...for now. (2 weeks)

Babies change so fast.  Myles is no different... even when sometimes I can't put my finger on why.

At two weeks old, he has been rolling onto his side since he was a day old; is grabbing onto things more frequently; seems to be focusing on our faces more; started sticking his tongue out on occasion; on Monday was 6lb 13oz, almost back to his birth weight; lost his umbilical stump today.

Those are pretty concrete things... but here are other things about our little boy.

for now... he likes to sleep on his side.

for now... he is fine sleeping in his crib.

for now... he wakes up twice in the night (three if we sleep in).

for now... he sleeps for 2-4 hours at a time.

for now... his average bedtime is 9-10pm.

for now... his average wake up is around 7:30am.

for now... his hair is the same color as his Uncle's... dark blonde.

for now... we use a paci to calm him down at night, and he spits it out after a few minutes.

for now... he falls asleep when the car is moving.

for now... he stays asleep when we get to the store (as long as we keep moving).

for now... he sits in his bouncy seat and lets me take a full shower in the morning.

for now... he grabs my shirt while nursing.

for now... he mostly only cries when he is naked or having his diaper changed.

for now... he doesn't mind loud noises like the hairdryer or vacuum.

for now... he is a really good baby.

morning rocking chair snuggles 

the day I conquered the world

at least it felt like I did.

I have had this big problem of feeling like my life was going to be over once I had a kid.  Now that I have one, things aren't so bad... but he is also a really really good baby.  Sure I have had a few meltdowns and rough spots, but all in all, he is a dream.

So what does the thought above, freezing cold heavy rain, and the need to go to the grocery before Thanksgiving and the diapers run out, translate to?  A challenge.

I didn't have to face it.  A good friend that had plans to visit, lovingly offered to run to the store for me.  And I almost let her.  But I'm headstrong and I thought:

I have a newborn and it is not the end of the world.  I take care of him almost exclusively alone so I might as well suck it up and get out on the worst weather day we have had yet... its not always going to be sunshine and I sure don't want to cower at home in fear of doing anything I want to do.  Sure, today is just a trip to the grocery, but tomorrow might be lunch with a friend...why miss out on the fun?

So I went.

And I took my time.

And he slept.

And with that one trip, I felt like I conquered the world.

oh baby baby!

hurry up and wait

Just stopping in to update... we're still waiting.  

Myles is still sitting around in there.  We had another ultrasound yesterday to check my fluid levels... they were higher than the time before so that is still no concern.  We really couldn't see much... he was so squished up in there she couldn't really get a view of his face... so we had to be content watching him practice his breathing.  

Afterward, we decided to enjoy the beautiful weather downtown and go for a walk.  Ended up taking Myles up to the bridge over Reedy Falls.  

While we are really anxious for him to be here and get to spend as much time as possible with him before Kyle goes back to work, the past few days have been really good for Kyle to be able to just relax.  And really good for us to just reconnect with each other.  No distractions.  We have been out with friends, had dinner alone, been to the movies, run out for ice cream, and enjoyed the last bit of warm weather together.  

Time to shake things up.

Come on Myles.  We are so ready for you to be here!

five on friday

This week in honor of my dreaming of pregnancy ending (and having Myles in my arms) is the five things I am looking forward to enjoying once pregnancy is over.

one

forbidden foods.  Pregnant women are immediately faced with a list from their doctor of foods to avoid.  For the most part, it isn't too big a deal to avoid them... or you make up your own rules for what you will go ahead and enjoy.  For me, there was the awkward moment of a girl's night of wine and cheeses. Of course I wasn't supposed to have the wine... but then all of the cheeses (and meats) were on my list of no-nos.  Thankfully I had brought a large cup of hot chocolate with me, and there were some grapes to munch on.  My rule... I would still enjoy those forbidden cheeses if they were cooked... like feta cheese on a pizza.  The thing a little harder to work around... sushi.  Sure there is the fried rolls... and in Louisville that was no problem... most Japanese restaurants had some great tempura rolls... but I haven't really found that to be the case down here.  Someone bring me a spicy tuna roll to the hospital or even just a sandwich from Subway (because cold lunch meat was forbidden too...).

two

the occasional drink.  I miss beer.  And wine.  Not that I drank much to begin with... but I really missed out on Summer Shandy season.  And heck... it will be nice to not worry about how much caffeine I might consume in a day anymore.  Grande pumpkin spice latte please (even if I did wake up with a mug of caffeinated coffee).

