Wednesday, September 3, 2008

I'm Thirteen Weeks Old

Mom said she was going to stop going by weeks when I was 12 weeks old, but I guess 13 is a fun number for them, so we'll give her this one last week. Yesterday I was 90 days old. How do I know that? Well because of mom and dad's Target baby registry. Apparently it expires after 90 days and mom and dad are all upset because they needed the registry for something - who knows and I am not even 90 days old. Hahaha, I made them wait! I was just testing mom's patience :) Tomorrow I will be three months old! Yikes! Mom said she's going to start making me cry myself to sleep now as I can start developing bad sleeping habits. I sleep great at night so she really is a lucky mommy.

Yesterday I got another round of vaccines. Two shots this time. I hardly cried. I took it like a man and then I slept the rest of the evening and during the night! Mom seems really tired so I decided to give her a little break and only wake up once in the middle of the night. I had been getting up only once to eat, but lately I have been really hungry and need to get up more. Anyway, I was a good boy last night and let her get as much rest as I could.

Today I rolled over from my tummy to my back three times for daddy! This is a first. He got the third one on video. Mom is sad that she missed it. I take a really long nap in the evening so she doesn't get to play with me much :( Daddy plays with me when he brings me home from Jane's. O well, mom seems to enjoy holding me while I nap :)

This weekend my daddy's family came up for a labor day barbecue. I guess mom and dad have been doing this every year since they moved into this house three years ago. I was a good boy all day and gave lots of smiles, let grandma put me to sleep, and had fun playing :) I still have that cold that I got last weekend, but I didn't let that hold me back. Then the next day, Grandpa and Grandma Link came to visit me. I was good for them too and gave them lots of smiles :) They took me to this restaurant Texas Roadhouse. Talk about over stimulating a baby - holy cow! I did not cry though, I just stayed wide-eyed and took it all in. Eventually I got tired and just fell asleep. Mom was worried I would not sleep well at night, but I proved her wrong and slept great. I know - I'm a good baby :)

Aunt Jenna came to play with me last week too. It's been a very family friendly week! She came to our house on Wednesday and dad picked me up from Jane's at noon. That afternoon I got to play with daddy and Jenna. Then that night mom and Jenna took me to daddy's first kickball game. I love being outside! On Thursday Aunt Jenna watched me while mom and dad were at work. I love playing with my Aunt Jenna - we had a great time! She took lots of pictures of me that mom and dad are ooooing and awing about - I know, I'm cute!

Well that's it for now. I had a very exciting week and my little fingers are getting tired! I think it's time for bed :)

Oh, I almost forgot - I pooped in the tub for the first time last night. It was funny, but I did not like it when mom and dad took me out of the tub to change the water - brrr! I don't plan on doing that again!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

I'm Twelve Weeks Old

This weekend mom and I went on a road trip to Dubuque just the two of us. Mom was worried about flying solo on the car ride to and from, but I was a good boy. I don't know why she worries so much. We went because Jack and the boys were back from Minnesota. I had not met them yet and mom hadn't seen them in a long time so she was excited they were in Dubuque. Dad couldn't come with us because school starts next week and he had a lot of work to do. Anyway, mom and I had a great time and my grandparents were especially excited to see me.

Yeah, dad had to work a lot of extra hours this week. On Thursday he picked me up at Jane's and took me to work. I had fun playing with the people he works with in the IRTS lab and I was a good boy for him and slept in his arms while he got some more work done :) Then on Friday, mommy picked me up from Jane's (she really liked that!) and we got to play. Then we picked up a pizza to take up to daddy's work to eat dinner with them. Mommy ended up staying to help and I slept in the Moby. It was a long day for daddy, but we had fun working together Friday night. Then when mom took me to Dubuque he went in for several more hours on Saturday and some more even on Sunday. He's a hard worker and he did what he had to do to get those labs up and running before classes started. It sounds like he only has to work these crazy hours once or twice I year - that's not too bad I don't think.

On Sunday mom went to church with grandma and grandpa stayed home with me. Mom did not leave him with any food to feed me so she was worried about that. I took a half hour nap for grandpa and then we played in my play gym. When I started fussing, grandpa put me on my tummy for tummy time. I got mad. Grandpa called mommy at church to tell her I was hungry. Mommy could hear me screaming in the background - I was not in the mood for tummy time! After grandpa called mommy and grandma and mom were on their way home, grandpa flipped me back to my back. I decided not to fuss any more. This was much better than tummy time! All the grown-ups thought that was pretty funny. Reverse psychology on a baby!

I also picked up a cold this week. I'm not sure where I got it, but it's my first one. Dad keeps sticking this blue sucky thing up my nose. I really don't like that and I let them know it. But I do feel like I can breathe better afterwards - so that is good :)

Well that's all I'm writing for today. I hope you enjoyed my memories of the week :)

Friday, August 15, 2008

I'm Ten Weeks Old

This was Jameson's first week at Jane's. We just took him half days. He probably would have been fine going full days all week, but Rodd took off the afternoons to spend some one-on-one time with him and to ease the three of us into the day-care scene. Jane is awesome and I'm very excited that she will be taking care of Jameson during the day. He seemed to do very well this week :)

Wednesday was my 28th birthday, probably the best yet :) I took the afternoon off and got to pick Jameson up at Jane's - that was a lot of fun. He was playing outside and Jane mentioned how she can't believe how much he loves to be outside - it instantly puts him in a good mood. I think that's awesome how much he loves being outside. Anyway, I got to pick him up and I really enjoyed that. I had planned on going to group but Jameson had other plans in mind. He was hungry when I got him home. By the time I got him fed and burped it was 1:20, by the time we would have gotten packed up and to group it would have been at least 1:50 - group goes until 2:00 usually. So I didn't get to go to group, but I still had a wonderful afternoon spending time with my Jameson. Then that evening Rodd and I went shopping and out to dinner - Jameson was very good. I had a wonderful birthday!

