My First Halloween

Baptism

Justin was baptized this past Sunday and by far the most important thing I learned from the day is that while knit dresses are wonderful for showing off baby bumps, they are not so fabulous for postpartum tummies. Yeah - this is why we're purchasing exercise equipment this week, revising our menus, and taking only properly staged photos until I feel like I no longer look like I'm pregnant.

Justin's baptism went off without a hitch, though we were convinced he had filled his diaper in the middle of the ceremony. We opted to do the baptism outside of mass, and Justin was one of four baptized this Sunday. When choosing a church to attend in town, we sided with the more traditional church. There is a contemporary, college oriented church in town, but it was further away, and a little too 'touchy feely, happy' for my tastes, thus traditional baptism for us. While I may not always agree with the Catholic Church (and some days agree with little of it), it was important to me, and Baby Daddy, that Justin be raised as we were. We both believe that the upbringing we received in the church molded parts of who we are, and since we will be raising him, we will certainly try to teach him to be critical and think for himself, that he need not believe everything, but that he believe in something good. Not a single baby made a peep when the water and 'Oil of Salvation' (which looked and smelled strangely like spiced olive oil to me) were put on their heads.

Woo-hoo Bath Time!!

. . . with the Godmamas

Alright, there was a minor hitch - and I call it 'Mullet lady'. Baby Daddy, myself, and Justin's godparents were standing around the fountain, when someone brushed me, pointed to a family across the fountain and says, 'I need to get a picture', steps slightly in front, and to the side of me, completely in front of the godparents, takes a picture, and JUST STAYS THERE. No, really lady, it's your day, please don't let me get in your way.

Here she is, in the yellow shirt, planning her sneak attack

We were lucky that Justin's Grandma H saved the baptism outfit worn by Mitchell and offered it to us for Justin's baptism. He looked oh-so-adorable. Or, at least as adorable as a little boy can be in a baptism outfit. And, hey - at least we didn't put him in a dress like the other parents.

Sorry ladies, he is not available for dates until he is at least 25 years old . . .

After the baptism, we returned to our home for lunch (made by me at 9 pm the evening before) and pictures. Luckily, the smell of fried onions and bacon from making German Potato Salad at 11 pm had left the house and everything went smoothly for our first bifamilial gathering.

Why is it a tradition to take pictures of cakes? I swear I have one from every big event in my life.

Family W Four Generations

Family V Four Generations

Family H Four Generations

Baby Daddy's Family

My family

Justin crying because he was forced into an International onesie . . .

just kidding . . . they would say the same about a JD onesie ;)

Mullet lady strikes again !! (Seriously, see how I'm turned in to avoid her path??)

Mommy Bon

I have spent a lot of time in the past few weeks thinking of what it means to be a mom. Some women 'feel like a mom' before the baby is even born, even as soon as they find out they are pregnant. This was not me. Others feel it when they get that mysterious 'rush of love' immediately when their babies are born. This was not me either. There are so many notions out there of what should happen - you should be consumed with love and motherly instinct the first moment you meet your baby, you should exclusively breastfeed (no bottles) your baby for at least six months, you should be able to calm your baby, etc, and this 'makes you a good mom'. When Justin was born, I knew immediately that he was our son and I loved him, but the clouds did not part and sun did not rain upon us. When I couldn't feed him without stressing him out and without him crying, I felt like crap - not like a mom. When he got gas cramps and I couldn't calm him for the life of me, even though I tried everything I knew of - I felt even more like crap, and certainly not like more of a mom. Sadly, I remember telling Mitchell many times in the first month of Justin's life that I 'just don't feel like a mom'. And not feeling like a mom, made me feel like even less of a mom.

I kept waiting for the feeling to hit me, but it didn't, and I continued to feel like a caretaker, not like a mom, because after all, I didn't fit the description. The first time we gave Justin a little formula, after I had tried to feed him and he had unlatched five times and was screaming, I actually cried - and I'm NOT a crier. (Seriously, in my ninth month of pregnancy I could've watched Marley and Me with dry eyes). I felt BAD for feeding my son formula, even though it did not result in a breakdown. And I continued to feel bad until one day when I was watching Mitchell feed Justin my milk in a bottle, and I realized that he was just fine, that everything was okay, that our son was happy - that he could eat, be burped, and go back to play without crying. I have also come to realize that there, sometimes, is just nothing I, or we, can do to help Justin's gas cramps, and that the poor guy will just cry. I can still hold him and try to help reduce the pain he feels, and I now know that it has nothing to do with the type of mother I am.

I wish I could say that I felt like a mom from the beginning, but I can't. It is hard when you hear women talk about the immediate bond they felt with their baby upon his or her birth. It took me entirely too long to realize that being a mom is different for every woman. I read the blog of a woman who had similar feelings and it just clicked. For me, being a mom is about making Justin the happiest that I can. If that means feeding him from a bottle, then I'll feed him from a bottle. If that means trying to simply stay calm when he cries, I'll hold him and have Baby Daddy take over for awhile if it gets to be too much. And that feeling that some women get when they first meet their baby? I now get it everytime Justin smiles or coos at me, and everytime I give him a bath (which is still just a mom thing), and everytime he falls asleep on me, and everytime I see these two together:

. . . because they make me happy and I certainly hope I do the same for them. And because even though I may not have felt like a mom to myself, I was always mom to Justin.

