Baby Sullivan | Week Eleven

Baby Sullivan is most definitely going through another growth spurt. I'm certain he is over 15 pounds already since his  2 month appointment at the beginning of September. He's also not been sleeping quite as well as he has been. I'm just trying to take every night as it comes. On Saturday, his was up every 2 hours all night, just like when he was a newborn. I worked on Sunday morning and had to get in the shower at 5am, be at church/work by 6am. Needless to say, I was pretty dang tired. 

I think he's growing so quickly and he has just been more hungry at night lately. I miss the nights where he goes to bed at 9am and wakes up once around 4am. Let's go back to that game plan. This mama is T-I-R-E-D. 

Our weeks are flying by and there are some good, new things on the horizon. I've had some answered prayers lately and I'm so thankful with the direction I am heading in the music realm again. No, I'm definitely not playing any shows or anything like that, but I do have the opportunity to do something I love and help support my family while doing it. Win, win. It feels like home already. Every little bit helps me not feel like I've lost myself once I became a parent. 

Sully initiated Great Grandma on Friday by pooping all over her lap while we were visiting for our weekly lunch with them. He had just eaten and was starting to do his business. Next thing I know, I look over at them and my Grandma has poop all up the side of her. It was an epic blow out. I'm just thankful I wasn't holding him at the time because I didn't have a change of clothes for myself. Diaper blow outs are always so fun. Luckily, I don't believe we ever had a diaper blow out in the car seat. I shouldn't jinx it....

I'm ready to get out the fall decorations this week. I want to carve pumpkins with Marin and maybe visit a pumpkin patch. I want to take a mountain drive to see the fall colors. I'm ready for cooler weather and hot coffee. September has been treating us well and I love the groove we are falling into. 

Week Eleven. 

Baby Sullivan | Week Eight

In a few days, we will have ourselves an adorable, chunky, pretty darn awesome two month old. The days pass by so quickly every single week. This week, I finally managed to capture a smile in a photograph! (Thanks Grammy!) 

We also had our first epic diaper blowout. He waited to poop for almost 5 days. I knew it was going to be epic. We ruined his cute outfit and the whole time Marin was by my side talking about how stinky it was. It was stinky. All the way up his backside stinky. Yuck. 

Geoff will never admit it, but he loves babies. 

He has mostly slept through the night lately. We've had a few earlier wake up times to nurse around 3:30am but then we go back to sleep. Lately, when he waits until 4:30am or 5:00am to wake up, I just get up after I nurse him. That's the time I actually get to sit down in my chair, cup of coffee in hand, and have some time to myself. It's glorious. Half of the time it doesn't work out that way...Sullivan doesn't go back to sleep. Marin wakes up early because she's figured out how to set her little alarm clock for 7am. Most of my time in the morning is spent with two children in very close proximity to me. I read my Bible on my phone most days because I have a cuddly baby in my lap and a toddler close by as well. 

I am officially back at work full time on September 10th. I've been working a lot from home the past few weeks but I'm ready to jump in completely. Sunday mornings will definitely be interesting with two kiddos since I am at work by 6:15am. I let Sullivan hang out with the awesome nursery ladies for a while on Sunday and he was a little stud. Total ladies man. He won't be the tough one. Marin still has a hard time right at first whenever she gets to her class. We are working on that one Sunday at a time. We took a break from church for the first chunk of my maternity leave and now I feel like we are back to day one with her strolling right in to her classroom with no tears in sight. 

Marin starts preschool this week. We have a trial run class on Thursday morning but parents are allowed to be there for that class. I cannot believe the school year is already here. We are in a preschool co-op and we get to find out which committee we are on. It's a lot of work but I think it will be worth it in the long run. 

Week Eight. 

Baby Sullivan | Week Seven

Week seven is here. Every week I say it and I will say it again...time is moving quickly. This week feels fresh and new. We are slowly getting into the swing of things and my heart has been so full the past few days. I look at my life and cannot believe I get to be a part of it, honestly. I guess I've just been feeling extra blessed lately, like everything is falling into place and life is pretty darn good lately. Do I still feel a bit of new baby fog? Of course, but overall I feel like we are landing on a good schedule and many good things are coming in the near future.

