Just a quick update. Two milestones have just occurred.
1. Yesterday Luke rolled over from back to belly for the first time. He is 3 1/2 months (15 weeks). I didn't actually see him do it. Eric and Grace were outside (playing on the swingset and grilling respectively). I had to throw a load of laundry in the dryer and left Luke on the living room floor. When I came back he was on his belly pushing up with his arms. Then he did it again this morning on my bedroom floor while I was doing my makeup in the bathroom. Soon, I'll catch him in action.
2. Today, I started my first postpartum period. Yuck. I was a bit disappointed. I'm still exclusively breastfeeding (and pumping), so I thought it would at least hold off until Luke started solids, but sadly, it has arrived. Good thing we have been faithful regarding birth control. Surprises like this are how people have 2 kids in under a year. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)
On the job front, Eric is still looking. He had a good interview about 2 weeks ago that he's still waiting to hear on. Should know tomorrow, but when he talked to them on Tuesday they said he's still in consideration. Grace is home with Eric starting this week until he's employed again to save us some money. Also, Eric was denied unemployment (his discharge was considered "for cause"), so he's filed an appeal, but if that doesn't go through, he's going to have to find an evening/weekend job to help out with the funds. We've started tapping into savings, and it will go too fast if he has $0 coming in. Still praying good news tomorrow will mean we don't have to drain much from savings.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Brother & Sister
Luke laughed out loud today. Just once, but it was a real laugh.
I uploaded some pictures. Some random ones, plus some from our weekends with the families.
I really like this picture and I think Luke looks alot like my Dad in this one.
I've got tomorrow off work and am planning on a great weekend. Yay!
I uploaded some pictures. Some random ones, plus some from our weekends with the families.
I really like this picture and I think Luke looks alot like my Dad in this one.
I've got tomorrow off work and am planning on a great weekend. Yay!
Saturday, August 09, 2008
Three Months
I've got pictures to upload, but the camera's downstairs and I don't feel like going to get it. Maybe tomorrow.
Anyway, I wanted to give a three month update on Luke. CANNOT believe he's already three months old. He's so awesome.
From "What To Expect the The First Year" here are the milestones we've reached:
Should be Able to:
- On stomach, lift head up 45 degrees
- Follow an object in an arc about 6 inches above the face past the midline
Will probably be able to:
- Laugh out Loud (he makes a noise with his huge open mouth smiles, but it's not really a true "laugh" or giggle
- On stomach, lift head up 90 degrees
- Bring both hands together (he can even shove them into his mouth)
- Smile spontaneously (today he gave me a cute smile when I asked if he pooped his pants. Little stinker.)
- Follow an object in an arc about 6 inches above the face for 180 degrees
May possibly be able to:
- Hold head steady when upright
- On stomach, raise chest, supported by arms (just for a second at a time)
May even be able to:
- Bear some weight on legs when held upright
- Reach for an object (he's started trying to bat at toys)
- Turn in the direction of a voice, particularly mommy's
- Say ah-goo or similar vowel-consonant combination (he's very vocal compared to Grace at his age)
Everything is going so well with him. He's gotten into a good routine at Amy's and has more good days than bad. I wish he'd nap a little better for her. He usually takes 3 one-hour naps per day. We're still nursing and it's wonderful. Pumping at work can be a pain. Especially when I'm really busy or have meetings, but I do the best I can. We've got a decent stash in the freezer (about 10 bottles) so even if I miss one pumping at work (has happened twice), we've still got enough. Still no formula for him except for those couple ounce bottles when he was jaundiced.
I think he's really growing. Some of his 3-6 month clothes are getting tight. No official weigh-in, but I think he's between 16 and 17 pounds. He's lost a ton of his baby hair, so I can't wait to see it come back in. He's also very strong, today he actually did a mini-sit up. I was holding him in front of me with his feet at my belly and head in my hands elevated about 45 degrees. He managed to get into a sitting position without holding onto anything.
Sleeping still going ok. I need to get tough and put him back in his crib after he eats over night, but I have to admit, I enjoy cuddling with him. I do on occasion though, but he doesn't seem to sleep as well the second half of the night. Still thankful that I put him to bed awake in his crib. It usually takes him about 10 minutes to fall asleep. Sometimes he fusses and I go and help him with his pacifier or just stroke his face, but he rarely cries and never so much that I need to pick him up.
During his awake times, Luke's pretty happy too. He likes watching Grace (and she loves showing off for him), he really enjoys playing on the floor or couch if you are interacting with him close by. He doesn't have to be held constantly, but if you aren't holding him, he still wants to be close to the action and be able to see what you are doing. He smiles, coos, and laughs alot (as long as you are interacting with him). He likes watching moving things too like his crib mobile, the moving part on the baby swing, ceiling fans, etc. He also is intrigued by the mirror and loves his bathtime.
He's such a sweet boy and I'm a little sad that his newborn-ness is gone. I know he'll be running around after his big sister in the blink of an eye.
Anyway, I wanted to give a three month update on Luke. CANNOT believe he's already three months old. He's so awesome.
