Back to Work

Well, I've successfully made it through my first two weeks back at work. Everyone has been so welcoming and it is good to join the world again (as my hermit transformation had become complete when I was on maternity leave).  I am slowly getting into the swing of things again and I better do it quickly because we are about to be very busy.  Everyone at work thinks I'm handling the transition well but you can be the judge of how I'm really handling it after you see what book Ryan bought me after I was back at work for less than a week:

Seriously though - it is good to be back at work.  I get to use my non-Mommy brain, I get to talk to other adults about all kinds of things which gets me back into the world (I didn't even watch the news while I was on leave), working is kind of like "me" time, I'm contributing to the financial well-being of our family, and I'm hopefully on track to become a role model of work ethic to my son. Now, having said all that - wwwaaaaaahhhhhhhh - I miss my baby boy!  I know I'm making the right long-term decision for our family but in the short-term...OUCH!  It's pretty emotionally tough to not be with Copeland 24/7 anymore!  Every single day has gotten a little better though.  And I'm lucky to have a flexible workplace that has let me ease back into work AND I have some days off over the holidays to also help with the transition.  And my sweet husband had a surprise waiting for me in my office on my first day back (cue the water works):

And boy is this girl happy that my Mom was here to take care of Copeland during my first week back at work!  I felt so comfortable knowing Copeland was with his Grandma and I got to have my Momma's cooking (yum) and go out on a date with just Ryan for the first time since I had Copeland.  We went to Luke's Steakhouse (probably my favorite steakhouse) and saw Hunger Games.

I also ventured out to my first girls' gathering of pierogi pinching and cookie exchange.  Lucky me I had help with the cookies.  :)

And now Ryan is at home with Copeland every day until the New Year.  What a special time for Ryan and Copeland.  And again, it really makes it a little easier for me to leave in the morning when I know Copeland is with someone I trust and that loves him. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I realize I'm over a week behind but better late than never!  Ryan and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving vacation.  Ryan took the whole week off so Copeland and I were so spoiled to get so much time with him.  We decided to start the holiday week off at the condo.  There was a fresh dusting of snow so Ryan was able to get in some skiing and I got to sip coffee and cuddle with Copeland in the cozy condo with a view of the beautiful, snowy mountains - my idea of a perfect day.  We also played games, went on walks, went out to eat, and went out for coffee.  It was such a wonderful time.  And even though Copeland was happy 99.9% of the time, I have to include the following picture because I think it's hilarious and he looks so darn cute with his scrunch face - even if it is somewhat of an awkward family photo.

Then, the day before Thanksgiving we had some special visitors arrive to see us Copeland:  Grammies and Grampies!  We ate way too much, visited, went on walks, decorated for Christmas, had an early Christmas celebration, and ate way too much.  Did I mention we ate way too much?

Milestones

I can't believe Copeland is already 12 weeks old!  Technically I was supposed to go back to work today but when I was applying for my time off I miscalculated 12 weeks (why yes, I am an accountant) and requested off until next week - lucky me I get one extra week with my baby boy!  I am experiencing a lot of different feelings about going back to work...On the positive side I think day care will be great for him because they're so good about activities there and he'll be able to socialize with other adults and children (whereas I'm a bit of a hermit so when he's with me...well - he sees me) and also we'll all be able to settle into a nice little routine and I'll be able to get some adult time (remember, I'm a hermit).  Also, I know the weekends will become more special to me.  On the down side...wwwwaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!  I am going to miss Copeland SSSOOOOOOOOOOO much and it is going to be so hard for me to leave him.  Also, no matter how good the day care providers are - they aren't me.  But, I am so lucky to be returning to a great place with such a supportive team and Copeland will be going to a day care that Ryan and I both researched and visited and liked a great deal.  But still, wwwwwahhhhhhhhh.

Anywho, enough of my ramblings and on to the subject of this post: milestones.  Copeland grows so fast and seems to change every single day so I'm not always great about remembering when he does something new, like using his legs to support himself when I'm holding him upright, or kicking his legs so much at the toys on his play mat; however, recently he did a couple things that I want to make sure to record:  he giggled and he also rolled over!  The first time he rolled over was two weeks ago Friday.  We were down on the floor doing tummy time and he was kicking and squirming so much I thought he actually might do it so I told Ryan to watch and sure enough the little guy rolled over onto his back!  He just kinda looked around like "what's up".  HAHAHAHA.  Such a calm little guy.  Then he did it just a little bit later in that same day and didn't do it again until last night!  I guess he has to be in the mood or something.

The giggling happened early last week.  Ryan had said he thought Copeland was trying to giggle before then but early last week at the condo he did it several times in a row and it was unmistakable.  Cutest thing ever.  It sounds like "hee hee eeeek".  Cracks me up.  Also, I've since resigned myself to the fact that Daddy is the fun and funny one considering he is the first one to get Copeland to smile and giggle.  Sigh.

In other milestones - I am back to wearing real pants.  You know, the kind with a zipper and a button.

