I'm no longer disabled

We are finally following a bedtime routine.  He cluster feeds between 6 pm and 9 pm, but at 7:30 pm we start the routine.  We feed him, bathe him (or wash his hands and face on non-bath nights), and then put his jammies on.  Then he eats again and we read him a story.  From 8 pm until 9 pm he cluster feeds and sleeps between eating.  At 9 pm he goes down for the night.  So far it has worked well and I feel a bit more in control of my evenings.

I've also started reading a book of my own while feeding him.  I've missed reading and I finally feel like I want to get back to it.  This is a great way to do it without feeling like I'm wasting my precious time during the day.  I'm sad that I can't go to my book club meeting on the 9th...but we're moving on the 10th and 7 pm is a tough time for me right now.

I had my 6 week postpartum check-up yesterday.  Scar tissue hurts.  Removing said scar tissue hurts even more.  I'm really tired of all the pain.  The contractions, the healing, the sore nipples.  I'm ready for this part of it to be over!  The doctor also says I'm no longer disabled.  This means I have a mountain of paperwork to fill out in order to continue receiving 'baby bonding' pay through the state.  So not fun.

We've started the moving stuff.  Chris has made all the phone calls to transfer everything and he bought some boxes.  He broke down the guest bedroom and started packing some boxes.  I cleaned out the freezers since we have to thaw out the big freezer in the garage to put it in storage.  This weekend I will finish up Ursula's wedding stuff and then get to packing.  If anyone wants to help we are moving on the 10th...

Welcome Gunner James!!

My cousin Monica had her baby boy a week ago!  She was due 2 weeks after I was, but Cooper is more than a month older than her baby boy!  Gunner James was born at 7:58 am weighing 9 lbs and was 20 1/4" long.  Monica went all natural with a home birth and it was a very quick labor!  She started contractions around 2:30 am and even kept her blog updated when she reached 8 cm!  I'm so happy for her and her family.  Gunner is adorable (as are her other two children)...be sure to check her blog for pictures!

Cooper was 'Dangerously Cute' in his new jammies last night (6-12 month size).  Grandma Jacqueline bought them for him...so cute.

He is also getting long for his bouncer.  We dressed him up in one of his outfits today...a Pooh outfit (6 month size).  It's hard to get him to smile for the camera because he needs to see our faces.  I think a got a couple good ones...

Furry Baby

The Drive:

We are home!  What a trip this was!  On the way out we weren't sure what to expect.  It was tough to get everything prepared and the car packed, but we left the house at 4:00 am as planned.  The first day was super long and every time we stopped to feed Cooper it took about an hour.  The first day ended up being about13 hours long.  We stayed at a Best Western, since they were the only place that took pets.  However the pet rooms were also smoking rooms.  Stinky and Gross.  We were supposed to get free breakfast, but since we left at 3:30 am we didn't get any.

The second day of the drive on the way to Denver was much quicker at 11 hours.  It still took awhile to feed Cooper, but we knew what to expect so it was a lot better.  We stayed at a Comfort Suites in Golden, and it was super luxury compared to the Best Western.  Chris got Hops for us for dinner (our favorite restaurant in Denver) and we were able to enjoy the free breakfast the next morning.

On the way back to California we left Denver at 4:30 am  and arrived at our expected midway (or so) point at 3:00 pm.  We stayed at another Comfort Suites and had chinese for dinner and again missed the free breakfast since we left at 3:00 am.  We made it home by 11 am during the second day.  The shorter days were because Cooper has learned how to eat more efficiently.  Instead of taking 15-20 min on each side, he now takes 8-10 min on each side.

Drive time to Denver:  ~15 hours

Drive time to CA:  ~14.5 hours

Funny thing...we ate Burger King breakfast almost every morning during the drives--it seems to be the only fast food restaurant on the drive between CA and Denver.

