Mr. Chirpa Man

Our little chirpa is now almost 10 months old! Where did the time go? Lincoln's first birthday quickly approaches and I need to start planning his party. So far Lincoln has 8 teeth (quite a few at his age) and he loves to bite with them. He is such a happy baby with endless energy. The army man crawl is his preferred way of getting around, although he is very quick in the walker. Lincoln's favorite things to do include screaming, standing, throwing things on the floor, his puppy (Mercury), making poopy, and biting!

Back From Wisconsin

We returned from Wisconsin last Sunday. It was nice to visit with family, but packing up all of our stuff, along with Lincoln's is a pain in the butt! He was pretty good on the airplane, and even had his own seat to sit in. Old ladies seem to love Lincoln and he made several new "girlfriends" everywhere we went.
So now the fun of Christmas begins. I want to get a real tree this year, which of course Bill is resisting. I also scheduled family portraits at JC Pennys. We have yet to have a family photo taken and I figured now is the time with Christmas coming up. I need something super cute for our cards this year!

Plane Ride #2

In 9 hours we will boarding Southwest airlines for plane trip #2 with Lincoln. While I feel more prepared with what to bring this time, I pray to God that he does not scream or fuss during the flight. Since the flight is in the morning, I hope Lincoln sleeps through most of it since he is usually sleeping during that time.
Saturday morning I was hit hard with illness. I went to the weekend clinic not once, but twice because my symptoms changed. At first, I thought it was strep throat because one of my dirty students had it last week. My throat felt like someone slashed though it and my whole body ached, along with a high fever. The first doctor gave me Tamiflu and that helped with the body aches. The next morning my inflamed throat developed nasty while spots, along with a constant gagging sensations because my throat was filled with so much junk. It's gotta be strep, right? The second doctor didn't even do a strep test, only looked at it. She thinks it is some kind of bacterial throat infection (duh, strep) or - get this - Mono! What?! She did give me a prescription for an antibiotic so now I am taking meds around the clock. To make it worse, I am staying away from Lincoln so Bill had to take sick time to stay home. I felt awful when Lincoln was crying in his walker or bouncer and I couldn't pick him up:( Tomorrow will be 24 hours on antibiotics, so I can touch him again:)

Almost 7 Months Old!

My goodness, where has the time gone? Mr. Lincoln (AKA Chirpa, Baby Boy, Beep) is growing so quickly! He will be 7 months old on Thursday, weighing in at 17 pounds and about 26 inches. Lincoln has 4 teeth already. His favorite activities include cruising around in his walker, playing in his rain forest jungle gym bouncer, rolling all over the place, and babbling loudly! While he can sustain the position for crawling, no attempts have been made to actually move. He loves standing and using his walker, so we think me may just go to walking and not crawl at all. Lincoln is fascinated with Mercury, and she gives him an abundance of kisses everyday!
As for me, I have 15 more pounds to loose. I had high hopes of loosing the baby weight before school started in August, but that was totally unrealistic. My class this year has many behavior problems and the source of major stress. I have not budged on my weight for a month now. I know what needs to be done - stop eating candy! However, it my outlet after a stressful day at school:(
Bill, Lincoln, and I are flying up to Wisconsin over Thanksgiving for Aunt Julie's wedding. Mercury will stay back with the neighbors. Lincoln's first flight in July was a snap. A 3 month old sleeps pretty well through anything. A 7 month old will be a different story!