And here are some cute pictures of Daddy and Son watching football:

Good News/Bad News

Good News:  Copeland was a Lil Pumpkin for Halloween and got to greet Trick or Treaters at the door.
Bad News:  We had way more candy than trick or treaters so we have a giant bowl of leftover Halloween candy (some might see this as good news...)

Good news:  Bath time has become a special Daddy/Son time.
Bad News:  Really there is no bad news about that.

Good News:  Copeland smiles now!  He started right around 7 weeks and it melts my heart.
Bad News:  Little stinker can be stingy with those smiles sometimes.

Good News:  In addition to smiling Copeland has a few other expressions in his repertoire.

Bad News:  Some of those faces are vvveerrrryyy similar to what his father gives me.

The "You're Weird" look

The "Could You Stop Talking So Much" look

Good News:  Copeland had his 2 month check up and he is healthy and growing well.

Bad News:  He had to get vaccination which = 4 shots.  :(

Good News:  We got to visit Daddy at work and whew it wore us out.

Bad News:  Daddy was pretty busy so we only got to stay a little while.

Good News:  Copeland got to meet Uncle Rob, Aunt Jaime, and cousins Kylar and Ashlynn.

Bad News:  He only got to spend a couple days with them.

Good News:  Copeland has the cutest little feet on Earth.

Bad News:  Those adorable little tootsies won't stay so cute forever.

Good News:  I finally made it back to the gym when Copeland turned 8 weeks.

Bad News:  I had planned to go to the gym at 6 weeks when I got the all clear from the doctor but I put my back out the day after my appointment.  It was finally feeling better at 8 weeks but then at 9 weeks I decided to run...bad idea - I re-aggravated my back.  Man I'm falling apart.

6 weeks

On Wednesday I took Copeland back to the Survival for New Moms class and got him weighed.  At 6 weeks and 1 day he was 10 lbs 11 oz!  He is definitely eating and growing well.  The class they had that day was all about medications.  One thing they talked about was supplementing all breastfed babies with Vitamin D.  This was the first time I had ever heard about this so asked some other Mom's (in and outside of the class) and apparently a lot of Mom's knew about this.  Vitamin D had never come up in any of my reading or discussions with pediatricians so I was a little surprised to hear about it.  Also, I find it strange that my breast milk doesn't provide everything that Copeland could need.  Anyway, Ryan and I are going to research it more and talk to our pediatrician to see if it's something we need to be adding to his daily intake.  I feel like if our pediatrician hasn't already mentioned it then he wasn't too worried but it never hurts to check everything out.

Some of the things going on right now that I hope to never forget:

• Those tiny little feet.  Oh my gosh I could just eat those little things up they are so cute.
• He makes these cute little sighs when he breathes out while deep sleeping.
• Sometimes when he's sleeping and not completely swaddled he wakes himself up with snorts or wild arm movements.  Hilarious!
• Even though he's a pretty quiet baby his arms and legs are wild - just like when he was in my belly!
• Whenever we swaddle him he tries to escape and grunts and groans in his efforts to get his arms free.  He's definitely a determined little guy. 
• He makes me smile every single day with all the cute little things he does.  Even just watching him squirm around on his play mat and bat at all the mobiles is adorable.

A Few More Firsts

Copeland had a busy week.  We went out for pho (now that I like Asian food again):

We went to my office and met my colleagues and then went to lunch with them:

We had a professional photo session where he pooped down the front of my shirt, pants, and boots.  A year ago I would have never imagined I would type a sentence like the previous one.  This is him sleeping off the difficult task of modeling:

We went to church for the first time and everyone was so excited to see a baby.  The pastor even mentioned him twice while she was addressing the congregation.

And here's just a random picture of me (and my hair and the sun) with Copeland:

Karate Hands

Copeland is one month exactly!

Today we met a friend and her 7 month old daughter at a Breastfeeding Support Group and Survival for New Moms class at the hospital we both delivered at.  For the first hour we weighed our babies and then fed them and weighed them again to see how much milk they are getting in one feeding.  It was really informal and a nice way to get to know other new moms and talk over issues/questions, etc.  And I found out that Copeland now weighs 9 lbs 14.1 oz which means he's been gaining about 10 oz a week for the last 3 weeks!  I knew he was eating well and could tell he was growing but it's nice to have verification that he's growing well.  For the second hour a pediatrician came in and talked about sleeping (HA - sleep, what's that?) and how to get your baby to sleep longer faster.  It's always nice to have more information and it was great to meet other new Mom's and share experiences.  

4 weeks

I can't believe Copeland is already 4 weeks old!  Where has the time gone?

He seems to be growing and changing every day.  All of his "newborn" size outfits are extremely snug and may not actually fit now as I haven't tried one on him in a few days.  He stays awake more during the day time than he used to and he seems to be a little more engaged with his surroundings.  When we put him on his play mat he will bat at some of the hanging mobiles and he will make eye contact with us.  He still remains a very calm baby.  We were even able to go out to eat at a nice restaurant for our anniversary (11 years!!!).  We were a little worried other patrons wouldn't be happy about sitting next to a potential crying baby and we certainly didn't want to disrupt anyone's evening but he was such a quiet little boy that everyone was actually cooing over him.