Scout loved the car ride and the hotel stays.  She also loves Cooper.  In the early morning hours (when it is still dark) of our drive today, she decided to do some cuddling with Cooper.  Around 3:30 am (30 minutes into the drive) I heard Cooper groan a bit, but didn't turn around to check on him because he got quiet (I check on him all the time!!).  Well after about 45 min of driving, he really started getting upset, but Chris and I were thinking that we should have at least another 45 min of driving before he wants to eat.

So I reach back to feel his little cheek to calm him and see if he is hungry yet.  What I felt was not my baby's soft cheek...I was nearly repulsed because it was furry!  I thought what the heck is on Cooper that is so furry or do I just suddenly have a furry baby?!?!  I turn around and Scout is curled up, sitting on top of Cooper and completely covering him up in the carseat!!!!!  She looked ridiculous!!

She weighs twice as much as he does and is nearly double his size!!  Poor Cooper had Scout sitting on him for nearly 45 min while Chris and I drove down the road chatting and listening to music.  It was funny and not so funny at the same time.

I began to triple check on Cooper and saw Scout try to crawl up on him again during the road trip.  On the next stop we put a pillow between Scout and Cooper which seemed to take care of the problem.

The visit:

We had a really great time in Denver.  The hardest part was sharing our baby all the time.  We had grown accustomed to just having him all to ourselves, and it was sort of tough to hand him over to everyone all day, every day.  It was also tough to know that he needs something and then have to ask for him back when the person doesn't realize what he needs.  It is amazing to us that we have learned his needs and cues so quickly.  All in all we are so glad Cooper has so many people who love him so much and want to hold him and shower him with that love.

My brother graduated high school (Congrats Larry!!) on Friday.  It was tough to get up and get there on time.  We got up at 5:30 am and barely made it to the graduation on time at 9 am.  Crazy how much more time a baby adds to a morning routine.  Granted we also had the dog and had to drive her across town to my sister's house.  At the graduation we got to visit with my mom, step-dad, dad, and siblings.

After graduation we went to Chris' mom's and grandma's to stay for a few days.  We went to the graduation party that evening and had a really great time.   Over the weekend several people came to see us which was really great.

Then we stayed with Mikael and Che the rest of the visit.  Maile was adorable the entire time and could really hold her own when it came to Scout.  She also seemed to be curious about Cooper and kept calling him 'baby'.  She even gave him a few kisses!  The only time she seemed to get jealous was when Nana (Mikael's mom) held Cooper.  I had no idea an 11 month old understood jealousy!

Tons of people made it over to say hi...many of them came on the weekend.  All in all the visit with everyone was wonderful.  We didn't do our normal running around and instead followed a normal daily routine.  We loved it and can't wait to move back.

Chris shot lots of video and will put together another video soon.  I will post pictures over the next few days.  We also got Cooper's one month old pictures and family pictures taken.  Che was our photographer and the photos are fantastic!!  Thanks Che!!!  (There were so many great ones, but I only posted a couple here.)

(Family Picture 5/08)

(1 month, 1.5 wks old, in Mommy and Daddy's arms)

(1 month, 1.5 wks old, with Daddy)

Cooper Updates:

This kid grows like a weed!!  We used 1.5 packs of NB size diapers, two packs of size 1 and one pack of size 2.  We are now using size 2/3!  We can't believe it.  Che says Maile is only in a size 3 and she is 11 months old!!  They aren't exactly the same size, but Cooper will likely catch up to her soon!

(Maile, 11 months, and Cooper, almost 6 weeks, with Che)

Cooper has grown out of 0-3 month clothing.  We are now in 3-6 month and 6-9 month clothing, depending on the brand (Gerber and Baby Gap tend to run small, while Carter's tends to run a little more true to size).  I have about 5 outfits he needs to wear in the next week or he won't ever get to wear them!

He is smiling at us and cooing quite a bit.  He also sort of squeals when he smiles and is really excited.  I love it!

It looks like he might be sleeping through the night sooner rather than later.  He has been going to bed around 9 or 10 pm.  When he wakes up at 2:30/3 am for feeding, he only stays up maybe 10 minutes and always has a dry diaper.  I think he might drop this feeding soon and just wake up at 5:30/6 am.