Busy New Parents

Needless to say, I've been a little busy the past 3 weeks. Lincoln is quite the piece of work. He has a little personality developing and can be stubborn. We have several nicknames for him including Sour Face, Little Bird, and Peanut. We mock him with his cries and it seems to tick him off because he "talks" back.
Breast feeding has turned out to be a difficult experience for me. I was (and still am) all for it, but I am in constant pain. Last week I went to see a lactation nurse at the hospital and she gave me some good tips, but the pain returned. I think it's just me being too sensitive and Lincoln clamping down. The pump isn't offering any relief. Sometime I feel nauseous. Either way, I dread the feedings by the breast or pumping. Our pediatrician told us we needed to supplement with formula because Lincoln was not gaining weight. He is consuming mostly formula now and I pump 2 to 3 times a day. While I had hoped to breast feed until returning to school in August, I am guessing Lincoln will be completely on formula by mid June.
The fun journey to regaining my figure has begun. Since having Lincoln, I am down 18 pounds. To get back to my pre-pregnancy weight I still have 26 more pounds to loose! It seems like a lot, but I lost a larger amount 5 years ago. I know what I need to do. My goal is to be at that beginning weight before school starts again in August. Yesterday I went for my first jog since January. I had been walking over 2 miles 4 times a week already. Maybe next week I will attempt a spin class. I think my stitches have pretty much healed where I can tolerate sitting on a bicycle again.
So far, Bill and I are handling the parent thing pretty well. Neither of us are exhausted. This past week I have been getting 6 to 7 hours of sleep a night because Bill takes over the night feedings. Once he goes back to work next week, that may change, but I'm hoping Lincoln will begin sleeping a bit more at night. He is eating every 3 to 4 hours now (thanks to the formula).
Mercury is adapting wonderfully! She seems unaffected by the crying. At first she was a bit jealous, but we continue to allow her to sleep with us at night and take her for walks/bike rides every day. In time, I think she will be protective of Lincoln.

Finally!

I am very excited to write about the birth of our son, Lincoln! He was born on Sunday, April 19th at 3:32 pm. Weight was 7 pounds, 5 ounces. Length was 20.5 inches. Came out screaming with a cone head!
My labor began on Saturday night with slight cramps that gradually became more intense. I started timing them around 11 pm and they were about 15 minutes apart. I had a feeling something was going to be happening soon so I checked over my bag and added some things I would be needing. Bill had gone to a beer bar to meet with some friends and I called him around 1:30 am Sunday to let him know about my cramps.
I didn't sleep at all that night. I began writing down the would be contractions at 1:00 am and they were 7 to 10 minutes apart. At 2:00 I woke up my mom and told her what was going on. She was so excited! Bill came home soon after and since my pains weren't becoming more intense or closer together, we all decided to go to bed for awhile. I didn't sleep because of the intensifying pain. At 4:00 I started recording the times again and they were 5 to 7 minutes apart. At 5:00 I called the doctor and she told me to go to the hospital.
In the truck the contractions became stronger and closer together where I had to breathe heavily and grab the door handle. We arrived at 6:00 and was admitted soon after. The nurse reported that I was 3 cm dilated:) I was taken up to the 2nd floor to the room that I would endure the remainder of my labor and eventually deliver.
The fun continued. My nurse, Carla, was fabulous! I managed to deal with the contractions until I was 7 cm dilated. By then the contractions were strong and not having any breaks in between. Even though I really didn't want one, I decided to have the epidural. My fear about not feeling my legs was at ease because they really didn't go numb. The last 3 cm came a bit slower, and my nurse thought it was because my water needed to be broken. When the OB, Dr. Bray finally arrived, (she was at the other hospital delivering another baby) I was comfortable, but anxious to get this show on the road. She broke my water and things progressed.
At 3:00 I was ready to push. There really wasn't much pain, just pressure. At 3:32 Licoln popped out, screaming bloody murder. Dr. Bray handed him to me and after a bit the nurse took him aside to be cleaned off. Bill and my mom took pictures while Dr. Bray stitched me up (I had a bit of tearing). Lincoln's apgar scores were 9's both times.
After about an hour I was sent upstairs to the mother/baby unit for my 2 day recovery. My nurses were wonderful the whole time I was there. If I ever choose to go through this whole ordeal again, I would definitely return to this hospital!
On the 21st Lincoln and I were released to come home. Everything went smoothly (with the exception of Bill's court case that held him up half the day). Introducing Mercury to Lincoln was very cute to watch. She is adapting quite nicely, with just a little bit of pouting jealousy.
So, even though I complained a lot about being pregnant, I am glad to have gone through it to have Lincoln. So far he is just a joy to have!

Past Due:(

Well, my due date came and went. This has to be the most frustrating feeling ever! It seems like I'm just sitting around waiting for the great unknown and I am SO bored!
On a glimpse of a positive note, I had consistent back ache and mild cramps all night, which could be a sign of early labor. The pains had been happening all week (at night) and I really haven't considered them to be a sign of anything. I have no idea what to expect to feel, so I'm not getting my hopes up for anything right now. What I do know is that I am really tired of hearing, "Come on, baby boy," and "We're just waiting for this baby boy to be born." If I hear those sentences one more time I am going to snap!