We Survived the First Week Back!

Well......I am happy to say that I made it through my first week back to work with only 2 or 3 meltdowns. The good thing was that the week went by really fast. I am so busy at work that the days just seem to fly by. The bad thing - I feel like I get no time with my baby and that I'm missing out on EVERYTHING.

Jack's daycare providers told me the other day that he is now reaching and grabbing for things that are in front of him. Well, that same night once we got home I decided to test it for myself and sure enough, he would reach out and hook his hand on the little rings that I put in front of him. It was the most precious thing.....and one that I didn't get to see him do the first time :(

We also had a big night on Thursday. Jack slept through the night! It's the only time he's done so but we are making progress.......

So now I am enjoying my weekend home with my little boy and I just had to sit and hold him for a couple of hours so I could soak up the feeling of being close to him. It really hit me today how much I miss him. It just makes my heart hurt.

So, I am savoring every minute I have with my little man and hoping that he always knows how much I love him.

Hi-ho, hi-ho, It's Back to Work I Go....

Well, the dream is officially over. I started work again on Monday and it sucked! It was so hard to leave Jack and head down the road to my office. I broke down in the car as well as once I got into the office. I managed to pull it together before I met with my boss to play catch up but it was a rough morning. Jack is still not even close to sleeping through the night so lack of sleep isn't helping my frame of mind either!

In addition to my returning to work, Mike is away for his first out-of-town trip since Jack was born. Talk about a stress-filled week. Luckily, my mom is able to come down while he is away to assist my picking Jack up from daycare and tending to him during the night and in the morning before work. I have no idea how I am going to manage doing all of this on my own when Mike leaves for his next trip but I guess I'll have to figure it out fairly quickly!

I know it will get easier and that millions of moms have to go back to work and do so successfully every day, blah, blah, blah but it's hard for me damn it! So for now I have plenty of tissues and pictures of my little guy on hand, as well as the daycare number on speed dial so I can check in on how he's doing throughout the day.

The Final Days....

It's been a crazy March. I can't believe we are already halfway through and spring is right around the corner! While I am very happy about that, I am not so happy about the fact that I am headed back to work next week. I can't believe it's the final countdown of QT with my little man (cue music)......

We've had a busy week thus far. Jack started daycare on Monday and stayed for a half day. He is the youngest child there so everyone wants to see the baby.....He is with 3 other little boys and NO GIRLS! He seems to really like it and just watches what the older boys are doing. I have a feeling once he is mobile that he will be following them around like a little puppy dog. He's a pretty cool guy though so hopefully the other kids won't mind him hanging around!

Monday afternoon we had our 2 month checkup and so far so good. Despite not knowing what we are doing, Mike and I have managed to get Jack to this stage with no major trauma (for him). He is 11.9 pounds and 24 1/4" long. He is doing a lot of "talking" and laughing and it's the best thing ever! I put him in his crib with his puppy dog mobile and turn it on and I can hear him in there "talking" to his puppies. It is quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen.

I am so blessed to have such a wonderful little boy and I can't wait to see what he does next! Going back to work is going to be very difficult but I know it will only make me treasure every moment I have with Jack that much more.

Two Months Already???

I cannot believe my baby will be 2 months old on Saturday! Where has the time gone????

At two months old I have learned that my son is what the books call an "intense" baby. What I've determined this really means is that he goes from 0 to inconsolable in about 60 seconds, he will not sleep unless he is swaddled and it is nighttime (he refuses to nap - ever!), and whenever he does anything he does it with all he has - this includes pooping, crying, smiling, babbling and, just recently, laughing.

Every day is a new adventure with Jack and I always wake up wondering what the day will bring. I cannot imagine my life without this little guys and I don't know what I did before he arrived. Life was definitely not as interesting!

I have 2 more days to be at home with him where we can cuddle throughout the day and I plan on taking full advantage of them. We start our trial run at daycare next week just in time to coincide with the 2 month checkup which will consist of a number of shots resulting in a miserable and possibly feverish baby. I am praying that he handles his shots well and that Mike and I are not too traumatized by the whole thing. I think I may need to leave the room.......

It Was a Rough Day in the Post Household.....

Mommy 1, Zoey 0

I had the brilliant idea yesterday to take both Jack and Zoey out for a walk. Because of all the snow on the sidewalks I couldn't take Jack out in his stroller so I instead had him in his Baby Bjorn so I could carry him and I had Zoey on her leash. Zoey was, per usual, crazy on the entire walk and straining on the leash every few seconds. As we were coming back from our walk, we had just crossed the very busy street and something caught her eye and she started pulling on the leash. At that moment the leash broke and off she went.

