I want to check you for ticks

And ooooo oooo ooo you never know where one might be...

Ticks are the WORST insect in the entire world. Really, what purpose do they serve? I'm not sure how any good can come from a tick.

Raise your hand if you've seen the House episode where all signs are pointed to the patient having Lyme's Disease, but no tick or red ring can be found anywhere. There are 10 minutes left in the show and House suddenly realizes that they haven't checked everywhere (get my drift?), and pulls out a pair of tweezers on the elevator and discovers a tick "down there." Girl is cured, end of show. This was merely just my worst nightmare. Until yesterday. Mmmmhmm.

So Rocket gets religious doses of Frontline. It's great for him...not so great for me. I am a tick magnet. Whatever ticks he brings in the house, half of them will end up on me. Because of this, I'm quite paranoid and feel like they're crawling on me all the time. Kevin thinks I'm slightly crazy. I found 3 on me yesterday. First one was crawling on my hand. Third one was attached to my head ::heebie jeebies::. Second one...you ready?

We had our friends Justin and Jen over, and I was holding Colin.

I felt something on my upper inner thigh.

Crawling? No, couldn't be.

Oh wait, yes, yes it was.

I made the quickest baby hand-off possible and made a beeline to the bathroom.

Sure enough--

Tick.

Attached with dear life to the outside of my underwear.

(Makes me glad I wear underwear, for sure!)

I often joked with Kevin about that House episode, not thinking it could happen.

Oh yes, it can happen.

I love my dog, I hate the ticks. My mom always said I got a lot of mosquito bites because I'm so sweet. Awww, I know. The same must be said about ticks, I guess.

Sorry I creeped you out.

...Don't worry babe I got your back, and I've also got your front.

Tidbits

Random tidbit #1: Wednesday night/Thursday morning was horrible. We got up way too often to change/feed Colin. I thought I had time-traveled back in to somewhere between weeks 1 and 3.

Random tidbit #2: Thursday night/Friday morning started off horrible. Colin was awake from 5 pm until 11:30 pm. From 9:30-11:30, when Kevin and I really just wanted to get to bed, he did not. You'd think being up for 6 hrs would be incentive enough to sleep. Not so much. Anyway, when he did get to sleep at about 11:30, he didn't wake up until...get this....6 am!! It was glorious. While our sleep was uninterrupted, I for one did not sleep soundly, because I was just waiting to hear a cry. And then you wonder....is he breathing? But being the good/bad mother (you make the call) I am, I didn't even get up to check. I trusted he was okay, and he was.

Random tidbit #3: Thought Colin had an ear infection. Better to be safe than sorry, so I took him in. No ear infection. The doctor suggested squirting some saline solution up Colin's nose to rid him of his boogery nastiness. He's constantly so congested. You know when you have loads of boogers in your nose, and you can breathe through them, but it's hard? That's how it is with the little guy. We did the squirting tonight using the bulb syringe, aka "snot sucker." It's like a mini netti pot! He was clear for a half hour or so, then that signature booger-snore came back again. Perhaps if we keep up with it, his nose will clear out.

Random tidbit #4: Tonight for the first time ever, Colin really seemed to enjoy his bath!! It started off as normal as the other times...crying, red face, fists clenched, all the while, we work as quick as we can while trying to keep him warm by constantly keeping water on the parts that are above water. Then...all of a sudden...quiet. Peace. A grin? Awesome. What's the difference? I think it was how he was positioned on the big yellow sponge. He was scooted up a little bit on it after we washed his back, and was more comfortable, perhaps. We'll see what happens in 2 more nights when it's bath time again.

Random tidbit #5: I had my 6 week follow up visit today. 4 lbs left to go until I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight. I know exactly where those 4 lbs are sitting. My tummy is my nemesis. I was expecting what's there to weigh more than it does, so I'll shut up now. It was good to see Midwife again. She reiterated how "wonderful" our birth was, how it was the birth people dream of, etc. I'm cleared to exercise, but not ready to hop on the treadmill yet because of some healing I feel needs to be done first. We'll keep it at our neighborhood strolls for now.

