Beer Baby

I am a believer in the wheat beer theory for milk production. I've only been doing it for two nights and I've seen a 2 ounce increase each time I pump. I feel like it's one of those secrets no one tells you. They try and sell you Lactation cookies and teas and I guess that"s good if you don't like beer...but this method seems cheap and easy. Of course my favorite beer is Blue Moon, so I am one happy momma.

Can anyone believe it's July 4th on Friday? I for one am a little taken back by how fast June flew by.  But isn't it always how summer goes? We are going over to my friend Calie's house on Friday. She is having a little boy due on August 10th. We met in prenatal yoga. I am excited for our boys to grow up together and be friends. It will be nice because I can bring my pump and not worry about rushing home in three hours. 

On Friday I went to a resale baby shop called "Kid to Kid"and got Micah a bouncer. He is really enjoying it. Craig said we didn't need it.. but I think he is glad I bought it because he will actually let us put him down for a little bit and he is happy. haha Of course Craig won't admit that I was right..but what's new? Here are some pics of him in the bouncer.

Also we have started using cloth diapers.(Yep we are a lil crazy). He has diaper rash and we thought it would help. We only got six diapers and didn't realize they were ONE TIME USE. So Craig bought 50 more. This means lots and lots of washing for me... FUN STUFF. I will do anything for my lil man though : )

Have a wonderful MONDAY

New Womom

Today I feel like a new Wo-MOM. Micah slept so good last night. First from 8:30 until 12:45 a.m. and then from 2 a.m. to 5:30 and went to bed again until 8 a.m. I felt so good waking up this morning. It's so much more fun to be with your little one when you feel rested.  We did go for a walk outside yesterday and it probably wore him out.

Today I think we are going to make a trip to Target. It will be our first of many together. I need to get a couple things including Beer!! Yep, my pediatrician said I should drink one beer a night to help my milk come in. And she said make sure it's Wheat beer. So my favorite beer will be on my dinner list from now on Blue MOON!

Now that Micah is almost 10 pounds, I have to start putting the newborn outfits away. I put on a 3 month outfit yesterday that I bought at carter's thinking it might be too big but it actually wasn't bad at all.

He is still looking at me like "What are you doing" but he will soon love the camera... don't worry!! ha

My mom, me and my sister are going to start a "Biggest Loser" competition next week. I'm excited to have some accountability. I am feeling good about losing the baby weight, but need a little push to kickstart the last few pounds. Don't worry I will still be eating constantly..just healthy.  Any healthy snack tips are welcome.. it has to be easy and ready to eat. I wanted to start making smoothies again, but it might have to wait seeing it takes too much time and cleaning effort for me right now.

We are having a picnic with some friends tomorrow at the park and having dinner on Sunday with another couple. Exciting weekend and glad we are able to feel good about going out with Micah now.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

LOVE

Weigh in

Ok.. Micah is now 9 pounds and 12 ounces and 22 inches long. He is the 38 percentile in his weight and 68 percentile in his length. I can't believe how fast he is growing. He had to get another shot today at his one month appointment. I think it might be one if the worst sounds ever hearing your baby in pain. But you definitely find out what kind of cry means "I'm hurting" rather than "I'm hungry." Doctor said I can let him sleep at night now. No more waking him up every 3 hours. Tonight we will see how long he will sleep without me waking him. Last night I woke him up at midnight to feed, but I wonder how long he would have slept. I'm sure it will take awhile to sleep through the night, but I'm excited to start this process.

I think the lack of sleep is catching up to me. It's so hard to take a nap when he does because my house is a mess and I can never seem to put him down unless he's sleeping. So I'm going to try and vacuum today and then my friend might come over and go for a walk with us. I'm so thankful for the people God has put in my life.

When my parents were here we only took one picture with Micah and them with my friend Ashley. She didn't like the picture and told me not to post it...but I don't think my blog counts as "posting" it since it's not on FB. I think she looks great though.

Micah is in his burrito suit. haha

Everyone should be getting their announcements soon. It only took me a month to get them out.. but I did have like 65 to send out. 

Love you all and hope your week is going well.

God sent

I think God knew I needed a child who loved to be out and about. Whether it's shopping or going out to lunch Micah has been a peach when we go out. He usually falls asleep in the car and then doesn't wake up for at least 3 hours and by that time I have to go back home anyways to pump. We are trying to get out and do things even though sometimes it's stressful trying to leave, I'm always happy once I am out. It's the little things in life now.

