new bed

Well the bed isn't exactly new, but we did just get the mattress and this was the first time Oliver slept in it.


 

Daddy playing

Here's Daddy and Oliver playing together. Aren't they cute!?

 

withdrawals...

I was really missing getting email and posting here. I was without internet for a few days while we moved so I couldn't do either.

I'm still waiting for pictures of Oliver in his Halloween costume...I can hardly wait to post them! He was just too adorable for words.

bathroom

Here's the hole in the floor where the toilet was leaking. We're replacing the floor there.
This is the blue sink...
and the blue bathtub...uck!
 

house pictures

This is what was formerly the "wheat" wall.

This is the wall by the front door in the living room. The walls are a light gray and the shelves are the same colour as the wall above.

Here is Oliver's room with the trim finished.
Another shot of Oliver's room
 

Oliver

 

awwww

the boys were taking a nap together...how sweet!
 

I forgot...

I had forgotten to mention that when I dropped Oliver he skinned his knee. :(
 

ER

This is Oliver and me in the ER. You can't tell in this picture but there's a ping pong ball sized lump on his head.
 

before...

This is in the living room of our house, or was when we bought it. I'll try to remember to take the camera so I can post what it looks like now. Why on earth would anyone want WHEAT in their living room???
 

Playtime

Here's a video that I made a few weeks ago of Oliver in his boppy. Look how well he can lift his head! This is a lot darker than I originally thought, but you'll get the general idea.

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Look what I can do!

Oliver did this yesterday when Bob was feeding him. He actually held the bottle in place for a few minutes while he finished up that little bit that was in it. As far as I know this was not posed, he did it all by himself. Hooray, Oliver!
 

Everyone's doing it...

at least that's what they told as at the hospital. They said that everyone drops their baby at least once. Ok, even if everyone does it's still a very scary thing to happen. Here's how it happened:

We were getting ready to go over to the new house to finish painting. Oliver was hungry so I was heating up a bottle and I was going to sit on the couch with him until it was ready. As I was walking into the living room I tripped and out of my arms he flew, hit the floor and rolled under the coffee table. He started screaming and so did I. I scooped him up as fast as I could, and as I did I noticed a big lump on his head. I was crying really hard, so Bob took Oliver to see if he could calm him down while I found the number for the pediatrician. I called, but they weren't open (it was Saturday) but there was a number to call for the on call doctor. I wrote the number down and called it. Poor woman that answered the phone, it was the wrong number and I scared her half to death. Bob called his sister (who is a nurse) and asked her what we should do. After he got off the phone we drove over to the emergency room. I ran in and told the nurse what happened. He was very nice, but said we should have gone to the other hospital instead of this one. He took Oliver and weighed him (10 pounds, 11 ounces) and checked him out. He was calm by now, and acting normal. The lump on his head had gotten bigger though. After he got Oliver's temperature and made sure he was generally ok he put us in an exam room where Bob cuddled Oliver and I tried to stop crying. The ER doctor came in and checked him out, then told us he needed to have a CAT scan of his head and neck to make sure there was no damage to his brain. We waited a long time then they finally came and got us and took us down to X-Ray. They strapped Oliver down under a lead vest and taped his head to the table to hold it still. He started crying really hard and it was so hard not to just run in and grab him off that table. Bob put on a vest and stayed with him in the room while they did the scan. I was in the room where the scan shows up, so I got to see his brain! It took probably about 20 minutes or so to get him set up and do the scan. When the lady was looking at the pictures she called someone and asked them to look at it, too. This scared me - it made me think something was really wrong. After she was done she took us back to the exam room to wait for the results. The ER doctor came back in and said "I don't want you to freak out" ...ummm...hello! Get a bedside manner! Why on earth would he say that? It just made me think something was really wrong. Fortunately there was no damage to his brain, the swelling was all on the outside of his skull...where it was fractured. :(
They said they were going to transfer him to the other hospital to be kept overnight in the PICU. We waited a while for the transport unit and when they showed up they strapped him to a big bed and wrapped him all up in blankets. They were VERY nice! Once they got him all set up they told us to meet them at Moses Cone. (we didn't get to ride with him, I don't know why)
We got to the hospital and they got there right behind us. We got all set up in a room and by this time poor Oliver was so hungry. (remember at the beginning of this story I was fixing a bottle...they wouldn't let us feed him until the X-Ray results came back) So I fed him and then they hooked him up to the heart/respiration monitor and put a little thing on his toe to monitor his blood oxygenation. Once he was set up Bob went home to check the puppy and get some clothes and toothbrushes and dinner. He came back and we ate and fed Oliver again. Bob and Oliver went to sleep, but I just wasn't tired yet. I stayed up a little while, cuddling Oliver. (luckily his cords reached to the chair) I held him all night from the time he was hooked up until about 4:30. I was so tired then that I woke Bob up and handed the baby over to him. I got a little bit of sleep, but had to wake up again at 6:30 to feed him again. Anyway, he's doing fine. The doctor at Moses Cone was so nice, he explained everything to us in detail (a little over my head with medical terms) and didn't act annoyed when I kept asking questions. They sent us home shortly after that, and we slept and slept all afternoon. They said that he may or may not need some pain meds, so we stopped and got some Motrin for him. He's acting normal, been eating and sleeping like he usually does. Well - sleeping a little more than normal, but I would too if I had busted my head.
They said that injuries like this are very common and if he had to fracture his skull this was the best age for it since the bones are soft and still forming. There won't be any permanent damage and it won't affect the shape of his head. There won't be any evidence of an injury except this story and the X-Ray. In fact, the bump on his head is gone!
Anyway, it was a horrible experience that I wish no one ever had to go through.

