Thursday, February 23, 2012
Smile! Or Not.
Today we took Max to have some professional photos taken. Sounds simple, right? It should be, but this was very stressful for me. Mornings with Max are extremely unpredictable. He likes to eat a little, sleep a little, eat a little, sleep a little. There isn't much time to shower and get out of the house in between these activities. I'm sure Max picked up on my anxiousness which didn't help him eat or sleep peacefully either. Thankfully, once we arrived at Holly's in-home studio (an hour late), she made us feel very comfortable. Since Max didn't get his nap in, he wasn't his usual happy and smiley self for the camera. Nevertheless, I think Holly got some cute shots and we had fun. I can't wait to see how the photos turn out.
Birthday inspirations
So it felt like my 32nd birthday was more like a New Year's Day to me than a birthday. I was inspired to work on some things - a little personal development for this new phase of a now older me. I'll have to write all these birthday resolutions down so I don't forget (ahem, Mommy Brain!) but more so I can be held accountable.
No. 1 - Get back in the kitchen! While we were visiting last weekend, my brother-in-law made an amazing dinner on my birthday that included steak, salmon filet with basil butter sauce, this awesome medley of grains (rice, barley, etc), grilled asparagus, green beans (my favorite) and warm multi-grain bread, right out of the oven. YUM! All those amazing flavors inspired me to start cooking again! David's going to have to give me directions to the kitchen, I've been MIA for so long! A major challenge for me has been that our current rental has this yucky kitchen in it. Truly, this plays into my lack of interest. It's dark, very outdated, and I feel claustrophobic in it. The oven stopped working the 2nd week after we moved in. And to say the utensils are lacking is an understatement. But the other big hurdle has been that Max's need for extra attention always coincides with dinner time. (Not to mention, who has time for making dinner when you're feeding, changing, rocking to sleep, repeat, etc. a newborn?) We've been getting our schedule ironed out, so I think I can work dinners into my day again. Also, the owners of the condo purchased a new convection oven/microwave so the oven excuse is no longer valid. Kind of.
I miss Cooking Club terribly! My once-a-month date with 6 fabulous ladies, a fun ingredient theme, the resulting mouth-watering food, wine, and lots of fun conversation! I had to leave Cooking Club and my gastronomically-oriented friends behind when I left Denver. Boo! So I've decided that since I can't have Cooking Club anymore, I'll give myself some cooking homework a few times per month. Maybe a new food or spice I've never tried or a culturally-inspired meal. I think the only way to stay on track is to have a weekly meal plan and a grocery day. David used to work at Albertson's when he was at ASU. He explained to me that the grocery ads always come out on Wednesdays and that's the best day to shop. I never realized that there was a science to this. See? I'm working on my domestic engineering degree!
Inspiration No. 2 - Get your butt to the gym! More on that later.
No. 1 - Get back in the kitchen! While we were visiting last weekend, my brother-in-law made an amazing dinner on my birthday that included steak, salmon filet with basil butter sauce, this awesome medley of grains (rice, barley, etc), grilled asparagus, green beans (my favorite) and warm multi-grain bread, right out of the oven. YUM! All those amazing flavors inspired me to start cooking again! David's going to have to give me directions to the kitchen, I've been MIA for so long! A major challenge for me has been that our current rental has this yucky kitchen in it. Truly, this plays into my lack of interest. It's dark, very outdated, and I feel claustrophobic in it. The oven stopped working the 2nd week after we moved in. And to say the utensils are lacking is an understatement. But the other big hurdle has been that Max's need for extra attention always coincides with dinner time. (Not to mention, who has time for making dinner when you're feeding, changing, rocking to sleep, repeat, etc. a newborn?) We've been getting our schedule ironed out, so I think I can work dinners into my day again. Also, the owners of the condo purchased a new convection oven/microwave so the oven excuse is no longer valid. Kind of.
I miss Cooking Club terribly! My once-a-month date with 6 fabulous ladies, a fun ingredient theme, the resulting mouth-watering food, wine, and lots of fun conversation! I had to leave Cooking Club and my gastronomically-oriented friends behind when I left Denver. Boo! So I've decided that since I can't have Cooking Club anymore, I'll give myself some cooking homework a few times per month. Maybe a new food or spice I've never tried or a culturally-inspired meal. I think the only way to stay on track is to have a weekly meal plan and a grocery day. David used to work at Albertson's when he was at ASU. He explained to me that the grocery ads always come out on Wednesdays and that's the best day to shop. I never realized that there was a science to this. See? I'm working on my domestic engineering degree!
Inspiration No. 2 - Get your butt to the gym! More on that later.
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Field trips
Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since our last post! Lots to update.
Max has been doing great. He visited the pediatrician last week and is now 10 pounds, 7 ounces! I about fell over. Seems like those eating difficulties haven't affected his weight gain! Speaking of, the coughing and choking has much improved, but we're still dealing with some crying and spitting up during feedings. Max's pediatrician thinks it's likely normal, but has suggested that I can try exclusive pumping (pumping for bottles and no more nursing) if it seems to bother Max. I don't think I could do that. As long as he is gaining weight and is happy more often than not, I'm going to stick with nursing. Selfishly, it would be too hard to give up and Max definitely seems to prefer his Mommy time to bottle-feeding. Fortunately, the pediatrician is okay with this. She was just offering a suggestion if frustration prevails.
Tears! Max is starting to make tears. We got to see a preview last night during one of Max's over-tired spells. Poor guy. That pouty little lower lip gets me every time. Shhh! Don't tell him it's my weakness. Max also started smiling recently. This little grin can trump just about anything. Here he is, cracking up at something he thinks is pretty funny.
My mom flew in for a visit late last week and stayed for a long weekend. We had a really good time while she was here. It was nice to have an extra pair of hands around. Remember I was talking about the grocery cart issue? Well, with Mom here, she could push Max in one cart and I could push the groceries in the other. We also spent one afternoon doing a little shopping for some post-pregnancy clothes. That was frustrating! Good thing no one knows me around here. I wear the same thing pretty much every day.
We took a little road trip to Austin on Sunday. It was so cold, but we spent a few hours walking up and down South Congress Street checking out the shops and grabbing some of our favorite things to snack on. We kind of did it backwards - walking then eating. On the way home, we decided to stop by the Salt Lick for some barbeque. I don't think going to that place will ever get old. The best part of our weekend was that Nana and Max had lots of time to hang out and get to know each other.
Here are some pictures from our field trip:
We have officially decided not to move to Houston next. Seems there are a few seminar companies there currently and staying through June, which is when we'd be there. David doesn't think this will majorly affect business, but it can be a bit of a headache. So, we're likely going to settle on a city in the Midwest this Spring. Wichita and Omaha are contenders. It will be nice to be within driving distance to family and friends! It's hard to believe, but moving day is only a month away now...
Max has been doing great. He visited the pediatrician last week and is now 10 pounds, 7 ounces! I about fell over. Seems like those eating difficulties haven't affected his weight gain! Speaking of, the coughing and choking has much improved, but we're still dealing with some crying and spitting up during feedings. Max's pediatrician thinks it's likely normal, but has suggested that I can try exclusive pumping (pumping for bottles and no more nursing) if it seems to bother Max. I don't think I could do that. As long as he is gaining weight and is happy more often than not, I'm going to stick with nursing. Selfishly, it would be too hard to give up and Max definitely seems to prefer his Mommy time to bottle-feeding. Fortunately, the pediatrician is okay with this. She was just offering a suggestion if frustration prevails.
Tears! Max is starting to make tears. We got to see a preview last night during one of Max's over-tired spells. Poor guy. That pouty little lower lip gets me every time. Shhh! Don't tell him it's my weakness. Max also started smiling recently. This little grin can trump just about anything. Here he is, cracking up at something he thinks is pretty funny.
My mom flew in for a visit late last week and stayed for a long weekend. We had a really good time while she was here. It was nice to have an extra pair of hands around. Remember I was talking about the grocery cart issue? Well, with Mom here, she could push Max in one cart and I could push the groceries in the other. We also spent one afternoon doing a little shopping for some post-pregnancy clothes. That was frustrating! Good thing no one knows me around here. I wear the same thing pretty much every day.
We took a little road trip to Austin on Sunday. It was so cold, but we spent a few hours walking up and down South Congress Street checking out the shops and grabbing some of our favorite things to snack on. We kind of did it backwards - walking then eating. On the way home, we decided to stop by the Salt Lick for some barbeque. I don't think going to that place will ever get old. The best part of our weekend was that Nana and Max had lots of time to hang out and get to know each other.
Here are some pictures from our field trip:
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| Max with Nana |
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| In line at my fave coffee spot |
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| Walking north in SoCo, Austin skyline in background |
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| The best slice EVER! |
We have officially decided not to move to Houston next. Seems there are a few seminar companies there currently and staying through June, which is when we'd be there. David doesn't think this will majorly affect business, but it can be a bit of a headache. So, we're likely going to settle on a city in the Midwest this Spring. Wichita and Omaha are contenders. It will be nice to be within driving distance to family and friends! It's hard to believe, but moving day is only a month away now...
Sunday, February 5, 2012
l-o-v-e
Max meet world, world meet Max.
BUT, love has just been redefined and taken to a whole new level with the birth of our son, Maximilian. Its hard to explain the emotions you feel when you see your son being born, so here is a picture that says it all. - David
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Max's Baptism
Two weeks ago, our little guy was fully initiated into the Catholic Church. We planned Max's Baptism so that David's parents could attend while they were here to visit. Max is fortunate to call his Aunt Laura and our dear friend, Dan, his godparents. We were also honored to have Max's great Aunts Kathy and Diane, fly in from New York for the occasion.
