I have no idea whether or not anyone stops by here anymore, but just in case, this space has moved to A Lot of Things Different. Life is not the same anymore, so this blog just doesn’t seem like the right place to write anymore.
An actual post!
Hello there!
It’s been awhile since I posted something of substance, so I’m going to update you on the goings-on in my busy household since Miles was born!
Life with him is truly such a joy. I was watching him sleep the other night and I thought to myself, “Wow. He really is am amazing little man.” He’s fit so perfectly into our lives, it’s as if he was meant to be here. Almost as if he’s been here all along, because I certainly can’t recall life without him.
Things to note:
Miles doesn’t cry. I mean, ok, he does cry when he’s hungry, or hot/cold/tired, but never the “I’m-crying-just-to-cry” cry. There hasn’t been a single night in all of his 4 months that I’ve had to struggle to wonder why he won’t stop crying. No pacing the floors rocking him, no putting him on top of the dryer in his car seat to get him to sleep. If he wants something, he fusses and shouts out a few cries, and then that’s it.
He’s been sleeping through the night for weeks now (save for a couple nights here and there where I think his gums were bothering him and he was a little fuss bucket). Our bedtime routine starts around 7:30, when we take a bath, get jammies on, sing a few songs, eat, and then he’s in bed between 8:15 and 8:30. He goes right to sleep and sleeps until I get him up at 6 to eat. (I should note that he only STTN if he’s swaddled or if he’s sleeping in bed with me. If he’s not swaddled, his hands get cold and he HATES that.)
He is becoming so aware of his surroundings. I love it! He adores Maddie (as I type this, he’s laying next to her on the floor, eyes glued to her as she reads him book after book, his little legs kicking a mile a minute). He’s full of smiles and big stories, and he’s starting laughing this big, adorable laughs that just make my heart feel like it’s going to burst!
He’s growing like a little champ. With Maddie, things were such a struggle. She had health issues from day one (and eventually ended up having her tonsils and adenoids out (adenoids for the second time) and her sinuses enlarged when she was 2, on top of 3 sets of ear tubes) and she didn’t hit 20 pounds until she was over 2 years old (after the surgeries). They were calling it Failure to Thrive because she wasn’t gaining weight. Now, of course, she’s perfect, but Miles is just the complete opposite of her. He weighed 12 lbs at his 2-month check up and I’m betting he’s at least 15 now (4-month checkup on Tuesday!) And he is LONG! He’s outgrown all of his 3-6 month clothes and is now in 6 -9 (compared to Maddie, who was wearing 3-6 until she was 10 months old). I love his chubby cheeks and rubber-binder thighs!
He is SO ready to roll over. He gets all the way up on his side and almost over, then he gets stuck on that little arm and gets so ticked! It’ll be any day now, I can tell. But I don’t know what he’s going to do once he gets there, because he hates tummy time! He’s still not doing mini-pushups or anything, he just lays there with his head down and gets mad.
Everyone in our house has adjusted well. Maddie adores him, Daddy adores him, he’s just such a beautiful, perfect addition to our family!
Sleepy little man!
Devious grin. And look at that red hair! Ha!
Big boy!
Love those big blue eyes!
Big sister and little brother
She gives him a million kisses a day
3 months!
The ABCs of Me!
Something fun. 🙂
A-AGE: 30! Crazy.
B – BED SIZE: Currently, queen. I would kill for a king bed, but our little house isn’t big enough for that. Maybe when we upgrade in a couple years, we’ll move up to a king.
C-CHORE YOU HATE: Dishes. I hate, hate, HATE doing the dishes. I hate the icky food stuck on the plates, I hate the way my fingers get all wrinkled, and I am allergic to many dish soaps, so the minute I put my hands in the water, I break out in a red rash on my legs and arms. And it ITCHES.
D-DREAM JOB: To stay at home with my kids and write children’s books. I have 3 written already, but I truly have no idea how to go about getting them published.
E-ESSENTIAL START YOUR DAY ITEM: Coffee. Seriously, I am a bear if I don’t have at least one cup.
F-FAVORITE COLOR: Pink. I”m such a girl.
G-GOAL IN LIFE: To give my babies everything they could ever want or need.
H-HEIGHT: 5’7″. I swear I used to be 5’8″ and I’ve shrunk.
I-INSTRUMENTS YOU PLAY: I played the flute in grade school and throughout high school. I was pretty damn good, too. I miss it sometimes.
J-JOB TITLE: Grain Accounting Specialist. Nothing fancy.
K-KIDS: The Ms! Maddie Rose and Miles Daniel. And Margo Cat.
L-LIVE: Minnesota. Ask me on any other day and I’d tell you I love it, but we just got hit with a major blizzard yesterday that dumped 16 inches of snow after it was just 52* on Thursday. Screw you, Mother Nature.