We are also going to start a bedtime routine with him.  We learned a lot from what Mikael and Che do with Maile, so we want to start something similar with Cooper.  Especially since he has started this new whining/crying thing when he gets tired.  He gets really fussy and shows similar cues to hunger, but does a lot of face rubbing on us.

We've found that it's best to swaddle him and lay him down when he gets tired.  He coos for about 15 minutes, but falls asleep on his own.  If we try to rock him, hold him, bounce him, pat him or sing to him to get him to fall asleep, it only prolongs the whining and crying.  I learned this the hard way right before we left Denver to come home.  After 2 hours of whining, fussing and crying I reached my breaking point.  So I swaddled him and laid him down.  Within 10 minutes, we were both asleep.

What constitutes a bad mother

I have to stop myself from saying "I'm such a bad mother" because I'm not a bad mother. I was too tired to burp Cooper during his 2:30 am feeding so I just laid him down afterwards. I woke up for the 5:30 am feeding and he had spit up all over himself and his bassinet. He laid in spit up for nearly 3 hours and I felt awful.



Then, the other day I decided to lay down for the last 45 minutes of Cooper's nap. We were sleeping in the same room. The next thing I know Chris is shaking me awake and holding Cooper who is crying. I ask if he is already awake. Chris says that he has been crying for 10 minutes. My baby was crying for 10 minutes in the same room as me and I didn't hear it?? I hear every little peep he makes and I can even hear him breathing when I wake up. I must have been exhausted!



All I have to say is that these things do not constitute a bad mother, just a tired one. Like Emmy says, if I didn't care that he laid in spit up for 3 hours or if I left him in his swing for an hour and went to the bar, then that would constitute a bad mother. Thank goodness Cooper has a daddy to pick up the slack when his mommy is just too tired.

Nose sucker

In the short time we've been in Colorado it has been beautiful! It's been summer weather near the 90's. It feels amazing. Che and I went on an evening walk with the babes and really enjoyed ourselves! It felt so natural to be walking along chatting as Maile yelled at the prairie dogs and Cooper slept soundly in the stroller. It was wonderful...I look forward to more of that when we move back.



Yesterday the weather has changed a bit. No surprise to us since this is Colorado. It's been super windy...there were even tornadoes about 60 miles away! That's crazy to think about!! I wouldn't be surprised if we get snow before we leave. I sort of miss actually having weather. California is eternally spring...beautiful, but sometimes boring.



Cooper has officially grown out of all of his 0-3 month clothing. He is too tall for it and the snaps on the onesies keep unsnapping or his shoulders are pushed down while the leg holes stretch wider to his belly button. It looks ridiculous. Too bad I didn't pack more 3-6 month clothing. He's not quite thick enough to fill out 3-6 month clothing, but he is definitely long enough.



He's been so congested in the early morning time. We forgot the nose sucker at home, so we had to buy another one (this is number 3, including the free one from the hospital). I've never seen such big boogers come out of such a tiny nose!! Poor kid.



Che took 1-month pictures of Cooper the other night. I saw a few of them and I LOVE them!! I can't wait until she is done with them. We take family pictures tonight and tomorrow morning. It's tough to make sure Cooper is awake, without disturbing his normal routine.

It's Raining Babies!

Congratulations to Heather and Jason Hilgers!! They are expecting their first baby due at the end of November. We are very happy for them!! I also found out that my friend Brandy at work is pregnant, expecting mid-December. How exciting!! It feels like it's raining babies!

We're here in Denver now. The drive out was long, but Cooper and Scout were great! We left around 4 am on Wednesday and reached Richfield (I-70/I-15 interchange) by 5 pm. On Thursday we left around 3:30 am and reached Golden by 2:30 pm. Basically we drove for 1.5-2 hours and stopped for an hour to feed Cooper, eat ourselves, or let Scout out. We went to graduation on Friday and we were just exhausted by Friday evening!!

We stayed with Chris' mom and grandmother for a few days and now we are staying with friends this week. It's tough not having the conveniences of home, but we appreciate having friends and family to welcome us in their home.

