Strolling

Bryan's mom and her fiance Nick came for a visit this weekend. We took them for a stroll around the neighborhood.



All that walking really tuckered Brick out.

What Are You Looking At?

Pro Level

We'll call it an early Mother's Day gift, but Bryan allowed me to indulge my love of photography by purchasing a new camera: the Canon Rebel XT Digital SLR.

I own a standard, film SLR camera that I purchased a few years back when I decided to take a photography class through the local community college. I absolutely love shooting pictures with it, but I'm wholeheartedly spoiled by the instant nature of our digital world.

My "old" digital camera is pretty good for taking snapshots, but there was always something about the photos that wasn't quite good enough, in my opinion. No complaints now!

Stretch

Are You In?

Ever since my cell phone became my only phone, I've been a little selective about whom I call using my 900 monthly daytime minutes. Since Verizon lets me call anyone on their network for "free" I'm less hesitant to call my friends and family with Verizon phones.

Of course, the trick is knowing who has Verizon and who's going to cost you. Today I ran across this link:
http://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/LNPControllerServlet?path=lnppromo1
It allows you to check a phone number to see if the recipient is part of Verizon's IN network. Cool.

Old Blue Eyes

So, babies can apparently gain pigment in their irises as late as 12 months, meaning their eye color may not be fully determined until then. But Brick's are looking awfully blue. Here's hoping they stay that way.

Back to Work

Today is my first day back to work since leaving for maternity leave 10 weeks ago. So far, I have very little to do (obviously or else I wouldn't be posting this blog in the middle of my workday). Before going on maternity leave, I finished out all my major projects. Since my group is transitioning off our current account, that means it's unlikely that there will be any new projects coming my way anytime soon. That leaves me with only steady-state work. I spent the better part of this morning filling out password renewal requests. I guess that's what happens after two months of inactivity.

Since I'm still working from home full time, we opted to have someone come into the house to take care of Brick while I work. Dealing with that has been harder than I imagined it would have been. I'm having to curb my urge to jump up and care for Brick the instant I hear him cry. I believe that he's being well-cared for because the crying doesn't last long.

Puppy Love

Almost every morning you'll catch Brick making googly eyes at his first crush: our family room ceiling fan.

Play Ball

Brick attended his first baseball game. Conveniently enough, he slept through most of it.

Play Time

Ouch

Brick had his first round of immunization shots today. Needless to say, he was not happy about it.

Bouncer Boy

My First Easter

ROAR

Brick got a new gift from his Nonna today.

Watch Me Grow

Just shy of 2 months old, Brick's already fitting into clothes meant for 3-month-olds (like this new outfit). He's even starting to take naps in my crib like a big boy.

And This Too Shall Pass

I realized another crucial aspect of parenting that I forgot to mention in my previous post. That is, no matter how awful some aspect of parenting seems, it either takes care of itself in time or is rewarded by something at least 10 times better.

My point? Brick's been a moderately fussy baby since about 3 weeks of age. At times, we thought he might have reflux or at least an upset stomach. Then there was a period when I thought it might have been a growth spurt. Another portion of that time, we thought he might be overtired and unable to settle himself. It may have very well have been any number of those things and then some. After all, he can't talk to let me know. But whatever it was (or is) it seems to have passed.

Sure, he still cries from time to time, but for the most part we've settled into a daily ritual that goes eat, play, fuss, nap, cry (because he's awake and ready to eat again). We go through this cycle just about every 2 hours until bedtime. While it may sound horrendous and monotonous, this ritual is the key to my sanity because it's blessedly predictable.

On another note, I've decided it's time to get serious about starting a fitness routine and losing the "baby" weight. On some nighttime news special I watched a couple of weeks ago, they mentioned that you should tell as many people as possible when you're trying to achieve a fitness goal because it creates accountability.

