Papa Hernandez is in town

Jason's dad, Tom came to town this weekend for a visit. Tom has 2 grand kids already from his other son Tommy, but it's so cute to see him with Anderson. He already loves him so much! (How could you not?:) He loves to hold him, is always taking pictures and talks to him so sweetly. It's amazing to see Jason with his dad and Anderson together. I know that they are both so proud.

On another note, Anderson showed me how far he can puke today! He's never really spit up too much before; he typically just drools a little milk, but today I was feeding him on the glider in his room and I sat him up to burp him and he had PROJECTILE puke 3 times! I actually had to catch it! (and then yell down to Jason to bring me a burp cloth) So, needless to say, we had a bath and new outfits for both of us. Fun times!

Happy 3rd Birthday!

3 weeks that is! Part of me cannot believe it's been 3 weeks since having Anderson. He seems to be a perfect fit into our lives; we have been enjoying every minute with him (well, most anyway- the 2am freak outs aren't terribly fun) and he seems pretty good at going along with our lives too. Then, the other part of me feels like he has been with us so much longer than 3 weeks. He's gained almost 2 pounds and you can see it with the chub on his arms and legs; he is finally outgrowing most of his newborn clothes which is great because we have a TON of 0-3 and 3-6 month outfits!

Things that used to be really hard to do are getting easier; he's enjoying his baths, not hating his diaper changes as much and we MAY have figured out how to get a little more sleep- he cuddles with me all night in bed. (Hope I didn't just jinx myself)

We have also found some kind of routine..sorta.. He wakes up around 7:30am and is ready for the day. Eats and then lets me shower (however not always dry my hair) as he stares at the ceiling fan and then he naps for a few hours while I get a few things done around the house or walk the dogs with him in tow. Then we run a few errands- we're regulars at Target these days- and then by about dinner time he pretends to sleep until just when the food is served and he's awake and pissed off until maybe 10pm when he falls asleep. This is our life right now.

I keep thinking any day now we're going to see a real smile, but we still just see gassy smiles- I love them anyway. He is really responding when we talk to him and we are so pleased at how strong he is! He's holding his head up longer and longer each day.

I realized about an hour ago that it's a little strange to be sitting around on a Friday night not doing anything. I guess we really haven't done a whole lot on weekend nights in a while but it just seems strange - like this is our new life for a long time. I guess it's ok though since it's 8:30pm and I'm ready for bed!

First Visit to a Restaurant

Today was Anderson's first time going out to a real restaurant. He's been out for a quick meal one time with my mom, but not a place where you actually have to wait for your food, and then wait for the check, etc...

I met my friends from work today at Cafe Luxe near the mall and I was a little worried about it for the past 2 days- wondering how he would be. Would be be just fine up until we ordered and then I would have to go out to the car and feed him for 20 minutes while they enjoyed their meal? Would he be ok until we sat down and then FREAK out! It didn't help that I hadn't been to this place before so I had no idea if it was loud or not. Turns out he was great! The place was amazing- excellent food and service- and it was loud which made me feel better. Plus, the gals I was with were super helpful and understanding so I felt more confident! We were able to enjoy our food uninterrupted as AJ slept until just when the check arrived. Then he finally started fussing. I was smart and brought a bottle so that held him over until we paid and then I just took him into a family bathroom and fed and changed him. I was SO proud and relieved!

On another good note, I'm feeling MUCH better about letting other people hold him and I'm not so freaked or emotional about it as I was a few weeks back. So long as I know and trust the person, I'm really ok giving him up for a few minutes. It could be that I hold him ALL day and am happy to have a small break.

I... NEED... SLEEP....

People kept telling me to sleep when the baby sleeps; that lack of sleep is going to catch up to me. And as usual, I figured this wouldn't happen to me! Well, I realized this morning around 4am, that it's happening. I'm seriously more tired that I think I've ever been. I do get sleep most nights- probably even 6-7 hours or so- but it's never consistent or 6-7 hours in a row and it's not good sleep because I'm just waiting to be woken up.

Last night started out as a "good" night- Anderson slept well for Jason until about 10:30 (I could be wrong on times as I've pretty much lost my mind) and then Jason brought him upstairs and he fell asleep in the bassinet. I think Anderson woke up at 1am, then at 3am or so, and then again at 4am. This time he was WIDE awake and ready to rock and roll (or whatever you do at 2 1/2 weeks old) Well, Mama was NOT thrilled by this. Had he been old enough for a lecture, I surely would have given him one. So... I fed him, rocked him, changed him and did all the things I do 3-4 times a night and assumed he'd go back to sleep. No suck luck. 6am rolled around and we were STILL awake! By this time, I'm crying because I'm just so tired! Finally Jason wakes up and I decide to put AJ back in his bed- only to have him PUKE all over me, himself and his bed. And this wasn't just a little puke- this was ALL the food he'd just eaten in the past 2 hours. What does this mean?? It's time to feed again! UGH!!

Thankfully, Jason took Anderson downstairs and I don't know what he did- All I know is that I was able to go back to bed until about 8am when Jason needed to get ready for work. It was only about 90 minutes of sleep, but hey, it's something!

I better get some SERIOUSLY good Mothers Day cards from this child in the future!

2 Week Doc Visit

Well, today we had Anderson's 2 week doctor visit (he's 2 weeks and 3 days today) and it went well. He was up all night last night so he was super cranky this morning, but all in all it went just fine. The doctor said he looks super healthy, they did his little heal prick test (which I was DREADING, but he actually didn't cry as long as I thought he might) and they weighed and measured him. He's now 9.4 POUNDS and 21 inches! I cannot believe he's already almost 2lbs more than when I had him! Well, I kinda can believe it because all he does is eat! She was really pleased with this as was I. I'd been really curious to see how big he's gotten as he's starting to get a little chunk on his arms and legs.

As mentioned last night was pretty rough- Anderson's least favorite time of the day starts around 8pm and lasts until about...oh...11pm or so? Could be that it lasts until 3am; it just depends on the day. I've noticed that we'll have one good night of sleep (up every 3 hours or so) and then the next day is a bad one. If all goes as planned, I should get a good night tonight.. Fingers crossed!

Yesterday we started using his Little Einstein's Play Mat. He likes it for about 5 mins at a time and then he's over it! Here's a pic:

Finding a balance...

Today I realized that my life has become about finding a balance in everything I do. I have this FANTASTIC son in my life who takes up a large majority of my day and still all the other things that I need to try to fit in as well. He obviously takes priority and I want to spend as much time with him as I can- but I also have things to get done, friends I need to see and catch up with, errands to run, a house to clean, a husband to care for and then there's me. I need a shower sometimes!

So, I've come to realize that when Anderson is sleeping I am running around the house trying to get as much done as I can. Brush my teeth, shower, eat- then he wakes up- feed the dogs, clean up my mess in the kitchen, do a load of laundry- then he wakes up- fold the laundry, check my email, ask Jason about his day, write a list of needs from the grocery store- then he wakes up. I'm not at all complaining- I wouldn't change my life for ANYTHING, but it's certainly changed!

The other thing we're learning to balance is Anderson's sleeping and eating. He either sleeps too much during the day and then not at all at night, or vise versa. And he will snack a lot during the day and eat hourly or he'll eat too much at once and puke it all up! We're learning..

He woke up- gotta go!