Jameson had been waking more than normal in the night this week. He seems to do that when there is a major change. Anyway, Tuesday night I told Jameson "Tomorrow is my birthday and mommy just wants some sleep. So unless you are hot, cold, sick, or hungry, you should just stay sleeping. And since you really only need to get up once at night, lets do that between 3:00 and 4:00." I went on to tell him that when he goes to bed on Wednesday, it will still be my birthday, so maybe he should sleep good that night. And while we're on it, maybe he should sleep well the rest of the week since technically it's my birthday week and we celebrate birthday weeks. Well, he listened - so far so good :) He's slept great ever since our talk!

Friday, August 8, 2008

I'm Nine Weeks Old

First full week back at work. Not a week I want to repeat. Work is great, Jameson is great, but the getting ready for work is not so great. It's been taking a good hour to an hour and a half to just get ready for work for the next day. I have to wash up all my "supplies" for the next day, pack my lunch, get a bunch of odds and ends ready (the more I can do ahead of time, the longer I can sleep in in the morning), and spend a good 30-45 minutes trying to find an outfit that fits and looks decent. That part really sucks. I'm so close to fitting into my real clothes that I refuse to go out and buy new stuff, but that's the problem - I'm close, but not quite there. Anyway, I'm beyond exhausted.

Mom was up this week to help. She helped take care of Jameson in the morning when I was getting ready. I could leave him with her in a poopy diaper and pajamas, she made me dinner, and cleaned my house. I love it when she comes to visit :) Thank you mom! I'm kind of stressing though because even with all her help I am stretched way too thin. Next week when he goes to Jane's I'll have to pack his diaper bag the night before, wake up earlier in the morning to get him fed and ready and to Jane's so I can get to work on time. That will be interesting. I do have five outfits picked out so at least I don't have to do waste a bunch of time with that anymore :)

Enough about me, you probably want to know what did Jameson do this week - this is his blog and all. Jameson got to play with Grandma all week. She took him outside a lot as he loves being outdoors. Grandma also found out it helps him take better naps :)

This week we also had our two month check-up. Jameson's now 13 pounds 1 ounce and 23 1/2 inches long and he got his first round of immunizations. He only got two vaccines today as I have him on an alternate vaccination schedule. He'll still get all of his vaccines, just not all at once. We'll have to go in to the doctors a lot more now for "shots only" visits, but I feel this is a better plan for us. He took it like a champ and slept great the rest of the day and evening and we had no problems or even a fever :)

Monday night was a pretty eventful night. When we put Jameson down to sleep he kept breaking his swaddle (not at all unusual) and pulling the blanket over his face. When his arms got out of the swaddle they went up over his head. Well the blanket would catch on either his hand or his elbow. Rodd and I both found him with the blanket over his head when we went to check on him at different times after we'd laid him down for bed but before we went to bed. So as of this week, Jameson no longer gets swaddled. We still wrap the blanket around him, but we leave his arms out. So then in the middle of the night when he decided he was hungry, I went in to find him rolled over onto his belly. I was horrified! This is not good! He loves to nuzzle his nose which would be a very bad thing if he slept that way. I have no idea how he rolled. And he looked as surprised as I was when I went to pick him up. I just can't believe it. He wasn't screaming or all worked up or anything. If he was then I could see how he could have possibly done that, but when he started fussing, right away I went in to feed him. Anyway, I talked to the doctor about it and now we are placing rolled cotton blankets on his sides so he can't roll to him tummy until he's old enough for that to be safe. Every week bring something new!

In the News

The 2008 Summer Olympics began today in Beijing China.

Saturday, August 2, 2008

I'm Eight Weeks Old - Mom Went Back to Work

Well, I went back to work on Thursday. It was hard going back - many tears, but the time had to come eventually. I spent a lot of time worrying about that day in the last several weeks - made me enjoy my time with my baby even more - but it wasn't worth all the worry. You do what you have to do and after the first 15 minutes it wasn't so bad.

So what did we do in our last week together. Not too much. Rodd, Jameson, and I went back to Dubuque just for fun on the weekend. We decided Friday evening when Rodd came home from work and just picked up and left (a couple hours later - it takes forever to get all three of us ready - and fed :) It was kind of fun just picking up and going :) Rodd and my anniversary was this weekend also, so Grandma Diane got to watch Jameson for a couple hours while we went out to dinner. We wanted to go to a movie as well, but I was way too tired and I know I'd have slept through the whole thing :)

Jameson and I went to the grocery store for the first time. I really don't like the grocery store - I always send Rodd, but Jameson seemed to really enjoy it. I had him in the little front pack and he was just taking it all in :)

The three of us also went for an evening stroll to the Dairy Queen :) I finally got the mosquito netting for his stroller and was craving a cookie dough blizzard. It was a good walk but it was really hot! Jameson didn't so much like his stroll and ended up in the front pack (good thing I thought to bring it :) and the DQ was not as good as the Dubuque's DQ. So the walk was kind of a flop, but it was good to get out, and it was a fun walk.

So anyway, I got my first day back in. Next week will be my first full week back. Mom will be up here watching Jameson so that will help out a lot. I'm going to have to figure out how to survive on less sleep than I'm used to. I don't even want to know how caffeine will affect Jameson and there just is not time for naps, so I'll just have to deal. There just are not enough hours in the day but I'll figure it out and we'll all be ok :)

Friday, July 25, 2008

I'm Seven Weeks Old

Jameson and I did not do much this week but we had a lot of fun together. I'm starting to freak out about going back to work. Although I've been off for seven weeks now, this "vacation" is going way too fast! It doesn't feel like that long. So, I'm trying to prepare myself mentally, I'll be ok but I know it will be hard. It's crazy how fast he's growing.

Jameson has definately found his hands and loves looking at them. He seems to prefer his right hand but it's only a matter of time before he figures out he has two hands! I love watching him watch his hands and suck or should I say slurp his hands. The other night in the wee hours of the morning when I was changing him, I heard him slurping away and looked down - he had his thumb out and in his mouth. His thumb looked so tiny and his mouth so large. It was cute.

