4 Weeks

It's hard to believe that little man is almost a month old already! I feel like I've basically spent February in hibernation. All my days seriously ran together there for a while... Still, in a lot of ways it feels like Samuel was just born. It's weird that he's not so "new" anymore!

This week I've been feeling a LOT more like myself now, and since Samuel's getting a little bigger, I'm feeling better about taking him out into the world. In addition to seeing some friends this week, we went to the doctor's office and Starbucks (and through the Chick-fil-A drive thru. :-) I also exercised for 30 minutes or so almost every day and started going back to the Y to get on the elliptical. I'm definitely NOT back to my pre-pregnancy intensity by any stretch of the imagination, but I feel like I will get there before too long. :-)

One really nice thing is that Eric's schedule has been super laid back this rotation. He's had to work, but has been home by 1 or so almost every day. That gives me a chance to pass off the kiddo and work out, take a shower, or, at the very least, just have an adult to talk to. That's been REALLY nice.

At four weeks, Samuel is still a pretty good baby. Don't get me wrong, we have some serious fussy/screaming spells. If you asked Eric right now if he was an easy baby or not, he would say definitely NO because he spent the majority of last night screaming for no apparent reason.

Still, that was an anomaly, and most nights he only gets up to eat and goes right back down until it's eating time again. (I should point out that last night he DID go right back down every time after I fed him, he just woke up an hour later every time and would NOT go back to sleep).

He's still been eating about every 2 1/2-3 hours, with Eric giving him a bottle for his last feeding right before bed (around 7:30). One night this week he actually only got up twice in the middle of the night to eat instead of 3 times. Unfortunately, while he went 4-5 hours without eating, he only slept in 2 hour chunks, and when I tried to adjust his feeding times so that it would happen again, it was a H-U-G-E failure. So we're back to the same old schedule. Bummer.

Samuel's happiest time is still first thing in the morning. He's usually super content to just lay on his mat or in his boppy in the morning, checking out what is going on in the world. I've been getting TONS of smiles during the mornings this week, though they are, of course, not directed at anything in particular. Still, it's really cute!!

We also got a new playmat in this week, so we've started doing more official "tummy time" a few times a day. He's pretty okay with it, though he usually gets mad about it after 5-10 minutes. I think he's just frustrated because he can't go anywhere. I guess I would be too!

One not-so-great change lately is that he has been spitting up a lot more.. It's never a lot, it just seems like it's really often. Maybe that's because he hardly ever spit up his first few weeks of life. I have to be honest: spit up is the grossest thing about babies to me. I had hoped that when it was my own kid spitting up I would be able to handle it better, but I'm still pretty disgusted by the stuff, especially when it's chunky. (EWWWWW!). However, I guess I'm just going to have to suck it up, because it seems to keep coming three or four times a day.  

Tomorrow we go to Samuel's one month doctor's appointment, so I should have an update then about weight/height, etc. According to the Wii, he's about 9 lbs. 11oz (roughly the size Eric was at birth!). I don't know how accurate that is, but he seems a LOT heavier to me the last few days! He's still wearing newborn clothes, but is definitely on the brink of making the switch to 0-3 month. He's also still in newborn diapers, but I may try size 1s out this week to see how they work (since I have about a million of those and have to keep buying the newborns!),

In non-baby news, Eric turned in his rank list this past week. That means we only have 17 days until we find out where we will be living for the next three years. Yikes! It's really crazy to me, because, with all the baby stuff, I kind of forgot about the fact that we are about to have this whole other huge life change to make. It just hasn't felt real, and I guess it probably won't until we know where we're going. Still, I've started trying to do some more research about our top choices so I won't be completely unprepared when I find out I have two months to get moved somewhere totally new!

That's about it for now, I suppose... Until next time!

3 Weeks

It's hard to believe Samuel's already 3 weeks old! Well, in some ways. In other ways, I've totally forgotten what it's like to be pregnant, to sleep through the night, to eat with both hands... haha. I just love having this sweet little boy around!

This week has definitely been the hardest so far. I started feeling bad last Wednesday afternoon, and within a few hours was running a fever of around 101. It was MISERABLE. Samuel had been eating pretty poorly on one side for the last several days and things were pretty uncomfortable over there, so I self-diagnosed myself with mastitis and popped some tylenol and tried to nurse him on that side all night. Eric's parents were still here, so they were able to help with Samuel in the interim while Eric tried to take care of me. Seriously, I think I felt worse during those 24 hours than I did during labor. 

