Sunday, March 30, 2008

Drew is not a shopper

Yesterday we took Drew shopping for the first time. I figured he'd enjoy being in the store with the lights and the sounds. I was wrong. About five seconds after we entered Target he began screaming. I could feel the eyes of other parents staring me down, I started to freak. I didn't want to be the lady with the screaming baby. As Mike and I quickly moved into the store, I scrambled around in the diaper bag, thank goodness I had packed a small bottle of Pedialyte. It was amazing, the kid was calm and happy. As we rushed through the store, picking up diapers and larger bottles, Mike held the bottle up to Drew's mouth and everything was fine. After Target we should have learned our lesson but we decided to push our luck, Drew had fallen asleep so we figured we stop for a bite to eat. He was great in the restaurant, however to be fair he did sleep the entire time. Then it was off to Babies R Us. Mike said if he was going to be good in any store, it would be the store that was filled with stuff for him...that logical was lost on a three month old. After a quick stop in the Mother's Room to change his diaper we were out of the store almost faster then it took for us to get in. I guess he's just not ready to become a shopper or he's already picking up on a common male trait, either way I think we'll skip the family shopping trips for awhile.

Thursday, March 27, 2008

The fun of the morning.....


There’s got to be an easier way??? Every morning I cross my fingers that Drew will sleep long enough to let me grab a quick shower (I’m becoming a pro at this…can do it in under two minutes) blow dry my hair and get dressed before he’s ready to be held or else…yes, or else! My son is just a slightly bit, well…spoiled and in the morning when he wakes up he likes to be held and rocked and if he doesn’t get that attention, well no one is getting any peace. Some days I’m lucky and I make it all the way through the shower and the blow drying of the hair before he’s up. But then other days he’s up the moment I step out of bed and he’s not interested in the fact that I have to go to work or that my co-workers would prefer me to shower before coming in. He doesn’t care that mommy’s hair is long and takes several minute to blow dry and he could really careless that although I’d love too, a ponytail to work everyday just doesn’t work. I know what you’re thinking….where’s Mike?, why can’t he take Drew while you get dressed?…well Mike likes his sleep. He doesn’t just like it, he loves it and he thinks that he needs a lot of it. You get the point, right? So if I do hand Drew off to his sleeping daddy in the morning, there’s really no change. Mike continues to sleep while Drew lays there and continues to cry….the upside is none of my neighbors will need their alarm clocks anymore!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

How do you pick godparents?????

Baptism, what is it? In Christianity, baptism is the sacramental act of cleansing in water that admits one as a full member of the church. It’s the act of offering your child to god and allowing him to be raised with strong moral and spiritual believes. It also means selecting godparents for your child. It’s said that the godparents are the ones who will raise your child and take care of all his needs if anything was to happen to the parents. That’s a huge responsibility! And in turn a HUGE decision to make on behalf of the parents. I have tons of great friends and wonderful family members. I could name off a dozen people right now that I would trust and feel safe knowing Drew was in their care. However is it something they want? Would they feel a responsibility to say yes if we asked them because socially they feel it’s not something you can say no to? A few years back an estranged older adopted brother of Mike’s came breezing back into his life after more than 10 years. The brother said he had his life together finally; he was married again and had two kids-which brought his grand total of offspring somewhere between 7 and 11. The brother made a big push to get back into Mike and his mom’s life. After a few visits and dozens of phone calls, we were ready to give him a second chance. Within the year his wife had given birth to their second daughter and they had called us one day asking us to be her godparents. We were VERY leery! I had only met the brother and his wife once or twice and Mike was still a little gun shy from the past. After feeling pushed into it (he cried on the phone! so how could we say no?) we agreed and became godparents to a little precious girl named Chloe. She was perfect and the entire day of the baptism was very special. But that was the first …and last time we saw our godchild…and not by any choice of ours. So how do you pick a godparent? Do you choice your closest friends? What if you drift apart in five or ten years? Do the two people have to be a couple, and if they are not and something happens to you, how would the two of them share the guardianship responsibility? Is it better to go with family members? Are you allowed to have more than one set of godparents? There are so many questions and no answers.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Drew's first Easter















This Easter was pretty low key. Usually we have the entire clan over and it's a day full of kids, lots and lots of food, and lots and lots of sports. This year since Drew is so little, we decided just to have the grandparents over. It was nice, relaxing and of course there still was plenty of sports watching.

Above are photos from Drew's first Easter. The first one is him in his little Easter outfit. The second one is Drew hanging out on the sofa watching a game with dad....I can't remember if it was golf, basketball, hockey or preseason baseball...let's just say we watched them all that day!!!!!!

Monday, March 24, 2008

Drew makes a new friend


Here's a photo of Drew and I with Oliver and his mom Sarah.