From "What To Expect the The First Year" here are the milestones we've reached:
Should be Able to:
- On stomach, lift head up 45 degrees
- Follow an object in an arc about 6 inches above the face past the midline
Will probably be able to:
- Laugh out Loud (he makes a noise with his huge open mouth smiles, but it's not really a true "laugh" or giggle
- On stomach, lift head up 90 degrees
- Bring both hands together (he can even shove them into his mouth)
- Smile spontaneously (today he gave me a cute smile when I asked if he pooped his pants. Little stinker.)
- Follow an object in an arc about 6 inches above the face for 180 degrees
May possibly be able to:
- Hold head steady when upright
- On stomach, raise chest, supported by arms (just for a second at a time)
May even be able to:
- Bear some weight on legs when held upright
- Reach for an object (he's started trying to bat at toys)
- Turn in the direction of a voice, particularly mommy's
- Say ah-goo or similar vowel-consonant combination (he's very vocal compared to Grace at his age)
Everything is going so well with him. He's gotten into a good routine at Amy's and has more good days than bad. I wish he'd nap a little better for her. He usually takes 3 one-hour naps per day. We're still nursing and it's wonderful. Pumping at work can be a pain. Especially when I'm really busy or have meetings, but I do the best I can. We've got a decent stash in the freezer (about 10 bottles) so even if I miss one pumping at work (has happened twice), we've still got enough. Still no formula for him except for those couple ounce bottles when he was jaundiced.
I think he's really growing. Some of his 3-6 month clothes are getting tight. No official weigh-in, but I think he's between 16 and 17 pounds. He's lost a ton of his baby hair, so I can't wait to see it come back in. He's also very strong, today he actually did a mini-sit up. I was holding him in front of me with his feet at my belly and head in my hands elevated about 45 degrees. He managed to get into a sitting position without holding onto anything.
Sleeping still going ok. I need to get tough and put him back in his crib after he eats over night, but I have to admit, I enjoy cuddling with him. I do on occasion though, but he doesn't seem to sleep as well the second half of the night. Still thankful that I put him to bed awake in his crib. It usually takes him about 10 minutes to fall asleep. Sometimes he fusses and I go and help him with his pacifier or just stroke his face, but he rarely cries and never so much that I need to pick him up.
During his awake times, Luke's pretty happy too. He likes watching Grace (and she loves showing off for him), he really enjoys playing on the floor or couch if you are interacting with him close by. He doesn't have to be held constantly, but if you aren't holding him, he still wants to be close to the action and be able to see what you are doing. He smiles, coos, and laughs alot (as long as you are interacting with him). He likes watching moving things too like his crib mobile, the moving part on the baby swing, ceiling fans, etc. He also is intrigued by the mirror and loves his bathtime.
He's such a sweet boy and I'm a little sad that his newborn-ness is gone. I know he'll be running around after his big sister in the blink of an eye.
Wednesday, August 06, 2008
Beginnings and Endings
I should be going to bed now, but this post keeps bumping around in my head, so I thought I'd jot a few things down.
We've had a very eventful couple of weeks. We've spent the last two weekends with Eric's family. Two weekends ago, his Dad and girlfriend came in town and we visited the Jazz and Rib Fest and Grace got to play in the hotel swimming pool. Then last weekend we spent a night with his Mom and day and night at his brothers. Again more pool time. Both were very pleasant and relaxing weekends. Luke was exceptionally well behaved on both occassions and Grace has a talent for winning over anyone with her sweetness.
As for the title of my post. This seems to be a time of transitions for us with some new beginnings and new endings. Most of the endings are negative, so I'll start there and end on a happier note.
Endings
1) Most impactful...Eric's job. On July 29th, Eric was officially let go. We kind of saw this coming as they did give him 3 months to try to turn the numbers around, but with today's economy he just couldn't sell enough 11% mortgages to get it done. While this is a negative in the short term (reduced cash flow doesn't fit well in our budget), we have been taking the right steps financially over the last year and a half that we can survive for a short period of time on our savings without making drastic measures or increasing the debt. Also, Eric's hated his job for years, so I think this is just the right push to get him into a better position that will make him happy. He's really throwing himself into it to. It's only been 1 week, but he already had his first interview today at a job he thinks he'd like and it seemed to go well.
2) On July 30th, Grace graduated from speech therapy! Yay! Not only does she now speak incredibly clearly, no more $30 a week co-pays! Now I just have to figure out what to do with the left over money in our flex-spending account. We budgeted for a whole year of speech. I'm thinking I may be getting new glasses and contacts. Maybe a pair of prescription sunglasses for Eric?
3) On a sad note, someone from church that I felt fairly close to passed away on Sunday. While I didn't play on the softball team this year (considering my maternity leave ended over 1/2 way through the season), I did play with him for several years. His wife brought us food when I was going through chemo and was the first person to ever babysit Grace (she came over when I was on maternity leave and had a dentist appointment). He was young (not sure, but less than 45) and had a heart attack at the Sunday softball game. He left behind his wife and two sons (ages ~10 and ~14). It was just so sudden and so tragic. They still haven't sent out notice of the funeral service, so I will have that to attend in the next few days.
Beginnings
Moving on to happier topics...