Sullivan has given us the awesome gift of sleeping through the night for the past few nights. We had one rough night last week and that was it. Other than that, we are getting much longer stretches of time. We feed him one last time around 9pm and he's been sleeping until 4:30 or 5am. How did we get so lucky? I shouldn't say that because I don't want to jinx it. Seriously though, it's crazy. I wake up feeling far more rested than before. I've just been getting up after I feed him in the mornings and I feel like I'm slowly gaining some sanity and clarity for this season. Being able to have quiet time for even just a little while is life giving.

Another milestone this week is that we had to trim the baby fingernails. Every parent knows how utterly terrifying that can be. Luckily, Ryan always seems to do it for me. He's awesome like that. We will keep him around. We are also seeing lots of smiles lately from Sullivan and I still can't seem to capture one in a photograph. He has been awake a lot more during the day and it's been fun to see his little personality start to shine through. 

I've been making it a point to not just aimlessly look at my phone while nursing him and that seems to be working out well for me. Instead, I've been reading. It's refreshing to not have my eyes glued to a phone screen constantly. Half of the stuff on Facebook nowadays stinks and I'd rather fill my mind and heart with something better. I just finished The Fringe Hours: Making Time for You. I just started Mom Enough: The Fearless Mother's Heart and Hope. 

I returned to work part time last week and it feels good to be back and having some conversations with adults. I hit the ground running and quickly dove into scheduling, finance stuff, payroll, etc. Most of my anxiety has fallen away and I am excited for the season ahead. Also, fall is coming, my very favorite time of the year. 

Week Seven. 

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Baby Sullivan | Week Six

I almost missed posting this on a Monday as planned, but we have hit six weeks with this little man. He slept through the night again last night and I always feel like I've hit the sleep lottery. An uninterrupted seven hours of sleep is the best gift anyone can give me at this season of my life. 

On Sunday, we finally made it back to church. Since I work for a church, I've been avoiding it the last few weeks just because I knew that I needed to just spend time with my family and not worry about work. Honestly, I've had a lot of anxiety lately about returning to work. I spent a lot of time stupidly wondering if I would be needed upon my return. Going to church on Sunday was a breath of fresh air and I'm thankful that my anxiety has decreased majorly. As of Sunday, I am back to work part time, mostly from home for a few more weeks. It feels good to work my brain again and not just be a milk factory for a cute little dude. It felt good to have adult conversations and make my little lists. 

I turned in the paperwork for Marin to go preschool this evening. We are barreling towards the beginning of the school year at warp speed. I think it will be very good to have her around more kids twice a week. Our involvement as parents is pretty intense because it's a preschool co-op and I'm trying not to become overwhelmed by that. Lots of committees and teach days but Marin will be with a bunch of her friends and the preschool is practically across the street from us. 

I'm looking forward to fall. Sullivan is seriously such an easy baby so far. He eats well, sleeps decently well.  I've been trying to capture a picture of his cute little smile but have yet to get a good photo. He is growing so much every day. As of today, he is 44 days old. Marin is adapting to life with a sibling. I've been using Clicklist through King Soopers and not having to go into a grocery store with two kids has been wonderful. I'm heading back to work and my favorite season of all will soon be upon us. 

Lots of change around here, but I feel like I'm slowly gaining clarity for the season that is upon us. 

Week Six. 

Baby Sullivan | Week Five

Week Five, here we are. We made it through the first month of a newborn and a toddler. We made it through the first month of nights with lots of wake up calls, feeling like I'm just simply a milk machine, and learning how to live our lives with two children. 

Little Sullivan is growing like a weed. He eats like a champ, usually every 3 hours or so at the moment. Some nights we only wake once, some nights we wake twice. We gave him his second bath and he just chills while in the tub. He naps decently well and I have no idea how I'm going to function in reality once he doesn't just eat and sleep all of the time. 