Being out here has made me really miss being in Colorado. We are looking forward to moving home. We are finally seeing this temporary move in California as a good thing, since it is a great transition to Colorado. It won't feel like we are leaving our home as much as we will feel like we are going home.

Cooper seems to have a little frog in his throat...I feel bad for him because it's making it hard to breathe. He has also gone up to size 2 diapers already! We realized he needed bigger diapers when he ruined a few onesies and the diapers were always super full. I can't believe how big he is getting so quickly. If only he would take a nap now so that I can take nap!

Off to Denver

It's 2:45 am and Cooper thinks it's play time.  He's been up for an hour and only ate about 20 min.  He still has another 20 min to eat and he needs to go back to sleep.  (We went to bed at 10 pm.)  It's okay, I love hearing his little noises and watching his arms and legs go a million miles an hour.

We leave for Denver in just over an hour.  I'll probably slow down on blogging until we get back, since I know we'll be busy visiting with friends and family.  Here's to hoping the car ride goes well!!

My first Mother's Day

Yesterday was a wonderful day!  This year, Mother's Day was more important to me than my own birthday.  It was really special.  I can't believe a grew a baby in my body!  I can't believe how much I love him!  My friend Emmy sent me an email about motherhood, and I loved it.  My favorite line was:  "I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body."  That's exactly how it feels...I love every moment of being a mom. 

I spent the morning with Cooper, like always.  When I got out of the shower, Cooper had a present waiting for me:

 

Sooo cute!  I got a pretty necklace with his name engraved on it.  During his nap I went and got a pedicure and a cup of coffee.  After his nap I took him to Babies R Us all by myself.  It was a very successful trip!  He slept the whole time. 

The only thing that happened was a comment from a rude guy.  I was chatting with him and his wife about Cooper, explaining that he was only 4 weeks old.  The guy looks at my belly and says "So do you have another one on the way or is that just leftover?"  I look at the wife in horror and then say, "I don't have another one on the way.  Considering it's only been 4 weeks, I think I look pretty good."   (Note:  Their son was 5 months old and his wife clearly had not lost very much of the pregnancy weight...I couldn't believe this guy.)  People are clueless.

We found a place to live.  We are going to live in the apartment with lots of amenities.  There's a clubhouse with pool tables, ping pong tables, and a projector/screen, a swimming pool and hot tub, a 24 hour gym, a putting green, a dog park, monthly movie nights, monthly breakfasts, and monthly game nights.  Plus we are only a few blocks from the beach, and only about a block from the harbor.

It will work for what we need and it's only temporary.  It's 300 sqft smaller, but it gets us out of here sooner.  We are going to give notice and be out by June 15th.  We will have a new lease starting June 10th.  We have to sign a one year lease or pay an extra $300 a month, but to break the lease we only pay one extra month of rent.  This is ideal because I can negotiate any company to pay that extra month for us.  We will have a lot to do when we get back from Denver, but it's okay, we'll get through it.

We are really stressed out with everything that's going on.  Between the Denver trip and trying to coordinate everything out there, plus finding a place to live here, and adjusting to a newborn, we are exhausted. 

I think Cooper is sensing it.  He hasn't been following his normal routine the last few days.  He's been more fussy, eating more, and sleeping less.  In fact he ate last night and then puked it all up down my shirt.  I felt so bad for him! 

I feel so tired even without interacting with people.  I don't know how we're going to do it when everyone wants to come visit us in Denver!  Here is what we usually do (each feeding/burping/changing takes about 45 min-1hr):

Feed at 8 am.  Walk at 9 am.  Feed at 10:30 am.  Nap from 11/11:30 until 2/3.  Feed at 3 pm.  Awake.  Feed at 4:30 pm.  Awake or sleep.  Feed at 6:30 pm.  Sleep or awake.  Feed at 8 pm.  Awake.  Feed at 9 pm.  Awake.  Feed at 10 pm.  Awake.  Feed at 11 pm.  Sleep from 11 pm until 3 am.  Feed at 3 am.  Sleep.  Feed at 6 am.  Sleep.

