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Weekly Wesley: Eighteen

18-Weeks-600px

World’s tiniest giant ham. No idea where he gets it. *side eye*

This was a big week. First of all, Wesley turned four months old.

wesley-phoebe-4-months

The shoot this month was a little trickier than normal because Wesley would. not. leave the sticker alone.

shirt-pulling

We had been trying to save them but this one ended up looking like it had been chewed on so I guess that’s out.

We still got some really cute shots.

4-months-1

I know it’s going to be more and more challenging interesting the more alert and mobile he gets.

With turning four months came the dreaded shots.

Dreaded for me anyway, Wesley is too young to realize yet.

I however had a stomach ache all day in anticipation of them. I just couldn’t get the look of surprised horror and pain on his face from the two month shots out of my head. It didn’t help that he was in the best mood ever in the doctor’s office right before.

before-shots

We were singing The Wheels on the Bus and he was laughing and giggling up a storm. He thought it was the best thing ever.

Then he nursed and fell sound asleep.

Ugh.

The shots were every bit as horrible as I was anticipating.

shots

There were several so the nurse asked another nurse to come in so they could do both at the same time. Only the stupid other nurse wasn’t into the idea of coordinating. The first nurse said they’d do it on three and the second nurse basically said, “Naw I do what I want.” and just stuck him. What a jerk.

Another quick nursing session calmed him right down though, even faster than last time so that was a relief.

Other than the shots the appointment went great. He’s off the charts tiny in weight and 50th percentile in height so that makes him looks even skinnier. He’s still growing and the pediatrician says he’s super healthy. He’s just on his own curve.

The other huge thing that happened this week was that Joel and I both left Wesley for the first time ever. Up until that point either Joel or I had always been at least in the same room as him. Even in the hospital Joel went with Wesley to the nursery every time when they had to take him for tests. He had always been in sight of at least one of us.

So of course I was nervous.

I knew that he would be safe and well cared for. That was never a question. We left him with my mom and I trust her more than anyone. I was just afraid he’d refuse his bottle and scream the whole time and my mom would never agree to babysit again.

wesley-nana

Thankfully that did not happen.

Joel and I were able to really enjoy my friend’s wedding.

film2film1

We had to call it a bit of an early night because Wesley did melt down after awhile. He went a good 4+ hours though for the reception so we got to enjoy dinner and even dance a little. It was so amazingly refreshing to be with Joel, just the two of us. Plus, the couple that was getting married is the cutest, happiest ever. It was just lovely.

I sure was happy to get home to him though.

missed-my-baby

Lastly Joel’s grandparents were in from out of town for a visit.

grandma-g

long-legs

I treasure every minute we get with them.

Other milestones:

  • I showed Wesley himself in the front camera of my phone for the first time. He was skeptical.

front-camera

  • Wesley is thisclose to rolling over from back to front. He’s nearly done it several times but his arm has so far prevented it from happening all the way. I’m not so much a fan of him possibly doing it in his sleep though. Blurg.

roll-over

  • His eye tracking has gotten incredible. I noticed because of watching him follow the fish around the tank at my grandparent’s and then at the doctors office. He didn’t lose sight of those fast moving fish for a second.

fish

  • He has gotten a lot more drooly recently. With that comes lots of spit bubbles and jokes about rabies.

rabid

Finally, a couple pictures that are just too good to leave out.

uncle-bubs

BBQ at our favorite local place.

bekah-wesley

Had my sister Bekah over for a visit and Wesley was a big fan.

foot-grab

Bébé feet!

flying-baby

Oh hello. See ya next time.

Weekly Wesley: Eighteen

18-Weeks-600px

World’s tiniest giant ham. No idea where he gets it. *side eye*

This was a big week. First of all, Wesley turned four months old.

wesley-phoebe-4-months

The shoot this month was a little trickier than normal because Wesley would. not. leave the sticker alone.

shirt-pulling

We had been trying to save them but this one ended up looking like it had been chewed on so I guess that’s out.

We still got some really cute shots.

4-months-1

I know it’s going to be more and more challenging interesting the more alert and mobile he gets.

With turning four months came the dreaded shots.

Dreaded for me anyway, Wesley is too young to realize yet.

I however had a stomach ache all day in anticipation of them. I just couldn’t get the look of surprised horror and pain on his face from the two month shots out of my head. It didn’t help that he was in the best mood ever in the doctor’s office right before.

before-shots

We were singing The Wheels on the Bus and he was laughing and giggling up a storm. He thought it was the best thing ever.

