And then it hit me

In 4 days my baby boy will be going to daycare.

In 6 days I'll be back to work full-time.

It all hit me today as I dropped off the paperwork.  My chest got a little tight and I started to feel a little teary-eyed.

The anxiety started to settle in and my mind is playing the game of 20 questions with myself . . . .

How can I leave my baby boy all day? 
How will they know what's wrong when he cries?  
What if he doesn't take any naps?
How can I manage a job, a house, a marriage and a baby?
Can I keep up with pumping/breast-feeding at work?
Can I keep up with washing the cloth diapers?
Will I ever make it to work on time?
Will I ever get to exercise again?  (selfish - maybe, but valid)
What if he stops sleeping so well at night with all the change?
What if I can't get out of work on time to pick him up?

And the list goes on and on . . . . . 

Then I look at my baby boy and he just melts my heart (crazy eyes and all).

And I know that we'll find a way, somehow, we'll make it work, it'll all be worth it in the end.

I may not get as much sleep.
My house might not be as clean as I'd like it.
I might be late for work.

But we'll figure it out and do what works best for us (or so my husband has reassured me).

What I Love Wednesday

Linking up with Jamie today!  Sorry for the picture overload.  

 I'm loving that we got to spend lots of time with M this past week/weekend.  So sad that she had to go back to CA.  Alex definitely likes to flirt with blonds!

I'm loving that I got to go shopping and get some new clothes this weekend.  (Unfortunately it was in preparation to go back to work. :-( )

I'm loving that I have met some great girls at moms-in-motion and we're now forming a playgroup!

I'm loving that my hubby is home.  It was a long week without him!

I'm loving the idea of doing a monthly photo challenge next month.  I think I'll participate, I'm just hoping that I can keep up!

Source: His Birdie's Nest via whitepeachphoto.com via Merissa on Pinterest via Our Wired Lives

I'm loving that Raleigh was #1 in America's 10 Best Cities!

I'm loving that we got to go out just the two of us on Saturday for a wedding!  Felt so weird to be away from my baby boy but so great to have my awesome hubby all to myself.

Yeah, a family picture!

I hope you're all having a great week!

My first diaper cake!

My sister is helping host a shower next weekend and asked me for some help.  I suggested a diaper cake and of course that meant I actually had to be the one to make it!  This post is really for my reference and to show you that it's not that hard if you wanted to make one. There are 2 ways that I've seen them done.  I liked this one where each diaper wasn't individually rolled.  I got some pictures, though they're kind of crappy because I had to make it at night while Alex was sleeping.

1. Gather your supplies!
   
   
   • Diapers (I used 2 - 36 packs)
   • Rubberbands
   • Tall/Center Items (I used some bath wash and bath towels) (and used the wash cloths to make it sturdy in some locations)
   • Items to decorate the outside (ribbon, bows)
   • Cake Topper (i.e. stuffed animal)
   • Baby things to attach (i.e. pacifier, bibs, bibs, carseat toy, wrist rattles, socks, rattle, etc)
   • Base for cake (I used a piece of a cardboard box wrapped up)
     
2. Place your 'tall/center' items in the middle and put a rubber band around them. (unfortunately I didn't start taking pictures until after this point, oh well)
3. Put another rubber band around the center and put 4-6 diapers staggered slightly under the rubber band.  Work your way around in a circle leaving even spacing and overlapping the top and bottom of the last ones when you close the circle.  For the base row I did ~10 diapers.
4. Repeat for a 2nd and 3rd time on the bottom layer of the cake.  The 2nd row has ~12 diapers and the 3rd row ~14.  I used a different rubber band around each row to make it a little easier.
   

5. Start with the second layer of the case, repeat step 3.  I used ~11 diapers.  Add a 2nd row to the second layer ~13 diapers.

6. Repeat for the top layer of the cake ~12 diapers.  When you get to the top your tall items may not reach all the way, so I stuffed some tissue paper in to make it solid before I could stuff in the cake topper.
   

7. Decorate as desired!  I had to use a hot glue gun to get the ends of the ribbon to stay together.  I used some white ribbon to tie other items on.

After I took all my pictures and was done, I wasn't a fan of the base I had (a piece of cardboard covered with wrapping paper), so I took it off and put some white paper underneath and then stamped on it, unfortunately no picture.  I think my sister came with 2 more decorations afterwards too.

