Quick Video Blog

Here are a few videos of Seth.

Thanks Anserfone!

Tummy Time with Emily

This further proves my theory that women have babies because it is more socially acceptable than playing with dolls.

This Baby Thing is HARD!

Well folks, I'd like you all to know that, probably to the dismay of my husband, I have forfeited taking a shower to post a blog instead. Yes, I know. That is gross. Be thankful that you can just read about my life instead of sitting near me and listening to me talk about it.

All I can say is...how the heck do the rest of you with children find the time to blog at all??? You must all be masterful mothers or I am just REALLY bad at this whole parenting thing! I barely find the time to empty the dishwasher or pay a bill before it's time for the next feeding for my little guy!

Don't get me wrong! I'm totally up for the challenge, but DANG! this baby thing is hard!

To those of you who want to know, I seriously had a nice, smooth delivery. Not kidding. My contractions were so manageable up until I was dilated to a 5+. At that point the nurse asked if I wanted an epidural. Hmmmm...Let's see...Continue to feel contractions? Or feel nothing from the waist down? I think I'll take your heavy duty drugs please. I wasn't in dire need of them by that point, but why be in pain when you don't have to be???

So, I sat in bed, pain-free, for five hours and watched the World Cup with my husband. (Which I have to admit, is not nearly as boring as I used to believe it to be.) Then my nurse came in, confirmed I was fully dilated, and helped me do a "practice push." The nurse had originally told me that first-time moms generally push for 2 hours or so. So when I did that first practice push she was quite alarmed to see that my baby was pretty much ready to come out. What my husband failed to mention in a previous blog is that he had insisted that he would be by my shoulder the entire time and was not planning to even take a peek "down there" for fear of being grossed out for the rest of his life. When I did that first practice push, the nurse said, "Clint, look. You can see the top of his head already." And Clint looked! And he looked at me and he had the most excited expression on his face. The fact that he didn't pass out or vomit on the floor surprised me and I got so emotional that I started crying. Which triggered my nurse to start crying as well. It was quite the scene! My doctor arrived ten minutes later and three contractions later, Seth was here. I think I pushed for a total of ten minutes.

My recovery, on the other hand, was not smooth sailing. I was feeling so good and desperately wanted to get back in shape so I took a short jog a week after my delivery...ended up in the emergency room the next morning. Clint has watched me like a hawk since and won't let me do anything too terribly strenuous. But I do get a good walk in every day.

And a few days after Seth was born he got thrush. So we had to get an antibiotic to treat it. Things were looking good but just last week his thrush resurfaced again. So I was back at the pharmacy today getting him a new anti-fungal medicine. So not fun! Poor kid!

Also, I have been reading the Baby Wise book and am on my 2nd day of establishing a routine for Seth. Yesterday was rather difficult. I had been feeding him until he fell asleep and then would put him in his bassinet but the book suggests that he have wake time after his feeding and that you put him down for a nap while he is still awake so he learns to soothe himself to sleep.

Yeah...that didn't go so well yesterday. Today, however, is going a little bit better. I did cheat and gave him a pacifier a few minutes ago as he went down for this nap. I know! I know! Bad habit. I'll work on that! But at least he didn't cry for 40 minutes like he did last night.

Finally, what's a blog without a picture? I went to a maternity store a few days ago to get some things and found this nice nursing nightgown. I didn't need it but it came with this adorable little matching sleeper and night cap for Seth. As soon as I saw that, I had to buy it! He looks like Snow White's missing 8th dwarf! Damn you, Motherhood Maternity! So not fair to trick mothers into buying outfits they don't need just because a cute matching baby outfit is attached to it! Oh, and by the way...if any of you are wondering...the night gown I bought is just knee-length and gray. It does NOT have a hippo on it like Seth's sleeper does. What formerly pregnant woman in her right mind would wear an outfit with a hippo on it. I mean, really...

Emily Birthday and Misc

Wednesday we went to Emily's folks house to celebrate her 29th birthday. Here are some pics!
Em's comments are in red:

I tried to get this rotated, but I really didn't try very hard. In case you were wondering, it was a double layered white cake with raspberry filling and whipped frosting...her favorite. It says "Happy Birthday Mommy", it was obviously from Seth.



I know that Emily hates this picture but I love it. Emily had a baby 16 days ago and looks amazing! I am the luckiest guy in the world to be with her. She is mildly lucky to be with me, but I definitely married up!

