ummm... March? What?

Wow, it's already March? Where did February go? People always told me that when you have a baby the time just flies by even faster. Boy are they right!



Dax has been SO much fun lately. He's a pretty easy going guy, thankfully! Although we need to work on his inside voice at the office. :) He likes to hear himself talk and wants everyone else to know he's there too.



He's really started to use his hands to play with his toys. He loves his rings, keys, and his exersaucer. His MP3 player that lights up is still a hot item too. Currently he'll play for about 15-20 minutes with his different toys before he becomes bored and either needs a change of scenery or a snuggle. Such a good boy!



Yesterday we piled into Daddy's Yota and headed out to the field at Grandma and Grandpa's to help dig fence posts. I should say that Dax and I sat in the truck and slept/played while we watch Grandma and Grandpa Strickland and Dustin try to get the auger unstuck from 6 feet in the ground.



Dax LOVED being outside. He snuggled right in to the front pack and passed out for about an hour. Of course I didn't have my camera with me but Dustin took a picture with his cell phone of Dax laying on the drivers seat in the sunshine. (No one worry, I was in the passenger seat watching him. He was not left un attended or put in any harm)



So here is Dax's 4 month picture, FINALLY! I already have some new March ones but gotta get 'em off my camera first. :)

4 month Dr. apt.

Well my little boy is almost 4 months old! We had his 4 month appointment and immunizations today and he weighs in at 14.4 pounds and is 23 3/4 inches long!

He has been reaching for and pulling on his toys, trying to roll over, talking VERY loud, and he now laughs! He doesn't laugh all the time but the couple of times that I have worked for his I've gotten him to laugh. It's the best!

So I am struck with how different my life is from a year ago. One year ago I was writing about turning 25. About the things I was grateful for and talking about how hard it was for me to turn 25. Remember how I said I didn't have any kids and I thought I would be the time I was 25? Little did I know that about 4 days later I'd find out that I was pregnant with Mr. Dax and then spend most of my 25th year waiting for him. I am so grateful for my 25th year of life and I can't wait to see what the 26th will bring....

P.S. I'm still a little apprehensive about this getting older thing but at least now I have a beautiful little boy to watch grow up. :)

Grateful

Get ready... I'm gonna brag.....and not about Dax this time.... but about Dustin! :-)

Can I just say how nice it is to have a partner that I feel comfortable with in every way, shape and form????

While a lot of Dax's birth has become a blur and even though I ask Dustin A LOT to clarify how some things went down... I will never forget how sweet and reassuring Dustin was. I will never forget how he held my hand and told me he'd be right there with me in the operating room. I will also never forget the first time I looked at Dustin while he watched Dax and the love I saw. I will never forget him reminding me how tough Dax is when we were re-admitted to the hospital and I kind of fell a part. I will also never forget how he picked up the pieces of my emotions every time I needed to have a cry.

Dustin really is an amazing, wonderful man. It's not every guy that would really step up when his girlfriend needs help doing the most basic things like walking to the bathroom (and making sure I can handle all of that on my own).... putting on my shoes.... helping me in and out of bed. There were several times that I remember crying in the hospital and after we got home because I just felt so blessed to not have to ask for help. Not having to ask is really a big deal. For someone to know that you just need that extra time from them means so much. It was funny though because when I would say something about how nice it was for his help he would say something like "well of course, why wouldn't I?" The thing is not every guy would.

Not every guy will stay in the hospital for a week with his girlfriend and new baby- not leaving for more than about an hour at a time. Not every guy would sleep on probably the worlds most uncomfortable pull out bed when his own comfortable bed is less than a mile away. Not every guy would make sure we were taken care of before doing anything else. Not every guy would feed his girlfriend while she feeds his son.

I am seriously blessed to have Dustin in my life as my partner and as the father of our son.

I don't tell him that enough. Even if I told him every day I don't think I would feel it was enough.