Marin is still adjusting but loves her little brother. She always asks to hold him and kisses his little fuzzy head when I'm nursing. We've had our share of tantrums lately but overall she is adjusting well to being a big sister. As long as I rope her in to help, we seem to be doing well. As I said in the past few weeks, having family take her for extended periods of time to get her out of the house has been a life saver. She has started mimicking me when I nurse with her bunny Bernie and a little nursing pillow. Our kids are always watching us. It's adorable. 

I go back to work from home, part time next week. This is my last week of total freedom and hardly any responsiblities. Part of me is ready to transition back into something that will get my brain working again but the other part of me doesn't want this season to end. Just being able to hang out with our kiddos all day is pretty dang awesome. I don't think I could ever be fully a stay at home mom, but these last few weeks have been very needed for my sanity and to heal from his birth. 

Week Five. 

Baby Sullivan | Week Four

Today we find ourselves at week four of having Baby Sullivan with us. We are getting into the groove of things and our days are slowly starting resemble some sort of routine with two kids. I am super thankful for all of the family members that have been taking Marin for outings during the day when I feel a little overwhelmed by having two kiddos. It's good for her to get out of the house and go on lots of adventures. It also gives me the time to really spend time with Sullivan with no interruptions.

I am finally off of antibiotics and my c-section incision is finally healing up nicely. I'm driving now. I am vacuuming my house once more. Hallelujah. I have yet to take a nice long soak in a bathtub but I think that will occur sometime in the next week or so. I really miss my baths. 

We had a number of firsts this past week as well. We gave Sully his first official bath. He wasn't totally thrilled but didn't cry at all. Marin was there to help, of course. I am always trying to find ways to have her help me out...grab me a diaper....can you hand me that burp rag....will you pick out his outfit for the day? I know this transition hasn't been the easiest on her so I try to involve her in every way that I can. 

We also had one night where Sullivan slept all night. I fed him around 9:30pm or so and then we put him down. The next thing I know, I hear him on the monitor and look at my clock to only see it say 5:30am! I was shocked. We haven't had a stretch of sleep like that pretty much ever with him. I was very uncomfortable though because I hadn't nursed for an extended period of time, but I was very thankful for some uninterrupted sleep. 

We are planning on going on a date night this week for my birthday and to see the Dark Tower movie. That will be really the first time I've been away from him for an extended period of time. I'm confident he will be in great hands but I need to work on pumping to build up a supply for these type of occasions. I'm also getting my nails done on Wednesday and will be away from him for a bit there. It's all part of the process and I need to have some time to take care of myself. As the quote says, "You can't pour from an empty cup." 

Week Four. 

Baby Sullivan | Week Three

Here we are at week three. I'm starting to go pretty stir crazy and really need to get out of the house. Due to my infection from my c-section, I haven't been cleared quite yet to drive. I've been homebound for far too long. My goal is to drive to pick up Marin from my parent's house tomorrow evening. It's time. I can't take this much longer! At least we have air conditioning now in our home. 

Sullivan is growing like a weed already. He went in for his 2 week check last week and was close to 10 pounds already. With the way he has been eating, it would not surprise me one bit if he is already at the 10 pound mark. He's still a great eater. He has been giving us longer stretches of sleep every once in a while at night and I am super thankful. 

Daddy has been back to work the past few days. I am very thankful for lots of visitors and grandparents that take Marin for the day every once in awhile. Just being able to focus on Sullivan for a little period of time helps me feel like I have my head above water. It makes having a newborn seem easy. Having a newborn and a toddler, totally different story! Marin has been a great helper for the most part but I know she's going stir crazy most days too. I'm not a fan of the amount of screen time we've had lately but I know this is just a season of transition. Fall is coming, preschool is coming. I will go back to work. This will all change soon. 

At three weeks, Sullivan is eating every three hours during the day. We've had longer stretches of sleep at night. He doesn't hate tummy time and is getting a lot more alert. He's already so strong and is starting to hold his head up. He's still in size one diapers and is wearing 3 month old onesies. 

Week Three. 

Maternity Leave Goals

I am a creator of lists. I thrive off of them and love being able to feel accomplished. I need this intensely in my life right now. Maternity leave has challenged me already and we are only a few weeks in. I don't do well with not doing much. I like to do things, to accomplish things, to meet my goals head on. I don't like not being able to drive, or really clean, or lift my toddler. Thanks, C-Section. It's been swell so far. But, we are getting there. 

Ryan heads back to work tomorrow and I'm trying to not psych myself out too much. We will get into a routine. We will see the other side of this transition. I will be able to shower someday without a baby bouncer in the bathroom and a toddler out in the hallway with her books. I need to give it time. 

One thing I am sure of though is that I want to soak in this time that I do have. I will probably never have this opportunity again. No work for many weeks and time available to spend with my family. These are priceless times. They will be gone before I know it. SOAK IT ALL IN. 

I want to set a few goals for my leave though. I read somewhere that it's wise to make small goals with low expectations during a season like this. Things will not get accomplished. Sometimes just hanging out with my kids will be more than enough. They need to be fed. They need naps. They need adventures. 

Here are a few things that I have been thinking about lately...

• Revamp our budget. 
• Organize our closets. We need to get rid of a lot of clothes that we no longer wear and I would like to not see my maternity pants any longer. 
• Work on creating a good newborn/preschooler schedule. 
• Start a workout program, slowly...and follow through. (Once I have been given the ok from my doc.) 
• Rejoin Weight Watchers and find a meeting that works with our schedule and two children. 
• Treat yo self (Any Parks & Rec fans out there?) Get my hair done, get a pedicure. 
• Have a few playdates/coffee dates with other moms and families. Get out of the house!
• Make date night a priority. 
• Redesign this blog. It's time for a fresh, new look. 
• Work on a few, very simple house projects. 

I know some people out there will think that I'm crazy, but this is how I roll. I do love a good list. 

Small goals, low expectations. 

Baby Sullivan | Week Two

We have survived the first week of newborn life and today marks week two for little Sullivan. I feel like the fog of newborn-ness is wearing off ever so slowly and I'm slowly starting to feel like a human once more. Ever so slowly. 

My healing process has been so different from my birth with Marin. I am definitely not a huge fan of having a c-section. Turns out, I have a little infection and I have been on antibiotics for the past few days. I'm ready to be able to pick up my toddler and vacuum my house. We are slowly getting there but this has been totally different from last time. 

My quiet mornings look quite different now. 

Baby Sullivan is a little champ and I am so thankful for that given the transition from one to two children. Ryan goes back to work on Thursday and I am pretty much trying to slowly figure out how to do life with two kids in tow. It's a totally different ball game. I have a feeling that I will be lucky to get a shower in and eat meals at normal times. Luckily Marin can go to the bathroom pretty much by herself and is fairly independent. We have had some extra tantrums from her lately though and I know she's adjusting to life now just like the rest of us. I keep having to remind myself of that. We are all in transition. We will all be ok. These days are going to pass by so quickly. 

Checking on baby brother

He is eating well and I am super thankful for the fact that he is a good eater. Breastfeeding with Marin was a pretty big struggle for the first month or so. This feels so different from that. We've even had a few longer stretches of sleep at night, only two so far, but I will take what I can get at this point. Any extra sleep I get helps me to not be such a zombie during the day. 

His skin has been freaking out a bit but I feel like it's finally starting to calm down. He's almost lost his umbilical cord and we will give him his first bath soon. He was circumcised a week ago and that is healing up very well.  

Overall, we are all just learning how to do life together as a family of four. I've had to take it slower than I would normally like. Marin is learning how to be big sister and not be the center of attention at all times. We are once again in the learning phase of parenting. We are trying to keep everything resembling some sort of order but sometimes we just need to embrace the chaos. 

I am trying to relax and soak all of my maternity leave in. So much of me still thinks about work and how things are going there. I just need to chill out and focus on where I am. All of this will pass very quickly and I will soon be back to the chaos of work along with two kids. I just keep telling myself...

The days are long but the years are short. 

Soak it in. 

Baby Sullivan. Week two.