Looking Back

I was just cleaning off my memory card and I came across this video.

I can't believe how tiny he was!!! I guess compared to some newborns he's big, but compared to the boy I see everyday he's such a little peanut. 

And dude, he is seriously strong! He's still extremely strong, but at 3 days old...wowza!

Aww how I miss the newborn days...just not the lack of sleep :-)

Maggie :-)

Good friends of our just had a baby girl last week :-)

I was blessed enough to go over to their place to take a few newborn photos of her. She is such a cutie!!! I'm in the process of cleaning them up, but here are a few.






And the littlest Phillies fan :-)


Also the photo I'm using for Our Footprints On the World Friday Foto edit.

I'm Kinda In Love...

...With this handsome cutie!

Now that the photos with the momma sans a shower and makeup are out of the way...

***WARNING***

Waayyy to many photos ahead!

We had a nice day and decided to play with the camera in the backyard.

(Future soccer/rugby player?)

(What's going on? That's a loud truck!)

This little boy melts my heart! And his eyes kill me!!! I can't remember life before him, and I certainly didn't know what love was before him.

Sleep

I just want to brag a minute.

After late nights between hanging out with friends, sports games, and just life, this momma needed some sleep. Real sleep. Not this wake-up-every-3-hours-to-feed-the-5-month-baby-who-USED -to-be-a-good-sleeper,-then-suddenly-decided-that-sleeping-all-night-was-no-fun kinda sleep.

Yesterday was a horrible nap day. As in, nonexistent naps. We had a few 5 minute car ride naps, but they don't count for much. So when he went down for bed a little before 8, I had a fear that it would be another long night, because no nap days normally equal bad sleep nights. WRONG!

I woke up at 4:30 to little whimpers. Someone was hungry. Someone who had just gone 8.5 hours without eating. This momma happily (well, as happy and someone can be before 5am) hopped out of bed to feed him. We both went back to bed and aside from talking to hubby before he went to work, I was able to sleep till 7:30!!! Where I was able to get up and get ready BEFORE baby woke up. So nice!

Did I mention that I went to bed at 9:30? That's 10 hours of sleep y'all!!! Well, with a minor wake up, but still, TEN HOURS!!!

I feel like a new woman. It was much needed.

I'll leave y'all with a photo from Saturday at the PSU game. A post to come soon!

Sleepy Eyes

I'm staring at Logan's sleepy eyes right now.

I'm thinking it has something to do with being up since 4 am. Wait, I KNOW it has something to do with being up at 4 am!

I normally have a great sleeper at night. We get ready for bed around 7 and between 7:30 and 8 he's in the crib and normally out within minutes. Occasionally, going to sleep doesn't work and it takes some soothing, but it's never to much. Then between 4 and 6 am we'll have another feeding and if it's early enough it's back to sleep till 6:30-7.

This morning was a 4 am feeding and I happily climbed out of my warm, cozy bed and crossed the hall, glad for a feeding before 5 because I would be able to go back to sleep in about 15 minutes. Wrong, wrong, WRONG!

The normal 10 minutes pass, but instead of drifting off to sleep, he pulls backs and stares up at me. Just stares. Normally I soak that time in. Normally it's not 4 am. He shoots me a huge, gummy smile as I hoist him up on my shoulder and try to burp him. I pace around the room rocking and patting him, willing him to go to sleep. He was relaxed, so I thought I could lay him in the crib and he'd fall asleep. I lay him down, creep out of the room and crawl back into bed.

He begins to talk. And talk. And talk. Oh, and suck his fingers loudly and shake his bear blanket that has a rattle in it. I hear Kevin rolling around next to me and since today is his first day back at school I figure it's time to turn off the monitor and move baby's party downstairs. Maybe, just maybe he'll sleep in his swing. Or at the very least, be content and I can sleep on the couch.

Nope. A crazy thunderstorm (or 2 or 3) decided to come through. The cats went crazy, the baby got scared. I got scared. Kevin got up to make sure he closed the window in the attic, so at 6 am it was a party in the living room.

It is now 8:30 and Logan is in his exersaucer completely unaware that he's been up for over 4 hours. While I sit here drinking my milk with 2 coffee ice cubes for a little bit of caffeine and am so glad we don't have any plans for today. My nap time painting may be put on hold for a nap for myself.

