11 Weeks 6 days

Noah went to the pediatrician yesterday and as I suspected he's really grown!

On December 3rd when he went to the cardiologist he weighed 10lbs 7 ounces and was 21 inches long. Yesterday (less than a month later) he weighs 21lbs 2 ounces and is 23 1/4 inches long!

He got some immunizations yesterday too, one shot that combined 3 things and a polio vaccination which was oral. The nurse cracked up because he sucked it down. She couldn't believe he grabbed her hand trying to get it. Have I mentioned that he's serious about eating?

Noah seems to have developed a cold today. He's had a runny nose and he's been sneezing and coughing some. Around 7:30 I took his temperature and he had a low-grade fever. I gave him some Tylenol, a bottle, and put him to sleep. He's just beginning to stir so I'll probably take his temperature again to check on it.

We're having people over tomorrow for New Years so I have a lot to do tomorrow to prepare. Hopefully I'll get it together!

11 Weeks

Well, we've survived Noah's First Christmas! I know Noah was very worn out by today though and he's slept very very well every night since Christmas eve.

We did pretty much all of our shopping last week, starting on Monday when we all went to Target to get most of our gifts. Tuesday, Ellen, Noah and I shopped around the mall and got lots of assorted gifts for people, including our gifts to Rudy. I wrapped all of our presents that night and then because I'm so impatient, we opened our gifts to each other! Noah and I picked out some cologne and a video game for Rudy. I had also bought him some socks a few weeks ago. I got a wonderful Kitchen aid mixer from Rudy, so I was really glad we opened our gifts early! I was going to make cookies for presents for my brothers but I was so excited I didn't wait to get the proper ingredients. I tried to make short bread cookies, but I didn't have any real butter, so they turned out pretty dull. I made dough for Mexican wedding cakes Wednesday which I planned on finishing when we got back from Rudy's moms house, but I didn't really have time.

We went to a Christmas eve service at Rudy's church in Radcliff where Noah was passed around and appropriately adored. Brad and Roxy were flying out to Minnesota Christmas day so we all exchanged our gifts then. Rudy got a mobile from Brad and Roxy that plays music and is supposed to turn. His doesn't turn, so we're going to exchange it for a working one, but it's very cool! Mia got Noah 3 Winnie the Pooh stuffed animals and 3 adorable shirts (one of which he wore later that night). Rudy got a set of DVDs that has hours of cartoons on it and a series of DVDS of the G.I. Joe cartoon. I received the Sims 3 world adventures game. Mia also painted us a planter and it looks really cool. I used to it to put kitchen utensils in. It was a good Christmas and it was great to see everyone.

On Christmas, we headed back to Radcliff for lunch. There was a huge spread which filled us up for the rest of the day. Noah was passed around to a couple aunties and got to play with his Lola and Mia. I had a bad headache when we were leaving so Noah and I went to bed when we got home.

Saturday, we went to my parents house where I helped cook and everyone watched Isaiah play and took turns holding Noah. Isaiah was fascinated with Noah and wanted to hold him and carry him around. We gave pictures to everyone and received lots of cookies and candy. As well as a movie gift card and some money. My grandparents were in town from TN so it was really good to get to see them too.

Today, Noah and I mostly rested. I took down the Christmas decorations and did some laundry. Noah ate all of his bottles way to quickly today so he was pretty gassy. I'm going to have to start slowing him down.

Noah's 2 month checkup is tomorrow (even though he's almost 3 months old) so I'm very anxious to see how much he's grown. I know it's a lot because I can tell the difference he's made every week! Plus, he's such a healthy eater, it would be impossible for him to not grow.

Stay tuned for updates after his appointment!

2 1/2 months

My recovery is coming along and I'm feeling more and more like myself everyday. I'm still in quite a bit of pain but with pain medication its very manageable.

Noah spent most of the day with his uncle Brad so that I could rest. Plus, carrying Noah really hurts my incisions since he's gotten so big! Being around the house without him is weird though and I hardly know what to do with myself!

Not much to say really. I'm hoping to get a little bit of Christmas shopping done tomorrow if Rudy isn't at work all day.

Can't believe Christmas is this week!!

9 weeks 5 days

That pesky gall bladder is finally gone and though I know in the long run I'll feel better, I sure do feel like crap now! My whole abdomen is pretty sore feeling and some of my back and shoulder blades too. It's definitely nowhere near as difficult as my C-Section though, which makes sense as it's 4 small incisions rather than one huge one. This pain medicine makes me pretty drowsy so I plan to sleep most of the recovery away which I'm sure will do my body wonders all around since I haven't really slept a whole lot for almost 3 months.

