The Grieves Family

*Disclaimer - this post is not about food. Sorry.

We are seven weeks in and I'm pretty sure I love being a mom. I especially love being a mom to this guy...

and a parent with this guy...

Eli has the sweetest personality and is SO cuddly. What more could parents ask for? That being said, it hasn't all been easy. R and I have learned that parenting (**spoiler alert**) is not always rainbows and cupcakes. That's right folks. Raising a child is a challenge and it challenges the predictability and control right out of your life.

About two weeks ago our sweet, cute and perfect baby turned into Mr. Fussypants...at least after 3:00 pm. Granted, he was not colicy or inconsolable, but his sweet demeanor that appeared every morning seemed to disappear every evening. R and I trudged through about a week of this and I am happy to report we are on the other side. Here's how we navigated the bumpy waters...

1. Baby Boot Camp - As I've said before, R and I completely believe in letting our baby cry it out. I am here to tell you it is much easier to believe in that method when your baby doesn't cry. When your baby does start to cry, however, that's where the rubber meets the road. Two weekends ago R spent three days letting/listening to Eli cry and scream and yell. Of course we made sure he wasn't hungry, dirty, or have any other obvious issue. Once we knew he was perfectly fine, we let him have at it. About every 10 minutes or so, R would check on him and calm him down, letting him know we were still there, but we didn't pick him up. R suffered through his entire weekend putting E through the ropes at Baby Boot Camp. And come Monday morning? I got to spend the day with an angel. Seriously. He was perfect. R had taught him that he could, in fact, soothe himself and mama got to reap the benefits. I'm not going to lie, I did feel a little bad that I got to enjoy the spoils of all of R's hard work, but Ryan definitely deserves the credit. Way to go daddy!

2. Operation Over-stimulation
Another major change in Eli's life occurred around this same time. We got the go ahead from our pediatrician to stretch E's feedings out to 4 hours during the day and let him go as long as he could at night. Well if you feed a baby for 30 minutes, play with a baby for 30 minutes and then let him nap for the remainder of the 4 hour cycle, that's a three hour nap. Surely he's not supposed to sleep that long we thought! Our biggest fear of letting Eli sleep so much during the day was that he would get his days and nights confused. If there is one thing this kid has known how to do since day one, it is sleep at night. And we weren't willing to compromise that for anything. Thus began our attempt to keep Eli awake for longer periods: we sang, we read, we danced. We rattled, squeaked, and crunched every toy in the house. And when he got fussy or fidgety, we tried harder. Until I read a nifty little article about overstimulating babies. The article stated that you know a baby is over-stimulated when he turns away from you (check), gets fidgety (check), arches his back (check), fusses (check), or shuts his eyes (check). Turns out our attempt to entertain our fussy baby was just making him fussier. As soon as mama and daddy backed off, gave him some space and let him sleep, E was just fine. Once again, we learned the hard way that Eli usually knows what he needs if we just pay a little bit of attention.

So here we are a week later. Eli is still sleeping at night and is a much, much happier baby during the day. Of course he still cries from time to time, but mama and daddy are getting much better at reading his cues. So, now that we've got this figured out, what is the next curve ball you're going to throw little man?!?

Who you callin' 'Mr. Fussypants'?!?

Friday, August 10, 2012

Mama Details

When I was pregnant (or any other time really) I loved reading about other people's experiences and 'must-knows' for being a mom. So, for you mom types....or if you just have nothing better to do than read this blog, here are the 'mama' details...

Breastfeeding - Yes, we are doing it and it's going great. We ran into a little technical difficulty (faulty equipment) around Day 5, but that issue was fixed with a $10 Medela purchase from Target and we're good to go.

Bottles - We just introduced E to his first bottle yesterday. He really didn't seem to care that it wasn't a boob as long as it had what he wanted. Question - how do we know how much to feed him? We gave him a 4 ounce bottle and I think he would have eaten more if we would have let him. However, later, he was spitting up as if to say...'I'm overflowing!' Hmmm....

Sleep Training - Yes, we are doing it and it's going well ...for us. This is definitely something that is a personal preference and it's not the only way to raise your baby. I have a lot of friends who are the MOST wonderful moms and have very different philosophies that work amazingly well. So, if you're a new/soon-to-be mom, find what works for you, not what works for someone else.

