6 Weeks

Today was my 6 week checkup and everything is good. The Dr. said I could go ahead and start walking/jogging and eventually running. This is a good thing considering I have at least 15lbs of baby weight left to lose. I am hoping to be back into shape and running well enough to run the Breast Cancer 10k again and hopefully beat my time from last year! My scar is healing nicely and I was told the redness will decrease. All in all, it takes about 6 months to completely heal, but I am well on my way! Sawyer did amazing for his first Christmas's. We started the celebrating with my Dad's side on the 17th. It was an extra special treat to have Sawyer's Great Grandpa Cory brave the weather and come back from Arizona. He honestly couldn't have asked for a nicer weekend to make the trip! My brother grilled steaks and that it was present opening chaos! It certainly was fun and I am already looking forward to next year when Sawyer can join his cousins in the mass unwrapping! Christmas Eve was spent with my Mother's side. She made our traditional dinner of dumpling soup and my brother and I proceeded to eat our weight in dumplings! Again, it was present opening chaos, but again enjoyable! Christmas Day morning Marcus, Sawyer, Boomer, and I made the trek to Huron. I was feeling incredibly confident in my packing skills until we arrived and I went to pump and realized that a portion of my pump was at home! Thinking that Walmart had to be open I figured I would just use formula, but of course it would be the one day Walmart closed. My cousin-in-law Amanda came to the rescue and found a pump I could use for the weekend, which was amazing! Again we had present opening chaos, but it was fun watching the kiddos open. Next year Sawyer will add to the mix and there will be 7 grandkids ripping gifts open! Dinner was prime rib and steaks for those of us not fans of prime rib. Enjoyed a couple glasses of wine and by 9:30pm we were pooped and headed to Uncle Kirk's to crawl into bed. This is the first time Marcus and I have spent the night in the same room as Sawyer and wow, my child moves and makes noise a lot! I kept thinking he was going to get up for the night but he was simply grunting in his sleep. He takes after daddy with his snoring! We headed home on Monday with luggage for all 6 of Sawyer's cousins. They are heading to Sioux Falls to stay with Grandpa and Grandma for the week! Hard to believe December is almost over, which makes me sad because next comes January and that means back to work. I am excited to go back to work because I enjoy my job, but I am also sad to not get to hang around with my baby all day. New Year's Eve we are heading to the Stampede game with Marcus's work and than hanging with some fabulous people. I am looking forward to ringing in the New Year with the loves of my life. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and has a wonderful start to 2012! Talk to you next year!

Jo

One Month

Little man had is one month checkup today and is doing great. He weighed in at 8lbs 4ozs. This put him in the 15th percentile. He has only gained an inch in length but the Dr. said he should hit a growth spurt around 6 weeks and gain some length. Overall though he is doing fantastic. We have a grunter on our hands, he definitely enjoys telling us all about it. He currently is drinking 2 and 1/2 ounces and eats every 3 to 4 hours, which is pretty awesome at night. My milk supply has been getting better and Marcus is happy to report he is a milk freezing machine. We are in the process of the ever so fun job of scouting daycares, which makes this momma sad. I can't believe how fast the time goes. It certainly is nice being on maternity leave over the holidays but with this, the time also seems to move quicker because there is so much to do. At this point, I believe my first day back to work would be January 30th, unless Marcus wins the lottery or someone decides to donate some funds for me to stay home! For the most part, Sawyer is pretty laid back. He does have his fussy times, which usually seem to be about 7 in the morning, and 5/6 at night. The Dr. said this is most likely because Marcus is leaving/coming home and Sawyer simply wants to be up and know what is going on. I am slowly, and I mean slowly, coming to grips with the reality that not everything is going to get done like it was prior to having a baby. Mainly, my house is not going to get dusted every week, my workouts will most likely not be at the same time every day, I will either need to get rid of the dog or learn to live with a little dog hair on my kids clothes. My guess on the last one, I will be learning to live with a little dog hair on my kids clothes. As most of you know, I really strive to be punctual, and I am starting to learn that I will need to leave a lot earlier to make it on time for things now, but hey, the kid is a good excuse for being late, right? I stress a lot about when I go back to work, the time management aspect. Getting myself ready for work, getting him ready for daycare, pumping, etc. Of course my husband just looks at me and shakes his head. He tells me to quit stressing and that it is not like he is going to lay in bed and let me do it all...what a wonderful man! Anyhoo, Sawyer is starting to smile a ton and recognize voices. We do tummy time, which he is pretty good at and doesn't get too mad about. He loves his little rain forest sound machine in his crib, we just need it to play a little longer. We usually have to hit the button a couple of times. This weekend we will be having our first Christmas with my Dad and Stepmom, and a special treat, Grandpa Cory flew in from Arizona! We also get to celebrate the birthday of one of Sawyers future best buddies, all in all, it will be a busy but awesome weekend. Hope this finds you all well and talk to you soon!

Jo

2 Weeks

I cannot believe how time flies. Just two weeks ago Marcus and I were just walking out of the hospital with Sawyer. It has been a great two weeks. I am adjusting to waking up in the night for feedings and pumpings. During the week I tend to do this on my own. Considering I get to lounge around all day with the babe and Marcus has to go to work, I don't like him having to get up during the night. On weekends though he is a huge help. He usually feeds the little man while I pump so we can head back to bed that much quicker. It usually takes me about an hour by myself so between feedings I get roughly 2 hours of sleep. Trust me, I am not complaining one bit! I am still having some frustration with my milk supply but it seems to be getting better. I think I just anticipated being able to produce more. While I feel I am adjusting nicely to new routines, I think Boomer is fairing just as well. He sniffs Sawyer while he is in his bouncy seat and certainly is interested in what is happening when we change him. It will be fun to watch these two grow up together. Sawyer and I went to lunch with our friends Emily and Beckett the other day. First trip out without daddy! I say we did pretty well, especially since little man slept the whole time. We also tried taking Boomer to the vet, now that one we didn't fair so well in. I thought I would be smart and take just my ID and checkcard in with me, well Boomer was so excited to be going somewhere that when I got him out of the vehicle my checkcard and ID fell on the ground. Of course I didn't notice this until I was in the vets office. Now trying to carry a car seat and wrangle in an 84lb lab is not the easiest! Thank goodness for the wonderful staff at the vets office. After receiving rabies and distemperament shots, Boomer and I were helped to the vehicle. Now, my checkcard and ID were on the ground and conveniently located under a vehicle. Down we went to retrieve them and in to pay. After that we decided it was in our best interest to go home! My infection of my incision is healing up nicely and I am feeling much better. I am much more mobile and have managed to significantly reduce my intake of ibuprofen. I am way less sore which I think helps things all around. I am becoming better at excepting the dust and dog hair and not letting it drive me crazy! Next week I think I will attempt to help with the laundry since my poor hubby has been stuck doing it for the last how many weeks, but for now I will take advantage of it! Off to the doctor's in two weeks for Sawyer's one month checkup, so if you don't hear from me until then I apologize! I need a laptop so I can sit and do this in the recliner!

Jo