So we have been experimenting with solids again over the past week! We started with some bananas and he actually seemed to enjoy them. It's amazing with your first child because not only is it a learning experience for Chris but it is for me as well. When I tried to feed him the peaches a few weeks back and he didn't seem to like them, I was sure it was because they tasted bad. I mean, what baby food could really taste that good? After only a spoonful or two, I just quit because I didn't want to force it on him. As we tried again with the bananas, he sort of had the same reaction at first. He spit them right back out. But this time, I kept trying and I discovered that he didn't not like them, he just didn't know how to eat off of a spoon. I'm sure you are thinking "that should be pretty obvious Rachel" but it really wasn't to me. I was so focused on them tasting bad to him. To ensure that he would like the taste of them, I dipped his paci in the food and gave it to him that way at first (see picture below, lol!) He really liked it and that is when I said to myself, let me keep trying with this spoon. SO after several spoonfuls and half the container on his bib and mouth, he actually started to open his mouth when he saw me put bananas on the spoon. He was learning how to swallow off of the spoon and I was learning how to put the spoon in his mouth so he couldn't spit the food out right away. He has now enjoyed both bananas and sweet potatoes. We will be experimenting with other new foods in the next few weeks (pears, apples, carrots, green beans and more peaches!) I have a video of him eating bananas for the first time I will add later.
We also gave him rice cereal for the first time yesterday. Dr. Davis told us to not try the cereal at bed time the first time, just in case he didn't like it or had a bad reaction to it. That way we wouldn't be up all night. So I pumped a bottle around lunch time yesterday and added 2 tablespoons of rice cereal. He ate like a champ and then proceeded to take a 3 hour nap!!! This from the baby that doesn't nap for more than 15 minutes at a time. So tonight I pumped his last bottle and again, added the cereal to it so we will see how he does sleeping!
So I am having a much harder time than I thought updating the blog with being back at work. By the time I get the chance to sit down at night, I want to go to sleep and not be on the computer since I've been on it all day.
But anyway, we went to Atlanta for the Labor Day weekend to watch the Heels play LSU in the Georgia Dome. The game was great and even though we lost, our boys played with so much heart that you would have thought we had won at the end of the game. The LSU fans were silent (as they had narrowly escaped defeat by a team down 13 defensive players, mostly starters) and the Carolina fans were up cheering, clapping and making lots of noise as the band played our fight song. It was a great atmosphere.
Prior to the game we went to the Fan Zone in the Georgia World Congress Center. It was basically a HUGE pep ralley for both teams. They had great games for the kids, the bands, cheerleaders, free give aways & food. Chanler and I got our face painted while Jalen & TJ ran all over the building. Schultz & Ed walked around with Deuce strapped in the snuggly. We had a great time.
Deuce did great during the game! We got in to the stadium about 2 hours before kickoff (yes, we HAD to see the team warm up entirely) but it worked out well because I needed to nurse and there was really nobody in the stadium. So I just went up really high and sat comfortably. Deuce was happy through the entire game and people all around us kept snapping pictures of him because I had put eye blacks on him and he just kept smiling at everyone. I fed him once more but I've gotten so good at this that I was so discrete that Chanler didn't even notice and she was sitting right next to me! He slept the entire 4th quarter which was amazing because that's when we made our big comeback and it was so loud on our side. All in all he loved his 1st Carolina game!
So the promising football season we are supposed to have has been clouded by the recent NCAA and academic investigations that are currently underway. Regardless, we are diehard fans and are determined to support the team as much as we can. This past Saturday was Meet the Heels and we go every year with Daniel, Rebecca and Austin. This year we got to bring Chris and Chase too! TJ & Austin had a great time as always and I enjoyed taking Chris on his first trip to Kenan Stadium. He took some photos with the guys and took a very special one with Dwight Jones. It was so special that he spit up all over him right as I snapped the camera! We had talked with Dwight once before at Bojangles and I reminded him that he would now never forget our family since our infant had graced him with the remnants of my breast milk (I didn't say it like that of course!). The players seemed to have high spirits and the crowd was better than we anticipated. We leave this Friday for Atlanta to watch the Heels kick off the season against LSU in the Georgia Dome!
So one week of work has come and gone and has proven to be very tiring but very exciting. I think we have developed a schedule that will work for us and it consists of me getting up at 5am (yikes!) to feed the little guy. I get him up even if he is still asleep. Why one earth would I do that, you ask? Well for the rest of the day to work, he has to eat that that time. He usually doesn't even open his eyes and he eats for about 15-20 minutes before I put him back in his bed. Then I take about 45 minutes to get myself ready and the car loaded. Then I go back and get him out of his crib and transition him right to the carseat in his pajamas! We make the 1 hour drive to grandmas in Chapel Hill and I drop him off. Then I continue on about 25 more minutes to RTP for work and arrive at about 8:30. He eats again at 9am, 1pm and 5pm while I pump at work at the exact same times. This allows us to stay on that schedule (and me producing) throughout the weekend. I pick him up around 6 and we head back to Greensboro, usually arriving at about 7pm. I have about an hour to play with him and then we get ready for bed. I put his pj's on, swaddle him and feed him one last time and he goes right to bed in his crib. Then I get to work cleaning bottles and preparing to do it all over again. Every night last week, I was asleep before 10pm.