R and I both read Babywise and The Baby Sleep Solution....multiple times. We are not hyper-scheduly type people, but we do agree with the philosophies...not just for sleeping, but for life in general. (Having a 'plan' also greatly reduced the amount of parental anxiety we experienced. We didn't know if it would work, but at least we had a plan!) The basic purpose of these books is to help parents teach their babies how to establish a routine and how to become independent. We want E to be able to self-soothe and calm himself down without being completely dependent on eating, on us, or on a certain piece of baby equipment. The main rule we follow is to never let E fall asleep in our arms. Yes, we cuddle him and yes, we rock him (plenty!) but as soon as he gets drowsy (or when mama decides she's hungry and wants to eat lunch) we put him down. This way he has learned that he can fall asleep without us. If he fusses when we put him down or if he wakes up in the middle of a nap, we follow the five minute rule...the "Limited Crying Solution" (sounds so official, doesn't it). Essentially, we let him 'cry it out' for 3-5 minutes before going in to help soothe him. This brings us to Rule #2 - Soothe the baby without picking him up. We will pat his tummy, give him his paci, shush him, or turn on his white noise, but we won't pick him up. This will help him (eventually) learn that he can fall asleep without needing to be rocked, held or fed. (Editor's note: During the 3 days that mama ate the wrong food, these rules went out the window - when your baby's tummy hurts, you do what you have to do!) Finally, we follow the Eat-Wake-Sleep cycle. Eli eats, then we play for a good 20-30 minutes (or 2 hours if he's not feeling a nap) then he sleeps. Again, this helps him establish a routine and it keeps him from falling asleep on the boob and becoming dependent on that. Ok, enough of that. If you're still reading this, more power to you :)

Time for a picture break? I think so.

This was obviously an important day....Eli wore pants.

- Stuff: Now that we are a month into this and I'm clearly an expert (ha!!) here is my opinion on baby stuff. Take it or leave it :) (Note to new moms: I have decided you will use exactly 10% of all the stuff you get when you have a baby...the rest of it will take up room in your closets :) So, if I was running out of the house and could only grab 10 things, here's what they would be....

- Bouncy seat - ours is a hand-me-down and it is is our most used 'accessory.' E loves it because it keeps him a little more upright which gives him a different view of the world and helps when his tummy doesn't feel real great.
- Halo sleep sack/swaddle - this is what they used in the hospital and we promptly sent Grandma to Babies R Us to purchase one for home. He sleeps in it every night.
- 'Mam' pacifier - we have 3 different brands and this is the current winner. We also like the Nuk, but it is too easy for the little man to grab the handle and pull it out of his mouth.
- Receiving blankets and burp clothes- In our house receiving blankets get used for warmth, binky blockers (Ryan has a great 'shoulder tuck' method to keep E from spitting out his binky), and carseat head rests. Also, I quickly learned that having 25 burp clothes is not too many.
- Books - We read. A lot. Our favorites include Goodnight Moon, Goodnight iPad, SkippyJohn Jones, I Love you Through and Through, I Love You Stinky Face, Mother Goose and Willie the Wildcat's ABCs.
- Diapers and Onesies- And more diapers and onesies. And then one more handful of diapers and onesies. We bounced back and forth between Pampers Swaddlers and Huggies. We had a lot of trouble with leakage....but we soon discovered it was an issue with mom and dad's diapering abilities, not the diapers. However, we have chosen Pampers for the time being. We'll see what happens as he grows.
- Nipple Shield - This was the remedy for the 'faulty equipment' mentioned above. He is getting back in the swing of things eating without it, but for now it is like gold.
- Camera - R and I bought a 'good' one back in May. All we had was our phones and decided our child deserved a little better than that. We splurged and purchased a Canon T2i and we love it! We've even learned how to shoot in manual mode. We're not experts, but we're getting there.
- Boppy - Necessary? Maybe not. But such a wonderful convenience that it made the Top 10 list? Definitely. It will also serve many other purposes as he grows up.
- Quilt/Blanket - Eli was lucky enough to get two quilts made for him and he loves them both. This is probably the most used item in our house and we can prove it by all of the spit-up and pee stains all over it (okay, just kidding about the stains, I wash it regularly. But he really does use it all the time!)

Obviously we have lots of other 'stuff' that we use on a day-to-day basis, but this gives you a good idea.

Oh yeah, if you're a 'regular' - check the 1 month post again...the stats are updated :)

Friday, August 3, 2012

Baby Check: 1 Month

Has it been a month already? In some ways, it seems like there is no way E is a month old and in other ways it seems like he's been a part of our family forever. It's funny how hard it is to remember life without him. It is definitely true, a baby takes your world and flips it upside down. And, sweet Eli, we wouldn't trade this upside-down world for anything. We love you so much.

