10 posts tagged “homelife”
*coughcoughcough*
I'm living on a strict diet of water and cough drops lately. Not that tastey.
So, yesterday we took the boys to see Santa. J played shy at first, but got over it pretty quick like. Walmart took pictures, and then I took a couple of my own as well. I planned on just taking my memory card back and printing them at the photo lab, but when I got back there and put it in the computer, all that came up was these little boxes of fuzz. I started to freak out thinking something was wrong with my camera or card, but then I realized I'd taken the pictures in RAW and their computer doesn't read RAW. Good job, Nicole. I'll learn to look before I shoot one of these days.
After we got home I buzzed Tyler's head, but he wouldn't let me shave his beard off. My husband officially looks like 'That Creepy Neighbor Guy' with a buzzed head and big bushy beard. Don't ask me why.
Last night was Tyler's work Christmas party. Boring as usual, but the place that caters is AWESOME. Seriously, I eat so much that I'm stuffed, but I still want to go back for more because it is THAT good. Tyler won a little Santa cookie jar during their little gift exchange thing. It's actually kind of cute.
When his work party was over we picked the boys up and went over to a friend's house. Several of the guys Tyler works get together and play poker. Nothing too thrilling there either, but it was kind of nice to be out of the house for a bit.
My mom and sister watched P while I buzzed Tyler's head (J was sleeping) and when I went down to drop J off before the Christmas party, Mom told me she thinks P may be teething. I'd noticed him drooling a lot, and she said he fussed the whole time he was there and the only thing that calmed him was chewing on his or my sister's fingers. PLEASE DO NOT LET HIM BE TEETHING! First of all, he's too young :( and second of all, I don't know if I could handle going straight from colic to teething. I might just snap.
I'b sick. Well, getting there anyway. J's been sniffly for days and now all of a sudden I can't breathe and my throat hurts. This will mark the second time since I had P that I've been sick. What's up with that crap?
Yesterday J and I put up the Christmas tree. It's pretty sad looking at the moment. It's got lights and garland, but that's it. Tyler and I never have bought any ornaments, just some glass balls that I don't want to put up and have J break. I'm gonna have to get a few. I figure I'll get four for J and one for P and from here on out get them each a new one every year. And, of course, J and I need to make a few as well. Growing up about 75% of the ornaments on our tree were made by my sisters and me and I think it made our tree feel more special because of it.
I'm not sure how much about Christmas and Santa J is understanding yet, but right after we got the tree all up and lit he looked at me and asked where the presents were. I think I'll make a paper chain to help him count down the days left. I can't believe it is that close already. Where did the year go?!
One of these days I'll learn to trust my instincts. I picked up the Impact 1GB SD card Walmart had on their Black Friday sales for $13.87. Something told me to be careful and keep the packaging for it just in case it didn't work, especially since I'd never heard of the brand before. Well, I ended up throwing the packing away before I tried it out and sure enough ... it doesn't work in my computer. It works in my camera, but when I put it in my computer and click on the drive, it tells me to put a disk in. I can hook my camera up to my computer and get the pictures, but I had my laptop special ordered with the SD drive so I wouldn't HAVE to do that. Yes, I realize that I'm just a whiner.
On the other hand, my external hard drive seems to work so far *knock on wood* My aunt's mom dropped it off this morning, so I haven't had a chance to do much tinkering around with it yet. But it hooked up just fine and I haven't found any glitches or problems yet.
If possible, I think Peyton adores Jonathan already. Tyler and I have to work to get him to smile, but J just has to be where he can see him and P starts smiling. He will watch every move J makes. I took some cute pictures of the two of them last night, but I forgot to reset my camera setting so they are all blurry/fuzzy.
Around 2 and a half to 3 weeks Peyton started having his 'witching hour'. Anytime after 10pm and before 2am he'd start fussing, and anywhere from 2-3 hours later he'd be screaming bloody murder. In that time he'd eat anywhere from 3-5 additional ounces, even if he'd just eaten an hour or so before. I'd change his diaper multiple times. I'd rock him. I'd bounce him. I'd wrap him up. I'd put him down. I tried the swing, the bouncy seat, the pacifier. And after hour four, I'd put him in the bassinet and lock myself in the bathroom and cry. A good ten or fifteen minutes, and I'd pick him up and start the whole process over again.
I didn't tell anyone. What kind of mother cannot comfort her own baby? During those four or more hours a night I'd sit there and wonder what I'd done that my baby hated me so bad. I'd think horrible things about how I didn't know if I could take it any longer. I'd plead with him to just stop crying. I'd make promises about how I'd take him to the zoo and Disneyland, etc. when he was older. I'd wonder why Jonathan was such an easy baby, but Peyton was so miserable. I'd think to myself, why can't he just stop?