(and Izzers, of course)

Alright, enough sappiness - more pictures of my handsome boy :)

Justin's first day in jeans. Baby Daddy dressed Justin this morning and dropped him off at daycare so I could sleep in, and when I picked him up (early because I didn't want to go home without him) I found him in jeans. I have to say, he is darling, isn't he? And yes, I do tell Mitchell that he's just setting him up for disappointment trying to make him a Cubbies fan, but what can I do? (It could be worse - he could be a Cardinals fan ;) )

Justin loves his play mat, and can stare at the lights or himself for quite awhile. He is kind of a vain baby, but who can blame him? Baby Daddy jokes that I am going to give him an ego problem. Yes, we got the Einstein onesie. And guess what? I don't think it is going to fit for much longer :/ It is a 3-6 month size, but like many of the pieces I pulled out of storage this weekend, it doesn't look like it will last very long.

Our newest Hawkeye outfit! He still hasn't missed a game :) Please notice the multiple chins :)

Two Months

Our Little Dude turned two months old this Tuesday and we're amazed at the changes we've noticed in him lately.

* Physically, he has grown quite a bit, as we expected. He is well on his way to becoming a Hawkeye Linebacker. Here are the current stats:

Weight: 12 lbs. 12 oz. (75th %)

Height: 23.75 in. (75th %)

* Justin is quite the eater. He is eating 3-4 ounces every 2-3 hours during the day. We had issues with a forceful letdown that made breastfeeding very frustrating for both Justin and I. I read over and over how breastfeeding was supposed to be a major bonding time between mom and baby, and had this idea that breastfeeding would make me more of a mom. After trying a few things to ease the letdown, and many sessions ended in tears or Baby Daddy intervening, we decided to try bottlefeeding. Justin no longer cries during feedings, and this has enabled Mitchell to feed him as well. Justin still gets breastmilk, which is important to me, and gets some formula as well since I am unable to pump as much as I would need to at work to keep up with his appetite. Our family has been happier since the switch, though our pockets are a little lighter.

* Within the past week, Justin has begun sleeping 6 hours at night. I had no idea I would ever be so excited to see 5:00 on the clock as I was the morning I realized the last time I looked at the clock was at 11:00.

* Justin is now starting to wear his 3-6 month clothes. I am looking forward to bringing them all out this weekend. He is also moving into size 2 diapers.

* He has the most handsome smile, and will coo when you coo back at him. He loves to lay on his Baby Einstein Playmat and stare at himself in the mirror. He loves to just 'kick it out' and flail his limbs lying on his back. He has also begun to notice the lights and toys on his bouncy and mobile.

* Justin likes bathtime. Actually, he has only cried during one bath since he was born. This is really the only time he tries to pee on us.

* He has a bit of colic some nights due to gas and stomach cramping. It is horrible to hear him cry when there isn't much we can do to help him. Justin's pediatrician has said that the formula we give him is what they recommend for gassiness, and I have tried cutting out irritating foods from my diet, but it hasn't seemed to help much. Unfortunately, his doctor attributes it to an immature digestive system that he just needs to grow out of.

* Justin still looks like his Daddy, as everyone reminds us of. Fortunately, I happen to find them to be both very handsome - I am a lucky girl :)

* He is almost finished with his first two weeks at daycare. I still hate to leave him in the mornings.

* Justin has watched every Hawkeye game this season.

Happy two month birthday Justin! We're looking forward to our third month with you and have some wonderful things planned - your baptism and Halloween (with an adorable little costume) among others. Thank you for bringing so much joy into our lives :)

8 Weeks

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, a faux-hawk. That was all BabyDaddy (I think he is living vicariously through Justin, who may have more hair than him).

Justin is eight weeks old and due for his first round of big bad shots on Thursday. He hasn't been to his pediatrician since his two-week appointment, and we're very interested to see how he has grown. We can tell that he has gotten bigger (hence the name Chubbers and constant reference to his chins), but do not know by how much. We will see on Thursday if Izzers regains her position as the smallest Hunt, weighing in at a substantial 12 pounds, 3 ounces.

Justin visited Grandma and Grandpa H's for the first time today and I hear he did well (I was bridal dress shopping for a lovely friend). He loved his bouncy chair and even batted at the toys on the bar. I wanted to see, so we tried with our bouncy chair at home, and sure enough he actually looked at the toy and swung up his hand like he knew entirely what he was doing. I don't want to start bragging, but, come'on - he's a genius :) (Okay, I may be a little ahead of myself here).

We'll have a bigger update after his appointment.

The LumberDude and the Big D

Justin is eight weeks old tomorrow and checking out more of the world everyday. We spend lots of our time doing this:

. . . and lots of time doing this:

(Note to self: Get different pillows already)

This week was a big week in our house as I returned to work (boooooooo) and The LumberDude has been going to the Big D - Daycare. Let's get this out there - I hated the idea of daycare. If I could, I would stay home with him, at least for a year or two. I don't like the idea of not being with him for long periods of time, or possibly missing his first rollover, or his first crawl. I cried on the way to daycare Monday, while there, and the entire way to work. I called to check in once, and sped home after work to find him sleeping in his swing, with a full tummy and fresh diaper, taken care of. Each day we get a note detailing his day and each day, for me, gets a little easier, though I do miss the LittleDude like crazy while at work. He, on the otherhand, seems perfectly happy and spends his days with lots of people ready to change, burp, or feed him, or put him down for a nap. Oh, what a life . . .

Gameday at the Hunt House

. . . looks a little something like this: