What kind of parent...

What kind of parent sends her child to school in his pajamas?! This one.

Today was Grant's first day of daycare. I wanted to have a few practice runs before I start back to work (but not too many). I'm so glad that I did! I packed his bag last night, got his milk ready and labeled everything - only to wake up this morning thinking "I forgot a pacifier!!" I put 2 pacis in the bag for good measure.

I had my morning schedule planned based upon the 9 hours Grant has been giving me every night - but last night he only slept 7.5 hours. I was already up pumping, so it was either stay up for the rest of the day to stay on "my plan" (4:15am wake time) or try to get a little sleep in after putting him back down. I picked more sleep!! (Not much, mind you... by the time Grant went down, Derek was getting up. I think I got an extra 30 minutes in). Basically, instead of doing it MY way, we did it GRANT'S way. He's the boss!! I loaded him up and got him to school by 8am.

After I dropped him off, I went to get a massage. I can't even begin to tell you how good this was for my shoulder!! When I got home, I logged on to the day care's web cams & have stalked it all day long.

I intended to get about 400 things done today, but instead got very little done. This pumping in between everything makes for a very unproductive day!

I also intended to get a pic of Grant's first day of school, but didn't do that either. It was quite a frenzy to get the paperwork in, get his drawer set up, & talk to the teachers... all right in the middle of the morning rush. I had even planned to change him out of his pajamas at daycare (he was asleep when I loaded him up in the car) - but didn't do that because one of the teachers was feeding him - you can't take a man away from his milk! So, yes - Grant's first day was in his pajamas!

3 in a row

Grant has slept through the night now 3 nights in a row. 9 hours, 10 hours, and 9.5 hours, respectively. It has been sooo great! Except that my boobs aren't used to this new routine.

Weeks ago, I started pumping after Grant went a long time between feedings. This meant every morning I would feed and pump. That is how I have such a great supply in the freezer!! (165 ounces now! FYI - a gallon is 128 ounces). I may need a new "trophy case" soon.

So my body has been producing more than he needs. My boobs woke me at 3 am last night, so I got up to pump. Just as I did the previous 2 nights even though he has slept through the night. Each time I pump around 12 ounces. That's a Coke can! It is seriously painful - I feel like my skin may tear apart. And if I try to roll over and ignore it, I feel the milk move around.

I start back to work on Monday, so I need to figure out how to get rid of that Coke can sometime between now and then.

Best night EVER

Steve and Gloria offered to babysit for us last night, so I had planned an evening out to surprise Derek. We had such a great time out! We met up with the Arnolds at Mia's so that Derek could get his brisket taco fix. As a bonus, Meadow and Stu were there! Then we went to La Duni for dessert - yummm.

We got home and Gloria had just got Grant to sleep. He slept ALL NIGHT! 9 whole hours!! This is the first time he has slept through the night.

Of course, we couldn't sleep the whole time. I had to pump before bed ("pump and dump" to get rid of the alcohol), then my boobs woke me up at 2 to pump again... then I kept waking up anytime Grant would coo in his sleep, thinking he was about to wake up. Steve played alot with him before bed and Gloria put him in pajamas. We NEVER put him in pajamas, so that will now become part of our nighttime routine.

Date night + sleeping through the night = Best night EVER!!

Shoulder surgery

Before I update about my shoulder, here are some of my favorite shots from this week. First, some shots from Chere & Jimmy's wedding shower. Grant dressed up by wearing a collared onesie - one of my favorite hand-me-downs from my sister. Derek called this party Grant's first blind date because Chere & Jimmy have a 3.5 month old, Marlee. She was precious and SO BIG! I'm not ready for Grant to grow yet. Here's his hot date now:

Look at these big blue eyes!!And a family shot, which shows that Grant's torso is about as big as a Route 44:Mike visited this weekend. He and Derek patched a leak in our roof (when it was about 100 degrees outside - ouch!). We weighed Grant, and the Wii says he is 11.2 pounds now! Mike brought us an awesome John Deere monogrammed changing pad. It's portable, so we'll be adding this to our diaper bag. Notice the appropriate wording: "Make dirt look good!" Ha!

