Happy One Month, Franklin!

This post is a tad late, but better late than never!

Dear Franklin,

This first month with you has been so exciting! Your dad and I have been so impressed with what a good baby you've been from the very beginning, and are so thankful to have you in our lives. I am constantly surprised at how fast you are growing, and how you seem to learn a new skill every day. You've given me several very special "mommy moments" in the past few weeks, like when you cry and cry when someone holds you, and as soon as I pick you up you stop! It's almost as if you seem to know who I am, and that (at least for now) I might be your favorite person. You smile often in your sleep, and I think I've caught you giggling a few times too. And just now, as I was typing this, you managed to give me the first gummy smile all for me - eyes open and obviously not gas!! Yippee! You love to eat, and you love your paci as well. We're still working on getting our sleep schedule just right, but most nights you let dad and I have a pretty good night's rest. In the past few days, you've started saving special toots for me when I change your diaper, particularly when I put the diaper rash cream on you... but even though you toot on me, I still love you anyway. Unfortunately, you inherited your father's toes-- and we had to take you to the ER while in Brewton for Thanksgiving to remedy the ingrown toenail that had somehow ended up infected despite my best efforts. You handled it like a champ, and had I not noticed the flaming red, super-sized big toe when I gave you a bath, we never would've known that anything was wrong! A little ointment and some Amoxicillan later, and you seem to be doing just fine. You also are reaching a few developmental milestones early (our little over-achiever), particularly the physical ones. You can already hold your head up at a 45 degree angle, and you push and kick with your legs all the time! I'm convinced you'll crawl early due to those strong Long legs! Bebe and Lola have decided that you can be a member of the family now, and Bebe will sit next to the swing and watch you to make sure you are ok. She also gets pretty upset when you cry, and makes sure that I take care of it quickly! Your eyes are still blue and you get more blonde hair each day, and I think you are an extra special miniature version of your dad. You have yet to find an attachment to a blanket or a toy, but I'm sure you will soon. You handled your first out of town trip like an old pro, and seemed to enjoy meeting all of your extended family. You slept in my Moby wrap during Thanksgiving dinner, and we all were allowed to eat in peace.

Franklin, you are such a blessing in our lives and we grow to love you more each day! Happy one month birthday little man!

New Mommy Product Post

Just to share, there are a few products that have been a huge help to me as a new mom. In no particular order, the finalists are:

Psst Dry Shampoo - Volume Plus Color. This comes in both blonde and brunette, and in my opinion is better than other dry shampoos that don't have color. Those can end up leaving a chalky residue in your hair, while this dry shampoo actually hides grays in between coloring and doesn't end up chalky at the end of the day. Because, lets face it -- it's impossible with a newborn to wash your hair everyday. Buy it from www.drugstore.com.

Benefit "Hello Flawless" Powder Foundation. I typically do not recommend powder foundation for anyone over the age of 15, and honestly it's a stretch even then because it can look "cakey" - however, in a pinch this foundation works wonders. It covers evenly, is super fast to apply, and lasts a long time. I don't think it looks nearly as good as the foundation I typically wear, but for days at home with the baby and short runs to the grocery store, it works.

Revive Eye Renewal Cream. Tired eyes? Bags and wrinkles? This cream appears to help. No, I did not pay $110 dollars for this cream, but instead was totally hooked up by a girl at Saks awhile back (pre-pregnancy) with TONS of samples of Revive products. I stopped using the fancy non-organic cosmetics when Frank and I started the whole baby process, so I still have some left. Don't let anyone convince you that there isn't a difference between drugstore cosmetics and beauty counter blockbusters-- there totally is, and this eye cream is a winner.

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte. Good for the diet? Nope. Good for the soul? Totally. In law school when Frank and I first started dating, I lived right down the street from a Super Target with a Starbucks. Frank would take a break from studying and bring me a Pumpkin Spice or Gingerbread Latte as a special treat since we didn't see much of each other during finals. I like to think they were his special way of "wooing" me, since flowers and candy haven't exactly been part of our relationship equation (well, maybe candy has, but I digress) - anyway, the caffeine does a body good, and the first full-caffeine drink from Starbucks postpartum was heaven.

So there they are folks. I also recommend a full stash of elastic hairbands and hand cream (since I now wash my hands and dishes/bottles about 150 times a day).

Weight Loss Diaries - Week 1

My appointment with Dr. Straughn yesterday went well and I'm officially cleared to exercise more strenuously. I mustered up the courage to ask the nurse exactly how much weight I'd lost so far after she weighed me at the beginning of the appointment, and here are the stats:

Weight Lost: 49 pounds

Amt to Pre-Pregnancy Weight: 12 pounds

Total weight to lose: 20 pounds

I start my exercise program today and have cut a large amount of calories from my diet (but I do still eat three meals a day and sometimes have a snack). Most articles I've read note that for the typical postpartum women, it's "9 months up, 9 months down," but I don't have that luxury - I've spent way too much money on clothing for work in the past several years, and finally have a decent work wardrobe that I need to fit into-- in February. So, I'm officially doing a weekly weight loss journal here to keep myself accountable... hopefully we'll start to see results soon!

My Little Man!

Our appointment with the pediatrician this morning went great! In just one short month, Franklin has grown two inches (he's now 21 inches long) and gained 2 pounds (up to 8 pounds 3 ounces!). Dr. Levin said he's doing great, and we go back in December for his two month appointment. It's hard to believe the time is flying by as fast as it is... it seems like just yesterday I was pacing the floor of the hospital room waiting to bring him home.

