Thank You...

To Grandma (John's mom) who has helped out a ton during my gall bladder surgery and afterwords. Jay has enjoyed his time with her too!
Chad and Christine also visited this past weekend:


Jay had his 2 month checkup today. He weighs a little over 11 lbs (30th percentile), his height is 21.9 inches (34th percentile), and his head circumference is 15.7 (48th percentile). He can do all the normal 2 month things: Smile, Coo, Tracking, Holding up his head... He got a bunch of shots, but did pretty good with them. We'll see how the rest of the day goes:)

My last two weeks of being a full-time mom are flying by. I have tons of appointments and things I need to finish before I start work again. I am pretty excited to start work though. I miss the kids I teach, and teaching is something that I am good at, so even though Jay going to a babysitter for 5-6 weeks before John can be a full-time dad will be hard, I'm looking foreword to it.

Jay Update: 8 weeks

Jay is now 8 weeks old!
He is fatter...yep he is a growing boy. He has outgrown almost all of his newborn outfits, and is on to his 3 month clothes...which makes it fun to play dress up! He also opens his hands more instead of keeping his fists clenched. He is enjoying toys and follows them a lot better than he used to. He also drools a lot (significantly more than a week ago). I wonder why? He has missed "comfort feedings" these last few days while I am recovering from surgery, but has coped with bouncing and being sung to:)
His hair is awesome. It is bald at the top, wispy in the middle and long at the bottom. When he gets angry and cries it gets all sweaty and then it sticks up. I'm working on getting a good picture of it:)
Here is a chinny smile.

Here is a shirt my sister made for him that says "mr. fussy" :)

He is still a crabby little man, but we are noticing some times when he will just sit or lay and be happy for like 10-15 min. at a time!


He hasn't been sleeping quite as much lately during the day (although it may be harder for him to fall asleep without breastfeeding). On the other hand, during John's first night on baby duty, Jay slept until 4:30am, and last night he slept from 10:30pm-5:30am! Lucky guys! (I still have to get up in the middle of the night to pump!)

We have a Dr. appointment on Monday, so we will see how big he really is! He also will get a bunch of shots, so he will probably be crabby. I have a great video of him crying, but I will save it for a post when I need to complain:)

Surgery went well

My surgery went "just as expected". Everyone was very friendly, and the same anesthesiologist that did my epidural did my anesthesia for this surgery! The surgeon said my gall bladder was full of lots of little stones, and it came out easily. I have 4 incisions and I am very sore in my stomach area, and my throat. I hope healing comes quickly. John's mom is here until Friday night so that is awesome!
More pictures of Jay to come soon.

Friends visit

We had some friends visit us this past weekend.
Sharla and I have been friends since birth (our moms were friends). We were buddies in grade school, shared a locker in High School, and lived in a room together in College. It was great to be able to hang out with them.
Sharla and Andy got a taste of what Jay is often like the first night. He cried...a lot. The next day we all took turns holding him and tried new strategies, and it went much better.
We got some smiles out of him...here's the proof.


We also went out for Ice cream, and did a few other things. Thanks for coming!

I'm going under the knife...

Yep,
I'm getting my gall bladder out this week.
About 3 weeks after Jay was born I started having these pains in my side/stomach/back that were very painful. At first they only lasted 10 min. and then stopped. Then one lasted for 25 minutes. I felt like I was going to puke. It was also kind of like contractions, except it didn't come and go...it was constant. (I have only had 5-6 "attacks" total.) I located where the pain originated in my body and looked up a picture of all of the organs online. Yep, the pain was coming right from where my gall bladder is. I had a hunch because my sister had similar "attacks or pains" after she had her first kid. Hers grew into something bad and she spent 3 days in the hospital. Her story is HERE. I am thankful for her ordeal though, because then I knew that it was common for pregnant or recently pregnant women to have issues with their gall bladders.

Back to the story. Because of my suspicions, I saw the doctor, then I had an ultrasound which revealed I had gall stones. Then I met with a specialist and he confirmed that I need my gall bladder out. It is most likely an outpatient surgery that is done laparoscopically. If there are infections or other circumstances, it could be longer. I am definitely apprehensive, but I realize that life could be worse. I am dreading recovery, but thankful that it is being done while I am on maternity leave so I don't have to take more time off from work.

I'm also hoping I can keep up my milk supply during everything by pumping. I am fine with Jay getting formula, and actually I am looking foreword to trying only formula for a day or two to see if his behavior changes at all. I do recognize the benifits of BF and don't want to quit that either.
I am also thankful that John's mom is willing to come for a few days to help out, because John needs to go to work the rest of the week. He is on "night duty" for a few nights though, which will be new for him.
Wednesday is the big day!:(

matching

I didn't realize that Jay and I were dressed alike until someone pointed it out to me :)
Oh well.

a cute video

Here is a cute video from this morning during his happy time. It is kind of long, but it shows some personality:) I got the sound to work!
It kinda looks like he has a puppeteer (sp?) pulling his hands and feet up:)

jay 7 weeks from angie shaler on Vimeo.

A few hard days and nights...

They say that colic gets bad between weeks 6-8 and they aren't kidding. Jay has been screaming a good portion of the day, and most nights from 8-11. He stops for a while when daddy sings with him, or when I nurse him...and he might be quiet for 10 min. here and there. He hasn't gone to bed easily like he did weeks 3-5. Now he fights it so much and doesn't actually go to sleep until 11:15. Last night I just stuck him in bed at 11:00 (his normal bedtime is between 10:00-10:30) and let him cry for 10 min. before I picked him up again. Then after another "comfort feeding" he whimpered himself to sleep.

He LOVES to suck at night, but he hates the pacifier and will only take a finger for a short while.

