No Clever Post Title

I don't really have a clever title for this post so I'll just get right into it.

The week after we got back from our Thanksgiving trip was kind of rough. Jude did so well on our trip, including car time. However, the following week must have been how he made up for it. He had been sleeping 12 hours at night without waking up, but last week, he decided not to follow that pattern. He was up 1-4 times per night! Boy, I really was not a fan! I couldn't figure out what was going on either! He didn't seem hungry, wasn't dirty, seemed fine temperature wise...I just had no clue what to do! I would just turn on his music and he'd go back to sleep. I guess there's a lot to be said for routine. He has seemed to be doing ok the last few days but I don't want to count my chickens before they hatch. Each night, I crawl in bed with a bit of trepidation. He has a funny way of waking up just as I'm drifting off to sleep.

Part of what I thought might have been the issue last week is that he seemed to be unsatisfied with eating...like he wanted more. Since he was close enough to 4 months, we decided to try rice cereal. Boy, Jude was not a fan. He shook his head and crinkled his nose. I tried it on a spoon, in a bottle, and in a syringe and he just did not like it. We tried a few days later and he just kept leaning his head farther and farther away from me. So, we'll wait another week and maybe try again.

Jude had his 4 month well baby visit on Monday. He's in the 25th percentile for his head, 50th for his weight and 75th for his height. But, he's staying on the same growth curve so that's good! Developmentally, he's right on track - ahead in some ways - and doing well. He's sitting unassisted for a minute or two and it's so fun to watch! Our pediatrician had an intern (or a med student, I can't remember) so he basically got 2 exams. This was a bummer for Jude because they had a hard time looking into his ears due to a lot of wax...gross I know! So his ears were fiddled with much, much more than he would've liked! He also got his 2nd round of vaccines. This time, he wasn't as lucky. It took quite a bit longer to calm him down and the following day, he was definitely more fussy, had a bit of a fever, and just seemed like he didn't feel good. I felt so bad for him! He seems to be doing better now so I'm hoping he's doing ok with it all.

Last weekend we went to the Georgetown Christmas Festival. It's been a tradition in our family since my first Christmas or before. Every year we go to Shoppe Internationale and buy an ornament. Last year, we bought an ornament for the 8 week fetus that would be Jude. This year, he got to enjoy all the sights himself. I can't wait until he can go and pick out his own ornament!
I think that's all for now. Here are some pictures!

Thanksgiving, Iowa style

For Thanksgiving this year, we went to visit family in Iowa! Ross and I, and my brother took Jude and got to spend some much needed time with the fam...my Dad's sister and her family. We had an excellent time! I have to focus though on how much of a trooper Jude was. We were in the car for about 16 hours each direction and he did so well! He was barely fussy in the car and even though he slept a ton in the car, he managed to still sleep through the night every night. So, it has now been since the 13th of November since Jude has been consistently sleeping 12 hours a night. I'm so happy and proud of him. I think my brother had a great time seeing family and getting to know Jude. And while I'm sure our family was happy to see us, I know they were ecstatic to meet Jude! He loved the family and was just so much fun :)

Jude and Great-Grandpa Weldon

Great Aunt Janis and Jude

Jude was mesmerized by Aunt Janis, Robbi and Mazie. Unfortunately I didn't get as many pictures as I would have wanted of him interacting with them all.

Mazie and Jude

Ryan finally agreed to take a turn

Jude was a snuggle bunny

The whole family (mostly)

We had a great time and I wish I had taken more pictures! Hopefully I'll be able to steal some from the rest of them. 

Here are some other pictures of Jude recently. He's growing so fast and just looks like a little man :)

Such a big boy!

Wearing his biker shirt from Grandpa O

November already?

Jude has made it to the three month mark! I cannot believe how fast time has gone (well, since about 4 weeks old). I'm so proud of my little man and just love seeing him grow and learn!
This last weekend Ross and I had a little bit of a date and it was so nice to spend some time together! Jude stayed with my mom while we did that and I think he had a good time. So did Grandma :) I don't really have much else to report. But lets be honest, the best part is the pictures so I'll just get to it.

