Introducing… Elliot and Winston!

Born April 2012 and May 2015

Now, Back to Adventure!

Kate has gotten more and more restless over the last week, which came to a head Saturday night after two or three days without leaving the house. Once she learned that Motherhood Maternity was having a Nursing Event, our Sunday plans were made. We slept soundly until almost 2 A.M., and then until 5-ish, and then until just after 8:00!

After a quick breakfast and showering, we dressed Elliot, fed him, changed his diaper, dressed him again, changed his diaper again and then again, fed him again, and then headed out the door to visit Gam Gam and Slappy.

As Kate mentioned, we had delicious grilled Chilean sea bass and some cake. Elliot ate a few more times and then got himself into a deep sleep for well over ninety minutes. We intended to leave to visit Great-Granny Dillard and shop for blouses (separate stops) as soon as he woke up. After an hour of sleep we gave up and headed out the door.

Since it was still early afternoon, the second visit of the day was calm and enjoyable for all parties.

On a cuter note, I have a new favorite thing that Elliot does. He has figured out that burping makes him feel better. When I have him in burp position, now, he immediately starts making a grunting “ungh” that really sounds as if he is trying to burp.

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2 Week Notice

Yay! I’m 2 weeks post-op! I can finally take of these surgical bandages and start showing off my badass scar!

I know, I know… Elliot is 2 weeks old today! I can hardly believe it. My baby is growing up soooo fast! There is this syndrome that moms get after their first baby, which gets worse with time. I like to refer to it as “Mommy Brain Damage.” It is the reason that kids have siblings and why moms will say crazy stuff like “Breast feeding is natural and easy!” and “They practically raise themselves!” Anyways, I am starting to notice the early signs of affliction with MBD. In spite of the tons of dirty diapers, 3 hour evening feeding sessions, and post-op discomfort, I start to tear up at the thought of Elliot getting older and find myself planning the timing of my next pregnancy. Going back to work is going to be so hard… There is no cure for MBD but symptoms can be treated with a splash of cold water in the face.

2 Week Birthday Lunch at Gam Gam’s

Aunt Jeanine and Uncle Mark stopped by last night with enough Cracker Barrel to feed 10 people and our new neighbors were having a party and brought us some BBQ and a cute outfit for Elliot. We are very lucky to have so much wonderful support from friends and family.

Elliot took a bath with Logan last night which actually went pretty well. Now that his umbilical cord has fallen off, Elliot can take a real bath instead of a sponge bath. We put him in the water and he made an upset face at first but then decided it wasn’t so bad. He did kick off from Logan at on point but fortunately I had my hands under him so he just floated on my hands for a bit. Everything was nice until he had to be taken out of the tub, which was like being born all over again! He howled pretty much until he was dry and breastfeeding. Logan suggested that next time we put Elliot’s towel in the dryer beforehand, which seems like a pretty good idea to me…

I clipped Elliot’s fingernails afterward, and I gotta say after years of clipping hedgehog fingernails, baby fingernails were nothing!

More fun facts about Elliot: He seems to be quite happy to be out of my uterus. I am told that when he was first extracted and put in the baby warmer, he stretched out his arms and legs as far as he could, which was disappointing to Logan since he was looking forward to sproinging some baby legs. He also does not like to be swaddled, so take that The Happiest Baby on the Block.

One time Logan attempted a swaddle and Elliot managed to get his feet free but not his hands. The way he was kicking and crying he looked like a mental patient in a straight jacket! We had a quick laugh and promptly unbound him.

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“I remember when I lost my mind.”

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Nothing Bad Can Happen

Last night was relatively peaceful and this morning uneventful except that Gam Gam and Slappy came to visit sweet little Elliot. They timed the visit well, as he finished breakfast at the same moment at which they arrived. Each grandparent held him for a while. As has been mentioned, Elliot is very strong and can hold his head up to look around for several minutes at a time. I’m not sure that I could do that while lying down.

Gam Gam changed a half-dozen or so diapers over the course of her half-hour visit and then she headed out for pizza. Elliot had lunch while I prepared a turkey sandwich for Kate and a cheeseburger for myself. Not everyone can hold a quiet baby and then leave for a nice lunch.

After the three of us had eaten, Elliot and I sat down to watch the Orange & White game streamed via foxsportstennessee.com through the projector. Elliot was mainly sleeping and after the Orange team scored the stream quit working. It was pretty much the 2011 Volunteer season in a nutshell. We watched the second half of Real Madrid vs. FC Barcelona instead. Great Aunt Jeanine et al are scheduled to visit this evening and hopefully Elliot will remain content. We’ve made it all day with no crying unless he was on the changing table so we’re pretty much guaranteed a calm evening and night.

 

Woo Go Vols

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Another post courtesy of Boppy

I’ve been getting some positive feedback on this blog, so I’ll try to keep posting. I’m glad everyone is enjoying our little misadventures. And while I do make fun of my little Elliot some, rest assured that I love him dearly and would do anything for him. It is just a matter of figuring out what that is sometimes… I had a realization the other day when Logan and I were at Market Square. He had Elliot in the BABYBJÖRN Baby Carrier and we were about to cross the street when a car came up and did not appear to be slowing down. It did, but I noticed afterwards that I was ready to jump in front of that car to keep my Elliot safe. Being a parent is an interesting experience…

Also, I would like to take this moment to put in a plug for the Boppy Pillow. When your four recorded feedings from yesterday afternoon/evening average 74 minutes apiece (seriously, my app recorded that!), it’s nice to have a hand free. I would never get anything done without it!

