Baby Crack

Since I am raising a little boy who eats like he's a teenager I have had to start giving Jack supplemental bottles of formula. My milk just cannot keep up. Plus, he's a much happier little guy when he sucks down the formula. We had several bottles of Enfamil that the hospital gave us of the premixed formula. Apparently this is baby crack. He would inhale that stuff and we went through it pretty quickly. Now we've moved on to the powder form which he digs, but not as much.

So what does this mean for me? I get slightly more sleep because Spiderman can give him a bottle. Also? I don't have to always whip my boob out in public. As much as I loved doing that, we had some logistical problems. The really cool nursing cover that a girlfriend gave me had polka dots on it and the bright print completely distracts Jack. He spends the whole time looking at it and can't focus on the goal. It takes twice as long to feed him with it. Another benefit of a breast milk/formula combo diet is when I go back to work. It will make things much easier for everyone involved if he can be fed by a sitter.

As for the sitter situation: it's still up in the air. I'm stressing about it because I go back to work in a little over 6 weeks and have NO idea where he's going. Part of me would like to put him in a sling and take him with me. I know exactly where in our department I could set up the pack and play and everything. Realistically that's just not possible. Plus I think it would be good for both Jack and I if I get some time away to be with big people. I need to work. Not just for the money, but for my sanity.

I joined a cool website called Care.com. It lets you post a job listing and sends you responses from people in your area. I've sent emails to a few to set up interviews so keep your fingers crossed. Also? If you happen to live in NWI and know of someone who watches infants can you let me know?

All you working mom's out there: What did you do about child care?

I'm A Bad Mother

Right now Jackson is sleeping in his swing. He does that a lot. I depend on that thing WAY too much. It's just that he loves it so and is so screamy when he's not in it. We've even moved it to our bedroom so that when he's up in the middle of the night I can put him in it and go back to bed.

Because people, I am tired.

How did I manage to get such a high maintenance kid? I mean, I'm not high maintenance or anything..... Little dude wants to be held like ALL.THE.TIME. And he's also starving. ALL.THE.TIME. My boobs can't keep up. Most of the time he just wants to use me as a very warm bodied pacifier. Spiderman doesn't see anything wrong with this. I think it's because he wishes he could too. We feed Jack and put him down at about 10pm. He's up anywhere from 1-3 to eat and then he's all wide eye'd like "hey what's on TV?" The other night we watched back-to-back Three's Company's at 3am. 3AM!! When did I give birth to a club kid?

Last weekend I very much needed a break. On saturday I left Jack for the first time for the afternoon. At noon I went to get my hair done and then went to the mall with a girlfriend while he stayed home with Dad. We only meant to be gone for a few hours but I ended up coming home at 6:30pm. I felt so guilty. Because I actually forgot I had a baby for a little while. When I got home it was like I forgot what he looked like. I felt so bad! Then on Sunday my mother came over and watched him while Spiderman and I went to dinner and a movie. We mostly talked about Jack and wondered what he was doing. It was so weird.

I don't even want to think about what it'll be like when I go back to work!

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Jack and I are going to be too busy spending the day with Grandma today to post anything real.
Maybe tomorrow.

One Month

I can't believe that Jackson is a month old today! Does that mean his warranty is up? He is getting so big. He's already outgrowing his newborn clothes and jammies. It makes me a little sad to pack them away.

We've done a lot this past week. We went with Daddy to watch his first Football Sunday. Notice the matching jersey's? I got his at Babyland for $4. How awesome is that?

My two bad ass dudes.

Yesterday he just discovered that there are things hanging above his swing. He has been swinging in that thing all month and yesterday he was all when did that get there? It's amazing to see him learn new things every day. I'm kind of jealous of that. I mean when was the last time you stared at your hand for an hour and thought. How cool is that?

I haven't really posted much this week because we have also been dealing with a new problem. I call is Dr. Jackson and Mr. Hyde. During the day he's all sweet and cute and smiley.

And then suddenly around 7 or 8pm he becomes all screamy and inconsolable.
This usually lasts till around 2 or 4am when everyone passes out. Every night. Needless to say no one is getting much sleep around here and we're all a little edgy. I also have a permanent set of dark circles and a head cold. I don't know what to do for the little guy. We've tried Mylecon drops, pumping his little legs, massages, warm compresses, driving, singing, reading, swinging, tummy time, giving up dairy, giving up pop (not helpful with all the tired), giving up practically all foods in general. I have thought about leaving him in a basket on some one's doorstep, but I would miss the little booger.

Last night, at around 8 I have him a 2 oz bottle of formula that we had left over from the hospital with a boob milk chaser. He ate again at midnight fussed for 30 minutes and fell asleep.

Until 7 am.

I thought he was dead.

Both Spiderman and I got up every hour to check on him, but he was just sleeping. Like a baby. He woke up this morning all content and smiley with a diaper that weighed at least 10 lbs in pee. Go figure. I guess we'll try the formula thing again tonight and I'm also going to start him on a pro biotic my pediatrician recommended. Hopefully, he'll have another good night.
We don't want the return of Mr. Hyde.

Did I SAY you could take a picture of me?

If it doesn't work, does anyone have a nice basket I could borrow?

TV Night

It's no surprise to my reader(s) that I love me some TV. I always have. I also have a tendency to become addicted to shows. ie True Blood, Alias, Greys Anatomy....
This week I have discovered a new show. We Channel's My Fair Wedding with David Tutera. I LOVE LOVE LOVE it! It totally makes me want to have a wedding again. That's a huge deal since I thought planning and preparing for my wedding was the biggest pain in the ass. I hated every minute of it. But I totally love David Tutera. He's such a sweetie and I think he could be my new BFF. I just want to hang out with him and go to lunch or something.
Today I watched back-to-back episodes where the brides had themes that were just awful. One was a Texas bride who wanted a cowgirl theme complete with farm animals and purple cowgirl boots to wear with her wedding dress. The other was a bride who wanted a Pirate themed wedding. What I cannot believe is that David took these themes and made them elegant and beautiful. He also made changes and dealt with the brides in a way that did not insult them or make them upset. I don't know if I could be that nice. I mean, the episode that's on now? She has a plum colored bejeweled wedding dress with a rhinestone covered magic wand and her bridesmaids are dressed as peasants. WTF? But here's David trying to "understand" her concept.

I love him.

I'm also excited because tonight is not only the season premiere of the Vampire Diaries, but the pilot of Nikita. About 10 years ago I was totally addicted to La Femme Nikita. It would come on around 1am and I was working 3-11's at the time. By the time I got home from work, ate something and showered, it would be on. I watched it EVERY night. I'm interested to see what this new version brings. It looks to be the story of La Femme Nikita but with the feeling of Alias. How could that be bad?

Has anyone else seen these shows? What do you think?

Wordless Wednesday

Jack says, Happy Hump Day!

Poor Little Kitties

Someone is dozing in his swing (thank God for that thing!) and is allowing me some time to post.

I'm sure some of you are wondering how my furry babies are handling the arrival of the newest baby. The answer? Surprisingly well. They are curious about him and smell him a lot, and are terrified of him when he cries. They have also discovered some advantages to having a baby around. Boxes. They Love them. I have been trying to spend a little individual kitty time with them, but it's hard since someone else takes up most of my time right now. I feel kinda bad for them, but I'm sure once the "newness" wears off from being a parent and I get into some kind of routine I will be able to focus on more than just Jack.

Until that happens? At least they have each other.

He's a Model Baby

Somebody has his days and nights mixed up a little this week. I haven't really been sleeping well and today I have a Massive Headache. Not that I would EVER do this, but I can see where shaken baby syndrome comes from. It can be very frustrating to be exhausted and up with a child who won't stop screaming for hours. It's a good thing he didn't start acting like a jerk till now or we would have left him at the hospital. (Just kidding mom!)

Also? He's seriously cute, even when he's screaming bloody murder. He has this cry that sounds just like the Count on Sesame Street. As promised, here are some of the photo's from Jack's shoot with Beth Fletcher Photography this past weekend. The pictures are gorgeous!

Here's a family one that I just HAVE to frame:
And here's my smiley guy, he smiles a lot and I don't think it's all gas! I have the perfect frame for this one.

Now here's where I need your help. I'm looking for another one to blow up and frame with the family picture. I can't decide between this one:

or this one:

I like that Jack has his eyes open in the second one, but the colors are so luscious in the sleeping one. We'll definitely get copies of all the photos she took (too many to post here), but I only want a few to blow up and frame.

Help! Which one do you like best?

Catching Up.

Let's see....what's new? I still have a baby. I still dig him. It's surreal. I keep expecting his parents to show up and get him.
I haven't really left the house too much. Last week, there was a day that wasn't so stiflingly hot and Spiderman took Jack and I to the bookstore. Afterwards I just couldn't bear going back in the house. I went to sit in some Adirondack chairs that I have set up in my front yard. We've really been slacking on the weed front this summer as I haven't really been able to do much and I had to pull up several weeds to get to the chairs. Come to find out, not all of them were weeds.

Some of them were poison ivy.

Yep. I now have poison ivy.

On top of still recovering from a c-section I am also covered in poison ivy. My arms, legs and abdomen. It's just awesome. And itchy.

So to recap? I am tired, achy (my incision), and itchy. So yeah, tons of fun. But this past weekend Jack had a photo shoot with a Fabulous friend and photographer and I'll post some of the pics from that soon. I'm having trouble deciding between a few of them to frame and I want some opinions. But for now, I'll go since I can hear a little munchkin waking from his nap.