Cure for the Common Cold

Oh RELAX. It's not what you think. One year ago today our little adventure began. It was a Monday morning. I took the test, saw the results, and figured I'd better tell Ryan. It was approximately 6:45am. Our exchange went something like this:

Me (texting him the picture above): Don't freak out
Ryan: Are you joking?
Me: Nope, guess I better call the doctor to get a real test.
Ryan: No beers for you this weekend, I guess.

While it wasn't exactly a surprise, I think both of us were a bit in denial. Even though we were excited and nervous, it didn't quite seem real at that point. In fact, for me it only started to seem real when I had my first ultrasound at 11 weeks. He wasn't kidding about the no beers for me that weekend though - we had plans to go to Pittsburgh with Julie (my boss) and Donald to see the ND vs. Pitt game. I felt very strongly about not telling anyone until I had a doctor's appointment, so all week at work I worried about how I was going to get around not drinking while tailgating. My solutions: (1) volunteer to drive our car. Told Ryan if he drove to Pittsburgh, I'd drive home (big mistake. It was a loooong drive home in the dark in a car with three people who had been drinking all day), (2) offer to pack the cooler - Julie and I both share a love of Tanqueray so I decided that it would be easier to pretend to make T&Ts than fake drinking beers. Only problem was that I had to make the bottle go down somehow to make it look like I was also drinking, so poor Julie ended up getting twice as much Tanqueray in each drink. I actually did that twice to her in the early days of my pregnancy, and I still don't think she's completely forgiven me. Anyway, this time last year I couldn't even imagine how much our lives would be changed in one short year. I'm not one to get overly sappy, just feeling especially thankful for my many blessings today.

Too bad Connor wasn't in the mood to celebrate with us. As I mentioned in my last post, the poor little came home with a nasty cold yesterday and had a pretty rough night. He was just so stuffed up and couldn't breath. I broke out the bulb syringe. It wasn't pretty. I felt like I was torturing him. Probably was, because the first time I did it, I didn't use it correctly and actually blew the air up his nose instead of suctioning it out! Thank God for Youtube instructional videos! Anyway, saying Baby Linn and I did not sleep well last night would be an understatement. I just felt so sorry for him - it broke my heart to see him so uncomfortable. I was glad Ryan had off today so he could get a break for a day from daycare. He had to take him to his office while they installed a new server, and he said he was an angel...slept most of the time. When I got home from work I realized I had saline drops so I put some of those up his nose (another fun experience) and used the bulb again (correctly this time, though there were no less tears from Connor). I think he's feeling a little better, but I'm looking forward to the weekend when we can relax.

Sick little boys get to stay in their jammies all day!

 

While I was up with Connor last night, I entertained myself by browsing one of the funniest websites I've ever seen: www.dog-shaming.com I can't wait to submit pictures of my dogs when they misbehave!

 

Here's hoping for a better night's sleep tonight!  

We survived!

This blog seemed like a really good idea when I was home all day and had plenty of time to update it. Now that I'm back at work, I'm wondering what I was thinking! But fear not (Mom), I promise to do my best to keep up with it. It is getting more fun to take Connor places because he's so alert and interested in everything. We will be fairly busy over the next month or two so hopefully I'll have something a little more exciting to post about than my return to work and Connor's daycare. But since my return to work and Connor's first week of daycare was a little bit overwhelming last week, we were both tired and I don't have anything too interesting to write about.

My first week back at work went well. I am so lucky to work with such a great group of people. It really helped eased my transition. We are getting busy again, and there have been some staff role changes that are being implemented, so it's been full steam ahead. I am a little worried about how I will get everything done knowing that most days I have to be out of there by 515 to pick Connor up, since I was used to staying until 600 or 630 or even later most days, but I will just have to make sure to use my time wisely and efficiently when I am there. I have to say, it is nice having a reason to get out of there at a reasonable hour!

Ryan has most Wednesdays off, so he is lucky enough to be able to spend the day with Baby Linn. I think he may have been a little bit nervous last week since it was the first time he was alone with him for more than an hour or two, but I think they had a great day together.  They went to the grocery store, to his office for a little bit, and took a ride up to our friend's house who also has Wednesdays off and gets to spend it with his one year old daughter. I loved getting pictures texted to me throughout the day!

 

Sitting in the kitchen watching Dad cook dinner (funny, those pants don't go with that shirt, but they don't look half bad together)

 

 

Finally found a use for that book that we've been tryin to sell on Ebay!

 

 

Hurry home, Mom!

 

I'm trying to get into a routine after work - Connor usually gets a bath while Ryan makes dinner and then after dinner we play a little before it is time for a final feeding and then Connor is usually in bed by 9 or 915 and immediately after I put him down I wash my face, brush my teeth, and literally dive into bed because I am so tired! Connor WAS sleeping really well right before I went back to work, but I think the new routine has been a bit of a shock to his system because he's waking up through the night again at least once, sometimes multiple times. Most nights he will sleep from about 9-3 or 330 though, so I guess I really can't complain because that IS 6 or 6.5 hours straight. He just doesn't really go back to a sound sleep after that. Again, I guess I really can't complain too much about snuggling with a drowsy baby in the early morning hours. I don't think I've ever been so happy to come home on a Friday night and have nothing planned!

 

 

I survived my first week of daycare!

 

On Saturday we planned a full day of football watching. I felt a little bit bad for Ryan since Penn State was having such a rough start to their season and even though I swore I would never do it, I thought Connor might be a good luck charm.

