We're sick

Mommy and Baby Frank went home from work/day care early today sick with strep. I started feeling ill on Friday when I woke up feeling extremely exhausted and achy. I had also noticed that Frank woke up congested on Friday morning. I couldn't tell if I was simply tired from my first week back at work or starting to get sick. The rest of the day I kept alternating between feeling hot and cold, and I turned out to have a mild fever that evening. By Sunday my throat was hurting pretty badly, so I went to the doctor today to find out what I have. It turns out that I have strep throat, and Baby Frank has a strep infection in his ears. I knew that he was likely to get sick in day care, but I cannot believe that this happened the first week. Luckily, Frank just seems a little more tired than usual, not any fussier, and it does not seem like the infection is bothering him too much. I tried to give him a little more TLC today, so hopefully he is feeling better. I hope we both recover quickly!!

Meeting Mr. Mason

Frank finally got to meet his future best friend Mason! Ryon and Sara came into town for Ryon's big 3-0 birthday this weekend, and we went out to a big birthday dinner on Friday night with a bunch of other friends and the two babies. Frank slept through the entire dinner, while Mason was wide awake and enjoying being passed around. When Frank finally woke up, he was so good! It was so neat to see how Mason and Frank acted together. Sara and I went shopping on Saturday at the Allen outlet mall, and the babies were great. Then we brought them back to our house and they played together on the play mat. Mostly they ignored each other, but every now and then they would realize the other was there. Frank is definitely bigger than Mason, but they both seem to be movers and talkers. Frank was a little mellower than normal, I think because he was worn out from his first big week of day care. We had a great time visiting with our good friends, and we realized that we definitely need to try to get together more often!

Here are a few pictures of the babies together:

Back to work

Today was my first official day back at work, and Frank's first full day at day care. I have to say, this day was thoroughly exhausting! I woke up at 5:30 a.m. so that I could get myself ready for work before Frank woke up. I then woke Frank up at 6:45 a.m. to give him his medicine, play with him a little bit, dress him up in his super cute new outfit from Nana, and feed him a bottle. Then I got myself dressed, and we were out the door at about 7:50. We made it to daycare right around 8:15, and I made it into work by 8:45. I was much happier dropping Frank off at daycare today than I was last Friday--it was much less chaotic, and they had set up all of Frank's things, had a big "Welcome Frank" sign on his classroom door, and just generally made me feel so much more comfortable. I made it out of there without crying, and I was genuinely happy about the day. I had lunch with two of my favorite coworkers, and I was beginning to think that going back to work was not so bad.

Then, around 2:00 p.m. I decided to go over to the daycare to visit Frank and see how he was doing. When I got there, he was very unhappy. He was whimpering, wide-eyed, and just seemed scared and overwhelmed. I have never seen him that way before, and it was heartbreaking. I stayed over there for about 20 minutes, holding him and walking around with him, trying to calm him down and soothe him. He was holding on to me for dear life, but he did not really cheer up when he saw me like I was hoping he would. I know that it is going to take Frank some time to adjust to daycare, and I was thinking that maybe it was a mistake that I had gone over there to see him. I left there feeling pretty depressed, and I had to call Frank and have a good cry before I went back up to work. It was tough!!! I could not focus on work at all after that, and I left the office immediately once the clock hit 5:00 and headed back over to the daycare. On my way over there, I saw one of my sweet coworkers whose son is over at the same daycare and she told me that she saw Frank outside with one of the teachers and that he seemed really happy. And she was right!! When I got there to pick him up, Frank was back to his usual happy self. Ms. Chelsie told me that he had a much better second half of the day and that he loved when she took him outside. I was so happy to see him happy! When I took him out to the car, he smiled at me really big and we had a great little conversation. I was so relieved that he had gotten over his emotions from earlier in the day.

We had to stop by Firestone on our way home to get my new tire installed on my car. They moved really quickly tonight to make up for their terrible customer service last night, which I appreciated, but we still did not get home until about 6:30. That gave me just enough time to heat up leftover pasta for dinner, change my clothes, and start Frank's bedtime routine. We had a great time getting him ready for bed, and he was extremely animated and playful, which I love. He was out by around 8:15, and at that point I was so exhausted I thought that I was immediately going to have to go to bed myself. Thankfully, I have gotten a second-wind of sorts, because I need to clean the house tonight before the maid comes tomorrow! When I finished getting Frank ready for bed, I realized that I had not turned the TV on since I had gotten home. This is probably the first time in the last 3 years (since Frank has been traveling for work) that I have not turned the TV on immediately after getting home. Welcome to my new world--too busy to even turn on the TV, much less watch it!

My first day back at work was a roller coaster of emotions, but I am confident that we made the right decision in me going back to work and Frank going to day care.

Here is Frank giving me the pouty face while I was trying to quickly eat my reheated dinner. I have to admit, I felt guilty not holding him every single second he was home tonight, because I know that he is not held as much at daycare as he is at home!