I've been going to a breast feeding support group while off on maturnity and have found that it's not only an excuse to get out of the house, but I really enjoy the people and the conversation. Anyway, vaccines have come up a couple times and that got me interested in learning more. So I started reading Dr. Robert Sears' Vaccine Book. I'm learning a lot. He questions a lot and tries to piece together answers to questions that have never been asked or researched. I'm glad this subject has come up so much at group and it intrigued my interest so much to learn more. Group has really been good for me and causes another reason to freak out about returning to work - I'll have to give up group. O well, I can still call in for support as the lactation consultants will be available :) I'm also really surprised at the amount of reading I've been able to do while off. I read a lot while he's nursing and he nurses often :) So, I'm learning a lot - I really enjoy the subject :)

Monday, July 21, 2008

I'm Six Weeks Old and I'm Baptized

This weekend Jameson was baptized. Rodd and I have always really liked the Baptism's at St. Stephens. It's even more special when it's your little one. Jameson wore a baptism gown that's nearly 100 years old. It's been passed down in Rodd's family and Rodd's dad and Rodd and his siblings along with AJ have all worn it for their baptism. It was really neat having Jameson wear something so special on his special day.

I was really worried Jameson would scream while Fr. Ken was walking around the church with him. Thinking back, I don't remember any babies ever crying when Fr. Ken had them. Well he didn't cry with Fr. Ken even though he was awake, but he did cry during the homily, all during our blessing at the end of the mass, and all during pictures after mass. The poor kid was so hungry and his bottle was cold. We sent mom out during mass to warm the bottle and it took a million years for her to get back. Apparently she had a hard time finding warm water and eventually found a microwave to warm water to warm the bottle. I should have just popped out a boob - it would have been so much easier and I had my Hooter Hider with me :) Oh well, he wasn't crying during the actual baptism and while Fr. Ken had him and that's what I wanted.

After mass our families came back to our house for dinner. Mom came up on Saturday to help with the food. Well, let me rephrase that - she made all the food :) and it was delicious! Dad brought up a bottle of Jameson whiskey and that seemed to go over very well :) Apparently it's very good whiskey and someday I'll be able to try it. Maybe that's the whiskey I was craving. He was a Jameson before we even knew we were having a boy :) Anyway, Jameson's baptism was a very special day for all of us. It was great having our family here to celebrate with us.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

I'm Five Weeks Old

Well we have had a very sad week this week. My aunt and godmother, Kathy, passed away on Monday. She was an incredible woman and an inspirational role model. Rodd, Jameson, and I came back to Dubuque Tuesday night for the wake and funeral on Wednesday and Thursday. We're still in Dubuque because Rodd and I have dentist appointments Monday morning, so we'll be here for almost a week. Although I don't like the reason we are back, I like the fact that Jameson is getting to know our families and seems to be comfortable with them all :)

After the funeral on Thursday, Jan watched Jameson for us while we went out to Balltown for the burial and dinner. This was the first time someone else has watched Jameson and we all did great! I was more worried about Grandma Jan putting up with his screaming than I was about Jameson's care because I knew he'd be well cared for. Anyway, we ended up missing the burial because I needed to feed Jameson before we could leave. He isn't on a schedule so it's hard to predict when he'll be hungry or tired or just need some time to play on the floor. Anyway, it's hard to leave him or to make plans to be somewhere on time because we are so dependent on each other. I feel like I'm missing so much because we seem to be late for everything, but I know this dependency will not last forever and someday soon he'll be at least a little predictable so we can plan around his routine :)

Jameson started smiling this week. It's so awesome to see his smile! He always had such a scorned look on his face - it's just awesome to see him smile and see that he's happy - we must be doing something right :) I'm so glad he's here to bring some sunshine to such a sad week.

Monday, June 30, 2008

I'm Four Weeks Old

We had our first overnight trip to Dubuque last weekend. We went back for what was supposed to be the first time with Jameson, but because we surprised dad for Father's Day, it was our second trip :) Jameson again slept the whole way back - whew! and he slept great at Grandpa and Grandma's - whew. They all said they could not hear him when he woke up so that's good.

We came back for Scott and Sarah's wedding. It was a very nice wedding. I had planned on taking Jameson to the ceremony, but not the reception. Grandma Diane was on board to take him for us, but I decided that afternoon just to take Jameson with me and then once he started getting hungry I'd head back to mom and dad's to feed him and then possibly head back to the reception depending on how late and how tired I was. Well, Jameson stayed with me at the reception far longer than I thought he would. He just slept and slept and slept. I was glad he was so good and that I took him. I wanted some of our friends that had not met him yet to meet him.

Funny Story

When we were over at Grandma Jan's this weekend, I was changing Jameson's pants and he decided he wasn't done pooping when I had his diaper off. Not only did he poop, but he had some (well a lot) of gas behind it and the poop shot out. I had my leg up and that stopped the explosion from spraying across the room, but it did get on Grandma's carpet. Good thing she thought it was funny :) Jameson's never done that before. He didn't pee on us either until she said "I can't believe how long you can leave his diaper off." Literally seconds later he was peeing on Rodd. O Grandma Jan.

Cute Alert

Another tidbit from the weekend: Grandpa Mark got Jameson to sleep. He was really proud and I thought it was really cute :)

Friday, June 20, 2008

I'm Two Weeks Old

This week Grandma Diane came up to help us out. Which was awesome! I was alone with Jameson for the first time Monday as mom did not arrive until the evening. Last week I was thinking - this baby thing is a piece of cake, I'll be fine on my own. Wow! I was wildly off thinking that. Monday was a rough day and I honestly can say I've never been so happy to see Rodd come home from work to give me a break. Monday was also the first day of Jameson's terrible gas pains. He cried a lot and seemed to be in pain :( Rodd is great at massaging out the cramps - making those gas bubbles smaller to pass. I tried taking a walk with Jameson and he was not going to have that. We weren't two blocks away from the house when the screaming started. I continued on thinking he'd stop crying - he didn't - I ended up practically running (I'm not really able to run yet - walking as fast as I could) the rest of the way home. Anyway, Grandma was a great help. I was able to get in my baths and shower and we even went on walks. It was also awesome having someone to help me keep the house picked up and getting in meals. I will really miss her next week.