I'm exhausted just reading that!!  I'm lucky if I can get a shower in before he eats at 10:30...otherwise I have to wait until he goes down for a long nap.  I can eat breakfast quickly before we go on a walk.  His evenings vary quite a bit and sometimes I'm able to go to bed sooner, otherwise I just sleep for 15 minutes between feedings.  It's tough...but it will get better.

Here are the things we need to get done before we go to Denver:

• Pack
• Get Scout groomed
• Go to dinner for Mother's Day (we avoided crowds yesterday)
• Clean
• Do laundry
• Sign papers at the new apartment
• Turn in our 30 day notice
• Sleep
• Plan hotel stays for Denver trip
• Bathe Cooper

Zen is dead and buried

I. am. livid.  I wish I could say that despite my hot anger I am able to stay calm and not yell.  My peace, my calm, my zen is dead and buried.  I can say that holding Cooper and looking at him smiling at me in the middle of the night is my drug of choice to make everything all better.  Thank goodness for Cooper.

The real estate agent for the landlord called yesterday morning.  Chris answered.  The agent says he has put our phone number down for other agents to call and schedule appointments.  Chris went off.  He tells the agent that we aren't his secretary, it isn't our job, and that by law he is required to give us 24 hour written notice when HE schedules appointments to show the house.  The agent says, 'Oh, you're going to hold me to that, then?'.  WHAT?!?!  WE JUST CAN'T BELIEVE THIS GUY!!!

Another agent calls wanting to see the house.  Chris answered.  He tells the gal to call the listing agent that we are the tenants.  She says but this is the phone number listed.  Chris explains that it was a mistake and he fixed it this morning.  He isn't the secretary and the lady agrees.

The landlord calls.  I answered.  First thing out of his mouth?  "So you guys don't want to have the property shown?"  I just about lost it.  I yelled at him for 10 minutes and I doubt I was very eloquent.  I explained that it isn't our job to schedule appointments for people to come see the property.  He says but we are the ones living at the property.  I told him he has no right to ask his tenants to do this, that it is outrageous and absurd.  I also remind him he has to give us 24 hour written notice and appointments can only be scheduled during regular business hours.  He says then he'll just have people come over every 24 hours.  I tell him that I don't care as long as he gives us written notice.

He tells me that I'm just angry and making it difficult.  I told him I am angry, but within my rights to have these expectations.  I have other things to do...LIKE FIND A PLACE TO LIVE WITH A NEWBORN!!!  He says that we were the ones that didn't want to sign a lease.  I told him he was right, but that doesn't mean we don't expect him to respect our rights.  He says he is going to call his lawyer.  I tell him I can just send him the tenant and landlord rights.  He tells me I don't need to send him anything.  I tell him I have to go and promptly hang up on him.

Chris and vented to each other.  I mean REALLY?!?!  WHAT THE HELL IS THE LANDLORD THINKING?!?!  He is paying an agent 3% to schedule appointments.  If he wants to pay us the 3% we might consider doing all that work.  We might also think about making sure the house looks great to show and not mention to potential buyers that the property is over-priced, has mold issues, drainage problems, you have to run the water for 10 minutes before it gets hot, you have to bake your food for 10 minutes longer at 25 degrees hotter in the oven, and that 2 houses down there are two beagles that bark morning, noon, and night.  But since I am a tenant holding a 60 day notice, with a newborn and only 6 months until I move back to CO...I HAVE NO INCENTIVE TO HELP HIM SELL HIS HOUSE!!!

Am I angry?  Yes!  Do I have rights as a tenant?  Absolutely!  Does the landlord have to respect those rights?  You better believe it.

We are positive we'll have to fight for our deposit back.  Small Claims Court should be easy and if he doesn't pay it, they'll put a lien on the house and it can't be sold until we get our deposit back.  Chris and I have plenty of time to fight it.

