Quilting Again

I started quilting again. With Caleb being so miserable, and with there being nothing I can do for him, it has been a great distraction and helps me stay sane while listening to him scream his little heart out. He has had a really great stretch, 4 and a half days to be exact. Then 3:40 rolled around today and that stretch came to an end. He cried for 2 hours. So I quilted. Since my sister in law is having a baby is February, I had a good reason to make a quilt. Since Ryan makes fun of me lately about the amount of quilts that are in the house, I can still enjoy the quilt making process and not have the pile of quilts increase since I can give them away. Since she doesn't read my blog, here is a photo of the top of her quilt. (hopefully she has a boy :)) I think I should try take a photo of it again against my orange wall...

Just Some Photos

Because I think my children are beautiful. Especially when both of them almost give me a full nights sleep. This Mr Man did almost a full 7 hour stretch last night! It's amazing what sleep can do for how one feels.

 

Friday and Saturday he was a dream baby. Happy, napping, not really any uneccesary fussing. Then yesterday he was a bit more cranky, so hopefully today he doesn't continue to go backwards.

And of course one with his big sister.

Splish Splash Ima Takin a Bath...

First time in the bath tub since my kitchen is kind of upside down right now. Loving these big baby blues :)

Such a helpful big sister. She loves to be included and tries hard to be helpful.

Mr Man at 7 weeks

Today mr man is 7 weeks. It's been a long 7 weeks trying to figure everything out. On Monday Caleb cried for an hour and a half straight. With no breaks. Straight. 90 long minutes. After trying everything to console him, Camia and I just lay on the bed beside him and listened to him cry while singing songs like hickory dickory dock and twinkle twinkle little star. On Monday I fell to pieces and called my sister in law in tears. I was at the end of my rope and felt like throwing in the towel for everything, but mainly for nursing. I felt like it wasn't going well. I felt like it was my fault for his tummy issues. I felt there was an overwhelming amount of pressure to keep going, that my baby was going to get deathly ill if I switched him to formula even though Camia lived off formula and she is still alive and is a beautiful and intelligent little girl. I was exhausted from hearing Caleb cry all the time. I began to think that maybe it was something I was eating that was giving him tummy trouble. And after his 6.6 week appointment I found out that I was not totally wrong. We've started him on pro biotics to help him with his tummy.

 

Apparently me falling apart at 6-ish weeks is text book. Apparently everyone falls apart at 6 weeks. Joy came over and sent me straight to bed. I did not think I would sleep, but I slipped to unconciousness in a matter of minutes and stayed that way for around 2 ish hours. While it felt wonderful to get a bit of shut eye and not have to worry about anything, I woke up still feeling completely exhausted. I guess it takes more than 2 hours to catch up on lost sleep. But then there are days like today. Days where all he does is smile. and only cry when he needs something. Days where he naps for 3 hours and I get to quilt even though there are dishes piled high and laundry from 4 days ago still sitting in the laundry baskets. Days where we can go for a walk and he is not sleeping AND quiet at the same time. Days where I love my babies again and think that being a mom is the best job in the world. These days make me sit back and remember who I am supposed to be thankful to and who has given me these blessings. And it makes me thankful to Him for giving me a day where I can have a break and be thankful.

 

His 6 week specs were that he grew 10 full centimeters in 6 weeks and he weighed in at 11.15 lbs.

Observations...

Things I've been reminded of since having a new baby again:

• I guess if there is anything positive about getting out of bed just before 7 is that 2 hours later it's just before 9:00, as opposed to getting out of bed at 8:30, where 2 hours later makes it feel like the day is half gone...sleep? what's sleep?
• Vacuuming and a sleeping baby don't go hand in hand.
• Sleeping for more than 3 hours straight is a distant memory and when it does happen, it's amazing how one can feel like a million bucks.
• Showers only happen when Baby is not crying, maybe sleeping and can happen at any time of day.
• A clean house does not exist
• Cooking decent meals does not happen. For a long time.
• I can not just up and go anywhere anymore. My life revolves around feeding and sleep schedules again.
• Schedules? What is a schedule? Just when you think you have it all figured out, Baby smiles up at you and changes it all again.
• The things I get excited about are worrisome if you are not a mom. The colour of his diaper, for example, is one of the things that is on my list. With him being so cranky, if his diapers are the wrong colour too frequently it means he has to go for a series of tests. I like it when his diapers are normal.
• You eat when you can. Even if it means having breakfast at 11 and lunch at 4.
• Your body changes. Moreso for me after having baby #2. And it takes longer to get back to where you were. Especially after after having a c-section.
• Even though you're running on fumes so to speak, and sleep is rare, time still flies.
• It is hard to split your time and energy between a baby, a vivacious 4 year old and a husband. Not to mention spending time on your other duties, like housework. And those hobbies that used to exist. Sewing is a distant memory.
• Forgetting the diaper bag when you go out is not very smart. I should know. I've done it at least 4 times. So much for never buying diapers without a coupon...
• That saying 'It's not worth crying over spilled milk' is baloney. Especially when you pump a bottle at 4 in the morning in order to feed your screaming kid at night and said bottle leaks over everything while you are out. Not only is everything soaked - including the only sleeper you took along - but the milk is gone. That is definitely worth a tear or two. Or three. Or a whole stinking lake.  Especially when your kid is screaming because he is hungry.
• It is wonderful to be a part of a supportive church community.

Professional Photos

I am excited to finally have the pictures from the photographer we hired when Caleb was 2 weeks old. I have ordered his birth announcements, they were shipped out on Monday, so I am expecting them to come soon. Here are a few of my favourites.

 

 First photo since the hospital

 Daddy and Son

 Laying on the quilt I made for him.

Pumpkin Patch

This year, as always, we headed to the pumpkin patch. It happened to be nice weather today and Caleb was having an ok day. The last couple of days have been very difficult with him again which almost resulted in a year skipped for the patch. Camia would have been disappointed since she had been looking forward to it for about a week now. This year I went with my mom - she has been coming with me on most of my outings since Caleb has been so difficult and I am not sure I am ready to brave an outing by myself yet. Any extensive outing, I mean. I have done groceries with both kids twice now, and both those trips went fine as far as he is concerned. Of course I took the opportunity to take photo's of my kiddies. I have noticed that I haven't taken very many photo's of Caleb yet, and remember my mom saying that as each kid comes, the less photo's you take. I find this is mostly because Caleb has been such a cranky pants that either I am holding him, listening to him cry, keeping his sister occupied or too busy when he's quiet for a moment to do dishes or some other menial task. Today I managed to take a decnt amount and so far I've managed to take weekly photos of him, so I at least have some :). Here are some photo's from today.

 She adores her little brother.

Feeding the goats

Caleb not crying :)

Looking for that perfect pumpkin

Me and my cute kids

A pumpkin in the pumpkins

Kisses.

My sweet girl

This handsome man is 6 weeks old tomorrow

Siblings

This little girl is head over heals in love with her little brother. She is so proud of him, and asks everyone she meets if they either want to see him, hold him or come for tea. Everyone. Complete strangers. Everyone who comes with a meal. People in the grocery store. Coffee shops. Everyone. Almost endearing. The cute thing is that she is proud of her baby brother.

A Rare Sight, A Midwife and A Friend

Meet AJ, the midwife who got credit for delivering Caleb.

Caleb and Troy. Troy is 8 months old, 7 months older than Caleb. Scary to think that Caleb might grow this much in the next 6 months. In this photo, Caleb is one day shy of 5 weeks old.

A rare sight in our household: Caleb sleeping! He hardly naps during the days and is often crying - no, screaming- his little heart out.

This is him content. Something which is also rare for him. This not so little monkey is 5 weeks old today and weighed in at 10.11 lbs.

Pictures

I've had a post started now for a few days, but life has been hectic - even though I have been home all the time. Until I get that done, here are some pictures to tide for a bit.

Camia loves to hold her little brother and is very good at it. So good that I feel comfortable leaving the room for a bit while she holds him and keeps him quiet for a bit.

Checking out the mirror.

Our little man is 4 weeks old today!

This photo is taken right after his bath tonight. I think he looks so much like Ryan's baby photo, especially with his hair in a little mohawk, just like Ryan's was. Caleb's hair gets all curly after his bath, and the mohawk comes all by itself.