Home For the Holidays

There's nothing like going home for the holidays.  And this year was extra special as Mateus was able to meet so many family members and spend an extended time at Grandma and Grandpa's house.  He spent some quality time with his cousin Nathan (they especially loved playing on the floor mat together) and napped on lots of shoulders.  All the festivities must have been tiring as most pictures of Mateus on Christmas Eve and Christmas day are of him sleeping.  Such a rough life for a 7 week old!
The drive across the state was a long one but for the most part Mateus was a trooper.  He did let us know when he had had enough of the car as he had some choice words (sounds) for us about 45 minutes from our house on the drive back.
2012 has been such a special year for us-it started out a little scary teaching me that as much as we want to think so, parents are not invincible.  So very grateful for a positive outcome and a healthy father! And then from experiencing pregnancy (with my sister right there with me) to travels in New England,  to family and friends coming together for 2 wonderful baby showers, to the experience and arrival of Mateus, I can't think of a better way to ring in 2013 than with our little man by our side.  Looking forward to a year of many firsts and many memories to share.
Happy New Year!

6 weeks old

Mateus is getting ready for his cross state drive and is excited to meet more of his family.  He had his first babysitter this week (thanks Aunt Sara!)  I went to my Christmas work party this past Thursday.  It was great to see everyone and to socialize with adults.  After 4 hours though I couldn't wait to get home to our little guy.  I can't believe we are at the halfway point of my maternity leave.  Trying to make the most of each day together.  Above are a few photos from the past few days.

A week of firsts

This was a week of firsts for Mateus.  After he hit the 1 month mark, I decided that it was time for both of us to get out of the house.  He had his 1 month check-up at the doctor where he weighed in at 9lbs 6 oz.  He gets an A+ in the feeding department :-)  Joe and I then took him out to lunch where he slept the whole time.
He also had his first trip to the mall and his first encounter with another baby.  The photo above is Lily, the daughter of friends of ours.  She is 3 months old and by looks of things has a thing for younger boys :-)  On Saturday, he went to his first Christmas party and seemed to enjoy being in a crowd.  He partied until almost 10 pm!
Mateus is learning to sleep for longer stretches at night and has gained some nice strength in his neck thanks to tummy time.  He continues to fight with reflux but is finally learning to keep his medicine down.  He has started to get added bonding time with Daddy as he was also introduced to the bottle and they now get to share a meal together.

At 1 month.......

You are starting to look at our faces
You are gaining strength in your neck and legs and try often to demonstrate just how strong you are
You make the most adorable face with your chin sticking out and your arms stretched over your head as you try and wake yourself up in the middle of the night to feed
You love to snuggle up into anyone's chest
You create the funniest faces by contorting your mouth in many different positions
You finally took a liking to the pacifier
You are starting to sleep at night for 3-4 hour stretches
You have yet to decide if you like bathtime
You are starting to enjoy the music and visuals on your tummy time mat
You have almost out grown your newborn diapers and clothes
You have introduced your Mom and Dad to a kind of love they didn't know they were missing until you were born.

4 weeks old

Much to Mom's dismay, Mateus has been an early riser on a number of occasions this week.

Another week gone by

Another week has gone by.  Mateus is certainly growing and barely resembles the little guy we met for the first time just 3 weeks ago.  I'm thinking that we will be saying goodbye to the newborn size very soon.  In a way that makes me sad but trying to be the optimist- his wardrobe choices get much larger as soon as he can fit into his 0-3 month clothes.  :)

2 weeks old

Mateus is now 2 weeks old!  It's been a week of learning for us as all the grandparents have gone home and Joe went back to work.  Mateus and I are working on finding our daily groove.  The weather has been so nice that we've been able to get out of the house for daily walks.  It seems to be the only way I can get him to fall asleep during the day. He definitely does not seem to have his days and nights confused which I guess is a good thing except for the fact that Mommy could really use a nap by 3 o'clock.
One struggle I've discovered this week is with feeding.  He still is a very good eater but now I'm noticing him choking more during feedings.  I've already had my first panic call into the pediatrician as I was fearful he was aspirating and the Speech Therapist in me was trying to diagnose what could be structurally wrong.  The nurse was very nice and suggested that maybe my milk was coming too fast and that I should try leaning back when feeding.  My first thought was "That's it?" A simple response.  No need yet for a swallow study?  Again the SLP in me jumping the gun.  Things have gotten a little better and although I still have some lingering concerns, checking his breathing every 5 minutes for a half hour following feeding seems to be my reassurance that for now everything is still okay.  Now that is just the neurotic new mom in me.

Pictures

To say that we are obsessed with taking pictures of our little man is understatement.  Everything little thing he does makes our heart melt and we are quick to capture it on film.  Here are some of my recent favorites.