Then he nursed and fell sound asleep.

Ugh.

The shots were every bit as horrible as I was anticipating.

shots

There were several so the nurse asked another nurse to come in so they could do both at the same time. Only the stupid other nurse wasn’t into the idea of coordinating. The first nurse said they’d do it on three and the second nurse basically said, “Naw I do what I want.” and just stuck him. What a jerk.

Another quick nursing session calmed him right down though, even faster than last time so that was a relief.

Other than the shots the appointment went great. He’s off the charts tiny in weight and 50th percentile in height so that makes him looks even skinnier. He’s still growing and the pediatrician says he’s super healthy. He’s just on his own curve.

The other huge thing that happened this week was that Joel and I both left Wesley for the first time ever. Up until that point either Joel or I had always been at least in the same room as him. Even in the hospital Joel went with Wesley to the nursery every time when they had to take him for tests. He had always been in sight of at least one of us.

So of course I was nervous.

I knew that he would be safe and well cared for. That was never a question. We left him with my mom and I trust her more than anyone. I was just afraid he’d refuse his bottle and scream the whole time and my mom would never agree to babysit again.

wesley-nana

Thankfully that did not happen.

Joel and I were able to really enjoy my friend’s wedding.

film2film1

We had to call it a bit of an early night because Wesley did melt down after awhile. He went a good 4+ hours though for the reception so we got to enjoy dinner and even dance a little. It was so amazingly refreshing to be with Joel, just the two of us. Plus, the couple that was getting married is the cutest, happiest ever. It was just lovely.

I sure was happy to get home to him though.

missed-my-baby

Lastly Joel’s grandparents were in from out of town for a visit.

grandma-g

long-legs

I treasure every minute we get with them.

Other milestones:

  • I showed Wesley himself in the front camera of my phone for the first time. He was skeptical.

front-camera

  • Wesley is thisclose to rolling over from back to front. He’s nearly done it several times but his arm has so far prevented it from happening all the way. I’m not so much a fan of him possibly doing it in his sleep though. Blurg.

roll-over

  • His eye tracking has gotten incredible. I noticed because of watching him follow the fish around the tank at my grandparent’s and then at the doctors office. He didn’t lose sight of those fast moving fish for a second.

fish

  • He has gotten a lot more drooly recently. With that comes lots of spit bubbles and jokes about rabies.

rabid

Finally, a couple pictures that are just too good to leave out.

uncle-bubs

BBQ at our favorite local place.

bekah-wesley

Had my sister Bekah over for a visit and Wesley was a big fan.

foot-grab

Bébé feet!

flying-baby

Oh hello. See ya next time.

My first Mother’s Day

My first Mother’s Day was lovely and low key, just the way I wanted it. We started the day with brunch with Joel’s mom.

Gigi

Wesley slept through the whole thing like an angel and woke up at the very end, just in time to let his Gigi hold him for a few minutes.

From there we went straight to hang out with my family. We had a little cookout and just enjoyed our time together.

whole-family

It’s not easy to get this many people together, all looking in the same direction and still long enough to get a picture.

My mom gifted me this beautiful necklace.

image(4)

It is a tradition that she started that she gifts us girls a necklace like this on our first Mother’s Day. It’s very special to me that I’m finally one of the mothers who gets to wear this.

The weather was a little chilly but sunny and gorgeous so we grabbed some outdoor shots.

the-moms

All of us mothers.

our-family2

our-family1

My little family.

me

I really love being a mommy to this little dude.

One Month Old

wesley-1mnth-2-850

Weight: 8 lbs 11oz

Length: 22 1/2 inches

Clothing size: Newborn for onesies and pants. He’s officially too long for any of his footed clothes that are newborn sized. The 0-3 months size kind of swim on him still though because he hasn’t chunked out yet.

Diaper size: Newborn. We’ve tried going up to size 1 a couple times but they’re still comically big on him, although less so than they used to be.

Sleep: He takes 4 or 5 naps a day. At night he generally sleeps 3 to 4 hour stretches at a time, usually totaling 8-12 hours before he’s up again for the day.

Approximate number of photos I’ve taken of Wesley: 1,300

Approximate diapers changed: 320+

wesley-phoebe-blue-1mnth-850

Don’t know how I got so lucky to get such a sweet, happy little peanut. Happy one month, mister dude.