Noah did very well yesterday with SReio and Ashley. He didn't nap much, but they said he didn't fuss a whole lot either. Last night was pretty rough and he hardly slept at all. I think it's because he's so used to being put to sleep by me. I knew there was that risk by me always putting him to bed, but it just always happened. Hopefully, he'll either get used to Rudy doing it, or I'll get better and be able to do it myself again.

My mom is watching the baby today at her house. I hate not being able to take care of him myself, but I know that I can't really take care of him right now by myself because I can't lift him and I'm so sore and drowsy that I'm just not fit for it. At least Noah has grown out of his colicky stage and he's a little more predictable and easier to take care of. I feel more comfortable allowing others to take care of him than I would half a few weeks ago.

Noah's 2 month checkup is tomorrow and I'm anxious to see how big he is. I know he's grown so much! Mia will be here to help so she'll be going with us.

Family and friends are a huge help right now and I really appreciate them. I don't know what we'd do if they weren't around while I recover. We can't afford to pay anyone to come in and help and Rudy can only take off so much work. He was off all day yesterday and was with me at he hospital and he's going into work later today and will be only working a half day Saturday.

I'm not supposed to lift more than 10 lbs until I go back to the Dr for my follow up in a week. If I start feeling stronger and better I may start lifting Noah again. I'm just gonna play it by ear for now. I'm going to go take advantage of this quiet house, Noah being taken care of, and this sleep inducing pain medication and take a nap!

9 weeks 3 days

Tomorrow is surgery day! I will finally get this pesky gall bladder out! I'm not really nervous, though I don't especially like the idea of being put to sleep. Stephanie (AKA Sreio, AKA Birthday Buddy) and Ashley Crabtree will be watching Noah while Rudy and I are at the hospital, so hopefully he'll behave! I'm not too worried because I know how he loves attention and new people.

Noah had projectile vomit twice yesterday evening so we headed to Kosair to make sure everything was okay. We waited FOUR hours in the waiting room and by the time he was checked out, he was absolutely starving and exhausted but still did very well! He hadn't eaten anything in over 7 hours (successfully anyway) and he had basically sucked his hand raw. They did an X-Ray and saw no obstructions or anything to be worried about so they had us try to give him 2 ounces of pedialyte. He drank those 2 ounces in about a minute (not exaggerating!) because he was so hungry. He spit about half of it up too, we figure it was because he drank it so quickly, but we had to wait and try again to be sure. The next one we tried, I stopped him about half way through and he did fine so they sent us home where he's had no problems at all with his formula. They just told us to go back if he had anymore troubles, we still have no idea what caused the problem in the first place.

Noah has been smiling all the time now. He's very social and just lights up and grins when people talk to him. He loves the attention! Nobody seems to mind his ADORABLE smile either!

Noah's 2 month checkup is this Friday so we'll get to check on his weight, length and get another set of immunizations. Pretty excited to see how much he's grown, because I know he has!

I'm going to head to bed so I will be ready for surgery tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to getting rid of the gall stones, but not really looking forward to another surgery recovery. I got through the recovery of my C-Section though, so I know it won't be too bad. Wish me luck, I'll update again soon!

2 months old

Noah is 2 months old!

I went through a bunch of clothes in his room today and he's already outgrown a ton of clothes. Hard to believe since I remember when even his newborn stuff was too big!

Michele is coming over tomorrow to take Noahs 2 month pictures. I am very excited-I'm sure they'll turn out great! I just can't decide what he should wear.

Speaking of the handsome boy, he's woken up.

7 weeks 5 days

Can you believe it's December???

Noah had his visit with the cardiologist today and as suspected, the heart murmur is completely innocent and will never cause him any trouble. We also found out that he's jumped in weight again to 10lbs 7 ounces! He's gained over a pound in about 2 weeks! Definitely no doubt that I have a thriving baby boy!

In other news, I may have found the perfect job for me at this point in my life! I've been a member of a site called sittercity.com for quite some time, but I hadn't really done much with it. Last night, I applied to a couple of postings for sitters in the area mentioning my experience and also that I would be keeping Noah with me. I really wasn't sure how that would go over, but it doesn't make sense to babysit someone else's child, while getting a sitter for mine! Today, I got a response from a woman returning to work soon from having her baby. She loves the idea of having our babies together and asked if I would want to do it at her house or mine. I hadn't even considered the option of doing it in my house really, so I told her I was flexible but that it would be wonderful to be able to stay at home. I hope this works out because I really cant think of a more ideal way to earn money!

I've also been researching online programs. I'm hoping that I'll be able to get enough financial aid to go back this spring. We'll see how that goes.

Not much else is going on here. Noah and Rudy are both asleep on the couch, although I think I'll be moving them both to beds soon.