That is if he decides he wants a nap...sigh. But who could be upset with this cutie???




Anyone else have a baby who doesn't seem like he/she needs any sleep?

Or a pet whose afraid of storms?

Logan Micah 4 Months

(July 27, 2011)

Where is time going???


My baby is 4 months old already!!! If you missed the first 3 months you can find them here, here, and here.

This has been a huge month of changes.

You are becoming a little boy who can interact, grab toys (or hair/jewelry) and share your emotions. You are so fun! Most times you are a smiley, giggly, happy little boy. Yes, you learned to giggle! It's super cute! Once again, I tried to caption it on video, but you aren't to keen of cameras in your face so I had to be sneaky...

Oh, and everything goes into the mouth now too! Including my camera strap if I get too close! Lol.



Some of your favorites this month is when we make you clap, peep-a-boo, and anything that makes noise really. Oh, and anything you can grab. You love reaching out for a toy...my guess is so you can put it in your mouth. :-)

We were able to go away twice this month, once to Cape May and then to OCMD again. I express how happy I am that you're a beach baby! You even let your daddy cover you in sand! You love the water. the ocean has a calming effect on you, and you would instantly stop crying if we took you down to it.

Also, I'm not sure how because you were in the shade most of the time and in long sleeves and a hat and wearing SPF 60, but you got a little tan! You have you're parents genetics that's for sure!

You have such a delightful personality that is starting to show. You love to be center of attention and have a smile that can light up a room.

I still get comments every time we go out on how cute you are and how perfect. And your eyes. Oh the number of hearts you have stolen with those eyes. I pray that you will be able to use your charm and good looks to glorify God.

This month you have finally rolled over from your back to belly. Now you enjoy rolling back and forth. Lucky for me you still sleep on your back or side and only roll to your belly once you wake up in the morning. Speaking of sleep, you're going 8-9 hours straight now and have finally lost your random 2 am whiny time. (I hope for good!) You start bedtime around 7-7:30 and don't wake up until 4-4:30, eat and sleep again till almost 7.

You're also big enough to use the exersaucer now and love it! The freedom of 'standing' by yourself and playing with all the fun gismos on it.

Not sure exactly how tall or heavy you are, but I'm guessing close to 26" and over 14 pounds.

You still can wear all you 0-3 clothing and some 3-6 months, but most of it is still super big on you. You're a long, lean fella!

(Not wanting to share the photo with the monkey)

(Look how big I am momma!)

(Heeyy)

Logan,

It's been a year since we first found out we were expecting you! Little did we know how those 2 little pink lines would change our lives and what a pleasure it would be to be your parents. You love to smile and could brighten any room with it. You are changing and growing every day in front of our eyes. I'm afraid to blink sometimes for fear of missing something. So much so that I quit my job to be with you 24/7. You might be the most demanding boss I've ever had, but you're my favorite. :-) I pray that your light shines brighter and brighter everyday and you leave a lasting impression on everyone you meet.

Love you,

Momma

Family Fun Week Part 1 - Swimming

We were blessed enough to have one week in between when Kevin finished his school year and when I had to go back to work. We decided to take advantage of it and make the most of our time together as a family.



To kick it off we went to Kevin's best friend parents house to go swimming.




I got him all prepped and ready to cool off after a long, hot day.

(Please don't mind the extra 10 pounds that don't know how to take a hint and take a hike!)

Kevin got the pleasure of giving Logan his first pool experience. We told him it's like a really big bathtub. I don't think he believed us. :-)

At first he seemed to not be a fan....

But he adjusted pretty quickly and spent almost an hour in the pool with me, while the big boys played whatever crazy game they made up this time.

All that swimming tuckered the poor boy out! So I got to have cuddle time on the pool deck. :-)


I tried to upload a video of his first dip in the pool, but I don't think it's working right...

It's Tuesday, Not Monday

Hope you had a great 4th! And enjoyed the long weekend! I sure did!



But, now it's over, so it's back to the grind (only for 8 more days after today!)

At least I had a helper come visit :-)

Logan -2 Months

If you missed month 1, you can read it here.

Logan,

You just keep growing and changing right in front of my eyes! You look like a little boy and I forget how small you really are until I see you with someone else.