So I mentioned that Jameson started experiencing painful gas cramps this week - poor little guy. From what I've read and from what mom has said, it's probably tomato products. I also think it's onions and possibly chocolate :( Do you know how hard it is to cut tomato out of your diet?? It's hard. Hamburgers just don't taste right without ketchup, pizza sure is good, anything with bbq sauce is also delicious ... Anyway, I've had a hard time thinking of meals without tomato and onion - not impossible, but it just points out how many products have tomatoes in it. If I'd follow the diet suggested in my "Nursing Mothers Companion" I really don't know what would be left to eat. They said to cut out all dairy, just about every fruit and vegetable I eat, and many other foods - I think meat would be the only think left - unseasoned of course - just plain ol meat.

Mom left this evening just as Rodd's family was coming up to visit. Uncle Lynn and Margaret wanted to meet Jameson so Jan, Annie, Ken, and Hannah, Uncle Lynn and Margaret all came up to visit. It was nice seeing everyone. When we were changing Jameson Jan mentioned that she's never seen a baby boy go so long without a diaper without peeing. Rodd and I have been able to take our time getting his diaper back on when we are changing him and he's only peed once or twice - not too bad. Right as she was saying that he peed all over - thanks Jan! It was really funny though - this little boy sure listens to his grandmas :)

Other events of the week

Tuesday

  • We had our first Well Child appointment. Jameson is now exactly 9 pounds. Mom came with us and when I was nursing Jameson in the waiting room after our appointment she ran into someone she knew. We still can't go anywhere without her running into someone she knows!
  • Jameson rolled over! No kidding - we have it on video. We were doing tummy time and he got an arm under and across his body and he kicks his legs a lot as he really really does not like tummy time. With his arm under him and kicking he was able to flop over on his back. After that we let him be done with tummy time :)
  • Today was also the first time he held onto a toy in his play gym. He caught a pinky in one of the toys and flailed his arm all around. It was definately not on purpose - but it was really cute :)

Wednesday

  • We went to my first breastfeeding support group meeting. We didn't leave the house until 1:00 when the meeting started and it was pretty embarrassing being 30 minutes late for the meeting, but I got showered, did my hair and make-up, and I was going! I could judge then if it was worth the work of getting ready next week when I don't have any help - it was - and it's really really nice having a reason to get out of the house.
  • After my support group meeting mom and I picked out fabric for my "Hooter Hider" that she made me this week. I think I'll get a lot of use out of it.

Thursday

  • I gave Jameson the pacifier for the first time today. When I was in the hospital the lactation specialists told me not to give him a pacifier until he was three weeks old, but mom kept saying, "He really has a crazy need to suck - just give him the pacifier." Today I finally did. I cried a little - he's not three weeks yet - I hope I did not make a bad decision. I didn't - the pac is like his long lost friend. He sucked on that thing like it was the greatest thing in the world. It did not affect breastfeeding. It doesn't pacify him if he's hungry and he's not confused :)

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Daddy's First Father's Day

Today Rodd got to celebrate his first ever Father's Day. We didn't have much planned, but we ended up with big plans. This morning we were actually on time for church. Last week we walked in right at the last minute. It's really hard to get ready with a baby that needs to eat all the time. Anyway, I was pretty proud. Then the rest of the day we were just laying around and napping - yeah! When I talked to mom and she said that my grandparents and Kathy, Paul, and Molly were coming over for dinner - did we want to come home to surprise dad? I thought - hey why not? I'd like everyone to meet Jameson and my brothers were both home. It was totally a spur of the moment decision and we usually don't go back to Dubuque for just a couple hours, but we did today.

Dad was really surprised when we walked in the door. So were my brothers and just about everyone else there - mom only told a couple people we were coming. After the child was fed - he was very hungry once we got there - we got to show him off. I'm glad we went back - again, I wish we just lived in Dubuque, but it was fun to go back for a little bit and Jameson seemed to enjoy it. His first car trip and he did awesome - both directions :)

Yesterday my parents and both brothers came up for the day. Ryan met Jameson for the first time. Emily, Taylor, and Alex also came over to meet Jameson - they were in town for a wedding. Jameson got hungry - no surprise - and I was trying to nurse him and cover up (I'm learning) and Emily showed me her Hooter Hider - what an awesome idea. Mom will be up next week to help me out and she took measurements and pictures of Emily's Hooter Hider so she can make me one next week - awesome, that will make things so much easier - I think/hope.

Yesterday was also my first time away from Jameson - ever. I went out to run a couple errands right after he ate and while I was out I realized that we had never been apart until then. I did fine - just a crazy realization.

Friday, June 13, 2008

I'm Nine Days Old

So last night Rodd and I tried the cry-it-out thing again. This attempt went much better. I was really tired and just didn't have it in me to stay up with him to try and get him back to sleep. Every time I'd lay him down he'd wake-up and want to be held some more. It's not real easy for mommy to get any sleep with if baby needs to be held all night. Anyway, this time it went much better than the last. He was so tired that he didn't have much energy to put into it. He'd kind of cry/whimper. Then he'd build up to a mediocre I'm really mad cry, but it was more funny than anything. Then he'd sigh like he was going to give in to sleep, but instead he'd start all over again. Each cycle was about 4 or 5 minutes and he did it about three times before he gave up. He slept great for the rest of the night and all day long :)

The Clarks came up to visit today with Jan and the family. The Clarks are family friends of Rodd's family. They used to be neighbors, but now they live in Indiana and each year they come back to visit. Because Jameson is so little and we are incredibly sleep deprived (not safe driving conditions), we didn't want to venture back to Dubuque so they came up here. This will probably be the only time they will see our house so it was nice for them to be able to see it. It was also great that they got to meet Jameson and I love it when family gets to spend time with him. It really bothers me living so far away from Dubuque and Cedar Falls is not that far away, especially with Jameson. I want him to be comfortable around family and not play shy plus I love being around family. ANYWAY, it was really nice seeing everyone today.

