Sick

I was really sick this week with a stomach virus and Mastitis, a breast infection. I am finally starting to feel a bit better today since I think the antibiotics are starting to work. The pain yesterday was just miserable. I could hardly move or breathe. Please pray for continued healing as I fight both the virus and infection.....on minimal sleep.

Pete never got sick. We spent all day Tuesday in the doctor's office and all night in the emergency room. I would have tried to have someone watch him while we went to the hospital so he wasn't exposed to all those germs but my mind wasn't functioning correctly. Before P. took me to the emergency room I asked him to put socks on my hands and a hat on my head I was so cold. He decided at that point to take me in. That and the fact that my temperature was 102.6. I had an IV for 4 hours that administered fluids, morphine and anti-nausea medicine. Let's just say by the time I left I was feeling much better.

P. and I have had a date planned for today for a long time. Maybe 6 months now. Why? Because Sex and the City comes out today! It feels like Christmas. I know, Sex and the City doesn't really seem like me. I am not into shoes, fashion or big cities. I don't like cuss words, crude language or gossipy girls. But I love Sex and the City. Love it. Love Carrie Bradshaw's character, love the friendships they share, love the complexity of each relationship and how in the end they always have each other. Pete will be babysat by our friends for the evening while mom gets to see the highly anticipated movie. P. is such a good husband. I have dragged him to Juno, Baby Mama and now SATC all in the last few months.

Have a great weekend. Keep us in yours prayers. Here is a pic of Pete during his last bath. Love to all. AM, P. and Baby Pete

Happy Memorial Weekend

Our wonderful friend Erin visited us this weekend from CO. She drove all the way out on Thursday and stayed until late last night just to see us and meet Pete for the first time. It was such a great time seeing her and sharing our son with her. I enjoy every minute I spend with Erin. We laugh a lot. We talk about a lot of things. We share everything with each other and we never judge each other. It's a very comfortable friendship. It has been since the first day I we met. She always makes an effort to come see us and I appreciate it so much. Friday when she came in we went for breakfast and spent a lot of time staring at Pete. Saturday we had a BBQ with some friends and had a great time eating, talking, having a few drinks and sitting around a bonfire until late at night. Pete was the star of the show. Sunday we went to the lake. It was cold and windy. Typical for our weather lately. Well, not lately, more like the past 7 months or so. But we had a great time walking around and shopping, taking pictures and having lunch down by the water. I was sad to see Erin leave and head home but so thankful for the time we had together. I feel so spoiled. She made the trip out here for the shower just a couple months ago. And now it is my turn to make the trip to CO. It's time anyway. It's been 2 1/2 years since I moved from CO and I am ready to see my friends and old co-workers again. I would love to take Pete back since I am so proud of him. We will see.

Anyway, I need to go to sleep. Here are some pictures from the weekend. Hope you had a wonderful long weekend. Thanks to the soldiers this weekend is dedicated to. Thanks to Erin for being my forever friend. Thanks to God for my sweet, sweet son. Thanks to my husband for letting me get lots of sleep today.......

Dad & Pete

Dad reading Pete Money magazine. Pete listened for at least an hour then fell asleep.

Cradle Cap and Baby Acne

My handsome baby boy has come down with TERRIBLE cases of "cradle cap" and baby acne. He is still the sweetest, cutest boy alive but it's so sad to see his sweet face and head agitated like this. Bad timing too. I am taking him to meet all the ladies in my bible study tomorrow night and my friend Erin from CO is coming out to see him this weekend. That's ok, both will pass soon enough and he will be back to his darling little self.

We had such a good day today. He was hardly fussy and we laughed all day long. He pooped 3 times and we went through 5 outfits today. After his bath I spiked his hair up and he looked so funny. We usually feed at 10pm every night then go to bed but tonight he is so out of it I don't think I could wake him up for anything. So, the schedule will be off but I guess flexibility comes with the package.

Here are some recent pics from yesterday and today.

Pete and I yesterday before heading to the mall and Red Robin for lunch.Tummy time today.Napping on the couch today.