 

 

Don't worry, he was out of those clothes immedately after the game and much more comfortable in his Notre Dame gear.

 

Connor was fast asleep before the Notre Dame game was over, but I was excited about our big win over Michigan State. I can't believe I stayed up until it was over, it was waaaay past my bedtime!

 

On Sunday my parents made a (sort of ) surprise trip up to Williamsport. I think my mom was missing Baby Linn. Connor was a little bit boring - he took a nap on my mom's lap for a good 1.5-2 hours, but I enjoyed their visit and my dad got his "chores" around our house done. Hopefully that was the last time he will have to deal with our window AC units! On Sunday evening we went over to Debbie's house for a delicious dinner. It was a beautiful night and she built a fire in her fire pit so after dinner we made smores. What a fun way to end the weekend!

 

Nothing too exciting to report about this week so far, except for the fact that Connor has his first cold. That didn't take long! I'm not surprised though, all those new germs he's been exposed to at daycare will certainly do that, and I'm sure that he's going to have his fair share of illnesses like every other baby. He's been drooling a lot and a little bit crankier than usual lately and I just assumed that he's going to start teething soon, but when I picked him up today his eyes were all red and his nose was all runny. He fell asleep in the car and he's still sleeping (actually, it sounds like he's snoring because I think his nose is a little stuffy). Hopefully he'll sleep it out and it won't last long. At least he'll be home with Ryan tomorrow so I'm sure he'll be well taken care of.

 

 

Poor baby.



All Good Things Must Come to an End...

... including my maternity leave. Yesterday was the day that I went back to work. Don't get me wrong, I love my job, missed my coworkers, and was more than ready for adult interaction, but I was still a nervous wreck about going back to work and taking Connor to day care. We had a very nice day on Sunday - there was an open house at our place so we needed to take the dogs and go somewhere. We called Bill and asked if we could take them down to his house and let them run. They've been a little neglected since Connor was born so it was nice to let them loose. It turned out to be a beautiful day and we went for a long walk - I got to try out the Ergobaby carrier and it worked great! Baby Linn was soon fast asleep and enjoying the ride. After we got back we went over to Bill's other house because Courtney was bringing the boys over and they wanted to swim. Of course the dogs made a beeline for his pond and then Murphy had a good time swimming in the pool with the boys. I wish I would have gotten a video of it, it was pretty cute. Bill made us a lovely dinner and overall the day was a nice distraction - I probably would have been  basketcase if we had sat at home all day and I could think about having to go to work/Connor going to daycare the next day.

 

Connor wonders "why does my mom dress me like a thug?"

Anyway, I didn't sleep very well on Sunday night. Connor slept from about 915-415. At first I was a little annoyed that he was up so early, but I actually enjoyed the extra time we got to rock & cuddle after I fed him. However, I kind of underestimated the amount of time it would take to make myself look presentable for work, feed Connor and get him ready, pack my lunch & his bottles, and load the car so by the time I was ready to leave I felt a little rushed.

 

Clearly more excited about going to daycare than I was to return to work.

 

It was probably a good thing that I was running a little late, because then I didn't have time to linger. My chin did quiver and I had a few tears escape as I left him - I couldn't help it - I'd just gotten so used to spending all day with him and it tugged at my heart to think that from now on, during the week, I'll only see him for about 3-4 hours during the day. I composed myself before I walked in the office and everyone was so glad to see me, so that really helped me get over feeling sorry for myself. Honestly, I didn't get much work done yesterday because much of the day was spent catching up, but today was back to business as usual. Ryan got done a little earlier than I did yesterday so he picked the little guy up. They send home a little paper every day with a report of when he ate, napped, and had his diapers changed. The ladies said he did great, and that was a real flirt. As soon as I got home I gave him a bath, and he was tuckered out.

The rough life of a daycare attendee - asleep on the couch before we were even done dinner.

 

We were all in bed by 915 last night. Connor woke up around 415 again this morning, and when I went in to get him he was on his belly! He couldn't figure out how to roll back over and he was MAD. This morning the routine went slightly smoother. Hopefully within a few days I will get it down to a science.

 

 

"I had so much fun yesterday, I think I'll go back today." One good thing about sending him to daycare - I am actually getting to dress him in his cute clothes rather than just his onesies.

 

I went to visit him at lunch time so I could feed him. It was a nice little break and I got to meet the two ladies who are in charge of the infant room. They have both worked there for several years, are very nice and seem to really like the little ones. Connor is the youngest (and cutest) one there so they seem to dote on him.

 

Tomorrow Ryan gets to spend the entire day with Baby Linn while I am at work. I'm jealous!



Jumperoo

Somebody got a new toy this weekend! Perhaps we felt guilty for leaving him for a week, but Connor got the Cadillac of jumperoos.

  

 

 

He was a little unsure when we first put him in, especially since he is still just a little too short. I think it may have been a bit of sensory overload at first, but he's been in it a few more times since then and is starting to get the hang of it. Since he doesn't seem to enjoy the swing anymore, we're hoping that this might entertain him for a while. I'm starting to get hives thinking about all the giant plastic baby toys that are starting to overtake our house, but he sure looks cute in it!

 

I fully intend to post about our trip to Ireland, but this past weekend I was still too jet-lagged to go through all the pictures and try to recap all our adventures. Plus, since I went back to work today, I wanted to relax and spend as much time cuddling with Baby Linn as possible this weekend. I promise I'll eventually get around to it, but it might have to be spread out over a few posts.