Jan, of course, is really awesome with Jameson. She can always get him to smile in his sleep. Today she got him to giggle - no kidding - I was there. It was adorable!

After everyone left I fed Jameson and if Rodd is around he burps the baby so he can spend some extra time with him. Anyway, after Jameson ate and Rodd was burping him, Rodd was rocking back and forth on his back on the floor and jiggling Jameson quite a bit (my opinion - Rodd said Jameson was hardly moving) anyway, Jameson's belly got all upset and he projectile vomited all over. It was crazy the amount that came out of him - I can't believe his little belly can hold that much liquid. I thought he'd be hungry after throwing up what seemed like the entire contents of his tummy, but at the same time I didn't want to feed him with such an upset stomach. Anyway, he fell into a really deep sleep and we had to wake him up to feed him later that evening - and he was difficult to wake. That really wore him out.

After his extremely long nap and getting something back in his belly, Rodd was changing his pants and he peed all over - he even got it on his Pooh quilt that he loves. He rarely pees with his diaper off and when he does it's always for his dad :) After that, it was time for a bath - he was very dirty after all his festivities of the day. It was a quick bath - he did not like a second of it. Maybe the water was too cold. I'm so scared the water will burn him I caution more on the cold side. Once we got him all dried off and put on his Pooh hat, he got to enjoy some s2s with daddy. He liked that.

Side Note

Before I hit my due date I would say that it would be neat if the baby came on 6-7-08 or that he just needed to wait until June 1. Once I got to my due date (May 28) I got really impatient and took back what I said and just wanted him to get here. Anyway, Rodd's mom was making fun of me and said that Friday the 13th was coming up (the 13th and the 26th are big days for Rodd and I). I told her that was not funny, but if need be, I would have been induced on the 12th, so the 13th would be possible - if I was induced. Anyway, today is the 13th - thank goodness he's here! Every day I went over due made me more and more anxious.

In the News

Iowa City is now flooding. Cedar Rapids is destroyed. The flooding is unbelievable. I heard an interesting fact today. The 500 year flood plain just means your chance of flooding is 1 in 500 not that your place could flood only once in 500 years. People that had homes/businesses flood this week and are in the 500 year flood plain could flood again next year. Anyway, I thought that was interesting. I'd be better if it was the way I thought it was - once in 500 years, not just a risk probability.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

I'm 8 Days Old - What's Up With this Weather?

Last night the three of us slept in the basement. Right when we were starting to get ready for bed, Rodd heard there was a thunderstorm warning and as a precaution you should go to your basements because the storm came with 70mph winds. I freaked out - tears and all. Rodd took the Pack and Play downstairs and we set up shop in the basement bedroom. We have to take down a lot more stuff now with all the baby's stuff. Once I settled down and decided that we'd be safe where we were, I slept great. Jameson and Rodd however did not. Jameson had a poop fest early in the morning and Rodd stayed up with him changing all those diapers. Rodd got to sleep in until almost noon though so hopefully that helped him catch up on sleep. I really hate all this bad weather - way scary with a new baby and the Parkersburg tornado being so fresh - devastation can happen in seconds.

Today Jameson really wanted his skin to skin time. This morning I fed him in the basement which is really cold so I kept my shirt on - I usually take it off so we can get some s2s (skin-to-skin) time in. Anyway, when I burped him he kept wiggling around until he found the v-neck of my shirt where some of my skin was exposed and he nuzzled his head there. He was like that all day. He'll rub his arm up and down mine, or put his little hands on my chest when I'm feeding him. Anything he could find. It was cute - I'm glad to see that it's comforting to him. I'm also glad he's a summer baby :)

We started to notice today that his features are really starting to change. He's developing a second chin, his face seems to be getting chubbier, and his eye color is already changing. His eyes were grey and now they look like they are turning light brown. I'd like him to have brown eyes. Rodd and I both have brown eyes and I think we both have very pretty eyes. I'll have to wait until he's a year or so to find out what his final eye color will be, but it's fun seeing them change and wondering what color they will end up as.

Cuteness Alert

I was kissing Jameson on the cheek and he smiled :) He loves his mommy :)

In the News

Not only is the state of Iowa being destroyed by floods right now but a tornado swept through a boy scout camp last night leveling all four buildings, killing four scouts, and injuring 50+ more. Ann Curry from the Today Show was at the camp this morning in Blencoe, Iowa (Western Iowa) interviewing some scouts. I can't believe how calm and collected they were after such trauma. One of the scouts said that if something like this was going to happen, he's glad it happened at the camp because all the scouts knew first aid and had the supplies - good point, but wow, what maturity. Anyway, the weather has been devastating the last several weeks. No wonder I'm on pins and needles whenever there is a storm watch or warning.

Also in the news - Cedar Rapids downtown area is completely under water. People in the 500 year flood plan and beyond have been affected by this flood. The river is expected to crest at 31 or so feet, 12 or 13 feet higher than the last worst flood in the area. Lots of these people don't have flood insurance because they are not supposed to flood. What is going on?

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

I'm a Week Old and I'm Awesome

I feel like the luckiest mommy ever. My baby is sleeping at night :) Last night Jameson went 5 hours between his last evening feeding and his middle of the night feeding. I actually woke up an hour before him and ended up waking him at five hours - I really needed to. Then he went four hours before nursing again. I had time to get up and eat breakfast, check my email, and turn on the Today Show before he woke. After this weekend, I can't believe I am getting so much sleep. It's wonderful! We have also been able to lay him down awake and he is able to figure out how to put himself to sleep. It's fun to watch him play with his hands, look around, and squirm until his eye lids finally become too heavy and he is asleep :)

Ann, Ken, and Hannah came up to visit this afternoon. He really enjoyed being held by Hannah and Annie, sleeping content the whole time :)

We did some tummy time a couple times today - apparently we need to be doing more of that. He did really well and after awhile he decided it wasn't so bad and stopped fussing. It's funny watching him try to put his fist in his mouth when he is doing tummy time because he can't quite lift his head up enough, but he really wants to suck on that fist when he's face planting in his blanket. He did really well today. Oh, and today while I was holding him and he sat up - really. I was holding him on his back in the crook of my arm and he sat up at least three fourths of the way. I was shocked. Apparently he wanted to sit.