1) Luke is an awesome sleeper. He's now dropped to just one feeding between 7:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. He naps in his crib and on occasion will sleep in the crib all night (when I'm not to lazy to put him back in there after he eats). I'm calling this "beginning" to sleep through the night.
2) Grace will be beginning pre-school soon. In an effort to save money, we gave Amy our 2 week notice for Grace. Luke will still go to her, but until Eric starts working again, he'll stay home with Grace. He should still be able to keep up on the job search with her at home and Amy has agreed to watch her on occassion if Eric has an interview and just needs her for a couple of hours. Once Eric is employed again, we will be sending her back to her previous daycare center which is also a pre-school. I think she really misses the interaction with the other kids her age and will do awesome. She's going to Vacation Bible School this week and having the time of her life.
3) This one isn't mine, but one of my BFF's Danialle is pregnant. She's now had confirmation from the doctor that everything looks great, so we're allowed to start celebrating. She's due in March and has offered to let me be a part of the birth experience if I can get there in time. Of course I will try my hardest. You know how I love births! It's so awesome to watch her in each stage and how she cherishs each moment. I think I was like that with Grace, but sort of took Luke's pregnancy for granted. I love seeing hwo her mentality is already changing into the protective Mommy and I think she'll do great. Makes me reflect on my Mommy skills and realize I should think about them more often to be sure I'm doing the best job I can.
Ok, I really should go to bed, Luke will probably be ready to get up in about 2 hours and I don't usually sleep as well the 2nd half of the night.
We've had a very eventful couple of weeks. We've spent the last two weekends with Eric's family. Two weekends ago, his Dad and girlfriend came in town and we visited the Jazz and Rib Fest and Grace got to play in the hotel swimming pool. Then last weekend we spent a night with his Mom and day and night at his brothers. Again more pool time. Both were very pleasant and relaxing weekends. Luke was exceptionally well behaved on both occassions and Grace has a talent for winning over anyone with her sweetness.
As for the title of my post. This seems to be a time of transitions for us with some new beginnings and new endings. Most of the endings are negative, so I'll start there and end on a happier note.
Endings
1) Most impactful...Eric's job. On July 29th, Eric was officially let go. We kind of saw this coming as they did give him 3 months to try to turn the numbers around, but with today's economy he just couldn't sell enough 11% mortgages to get it done. While this is a negative in the short term (reduced cash flow doesn't fit well in our budget), we have been taking the right steps financially over the last year and a half that we can survive for a short period of time on our savings without making drastic measures or increasing the debt. Also, Eric's hated his job for years, so I think this is just the right push to get him into a better position that will make him happy. He's really throwing himself into it to. It's only been 1 week, but he already had his first interview today at a job he thinks he'd like and it seemed to go well.
2) On July 30th, Grace graduated from speech therapy! Yay! Not only does she now speak incredibly clearly, no more $30 a week co-pays! Now I just have to figure out what to do with the left over money in our flex-spending account. We budgeted for a whole year of speech. I'm thinking I may be getting new glasses and contacts. Maybe a pair of prescription sunglasses for Eric?
3) On a sad note, someone from church that I felt fairly close to passed away on Sunday. While I didn't play on the softball team this year (considering my maternity leave ended over 1/2 way through the season), I did play with him for several years. His wife brought us food when I was going through chemo and was the first person to ever babysit Grace (she came over when I was on maternity leave and had a dentist appointment). He was young (not sure, but less than 45) and had a heart attack at the Sunday softball game. He left behind his wife and two sons (ages ~10 and ~14). It was just so sudden and so tragic. They still haven't sent out notice of the funeral service, so I will have that to attend in the next few days.
Beginnings
Moving on to happier topics...
1) Luke is an awesome sleeper. He's now dropped to just one feeding between 7:30 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. He naps in his crib and on occasion will sleep in the crib all night (when I'm not to lazy to put him back in there after he eats). I'm calling this "beginning" to sleep through the night.
2) Grace will be beginning pre-school soon. In an effort to save money, we gave Amy our 2 week notice for Grace. Luke will still go to her, but until Eric starts working again, he'll stay home with Grace. He should still be able to keep up on the job search with her at home and Amy has agreed to watch her on occassion if Eric has an interview and just needs her for a couple of hours. Once Eric is employed again, we will be sending her back to her previous daycare center which is also a pre-school. I think she really misses the interaction with the other kids her age and will do awesome. She's going to Vacation Bible School this week and having the time of her life.
3) This one isn't mine, but one of my BFF's Danialle is pregnant. She's now had confirmation from the doctor that everything looks great, so we're allowed to start celebrating. She's due in March and has offered to let me be a part of the birth experience if I can get there in time. Of course I will try my hardest. You know how I love births! It's so awesome to watch her in each stage and how she cherishs each moment. I think I was like that with Grace, but sort of took Luke's pregnancy for granted. I love seeing hwo her mentality is already changing into the protective Mommy and I think she'll do great. Makes me reflect on my Mommy skills and realize I should think about them more often to be sure I'm doing the best job I can.
Ok, I really should go to bed, Luke will probably be ready to get up in about 2 hours and I don't usually sleep as well the 2nd half of the night.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
