Welcome to CLUB CRAP!

I took Max to have his pictures taken on Wed. so I could send out birth announcements to all of our family members. While the professional photographer was taking pictures, I was behind her taking some of my own. Cuuuuute!



He behaved very well and didn't even pee on the Picture People's blanket that was provided for the session. It went so well that I was raving about what a good boy I had. Not only did he refrain from peeing while his diaper was off, he was showing off his new talent of holding his head up, which made for even cuter pictures. I was a happy mommy knowing we were going to be able to send out my angel's birth announcements that would be nothing less than precious.

As I sat down to pick out which pictures I wanted to purchase, I realized something was a little "off". My front side felt a bit damp and I really wasn't sure if it was sweat. I was hot from carrying the baby and a little nervous taking Max out for so long. As silly as it may seem, I'm still a bit intimidated when trying to do diaper changes and breast feed in public. I know these are natural things and it shouldn't be a big deal, but I'm just not used to it yet.

So as I lifted Max away from me to see what was on my shirt, I saw exactly what had happened. It was the diaper blow out of all diaper blow outs. Because I was holding Max up under his butt, when he went big potty it all squirted up the back side of his diaper, immediately soaking through his beautiful, polo onesie. I rushed into the bathroom and went to clean him up on the diaper changing table and realized it was way too disgusting to even lay him on that table. I also realized that if I were to pull the onesie off over his head, I would get poop all over his face and neck. Max started to cry at that point. I couldn't blame him. I wanted to cry with him. Poor baby.

I opened the door of the bathroom to see if anyone was close by to help me. After assessing the situation I thought I just needed to go to plan B and find a pair of scissors and cut his outfit off of him. But there was no one nearby to help me with that, and truthfully it would have made me sick to cut up the cutest outfit we have in his current size.

So, it was off to plan C. I turned on the water of the bathroom sink and preceded to bathe Max in his poop-infested clothing. He was just looking up at me the whole time with the most confused face. Even an 8 week old baby knows it's not natural to take a bath with your clothes on. Then when I got most of the crap off him I took his outfit off and wrapped him up in his blanket to dry him off.

Now, one thing I know is to pack an extra clean outfit for the baby, but what about an extra clean outfit for me? For the rest of the day I looked and smelled like crap. And when I got home, I did what any new mom would have done. Instead of taking a shower, I ate lunch.

Rollin'

Today was a big day because Max rolled from his back to his side all by himself. He's definintely getting stronger and holding his head up a lot more, but I was not expecting him to be able to roll so soon. Granted he's only done it this one time, but it's surprising to me that we are already at the stage of not being able to lay him near the edge of things like the couch or the bed anymore.

I discovered his new talent today during a diaper change at Paradise Cove in Malibu. We went with friends to the scenic spot and Max really enjoyed himself. He was happy to stare at the seagulls while chilling out beach side. He has no idea how spoiled he is. Many people only get to go somewhere this beautiful on a very special vacation.

Here we are....Livin' the good life!

Pictures

I've been trying to take some high quality pictures of Max. It seems like mastering a great picture of a newborn would be simple, but it's not as easy as it seems. I need to find a good pro because none of my pictures do him justice. And now that he smiles all the time it would be fun to get one of him laughing really big. I wonder who he got that from....haha.

He's 5 1/2 weeks old in this first picture. He's hanging out in his bedroom with his sporty friends.
Tonight I thought he looked cute in his swaddle and grabbed this photo. He's 7 1/2 weeks old today.

I was trying to show perspective in this picture so you could see how small he is. He's technically considered long for a newborn, but he's still so little. I guess he's naked because he outgrew every stitch of newborn clothing.

We are just having fun and enjoying hanging out all day and night. Marc went to Cabo this morning, so I'm on my own until Sunday. I think we will be ok. So far so good....

Gettin' Back!

This was the best weekend ever! Meg flew in town and helped me with Max all weekend. It was one of the best weekends I've ever had. I was able to sleep at night while she took over the night shift. And then with the extra rest I was able to exercise during the day. It was the most special time with Meggie and Max. That was the best kind of help because we were with the baby during the day. It is very difficult for me to be away from him for very long long. Thank you Meggie for understanding exactly what this new mommy needed to be a better person!!!

Yesterday was my first hike since the cesarean. We hiked runyon together while Meg carried Max in the moby wrap. On Sat. we took a nice walk along the Santa Monica bike path from where Marc plays volleyball to the Santa Monica pier. And then today I got a lot of rest and did 7 sets of Santa Monica stairs when Marc got home from work. I woke up terribly sore this morning after doing runyon yesterday, so climbing over 1000 steps was the way to work it out. Boy am I going to be sore tomorrow!

Other than that, I haven't been doing too much. My goal is to leave the house once a day and that seems to work out perfectly for us. It keeps me from getting cabin fever without overwhelming me with a large to do list. Because of course whenever I try to do to much it is always at the expense of resting.

