He's Gifted, I Can Prove It!

Okay, I know that as a teacher I am looking for those signs that signal superior intelligence in my child, and I believe I have seen a few. First of all, both of his second toes are longer than his big toes. I know what you are thinking...that is an old wives tale. Well then, how about this...He is just shy of five weeks old and he has already turned over multiple times from his stomach to his back. At first I thought it was just a freak accident or happenstance, but when he did it two times in a row last week I knew we had a very advanced little guy on our hands. Now he does it at least once a day! So, here is the equation:

Long second toes + rolling over at one month old= genius

Right? I'm not just a doting mom, clearly this proves it. Plus we all know what a nerd daddy is and mom is clearly an advanced thinker-just a really cool one!

4 Weeks Old

So, as most of you know...I have succeeded in everything I have ever set out to do. I DO NOT FAIL!!! For the first time in my life I have failed at something and it kills me!

I was a trooper for three long, painful weeks of nursing with a child who apparently likes to chew. I finally decided that I would actually like to enjoy feeding my son, so I have opted to pump and bottle feed. With help around the house, pumping is easy. Once I am left alone it will become almost impossible, so I am going to plan to begin to ween Foster off breast milk at about week 7 and introduce more formula slowly. Then...he will just have to be a formula fed baby...Can you feel my guilt?

Hey, it's his fault. I truly tried everything anyone suggested and even opted to get help from two pediatricians and a lactation consultant.

Anyway, we'll just have a linebacker instead of a quarterback, right???

Foster is doing really well otherwise. He is on a 3 hour feed schedule and goes about 4 hours at a time at night. I am completely exhausted, but he is so sweet and worth it.

He was four weeks old yesterday and will officially be a month old Monday! How time flies...

our Fly Boy

Daniel has a new address...

Daniel Russell

VP -10

DET 1

FPO AA 34099-5908

He loves getting mail , so drop him a line if you have a chance.

Thanks to everyone who has already sent things to help make him less homesick!

...The Saga of the Breast Continues

As many of you know nursing has been beyond challenging for me. As an expecting mom I thought...yeah, I can do this, no problem. Baby comes to the breast and asks "Got Milk?" Then mother replies with an overabundant milk supply and a smile on her face, while baby sweetly suckles the milk. As Frank from Father of the Bride would say..."Not so much." At least not in my case.

Foster apparently is a chewer. He likes to chew on me and has caused quite a bit of trauma to that sensitive part of my female anatomy. I have spent the last 2 and 1/2 weeks trying to get him to stop chewing and trying to heal the cracks he has caused. Needless to say, feedings are by no means the picture I has in my mind. They are tear retching and very, very painful. IF it were only the latch-on that was painful, the feedings might be tolerable, but no...it is the entire feeding. Everyone has promised me that it will get better. First it was said that it would hurt for the first few days, then it was extended to the first week. My OB even said the first 2 weeks might be painful. WEll...I am over that 2 week hump and IT IS NO BETTER!!!

I have been to a lactation consultant who is wonderful, multiple times. We had Foster's possible tongue tie problem taken care of with a minor surgical snip of the ligament that holds the tongue to the bottom of his mouth by a pediatrician in Jacksonville, and I have literally tried every possible item out there to take the pain away and make the experience an all-around happier one. To no avail! However, in college, my sprint coach, Randy Jarmin, gave me the nickname, Tough Guy, for a reason. I am tough. I am willing to give it another week with the hope that things will get better.

Until then, I will just have to have a little faith that "This too shall pass!"

But in the end, man he is stinkin' cute and so worth every moment of agonizing torture!!!

Our Sweet Little Man

We made an outing yesterday to an exciting place...the hospital. I needed to see a lactation consultant with the issues I am having nursing...yes, just as fun as it sounds. All went well, but the best thing was that we got to weigh Foster again. He is a big boy, weighing in the far corner at...8 pounds, 5 ounces. That means he gained a whole pound since he left the hospital...Wow! We are so proud of our growing boy!

Here are some new pics...

The Karate Kid


I'm no crab, I'm a sophisticated crustacean!

IT's a very, merry unbirthday...to you!

Yesterday marked Foster's first week on the planet. Although it was not his birthday, we will call it his unbirthday as the Mad- Hatter did in Alice in Wonderland. It seems like each day he grows and changes. He has become much more aware of things around him and has even started tracking with his eyes occasionally. I really look forward to the moments of the day when he is awake and able to respond to sounds and light. He is just so cute!

However, as a new mom let's be real for a second. I would like to take a moment to make a statement to all other mother's in the world. You are all LIARS!!! You know, when you decide that you want to procreate and then "lo and behold" you find yourself pregnant with the greatest joy that will ever enter your life, everyone has advice to give. Even self-pr0claimed bachelors seem to have advice on birthing, and rearing children. Everything is so wonderful and everyone is so excited and the advice seems so wonderful at the time.

No one ever mentions the absolute agony of giving birth, the healing, or the breastfeedng that follows. I expected that birthing a baby out of a very small opening would hurt. And...it did. I can tolerate that kind of pain, because it ends...fairly quickly (in my case 32 hours, but still...it ended!) What I was never told and did not anticipate was the extreme and prolonged bruising of the rear section of my body that has made it difficult to sit on any surface, or the constant feeling that I have on a wet bathing suit that I am unable to remove.

Now...on to breastfeeding. Although much of the world looks down upon women who breastfeed even in the modern world of super-moms, I was determined to do it. It is economical and seemed easy enough. Baby opens mouth, closes on nipple, sucks, and presto...milk for baby! Hooray! Many of my friends had breastfed their young ones without any mention of pain soreness, tears, etc... Even after having a lactation consultant on call, catering to my every whim in the nursing realm, I am at a loss to describe the self-inflicted torture that nursing has been for me. I am on day 8, and not only have things not gotten better, they are actually worse. I honestly have to practice breathing techniques to make it through the 15 minutes on each side 6-8 times a day! Perhaps many women simply don't share my experience...who knows? All I know is that describing the pain as a knife being jabbed directly into the center of your breast and then twisted in circles for minutes at a time cannot even begin to describe the feeling I have while nursing. And yes ladies...I have checked the latch, had the latch checked by a lactation consultant, my doctor, and I constantly check it myself. I am just hoping there is an end to this agony...an end that does not mean my throwing in the towel and shelling out thousands of dollars a year on boring, commercialized formula.

I hope I haven't turned any of you future mothers away from the process. I just wanted to share my experience. As you all know I am just about as honest as they come, so there you have it. The truth about bringing a bundle of joy into the world.

And you know what? In the end...it truly is worth it. Foster is amazing! Here he is after his very first bath. Now, I ask you...Would you go through all that for this end result? I would absolutely do it all over again.

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superbaby!

I know...its a lame title for the blog, but just so fitting for this picture I snapped of Foster the other day. HE really is a super baby. He feeds well, sleeps well, and cries only when appropriate (changing of the diaper, hungry, gasy) He is such a joy!