Monday was obviously the hardest being the first time that I had left him. I had tried to prepare myself as best I could, emotionally and it really helped that I was returing to work at a place I had been before. I didn't have the typical nerves of starting a new job. I knew how to get there, knew were the parking deck was, knew where the building was, knew where the department was located and knew 75% of the employees already. So that was a relief that my only concern was dropping off Chris. I did good and then when I handed him over to Grandma, he poked his bottom lip out (that rascal!). He didn't cry but he had this look on his face like he knew that the days of us spending 24 hours together were over. When he did that, the tears fell like waterfalls! But I get myself together and headed out...after 1 day, he was accustomed to grandma & grandpas and is thoroughly enjoying his time there. I believe they are really enjoying it too!
Chris is 4 months old today! I can't believe that it has gone by so fast and that at this exact hour 4 months ago I was in my 3rd hour of pushing, trying so desperately to get the little guy out! He is growing by leaps and bounds every day and is changing so quickly. Here is a summary:
SLEEPING: He is still sleeping for about 7 hours straight right now, feeding and then sleeping for about 5 more hours. He has had the occasional night where he is up every 4 hours to eat at regular time but for the most part he is almost making it through the night. Because we have been on a "whatever we want to do" schedule, Chris goes to bed about 10pm so the first time he wakes up is at about 5am. As of tomorrow, Chris will have to get up at 5am for me to get ready to go to work. Once we get on a regular schedule I am thinking that he will be ready to go to bed much earlier than 10pm since he will be up and out of the house so early!
EATING: We are still nursing! It is going very well. As of tomorrow, Chris will be nursing once in the morning and once at night. The other 3 feedings will be by bottle, hence I will be pumping 3 times a day at work. I have pumped enough to have the first 3 bottles prepared for tomorrow. We'll see how that goes. I will have to find a place at work that will allow me 15 minutes of privacy to get it done! Chris held his own bottle yesterday for the first time. I'm not sure that he knew he was doing it but Ed put his hands on the bottle and he held it himself for the entire feeding. I tried it again today but no luck. We also attempted to feed him peaches and I am so upset that I didn't have the video camera on when we did that. It was hilarious!!! I was sure that he was going to love them but it was just the opposite. We put just a touch of the peaches on the spoon and he refused to swallow them. He didn't cry but he held his mouth open and his tongue out and he had this look on his face like "you guys must be crazy if you think I am eating this!" We were laughing so hard. So we shelved it for the night and tried it again today. He would not swallow again but he got upset so he ended up swallowing it while he was crying...(after he spit some of it out on Ed's face, lol!) We'll wait a few days and then try again...
PERSONALITY: The little guy LOVES to smile! He will smile at almost anyone at anytime. He has started to laugh a lot and mimics our faces. He also really enjoys looking at himself in the mirror. Everytime he looks at himself he starts smiling and laughing so hard! I love it. He is happiest in the morning when we get him out of his crib.
I am anxious about my first day of work tomorrow. Mostly about leaving Chris for the first time. I am sure I will shed some tears and will be counting the hours until I can leave to go pick him up but we will both be fine! Here's to the next chapter of our lives...
Chris had his 4 month well visit today. He will be 4 months old this coming Sunday. I can't believe it!! He weighed 13lbs 7.5oz, and is 24.5 inches long. Dr. Davis said he looks good and is growing well. Everything checked out great. We can now begin to put some cereal in his milk and introduce some solids to him. My little guy is growing so fast, right before my eyes!
We took him to Celebration Station this past weekend for the first time so TJ could play some video games. The place was crawling with kids and teenagers playing games, riding bumper boats and go karts. He had a great time people watching. He was so interested in what everyone was doing. So interested that he wore himself out and fell asleep with all of that loud noise!
One other note: I got a job!!! A temporary one anyway. I am going back to work for GlaxoSmithKline in a contractors position with my old department that I worked for from 2001-2004. I hope to be in this position for around 12-18 months. I am so excited to get myself back in the workforce and finally bring home some money! The only downside is that obviously it is in RTP so I will have a heck of a commute (plus a 5am alarm to get me there in time)! But a job is a job and I am beyond willing to make the drive. Chris will come with me everyday and I will drop him off in Chapel Hill at Ed's parents. We are so fortunate to have them be able to help us so we can save on childcare costs (upwards of $1200/month for infants)!!! I am a little nervous about getting myself back in to the routine of working, pumping while at work and having to give up all of the precious time I have had with Chris. BUT, I am not the first momma to ever go back to work so we will be just fine!
A glance into a typical morning with Chris... love it!
This is from our trip to the beach the other weekend...
I just had to post this picture. It was taken in the mid 80's when we still lived in Hampton, VA. Laura and I walked to the mailbox daily to check the mail and a photographer for the newspaper happened to capture this shot. It ran in the Daily Press one day with the caption, "She's Not Heavy, She's My Sister." I remember when it ran in the paper and I have seen copies of it but it has been so long. My mom's high school classmate found it and posted it to facebook... (Check out the attire! lol)
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