Introducing… Elliot and Winston!

…before W day. Logan and I decided on Saturday to take Elliot to see my family in Tullahoma. We packed up clothes and toys (including our new computer!) and headed to Tullahoma. Elliot did not sleep for more than 20 minutes at a time the whole way there! It might have been partly my fault as I was trying to entertain him at first with song and dance. By the end of the car ride I was begging him to go to sleep! He was pretty fussy the rest of the evening. We went to bed early. My parents were in Birmingham helping Uncle Art move in so they did not get home until late. At about 4AM Elliot decided to have a slumber party. He was wide awake and playful. I brought him down to see Gingy and Grandpa, who were happy to see him but tired.

Elliot and his new “Swaddle Me” blanket that I like to call the Monkey Sack.

The next day I pumped and we tried out his new bottles that I mentioned before. They are very breast-like. The nipple is wide and soft. Elliot actually liked them! Huge relief! We ate Chinese Buffet for lunch and Elliot was awake and well behaved. Elliot played with Grandpa while Gingy and I got our toe nails done with Great Gingy. Then we ate dinner with Great Grandpa and Grandma. Afterwards we took Elliot swimming for his first time ever.

Logan held him while they entered Craig and Suzanne’s pool. Elliot fussed a little but Logan was confident that Elliot would like it, so he continued. He was right! Elliot got used to it and seemed to enjoy it! Logan and Gingy got him a boat to sit in that let him put his feet in the water. We pushed him around the pool while grandpa filmed us.

When we got back, Gingy and I gave Elliot a bath.

He held his football pacifier in the whole time.

At midnight he was wide awake after feeding. Gingy rocked him and slipped him back in his crib without Logan or me noticing.

Memorial Day I ran for the first time since October. I made it over a mile which I felt pretty good about. We went out to Craig and Suzanne’s lake house for BBQ lunch. Everyone enjoyed Elliot! That evening I had a headache so I pumped and then laid down to nap. Gingy came up a few hours later with Elliot (Grandpa and the Boppy close behind). She said she hated to wake me but Elliot had hungrily run through the 5fl oz I had pumped and still wanted to eat. I fed him piglet style and then we both went to sleep. I missed Logan’s delicious pork chops as well as all of our Collier company who I’m told had a nice time playing with Elliot. Elliot wanted to have another slumber party at 4AM and by then headache was gone. We accidentally woke Gingy up again and the 3 of us sat on the porch swing until Elliot went back to sleep.

The next day we went to Murfreesboro to shop. I took back my postpartum dress which I never did end up wearing and we bought Elliot some onesies and a funny snail toy that laughs and plays music. We also got a bunch more of the bottles he likes. We met Uncle Art at “Which Wich?” for lunch and dessert at Julia’s Bakery. We came back to Tullahoma afterwards. Elliot went swimming again in the evening for a few minutes before a storm chased us off. Then he slept for 4.5 hrs!!! And then 2.5 and 3hrs with no slumber parties!

The next morning we woke Uncle Art up and he gave Elliot a bottle. Elliot got a little fussy at the end and Art put him on the dryer (good thinking)! Then Elliot took a nice long nap with Uncle Art.

We went to Pizza Hut for lunch and Elliot was awake and pleasant. We headed back up to Knoxville and Elliot slept most of the way. Logan even rode in the back with him for the first time while I drove. When we got home, Uncle Tom had vacuumed and mopped the house! What a great end to a great trip!

Elliot and Scout!

After the successful trip to Pigeon Forge on Sunday, Logan and I were feeling brave and decided to make a trip to Tullahoma, my hometown. I usually make a trip to my parent’s house about once a month, but since I was so late in pregnancy I had not traveled more than an hour from my hospital since February.

We packed our bags Sunday night and Monday morning I put everything that Elliot could fit into in a suitcase as wells extra receiving blankets and the spare Boppy cover. We loaded Elliot and all of his accoutrements into the car and headed out at about 11AM eastern time (we thought we would be able to leave at like 6AM). Elliot did well until we pulled off the interstate in Crossville. We stopped at Sonic and ordered lunch while we ran our “Crying Baby” protocol. I have a new appreciation for Sonic and any other drive-in. It’s much easier to breastfeed in the comfort of your own car…

The remainder of the drive was uneventful except that Logan had Desitin on his sunglasses. We arrived in Tullahoma. Gingy held Elliot for awhile, and when my dad came home we took Elliot to his parent’s house to surprise them. My dad called ahead and told them that he wanted to show them something. We took our car since it has the carseat base and when we arrived, my grandad thought that my dad had bought a new car! They were pleased to meet Elliot in spite of his late afternoon fussiness. I told my grandmother that I must have inherited her uterus since she is the only other person in my family to have 9+ lbs. babies.

That evening we got to surprise my mom’s mother with Elliot. She was pleased with him as well. My Aunt Suzanne, Uncle Craig, and Cousin Matthew came over for dinner and to see the baby. They brought him several books, including one called Little Gorilla, which seemed appropriate given his size.

That night Logan set up the Pack ‘N Play bassinet that my mom bought next to our bed. We put Elliot in it twice but he cried immediately. So we let him sleep in the middle of the queen size bed with Logan and me as far to either side as possible. The next morning, Logan got up at about 6AM and took Elliot so I could sleep. However, Elliot had other plans and decided he was hungry at 6:30. Logan brought him back and I fed him piglet style and then he took him back when we were done. I must have been pretty fast asleep because I didn’t remember Logan taking him away. When I did wake up, I panicked! I dug through the bed sheets but I could not find my baby anywhere. I ran downstairs and found Elliot fast asleep in the rocking chair with my mother.

We got a visit from Marianne, Suzanne’s mom, who commented that Elliot “felt good.” We also got a visit from my childhood friend Sarah and her adorable daughter Claudie, who is 3 and thrilled that Elliot has the same name as the boy from E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial. She even had Sarah’s 20 something year old E.T. doll! Sarah and I swapped our horrible birth experiences. Sarah advised me follow the direction on Elliot’s new toothbrush, in spite of the fact that he won’t have teeth yet. It’ll be easier to get him in the habit of brushing earlier.

Grandpa’s parents came over for a pleasant dinner of chicken pockets and we finished watching The Sound of Music on Blue Ray. Conveniently, Elliot was 16 days going on 17. Elliot’s Great Grandpa finally got up the guts to hold him a bit, which went well.

Logan and Grandpa finished watching the Orange and White game while I breastfed and worked on physics modules. We went to bed with Elliot between us again and used the bassinet to store the diaper bag “at arm’s reach.” The next morning we packed up and met Gingy at Red Lobster. We were going to meet Great Gingy as well, but the lines of communication failed and Great Gingy ended up at Cracker Barrel in Manchester. As we were leaving, my mom kissed me and Elliot good bye and told me, “You’re a good mommy,” which choked me up briefly. We headed out after that and made a quick stop at the Sonic in Manchester for a diaper change and breast milk and route 44 refreshments. Elliot cried a bit near Harriman, which is the part of the trip where I used to cry as a baby. I got my first “sleep when the baby sleeps” nap the rest of the way. Now we are home and taking care of poopie diapers and empty bellies.