September 26, 2014 by Stephanie

George-1 month

Weight: Two weeks ago he was 5 lbs and 15 oz at the doctor, which is officially one oz over his birth weight! I weighed him on our scale here at home today, and it says he is a little over 7lbs.

Health: He is still spitting up after he eats, and now it looks like cottage cheese coming out his nose. Other than that, he seems super healthy! I know his lungs work just fine…

Diet: We have successfully moved to breastfeeding 24/7. We may do a bottle of breastmilk once every few days so Tom can get in on the feeding action. I am happy not to be doing as many dishes with just the breastfeeding. Although, I feel that I am a human cow, and my life has been diminished to being a fast food drive through for George. Seriously, it dictates everything-what I wear, when and where we can go out, our schedule in general… I am pretty proud of myself for being his sole source of food for a month!

Clothes: He is is still in newborn clothes and diapers. He is starting to fill them out a little more, but some of the clothes still are pretty big. Grandma and Auntie Em brought him some premie clothes which he was only able to wear once before he outgrew them. Go figure. He has a few less wrinkles, and seems to be getting longer.

Sleeping: We have been on a struggle bus for the last week. We have a Jekyll and Hyde baby. He is so good during the day, but as soon as night hits this kid does NOT want to sleep. He will sleep for half hour spurts and then scream the rest of the time. We have a few theories why this is happening. Reasonable explanations are that all newborns go through a transition period in the first month or so to being more active during the day than night. While babies are in utero, apparently they like the night time more and once on the outside it takes them time to adjust to not being nocturnal. We also think he might be colicky, which is basically just not feeling comfortable and crying it out ALL THE TIME. Explanations specific to George are that he hates his crib and laying flat on his back. We also think that he hates the upstairs. Yes you read that right. We have had him downstairs for most of the day in his rock and play bassinet since that is where we are. We have the SAME rock and play bassinet upstairs and he hates it. He also cannot lay in his actual crib for more than 10 minutes before he wails no matter the time of day. So we are convinced there is some aura upstairs that turns him into a different baby. This really only started in the last week, which has amounted to several nights of me ending up “sleeping” downstairs at 3am so he can be in his downstairs bassinet. We are trying to keep him awake more during the day to hopefully encourage him to sleep more at night. I have also been trying to get him to take one of his day naps in his crib to get him acclimated to it. I can’t sleep downstairs forever. Hopefully we are going in the right direction. Some nights are good, and some nights are still pretty bad. Needless to say the Whiteners have been getting very little sleep…

Likes: He LOVES being in the stroller and going on walks. He can be crying his little eyes out, and I will put him in the stroller and Wammo he is perfectly calm. Sometimes I will put him in it and move the stroller just around the kitchen to satisfy him. He also loves being cuddled.

Dislikes: His crib, being naked, diaper changes, baths, the hours between 11pm-5am

Milestones: He got circumcised two weeks ago since he wasn’t able to when he was born thanks to his NICU stay. Because of the circumcision, we weren’t able to give him a bath until this week. So he endured that yesterday. (Hot mess)

Quirks: His grunts resemble the noise of goats or sheep. His cries also sound like a CD scratching. He still makes the best faces. I try to show a lot of them on my Instagram account. You’re welcome.

Worst moment of the month: For George probably the circumcision, for parents the lack of sleep

Best moment of the month: Outside of the whole being born thing…meeting his cousin Ava and other members of our famjam.

Happy Birthday George! Glad we were able to keep you alive so far!

September 17, 2014 by Stephanie

Puppy Love

Everyone wants to know how Crosby and Grace are reacting to Little G.

Our first response is great and better than expected.

When we left the hospital before George, we brought home his little nursery hat so the dogs could get a whiff of him before we brought him home.

Crosby thought it was a toy and snatched it out of my hands.

Oh boy.

That’s enough to make you nervous.

When we brought him home, they tried smothering him with kisses. Then they didn’t really know what to think.

Who is this new puppy we brought home? And why does he get held all the time?

(I apologize in advance for the poor picture quality. Dogs don’t know how to stay still for a camera.)

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Now they have gotten used to each other for the most part.

The dogs don’t react when George cries.

George doesn’t react when the dogs bark, even right near his head.