Unfortunately, we were missing some really important folks - David's brother Steven, his wife Julie, and their two kids, Jack and Abby, were not able to attend. Little Abby had been diagnosed with RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) the week before. RSV is a very contagious and often severe infection in little ones. Fortunately, Abby is doing very well. However, due to the risk to Max with his immature immune system, they did not attend the event, but did drive into town so that they could visit with family later that weekend. My side of the family was not able to attend either, but they are all planning trips to visit in the next month.
Max was a bit of a ham during the service. He timed a very loud toot with Deacon Joe's discussion of the Holy Spirit. While pictures were being taken, he spit his pacifier into the baptismal font. Whoops! Aunt Kathy very calmly grabbed it out and stuck it right back in his mouth. And I think he actually enjoyed the pouring of water. He didn't cry once. Here are some pictures from the day:
Unfortunately, we were missing some really important folks - David's brother Steven, his wife Julie, and their two kids, Jack and Abby, were not able to attend. Little Abby had been diagnosed with RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) the week before. RSV is a very contagious and often severe infection in little ones. Fortunately, Abby is doing very well. However, due to the risk to Max with his immature immune system, they did not attend the event, but did drive into town so that they could visit with family later that weekend. My side of the family was not able to attend either, but they are all planning trips to visit in the next month.
Max was a bit of a ham during the service. He timed a very loud toot with Deacon Joe's discussion of the Holy Spirit. While pictures were being taken, he spit his pacifier into the baptismal font. Whoops! Aunt Kathy very calmly grabbed it out and stuck it right back in his mouth. And I think he actually enjoyed the pouring of water. He didn't cry once. Here are some pictures from the day:
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| Max's Opa, me, Aunt Kathy, David, godmother Laura with Max, Aunt Diane and Max's Grammy |
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| Max with his great Aunt Kathy |
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| Grammy telling Max wonderful stories |
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| Oops! The paci in the font! |
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| Here we are with Max, who is being held by godparents, Dan and Aunt Laura |
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| Congratulations, little man! We are so proud! |
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
1 month
Our Max is 1-month old today! I'm not sure that I've really sat down to process all that has happened in the last 4 weeks. One day your life changes and you kind of move with it... I don't want to look back and think that so much has happened without fully realizing it. I've decided that I'm going to try to do a better job of really taking inventory every day, because Max is quickly changing! Our clothes dryer isn't shrinking his onsies - he is getting noticeably bigger!
We've been stumbling a little bit in the last two weeks. Max has been working hard with feedings, often coughing and choking, spitting up lots, and seems to be really uncomfortable during and afterwards. I checked it out with our lactation consultant, our pediatrician, and did some research on my own. It was suggested that he is swallowing too much milk and air at once due to high milk flow. He's filling up on the air and then gets hungry again sooner. He also seems to be tiring out before he gets the nutrient-rich hindmilk which is causing him to have watery stools. Now his gastric disturbance has crept into his sleeping routine, making our days very long and our nights too short. It's been a little stressful watching him go through this and not being able to help him. We're working through it with some of the recommendations I received, but I'm realizing I need to take naps too.
In the meantime, since I'm definitely not using it for my hair these days, my blowdryer has been moonlighting as a cure for my crying baby. The sound puts him out in 2 minutes or less. Oh, and the vacuum has been a great help at lulling him to sleep too! I can put Max in the Moby wrap, start up the Hoover, and kill two birds with one stone! :) Love this!
My Mom flies back into town in a week. It'll be a very short visit - just a long weekend - but it'll be nice to have an expert mother on-hand when I just don't know what to do. Not to mention, I know she's super excited to finally meet Max.
I'm on the wrong computer to add pictures, so get on David's case because he's in charge of the next update!
We've been stumbling a little bit in the last two weeks. Max has been working hard with feedings, often coughing and choking, spitting up lots, and seems to be really uncomfortable during and afterwards. I checked it out with our lactation consultant, our pediatrician, and did some research on my own. It was suggested that he is swallowing too much milk and air at once due to high milk flow. He's filling up on the air and then gets hungry again sooner. He also seems to be tiring out before he gets the nutrient-rich hindmilk which is causing him to have watery stools. Now his gastric disturbance has crept into his sleeping routine, making our days very long and our nights too short. It's been a little stressful watching him go through this and not being able to help him. We're working through it with some of the recommendations I received, but I'm realizing I need to take naps too.
In the meantime, since I'm definitely not using it for my hair these days, my blowdryer has been moonlighting as a cure for my crying baby. The sound puts him out in 2 minutes or less. Oh, and the vacuum has been a great help at lulling him to sleep too! I can put Max in the Moby wrap, start up the Hoover, and kill two birds with one stone! :) Love this!
My Mom flies back into town in a week. It'll be a very short visit - just a long weekend - but it'll be nice to have an expert mother on-hand when I just don't know what to do. Not to mention, I know she's super excited to finally meet Max.
I'm on the wrong computer to add pictures, so get on David's case because he's in charge of the next update!
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