I love sleeping!

 

difference again...

I think this is at 2 weeks?
This is 6 weeks. What a fatty!
 

new colors

This is Oliver's room, the trim isn't painted yet. Isn't the colour great, though!

This is the master bedroom. Again, the trim is not painted yet.
I'm very excited about finishing it up and posting pictures of all of them. 

everyone's asleep...

It's 1am and everyone is asleep. I'm awake because I took a nap a few hours ago and i'm just not tired. Hahaha! NOT TIRED! Are new moms allowed to say that?
We've been painting like crazy at the new house. Bob mostly, but I've helped some. It's not very good to have Oliver breathing paint fumes. Anyway, we've first coated our room and the living room, and second coated Oliver's room. I have pictures and since I'm posting them after I write this then you've probably already seen them. We still have to paint the office and the dining room and the trim in all the rooms, but we are moving right along.
Oliver has been progressing well, too. He's SMILING now! It's so cute, that little gummy grin. I wish I could get a picture, but I haven't really learned to keep the camera in reaching distance. He can roll over from his tummy to his back now. He's been working on that for a while and he's finally got it down.

Phone picture...

I took this one with my camera phone. Isn't this an amazing picture?
 

I take it back...

We painted the first coat in Oliver's room today. It's way different painting with colour than painting with primer. It was fun to paint, and now his room is BRIGHT yellow! We finished the room in about 1 and a half hours. When you stand in the living room and look down the hall you can see the glow of the yellow coming out of the doorway! I'm very excited to do the rest of the house. We've got primer in our room, and we're putting it in the living room tomorrow. That means we get to do the first coat of colour in our room! I can hardly wait!

home improvement

I never knew that buying a house would be so much work! We've been working nonstop on the house for a week or so now and it's just barely starting to be the way we need it to be before we move in. I spent a day cleaning and packing up that crazy lady's stuff, Bob has spent way more time there cleaning and fixing things and stuff. The fridge had mold in it so we go a new one at HOME DEPOT. Don't worry, we didn't spend much - it was the least expensive one they had. We are planning to clean the carpets today and paint one coat in one room. Yesterday we bought the paint and painting supplies. We actually managed to put primer in the two bedrooms in about 2 and a half hours. These are not big rooms - what took us so long?! Well for one thing we had Oliver with us and had to keep checking on him (he was in the living room so he wouldn't breathe paint fumes). Also, painting is tedious and not nearly as much fun as I thought it would be. Maybe it will be different when we start painting with colour, I don't know. Even though it was hard and tiring and all that the rooms looked way better with just primer. I don't know what the problem was with them before, but now they are all uniform colour and the look smooth and nice. Of course, we did cover up about a zillion spots of spackle - that may have had something to do with it, too. I'm kind of excited about getting it done. The colours I picked out are so cool! If you want to see them, go here. http://www.behr.com/behrx/workbook/index.jsp
They are:
Living room: Ancient Stone, accent wall Grounded
Oliver's Room: Sun Shower with trim Pine Grove
Master Bedroom: Oat Straw with trim Classic Cherry
Dining Room: Ocean Cruise
Office: Sun Shower with accent wall Grounded
Master Bath: bottom Oat Straw, top Classic Cherry
2nd Bath: bottom Ancient Stone, top Grounded

I'm pretty sure we got enough paint to do all that, if not we will just do the main rooms and leave the office and the bathrooms for later. Our next project is to redo the floor in the bathroom (there's carpet in there now) and fix the toilets (one of them leaks, one needs a new seat). After that who knows. We want to get new carpet, but that will have to wait a while. We need to get rid of some of the bushes and things in the yard. We need to insulate the attic and put up walls in the laundry room. We need to put on a back door. Right now the laundry area is connected to the outside by only a screen door. There is a door with a deadbolt leading to that.
I'm thinking you can do something on your taxes when you do home improvement projects. I'll have to look into that.

Other than that everything is normal. Yeah, I know I haven't posted in a few days, and no pictures! Like I said we've been busy. I think I do have a few new pictures though so I'll post them later today. Bob has an interview at a cell phone 411 place. He will probably hate the job, but it's more money...although we can technically pay the bills with what he makes now. well, if we don't buy groceries or anything.I guess we do need a second income. I wish there was some way to make money working from home without having to get a million spam emails or buy a bunch of equipment or call people. Oh well, maybe I'll find something one day.