On Friday, Drew and I went to visit a friend of mine, Justin, who just had a little boy on March 6. Oliver is just a few weeks old but the same size as little Drew...poor guy, he'll be tiny for awhile. He had a great time...although he's sleeping in this photo.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

The do's and don't of cereal

At some point I think you just have to say "OK, this is my kid and I'm going to do what I think is best for him and to heck with everyone else." Lately I've been getting a LOT of advice about how to get Drew to sleep through the night...something which at almost three months old he's still not doing. Some people tell me not to let him sleep during the day or evening....well that's WAY easier said then done. If he wants to sleep, there's nothing you can do to keep that kid up.

I've also been told that I should start giving him cereal at night to make him sleep through the night. This sounds like a good idea, I have friends and family who are currently doing this with their infants and it's working....but Drew's doctor said no. Is she always right? What would it hurt if I tried it? Is he different then these other infants because he's a preemie? So this is my newest dilemma ....listen to other mom's, a medical professional or my own gut....who do I go with and when do I get some sleep at night?

Monday, March 17, 2008

Could this be real.....?

I don't want to jinx myself but last night Drew sleep for five hours...the longest he's sleep at night...Ever! I'm hoping it's not just a one time thing and that he starts sleeping mostly-through the night. If I could get him to sleep from say 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. I'd be the happiest gal ever.

First St. Paddy's Day

Drew dressed in his St. Patrick's Day outfit...he's ready to be Irish for the day!

Still early and the kid has already had one too many.....

Sunday, March 16, 2008

Baby on Board...

As I was driving by myself today I saw a car with one of those "Baby on Board " signs in the window. I've always hated those signs. It's like saying "you can't hit me because I have my kid in the car." Like if other drivers will back off because you have a kid on board. Even now as a mother I still think those signs are stupid. However I did start thinking about the way I drive and if I drive differently now when I have my son in the car....the answer is "yes!" I'm not a bad driver and I never drive crazy or out of control, however I am guilty of driving while talking on the phone or changing the radio station and not paying 100 percent attention to the road at all times. However when I drive with Drew I don't do any of those things. I'm more aware of the cars around me and even a little more "gun shy" when it comes to pulling out or changing lanes. I don't think I mean to do this, it's just a reaction because I know he's in the car and there's no place we need to get to in that big of a hurry that risking an accident could be justified.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Shots suck!!!

Yesterday was a long day ...and night. After being poked five times, Drew was feeling bad. When we first got home he was OK. He ate and took a little nap, but about two hours later, he was running a fever and very fussy. Freaking out like I do, I called the doctor's exchange but it was all "normal" they said. The rest of the day and night he was fussy and warm, nothing made him happy. At the highest his fever was 102.3. This morning he's doing better, his temp is 99.9 and he's playful and happy. The one good thing about yesterday, I found out Drew likes grape. He couldn't get enough of the grape flavored infant Tylenol, it was like watching a little fish at feeding time.



I also learned yesterday that my son has a favorite side. He likes his right side, when he sleeps he turns to lay facing the right side only. This didn't seem to be a big deal to me, so he likes one side better, who cares, right? Turns out it is a big deal. The kid is making the right side of his head "flat" and he's not allowing the muscles on his left side to grow. If he continues to do this, the doctor said he'll have to wear a special helmet and although his dad would probably think that was good training for his future sports career, I'm sure he wouldn't enjoy it.
So the goal for the next few weeks is to make this kid love his left side just as much....it will be a lot harder then it sounds!

Friday, March 14, 2008

The doctor is in....

Today Drew went to the doctor to get his two month shots. Between the shots and his RSV injection he was poked FIVE times!!! His little legs are so red and he cried his little head off. The good news is he's doing great, putting on the pounds and growing tall. Here's his stats: 10 pounds and 22 1/2 inches long. And to think just 10 weeks ago he was only 4 pounds 4 ounces and 17 1/2 inches long....

Thursday, March 13, 2008

"A Hard Day's Night"

"A Hard Day's Night" was a hit song for The Beatles in 1964, way before my time, but the phrase is taking on a much different meaning for me these days. Up until a few months ago this phrase would have meant several things to me, all of which had to do with working and living life to the fullest. Working hard at your career and working hard at making your life fulfilled…I know, it’s kind of deep…but now this phrase means long days and being up all night…with Drew! At 10 weeks old he is still not sleeping through the night. Some nights I get lucky and he’ll have an evening bottle around 10 p.m. and maybe not wake up until 2 a.m…..that’s a lucky night. The not so lucky nights are when he’s up at midnight, 2 a.m., 3:30 a.m. and 5 a.m…..that’s “A Hard Day’s Night.”

And Drew makes three.....

So I'm coming into the blogging thing a little late but I thought this would be a great way to chronicle the life of my son Drew and give me an outlet to vent, discuss and laugh at myself.

Our little guy was born on Dec. 31, 2007. And if I thought getting pregnant was hard, his birth and the after life hasn’t been much easier. Andrew Robert was six weeks premature. He spent the first 12 days of his life in the NICU and his freaked out mom has been walking on eggshells ever since. Anyway, Drew is now 10 weeks old and he’s doing great. He’s gaining weight and is a lot less fragile so I’m starting to adjust to the life as a mom….who would have ever guessed me as a mommy!