Week 11

What a long week!! Had to work Monday - Friday this week!! Hate when they make us work full weeks!! ;)))) But we did get off at noon today for the holiday weekend!!  A half a day with my boy!! :))))) So last weekend my 4 year old nephew came to visit us!! I was so exicted, he lives in South Carolina so I don't get to see him much. He was so excited to meet his cousin Blaine!! On Monday, me, Jeffrey, and Blaine took Camden to his favorite park here in St. Augustine...it has a carousel that cost $1 everytime you ride it. I'm sure we are going to spend a small fortune there when Blaine gets old enought to ride it. Here are some pictres from our evening at the park:

Camden on the carousel.

Jeffrey pushing Camden on the swing.

Blaine is going to be surprised next time he goes to the park, he has never seen it before because he never opened his eys while we were there!! ;)))

So this week, work has started to get difficult. I feel like I have no time with Blaine. I don't get home until about 5:30 and there is always supper to be cooked, laundry to be done, things to be cleaned, and things to get ready for the next day. And Blaine goes to bed around 8. That doesn't leave much time!! :( And Jeffrey would rather do "Blaine things" in the evening than doing "house things". So we have to figure out how to take turns and get equal time with Blaine and keep house work up. We will get it!! I'm sure all parents go through this!!

So....this is my "Mom of the Year" moment!! Let me tell you about my day today!!! hahahahaha....

I got off work at noon and because I was off early I decided to ride out to the farm and pick up Jeffrey's paycheck to take it to the bank for him to save him some time after work. SO...I went and picked Blaine up from the sitter's and took off to the farm. When we got there he was ready to eat so I fed him while we were there so he would be content while I went to the bank and did a few things around town. Well, as I was feeding him, he pooed. NBD, I took him to the back of my car to change him, and there is where the problem began. The only diaper bag I had in my car was the one I take to the sitters house. The only thing I keep in that bag is burp rags, a blanket, bottles, formula, and extra clothes. She keeps a large package of diapers and wipes at her house so I don't have to pack them everyday!! So here we are, at the potato farm, with a stinky diaper, and NO DIAPERS OR WIPES!! Ahhhhhhh. So I have to get the dirty diaper off Blaine's butt because we are about 25 minutes away from home and he already has a little diaper rash!! So I decide to use a burp rag (AKA cloth diaper). That solves the diaper issue, so now what about wipes?? Then I remember I have antibacterial "boogie" wipes in the sitters bag! PROBLEM SOLVED. We changed Blaine's diaper using a burp rag and boogie wipes!! My poor child!! Here are some pictures from our ordeal:

I stuffed an extra burp rag in his outfit for extra wetness protection. And thank goodness I did because he peed on the way home!!

Here is his daiper!!

Here is the duct tape using to hold it on!!

Here is my happy baby after he had a real diaper back on!!

So to wrap it all up, week 11 was fun and interesting!!! Here is my solution to the having no diapers problem:

I didn't buy a "mom" car not to take full advantage of it. I stocked my floor board compartment with diapers and wipes!!! 

Week 2

On Monday of the next week I had to drop my car off to be worked on and pick up the rental. So Blaine and I took off on another adventure. I got to the dealership and was told that Enterprise would be there in 10 minutes. Well 45 minutes later Blaine was starving and in a dirty diaper. I was planning on being back home before it was time for him to eat...I wasn't to keen on nursing in public. I had taken some formula with me just in case this happened though. So I went in the bathroom to change him and run the bottle under some warm water. I get in the bathroom and there is NO CHANGING STATION. I'm sure this happens a lot. So I am changing Blaine on the floor of the bathroom, in his car seat!! I am an absolute wreck at this point!! I get him changed and walk back into the waiting room and there is the Enterprise man. A 70 year old grouch!! I told him he would have to wait a few minutes for me to give my screaming newborn a bottle. He told me he didn't have time and he would be back in 2 hours to pick me up! Wrong answer! My sleep deprived, new mom defense kicked in! I cussed this man for everything he was worth right there in front of God and the whole Dodge dealership. Needless to say he gave me a few minutes!! After about 3 hours Blaine and I were back home for me to cry some more because our little outings were getting more difficult, not easier like everyone said they would! On Thursday of that week it was back to the ped office for his 2 week well visit.

