Working in the STL

Earlier this week, I was away from my family due to having to travel for some work meetings. I used to LOVE traveling for work - networking with my colleagues in person, brainstorming our marketing plan, building new relationships, checking out our sister properties and the competitors. Now? It's just become somewhat of a hassle and it's so hard to be away from my little man even if only for two nights.

My trip in a nutshell:

On Monday, I spent the late afternoon cruising the St. Louis property.  Then I met up with two co-workers for dinner at Kelly English Steakhouse - a new restaurant. It was fantastic. I had a great filet, asparagus, a wedge salad and a couple glasses from a nice bottle of wine {a customer had asked for a bottle for room service, the bartender had uncorked it and the customer never showed up. Their loss = My gain. We had a $115 bottle of wine :} After dinner, I met up with my friend Jess who has been living in St. Louis for the past couple of years. It was great seeing her and we had some great conversation at iBar. She's actually training for fitness modeling....awesome, I just ate all of that food and she is telling me of her "nothing there" diet. But she looks great and I'm proud of her for sticking to something so time consuming and life altering.

Jess & I

Tuesday was a little rough - I didn't make my workout in the morning {surprise, surprise}and I had stayed up past midnight the night before {not normal for me these days}, so I was moving a little slow. Why would I also not want to travel for work...the constant temptation of food and great restaurants!  We met for breakfast at the buffet {I stayed reasonably healthy w the egg white omelet and cottage cheese/peaches}, had meetings all morning, had lunch at the buffet {yet again} where I didn't fare as well, followed by more meetings and then we rounded out our eating our competitor's Italian steakhouse where if you consider a plate full of cannelloni, drenched in marinara and cheese healthy, then I'm healthy as a horse! Afterwards we ended up downtown at a bar district called the Landing and a fun little bar known for it's shot menu {I indulged in only one...I'm not quite the partier I once was.}

Now that is a shot menu!

While I was gone, daddy and Cruzer did just fine on their own...and I'm so proud of both of them! I got many picture updates, some just of little man and others with the fam. I missed out on Ross' surprise 30th birthday dinner at the Drover...yum.

My little Cubbie Bear

Look at Cruz checking out Dominic {w/ Carly & Sicily}

Grabbing my toes like a fiend...mommy LOVES this!

I have to say the trip really went well and we got a lot accomplished.  Would I want to travel every week or even every month for work? Definitely not. Once in a while is just fine by me...

My Baby Boy: Twenty-Four Weeks Old

Happy 24 weeks, little man!!

A bit out of it...you can tell he's still sick

Sprawled out

All smiles with his name blocks

Fixin' His Flat

As far as an update on the helmet goes - we are making some progress.

• Little man started wearing his helmet a full 23 hours last week...and boy is his little head sweaty, and to be quite honest, stinky after we take that thing off for our one, measly hour off each night! The hubby said that I should be prepared, because that is how baseball, football and all helmets little boys wear smell...its normal. It's not normal, it's smelly...gross.
• Daddy and I are getting better at putting the darn thing on. I have to say it's quite hard to maneuver, especially with that cheek pad. You have to stretch it out at the bottom, scoop and swoop it on while making sure the cheek pad doesn't get too close to his eye. We can each take it off by ourselves, but haven't yet mastered putting it on on our own.

Loves playing with his toys

• This past weekend, he made it out on the town with mommy in his new head gear. During our Friday & Saturday night dinners out - we used the time as helmet-free time, so when I had lunch with Tess & the kiddos on Sunday, it was all helmet - all the time. Thankfully Tess had prepped the kids that their cousin was wearing his "baseball helmet" so all the questions were answered by the time we got there. They were all great with him and like touching his helmet and checked it out.