You are my little mover. You'll sit in your bouncy seat and kick your legs like crazy to move and get the monkeys to 'dance'. You also love to watch your monkeys on the mobile. It's great and buys your momma time in the morning to brush her teeth and was her face :-)


Speaking of mornings, your are super delightful when you wake up. You are completely alert and in play mode. You are all smiles when I come to get you and laugh-smile as I sing you the good morning song.

You've been 'talking' with us the past few weeks by imitating our sounds. It's super cute and you can get quite vocal.

Your favorite this month is standing! I know, right? You are quite strong and will push up and stand on your own. Momma is just there to help with your balance so you don't fall. When your legs get tired you make me (or whoever is holding you) hold you in the standing position. You really want to be a big boy!

(Please excuse the mess!)

This can be a bit challenging since you are almost 13 pounds! You may be heavy, but you're not a chubby baby by any means. You are long and lean and muscular. :-)

You also started to wear your cloth diapers this month. They work wonderful although you still wear disposables at night because we need to buy a few more. They look so cute on you. You wear them on the smallest setting and 4 snaps in. You are in size 1 of disposables.

In clothes you can still wear a select few of your newborn stuff, but most of them are now packed away. Sniff, sniff. 0-3 fit you great except for a few sleepers because you are so long and can't quite stretch out like you like to.

Speaking of sleep, you've been doing 5.5-7 hour stretches for most of the month! And last night you spent your first night in your crib! You did awesome and slept anywhere from 3-4 hours. I'm sure it didn't help that it was in the 80's and humid all day.

(He can sit up this month! No leaning on the monkey!)

(Half a leg longer than the monkey and putting on the chub)

Logan, you are our sunshine. You are all smiles and such a good baby. Your so pleasant and will let anyone hold you as long as they don't cradle you like a baby.

We get complements on how well behaved you are all the time. As well as how cute you are, and how blue your eyes are. In fact, I was told today that you look like a magazine baby! We are so blessed to be called your parents.

(Straight from the camera...his eyes are seriously that blue! )

Love always,

Momma

And I just found this photo hilarious! I promise that I do not hit my baby! Even though he totally looks like he's flinching away.

1 Month

Logan,

Today you are one month old! I can't believe my baby is a month! I also can't believe how much you have changed.

You were always alert, but you are even more so now. You can focus on faces and things, and especially love looking at the ceiling fans. You laugh-smile since you haven't figured out how to actually laugh yet and love to make faces.

You just moved into your own room (still in the pack and play bassinet) and have been a wonderful sleeper. The first few weeks you would only sleep if you were being held, then we moved you into our room during daddy's Spring break and you learned to sleep on your own, so I'm super proud that you can sleep in your own room. I think it was harder on momma then you. You're even learning to entertain yourself when you wake up. You were babbling to yourself and smiling. I love your big, gummy smiles and wish I could capture the feeling behind them with the camera.

You have been sleeping a longer stretch of 4-4.5 hours before your first middle of the night feeding, then another 3 hours or so, which I am loving!

From our home measurements you are about 22 1/2 inches long and 10.2 pounds. So you are definately a growing boy from the 21 inches and 8.45 pounds you were at birth. Which makes sense since you were eating 2 hours up until a day or two ago. Now you'll throw in a few 2.5 hours or 3 hours if you're sleeping.

Logan, you have been such a joy and blessing to have you in our lives. You're such a pleasant, mild mannered baby. You love to play and be center of attention and aren't afraid to let us know when you are bored. I love watching you explore and take everything in. I love seeing daily changes in you, like your eyelashes growing and your peach fuzz turning into 'real' hair. I love how you prefer to be held upright, or to stand just so you can see more. I also love your little cuddles when curl your legs in and snuggle up on my chest.

I can't image my life without you and I can't wait to see the man (and teenage and little boy and toddler...) you grow into.

Love always,

Momma

My Day

For the past almost 4 weeks my days have looked the same. Doesn't matter what day of the week (or weekend) except for minor details, my day is identical to the day before and the day to come. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining at all. I love my new routine, it's just different from my weekday for the past 5 years that consisted of waking up late, rushing out to work, spending 8+ hours there and coming home, only to do it again tomorrow.

