Almost the Weekend!

*If you're new to Little T's Journey, then welcome. I started this to share Jacob's progress with friends and family across the country and it's morphing in to sharing progress and so much more.*

I started a goal at the beginning of the week to post a picture of Lil' Man every day and that quickly failed. I have been taking pictures, but they just aren't making it on the blog. Maybe I should start with once a week and then add to that.

So HAPPY it is almost the weekend! This was my last full week of work, and I can't wait to spend more time with Jacob. He's falling asleep earlier in the evening which is great for time with Michael but only gives me a couple hours a day with Jacob during the week. The best part though (and I don't want to jinx myself again) is that he is sleeping better now. I'll post more about that later and hope it is not a fluke.

No big plans for the weekend, but I saw a blog (and can't remember where, but will give credit when I do) where she painted her pantry door with chalkboard paint. I took the idea to Michael and he fell in love with the concept of the paint and would like to do the whole house in it now. So that and cleaning out the fridge are my two big projects for the weekend. Can't wait to see how it comes out and will definitely share.

Like a lil' Piggy

For some reason I secretly thought that after giving birth to Jacob not only would I go back to my pre-pregnancy weight, and (here's the kicker) I might even lose a couple pounds from that. I mean I didn't really gain much during pregnancy and everyone told me, "It's all baby." Made complete sense in my mind.

Almost 4 months after and I've come to realize that I liked tight fitting shirts because everything in my closet I put on makes me look pregnant still. Only 7 pounds to go, but my body looks like it has 20 something pounds to go.

There is one secret I've learned though that will help me reach my goals - flavored water. I was doing great losing weight and not snacking and then all of a sudden I started snacking daily on chips and cookies. I couldn't figure out what had changed and why I felt I constantly needed to eat again.

All of a sudden it hit me. I was no longer bringing the flavor packets for my water to work with me anymore. The flavor packets have a sweet enough taste that it curbs my needs for sweets.

This morning I stocked up on Crystal Light packets and even a box of Arizona Iced Tea Arnold Palmer packs (because that is my favorite drink on Earth), and I've already lost my need to snack and craving to break into my lunch at 11.


Hopefully I'm back on track again.

Limbo

I am now down to about one week left at my current job and the start of a career change. It is starting to really freak me out.

I've been in marketing since my Junior year of college when I took on working with the small town community theatre, then I interned with Fisher-Price (absolutely amazing in every way), followed by Corporate Communications with Corning Inc., then an internship that morphed into a job for a medical ID company and lastly my current position of marketing and special events manager for a local outlet mall. Marketing has been all that I've done, and I have a proven track record of being good at it.

Now I've quit my job and I'm not quite sure what to do next.

When we decided to try to get pregnant I enrolled in the community college for teacher certification classes. I was burnt out on retail marketing and the long commute, love kids and wanted to have the holidays and summer off to spend with our new baby. The plan was perfect in my head. The only hitch is nobody told me how hard it is to get hired.

In one week I'll be without a job. I'm excited to spend time with Jacob, but not working is completely new to me. I've put in to be a teacher's aide and also substitute for several districts, and Jacob's daycare has offered me a job. It's just trying to figure out what to do next and if the daycare job is stepping back from my goal of teaching.

Big Step

Probably not that big of a step for Jacob, but huge for me...

Jacob is asleep in his crib right now.


About 2 hours ago Jacob had his last bottle for the night and fell asleep soon after. Michael and I chatted this morning about how we need to start transitioning Jacob to his crib because he is almost 4 months and getting too big for the upper part of his pack n' play.

Now I'm actually enjoying some adult time with Michael while turning the video part of the monitor on every few minutes to take a peak.

He's just in the other room, but it seems so far away.


** I do have pictures for yesterday and today, but I'm too lazy to plug the camera in and download them right now.

Lip Balm

* Completely not Jacob related.

When Michael and I first started dating he was completely against the idea of lip balm. He would let his lips dry out and pick at the skin - which is all unacceptable in every way to me.