Cousin Dayvaney entertaining Cruzer

• First jerky question - so I was at the mall running errands with Cruzer and picked up a soda at the food court. The punk kid behind the counter asks "What's wrong with your kid's head?" My reply, "nothing, what's wrong with yours?" Ok, so I wasn't that smooth and I have to admit I was taken aback. Nothing is "wrong" with my kid's head, buddy. So after I stammered a bit I said, "nothing is wrong, we are just making sure his head is perfect." {note to self, prepare yourself for idiot comments for the next time, cuz there will be a next time.}
• Best part? I have had so many mommies come up to me in the grocery store, mall, you name it and tell me the story of their kiddo in a helmet and EVERY story has been positive. These mommies are all but raving about the experience. All confirm that it was so much harder on them then the babies, but not one has said they wouldn't have done it again if the situation arose.
• We haven't had a chance to get his helmet decked out yet, so I've made up with it by having some fun shirts with "helmet" messages. This has been Cruz's "thing" - he lets his clothes speak for him..

.

"You should see the other guy"

"Just fixin' my melon. Not quite ripe."

• Is it crazy that we think we can see positive changes already when the helmet is off? Well, what do you know, did your kid have a helmet? I didn't think so. :) Regardless, we feel that we can see some small change...and that alone makes us feel better...

Yet Another Trip to the Doctor

It seems as if we should have a permanent parking space reserved outside Boy's Town Pediatrics because we are there so often. Not only that, but I should plan on just set up an automatic withdrawal from our checking account, because we never seem to be free of doctor's bills from that place.  Little man had been getting sick the past couple of days with congestion and then a cough, but it wasn't too bad and only really set in later at night and in the mornings. Yesterday when we picked him up from day care and the teachers had commented on his increase in coughing & wheezing and just from the time we had him in the car on the way home, we determined we need to get an appointment to get him check out. Fortunately, one of the pediatricians was working late and we were able to sneak in for a 6:45pm appointment.

As soon as the nurse and doctor heard his wheeze, they knew it wasn't going to be a good visit. They let me know that Cruz had contracted RSV {bronchiolitis} yet again and upon further checking that he also had another ear infection, this time in the left ear. By their calculations, they figured he was on his 2nd or 3rd day of the virus yesterday which puts us smack dab in the middle of the worst days of the virus which are days 3-5 {this was true of it the first time he had RSV as well}.

Last night wasn't terrible. He was spitting up mucus {thank God not projectile yet...} and was up later than normal due to the congestion and coughing, but he only woke up once in the middle of the night around 2:30am and I got him back asleep by 3:45am. He slept until just before 8am and I took a couple hours off work this morning until Grandma Carol could come take over {she was a real lifesaver - we already had her on the books to watch him tomorrow and she came up a day early for us}.

Hoping for a quick recovery on this one - it's never fun to have a sick baby. And definitely not fun to have a sick baby at home when you are at work and have family helping to watch him.

Long Week...

This week is going to be tough....it's the first time I'm truly away from my baby boy for a full 48 hours and then some. Which means two full nights and two drop offs at day care. I'm traveling to St. Louis for work and while I know it's going to be an important meeting, I'm sad I have to leave my little guy {and the hubby} for so long. Plus it doesn't help that the hubby keeps telling me he's nervous about being alone with him for two days.

I know they will be great and Nick will do an amazing job. He is a great husband and an even better father. This will be big....HUGE. And I can't wait to see how great he does with little man.

Plus I've left quite an large and detailed list of things that need to happen {or will happen regardless}. As well as every outfit picked out, food on the counter & labeled and bath time necessities in their place...

I know everything will be great. I just hope and pray for lots of pictures and updates..because if anything I'm going to miss the both of them so much.

My Baby Boy: Twenty-Three Weeks Old

Happy 23 weeks of life, my baby boy! And I don't care what anyone says...that is the damn cutest helmet I've ever seen!

Shirt - "You should see the other guy"

Giving mommy some smiles

Quiet Mornings

There is nothing I love more than having some quiet hours in the early morning, uninterrupted to get things done. This doesn't overshadow my favorite parts of the day where I'm hanging and playing with little man, but it's a close second.