So this is what my day looked like one day last week:

5:30 - baby wakes up to eat
6:00 - back to bed
6:30 - baby wakes up, luckily Kevin's on break and cuddled up with him so I could sleep
7:50 - breakfast for baby
8:30 - diaper and outfit change
8:40 - momma eats, kitties eat, baby plays in bouncy seat
9:00 - floor time, cats think they need to play too
9:30 - crying begins, needs a diaper change, fills diaper as we walk up the stairs, on to outfit 2 for the day
9:50 - time to feed the babe again
10:20 - little man is out for the count, time for the swing and momma to get some work done (brushed teeth, washed face, floors swept, mail sorted, litter box emptied, half bath cleaned, dishes washed and away, counters cleaned, kitties loved)
11:50 - feed time again!
12:20 - diaper change and play on the floor mat - rolled from tummy to side to back (first time!) and get frustrated when couldn't roll back
12:50 - First cry fest of the day
1:20 - Babe finally fell asleep on my chest
2:15 - Wake up to eat
2:45 - More floor time
3:00 - Friend drops off food, clean up mess the cats made
3:15 - Diaper change, another cry fest
3:45 - Eat snack, not sure what I did for the hour to be honest
4:55 - Feed baby
5:30 - Spit up, diaper change
5:45 - Feed kitties, Eat dinner, entertain baby
6:45 - Feed baby
7:00 - Mummum and Grandpa visit
8:55 - Feed the baby
9:30 - Get baby (and self) ready for bed

So that's a glimpse into my new, very repetitive life. Some days are easier, some rougher. Sometimes we run errands, sometimes we stay in our PJ's all day. I must say that it's funny how something so tiny can totally control your entire day.

3 Weeks

I can't believe my baby is 3 weeks old already! Where is time going???


He is such a joy to call mine.


He's definitely a momma's boy, but he's also daddy's little sidekick. He's such a cuddle bug. It makes it a little challenging during the day to get stuff done since he doesn't like to be put down. And at night too because who can get a really good sleep with a baby on your chest?

I just moved his bouncy seat downstairs this week and it's been a lifesaver! He'll actually stay in it without whimpering for someone to come love him. At night I think he's finally *crosses fingers* learning to sleep at night and has slept through the past 2 nights except to eat every 2-3 hours. It has been glorious!

He loves his hands. I think they are his favorite right now. It's super cute when he actually finds just the thumb, and less noisy then the slurping on the fist. :-)


I love my blond haired, blue eyed, perfect little man. I don't even what to think about the day when I have to go back to work and leave him behind. I'm praying God reveals his plans for our future sooner than later so I don't have to be away from my baby for too long.

*I don't have time to fight with my computer to edit photos, so sorry for the raw pictures

Birth Story - Another Perspective

I just realized I missed a huge part of Logan's birth! Kevin.

I was so caught up in what was going on with me that I forgot to mention how awesome he was through all of it. How supportive, what an awesome coach and loving husband. How he massaged my back to help me through and gave me sips of water when my mouth got so dry I couldn't even swallow. I couldn't have asked for someone better.

Check out his account of the birth here and here and here.

Birth Story Part 4 - The Finale

Okay so it has taken me an entire week to write this! I guess that's what happens when you have a lot to write down and a two week old who's going through his first growth spurt.

Check out part 1, part 2 and part 3 if I've missed them.

Since it was the middle of the night, we had to enter through the ER. A girl from labor and delivery came down to get us, and I opted to walk rather than taking a wheel chair. Things weren't that bad! I didn't realize how slow I was moving until the girl had to keep stopping or slowing down for us to catch up.

This time there was no triage for monitoring, we were taken straight to a room. The nurse left so I could get changed into the gown and Kevin made a comment that 'it's like we're on vacation or something.' Haha, maybe for him, but I don't consider being in a hospital a vacation. I guess the room reminded him of a hotel or something.
I was just super excited that within hours we would finally be meeting our little one! (And I would no longer look like I swallowed a basketball)

Around 3 am I was hooked up to the monitors and checked. Everything looked good and I was at 4 cm and 90%. Woohoo!!! Once they were sure that everything was alright they unhooked me and we were free to do what we wanted. We decided to once again hit the halls. It's amazing how long the loop seemed to me this time around opposed to Wednesday. It seemed to take forever just to complete one lap. Shortly after the first lap we ran into Dr. Delaney, apparently she had another patient there as well, so she would be back and forth between the two of us.

