He's a Boy, Not a Girl!

-I was asked by two people today if Aric was a girl. Never mind that he was wearing an outfit that has lizards, frogs and bugs on it and says “Things Boys Like”. Is there a rule somewhere that states little boys cannot have a full head of hair? Speaking of a full head of hair, Aric’s hair is getting quite shaggy! I have thought about cutting it, but this is the one time in life where it is alright for him to have shaggy hair. I am thinking we should just leave it for awhile, besides how do you cut the hair of someone who still has a bobble head?

-Why do all of the shirts this season look like maternity shirts? I just got done wearing maternity clothes. I do not want to buy a shirt that is going to make me look pregnant. Besides I think the actual maternity shirts are much cuter than the regular shirts. If I wanted to look pregnant again I would just by a maternity shirt.

-We have a monetary limit on our pets. If they have something seriously wrong with them that will cost us a large sum of money, we have decided we would just put the animal down. My cat, Gobbles, is nickel and diming us this summer. I took him to the vet this morning because he was not acting right. It turns out he has bacteria and protozoa. The amount to treat him was just under our limit. I wish he would quit eating strange things outside. I am sure I could solve that by not letting him outside, but then he would drive us crazy inside.

A Few Thoughts

-This past week of work went off without a hitch. I am thankful that I did not have to deal with any intense calls. It’s my Friday night now and I’m excited about that- two whole days to spend with my sweet baby running errands and who knows what else.

-I came home today, took one look at Aric and asked what happened. He scratched up his poor little nose while sucking his thumb. He hasn’t quite figured out what to do with his other fingers while his thumb is in his mouth. Note to self- cut his fingernails more often than every 1-1/2 weeks.

-I am thankful that we have been blessed with a baby that sleeps anywhere from 4 to 7 hour stretches during the middle of the night. I was talking to a coworker yesterday who has a 5-1/2 week old who refuses to go to sleep before 1am and wakes up every two hours. It made me quite content with the sleep I have been able to get. (I probably just jinxed myself!)

-My husband is absolutely amazing. On Friday, I walked across the parking lot to my babysitter’s door while carrying Aric. He proceeded to spit up on my shoulder and down my arm. I cleaned it up as much as I could and resigned myself to wearing a nasty shirt the rest of the day. On the way to work I left Ryan a message about HIS child throwing up on me. What did Ryan do after he got that message? He left work, went home to get me a new shirt and brought it to my work. I didn’t even ask for it, but I appreciated his thoughtfulness. I just feel so blessed to have a husband who does so much for me. Thank you!

-As a working mother I, take breaks to pump milk during the day. I have a canvas bag that I use to store my breast pump. It seems like every time I walk down the hall someone at work asks me if I’m going home. I answer “No” and have not elaborated so far. I am half tempted to tell the next person who asks me if I’m going home what I am actually about to do. It doesn’t embarrass me because that’s how I feed my child, but I’m sure it would shut down the conversation rather quickly!

A Good Day

This morning driving to work I had tears in my eyes, because I did not want to go back. I went, though, and I made it through the day. The "worst" 911 call I had was for a deceased possum in the roadway. I was busy all day and got right back up on that horse. I do not think going to work tomorrow will be a problem.

Last night Aric slept through the night. He fell asleep shortly before 10pm and woke up around 5:30am. I checked on him twice to make sure he was still alive. I thought for sure he would be in a bad mood today, but my babysitter said he was happy and she had a great day with him. I am not holding my breath about him sleeping through the night again tonight, though. Yesterday he started his immunizations and last night he did not feel good. I think that may have had something to do with it. It was nice to have a night like that even if it does not happen again for awhile.

Stupid Horse

I am so thankful that I have had the last two days off. After work on Monday I needed the time to just do “normal” mundane things around the house and with Aric. It was so nice to sit at home and play with Aric and even mow the grass. I was glad to have the time and wish I had more, because I just don’t feel ready to go back to work. Ryan says I need to “get back on the horse”, but I’m terrified of the horse right now. Hopefully tomorrow will be a smooth ride.

Today was Aric’s two month well baby appointment. He is growing like a weed. At the moment he is 13lbs 11oz and 24-1/2in long. The pediatrician also said that developmentally he is a 4 month old. Aric was charming during the appointment. He was talking and smiling at the doctor. He’s such a sweet baby and I feel so blessed to be his mommy. This week he has consistently found his thumb and sucks it as much as possible. The majority of the time it is his left hand. I wonder if he'll be left-handed...

Emotionally Exhausted

Yesterday at work I answered one of the worst calls a dispatcher can receive. The call where they tell you their location, a shocking piece of news and then hang up. It is the hanging up that is the worst, especially when the outcome is bad. I think the difficult part of it was the cavalier attitude some of my coworkers had regarding the situation. I pray that I never reach that point.