Rodd hung the Pooh and Friends quilt a family friend quilted for us today. Jameson loves it! We hung it above his changing table because we thought it would be a fun place to hang it for him. We were right. This afternoon when I was changing his pants, he was not a happy camper when we went in. The quilt caught his eye, he stopped fussing, and just stared at the quilt. He really likes it :)

Tonight we took Jameson on his first ever stroller ride. Rodd and I wanted to walk to Hy-Vee to get balloons to hang on the mailbox to let neighbors know we had our baby. We ended up at the mall to get Rodd's Father's Day gift - I don't have time for getting out and shopping on my own so I ruined the surprise - o well. Jameson did really well and slept the whole trip. I did really well too in case you were wondering. It felt good to get out and get going. If the weather is nice tomorrow, I'd like to go for a couple short walks with him to get out in the fresh air and enjoy the sunshine.

In the News

Well Cedar Falls made it through the night without any flooding downtown. The levy held and the sandbagging continues. Waterloo and North Cedar, however, is under water. This flood is the worst in at least 100 years. Homes and businesses in the 500 year flood plan are flooded. I can't believe all this devastating weather. I can't imagine losing my home or even being evacuated from my home. The thought alone makes my heart race and stomach flip. I saw on the news that there are people that lost their homes in Katrina that just lost their home in the Cedar Valley to floods. What are the chances it will happen once to a family, but twice - I can't imagine. I've also heard there are people whose home was taken by the tornado on May 25 that lost their temporary housing in the flood. This is just insane. I keep praying for this devastation to end and in thanks that we have not been directly affected by all these storms.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

I'm Six Days Old

Jameson slept great last night again. He went four hours between night-time feedings but he was up quite a bit in the middle of the night. I blame myself for that. When I was burping him after he nursed, he puked up A LOT of milk. It just seemed to keep coming. I freaked out. He's not sucking as long as he used to on each side, but he must be getting a lot. He obviously is eating too much, but I was freaking out something was wrong with him and almost called my mom at three o'clock in the morning. So after my freak out session, he was fussy and needed to nurse again. After that Rodd sat up with him for quite awhile because I was just too tired. I'm big on sleeping, so I'm ecstatic that he is finally sleeping well and crossing my fingers he's not just teasing me.

Covenant offers a free Newborn Assessment Clinic that we took Jameson to today. He is doing very well. He's back up to his birth weight, his head has rounded out more and is another forth inch around, and his circumcision is healing well. We learned a lot from the nurse and went home with lots of notes. We left our house a half hour before our appointment which should have given us at least an extra 10 minutes to get there and find the clinic. We ended up being five minutes late. With all the flooding, roads are closed and there was an accident on our route. We had to take a detour and follow some really old woman who apparently should not have been driving because it was obvious she could not see well. Anyway, we made it there, but we were worried how we would get home because as we were exiting highway 58 onto highway 20 they were closing highway 58N. We go north to go home.

After our appointment we stopped and picked up my breast pump. I bought one last winter because I knew I would need one, the new models had just come out and I did not want to pay the full price for one, and I was trying to spread big baby expenses out over several months instead of letting everything pile up to one or two months. Anyway, at our breastfeeding class the nurse said we should check with our insurance if they cover breast pumps. I never even thought about insurance covering it. I called the insurance company this morning and they do, you just need to have a prescription and purchase it from an approved store. So we now I have two breast pumps. I am planning on selling my first one, it's unused and unopened so it should not be too hard to sell. I am happy that the insurance company sees the benefits of breastfeeding and that we were able to cut out that expense :)

After that stop, Rodd and I took Jameson up to Hawkeye to show him off. He did really well. I was worried he'd have a melt-down because it was getting to be feeding time, but he waited until we got home to fuss. Speaking of getting home - that was a trip. We heard that University was still open so we came down Ansborough Ave to University. Talk about a traffic jam. I have never seen so much traffic in Cedar Falls / Waterloo ever. It was just crazy. It took us forever to get home, but Jameson was so good going to all those places and during our car rides.

Cuteness Alert

Jameson has figured out how to get my finger out of his mouth when he is hungry. When we were in the hospital the lactation specialist showed me a trick to help him learn to suck properly if he is not latching on properly. He still sometimes forgets how to latch on and the trick works great with him. So I was letting him suck on my finger to help him relearn how he needs to suck and he kept laying his arm across my finger and putting pressure on it until I pulled my finger out of his mouth - he was not interested in my finger and was ticked I wasn't giving him what he wanted. After he did it three times, I knew he was doing it on purpose and just laughed.

In the News

Today things started getting crazy in the Cedar Valley. Many communities are flooding. The worry this evening is that downtown Cedar Falls will flood. Volunteers are racing against the clock sandbagging downtown. The Cedar River is supposed to crest at 101 feet at least two or three feet higher than it has ever crested. They are worried the levy will break and if that happens, the downtown area will be gone - just gone. Most of downtown Cedar Falls and Waterloo has been evacuated preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. This flood is so bad the national news has set up shop in Cedar Falls. I just can't believe all these natural disasters hitting this area - unbelievable.

Monday, June 9, 2008

I'm Five Days Old

Today was Rodd and my first day alone with the baby. We did pretty good. This is a learning game, but we are catching on :) Jameson slept well for the first time last night. It's a good thing too because last night when I laid down to take a nap when Mom and Dad left I just cried, the night before was awful and I was just thinking I don't know how much longer I can do this no sleep thing. The adrenaline has run off and I am exhausted and now help is leaving - what am I going to do! Mom told me this morning that she had a heart to heart with Jameson Sunday afternoon when Rodd and I were sleeping and told him he needed to sleep better at night for us. Apparently he listens to his grandma. Where was she when we were begging him to come out?

