I've Moved!

Here is the new blog http://thumbinmouth.blogspot.com

Why the new location? Well, this blog was very much about the pregnancy. The title just wasn't working for me anymore and I figured if I was going to move, the earlier the better. I'm no longer a nanny and probably won't be again for a long time, if ever. Jack is a thumb sucker, hence the new title.

I moved all the posts over from his birth on. It's all there.

So set your bookmarks and change your links. I plan on staying there for a while.

Newest Breastfeeding issue

Over the last month breastfeeding has been going really well and for the first time I'm actually enjoying it. It's a tough thing to stick with when it's so stressful. I never expected all the emotions that go along with it. I never expected to feel so inadequate when things were going so poorly and I couldn't figure them out. I think not being about to figure out what was going on was the most frustrating part.

This time, I know what's going on! Lately Jack has become quite the chatter box. He'll be eating great and stop to just babble, smile, and coo at me. I have to admit that it's really cute but it also makes his feedings take twice as long. He's very easily distracted now too. If someone new comes in or someone tries to have a conversation with me he has to put in his input too.

The good news is that I know that this is a normal part of development and that it will pass. In the mean time I'm trying to keep feeding as boring as possible, but I don't really think it's working.

New Favorite Picture

I know, look at all the up-dates. I can't sleep so I loaded my latest batch of pictures onto the computer. I think this is my new favorite! He's just so cute and sweet.

A 4 Letter Word

I've been avoiding this post for a while, and no, not the vacation post. I'm still working on getting one of the video's to work right. This particular post I've been avoiding because I didn't want to really make public what I'm doing. I've spoken to a few people about it, but I haven't gone into detail here because I don't want to fail and have to admit it.

That 4 letter word is DIET. When I got pregnant I was already overweight. Then I gained even more and ended up heaver than I've ever been. Even now, I'm still heaver than I've ever been and I'm somewhat embarrassed to admit that.

Anyways, I've lost weight before so I know I can do it again. 6 weeks ago I joined a weight loss/exercise class at the gym. It meets 3 days a week for an hour with a personal trainer and a nutritionist. The nutrition part I pretty much know, eat sensibly, control portion sizes, mostly animals, vegetables, and fruits. The great thing is that it holds me accountable. I have to write down everything I eat and I get "in trouble" if it isn't good.

I also really like the group that I'm in. It turned out to be all women, and all of us are mom's. There are 11 of us total and 3 of us have little bitty babies. It's an intense work-out but the girls make it entertaining.

Another factor I'm having to learn to balance is the elbow. For those of you who don't know, 3.5 years ago I shattered my left elbow and all hell broke loose. It was followed by 4 surgeries, over a month total in the hospital, WAY to many pain meds, and what started me on this road to being overweight. It's frustrating. Before the accident I was super fit, felt the best I'd felt in my whole life, and I could kick just about anyone's ass. Now... not so much. I'm learning that I can't compare myself now to how I was then and I can't compare how I could exercise then to how I can now. And I'm having to figure out how to do enough with my arm that it gets work but not so much to keep me up all night in pain. That's the tricky part. I've discovered that if I work out on my non-class days all I can do is walk and maybe a little core stuff. No upper body stuff at all. And for now, that's fine. A big part of all of this is getting by body used to moving again and getting my arm strong. Given that, I've taken on not complaining about going. I often times find myself having to bite my tongue and hopefully I'll still have one when this class is over with.

So far I've lost 11.5 pounds and dropped 5.3% body fat. Not too shabby! I'm eating about 1500 calories a day and working my butt off, literally. :-) I have shrunk out of some of my maternity clothes, thank God, and I'm going to have to take the sewing machine to some of my night time bras soon.

This is all a life style change. When you're pregnant it's very easy to eat however you want and as much as I'd like to continue that, I don't want those results.

There is a $750 prize package for the person in all of the weight loss classes who looses the most weight. I think there are about 40 of us total and from what I hear it's any ones at this point. So I'll keep ya'll updated... however it goes.

1st Day

Today is Jonathan's first day of work. Jack let me sleep until 8 today! Well, he woke up at 6:30 ish to eat but went back to sleep after. He's still snoozing a bit but he keeps making all kinds of noises.

I've got tea steeping and we'll see how long before I need a nap :-)

Vacation summary by Jack

Here are Jack's thoughts on the vacation. (Video shot on location)




Stay tuned for more...