Sling

Pete in his new sling. He loves it. He can be held close to you yet you have your hands free to do things. Those things are pretty limited but it is still helpful.

Mother's Day

Yesterday we celebrated my first Mother's Day. It was a very special day with my husband and son just spending time together relaxing. In the morning we got up and tried to have breakfast at a little cafe near our house. They serve an amazing Bananas Foster French Toast but were so busy the line was out the door. We decided against waiting since Pete is not very good at it. Instead we went to Panera and ate then went on a drive in the country looking at big houses and the pretty greenery Michigan has to offer at this time of year. The rest of the day we napped, worked on things around the house and did all the normal things we do every day like feed, burp, change diapers, and hang out and walk around until he gets tired again. It's a constant cycle. Pete gave me a beautiful card telling me I am doing a great job and that he loves me very much. I got a 12 pack of Dr Pepper and chocolate. Boy does he know me well already. :) Oh, and they planted a Gerber Daisy plant in a pot in our front yard for me. It is beautiful, one of my favorite flowers.

All in all it was a great day. I feel very blessed to have such a sweet boy and great husband. I still can't believe he is really here and I am really a mom. It's a crazy thing. It's a great thing. It's a huge responsibility and sometimes I feel the pressure. It's tiring but somehow your mom super powers kick in and you make it another day. Here are a couple pictures. One is of Pete and I at Panera for breakfast yesterday. The other is of him and I hanging out on the couch after a nap. Have a great week!

First Date Night

P. and I went on our first date tonight, alone! Pete is 5 weeks old today. It has been 5 weeks since we have been anywhere without our new baby. Boy has time flown. We have a wonderful friend who is very good with infants. She used to work in a day care and has been around Pete often since he was born. She is just amazing with him and he loves to be with her. We felt more than comfortable leaving him with her tonight and looked forward to our time together. P. and I caught a 4:10 movie, Baby Mama, then went for coffee afterwards. I have to say I did incredibly well for being away from my son for the first time. I didn't call home. During the movie I didn't worry and I checked my cell phone only once. Of course I talked about him constantly but we also had fun conversations about other things in our life. We read the paper at the coffee shop and finally I said, lets go home and see our son. When we got home he was just waking up from a nap in his Baby Bjorn on his sitters chest. I was so happy to see him, so refreshed from some alone time with my husband and ready to shower him with lots of love and kisses. I did miss him. I did worry a little about him. Not so much that he was safe but that he might be fussy for his babysitter and she wouldn't want to watch him again for us. But overall I am so happy we took some time for ourselves to just reconnect and have a quick break from the busyness of parenting. We have a great marriage that needs to be nurtured just as much as our son does. Here is Pete and his friend and sitter. Aren't they sweet? 5 weeks! Our son is 5 weeks old. He is growing up so fast. I wish time would slow down. Every day he looks more grown up, like a little man. A very handsome little man. See for yourself. I am so proud.

Smiley Boy

Our Happy Boy

Pete is a happy boy. His smile can light up my day. Usually after a good feeding and a full belly I can get some smiles and laughs out of him. I treasure the quiet moments after nursing where we just sit and talk, sing, tickle, bounce around and hang out together. He will start cooing and I know the smiles and giggles are coming. Here are a couple picture of the smiles/laughs I caught this morning. He had just nursed and I am sitting in a chair facing him eating my own breakfast.
Soon after breakfast he feel asleep in my arms. He loves to be swaddled and walked around. It can put him to sleep right away if he is tired. It took a few weeks to figure out how to comfort him but now I know what he likes and it feels so good when I can quickly calm his cries and make him happy and comfortable. Here is my silly boy this morning laughing in his sleep. As he starts to drift off his lips curl up in a sweet smile then he snickers a little bit. It makes me laugh out loud. I watch his face intently as he starts to fall asleep waiting for the smile and laugh that I love so much. Today I was prepared, I had my camera on him, focused and ready to shoot his adorable little laugh. It was hard and both my arms are tired from trying to get a picture but it was worth it. I love this little boy so much. How do you ever explain the love you feel for your child? You can't. It is overflowing. It brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it and writing about it. I live to see him, hold him, take care of him, meet his needs and see him smile. I never want him to be sad or lonely or hurt. I had no idea how amazing this would feel. It is indescribable. He is such a sweet boy, my son. I am exhausted. Completely exhausted. But I am so full of love.

