Happy Baby!

In the past few days, Owen has been talking up a storm. It's like it happened overnight. He was cooing here and there prior to this, but he is now TALKING, LAUGHING and reacting to everything! It is SOOOOO cute! My Mom takes a million pictures and videos of him so I don't miss out on anything. I will be so sad when she leaves next week and I don't get multiple pictures and videos while I'm at work. Anyways, here's proof of our happy baby!!

2 Month Well Check & Shots

On Monday, January 9th, I took Owen for his 2 month well check visit. I had been dreading this visit since I brought him to his one month appointment knowing he'd have to get shots. Does any Mother ever not get anxiety from this? I literally had a knot in my stomach for 3 days prior to this appointment wondering how I was going to be able to watch him get the shots. Right before I went, I posted a status update on Facebook stating how awful the feeling was and my sister in law Carolyn gave me the idea to nurse him immediately afterwards. THANK GOODNESS for this. I would NEVER have thought to do that and it turned out to be the only thing that calmed him. Our visit was at 11:45 and Owen was already a little crabby and hungry to begin with. He was good for the doctor and passed all his developmental tests with flying colors. When the nurse came in - he started to cry. I SWEAR he knew what was coming...or he might have been getting a little hungry. They first gave him the oral vaccination and he took that like a champ. You could tell he wanted more to eat because after the oral vaccination he started smacking his lips and when nothing more was coming, he started to cry. The nurse then started his shots and thus began the worst feeling I have ever encountered. Holy smokes, Owen screamed bloody murder and turned so red. He had a total of three shots. (WHY are there THREE shots at 2 months?? Poor babies!!!) It probably took the nurse less than 30 seconds to give him all of them, but it felt like a decade. Each one worse than the next and Owen screaming louder with each one. I was so heartbroken watching him so upset. As soon as the nurse was done, I grabbed him and started to nurse him instantly. At first he wouldn't even take that consolation prize because he was so upset at what had just happened to him. When he finally did start to nurse, he was so red in the face and sweaty. It was so sad!! He had been crying so hard he was hiccuping through the entire feeding. I nursed him for awhile and he passed out afterwards. He proceeded to take a 3 hour nap post shots/scream session. The LONGEST nap this baby has ever taken. He was so exhausted for the rest of the afternoon and barely woke up. We gave him his usual bath a little earlier that night and put him to bed at 9. He started to run a small fever, so I gave him so baby aspirin and he literally slept from 9pm to 6am the next morning. Actually, correction....he had to be WOKEN up at 6am to eat! Poor baby was so worn out!!

As for his visit, Owen is growing like a weed. He weighed 11.5 pounds and 23.5 inches. Putting him at 27% for weight and 54% for height. His head circumference on the other hand was impressive! He was in the 64%! So basically our little nugget is long and lean with a big noggin! Thank goodness his next visit isn't until 4 months. Maybe next time I will be more prepared for the shots!!

Back to Work

On Tuesday, January 3rd, I finally went back to work. I had been dreading this day the entire week before and just savoring every last waking moment with Owen. I had actually worked part time here and there for a few weeks leading up to going back full time, but it was never really bad. Owen and I would spend the morning in bed together and I'd get up to eat lunch and then go into work for a few hours. It was amazing actually. Needless to say, I was really anxious to have to go back full time and figure out how I'd juggle getting Owen ready for the day and out the door. For a month, I will have it pretty easy because my Mom is still helping us out and will be here until the end of January. The real test is how I'm going to get Owen changed, fed dressed and to day care so that I'm not late to work AFTER she leaves! AHHHH!!!

Work is flexible with our schedules, so I decided to start my day a little earlier than I used to before Owen. I used to go into work around 8 to 8:15 and work until 5 or 5:15. I am now starting my day earlier and getting to work by 7:30 and working until 4:30. Oddly, my office is normally buzzing by 7:15 and most of my coworkers are already at their desks, so it shouldn't be hard. This schedule will give me an extra 30 minutes a day with Owen, which is absolutely priceless. I am NOT a morning person by any means, but waking up to a precious baby gets me eager to jump out of bed. I love looking into his bassinet to see him smiling up at me. Nothing motivates you more to get out of bed more than knowing you have a baby that loves seeing your face!!

I'm not going to lie - as a first time mother, I toyed with the idea of staying home to be with Owen. I actually would love to ideally stay at home during his first year so I can be there to watch all his milestones and love on him. On the flip side, I also know that it's important I keep up a career for myself because it helps keep me challenged and stimulated - which I 100% need. I love my job and all the complexities involved with it, so I would never give it up. I do wish I could work from home so that I could spend some time with Owen, but who are we kidding...I'd never get anything done!! It will be difficult bringing Owen to day care knowing it will probably mean he will be sick 70% of this coming year and also knowing that someone we don't know will be spending more awake hours with him than we do in any given week. I know it's the right decision for our family, but one can always wish for other things!

My first day back at work was not bad at all. My Mom sent me a ton of pictures throughout the day and I had a huge proposal I had to get out the door, so the day flew by. My SWEET coworkers also decorated my cube with a TON of Owen pictures. It was the best welcome back present they could give me. I can be working at my desk and look up to a sweet picture of our baby boy. I seriously couldn't have better friends/coworkers!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year!! What a year 2011 has been. We were so grateful for everything we were given last year. The outpouring of love and support we received after we found out we were expecting was amazing. It totally blew our minds and we felt so unbelievably lucky. After Owen arrived, we somehow felt even more grateful for our blessings. He was such a beautiful baby and seeing him for the first time was the highlight of our lives. Owen is now a thriving baby who brings us so much joy. We fall in love with him more every day and are so thankful that it has been so easy to transition into being parents. We have Owen to thank for not being in "freak out" mode though - he is such an easy baby!! We are BEYOND lucky! In fact, we are so lucky that my Mom thinks we shouldn't risk having another baby because there is no chance in hell we can get this lucky again. Haha.

Tommy and I went to a friend's house to ring in the new year. We left Owen with Grandma Gin Gin and he had a great time counting down to midnight with her. At least we think he did! It is so nice to able to get out and see friends now that he is here. We always hoped we could do that and we are taking full advantage of those opportunities while my Mom is here. Isn't that what Grandparents are for? Haha. Before we left for the party, we pulled out Owen's Bumbo seat and put him in it. He initially gets really scared when we sit him in it and cries out, but once he's in and realizes there is nothing to be scared about, he just sits and stares around. He can follow us with his eyes now and tries REALLY hard to move his head along too. It's hard for him because the little guy has a pretty big noggin. Haha. He looks like such a toddler when he's in the Bumbo seat. It's hilarious!!

And of course on New Year's Day, we took the obligatory picture with a hat we took from our party. He doesn't look very pleased about it!!

Wishing everyone a healthy and prosperous new year!!

2 Months Old

Where does the time go? For the first time in my life, I have this intense want for time to stay still. Even though Owen is changing before our very eyes each and every day, the months are going by WAY too fast!! I can NOT believe our baby boy is already 2 months old! He is absolutely the best thing that could have ever happened to us. We can't imagine our lives without him. It's so crazy to think back at being pregnant and 2 months seemed like 10 years and now it seems like 10 minutes. At 2 months Owen is such a happy baby. He smiles and coos at us all day LONG! I can not get enough of this little boy's HUGE smiles. He is starting to really concentrate on our faces and his favorite thing is watching us stick our tongues out. Sometimes I think he is trying to imitate us because he is staring so intently at us sticking our tongues out! He is still sleeping through the night - hallelujah!! He is not the best napper during the day and I think it's probably because we can't seem to get him on a schedule. It is so hard to put him down at the same time during the day because we were doing different things while I was on maternity leave. The one way he naps the best is if we are out and about. When we take him to the mall or anywhere in the car, he automatically passes out for at least 2 hours. Meanwhile, if we stay home, the kid stays awake and doesn't sleep for longer than 30 minutes! He has been going through a growth spurt lately and can't seem to get enough to eat. This has been interesting to deal with because I feel like I'm constantly nursing him!! I can literally almost see him growing. He is in 3 month clothes - he's a LONG baby. For Christmas, I bought him a bunch of 6 month clothes because it seems like he'll be in them before winter is over. He still LOVES his bath time and it is probably my favorite time of the day. The second you stick him in that bathtub, he gets the biggest grin on his face and looks SO relaxed. It is priceless!!

Owen - we love you to death and can't wait to see what is to come!!

Poor Owen

Owen got sick for the third time this last week while everyone was in town. The first two times he got sick, it only lasted a day or two and he seemed to get over it really quickly. He lost his voice and was a bit crabby, but it never stuck around. This last week, he got his first full blown cold and I have felt so helpless with him. He is all stuffy and has the saddest cough that takes everything out of him. The scariest part is he sounds like he is choking when he is coughing and we don't know what to do. If he's awake, he is fighting sleep and can't get comfortable. If he's asleep, he'll literally sleep for hours on end and won't wake up to nurse. I literally have had to wake him to eat and he is super cranky because he is starving and feeling crappy. Poor baby! Danny came over to look at him and sucked all the snot he could out of him and fed him some baby Tylenol and he seemed to be less cranky. (Thank goodness for Uncles that are pediatricians!) This is my last week of maternity leave, so I've definitely been taking advantage of my cuddle time with him. Plus, Grandma Gin Gin comes back Friday and I know she'll steal him once she's here so I've been giving him as many kisses and snuggles as possible!! Thank goodness for an easy baby so far though. He is still sleeping the full 7-8 hours every night since his 7 week birthday and this dreadful cold hasn't pushed him off track...YET.

Feel better Owen!!!

Owen's First Christmas

The day after my Mom left town, Tommy's family came into town to spend Christmas with us. Tommy's younger sister and younger brother both live here in Durham, so it was much easier to have them fly to us this year with Owen. We had so much fun having them in town. Owen got to spend quality time with the extended family and got in cuddle time with his Grandma Becky and Buzz as well as his Aunt Carolyn and Uncle Victor. Most importantly, he got lots of sweet hugs and kisses from his cousin Annaliese. It was so cute to see them together. It was also crazy to watch Annaliese all week knowing our Christmas would be so very different next year. Owen was SPOILED ROTTEN for Christmas. He got a TON of toys and some ADORABLE outfits. Santa only brought him clothes this year (he is LITERALLY growing out of his clothes weekly - he's already in 3 month clothes!), but at least his grandparents, aunts and uncles spoil him with more! We absolutely can't wait for next year and to start traditions with our own little family of three. The holidays are ten times more fun when you are a parent!!