"You is kind. You is smart. You is important."

I went and saw "The Help" a week or so back and when Abileen says this to Mae Mobley it really caught my attention. (the context, not the grammar). I had forgotten about it when I read the book.

Having a little one, everyone always says what a cutie, how adorable, how precious, etc, etc. I'm do it as well, to him and other babies. But I also want him to know that he is other things too. Sometimes people get so caught up in looks and appearances that I want him to know it's about more than just that.

He is kind and always has a smile for people. He is smart and is learning things every day, it's amazing to see him grow and change from day-to-day. He is important. His daddy and I love him so much and even though he has good and bad days I take them all. He means the world to us and I can't imagine if he wasn't here.

He's so little now that I'm sure he doesn't understand but I say this to him at least once a day. I want him to know how much he means to us and that there is more to him than what he looks like. I know that he will grow up soon and have more good and bad days but no matter what, he will always be kind, smart and important to us!

Monday Randoms

• I finally signed up for Pinterest.  I may now stay up all hours of the night.  If only I could add a 'Pin It' button to my RSS reader on my iPad (or am I missing something).
• Alex hates napping.  I can't complain about his sleep at night, because he will go about 9hrs without getting up most nights of the week, we usually have a few nights where he wakes up a few times but will go back to sleep for goo after 30ish minutes (without a feeding or anything).  Now naps on the other hand, awful.  He was cat-napping and it was only 30 minutes like 6 times a day but he was always tired.  I know he needs more sleep than that but he refuses to go to sleep.  I need some help with a nap schedule and getting him to take longer naps.  Anyone have any suggestions?
• I'm really looking forward to the new iPhone and hope it comes out soon, this old one is slow, doesn't hold charge and many, many other things.  Wishing it would happen before the middle of October right about now.
• I'm in NY visiting family for a long weekend because K wasn't going to be home much for about 6 days.  Turns out Irene made them cancel his tournament so he spent the weekend home alone, oops.
• Did I mention that it's freezing in NY.  It was 90+ last time I was here and yesterday it was in the low 60's.  No thanks!  I thought I was ready for fall but apparently not.
• I am starting to panic about going back to work.  Can I pump enough/get enough sessions in?  What if Alex isn't on a napping schedule, what's going to happen when he goes to daycare?  Will I have any clothes to wear?  How will I fit it all into a day/week?
• Tonight is my first draft for Fantasy Football!  I'm excited that we're going to have a football season this year!  I got a new Giants sweatshirt this weekend. Awesome.
• I feel so dis-organized and I just don't know what to do to get back on track or keep track of things.  I've got several different systems going, and I need to consolidate them into 1.  I have a momAgenda but what does anyone else use?

And because a post without a picture is boring, here's one of the little guy yesterday before we went to church and breakfast. I love the dinosaur sweatshirt!

To Be Honest . . . . .

I didn't intend to take a break over the last week, but it was nice.

I just realized that I have to go back to work in 6 weeks and that scared the crap out of me. Though I feel lucky too because some people only get 6-weeks off.

I'm tired of these diaper blowouts up the back (when using disposables). We've had at least one every day this week (even when I switched to the next size up). Any suggestions?!?!

I wish I had some 'mom friends' around here. I went to moms-in-motion today and it was nice, hopefully I can befriend some of the moms there.

I haven't been participating in Bye Bye Baby Weight because I can't seem to get myself motivated.

I am kind of over cloth diapers. Whenever he wears them, half of his clothes don't fit. I think it's probably because we did the one size ones, my fault but still super annoying.

I have 6 thank you cards to write and they should have been written a long time ago sitting on my desk.

I'm tired of people telling me that Alex is big. He's in the 80th percentile, he was big when he was born, what else can I say.

Glad I got that off my chest! Hopefully I'll be back to the blogging/commenting soon!

2 months!

Happy 2 month Birthday Alex!

Sleep:

• Much better in this department.  You generally give us a 12-hr stretch with 1 feeding, usually after about 7.5hrs.  This has been for about 2 weeks now.
  
• So far the earliest bedtime is 9:30.  We try for earlier but you aren't a fan.  We're going to wake you up earlier (usually you get up at about 9:30 in the morning) and see if that helps you go to bed a little earlier.
• Naps are still so-so.  We shoot for the philosophy that you shouldn't be awake for more than 2hrs at a time and then a nap.  It typically amounts to 2 - 45-minute naps in the morning, 1 - 1.5-2hr nap in the afternoon and 2 - 30 minute naps in the evening.  Hoping with a bed-time shift this will get better.
  

Feeding:

• About 7x.  1 at night and 6x during the day.  Usually in the morning you go longer between feedings and then at night 2hrs on the dot (must be building up for overnight!).
• Still nursing, but you do pretty good with a bottle.  When you take one, it is 4oz, and sometimes you want more!!
  

Weight:

• Went for your check-up today.  13lbs 3oz (83%)
  

Length:

•  Went for your check-up today.  23-5/8" (60%)  

Diapers:

• Wearing a size 1 in disposables (I like the Huggies Little Snugglers the best)
• We bought way more disposables then we needed for our trip, so we've been trying to use them up before you grow out of them.  
• We had a few weeks where stuck with the cloth diapers (except for night-time and leaving the house) and they worked pretty well, though a few minor leaks.