More pics.....

Katie Meets Pete

Katie came home Friday night. Here are some pictures of her visit so far. This is the first time she held Pete at the airport. She wore a pretty black and white dress to impress her little brother. He liked it.
She read him a book that night about Sparky the Dog. He listened intently.

Pete sleeping on his big sister.
Katie changing his diaper.
Reading to him again.
Pete passed out on the bed, one arm out to his side.
Pete and Dad at Katie's Birthday Pool Party.
Pete and his cousin Katelyn hanging out at the pool.
Katie and her dad at the pool.

Sweet Pete

My friend Kari came over today and took some pictures of Pete. Here are a few of my favorites.

My Boys

I took this picture this morning of Pete and his dad sleeping together. Have you ever seen such a sweet picture?

Still no time....

No time to write but here are some recent pics of Pete with some friends this week. And one of him sleeping this afternoon. Feeding time.....

No Time

Sorry I haven't blogged lately. Things changed when P. went back to work. Now I am happy to get a shower, eat anything and sleep at all. But this sweet face makes it all worth it and there is less laundry to do when I stay in the same clothes every day all day. I will blog this weekend when P. is home and can give me some relief. For now, hope this funny picture of his bath tonight carries you through, it's what keeps me going right now.....P. forgot to cover his pee pee during a diaper change so he needed a bath, bad...... :)

One week ago.....

One week ago at this time I was in labor. At 4:00 pm today I thought, this is when my water broke exactly 7 days ago. By 6pm we were at the hospital. I was admitted immediately and by 9:30pm desperately seeking an epidural. Labored until 5am then started to push. Pete was born at 7:44am with the help of a vacuum. And here we are.....

What a week this has been. It has been the hardest, most exhausting, most emotional, and best week of my life. I wish I had more time to record all that happened this week to look back on someday but that's ok. When I have time I will put down more about my labor, delivery and our first week as a family. Right now, it is time to sleep.

Joy

I have never felt so much joy as I did today when Pete finally breastfed from me. We have been working on it all week and today at the hospital Pete and I made it happen. I cried and he fed and afterwards we sat and cuddled together enjoying the moments we just shared as mom and son. I don't have time to talk but I just wanted to give you an update and share our wonderful news. Thank you for your prayers and encouragements. Here are some pictures....not of the breastfeeding of course.....

Pete had a doctors appointment yesterday to make sure he was gaining weight and healthy. He was in perfect health, almost back to his birth weight. Here is a picture of P. and Pete waiting to see the doctor. We gave him his first bath the other night. He didn't like it much, too cold I guess.

This bath picture is blurry but is so cute.
Pete hanging out with dad.

Pictures of Pete

Pete is a wonderful baby. He is sweet and handsome and I never want him out of my sight. He makes me smile and laugh. We call him One Eyed Pete because when he is just waking up or the light is too bright he keeps one eye closed. It is so funny. He loves his daddy so much. They are sweet together, talking, sleeping, walking around looking at things. My heart is full of so much love when I look at them together. Pete is healthy and now that we are getting him food he is sleeping better and not as fussy.We could use some prayers. Especially regarding breastfeeding. Pete has not been able to latch on properly resulting in a lot of pain for me and lack of food for him. A lactation consultant worked with us for hours yesterday but Pete insists upon biting and hasn't figured out how to use his tongue to suck. I am not to let him feed again until my breasts heal more and we work on his biting and sucking through some exercises we were taught. Please pray that this will work out for us. I want more than anything to breastfeed my son. Also please pray for continued healing for me.

Enjoy the pictures. I could have posted a hundred of them but here are a few of my favorites. Thank you for your calls and emails. I am not up for talking on the phone right now but appreciate the calls and emails and we will get back to you as soon as things calm down for us. Thanks for sharing in our pregnancy, birth and time now with our sweet Pete.