The past few nights he has done really well sleeping in his crib. Last night was a little rough and I feel like he might have had a tummy ache or something bothering him. I can just tell it wasn't normal. I'm sure we will have rough nights and easy nights. I will learn from both of them.

Today we are going to visit Craig for lunch. It should be fun!! The last two days have worked out perfectly with his schedule to hang out with some friends. Monday we met for coffee at 330 and he slept until 6 in the car seat and then yesterday we went out to lunch at 11:30 and he didn't wake up till we got home around 2:00. The only problem I have is grocery shopping. Yesterday we stopped by Trader Joe's (Mostly cuz I wanted to get stuff my mom got me hooked on when she was here : ) ) and I put his car seat in the cart and it barely fit. I don't understand why they don't make those carts bigger. How am I suppose to get any groceries??? It was a little frustrating and everytime I got asked how I was doing.. I made sure they knew I needed more room in the cart. I didn't need a lot of items though, Thank goodness.

I got some new photo's back from Craig's coworker Callie. Here are some cute pics of him that she took.

I hope I can get some much needed nap time today! 

Love you all

Goodbye

This morning I had to say goodbye to my mom. She was here for 2 weeks and it went by so fast. It's going to be hard to do everything alone this week. Micah is 4 weeks and 2 days old today. My mom and I got to do a lot while she was here. We even went to the mall and shopped for almost 5 hours. I think we could shop for a living.. haha we are really good at it. We took mom to Whiskey Cake yesterday and tried the "Whiskey Cake" that's it's known for.
I took a picture kind of late when it was almost all gone. ha

It was so nice having my mom around. I don't know when I will see her again and it's sad. I am very lucky that she was able to come for so long though. Micah seems to be growing so fast. We are going to his one month appointment on Thursday and I'm very curious to find out how much he weighs now.

I made some caramel pecan blondie's this week with my mom and we really enjoyed them. It was super easy to make. Here is the recipe:
25 Caramel soft cremes
1 tablespoon flour plus 1 1/4 cup flour
6 tablespoons butter (room temperature)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup pecans
Canola nonstick spray

Directions:
cut up caramels and toss in a bowl with 1 TBL flour or I bought bite size caramels for baking and skipped this step.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
In a large bowl beat butter and brown sugar about 1 minute until fluffy
Add egg, milk, and vanilla and beat together
In medium bowl mix flour, soda, and salt
Add flour mix to batter
Spray pan with non stick spray...Spread half batter in a 9 by 9 pan
layer the caramels and then pecans
Top with rest of batter and spray spatula with nonstick spray to help spread it.
Bake for 25 mins or until golden brown

 We are going back to Life Group tonight for the first time since he was born. Hopefully it goes well.

Love you all

Cousin look alikes

I was looking through old photos yesterday while pumping at my computer and saw pictures of Liam as a baby. It took me by surprise how much Micah looks just like him as a baby.If I had a pic of them in the same position it would be even harder to pick out. Liam is on the left a Micah (with his Yoda ear) is on the right. Micah has one of his daddy"s ears and one of his mommy's. I'm not even kidding. He has two different ears and its sooo cute.

Yesterday I was able to get out and get my hair done. I feel so much better now. Like a New MOM:) Seriously don't know what I'm going to do when my mom leaves. I am going to go a little crazy, but I'm sure every new mom goes through that stage. I love my little guy and can't wait till he starts to recognize me and starts to have his first giggles. They say around 6 weeks this happens and he is almost 4 weeks already. Can you believe it?

At the salon yesterday it was interesting because my hair dresser is trying to get pregnant and it's so fun to be able to talk to her all about what I did and feel like someone needs my advice. We get along so great because when I over heard the girls next to me all they were talking about was their dogs and I remember that stage. Of course Lotte is still my baby girl, but it's definitely different now. I also over heard them saying how they didn't want kids and some people shouldn't have them. They cost too much and take up too much of your time. I really wanted to ask them how old they were because I remember how I was NOT ready for a baby at 24. I couldn't even fathom it. But now I am turning 28 and my whole view of children has changed. I hope our generation isn't so self absorbed that we can't even have kids. I mean I even heard her say... well, If I don't have kids I'll have more money when I get old to travel. Wow. I guess everyone has different priorities. As a women going through childbirth is an experience God wanted us all to have. The love for another human being to have a sense of just how much God loves us.  I know not everyone loves their children the same, but most people would give their life for their kids. That's what life is all about. Living for God and not yourself. We are so consumed with money and things these days that having kids is now looked at as a burden.