Last day at home with lil buddy

Today was my last day at home with my little buddy before I officially go back to work. It is too bad that we had to spend a good part of the day at Firestone, because I ran over a screw! I have enjoyed spending this time with Frank so much, but at the same time, I am excited to go back to work, to see my friends, and to stop spending so much time in my PJs. I also know that I will truly treasure and appreciate all of the time I get to spend with Frank, since I will not be getting to spend every second with him anymore. I am happy that I will still get to spend special time every morning and every night with my little man. I just hope and pray that he will continue to be the smiley, noisy, fun, and sweet little buddy that he is right now and that he will adjust well to being in day care. And I hope and pray that I will be strong enough to handle working and taking care of the house and my little man.

Here are a few pictures of our last day together:

playing on the playmat

about to fall asleep in my swing

big eyes!

hanging out in the bumbo

happy baby!

Day care test run

Well, we survived the day care test run! Barely. Let's just say that there were A LOT of tears involved, and we are not talking about the baby's. I was actually pretty surprised that I was so emotional when I dropped Frank off. I knew that he was only going to be there for a few hours, and he has been doing so well the last week or so. He did fantastic in Park City, so I did not think that the new people, new place, or noise would bother him. It was just so hard to leave my baby with someone else. I have only left him one other time before, and it was with my sweet neighbor who has a baby of her own only a month older than Frank. It was much different leaving him with a bunch of strange babies and adults who I don't yet completely know or trust. I did not cry much when I was actually at the day care, but I cried a bunch on the drive downtown and I cried again when I got into my building. I saw a sweet fellow Mom in the hallway when I got off the elevator on my floor, and she invited me to a Mom's lunch with a bunch of fellow attorneys. It was just what I needed!!! They helped me realize that it will get easier--although they all said that it will never be easy.

The good news is...he did great! He did not cry at all when I dropped him off, and he was happy and cooing when I picked him up. I could tell that he was completely worn out when he got home, because he took an almost two-hour nap in the early evening, which he never does. But he slept like a champ last night until I woke him up at 7:45 this morning, so thankfully, day care did not mess with his great nighttime sleep. As long as he keeps coming home happy and sleeping well at night, I will consider day care a success! I officially go back to work on Tuesday, and Frank will be in Ohio then, so it will be my true test. I know it is going to be hard to manage working full time and basically being a single mom during the week, but people do it all the time, so I know that I can too! I will probably just need to further fuel my caffeine addiction in order to survive.

3 months old!

My sweet little boy is 3 months old today--I can't believe it!! Where has the time gone?! This is my last day at home with my little buddy, because I am going to take him up to day care tomorrow for a test run before I officially go back to work next week. He has been sleeping through the night almost every night for the last month, but he still resists naps and usually only takes one good one a day. He loves "talking" to us, and he can't wait to sit up like a big boy. He is the most important thing in our lives, and I can't wait to see what kind of man he will grow up to be!

First family vacation

Last week we headed off to Park City, Utah for our first family vacation. We took Baby Frank with us and my parents met up with us in Park City. We chose Park City because it is one of the few places Delta flies direct out of Dallas, and we wanted to take advantage of Frank's frequent flier miles and Platinum status. He ended up letting me and Baby Frank sit in his first class seat on both flights. On the flight out to Utah, Frank was a dream baby--he fell asleep before takeoff and did not wake up until after we landed. One of the other passengers commented, "Now that's a first class baby!" I was so proud of him. He was pretty good on the return flight as well, although he did have a 5-10 minute crying fit when the plane started to descend. Thankfully Frank was able to calm him down and he then fell asleep for the rest of the flight.

We absolutely loved Park City! I had only been skiing a couple of times before and did not care for it much, but I really enjoyed this vacation. Park City is only a 30-minute drive from the Salt Lake City airport, so it is really convenient. We stayed at the Waldorf Astoria hotel, which is a ski-in, ski-out property on the Canyons mountain. The hotel was wonderful, and everything about skiing was so convenient. We rented our equipment and bought our lift tickets at the hotel, the hotel staff valeted our ski equipment for us and we boarded a gondola right outside the hotel that brought us to the ski lifts. It made skiing so much more enjoyable. The mountain was never too crowded while we were there, and so we did not have to wait in lines to get on the lifts, which was great. The hotel also had the best hot chocolate I have ever had in my life. The only thing that sucked about the Canyons was that there were very few runs for beginners. There was only one green run, a couple of double greens, and the rest were blues and blacks. I stuck to the easy green run my first day out, since I had not skied in 13 years and was very afraid of falling. But the second day, Frank made me try out a blue run, and I actually really enjoyed it! I surprised myself and only fell one time, so we tried it out twice more and I skied it both of those times without falling. I was so proud of myself! I used to hate skiing, and now I can't wait to go back.