3 months old

Dear Jack,

This is going to short and sweet, just like you, because I'm tired. A lot has happened this month. We took a trip to the coast on your first vacation. It was great and you actually did okay in the car. We bought you a new car seat and a fan and I sat in the back with you. It all helped and somehow all of us survived.


You are getting quite strong and getting very close to rolling from your back to your front. You are sleeping really well too. Last night I woke up in the middle of the night and checked on you via the monitor. It was 2 AM and you were in there wide awake! You were talking and smiling at the animals on the wall. It was super cute but it was also 2 AM, when you're supposed to be sleeping. I debated about going in and giving you your binky but I decided to wait until you fussed a bit... and you never did. It took about 20 minutes but you eventually sucked on your thumb and fell asleep. It was great to know that you could be totally awake and go to sleep on your own but also sad in a way because it's very clear that your newborn days are behind us.


Another bitter sweet thing that happened is that daddy got a job! It's super exciting because it means that I get to continue to stay home with you and that our life will continue as if he never got laid-off. It's a little sad because it means that daddy will be going back to work and won't be spending as much time with us. I know that we will all miss each other. It all worked out perfectly actually, just like you.

Love,
Mama

Light!

I'm working on a vacation post with video and everything, things are just a little crazy right now. More on that later.

Anyways, the one thing that makes me a little nutty about our house is that we don't have good natural light. The lamps help but I just can't get good pictures inside. While we were on vacation the hotel room had really awesome natural light so I got some great pictures of Jack. Here are a few...


I love how he holds his thumb in his mouth with his other hand. Too stinkkin' cute.

You can really see the tongue tie in this picture. I'm still debating about getting it snipped.

Happy Father's Day

This is Jonathan's first of many.

I'm going to go off topic just a little here. Most of you know that Jonathan got laid-off. His last day was when Jack was 4-weeks-old. Knowing that the paychecks are going to stop before long and the savings are limited is stressful, extremely stressful. We have to keep reminding ourselves that for now, we're fine and that we're not going to panic until there is a need to. And honestly, there probably won't be a need to. We could worry and really freak out but we're choosing not to. Instead of this being an awful thing that has happened, we have turned it into something great. How many babies get both their parents home to take care of them? And not many dad's get to spend so much time with their new babies and not many mom's get this much help. It has been fantastic for all of us. In a perfect world Jonathan would only have to go back to work part time!

Another great thing about being laid-off is that Jonathan has now experienced first hand how many people respect and admire him. People from his old company (some still working there and some who got laid off as well) are recommending him for job openings all over. He's had 4 interviews, has another this week, and a lead on a different position at one of the first places he interviewed at.

We know he'll find something but for the time being we're enjoying the lay-off.

Oh yeah, remember to call your father today and tell him that you love him.

The trip down

Well, it went much better than expected. Jack slept most of the way and only fussed a little. There was no freaking out, so that's good. I think a lot of it is the new car seat. He can sit much more up right and see more. It's also much easier to get him in and out of so there is less time to fuss about being buckled.

Today we went to the aquarium, this afternoon we're headed to the inside pool here at the hotel, and then we're going to try and go out for dinner.

Tomorrow it's over to Padre Island for some beach time and then to the Big Fisherman for lunch.

That's all we really have planned. I'll do a big vacation post when we get back but for now, I'm going to enjoy the vacation!

Snapshots

Here are some pictures that I've taken. My intention was to edit them and wright about them and then post them, but that isn't happening and I want to share them so here they are...

Jack and his Papa

Memorial day at the lake. A fine family tradition.

Bath time is his favorite time!

Snoozing away and unswaddled.

Just to stinkkin' cute!

Snuggling with mama.
Love those curls!

Vacation here we come

On Wednesday we're leaving town for a few days. We're going down to the coast, about 4.5 hours away, for 3 nights. Jack is sleeping really well so I think we'll be fine there but I'm really worried about the car ride.

On Saturday we made an attempt to take Jack to the farm but didn't make it. He was screaming bloody murder. We pulled over and I took him out and got him calm but as soon as we got back in the car he started right back up. He was beat red and was screaming so hard he wasn't breathing. I was in the back seat and he was just looking at me like "why won't you pick me up", it was awful. I was crying too at one point.