I believe Micah is a present from God and will help me grow as a woman of faith (especially once my mom leaves) I don't want to be consumed by this world, but consumed with the love of God, family, and friends.

I really do love you all and hope your week is going great.

Happy Father's day!!

Look at how cute these guys are... Happy Father's Day to all the Dad's out there that care and love their kiddos. I am so lucky to have a great father and Papa to my son. Today he headed home and it was very sad to see him leave. We will miss him tremendously this week, but somebody has to work and make a living I guess. I'm so glad my dad got to spend a week with Craig, me and Micah. The week just flew by and I'm sure this week will go by fast as well.

Craig got a three burner Weber gas grill yesterday for Father's Day and we had burgers to celebrate. It was a beautiful day out and I'm so glad he finally has a nice grill to make us some food on.

Micah is still not sleeping as well through the night. I am hoping to get a monitor this week and start putting him in his room. I think I'm ready for this next step. I need to get up anyways and feed him because I keep falling asleep when I feed him in our room.

I hope you all get a chance to celebrate the Father or Father figure in your life today. I thank God for the ones in mine today and everyday!!

LOVE

3 weeks old

How does time fly by so fast when you are watching your little one grow? I don't feel like I'm 3 weeks older but I can't believe my son is!! He is eating 3 ounces every 2 hours now and just keeps growing. I can't believe he will be a month old next week and I feel like we just got home from the hospital.

Mom and dad are still here and I don't know what I would do without them. Even though Craig and I were alone for 10 days with him, having them around is so nice. I got to go out several times now with him and without him. Today Mom and I went out to lunch at Bonnie Ruth's in Allen and then shopped around a bit.

We got his hospital photos in yesterday and YOU are getting an exclusive look at them before the announcements come out. I will hopefully get them ordered next week.

Sooo cute!!! 

LOVE TO YOU

Out and About

Last night we go to go out after dinner and get some amazing Gelato at my favorite place. Micah did so good. It was a beautiful night and we got to stroll all around the shopping area of Watters Creek.

Every time we have taken him out since my parents have been here, he has been a peach. He just sleeps. I can't get used to this because I know it's not going to last long. 

Today we had to go to the hospital for his 2 week newborn screening. They had to prick his heal and take his blood and he did not like that at all. He screamed so loud, it was so sad. Afterwards he was so sleepy and we went and visited Craig at work. He got to finally show him off and it was a great time. 

Tonight we ordered pizza's from our favorite place and mom made some Strawberry Cream Cheese Pies. They are Maw Maw's recipe but my grandma recently made them and gave us the recipe over the phone.

At first we didn't know if they were going to turn out, but they look delish now!!

Hope you all are having a great week.

LOVE

Check Up

Today was Micah's 2 week check up and everything went great. He has a little bit of an eye infection from sinus problems, but we got some drops to put in his eyes. The doc said most babies have blocked tear ducts and it's normal. He also has butt rash and so we need to take better care of that. Otherwise he gained a whole pound in ONE week. I can't believe how fast he's growing. Now he weighs in at 7 lbs 14 oz. They say babies should be back up to their birth weight after 2 weeks, so he's way past that. He eats 2 oz every 2 hours which is a lot for me to keep up with.

I'm doing mostly bottle feeding during the day and breast feeding at night. Just seems way easier to get things done during the day if I bottle feed. It's still all breast milk though and that's what matters. He doesn't seem to have a problem going back and forth from boob to bottle, so it's all good.

My mom and I got to go out for breakfast after his appointment and it was really good. She loves the area around here and is now thinking about living here once Dad retires. That would be so awesome to have them close by. We want all of our family to start moving out this way.

Hope everyone had a great Monday!!

Love you all

34 years & 2 weeks

On Friday, June 6th the parents came in and we were able to celebrate their 34th wedding anniversary by going out to dinner at Ruth's Chris Steak House in Dallas. It was also Micah's 2 week old celebration as well. I couldn't believe how good he did out to dinner. He was sleeping the whole time. We had the best steaks I have ever tasted. I guess it goes with the saying "You get what you pay for." Everyone who was at the restaurant was celebrating something, but it seems like everyone had an anniversary. I guess that's the place to go when your have an anniversary... who knew? Our table even had confetti on it saying "Congrats."

