October 24, 2014 by Stephanie

A Day in Our Life

I have had several people ask how mommyhood is treating me. Now that we are on a routine, I am feeling a lot better about things. Our days are fluid and change a little but for the most part we have a pretty good schedule going.

Here is what a day looks like for us right now.

Around 5am- George starts stirring. If he gets whiny, I will pick him up and snuggle with him until Tom leaves for PT.

Between 5:30-6am- Tom lets the dogs out and then leaves for PT. I get up and wash my face and brush my teeth to scrub away the night. Then I get George up and change his diaper. Then I feed him. This can last anywhere from 20 minutes to 45 minutes depending on how feisty George is feeling.

7am- I make my breakfast and watch Good Morning America. Depending on how awake I feel, my breakfast will either be scrambled eggs or cereal. I let you guess how that goes on the sleepy scale. Also there is always coffee.

8am- Tom comes home from PT and has his breakfast. This is about the time that George and I snuggle on the couch for a nap until he needs to eat again.

9am- Diaper change and feeding time for George. This is also the feeding time that Grace and Crosby wrestle through the entire house, which sounds like a stampede going through the house.

9:15am-Tom heads back to work for the day.

9:45-11am-George and I play. We sing and dance to songs. (Baby Einstein is the best channel on Pandora. Most of the time it is rock in lullaby form. The other day, Tom came home to me singing “Dude Looks Like a Lady”) We do some vocabulary cards and read. We end it with some time on the kick and play while I catch up quick on emails and other social media. Trying to type with one hand is hard friends. We do this until he falls asleep.

11-12pm- I workout. I have a Wii game that is this virtual trainer. It has customizable workouts that tailor to my goals, so it is nice to get some focus on me while George is taking a nap.

12pm- Diaper change and feeding time for George. I usually end this with a book that sends him to sleep.

1pm- I eat lunch and watch something saved on our DVR. (Somewhere between 11-2, Tom comes home for lunch. It varies every day so I am never really sure if he will come home for lunch.)

1:30-3:30pm- I do chores around the house. Some days, I will be honest only the bare necessities of cleaning happen in this time frame. This is also the time where I run errands if I need to because he sleeps this whole time.

3:30pm- Diaper change and feeding time for George.

4pm- George does some tummy time. This last for bout 5 minutes before he starts screaming. So we do this cycle of trying for 5 minutes than I hold him and play music, and then once he is calmed down we try again. Do other babies cry during tummy time? I always see pictures of kids loving this. I really think he has an issue with being completely horizontal and flat. Are we alone in this?

He usually rolls himself into this position if he isn’t crying about tummy time. He will just stare at me like he is saying “You can’t make me be on my tummy or my back.”

Around 5pm- Tom comes home. He takes over George duty, and I go for a walk with the dogs.

6pm- We make dinner and then eat said dinner.

7pm- Diaper change and feeding George time. This is the only feeding that happens downstairs because we are usually watching a TV show and having family time. The rest of the day George and I are upstairs in his room during feeding times..

5-9pm is also known as George’s witching hours. He isn’t always fussy the whole time, but generally during this block of time he has some rough moments. This is really the only time of day that he is on the struggle bus past a diaper change and being naked. So we take turns holding him and loving on him while we watch TV.

10pm- Getting ready for bed time. Some days this includes a bath, but we are not there yet to him having one every night. We do a diaper change, and I cover him with lavender baby lotion. This is the worst diaper change of the day. It’s right after his fussy time of the day. Plus, I make him get naked, and then subject him to water and lotion. A messy combination of all the things he hates. So this is usually a half hour of screaming the baby equivalent of “GET OUT OF MY ROOM MOM.”

10:30pm- Feeding time. I let him feed a little longer at this time than I do the rest of the day so he can get through the night. I then read him a bedtime story and sing “Twinkle Twinkle.”

Around 11pm- I put him down to bed. I get ready for bed myself. Usually by the time I have washed my face and brushed my teeth George will be asleep.

Tom and I usually spend a little time with the quiet for just us before we go to bed ourselves.

Then George sleeps through the night. That means that his parents ALSO sleep through the night. The other day he slept from 10:30pm to 7am. I woke up startled because the sun was peaking through our shades, and I still hadn’t heard him move! Glorious! (Then panic ensued because I thought he wasn’t breathing since he was so quiet.)

The weekends look a little different than the week since Tom is home all day. For instance, Tom and George usually join me and the dogs for the walks on the weekends. Generally, the feedings (ours and his) are the only thing that stay the same. Oh and my morning nap at 8am.

Also for the record, I do let the dogs out more than once a day. They have NO schedule and just go out whenever they decide they want to demand it, which usually coincides when the elementary school is starting and ending. Crosby does not like the neighbor kids passing by our door.

Showers for me don’t happen every day either. I still don’t feel comfortable not having some eyes on George, so I wait until Tom is home to take a shower. Since his schedule isn’t always consistent, I don’t always get a shower when I have planned on it. Should I just go for it and shower while he is napping? Ahh makes me nervous just thinking about it. I gotta cut the cord sometime I guess…

I try to spend as much time as I can holding him and loving on him. I know this time will pass, and he will soon be squirming and moving all over the place. So I try to stop and enjoy these moments throughout the day as much as I can. Who doesn’t want to miss their kid creeping them out by sleeping with his eyes open like he is here? I know I don’t!

Do feel out of whack when you aren’t in a routine? What is one thing you have to do every day to feel sane?

October 14, 2014 by Stephanie

George’s Nursery Reveal in Video

I want to remember things about this time. Every minute I get to spend with George is special. And I have no idea how long I will get these moments of just me and him, so I want to remember them here for years to come.

Part of that is remembering the place.

I spend most of my day in this room. I do most of his feedings in the rocking chair because it is the most comfortable for both of us. I read him stories here, and I introduce him to music while he makes faces at my singing. We play on the floor-really it’s him just flailing around as I pull him around on a blanket trying to imitate crawling and making sure the dogs don’t drown him in slobbers. I also spend a lot of time in the room just staring at how perfect he is and how lucky I am to be his mom.

So it may seem simple to outsiders, but this room is our world right now.

I love how light and airy everything turned out. It is just a friendly environment.

I did my first attempt at a video tour, so enjoy my commentary. (I have no idea what I am doing.)

If you have any questions about anything don’t hesitate to ask.

I also want to remember the sounds and the little things we do together. This may be a boring video to the soundtrack of “The Lion King,” but again the gurgles and faces made are my everything. And I don’t want to ever forget how precious these moments are.

So if you are inclined to watch a baby do nothing but baby things (which is honestly not much) for a couple minutes, this is the video for you. Spoiler alert, there are baby hiccups. Adorbs.

I still need to try to capture him searching for a pacy. Best George moment ever.

So that is George’s room. I can’t wait to see how these pieces grow up with him and transition into other uses as he changes.

Do you like decorating? Do rooms turn out they way you imagined?

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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image via

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.