Speaking of to-do lists, there are a few things that I need to do. I need to to professional newborn photographs. Since I haven't done that, I haven't sent out birth announcements. I really thought I was going to to that already, but if I don't get it done in the next few weeks I might just not do it.

I also need to trade my car in...The days of the cute little audi tt are nearing an end. That should be higher on my list of priorities because the stroller doesn't fit in my trunk, but it just isn't. It's a huge ordeal to go test drive cars because I can't bring Max with me. I can't leave him with a stranger at the car lot while I'm cruising around in a potentially new ride, and I certainly can't install a car seat in every car I test drive. So I have to wait for Marc to get home at night to get out. And then just because he's home and able to watch Max, it doesn't mean I have the energy to leave the house anyway. So far I have made it out to test drive lexus and the toyota prius. I still want to drive the audi a3 before making a decision. Who knows when I will get to that....

I also have some ridiculously cute decals to put up in Max's room, but of course I haven't done that either. I've done quite a few things in his room already, but it is going to look so cute when I get these animal decals up on the walls. We have a giraffe, some monkeys, and some kitties. I can't wait to get that stuff up, but I don't see that happening any time soon either.

Max is 7 weeks old today. He's already been to the movies, the zoo, and the beach. He even slept through his first earthquake. I took a survey and found out he is the happiest baby on the west coast. And since I have gotten more sleep in these past few days, I am a very happy mommy.

Brotherly Love

Boogars is giving his little brother a kiss! Awwww, how sweet! They're almost the same size now, but Max is growing at a rapid pace, so he will surpass his older sibling any minute. I think they are instant best friends forever just like I was with my childhood kitty, "Mo". Kitties and babies are the best!

There's a picture of Max in his blue towel after a bath. I've gotten better at bathing him and am not so afraid like I was in the beginning. I don't know why I was scared. Maybe I thought I would drown him or that the water would be too hot or too cold. But now I have a system of getting his bath ready quickly and efficiently with all the necessary supplies, including his snuggly hooded towel.

I think I've found a new revelation to get a little bit more sleep. Seriously, what else do I want in this world besides sleep. Nothing. Absolutely nothing at all. I've been beyond exhausted for about 6 weeks now and want nothing more than to catch a second of shut eye at any given moment.

Nighttime feedings used to be the biggest ordeal because Marc wasn't letting me breast feed Max in the bed. So now Max and I are sleeping upstairs in a different bed. It is so much easier not having to get up and down so many times during the night. And it is a very safe cosleeping situation because we have a whole king sized bed to ourselves. I also learned how to feed him while laying on my side and am able to get a lot more rest this way. This is by far, the most natural, instinctual, effective way to get through nighttime feedings with my sweet little boy.

Bye Bye Grandma & Grandpa

This moment is bittersweet because ALL the grandparents are officially gone. They were all so much help to me, and now the real test begins. Sort of. I'm still tired all the time, but I'm feeling much, much better than I did when I came home from the hospital. The first 2 weeks when my parents were here was by far the hardest, and that was probably the biggest test. Now that we have a system in place to take care of Max I think we'll be ok.

The biggest new development at home are my boobs. Breast feeding really requires a little bit more dedication than I had anticipated. I find that it is the main thing on my mind 24/7. It's almost impossible to be away from Max while I am breast feeding. When Grandma and Grandpa would take him out during the day, I would constantly be wondering if they had enough milk to last until they got home. Supplementing with formula makes me feel like a failure, and I just don't want to go there. I don't like to eat processed foods, and I certainly don't want to begin my child's life on them.

The breast pump I am renting is a little big to travel with, so when we go on a trip I don't know what I am going to do if Grandma and Grandpa want to take Max on an outing while I rest for a bit. This really isn't a problem for me so much as it is for those that want to do something different than I do. I'm tired all the time and happy to do nothing, but they want to be out and about. Maybe by the time I'm traveling with the baby this will be easy.

Another breast feeding development is that I am very sore right now. I think it is because I pumped A LOT this week so that Marc's parents could take care of Max without me there. Pumping stimulates the nipples differently than breast feeding, and it hurts. I am hoping to go all natural for the next few days in hopes of eliminating this pain. It's bearable, but all too unpleasant.

I've had an "ah ha, now I get it" moment. People used to tell me to enjoy being pregnant because when the baby is born you won't have him all to yourself anymore. You will be sharing him with everyone else. I totally get that now. When Max was out with his grandparents for more than a few hours, I started going crazy missing him. And my boobs would fill with milk and he wouldn't be there to feed and it was harder on me than expected. I don't consider myself overprotective and am very surprised by my understanding of those comments.

I remember before I had the baby, my mom asked me if it would be ok to take Max somewhere without me if I was too tired to go. My response was, "Sure! Go have fun!" She said that I thought I would be ok before having the baby, but you never know how you are going to react to certain things immediately after the baby is born. I didn't believe that, but now that Max is here, I don't want him gone from me for very long at all.