three

doing whatever I want.  Now, I probably did more than any sane person would do... I still stood on a step stool; I painted a room; I mowed the lawn until about 2 months ago with a push mower.  Heck, throughout the past week I have slowly been raking the yard because I am going just that stircrazy.  But I cannot wait to be able to just do things again.  Just to get out of bed without my pelvis screaming at me will be nice.  Or put on shoes.  Or ride a rollercoaster.  Whatever.

four

normal clothes.  I get that I won't immediately look like my old self.. but to have a waist again... to wear a belt.  I am starting to get sick of these elastic waistbands that stretch out through the day. And its fall.  I love sweaters.  Thankfully I believe I shouldn't have any trouble wearing any of them pretty soon.  Pants will be an issue at first... but I can get past that to just be able to wear a nice warm sweater again.  And without fear that my belly has gotten so big that you can now see before mentioned elastic waistband or bare skin because the stretchy shirt is stretched to the max.

five

sleeping on my stomach.  Oh I can't wait for this.  I am a natural side/stomach sleeper.  Sleeping on my sides the past few months hasn't been too bad... but I just really don't sleep as well that way as I do on my stomach. 

although I am convinced he is trying to escape every night, it seems my body isn't ready for that to happen...

ready

the freezer is stuffed

your room is complete

the laundry is done

the hospital bag is packed

your dad is off of night shift

your grandparents are checking in on me every five minutes

our friends are ready to give me a ride to the hospital

we are ready to hold you and love you

anytime you are ready little man, i am ready too.

medical monday : i was in your shoes

I am so glad to have found this little blog hop last year!  Like many of you, I started looking for advice during the residency interview season.  My husband was a 4th year in Kentucky and I was terrified of what was to come!  Thankfully, I ran across this great resource of others going through the same thing (or who went through it at one point).  They have been a continuous source of support both directly and indirectly since I started participating, and I hope those of you new to this find the same thing.  

Since it is officially interview season once again, I thought I would share links to my old posts from our journey through it last year in case you are here looking for that sort of information.  If not, I invite you to check out some of the other topics to the right and say hello.  There are also ways to follow my little blog shown on the right :-).  

Welcome to Medical Monday!

Links:

the beginning of a new normal

my first ever post explaining why I am blogging in the first place...

before residency: interviews

the basic layout of an interview's schedule and advice on how to get the most out of the experience

rank order list : our dice throw

how I felt the day we submitted the list

the Match : what is it?

exactly what this sounds like... an explanation of what the Match is and advice on making your rank order list.

the Match : tears of joy

opening the Match letter.  These pictures still make me tear up.

well whadya know?!

Our big announcement we were holding in during the Match, and what will hopefully be coming to fruition in the next week!

4th years and SOs... enjoy this time.  Have fun with the process.  I know how stressful this time is, there is more to our story than what you are able to read on here since I started this blog right after we finished with the interviews.  Many of you are unknowingly meeting the people that you are going to be great friends with in a year from now.  Some of you may not have such a happy ending.  But it is all worth it.  Every step of this process is worth it.  Don't worry about the small moments that you are worried you messed up or missed... it is all just part of it.  As a spouse that attended some of the trips with my husband, I know this really well.

It was the interview for what is now our home.  We had never heard of this small city in South Carolina before.  The program had us staying in a nice hotel in the heart of their downtown.  We weren't sure what I was supposed to do about the resident dinner that night... it just wasn't clear to us in the invitation.  So I found a sushi restaurant a few blocks away and grabbed my book.  I walked to the restaurant alone (in the middle of the night...and felt completely safe in this new place).  Shortly after ordering my husband was texting to say I had been invited and there were other wives there.  I felt awful.  I really wished I could be there with him to meet these people; hoping I wasn't messing anything up by NOT being there.  But I put it out of my mind and enjoyed my dinner alone, followed by a walk through the downtown.  It was a clear night in January, there were lights in all of the trees, everything but the restaurants was closed.  But it was just so charming.  I went back to the hotel and knew this is where I wanted us to be.  There was no time the next day for us to explore before we had to rush to the next interview location, so my accidental night out was all we had to go on with our feelings on location.  But it was enough.  With just a little bit of convincing, my husband ranked Greenville as our #1.  This place had everything we were looking for, and I hadn't even met the people.  

Several months later we moved here, and during orientation week, I was 'remembered' by another spouse as "the one that went to dinner alone".  While slightly embarrassed for just a second to be remembered that way... I don't mind.  It is one of the reasons we are here.

And we are so, so, happy.