I was able to get into the doctor pretty early the next morning and she agreed that mastitis was likely the problem and prescribed me an antibiotic. So Eric and I spent our Valentine's Day running to the OB and then to the store for him to pick up my medicine. Romantic, right?  Thankfully, the medicine worked pretty quickly and I started feeling better that afternoon. I'm still taking it and feeding a LOT. I go back for a follow-up this Friday, so hopefully things will be cleared up by then. Note to self for next time though: ALWAYS nurse on both sides. 

At 3 weeks, Samuel is still a relatively happy baby. He definitely has his screaming periods, but we can usually identify a cause (though not always). 

Baby boy usually gets up between 7 and 8, eats, and then is happiest and most alert for the next hour or two. He spends a lot of time just lounging in his boppy or on my lap or in the bouncer just looking around. This is nice for me because I can actually get some chores done (or blog :). Sometimes he takes a quick nap around 9:30 or so before he eats again between 10 and 11. 

So far we don't have any established napping patterns -- that may be something we work on in the next week or two. He usually dozes thoughout the day and then I may put him down in the crib or bassinet for an official "nap" in the afternoon. The rest of the time, if I can tell he's tired, I usually just swaddle him up and he fusses for a few minutes, then konks out. 

For the most part, Samuel has been really good about sleeping at night. We've definitely had some nights where that was NOT the case, but typically he will go down sometime between 8 and 10 and then only wake up to eat around 11, 2, and 5, going back down pretty easily afterwards. Occasionally he will surprise us and sleep a little longer, but so far 3 hour eating stretches have been the norm (though one day this week he went 4 1/2 hours without eating -- just not sleeping the whole time). I'm really thankful he's been a great little eater, but I'm definitely ready to sleep for more than 2 1/2 hours at a time! 

Let's see, what else?? We figured out we can use the Wii Fit to get a fairly accurate weight measurement. On Sunday, it said Samuel weighed 8.6 pounds (roughly 8 lbs. 10 oz.) We go back to the doctor for his one month appt. next Wednesday, so I'm guessing he will be over 9 lbs by then. Yikes! A lot of his weight seems to be in his length, though, because he is still in newborn clothes and newborn diapers. He did outgrow his first outfit this week, but it was totally just because it was too short! 

He and I went on our first outing yesterday as just the two of us. Thankfully, Samuel has fallen asleep every time we've gotten in the car (and stayed that way until we pull him out of the car seat). We went to a friend's house for a mini-baby shower and he slept for the entire 2 hours we were gone. Nice. (He even slept through me clumsily trying to figure out how to get the car seat in and out of the stand. That was fun!). 

I guess I'd be remiss if I didn't mention something that this kid LOVES: his pacifier. I really had no intention of introducing a pacifier right away, but it has kind of been a lifesaver. Sucking soothes him SO much, and it hasn't interfered with his eating at all, so we decided to go ahead and let him have it. We try not to use it at night so he doesn't rely on it for good sleep. I feel bad that half his pictures have this big blue thing sticking out of his mouth, but, hey, whatever works, right??

The other thing he loves is his HANDS. I could tell when he was in utero that his hands were always right by his face, and that has TOTALLY been the case. He'll suck on them, put them over his eyes, use them to hold his pacifier, etc. Pretty much the only time his arms are down are when he's sleeping. He also folds them together a lot (like he's praying). It's really cute! 

We also are starting to use a bottle this week. We gave him one Sunday and he DOWNED it and I realized it probably had a higher flow than what he needed. When I went to the store to get a different one, they were out, so I ended up getting this bottle where he actually has to suck to get anything out -- supposedly similar to nursing. Now I'm starting to wonder if that's really the best idea since we want him to be able to take a bottle any time and giving him that one only might limit what he will take later. I don't know, but I guess I need to decide soon, because we're going to try to give him one again tonight too. Hmm...

Anyway, there's tons more I could say about this sweet boy, but I probably need to get some stuff done today. Until next time!

2 Weeks!

So I've decided to switch back to solely using this blog since Samuel's birth blog is officially complete! (You can read his birth story here).

So my baby is officially 2 weeks old. Crazy! Even though we've been REALLY tired and there have been a few stressful moments, I have loved every minute of having this snuggly little boy at home! Everyone keeps telling me all these things he will be doing soon, but I have been just trying to soak up every minute of his sweet newborn self. I love having him be so tiny and sweet!