Clothes:

• Wearing 0-3 months.
• Sleepers are too short, cannot straighten out your legs.  Circo brand sleepers are a bit longer so we bought a few of those.  We also have a few without feet that work.  There are some 3-6 month sleepers in the washer right now, but I'm sad to put away the 0-3's already!.
• Some one piece outfits are a little too short in the body, I can still snap them but they're a little tight.  Though, onsies and pants still fit without a problem.
  

 Letters for your room came finally!

Personality/Likes/Miscellaneous:

• Today you had your 2month shots.  Rather fussy in the afternoon and wouldn't nurse, but after we tried a full bottle, it was like a totally different kid, much happier.
  
• In the middle of the night, sometimes, we look at the pack-n-play and there are just feet flying in the air while you're sleeping.
• Still grunting quite a bit.
• Much louder now!  When you wake up in the morning for good, most of the time you will just lay there and talk to yourself for a while.
• You like to smile, but sometimes make us work to get one out of you.
• New favorite thing is sticking your fist in your mouth.
• Rather than lay down, you prefer to be sitting as upright as possible or 'standing' on someone's lap.
  
• Tummy time is ok, but you don't like it unless you're elevated a little bit. 
• Mesmerized by ceiling fans and lately the T.V.  (better be careful about this one!).
• This month we traveled (via car) to PA then to NY and back home.  Did pretty ok with this, though after about 11hrs, you had enough of the car and were ready to get out.
• Mommy and Daddy went out to the movies while in NY and left you home with Grandma.  You didn't care and just laid around with cousin Avery the whole time.  :-)

What we've been up to:

• Week 5
• Week 6
• Week 7
• Week 8
  

Flying with a baby tips?

Either towards the end of the month or beginning of next month, I'll be flying with Alex to my parents house. I'm a little nervous about it though and have a ton of questions, and I was hoping that some of you might have some tips for me.

1. How old was your baby when you flew with them?


2. Did you buy them a ticket or just hold them on your lap?


3. What did you do while traveling through the airport? Carseat? Stroller? Did you plane-side check them?


4. How did the baby do on the plane? What did you find helped soothe them? Feeding/pacifier, any other recommendations?


5. Bring anything special on the plane?


6. Has anyone traveled with their pump?

I think that's all! Sorry for so many questions! If you have any recommendations I'd appreciate it!

August Goals

So I thought it would be a good idea to set some monthly goals for myself and see how I did at the end of the month.

1. Blog for me! - I am struggling with blogging here because I don't want it to be all about Alex, but you know what, that's my life right now and that's what's going on, that's what I'm going to blog about, and hopefully I don't lose readers.


2. Continue breastfeeding Alex - So far this is going pretty well, but somedays it's a little frustrating. We've successfully gone 2 months and now we try for 3!


3. Work on Alex's sleep schedule - I'll post an update in his monthly post next week, but we've been working on night time sleeping this past week. A nap schedule is next on my list!


4. Feel good about my body - I've got about 8lbs left of baby weight to lose and would like to lose a little more, but really the number is not that important. It's about feeling good about my body and the way I look!


5. Take more pictures with my camera - So far I've taken a picture of Alex every day, but not all of them with the camera, some with the iPhone and I'd really like to take 1-day with the camera (and the iPhone too somedays!)


6. Carve out time for just the hubby and I once a week - We are working really hard on us time, but it doesn't always happen. I know it won't be easy, but at least once a week, I'd like us to have us time, whether it's just watching a movie, or going out to dinner (even if Alex is with us).

Whew, thats a lot! Let's see how I do!

Bye Bye Baby Weight Week 2

Week 2:

This Week’s Loss/Gain: -2.4lbs (might be a bit off b/c I didn't weigh in last week)
Total Weight Lost: 32.4lbs
Weight to Go: 14.6lbs

Food:

1. I did all right with this, this week, I didn't always have 2 snacks a day but when I did they were decent snacks. I also ate 3 meals every day (at least from what i can remember).


2. As for soda, I only slipped up one day, when we went out to dinner and they just kept re-filling, and of course I kept on drinking!


3. I successfully drank 6 glasses of water each day, though it appears I don't drink much during the day and then drink a lot more/am really thirsty in the evening.

Right now I'm not going to count calories just yet. I'm going to see how I go making choices on my own.

Fitness:
This was good and bad.. The good is that I did something 4 days this week, the bad, not my goals, but I'm not disappointed. You see, it's just plain too hot to walk with Alex. The heat is just too much for him when it's 90+ at 9:00am. So I did the Shred 1 day and a short walk, took a hike 2 days, and went to the gym another day. The hike was shaded but I have to wear the carrier and it gets heavy. 1 day I carried Jim and the other, Kurt joined so he carried him. I did crunches 3-days and I'm up to 60 of each type (regular crunches, reverse crunches (just started to only at 40), and side crunches). So I'm not saying I met my goals, but I met a modified form of them.

Goals for this Week:

1. Drink 8 glasses of water every day.


2. Get exercise 5days this week.
   
   1. Visit the gym at least 2x this week
   
   
   2. Attend Moms in Motion 2x this week
   
   
   3. Either walk or do a video or go to the gym


3. Determine how/when to start running, goal 5K is October 30th