baby life

Baby life. What is there to say except that it's easy....for him. 

 I remind my little bundle of joy, when he cries out during a diaper change, that life will never again be as easy for him as it is now. Unless my baby becomes a ga-zillion-aire, no one will ever wipe his butt, feed him and let him sleep all day like he does now. lol. Well, maybe.

Actually, Koen's day-to-day routine isn't much different than his step-brother, Buddha {our Australian Shepherd}. Eat. Poop. Sleep. Repeat.

But, he has had more 'wake time' lately. Usually after his feedings, we exercise by doing bicycle kicks {this helps relieve gas} and we have tummy time to help him strengthen those neck muscles. Haha, poor baby had gotten pretty good at holding his head up during his first month, but then hit a growth spurt and now has to retrain his neck to steady that melon. I actually gave him a neck massage today after tummy time. he loved it.

What else? Oh, he's ticklish...like daddy.

His face changes. Every. Day.

And he likes to giggle. it's the most adorable thing to me. 
I thought puppies were cute. Puppies have nothing on this kid.

I've heard that if a baby smiles or laughs during his sleep, it means angels are talking to him. 
I've also heard it could be gas... but I think I like the angel theory best.

Parenthood has proven to be better than expected. Truth be told, I had no idea what to expect. I can tell you that I never thought I could function on so little sleep. Or that I could love a person I've known for only a short time so unconditionally. And I could never have imagined how excited daddy and I would get over poop. 

Yes, people, poop. Greenish-brown, sometimes runny, sometimes sticky, always explosive. Poop.

See,  breastmilk is almost 100% digestible so there's virtually no waste, therefore breastfed babies, apparently, don't need to poop but like once a week...  BUT, when you see your little one red faced and straining throughout the day, you tend to disagree with everyone who says it's "normal" not to poop. This is why I say daddy and I get excited over poop. We even sing a song about it- "Whoop whoop poop poop". Seriously.

There have been some difficult moments, as expected. For instance, breast feeding is not going as well as before. We started off strong. I was actually impressed at how easily he caught on, but now, nothing. It's like he changed his mind about 'ninny'. It seems like every time I put him to breast, he falls asleep before finishing. Then I have to pump and bottle feed him the rest. I've tried stripping him down to his diaper to wake him a little. Nah, didn't work. I tried changing positions. This just seemed to irritate him.

I'm hopeful though... We WILL get the hang of it, because mommy is so over that damn breast pump.

Ahhh, parenthood. Love.

xoxo,
mama V!ck

Guess who's 2 months today?!

It's September 14 already! I can't believe my little Koen is 2 month old today! Everyone warned me that these days and the precious moments that fill them would go fast...and they are!

Since birth, Koen has grown to 8 lbs 15 oz  and 20 3/4 inches! And he's consuming 3 times the amount of milk as he was when we first brought him home.

He's starting to be able to focus on objects now and particularly likes to look at Mr. Owl that hangs from his mobile.  Koen also likes listening to Beach House during the day with daddy and The Innocence Mission lullabies with mommy during nap time.

Bath time is something we're still getting used to. Mommy sometimes forgets to cover his eyes before rinsing. Or cover my eyes when he shoots a stream of pee into the air . And he's so slippery when he's wet--I worry he's going to shoot out of my hands like a wet bar of soap. But I think he's getting used to it. It's funny to hear his shriek when coming in contact with the water then stopping abruptly when he realizes "Oh yeah, I like this warm wet stuff.."

 {first bath}

As he continues to grow and learn, I'm sure I'll have many more funny, exciting and joyful moments to share with you.

Happy 2 months little boy. Mommy loves you.

xoxo,
mama V!ck

and they just keep coming...

This time last year, I planned a beach trip with my besties, which ended up being cancelled due to weather...remember? Tropical Storm Lee! Well this year hasn't been much better. Although I have no beach trip planned, the possibility of planning anything 'beachy' for Labor Day weekend has been hindered by yet another storm, T.S./Hurricane Isaac.

Good ol' Isaac...Didn't mount up to much in terms of hurricane strength, as it only reached a Cat 1, but traveling as slow as it did, caused severe damage to the boot! And on the anniversary of Katrina, no less.

Plaquemines Parish suffered catastrophic flooding in the early hours of the storm. People and animals alike were stranded as waters began to rise out of the gulf and over the levees.

Below, 2 women attempt to rescue livestock from muddy waters 

{image: Sean Gardner, Reuters}

{images: Getty}

Even piggies were stranded in flood waters- off I-55

{image: Clarion Ledger}

I just hope all of you made it to high ground, without suffering too much damage. And that you all had a good Labor Day weekend, despite Mother Nature and her antics.