This morning was one of those mornings. I was up around 6am, checked on Cruz who was still sleeping soundly and thought it was a great chance to get the house put back together. Evidently when daddy and little man have a day off together, the first order of business it to wreak havoc on our house. I got home from work last night to a sink full of dishes, dirty bottles lining the counters, toys and books all over the floor, laundry to do and a mess of a nursery. Even better, as soon as I walked in the door, the hubby told me I was just in time to clean up a recent blow out in Cruz's diaper and give him a bath since we were meeting friends for dinner. Um, thanks honey. Although dinner at Zurlo's, an Italian place I'd been wanting to try did make up for it...and our friends who joined us were great company!

So tired from his day of fun w/ daddy

Future sister-in-law

Brothers - Mook & the hubby

This morning I pounded out quite a few tasks....cleaned the kitchen, swept the floors, washed the countertops, dusted the furniture, did a couple loads of laundry and a load of dishes, cleaned out my closet {got rid of some shoes!}, folded clothes, washed bottles and made new and even had time to sit down and blog before Cruzer woke up at 8:30am. This is how every Sunday should go so I can spend the rest of the day uninterrupted with my favorite guys.

Working Out Has Become An Ugh...

For a while there, I was doing good. I was working out four-five times a week whether it be at the gym, runs w/ little man around Lake Zorinsky or at home with my rockin' Tracy Anderson's Post Preggo Workout. This has really fallen off track these days...I think the last time I worked out was a quick run last Friday night while they hubby watched Cruz. My abs? They haven't seen a crunch in over a week. My gym membership...basically going to waste - when I log in online it shows how often I've been there this month. For me...a big goose egg.

Now I'm just getting into excuses. I tell myself it's too hard to workout in the morning because I'm up so early with Cruzer or getting myself ready so I don't have to mess with that after he wakes up. After work, I look forward to spending time once we get Cruz home - I take his helmet off, give him a bath {he's so sweaty!}, feed him and cuddle him until our time is up and we have to put the helmet back on and put him to bed. After that I usually have to figure out what I'm going to have for dinner and then jump on the computer to finish up some work emails that didn't get done during the day.

My biggest {and BEST} excuse? Ever since my sister-in-law made mention that it takes time for your uterus to go back to it's normal size {I think she told me this around Thanksgiving}, I've taken to using that excuse when explaining to the hubby why that stubborn tummy I  now have just won't go away. "It's just my uterus" I tell him, "it takes time for that to contract." I think I've got him convinced that it's true! Even if it technically should only take about 4 weeks for your uterus to contract based on what I've read online...but we won't tell him that.

Let's just hope he doesn't get smart and start researching this...otherwise I'm screwed. God forbid I actually stop making excuses, give up my glass of wine at night and the snacks that I love and just focus on eating healthier and finding time for at least a bit of exercise during the week. No, that would be too difficult. Telling my fibs is much, much easier....

Another Laugh at the Hubby's Expense

During my pregnancy, I had a couple of "my hubby says the darndest things" moments. It was shocking to me at the time that such a smart man could be lacking the natural understanding of what it takes to raise a child. Giving him the benefit of the doubt, though, because he didn't grow up having to help raise his little brother {his mom handled that very well} and when our sisters & brothers were having kids, he wasn't interested in cooing at the new baby or changing a diaper {as most men aren't}. So no wonder he didn't have a knack for this parenting stuff right off the bat.

And I have to preface this with this statement: my husband is a great dad. Not that I didn't think he would be, but it's so amazing at how easily the knack of parenting has come to him.
Still...he continues to make me laugh with his silly comments. Yesterday, we were talking on the phone as both of us were leaving work trying to figure out who was going to pick up little man. I told him I needed to stop at the store and pick up baby food {since we've recently started him on solids} and it would be easier to run in and out without having to lug around the car seat and diaper bag.

Him: "Why do you need to get baby food tonight?"

