Living life in 2 hour increments

Week 2 and 3+ have been much better in terms of adjusting to our new reality of motherhood and taking care of a baby.  How could I not love caring for this little man?  He makes my heart sing and I love love LOVE spending time with him.

The one thing I am still trying to get used to is that my life operates on a 2 hour schedule.  He eats about every 2 hours, so by the time I feed him and settle him back down to sleep, I don't have very much time to do anything else.  I feel really useless, spending basically all day at home yet having nothing to show for myself at the end of the day.  If I am lucky, I can finish a couple loads of laundry and run an errand.     Before baby, I used to be a really efficient and got a high from crossing off items on my daily checklist.  These days, I may make a checklist, but I only get one or two items crossed off before the end of the day.  I am still adjusting to the fact that it is my full-time job to take care of Samuel for these 12 weeks that I am home from work.  By the time I go back to work, hopefully his feeding schedule will be less demanding and I will be able to juggle my full-time job and my full-time life.

When I do get out of the house to run errands, I prefer any place that has a drive-through.  I'm not talking McDonalds or Burger King (trying to slim down after pregnancy), but I have driven out of my way to go to a Starbucks with a drive through versus a Starbucks without one.  It is kind of a hassle to schlep the baby in the car seat with the diaper bag, so if I don't have to get out of the car, then that is a double gold star.  

Duke and Daisy continue to adjust well with Samuel.  The novelty of Samuel has worn off a little bit, so Duke does not babysit him as much.  However, Duke is still very protective of Samuel.  Duke is fine with people he knows, but he can be snippy with people he does not know. One of our neighbors stopped us while we were out for a walk.  This neighbor wanted to see the baby and chat for a few minutes.  As soon as this neighbor bent over to look at the baby, Duke stood his ground near the stroller and growled at him.  Duke was in trouble the rest of the day, although I'm pretty sure he thought he was just doing his job.  Consequently, Duke is no longer allowed to greet people on the street if we are out with Samuel; we cannot risk Duke reacting to a stranger.

Daisy is my shadow most of the day, especially in the morning when I am eating my breakfast.  If I go upstairs, she goes upstairs; if I sit on the couch, she sits right next to me; if I go to the bathroom, she is right behind me.  Duke's daily routine seems to be somewhat unchanged from before- he likes to nap upstairs on our bed and look out the window.  I have discovered that he barks at anybody walking by the window.  Luckily, Samuel sleeps through his barking.

My parents were in town for a few days this week, so here is a photo of Samuel snuggling with Grandpa Stentz.  My dad tries to act nonchalant about Samuel, but he secretly loves to hold him.  My parents wish they lived closer so that they could spend more time with him.  I know what it's like to not have grandparents around for all life's little moments; my dad's parents lived in Ohio and my mom's parents lived in Boston.  We only saw them over holidays and during maybe one or two visits throughout the year.  Because there is so much life lived in between major holidays, I hope my parents will move closer so that they don't miss out on watching Samuel grow up.

And that's my time....Samuel is waking up from his nap! :)  So the 2 hour cycle begins once again.  

Some good looking genes!

 When Samuel was born, I thought he looked just like Jesse.  Now that he is putting some weight on and filling out, I am not sure who he looks more like.  A pretty good combination of both of us.  He has my nose and ears, dad's lips and eyebrows.  He makes the same sour-puss looks as Jesse too.  We think he's a pretty good lookin' baby! :)

Me at 2 weeks old

Samuel: 10 days old; resembling me

Samuel looking like Jesse

Jesse as a newborn- don't you live his outfit?

One week down....18 years to go!

Week 1 was rough!  I was not quite prepared for the lack of sleep and hormone roller coaster that was to be during the first week.  Everybody tells you that you will be sleep deprived and exhausted, but living it is a different reality.  I have learned to function on 3 hours of sleep and to utilize only one hand while holding our sweet boy in my arms.

We had a slight hiccup over nursing.  Samuel was not into nursing- he would latch on, but would not suck enough to get the milk flowing.  When he was hungry, he wanted his food immediately.  He was getting frustrated and I was getting stressed out over nursing.  Considering he feeds every two hours, it was a constant battle.  I even tried a lactation consultant to help us.  The solutions she offered us helped, but in the end, Samuel still did not want to put the effort in to getting the milk to flow.  He was losing weight, so we decided to switch to a bottle of breast milk.  He LOVED the bottle; immediate gratification of milk!  Although I was very disappointed that he did not want to nurse, I am so much happier with bottle feeding; Samuel is happy and gaining weight, and everybody is less stressed out over feeding.  As my dad said, you will not win a battle of wills with a baby.

Samuel is a great baby so far.  He sleeps well and rarely fusses.  I think he has my personality- laid back and mellow.  He even sleeps in his crib at night, and has from day 1.  It has been so fun getting to know his little personality.  At just 2 weeks old, he is quite alert and focused during his awake time.  He makes some of the funniest faces; I would love to know what he is thinking.

