Introducing… Elliot and Winston!

Your weekly update

by kate

I picked out the following pictures for Elliot’s baby book and frame.

Don’t they look cool!

I woke Gingy and Grandpa Monday morning with a baby surprise! I brought Elliot to them as I was leaving for work. I was going to try to sneak him in bed with them but they woke up. They were happy to see him and he was happy to see them. Mom said he was just wiggling and flailing his extremities excitedly!

Gingy got Elliot a Bumbo, which he enjoys.

I lucked out and did not have to go to conference, so I met Elliot, Logan, Gingy, Grandpa, and Tom for lunch at Agave Azul. It was great to get to see them, especially since Grandpa was heading home that afternoon.

That night we had a scary storm, but Elliot was not afraid. Logan and I would say “boom!” as the thunder struck so he would think we were making the funny noises. I took Elliot to Gingy briefly, “We just wanted to make sure you weren’t scared!”

The next day, I brought Gingy Elliot again as I was leaving and Logan took the opportunity to go run for the first time in about a month. It sounded like it went well.

Wednesday, Elliot played with his toy dog that Kyra gave him. I need to get the video from Gingy, but it was pretty funny. He would wrap his arms and legs around the dog and suck on it’s nose! Logan smoked some salmon and ribs for dinner and we had Logan’s family over for food and entertainment. Afterwards, we went to Cardin’s Drive-through for milkshakes. Logan got the PB and J milkshake, which is probably their strangest flavor. I got that milkshake the week of my due date but it didn’t put me into labor unfortunately…

Thursday morning I had to give pulmonary conference. I was there early setting up the cases when the pathology resident who was giving the pathology part of the conference walked in. I asked him how his new baby (5 weeks old) was doing and he grumbled, “She’s not sleeping through the night…” I asked him how much she was waking up and he told me anywhere from every 2 hrs to every 20 minutes! I asked if she had GERD and he said that she did! They were trying the Zantac currently. I recommended the Prevacid and told him that he could come cry on my shoulder if he needed to. A cardiothoracic surgeon and his NP were listening in, and the NP said, “I’m glad we’re old!” I’m just glad to be past that misery!

Gingy left on Friday. We were glad she could stay with us so long. Everything runs a little smoother when she is here. She told me that she already misses Elliot (and me).

Today I got out Elliot’s doctor costume, since it is a 3-6 month outfit. I don’t think it will make it to Halloween!

Dr. Baby to the OR, stat!

Day to Day Happenings Doctor Visits Funny Stories

3 Comments »

Happy 3 Month Birthday, Elliot!

by kate

Another month has gone by. This has been an interesting month in that I went back to work, changed shifts, worked a weekend, and then went back on normal hours. It was hard for baby Elliot, but we got through it. We have been co-sleeping, which seems to help squeeze a little more quality time and straight-from-the-breast feedings out of our limited time together. We usually start him out in his bed, but after his first waking he pretty much stays with us the rest of the night. Logan has been learning how to put him to sleep during the day and is becoming quite the expert at his patterns. He has discovered that he can entertain and even put baby E to sleep with some Rock Band serenading.

Thursday night we had a bad storm and the power went off. I came home and Aunt Linzy was here watching him (and FernGully). Brigitte stopped by on her way to class and we all played with him in the dim light of the bonus room until he got sleepy. Logan eventually came home from weed-eating at his office and took a shower in the dark. That night we changed a diaper by flashlight. Shortly after, the power came back on.

Friday we had a coworker of mine, Austin, and his 4 month pregnant wife, Emily, over for dinner and board games. They brought us some really cute Hippo books. Logan made Pad Thai and Elliot sat on my knee while we ate. We played Trivial Pursuit afterwards and Austin was trying to decide between “Atlanta” and “Memphis” for and answer. Elliot garbled some two syllable thing at him and so he picked “Mem-phis” and was right! Nice work Elliot except it was for the wrong team!

The next day we headed out to do a little shopping and then to Cindy and Jeff’s for a late Fourth of July Celebration! Gingy and Grandpa were there and excited to see him!

Big Kahuna!

Elliot was not sure what to think about the dog just yet…

Big plastic ball!

Note: He’s not actually naked.