During your first 10 days of life, Daddy and I kept wondering if all newborns were as good as you. You ate well, slept well, never fussed, and were very alert. I think you were just giving us some time to catch up on our sleep before you started seeing what we were made of. Don't get me wrong, you are still all of those things, but you've also given us a few challenges along the way. At about 10 days you decided you weren't so sure about napping. You could take it or leave it.

You're still taking pictures?!!

It was also around this time that you started getting congested. Apparently Daddy and I are going to be those parents...you know, the ones who call the pediatrician's office 3 times in the first 10 days. Luckily, we have an 'in' with one of the labor and delivery nurses and also an amazing nurse practitioner in Overland Park. We'll spread our questions among all our 'resources' so our pediatrician's office will keep taking our calls.

I said I don't want to!

Around 3 weeks mama learned that she can't eat 'gassy' vegetables or lots of garlic. It only takes about an hour of a fussy, gassy baby to make you ward off any food, no matter how much you like it.

Fine, you can take my picture, but I don't have to smile.

During this first month you have also had lots and lots and lots of visitors. We have had only a few days that didn't include a visitor and I've loved it. Granted, it is a little challenging to get your baby in a routine when every day is different, but I love having the company during the day and E loves meeting all of his new friends and family!

This is how tummy time is done people.

At one month you...
- are a wonderful sleeper at night. Our bedtime routine includes a few bedtime stories (or watching the Olympics) while you eat, a clean diaper, your 'chef' shirt, swaddle, kisses and you're out. You sleep anywhere from 3-4.5 hours before waking mama up to eat. When you're done eating daddy comes to change you, re-swaddle, give kisses and you're out again. The kid knows his parents need their sleep!
- hate having your arms swaddled. No matter how tightly we wrap you, you can Houdini your way out of that thing so we have given up swaddling your arms at all. You always sleep with your arms by your head or over your face.
- aren't so sure how you feel about naps. For the first 10 days of life we could lay you anywhere at any time and you would fall asleep instantly. Now you prefer your 'bouncy' and are much more awake and alert. If you're tired enough, you will fall asleep. You like to nap in your bouncy, in your crib, or sometimes on your tummy (with mom or dad watching of course).

Ahhh, ma - turn out the lights!

- love reading books (favorites are Goodnight Moon, Skippyjohn Jones, Little Blue Truck, I Love You Through and Through and Willie's ABCs) and singing songs (Jesus Loves Me, The Wheels on the Bus, I Like to Ride My Bicycle, Itsy Bitsy Spider, and the K-State Fight Song)
- can hold your head up for about 45 seconds and can turn your head from side to side. You usually like tummy time and are getting stronger every day!

Hi guys!

- have a pretty strong grip and have started 'supporting' your own weight and bouncing when daddy holds you up.
- love your carseat. Whether it's for a walk or for a drive, it doesn't take you long to hit dreamland in this thing. Let's hope it stays that way :)

- eat like your father. That is, you eat only when you want to eat and never an ounce more. You eat every three hours during the day, but we usually have to wake you up to keep you on schedule. Unfortunately, you are sometimes more interested in sleeping than eating. Mama just loves it when you purse those lips together as if to say "make me, mom." Ha.
- have started cooing and talking. I especially love it when you 'talk' to the characters in your books.
- have rolled over three times. Pretty sure they were all a fluke, but it was still fun to watch!
- smile and laugh....when you have gas. No responsive smiles yet, but we're getting there :)

Got your tickets to the gun show?!?

- fart like it's your job. If you have held our son while he's sharted in your arms, you know what I mean. You were probably politely thinking to yourself 'this kid just pooped all over me, but he's tiny and he's cute so I'll just keep smiling and talking like nothing happened.' So far, he's only blown out his diaper on mom and dad. If I'm wrong about this, Eli says he's sorry :)
- seem to enjoy your baths...or at least tolerate them without crying. You really seem to like getting your hair washed which is good because it won't be long before mama is dumping water over your head getting you ready for the swimming pool.
- are completely loved by your parents and completely spoiled by your aunts and grandparents.

Your stats:
Birth weight: 6 lb 1 oz
Weight at 1 week appointment: 6 lb 1 oz. - Good Job!
Weight at 2 week appointment: 7 lbs. - Holy cow...we've got an eater!

