Christmas trip!

Well here is my own little version of a Christmas Story. Thankfully I won't repeat it for the next 24 hours!

Packing was tough - Mommy and Daddy stressed over what to pack for weeks before we left but they now have a better idea of what and how to pack for a the trip! We left on Tuesday and I was very good in the car, which Mommy said helped because the trip was longer than expected. I only had one meltdown but what do they expect when the car stops moving. It went something like this: Hey, the car stopped moving. Wow I'm hungry. WAAAAAAAA!!!! Daddy was in the rest stop getting Roy Rogers so Mommy started feeding me. They switched off when he got back to the car so that Mommy could grab Starbucks. The meltdown only lasted a few minutes. I figured I'd cut them a break. ;-)

Since we left later they we expected (that happens a lot now a days) and I had the little meltdown, we didn't arrive at the hotel until after dark. We got checked in and the room was really nice! It was a suite with a mini-fridge for my formula, a microwave, a sofa and desk area...very nice! Good job, Mommy! It also had two different bathrooms which Daddy thought was funny. Does the toilet really need its own room? Daddy was really excited that there was a Wawa next to the hotel. He really misses Wawa. Mommy went and got sandwiches for her and Daddy for dinner before we all went to bed. The bed was huge so I got to sleep between Mommy and Daddy. It was sooooooo much fun!!!

Wednesday, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa B's house for Christmas! I got to meet G-ma (Grandma's mom) and my uncles, Mark and Mike, and cousin Taylor! Uncle Mark's fiancee, Jenn, was also there. Everyone wanted to hold me, and I was a very good boy. We all exchanged gifts and ate dinner together and hung out. We had a great time and it was so much fun to see everyone. I also got some really fun presents. I love Christmas time!!!

Then we headed back to the hotel. On Thursday, Mommy went for the free continental breakfast (excellent!) before we went to Grandmom and Grandpop H's house. Grandpop talked Mommy into parking in a spot that had too much snow. Silly Grandpop. He said her car was like a snow plow because it is too low to the ground. Daddy and Grandpop pushed the car out and Mommy found a better parking place without snow under I-95...that was impressive considering the city had almost 24" of snow several days before! When I was here, I got to meet Uncle Jonathan, Great-Grandmom H and Grandmom and Grandpop H on Thursday. We had fun hanging out and everyone wanted to hold me there too. I should have earned frequent flier miles!!! Daddy got to eat his seafood - shrimp and snow crab legs, which Grandmom finished cooking before we got there (Mommy was happy there was no fishy smell!!!). Mommy was also happy that she got to take a nap! Grandmom was pretty excited most of the cooking was done before I got there so she could hold me lots!

Late that night, we headed to a new hotel...We weren't as happy with this one - I don't think we'll be staying there again! It was right near 2 other hotels Mommy and Daddy had stayed at before and really liked but this one was an extended stay hotel. I think they will try one of those again next time. This place was bigger - the suite had a full refrigerator, stove, etc in the mini kitchen, although Daddy was a little scared of the stove. It didn't look very safe! We didn't even consider turning it on.

On Friday, we woke up and headed back to Grandmom and Grandpop H's house. On this day, we exchanged gifts and ate more! Daddy of course was very happy about both. :-) I also got to meet Uncle Chris, Aunt Jill, cousin Chris, and great Grandpop D! I saw so many people! I don't know how I will keep them all straight. :) So many people were taking pictures of me all week - hopefully I will get to see them all sometime! Daddy also took a video of me with Grandmom and Grandpop's camera. It hope it doesn't show up on YouTube 15 years from now. :-)

We had to leave Friday night and go back to the hotel and get some sleep so Mommy and Daddy could drive home safely on Saturday.