They gave us a chocolate molten cake for their anniversary... so good : )

The next day we tried to go to a new grocery store we've never tried called Central Market. It didn't go so well. It was freezing inside and Micah was having a hard time with his sinuses. I was trying to get through the store but it was seriously like a maze and it went on forever. It was a nice place but a little too overwhelming for a newbie.

Today I'm going to my friends baby shower and getting out for a few hours. I wonder how I'll feel leaving Micah for the first time. I'm not worried though since it's my parents and hubs watching him. If it was someone else I would prolly have a harder time with it.

Love you all!!

Forgetful

Well.. today didn't start off too good. I thought my parents came in at 10:30 a.m and I was wrong. It was 9:30 a.m. So they has to wait at the airport for a little while. I am going to blame this on sleep deprivation. I really should have made sure last night, but I thought for sure I had remembered the right time. Oh well.. I hope they can forgive me!

It's an exciting time. Hopefully I will get to put up some picture tomorrow of Nana and Papa holding little Micah. He is 2 weeks old today!! I can't believe it. We have his 2 week appointment on Monday and I hope he is still gaining weight like he should.

I was going to do my hair this morning.. but guess what? It didn't happen. haha I almost thought I would have time, but then I said never mind too much work.  I made an appointment to get my hair done while my mom is here. I desperately need a refresh!!

These next two weeks are gong to fly by.

Hope you all have a great weekend!!!!

LOVE

Swaddle me

This little man does not like his arms to be swaddled in the blanket. He has to have his hands by his face at all times or he gets upset. I don't know if most kids are like this but he definitely loves to put his hands in his mouth. It's not easy when trying to breast feed and he keeps sucking on his hands. Oh well... he's a cutie.

My parents are coming in tomorrow. I can't believe it. Also, Micah will be two weeks tomorrow, WOAH! What happened to the time. It's going by so fast.

Today I'm pretty tired so I'm going to try and catch up on some sleep. Hopefully I will be able to sleep peacefully. Then it's time to clean the house as best we can before company.

Love you all

Milk It

I think I'm getting the hang of this Breast Feeding thing now. I am sitting at the computer feeding my son and typing away right now. I would take a picture.. but I'm not that type of mom. I wouldn't mind breast feeding in public as long as I had a cover. I am all for that it's natural, but I still don't want people staring at my boob. I guess everyone has a different opinion about it. I feel that it's an intimate moment with you and your baby and to expose everyone else to it isn't necessary. I have nothing against any mom who wants to do it openly though. I give them credit that they can do it without feeling exposed.

This morning Micah didn't go back to sleep after his feeding at 9 a.m. so Craig and I got to talk with him while he was wide awake. We decided to sing to him, so I pulled up Pandora and I really like this song that started playing. It's called "Set A Fire" by Jesus Culture. We were singing to him and he was so cute just looking at us with his tear drop eyes. There are a lot of versions of the song but here is one of them if you want to listen.
http://youtu.be/QDq2DymDpy8


We are taking Lotte to get a bath today so she's all pretty for mom and dad. Also we will try again to give Micah a bath. We can actually give him a real one since his umbilical cord fell off. He smells good still even though he has peed on himself so much. I feel I need to take a shower everyday because of milk all over me and pee. hahah But I love it still!! We are having fun and I cherish every moment.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day!!

LOVE YOU

knock..knock

Today was a busy day. We had two visitors come by and see Micah. It's so hard to plan the right time for people to see him. You think you finally have his schedule down and then it changes overnight. He was up most of last night from 10:30 until 2:30 a.m. NOT FUN. I made it through the night though. Just has to sleep in extra long. Got up around 10 a.m. finally and my friend from prenatal yoga Calie came by to meet my little man. She is 30 weeks pregnant right now and is due on August 10th. I am going to her baby shower on Sunday and am really excited. She got me a gift certificate to a nail salon which I thought was so sweet.

Also a couple from our life group came by to bring us food. They stopped by after work and thankfully Micah was still sleeping. He was definitely on a different schedule today but it worked out. It's midnight right now and he seems to be tired so maybe we will get some good rest tonight. I'm not expecting any miracles though.