Happy Halloween

It seems like it couldn't possibly be Halloween because it isn't snowing! The weather is beautiful and I can't remember a Halloween that it wasn't snowing or there wasn't snow on the ground or it wasn't so cold that you barely wanted to trick-or-treat. Nevertheless, it's Halloween and it's beautiful! Here are some pics of the cutest baby in the world in his festive gear.

I've been waiting since before Jude was born for him to wear this shirt! Love the skulls and it feels rather appropriate that it's Halloween.

What a crazy week this has been! I returned my stuff to the office and am now, as of today, no longer on maternity leave and no longer a full time employee of my company. It's such a strange, and rather scary feeling. I'm still going to be doing some contracting/self-employed type of work for them but it won't be regular full time. I'm excited for the opportunity to stay home but I'm nervous about not getting a regular pay check. We've made a few changes and I hope it'll help us in this new life and lifestyle!

Jude is of course growing like crazy. I really enjoy watching him learn new things every day. Simple things like reaching for objects is never something you think of on a regular basis. But when Jude learns how to reach for things, its so awe inspiring! Every day is an open slate to learn and it's just wonderful to see! He is reaching for toys now and talking like crazy. He acts like he's just ready to get up and run and join everyone else! I'm amazed at how strong he is and how "grown up" he already is.  Jude was 12 weeks yesterday and it feels like we've come so far. If the today Me had gone back 10 weeks and talked to the 2 week-post-baby Me, I would've had such encouragement for her. Although the 2 week-post-baby Me probably wouldn't have listened to the today Me. Live and learn I suppose.
Anyway, here's some more cuteness.

Post bath in his Froggy Towel

Jude and Finn

Another hospital visit

Nearly 2 weeks ago now, I went to the emergency room because I was having pain in my right lower abdomen and was concerned about possibly having appendicitis. The doctor checked my white cell count and it was normal, and I didn't have any other symptoms (nausea, vomiting) so he didn't think it was appendicitis. He let me go home and come back the next day to have an ultrasound to check for an ovarian cyst. The ultrasound showed nothing and everything looked normal. I continued to have pain but it knda subsided and I just thought it must have been gas or something ridiculous.
The pain really returned on Wednesday and continued to get way worse. It woke me up that night. On thursday I returned to the hospital. The ER doctor decided to figure out if this was appendicitis or a pelvic infection. The pelvic exam was normal so it wasn't that. I had to have a cat scan and it came back that it was in fact appendicitis. They called the surgeon on call and he said that because I was presenting so atypically, they were going to give me antibiotics and just see if my pain went away overnight. It didn't so yesterday at about 11 I had my appendix removed. They still wondered if it was appendicitis, but once they got in there they confirmed that it was.
The surgery was laprscopic so I have just 3 holes in my tummy. They are pretty sore. The worst part for me was coming out of the anesthesia. I was so disoriented! I needed to cough but I couldn't, I couldn't get comfortable and it was just so much of a drgged feeling. Right away they gave me tons of IV pain killers which made me feel more drugged but didn't really help with the pain. I tried to sleep but only could in like 20 minute increments. I also couldn't go to the bathroom so I had to get catheterized...boo! But it sure did help!
I'm feeling much better this morning but my incision spots are still sore. I'll be going home today and I'm so excited to see Ross and Jude!

The first night i stayed here, my mom stayed with Ross at home with Jude. I was concerned about Jude not taking a bottle, but he did fine! I think it was harder on me than on Jude! Last night it was just Ross and Jude at home. I hope they had a good time together. I'm anxious to go home!

I cant imagine how women have babies while recovering from a lot of drugs. I had a drug free birth and it was hard but I just had to recover from the birth, not anything else. I've had so many drugs while here I just feel lousy. I can't imagine having to come off the drugs and take care of a newborn....or recover from surgery and taking care of a newborn!

Anyway, I'm glad I got it removed when I did because it didn't burst! Hopefully the recovery will go well and I'll be back to my normal day to day life as soon as possible!

Loving the Fall

Ok, so yet again it's been way too long since I've updated. I'll try not to forget anything!