I laid Jameson in his play gym a couple times today. Today was the first time I played with him in the play gym. He loved it :) He was fussing, I laid him down thinking maybe he just needs some down time, and he saw his reflection in the mirror, stopped fussing and just stared into the mirror. It was really cute. We make a big deal when he hits the toys that are hanging down on top of him. He's not hitting them on purpose as he flails his arms, but we make a big deal that he made the toys move. We're going to have lots of fun with this toy :)

Rodd and I started doing a lot more skin-to-skin time today. He is supposed to get six hours of skin to skin time between the two of us for his first several weeks of life. Today we consciously built that into our day. I love it when he rubs his hand and arm up and down my skin. He seems to really enjoy his skin to skin time - we do to.

I think he slept better last night because Rodd and I held him a lot doing our skin to skin time with him last night after mom and dad left. After I nursed him and he was burping he just kept rubbing his arm up and down mine. We did not hold him much on Saturday with family up to hold him and I think he missed me and was making up time in the middle of the night. Knowing this, Rodd and I will have to be sure to get our time holding him so we can sleep at night.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

I'm Four Days Old and I Don't Have to Sleep at Night

I am exhausted. I can probably count on my ten fingers the number of hours of sleep I've gotten since Jameson was born. The adrenaline has been used up and I had an extremely hard time staying awake with him all night long. One feeding led to another and to another - no sleep in between. It was like transition - no breaks - and it was awful.

Mom, Dad, and Nathan came up to visit today - thank God for reinforcements! We took the baby to church for the first time this morning. Mom and Nathan came with us and Mom held Jameson the whole time. That's ok though - I'm tired. It was interesting getting ready on a timeline - this was our first outing. I had to get myself ready and feed him all before we could leave. We did it, but we were cutting it close. Although getting ready and out the door was a lot of work, it felt so good to do my hair and make-up and to get out.

I got some great video today of Jameson sucking his finger and thumb. Mom said she's never seen a baby so young figure that out so soon. He has a crazy need to suck. Mom said we could probably start giving him a pacifier because of his crazy need to suck and because he has caught onto breastfeeding so well. But we've been told by the lactation consultants at Covenant not to introduce a pacifier until he's at least three weeks old to be sure breastfeeding is good and established before we introduce a different nipple type and sucking motion. Although Jameson is a very good eater, he's not 100% yet and those feedings when he seems to have forgotten what to do are really frustrating for both of us. He's hungry and I know he can do it but he's having a difficult time remembering what to do.

It was great having my family up. They made us lunch and dinner and left the leftovers, :) Dad fixed our dishwasher that conveniently decided to die Tuesday evening when I was in labor, and they took care of Jameson so we could nap. I can't tell you how refreshing an hour or two nap is. I'm not a napper, but man, that hour or so felt awesome. I'm totally rejuvenated - for now.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

I'm Three Days Old

Today Rodd's family all came up - Grandma Jan, Robin, Adam, cousin AJ, John, and Jenna. It was awesome having them up. Jenna actually stayed overnight last night. It was great having her here. She held him while we got ready in the morning. Jameson liked sitting with his Aunt Jenna.

AJ has been so excited about his baby cousin and since he's been born, AJ has been begging to come see his baby cousin. He has been feeding his baby cousin with a spoon and a bottle through a picture we sent after he was born on a laptop monitor. Jenna also told us that she talked to AJ on the phone and all he said was "I have a baby cousin and his name is Jameson!" I thought that was really cute. Anyway, AJ and Jameson got to meet today and it was so precious. AJ sat real still in the big recliner and held Jameson, whispering so he did not wake the baby. AJ sang You Are My Sunshine real softly to Jameson. Yeah, there were tears shed - it was adorable. I still can't believe how good AJ was holding Jameson. He didn't move around at all and he didn't want to give the baby up. When we asked him if Robin could hold him or he wanted to eat, he looked at us like we were nuts and said no. Too cute! When Jameson would squirm, AJ would smile and say "he wiggled." The whole thing was just adorable!

Before they all left Robin helped us give Jameson his first bath (well our first time giving him a bath). When we were drying him off, Rodd was holding him in his little towel, and he pooped :) I thought it was hilarious. After his bath he got his finger nails cut for the first time. Robin did it for us, we both were too scared to do it, but it really needed to be done, they were long and sharp and he kept trying to scratch his eye.

Jameson slept pretty much all day, which worked out well because everyone got to spend a lot of time holding him and he didn't mind being passed around a lot :) After everyone left we tried to keep him awake so he'd sleep at night – we'll see if that idea worked at all.

Friday, June 6, 2008

I'm Two Days Old and They are Sending Me Home with these People!

Today Jameson came home. I can't believe we have a baby. It's just incredible. I feel like I'm in a dream - we have a baby!! :)

Rodd and I left the hospital with Jameson in the early afternoon. It took us forever to get out of there. I was really excited to get going. That hospital bed was so uncomfortable - I just wanted my own bed and recliner - so much more comfortable and more convenient to have my nursing stuff and a comfy place to do so. It took me a long time to pack and then we had to go through a bunch of stuff with the nurse who discharged us. All the information was very beneficial, I'm glad they went over all that with us - it just took us a lot longer to leave than I thought it would. O well, we're home now and it's wonderful :)

Jameson did really well on the car ride home. He slept the whole time. I cried when we left the hospital parking lot - I’m hormonal and like I said, I can't believe we have a baby. I'm glad he slept on the way home. It was really sunny and we don't have the shades up in the car yet and I think he would have been overly stimulated and we don't need that. We had a lot of fun bringing home baby, showing him his room, laying him in his crib and taking a picture - this tiny baby in a huge crib, it was really cute.

I think the whole coming home thing was too much for Jameson - too much new stuff. He had a meltdown in the early evening. John stopped on his way through from Minnesota to Dubuque to meet Jameson. I was so happy to see John. I was thinking he could hold him and I could get some things done around the house. Our house was clean when we left and it seemed like when we came home there was an explosion of stuff. It seemed to be everywhere. Anyway, Jameson screamed when I gave him to John. He had been fussing a lot before then, but he wasn't having any more new stuff. I felt really bad, and a lot disappointed. O well, who cares about the mess.