He is a very good eater and is almost like clockwork in that he eats about every 3 hours.  I try to disrupt him as little as possible when he eats at night so we can all get back to sleep quickly and I was given the advice to not change his diaper unless absolutely necessary (I'd also read that somewhere too) but that does not work for us because it is always absolutely necessary to change his diaper...I guess maybe he dirties his diapers faster than other babies?  I don't really have anything to gauge it against but we go through so many diapers!

Some firsts - we took him up to the condo for the first time for our anniversary weekend, he has received a few pieces of mail with his name on them, I took him to Baby Time at the library and this is what he did the entire time:

I love this little boy so much...and I think his Daddy feels the same way:

Stream of Thoughts

1.  I love this little guy:

The minute I delivered him and the nurse placed his slimy, purple (and I mean purple), amazing little body on my chest I was smitten.  Seriously, the world basically stopped for me as I held and stared at this little miracle.  I have no idea what was going on around me and I don't even remember feeling any pain once I had him in my arms - I was just so happy that he was here.

2.  Every single person that sees Copeland comments on how much he looks like Ryan.  I can't believe I birthed a child that looks nothing like me.  Ryan and I had discussed several times that our child's looks were going to be a total wild card with my Chinese background and Ryan's all American looks but secretly I always thought he'd look more like me.  Ryan must have too because he recently told me that when he first saw all the dark hair on Copeland's head he thought "oh he's going to look just like Rachel" but when the doctor turned Copeland around so he could see his face he thought (but wisely didn't say out loud immediately) "he looks like me!"  You all be the judge.  Here's a side by side of Copeland and Ryan.

3.  I can't believe how quickly Copeland is changing!  I'm with him every day and it still seems like he changes fast!  I remember in the first week he would make this adorable little squealing sound that just killed me.  I tried to get it on video and never succeeded and he quit doing it after about a week and a half.  :(  Also, his eating patterns seem to change all the time.  At first he would eat FOREVER (like sometimes for an hour) but now sometimes he'll only eat for 10-15 minutes and be done.  And his face and little body are filling out.  Ryan weighed him on our scale last Thursday and he was 9 lbs!  We don't have a hospital grade scale or anything but I can't imagine it's that far off.

4.  Copeland has so far been such a chill baby.  I was really expecting him to be a wild child based on the level of activity I felt in my stomach while I was pregnant; however, he is really very calm. He does move his arms, legs, and head around a lot but he doesn't really ever squawk or cry unless he's hungry or is having extreme gas.  (Speaking of him moving his head - it really surprised me how much strength he has in his neck!  I thought a newborn neck would be way more jello-y and wobbly).  Because he's been so calm with us, we've already taken him to two farmer's markets, out to eat at Texas Roadhouse, shopping at the grocery store and Costco, and out for coffee.

5.  I've found that people love babies.  And people who love babies are so very generous.  I am overwhelmed by the well wishes and gifts and meals that keep coming our way.  Copeland is one lucky little guy to have so many people so excited about him.

6. I've been trying to take walks as often as possible, especially with how nice it has been lately.  I can't make it very far because I'm still recovering and I get tired very quickly.  This recovery business is no joke.  The fact that I am so easily fatigued and sore made it hit home with me just how much my body went through to bring this child into the world.  It really is amazing.  I joke with Ryan that I was able to go through 24 hours of labor and delivery without complaint (minus the one time I told the doctor "I kind of hate you right now") but now that I'm home and healing I'm grousing about the little discomforts like the floppy belly - yes, I did look like I was still 5 months pregnant after giving birth but instead of being a firm belly it felt like everything inside was swimming around in the wrong spot and it flopped around when I walked and hurt to laugh or cough.  So strange.  

7.  Ryan and I hit a new low.  We were out trying to buy an accessory for the stroller only to get to the cash register and discover that neither of us had our wallets.  We really didn't want to drive all the way home to get money so we turned the car inside out looking for cash and change.  I knew we had pretty close to the amount we needed because I remember how many dollars the item was but not how many cents.  I shared this with Ryan and he said "scan the parking lot for change!" LOL!  We both just started laughing so hard at our desperation.  I ended up going inside with what I had and had 15 cents to spare.  I actually think the cashier probably would have given me money out of her own pocket after that fiasco if I would have been short some change.  

8.  Think these fur babies are feeling a little left out?

They've actually been great with the new addition to our family.  They seem to always want to be around him and they throw fits when he's upset.  They will run to us and basically herd us when they hear him crying.  But I do think they are feeling like they aren't getting enough loving.  Poor little fur babies.  

9.  More pictures of Copeland:

At the hospital:

Tummy time:

Getting loving from Grandparents: