Sleep? We will meet again.

How to know if you are sleep deprived....

1. Have you turned on your coffee pot in the morning to find you never added the coffee grounds in the first place?
2. Do you wake up in the morning convinced you closed your eyes two seconds earlier?
3. Do you find yourself zoning out (aka falling asleep with your eyes open) at 4 pm in the afternoon?
4. When getting dressed have you put your shirt on backwards? (Double your points if you did so twice in a row)
5. Do you find yourself being verbally dyslexic throughout the ENTIRE day? Example: Jackson, please put your refrigerator in the milk please! or better yet, I bathroom the cleaned today.
6. As the alarm on your phone is going off, are you convinced your phone is flat out broken because you forgot how to turn it off?
7. Do you wake up in the middle of the night holding a sleeping baby, having no idea when you picked him or her up from their crib?

Yea, me neither.

If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, you just might have a newborn in your home.

Invest in a great coffee maker.

Heart Melting 101

27 days ago.

27 days ago, my life changed forever. I met one little face that can make me smile and cry within the same hour. And yes, that was my life a few nights ago. Oy. Brief details are below.

I absolutely love watching him grow bigger and stronger every day. Over 8 pounds now, Rett is holding his head up for longer periods of time. He's really starting to track and follow with his eyes. I SWEAR he's smiled at me...not any of those gassy or sleepy smiles...a genuine, eyes shining, heart melting smile. I'm still waiting to see who he'll look like. Right now Kee-Kee looks like... Kee-Kee.

And this Little Guy has definitely let us know what he doesn't like early on. Ironically, things took a nose dive after I shared this. A few days ago, I could have sworn we were fighting reflux or some sort of gassy intestinal battle which I refer to as night from hell #1 and #2...but Hallelujah, we are going on Night #3 of a normal schedule which means that I am getting almost 3 hours of sleep at a time. Don't get me wrong, we are still fighting a battle that ironically starts after the evening feeding...right around 7:30/8:00. After trying every trick we could think of, we are taking note of what we think he likes and doesn't like...as of right now. Unfortunately the "doesn't like" category is made loud and clear...literally.

1. LOVES taking naps on his tummy. When we are hanging out on the couch, we take advantage of being able to put him in that position which seems to help his tummy. As soon as his neck gets strong enough, I see him being a tummy sleeper.

2. HATES having a wet or dirty diaper.

3. LOVES to be inclined. On night #2 from hell, we went around,putting everything on an incline...his mattress, his changing table pad.

4. HATES to have his arms swaddled. Thankfully he is Houdini so in the middle of the night, he was able to learn how to break free.

5. HATES to be burped in the middle of eating but LOVES how much better he feels after. Seriously I feel like I burp this kid ALL the time but it gives him relief so...that's just part of life.

6. LOVES his brother. When there are no tummy issues taking over our life, he will turn his head in a heart beat to face his brother and listen to him talk. ::Initiate heart melting NOW:: Even more amazing thing? The feeling is STILL mutual.

Sweetest thing the other day.

This happened.

The Husband was hanging out on the couch with Kee-Kee when J, who had decided not to sleep during naptime, came over to them, leaned in to talk to Kee-Kee and apparently decided that NOW was the perfect time to take that nap. Pretty sure my heart exploded with love overload.

Ready? Set? SLEEP!!!

It's Fall...My house is decorated...I have my pumpkin soaps and candles out...I've had my initial Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks (my first REAL coffee btw since being pregnant. Woop woop!)...I'm starting to watch through my list of October movies while a certain toddler sleeps...Tomorrow is October 1st!!! And yet, THIS IS HAPPENING.

It is almost 10 pm and near to 80 degrees. Do you see tomorrow's high? Uh.

Ew.

Where's the 60's? Where's the drizzle? Where's the breeze? WHERE'S THE FALL???

The Husband and J are camping out tonight. Literally. The Husband (who loves the summer and literally did a happy dance when he saw this week's forecast) setup our new tent earlier today before the sun pelted anymore of it's insane rays down on us knowing that tonight and maybe even tomorrow night would be the "perfect" night to sleep outside. I think J might have pee'd his pants with excitement helping get everything setup for his campout with Daddy. He made sure to grab his Mickey AND Goofy stuffed animals, his Thomas flashlight and of course his pillow (or as he prefers to call it, "My Pay-yo."). The chatter has died down a bit from out there but it's been so cute listening to him talk on and on about every little thing that comes to mind. I know The Husband is loving this too.

I, however, am not claiming a spot on the air mattress tonight (yes, you read that right. air mattress. no more of this back ache, sleeping bag twisted, am I laying on a tree root? sort of camping for us. We live it up and cart the aerobed into the tent). Instead, I get some time with this little face!

In all honesty, I hope I do not see much of his eyes tonight as he SHOULD be sleeping. When J was little and I had limited time at home before heading back to work full time, I knew that I HAD to sleep train that little guy. Sleep was a necessity and having a baby sleep through the night as earlier as he possibly could was a MUST. So with a BabyWise mentality, I drew up a Feed/Wake/Sleep schedule and buckled down. Best decision ever!

Knowing how effective and important sleep training came to be with J, I was eager to get Rett on his own schedule even though he is so young and thinking ahead... my work hours have changed drastically. It resonated even more in my head a few nights ago when he was up from 4-6am as if it was the middle of the day. Uh sorry kid, this mama needs her sleep and so do YOU!

And so I got to work drawing up the ideal day. I took J's wakeup time, naptime and bedtime into consideration too so that I could hopefully be able to shift my focus from one kid to the other instead of juggling both. With those factors, along with some work ones, we are getting our feet under us with a new routine. Let's just say that sleeping a solid 4 hours in a row last night quite literally brought a smile to my face at 5am.

We will see how tonight goes as every day pans out it's unique set of circumstances. Like today being the traumatic bath day. Seriously, I'm surprised the neighbors didn't come knocking. This kid has a set of lungs on him that makes the dog get up and leave the room. Boy do I love that face, but holy moly, I'd be a-okay if that particular cry would leave and never come back. He flipped out on us when we put him in the cozy hot-tub of a bath. Nope. He apparently thought it was death.

Oy. Needless to say, the rest of the day turned in to quite the sleepy day as his fit wiped him out. But regardless, we are gearing up for our final evening feeding and then it's off to bed!

Here's to you October, my favorite time of year! // tipping my hat to you //
Even though you are blasting us with some funky heat, I'm holding on to the dream of pumpkin carving, Harry Potter music, rain fall, new recipes, and lots and lots of smiles with our new family of 4.



Yay Niners! Yay A's!

Get Outta Here!

15 days ago.

Our 7 lb.+ little guy (or as we like to refer to him lately...the Goat because of his very cute grunts and bleats) is getting some cheeks on him! I guess he's bound to when a body that little jumps from 6 lbs. 5 oz. to 7 lb. 3 oz. in one week.

Looking back at our week, we are definitely keeping ourselves busy! From a 2 week old doctor appointment, to a way too painful flu shot, from a trip to Costco, to watching 49er and A's games (Yay!), and of course, the awesome picnic lunches at the park. The Husband and I knew that when our time off from work kicked in once Little Guy came into our lives, we needed to leave the house at least once a day. Not for anything crazy...just enough to feel like we are "normal." I wish I could say that the only reason for that was to give Munch some outside playtime and people interaction because we are just that awesome of parents. Nope. The Husband and I needed that extra shove out the door to ensure we didn't turn into hermits that lost track of days and times during these first few weeks... Those first few weeks can do weird things to you...we wanted to avoid that and remember to shower. So, even if the one outing was yet another trip to Target for a light bulb at 7pm, it was necessary.

Yesterday we put our much anticipated double stroller to the test...and it was a hit!!! The Husband was one of the Apple nerds advocates that was up at 1am to order the new iPhone 5. He wanted to take a trip to the Apple store to buy another cable. That worked out in my favor as I wanted to hit up Bath and Body Works for some yummy Fall smelling goodies since October is right around the corner. And so a trip to the mall was in store...time to bust out the new wheels!!!

Munch was in heaven. Literally he almost forgot to bring his pirate with him, which in our house, is a BIG deal. A new ride that he can "hide" in (pull the sun screen down) AND Kee-Kee hanging out next to him?! Life doesn't get much better. I mean look at that smirk!

I don't know if there is a toddler out there who loves his little brother more than Munch loves Little Guy. I mean seriously. Have you heard of a 2 1/2 year old bawling after the buzzer went off in the kitchen that we had to set indicating that it was time to let someone else hold the baby? Yea...

Melts my heart.

IMG 4352 from Ryan Bicker on Vimeo.

Goodness I love these boys.



P.S. Kee-Kee is still Little Guy's nickname around the house. Crazy, yet catchy.

Too many thoughts!!!

13 days ago.

It's amazing how life can change so dramatically in just a few days...eh, honestly it was more like hours.