All dressed up ready for the Dr.

So at the 2 week visit Blaine weighed 8 lbs 15 oz and was 21 1/2 inches. He was back to his birth weight, and then some! What a relief! My nursing was working and he was growing. But I pretty much had a breakdown with the head nurse at the ped office because I was so exhausted. I was the only one that could feed Blaine and couldn't get any help from Dad. She gave me some formula samples and told me to supplement so I could pump and get a supply. I felt like a failure, but I did it. Before I knew it, I had several breast milk bottles built up. So we started on bottles. I LOVED the bottle concept. I could SEE how many ounces my little boy was getting. So I started strictly pumping and giving bottles. Before long I noticed he was eating more than I was pumping. So I still supplemented some formula here and there.

WE MADE IT!! 2 weeks down!!

I can do this!

Our First Week Home

So we got home on a Monday and Jeffrey went right back to work on Tuesday. He works for my dad, more on that later... So I was home alone with this newborn baby that I didn't know much about yet. In the beginning I was nursing and was bound and determined to nurse for the first year...until I tried it. I had no idea how difficult and demanding it was going to be. Blaine ate constantly and never seemed satisfied. I hated it because I couldn't tell how much he was getting. I cried all the time, I think I had a touch of the baby blues on top of sheer exhaustion. On Wednesday we had to leave the house for a check-up. We went to the hospital first to draw blood and check his jaundice level, then went to the pediatrician for him to have a look. It was so difficult to be out of the house. I had to nurse him in the hospital parking lot, then again at the peds office. We got home that day and I was exhausted and even more depressed because I saw how difficult it was to leave the house with a little one!! My life seemed over at that point because I decided there was no way I could leave the house again except for Dr. Appts and emergencies. It was too hard to leave any other time!! We had to go to the hospital and the peds office again on Thursday to check his jaundice and for him to be circumcised (I was so nervous about that). They told me the procedure would take about an hour, so I took that opportunity to go have an estimate done on my car (one more thing to worry about) and to go by the store to pick up diapers (which we were going through like crazy). I was back at the ped office to pick my little man up in 40 minutes. They said everything went great and that he did great. What a relief. So again on Friday we had to go to the Dr. to check his jaundice...it was finally going down, thanks to a little sun at home.

Getting a little sunshine in the window.

WE MADE IT!! Blaine was now a week old, and still happy and healthy!!

One Week Old

My First Post

So this will be a long one, to catch you up so far. My son was born on June 17, 2011 @ 5:59 PM. He was 8 lbs 11 oz, 20 3/4 inches long. A perfectly, healthy baby boy. We named him Blaine Allen.

Our Healthy Boy.

 Labor and Delivery went better than expected and mom and baby were doing great. We did have to stay an extra day in the hospital because Blaine had Jaundice and had to do 12 hours of photo-therapy.

Photo-therapy. :(

On our final day at the hospital we hear a page go out through the hospital for the driver of a black Dodge SUV to please phone the operator. Sure enough it was my black Dodge SUV that a 81 year old man had smashed into in the parking lot!! GREAT. So my husband had to go outside, wait on the police, and file a police report while Blaine and I just sat in the hospital room so ready to go home. That added 2 hours to our stay!! It was so stressful, we were all just ready to get home and start our life as a family.

Finally in the carseat, going home.

So we finally get home and I have no idea where to begin. When do I feed him?, Where do I put him?, When do I bathe him?, How do I know what he wants?

So many questions.

All I have ever wanted to be my whole life was a mom, and I had no idea how stressful and how much of a guessing game it was, but I was sure going to learn...FAST.