After Samuel was born, my parents were here for five days or so. It was SUPER nice to have extra help while I was recovering and while we were figuring out what in the world we were doing (not that we're experts now or anything. LoL).

We got a few days after that to just hang out and be a family of 3. That was nice too, especially since Eric was off work and we were able to just "be" for a few days. Our sweet Sunday school class started bringing us meals during that time, so we didn't have to worry about cooking much or anything. It was great to just be together and not have to stress about anything more than getting the clothes clean!

Eric's parents have been here since last Thursday, so Samuel has gotten to hang out with all of his grandparents now. He's been super spoiled by all four of them over the last two weeks. I don't think he's going to know what to do when he's stuck with just me all day!

Samuel had some trouble eating at first. He was much more interested in sleep (and sometimes still is). We actually had to feed him with a syringe once when we were at the hospital. I was worried we were going to have to force-feed him forever, but luckily he figured things out! He was born at almost 7 lbs. 4 oz, dropped down to 6 lbs. 13 oz. two days after birth, but by 4 days after, he was back up to birth weight! I'm really curious to know how much he weighs now. According to the Wii, he's a little over 8 lbs, but I don't know how accurate that is. I wish we had a little baby scale at home!

Little man did have an eating set back around 1 week. I don't know what the cause was, but he would try (unsuccessfully) to latch one or two times, then scream for about 20 minutes, try again, and then scream some more. It was pretty stressful, especially since he actually went a 6 hour stretch without eating at one point. I was almost to my breaking point, but luckily we worked through it, and he's been eating pretty well ever since (except when he decides he wants to eat for 10 minutes and fall into a coma. There are worse problems though!). Hopefully he will keep it up and we can add a bottle in next week (yay!).

Everyone told me the first two weeks are the hardest. In some aspects that's been true (recovery, learning to feed him, etc.), but I think this week might actually be harder since the lack of continuous sleep is finally getting to me. Samuel's really been a great sleeper over all. We've had one or two nights when he was fussy alll night long, but he's had way more nights where he only woke up every 3 hours or so to eat and then went right back down. He's not completely predictable or anything, but he's on somewhat of a schedule, and that's nice. Unfortunately, since I'm the only one who can feed him, I'm up every 3 hours too. So even though I've gotten 6-8 hours of sleep every night, none of it's been in more than 2-3 hour chunks (though there was one time when he slept 4 hours. Wooo!). Eric's been awesome about getting up if he fusses in between feedings, but since he's been sleeping well, there have definitely been several nights where it's just been me.

One thing that's surprised me is how quickly I've gotten back to looking like my normal self. I still have about 10-12 lbs left to lose (though I think some of that is, you know, milk weight), but for the most part I look really similar to my pre-pregnancy self. Yay!

(12 days post-baby)

I started walking a little last Tuesday. At first I could only go for about 2 minutes (like not even to the stop sign and back). But I've tried to go a little every day, and today I actually walked a mile and a half! Hopefully in another week or so I can start jogging again, but I'm not going to push it.

Anyway, I have a little list going of some of my favorite things about Samuel and mommyhood so far, but kiddo's going to have to eat in a minute, so I may have to wait and put those up later. For now, here's some pics. :-)

Until next time!

!

Freezer Meals

Last weekend I went a little nuts and finally made all the freezer meals I'd been stocking up for for the last month. (Feel free to read more about other baby-related items on the baby blog.) I've always been pretty good about freezing extra portions of soup, etc., but I've never spent an afternoon just focusing on freezer prep. Considering it was my first real try (and I didn't streamline as much as I could have), I thought it went pretty well.

I started off making my favorite Southwestern Bean Soup. Eric hates this, but I decided to make it anyway since it's packed with protein, low-cal, and actually fills me up. It's super easy to make, and if you don't already have a good southwestern soup recipe, you should totally try it:

1 can tomato sauce
1 can black beans
1 can red kidney beans
1 bag frozen sweet corn
1 can rotel
taco seasoning to taste

Mix all that goodness together and let it simmer on the stove for an hour or so, and you've got southwestern magic! Stick it in a microwaveable container and freeze, and it's good to go.

I then proceeded to make one big helping and two loaf-pan helpings of Mexican Shepherd's Pie. I basically got everything ready to cook so all we have to do is pop it in the oven for 20 minutes. Mmmm.