We got a later start then we had hoped (I know you're shocked.) The weather way yucky! It was a cold rain but my car seat was warm and comfy. We stopped to get some gas and Daddy got Wawa one last time for the ride home. We hit a lot of traffic which was not fun. Mommy said that it took us way too long to get home. I was good though - I went 5 hours before I was hungry! Mommy and Daddy stopped at a rest stop so that I could eat and Daddy stayed with me in the back seat on the rest of the way home. We got home and I am happy to be here! I was laughing at Daddy run around the house because he only had 45 minutes to unpack and get ready to work the Capitals game. After we got back from dropping him off at the Metro, Mommy and I relaxed. I had a great trip but it's nice to be home!!!

7 weeks old - update!

Well, it's been awhile since I updated... sorry about that. The last 2 weeks have been pretty hectic - Mommy had a birthday and then we packed up for our trip to NJ/PA! But we'll post about that later. For now, we wanted to update you on some of my developments!

First of all, I've developed tear ducts and my tears have come in. This makes Mommy very sad when I cry and tears come out now! But it's good for me :) I've also started drooling! Where this came from, I have no idea, but it's started in the last few days. Mommy also noticed yesterday that I have lower eye lashes! How cool! I guess they help catch my tears?

I have also started to eat a little more. I'm still eating a bunch of times per day, but Mommy is hoping I am going to eat fewer times since I am eating more at some feedings. I am mostly eating 4 oz each time, but sometimes I want more!

Mommy and Daddy are also getting a lot more smiles and I recognize them all the time now :) I have started to laugh at times, but mostly in my sleep - Mommy and Daddy think that is hysterical! I hear them laughing, but they don't know it!!! hehehe They are starting to learn more about the carseat to get me in and out easier, too. It's been a great learning experience for them!

That's it for now... we will post about the trip later! Thanks to everyone for reading about me! Mommy and Daddy can't believe I'm 7 weeks old already!

Blizzard!

Mommy's birthday yesterday brought us 18" of SNOW! This is my second snowstorm! We stayed inside (except for Daddy - he went out early in the afternoon to clear the steps and clean off Mommy's car) and cuddled and napped and watched TV! Mommy made pancakes for breakfast, and baked some cinnamon bread and chocolate chip cookies later.

As good a job as daddy did cleaning off Mommy's car, the only thing you can see on it is a side view mirror and her windshield wipers, which he lifted up so they don't freeze. No one can believe the amount of snow we got! It's VERY white outside!

Hope everyone enjoyed the snow and stayed safe!

Cutest.Baby.Ever

5+ weeks!

It's been very fun since we last posted! I've been smiling A LOT and I am VERY CUTE! Mommy and Daddy have been noticing my new noises and grunts (one of which they call my Fire Breathing Dragon face) and trying to figure it out. I've also got a lot of new faces I'm making at them! I'm so fun!

Mommy and Daddy get lots of mail these days with Christmas cards and packages arriving. This past week I got some mail too! I have three cards that are my very own! Mommy said she will have to put them in the baby book when the holidays are over :)

We filled out more pages in the baby book this week. Mommy and Daddy ordered lots of pictures for it and the house and can't wait to include me in the family pictures around! The pictures arrived today, but there are so many, they are trying to figure out where to put them all.

Daddy took some more pictures and a couple of videos too - I'm losing some of my hair, but they tell me it will grow back :) Mommy may try to post some in a separate post... it seems when she uploads them, it knocks out the internet and they have to run upstairs to reset it!

We went to Babies R Us last night for a quick trip, but the bright lights hurt my eyes. We bought a Wee Block for when we change the diaper! Mommy and Daddy have been using it for less than 24 hours before it needed to be washed... I get poop everywhere. We also started using some new Huggies today - Snug & Dry I think they are called. They have Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters on them! They are very cute.... it's too bad I will poop in them!

That's it for now - see you next time!

Happy 1 Month Birthday!

Today (12/9/09) is my 1 Month birthday! (Mommy is posting this a bit late)

I slept most of the day, napping with Mommy and Daddy in between feedings. I ate like a champ today too!

Tonight we had bathtime, and then I waited until I had a clean diaper on to poop in it. Mommy was distraught. I manage to do this to her about once/day, hehehe.