We played a fun game with the large plastic ball.
http://youtu.be/J0FrLIrmmM8

He also finally rolled over for the camera!

We had to leave before the fireworks again since Elliot was sleepy, but I heard they were good!

Today is Elliot’s 3 month birthday! In celebration, here are 3 of our favorite videos!

Elliot’s first footage at home (4/12/12)
http://youtu.be/XELe7DeWSuw

Sliding on the Love Sac (5/25/12)
http://youtu.be/kj3OKplNsus

First Swim (5/27/12)
http://youtu.be/GiKkSiZSw2I

Events Milestones Product Placement Videos

1 Comment »

Happy Fourth of July!

by kate

It is my first day off in 9 so Elliot and I had a great day together. Logan has been trying a new technique where he puts him down for a nap after he’s been up for about an hour and a half to two hours, which has made Elliot more pleasant. He also has taught Elliot to associate his Harrison Horse with relaxing. Thus, we have ordered a “Spare-ison.” Gam Gam also sent over her housekeeper since Logan helped her out with some projects. That was nice!

We went to Logan’s Granny’s for the evening to celebrate. Elliot got held by lots of relatives! He also showed off some of his amazing baby tricks!

Elliot and Gam Gam, Aunt Lisa, and Granny

Elliot and Uncle Roger

Elliot and Cousins Kyra and Bryce – “Eww, it’s covered in baby saliva!”

Elliot and Aunt Lisa

Logan and Gam Gam thought that Elliot would not do well with the fireworks, but Slappy and I thought he would enjoy them. Unfortunately we did not get to stay long enough to find out since the sun was still up but Elliot was already asleep. Oh well.

You idiot! I said “posse”!

Events

4 Comments »

Why did you think we were called mammals?!?!

by kate

Generally, work has been supportive with regards to my breast pumping. I was given a quiet, private, convenient place to pump and no one has complained about me leaving work for about 15 minutes every four hours to go pump. But, there have been a few “gentleman” coworkers (not bosses) who have been a little, shall we say, over dramatic about the situation. Some comments have been funny, for example, the guy who told me, “Thanks for bringing that excellent coffee creamer!” referring to my stored milk in the refrigerator. But there are a few who act like my pumping and breast milk is totally disgusting. And, quite frankly, it’s not!

I am of the opinion that my commitment to breastfeeding my son is rather remarkable. It is not easy lugging that 10 lb. pump back a forth to work and being on call every 2-4 hours at night for feedings (more like 2 now with the teething…) So why do it? It is healthier for Elliot, saves a lot of money, and, more personally, it helps me to make sure he doesn’t forget about me during the day. I am gone for 8-12 hours for most of the days in the week and it’s nice to be able to walk in the door at home and have Elliot waiting for me to kick off my shoes, sit in a comfy chair, and breastfeed him.

I’m not waving it in people’s faces that I am pumping, but I’m not going to hide my breast shields every time I walk to the bathroom after pumping to clean them. In fact, when I am asking to be excused to go pump I usually say something crazy discrete like, “I need to go take care of something regarding feeding my child.” And I do understand that it is kind of weird to feed someone your bodily fluids, natural though it may be.

So here’s the deal. Razz me if you must. I understand that it is probably all in jest. I won’t make any big stink (although my husband likes to throw around the phrase “hostile work environment”). But if you are going to be juvenile about the situation then I WILL be juvenile back. So if you’d rather not hear me talk about details about pumping or show off my collected milk then keep your disgust to yourself. Alright, we cool?

Rants

5 Comments »

Babies Are Great Personal Trainers

by kate

On a lighter note, I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight. *budum-CHING* As it turns out, there is a survival need for that extra pregnancy weight. Babies are amazing parent calorie burners!

Elliot’s training philosophies:
1. Breastfeed – 600 calories a day! 6-0-0! That in and of itself is enough to make breastfeeding worth it, but you also get a healthier baby with diapers that don’t stink. But wait, there’s more! The only sensation I get from let down is extreme thirst. So I end up drinking plenty of water. Will the health benefits never cease?!?! I may keep pumping once Elliot out grows me just to keep the weight off. Anyone want to buy some breast milk?