We went to look at a few more properties yesterday.  I nearly wanted to just suck it up and go sign a lease for the apartment we looked at the day before.  I'm so over this living situation.  We found a couple of cute bungalows with little yards for Scout.  But they are priced a little high for 2b/1b and it will add 15 min or so to my commute.  With Cooper, I'm not interested in increasing my commute time.

We also went to look at another apartment.  My friend Caren lives in them and they are really nice.  It's a little pricey since we would be giving up a garage, washer/dryer, and yard for Scout, but we could be happy there.  There are tons of amenities and it will cut my commute by 15 min.  Plus we would be just a few blocks from the beach.  What a way to live just before we move back to CO.  There are two more places we really want to look at, but we desperately want to turn in our 30 day notice and get out of here as soon as possible.  We plan to sign a new lease before leave for Denver next Wednesday.

On a better note...

Cooper is ghetto baby.  We only bathe him once a week, twice if he's lucky.  He gets more baths if he has blowouts.  I figure he doesn't really get dirty.  He doesn't spit up, doesn't crawl, doesn't do much of anything right now, so how dirty can he really get?  Well yesterday his head smelled like a sweaty old man.  Well, how I imagine a sweaty hold man would smell...I don't make it a habit of smelling sweaty old men.  So I gave him a bath and I am going to try to bathe him a little more regularly to prevent the sweaty old man smell.

He took a bottle the other night with no problems, and then easily latched on to me right after.  We are going to try to give him at least one bottle a day (recommended by the lactation consultant at the hospital) until he gets it.  Then we just have to do it once a week to remind him how to do it.  He'll get plenty of bottles when I go back to work in August.  I was able to pump more milk than the last time, so that's good.  I have to say, pumping is so weird and unnatural.  I prefer to feed him directly.

My cousin Monica is ready to give birth any day now!  I'm very excited for her little boy, Gunner James, to make an appearance!

House hunting is no fun...

We went to look at some apartments today.  The first complex was a big fat no...very run down and tiny.  The second complex we really liked.  We looked at two different floor plans and surprisingly liked the smaller floor plan better.  We would save $400 a month, but it would be some serious downsizing.  We would be moving to a an 850 sqft place, and we would lose the yard and garage.  We currently live in a 1400 sqft place.  Ouch.  I feel like I'm giving up everything...so we'll probably keep looking and keep it as a back-up option.

It just makes me so angry!!  Why can't he wait a few more months??  Really we have to move by July 1, but we were planning on moving between Oct 15 and Nov 1 anyhow.  That's 4 months!!!  The landlord is taking a big risk in assuming the place will sell in 3-6 months.  He has it priced $60K more than the most recent place that sold.  The place needs some serious upgrades, has mold issues due to drainage near the house, and it has tons of termite damage.  I think he's setting himself up for possible foreclosure with having to cover the mortgage for awhile.

On a good note, I found a great deal at Ann Taylor Loft for some pants!  I went to Old Navy thinking I would just buy a cheap pair of jeans, but I hated all of them.  They fit poorly and the material is so itchy because it's so cheap.  I figured it wouldn't hurt to look at Ann Taylor Loft.  I found a pair of beautiful dark jeans for $20 and a pair of khaki's for $30!  They each are usually around $55 and they both make me feel fantastic.  I don't care that they are a couple sizes larger than what I usually wear.  I'm just glad I have clothes that fit me and I don't have to wear pajamas all day.

Chris sold his motorcycle today.  I'm a little sad for him.  He doesn't think it's that big of a deal.  It was his idea.  Since we're moving back to CO he won't get as much use out of it.  Plus now that he's a stay at home dad he said he won't ride it as much.  He bought it for $4000 three years ago and just sold it for $3300.  Not bad I guess.  I told him we could buy a bigger one for him down the road if he still wants one.

First Movie

Cooper is the loudest farter/pooper ever!!  Before he wakes up from any nap he lays there and grunts and whines for at least 30 minutes, sometimes for an hour.  In the middle of the night I get up to check on him thinking he's hungry and he's still sleeping, but grunting/whining away!  Then you hear him fart or poop and it's all quiet again.