I finally said something to my mom who, at first, I know thought I was exaggerating. But after the first two weeks, when the circles under my eyes got darker and darker, I finally agreed to make an appointment with Dr. L. That was when we started looking into the reflux. Dr. L prescribed Zantac, and I hoped upon hope that this would help with the nonstop screaming. It did nothing but make his spitting up even worse. Back to the doctor we went, and it was decided then that he's an otherwise perfectly healthy baby. Just ... fussy.
If you've ever had to sit and listen to your baby cry without being able to comfort them, you know how hard it is and how helpless it makes you feel. Now, imagine that feeling for several hours a day, everyday. And it currently shows no sign of letting up. The only change for the better that I've seen so far is that he's moved to fussing during the day and actually sleeping through most of the night.
I remember thinking of colic as something that I'd never have to worry about. Jonathan was such a happy, easy baby, so Peyton should be, too. And hopefully he'll out-grow it and become a happy baby.
In other news, my 'baby' sister and I went out on Sunday afternoon and were scouting different places to take pictures. We found this old bridge (I swore it was there, dad told me they replaced them all) and were playing around on it. I didn't get any great pictures, but one or two turned around decent.
Tomorrow is going to be a very long day. The old man that I lived next door to for about 19 years passed away, and his funeral services are at 10:30. It's like losing a grandparent in a way. He always referred to my sisters and me as Big Peanut, Middle Peanut, and Little Peanut. He always had those butterscotch candies. He always told us he was going to take our cats and make catburgers out of them. And, of course, there's the horseradish. He and his wife have been living in assisted living for the last couple of years, and I am realizing now how bad I was about getting over to see them. I really should have been better about it.
Immediately after the services my youngest sister is going with me to do family pictures for a friend. I was pretty excited about this at first, but then I found out that said friend expects me to do this for free. I'm afraid I'm going to have to be a bitch about it. I'll take the pictures for free, but I'd better see some $$ before she's getting them. Normally it wouldn't be such a big deal, but she's also a friend of my sister-in-law and she tried to set it up so that sister-in-law could see Peyton without apologizing to me. I nipped that one pretty quick. They thought they had out-smarted me.
That night the band I am doing the website for is playing at a local bar, and I am going to go over to get some pictures of them playing and possibly some sound samples of them.
In other news, Peyton is six weeks old today. How is that even possible? His six week checkup isn't until Tuesday, but I'm going to say he's most likely right at, or just under, 12 pounds. All the kid does is eat and sleep (and cry, but that's another story). I'll have to talk to Dr. L about getting him some different meds for his reflux, because the Zantac doesn't seem to be doing anything.
And not this disjointed half an hour to two hours at a time. I need a full night's sleep. Selfish, I know, but I am having trouble functioning lately. I don't know how many times I have walked out the front door to go somewhere, got halfway down the walk to the car and realized ... I still have my slippers on. Or I made it down to the grocery store, all by myself, only to find that I had a burp rag on my shoulder. Luckily they all knew I'd just had a baby so I didn't look like a complete ass that just walks around with stinky rags hanging off her shoulder.
I know ... breastfeeding is good for Peyton, and really I love that I am giving him great nutrition. But can I confess something? We're not really breastfeeding per se. After weeks of horrid latch problems, I am pumping almost exclusively and bottle feeding the milk to him. He would either scream his head off or fall asleep every time I got him ready to nurse, and I can only take so much of my little man screaming before I would cut off my own arm to make it stop.
Sometimes I find myself thinking, "this pumping business is the suck," and then wondering if it wouldn't be easier to just stop pumping. But, then I kick my own ass and break out 'old reliable'. Yeah, it does suck to be up twice as long as I should have to be for the nightly feedings; first to feed Peyton and then to pump out his next meal. But also so worth it.
And so, I get no sleep in this endless cycle of pumping and feeding and attempting to nurse ... rather, rinse, repeat. I know it'll get better, and it probably wouldn't be so bad if Jonathan didn't wake up 99% of the time. Then he wants to help, or play, or both. So, not only do I have to get Peyton back down and then pump, but I also have to get Jonathan back to sleep as well. Fun.Stuff.
Really, I try not to complain too much, though, because when Tyler gets home from work at 8am he does take over with Peyton for an hour or two, but then I feel like ass because I HATE sleeping in, even if it is the only sleep I get. I wake up at 9:30 or 10 and feel like I have missed out on a better part of the day.
Not that I get anything done anymore. Dishes? I wash them as I need them. Laundry? Tyler's domain. Toys on the floor? Just a swift kick so they aren't in my path. Trash? Again, Tyler's domain. Pretty sad, really. I keep saying if I had more sleep I'd be more effective around the house, but deep down I know that's not the case either. I hate housework, period, and no amount of sleep will ever make me like doing it. Not to make it sound like my house is filthy or anything. Just cluttered most days.
