10 weeks old tomorrow!

I can't believe B will be 10 weeks old tomorrow! He's getting so big and changes every day. He's already in 9 month clothes and some 12 months! He loves getting in his walker, where he can "stand up" on his own. He loves his bedroom too. I'm glad we put the animal stickers above the changing table. He talks and smiles at them, when we change him there. It's so sweet. He still sleeps most of the time. Last night, he went 8 HOURS without a bottle! I can't believe it! Ty gets up with him on Fri and Sat nights while I do the other nights. Of course, he only does these long durations on Ty's nights! During the week it's about every 3-4 hours which isn't that bad. Sometimes, he'll go 5 or 6 but 8 is pretty outstanding! A few times a day, he'll stay up for an hour or so to play after his bottle. He's getting to be a really good baby. Of course, he's always been a good baby but he's getting old enough to where he doesn't cry much, unless he needs something. I just love him more every day and think the world of him! This is a picture of him in his walker this morning.

I've been having some abdominal pain lately so I've been going back and forth to the doctor, it seems. I'm nauseas and tired all the time. I throw up my breakfast about half of the time and I have no appetite. I've lost alot of weight unintentionally too which is great but at the same time, I don't want to lose it the wrong way. They thought it was my gallbladder but after an ultrasound and a HIDA scan yesterday, it's definitely not my gallbladder. I saw my GI doctor Thursday and he said from the looks of my bloodwork and symptoms, I might have pancreatitis but we aren't sure. So...I have to have an endoscopy and something called an ERCP done Tuesday. I had an endoscopy about 5 years ago but I have no idea what an ERCP is...I think he said it's the same thing as endoscopy but they do more and it takes longer. He said we'd be at the hospital for about 4 hours...great. I HATE the hospital and have no desire to go. I just hope we can figure out what's going on cause I'm really wanting some Mexican food! Ha.

Anyways, I've got a few things to do this weekend. Ty's grandad's birthday is tonight. Then, some friends are coming over tomorrow afternoon to meet B. I haven't seen them since I had him so I'm glad to! Last night, we went to eat with our best friends that I don't get to see much either so it was nice. Then Tuesday, we'll be at the hospital for a while. Thank goodness for family that can keep him when we need them! I hope to get back into the gym soon! I figure right now isn't the best time to start a workout routine. Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Oh yeah...after going through some old pictures, I found this one from 4 days before I went into labor. We should've known this would be an almost 11 pound baby! I can't imagine how big he would've been had I gone overdue. I was a whale!

8 Weeks Old

We had Barrett's 8 week check-up yesterday and he got his shots. He's done pretty good, considering. I've given him Tylenol every 4 hours to help him feel better and it has. He weighed 14 pounds 14 ounces and 25.5 inches long. That puts him in the above 95 percentile for his age. I'm still in shock at what a big boy I have. He's getting so big so fast and I'm loving watching him grow. He had to sleep in his swing, by our bed last night, so he'd keep his legs still. Every time he moved them, he'd scream. Plus, he LOVES sleeping upright so I figured I'd baby him a little extra last night. I'm hoping he'll feel even better today.

In other news, I'm so excited that I'm back down to my pre-pregnancy weight. I gained about 60 pounds with Barrett so that's alot of weight gone! I'm not breastfeeding, haven't dieted, and haven't worked out at all. I'm actually going today for an ultrasound of my gallbladder and some other stuff to see what's going on, since I haven't been feeling great either. That'll be just fabulous if I have to have ANOTHER surgery, which would make number 3 in 1 year. I'm way too young for that but if it'll make me feel better, whatever.

Barrett will officially be 2 months old tomorrow! I'll have to get some get pics of him and post them when I can. It's bittersweet...I love seeing him develop but I know he'll never be this little again. I'm hoping pictures will help save the memories!

Time is flying by!