Today I think I'm going to stay home, recover from yesterday, and enjoy my son.

What A Great Week

- My digital camera is dying. The display works only part of the time.

-Aric hasn't napped the last two days. Thankfully his babysitter hasn't quit. It makes the evenings long, though.

-In the quest to eliminate the mold and fix the guest bedroom, we dropped the 100lb air conditioner on my leg. It made a pretty bruise and now I'm having trouble walking.

-I sent an e-mail out to everyone at the police station yesterday and misspelled my own name. Who does that?

Too Little Time

I just sorted through Aric’s drawers and packed up clothes that he doesn’t fit anymore. The sad thing is that he never wore some of the clothes because the weather wasn’t right for it. Maybe we’ll be able to use them someday for our next child. It’s hard to believe how big he is getting. I don’t know how long he is or how much he weighs. We should find that out in another week at his next Doctor’s appointment. He’s able to hold his head up pretty well, he smiles at us all of the time, sucks on his fingers, and Ryan said that he’s even starting to laugh. It’s hard to believe that he is nine weeks old already!

I’m trying to find a balance in my life. So far I’m not having any luck. I felt that I was doing alright by the end of my maternity leave, but then a wrench was thrown in when I returned to work full time. It’s so hard to balance work, a new baby, marriage and personal time. Right now I have no personal time. (I guess sitting here typing this is my personal time for the day. As soon as I finish I’ll be up trying to get things done around the house.) If anyone has a suggestion for making it all work- let me know- I need it! I’m a little terrified what I will do if/when Ryan goes into the Army and goes off to school. I’ll be a single-working mom then with no one to help me out.

We found out this week that the air conditioner in the guest bedroom (the room that we’ve all been sleeping in this summer) has leaked into the wall and grown mold. I was so thrilled to find out that we’ve been sleeping in a moldy room, Aric included. We’ve all moved back into the master bedroom and Ryan is going to be working on that room this weekend. He has already started to rip the wall out. Hopefully he can figure out why this happened so it can be prevented.

Well, I'm off to iron up five days of clothes for work, do laundry, vacuum downstairs, make dinner and whatever else needs my attention today. Aye- it's making me tired just thinking about it!

Faux Thumbsucking

I've been up for the last hour with Aric. He's fed, clean and just doesn't want to go back to sleep. He did go to bed last night at 9pm which is an hour and a half early for him. I guess 6 hours of straight sleep has him wired.

He's currently in his baby bouncer talking and trying to find his thumb. Lately he rejects his pacifier more and more and searches for his thumb which he is only able to find about an 1/8th of the time. This has led to fake thumbsucking. Several times I've found him while asleep with his fist to his mouth and it looks like he's sucking his thumb. Upon closer inspection his thumb isn't in his mouth he is just holding his fist to his mouth and pretending. It's pretty funny.

This is what he currently looks like. I can't help but laugh at the bedhead.

A Full Day

I can tell my life has completely changed when I think that taking Aric to the Commissary for groceries this morning and taking a 2-1/2 hour nap with Aric this afternoon are big accomplishments. I was supposed to call someone and meet them in town today, but that just seemed too monumental of a task. Maybe tomorrow.

I made it through my first week back

I made it through my first work run. I am very glad that my first week back was a short week. I felt like it helped ease me in a bit. After my next two days off my schedule at work will return to normal.

The first day back was extremely difficult. The day went by slower than molasses and I was trying not to tear up on and off throughout the day. I made it through, though Thankfully my supervisor started me off slow. I just answered phones all day instead of having to jump back and do everything. The rest of my week everything was back to normal as though I had never left.

There is a new dispatcher working on my shift. Thankfully he is only covering for people and will move to a new shift next week. At the beginning of the week I was just trying to get the hang of things and didn’t pay any attention to him, by today I wanted to throw my water bottle at his head. Not very nice, I know, but he was driving me up the wall. I kept reminding myself that today was the last day that I had to work with him and when I return on Thursday everything will be back to normal. It’s just frustrating when other people make mistakes that affect your work performance.

On one hand I’m glad to be back at work. I have worked full time for so many years it was a little weird to be at home. However, I truly miss my baby and long for the day when I can be at home with him throughout the day. I’m definitely looking forward to my next two days at home with him. Last night he lay on the sofa next to me looking at me while I ate dinner. It’s so nice to come home and snuggle with him and have him want to snuggle in return.

Ryan has been at home with Aric the last two days. This was the first time that it has just been the two of them for longer than a couple of hours. Ryan admitted he has a whole new appreciation for what my maternity leave was like. Yesterday Aric slept most of the day and yet Ryan said it was still difficult to get anything done. Today Aric was clingy, only slept for 30 minute stretches and wanted to be held. Ryan was worn out when I came home today. While I hope he has good days with Aric, I’m secretly glad that he is gaining an understanding of what it is like to be at home with a baby.