Lounging

Just wanted to take the opportunity to post a picture of Henry lounging on Papa's lap. He can really let it all hang out when he is completely relaxed!

I can't believe that its been a week since I've last posted on the blog. I'm not sure where the time went, other than attempting to take a few more naps because I had a sore throat for a few days. Henry treated me to one night of 4 consecutive hours of sleep (which felt SO good), but otherwise we're still on 2-3 hours until the next feeding. I've concluded that this really wears on a person, and I've had strange dreams to prove it! Just when I thought it was challenging to take care of an infant 24/7, the added challenge of not feeling well can really be a drag. Thank goodness it was nothing serious and didn't last too long. After some cold-eeze cough drops and a morning of "sleeping in" (staying in bed until noon) I felt better.

My Birthday!

The BIG 3-0 !! THIRTY. Or as I like to call it, 20/10. I try not to get hung up on numbers (alright, I should try harder) but this seems like such a milestone. I once heard someone say that having kids made them feel younger. All I can say is their kids must have slept through the night from day 1. Lack of sleep is making me feel twice my age and cranky! Ok. Enough complaining.

I did have a lovely birthday. It was a nice sunny day and I spent it hanging out with my two favorite people, George and Henry. George and I enjoyed a nice take out meal from our new favorite Mexican place, Burrito Mundo, and had a yummy banana birthday cake with chocolate frosting. What more could a 30-yr old new momma ask for?!?

Momma's Buddy

The Swing.

Henry loves motion. Therefore, the swing that his carseat attaches to has become his new favorite item. Actually, it is Momma's new favorite item, too, because that generally means one thing, its nap time for Henry. Which can also mean nap time for Momma (we're still feeding every two hours around the clock) or free time for Momma to do housework, take a shower, etc.

I just hope this little gem holds out --> Car seat + Henry = a lot of weight for 4 C batteries to lug back and forth!

Henry's first Easter

Easter 2008

Here's a picture of Henry's Easter stash. I think he did alright for himself! Mama and Papa certainly have enjoyed helping him through his supply of chocolates. :)

Smiles in the Snow

I'm pretty sure we saw our first smile today! What a delight! And it wasn't followed by spit up, so I know it wasn't attributed to gas.

I was so excited that I wanted to try to get a picture...but the repeat performance has been a little elusive, at least for the camera lens.

George had a surprise half day today. So he was home early and got to see a smile, too. Yay!

We are spending Good Friday being "snowed in" as they are predicting 5"-10" of snow overnight. I'm really glad that George is already home and isn't struggling through his lengthy afternoon commute dealing with snow on the Detroit freeways.

I had my post partum visit today and Henry was a good boy during the trip to the clinic. He didn't sleep, but he stayed quiet. It was nice to introduce him to the people in the office. After all, he had been going there for at least 7 months.

Sort of an odd feeling to be leaving and saying goodbye. Since we are going to Madison, we won't be back. Saying goodbye was kind of sad because I really liked my OB doc. All the prenatal visits are such a consistent part of your life for what seems like ages. Then there's the birth, which develops more of an emotional attachment as well.

Geesh, maybe its the holidays...or I'm just hopped up on hormones. I didn't intend to be this sappy when I sat down to write this post!

One month

I can't believe Henry is one month old today! Here's a picture in a cute little pooh overall outfit. Its a little chilly for the short sleeves, so I have kept him wrapped in the blanket most of the time. But if he doesn't wear it now, I think he'll soon be too big for it!

As you can see, he's finally getting used to sleeping without being held, which is a huge help for getting other things done around the apartment!

Vacation's over

I'm back to days of being with Henry by myself, and I think Henry is thrilled about this. He greeted me this morning with some projectile vomiting. Then, of course, because his belly is empty, he thinks he's hungry. Would I really want to feed him and provide him with more ammo? I don't think so...

My other project is to do some laundry. I ran into a slight snafu when I discovered the washer in our building quit spinning the basin during the rinse cycle. Hmmm. Plan B. Drag all the sopping wet laundry next door to finish. Good times.

So what are Henry and I doing for St. Patrick's Day? Laundry.

But with all this rain we're getting, maybe there will be a rainbow. And if a pot of gold came with it, that would be even better!

Three's Company

George has been on vacation for the last two weeks and we've had a good time at home lately, doing things around the apartment and hanging out with Henry.

With a few warmer weather days we've taken walks outside, despite the mud puddles from melting snow. We ran errands, cleaned the apartment, and managed to host a few friends on Saturday who wanted to come and meet Henry!

Though we started out with Henry in the stroller for walks, it is just as easy to walk with him in our Moby Wrap, shown in the picture. Its a comfy piece of fabric wrapped in various positions to carry baby. He loves it. This item is especially useful because visiting with family and friends have Henry accustomed to sleeping only when he's being held. So this way, he can sleep and we can still move around and do what we would like to -- within reason, I guess...vacuuming, laundry and dusting are still a challenge, Moby wrap or not.

Egg coffee?

Well, I thought I had seen coffee in every incarnation. Instant coffee, drip coffee, percolated coffee, french press, and cowboy coffee. Then we went to see the relatives up in northern Iowa, 30 miles from the Minnesota border. They began by cracking an egg into the bowl of coffee grounds. Huh? Yep, they beat an egg into the coffee grounds before adding it to the boiling water. Looks almost like they're making a batter or something - except it's coffee. The caffeine aficionado in me scoffed at the idea of 'egg coffee', but I will say that the finished product was quite good - nice and smooth. I've attached a link to the recipe for those daring souls out there. This Minnesota website refers to egg coffee as both 'Norwegian' and 'Lutheran' in style. Well, I was with German Catholics in Northern Iowa, so it's probably more of a regional thing - explaining why the Bostonian thought it was was a plain old weird thing to do!

http://www.hendricksmn.com/norwegian-egg-coffee.html

Henry's first bath

After we returned from our road trip, Henry had a little bit of a queasy stomach. In fact, so queasy he earned his first tub bath. So here we are, getting washed up before bed. He loved the water and I think it relaxed him enough to sleep well, too!