What a difference

This is a picture of Oliver's hand on the day he was born.
This is a recent picture of his hand. What a huge difference! I hadn't realized he was so skinny when he was born until I looked at these pictures.

 

Snuggling with Daddy

I like snuggling with my daddy - he's so warm and cozy! Mom got this picture when we were taking a nap together.
 

awwww!

He looks like a little adult!
 

chillin'

Here I am chillin' in my boppy. This is a good way for me to practice lifting my head up and moving around. I have lots of fun in the boppy!
 

Thanks Aunt Sarah!

Here is the outfit that Aunt Sarah gave me. What a cute monkey! The shirt is cute too...hehehe!
 

Tips and Tricks...

In the past month I've learned so much about taking care of a baby. Here are a few of the things that have worked for me.

Get a boppy pillow!! This makes breastfeeding so much easier because it puts the baby right at breast level and you don't have to support his weight.

Get a pump!! This helps so you don't have to do all the feedings. It's especially nice at night so Dad can help, or so you can leave the house.

Swaddling - it's hard! I haven't learned to do it properly, he always kicks out. I've started just wrapping him up like a burrito instead - just wrap the blanket around and around.

Cosleeping! So many people say this is such a bad thing, but after your baby fusses and won't sleep in the bed for a few nights you might decide to try it. I lay him longways on my belly (head at my chest, feet at my hips) and prop myself up a little bit. That way he feels secure and I can sleep.

Getting burned out! To avoid this, you have to take time away from the baby. WHAT?!?! TIME AWAY FROM THE BABY?!?!!? Yep, that's right. Even though you are the mommy and probably the primary caregiver you have to take time for yourself. Take a shower, take a walk, go grocery shopping, get out of the house. Looking at the same things all the time and doing the same exact thing every day gets frustrating.

Housework! It has to be done, but when will I ever find the time? Do the most important things first - dishes, laundry, etc. It only takes a few minutes to throw dishes in the dishwasher or clothes in the washer. Dusting and vacuuming can wait. Also, let hubby help!!

Diapers! don't move that old diaper until you are ready to put the new one on. Babies seem to like peeing and pooping on you, their clothes, the changing table, and pretty much anything else.

Bathtime! wait until ther baby has already pooped - poop in the tub is icky. Also, make sure the towel is ready before you get baby wet. They hate being cold and wet! Wash his hair last so his head isn't cold while you wash the rest of him.

Playtime! Get a boppy!! Sit the baby in it backwards and bend him over the edge. He lifts his head and turns it. Sometimes he even lifts up his chest off the boppy, too. Also, thing with sharp contrast. Oliver's favorite is the ball in a gew of the pictures I've posted previously. It's 6 or 8 dollars ay Target.

rocking, swinging and vibration! my glider rocker is my best friend when Oliver won't sleep. I feed him there at night and rock him back to sleep. We haven't tried the swing yet, but the vibration of his bouncy chair is wonderful. It's very relaxing for him and usually puts him to sleep.

Burping! It's hard to get that burp out sometimes. If the over the shoulder patting doesn't work I sit him up, lean him forward and pat his back. If that still doesn't work I just hold him up in a sitting position and he lets it out.

Temperature! How do you know if he's too hot or cold? As a general rule dress him how you'd dress yourself. If you are wearing shorts and a T-shirt then so should he. If you are wearing a sweater and jeans, bundle him up, too.

Sick? How do I know if he doesn't feel well? Well, if he's not eating, not acting like himself, and fussy. If he's hot to touch. Ollie hasn't been sick yet, thank goodness!

Blocked tear duct! His eye got goopy and then crusted closed. Just wipe it with a warm wet washcloth until he can open it again. If it's really thick then drip a little bit of water on his eye and leave it there for a minute to moisten the goop, then wipe it away. Rub down the side of his nose from the corner of his eye to try to clear the duct.

Fussy? Is he hungry? wet? dirty? bored? tired? overstimulated? or just plain fussy? I check the diaper first since it is the easiest. Then I try to feed him. If neither of those work then I try playing with him (playmat or his favorite ball). Sometimes he just wants to be snuggled or talked to. If I was playing with him and he gets fussy then I stop for a while, he's probably getting too much input. If he's just fussy for no reason other than that he likes to fuss I just hold him and rock him until he is ok again.

Oliver's 1 month visit...

He is 9 pounds 2.5 ounces!!! He is 21 inches long!!! WOW!!!

Everything else is normal...he's healthy. He has a heart murmur, but she said that should go away as he gets older. He has a little bit of hernea under his belly button, but she said that will go away by itself too. He had to get a shot for Hep B, and he cried so hard...I cried too - poor baby!

Congrats!!

Hooray for Joe and Elizabeth who had their baby yesterday (on their due date, amazingly). She was 7 pounds 8 ounces and 18 inches long. Mother and baby are both doing well. What a sweet picture!