I am also blessed to be able to leave Dax with Dustin at any point without worrying at all. Truly it doesn't even cross my mind to worry about Dax with Dustin. Not even for a second. Dustin is Dax's Dad. He loves him just as much as I do. Several of my friends have commented about Dustin having Dax on Mondays. Most of them say that their spouses/boyfriends would have never felt comfortable with a baby as little as Dax. It just reinforces everything that I already knew about Dustin. He does a WONDERFUL job with Dax. Dax loves his Daddy and will follow him with his eyes everywhere. I can't wait for the day that Dax can actually follow his Daddy around the house or gets even more excited to see him when he comes home.

Thank you Dustin for all that you do for me and our son. I love you more than words could ever express.

Look at my handsome boys!!!

Oh the guilt

I love this little boy. I am head over heels for him. And... I have already screwed him up. Now my friend says that you can't screw up a three month old baby. Are you curious about how I've screwed him up??? Okay here goes... we still sleep together... and most of that is on the couch which also means that in the last 3 months I've probably slept in my bed with Dustin umm... hmm... well not enough let's just say that.

Now I know if any of you reading this are mothers you probably have some motherly advice to give me about things to try and I would love to hear them but really, this is my fault and my problem because I truly do love sleeping with him. I love feeling his breath on my cheek and knowing he is okay whenever I feel the "need" to check. It also does drive me nuts. I want to be able to sleep with Dustin, I want to sleep a solid night without my son draped across me BUT I know this won't last forever. I know that he WILL sleep by himself sooner than I am probably going to be ready. I love this little boy and when he's with me I know he's okay.

Please don't think that I don't leave him alone, trust me, I do. He has stayed with all of his immediate family members for several hours at a time and truthfully... during that time... I really didn't miss him too much. I like being me for a little while and not just Dax's Mom. I adore being Dax's Mom but any Moms out there know that from time to time ya gotta get yourself back.

As I type this Dax is sacked out on my shoulder... I should go lay him down but I know he will wake up immediately. I should go put him down, I will go put him down...... tomorrow....

Ya see my problem????

Christmas and Beyond

Oh my it has been too long since I wrote a post! Seems like any time that I have is of course devoted to Dax, Dustin and work. EEEKKK! Dax is growing like a weed and such a trooper. He did great on Christmas when we took him all over the countryside to be sure we saw all the family.

I went back to work on January 4 and even though I had huge trepidation about going back to work it really hasn't been too bad. I am truly blessed to be able to take Dax to the office with me, work from home two days a week and have my brother, dad and Dustin's dad off work to help out. So thankfully Dax doesn't have to be in daycare yet. Yahoo!!!

Dax's is now batting at his toys, babbling up a storm, smiling at people, and just entirely too sweet. I am so in love with this little boy!! I have no idea how much he weighs now but we go to the Dr again in mid February so I'll know details then since really household scales are detailed enough to judge his weight.

Sorry this post is so sporatic but that's my life these days! Oh yeah--- Dustin and I bought a "adult" truck! We got a Chevy 3/4 ton duramax diesel--- best part is the car seats fit SO much better in the backseat!! Don't even have to slide the seats forward or turn Dax's seat to fit it in the back, such a nice thing!

Ok on to pictures...

What I learned from having a C-section

Oh the things you learn when you go through a new experience. Before I had Dax I posted a list of comments about things I had learned while pregnant... here is what I learned in giving birth to Dax...

1. Be prepared, even if you have this idea in your head that you WILL get an epidural be ready for the fact that you might not be able to get in for quite awhile. We didn't take a child birth class but watched a DVD series and I felt like it prepared us enough. We didn't do any fancy breathing but for me just breathing deeply and slowly through the contractions really helped.

2. Contractions are much more painful, for me, when I was by myself. It seemed like every time I went to the bathroom or when a contractions started and Dustin was across the room they hurt a lot more. As soon as I could hold onto Dustin or he touched me in anyway I relaxed and could handle the pain a lot easier.