1 month appointment:
Weight: 9 lb. 6 oz - 31%
Length: 22.5 in - 60%
Head - 37.5 cm - 29%
You also got your 2nd round of Hep B vaccine. You gave a pretty good holler when she stuck you, but you calmed down quickly. Great job bubba!

We love you baby boy and think you're just about the best thing ever.

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Welcome to the Fam, Little Man

I received a text yesterday that read "Is the Grieves blog a thing of the past?!" Fair question, fair question. We've been just a tad bit busy around here welcoming the little man to our fam. Truth be told, I've been more interested in answering emails and looking through pictures than blogging. Any guesses on how many photos a baby can rack up during his first week of life? Over 300. And that doesn't count iPhones and grandparents' cameras. Any more guesses on how many times I can sit and look at the same photos over and over? Well, I haven't counted, but the answer is probably 300.

I also feel like Little Man's future might have been foreshadowed when his aunt pointed out "he has received more Facebook love in his first day of life than I have in my entire FB career." Touche.

So, instead of boring you with the details of labor and delivery, how about some stories of what we've been up to since we got home?!? (For those of you who want the details of labor and delivery, here are the highlights: Doctor broke my water, it took 3 tries for the anesthetist to get the epidural in, delivery was much less painful/dramatic than television, 24 hours later we were holding our healthy, beautiful, perfect baby boy).

View from our hospital room. That's right, we start them young here in Wildcat country.

And now for the highlights:

#1 - Diaper Blowout Trifecta
While attempting to change Little Man's diaper myself, he decided to poop during my (much too slow) dirty to clean diaper exchange. While trying to contain this mishap, I noticed liquid running in between his legs and up his belly. (A guy's gotta pee when a guy's gotta pee). When examining how far his little tinkle had progressed up his body, I noticed the spit-up flowing out of his mouth. Five stars for that diaper change, momma.

#2 - Electrical Short
Note to new parents: When bathing your newborn, it is not a bad idea to have a space heater in the bathroom to keep baby warm. It is, however, a bad idea to roll the baby on his side giving him perfect aim of said space heater. Why, you ask? Because when he decides to make a perfect and beautiful urine fountain he may or may not short out the space heater. (Don't worry, while Little Man did hit the space heater, he did not cause any electrical shorts, nor was anyone hurt. I would, however, advise you to use the Q-tips and lotion in our guest bathroom at your own risk).

#3 Hot Potato
For a six pound little guy, our baby can fart with the best of them. Correction - he does not fart, he sharts. (If you are unfamiliar with this term, it is a combination of two words both associated with bowel functions). And when Little Man sharts, he sharts. I am not kidding - it sounds like he has just blown a hole through the bottom of his diaper.
Last weekend, Adam, Dedra and the boys came to visit. Before leaving, Miles, their 6 year old, wanted to hold the baby. Miles was doing a great job holding what seemed to be an innocent and unassuming newborn. Until, out of nowhere, Little Man let out the shart of his life. Miles' reaction? Toss the baby 18 inches in the air and duck for cover. Luckily Dedra was right there to catch Little Man in mid-air. Little Man's reaction? Continue to sleep as if nothing had happened....I think he was just pretending to sleep so no one would think it was him who cut the cheese.

I am sure this is only the beginning of many stories to come. We love you Little Man more than you can ever imagine. These two weeks with you have been the biggest blessing of our lives and you make us the happiest people in the world. Momma and daddy love you.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

La Casa del Grieves

Because having a baby isn't enough change/chaos/craziness in one year, R and I are also in the process of building our first house. Though we've been making ~~daily~~ weekly trips to the lot for about two months, we've only had photo worthy trips for about the last two weeks. When we moved a year ago, we knew we wanted to buy a house eventually, but never in a million years did we think we'd be building a house. I mean, we can't even decide where to go to dinner on a Friday night; how are we supposed to make all the decisions necessary to build a house?!? Ha! Needless to say there is a bit of a story to how this Casa Del Grieves came to be....

R and I began our internet search of homes well before we ever left KC. That 'dream search' continued through last December when we actually started thinking seriously about buying a house. After lots of looking we found one we loved and put an offer on it However, it wasn't meant to be.

After a bit more looking with no luck, we decided 'why not just call the builder of the first house and ask him to build another one like it??' And, that's what we did.

So off we went on our venture to build a house. We already knew we loved the floors, cabinets, countertops, fixtures and everything else I didn't want to have to make decisions about. After meeting with the builder and making a few minor changes, we were set!