M-MAJOR IN COLLEGE: Creative Writing.
N-NICKNAMES: I don’t know that I have any true nicknames…my grandma calls me Mandy (she’s the only one who’s allowed) but that’s not really a nickname…
O-OVERNIGHT HOSPITAL STAYS: Several times when I was pregnant with Maddie…then when Maddie was born…and then when Miles was born.
P-PET PEEVE: People who mumble on the phone! And people who clip their nails at work. HATE.
Q-QUOTE FROM MOVIE: “I gotta go see about a girl.”
R-RIGHT OR LEFT HANDED: Right
S-SIBLINGS: 1 brother, and soon 1 step-sister and 2 step-brothers.
T-TIME YOU WAKE UP: Miles usually wakes me up around 4 to eat. I sometimes fall back asleep and then get up at 5, but not always.
U-UNDERWEAR: I love underwear! Bright colors are my fave.
V-VEGETABLE YOU DISLIKE: Onions. GAG.
W-WHAT MAKES YOU RUN LATE: My kids. It never fails. Miles will spit up on me and I’ll have to change my shirt, or Maddie will spill on her pants and we’ll have to change her.
X-X-RAYS YOU’VE HAD DONE: Teeth. Ankle. Knee.
Y-YUMMY FOOD YOU MAKE: I love to bake! Chocolate Covered Cherry cookies are a big hit with my family.
Z-ZOO, FAVORITE ANIMAL: Exotic cats! Oh, and the meerkats.
I promise I’ll make a “real” post sometime soon, but for now, some pictures of my big boy!
Oh! And a HUGE congrats to my blogger friends at Life’s a Beach and The Road to Motherhood on the births of their beautiful little girls!
Check-up!
Miles weighed in at 12 pounds, 2 ounces (in the 70th percentile!) and 24 inches (in the 90th percentile!) Growing boy!
2 months old!
Eight weeks already?
Has it really already been eight weeks (Tuesday) since my baby boy came into this world? How does the time go by so quickly? He has already changed so much since he was born. Some days I find myself just staring at him and being so incredibly grateful that he’s finally here, my little miracle.
I went back to work on Wednesday, January 5th. It was definitely an adjustment. The night before, I got all his bottles ready for the next day, packed the diaper bag, got my pump all ready to go so I could pump at work, and we nestled into bed. Little guy ate, then slept from 9 until 4. He must have known we both had a big day coming up! I did really well with the whole “going back to work” thing until Maddie kissed me good bye and I kissed Miles good bye. Then the tears started welling up and I had to get out of there before I broke down. Then, a couple hours into my day, I felt my milk let down. A look at the clock told me it was about time for Miles to eat, and that brought the tears again. He does great with the bottle, and he hasn’t had any nipple confusion at all, but I hated that I wasn’t there to give him what he needed. The day went by pretty quickly, luckily, and I was able to rush home and kiss his little face off, and get a full report from Maddie on how the day had gone. Now we’re into a routine, so things are good.
Pumping at work is an odd thing. My supply is great right now, and I’m able to get away with pumping just twice during the day. (If my supply starts to suffer, I’ll up it to three, but for now, this is working out.) I’m usually able to pump enough for the next day’s bottles, and most days I have a couple ounces extra that I’ve been able to freeze. It’s funny — I’ve kind of become competitive about it. Competing with myself, I guess! I love to see which boob will produce more in a pumping session, and I”m always proud at the end of the day when I see how much milk I’m able to bring home for my little guy. He’s doing such a great job nursing, and it shows! He’s almost 12 pounds already, which is just amazing to me. Maddie wasn’t 12 pounds until she was at LEAST 6 months, if then. She didn’t hit 20 pounds until she was over 2 years old. She got her Daddy’s genes, and Miles got mine! He’s got fat little legs and chubby cheeks and I am just so in love with him.
Big sister is so proud!
Growing
Happy New Year
Thank you to those who commented on my post about my marriage. Tim’s not really into the whole counseling thing, and he is apparently completely unaware that we even have any problems (I don’t know what he could be thinking. Maybe in his world, constant fighting isn’t a sign of a problem) because when I told him that I was considering taking the kids and staying with my mom for awhile, he was genuinely shocked and kept asking, “Why? What’s wrong?” So perhaps therein lies the problem — he thinks we’re fine, I obviously do not. My goal in the next few weeks is to really work on things with him. Work on not yelling around the kids, work on getting back to some semblance of a life with him. And if we can’t do that on our own, then I’ll consider going to counseling on my own. And if that doesn’t work? Then I guess I’ll reevaluate then.
2010 will be remembered for one good thing, though. The birth of my beautiful little boy. It was a long, hard road, but in the end, it was all worth it for this little guy. I don’t know how I ever lived without him.
Houston, We're Having a Baby! 