3. Distractions while in labor are key! I had my laptop with me and just cruising facebook or myspace helped the time go by... course when you're in labor for 30 hours nothing really helps.

4. If you don't want people at the hospital tell them you are doing just fine and will let them know when you are ready for company. I always thought I would want my family and close friends at the hospital to help pass the time while I was in labor. When it came down to it all I wanted was Dustin and didn't want any other people there. I told my Mom afterwards that the real reason I didn't want her to come right away was because I knew I would fall apart if she was there and I didn't need to do that at that time.

5. C-sections are not the end of the world. They put a whole new twist onto having a baby and to what you can do right after the baby arrives but as long as you are prepared with a support system you will be just fine. Be prepared to not want to move for about 2 weeks and really you won't be able to do much. DO GET OUT OF BED AND OFF THE COUCH! I put getting out of the hospital bed off an extra 12 hours and I almost wish I hadn't. After the first time getting out of bed, which did hurt A LOT, it got much easier and the first shower was definitely worth the initial painful walk to the bathroom.

6. Let the nurses, your family and your husband/boyfriend do all the work. There really is no reason to push yourself to do much more than relax, sleep and feed the baby. I changed 1 diaper in the hospital before we left the first time and that was only because the nurse had just left and I felt guilty calling her back. When we were re-admitted I took over the diapering and Dustin did all the paperwork--- we had to weigh Dax before feedings, after feedings and all of his diapers. Tag team everything!

7. Cry! If you feel the need to cry do it. Even though you'll probably feel pretty silly it really is important to get those emotions out. For me crying usually meant that I was exhausted. Dustin or my Mom would always send me to bed after a crying spree and I always felt better when I got up, even if it was only 5 minutes of stretching out.

8. Newborn clothes and 0-3 month clothes are NOT the same! haha! I asked my friend Carley if they were the same and she informed me they were not but for some reason i didn't believe her initially, sorry Carley! I should never doubt my pregnancy guru. I actually sent my Mom out to buy Dax a couple sleepers because he just didn't have enough clothes for being so little. I would suggest having 1 or 2 premie size sleepers because if you have a under 7 pound baby you will probably want them to look like they actually fit into their clothes at least occasionally.

9. Take everything that isn't nailed down from the hospital room. I didn't realize that once something is checked out to your room- like glucose water, diapers, wipes, or cups- it can't be taken back. We had 3 bottles of glucose water in our room when Dax was in for his jaundice that weren't opened that would have been thrown away if we didn't take them.

10. Okay I think this is my final one at the point ha ha! It's the most important one too! LET PEOPLE HELP YOU!!! This one was hard for me because the things I needed help with had nothing to do with the baby. I had the dumb idea that I could work and have a newborn. DUMB DUMB DUMB! I did it but needed help from some of my wonderful co-workers and letting them help made me feel guilty but was necessary and they all said they wanted to help. Remember when you want to help those around you?? Well this is your time to be helped, let people help.

Good timing... Dax is just waking up. Later gator!

I have an 8 week old baby!

Holy Cow how is Dax 8 weeks already??? I am having some major anxiety about going back to work. I am NOT ready! I still have like 2 weeks before our December break is over but we are SO not to a point of being able to be out the door by 7:15 am every day, okay not every day but we will have to be out the door 3 days a week. The days I work from home don't panic me 'cause if I don't get a shower in before 8 PM at night it doesn't matter. EEEKK!!! I don't know how parents do it and I SO , SO SO SO wish that I could be a stay at home Mom or that I could at least work from home. Even though I would still be working full time at least I wouldn't feel the added stress to be out the door bright and early.

Okay now I'm done whining. I shouldn't be whining because I am blessed to have a job that allows me to bring my baby to work. Not many people can do that!

As soon as I find the cord for my camera I'll update pictures of the little man! He is so big!