As our relationship progressed I began carrying a tube of ChapStick around for him and if I saw him pick at his lips I'd kick him under the table. Out of concern for bruises on his legs (I promise I won't parent like this) or the want for a happy girlfriend he started taking the ChapStick when I offered.

I now can proudly say that every morning before leaving the house he puts Burt's Bees lip balm on and reapplies a couple times through the day.

Anyway...this isn't a post to show my accomplishment.

The other day while browsing through the store I went to check out what new lip balms they had. In the middle of the aisle was an 8-pack of Lip Smackers in soda flavors. I'm not a Lip Smacker buyer, and I think that grown woman covering their lips with Strawberry Watermelon glittered Lip Smakers is trashy (sorry if I've offended anyone), but I couldn't pass up a Sprite and Rootbeer flavored lip balm. I figured as cheap as they are I wouldn't mind losing a few.

They're actually a lot better than I thought they would be; both in taste and how they feel on my lips.

Later that night Michael and I were on our way to dinner when I was putting on a coat of Rootbeer and he asked to borrow some. I explained that it wasn't the normal kind we use and to my surprise he was so excited. He loves them and thinks they're 100x better than Burt's Bees (I like them, but this couldn't be more false of a statement).

After listing the flavor to him and watching his excitement grow with each flavor, I'm pretty sure my Cherry Coke will go missing soon.

Weekend Photos

3 Months 2 Weeks 5 Days

We were getting ready to go swimming when we realized Jacob's sun hat no longer fit. Michael helped by putting sun block on his head. He just didn't realize how much is too much so in this picture his hair is hard and covered in sun block. It took a thorough washing to get that soft baby hair back.


3 Months 2 Weeks 6 Days

Jacob got a frog that sings the same counting song over and over again (in English and Spanish) and he loves it (about as much as his daddy hates it). He was so happy to e in his walker, chewing and have the song going.

Something Every Day

Jacob does something every day to amaze me and instead of taking pictures and just filing them away I realized I should post them to show a story of what's going on.

So...we'll start today.
3 Months 2 Weeks 4 Days


This morning while we were getting ready Jacob decided it wasn't fun to sit back in his swing anymore. It is so much more fun to sit up on your own even if you can't hold yourself up.



...and when you're folded over like that you discover new body parts; like feet!



Yesterday Jacob had fun pulling up another baby's shirt and today he decided it is fun to pull up your own shirt. He spent all evening doing this.

As Seen on TV

Who hasn't seen the commercials for this thing? They used to play non-stop showing women shaking away their flab into sculpted arms anyone would be jealous of. For some reason though they just made me laugh.

I can just imagine sitting at home on the couch shaking my weight while Michael stares at me and cracks jokes.

Well one of the ladies at work today just bought this thing and brought it in. She urged me to try it in the mall lobby - luckily there wasn't much traffic coming through - and I was right, I do look ridiculous shaking it, but I love it. I think it is something I could mindlessly do and you quickly start feeling it.

I guess infomercials do have some use besides keeping you entertained during late night feedings.

Social Parade

I love this idea to find other blogs. Hopefully I'll find some other intersting blogs to read and some people will stop by and follow our life with Jacob.

"The Talk"

It seems like we may have to have "the talk" with Jacob sooner than we ever thought.

Last night we went to a friend's house for dinner and so we could get our babies together. I've mentioned before that Claire is only three weeks older than Jacob, so it is fun to get toghether and see how they're progressing and what they've learned.

And oh boy does my little man have a new trick...

As Claire and Jacob were laying next to each Jacob would roll on to his side to stare at Claire. Then he started talking to her.
Then he grabbed the bottom of her shirt.
Then he pulled up.

Being the great mother I am, I took pictures before pulling Claire's shirt down and handing him a toy. Soon the toy was thrown to the side though and the shirt was up again. This went on and on until we moved to the dinner table to eat.

I must say, his daddy is proud.

Already Driving

Just because he is cute as can be - here is a video of Jacob in his ATV. The lights and music are cool and all to him, but as you'll see towards the end of the clip, his absolute favorite thing to do is chew on the chair.

