One Month Old

Blaine turned one month on Thanksgiving.  It's been a rough first month and I can only pray it gets better.  Blaine has been difficult since day one.  He likes to be held 24/7.  He's gotten a little better about sleeping on his own, as long as he's on his belly.  When he's awake though, he's very unsettled.  He doesn't stay satisfied for more than five minutes if put down.  I've been thankful to have my mom's and Tim's mom's help to juggle him and the boys, but I am still a little nervous about how I'm I'm going to handle it on my own.  Especially if his demeanour doesn't change much.  We have some theory's and plan on "experimenting" the next week or so.  I love my little man to death, but sometimes I just don't know what to do with him. 

In other first month news....Blaine got a really bad diaper rash and with the help of Tim's mom we finally conquered it.  Blaine has sprayed me more in the last month than both Ryan & Colin put together ever did.  Last, but not least. he weighed right around 13 lbs on his one month birthday. 

Back in Oklahoma

About two weeks ago, Tim's mom took the train down to come drive the boys and me back up to her house for a few days.  I'm not sure how I would have made it without her!!  I probably would have turned a 6 hour drive into 10.  Things were crazy around our house the previous week so I was glad for the break and the help.  The boys enjoyed seeing their cousins and running around the farm.  Papa even saddles up Cisco and took them for a ride. 

Elijah showing off his smile...with two less teeth!

Colin loved sitting on the "tractor"...

We also got to meet Baylee....

I Made It!!!!

I just completed the first week with three kiddos, 24/7, by myself!!! 

I don't know if I should shout for joy or cry.  Crying sound right just about now.  I'm exhausted.  I definitely won't claim to have made it through the week gracefully.  It has been a crazy week.  It has been non-stop busy.  I think it's partly been extra chaotic with other events that are coming up so I've been rushing around trying to get everything in it's place and ready to go.  I'm ready for Wednesday to be here and hopefully things will slow down a bit.  Greatful to have made it thru and looking forward to the less chaotic days in the future where I can continue to learn this whole mom of three thing.

Two Weeks!

In Blaine's first two weeks we were at the hospital not only for his birth, but three other times as well.  We had to go back for a 2-day, and 2 week check up which are both normal, but we also ended up going when he was 9 days old.  There were two major occurrences where we noticed that Blaine's feet turned purple in color.  The first time I tried not to be too concerned, but after it happened again I figured it was time to call the doctor.  The pediatrician assured us that it's quite normal, but she checked him over again and specifically listened to make sure he didn't develop a heart murmur.  So we came to find out it's called acrocyanosis.  The doctor said it's not necessarily a problem with the circulation system, but rather the circulation system isn't fully developed yet.  They say it's quite normal in newborns and it can persist anywhere between 3 to 6 months of age.  She also said it can occur 3 to 4 times a day, and that's still normal.  I still don't particularly care to see his feet/legs turn purple but it's good to know that he's not in pain and that nothing is really wrong.  So I don't always put socks on him, 'cause I like to be able to see the color of his feet.  If they do go purple I just gently massage his feet and legs and the color comes right back. 

I also managed to get a few "official" newborn pics in two days prior to him turning 2 weeks.  It is so hard to get those pics done that quick!!!  I don't think I got around to Colin's till he was a month old.  I even considered taking him somewhere to have them done, but I didn't want to pay the money.  They say the first two weeks is the prime time because they still obtain that curled up baby shape.  Even at a few days prior to 2 weeks, you could tell Blaine already lost some of his.  I really wanted to get one of him sleeping with his head propped up by his hands (I think these are the absolute cutest!!!), but he has been a very much "hold me" type of baby.  Just about anytime we put him down he woke up.  (Not completely remedied yet, but still working on it!)  He only cooperated for about three/four minutes, but it was perfect timing.  He let out the biggest grin and I was SO excited to catch it on camera.  We tried again the next day to get a few more, but he wasn't cooperating, so I'm sticking with what I got.

Other little details...At his 2 week appointment he was 9 lbs 4 oz and still 21 in.  He seems to be leaning toward being a belly sleeper (this would be my first).  Since it's so highly frowned upon I've been trying just about every other little trick/sleeping position possible.  Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  A few times in the evening I've laid him on his belly on the couch next to me so I can keep an eye on him and he sleeps so well!  He is already very strong and he loves to hold his head up and look around.

Praise the Lord for Moms!!

Tim flew out Tuesday morning and my mom flew in late Tuesday night.  I am so thankful my mom was willing and able to come down and help me out for a week.  There were tons of errands I had to run to get Blaine registered within the Army's system, get birth certificates, two or three other doctor appointments, problem with the van, the Commissary, etc.  It was a blessing to be able to do those without having to take all the boys with me.  I don't think my mom even made it out into the real world until Saturday.  She did the laundry for me, cleaned my bathrooms, sheets/blankets, dishes, took out the trash, gave the boys baths, got up early with the boys, fed the boys, etc, etc, etc.  I was even able to take just Ryan and Colin to the park for a bit while mom stayed at home with Blaine.  Not sure how I would have been able to get all that done without her help.

Last Days with Tim

Monday, November 1st, was our last full day with Tim.  It started out kind of rough as I had to go to the hospital to follow up on some things and that took up three hours of our morning.  I already felt like I had lost time with him since I was in the hospital for pratically three days with Blaine.  I was stressed, disapointed, and frustrated that it was Tim's last day and I was spending it sitting in the hospital.  Not exactly what I had in mind for our "last" day together.  Tim's R&R went by SO quick.  It was a crazy two weeks.  Sometimes, unless for the pictures, I forget that he was actually home recently.  Two weeks just isn't enough.

 

This was Tuesday morning right before we drove Tim to the airport.

I love you Tim!  Thanks for working so hard to provide for us and making the trip home to see us.  We can't wait to have you home for more than two weeks!

Trunk or Treat

Tim and I aren't big Halloween-ers.  Never have been.  The church we go to though was hosting a Trunk or Treat. We had never heard of Trunk or Treat before but it was definitely an exciting/safe way to dress up and collect candy.  I had an old dinosaur costume Ryan wore a few years back that I figured would fit Colin, and I decided to wait till Tim got home, and what our schedule would be like before I went and bought Ryan anything.  Sunday afternoon rolled around and we were still trying to figure it out.  We fell back on the good 'ol cowboy costume for Ryan.  Tim was working on getting Colin in the dragon costume, but it was smaller that I thought.  Oops!  So Tim put him back in his regular clothes, and we figured we'd try and stop by the Dollar Store to see if they had anything we could make work.  I didn't find anything for Colin, but I did pick up a little Sheriff badge and gun to go with Ryan's outfit.  So after that plan failed Tim just said if anyone asks, just tell them that Colin was a Baseball Scout.  (My husband is brilliant!!!)   

I'm glad we got there when we did 'cause the line got pretty long.  The boys seemed really confused at first.  Understandable considering we've never trick-or-treated before.  It didn't take them too long to figure it out though.  Our Connection Group (AKA Sunday School) chose to do a Medieval Times Theme this year.  This is Adam and Mina's trunk.  She made the costumes and everything!  They tied for first in the decorating contest.

This was Matt and Sarah's car.  Ryan helping himself, of course, to the candy of his preference.

I'm looking forward to next year when we can hopefully participate more.  Our Connection Group has already started brain-storming about themes.