I keep thinking it has to be gas or trapped air or something else, because he is not happy after he eats either (with breast milk or formula). We have been trying Mylicon(gas drops) off and on before, but yesterday and today we have been giving him drops every feeding or more often. My mother-in-law seemed to notice a slight difference, but I don't notice a thing. He farts a lot, but he always farts a lot.

Grrr... I wish I could do more for my little man. At least he likes to sleep in the swing some of the time.

A day with Mommy...

By: Jay
(photos taken over the last week)
First, I wake up in the morning and eat. Then I shower mommy with smiles because I am full and awake.

Then I take a walk or hang out with mommy during my happy time.
After a while I think and ponder what comes next.

I'm pretty sure it is crying...yep that's it.

Mommy tries, bouncing, shhhshing, swaddling, rocking, the pacifier and eventually retreats to the nursery where it is dark.
She turns on Tim's music...#9 "Everything is New" to calm me down if I am screaming, then #2 "Part the waters" to fall asleep
She rocks me to sleep (or sometimes feeds me more if I won't calm down).
Then I go to sleep in the swing...it is my favorite place in the world for napping.

Then I wake up, eat and get changed. I love my changing table and stare and smile for a long time.
Then I have a little bit of happy time.
After that I get crabby again. That is usually when I have tummy time.

Then mommy tries gas drops, walking, the bouncer, holding me different ways but I still won't stop crying. Then we go outside in the porch swing and I like the wind and the things to look at, so I stop crying for a while.
Then I go back in the dark to get really sleepy and take another nap.

This pretty much repeats itself if I am having a good day. Otherwise I cry a lot more:)
My mommy loves me.

I love my daddy.

Here is Jay at 6 weeks old. He weighs 10 lbs. and is still a crabby little man a lot of the time. He has been grunting and cooing a little bit more and has a super-cute pouty lip. He smiles when you smile at him about 1/3 of the time if he is happy. I am starting to recognize his sleep cues...but that doesn't mean I can get him to go to sleep right then:)
He gets his blue eyes from his daddy.

His pouty lip:)

Here is John with his dad at 6 weeks:


Here I am with my dad between 4-8 weeks:

pictures

We caught a few smiles this week, but he has been screaming all morning long, so I don't have time to post anything else.

Pray

Please pray for my blogging friend KT and her new baby girl. Her baby is in NICU and has high ammonia levels because her body cannot process a protein. I have been following her pregnancy for a long time, and feel for her and her family right now.
You can read about it HERE:

We're learning...

Things are getting better.
I feel like this week especially, I have learned so much about Jay. I think he also has learned a lot about life and me.
For example, I am starting to recognize his tiredness cues before he is irate.
I know now that he needs darkness or a swing to take a LONG nap. (I'm looking in to buying blinds for our front window and sliding glass door- any recommendations?)
I know that he needs a little bit a formula in the afternoon for him to have a good day.
I know that swaddling is essential for baby Jay.
I know that he is capable of a schedule but isn't there yet.

He learned that the pacifier isn't such a bad thing (even though he will spit it out either right away or after a few min).
He learned that crying/screaming in his car seat the whole way to our destination doesn't get him anything. (The last few times we went out he only cried for 5-7 min. and then either found his fist to suck on or just stared.
He learned that 2-3 hour naps once or twice a day make him much happier.

Here is Jay "singing" happy birthday to daddy:)
He is still colicky, but understanding him makes my job as a mom much less frustrating.
I figure if we get a babysitter who hasn't had kids, we will send the "Happiest Baby on the Block" DVD with Jay so they can try the strategies if he cries a lot:)
I went to school yesterday to get some work done and my co-workers held him and took care of him while I met with people. Jay did great, and I actually forgot about him for like 30 min. I think about him so much...it was weird to forget about him:)

On another note, I have had stomach pains/attacks a few times that are very painful (like bad contractions but they don't go away every few minutes). My sister had a huge ordeal with her gallbladder which left her in the hospital for a few days after she had her first kid, so I decided to see the doctor. All my symptoms point to gall bladder issues, so I have an ultrasound scheduled for next week to see what is going on. In the meantime I get to eat a bland diet and hope for no more gall bladder "attacks". I'm so lucky I think I know what it is, because many people with gall bladder pains don't figure it out right away.

A Good Day!

Today I love being a mom.
Today I felt like I had a normal baby.
Today I went to 3 different places with baby Jay and was gone from 10-3:45!
Today is the first day I think the Babywise strategy might actually have a place in my life.
Today baby had more awake happy time than I have EVER seen in his life.

As I reflect, I can think of a few reasons why he might have had a good day...but I really don't know.
Here are some reasons why he might have been so good:
*He got good sleep the night before (a 4 hour stretch and a 2 1/2 hour stretch)(Which also means I got more sleep and am happier)
*I took a Tylenol with breakfast instead of IB proffen
*He cried the whole way to the Dr.'s office (15 min.) and got tired
*He got a PKU test (they took blood from his heel)= blood loss?, his cries were a bit weaker and softer than normal after that
*He found his fist (while in his car seat) a few times on the way to and from places to calm himself briefly from the crying
*He got 2 oz. of formula during the middle of the day
*He slept more often and a bit longer than normal. a few 20-30 min. naps, and a 2 1/2 hour nap when we got home
*He enjoys being in the moby wrap (I have taken 2 walks a day lately with it!!)

*He had regular stools, and didn't seem to have a lot of gas
*Blackout curtains in the nursery and our bedroom (the bassinet). I figured out that he likes the darkness, and will go to sleep and stay asleep significantly better when it is dark (which may be why nights have been pretty good for us)
All I can say is that I hope this day repeats itself more often than not, and to those who have been praying for us and our little guy...THANK YOU.