There must be something about that fake leather looking seat that feels so good on his gums.

One Step Easier

I love making things easier. There is no point to add extra steps to something when there is a more efficient way to do it.

My dad actually turned me on to my new favorite site. When I was pregnant he would order diapers from diapers.com and receive them in two days. The prices are good and you don't have to lug around boxes.

Yesterday morning Michael and I were packing everything to stock daycare up on supplies and realized we would be sending our last can of formula to them. I normally try to reorder when we are down to one can, but somehow completely missed this one.

No problem. We still have a few days worth in the can on the counter so I went to diapers.com and reordered to fill our supply. I also went through their sale section and got a vibrating teether (since Jacob is loving his teether toys now) for $3 and small tupperware containers (since I've decided to make foods for Jacob) for $3. No charge for 2 day shipping.

Now I just need to go home on Friday and there will be a box with our necessities and one less thing I need to pick up from the grocery store.

Guilt

Nobody told me how much guilt came with parenting.

No matter what you do or how you parent it seems you feel guilty about something. I thought I was alone on this but saw a post the other day from a working mom that felt guilty because she still enjoyed going to work and a response from a stay at home mom who felt guilty because she no longer contributes financially to her family. Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Reading the thread made me think about all the things I've felt guilty about with Jacob.

1) Jacob and I were not a good breast feeding match. We struggled continously with it, and I was determined to make sure he was breastfed. After a couple weeks the doctor had us start supplementing with formula because Jacob just would not gain weight. After using the bottle for that he no longer wanted to be breastfed. I spent so much time feeding him, washing bottles, pumping, over and over again until my supply quickly dropped. I drank organic teas, ate herbs and even oats, and power pumped to try and increase, but it just wouldn't work and Jacob was getting more and more formula. I was so hard on myself and working so hard to get every drop I could that I was no longer enjoying time with my son.
Finally I realized how all my stressing was doing us no good and I let it go. I was able to give him almost 2 months of milk and he was gaining weight and developing on formula. It was time to stop the guilt and enjoy him.

2) I'm lucky enough to have found the most amazing husband in the world and others would be jealous if they knew just how great he is. Before we had Jacob he and I would cook together and he does dishes. Now that Jacob is here he is still that great and helps in every aspect. The only problem is when he helps I feel guilty that I'm not a good mom again because I'm tired, need a break, and pushing off diaper changes, feedings and household chores on to him.
I know he is doing all these things because he wants time with Jacob too and he just likes helping out and at some point I'll just let him do it without overanalyzing in my head.

3) Working and not working. Yep...I can feel guilty about two exact opposites at once. I feel guilty working because I get an hour in the morning with Jacob (if I get myself out of bed early) and then a few hours in the evening before he goes to sleep. I feel guilty about not working/subbing for a while because I'm not contributing to our income and know that I have spending habit.
To come to terms with this I count the days until my last day of my current job and have tried to become more frugal. I've also realized that it is what it is and try not to think about it too much.

The list could go on and on to include small daily moments like when I forgot to pack a blanket to wrap Jacob in at the doctor's office or how I had to drive from day care to the house (short drive) holding Jacob's head up because for some reason my seat propped him forward and his head kept going forward.

I've learned though that there is no time for all those worries and guilty feelings. I feel good about the way I'm raising Jacob and every time he smiles - and now giggles - I know I'm doing fine.

Drool

How can something so small expel so much saliva.

Pictures to follow once my battery recharges.

Milestones

I started this post a couple hours ago and got completely sidetracked. During that time I decided I didn't really like what I was writing and just decided to delete it all. Not that I had something else in mind to post, just in a wishy washy kind of mood.

Jacob just started giggling a couple days ago. It is so freaking cute, but I'm afraid he'll have my laugh. Making faces can get him going every now and then, but the sure fire way to make him laugh is if I sit in front of him and just start talking.

This is how I got the first couple laughs from him, and I'm still trying to figure out what is so funny. Last night I wasn't feeling well so instead of instantly playing with Jacob when I got home we just sat on the couch together and I told him about my day. He thought it was the best thing on Earth and wouldn't stop laughing at everything I said.