So to end ... I guess I really don't NEED the sleep that bad, do I?
The day we brought Peyton home from the hospital it was up over 90 degrees outside. This last week we have been lucky if it has reached 40. I'm sooo not ready for winter. It costs too much to heat the house, and I haven't gotten Jonathan any new heavy sleepers/pjs either (they're expensive, too). Luckily for Peyton, we still have plenty of old sleepers and Jonathan's old winter coat. Even if it is a little bit big still.
Last night was Peyton's first real bath, and I am pretty sure he liked it. Jonathan screamed throughout his first bath, but Peyton just laid there and looked around. Of course, Jonathan was a big help by keeping water poured over Peyton the whole time. I think he had more fun than anyone.
That's right ... I'm sick. Yesterday my throat took on this scratchy feeling and my whole mouth felt cottony. This morning when I woke up that feeling was gone, but replaced with a running nose, cough, and now my throat feels sore and swollen. I am prone to tonsillitis, so I am watching out for those symptoms. The worst part is that I am paranoid I am going to give whatever I have to one of, or both, the boys. Peyton especially. Jonathan I can keep at a slight distance and be okay, but with Peyton I am right on top of him all day. Plus, at 3 J could handle being sick much easier than a week and a half old baby.
To make things even better, the weather decided that today was the perfect day to get no warmer than 45 degrees and to be all rainy and just plain gross outside. I knew this was coming, it is October after all, but come on. Why today when I'm sick?
I really need to get busy on Peyton's birth announcements. I've been meaning to do the pictures for them ever since we got home from the hospital and I just haven't gotten to them. Part of me was waiting for his stump to fall off (it did last night) so that I could do cute shirtless ones, but another part of me has just been flat out lazy. I really need to get busy. He's almost two weeks old already!
I think I am finally starting to see how my dad felt all those years as the only male in a house full of females. Only, obviously, reversed. I'm not complaining ... I love the idea of having not one but two momma's boys. I just have to make sure and get out of the house every once in a while to get a little female interaction. There are just some things, especially post-partum, that you can't/don't discuss with someone who doesn't know exactly what you are going through, you know?
One of those things is what happens when you push yourself a little too hard after having a baby. I felt GREAT the first couple of days after having Peyton. Wonderful. I told my doctor that it was ridiculous just how good I felt. And then, it hit me. The aches, the cramps, the overall soreness, not to mention the other issues that come along with. Well, last Friday I was thinking "hey, this is great. All of those post-partum issues are clearing up and I feel good again," and right about that time is when I was trying to clean house for company. Guess what. Being on your feet all day for two days can cause some of those "issues" to flair right back up. I felt back letting Tyler do most/all of the work, but he assured me he understood and didn't have a problem with it.
Speaking of Tyler, he went back to work last night. I was paranoid about being home alone all night long with a three year-old and a newborn, but it actually didn't go too bad. Peyton slept better than he had been, and Jonathan slept all night without waking up. Hopefully we are on the right track now.
Peyton's two week checkup is on Thursday. He's seeing the doctor who is covering for Dr. L while he's out of the office. All of the nurses at the hospital really talked highly of him and recommeneded seeing him. They said he's real young and has young children of his own. I can't say that I'm 100% convinced, but it is only one visit before Dr. L gets back, and it's not like he is diagnosing some major illness. Just doing the routine weights, measurements, etc. What can I say? I've been spoiled by Dr. L and am officially a doctor snob.
I always knew that there would be a learning curve when it came to going from one kidlet to two. But wow ... things have been even more hectic than I had imagined.
At the same time it is all worth it. J is doing great with P. He always wants to help, but so far has done real well not to be too rough with him or jealous. Tyler and I have been doing everything we can to make sure that J doesn't feel like he's being left out in anyway, and so has everyone else.
Nights have been the worst, especially since J still wants to sleep with Tyler and me. So far he's slept through most of the late night wakings, which really surprised me. I figured he'd be up everytime P made a peep. He's gotten up a couple of times and wanted to help change and feed P, but mostly he's slept through the hubbub.
P's adjusting as well. The first couple of nights, especially while still in the hospital, were rough. We really struggled with nursing. Even the LC's at the hospital were baffled as to why we were having so much trouble. Things have gotten a little better now, and I refuse to give up. I struggled with J, and got so frustrated that we only made it a month. This time I am much more determined, and know a little more about what is going on, so hopefully once we all get settled in things will go more smoothly.
And while P may look just like J did when he was born, he's a much different temperment. J was a pretty calm baby, but P has been much fussier. Not necessarily a crabby baby, but he has less content times than J did. I guess it is his way of reminding us that as much as they look alike, they are two very different children.
Children. I have two children. Two sons. It's taken a while, but I think it is finally sinking in. Give me another week or so and I should return to "normal".
