Happy Anniversary!

Today Matt & I have been married for 8 years!  It also marks the first day we officially started "trying" to start a family.  Those first few months don't really count as there was no way I was going to get pregnant when I wasn't cycling one bit.  I started taking metformin 6 months later in hopes of it helping me ovulate.  No such luck with it, either.  Six months later we added clomid.  We spent 6 months trying to make clomid work, but all it did was make me sick.  Then it was on to the fertility specialist.  It was another year and a half of trying injectible medications with IUIs.  I ovulated and even got pregnant 3 times, but all of them failed quickly.

IVF came next.  It was a success until we lost the twins at 5 months along.  That was only a month before our 4th anniversary.  We spent the next 3 anniversaries just the two of us with little hope of adding to our family.

Last year I had given up hope on ever getting pregnant again.  Around our anniversary I decided that I was up for one more shot.  I had spent months working on myself...I lost weight, I decided to start working out with a trainer, I started to see a counselor.  I was feeling so much better.  So, we would give it one more go...

This year we went to our annual anniversary dinner at La Fondue as a threesome.  Colin was wonderful.  Even though we went during the "witching hour" where he has been horribly fussy, he stayed rather calm and even napped on and off.  He barely made a peep through our whole 2 hour dinner.  Compared to the little 2-year-old boy sitting next to us, Colin was an angel.

Next year we might not be so lucky with Colin's temperament, but we are still the luckiest people in the world to be his parents.

Today's revelation:  Propping up Colin's bottle so the he "feeds" himself makes it easy for me to make my own lunch and eat while he does. :)

What Makes a Mommy

I carried Colin for 9 months.  I felt him kick and move.  I pushed him out of my body.  I contributed my DNA to create him.  All these make me biologically connected to him, but none of them make me his mommy. 

I have gotten baby poo all over my pants.  I have cleaned baby poo from Colin's bouncer.  I have rinsed and washed numerous poopy cloth diapers.  I have been spit up on too many times to count.  I have cleaned spit up from the couch and my pants and of course, my shirt.  I have gone to the store with spit up on my shirt.  I walk around with a crazy hairdo because I don't have time to fix it.  I don't eat lunch because I am too busy feeding my Little Man.  And I don't mind that I have done all these things.  That is what makes me Colin's Mommy.

I would do anything for my Little Man.  My needs come second after his.  Biology has nothing to do with it.  It is all about love.

Smiles

Colin is just starting to show his smile.  He doesn't do it too often, but when he does, it is so cute!  I was able to catch it on camera after I arrived home from dropping Nana at the airport.  I put him on my bed while I did a couple of things and he was so happy.  He gave me a couple of really good smiles and poses.  I think he is going to be a happy and fun little guy as he gets older.

I can't wait until I can interact with him and get more smiles from him.  I'm not sure what makes him smile just yet, so I keep doing all kinds of different things like making faces, singing, laughing, tickling, and kissing.  We have found that he is ticklish.  When we tickle his sides he reacts and when Matt touches his neck (I don't like it done to me, so I don't do it to him), he "turtles" just like I do.  It is pretty cute, but I am thinking he isn't a fan of it just like his Mommy.

This is the part of being a parent that is so fun!  I love watching him grow and change and do new things!  I want him to stay little, but I also am excited for him to experience all that life has in store for him!

Nana's Visit

My mom was very patient to wait until Colin was 5 weeks old to make her first trip here.  She was so excited that I think she could have flown herself here.  She arrived on Thursday and left reluctantly on Monday morning.  I'm sure she would have stayed longer if she could have.

She was a great help to me (and Matt) by just helping keep things clean and making sure that I ate and got all my "chores" done.  I actually miss having her here.  Some days I just feel like I have no time to get everything done and take care of Colin.  Plus, I need naps and I can't get naps when I know he is awake and needs me.  My mom helped me feel comfortable taking naps while he was awake. 

Matt and I even went out for our first date without the baby while Nana babysat for us.  It was a little strange for me because it was the first time that I was not in the same vicinity as Colin.  I've never been away from him for longer than a few minutes.  We went to a movie and were gone for over 3 hours!  I knew he was in good hands, so I didn't worry (much).  I was happy to get home and see his adorable little face, though.

I'm looking forward to Nana's next trip in October that will also include Papa as well.  Maybe Matt and I will go out to dinner AND a movie.

Thanks for helping Nana!

5 weeks!

It amazes me that five weeks have already passed since I gave birth to my little man. Time is just flying by. He is gaining lots of weight and most of his clothes are getting too short on him. Okay, so his fluffy butt makes clothes short, but he is even outgrowing diapers. His Happy Heiny minis now need to be on the largest setting, so pretty soon he is going to fit into the one-size diapers without them looking ginormous on him. My baby is growing up!

He is doing fairly well with sleeping, but today he was just a little fussy. He wouldn't lay down to take a nap without me. So I was forced to take a nap with him, which wasn't difficult for me to do, but it isn't like him not to sleep on his own. I am not sure if he is having gass issues or not, but he just seemed to fuss most of the day while he was awake. Even now as I type while hanging out in his room, he is awake and not falling asleep well. I am looking forward to the day when he goes to bed easier and sleeps through the night.

Tonight Daddy is on baby duty, so maybe I will get a little more rest.

Happy Birthday, Daddy!

For Daddy's birthday, Little Man and I decided to take him to lunch.  It was my first time back on the Lockheed campus since the week I went on maternity leave.  I can't believe it has been so many weeks already!

We went to one of our regular spots--Ginger Cafe.  The server has watched up go from couple, to pregnant woman and husband, to couple with a baby.  The hostess fawned over him a bit and the server (our regular) had to comment on him and gave us a big smile.  He is a little goofy, but he seemed very cute about the baby.  It was funny to even hear the other customers commenting on the "little baby."  I forget he really is little sometimes.  One day I know I will miss how little he is now, but for now, he is just getting bigger and isn't as small as he used to be.

We are officially 2 plus a baby when we go to a restaurant!  It really is strange.  I love it!

And Week 2 begins...

We are already on to week 2 as a SAHM.  Today went pretty well.  Colin and I are both adjusting.  Squiggle is still depressed, but I think he is also happy that he isn't home alone all day. 

Today was a simple day.  We didn't drive anywhere and we just kinda hung out and did stuff around the house.  I actually took a nap at the same time as the Little Man, which worked out well for me.  Although, he did wake me up by crying rather loudly.  Makes me sad because I was only about 10 feet away from him. 

Our big outing for the day turned out to be a walk to the mailbox by the grocery store.  The mail carriers comes by our house pretty early (before 10am) and I miss putting things out quite often.  Today, I needed for Matt to sign some papers for Colin's 529 and he did that when he came home for lunch (yay!).  So, after our post-lunch nap, the three of us got together and walked down the street.  I have to say that walking a baby stroller and an excited pug is no easy task.  The stroller is large enough that I cannot see the dog if he walks in front of it and of course that is where he wants to be.  I'm not sure how many times I bumped his butt with the wheels.  Ah, well...we all made it to the mailbox and home without any real damage.  Little Man probably doesn't remember any of it because he napped the whole time.

I did find that Little Man only poops when Daddy goes to work.  Daddy didn't work yesterday and there were no poopy diapers.  Today, we had many.  So many that Little Man's butt is looking a little raw.  Poor guy...I don't know what to do for him.  We keep telling him to slow down on the pooping (at least when Mommy is the only one home), but he isn't listening.

Overall, we are improving and starting to have a good time together.  Little Man is getting close to smiling, so we play a lot and I try to get a smile out of him.  Nana will be here in a couple of days, so those days are going to be lots of fun!