I also prepped a ton of chicken breasts for baking - mainly this Lazy Baked Greek Chicken from Rachel Ray that I absolutely adore (have I posted about this before? Because I should have). It's super easy, full of protein, and totally delicious!

I also prepped about 5 chicken breasts for chicken parmesan (basically rolling dipped chicken breasts in a parmesan-panko mix) so that all I have to do is bake and pour on some marinara.

I cut up about a bajillion more chicken breasts after that and got some bags together to pour in the crockpot to make the Italian Crockpot chicken that everyone raves about on Pinterest:

2 cans cream of chicken
1 packet Zesty Italian Dressing Mix
1 8-oz pack of cream cheese
4 chicken breasts

Hopefully I can just throw that in the crockpot then serve it over some noodles.

I also made a whole bunch of the Chicken and Spinach Pasta Bake that our familia loves so much. With two BIG servings and three loaf pan servings, I don't think we'll be short on that for awhile!

I also chopped and froze a bunch of mixed veggies for if I want to make veggie stew/pot roast/beef stew in the crockpot. And it seems like I did a few more things, but it's all a little hazy at the moment.

The whole ordeal took me about 3 hours (with some breaks in between since my back started hurting). However, I got roughly 20 meals out of that, so it seems like a fair trade in time. I may just have to do it again one day... we'll see!!

Interview Season

It's kind of crazy, but Eric's interview season is actually done! It was a pretty nutty 2 months.

After Thanksgiving, Eric visited VCU in Richmond, VA, UAB in Birmingham, AL, and Brown University in Providence, RI all within a week. We spent a couple of extra (very rainy but fun) days in Rhode Island and Boston.

When we got back, he was supposed to turn right around and go to Pittsburgh, PA, for yet another interview. However, upon looking at his schedule, we realized the flight times we'd lined up weren't going to be conducive to him having dinner with the residents. It was also going to be one of the most expensive trips for him transportation and hotel wise. And, honestly, after the week before, I think we were both just pooped. So, after a LOT of debating, Eric actually cancelled an interview.

It was a little scary to think about turning a place down. After all, the more places you rank, the better your chances of matching. However, after 8 great interviews, I think we both felt confident enough that skipping one would be okay. We hated being out the plane ticket money, but having a few days to relax was probably worth it.

Of course, he turned right around and went to Dallas three days later, but that was a  little more fun since he got to see his familia while he was there. I wish I could have gone too, but sitting on a plane for hours while the baby kicks my bladder is not my idea of fun these days.

So there you have it. 9 interviews in the bag. Eric will turn in our list of which programs we like at the end of next month, and then we just get to wait until March 15 to find out where we'll be! Of course, we have a lot going on between now and then too. With visitors coming for Christmas and New years and sweet Samuel getting closer and closer to being born, we've got plenty to keep us occupied!

I am so grateful we've had the opportunity to spend so much time traveling and seeing all these fun places together during this time. Seriously, I think we've had more babymoons that anyone ever! I don't think we'll ever be able to look back and say we didn't live up our last few months of non-parenthood enough. :-) I can't wait to see what the future holds!

Half Way!

The last month or so has been really crazy for us, but Eric is officially half way done with interviews.

As mentioned in a previous post, he ended up applying to 20 places for residency. And, about as we expected/hoped for, he got offered interviews at 10. Some of the rejections were from prestigious research-heavy schools that we expected (Hopkins, Harvard, etc). Some were really surprising (UNC - apparently they have no love for their fellow North Carolinians!). But I think we're both pretty happy with the 10 that he's going on.

We tried to be as smart about scheduling as possible, which meant about one interview a week for the first 4 weeks while we were both working, then two weeks off for Thanksgiving, followed by five back-to-back at the start of Eric's vacation month.

The first five went really well. Of those, we both really liked Wake Forest (of course), Univerisity of Virginia in Charlottesville, VA, and the University of Louisville. (We also visited Charleston, SC, and the University of Maryland in Baltimore -- both were okay, but not our faves.)

As of this weekend, the back-to-back interviews begin! Eric will be heading to Richmond, VA, Birmingham, AL, Providence, RI, Pittsburgh, PA, and Dallas, TX over the next two weeks. That's a crazy lot of traveling in a super short span!
(I'll only be going to Rhode Island since I don't need to be taking too much time off of work before I go out on maternity).