Yesterday evening Aunt Cathy and Tio Carlos came to visit Elliot. Unfortunately, when they arrived, he was feeding and when he was done he was fussy. I went to change him, but there was no need. So, I snuck him downstairs while Logan showed off the new entertainment center. The washer was running with the load of a thousand garments, so I sat Elliot on it. Would you know it? It actually worked. Elliot was suddenly in a presentable mood! I brought him back up to his great relatives, who proceeded to argue over who got to hold him. Elliot then peed on Aunt Cathy such that it made her look like she peed herself. I apologized and took him for a change, but Elliot and I shared a quick giggle at the changing table (Sorry Cathy! Thanks for being a good sport!)

When we returned Carlos asked me a question, part of which must have gotten lost in translation. I think he meant, “How are you handling being a mother?” but he said, “How are you at being a mother?” to which I replied, “Well, he’s not dead yet!”

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The evening was another fussy/nursey one. Logan tried the dryer thing again, which elicited a burp, and I ate the world’s fastest dinner to accommodate Elliot’s demanding feeding schedule. Then, he went to sleep at about 10:30 and only woke up for light feedings and diaper changes. The Huggies were an issue again. Overnight casualties: 4 baby pajamas, one Boppy cover, the fitted sheet, and my pajamas. I’ll never bother doing laundry again (unless Elliot needs to be soothed)!

In October 2011, I posted the following sonogram and comment on Facebook.

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“Another look at our future third player! Some interesting things about this ultrasound: The baby was moving its mouth the whole time, like it was talking to us! We have a future jabber mouth 😀 Also, it was 8AM and the baby put its hand up against its head like it wanted to go back to sleep. Not a morning baby? I suppose we will find out.”

Anyways, this morning at 8AM, Elliot would only wake to drink for about 6 minutes from my right boob. By 10AM, the left was getting so full and he wouldn’t wake up to help me out, so I had to pump so as to avoid getting engorged, again. When my milk first came in, I got extremely engorged but couldn’t feel it thanks to the awesome painkillers. Logan and I figured it out when Elliot couldn’t latch on to my rock hard boobs. Anyways, now I am mostly off the meds and would prefer to avoid super painful fullness. Of course, at 11AM Elliot finally decided he was hungry.

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Wussing out or wising up?

We had a couple of events planned for today and tomorrow: today my sister-in-law is receiving the department award for interior design and tomorrow my parents’ best friends’ daughter is getting married. I had every intention of going to these celebrations. I got my hair cut and bought a dress that hides my weird postpartum figure and I can breastfeed in (a costuming challenge for sure!) The only caveat was the drive. Both ceremonies were over 2 hours away, which is over four hours of drive time, which is (unless we got lucky and he slept) approximately 3 feedings and 5 diaper changes, which expands the drive time to more like 6-7 hours. And after the night before last, we know nothing is a guarantee with him. Plus, I would probably get there and spend the entire ceremony sitting outside and breast feeding. Oh well, BIG CONGRATULATIONS TO LINZY AND THE THOMPSONS!

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In other news, Logan had a successful court day (yay!) and I got my first morning of taking care of Elliot myself. I felt weird about leaving him sleeping in the bassinet while I showered and in the swing while I ate breakfast, but I suppose it was necessary. I played with him extra hard afterwards. I also got an app to track nursing and diapers, which I probably should have been doing from the beginning. Also, so far Baby Gas-X has been an amazing product!

Teresa came to visit Elliot and brought him some very cute clothes! She also took all those newborn diapers that we couldn’t use for one of her family members. Uncle Tom and Gabi also stopped by to see the baby and get their canoe. Now we are working on laundry between feedings.

Also, fun fact about Elliot: he hates dress-like pajamas. Every time we put him in them I end up having to hike them up to his diaper so he can move his legs freely. Aversion to cross dressing? I wonder how he will feel about kilts someday…

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First day with just mom and dad

Elliot is 10 days old today! He lost his umbilical cord yesterday and was well behaved enough for Logan, Gingy, and me to go get hair cuts! Gingy left last night with Grandpa and Logan and I have been flying solo for the first time since we left the hospital. After a rather traumatic bath, the rest of the night was about status quo. I think I got about 2-3hrs of sleep at the beginning and end of the night with a large gap in the middle filled with feedings and changes. Oh and Huggies “Snug and Dry” are anything but… Total damage, two pairs of pajamas. I think we are going to be Pampers people.

I saw Tilly sleeping by the linen closet while I was heading to another diaper change. She looked so sad and lonely, it broke my heart. We let her finish the night with us and she slept firmly between Logan’s legs the entire time he was there.

Today Elliot has been generally fussy and pretty much just wants to nurse. Logan and I have been practicing our burping skills (on Elliot) but it is more difficult than it looks. Slappy came by to help Logan move a few more things from the old apartment and I worked on ordering prints for the baby book and fixing my Apple products. A couple of my Steri-Strips fell off today, so hopefully I am finally starting to heal. I really want to drive!

I dressed Elliot up in one of his Bengal’s onesies for Slappy. Here’s a picture where he is not crying.

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Also, in case there is some confusion, here is a cast of characters for your reference.
Elliot – the baby (said with Gam Gam’s embellishment)
Kate – mom (me)
Logan – dad
Gingy – my mom
Grandpa – my dad
Slappy – Logan’s dad
Gam Gam – Logan’s mom
Tilly – our cat

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