I can't believe my baby will be 8 weeks old on Sunday! Time has gone by way too fast! He has his 8 week doctor's visit next week, when he'll get his shots. I'm curious to see how much he weighs and how long he is b/c he seems REALLY long and his fat cheeks melt my heart. At his last visit, he was in the 93rd percentile for his age. I dread him getting his shots but I know we'll get through it. He's gotten better about getting into a routine and I'm loving it. He goes to bed at about 1 am every night and gets up about every 3 hours for a bottle. It takes me about 30 minutes to change his diaper, feed him his bottle, and get him back to sleep. He tends to get up for the day around 10 am. He's definitely a sleep-fighter. When he's crying during the day and he's been fed and diaper changed, I know it's because he's sleepy. We have to go in his room, turn all the lights and TV off, and make him go to sleep. Otherwise, he wants to watch everything that's going on around him. Once he's asleep, he can pretty much sleep through anything but it's getting to sleep that's the problem. He smiles alot now and it's just the sweetest thing in the world. Me and him definitely have a special bond. This week, he has started to try and suck his thumb. Every now and then, he'll actually get his thumb but most of the time, he just sticks other fingers or his whole fist in his mouth and sucks on it. Luckily, he seems to be over his cold too and I'm starting to feel better as well. Whatever we had was rough and stuck around for 2-3 weeks. I've always hated asking people to wash their hands and not get in his face when they hold him, but I guess I'll have to start telling people to do that. After he was born, he was held by sooo many people and passed around, I'm surprised he didn't catch more than what he has.

At this stage, he's enjoying watching the fans still and even laughs at them sometimes (I have no idea what's funny about a fan but he sees something funny in it). He can control his head on his own for the most part now. He sleeps excellent in his carseat. Patting him on the butt while rocking him is the best way to put him to sleep. He's filling out size 6 month clothes and can wear a few 9 month sleepers. He loves getting baths but hates getting out of the water. He laughs at his daddy, when he does "the dinosaur". It's where Ty walks in front of him and pretends to be a dinosaur...I'm sure he'll kill me if he sees this ;). He likes to sit up like a big boy and isn't crazy about being held like a baby anymore. Those are just a few of the things I can think of that he's got going on right now.

Having Barrett has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. It is ALOT more work than I ever imagined but it's all worth it. I thought I knew what having a baby would bring but I don't think anyone ever knows the extent of how much work is involved until the baby arrives. He is by far the sweetest thing in the world though and I'd have it no other way. Well, he's waking up so I gotta go! I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Lately

Me and Barrett were both up with a stomach bug Tuesday night until about 3 am, when he finally was able to fall asleep. He woke back up at 6 and decided he was going to stay awake. Around 9 am, I decided I just couldn't do it that day, so I called Ty's mom and she was happy to keep him for me, thank goodness! She came to pick him up around 11 and I was happy to get a break and to hopefully feel better. I never expected to feel how I felt after he left. It's just such an odd indescribable feeling. As soon as I shut the door, I boo-hooed for a while. I was so excited to get the break but so sad for him to leave. It's funny because my sister was just talking about that feeling last week to me and I didn't understand at the time. But I can say now, that I totally know what she was talking about. Me and Ty went to eat with some friends last night and ran a few places after it. When we got home, we both said we felt kind of guilty for having such a good time, just the two of us. However, I keep telling myself that it's totally normal to still be able to have fun, without Barrett. I think every couple that has children, needs a break every now and then, for just the two of them.

As I came to work today, I happened to look down at my dry clean only black jacket. I realized that I probably look horrible because it's covered in white dog hair and had some spit up around the collar...haha. I'm sure that's how it's going to look for a while too. It comes with the property of being a mother to a human baby and dog baby and I don't mind it at all! Everyone will just have to excuse it, when they see me.

I'm finally feeling a little better with the postpartum depression. I've been on Zoloft for 3 weeks now and it's starting to help. I truly appreciate all of you that have messaged/texted me lately, just checking on me. It helps alot! I still have times when I'm down but overall, it's better and I'm able to cope with the bad feelings.