Last Friday was Jude's 2 month well baby visit at the Pediatrician. He weighs 12 lbs 8 oz which is the 75th Percentile. He's 23 3/4 inches long also in the 75th. His head measurement I can't recall but it's in the 25th percentile. At his 2 week appointment all of his measurements were in the 25th percentile so he's doing great and growing nice and big! We're still working on sleeping through the night. He usually gets up once or twice a night - and from the sounds of it of people with babies the same age, he could be doing better. Last night he only was up once and he barely ate anything. He's slept through the night before so I know he can do it! It's just a matter of consistency.

He also had vaccines at his appointment. I was going to separate them and have him only get 2 vaccines and another 2 at 3 months, but in doing so, he'd get like double the shots. He got 5 vaccines - 2 shots and one oral. It's so much for such a small person but he handled it well!  I'm glad we don't have to go back for more in a month.

We've been busy visiting friends and family. I haven't been very good at taking pictures but I have a few to show you. Sunday we visited Grandma and Grandpa Overacker and Jude was showing off his tummy time skills.

We also saw Pops and Mims this weekend and Jude got some much needed sleep-in-warm-arms time with Mims!

Today, Jude and I went for a nice fall walk! I took this picture near the midpoint of our walk when he started to not be so happy anymore so he's not in the best spirits but looks cute anyway :)

So many things to update

I haven't been very good at updating the blog recently. Not like I've been busy or anything...

So lets see...a few weekends ago we went with some good friends up to Estes Park to look at the changing leaves on the trees. However, there weren't any trees that had changed so we just enjoyed a lovely walk. Nick and Jessica had their son, Finn, four days before Jude. Jessica and I got to go through pregnancy together and it's so nice to have someone else to talk about babies with :) Especially since they're the same age!

I've been trying to give Jude more tummy time. He doesn't really like it very much - even though he's really strong and can hold his head just fine with great control. But I've been trying to do it anyway. So we started with some boppy tummy time and kind of ease into it. He likes it that way a bit better.

Jude absolutely loves his activity mat! He has such a ball watching the big blue whale, looking at himself in the mirror and watching the flashing lights of the music player! He lays on his back kicking his legs, moving his arms and squealing with joy! It's so precious!

This weekend we went to Red Rocks in Morrison and just looked at the beautiful views! Jude loved being outside and he got to look around from the carrier!

Jude has also gotten some good grandparent time in! We've got some pictures but for some reason I can't upload them. So you'll just have to use your imagination: Grandparents with huge smiles on their faces and the cutest baby in the world!

Jude was sick on Friday this week. It was so hard for me, and for Ross. I felt so helpless! He was vomiting and had diarrhea and was just not interested in doing anything but snuggling and sleeping. He is not a snuggly guy; he usually wants to be facing the world because he does not want to miss a single thing! But he was just loving on me - which I enjoyed - but he just did not feel good. The doctor thought it was a stomach virus which he said could last up to two weeks! Luckily, that same night after some Pedialyte, he was able to keep down a small dinner and went to bed. He slept from 9 pm to 3 am!! I checked on him at 3 and I think that's what woke him up. Unfortunately, Ross and I were not sleeping that whole time - bad idea! Anyway, he has seemed to be feeling better since then so I'm not really sure what was up! I'm glad the normal Jude is back!

He'll be 2 months old on Thursday and I can't believe how time has flown! He's getting so so big too! He weighed 11.5 lbs on Friday at the doctors...that's close to 4 lbs of weight gain in 2 months. I'm proud of that! :) Go Jude! He's smiling and cooing - he loves it when Daddy gets home and they get to play! He's just so fun!

Italian Festival, First Babysit, and 6 Weeks

Jude is 6 Weeks tomorrow! He's growing so much and so fast! He holds his head up for an impressive period of time! He smiles and laughs and is just so fun!

We went to the Italian Festival on Saturday with my Dad and Sandra. We had a lovely time and it was fun to do an outing! The weather was kind of warm but Jude didn't seem to mind. He was very interested in the trees and leaves and wouldn't eat because he was getting so distracted :)

Today I had my 6 week postpartum visit at the doctor. Things are going well and I'm feeling great! While I went, Jude stayed with my great friend who lives very near the doctor - it was his first babysitting experience and he did really well! It was hard to leave him, even for just an hour, but he and I survived.
My maternity leave is halfway through and it makes me sad to think of how it's quickly passing by!