Me: "Because we are out. Now that he has started solids we need to be consistent with giving him food around the same time each night and try not to skip any nights so we can make sure he doesn't have any allergies to certain foods."

Him: "Oh, I thought it was just a treat we were giving him. Like how your sister gives the kids ice cream every now and again."

Me: "Um no. It's his meal, like dinner. He has to have it."

A Couple Better Days...

I'm sure you saw my "woe is me" post from a couple days ago after the initial day with little man's helmet. I just feel like there is so much we should've been doing and trying so it didn't get to this point. I'm having a lot of mommy guilt over this whole thing...if he wouldn't have been laying inside me that way, if we had figured out something safe that we could stick in his crib to keep him from laying on his right side...anything to have prevented this. So as you can imagine it was a very hard day..mainly because I hated seeing our little guy so upset and hurting as he was adjusting to his new headwear. BUT I can tell you now that as the days have progressed its gotten much easier for the three of us. He is still his same happy little self {if not just a bit pissed after we initially put the helmet on}, but we are seeing his little smiles and giggles and he is figuring out how to roll from side to side a bit easier.

We haven't attempted tummy time yet...his head just seems too heavy...but he has been sitting up with our help. The schedule over the weekend was followed pretty close to what was given to us from the Orthotist {not perfectly by any means, but nobody's perfect, right?}. I attempted to put him down for bed on Sunday night, which was supposed to be his first night sleeping in his helmet and he fell asleep for about 1 1/2 hours and woke up screaming, which is unusual for him. I tried getting him back to sleep and it wasn't happening, so I made the executive decision, took the helmet off and rocked my little guy to sleep. Flash forward to last night and after we had taken the helmet off for our one hour of head kisses and cuddling time, we were supposed to put it back on before bed to attempt sleeping again. But we didn't. Fail. {Insert more "mommy guilt."}

I promised myself tonight we were going to do it, even if it means interrupted sleep until he can get adjusted himself. At this point, we've already started and we just need to stick to the schedule as much as possible, because the more we do, the sooner he will be rid of this awful little accessory.

What are the highlights of his helmet time? Well, we get to call him things like linebacker, boxer, and our little baseball player - because he does look like a little helmet-wearing athlete. And I've got some fun shirts being made celebrating his helmet-wearing, like "just fixin' my melon. not quite ripe." and "you should see the other guy." Oh, and of course, that his little head is getting better day by day which means he will be well-adjusted for the rest of his life {at least as well-adjusted as he can with the hubby and I as parents.}

So my crying over this situation has become limited and I realize that we need to make the most of this situation and in the long run we will all be better off because of it. And I don't care who you are...you have to admit, he does look pretty damn cute in this thing!

Floor time - of course the TV is catching his eye,
not his mommy making faces at him

Smiles!

Getting ready for some squash

Reading his favorite book - "There's a Woset in my Closet"

My Baby Boy: Twenty-Two Weeks Old

Happy 22 weeks of life Little Mango!!

Reppin' the Cubs during baseball season

I LOVE naked babies...esp fresh from a bath!

Love These Weekends

Another great weekend in the books....another great weekend with family & besties...I {we all} needed this.

One of my high school BFFs was in town and we had plans to tear up downtown Omaha on Saturday night, however, the weather had something else in store for us. I was worried the hubby and I weren't going to make it downtown due to the crazy weather we'd had all day and were supposed to expect that night...fortunately we had a great sitter {grandma Dianne} and decided to make the trip. I dove into my closet and tried on half the options but settled on a denim strapless dress w/ a bomber jacket and 5 1/2 inch platforms. Down at the reception, I saw so many friends from back home...it was a lot of fun and brought me back a bit. {I kept remembering taking "mains" & hanging in the grocery store parking lot with these peeps back in the day rocking out to 90s hair bands.} The best part of the night....hanging with one of my best friends in the world. It wasn't enough time, but its always so great seeing her and catching up right where we left off.