I ordered a new car seat. It's the next size up but holds little ones too. I have my doubts about it working but it's worth a try. I'm also going to call the doctor tomorrow and see if there is anything we can give him because I think he gets car sick. He was spitting up a bit after we got home on Saturday. I also made a play list in itunes that we keep playing during the day and we'll take it with us in the car. I'm not sure what else to do, accept possibly buy ear plugs.

We are looking forward to being at the beach though. I'm really excited that we're going during the week when the crowds will be less. We plan on going to the aquarium, the museum, and the beach.

My dad is super great and he is using some of his points for our hotel! It even has an inside pool so Jack might like it. I tried to take him swimming a few weeks ago and as soon as I dipped his toes in he went postal so this is how he spent his pool time:


Hopefully this time will go a little better.

I have a feeling that we'll be spending most of our evenings in the hotel so I might even have time to blog a bit.

Silly Boys

I'm hoping that Jack learns to behave better than daddy does during picture time.

Sad Little Monkey

Jack has the pouting thing down. I know I shouldn't laugh at him when he does it but it's just so dang cute.

So it turns out that I'm a bit crunchy

This is one thing about motherhood that I didn't expect. I've always recycled but the rest is all new. We co-slept for a while, I wear Jack places, and we are doing the cloth diaper thing, which I love.
I wasn't sure about it before we tried it but now I won't ever go back. We had originally planned on using disposables at night and when we go out but Jack gets rashes so easily that we now take cloth with us everywhere and use them at night too. We even switched to using cloth wipes which is easier. Jonathan was worried about the ick factor but it's not bad at all, we'll see if that changes when he starts solid foods. We are very organized about the whole thing which makes it work really well.

And speaking of diapers, it's time to go change a one...

2 months old

Dear Jack,

We've had a lot going on this month. One of the best things is spending so much time with dad. He got told to leave his job a month ago and as horrible as the timing is, it's also turned out to be really great. He now knows what everyday life with a little baby is like and the two of you are becoming great palls. It also means that I have some help and can usually get a little extra sleep in the mornings.


And speaking of sleep you are a little champ. Last night you went 8 hours between feedings. I kept waking up and listening for you. You've been consistently sleeping 5 to 6 hour stretches and I'm hoping last night was a preview of what's to come. Also what's really great is that when you're sleepy we can wrap you up, give you your passy, and lay you down. You do the rest from there. Sometimes we have to go in and put the passy back in but for the most part you put yourself to sleep. The thing that's so great about it is that we won't have to just put you in there to cry at any point. Because you know how to put yourself to sleep, when you wake in the night and don't need food you simply go back to sleep on your own. I love my cuddle time with you and holding a sleeping baby is the best, however it's not worth putting all of us through some stressful nights. You're very advanced.


But don't get me wrong, you have us wrapped around your little finger. You have started smiling and cooing which just melts my heart. You'll sit and cary on a whole conversation. We have no idea what you're talking about but I could sit and talk to you all day. And we're not the only ones in love with you, Baxter has become quite attached to you too. He cries whenever you cry, which is really annoying actually, but he's gotten better at going outside if you're upset. He sticks close to you but is very gentle. Lola will come and sniff your head too but she doesn't follow you around like Baxter does.


Personally, I think you're growing up too fast already. You are an easy baby and I want you to stay just the way you are.

Love,
Mama

update

We had a doctor watch us breast feed and talked with 2 lactation consultants and everyone thinks the problem is reflux.

The good news is that their digestive systems eventually mature so it's only a temporary problem. It's also great that he's gaining weight and we have plenty of milk. We put him on some medicine and it seems to be helping. Now instead of having 1 or 2 good feedings a day we have 1 or 2 fussy feeding a day. We're going to give it a few weeks and then try stopping it and see if there is a difference. I hate putting him on meds but the other option was to stop breastfeeding and I'm not one to give up on things. This is where I can use my stubbornness for good.

On Breastfeeding

I had hoped to have this figured out by now but after 7 weeks we're still having issues. From about week 3 to week 4 it was going great, now not so much.