Now here I am.  Mama of two. Hanging out on my couch, writing with a laptop on my lap with a healthy 6 lb. 13 oz. baby boy laying on me snoozing away. I've got a two and a half year  old big brother asleep in his room with his dinosaur pajamas on and mickey mouse stuffed animal in hand.

Today was my first time home alone with my two kids for a few hours. I definitely felt my brain on overdrive as I tackled a few typical chores, a toddler's lunch and nap schedule, and a newborn's feeding/changing schedule. Thankfully, I am able to ease into what our new family schedule will look like as I have till mid-November off from work. Today was actually a unique day as The Husband is technically still on vacation, even though he had to head in to work for a few hours all because he hadn't planned being on his leave yet (Little Guy's due date is still a full two weeks away!).

In all honesty,

It's amazing how many times I have started and then stopped this post...some of the time as a result of my new found schedule, other times out of pure time exhaustion but mainly, because of the pure abundance of what I want to write about. I have so many stories, thoughts and feelings rolling through my head that I truly have no idea where to begin!

So here is my goal: In the days to come I'm determined to let the thoughts just roll. I don't want to forget. I don't want to miss those little details that bring a smile to my face whenever I think about them.

Routines and Schedules and Change...Oh my!!

My little family has had one heck of a month. June was filled to the brim with change and oh my word, change it was. The most dramatic?

 - A new job title for the Husband with new roles and responsibilities.
 - A completely new job for this mama which meant...
          - New work days
          - New work hours
          - Oh and btw, did I mention that this new job of mine puts me on the same campus as the  
            Husband AND the munchkin AND Munchkin #2 once daycare age sets in?!
 - Oh yea...and we are 7 months into this baby growing business.

What's really neat is that all these changes have been uh-mazing! I feel crazy blessed. No joke! What's really tricky, is what that meant for our "normal" routine and whatever sort of "normal" schedule we had in place. June meant so many flip flopping of daycare times with work hours that nap time, regular dinner time and bedtime pretty much went out the window. We were on survival mode.

Hello July! The month of our new "normal" and my opportunity to try and get life back in order just in time for it to be tossed up in the air again as maternity leave approaches in 2 short months. But hey, whose counting? ;)

I'm all in. The Husband's on board. Munchkin?...not so much. At 2 1/2, his desire for independence and a voiced opinion is heard loud and ... louder. In his mind, nap time is dumb. Bedtime is even more dumb. Bedtime should be co-conquered by Mama and Daddy AND be filled with different demands requests. I'm not going to deny the fact that his requests come at the craziest of times and usually always are his attempts at stalling. Everyone is tired. Everyone wants to be doing their own thing. Even Munchkin #2 likes to chime in by reminding me of his whereabouts by this time making me crazed and cranky. In my crazed and cranky state, I am not the best at sticking to my guns and fighting the battles.

These last few nights were only made possible because of The Husband's amazing ability to push through his end of the day VBS exhaustion and tackle bedtime for me. Without him, poor J probably would have fallen asleep in the hallway, wearing only a diaper, his cowboy hat and pirate hook for accessories.

I try and not be completely useless during this time but when the infamous bump-on-a-log mode kicks in, I tend to be a tad delirious. I'll attempt to put another load of laundry in, get dishes cleaned up, pack lunches before hobbling to the couch. This bump-on-a-log mode makes any sort of movement, real or imaginary, darm near impossible when you've got a little human sitting on a nerve in your right leg. My doctor is optimistic that in the next month as Little Person shifts head down, that shift will then give me some relief.

Slowly but surely our new hours are sinking in. Every day/night gets a little better. Our once awesome sleeper is getting his groove back and if I overheard from my nightly couch position correctly, there were no tears last night. /insert happy dance here/

Here's to you July! I'm excited you are here!

Buy Buy Baby...Hello stroller heaven!

Mother's Day weekend and we pulled out the shorts, sunblock and sunglasses. Hallelujah!

I am thrilled to say that my Mother's Day weekend (last year of being mama to one little munchkin!) started on Friday with The Husband having two days off...IN A ROW! Fellow Pastor's wives and wives of weekend working husbands, you know how amazing this is.

We celebrated by grabbing some doughnuts and hitting the streets for errands galore. Not the classiest way to spend a Friday morning but there are some days, you just can't avoid the "have-to's."

 A "have-to" that turned into a various awesome date night with J spending the night at Grandma and Grandpa's house was a trip out to Buy Buy Baby.

Folks, I'm pretty sure we found the motherload of baby gear. Buy Buy Baby was the Bed Bath and Beyond on steroids for parents. Particularly, it's the stroller heaven of baby land. They had an ENTIRE wall of strollers! Strollers that I had only read about! Uh-Mazing. Truly

I had been hunting for a particular double stroller. With 2 kids under the age of 3, I've been trying to find the perfect double that will fit our little guys. Oh and fit our Britax Companion car seat. I'd narrowed it down to three...

1. Baby Jogger's City Mini Double - 2012
2. Baby Jogger's City Mini GT Double - 2012
3. Bumbleride Indie Twin - 2012

Main problem with all three? Where oh where in the Bay Area can I take them for a test drive?!

Finally, in entered Buy Buy Baby. Not a quick drive to Pleasant Hill but 45 minutes to touch and feel instead of guesstimate was worth it.

After an hour of drooling and test driving and physically taking a stroller out to my car to see how it fits into a Ford Focus, The Husband and I had come up with our decision. Hands down...2012 Baby Jogger's City Mini GT Double.

Not only does it have adaptors for our Britax car seat, a boogie board for J, a cooler, snack trays and rain cover, it...is...easy. I can't tell you how excited I am to pull the trigger on bringing this bad boy home. Ah yes. It's the little things in life that make this mama smile.

And it's a....

...a BOY!!!!

Little Person joining our family later this year is a strong, healthy little BOY!!!

I am beyond ecstatic!  J gets to be big brother to a little BOY! The tears were instantaneous.

It was absolutely amazing to see that heart beating, those little feet kicking away and those little hands waving and covering up HIS face.

Even the "science" part of the ultrasound was pure joy. To have her count aloud all 4 chambers of HIS little heart. Both kidneys. Both femurs. A complete little spine and tailbone. Arteries and a 138 heart rate. AMAZING.

Our ultrasound tech was able to get a few awesome pictures but this mama is so tired from such an emotional roller coaster of a day, those will come later. :)

On an interesting note, Little BOY is measuring a full two weeks early putting me at 21 weeks instead of 19 weeks along! Not sure if the doc will officially change my due date but if she does, we are now looking at a September 19th due date instead of October 3rd. Hmm...rather interesting spin!

Many more details to come but for now... Off to bed!!!

A day full of awesomeness leading to an even more potentially awesome day!

If I could actually do a cartwheel, I would be doing one now.
Then a quick backflip.
Ending with a few jump kicks.

Why the excessive amount of jubilation you ask?
TWO reasons.

1. I didn't have to cook dinner tonight! Why? We have the most amazing friends who brought us a BBQ dinner tonight. Why? Because they are amazing like that. What better plan on a 90 degree day than to NOT cook dinner. ::high fives all around::

2. Kaiser called today. To confirm my scheduled water-torture tomorrow. No awesomeness there. What is the water-torture that I refer to? Roughly 3 years ago at 19 weeks along with Mr. J, I blogged a pretty accurate account of the event...

Any other pregnant women out there willing to sign a petition or walk the picket line in order to revise a torture policy mandated by Kaiser on unsuspecting pregnant women? Confused? I digress...

A few weeks ago after making this appointment, I received instructions that I needed to follow before I came in. Gullible growing me did not think twice as I read and reread the instructions since this was, after all, for my baby. "Go to the bathroom...then, drink 32 ounces of water within a half hour period. You must have completed the task one hour before your appointment." What's the big deal you ask? For those of you who are not pregnant, I'd like to see you drink 32 ounces of water with a child the size of a soda can karate chopping and salsa dancing on your bladder while having to hold it for almost two hours! Without too many graphic details - I literally was in the most uncomfortable bladder state I've ever been in my life. Unable to think or breathe, I have never been more elated in my life to be pointed in the direction of the restroom.


The "loving" Husband so kindly took accurate video footage to document this ridiculous bladder event.





You can imagine my lack of excitement about another go around with torture. BUT THEN...

Wait for it...

...wait for it...

The Husband and I went in for my 18 almost 19 week appt and received a print out of instructions for the dreaded test. After reading through it several times, I came across the line, "No specific preparation needed." WHAT?!

When Kaiser called today, I was able to ask the awesome radiologist point blank. "No, the water preparation is not needed anymore."

::high fives all around::

 ::insert more jump kicks, cartwheels and everything glittery and wonderful::

Tomorrow should be an even more awesome day if Little Person here cooperates and grants the camera a clear view of the unmentionables. Place your bets folks!!! Is Mr. J going to be the big brother of a little dude or a little missy? For those who need some facts, here is what I can offer.

Morning sickness? Nope. Not really. There were a few weeks where my stomach did some flips but the only time I ever tossed any cookies were a result of taking my prenatals on an empty stomach.

Belly? Showed really early but seem to be holding around the 40" mark. Little Person is a low rider. Heart beat is always a little tricky to find because everyone is looking in the "normal" range but need to scoot down another inch and a half to hear the amazing little beat.

Heart rate? Doc said baby's heart rate was around 140 as of yesterday.

This is a new arena for me. We were stubborn and waited to find out with J. I loved the yellows, browns and greens. This time? Well, it just feels right. Let's see if Little Person agrees with our decision.

Goodbye beaver chewed crib.

Things happened so fast that I really didn't take into consideration...I just might be sad. That I just might find myself sitting and staring down at his dinosaur print legs getting ready to read our books before bed remembering the days when size 2T clothes seemed so very far away. And realizing how rapidly things are changing.

Oh the days when pajamas could only be folded in half.
Oh the days when a sleep sack was the only necessity for a cozy night.
Oh the days when crib rails were smooth, white and new.

This weekend J met his big boy bed...THE big boy bed. The full size, no beaver chewed crib, with real sheets and a comforter type of bed! Hold ...the ...phone.

To make room, out went the rocker that has been our nightly routine since day one. That's the point where the knot caught in my throat. To see the rocker sitting aimlessly in my room until Little Person 2012's room is transformed, hurt. Even J was confused. To hear his little voice call out "Mama? Books?" while pointing at the chair and signaling for me to sit...I had to remind myself that we WILL have storytime...Just a modified version including hanging out on a full size bed together. So we gave it a shot.

J insisted on sitting next to me, curled up under a blanket with his head resting on my arm. I didn't realize how much the Little Person belly had been getting in the way! This was good. This was perfect. Our new norm was going to work. He felt like a big boy. He looks like a big boy. Mama is coming to terms with having a big boy.

Doesn't change that this is what I still see...

But in reality, this is the real deal...

It's amazing how many smiles one little person can bring about.

Started showing at 5 weeks...

I know I showed early with Jackson but I at least made it closer to the 2nd trimester before telling people than I did with this little person.

Five weeks. FIVE WEEKS folks and I was already having to use a rubber band to hold le pantaloons up.

And now...my 14 week belly is housing a little person the size of a navel orange with gusto. I looked back through my journal for comparison, my belly was 39" at 17 weeks with Jackson.

Hello 40" at 14 weeks.

• How far along?  Almost 14 Weeks

• Total weight gain: 4 pounds? I really have no clue. My scale at home is more kind than the doctor's. I'll use my home scale for reference to make myself feel better. 

• Maternity clothes?  Oh dear me yes. 

• Stretch marks? No new ones....Yet...

• Sleep: Not the greatest...I actually slept better through the first trimester. Boo! I know am having to wake up at least once a night for the pee ritual. Not just that but the belly is at a point where finding a comfy position is easier said than done. 

• Best moment this week:  Positively feeling Little Person move. :) I thought I had felt him/her around 10 weeks but I questioned whether or not my intestinal issues were the cause of the movement. Ha!

• Miss Anything? One large ceasar salad. :)

• Movement: YES! Definitely throughout the day now. Just the cute little flutters.

• Food cravings: Random! The need for everything spicy has finally subsided but now I tend to to gravitate towards sweets! Unfortunately I don't want to give in to this craving just in case the glucose test I have to take in a few weeks comes back higher like it did with Jackson. I cannot tell you how excited I was to have the first hour long test go as well as it did.

• Food aversions: Nothing really. Sometimes food in general doesn't sound the greatest.

• Gender: That's the big question!

• Labor Signs: Better not!

• Symptoms: My intestines literally hate me. They are on their own type of emotional roller coaster.

• Belly Button in or out? Half in. Half flat.

• Wedding rings on or off? On. And with a newly clean and dipped ring... I want to wear it as much as I can. :)

• Looking forward to: My doctor's appointment on Tuesday. Anxious to hear that little heartbeat. 

Why hello there Little Person!

Very surreal.

Kinda crazy.

Over the moon excited!!!

BAM! Our 8 week Little Person!

Oh, and by the way... Second time mom's? Beware of the very evident baby bump that may or may not show up 5 weeks into the deal.

Exhibit A.

Me.

Last week. 9 Weeks.

Helllllooooo belly.