This is okay to do at home, but during your first movie, I'm not sure the audience appreciates it.  I swear during every quiet part in the movie, he started grunting and whining, and then had a big time fart.  It was hilarious!

Yep, we got out yesterday and went to see a movie during his long afternoon nap.  We saw Iron Man.  It felt great to get out and although it is highly stressful and very difficult to breastfeed in the dark, I enjoyed the movie.  It was really funny and I enjoyed the story--worth seeing.  If you bring a newborn with you, use a swaddle...poor thing jumped at nearly every explosion.

I need to go buy some postpartum clothes.  I can fit into my pre-pregnancy jeans, but they aren't comfortable and are definitely not flattering.  I'm going to buy a few pairs of jeans and some nursing friendly tops.  Although I ordered a nursing cover, I still need some easy access shirts.  I'm tired of wearing pajamas all day, every day.

I pumped for the first time late last week.  It wasn't as scary as I thought it would be.  I like my pump...easy to use, easy to clean.  I didn't get very much and Cooper wasn't sure of the bottle.  He had a hard time sucking on it, since it's completely different than getting milk directly from me.  We also tried to introduce the pacifier to hold him over until I'm ready to feed him.  He spit it out--he really hated it.  We've had some latch problems since then which has caused some seriously sore nipples for me, so we're working on that before we try the bottle again.

Name

I've been calling Cooper by his name pretty much since we decided that it would be his name.  I've seen it written down, heck I've written it down.  But nothing made it more real, than Cooper receiving mail!!  He got his social security card in the mail.  It is amazing to think that I named someone.  I mean the name they'll have for life.  That's just crazy!

We have started calling on some rental properties.  We found 10 places  in the areas we really want to live in.  Basically we left messages at several of them so we know if they offer month to month, allow a pet, have a garage, and washer/dryer hook-ups.  If none of these work out, we will start looking at other areas that are nice, but are our second choice to live in.  Then we will look at giving up some amenities.

I feel so stressed about moving!  I know I'll feel a lot better as soon as we find a place.  But then we have to pack everything!!  Yikes, we've been living here for 5 years!  It will be a great time to purge.  This couldn't be worse timing.

I'm finally getting a routine down in the morning.  I feed Cooper around 8 or 9 am (depends on what he wants), then we go on a walk, then I feed him again.  After that I take shower and then get some small tasks done before feeding Cooper and eating lunch myself.  These tasks could be returning emails, shopping online, or cleaning.  Now if only I could do the same for the afternoon and evening.  All in good time I guess.

Okay, gotta feed my hungry son again...he's an eating machine!!  At least I have House Tivo'd so I have something to do while he eats.

Hair poof

After the bbq last night I was exhausted.  I didn't take a nap at all yesterday and I felt it.  After feeding Cooper around 8:30 pm, we fell asleep together in the recliner.  He was laying on my chest.  My head kept falling forward and my nose would end up in his hair poof (the hair on the crown of his head that sticks straight up all the time).  I would wake up, itch my nose, and fall back to sleep.  I did this until 10:30 pm. 

I really woke up at 10:30 and yelled for Chris.  I was so out of it.  I woke up holding Cooper's head completely still like I was trying to feed him.  I told Chris I had no idea how long he had been breastfeeding, but that we were both sleeping and I needed to go to bed.  Chris asks what I needed him to do.  I looked bewildered and told him to take Cooper.

I went to bed and slept until 1 am when I had to feed Cooper.  I felt so much better when I woke up!  He  slept like champ otherwise.  I only had to get up one more time at 4:30 am to feed him and then he slept until 8:30 am.

He's spends most of the day awake now, besides his long afternoon nap and short 10 or 20 minute naps.  He is becoming more interactive, too.  He accidentally smiles now, but it looks more like he's practicing using his facial muscles.

We've found a few places that might work for us to move to.  It looks we will be able to save at least $200 a month in rent without sacrificing too much.   It's still stressful!

We have to move!!

Today was a really great day!!  I got tons of sleep last night after feeding Cooper for 7 straight hours.  I went to Target and got all the things I needed, while Chris took care of Cooper.  We cleaned the living room too. 