I looked up on etsy and they charge anywhere from $50 - $450 for these!  Yikes! (Maybe I should look into selling them!)  This cost about ~$75 I think and many of the things were off the registry of the recipient so I was happy that it served multiple functions.  There are so many different kinds and different ways to do them.  I hope I have a chance to try again sometime!

I had a lot of fun making it and decorating.  I would say that overall it took me about 2hrs to complete.  I was feeling like I hadn't gotten to do any crafting since Alex's arrival, but now I feel a little bit better after doing this.

Monday Randoms

1. I'm a 'single parent' for the better part of the week.  Kurt suddenly had to go out of town for work all week, so not fun. (though who can resist this smile at 8AM)

2. I went to Target last week and saw this onsie.  It was only $1 I couldn't resist!



3. I am sooooo happy that football is back.  Whenever I could yesterday I watched whatever game was on (Thank you Alex for taking a 2hr nap in the afternoon!)  So ready for another season of fantasy football!

4. M is coming all the way from CA on Thursday to meet Alex.  So excited that she's going to be here!
5. While she's here I'm going to do some back to work/fall shopping.  I need some inspiration.  I think I'll head over to Pinterest for the first time!
6. I finally made our home organization binder late last week and we're using it this week.  I'll probably wait to post about it until next week or so after we've put it to use for a bit!
7. I've got several posts started and so many things I want to do before I go back to work.  (in 2 weeks :-/)

Hope you all had a great weekend!

3 months!

Happy 3 month Birthday Alex!

Sleep:

• We figured out that you need your last bottle by 7:30 and then to bed after that.  Goal is before 8:00.  You generally sleep straight through to 6:00 or later.  
• Naptime is still pretty crappy.  Catnaps is where it's at with you.  I'm really working hard on this and taking your cues as to when you're tired and putting you down as soon as possible.
• Finally sleeping in your crib.  First night August 19th and there was no trouble switching.

Feeding:

• About 6x per day.  Have a pretty decent schedule of 6:30, 9:00, 11:45, 2:30, 5:15 and 7:30.  They're not all even intervals but that seems to be about when you get hungry, give or take 15 minutes.
• Still nursing, but you do pretty good with a bottle.  When you take one, it is 4oz, and sometimes you want more!
  

Weight:

• Not too sure as our scale seems to be way off.  I think somewhere in the upper 14lb range (or maybe 15lbs).
• Everyone says you're a big boy!
  

Length:

•  Not sure this month, we'll have to wait for the 4 month appointment.

Diapers:

• Wearing a size 2 in disposables (I like the Huggies Little Snugglers the best, thought the Huggies Snug & Dry work well too)
• Cloth diapers are working out pretty well still.  For some reason whenever dad puts them on is when we have a wet leak!
• Still using disposables at night and sometimes when we go out.

Clothes:

• Wearing mostly 0-3 months and I've pulled out a few 3-6 month.
• Had to break out the 3-6 and 6mo sleepers just after 2 months.  Why are they so short!
• One piece 0-3's have mostly been put away, they're too short!
  

Personality/Likes/Miscellaneous:

• This month was your first plane ride and you did awesome!
• Likes to watch T.V. so we have found the Disney channel and put on some Mickey Mouse occassionally.
• Starting to hold onto things if they are given to you.
• Sometimes I think you're trying to put your pacifier back in your mouth.
• Like to lay on the floor and hold arms/fists in the air.
• Like to lay on the mats at Moms-in-Motion and one week it was like you were talking to Kate.  Many times at class you guys will turn and look at one another and sometimes smile.
• Love to sit up or stand up.
• Grandma taught you to stick out your tongue and you're getting the hang of blowing raspberries and bubbles.
• Thanks to the slope in the mattress your rolled over from your back to your belly, but quickly wanted to return to your back.
• Tummy time is getting much better.

What we've been up to:

• Week 9
• Week 10
• Week 11
• Week 12
• Week 13

August Goal Update and September Goals

Not too bad of results!

August Goals:

1. Blog for me! -  So far I haven't been forcing myself to blog and I feel a whole lot better about it, I blog about what I want to blog about and that's all.


2. Continue breastfeeding Alex -  3 months down!


3. Work on Alex's sleep schedule -  Well we definitely have a better nighttime schedule, he is still not ready for just 2 or 3 naps a day.  I can tell.  So we are making a conscious effort to take 4-5 naps a day and that has worked out.  Hoping this month we can work on that.