He latches on just fine and eats for about 5 minutes. After that it all goes down hill. He pulls off and screams. I burp him and try to put him back on but the remainder of the feeding is generally a battle. And we've tried everything. I talked to a lactation consultant who told me to try pumping a little before I feed because maybe he's getting too much too fast. Now we have a freezer full of milk and it doesn't seem to make a difference. I'm still doing it simply so that he gets more of the hind milk. The milk they get first is more sugary and satisfies hunger, the back milk has all the good fats for brain development and it keeps them full longer.

Not every feeding is so difficult but I can't figure out what makes the good ones good and the fussy ones fussy. I'm writing everything down but I have yet to see any kind of pattern. Either way he's always coming un-latched.

I could go on and on about everything we've tried. Lets just say we're both frustrated.

He has a little bit of a rash on his face so we went to the doctor today thinking maybe that was causing pain. His doc wasn't in so we saw someone else and she thinks it's reflux. His doc is going to call me tomorrow but the one we saw today suspects he'll give us a prescription. I don't want to put him on medicine but I'm willing to try it to see if that's what's going on.

I'm going to call the lactation consultant Again and see if she can observe us. I only hope that he has a fussy feeding so she can see what it's like.

I'm also holding out for him to hit 8 weeks. Maybe when all these crazy growth spurts are over he'll calm down. I hear lots of people say that around 8 weeks it gets easier.

I just feel so bad for him. Clearly something hurts, he's still hungry but all he does is scream. Poor baby. I'm also a bit worried about my supply. If he only nurses for 5 minutes every 3 hours then we're going to eventually have a supply issue.

The one good thing is that his weight gain is fine. He's gained 34 oz in 36 days which is right on track. He's dropped from the 75% to the 50% for weight but he's still just right.

I'm just praying that we get this figured out before both of us pull our hair out.

Ode to Jumping Jack

Jumping Jack is a wooden toy clown that Jack's Papa (my dad) brought him from Germany, and it is one of his favorite things in the world. He will lay on the changing table and talk to it and watch it forever. Sometimes when he's fussy we'll put him there just to calm him down. He loves it so much he wrote this ode to Jumping Jack (with the help of daddy).


Dear Jumping Jack, you are the best.
The only thing better is Mommy's breast.

They give me comfort, and they give me food,
But Jumping Jack, you are one cool dude.

My love for you is stronger than crack!
You are the greatest, my dear Jumping Jack.

Picture time

Here are some of the pictures from our photo shoot. I love them!

Nick-names

We have several nick names that we use with Jack. Here is a list of all the ones I can think of right now.

Jack-a-roo
Cracker Jack
Little Buddy
Little Man
Sweet Pea
Little Bug

I think there might be a few more, but I have things to do. I'm sure he will come to loath these in the future, especially the first two.

Overachiever

Jack rolled over for the first time on the day he turned one month old. Both Jonathan and I were there to see it and it was cool but honestly I thought it was just a random thing. I didn't expect him to do it again until he was about 3 months old. Clearly Jack had other plans. Now I put him on his tummy and he refuses to stay there long. He repeatedly rolls over every time. I have a feeling we may have our hands full with this one!

The fussy baby stopper

This is Jack's new favorite place. Jonathan needed to study the other day and Jack was super fussy because he was tired and wouldn't go to sleep so I took him out to give Jonathan some quiet. It's hard to know if the car is going to make things better or worse but because he was so tired it worked out. We went to the Austin Baby Store to check out the new location and pick up some cloth wipes. We've been having lots of problems with his little bum getting really raw so we've switched to cloth wipes. It has helped a ton but now we have a dozen packages of wipes that we aren't going to use.

Anyways, it worked out so that I fed Jack at the store, tried on this sling and it made him happy so I used my birthday money to get it. It's actually made by a person here in town and it works great. We walked around to a few different stores in the area while he chilled. Since then every time he gets really fussy I stick him in it and it seems to help.

We're also having breast feeding issues again so I called a lactation consultant today and left a message. Hopefully we'll get things sorted out soon. It is frustrating though.

Jack and the Corn Stalk

We took Jack out to the farm yesterday for the first time. The little booger slept the whole time.

Thankfully he did okay in the car. I have the one baby who doesn't like the car. If I time everything right he does fine. By that I mean if he's tired and ready to go down for a nap then he's okay while he's napping but as soon as he wakes up it's all over. I wonder if he gets car sick but I would think that he would always cry if that were the case. I'm hoping he changes his mind because it makes going anywhere a pain and we tend to just stay home to avoid the tantrum.