And, we were social!!  We went to a BBQ and had a lot of fun.  I breastfed in public for the first time and Cooper was a super cute, super good baby for the 3 hours we were there.  We're both really tired now, but it felt really good to get out.  (Thanks for the invite Christina!)

Our landlord gave us our 60 days notice today.  We have to move by July 1st.  We are stressed, frustrated and angry about it.  But there's nothing we can do so now we are off to house hunt.  The realtor came over when Cooper was 2 weeks old and told our landlord that they won't be able to sell the house with us living here because it's too messy.  Ummm, hello?!?  I could barely take a shower or eat lunch, let alone clean my house!!!  That makes me angry more than anything.

And if the landlord can't afford to keep the house, how in the world are they going to afford paying a mortgage for 4-6 months while waiting for it to sell without the income from our rent (if they are lucky enough to sell it in that amount of time)??   Plus they will have to give us our deposit back in 21 days after moving out.  The landlord clearly isn't thinking this through.  If we weren't traveling to Denver for a couple weeks, we would turn in our 30 days notice today and move out June 1...make them pay another month on their own.

He also asked us today if we could keep Scout off the front yard while he lays new sod.  Umm, nope, I think I'll just let her pee all over it thank you very much.

::Runs off to frantically search the internet for a place to live.::

Blowout

We recently switched from NB sized Pampers to Size 1 because the NB size wasn't holding all of the stuff Cooper could put in them.  I'm so glad we did because even with Size 1 we ended up with a big mess.

You see, Chris usually has diaper duty since I have to spend at least 40 minutes with a child attached to my boob.  I decided to give Chris a break yesterday afternoon and go ahead and change Cooper myself.  I decided to do this before his feeding, when we usually change him between switching sides that way he is more content.  I don't know which idea was worse, changing before feeding, or me doing the changing.

I do all of the prep work and open Cooper's diaper.  He turns on the sprinkler and sprays all over himself.  I'm quickly trying to cover him, but I just get a big puddle of pee on top of the diaper.  Then he decides he also wasn't done pooping and it goes everywhere.  Up his back all over the changing pad (thank goodness for those paper pads Caren bought us!) and all over my hands.  Gross.

I call Chris in and he just smiles at me.  At this point Cooper is screaming his head off because he's hungry and because I still haven't taken care of the diaper situation.  Chris decides a bath is the only option.  Up until now, I've been the one to manage giving Cooper a bath by myself.  This time Chris volunteered to do it.

So he proceeds to give a wet, slippery, squirming, screaming baby a very quick bath.  Cooper practically threw himself off the mesh bathtub and barely bonked his head on the tub.  I don't know how I'll ever trust myself to actually put him in a tub of water since he's so squirmy. 

You think we killed the poor kid!  Once we have a freshly cleaned baby, we dress him and I'm finally able to feed him.  I really hate hearing Cooper cry, so the whole 20 minute ordeal was heart wrenching for me.

Again this morning I attempted changing Cooper myself.  Again I got the sprinkler.  I gave him a quick sponge bath, but I'm seriously considering bathing him again.  I think I should go back to my day job and just stick to feeding Cooper.  He likes to pee and poop on me.  He knows I think it's gross.

We went for a walk yesterday.  I need to take it easy though.  I start to feel better so I push myself a little more and then I'm having to take Motrin again for the pain.  It was fun to get out and Cooper looked so cute in his little hat. 

I'm supposed to get my breast pump in the mail today.  I have really started to enjoy breastfeeding, despite the toe-curling, white, hot, make-you-want-to-throw-up nipple pain when he latches.  It lasts for 30 sec, then I really enjoy it.  Both of us have the hang of it and now I have to figure out how to pump. 

I'm very intimidated by the idea of pumping.  I think part of it is that breastfeeding directly is just easier, and part of it feels like he's growing up too fast now that he will also take a bottle.  I know, it's weird.  It will be nice to have a break and Chris should get to 'bond' with Cooper over food too.