Well, pink actually...
Yep, baby boy has Pink Eye!!!! Yikes!
We are staying home tomorrow, Jim and I. I hope he's not as cranky as he was today. Jeesh.
And here I was thinking I was going to enjoy tomorrow at work. There is a big birthday party for one of the girls. I can't disclose WHAT they are going to be up to, but it was guaranteed to be fun.
Oh well.
Good times, people, good times...
What is little (big) Jim up to these days?
Sitting up assisted really well! He is getting to where he only needs some correction to keep from crashing to the floor. He knows to hold on and self correct (for the most part), but he forgets the whole gravity part if he sees something interesting...
Belly-laughs - playing "got your belly" is about the most fun thing imaginable for everyone involved. I hold Jim in my arms cradle-style and curl him up to my mouth with which I growl and love-bite his tum-tum. He rewards me for my workout with the GREATEST SOUND EVER! He squeals and laughs a full belly laugh over and over while I "get em'". Daddy, Mommy and Baby are loving this game.
Temper tantrums (flails his arms and legs in protest to anything frustrating). What could be frustrating him, you ask? Oh, a 5 second delay on getting the bottle to his mouth is plenty, let me tell you. I guess this isn't so different from when he was smaller - he just has the power to hurt now! Big boy = strong boy
He holds his own bottle for about 1/3 of every feeding. This is golden. :)
Is eating cereal about 1 time per day. We took video of his first food. The whole thing was so funny that we could barely feed him. He figured out really quickly that he could laugh just as I got the cereal in and it would spray rice bits all over Mommy. Isn't that fun?!?!?!
Since we've been doing this food thing for a little while (even though you guys haven't had the opportunity to follow along), I would now make an observation. Solid foods are kinda a pain, don't you think? He is terribly cute, but man oh man can he make a mess! Sticky mess! Flinging Mess! We need a dog, because Humphries hides everytime the flinging starts!
Standing! You heard it right - he is practicing standing! July 1st he was just sure he never wanted anything to do with bearing his own weight. This week he is standing for several seconds with very little support. He's getting stronger at an alarming rate! Personally, I think he is just trying to catch up to his cousin Corbin - 1 month older - who is standing so well that it is scary. That boy is going to be walking within a month. I'm sure of it! His Momma is about to be really busy. :)
Rolled Over!!!! He rolled onto his stomach while in his crib at daycare this week! They said he didn't even cry or anything. He just settled down and went to sleep that way instead. YAY!
First Fever - 103 degrees C. We ended up taking him to an Urgent Care for children. We made it just before they stopped taking patients for the evening - thank goodness! I'll have to tell the full story later, but let's just say it was "an experience".
Flat spot isn't going away... My baby's head is now more evenly flat across the back, but it isn't appearing to get better with repositioning. So, we are going to take him to get his head measured by a specialist. The appt isn't for a few weeks. If you want to read up on the process, you can read about it here: http://www.orthomerica.com/products/cranial/allstars_index.htm I'll fill you all in more a little later on the helmet thing... It's getting late, Momma's gotta go to bed!!!
Well, well, well... We (Jim, Bo and I) have arrived at 20 weeks post-delivery. Wow. That seems so huge.
I remember 20 weeks being such a huge milestone in my pregnancy. It was the 1st week where I really, really felt like I could just be a pregnant lady. I wasn't "infertile" I was glowing. I wasn't "Fat" I was pregnant. I was beautiful to the world because I was going to have a baby. I started getting knowing smiles from strangers. I started to really believe I was going to be a mother. Mom. Me. Really.
Yeah, there were doubts in my mind. I had so many I won't recount them here. Let's just say that I'm OK with having doubts - they keep me grounded. I think I did pretty well at keeping things together (well, until that last couple of weeks...).
Oh, and speaking of huge... Jim was weighed last week... Oh my.
Weight: 19 1/2 lbs (off the chart, literally >100%)
Height: 25.5 (75%)
Head: 17.7 INCHES!!!! (95%)
To say our boy is big is sort-of an understatement. Then again, he is height-weight-head proportionate, so it is OK. If the Dr. isn't worried I'm not going to be worried. Well, not so much anyway.
I'll try to keep you guys more up-to-date, but I'm not promising anything. :P
Wow, the time seems to be flying these days! Jim is coming up with new things every day it seems.
Jim has been going to daycare for 3 weeks. He seems to be doing OK with it, and his daily reports say he's content and happy most of the time. I know, this is subject to change. :)
He's doing so many new things this month...
Visiting with Grandparents out of town - for a whole week!!! He started crying when we drove away - does that tell you anything about how it went?
Blowing bubbles - talk about needing a bib! This boy needs and all-day bib! Yikes.