Weekly Wesley: One

1st-week

I survived my first week as a mother. Survived isn’t really the right word though because honestly I’m loving it so far. It’s still hard for me to tear myself away from his face long enough to throw a picture on Instagram much less write anything. Not only that but this kid loves to nurse so I rarely have more than one hand free. Currently Wesley is dream eating on my right side and I’m awkwardly typing this up with my left hand.

photo

Don’t take any of that as complaining though. Breastfeeding is still one of my very favorite things I’ve ever done. Wesley is a complete natural, it kind of blows my mind. I was expecting cracked, bleeding nipples and super sore boobs but so far I’ve experienced none of that. It can hurt a little when he latches on but usually that means I just have to unlatch him and try again. My milk finally officially came in yesterday. I was wondering if it was in before but when I woke up with seriously giant, dripping breasts I stopped questioning things. You’re welcome for that mental image guys.

Wesley-Sleeping

Sleep is actually not too bad now. The first two nights were rougher than I expected. All he did all night long was eat and cry. I’m fairly sure he didn’t sleep at all unless it was a cat nap while nursing. Oof. Joel was a saint and took turns walking him while he cried. We both got no more than two 45 minute stretches of sleep each though. There are no words for that kind of sleep deprivation. Wesley finally mastered the side lying nursing position though and that means that we both get far more sleep. In fact, last night I had to actually wake him up because my boobs were so full I couldn’t sleep anymore. Twice. I know these things change all the time but I’m enjoying the decent stretches I’m getting while I’m getting them.

Joel-and-Wesley

I love seeing how Joel has taken to fatherhood. It is beautiful. He so clearly adores our little guy. I’ve changed… one? diaper since Wesley was born. In just one week he’s gone from basically no experience to getting really comfortable with holding and soothing and dressing a tiny newborn. I knew he’d be a great dad but I didn’t know how much I’d enjoy watching him be one.

Phoebe-and-Wesley

Phoebe has adjusted really well. I plan to write a separate post about the transition but it’s going far better than I expected. She is such a great dog and I have a feeling her and Wesley are going to end up being best friends just like I hoped.

I’m recovering well. I plan to write about recovery and all that in a separate post as well. For now let’s just say not being pregnant anymore feels way better than I expected.

Wesley-Week-One-SkyMommy

Other milestones:

  • Wesley held his head up the morning after he was born.
  • Wesley’s cord fell off last night. So at six days old! I was kind of surprised it fell off already but I’m certainly not complaining. It’s nice not to have to worry about bumping it all the time. He has the funniest little outie belly button. We’ll see if it stays that way as he chunks out.
  • We finally did “real” (aka not on my chest) tummy time today and he predictably hated it. Poor little guy was so squished in utero though that he has a little weakness on one side of his neck so it’s really necessary for him to get that exercise.
  • His jaundice seems to be clearing up. The pediatrician sent us back to the hospital to get blood work done the day after he came home. She seemed to think it was pretty bad and said he might need to be readmitted depending on the numbers. Thankfully the levels weren’t too high and we didn’t even need to get a UV blanket to take home. In retrospect maybe dressing him in yellow for his appointment wasn’t the best choice. We have another appointment Wednesday so we’re hoping he’s gaining weight okay and his jaundice is gone.
  • Wesley has had lots of visitors already. He’s met all his grandparents and one set of great grandparents. Plus six of his cousins and a bunch of his aunts and uncles. This little man is so loved by so many people.

Looking-at-Mommy

It doesn’t feel totally real yet. I can’t really wrap my head around the fact that I’m a mom. Wesley is my son. I keep saying it out loud in hopes it will fully sink in. I love him but he doesn’t feel like he’s actually mine yet. I’m hoping that’s normal and that it will click in soon. But even though it hasn’t I’m still in a state of completely bliss over this adorable little bundle I was somehow lucky enough to get blessed with. One week old and he’s already perfect.

Losing her place?

Phoebe-faceWe have a fur baby. I know that term is kind of obnoxious to those who don’t have this kind of relationship with an animal. Trust me, I didn’t understand it myself before we found our little fuzz ball.

All it took was a little bit of play and then her curling up and falling asleep in Joel’s lap….

And we completely fell in love with all 2.2 pounds of her. I mean, look at this face, how could you not?

bringing her home

This is her at 8 weeks old on the ride home from the breeder. Gah! So cute! She looks so itty bitty and different here.

She just turned 4 years old on the 4th of March and is 6 pounds of love. She is well behaved (I can’t stand untrained dogs) but she’s also completely spoiled. I really do think of her as our baby.