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Crosby does not seem interested in George most of the time. He kind of keeps his distance, unless he is trying to sneak in a full head lick. We try to discourage his licking because he is a little rough when he licks us. When he licks George it’s like he is trying to make him a bobble head.

Grace, however, wants to be near George All. The. Time. She loves to dote on him. She never is very far from him and is so sweet with her kisses.

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The other night Tom and I were laying in bed doing our nightly routine of watching the baby monitor for a few (more like 10) minutes to make sure that G is doing ok in his crib before we fall asleep ourselves. We hear this weird noise on the monitor like a scratch, but George wasn’t moving. We scrolled the monitor out a little to see a paw reaching in between the crib bars. We pull it out even more to then see Grace try to GET IN the crib. She had put her paws over the top of the crib like she was going to jump in to cuddle with G. I laughed so hard I could barely breath.

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It is probably my favorite moment since bringing George home.

Once he is in a big boy bed, we are sure Grace will be cuddling with George more than us. (That’s fine with me because that means more space in our bed!)

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Until this last weekend, we didn’t have any issues with the dogs grabbing dirty diapers or George’s toys as their own. Our family was here this weekend, so I think they just got over-excited with all the people and couldn’t control themselves. That is the only time a diaper or toy has been grabbed. In Crosby’s defense, the toy did look like it could pass for a dog toy. George got his first stuffed animal this weekend, and I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t nervous that it may become a chew toy in the future. So hopefully they stay away from it!

Grace does try to lick all the spilled milk off the burp clothes and bibs. I will pull one up and find it so wet from her trying to get all the taste off it.

We try to give the dogs intentional attention so they don’t get jealous. And as soon as I am released from the doctor to get back to exercising full force, they will get their daily walks again. I think it does help that I am home all day with them so they do get attention that they weren’t getting before anyway.

George is now three weeks old, and so far they have done really well together. I can’t wait to watch their relationship blossom even more as G gets older.

I just know they are going to be best friends.

Were you best friends with your pets growing up?

September 11, 2014 by Stephanie

How You Doin’?

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Everyone is asking how we are doing now that we are all home and figuring out how to be a family of 3, well 5 with the dogs.

Here are some of my thoughts on being home with the little munchkin.

I admit to taking a shower every couple days, and I have only worn make-up once in the past two weeks. Also I haven’t worn a real bra since George was born. And I am perfectly content with these grooming standards.
Tom and I had every intention of never letting George have a pacifier. However, his time in the NICU kind of thwarted that. They gave him one on several occasions before he could be held to calm him down. Once coming home, we lasted about 24 hours before we caved and gave him one when he was restless. He doesn’t need it all the time, but sometimes at 3 in the morning, it’s the only thing that will put him to sleep. Also it means that he isn’t chewing off his hands…

I don’t know how I would get through nightly feedings without Netflix. It has brought my binge watching to a whole new level…I would love to read, but I haven’t figured out how to breastfeed with one hand yet, so I can’t hold a book easily.
I am healing quite nicely from giving birth. There are days where I can feel the stitches, but for the most part I feel pretty normal. I did have to go on blood pressure medicine, but hopefully I will be off that after a month out.
George HATES being naked. I am sad by this because it means that we won’t have any cute naked newborn pictures. This is as close I could get, and he still is wearing a diaper. Otherwise the pictures look like I am torturing him and should be turned in for neglect. On the plus side, I didn’t have to deal with any poop shooting pictures.