Duke continues to be Samuel's guardian.  When Samuel cries, Duke jumps up to check on him.  Duke does not spend the night in his nursery any more, but he lays down at my feet when I am feeding Samuel in the middle of the night.  We took the dogs and Samuel for a walk around the neighborhood last weekend.  The dogs walk on extendable leashes, so for the most part they are way ahead of the stroller.  Duke circled back to the stroller, looking into the car seat to check that Samuel was in there and doing okay.  Duke is such a good big brother!

Daisy continues not to really care either way.  She still likes to sniff Samuel, but does not seek him out like Duke.  I think Daisy will be Samuel's fast friend when he is old enough to sit in the high chair and eat solid foods.  I can picture Daisy planting herself underneath his high chair, waiting for food to hit the floor.



Every day is better than the last, as we get the hang of parenthood.  One of my co-workers said that you just try to survive.  I think we are doing a pretty good job of surviving, and maybe even having some fun with it! :)

Out for our first neighborhood walk- there's a baby in there somewhere!

....and baby makes 5

Our baby has finally arrived!  The stork did not miss our house this time.  He arrived right at 41 weeks gestation, and even then did not want to come out.  After a very long labor process, we welcomed Samuel Christopher into our family Friday morning at 2:48am.

After being discharged from the hospital (god bless the post-partum nursing staff; that is a job I would not want!!) we arrived home to introduce Samuel to his big brother and sister, Duke and Daisy.  Jesse had brought home a hat and blanket that Samuel wore while in the hospital so that the dogs could get a smell prior to meeting him.

I was not 100% sure how the dogs would react to a new baby.  They have been our center of attention for so long.  We take them for long walks every day and to the park on the weekends for an extra long walk.  I assumed the dogs would be really interested in the baby, but did not know what to expect of how they would continue to react to our newest family member.

When we brought Samuel home, we allowed the dogs to sniff Samuel in his car seat.  Duke went first, and then Daisy had a turn.  We took Samuel out of his car seat and sat on the couch, allowing the dogs time to sniff him up close and personal.  We did not let the dogs get in his face, as they needed to learn to show him some space.

In terms of how the dogs are getting along with their new brother, they have gladly accepted their role of big brother/big sister without hesitation.  Duke thinks it is his personal job to be Samuel's nanny.  Duke is very watchful over Samuel.  The first night we brought Samuel home, Duke spent the majority of the night in his nursery, sleeping on the floor between the crib and the door.  I often find Duke making his rounds to check on Samuel, peeking over his pack-n-play or sneaking into his nursery to make sure he is safe and sound in there.


Daisy is interested in Samuel too, but more for the smells and sound that come with a baby.  She otherwise gives him space. Both dogs have been great sports about the change in their daily routine- they don't get walked as often and trips to the park will be on hold for a while.  My parents stopped over the other day and my dad offered to take the dogs for a walk.  The dogs LOVE going for walks, but Duke refused to go, as he wanted to be home and on big brother duty.

Duke seems to really relish his new role in our family.  It is like he was always meant to be the protector, he just needed somebody to protect.

Because it has only been 4 days since Samuel arrived, I am sure there will be lots of new surprises along the way with our bullies and baby.  More to come!!

It's Baby Day!

Our little guy has decided to hold out on us and has not made his arrival yet.  That means that at 5pm tonight, I am checking into the hospital for to start the induction process.  It is eviction day!

 

Countdown to baby...

My last day of work was Friday, my due date.  Although everybody, including me, was hoping the baby would come over the weekend, our baby is officially fashionably late.  Three days overdue so far.

Since it is now Monday and baby is not here yet, I am passing my time at home various ways....

1)  Extra bonding time with the dogs.
We went for a really long walk, which didn't help to bring baby, but at least the dogs enjoyed it.  Turns out, there are a million squirrels running around our neighborhood around 9am.  By the time we got home, the dogs were exhausted and were ready for an epic nap.

 I get out of the shower, and find Daisy making her 'nest' in our bed covers.  She has been the culprit that has been messing up our neatly made bed.  Caught in the act!

















2)  Shopping

Since I have all this free time on my hands, I decided to hit the stores and browse.  Look what I found....   :)

The baby needed a little brother shirt, since he will be the newest addition to our family.  And it's black and gold, perfect Hawkeye colors.  Perhaps before we have newborn photos taken, I will make 'big brother/big sister' tees for Duke and Daisy.











3)  Some pampering

My last stop today was getting my nails done.  My friend always advised to have a fresh pedicure before going to the hospital.  You never want the nurses commenting on your toes while they are up in the stirrups, so I swung by the nail salon to get some pampering.  Manicure? Check!  Pedicure? Check! Since I am uber-pregnant, I had to pee before leaving the salon.  To my surprise, I find a bidet attachment on the toilet in the nail salon bathroom.  A picture to prove it.  And no, I did not use it; I chose to squat! :)




So, back at home, I am once again waiting for baby to make his arrival.  Daisy and I are watching a movie, lounging on the couch on this rainy afternoon.  Patience may not be my strongest virtue, but I know there is an end in sight.  If baby decides not to surprise us sooner than later, we do have an induction scheduled for Wednesday night.  Which means...........baby should be here by Thursday! :)  Then the real adventure begins!