Michael wanted some giggles too since he has only really giggled for me. He tried faces and sounds and movments and songs, but no luck. I'm the only one that can make my baby laugh :)

In other great milestone news:

This weekend Jacob rolled over for the first time by himself. I've been working on this with him for a few weeks now by showing him the movements to roll and other activities that I blindly follow from developmental books. Then the one day I got to sleep in and Michael got up with Jacob he rolled over.

I woke up an hour after the two of them got up and as we started playing Michael told me that he rolled over by himself. I was shocked and asked for every detail. Then I asked why he didn't wake me up.

He simply replied, "It's not like I can pause time or rewind it, you just missed it. No point in waking you up."

I tried for the rest of the day to get him to roll. No luck.

Then last night on the way home I was talking to Michael after he had picked up Jacob. He said that Jacob's teacher had asked him if we knew he could roll because during his nap he had rolled from his back to his stomach.

So apparently everyone is going to see him roll before I do.


But at least I can make him laugh!

The Big Reveal

Yesterday we went over to a friend's house for homemade ravioli (yum!) and to find out if they are going to have a boy or girl.

This is kind of a foreign concept to Michael and I since we didn't even wait for the first doctor's appointment to tell family and close friends we were pregnant - our friends waited to tell us until after the first trimester. When we went to the 20 week ultrasound and found out Jacob was a boy Michael didn't even wait until we were out of the doctor's office before texting the news to everyone we know - our friends waited three days and had a small party to tell everyone.

We got to their house and mingled with all of his family and her family. They both come from Italian families so it was a hustle and bustle throughout the kitchen area as they made enough ravioli for an army and topped it all off with angel hair pasta, meatballs, bread, salad and veggies. Finally once most everything was cooked everyone started asking if they would just tell us already. No budge.

Everyone scarfed down their pasta quickly to get to dessert since we knew the reveal would come then. It may just be because I'm not a secret type person, but there is no way I could have stood there and not told someone.

We were all gathered into the kitchen and given a cupcake, but told we couldn't open it until the count of three. 1....2....3... silence!

"Mine has white cream."
"So does mine."

Each of the cupcakes were filled with cream, but during the baking the color had faded and now the cream that was supposed to reveal the sex showed nothing at all. Everyone just stared for a second until the soon-to-be dad's sister-in-law finally blurted out, "so you're having a white baby?"

We all laughed (still not knowing what they were having) and my husband, sweet as can be, was still searching his cupcake to see what everyone was seeing. Finally he understood it was the cream in the center part, but somehow his cupcake got mixed up with the other batch and his had chocolate cream.

Finally we were told they are having a girl.

The secret thing is complete opposite of my style, but the event brought laughter from everyone, and will be a memory to share with Little Tessa once she is born and gets a little older.

Outdoor Saturday

As I mentioned yesterday, I was so excited to take Jacob to the pool today. In fact, not only did we have a pool party planned for today, but we also had a play date with one of my old co-workers and her 4 year old god-son.

We wanted to go to a farmer's market she found thinking it would be an educational experience for the 4 year old and a chance to walk around outside. I talked Michael into it telling him about the great markets I had been to in Boston and even Corning, NY. When we pulled up it was seriously one shed with about 5 different veggies. We got our corn and a bag of beans, but didn't stay for very long.

To extend the play date we headed to the park.

We took a quick break at home to cool off and get a bite to eat and then headed to the pool with Jacob and Scoot.





























After pool and family time our friends with a baby girl just a few weeks older than Jacob came to visit and they finally started interacting with each other. Claire was a little more interested in Jacob, but I'm sure he'll catch on to the concept soon.














Tomorrow we have a birthday party to go to and finally a moment to just lay around and relax!

Random Friday

I couldn't really think of a subject substantive enough for an entire post, so I decided to be lazy (the way Friday's should be) and just let today's post (and probably all Fridays going forward unless some whirlwind of energy comes over me) be a mumble of random thoughts and things from the week.

