Wednesday, January 9, 2013

I Can See the Light

Well, I did it, I returned to work and I survived to write about it. I was incredibly nervous going in mostly because of the line of work I'm in. I'm dealing with people's lives so it's kind of important to not screw something up. It was just like riding a bike; I was a bit wobbly at first but quickly got back into the groove. It's a busy time of year for hospitals so I even stayed over an hour to help get the next round done. It felt good to be out of the house and using my brain. Collin survived putting the babes to bed on his own. It wasn't completely smooth sailing, but he made it work. I absolutely love seeing him as a dad...for him to get this chance was what kept me going during the hard times and it was completely worth it all. Dare I say I enjoyed working? I did...that feels odd to say... I just sent in my Feb schedule for hours and it felt great.

The babies have both been a bit high maintenance since the holidays. We attributed it to having family here and having schedules completely thrown off. Well, they've been acting whacky for way too long for that to be the issue. I think what we have been experiencing is/was the three month growth spurt. They've been unusually fussy, eating weird, refusing to nap, not sleeping through the night etc. I think we're nearing the end of it, however, because things seem to be getting back on track. It's been a rough couple of weeks! Yesterday, our CEO, Evan, was smiling ALLLLL day long and didn't have any fussy periods. We also added in Gripe Water for Evan. We tried it before Xmas and he seemed generally happier, but then got busy with the holidays and never got another bottle. We thought it was worth a shot and started him back on it (I add 5 ml's to his day time bottles) and low and behold he is a happy boy again! Could it be a coincidence? Certainly. But whether or not it is simply a coincidence or it's actually working, we're going to stick with it for the time being. When Evan is happy he is smiling all the time. It's beautiful. I've been waiting for this! Ella had a screaming episode in the afternoon-her first time doing this for me. I think Evan is out of the growth spurt and Ella is nearing the end (hopefully). Although, now that this is nearly over, I've learned that something else is probably looming around the corner waiting to throw a wrench in things. That's what makes it fun-never knowing what's going to happen!

I think I'm getting spoiled from the last two days...the babies have been so well behaved! Yesterday I was able to get a few loads of laundry done, the floors vacuumed and mopped and I cooked dinner. Um..what?! Today, although it's not even noon yet, I was able to start cleaning our bathroom (I should be finishing it instead of blogging..) and I got veggies chopped to make split pea soup for tonight. How is this happening? Yesterday was so good that my husband went out to lunch with friends instead of coming home to give me an hour of help. I also got a lot of quality play time in with both babies. YES. This is AMAZING. Of course, right after I got the floors cleaned I was carrying Ella and she turned her head and puked all over the floor. Eh, at least it was clean for 30 minutes.

Speaking of puke, Ella pukes ALL.THE.TIME. We go through a bib during and after every bottle and 1-2 burp cloths as well. Typically 2-4 outfits a day. Geez. That adds up to a lot of laundry. That poor girl. She'll have puke running down her chin and smile at you with her lopsided grin and it is the cutest thing. Our pediatrician wasn't too concerned about it when we mentioned it at their 3 month appt. She's growing fine. She's on thick formula that's supposed to help spit up. We've been told we just need to wait it out...

Laying is soooo out in this house. Sitting is soooo in. The babies are no longer happy laying in the boppy pillow and don't play on the play mat as long as they used to. They always want to sit/stand now. When they are in the boppy, it's funny to see them trying to sit up. Collin bought a doorway jumper and they LOVE it! Evan was in it for a good 45 minutes the first time he was in it. He's a strong baby and loves when you hold him up to stand. Ella rolled over for the first time at 3.5 months (it was New Years Eve). We both got to see it :) We were smiling so much you would have thought we won the lottery.

I've been getting weirdo spam comments on my blog and I had to change the settings. There were two options- Allow registered users (including OpenID) to comment or users with Google accounts. I picked the first one. I hope I did the right thing and people can still comment on my blog. 

What else? We're also switching over to cloth diapers and I'm loving it! I'll post more on that later...
The house still feels different without our kitty Omar. Our second cat, Sawyer, is seeming a bit lost. He follows me everywhere and meows at me constantly. It's sad... I'm not sure what to do for him. I try to give him attention and play with him while I can. I think he misses his playmate, but I don't think we need to add a cat to our family right now... 
Evan looks like he got into a fight on the play mat. He has 2 big scratches on his face. I have no idea how he managed this one, because I just cut his nails.
Baby socks are lame. They don't stay on. 

I thought I saw the light at the end of the tunnel before and I was fooled. I hope this time it actually is the light and things are getting easier. You know that old saying in Tennessee — I know it's in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can't get fooled again...or something like that.

What's that I hear? NOTHING! It's silent. The babies are still sleeping! I guess I'll go finish cleaning our bathroom...

**I jinxed myself...as soon as I hit post, Ella woke up crying. The bathroom will have to wait.**

4 comments:

S said...

Glad work went well!

Our son Mason also spit up with every single feeding, probably until he was about 6 or 7 months old. We were amazed that he continued to gain weight, given the volume of his spit-ups, but he did. We joked that he was like the king with his several outfit changes per day, LOL.

waiting and wishing said...

Hooray for easier babies!!! About the socks- I figured out I had been putting the boys in socks that were too small. Once I bought some larger socks the problem improved a lot. A is currently in the swing and his socks are on the floor in front of him, but really, it did help. Also, we bought some slipper/shoes at Carter's and they help a ton for keeping socks on!

Jen said...

Welcome back to the working world!
I'm glad to hear Jude isn't the only one who spits up so much. I really hope he grows out of it. I feel like he's always soaked. He gets changed constantly too!

And yes, baby socks are lame. Shoes are even more lame!

Jules said...

Ahaha love the Dubya quote! Yes baby socks totally suck! Unless there are some baby garters that I'm not aware of?? I'm with ya on returning to work. Today is my first day back and I'm enjoying getting back into the routine and being with adults! Sorry to hear about Ella's puking but glad to hear about the rolling over at 3.5 months! I'm just 1 month away from that! YAY!