Phoebe Joel

Now we’re going to bring home a human baby any day now and I’m nervous.

It’s not that she hasn’t been around kids. We give her full run of things when we’re around my nephews and she’s fine around them. They’ve pulled and poked and even body slammed her and she’s barely even shown her teeth. She enjoys playing with them sometimes and when she gets sick of it she retreats to her kennel, jumps up somewhere out of reach or crawls into an adult’s lap.

But in our house she is the princess. She is technically crate trained and we started out wanting her to sleep in there or in the kitchen at nights…. but that only lasted for so long.

Phoebe trapped

Yeah, I’m a complete sucker for that face.

Phoebe bed

She sleeps in bed with us every night. Usually at the foot of the bed but sometimes she decides she wants to cuddle and she’ll curl up in my armpit and I completely melt into a pile of goo.

But now there’s going to be a baby. A human baby. In “her” bed.

Phoebe bassinet

Granted, he has his own bassinet, I think I’ve pretty much decided against bed sharing. I’m not going to lie, a huge reason for that is because I cannot break Phoebe of sleeping in our bed. That really sounds so pathetic. I just can’t stand the crying when we try and get her to sleep anywhere else though. Part of it is sympathy and a part is pure laziness.

Still, there will be a crying infant in “her” room very soon. I just don’t know how she’s going to handle things. She won’t be the center of attention anymore. It kind of makes me sad. Am I super weird for being sad that I’m going to pay more attention to my son than my dog? Maybe don’t answer that.

Another thing I’m worried about is, in order to relieve some stress on our part about who would take care of her while we’re in the hospital, we have decided to take her to stay at my mother-in-law’s until after the baby is born. Now, don’t get me wrong, my mother-in-law is probably her favorite human on the planet. Yes, even more so than Joel or I. They adore each other. But still, she’s going to go away, likely for a couple of weeks, and when she comes home her whole world will be upside down.

I’m honestly having second thoughts about sending her away. The last time she was gone this long was when we were in India. And when we brought her home she promptly peed on our bed. The definition of pissed, I guess.

Phoebe Me

What in the world is she going to do after being gone that long and then coming home to this new thing that will take most of our time, energy and attention?

I really want them to love each other. I have this image of boy’s best friend. I want to hope she’ll be protective of him and patient and love him to death. But I’m afraid she’ll just be resentful and start acting out.

I don’t have very many ideas as to how to get her used to the idea of the new baby. I’ve thought of putting a blanket in bed with Wesley the first day or so and sending it home with my mother-in-law to give to Phoebe. At least that way she’ll be able to kind of get used to his smell. Other than that we’ve been showing her all his clothes and things as we sort and organize them. We talk to her all the time about “her kid.” We point to my belly and tell her there’s a kid in there and she gives us a look like we’ve completely lost it.

I also plan to ask visitors to say hello to her before they pay any attention to the baby. She seriously adores people and already acts a bit hurt and confused when every stranger on the street doesn’t want to stop and say hi to her on walks.

Phoebe strangers

I can only imagine how put out she’ll be if she gets omg visitors! to her home and they completely ignore her in favor of this new little creature we’re bringing home. People may think we’re ridiculous but I really think just a minute or two of them petting her would go a long way in making her resent Wesley a little less.

Those are my only ideas. I would really love any and all insight from you all. Are we completely stupid to send her away right before we drop this change bomb on her? For those of you who had a fur baby before your human baby, how did the transition go? Anything we can do to make this easier on her and us?

28 Weeks

28 weeks belly

This belly is at least 25% turkey I’m pretty sure.

We’ve officially reached the third trimester. *Muppet flail*

I finally managed to take my glucose tolerance test which was a bit of an annoying ordeal. I mean, more than the usual annoyance of drinking a gross drink and sitting around a lab. When I was told they were scheduling me for the test I asked what I needed to know and they just told me to go to the lab. Of course when I went the first thing they asked was whether I had been fasting. Apparently I was scheduled for some weird 2 hour version of the test. Blah. Put me in a bit of a foul mood, not to mention I had to go back in on a Saturday morning. I’ll find out tomorrow at my doctor’s appointment whether I passed the test or not. Cross your fingers for me.