The big news is that during Tummy Time yesterday, Mommy put me on my tummy and I rolled over to my back ALL BY MYSELF! Tummy Time is my favorite part of the day :)

Mommy guilt

I was scratching my face all up, so Mommy thought she should clip my nails. The fingernails went fine, but when she clipped the one on my big toe, she also got some skin! It was bleeding all over the place. So we rinsed it off (who knew toes bled so much?) and put some Neosporin and a gauze pad on it. Then we covered it with a sock. Mommy kissed it and made it all better, but she still feels bad. I tried to smile at her and tell her it was ok, but she is still a little sad...

Just past 3 weeks...

This post is a mish-mash of things from the past week that we've forgotten to post...





Forgot to mention that Grandma picked up a swing for me... I like it sometimes! It has a picture of Pooh on it, which matches my Huggies diapers!





Yesterday (er, Monday) I was 3 weeks old! Hard to believe I was still in Mommy's tummy a month ago! Seems like just yesterday I was only 2" long...



Daddy put together the activity mat and I love it! Mommy is going to help me put a picture of it up on here so you can all see it! I like to sleep on it (and spit up on it too) sometimes. The bear's nose lights up and he sings to me, and I can reach up and hit the penguin and alligator with my fists!

We've been doing tummy time on the boppy everyday too. I like it, but I only last a few minutes.




Last night we had our first outing in the stroller - to AC Moore. It was a quick trip, but good! Daddy needed some things for school & Mommy wanted to look at some things too. It was a good experience for Mommy & Daddy to see how all the logistics work!




That's all for now!




PS - Happy Birthday, Grandma B!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday! Grandma and Grandpa were here. Grandma cooked dinner while Mommy and Daddy got to sleep for awhile. They were very happy to get a bunch of hours of sleep at once!

I am also eating up to 4 oz of formula at a time. I keep falling asleep though during the feedings, so I don't always eat all 4 oz. Mommy and Daddy are going to have to buy more formula soon the way I'm going through it!

We hope everyone who is reading had a Happy Thanksgiving with your families. We had a great first holiday!

2 weeks old!

Today, I am 2 weeks old! We went to the doctor's office today, and I weighed in at 8 lbs 0 oz! One more oz than my birth weight! The doctor and the nurse both said I was a very good baby.

The week since I posted last has been filled with Mommy and Daddy trying to figure out good ways to calm me down when I have gas pains. The Mylicon has helped some, but today we are trying the Baby's Bliss Gripe Water (http://www.babysbliss.com/products/1-gripe-water-original-flavor?faqs=y) to see how that works. It comes highly recommended by a nurse friend of Mommy's. (Thanks, Samantha!)

I am also a very good eater, having 2 oz of formula at a time, mostly every 3-4 hours, unless I sleep longer. Also, we have graduated from using Newborn diapers to size 1s!

I love napping with Mommy and Daddy too!

The last bit of big news is that my umbilical cord fell off today! That means... bathtime soon! Mommy and Daddy are hoping that I like the bath much better than I like getting my diaper changed...

I was one week old yesterday!

Gram and Granddad (Mommy's parents) were here to visit and help for the weekend. We had a good weekend. Hopefully we'll get to post pictures from that soon.

Yesterday was my 1 week birthday! Mommy and Daddy sang Happy Birthday to me, and I stayed awake most of the evening. Mommy and Daddy thought that meant I would sleep overnight - but I fooled them! I had gas, but no matter what they did, they couldn't help me get it out.

I was crying/screaming pretty loudly, but that didn't help me get it out either. Even the yummy Mylicon drops weren't helping. The only thing that helped was when Mommy or Daddy would move around with me. I think I saw every part of the house! But I did give them a scare since they couldn't calm me down for more than a couple minutes at a time and my breathing was getting funny.... Mommy called the paramedics and they came in a big red ambulance... I couldn't see it though. Of course by the time they got here, I was settled down for the most part - but the one lady told me how cute I was :)

They listened to my heartbeat and lungs and held me and helped rock me while Mommy was crying and trying to answer questions. They told Mommy and Daddy some things to try with me (most of which they already did). They said they could take me to the hospital, but that everything sounded fine and just to call back if anything changed.

The nice people (thank you Fairfax County and Annandale EMTs!) left around 4am, and I was good for about 30 minutes, and the gas in my tummy started to really hurt again! Daddy took me while Mommy slept until about 6:30 and then he crashed. Mommy got me settled and asleep somehow and we slept in the recliner in my room.

We're all fine now though - somehow the gas went away and I am sleeping in my crib at the moment. I love my Mommy and Daddy!

-Little Billy

The Day After & Pictures

Well things have calmed down considerably since yesterday and Mom and Dad are trying to get as much rest as possible. That usually means 2-3 hour naps but we're not complaining. Getting to spend time with the baby is indescribable. Mom is doing ok, she is sore but the pain meds are helping. Poor little guy had his circumcision today. They said he only cried once and was rewarded with some sugar water. I like to think that he is dreaming of a world where it rains sugar water. That would make him smile. I can definitely see that Mom and I are going to be overly cautious parents in the beginning but we wouldn't have it any other way. He is an amazing gift and we love him with all our heart. Ok, sentimental Dad is going to join Mom and baby and take a nap but I also wanted to post some pictures. Enjoy!

Another quick post...

He's here!

What a LONG day. Started with my water breaking at 1:30am and ended with a c-section at 7:03pm. But we have a beautiful son and he is wonderful!!

Will post pictures soon. :)

At the hospital!

We're making progress...Recap of our night: Water broke 1:30 am, At hospital 2:30 am, tried shower to help through contractions, talked to doctor at 7 am and started on pitocin to move contractions along. Pitocin definitely worked and got epidural a little while after. Sleeping on and off since. Baby is doing well but is taking his time. He disengaged his head which could lead to a c-section. For now we're just trying to relax and get some rest. Dad will post again with an update as soon as we have some news.

Due Date is today!

But we're still here :)

I got 12 hours of sleep Friday night! Woo-hoo! And Saturday night it was 10 hours.

We got a lot of things done yesterday. Started some Christmas shopping, went to Target and stocked up on supplies, got the student loan money and shopped for Daddy's new printer/scanner/copier and paper, picked up Macbeth for Daddy to watch for class, and had a great dinner out at Valentino's (one of our favorite places). And Daddy packed his hospital bag! YAY!

Today we need to make a run to the grocery store and get things done around the house. Hopefully it will be a restful day!

Tomorrow morning I have another appt with the OB, and they are supposed to discuss induction procedures with me then. Will update when we know more!

Yay for the Maternity Belt!

Went to the appt today to get the maternity belt fitted. I have it on now, and it's definitely helping, but it will take some getting used to.

But, that's one more thing we can cross off the list. This weekend we're running to Target and making a big grocery run to Giant and hooking up the baby monitor and SLEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPING! Or at least that's what the Mommy is doing. Daddy has school stuff to accomplish and some other things to do (like packing his hospital bag...).

Have a great weekend!

39.5 week doctor's appt

This morning the doctor said the little one is "engaged" - aka "dropped"!

From all that I read, that means I am supposed to be breathing easier. Not so much. Ah well, I'm hearing that once I deliver, the breathing will be easier then. :) The sleeping will be much less, but at least I will be able to breathe (and maybe stop snoring?)!

Due date is Sunday, but the doc wanted me to make an appt to go back in on Monday morning to get checked. They said they will discuss induction options with me at that point.

Oh and the maternity belt finally came in today - I have an appt tomorrow afternoon to get that molded/fitted to me. Hoping that will help with some of the back pain and pressure.

One thing we need to work on is how to get the monitor positioned in the nursery so that we will be able to see him in the crib. One of the things on the to-do list! I also want to do a big grocery store run and a few other things (like match all the bottles and their parts to each other!). Oh boy, this list seems to be getting longer and longer!

update from yesterday's annoyances!