By the time we finished our 3rd lap I was done. I didn't want to exhaust myself and I was hurting. I decided that it was time to hit the shower. I think I spent half the time in the shower. The warm water felt so good and relaxing, I don't know if I would have been able to do it all natural if it wasn't for the time I spent in the shower.

Around 5:30 I was hooked back up to the monitors and was at 6cm and 100%! Woohoo! I was still feeling good, well, I should clarify that I was feeling as good as someone in the midst of labor could feel. Of course that's when Dr. Delaney informed me that once I hit 7cm I would be able to tell because things would get more intense and painful. Great.

***This is where everything starts to blur together for me...***

And more painful in got. It was back to the shower. I had been informed that while the baby was facing the right way, he had his chin completely tucked to his chest, so instead of the top of his head coming out first, he had the back of his head. Dr. Delaney wanted me doing squats to try to get him to move. As difficult as it was, I did the squats. I was hooked back up for monitoring, and everything was still looking good, but he still didn't move his head. Right after being unhooked from the monitor, I had to make a mad dash to the bathroom, as my tummy decided it didn't like the grape juice and Italian ice I had earlier. They say your body empties itself before giving birth, so I guess it's true...I was just wishing that I was able to empty the other end (sorry for the TMI) because if you ask Kev I prolly spent the last hour or so before pushing saying that I just wanted to poop. lol.

Once my tummy calmed down it was back to bed since the contractions were coming to fast and furious for me to want to leave it. I was laying as far on my side as I could without being on my stomach to try and get him to shift positions. That didn't work either, but I was at the point where all I wanted to do was push!

So that's what I did. For almost 3 hours. Remember what I said earlier about his head? Yeah, he still had his chin totally tucked, and kept hitting it and getting stuck on my pubic bone. Luckily I didn't have the epidural so we were able to try any and every pushing position possible. My doctor jokes that she had me twisted up like a pretzel! By the time we finally got him past my bone, I was exhausted. I could feel that he was close, but I was just didn't have the strength. Time and time again I would hear them say how I needed one more big push and just physically couldn't do it. I could hear talk going on in the room, but was too focused to really piece together what was going on. I heard something about not being able to use the vacuum/forceps because of the way his head was positioned. At that point Dr. Delaney told me that if I wanted to have this baby my way, I'd have to "push my a$$ off".

So that's what I did. I guess years of playing sports helped to train me to pull out strength that has been long burned out, for one final sprint. Again, thanks to not having the epi I was able to feel how close he really was to making his entrance. I could feel him crowning! I did it!!! My baby was basically here! One (too) big push later and he was born!

I heard his little cry, saw this gray creature and heard, "it's a boy"! Within seconds a pink, quasi wiped down little babe was on my chest. The crying creased and we just stared at each. Totally love at first sight. So much so that I was unaware that I was hemorrhaging until they grabbed my hand to start an IV of pitocin to help me stop bleeding. I also had a 2nd degree tear, but none of that stuff mattered to me because I finally had my son in my arms! We were officially a family of 3!

Kevin immediately messaged our family in the waiting room that it was a boy. Technology is amazing because the first message on facebook about him was 4 minutes after he was born! Four minutes! Everyone wanted to know his stats, but it was a good half an hour later till he was taken to the other side of the room to be weighed and measured and bathed. Mr. Logan weighed in at 8 pounds 6.7 ounces and 21 inches long. No one guessed he would be such a big boy!

Little did I know that I had been mere minutes away from having a c-section. So close that they were actually prepping the room for me! I believe that not having an epidural and being able to feel what I was doing kept me from going under the knife. Apparently they only allow you to push for 3 hours as long as the baby isn't under any distress. Logan was born at 2:07, about 20 minutes shy of the 3 hour marker. They said he could be a poster child for good/healthy babies. Never once did his heart rate dip or spike, he passed all his test with flying colors and actually had the lowest bili rubin levels they have seen in years! I was told throughout my pregnancy what a good and healthy baby he was, but I just figured that was something they said to everyone, until I heard all the nurses at the hospital saying the same thing.

That's the best I remember, I'm sure I left out somethings, because even though I was in L&D for 12 hours the time flew by like whoa.