Our lot sits up on a hill with a cul-de-sac at each end of the street. Perfect for riding bikes? I think so! Though we are in an established neighborhood, our road was not actually in. How long does it take a city to pour a road? Way too long if you ask me.

After weeks of waiting, the road is finally in! We can now see our lot....and measure boundaries and easements for future reference :) I'm not kidding when I say there is a geometric diagram to accompany these pictures. It has labelled hypotenuses (hypoteni??) and everything. And, I'm pretty sure we used the Pythagorean theorem at some point.

After another wait, we finally, finally have a basement!! It's funny how excited you can get about a giant hole in the ground. I told R if I wasn't 8 months pregnant, we would have brought a tent out here and 'camped' in our new house. Haha.

Though this entire city seems to be windy ALL of the time, I think we'll get some especially strong winds up on our hill. That's okay. Like I said, this city is windy no matter where you are. We are also in the direct flight path to the airport so many of our 'field trips' have included R staring up at the sky watching planes come in.

Last week they poured the footings and then the walls. It's actually starting to look like a house! Hopefully by the beginning of next week they'll be ready to frame. They seem to be making good progress and the weather has been very cooperative (knock on wood). We'll keep our fingers crossed that the process continues to go smoothly. We are expected to close at the end of September or beginning of October. And, oh yeah, our current lease is up September 28th. Awesome :)

This will be our evening view from the rocking chairs on our front porch. Along with the wind, this city has the most beautiful sunsets ever. This one doesn't even begin to compare with some of the evening skies we've seen in the last year. I love it.

******
It's Thursday, so we can't have a post without a baby update...Here you go!

How far along: 38 weeks

Size of Baby G: Big enough.

Body changes: My hips are starting to hurt at night. How do you have a charlie-horse in your hip?

Sleep: Excellento.
Best moment ~~this week~~ every day: Going to the pool to ~~swim laps~~ float.
Movement: Last week when I said he was slowing down a little bit, he was just tricking me. He still kicks and flips and flops all over the place. I think maybe he's turning a bit because he can now reach all of my ribs - not just my right side.
Food ~~Cravings~~ Aversions: Anything hot.
What I miss: Sleeping on my stomach and wearing my normal clothes.
Milestones: Baby is progressing - cervix is thinning out and we've passed 2 centimeters. We have also passed the two week countdown to the due date!

Thank you for all of the texts, emails and prayers as we enter the final stretch. We keep telling Baby G that he is very, very loved by lots and lots of people!

Friday, June 22, 2012

Survival Kits

In honor of Mother's and Father's Day, the grandparents received a 'survival kit' to prepare for Baby G. Of course, some of these items were inspired by Pinterest (what isn't these days??) but they were put together just for Baby G's grandmas and grandpas.

Baby G is very, very lucky to have two grandmas who love him so much. He is not even here yet, but they love him and spoil him just like veteran grandmas. They seem to be naturals! They both giggle like little girls when we talk about his arrival. I am so excited for these two wonderful ladies to be a huge part of my little boy's life.

Grandma Survival Kit:

- Diapers

- Wipes

- Burp Cloths

- Receiving blanket

- Lotion and Body Wash

- Wash rag

- CD (Baby's First Hymns and Lullabyes by Jim Brickman)

- Aspirin (for Grandma....but that probably should have been in Grandpa's kit)

Have you ever seen a grandpa more prepared to tackle feeding, burping, bathing and diaper changing? Baby G is equally lucky to have these two men in his life. They will be excellent role models for him. I couldn't pick two better grandpas to teach my son all about being a boy and growing up to be a man just like them.

Grandpa Diaper Duty Kit:

- Rubber Gloves

- Mask

- Clothes Pin

- Tongs

- PeePee TeePee

- Diapers

- Wipes

- Hand Sanitizer

- Bib

- Burp Cloth

- Wash Rag

- Johnson & Johnson Travel Kit (soap, lotion, powder, booty cream)

*****

This week's update:

How far along: 37 weeks

Size of Baby G: "He's not a real big baby," said my OB-GYN.

Body changes: Starting to feel some more Braxton Hicks contractions every once in a while.

Sleep: Peachy.
Best moment this week: Spending time with my hubby. I kind of like him.
Movement: I think he's running out of room because he's starting to slow down a little bit.
Food Cravings: Slush...nothing new there.
What I miss: Being able to do yoga (and tying my shoes) without my belly getting in the way.
Milestones: Baby is still head down and I'm dilated to about 1.5 cm. Oh boy.