Sunday morning little man woke me up with some light cries around 6:30am with a major blowout. We've recently changed him from size 2 Pampers to size 3 Huggies at night. I didn't believe it when Tessa had recommended I would need to make the change, but it's true. Huggies suck up all the potty and junk and keep him dry through the night. HOWEVER, this does not happen when your slightly intoxicated husband feeds him while you're getting ready {appreciate the thought} and then puts him in bed before changing his diaper....this, in fact, leads to a major blow out of his size 2 Pampers diaper full of #1 and #2...of which was up his back and leaking out the sides of his diaper. I can only imagine how the little guy felt...

After a quick clean-up {which quickly pulled me out of my slight hangover}, we were playing away before "helmet" time. This is always my most favorite time of our days off.

Play time: note the legwarmers his daddy is not a fan of

Soon after I got little man packed up and we headed over to see his auntie Angie before she left Nebraska for her "temporary" home in Houston. He loved spending time with his girl...and it was the first time Ang had gotten to see Cruzer since around Thanksgiving!

The day was off to a start and then we headed to a brunch date at Le Peep  and met up with a couple other favorites: Amundson's {two of the best UNK professors!...and friends} and Clint {one of my best guy friends from college} with his little gorgeous 15 month old, Lucy. The hubby, mom and Cruzer rounded out our crew. This was the first time Barbara & Steve met little C, though I feel like Barbara knows little man already because she's been a faithful reader of Yellow Mango since I found out I was preggo. I just wish she would comment when she reads these posts, because I love reading the messages {Barbara- this is for you....show your love!} :) 

Love those baby blues

Daddy & his little girl
{Clint is in BIG trouble with this cutie}

Barbara & little man....he was so content with her!

After brunch we headed home, but got a call from the Lynch's so we met them at Varsity while they finished lunch. The kiddos were off playing, except for Ace who couldn't wait to "feed" and "hold" Cruzer.

Love this pic - it looks like Aaysen is holding Cruz

Cruz: "Who's this guy?"

Crazy Ace feeding little man

Auntie Tess playing w/ little C

We sent the boys off to Sempecks for some afternoon bowling and the ladies {plus little man} headed to Village Pointe for a bit of shopping & fun. It's always a great time when Dayvaney is out with the girls and sharing her little girl wisdom. After hitting up a couple stores...and finding Day a gift for being so good, we headed to Brix for some wine, French baguette and Vlaskas Gouda {still one of my favorite places}.

Having cocktails at Brix

Found Day some "root" beer
{She kept covering the "root"when we took pics}
{This is her drunk face}

Passed out....probably not good to teach a 5 year old

Hanging w/ grandma Dianne

Day & auntie K enjoying our beverage

Such a great weekend. Looking forward to many more of these with our little C!



Our Little Guy: Five Months Old

Little Mango is FIVE months old!!

What has Cruz been up to?

• Big News: It's been such a busy month with this little guy, but so much fun. He has finally started sleeping in his own crib and eating solids - both are going very well. He rolled over from his back to his tummy one night in March and then we couldn't stop him. Everytime he laid on his back, he was itching to roll over. Only once he went from back to tummy to back, otherwise he is on his tummy and whines until we roll him over! The hubby got the first laugh out of Cruzer and it's been up hill ever since. His laughs are the most amazing sound...ever!  Little man is a major fan of books and we read a couple every night as he soaks in the colors and noises.  He was Baptized at Bethany Lutheran (same church we were married) and celebrated his first St. Patty's Day and Easter. Finally, the biggest news of the month is that Cruz received his scans to check his Plagiocephaly and we found out he needed a helmet...one day before he turned 5 months.

Getting his scan at Trust Orthotics

Baptism with his Godparents: Marc & Tessa

Reading his new book from Gma Carol

First Easter!