Speaking of the doctors, I’m dreading what the scale might say. On the off chance I fail my GD test I considered it my last hurrah and ate All The Things these last couple of days. Well, except weirdly pie. I KNOW. The actual food was so amazingly good at both Christmas Eve and Christmas dinner that none of us ever got around to actually eating pie. I’m investigating body snatching and other such phenomenon as we speak, don’t worry.

familychristmas

It really was a wonderful Christmas. Full of love, good food, laughter and family which is exactly how I wanted it. I’m even more excited that we’ll be celebrating next Christmas with our little boy.

 

 

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a very merry Christmas. Hope your day is filled with love, laughter, family and puppies dressed in completely ridiculous outfits.

– Joel, Abigail, Phoebe, and Baby boy

Today was my due date

Phoebe gets worried about me when I cry

I should have been in labor today.

Or I should have been big as a house and wishing I was in labor.

Or maybe I’d already be working on getting the hang of nursing and diaper changes and sleep deprivation.

Seventeen is a special number to me. It’s the date of Joel’s (November) and my (January) birthdays and it’s the date of our anniversary (April). When we found out the due date it just seemed meant to be.

It wasn’t.

I’m happy that I have been able to go on and have a healthy pregnancy so soon after my loss. I’m lucky, I know I’m so lucky. But today, just for today, I wish we would have waited. Because today all I am is sad that I’m not holding a full term baby.

This day has hung like a cloud over me ever since March when we found out there was nothing growing in my uterus anymore. Fittingly today it’s thunder storming. I’m allowing myself today to just be in the storm. I’m going to cry, and remember the baby I never had. Later tonight Joel and I will light a candle on a cupcake in honor of the birthday that will never be.

Dear almost baby,

I miss you. I wish I was meeting you today. I dreamed last night that I went to Alaska. I’d like to think that was your way of telling me you’re in heaven with your uncle. I hope you’re safe and happy. I hope you know how much I wish I was getting to know you right now. I hope you know how much your daddy and I love you. You’ll always be in our hearts even though you were never in our arms.

All my love, Mommy

 

A day in my life

I wasn’t sure if I was actually going to do this. When Jill wrote the challenge it seemed like a fun idea. Unfortunately I’m afraid my life is rather dull right now. At least compared to when I’m actually flying.

But when I thought about it I realized I may like to look back and see what a regular day was like too. So here it is, a day in my life as seen through my iPhone and Instagram:

7:00am– Joel’s alarm goes off. I nudge him to turn it off and doze back off while he gets ready for work.

7:45am– Joel kisses me goodbye for the day. I wake up long enough to kiss him and then again fall back asleep.

9:00am- I roll over and see this adorable face staring at me. Check Twitter, email, etc from my iPhone.

Good morning sunshine.

9:15am– I finally stop cuddling Phoebe and checking tweets and make the bed.

Phoebe seriously freaks out about bed making.

10:15am- Breakfast eaten, showered, dressed and out the door.

Bye Phoebe.

10:45am– Laser hair removal appointment. Ouch.

11:00am- Out to lunch with Joel.

We’ve been wanting to try out Labriola’s cafe for awhile. It does not disappoint. Yum!

12:00pm- Drop Joel back off at work. Long day for him. Bummer.

12:30pm- Home again. And somebody is ready for her walk.

It’s kind of rainy and gross though so it’s a short walk.

12:45- Phoebe naps while I catch up on blogs and twitter and stuff.

2:00pm– Phoebe’s batteries are recharged and she would like for me to play with her.

She starts polite but if I don’t oblige quickly she goes into attack mode.


2:05pm- I give in and we run around and play with her new favorite toy.

Kill it!

2:30pm- I decide to sort laundry so it’s all ready to do tomorrow.

2:33pm- I grumble about how somebody always forgets to empty their pockets so it’s lucky that somebody always double checks because otherwise somebody’s flashdrive would’ve gotten washed. ahem

2:35pm- I almost kill our hamper because it. always. falls. off. the. freaking. hooks.

Laundry makes me grumble a lot. ahem

2:40pm- Laundry is sorted. I could wash it today but… yeah... So I read a book instead. A book and Phoebe cuddles are so much better than carting laundry up and down three flights of stairs.

Happiness.

5:00pm- Time to eat something for dinner.

I get kind of lazy about dinner when Joel has to work late. What?

6:00pm- Jazz class

7:00pm- Water break

7:10pm- Hip hop

8:30pm- Classes over and finally time to pick up Joel from work. P.S. Longest work day ever, right?

9:00pm- Home at last. Time to get a little quality time with Joel, watch some Psych on Netflix and enjoy a little post dance treat.

I’d say I earned it.

Now I want to know about you. What does a day in your life look like?

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