Hot Dog in the Summer

Who says kids get to have all the fun with kiddie pools?

Yes, we bought this pool for Duke.  This summer, he has really embraced the 1/2 of him that is Lab and he LOVES the water!

We take him to a nearby lake and throw the ball for him; he swims out to get it like it is his job.  He takes his job very serious and gets so mad at Daisy when she gets in the way.  We have also spent quite a bit of time at the Montrose Dog Beach.  I am pretty sure that is Duke's favorite place on earth.  He would spend all day there if we let him.

Unfortunately for Duke, we can't venture out to the lake every day, so we bought him a kiddie pool to help him cool off at home on hot summer days.  I doubt he will be able to share this pool when baby comes along- he doesn't even let Daisy in his pool.  Looks like next summer, we may have two kiddie pools- one for baby and one for Duke. :)

Well, poop!

Sometimes having dogs gives a great introduction to raising kids.  I know they are not really comparable, but they do offer some great lessons in patience and a strong gag reflex.

Today, for example, I came home from work to find Jesse standing in the kitchen with a plastic bag and the roll of paper towels in his hand.  As soon as I walked in our house, the stench of poop slapped me across the face.  This means that one of the dogs pooped in the house.  This is actually a rare occurrence with our dogs- they never poop in the house, so it must have been a dire emergency that one of them could not hold until we got home.

Jesse told me that he spent about 20 minutes searching for the scene of the crime.  Duke always poops in the basement because he's so embarrassed about it.  Otherwise, he never goes in the basement without us. Jesse said he checked the basement twice, checked upstairs in all the bedrooms; he basically scoured the house for this poop and could not find it.  Retracing his steps to where the smell was the strongest, this lead him to our guest bathroom on our first floor.  Still, no poop.  Jesse pulls back the shower curtain, and TADA- the biggest pile of poop you could imagine- in our BATH TUB!!  Apparently, Duke thought it was a better idea to poop in the bath tub than anywhere else in the house.  Our shower curtain was closed, so he even jumped in, did his duty, and then jumped back out without disturbing the curtain.  Even though that is beyond disgusting, we are thankful it was in a place that is easy to clean up.

As I am standing in the hallway and laughing about the poop incident, I hear guttural sounds behind me.  As I turn around, Daisy throws up all over the floor.  Apparently she was disgusted about the whole thing too.

Let's just say, thanks to our dogs, we will be well prepared for any poop, vomit, or other bodily fluids requiring a clean up in aisle 3.  

Hello 3rd trimester!

Entering my third trimester is pretty exciting, and yet pretty daunting.  I already asked my friends not to tell me about labor; I don't want to know the gruesome facts, as it is too late to change my mind about this whole giving birth thing.  

I guess I should pick out a crib and start thinking about nanny or daycare options.  Oh yeah, maybe I should take a tour of the maternity section of the hospital.  Working full time really puts a damper in my schedule. 

Why can't I be like the rest of the Barrington moms?  Stay home AND have a full-time nanny?  Somebody has to take care of the baby and the dogs!

The newest family member will be here in August!!

We found out we were expecting our first baby (a real one) in December.  Our due date is August 10th and so far the pregnancy has really agreed with me!  I was really tired during my first trimester, but was lucky enough not to have any morning sickness.  Our doctor told us that Baby Marek must be reading medical books, because everything has been "textbook" so far!!  We found out that our baby was going to be a BOY at the end of March.  Duke and Jesse will have another boy to be part of their club. :)

Here is me at 6 months, on my birthday too! 

Along came Daisy...

After we were married and planning on starting a family, we decided Duke needed a friend.  Duke is our everything- he gets all of our attention and we knew it would be a difficult transition once Baby came and he had to share his attention.  

So along came Daisy!  The cutest and sweetest pittie mix we could find.  Duke is pit/lab mix, so we wanted another pit mix as part of our family.  Pitties, unfortunately, get really bad reputations, but Duke and Daisy have been nothing but wonderful dogs.   

Our first baby

Technically, our first baby is Duke. The dog that nobody wanted.

After my dog, Ada, passed, I thought it would take a long time to welcome another dog into our home.  After about 3 weeks, I missed having a dog companion, so I looked into fostering a dog.  I found a local shelter that needed foster homes, as they were bursting at the rims with dogs in needs of home.  


Duke was one of those dogs.  He was transferred from a high kill shelter to this no-kill shelter as a puppy. There he stayed for all 10 months of his life. Nobody ever called about him or came to look at him, until me. I asked the shelter who needed the most love and they directed me to this big black dog.

Technically, I was fostering him, but as we drove away from the shelter, I was already in love with this big dog with those funny ears. Three weeks after that, we adopted Duke and made him an official part of our family.