And random tidbit #6: I stopped at school today. I thought I could get by just grabbing the catalog I needed from a co-worker. "My" students were on a field trip...perhaps I could even avoid them. But you know how women are. And since I'm a teacher, I work with a bunch of them, and they all wanted to sneak a peek. And it was the end of the day, when things get a bit more laid back. So my 10 min trip turned into 1.5 hrs. But it was good to see everyone. And I saw my class as they were returning. They were sooooo happy to see me, and many of the girls pleaded for me to come back. The boys were super cute too, and many wanted hugs. These are 10 year olds people. And even if they didn't come up and give me a hug, if they were in arm's reach I hugged them anyway and they liked it. Some of the girls just couldn't get enough hugs. Uh...thanks for appreciating me 6 weeks too late. Love ya too. We're returning to school on June 12th for Sports Day, which is the best day of the year because the kids run around and do these sports stations that the parents run while the teachers get to slack off.

Alright...off to bed. Don't want to jinx tonight by wishing for any particular number of straight sleeping hours. But you know what I'm wishing for!

Week 4 pictures

Pretty sure he's showing off some dance moves. Pretty sure I've seen Kevin do these dance moves.

How I spend much of my days...getting stared at. Not that I mind at all because I stare right back!

The family has been sick. Kevin got sick last week, and was diagnosed with a double ear infection on Saturday. As much as I tried to avoid being getting sick, I think I failed. It hit me all of a sudden today when I was trying to take a nap. My ears are plugged up, I can't stop sneezing, I have a headache, my eyes hurt, and I'm a bit achy. If I wake up like this tomorrow, I shall go to the doctor and get my vial of amoxicillin. Hopefully the antibodies in the breast milk will keep Colin from getting sick too. I don't want the little fella to be sick at a mere 5 weeks old.

I spoke too soon

You know what I said about Thursday night, how Colin slept for 3.5 hrs straight? Well, on Friday night, he slept for FIVE straight hours! I put him in his crib at 11, and woke up when he cried. I glanced at the clock, saw it said 4:00, and bolted into his room before he ate his pajamas off. 5 hours is the most he's ever done anything...sleep, gone without eating, gone without getting his diaper changed. It was quite a lovely surprise. He was up for an hour eating, burping, etc. and went back to sleep for another 2.5 hrs. Very nice.

Last night we were back to our new "average" of the 3 hr stretches, which I will not complain about. They are definitely do-able, and really, it's like I only get up once or twice in the middle of the night. The second time he wakes up it's at least starting to get light out.

We may have a smiler now. I'm not quite sure yet if those smiles are intended for showing happiness, or if they're intended for something else. But at least the smiles are now two-sided instead of the one-sided smirks.

Colin's noises have progressed from grunts and cries to vowel sounds. Check out the video in the next post to listen.

Best night EVER

So good I had to come here and write it down for prosperity's sake.

9:30--Fed Colin his nightcap and went to bed

12:30--Colin woke up ravenous, practically eating his pjs off as I changed his diaper

1:00--Back to bed!

4:30--The mark of the longest stretch of sleep I've gotten since April 17. Fed Colin.

5:00--Back to bed!

6:00--Colin needs diaper changed, but doesn't want to be fed. Rocked him instead.

6:30--Back to bed!

8:10 (now)--Still sleeping.

Total sleep: about 9 hrs in an 11 hr span. Not too shabby.

*Never did I stay awake more than 30 min. Victory! I hate those 1 hr wakeful periods when he just won't go back to sleep, while I'm trying not to pass out while feeding/rocking/burping/rubbing his back.

*Kevin's sick, so I let him sleep all night and I did the diaper changes (he usually takes care of that and supplies me with water to drink).

Maybe the whole being awake a lot during the day, which is directly proportional to me NOT getting anything done around the house is worth it.

1 month old!

I can't believe how fast this month has flown by! In just another 11 more of these, we'll be celebrating a first birthday. Time...you listen to me...slow down!

On Saturday, Colin showed off his He-Man strength by doing this:

Wow, right? I just put him on his belly for tummy time, and that's what happened! He did it 3 times that day, but hasn't done it since. From there on out, we've only tried it in the living room without success. Maybe it's something about the carpet in his room. Perhaps a little scene recreation (those pajamas, that carpet) will motivate him to go for it some more.

What will month 2 bring?

Week 3 milestones

This week, I put on the last pair of non-maternity pants that stopped fitting, way back in November when I was 18 weeks pregnant. They weren't super comfortable, but they were zipped and buttoned! Give it another 2 weeks or so!