I'm really curious to see how this next round goes, and what our top choices will be. There's already some great cities/programs in the mix, so no matter what we know we should hopefully be able to end up somewhere we like... we'll just have to wait and see!

Thankful List 2012

1. Of course, first and foremost, I'm thankful for Christ, for His sacrifice, for his ever-abiding love for his children, and for the fact that even though I fail time and time again, His love never does. Without Him, I'm nothing!

2. Eric Yates. I had no clue when we met almost 8 years ago that he'd end up being the most important person in my life - my husband, my best friend, and all-around support system. I'm SO grateful to have a husband who loves me at my worst, who has always been willing to share the load with me (especially this year with morning sickness, tiredness, and a growing belly!), who prays with me, makes me laugh and always kisses me good night. :-) I can't say enough about how grateful I am for that man! 

3. Sweet Samuel wiggling inside me! It has been the funnest thing this year growing this crazy baby.  He already doesn't sit still for long, so I know we're going to have a fun one. I can't wait to meet him in a few weeks!!

4. Our familia. We are SO blessed to have awesome God-fearing families on both sides. We don't get to see them as much as we would like, but it's wonderful to know we have love and support, even from miles away.

5. Skype + Cell phones. Once again, we don't get to see our family as much as we'd like, yet we can still see each other and talk every week. I always think about what it must have been like for people even a hundred years ago who moved across the country or across the world. Not only were they leaving their families behind, they were lucky if they could communicate through letters a few times a year. Things have come such a long way, and I'm thankful that, no matter where we go, we're never more than a phone call away!

6. Friends. Where would be without them??

7. Our home. I LOVE having a house. It's quirky and mismatched and definitely not where we're going to live for the rest of our lives. But it's cozy and it's comfy and warm (except upstairs where there's no heat - haha), and I'm so grateful to have a place to live that I enjoy!

8. Our neighborhood. Seriously, we are SO spoiled. We have good neighbors. Eric is less than a mile from work. We're less than a mile from the hospital where Samuel will be born. Within 2 miles we have 5 great grocery stores (including Whole Foods and Trader Joes), Starbucks, Krispy Kreme, Chick-fil-A, Panera Bread and a host of other restaurants, and the YMCA. Yet our street is super quiet and calm. I can run anywhere and be greeted with smiles and hellos. The houses are all old, eclectic and (mostly) beautiful. It's just a fun place to live.

9. Running. I know it may seem silly, but I really do thank God all the time that I have legs to run with! Running has been cathartic for me. It helps me clear my head, deal with change, and remember that sometimes life is just as simple as putting one foot in front of the other.

10. Our church. Calvary is totally NOT the type of church we thought we'd end up at when we moved here 3 1/2 years ago (it's humongous!), but I'm SO glad we did! The people are awesome, and we can know that we will always hear the truth preached. Now it's hard for us to imagine NOT being at a huge church!

11. Food. Pregnancy has made me more grateful for food than ever! More than that, I often think about those who DON'T have food, who go without on a daily basis, both here and overseas. I haven't ever gone hungry and I'm thankful for that, but it compels me to look for ways I can aid those who do. We have so much more than what we could ever truly need. Why not share it?

12. Our health. We may be young, but I've seen all too often how things can change in the blink of an eye for anyone. I'm so thankful for 25 years of a healthy life, and for the fact that, even though we both work in super-germy places, we've managed to stay relatively illness-free the last few years!

13. My crazy cat. Conner is a mess, but he's cuddly and hilarious. He likes to hide behind things and jump out and "scare" us. He thinks our food is his food (have you ever seen a cat eat oatmeal, eggs, pumpkin, chocolate, yogurt, cereal, or mexican casserole? Because ours does. He's a pretty big fan of Dr. Pepper too. We have to constantly hide our food). He is obsessed with bags and boxes, and will drag them all over the house. When he's not being crazy, he's cuddling in our laps, trying to "kiss" us (rub his nose against our faces), or begging to be picked up. He really is a nut, but I'm thankful to have a sweet pet. I hope he adjusts okay when the baby comes!

14. My bed. Also a silly one, but seriously, it's soooo comfortable! I'm thankful to have a nice warm place to cuddle up at night.

15. Lastly, I'm thankful for FREEDOM, both politically and spiritually. I've been blessed to grow up in a country where I can decide for myself what I think about things, where I can worship God as I choose, and where I can pursue my dreams without inhibitions. It's easy to forget that these are things that haven't always been true for everyone, and I hope that I can make the most of them.