On the peeing and pooping note, I have already been pissed and pooped on. Tom has evaded it so far (punk). The projectile range is ridiculous for such a tiny body. Also I swear his thingy is like one of those garden hoses you see in the movies that has gone wild and flipping water uncontrollably everywhere. Except it is pee going uncontrollably everywhere. Yesterday I seriously was trying to catch it with a diaper whilst trying to keep a wiggling baby from coming off the changing pad.
Watching his umbilical cord fall off was disgusting. I wouldn’t touch it, and was horrified that it fell off my baby.
Adjusting to the new sleep schedule has really been the only difficult part. He feeds every 3 hours, so that is pretty much my life right now. Unfortunately, I still can sleep like a log. I always miss the 2:30am feeding, and EVERY night I have turned off my alarm in my sleep. Tom has to wake me up later to say I missed the feeding. Whoops. Luckily, we have milk galore, so Tom has graciously taken over that feeding.
I miss my morning radio show, but by the time I remember to tune in, it’s already past 9 am. Womp womp.
I have managed to make homemade meals every night for dinner. #wearenteatingcerealforeverymeal
George has only had one bad night where he didn’t sleep. He is a really good baby for the most part. Really he only cries when I am not fast enough with the boob milk or his changing is taking longer than he would like.
He does spit up a lot. People who say breastfeeding babies don’t do this lie. The first time it shot out of his nose I was about 2 seconds away from taking him to the ER. Luckily my mom was still here and calmed my frantic overreaction.
I don’t miss work yet, but I am sure here in a few weeks that will come.
Sometimes I just sit and stare at George. I am still overwhelmed at times that he is actually my son. Saying “my son” is overwhelming…
I am ecstatic to say that I am officially 3 pounds below my pre-pregnancy weight, AND I can fit into all my pre-prego clothes again. It took me exactly a week to do so. Success! I am pretty proud of my body especially since I was on bed rest pretty much for the last month. (Although I will admit, I haven’t worn much outside of pajama pants and tshirts…)
All in all, I don’t think this is such a bad gig. We don’t feel like our life is over like the world likes to make you think. Quite the contrary, our life has a whole new meaning now. I am pretty content hanging out with little G all day.

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September 9, 2014 by Stephanie

George-Two Weeks

It has been two weeks since our life changed forever, and our little bundle was born. He has been home for one week, and we couldn’t be happier!

Since this blog is meant to document our life, I am planning on doing monthly updates on George’s growth and his overall cuteness. You’re welcome.

Weight: On Friday, he was 5 lbs 10 oz. That is 4 oz less than his birth weight. It is normal for babies to lose weight in their first few weeks, so nothing to worry about yet. Even though he is so little, it is still mind-boggling that he fit in my stomach.

Health: Friday we got the all-clear on his billy report. I am very happy to no longer have to worry about that jaundice. Also maybe his feet will heal. He has prick marks all over his heels where they drew blood daily. All of our doctor’s visits last week went very well, and the doctor was very positive about how far he has come.

Diet: He exclusively is on breastmilk. We are trading between breastfeeding and bottle feeding though. I feel like my life is dictated by his eating schedule and having to pump for him since he needs to eat every 3 hours.

Clothes: He is barely fitting into newborn clothes, and even some NB clothes he is drowning in.

Sleeping: When he isn’t eating, he is sleeping. Actually sometimes he is sleeping while he is eating. He is a fairly good sleeper, and it doesn’t take much coaxing from us to get him to dream land. Except last night. He cried from 10pm until 5:30am…and then as soon as Tom left for PT he was my sweet little baby again.

Likes: It’s hard to say what he likes at this point besides eating and being held. He does love sucking on his fingers and hands.

Dislikes: Getting changed and being naked. Screams bloody murder when he is naked.

Milestones: Breaking out of the NICU and increasing our breastfeeding sessions.

Quirks: When we give him his pacifier, he will shake his head violently back in forth as if he can’t find it before he latches on to it. He also grunts all the time. He still gets the hiccups a few times a day like he did in the womb. However, now they look so painful when he has them.

Worst moment of the month: Obviously everything about the NICU.

Best moment of the month: Bringing George home.

September 8, 2014 by Stephanie

The Elephant in the Room

When we started thinking about how to decorate George’s room, I knew that I wanted something simple but also unique and personal to us. Most of our art in our house is homemade, and I wanted the same for George’s nursery.

I saw a few things on Pinterest, and then thought about our wedding guest book and combined the ideas.

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We thought it would be cute to do something similar with our kids and the baby showers.

So I tried my hand at drawing and painting.

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I made a stencil for the elephant.

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I tried doing the potato stamp for the balloons, but it did not work. I resorted to making an oval stencil and traced balloons all over. As I painted in the ovals, I added the little balloon knot with the paint brush. I kind of randomly alternated the blue and orange.

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My mom then helped with the strings. We just used a thin point sharpie to make the strings and the features on the elephant.

We had silver and black sharpies for the shower guests to sign a little note for George. In hindsight, I wish we would have only used one color of sharpie, but it still is great none the less.