Grandma J. was successful in feeding Colin his very first bottle. He drank about 1 oz.
He got his second tub bath (first with that life-saving sponge!). He liked it better than his first bath, but still not lovin' it.
Warm and happier after bath time. He LOVES getting his hair washed in the sink!
Kevin and Colin played:
Not sure what this face is all about:
Kevin gave Colin his second bottle, and he drank 2.5 oz!
First day wearing cloth diapers (Green Mountain prefold with Thirsties cover):
Cloth diapering is going pretty well. It really doesn't take that much work than using disposables. We didn't realize this *as much* when we were using the disposables, but Colin pees constantly. So therefore, sometimes we change 3-4 diapers in 1 hr when he's awake! When he's asleep, he can usually wait the 2-3 hrs until he gets changed. Even Kevin really likes using cloth. We've been talking about what to do next after Colin grows out of our newborn prefolds. Kevin wants to stick with prefolds! They're the "hardest" (but cheapest) cloth diaper out there! I think once he sees the glory of some of the other types of diapers, like the BumGenius, he might be swayed a little bit. We'll see. But hey...if a dad doesn't mind prefolds, that must be proof to all out there considering cloth diapering that it's not as bad as you think.

Unfortunately, we jumped on the cloth diaper train too late to get much use out of our Bummis Super Bright cover. It only goes up to 9 lbs, and Colin seems to be nearing that. So we got about a day and a half's use out of it. Oh well...

We're still battling a diaper rash, though. It's my mission today to figure out a solution to fix it.

Tagged: Zombie Chicken Award

Thanks, StephanieB, for tagging me with this nonsensical award. Amazing that it took me so long to realize, huh?

Here's the description of said award:
"The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken - excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse. These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words. As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all…"

So now I'm tagging:

Laura

Jess

Leah

Liz

Jen

2 weeks in pictures

I've renamed previous posts with similar titles, because this post, in fact, showcases Colin's events in his second week.

Hanging out with Daddy:

Hanging out with Rocket, who has accepted the fact that Colin is staying. Rocket has also run out of the yard a few times since Saturday, which he never does. Big brother jealousy issues, maybe?

After his first bath in his tub, which he did not enjoy:

Trying out the Moby Wrap:

In the Moby wrap, practicing holding up his head and looking at Mom:

With the Duck (Week 2):

More pictures from Johanna

Colin made a second appearance on Johanna Price's website. He's still 7 day old Baby C. If you missed the first round of his pictures, scroll down her website past Baby L.

www.johannapricephoto.com

Love 'em, right?

2 week check up

Colin had his first check up today. Going in, I wasn't worried about his weight gain because I knew that with how often he ate, he had to have been back to his birth weight by now. Boy was he! He was born at 6 lbs 4 oz, and left the hospital on 4/20 at 5 lbs 14 oz. Today he weighed in at 7 lbs 3 oz!  I guess these long, sleepless nights are not for nothing. At least they're paying off in some form. His weight puts him in the 25th percentile. 

He's also 1/2 inch "taller" (75th percentile), and his head circumference is 1 1/4 inch bigger.

If he were a bit older, I'm sure he would have earned a sucker for how well he behaved as he lay in his diaper on the table getting poked and prodded at. He was proclaimed healthy, beautiful, and "looks like a boy" by the PA we saw. Whom, by the way, agreed with our decision to delay some immunizations. We enjoyed her. We thought we'd be seeing one of the MDs on staff in the long run, but perhaps we'll go back and see this PA again. We've got 6 more weeks until the next appointment to decide.

Why I chose a Midwife over an OB

This post goes out to my reader, C, who I promised to tell about my midwife experience.

I chose a midwife for the following reasons:

1. She'd be delivering my baby, not an OB whom I'd potentially never met

2. She'd be there during labor the whole time, not just to "catch" the baby when it comes out.

3. She did the water births...the OBs did not.

4. This particular Midwife came highly recommended by many people.

5. I knew I wanted to go as med-free as possible, and I knew that a Midwife would support that and tell me to buck up more than an OB would. Of course, when the time came, I didn't even think of asking for pain meds, so this didn't matter in the long run. But it could have!

Now...for my personal experience.

I saw this MW for exams and other things before zygote Colin came along. She really is quite fabulous. Some people say that MWs spend more time with their patients. I wouldn't say that's particularly true, although I don't have an OB from the same clinic to compare to. But the woman's busy, and she only has appointments 3 days per week, so I'm sure her schedule is packed. I can't blame her if she doesn't spend 30 min with me at every OB check. She's got other people to see.

She was kind, caring, gave me "alternative" approaches to making my labor go smoothly...some I didn't partake in (perineal massage, anyone?), some I did (I bought a book she recommended. It's called Birthing From Within. I didn't get a chance to finish it, so maybe I missed the boat on something in the book, because I wouldn't recommend it, as I'm not into creating and interpreting "birth art"). She always gave me the confidence that I was doing the right thing, that there was nothing to worry about, that everything was perfect.