Craig is still sick. Now his cold has traveled down to his chest and he has the worst cough. I have to shut the door to our room or he wakes Micah up from coughing so loud. I think he will be finally all recovered by the time he goes back to work on Monday. haha So sad that he has been sick his entire paternity leave.

We are all doing great over all though. trying to still go for walks in the morning or at night. It's been hard keeping a good diet with Mr. "I love cookies" hanging around me all day. I am still trying to get over my chocolate fix from being pregnant. It's hard but I know I have to cut it down to maybe one dessert a week.

Can you believe Micah is 11 days old? What the heck? Crazy. I took a close up photo of him today. Can't wait to see how he changes in the coming months.

 
Love love  love to you

Mookie Bear

Nicknames are fun. It's hard not to call Micah "buddy" or "bubba" but I am trying to give him a cute nickname. Mookie is something I came up with before he was born. I know it's kind of weird but I like it.

Last night was a tough one. He really doesn't like sleeping in the bassinet. So today I am trying to put him in there for his naps so he gets used to it. He just decides to be wide awake when we are exhausted and it's so funny. He got up every hour until around 3 a.m. last night. I was going a little bit crazy. He seems to do a lot better from 3 a.m. to 9 a.m. I know everyone says make sure to sleep when your baby sleeps, but it's way harder to do than it sounds. I'm finally up and had my coffee and feel like I'm ready for the day. I don't get sleepy until 4 p.m. and then I try to take naps.

The mornings just fly by. It's so crazy. I can't believe he is 10 days old today!! How did this happen? He's still so small and I love it. We are doing better with diaper changes since my last blog. I haven't had too many accidents. His umbilical cord has fallen off and so has his plastibell (which is how the circumcised him) Craig googled what it's supposed to look like after it falls off and it was really weird to search for newborn penis'. I think we might be googling more and more unusual things.

We have been so blessed with incredible friends around the area bringing us food. We haven't had to cook since we got home from the hospital and have eaten all kinds of home cooked meals. Pot roast, chicken tacos, white chicken enchiladas, spinach pasta, and even got brought Jason's Deli!! I can't believe how we moved knowing no one and have gotten so much support.

Yesterday we made our first Target run. It was a lot of fun but also nerve racking. We brought a bottle of breast milk just in case. We made it back home just in time for him to eat. It was great!! We definitely needed to get out. We picked up the first season of "House of Cards" for 15 bucks! I'm so glad cuz we need a show to watch and keep us interested.

I took this picture the other day and I don't think life gets any better than this. Craig and little Micah sleeping together. Which don't worry I'm always watching because Craig is such a big guy I get nervous. haha but what new mom isn't a nervous wreck??

So cute right??

Love you all... Have a great MONDAY!

Mr. Peebody

Boys..boys.. boys.

Wow, this boy thing is a lot harder than it looks. He loves to pee on himself right when I'm about done changing his diaper. Craig and I just expect it now. I have to wash laundry everyday, but it's OK. Yesterday we had fun with a diaper change we did together. I wanted Craig to show me how he changes him because he said he didn't get peed on. So we both went in together and as we were wiping his butt he started pooping everywhere and we both started cracking up. While Craig was lifting his butt to wipe him he started peeing in his own face and I screamed and tried to block it. If you can imagine it was definitely a scene from a movie and we couldn't stop laughing. I regret not purchasing one of the tee pee things to put on them. Goodness!!

Last night was one of the best nights of sleep so far. He slept from Midnight until 3 a.m. and then from 3 a.m. to 6 a.m and again from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. I couldn't believe how refreshed I felt in the morning. We have been sleeping together though and tonight I'm going to start trying the bassinet again. The first few nights I couldn't get him to sleep in there, so hopefully tonight will work.

Craig is finally feeling a bit better. Still sounds pretty bad, but is helping out a lot. Mostly with diaper changes. He feeds him in the morning with a bottle of breast milk right now so I can have a break. It's nice because I get to take Lotte for a walk, take a shower, get ready, and I feel good about starting the day.

Parents come in this Friday and I'm really excited for them to meet this little man. He is so adorable. Yesterday we had pictures taken and Callie sent me a few they are NOT edited but to hold me over until she gets back from vaca and has a chance to edit them.

Here are some:

He did really well, considering the situation and all the different poses. I am excited to send out announcements soon and will use these pics! Let me know if you have a favorite. I like them all of course.

Until tomorrow...

Love you all