The town of Park City was also really neat. The main street area had tons of cute little shops and restaurants. The first two nights we all went out to eat together, and Baby Frank slept the whole time. As a matter of fact, he also slept through all three nights that we were there. He is such a good baby!! On Valentine's Day, my parents went out for an early dinner and then stayed in the hotel with the baby while Frank and I went out to an late dinner. We went to the restaurant Riverhorse on Main and absolutely loved it. It was nice to have some time to ourselves, since that is so rare these days! All in all, it was a wonderful vacation and we are so happy that my parents were able to come out and enjoy it with us.

Here are some pics from our trip to Park City:

before his first airplane ride

living area in our hotel room

suite kitchen

Mom & Dad on the balcony

family pic

hanging with Grandpa

on the ski lift

skiing a blue run for the first time!

on the slopes

such a cute little baby

sunset with Mommy

love my Grandpa!

love my Nana!

hotel

beautiful views

pretty mountains

me & lil buddy

Mom & Dad on Valentine's Day

me & my Valentine

Valentines Day

beautiful sunrise

sweet little boy

Highs and lows of mommyhood

Yesterday was a rough one for me. I am not sure why, because nothing particularly bad happened, but around 3:30 p.m. I got overwhelmed and decided to brave the icy weather just to drive around and hope that Frank fell asleep in his carseat and then would stay asleep when I brought him inside. Of course, he slept the entire time I was driving around and then woke up immediately upon entering the house. He has not been napping well during the day at all, unless I let him sleep on me, which is fine but then I cannot get anything done. He slept on me for 2.5 hours yesterday morning and I finally woke him up so that I could go to the bathroom. And he SCREAMED! He screamed like he was starving to death. I absolutely hate listening to him scream like that. He seems to have been screaming like that more lately, but maybe it just seems that way because we have been cooped up together for two weeks now. So anyway, I was depressed because I was exhausted, my back hurt from carrying him around so much, I haven't found time to work out or wash my hair all week, and it was breaking my heart to hear him scream like that so much. Right after I called my sister and cried, it was like a light switch was turned on, and Frank turned into an angel baby. He cooed and smiled and did not fuss or cry from that point on through the rest of the night. He let me eat dinner, give him a bath, give him his medicine, and he fell asleep right after his bottle and stayed asleep through the night. It was like he knew that I really needed a night like that to remember that this is my last week alone with him before I go back to work, and I need to treasure this time.

We put him on a new formula and I also found some tips online for giving him his medicine, so hopefully one or both of these new things will help with his reflux and eliminate his bouts of screaming! Here are a few pictures I snapped the last couple of days:

smiles

mommy's heartbreaker

smiles during tummy time

trying to roll over again

just hanging out

Katy Didd

2 month appointment (finally!!)

I finally took Frank in for his 2-month doctor's appointment today--only three weeks late. We have had to reschedule this appointment 5 times, with two different doctors, due to insurance issues and the lovely winter weather. He got his first round of shots today, and that was tough for both of us! Frank screams in pain daily due to his reflux, so I thought I was prepared for how he was going to handle the shots. However, I was NOT prepared for that level of screaming! The nurse did the shots pretty quickly, and he calmed down once I picked him up and rocked him for a few minutes, so it wasn't too bad. The doctor said that he may be fussier than normal for the next few days, which I am not looking forward to!

We finally found out how big he is: 13 lbs, 11 ounces, and 24 inches long. He is right at the 50th percentile for height and head size, and he is slightly above the 50th percentile for weight. The doctor said that he looks great, and that since he is growing well, we do not need to be too concerned about the reflux. However, Frank is still clearly in quite a bit of pain several times throughout the day, so we are going to try putting him on a different formula to see if the reflux is due to a sensitivity to lactose. I am really hoping that this new formula helps him, because it is devastating to see him in pain!

The doctor was very impressed with all of the noises he makes. He has a lot to say already, that's for sure!

Daddy's home!

Frank's flight was canceled several times on Friday, but he finally made it home late Friday night. After a week of being cooped up inside the house with Baby Frank all week, I was soooo excited to see him! The taxi driver would not drive up our street because he was scared of the road conditions, so he dropped Frank off at the bottom of the hill and he had to trek up to our house with his luggage. We were so happy to see him! On Saturday, some of the ice and snow finally started to thaw, and I was able to leave the house to go to the gym. Frank had a rough day yesterday. He is still experiencing several painful reflux episodes some days, and when he is like that, the only thing that comforts him is being held straight up and down, which is exhausting. He is still sleeping fantastic at night--at least 8 hours, usually closer to 11--but he is having a hard time taking naps during the day that are longer than 45 minutes, unless I let him nap on my chest. We are finally going to the doctor tomorrow for his 2-month check up and to figure out what we can do to help with this reflux. I hate seeing my little boy in so much pain!

Here are a few pictures from the last few days:

Daddy & me

sporting my new mountain boots

I love Daddy

view down our street, so pretty!

view up our street

our house

our backyard

Katy Didd

such a cutie!

checking himself out in the mirror

hanging in the bathtub

sitting in the bumbo

watching the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills--he is enthralled!