Oh my gosh, where is the time going?

Has it seriously been two months since our Little Man was born?! Wow. Just. Wow. He's changed so much in the last eight weeks, that if I hadn't been there to see it with my own eyes, I would doubt I was looking at the baby I brought home with me in June. He has outgrown the Newborn onsies and is into the 3 month ones! It was nice to open up the box to a whole new wardrobe, bittersweet, but nice. I felt a little pang while packing up the things he's outgrown, but I quickly reminded myself that it meant he's healthy and flourishing. That thought definitely put a smile on my face! The last couple of weeks have brought better head control and actual eye contact, but my favorite new things are the smiling and increase in cute little noises. OMG the cooing just melts my heart. I can't wait for him to start laughing and interacting with us more!

We have had many adventures in our two short months together, including not one, but two trips to California. My Little Man and I venture out whenever we can. We run errands or go visiting; we can't do parks and stuff yet, but only because it's still so hot! Once October rolls around, we'll be able to spend more time outside. The weekends we don't go to Cali are usually spent at my parents' house. My mom and Auntie Yo have been so helpful to us, I really don't know what we'd do without them. When we're over there, they're all about giving us a break. One of them will take Little Man in the morning and let MyHoney and I sleep in, they'll make us meals and generally just take care of us while we're there. I love it, I just wish we didn't have to drive an hour to get there! ahem

When I am home, I spend my day taking care of Little Man (of course) and the house, but also working to get my at-home business off the ground. Right now, that consists mostly of making phone calls. I'm counting on this to be HUGE, and I'm hoping everything works out to where the hugeness will happen quickly. To that end, I'm going to throw in a little marketing for myself: I am in a position to get most cell phones and some cell phone plans at a discounted price! So if your contract is coming up, or you're looking to upgrade, you should contact me! You'd still receive bills and get customer service from whatever carrier you sign up with, and I'm partnered with most of the big ones, I'm just able to set everything up for a better price in most cases. Think of me like Best Buy; you can go there, choose your phone and sign your contract, but when you walk out of the store, you're a customer of, say, Verizon or T-Mobile, Best Buy just takes care of the set up. I will be forever grateful to anyone choosing to go through me. And it's totally a win-win, you would be saving money on your service and you'd also be helping my business, getting me one step closer to staying home with my little one. I also broker services for ADT Home Security and satellite TV, again, at discount prices. DIRECTV has an awesome deal right now that includes the NFL Sunday Ticket for... FREE, plus 5 months of movie channels! You'd have to be a new customer (or have an expired contract), but that is a substantial savings! I don't want to sound like I'm desperate for customers, but in all honesty, I am. This would be tremendous for me, you really have no idea. So please, please, please... think of me for your telecom needs, and if you can't help me, please pass this info on to your friends and family. If you have any questions, or are interested, you can contact me at JMRGroup@acnrep.com.

Ok, I'm done promoting myself, on to other, baby-related news:

MyHoney and I took Little Man in on Wednesday for his 2 month Well Baby check up. He has gone from 6lbs 11oz to 11lbs 3.5oz and has grown from 19 inches to 23. Grow Baby, Grow! The doctor said that he is totally perfect and that I'm doing an awesome job with him, which is always nice for a new mother to hear... but then the needles came out and oh boy, did that nice visit go downhill fast! My poor sweet baby never saw it coming. He was lying there, minding his own business, flailing his arms around and staring up at his daddy (because I'm a total wuss and couldn't stand next to him) when all of a sudden ::poke::. The corners of his little mouth turned down, his eyes got really big and he screeeeeeamed. And then ::poke:: and another scream. And then ::poke:: and another scream accompanied by the biggest crocodile tears ever. I could see his face from the other side of the exam room and it took everything in me to not totally break down. My heart broke and a few tears escaped. He cried for a few minutes, it really wasn't too bad. I, of course, made a bigger deal out of it than it was. Afterward, we ran a few errands and then headed back to the house.

We'd been home for about an hour when he woke up from his nap and started screaming bloody murder; giving me my first lesson in "after shot protocol". I was instructed to give him Tylenol for the pain every 4 hours, but not wanting to disturb his nap, I let him sleep through the 4th hour, which allowed for the pain killers to completely leave his body. Big, big, huge, gigantic mistake. I've never heard such a cry, and you could tell it was the Holy Moly This Freaking Hurts What Did You People Do To Me? cry. He would completely exhaust his oxygen supply, take a deeeeeep breath, and then exhaust it again. I gave him another does of Tylenol, but it took me a good half hour to calm him down and get him back to sleep, and there were more tears from me. I felt so bad that he was in pain. You can trust me when I say that I will never again skip, ignore, or otherwise deviate from the 4 hour dosing schedule!

MyHoney and I are adapting to our new roles as parents. We have our good days and our bad days, but we become more solid in our new little family unit with each day that passes. It hasn't been easy(!), but it has all been worth it. Things got much better for us when we decided that anything said between midnight and 4am would be forgotten in the morning. Frustration, exhaustion, and a crying baby can make for some pretty gnarly arguments, so I believe the "rule" is invaluble, otherwise we'd be perpetually pissed at each other!

Breastfeeding is getting much better for me, I finally had the magic feeding a few days ago where you get half way through before you realize that latch/let down didn't hurt at all! My supply is also improving, Little Man only takes 2-3 2oz bottles a day now, down from a 2oz supplement after every feeding. I think that may have something to do with the Mother's Milk Tea that a good friend sent to me, thank you Sarah! And I also nursed in public for the first time over the weekend. I was out to dinner with my parents and a few others and I was feeling pretty full, so it was kind of a necessity on my end, Little Man would've been fine with a bottle. It wasn't as weird or uncomfortable as I thought it would be, and I used a "hooter hider" so people passing by didn't give us a second look. It makes me feel so good to know that I'm better able to provide the best nutrition for my son.

So, overall, we're doing fantastically well. Each day brings a new experience and every day I'm home with him is a blessing. He is the brightest light of our lives and from the bottom of my heart, I thank God every day for putting him into our arms.