Friday fess-up...

Back on track.....ish...

I'm down 1 lb this week. Ho hum.

On to more exciting news (at least for me). I took Eli in to the Newborn Follow-up Clinic at UAB today. This clinic specializes in doing developmental assessments for premature and low birth weight babies. I'm happy to report that Eli is in the 90th percentile for motor skills development for his preemie-adjusted age (25th percentile for his "real" age)! They all seemed really surprised at how well he's doing. This is a huge relief for me because I have been freaked out by the possibility of Eli having developmental delays, autism, etc. (sometimes the internet is your worst enemy, ya know?). At least for now, these worries are gone.

They were also completely shocked that he made the transition to nursing after being bottle fed for so long. The dietician that we met with had worked at this clinic for 10 years and said that she could count on two hands the number of families that she's worked with who were successful in doing this. Big pat on the back for me! Or not. It was an answer to much, much prayer! Thank you Lord! I have decided, however, to go ahead and start him on rice cereal next week. He only gained one pound last month and hasn't been too satisfied after his feedings (I've had to start supplementing with formula some to fill up his little belly). The doctor thinks it's probably time to start him on cereals and baby foods (in addition to nursing), so we'll give it a try!

So there's the Eli update. I personally think that's much more exciting than my weight confession :). I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Ode to my baby monitor

I've been asked by several soon-to-be moms what my most treasured can't-live-without baby item is and I must say without a doubt that it is my Angelcare baby monitor (followed closely by the swing). J.C.'s coworkers gave the monitor to us at his work baby shower. I had never heard of it before we received it, but it. is. awesome.

There are a ton of baby monitors on the market ranging significantly in price. This one isn't cheap, but it is worth every penny (well, if you're not so fortunate to receive it as a gift. Thanks MAS/MSA! :)). The thing that makes this one so great is that in addition to being a sound monitor it has a movement sensor pad that you put under the mattress in the crib and it detects even the smallest of movements from you're baby while they're sleeping. Even breathing! If no movement is sensed in the crib for 15 seconds, there is a warning beep. After 5 more seconds, an alarm sounds.

Yes, we have almost had a heart attack several times when the alarm has gone off in the middle of the night only to find that Eli had wiggled his way to the other end of the crib (off of the mat). There have also been a few times that I think he probably had stopped breathing and the alarm jolted him back into his breathing pattern. Babies (particularly preemies) are prone to having sleep apnea. Most of the time they self-recover and begin breathing again on their own, but I wonder if this could be a cause of SIDS... This monitor will let you know if your child stops breathing in their sleep. You can't put a price on that kind of peace of mind.

The only reason I was able to get any sound sleep after we brought Eli home from the hospital was because of this monitor. I'm sure when Eli gets a little older and starts sitting/standing in the crib I'll wish we had a video monitor, but for small infants I think this one is the way to go. It's so great! I don't think I could live without it.

If you have a must-have baby item, please share it in my comments!

Oh, woe is me...

Previously, on Friday fess-up:

I've lost three pounds! Yay!!!

On this episode......

What? Is my scale broken? It has to be. Because I was really hoping that all the junk I've eaten over the past two weeks was calorie-free junk. They make that, right? You know - the kind that if you eat it in small enough bites spaced out throughout the day then it really doesn't count. That exists, right?

You'd think I would know better by now...

I've gained two pounds since my last fess-up two weeks ago. Two pounds!! Uh, that means that in 7 weeks I've lost a big whopping total of 1 pound. I'm soooo over it. Only I can't be over it because if I throw in the towel, I'll continue to gain even more.

Why? Why must women struggle with this constantly? Why can't I have a brownie when I want one? Or three? Not fair.

So, tune in again next Friday. Hopefully my willpower will reappear this week (well, really make it's first appearance) and I'll have better news then.

In the meantime, to turn my frown upside down, I'll post a few new pics of my favorite little munchkin.

Life isn't so bad after all. :)

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged by my step-sister, Charis, to share seven random things about myself. Hmm... This will be a toughie for me. I started to attempt the 100 random things post a few weeks ago when my friend Brooke did it, but gave up because I had a hard time thinking of even one thing to share! But, here goes...