Jenna came a little later in the evening. It was funny. She showed up and we were like can you watch him, we're going to take a nap if that's ok with you. Win-win. She got to hold Jameson all evening, and we got to sleep :) Yeah! He was good for her and just slept in her lap. I woke up after an hour or two because he was due to nurse in that time - why was he still sleeping!? He was just enjoying his time with Aunt Jenna. We were so glad she stayed with us that evening. It was such a relief knowing there was someone taking good care of our baby and we could get some much needed sleep :)

Before we left the hospital a volunteer came in to get Jameson's picture taken. We dressed him in his cute UNI outfit we got him to take him home in - it was adorable, but it didn't stay on him long. On the way down the hall to get his picture taken he spit up on himself (a first) and then when he was getting his picture taken he wet through his clothes (another first). Needless to say, he went home in outfit #2, but he was still adorable :)

Last night Rodd and I sent Jameson to the nursery again so that we could get some sleep. Around 2:00 the nurse came running in and told us there was a "code white" and that we needed to go to the nursery. What the hell is a code white? I thought something was wrong with the baby and I was trying to get out of bed as fast as I could - which, let me tell you, was not real quick. I asked if he was ok and the nurse told us there was a tornado warning so we needed to head to the nursery. I wish she would have just told us there was a tornado warning instead of a code white = whew! a tornado warning was nothing then.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

I'm One Day Old

Last night we sent Jameson to the nursery for the first time. He'd been acting like he was choking all day - he wasn't but it was still very scary. He'd open his mouth and his face would turn red. He didn't make any noises - he just looked like he was choking. He did it a couple times when Rodd's mom and my parents and Nathan were up visiting, but when he did it again after they left we freaked out and called the nurse. We almost went running down the hall with him, but remembered that we are not supposed to take him out unless he was in his bassinet and we didn't want to take the time to throw him in that. The nurse reassured us over the phone that as long as he was not blue he was ok, but she was on her way to check on him anyway. When she got to our room she looked him over real good and took his vitals - he was fine. Apparently he was trying to get up amniotic fluid from his belly that did not get squeezed out when he was born. Anyway, neither Rodd nor I wanted to both be sleeping if he was going to spontaneously silently "choke" all night long, but we both knew we needed to get some sleep since neither of us slept a wink the night before. Off to the nursery he went. It was funny, when then they would bring Jameson back to our room to nurse he'd be screaming and Rodd would not even flinch. I thought it was hilarious because I know Rodd is a light sleeper and that the "bed" he was sleeping in looked incredibly uncomfortable. When we were talking about it this morning Rodd said he literally passed out since he had not slept since Monday night before Jameson was born.

We also decided that Rodd should go home and get some real sleep so that at least one of us was rested especially since we are taking this baby home with us tomorrow. I was stuck in the hospital and had to nurse every couple hours anyway so Rodd may as well be the one getting a good chunk of sleep. He said he felt bad leaving, but we both knew it was a good idea. Plus I needed him to pick up some stuff from the house. Also, Jameson was getting his circumcision in the afternoon so I knew I'd be able to get some rest then - so I thought. Anyway, that was my first time alone with the baby. I had the reassurance that the nurses were there to help, so that helped a lot. He's a lot of work, but o so worth it :)

So Jameson got his circumcision today. Everything went well, but you know me, I worried. I've heard stories of little boys going to get a circumcision and whoops the knife slipped and they made him a her. I know that is extremely rare - but that's what I was worried about. The nurse that took him said that it should be an hour and she'd bring him back to my room. At about an hour and 10 minutes I was ready to head down the hall and ask what was wrong with my baby. Just then the nurse came in. She told me his circumcision went really well and he was sleeping, did I want them to keep him until he woke? Awesome, I can now sleep some since I know he is still a he and he's in good hands :)

Cuteness Alert

When Jameson finally came back from his circumcision he was very hungry and just screaming. He had also broken completely free of his swaddle and when he saw me he held out his arms and gave me this look like please pick me up, mom. I thought it was adorable. He just wanted his mama.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

It's My Birthday and I'll Cry if I Want Too

Welcome Jameson Roddy. We are so glad you are here!

Well, Rodd and I pulled an all nighter. I don’t know how you can possibly try to sleep after such an awesome experience. What a rush! Jameson didn't want to sleep either. He cried and cried almost all night long. I think it was close to 3:30 or 4:00 in the morning before Rodd got him settled down and to sleep. Rodd is awesome with him – I'm glad. I was not much help because I had to do so much stuff to take care of myself.

After we (Rodd) got the baby to sleep we started emailing friends and family. I was so tired but completely unable to sleep. When I was writing the emails I could not read the text on the screen – really. I hope the emails kind of made sense. Then at about 6:30 we decided we could call our moms. When I told my mom he was born at 12:36am she was like "why didn't you call!" I was like, I was kind of busy until 3:00 or 3:30 with doctors and nurses and doing everything I needed to do to take care of myself and I didn’t want to wake them then, what were they going to do anyway?? So, yeah, I guess they were up all night praying for me anyway, o well :)

Grandma Jan, Mom, Dad, and Nathan all came up to meet Jameson today. He did really well. He slept most of the day, because that's what babies are supposed to do, but he did have periods where he'd open his eyes for awhile to check things out. I thought he was going to have a period of an hour or two after birth where he was alert and then he'd completely zonk out for 20 or so hours – not so. As I said before, he was awake almost all night crying – more than an hour or two. Since he's calmed down though, he seems pretty relaxed and content.

I can't believe he's finally here! We have a baby! We are parents! I think it's going to take me awhile for all this to settle in. I'm very happy with how everything worked out. I had a great pregnancy and my labor and delivery was perfect. I did not have to divert from my birth plan – things went exactly as I would have planned them if you could plan such a thing. I'm very proud of myself for getting through this. I knew I could – what other choice did I have? But it's quite the feat and I'm happy I got through it :) I’m also grateful for our doula for helping me out so much. She was absolutely awesome! We have a baby!

I also kept a blog while I was pregnant. I blogged weekly about my pregnancy and wrote his birth story there. You can view this blog at www.rkgrady.com/baby.