We are so thankful for the great family we've been blessed with! As I mentioned already, Ty's parents kept Barrett last night and my sweet mom and stepdad are keeping him on New Year's Eve. My sister stayed at our house one night last week and got up with him. We've had sooo much help since he's been born and are so grateful for that!

I've started to call Barrett "B" lately. My sister actually started calling him that first and I've just picked up on it. It's pretty catchy, so I'm thinking it may stick a while. He's been smiling alot for us lately. It's so sweet! We've had to not hold him as much lately because he's gotten to where that's all he wants and cries when we don't hold him. Unfortunately, when we see family, that's all they want to do which is understandable, but it makes it hard on us when we get home because we just can't hold him 24/7. He's still doing fine, sleeping in his crib, which I'm happy about. He gets up every 3-5 hours and take 4-6 ounces of milk at a time. He got his first taste of Pedialyte at Ty's mom's yesterday, which I'm curious to see how well he did with it. I'm sure he loved it! Anyways, I hope everyone has a great New Year's Eve!

Bottle, Diaper, Laundry, Dishes, repeat...

This blog title pretty much explains my life right now. I feel like I'm constantly doing one of those things I listed-giving Barrett a bottle, changing his diaper, doing laundry, dishes, or something else for the baby. Atleast it keeps me busy though. He's been a little fussy the past few days but we're thinking it's just a bellyache. I feel like he's out of the "brand new baby" stage. Right after he was born, you could do pretty much anything to him while he was asleep and it wouldn't even phase him. Now...if he's sleeping, we can't hardly touch him without him waking up. I can tell he's going to be one of those babies that fights gong to sleep. It's like he thinks he'll miss something so he fights to stay awake. He stays awake ALOT now too, unlike before. I love just sitting and watching him. He makes this "coo" sound when he sleeps and it's so sweet. When he's awake, it's neat to watch him look at things. He makes the funniest faces!

I go back to the doctor for my 6 week check-up on Jan. 4. We're hoping I can try to wean off the BP meds and I'll be cleared to be able to go back to having a "somewhat" normal life. I'm still not supposed to be lifting stuff but I've had to, since I don't have a 24/7 assistant by my side. I'm eager to get to go to the chiropractor since my back is killing me. I also can't wait to start working out and see if I can get back into shape just a little. I'll never have a normal stomach again, I don't think! Everyone says it will go back to pre-pregnancy but I think if they saw MY stomach, they'd think differently...haha. It's literally COVERED in stretchmarks and my skin just sags. You can tell my uterus is still above my bellybutton too. It's pretty gross to say the least. But, everything was worth it. I'm still saying I won't have another baby but only time will tell. I'm not getting anything permanently fixed for now! Anyways, everyone have a great week.

Getting the hang of this mommy thing!

Overall, I think I'm getting the hang of being a mother and it's a sigh of relief. We're in a "somewhat" routine with Barrett, so that's nice. He's hungry about every 3 hours but sometimes will go 4 hours. He's averaging about 5 ounces of formula each feeding but sometimes will only take 3 ounces and occasionally wants 6 ounces. He's done fairly well sleeping the past few nights. He gets up about every 3 hours and as soon as he finishes his bottle, he typically goes right back to sleep. It takes 30-45 minutes to feed him, plus 10 minutes to rock him back to sleep, so technically I'm getting about 2 hours of sleep in between him waking up. I hate sitting home all day so I normally just operate on what sleep I can get. I occasionally slip in a 30 minute nap or so. We're both sick and it kills me to see him feeling bad. We went to the doctor yesterday and it seems it's just "the crud" so there's not much we can do. I'm giving him saline throughout the day and sucking out his nose but it's not helping as much as I'd hoped. Him feeling bad is making him not want to take his bottle, bless his heart! For the past week, he's had a crying fit from about 11 pm until 1 or 2 am. I'm thinking it may be a little colic, since I've heard it normally hits babies at the same time every day.

