 months before we have to do this again.

I have only 1.5 weeks left of my maternity leave. I can't believe how quickly it went. Brendan is not even close to sleeping through the night so we'll have to figure out a way to coordinate his night-time feedings so we can both get some sleep and function at work the next day. Hopefully he'll start sleeping for longer stretches than 2 hours at a time very soon. I'm not sure how I've managed to get by this long on such little sleep. Coffee is my best friend.

Here are some adorable pictures of Brendan. There are cute ones of him awake but these ones of him sleeping just make me melt.








Brendan is 2 months, 1 week, 3 days old.

Brendan's Busy Week

We had absolutely gorgeous weather this week - high 70s to low 80s - so I took advantage and brought Brendan all around town.

Wednesday we went back to the Kensico Dam and hung out. We were enjoying ourselves under a nice big, shady tree when all of a sudden the damn sprinklers started shooting at us. I scooped up Brendan and ran away screaming I'm melting, I'm melting. Meanwhile the stroller, carseat, diaper bag, video camera, digital camera and towels were right in the line of fire. Thankfully, a woman who was sitting nearby was nice enough to grab it and bring it over to me. What kind of morons decided that Noon would be a good time to turn on the sprinklers when there are always tons of people sitting on the grass during the day??? In all the hubbub I lost my damn car keys. I had a spare key but it didn't have the remote starter or lock button on it. (No worries, I found it the next day tucked safely in the diaper bag. Where, oh where has my brain gone?!)

Here's a pic a nice lady took of us (the zoom feature is not her friend):


The little guy got tunkered out:



Thursday we went to visit Auntie Jessica where Brendan had his first encounter with a dog, Tori (sorry if I spelled that wrong Jess!). He didn't seem terribly interested although she was very curious about him.




Yesterday we went to visit Grandma Annie. We started out in a very cute outfit but apparently Brendan didn't care for it very much. Instead of just telling me that he didn't like his outfit, he decided it would be best to launch some projectile vomit all over it. Sweet. Daddy says you can't wear a polo with "jams" (I've never heard of this word before, aren't they just called board shorts??). Mommy says a polo looks good with everything.

Here's the outfit he started out in:


I'm pretty sure Grandma Annie is telling him classified information about Mommy here:


And here are some other pictures of him from that day, just because he's too darn cute!!! (Not that I'm biased or anything.)




Today we went to Nana Darlene's company picnic and met lots of new people. Everyone was very excited to meet the little baby that Nana brags (er, talks) about so much! He flirted with all the pretty ladies he met, flashing them his beautiful smile and big blue eyes.





Brendan is 1 month, 3 weeks, 3 days old today!

Where has the time gone...

So I've been seriously slacking on my blogging, so sorry. Brendan is 7 weeks old today and getting bigger by the second and reaching some really cool milestones. He's so much more alert now, he's laughing and cooing away at the toy bar on his bouncy chair as I type this. According to my baby book he can see up to 10 feet away now - you've come a long way baby! He turns his head when he hears familiar voices and he follows people when they move around the room. And the smiles! Beautiful, genuine smiles, not the ones that mean he's launching an air attack. Now these may seem like no big deal but to Mommy and Daddy they're huge. It means he's now an interactive toy rather than the blob he used to be when he first came home (although blobs have advantages too, like not needing to be entertained constantly).

I took the baby to the Kensico Dam last week so I could get some exercise walking around. He got pretty restless after the third lap so I set up a blanket under a nice shady tree and we hung out for a few hours enjoying the gorgeous weather. He was sooooo excited, laughing and cooing and flailing his arms and legs all around. It was so much fun to see him like that and of course I went nuts with the camera but the little ham didn't mind it one bit.

We have just 5 weeks left before I go back to work. That is most definitely going to be a sad day for me. But I have something even worse looming on the horizon that will happen before that... Brendan's 2-month checkup where he'll receive his first set of shots. Oh Lord. This is going to suck BIG TIME. He has an appt on 9/9 and I am dreading it. He cries when they weigh him, nevermind when they actually do something that hurts. I'm going to go ahead and announce that I will be crying that day. I would say that I'd try to be strong but there's just no way. If he's crying, I'll be crying for sure. There's nothing worse than hearing your baby cry and not being able to do anything for him. Especially since he won't understand what's happening and why I'm not doing anything to stop it.

Sleep is still mostly elusive at this point. Last night he woke up at 3am for a bottle and decided that he wanted to stay up for a while. Then he woke up again at 5:30am to eat, yet again, and gave me about 5 minutes of sleep before he woke up at 6and declared it was time to wake up for the day. He teases us about once a week by sleeping for a 4-5 hour stretch after midnight. He's been known to do these stretches during the day or in the early evening when it doesn't really count. I get excited thinking that maybe he's finally going to start sleeping through the night and then the next day he's back to eating every 2-3 hours at night. Not fun. But then I look at his cute little smiling face and I can't be frustrated for too long.

Here are some recent pics:

Laundry Day:



Snoozing:






Hanging Out:






Brendan is 1 month, 2 weeks, 5 days old today!

Brendan's Big Weekend

First let me backtrack and say that the little bugger has packed on some poundage since his one week pedi appt! He had his one month checkup last Thursday and has grown 2.25 inches and 2lb 4oz since birth so he's now 22.25 inches tall and 9lb 3oz. He hates being naked and getting weighed because it's always so freaking cold in the dr's office. But he was a happy little clam when I got him dressed and snuggled him up to me. He was passed out within minutes. We have another appt the first week of September where he'll get his first shots. I'm going to be a wreck, I just know it.

Fast forward to this past weekend. Brendan and Mommy hung out with Grandma Darlene on Saturday. He got to spend some QT with her while Mom got a much-needed nap! Maybe one day before the summer is over we can get to that pool at Grandma Darlene's apartment complex!

Brendan got to meet a lot of very important people this weekend. His Uncle Keith and Aunt Shannon came up from Florida and Aunt Lauren came up from Philadelphia. He also got to meet some other friends and relatives at Grandma Annie's big BBQ on Sunday. Mommy got a nice break as everyone fought over who got to hold and feed the baby. It was wonderful to see everyone and I think all his aunties and uncles that he got to meet absolutely adore him. Now he just needs to meet the rest of the Florida clan!

Here are some pictures from the weekend (notice who is asleep in EVERY picture!):

Hanging with Grandma Annie on the hammock:

Aunt Lauren:

Uncle Keith and Aunt Shannon:

Cousin Adria:

Mommy and Uncle Keith watching Brendan do tummy time:

Grandma Annie's friend Sassy:

Mommy, Grandma Annie, Aunt Lauren, Uncle Keith:

A shot of family and friends at the BBQ (I look pretty damn stunning):


Brendan is 1 month, 1 week old today!

Pictures

Well the longer sleep times were just a fluke. He slept until 5am for two nights and by the third he was back to being up every 3 hours. Now that I got a taste of it I am looking forward to the day he actually does sleep longer than three hours at a time even more than I was before. The thought of actually getting a decent night's sleep is pretty damn wonderful. Momma's tired.

Have a few more cute pics to share.

Kung Fu Brendan:

Pensive Brendan:

Snuggly Brendan:

Softball Brendan (with Daddy's new bat):

And here are pics from one of his more recent bathtimes. He's getting better at staying semi-calm:





Brendan is 3 days from 1 month today!