Here we go:

- Tonight I'm going to Happy Hour with a couple great girlfriends from my old job. I love them dearly and can't wait to finally have a Happy Hour I can drink at since for the past year I've watched them drink, but at the same time it is my first time to not go home to Jacob since I've been back at work.

- I am so freaking excited for this weekend. Tomorrow we have a park and lunch play date with friends and the 3 year old their watching for the weekend followed by some pool time for Michael, Jacob, me...and Scoot too!

- On Sunday we also get to find out if one of our closest friends are having a boy or girl. Michael has dreams that they have a boy and their son and Jacob grow up just as close as he and Justin did. It is a sweet dream, but we all kind of think Justin is destined to have a beautiful girl.

- I'm finally losing some weight. I now have 6 pounds to go to get to my pre-pregnancy weight and 10 more after that to be really happy. I have to break it into two goals because 16 pounds just seems so much.

- We found out Jacob has been eating way, way, way too much. I'm kind of peeved by this actually because at his 2 month appointment I made a point to tell her that he was eating 6 oz bottles every 3 to 4 hours and his doctor just smiled and said that he's a good eater. Now it seemed like I was scolded for letting him eat so much. Any way, we're trying to cut him back to 36oz a day this week and if unsucessful we have to schedule another appointment. So far it is going good though.

- This could actually be a full post, and probably will in the not so distant future - I don't know how people can handle more than one kid. It scares me to think of Jacob and everything he needs and we want to give him times two.

- Lastly, they finally named my replacement for my job and I can't wait for her to get here in two weeks so I can train her on the important stuff and be done with the long commute and start my next adventure.

And a random picture just because I think it turned out amazing.

Playful Thoughts

Jacob and I were at Barnes and Noble a month or so back when we saw the above toy. I instantly liked it, but was only there to look at the books and thought he wouldn't be ready for it anyway.

A week after Jacob started grabbing his toys and wanting to hold them. I thought about the toy and even added it to my cart on http://www.diapers.com/ (one of my favorite sites to get his necessities from). Once again I took it out though thinking he already had enough toys and no reason to waste the money.

Finally Michael and I started talking about how much he loves holding his toys now and I decided that during the weekend we would stop by Barnes and Noble and get the toy that I had spent a couple weeks thinking about.

Instant love!

The small tubing on this is so easy for Jacob to grab and he has plenty of option for where to grab at. It is light enough for him to hold and shake all around, plus large enough that he can hold with both hands and easily pass from hand to hand. The only thing that he didn't like in the beginning is the bend of the tubing was too wide for him to get in his mouth (he had just started mouthing things), so as he played he would get frustrated and fussy, but yell if you took the toy away. It was a vicious cycle that thankfully only lasted a week at most.

I highly, highly, highly reccomend the Winkel by Manhattan Toys for any baby that is just starting to learn to grab and hold toys.

Are You Alive?

If I had to describe my husband I'd probably start out saying he is a sport fanatic, and throw in that he has the biggest heart of anyone I know and all those other mushy things, but somewhere in there I would have to bring up that he is glued to his phone.

He doesn't talk on it much but his thumbs are constantly texting, and the message alert goes off every five minutes. Even when I went into labor with Jacob I had to tell him he could send updates to our families and everything, but the stupid thing had to go on silent.

Last night he called me from the grocery store (we're still working on only going once a week) asking if we needed anything besides the small items he went for. I checked the list with him and then said I was close to home and could pick Jacob up from day care. As soon as we hung up I realized that somehow the map in my mind (of the exact same commute I've been making for 3 years) had skipped an entire section of road. I texted him saying I wasn't as close as I thought I was. No reply.

Ten minutes later I called him to say I was finally close to the highway and wanted to see if he got my message and whether or not he had gone to pick up Jacob. No answer - I left a voicemail. No reply.

Five minutes later I texted him to make sure he was still alive, "Are you ok?" No reply.

I finally got to the daycare and was in the process of packing Jacob up when Michael called to tell me he had not picked up Jacob.

The one time in his life that he put his phone on silent is when I actually was trying to get hold of him for somehting...