On the show, they took pictures of the participants in bikinis and threatened to air them on national television if the participants didn't lose at least 10 pounds in 30 days. That created a credible threat, which was enough motivation for all but one of the participants, and even she was just a few pounds short of the goal. And for those of you who may be curious, no, they didn't air the photos.

At any rate, I've decided to mention my progress here in an attempt to keep me motivated (as if the closet full of clothes that don't fit isn't enough motivation). This morning Bryan, Brick and I took a "RALK" (run/walk) but it seemed to be more ALK-ing than R-ing. We'll have to work on that.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane ...

Bryan has decided that this is the best way to calm Brick when he's holding him.

Weird Stuff for Babies

I've long since been a fan of the PopGadget blog. It's a resource of personal technology for women. While some of the items appear to be useful, most of them are just plain quirky and amusing.

Much to my delight, the authors of PopGadget have created a new blog: BabyGadget. In browsing through the new posts, I found the TummyTub:


Just the sight of this poor baby was enough to make me laugh. Forget the fact that someone is selling this item and proposing that it's USEFULL. The idea is that the baby gets into the fetal position and the tub simulates the womb. I have yet to figure out how you're supposed to actually WASH the baby once he's all contorted.

Date Night

On Saturday night, Bryan and I went out for our first official date since Brick was born. His dad and his wife were gracious enough to give us their seats to the symphony AND come to our house to watch Brick while we enjoyed the night out.

We had such a great time. We started out with dinner at our favorite restaurant, JK's. We both agreed it would be fantastic to have the money to eat there more frequently because the food is just SO amazing.

The symphony show (Classical Mystery Tour) was a combination of a Beatles tribute band with accompaniment by the symphony. Even though I don't know nearly as much of the Beatles music as Bryan does, it was really very cool to see it all pulled together.

After the concert, we headed back home where we were greeted by a moderately fussy, freshly awake baby. So much for sleeping 6-7 hours each night!

Baby Sitters

Brick got some quality time with his extended family on Saturday night. Looks like all the fun & excitement wore him out.

Granddaddy


Aunt Olivia

Getting the Hang of Things

Brick will be 7 weeks old in a few hours. It's sad that it's taken 7 weeks for me to really start to feel like a mom. It's also truly amazing how much having a child changes you. A few things I've learned in my few short weeks as a mom:

• Schedules mean nothing.


• Routines mean everything.


• We could all be a little more open-minded.

Something tells me that babies have the right idea when it comes to the timing of things. Brick's behavior can be so unpredictable from one day to the next that I've really learned to go with the flow. And I'm trying to learn to give myself ample time whenever I have to be somewhere important at a specific time. Being a tried and true procrastinator, I've always been lazy about leaving ample time for anything.

On the second point, it's such a wonderful feeling to know that at precisely 8 o'clock each evening, my baby boy will be tired and will settle down to sleep fairly easily. Not so nice is knowing that he will wake at 3am to eat, but I find strength in knowing that it will only get better, and it could be a lot worse.

About being more open-minded, I attended a seminar on working and breastfeeding today. I've read that about 70% of newborns today are breastfed, but I have yet to see or meet a mother who's breastfeeding exclusively. Those of us who are breastfeeding exclusively know what a feat it can be to find an appropriate place to feed a hungry baby if you happen to be out and about when hunger strikes.

My point? In this class several of the women were discretely breastfeeding, and it didn't bother me in the least bit. And to be completely honest, in the past, it would have. I've resolved to pump and take a bottle on major outtings, which I imagine is the same for most moms in my situation, but I think we've resorted to doing so only because the alternative (breastfeeding in public) is so taboo. Mind you, there are a lot more things in this world we need to be open-minded about. This one just happens to be foremost on my mind.

The Boss

Tummy Time with a Twist

Brick got some tummy time in the Moses Basket today. We're used to seeing arms and legs popping up over the basket - It was cute to see his head pop up too.

Wiggle Worm

Car Seat

Stylin'