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.

K's nursery : the furniture

When it came to fixing up a nursery for our little man, I was stuck- stuck on ruffles and chandeliers and anything coral...Obvi- because I'm a girl and that's what I would want in my room.

Designing with a little boy in mind was a bit more challenging. Luckily, thanks to Pinterest, I was able to find ample inspiration for creating a masculine room for a baby boy that was A) not all baby blue and pale yellow, B) not race cars and camo, C) not too 'baby', so that the room will still work as he gets older.

Everything in K's room has been upcycled from found pieces or my own baby furniture :)  Not only did this save me money but I was able to customize everything to fit my design scheme for his nursery.

Thanks to pepere, who is credited with refinishing and painting all these pieces while I was preggo, all the furniture turned out even better than I had envisioned!

Although I'm not entirely finished with the nursery, here's a peek at the furniture. 

{the Chifferobe}

This chifferobe was given to me by a friend who had it in her garage for years with hopes of (eventually) fixing it up. It was in pretty bad condition- old varnish needed to be sanded off, side panels needed to be replaced from water damage, a mirror needed to be added to the top left door, and feet needed to be put on to raise it off of the floor. Oh yeah, and it needed paint and new hardware.

{the Crib}

 This was my baby crib!...29 years ago ;) 

Yeah, I know. The FDA or USDA, or whomever makes the rules, says using second hand baby equipment or anything older than 5 years can be a hazard. Well if you can't fit a soda can through the spindles then it's all good, right? 

*disclaimer: I'm a risk taker and don't always follow the rules. Please don't do as I do.

{the Changing Table}

This little number was found on the side of the street {thanks Aunt Mimi}. It was lime green and missing a leg. But, being that pepere is a whiz on the wood lathe, he whipped out another identical leg to replace the missing one. The top was framed in to fit a changing pad. And a small milk crate was cut in half and fixed to either side for extra storage. Paint and hardware finished it up.

We still have a little work to do in order to complete K's room. But I don't think he minds.... he'll sleep just about anywhere :)

I'll be sure to follow up when K's nursery is complete. Stay tuned....


xoxo,
Mama V!ck

Due Date!

Yep, today {August 21, 2012} was the day our little man was expected to come in to this world.

Happy 'Due Date' to Koen!.

{one month old}

We love you!

xoxo,

Mama V!ck

pouring my heart out on paper

I was told I should keep a journal about my baby's birth while in the hospital...

July 14, 2012: Today my son was born

"...half asleep and startled, Gabe stumbled out of bed and began to pack a bag, as I inspected the "situation" in the bathroom.  It was 1:30am and I had just had my second bleed. The doctor had warned us about it during my first hospital visit, just 3 days earlier.  He told me that I would bleed again and at that time we would have the baby by cesarean. So much for the birth plan I had put together for our son's 'natural un-medicated birth'...


This is not what Gabe and I were expecting, but at least we had a little time to let the info process. Terrified and alone (because daddy had to stay out in the hall), I was prepped for an epidural. What a sobering experience. I was not at all prepared to have a needle stuck into my back nor to have my stomach cut open. But in all honesty, once the drugs set in...all my fears began to melt away. By 5:51 am, Koen Joseph entered our world!

That immediate motherly love and bond that everyone says kicks in as soon as you see your baby for the first time...well, DIDN'T, no thanks to the drugs. But once I came out of my drug-induced cloud and was able to hold him- I felt it. INSTANTLY!  LOVE <3

I can't get enough of him! His skin, his smell, his peach fuzz, his fat cheeks. LOVE AT SECOND SIGHT! Even with the lingering pains of surgery and a groggy head, I make my way down to the second floor and across the hospital to the NICU every couple hours to see him. My, err OUR, little man. He is so sweet and looks so helpless in that damn incubator. I just want to grab him and run. But he needs to get stronger before going home...I get that.


Later today was my baby shower! Whoo-hoo! Thanks to Skype, I was able to make an appearance at my shower direct from my hospital bed. But again, the drugs were having an effect on me, which I'm sure was evident by the sleepy look on my face. After about 10 minutes, I was out like a light"

xoxo,
Momma V!ck

Surprise! Surprise!

Well, after a long hiatus, I'm happy to be back! Sorry for not keeping up my posts, it's been k-razy these last few months! 

Let me catch you up: My 2nd trimester was great! Momma was feeling fantastic. Then the 3rd trimester came around I was {finally} beginning to feel pregnant. Ha! Lucky me, it only took 7 months ;) 

Seriously though, momma was feeling fat. Momma was feeling un-sexy. Nothing in my closet fit, not even with a belly band. I couldn't even get up from the couch without the help of a wench. I was having trouble sleeping and would wake every morning with the worst soreness in my heels, my guess is from the waddling. I couldn't see passed my belly button and any movement made required a grunt.

Our June pre-natal visit revealed that the placenta previa (which had been detected some time in my 2nd trimester) was working itself out and my OB was pretty confident that I would deliver vaginally, as planned.  The pregnancy was going great! Everything was right on target- my weight, his weight and size, my fluid and placenta, etcetera, etcetera, etcetera...

I was scheduled to see my OB on July 11th, when I noticed some heavy spotting. This lead to a 24-hour stay in the hospital for observation, followed by strict bed rest (doctor's orders). But then it happened again, in the wee hours of Saturday, July 14th. Back to the hospital we went, then...

One {unwanted} epidural and cesarean later, look who decided to grace us with his presence...only 5 1/2 weeks early!!

KOEN JOSEPH 

 Born July 14, 2012 

5 lbs and 3 oz

18 inches long

5:51 am

Though he was a little swollen and bruised, we thought he was the most adorable thing ever!

He is my heart!

Now I get it....

xoxo,

Momma V!ck