Rice vs. Oatmeal

I have been trying to give Gavin rice cereal for 4 weeks without much success. Today he went to the doctor because his eye was swollen this morning due to his cold. I asked the doctor about giving him regular food (fruit and vegetables) and he said since he was 5 months that was fine. He did tell me that I could give him any kind of cereal.

So we went to Walmart (because there is no Target here). We got a box of Oatmeal cereal, apples, pears, bananas, carrots, sweet potatoes, squash, green beans, and peas. I opted out on the prunes. I don't know anyone who likes prunes (why they are a baby food I have no idea).

We tried the oatmeal and it went much better than the rice. I am going to wait until next week and start him on sweet potatoes. I just set up his high chair. It sort of sucks that Brett is going to miss out on this. I will have to take pictures once he is done eating!!

On My Own

All those single moms out there - how do you do it? I have been without my husband for 4 days and I am exhausted (and so is Gavin).

Here is a picture of my boys at the Atlanta Airport.

What am I going to do?

Brett leaves in 3 days to start heading to Iraq. I will see him Wednesday-Friday and then I won't see him for 6 months. How am I going to handle everything that needs to be taken care of without him around? Who is going to come visit me and my little man to make sure we aren't lonely?

Crucified

So I don't get crucified.....

The Bad Grandma

My mom sung Gavin a lullaby this weekend - "99 Bottles of Beer". He fell asleep after 76 bottles. I sang it to him tonight and he fell asleep at 39 bottles of beer.

Only the "Bad Grandma" would choose that song as a lullaby!

Teething Baby....

are not that pleasant even when they are really cute!!

Somebody help me!!!

Gavin's Firsts

We are on vacation in Hilton Head Island. This is our vaction before Brett leaves. We paid for his parents to come with us so that we can have a little "alone" time.

Here are some of Gavin's firsts:

Gavin's first bowl of cereal:

Gavin's first trip to the beach:

And just because he is so cute:

In the middle of the night...

For the last 2 nights I have been awoken in the middle of the night from music playing in the nursery. We put a little "fish tank" on G's crib. He is starting to roll around (not completely over yet). He keeps hitting the play button on the "tank" and the music plays and the fish swims. It is really kind of funny even at 3:30am. I can't help to smile about it as I go up the stairs to turn it off.

He is 3 Months old today!

Gavin is 3 months old today. Time has certainly flown by.

and he peed is his bathtub yesterday and laughed about it!

No trip to Cincy?

Damn gas prices. Need I say more?

Shouldn't you be sleeping

Every night for the last 3 weeks Gavin has gone to sleep between 8pm and 9pm. Right now, he is laying on the floor, doing belly time, and talking to himself. I would really like to eat dinner before I go to bed and right now I am pushing it.

Hopefully he will go to bed soon. I have some things I need to do before I go to bed myself. This is really giving me a glimpse of what it is going to be like when Brett leaves. I give single moms so much credit. I am finding it really hard to work, take care of the house and dogs, and Gavin at the same time.

Home Sick

I so wish I could have gone home this weekend for all the festivities. I am so going next year.

2 Month Appointment

G went to his 2 month today. 25 inches 14 pounds 3 ounces. And then the shots came. Now I have a sleeping cranky baby on my lap.

What a Cutie!

How can you not love this face? My mom even took the golf wallpaper off her computer and put this in its place!!!

This Weekend

I am so excited. I am sitting here patiently waiting for a car load of family to arrive. At first I thought it was just going to be my mom and Connie. And then I found out it was going to be my mom, my dad, Connie, Mary, Paige, Lucy, and Eliza. The fun part is the girls asked to come down with my parents. Man, do I love my cousins!!!!

First Month's Appointment

I took Gavin to the doctor's yesterday for his one month appointment. The doctor said he was perfect. He weights 12 pounds 1 ounce and is 22-3/4 inches long. My boy is a chunker. When the doctor asked me how much he was eating and I told him (4 ounces every 3 hours) he said Wow! I told him he wasn't spitting up and he told me to keep giving him that if it is satisfying him.

Then came time for is shot. He had to get one. The nurse gave it to him and after she pulled the needle out he looked at me. 5 seconds later he let out a howl. Talk about delayed reaction. I tried not to laugh. It was really cute. He quieted down as soon as I picked him up and cuddled him. He was a little cranky last night but that is to be expected. Can't wait until the next one. He has to get like 5 or 6 shots. Thank goodness Good Grandma will be here. I can pawn him off on her!!

Decision

So after talking to Brett last night, we both decided I should take the medication at least for the 2 months the doctor prescribed it for. I wasn't going to but Brett thought it would be a good precaution to make sure things didn't get worse especially with him being gone for 2 weeks. I asked him why he wanted me to and he told me that he had a 24 year old with 3 kids (youngest being 6 months) come into the ER yesterday. She had overdosed. He just wanted to make sure I was okay since I will have a lot to handle on my own.

I took the first one this morning. It made me a little sleepy so I think I will need to take it in the evening.

Depressed and Frustrated

Gavin will be 5 weeks old tomorrow. As much as I love him I can't say I totally love being a mom yet. I am completely overwhelmed with the demands of taking care of him, working and trying to take care of the house and the dogs. I just don't see how single moms do it. I have some help though not as much as I would like, especially on the weekends he has to work.

Plus the doctor told me I was borderline for postpartum depression. He offered to give me a prescription for it and I took him up on it. I have yet to take them. I decided it was a good idea to have them but I don't necessarily want to take them. We will see how the rest of the weekend goes and then I will see about taking it for a while.

Oh, and did I mention that I am homesick? I have only been homesick twice in my 32 years. Kind of sucks since this is supposed to be my home and all I want to do is go to Cleveland and hang with my parents and my friends up there (the ones I still have, I think).

More Medical Problems

OK. Like giving birth isn't hard enough. Now I have a slipped disc that is pinching my nerve. The really bad part is that I cannot feel the left side of my left foot. Makes taking care of a baby oh so much fun!

After Baby Weight Loss

So I gained 34 pounds while I was pregnant. Not bad from what I am told. I guess the thing that bothers me is that I lost 30 pounds in the 2 years prior to being pregnant due to Brett's wonderful diabetic diet. all the work I did to lose the weight went down the toilet. On the flip side there was a good reason for it!

I stepped on the scale this morning (10 days after giving birth) and I only have 6 pounds to go until I am back to my pre-pregnancy weight. The problem - my clothes still don't fit. I am still wearing a pair of my pregnancy shorts (which were too big when I was pregnant). All my proportions have shifted. Looks like even when I lose the weight I will still have to get a new wardrobe!!!