1) When I was in the 4th grade, I got my hair cut really short and everybody thought I looked like a boy. I was made fun of endlessly at school (mostly by my friend Greta's husband, Bob :)) and am still traumatized by the experience to this day. This is why you'll probably never, ever see me with hair above my shoulders again.


2) When I'm holding J.C.'s hand, I have an obsession with touching the deepest part of the crevices between his fingers (weird, I know). He finds it hilarious to close his fingers so that I can't reach them. It's not.


3) Before we had Eli, J.C. and I actually tossed around the idea of not having children (or waiting a long time before having them). Then, SURPRISE, we found out we were pregnant. I'm glad God had different ideas than we had, although we do wish we could have Eli and my paycheck (with me still being able to stay at home). Oh well...


4) Now, we're already thinking about planning for a second child in the near'ish future. Giddy-up!


5) I grew up an Auburn fan and actually went to Auburn my freshman year of college before transferring to Alabama (and of course changed my allegiance). Roll Tide! (Sorry Dad...)

6) I hesitate to post this on such a public forum, but I'm hurting for material so here goes... I'm not voting in the upcoming election. I have my reasons and I've heard your quite passionate reasons for why this makes me a horrible American/parent/Christian, etc. Please spare me. I shall one day return to the land of voters, but not this time around. I feel very fortunate to have the right to vote and the right to not exercise the privilege. That's all I wish to say on this topic.

7) I can't think of anything else!

In lieu of tagging seven other people to post this (most of my blogger friends have already posted things like this fairly recently), I invite anyone who wishes to share random facts about themselves in my comments!

5 months old already...

Eli is five months old today. I can't believe it! He's growing up so fast... Check this out.

1 month old (at more than twice the size he was at birth):

5 months old:
Isn't that incredible? I'm excited about him getting bigger, but it's going by too fast! Slow down Eli!

Here's a bonus pic:

Taking a bye week...

I'm sure many of you have noticed that I have not posted my Friday fess-up. No, I didn't forget. I'm just not doing it this week. I'm not even getting on the scale. I just don't wanna. And it's my blog, so there. I will post next week. I promise!

Success!

I finally caught Eli rolling over on video!

And here's an out-take:

Friday fess-up...

Is it Friday again already? Really? Bummer.

I'm down .4 lb. So, I'm exactly where I was two weeks ago. (long sigh).

Down is down, I know. But, if y'all haven't figured it out already, the 12/12 date I had set for myself as the "goal weight date" isn't gonna happen. At least not unless my dieting motivation magically snaps into place really soon (don't count on that...). Maybe I'll get there. One day.

Grrr!

We're sick parents, I know...

Side note: The "grr'ing" noise for Layla means it's play time and it cracks me up how she's jumping around with her goose in the background.

My Sleeping Angel

5 Minutes for Mom is having a photo contest for the best sleeping angel and the winner gets a new kid's bedroom set! If this photo wins, I would like the Summer Breeze set for Eli. Here's my entry:



Layla (the four-legged one) is our first-born "child" and we adore her. When we found out we were pregnant with Eli, we weren't sure how she would handle sharing the spotlight with a human sibling. Ever since we brought him home, she has rarely left his side and is such a great big sis. I can't wait to see them become best friends as Eli gets bigger!


Here are a few more pics just for fun (not entered in the contest).


First meeting:

I love this one.

Cute videos

Here are some of the videos we've taken of Eli this week. Please excuse mine and J.C.'s silliness in an attempt to get him to perform for the camera :).


Eli rolled over for the first time by himself yesterday! (Well, really it was the second time, but the first time was a complete accident a couple of months ago). Of course I ran to get the camera, but he decided not to do an encore. The video is still cute though!

We finally caught a few laughs on video, although they aren't as good as some of the other ones we've gotten when the camera is not on. I'll keep trying though! I posted two videos here because the second one cracks me up with the big sigh at the end.

Friday fess-up...

Well folks, it was bound to happen...

I'm up (gasp!) .4 lb. Boo :(. Let the reproachful comments begin.

I'll spare you all of my pitiful excuses. And, I'm going to hurry up and post something else so maybe not as many people will see this shameful post. Ha! :)