So it makes me think this is the way mother nature intended. We weren't created with breast pumps in tow. And it's proven that the baby recognizes the mothers voice when they are born. Mommies are the food source for their babies. If it gives me less freedom because I need to always be close by for him, then so be it. The bonding is a beautiful and natural experience for both of us.

But don't get me wrong, I still wish I owned the thousand dollar breast pump....hahaha!!!

I went to a marketing research study today and got paid a whopping $50. The purpose of the survey was to get breastfeeding mothers' opinions on a new formula. Basically they were trying to convince me that their insanely expensive formula was as good for my baby as breast milk. Isn't that the problem with society today? Companies like that set out to convince our health providers of absurdities like this, and people fall for it. And cha-ching, money in the bank for them.

That's disgusting. I understand that some mothers are unable to breast feed and have no choice but to rely on formula. But there is nothing wrong with me and there is absolutely no convincing me that formula is as good as breast milk. Yuck.

I better try to take a nap for a bit before Max wakes up looking for food. Grandma and Grandpa won't be here to allow me to skip the 6am feeding. It's bewildering to think that I am moderately tired after having them help this week, and I hope I'm not beyond exhausted in a day or two. Oh wait nevermind, he's already awake and ready for milk. Go figure! Gotta' get back to being mommy....the best job in the world!

Max is one month old tomorrow, March 22, 2010

Ok, seriously? He's a month old already?! Time is flying by too fast! In these pictures he is 3 1/2 weeks old. He's 10 lbs and you can tell by the picture that his abdomen is growing. I hope he's not embarrassed by the lack of clothes he's wearing in these pictures that show his cute belly button.

Today was my biggest day out since having the surgery. This morning we went to the beach. It was Max' second trip to the beach, but his first time to go out on the sand and watch daddy play volleyball. It was a successful adventure with Grandma and Grandpa there to help lift the stroller and carseat over the sand. It was great to be outside in the world, and we topped off the beautiful day with dinner at PF Chang's. Delicious!

My schedule is so much easier with the grandparents in town. We have a system where Grandma Madeline sneaks into our room and gets Max at 6am so I can sleep through a feeding. It is a nice treat even though I don't sleep too far past a feeding because I have to express milk. The past 24 hours was the best schedule yet. I slept from 4 - 10 pm last night. Then I got up, ate dinner, and wrote thank you notes. At that time everyone else went to sleep and I fed Max until 1:30 am. Then I went back to sleep until 3:30 am when Max was ready for more milk. I got back in bed at 5 am after feeding, changing, and telling Max how much I loved him. It took me until 7am to get back to sleep, and I didn't wake up again until 10 am to eat breakfast, pump milk, and go to the beach. That schedule would work for me every day because I got 10 hours of sleep. You would think I'd be completely rested and rejuvenated, but after weeks of sleep deprivation, that still isn't enough. But I'm not complaining because things are getting better every day.

While Marc's parents are in town, I am a little bit surprised at where Max is spending the majority of his time. He's always with Grandpa! Max prefers to sleep on Grandpa's left collar bone--not the right. He is extremely comfortable on that side and they are best buddies. Can you say spoiled? I hope Baby Max is content to just have me next week when the grandparents are gone. Hopefully he won't be disappointed that I have to put him down occasionally because I only have two arms.

The guys have all surprised me on so many levels. My dad and Marc's dad have both taken an incredible hands on approach. It is quite endearing to see the boys together like that. My dad worked the night shift; Marc's dad changes diapers with no problem; Marc never complains about cleaning up poopy diapers....Everyone has been fantastic. I guess you kind of expect the females to take over all of those duties, but the boys have really raised the bar. Even Uncle Scott helped change a diaper. He won't do it by himself, but he held the feet while I wiped the butt. We'll go ahead and give him an A for effort, or at least acting like he wanted to help.

Thank goodness I got a breast pump. If I didn't have a breast pump, I never would have slept for so long last night. I'm currently renting the Medela Lactina from The Pump Station. It retails for about $1100. I wish I could buy a used one for a discounted price. Especially if I have a second child, it would be nice to be able to own my own pump, and then when we are finished having kids we could sell the pump. I had a cheaper Medela Swing that retails for $150 and the quality is so much less than the hospital grade lactina. I wonder if I could convince Marc to get me the best pump or find someone to buy it from. If I breastfed for a year, I think it would more than pay for itself. If we were buying formula we'd probably spend a minimum of $100/month. So maybe it wouldn't be a frivolous buy to splurge on a breast pump. I would love that more than anything right now.

Uncle Scott is leaving for the airport now, so I need to say goodbye. Fortunately Madeline and Bernie are staying here until Sat. They are so much help and we are enjoying this special time together.