I feel like such a fatty in all my pictures. I have tried to get out and exercise but that put me in the Emergency Room last week so Clint is being a little protective about how much physical activity I do for the next few weeks. Hopefully my face and stomach slim down soon.


Another case of me being unable to smile.

Grandma and Seth.....that bottle was meant to be delivered by me but was afraid to try and take it from Lisa. Never get between a grandmother and her grandchild. On the plus side, I was able to raid her pantry while she was preoccupied, too bad the only decent thing was some granola bars.

Can I tell you how great it is that Seth is taking a bottle already? I've been getting a little restless in the house and it was hard to get out when I have to feed Seth every 2-3 hours. With the bottle, we have a little more freedom to go places. Even a quick trip to Walmart or Target is so nice for me!

Emily in the pre-candle blowing position. She has failed the last 4 years in her attempt to blow out the candles in a single breath. Yes, I keep track. No, I am not normal.

This picture was actually prior to the one above, but I was too lazy to move it. Notice the spinning lighter directly above the cake, apparently David was proud of his ability to light all the candles. The lighter spin is a well known act of pride at a job well done.

Another Grandma picture. Seth's eyes open, Lisa's eyes closed.

What you talkin' bout, fool?

I love when Seth stares so intently at someone/something that he goes sorta cross eyed!

That's right, our baby sometimes sleeps topless. Got a problem with that?

The temperature in our house is SO hard to regulate! Poor little buddy wakes up sweating some nights. I'm always whipping out the thermometer to make sure he isn't running a fever!

Yes, I'm super paranoid!

We honestly try to bind his hand to his side but he throws a fit until he works it free. This is his favorite blanket. Why? Because we always use it.

Family shot. Emily, David, Lisa, Seth, Chloe (Dog) and Kaylyn (midget). Kaylyn is actually normal height for a girl but I love teasing her. She actually doesn't sit at a chair when we eat at the table, she just stands and is the perfect height.

Seth helping daddy draft some emails. He helped me keep my tone positive and appropriate. I blame any grammatical errors on him though.

I call this "The turtle". He honestly hates his car seat, but probably not as much as I do. As soon as we arrive at our stop, I always jump right out and make sure he is okay. I need to invest in the little mirror you hang on your back window to see into the car seat. I am a worrier.

What Clint didn't clarify above is that Seth's head is still so wobbly that we find his head flopped over to one side or kinked all weird when we get him out of his car seat. We have to find some way of keeping his head in a fixed position but the little head rest in his car seat is still a little too big for him. He takes after his mom, he has a small head.

Seth really enjoys looking out of one eye. Is it tiredness, laziness or is he just messing with us? It is good to know what he will look like if he were to smoke weed though. We can use this as a reference later in life if we ever have suspicions.

When he hunches his back and grunts along with closing one eye, we call him Quasimodo.

This is another one of my office co-workers. I have no idea how this position is comfortable, but Tess enjoyed it. Our poor dogs have gotten no attention since Seth arrived but they have handled it wonderfully. I think Tess is unsure how to handle someone smaller than her.

It is quite funny to see how the dogs are reacting to Seth. When Seth is screaming they get so anxious. They don't know what to do. It is amazing how gentle they are with him. It's like they know that he is still fragile.

Sleeping Seth. My dude.

We are trying to get Seth to sleep on his right side a little bit more because our pediatrician said that if we don't get him to rotate sides, he will have a lop-sided head. Clint masterfully turned his head during this little nap. Thanks Daddy for doing your part to make me look normal!

Hiccups! Seth had them daily while I was pregnant and is not giving them up now.

More of Seth, sick of him yet?

More Random Seth pics and comments. I am a lazy blogger.

Cute candid shot of Emily kissing Seth. I promise, she was aware I was in the room. the picture quality makes it look I was hiding in the shrubs across the street.

This is Seth's best attempt at being a cameleon. Where did he go?

The calm before the storm...

The storm.

The storm has moved on. Is he 18 yet?

Seth sporting the muscle shirt. Look at those guns!

Seth is debating whether or not to spit up. When he remembered it was Emily holding him, he decided to wait until dad took his turn.

Seth sucking his thumb. This will be adorable until he is 4 months and we are unable to get him to stop. It seems like alot of things seem cute and funny now but will be very exhausting later....such as peeing on the wall during diaper changes.

I just love his tiny fist. Good angle.

Whoever says that babies are not creepy obviously has never actually held one for an extended amount of time. His eyes freak me out.