1 week old already

Mateus is 1 week old already!  How quickly the week has gone by!  During our 3 am feeding last night I was thinking back to this time last week when I FINALLY got the epidural with his arrival 3 hours later and now here we are a week later totally in awe and in love with our little guy.  He's had a busy week of visiting with both sets of Grandparents and hanging out with Aunt Sara and Aunt Laura. He had his first walk in the park and visit to the pediatrician's.  He has already surpassed his birth weight and now weighs just over 7 lbs.  He was given high praise from the pediatrician for his ability to eat.  We've learned that he LOVES his hands and uses them effectively to communicate his desire to eat (the SLP in me is very proud :-).  Mateus is mastering control of his neck and loves to kick his legs whenever the opportunity arises.  Gymnastics in his future?
We've really appreciated the interest and support, the check-ins, and the extra hands from Grandma and Grandpa to help us transition into parenthood this past week.  Now the real test of adjusting to life as a three some.

38 weeks and counting

38 weeks and counting....Here is the most up to date picture of my belly.  I think with each day there is less and less space between my belly and my upper half.  This became very apparent during a 45 minute car ride yesterday.  With such a short amount of time left I have found myself "cramming" as if I have a final test coming up.  I guess in a way I do and just like my student self, I am starting to get nervous about doing well.  I will admit that I have not been the best about reading up on what's to come.  I've bought the books, read the first couple of pages, and then lost interest.  Maybe it's because I have yet to try and apply what I've read?  I know I have a huge learning curve ahead of me and I am trying my best to suppress some of my type A personality as I know it will be better for my mental state in the long wrong.  But still I can't help but want to get a few more "study sessions" in before the big day.  I discovered a great website tonight that was created by a Mom of 5 and she demonstrates everything...I mean everything.  From using a breast pump, to storing milk, to easy ways to dress for nursing in public...she has a video for it all. And I didn't even make it past the first topic.  I think I found my new lecture series and possible study buddy. 

The Name Game

The  name game....something that Joe and I have played even before thinking about children.  We have a very big difference in opinion in what constitutes a "good name."  It was a given that our son's first name would be Joseph but we are anticipating calling him by his middle name (I feel very strongly that our little guy needs to have his own identity) so we wanted to make sure we gave it some thought and it was something that we could both agree on.  Surprisingly, the middle name came early on in our search but it took me a while to commit to it as I kept thinking "what if it isn't a good fit?"  Well the letters have been pasted and framed (I've been having fun with picture projects) so I guess this is it. We haven't been outwardly sharing as I have been bombarded often from people I don't know (i.e. the cashier at the grocery store, the worker at Dunkin' Donuts, ladies at the gym, mother's at work) with the question "Have you chosen a name?"  I don't mind sharing but I'd at least like to know you first.  I have become very accustomed to responding with "we are still deciding" or "it will probably be a last minute decision," or "we have to meet him first."  I have encountered such nice people since displaying my bump- the smiles I get, the sharing of excitement, the compliments of "cute" and "adorable."  It has been very sweet.  But I'd hate to disappoint someone with a name that they don't like so it's just been better to keep it to ourselves.  Here are his initials....For those that don't know- wonder if you can guess the middle name? :-)

One Month and Counting....

With 1 month to go I am finding it harder to get out of bed, off the couch, and out of the little chairs that I sit in at work.  I think I have perfected the "roll up" as that seems to be the easiest way to get on and off low places.
We went for our hospital tour this past weekend.  Seeing the different rooms and hearing about labor and delivery definitely made the end result of this seem more real.  The woman walking laps around the hospital while speaking loudly into her cell phone about how uncomfortable she was did little to calm my nerves but at least now we have a better idea of what to expect once we arrive at the hospital.
I've started to put together my hospital bag and have found that I have packed more things for him than for me.  I worry about how cold it is going to be when we leave the hospital, what size clothes he'll fit into when he's born, and of course what can he wear for his photo shoot post birth.  We have so many cute things to choose from it's hard to decide!

Nursery

Little by little we have been getting things in place in the nursery.  Here are a few pictures of what we have done so far.  I really enjoyed looking for pictures to frame as we wanted to create some variety on the wall.  Can you tell we hope to instill our love of travel on our little guy?

Parenthood is on the horizon

It's been a while since I've participated in the blogging world.  The last time I was fortunate to share my experiences living on a different coast.  This time I will be sharing about a different kind of experience- Motherhood.  We are so fortunate to have so many wonderful family and friends spread throughout the different states and I wanted to to make sure that everyone has an opportunity to get to know our little guy and watch him grow.  We are now 6 weeks and counting before we embark on our new adventure.  Can't wait to introduce him to you!