As for the labor part...the poor lady arrived tired as heck since we woke her up at 2 a.m., the day of a big 8 a.m. meeting, I guess. A day when the OB doctor running the meeting said, "no water births on Saturday morning." Oops...well, we were done by 6. Hope she got some rest before the meeting! Anyway...she asked if I wanted some music, and I said I just wanted it to be quiet. While I was in the tub, she sat on a stool next to it and filled out some paperwork I think. I was having contractions, breathing through them just fine. I told her I was sorry for being boring, and she said she liked boring labors :). When the time came for pushing, she meant business. There was going to be no 2-hr push fest with this lady. I won't go into details, but what she did down there prevented any tearing. 

The only part I was disappointed in was that after we had Colin and she was done doing her repairs and we chatted for a short time, I didn't see her. Granted, she did have that meeting all day on Saturday, and the next day was Sunday, and on Monday when we went home she typically doesn't have office hours. Maybe it's for the best. I think if I would have seen her while we were in the hospital, I would've cried out of love for her.

Would I recommend a midwife? Hands down.

So C and anyone else who's thinking about it, get busy and find yourself a midwife! :)

More cuteness (Week 1)

Week 1 in pictures:

First "play"date with Nolan (3 months). Nolan played, Colin slept:

Yo yo yo

To be? Or not to be?

That's enough.

Pictures with the duck (exactly 2 weeks old):

Trying to run away perhaps?

The best picture was the last picture, of course:

Belly pic, 2 weeks postpartum. Still in comfy pants.

And for your viewing pleasure, a moment when Colin is actually awake!

A whole lotta cuteness (Week 0)

But before that...I spoke too soon. The night sweats came back last night. They make me so crabby, and it makes me a grumpy mommy when I try to feed Colin in the middle of the night. Bonjour, night sweats. Please don't stay long because I hate you.

Week 0 in Pictures:

Snuggle time with Dad and mom:

Enjoying some time in his bouncer:

Tummy time fail:After being fed and burped:My Grandma, Mom, Aunts, and Cousin came last Friday.

This is sort of a "4 generation" picture...

although that's my dad's mom...but whatevs.

With Grandpa and Grandma J:This might be our first family picture taken with my camera.

Isn't that kinda sad?

Rocket gives the side eye:

Last but not least, a new sort of belly pic. Still sporting maternity pants:

So long, farewell...

Goodbye horrid night sweats! I'm so happy to not wake up to a crying baby in a state of thermal confusion. I am excited to no longer be all hot and sweaty, but shivering because I'm freezing cold. Amidst the attempt at homeostasis, it was hard to nurse a hungry newborn while trying to stay warm...or is it cool? Auf wiedersehen!

Goodbye umbilical cord stump! You fell off this morning. What's left is a bit of black crust, which will make way for a super cute belly button in a day or two. We are happy to not have to work around you and try not to catch you on clothes and our diaper-changing hands. Adieu!

Goodbye maternity shirts! Not the pants...just the shirts. Oh...except for that thorn-in-my-side pair of torn Old Navy jeans which are going in the garbage. The shirts are going in the winter/summer/maternity clothes bin in the basement. It was fun while it lasted. Some of you I will miss. Some of you I will not. Au revoir!

Goodbye solid night's worth of sleep! Although I can't complain much. Colin usually sleeps 2-3 hour stretches, sometimes with a 1 hr (or less) stretch thrown in there. I'm getting up about 3-4 times a night. Kevin is too, poor guy. He's a very light sleeper, and if Colin makes the slightest noise, Kevin's awake. He's on diaper/pre-burping duty, while I'm on feeding/post-burping duty. Lucky duck, he gets to go back to sleep, and I stay up anywhere between a half hour to a full hour each feeding. Ciao!

Goodbye Mt. Vesuvius (I think)! Although now left side is confused as to why it's not getting as much action as the past week and a half. Today has been better on the feeding front though. Two successful days in a row of switching off at every feeding :) Arrivederci!

Tomorrow Colin will already be 2 weeks old. I'm not sure how I feel about that. 2 weeks...he's getting old already. How can I slow down time? But then again, I'm excited to be able to play with him, teach him things, take him places, etc. Each phase will have its perks and its hardships. I'm trying to enjoy Colin being tiny while it lasts.

I will post pictures of days past tomorrow.