I can't believe Christmas is right around the corner! We didn't put up our big tree or all the house decorations this year. There's been WAY too much going on to worry about it. My mom let us borrow her little 3 or 4 foot tree and it does just fine! I did atleast put up our stockings too. I've got most of my Christmas shopping done but have just a little bit left and am trying to finish that up this week. Hopefully, all of the stuff will be here in time! Everyone has been asking me what to get Barrett and I have no idea! I'll be thankful for anything he gets. I think some people have gotten too wrapped up in what gifts they get and have forgotten the real reason for Christmas. I'll never let Barrett be one of those bratty kids that acts rude if they don't get exactly what they wanted. Of course, kids mainly think about what gifts they're going to get for Christmas and that's fine but I've seen some kids act pathetic because they didn't get exactly what they wanted.

Barrett's definitely filling out his 3 month clothes now! He'll be in 6 month clothing before too much longer. He weighed 12 pounds on Monday and 12 lb 8 oz yesterday! I have no idea what caused me to have such a big baby! I had no health problems at all while I was pregnant so he's just one of those random big babies! He got his newborn pictures done this week and I'm so happy with them! I placed a big order for some last night. It was hard to get him to do all of the newborn poses the photographer normally does because he's so strong. I remember the day he was born, he was able to support his head on his own. I'm proud to say I've officially had 1 person say that Barrett looks just like me! Haha. He is definitely a mini-Ty so it's nice to hear someone say he looks like me.

I guess I need to go get a shower while this booger is asleep. I always put him in his bouncy seat while I get ready and he does great. He actually loves the sound of the hair dryer, so he sleeps great through it. Adios!

Barrett's checkup

I got a ton of stuff done today, thanks to my fantastic sister! We had an appointment with Dr. Woods first thing this morning. Barrett was 23.5 inches long and weighed a whopping 12 pounds! He's 3 weeks 1 day old today. The doctor said he looked and sounded like a perfect baby! After the doctor's visit, we grabbed some lunch and then got Barrett's newborn pictures done, finally! I've had to put it off for the past 2 weeks because of all my health problems but I'm glad we actually got them done today! They will be adorable and hopefully be on Facebook tomorrow or soon after. Then, I had a bunch of other places that I just had to run in and do something small, so my sis sat in the car with Barrett every place we went so he didn't have to get out in the freezing cold. I'm so thankful for the help and support I've gotten from my family lately and don't know what I'd do without them. My mother-in-law is even coming to clean my house for me tomorrow!

Some fun facts about Barrett this past week:
He loves ceiling fans
He likes the sound of running water
He has just started to enjoy his bouncy seat and naps in it during the day
He WILL pee on you within 5 seconds of removing his diaper every time he gets changed
He already has to sleep in his Pack n' Play in our bedroom because he's too big for his bassinet
He likes getting his head rubbed

He won't have another doctor's visit for 5 more weeks, when he'll be 8 weeks old. The doctor said that's when they'll give him his shots and I'm sure it'll break my heart to see him hurt. It breaks Lilly's heart too, when he cries. She gets excited every morning to go see Barrett and gives him lots of sugar. When he's fussy or crying, she has to be right beside him to make sure he's alright. On a side note, I've packed up all of my maternity clothes! It's a huge feeling of relief! I've got 4 garbage bags full, plus a couple of pregnancy pillows that I want to get rid of. I'm going to sell it all but the problem is that I'm selling it all TOGETHER. I don't want to mess with people looking through each item and seeing what they want to buy-there's just too many things to do it that way. So, if anyone's interested, let me know! Most of it is summer stuff, which are sizes Medium and Large. I have a little bit of Fall stuff but it's mostly sizes XL and petites.

And just an update from my last post, I'm feeling a little better. I think the anti-depressants may have started working a little and I'm just keeping faith that it will get better with each day. I appreciate all of you who've commented and prayed for me! Every little bit helps! Anyways, I hope everyone has a great week!