• Eating:  Cruz was steadily eating 6 ozs this month and then graduated to 7 1/2 ozs - what a little piggo! He still eats every 3 hours when he's awake {and boy, will he tell you when it's time to eat}, but he is sleeping through the night so we give him his last bottle around 8pm-9pm and he's out until 5:30-7am the next morning. We also tried rice cereal this month - at first he wasn't a fan {not sure I'd like it much either}, but we tried it a couple more times and he was ok with it. We spoke to our doctor and got a couple more opinions and gave him sweet potatoes next. The plan is to introduce new foods, keep him on them for three days or so {to ensure no allergies} and then try something else. This is an exciting time!

Making a mess w/ sweet potatoes

• Sleeping:  ahh, sleeping. Now this is a topic I love! He is such a good sleeper and is sleeping through the night consistently, even after we started putting him in his crib toward the end of the month. He even slept through a very loud thunder and lightening storm the other night, while the rest of us {the hubby, puggle & I} were kept awake by the noise.

• Developments:  we didn't have a well check this month, but I jumped on the scale with our little guy and subtracted my weight {definitely not telling you that number!} and he is weighing in at 17 lbs 5ozs. Holy cow! It must be all of that formula he is chowing down on! Little man is sitting up so much better and is supporting the weight of his head. His Bumbo chair is our friend. He also loves our "Up" game - he grabs onto my thumbs and I pull him to sitting position and then to standing. His legs are getting stronger as well.

Holding that head up so well

• Features: Little man's face has started filling out and he's got great chubby cheeks. He's got more hair {though the mullet hasn't went away yet} and stocky little legs. I swear that I can see him changing every single day.

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The End

Today's The Day...

Little man got his helmet this morning. He hated it and his daddy & I were {are} miserable. This was by far one of the hardest days of my life....we hated seeing him so upset and crying and not understanding why we had to put that thing on his head. By the time I got him to day care and relaxing on the mat, he was giving me some small smiles...it helped, but not as much as normal with the little whimpers mixed in.

We started today with him having it on for one hour at a time. Tomorrow we graduate to two hours on/one hour off {none during sleep}, Saturday will be four hours, Sunday eight hours + naps and Monday we start 23 hours a day.

I know...and I'm putting it into perspective...it could be worse, so much worse. It's just that you never want your baby to hurt or be uncomfortable and that is absolutely what we experienced today.

Just say some quick prayers that he takes to it and quickly gets used to it. And while I'm asking for prayers, please say another that his has some good growth spurts and gets it off much sooner than the four-month average. xoxo

A Day Of Firsts...

Last Monday we decided we needed to start a couple of "firsts" with little man. At our last doctor's appointment, Dr. Shidler said it was time to let him try rice cereal and we were looking forward to it since people have been telling us how good it is for the babies and helps fill their little bellies up. Plus he has been scarfing down his bottles - 7ozs every three hours! We needed to do something to curb his appetite.

Well, we tried it and the verdict is....not sure we like it.

All clean and ready to eat!

First bite and not so sure

Most made it onto his face & bib...
after he pushed it out of his mouth w/ his tongue

Close-up of the mess we made
{Look at those little chipmunk cheeks!}

Then, in the spirit of trying all things new, it was time for his first night in his crib. Since we brought him home, we've had him in the pack & play on the side of the bed. I kept telling myself I was ready to move him out of our room...and then each night I would chicken out and put him in the comfort of the bed he was so used to. So I bit the bullet and did it. He was awake for a while, rolled over onto his tummy a couple of times and then I got him turned back over and he fell right to sleep.

Then, I may have curled right up on the floor next to the crib with a blanket and pillow and slept there the rest of the night.....I don't know what my problem is, but I wanted to be next to him in case he woke up. And I slept on the floor every night this week, while little man slept through the night every.night.this.week. I even talked the hubby into joining me the last two nights....

Laying restlessly in his crib

Rolled over in the corner of his crib

So on Sunday night {seven nights of sleeping on the floor}, I graduated to sleeping in my bed with the monitor so close to my head I could hear EVERY move little man made.

However, in the spirit of firsts, I suppose you can say we had three "firsts" over the course of last week!