4. Feel good about my body -  I have started wearing some of my other clothes and I definitely feel a lot better about myself.  I have not really done much with exercise but I have about 6lbs more to go to pre-pregnancy weight.


5. Take more pictures with my camera - I have not done that great with this.  Sometimes the iPhone is just too handy and the camera is far away.


6. Carve out time for just the hubby and I once a week - Yikes, we haven't done the greatest job with this.  I was traveling and so was he so we didn't see one another a lot.  Hope that this month we can turn that around.

September Goals:

1. Make a home organization binder (and use it!) - I've seen some that I like in different locations, so I'm off to make my own.  I'll post about it when it's done.
2. Continue breastfeeding
3. Get ready/organized for work/daycare - I've got some things I'd like to order and paperwork to fill out.
4. Take more pictures with my camera - Since I haven't been doing that great, I thought I'd try again.
5. Carve out time for just the hubby and I once a week - This is important and something we need to do!

Flying with baby, the aftermath

Alex and I just returned from our trip to NY to visit my parents. We had to stop once each flight with a short layover. I was really nervous if you remember my previous post asking for advice. But, honestly everything went better than I could have asked for. Sorry for the long descriptions, but I thought it might help someone.

To NY:
We got to the airport a little later than I had hoped, seeing as when I put Alex in the carseat to leave he proceeded to fill his diaper so we had to take a few extra minutes and change him. Getting through security was pretty good. The guy sent me down the crew line and I went right up to the machines first in line and no one behind me. There was another TSA officer there and he folded up my stroller for me and put it through (and a second pulled it down and set it up when it made it to the other end). I brought 2 bottles of milk just in case and there was no problem with those. I made it to our gate without too much trouble. Of course there was a couple there that gave me the look like oh great a baby on the flight (mind you it was 5:00AM). When we were on the first leg of our flight, I knew that the seats weren't full, so I asked if I could bring the car seat on and she said yes. We headed straight to the back and had our own row to ourselves plus the row across from us and several rows in front of us (plus a small one behind us). Everything went great. I fed him on the way up. We had 2 mid-air diaper changes but other than that he was pretty happy. We got off and had a little bit of trouble because we had to go down the steps of the plane to the tarmac and then get gate checked bags (stroller frame) and then back up the stairs to the terminal. Someone carried the frame up the steps for me and there were no problems.

The next leg was a full, jam packed small plane. Someone from the airport came and carried the frame down again and bagged up the caraway for me. The flight was rather bumpy with lots and lots of turbulence. He slept most of the flight. I had planned on feeding him on the way down but given the bumpy ride and how full the plane was I decided to wait and he was fine. I nursed him after we got our bags.




To NC:
The airport in NY was a little bit more difficult on the way back. There was only 1 open security line and they basically took my entire bag apart because I had too many electronics on top of one another in 1 bag. So keep that in mind next time you pack! The airport personnel weren't helpful here getting things on and off the belt or when trying to get on the plane as they were here in NC. Also it's really hard to get a carseat in the bag when you're alone, but I'm glad I did it. The first leg was full but I sat next to a nice lady and fed Alex mid-flight and he pretty much slept the rest of the time.

The next leg was a bigger plane and I did have an extra seat next to me but wasn't smart enough to check before hand. It was only a short flight and Alex again slept.

Getting on/off both of these legs of the trip there were some other passengers that were super helpful and I am very grateful for their help!




What I packed (what I used in italic):
Change of clothes for me
Change of clothes for Alex
Burp Cloths/Lap Pads
Nursing Cover
Swaddling Muslin Blanket (Used while nursing also)
Diapers (~8)/Wipes
Bottle/Milk
Pump (Only because I didn't want it in my checked bag)
Scout the Dog
Layers for Alex/me
Bag for carseat (worth the $19 at BRU and the seat did not get dirty)
Kindle/iPad

What I'd do differently:

• I didn't ask if the flight was full, totally my fault when I could have brought the carseat on the second leg of return flight.
• I would try to pack a smaller carry on. I was trying to be efficient and packed a few things that wouldn't fit into my checked bag in the carry on.
• Don't pack so many electronics on top of one another in your carry on!

All in all I felt pretty good about it. It was super tiring. I was exhausted when I got home yesterday, hence why I didn't get a post up. Hopefully next time I fly I won't have to do it alone.