1 month old

Dear Jack,

I can't believe you're 1 month old already. This last month has flown by in a blur of sleepless nights, lots of cuddle time, and an inability to get anything done but to feed and cuddle you. Everyone agrees that you are the cutest little thing. Of course your dad and I think you're the most beautiful baby ever. And sometimes we even "fight" over who gets to hold you. I've been completely enjoying holding you as much as possible and cuddling you, even when you sleep. I can only do this for the first little bit of your life because we want you to actually sleep in your bed and at this point in your life you are too little to actually form habits.

We do put you in your bed every night now. I never thought I would be one to co-sleep, not because there's anything wrong with it but because babies make so many little noises when they sleep. However the first night you were home from the hospital we found you in our bed, snuggled between us. It was the only way we could all get a little sleep at first. Now you stay in your bed until the early morning hours when you come to nurse and stay in the bed with mama while dad goes in the other room and gets a good chunk of sleep. Almost every night now you do a good 4 or 5 hour stretch and we all appreciate that. Four hours at a time is the most sleep I've gotten since you were born and as I can't wait for you to sleep through the night I will also miss our middle-of-the-night cuddle time.


At this point I think we finally have the breastfeeding thing figured out. You had no problems from the start but it's been a little challenging for me at times. Everyone says that it isn't supposed to hurt. Well, they're full of crap. It has gotten less painful, but it's still uncomfortable. The good news is that I think the hardest part of it is over and you are clearly thriving. I took you to the doctor when you were exactly 4 weeks old and you weighed 10 pounds and 10 ounces.


You also hit a milestone today. We were getting you ready for your bath and you were having some naked tummy time in the bathroom. While you were squirming around you rolled over by your self for the first time. That kind of this usually doesn't happen until at least 2 months for most babies but you are a little advanced. Daddy and I both cheered and I'm glad that both of us were there to see it. It's okay to slow down though, you've got plenty of time to grow up.

People always ask me if being a mom is different from being a nanny. And to some degree it is. The biggest difference is breast feeding. After that it's the physical reaction I have to you crying. It never did bother me when other people's kids cry but when you cry I leak milk and when you really get going it actually makes me physically nauseous. Those are the only differences so far. The truth is that I've been a mom for a long time, I've just been a mom without a baby. And the reason is because I was waiting for you.

Love,
mama

A sample of pictures

Click on the link to see a sample of some of the pictures from the photo shoot.

http://www.amberthescrambler.com/?p=551

They are so good. I'm getting a CD in the mail and as soon as it arrives I'll post them. I can't wait!

Water baby

There is no doubt that this is my kid. He loves the water. Before his little cord fell off we could only give him a sponge bath and to say that he wasn't a fan is an understatement.

Here are a few pictures from his first real bath:




Now I find it easier to just get in the tub with him. I can just put my hand under his head and he relaxes and floats. This way I make sure to get cleaned too and I don't have to worry about what day I'm going to get a shower on. He screams when we take him out but he seems to like having lotion massaged on him.

The cutest thing ever!

He is just beautiful. This is one of the pictures from our photo shoot last Friday, and it's hysterical. He's the sweetest cutest baby I've ever seen. And I'm a professional, I know what I'm talking about.

These last three weeks have been wonderful. I'm a little tired, but I also have the most wonderful little person ever.

Bluebonnets

Here are a few pictures I took yesterday. Lots of people comment on how great my pictures are, and these did turn out great. There are just a few things you should know about how I get such good photos.

1st - I take a TON of pictures. I took a total of 40 pictures during this shoot and I like 4 of them so roughly 10% turn out. And that's an extremely high %.

2nd - The camera and lens do matter. And just having them isn't enough, you have to know how to use them. I'm no expert, but I have a good basic understanding of what mine can do. I know there's more that I don't understand yet but I do have a general understanding of how it works. Also, take that camera off of automatic mode and use natural light. Both make for better picture.

3rd - Editing is half the art form. Getting good pictures into the camera is only 1/2 the battle, getting them to look good out of the computer is another. I have 2 different editing software programs and sometimes I use both of them to edit one picture. For example, this is how one of the pictures looked coming out of the camera.

And after running it through 2 different software programs, I got this.

Okay, enough with the lesson, now enjoy the cuteness!