Well, the bar for the stroller came today. But it's STILL the wrong size. Back to the drawing board on that one!

UPS finally updated the changing pad tracking - it's in CA, and due to arrive here on Monday 11/9. Some progress is better than none, I guess. We can always use some other surface to change him on if he decides to make an appearance before that.

Still no word on the maternity belt.... I'm calling again in the morning. Also have another OB appt in the morning... see if the little one is making any progress on finding his way out :) I'll report tomorrow night!

Have a good night - Go Phils!

5 days til the due date...

I'm kind of getting annoyed that there's no word about the maternity belt. I could really use the support for my lower back and under my belly! Other things we're annoyed at today - the baby stroller people said they were sending the part for the stroller that didn't fit - that was a week ago now... and the changing pad I ordered (because the one we registered for was too big - who knew?) from Amazon had free shipping and was sent out Thursday but hasn't moved, according to UPS.

Deep Breath. OK.

Maybe posting a couple of pictures of the nursery would be nice, eh? Enjoy!

This is the lamp on top of the bookshelf - the top shelf has diaper changing supplies.

The changing station - still in need of a changing pad!

The Phanatic Mobile!


The crib with some things hanging on it yet! Those will be gone when the little one gets home!

7 days til the due date...

Unbelievable. I don't think I can even fathom that in 7 days our little one is supposed to be here.

Well, we did get a lot done today!

• The breathable bumper is in the crib.
• The storage bins we found at Target yesterday are in use as the toybox/stuffed animal storage and diaper changing stuff for downstairs (thanks to Daddy for that and for decorating them!).
• There are a few meals in the freezer for post-baby dinners for us.
• Some bottles/nipples/etc are washed and ready to go.
• We are still trying to figure out how to place/mount the video monitor in the nursery.
• Oh, and Daddy is also supposed to pack his bag - not sure why he keeps putting that one off! Baby's bag is packed, and Mommy's bag is mostly packed - just waiting on a few things from the laundry today, and then the last minute things (like my glasses, since I don't have a second pair of those!).

For the sports teams today, the Steelers had a bye week, the Eagles walked all over the Giants, and the Phillies are trying to tie up the series with the Yankees right now. Let's go Phils!! :)

Favorite Halloween Moment

I forgot to post my favorite moment of the night last night.

Two young girls - maybe 5-6 - came to the door with their mother. After I gave them candy and they started down the steps, I heard one of them say "she's going to have a baby - I can tell by her stomach" LOL It was so cute!

Happy Halloween!

We did not have a lot of trick or treaters tonight - seemed like they started late (7ish?), but then it did start to rain by around 8pm.

We are still watching the Phillies game though - go Phils! I think the little one has been enjoying the game - he keeps moving around!

Got to sleep in late today - what a wonderful thing! Our childbirth instructor is going to lend us the videos we missed later this week so we don't have to go in this weekend. We did go run some errands today, and Daddy drove :) He's getting some good practice in! Babies R Us was closed because they had no power, due to some fire in the area.... so we decided to go to Target, our next stop, but the way we went, we passed the fire and all the trucks and police cars directing traffic for all the lights that were out! An adventure for sure! We got some storage containers at Target, along with some candy for tonight and a few other miscellaneous things. Hopefully tomorrow we will be able to organize everything from the baby's room and downstairs so we have everything where it belongs (although I'm sure some of that will be figured out only when he arrives!).

Tomorrow I finish clipping coupons and making the grocery list for the week. Fun fun! OH, we did get a couple of important purchases this week - the changing pad and the baby monitor! We need to play around with the baby monitor's position, but it works, and that's the important thing!

38.5 week appt

Still no progress. Head still down but not engaged. Heartbeat was good - although the little guy moved and the dr lost it (the heartbeat) for a second! LOL He had to be coaxed to stay still.

Tomorrow Daddy and I get our seasonal flu shots. Here's hoping that goes smoothly!

No word on the maternity belt yet. Hopefully soon!