Reaching started last month, but now? NOW he actually moves his whole body towards what he's interested in! Sometimes it is as simple as him leaning over to bring his mouth closer to a tasty bit. Other times he will actually scoot himself (on his back) towards an object of desire. He doesn't go very far very fast, but he's certainly motivated and somewhat mobile. Double-yikes!
Lets see... What else.... Oh Yeah!!!!
On Father's Day weekend....
HE STARTED ASKING FOR A BOTTLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No joke.
When Jim is hungry now he'll say "MMmmmm... MMMMMmmmm... Ma ma mu mah.... mmmmmmmmm.... MMMmmmmmm...." until he gets what he wants. It is so amazingly wonderful for him to be clear about what's making him cranky! I love hearing the part where he sounds like he's saying Mama, but I'm greedy that way. LOL.
Oh, and better yet, when he's already eaten and he starts the "MMMmmmm" I know that he has gas or his tummy hurts. Babies often think they are hungry when their tummies hurt. Of course, feeding them simply results in spitup. Blech.
Three days ago he started laughing out loud. A real laugh. A belly laugh! It is so wonderful to hear him laugh. He is a total joy to behold!
Jim is ALMOST rolling over. Last night I was watching him on the monitor and saw him almost flip over in the bed. He hates to be on his tummy. So, I'm not sure what happens if he launches himself onto his face in the middle of the night. I'm expecting some crying.
Yesterday I was holding him in my lap after dinner, he was laying streched out. Well, he decided he wanted to sit up, so he did! He brought himself 75% of the way from laying down to sitting up before I figured out what the heck was going on. It was pretty amazing! Of course, I helped him the rest of the way and cheered him on.
He's found his feet! He only plays with his feet in his crib (guess he's got to be really bored or something). It is really cute to watch him tickle his own toes. :)
He's found his VOICE. His "baby voice" seems to be gone alltogether, which makes me sad. I wish I had captured more of his baby sounds on film. However, he uses his new "big boy voice" all the time! He sits and chews on his hands while squeaking and humming to himself. he seems to be making noise simply to be making noise. IT WAS cute, now it is getting tiresome. Luckily it seems to be a mostly nightime thing.
Well, as you can see, lots has happened this month. There is LOTS of cheering going on daily. He's grown so much. Go Jim! Go Jim! Rah rah rah!
He's such a sweet baby boy. I doubt you could fault me for being one happy Momma right now. :)
I've waited to post this until all of my little birdies returned to the nest - I figure no need to jinx myself!
We've had a VERY exciting, if nerve-wracking week, since we were each in 4 different states!!!
Mom - Seattle
Dad - San Francisco
Baby - Nashville
Humphries (kitty) - Atlanta at home
Remember I said Bo left on Sunday (Father's Day weekend) to go out of town? Well, that's where he's been for the last week. He had a Usability training conference in San Francisco.
The kicker is that work asked me, very last minute, to go to Seattle, Washington! I told them I would have to ask my parents.
I just happened to be in route to Gatlinburg, TN for our little Father's Day weekend retreat! That means I just happened to have had all the stuff to take care of baby for an extended stay! AND I just happened to be meeting up with the only people that COULD keep him for a week!! What luck!
My parents said yes to keeping Jim, and seemed kinda happy about the deal. So, I left early Monday morning for Atlanta, but without my precious boy. :(
Yes, I cried.
I came home to a sad kitty (he'd been home alone all weekend) and we loved and hugged and rubbed for hours. Humphries has been a bit short-changed since Jim arrived. He was in love with the idea that Momma was "all his" for a couple of days.
Jim went to Nashville, with my parents, on Monday. He seemed to have a fabulous time. Grandaddy took him "fishing" and Grandma took him to all of her social functions (library meetings, bridge, etc). He made lots of friends with the ladies - he's a charmer. Flirt, flirt, flirt...Flirt. He got a full-on cold mid-week, and of course this made his Mommy quite ashamed that she'd left him. Grandma said "no worries!". sniff, sniff
I left for Seattle on Wednesday morning. I had a great time meeting with our clients, eating in great seafood restaurants, and getting to know my new co-workers much better, walking around downtown. It was quite nice indeed.
My little birdies were spread out all over North America though, which has made me quite nervous. Mom and Dad on the West coast, babies on the East Coast does not make for easy sleep.
1 & 2 Home - I came home to the nest on Friday. Humphries was so terribly happy to see me!
1, 2, & 3 Home - I picked up Jim in Chattanooga on Saturday afternoon. My parents are saints and offered to bring him halfway so I wouldn't have to drive 10 hrs round-trip and stay the night in Nashville. Instead I drove 5 hrs and was home the same afternoon. Saints I tell you.
1, 2, 3, & 4 Home - Bo came in on Sunday night, late, after his boy had already gone to bed. He sure hated missing his boy's night, night hugs, but he'll get extra special hugs from him in the morning, I'm sure! :)
G'night All!
Rotten Correspondent asked "If you were signing up to spend three months in very close quarters with one or two other people, three months of hard work and lots of uncertainty, three months of totally depending on those other people (or person) to help get you all through..."
I seemed to have a lot to say on the subject, so I thought I'd post on it. I hated to kidnap her comments. :)
btw - if you've never read Rotten's blog you owe it to yourself to check it out. She always asks the greatest thought-provoking questions, and she writes some of the funniest stories about her world...
So, she was talking about a Discovery Channel show, where a bunch of groups were dropped into the Alaskan wild for 3 months. I would probably be a candidate for that show...
I would absolutely take my immediate family - my Mom, Dad and both of my brothers would be invaluable in those circumstances.
My parents both grew up on farms. My Dad is amazing at making things, like McGuyver; he knows how to grow food, and he is a very hard worker. My Mom is amazing at cooking something out of nothing, so knows how to grow food, and she is a very hard worker.
My brother W is hilarious, is the love of my life, is totally amazing at keeping the peace, and he is a very hard worker. I'd spend the 3 months in the wilderness just to get that much uninterrupted time with my brother. He's just that wonderful to be around. I miss him terribly, because I live out of state.
My other brother W is kinda a hard-headed ass, but I love him dearly. He is also mechanically amazing, like my Dad, and (you guessed it) he's a hard worker. Oh, and he's freakin' smart as all get-out. He's also easy to work with, even though he's hard-headed. Wierd, huh?
Can you sense a theme? In my family hard work is expected. You get NO respect if you are lazy. Being lazy is worse than being a total pain-in-the ass.
Also, both of my brothers hunt. Dad gave it up a while back, but I'm sure he would go out if he thought we needed him to. I'm also pretty sure could hunt too, but I wouldn't want to. I know it would hurt my feelings, but I would kill to eat. I know I would, I just really hope I never have to...
The biggest thing of all?!?! Living with my hubby has taught me that not just anyone can work well with others.
My family has ALWAYS done chores on the farm together. We still do when we get together on the farm for holidays, or to harvest vegetables and fruits for canning, etc. My hubby never had to do chores with a group, so he doesn't really understand group dynamics.
You see, he can't really just go with the flow and do what needs doing. People working together seem to unnerve him. He's cool with being around people, just not while they are working. It really sucks.
Then there is the fact that he can't do tandem chores easily. You know how when you need to move a folding table, you kinda pick up one end, someone else picks up the other, and you use head or body movements to signal your movement intent? He doesn't get that. He can't move a table without first knowing EXACTLY wher you are moving it to...who's going first...what the trajectory should be... and who is in "command" of the move. I mean, shit, it's just a freakin' table!
Anyway, he tries. He does work hard - if individually. So, you give him a task like chopping wood, he's amazing. He'll work til he drops. He'd be sad to know it, but I still wouldn't choose him for the 3 months. It boils down to needing better cooperation with my companions.
One year ago tonight, about 15 mins from now, I was getting ready for bed - I had an early wakeup time coming! I was nervous, and quite sure that I was not going to like the outcome of the next day's events... Instead of being broken hearted once again, a year later, I am blessed with a beautiful 3 month old baby boy and a whole different life.
I am coming to understand how quickly life changes. Just when you think you know how it is going to go you find out you were completely wrong. Life is so full of twists and turns. Simply. Amazing.
I am so glad I blogged about those days leading up to retrieval. I can barely remember now how scared I was, and I had forgotten about my Retail Therapy appointment with my best friend the day before. It is amazing to me to read the stories and remember that the IV was my biggest fear about the retrieval process! So silly. I should have been worried that the procedure would work and I would have my life turned upside down in a matter of months! :) Just kidding (sort of)!
Then there is the post after my retrieval - one year ago tomorrow, June 18, 2007. My excitement is palpable as I report that we retrieved "12 eggs". And just think, my little Jim is one of those eggs. He was conceived one year ago tomorrow. Wow. I mean really. Isn't that mind blowing?
I just want to make sure all of you know that I appreciate every comment of support and acceptance I've received on this blog. Not just because you kept me sane, but also because you kept me posting. I have an irreplaceable treasure trove of memories of my struggle to bring my son to my waiting arms.
Thank you for caring enough to stick with me.
I was talking with a good friend tonight, who is very bummed that she hasn't found "Mr. Right", so she isn't on the track to have babies. I was able to relate to her our Embryoversary was tomorrow. I asked her not to count herself out just yet. A year can change so much. I pray it gave her a shimmer of hope.
I also pray that my story has helped add a shimmer of hope to those of you still waiting. I know it is hard to hold on to hope, but look what can happen in just one year.