Oh, and of course, we haven't forgotten our naughty cats. Hannibal is caught sleeping in the cradle!

One Month Old

Jude has made it through one month of life! What a month it has been! He is such a joy and a wonderful addition to our family! I can't believe how much has changed in a month. I was asked the other day what aspect of parenthood I had been told about but didn't understand until I became a parent. I think that what I couldn't grasp until I became a mom is the selflessness of parenthood. There has been an aspect of mourning for our old lives - the old selfish lives we lived. Those were wonderful days and I'll miss them. However, there are such amazing days ahead and I can't wait. I'm loving motherhood and am so proud of Jude and how he's grown! I can't wait to see what lies ahead.

Just one picture - one month old!

Grandparents and schedules

Jude has begun his "training" to help him better understand the difference between day and night. I've read a book about this "training" and also had a friend suggest it to me from experience. I'm such a schedule person so it also helps Mom stay sane! He eats every 3 hours during the day and on demand at night. After the 3rd day, Jude slept for 7 hours straight!!! I've never appreciated 7 uninterrupted hours of sleep more in my entire life! The next night, he had almost a 6 hour stretch! I'm hoping that things continue to go well, but I'm just happy with one success at a time! After his good nights, we took some pictures of his well-rested self in the morning.

Jude and I have had several outings this week. He saw all grandparents minus one (sorry the timing didn't work Sandra)! 

          

Unfortunately I don't have any of Jude with Grandparents Overacker. Next time...

I have a video of Jude rolling over but it's not letting me upload it right now so maybe next time.

My Grandma had a rough week. She's been in a nursing home for several years and deteriorating gradually since then. On Wednesday night, we believe she fell while going to the bathroom or something and was able to get herself back to her bed. She was found in her bed covered in blood and there was blood found in her room on the floor. They took her to the ER and she has a brain hemorrhage, a fractured cheek bone (if not more), a lot of bruising and is just very different. It's been scary and emotionally hard, particularly for my Mom, an only child. I went to the hospital to see my Grandma and support my Mom. Jude and I had been out and so he was with me. My grandma was able to hold Jude - although I don't know if she understands who I, Jude or even my Mom are. We took a picture which I'll post, but please be warned that the picture is a little intense.

Grandma seems to be stable right now but is a changed person and doesn't do much or say more than 2 words. Everything being done is just to keep her comfortable. I don't think she'll recover from this but it's not really known how long she'll be with us.

Rolling Over...???

Jude is now 3 weeks and 3 days old! He is still so new to this world but he is getting the hang of a few things. Unfortunately gas is not one of those things!
Ross has been back at work for a few weeks now, so Mr. Jude and I are trying to get our rhythm down at home. Yesterday, I began training Jude to get him on a schedule. We're working on eating every 3 hours during the day and whenever he needs at night. For a while, he liked to eat every ... oh, hour! I had no time to do anything! Plus, then he wouldn't really eat a full meal and would just snack all day! So day one went relatively well and I'm hoping day two will follow suit.
Jude and I have also had a few outings! I'm trying to not only get him used to going out of the house, but also trying to get myself used to getting out of the house with a newborn. He does well and I'm getting there!

On to the biggest deal of this blog is that Jude, at 3 weeks and 2 days, has officially rolled over from his tummy to his back three times! I'm still kind of in shock. I'm not too sure if I'm so sleep deprived that I'm delusional or that he's just that incredibly strong and smart! I am thinking that it's the latter - but mostly because Ross saw it too! We are such proud parents!

I haven't had time to take too many pictures but here are a few new-ish ones

Growing Jude

Jude is now 2 weeks and 3 days old. Today is Tuesday and Jude still hasn't gotten the hang of Tuesdays. The last two weeks, each Tuesday has been a rough-ish day with an even more rough night. I sure hope that we can avoid a nasty night like the last two weeks!
Unfortunately, gas is Jude's biggest enemy. He is gassy and therefore angry! He can't sleep because he's gassy. He gets tired because he can't sleep. He gets more angry because he's tired. It's a vicious cycle. I feel so bad for him.

However, he is still incredibly cute and has some very picturesque moments :)