Here is Grant sleeping in his "straight jacket." This product, SwaddleMe, is so great - Grant goes to sleep so quickly in it. We started using this just this past week. This should have made my post about things you need for a newborn, but it's in plenty of books and lists so I excluded it from my list. And here is Grant on the day he was 6 weeks old (Monday, July 12). We had fun with some tummy time. Not pictured is Lola trying to play with us when we are on the floor - and licking Grant's feet.

I managed to get a decent shot of a "grin". This isn't his full smile. There's no mistaking the smeyez (Jill - how do you spell that?).

Now, about that arm! I had a doctor’s appointment yesterday with Dr. Krishnan at the Carrell Clinic. He took an x-ray of my arm and evaluated me with his team of doctors. The Carrell Clinic runs like a well-oiled machine. I’ve never seen a doctor’s office like it – 42 patient rooms and 2 x-ray rooms. The short version is that my suprascapular nerve is entrapped. Because this has been ongoing so long (at least since January - but I thought the pain was pregnancy-related), I have significant weakness in my muscles. He recommended surgery, sooner rather than later, so I will have this surgery on August 6th. He likened the surgery to carpal tunnel surgery, but for the shoulder instead of the wrist.

The recovery is simple - sling for 1 day, followed by some physical therapy. You can be back at work the next day. He did say that you can only lift 2 pounds with that arm (my left) immediately after surgery. That should be interesting with my 11-pounder that is attached to me in one way or another the entire time I'm home!

I'm confident that this will make me better, and I'm soooo ready to have full use of both of my arms again! His success rate is 97% with the surgery, with 90% of his patients having equal arm strength in both arms within 6-12 months.

Advice for New Moms

Everyone thinks they’re an expert after having a child. I’m certainly no exception. Well, really – I have a lot of friends that are pregnant or may become pregnant, so I’ve been taking notes.

A friend of mine recently posted a blog about “things no one ever tells you about motherhood.” It was a great post, but I think if I tried that, I’d end up with a novel. Here’s a little bit of (unsolicited) practical advice.

I had read and stocked up on just about everything imaginable for when we brought our baby home... diapers, hemeroid creme, stool softeners, maxi pads... but there was so much more that I needed that no one told me about!

Things you need for your newborn that you won’t find listed in a book/article:

1. Eye Mask – so that you really can “sleep when your baby sleeps.” True, you can darken your house and live in a cave, but then your baby will never learn night and day! There is a reason that this is listed first!!

2. Mylicon (gas drops) – because when you don’t know what’s wrong with the rugrat, you WILL blame gas. Certainly MY baby isn’t crying for no reason!!! He’s too perfect to do that!

3. Hand Towels – these make much better burp rags than burp rags. Get several soft ones – one for every room that your baby is in, one for the diaper bag… and then a few extra sets for when you’re doing laundry. For some reason, you need a burp rag the most when it’s in the washing machine.

4. Mederma – you’ll want to feel like you can do SOMETHING about the stretch marks, incision (if you have a C-section), and the dark line that is vertical on your stomach. I’m still waiting on mine to go away six weeks after delivery. Actually, the doctor says it may never go away. That was another surprise. GREAT!

5. Snap onesies – dressing your baby in the first few days/weeks is challenging. I think it’s harder for daddies. Get some onesies that snap all the way up so that you don’t have to go over the little one’s head in your first days home. On that same note, you’ll need some snap t-shirts until the cord falls off (air helps it fall off faster).

6. Food – my friends definitely made this part easy. If someone offers to bring you food, take it!! There were many days that I didn’t eat lunch until 3pm or didn’t brush my teeth until after dinner. When you’re going through the blur of the day, knowing you will have a nice warm dinner without the hassle of cooking and cleaning can help keep you sane (and healthy).

7. Stuffed Animal Paci Thingy – a friend of mine just told me about this. We don’t have one yet, but we will be getting one very soon! This keeps the paci in the baby’s mouth, freeing up your hand to hold him, pat his back, or (in my case) get the breast pump going! I don’t know that I will use it much when I’m out of the room, but it would be helpful when trying to hold him and burp him and eat my turkey sandwich (yes, all at the same time). 8. Massage – holding the baby works all kinds of muscles… so does nursing. I still haven’t had a “professional” massage yet, but my hubby and awesome cousin have been great about treating me to back rubs!

Nursing Moms

9. Hands Free Pump Bra – this may be the best $40 I have ever spent. If you have a hands free pumping bra and the Stuffed Animal Paci Thing, you can be quite productive while pumping!! As an added bonus, the pic on the front of the packaging is hilarious.
10. Nursing Tanks – Target brand is fine here (and WAY cheaper than all the others). I’ve found that I’m feeding so often that there is no point in wearing a shirt around the house. With a nursing tank, you can walk around the house without avoiding windows and feel fine answering the door for company!

11. Nipple Shield – I found out what this was in the hospital when I had sore nipples. The nipple shield is supposed to be used only temporarily (supposedly using it all the time can lessen your supply of milk). I must have an abundance of milk because I use mine all the time and have never had a problem. If you become addicted to it (as me and Grant have), you need one for every place you nurse, including one in the diaper bag.

Trophy

I organized our freezer today to make more room for breastmilk. I took time to inventory my "supply" and I've got 82 ounces! That's 3+ days' worth of food. Probably very uninteresting unless you are also a breastfeeding mom. For me, I feel like it's my trophy.

Little guy has been smiling alot lately - usually on the changing table. He's there ALOT because he HATES a wet diaper. I mean - I can spit more than he pees and yet he insists on a diaper change. Yesterday I changed at least 15 diapers. Today, I've changed 12 so far. As I'm typing, he's screaming again for a diaper change - we got a new diaper literally 5 minutes ago. Anyway, here are my attempts at getting a pic of his smile. Pretty pathetic, but wanted to share anyway.

Unprepared

Last night we enjoyed the Coppell fireworks along with Carrie, Jacob, Steve, Gloria, Matthew, Gloria's brother David & his wife and 2 kids and Cassie and Brian. And by enjoyed, I mean - we laid a tarp out on the wet grass, kept our umbrellas handy (and even used them), and hauled Grant around in the backpack (our first backpack experience). The highlight of the evening (for me) may have been when some high school boys used an area covered by 3 inches of water as a slip and slide. I overheard one of them say "This is what fourth of July is all about!"

Because of the gear involved, I switched over to our GINORMOUS diaper bag (shower gift from the Mitt women). However, I did not pack appropriately. First, we needed a hat to keep Grant's ears out of the wind - fail. I did rig up an umbrella to block the wind while it was bad, though. Next we needed a bottle for Grant - like the one I had prepared and left on the counter - fail. So, I improvised the "old fashioned" way and got out the goods. At this point, I needed something to cover up - like the Hooter Hider I have packed in the OTHER diaper bag... or an extra blanket, which we didn't have with us - fail. I did have a waterproof pad (to use for diaper changes, which there were none of while we were there, interestingly). So with some assistance, I was able to calm our screaming, starving child while the fireworks show was going on.

Once the fireworks show was done, we packed up and headed back to the car - all the while Grant was VERY angry for having his milk taken away. I didn't bother putting him in his carseat - he ate the whole way home. Mom of the Year!!

I would post pictures of the evening, but (keeping with the theme of this post), we left the camera at home.

Bottom line - we're still learning.

House guest

I saw the most vibrant gecko in our backyard today and ran to get the camera before Lola chased it away by barking!I can't remember what the pink throat thing is - maybe it's a mating call? Feel free to correct me!