2. No time to eat – Something about mommy sitting down to a hot meal makes Baby E really hungry… So even if I do get to eat, there’s usually no time for seconds. Plus, as Logan and I have found it is really hard to prepare much of a meal when you are by yourself with Elliot.

3. Have a giant baby – Just delivering Elliot knocked almost 10lbs off. Plus, there was the placenta, amniotic fluid, and reportedly a bunch of blood… Instant weight loss!

4. No sleep – I used to loose weight on rotations where I had to do a lot of overnight work. With Elliot I still have 2-4 wake-ups per night and calorie expenditure to go with it!

5. Exercise – As if walking a 15 lb. baby through and around the house over and over again and hauling a breastpump back and forth to work everyday were not enough, here are some exercises that both strengthen muscles and entertain babies.

Crunches

Curls

Bench Press

Tongue Lifts

Turn about being fair play, we’re getting Elliot to do some exercises of his own.
http://youtu.be/MdgSB8X8qo4

Day to Day Happenings Milestones Musings Videos

2 Comments »

Lift you head up high!

by kate

Elliot and I tried something different with the Bjorn this morning and he did fine!

Elliot gave Logan a difficult evening again last night. We think it is still the teething pain. Slappy said today that Elliot looked just like his kids when they were teething. Thank goodness for Infant Tylenol! We are going to add some infant OraGel to our regimen.

A couple weeks ago, I spoke with one of the technologists who also just recently had a baby. She made the comment regarding her own son, “He’s such an easy baby!” and I said something like, “Oh, how delightful.” but I was really thinking something more like, “B****…” I related this story to my mom who declared that this girl was not getting the true motherhood experience. According to one of my aunts, “It’s normal to want to kill them sometimes!” My grandmother theorizes that all children cause their parents the same amount of headache. It is just a matter of when. Hopefully we are getting ours over with early!

And after all, it is not Elliot’s fault that his teeth are digging their way through his gums to freedom, but he is lucky that whenever I look at him I turn into an ooey gooey blob of love! Logan and I truly just want him to be happy. We hate the thought of him being in pain… at least he won’t remember this phase.

This picture, which Tom took, is cute but it makes me sad… Logan tells me that Elliot was not actually as sad as this picture belies.

Day to Day Happenings Milestones Rants

1 Comment »

Something to chew on…

by kate

So our just-turned 11 week old baby has been drooling a lot and has chapped cheeks and a cough as a result. Gam Gam saw him the other day and asked, “Is he teething?” to which Logan replied, “How should I know?” As far as we know, teething is something babies do that results in teeth… He did a little reading on the subject in our What to Expect book and found Elliot to have about 9 of the 11 listed symptoms… I guess he is doing everything else early, he might as well get this out of the way too. Logan got him a teething ring that goes in the refrigerator and we have been trying to find other things that he might like to chew on. We walked over to a yard sale in the neighborhood yesterday with Elliot in the Bjorn and he chewed on the side of the carrier the whole way there. We gave him some Tylenol yesterday afternoon because he was getting rather inconsolable. Fortunately we haven’t needed to do that again yet…

I still haven’t gotten a video of him rolling back to front, but not for lack of trying. I can confirm at he can do it, but my timing has been off on filming. He also was grabbing his own hand this afternoon, which kinda made him mad because he couldn’t figure out who kept grabbing his other hand!

Yesterday, Logan smoked a pork butt and salmon and we had friends and family over to eat it. I wasn’t in an entertaining mood since I was tired, but I eventually came down and had a nice time. Aunt Lisa was there and she let me show her all of Elliot’s pictures from his recent photo shoot which made me happy. Gam Gam and Lisa held him and played with him giving Logan and me a break. They were also nice about saying things like, “Look, he wants his momma!” which stroked my poor little new mom ego.

Today we played Linzy’s Stick Your Tongue Out game. He is getting quite good at it and he seems to really like our reaction to it.

Day to Day Happenings Milestones

No Comments »

That’s how we roll!

by kate

According to Logan, Elliot rolled 3 times yesterday from on his back to his front… and daddy didn’t get a video of it! When I got home from my evening shift we tried to get him to do it again for the camera, but he was too tired and hungry.

Logan also told me that Elliot was playing a game with Aunt Linzy where she would stick her tongue out an he would stick his back out at her. Funny!

I’ve been working the afternoon/evening shift in the ER this week. It has been nice to be able to spend the mornings with Elliot, but the evenings have confused him some. It’s difficult to keep a routine for a baby when you are a resident. Fortunately, the Dyers were here yesterday to help. Gam Gam gave Elliot a bath, which he really needed. Linzy has been getting good at changing diapers and soothing him. Clarence showed him his evil twin in the mirror…

Elliot is also getting better about not needing to be rocked so much to get to sleep. In fact, I put him back in his crib shortly after feeding him at 2am last night. He was awake but drowsy and he horsed around for a minute or two and then fell asleep.

Day to Day Happenings Milestones

No Comments »

Happy Belated Father’s Day!

by kate

Logan’s present came in!

Also, happy 50th post! Who thought I would keep this up so long?!?!

Events

No Comments »

Happy Father’s Day!

by kate

We made a quick trip to Gingy’s this weekend. Sarah, my Tullahoma friend with the 3 year old daughter, is starting a photography business. I have seen her photographs of her daughter on Facebook over the years and always admired her work. So, I jumped at the opportunity to have her take Elliot’s picture and we set up a session for this weekend.

We made the drive shortly after I got off of work on Friday. We met my parents and Marm at Timberloft’s in Manchester for dinner. There were a lot of little kids there of various ages, which entertained Elliot. The table next to us had a funny 10 month old who was eating with a spoon.

The next morning, Elliot got us up early at 5:30 so we would have plenty of time to get ready for his photo shoot. Then he went back to sleep at 8am. Sarah arrived while he was still asleep. I told her his crib was not particularly photogenic place, but she knowingly stated that she could make it photogenic. So I went up to check on him. Wouldn’t you know it, he was awake! Sarah kindly waited while I’ll nursed him and set up the studio in my parent’s living room for the shoot. Elliot was peacefully resting after his snack, so we got some resting pictures until he needed a diaper change.

Sarah also had a funny scale which provided setting for a few more pictures.

We got some family shots as well!

Per my request, she brought her daughter’s E.T. Doll. Elliot seemed to like him!

All in all, I’d say the session was a great success! She gently coaxed some great expressions out of him. It was fun to watch!

Uncle Art had his board exam that morning, but came up to visit Elliot afterwards.

That evening we went swimming at Craig and Suzanne’s again. Elliot had a bee to swim in, but it required him to hold his head up. So we just carried him.

Victoria warmed him up.

Robert played with Elliot.

Today is Logan’s First Father’s Day! Elliot’s mom dropped the ball and did not take into account handling time on his present… So he will get it Wednesday. I’m sure he’ll like it once he finally gets it! Elliot did find his feet today in celebration!

Logan and I got my dad some W. L. Weller’s Wheated Bourbon and Clarence a Titan’s shirt and a spot light. We had lunch of hamburgers with Nell and Mosley. Gingy held Elliot during the meal and he smiled and cooed at Nell the whole time!

We headed back to Knoxville. Elliot had 3 hours of napping and went 5 hours since his last meal. He actually woke up happy! We stopped at Lisa’s to give him a meal and Lisa had gotten Elliot and Logan Bengals jerseys!

To Logan: Elliot may turn out to be just like you… and I would be so proud! I love you!

To my dad: Thanks for being the dad who’ll turn the garage into a solar system to teach us about seasons, walk a fussy baby so his mom can get her nails done, and always be up for an impromptu jam session! You’re the greatest! Love you!

Events Milestones Product Placement Trips to Gingy's

No Comments »

Cómo qué es arbitraje apuestas deportivas

Titanbet sport apuestas

Comparador apuestas deportivas intralot

Introducing… Elliot and Winston!

Born April 2012 and May 2015

Your weekly update

Happy 3 Month Birthday, Elliot!

Happy Fourth of July!

Why did you think we were called mammals?!?!

Babies Are Great Personal Trainers

Lift you head up high!

Something to chew on…

That’s how we roll!

Happy Belated Father’s Day!

Happy Father’s Day!

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Meta