My work has a Wellness Day every year, and today was the day. I talked to the insurance people about our coverage (our ins co was bought out this year) and the changes (not many), the LifeBalance people (EAP), got a coupon for an eye exam in January, had my cholesterol checked (it was high, which is expected due to the pregnancy, but my glucose level was good), had my blood pressure checked (for the 3rd time today - twice at the dr's office), and talked to a couple of gyms that my company has deals with.

But for some reason , the lady doing the waist to hip ratio wouldn't measure me... something about the reading not being useful? LOL

OK, I'm up way too late. Good thing I had a little nap earlier. Good night!

Update on email and Mommy

If you signed up before last night, you might need to do it again. I received an email this morning that there was a post yesterday.

Hope everyone is well. I'm just tired and uncomfortable! Hard to find a good position to sleep in now. And I just realized last night that my ankles are swollen. Ah, the joys of pregnancy!

I go to get measured for the maternity belt this morning too. Hopefully that will help.

Email subscription not working yet

Like I said, I'm still getting used to all this blogging stuff.

I put a thing on the right side of the page that you can sign up with your email to get notified when the blog is updated (or maybe to get the actual post? Not sure yet). However, I signed up for it and it hasn't been working for me.

So, if you've done that, just know it's not working. I'm trying to figure it out. :) Thanks for your patience!

Sunday - 14 days to go!

Car seat inspection... hmmm... yeah, we got up early, only to get there and find out it was yesterday. UGH. Now I have to make phone calls tomorrow to all the districts to see if there are any others before our due date. Who knew this baby prep stuff would be this stressful?????

We did go to Buy Buy Baby to pick up some of the things off the registry there. However, since I forgot the 10% coupon we got in the mail, we basically shopped and they are holding everything until we bring the coupon in. Not ideal, but we did manage to use the 20% off Bed Bath and Beyond (sister store) coupons for 2 bigger items.

Daddy also found out the piece that's making our stroller not work right, so he will call tomorrow to try to get that replaced.

We will try to take some pictures this week of some of what we bought!

H1N1 shot - GOT IT!

Luckily Fairfax County had a twitter page about this and when I saw the update at 2:15pm that there were no lines and parking was again open, we headed over there! I got the shot and then had to hang around for about 15 minutes for them to make sure I didn't have a reaction to it (I did not have a reaction).

Now we just have to find a place for Daddy to get his H1N1 shot!

All's well :) Then we spent the rest of the day running errands, including to Babies R Us to get things off the registry that we wanted to have before the baby arrives.

H1N1 shot

I think I'm headed out to see if I can get the elusive H1N1 vaccine that all pregnant women are in the priority group for. I hope I can find parking and that the outside wait isn't long!

PS - thanks to Daddy for designing and putting up our new logo/title for the blog! :) His graphic arts skills are developing! :)

Edit at 1pm: there was no parking and the line was, I'm guessing, probably a mile or so long... so I left. I will be checking back later to see if they still have them available. Right now, we're off to the chiropractor!

37.5 week appt

Daddy went with me today to the OB appointment! We heard the heartbeat again today (although Daddy hadn't heard it in awhile, so that was nice for him!), which sounded more like a human and less like something deep underwater! It was a little low, but Dr H said that it was because, at this stage, baby REALLY doesn't like when I lay on my back.

She said he is measuring well, but that he is going to be a BIG baby! Daddy said the look on my face was priceless! I'm sure it was. I was hoping for a small baby!

We also talked about the H1N1 vaccine. I am going to try to get it this weekend so baby and I are both covered. Daddy has to get it as well, but no one seems to be offering it to him yet. I am in a double high risk group due to my asthma as well as the pregnancy.

I am also in the process of trying to get a maternity belt that the OB has prescribed for me. Between the insurance company and these places that have them, I'm probably going to have the baby before I get the belt!

Most recent picture of the bump

36 weeks and 5 days



(not sure why it's so dark)

First Post!

Welcome to our blog!

We are expecting our bundle of joy in less than 3 weeks, and we hope to keep everyone updated via this blog. Enjoy!