Under even the most calm and controlled circumstances, it is challenging to get Zoey to listen, and here we were, beside a busy road and Zoey has suddenly gained freedom. As I expected, every time I called her name she stopped and let me get just within reach of her and then would run away. As I'm trying to run after her (remember, Jack is strapped to my chest) she keeps bobbing and weaving and then jumped from the path to the side of the road. At this point I'm screaming for her to stop and picturing having to watch her get hit by a car as she is oblivious to the fact that these things can kill her. Luckily, she jumped back up on the path and as she momentarily paused to try to jump into an alcove that housed a bus stop I tackled her to the ground. Had the situation not been so dangerous it may have been comical but as it were, I just sat on the path screaming and crying at Zoey while Jack slept on.....

After my meltdown, I gathered us all up and walked the rest of the way home to deliver the traumatic story to Mike. Lessons learned from this experience: a) always put a harness on Zoey when taking her for a walk (the regular collar can slip off her head or she can pull enough to escape the leash), b) always bring treats - if there is one thing that can get Zoey's attention this is it, and c) always bring my cell phone so that I can call Mike when these events happen even if there is nothing he can do (ala Mary Margaret calling Brian from Italy b/c she and Grace were lost - sometimes you just need to make that phone call!)........if I had had it with me I would have had him come pick us up after the whole debacle.

As if that weren't enough excitement for one day.....

Mike 0, Nail Clippers 1

Later that night, Mike was trying to be helpful and cut Jack's nails but misjudged the nail area and let's just say, bleeding and screaming ensued. I don't know who was more traumatized, Jack or Mike! This morning Jack doesn't even seem to notice his war wound but Mike still does. My poor guys.......

Three Weeks - Really That's It?

I took Jack to daycare today to drop off our first payment and some paperwork and meet with his caretakers and then went to my office to introduce him to everyone. In hindsight, it probably was not a good idea to do both of these things on the same day. I am now highly anxious and pretty sad about the whole situation. Not only did I realize that I would be leaving my baby with someone else all day, I was hit with the double dose of reality that I will actually have to go back to work EVERY DAY. I just can't believe that I'm not going to get to have all of these sweet moments with my little boy during the days anymore..... There is so much that I am going to miss out on - this really sucks.

Additionally, Mike starts his travel again the week I go back to work so my little family is just being pulled apart. I don't know what I'm gonna do without my guys.......

Out and About With Jack

I've decided that every place people with children may go (aka everywhere), should have designated spots for "people with children" right next to the handicap spots. Harris Teeter has this and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it! It such a pain when you have to park a mile away and lug the car seat all the way through the parking lot into the store/library/mall. It seems that there are a number of places in Columbia (where we live) that have crazy parking lots with not enough spaces for the patrons they serve. This results in parking wars in the lots. They should offer classes with maps and intensive training on where/how to park at these establishments. I've never experienced anything like it! Our church actually has to have "parking attendants" to show us where to park when we arrive b/c the whole lot is double parked to fit everyone in. (I suppose this is one way to discourage folks from leaving after communion!)

I thought that, with not working and having the ability to run my errands during the less busy times of day that I would be able to avoid this madness at least during the week but alas, there are a plethera of soccer moms in my city who spend the days running errands and shopping with their kids in tow. I can always spot them - they drive their big SUV's and have their Coach bags and their hair and nails done and are wearing "Juicy" sweatsuits. I think they should do a Real Housewives of Howard County, but I digress.......Bottom line - we need special parking spots for the kiddies!

Another experience that I had today that made me think - really? I don't think you thought this request through..... I went to have Jack's picture taken for an ID card for our gym (they offer child-sitting services while you workout -pretty sweet) and he was screaming when the lady took the picture so she says - well, if it doesn't work (meaning they can't tell if it's really him b/c he is screaming in the picture) you can always bring him back and we can take another one. Really? Can I? Can I please put my screaming child back in the car on another day, drive to the parking garage, get the stroller out and walk all the way back to your building and then have to take him out of his car seat and hold him while you shine this bright light in his eyes and want him to "hold still" while you take his picture? I wanted to strangle the woman behind the counter. Instead we went with my solution: take the picture again after Jack calmed down a bit.

Every outing is an adventure with a baby!