Of course, after I posted the blog on how Franklin was on a fantastic schedule, the last two nights he's been really fussy during the night and I haven't gotten much sleep. I was able to take an hour nap during the day today though, and a 16 oz coffee helped a bit too. We're still working the kinks out of the schedule, but even if he doesn't sleep all the way through the night (or in 4 hour stretches) it's at least nice to have a solid routine during the day. He seems to do better with it as well. I am also able to monitor his awake time better due to the schedule as well, and he seems to be able to stay awake a little longer as time goes by (we shoot for an hour after each meal except during the night).

And now, as I sit here watching Oprah listening to my ill-mannered dogs outside raising you know what at Lord knows what, I am thankful that my sweet baby boy doesn't mind background noise while he naps in his swing. Here's hoping my appointment Monday goes well too!

Thankfully it's not just me....

The headline: Heidi Klum Says She Needs to Lose 20 Lbs.

http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20320748,00.html

Thank goodness I'm not the only one... I feel a little better now. My postpartum visit is Mondy, here's to the greenlight on exercise and my long-awaited date with Jillian Michaels. Tracy Anderson and I may reconnect before Jillian and I become BFF (no weights with Tracy's method so I'd start a bit slower, check out http://tracyandersonmethod.com/). I'm determined to shed the weight and get back in pre-pregnancy clothing before I return to work in February... two months should be plenty of time, right? Fingers crossed.

Franklin at Three Weeks!

Here are a few pics of Franklin at three weeks old. Today, he sported his first pair of "shoes!" He's getting so big, and is still such a good baby. We've worked out some of the kinks that we faced at first, like the fact that he HATED taking a bath. A warm wash cloth over his belly during the bath and the paci when he comes out seems to have resolved the issue, and we can now make it through bathtime without a screaming fest that would wake the dead.

Yesterday I headed over to my doctor's office to get the H1N1 Vaccine before I stop nursing so that Franklin can get the antibodies since he can't have the vaccine. Yes, our brief stint in nursing is quickly coming to an end.... my supply issues never resolved themselves, despite my attempt at drinking tea and even taking medication to increase the supply. Franklin also never really warmed up to nursing either, his sucking abilities were hindered due to the fact that he was three weeks early, and each time he tried to nurse he just wore himself out on the first breast and refused to even try the second... meaning that he never would've eaten enough to grow the way he was supposed to, and that we always would've had to supplement with formula. Paying for a pump and spending time to pump (while only getting 1/2 an ounce to an ounce each time anyway), in addition to feeding with bottles, is for the birds. The little man seems to enjoy his formula just fine, despite the fact that the extra iron is having a small impact on his stooling (I know, the first post about poop, right?).

We've also started working a schedule, and it's having a huge impact on our happiness at this point. In yet another first time mom mistake, I assumed initially that Franklin did not like being swaddled, since he always kept his hands near his face and seemed to struggle in the swaddle once he was wrapped up inside. WRONG. (And apparently a typical mistake). Franklin is too young to have the motor skills to control where his arms end up, and a revival of the swaddle has resulted in better sleep for us all. I have to thank our friends Ed & Jessica for their recommendation of the Moms on Call Guide to the First 6 Months for our great results so far. Two years ago when they had their first baby, Jessica mentioned the book to me and what a help it had been to them. Frank and I were newly married, but knew we wanted kids, so I bookmarked the Moms on Call website so that I would remember to check it out when the time came.

The book and its method are incredible. The authors are baby nurses from Atlanta, and believe that you can start your baby on a schedule at 2 weeks (although for the first 4 weeks things aren't set in stone, since everyone is still working out the kinks). We began last Friday, when Franklin hit three weeks old. The authors give an hourly schedule during the day, including feeding and nap times, as well as dinner, bath, and bedtime. We begin our day at 6 AM, he eats and is awake for an hour, and sleeps in two hour naps after that. He eats dinner at 6:30, and we begin the bathtime routine at 8:30 or 9 PM. He gets a "bath" every night, although I don't use soap every night in an attempt to preserve his skin and keep it from overdrying. The thought process is that babies associate bathtime with bedtime, and Franklin has begun to do just that. After the bath, Franklin eats again, and then the swaddle comes into play and he's put down to bed. The authors recommend that the baby go into his own room that's very dark and to use a white noise machine, but I just can't bring myself to put Franklin in his own room just yet. So, he's still in our room and we aren't using a white noise machine - but the fan in our room is still on. He then wakes at 2-2:30 to eat during the night, in a dimly lit room with very little interaction with me, and goes right back down until it's time to wake up at 6. Last night, he slept until 6:45AM!

So yes, that's correct - my three week old only wakes up one time per night to feed at 2:oo AM, and I am getting 4 hour stretches of sleep regularly at this point. I generally go back to sleep when he goes down for the morning nap at 7 AM, and we both start our day around 9 AM. It doesn't work perfectly just yet, sometimes he'll wake at 1:30 and 5:30, or some version of that, but I think we're light years ahead of what some other new moms face. I am extremely lucky that Franklin is an easy-going baby, and seems to pretty much go with the flow on most things. I was determined to find some sort of a "schedule" before we traveled over the holidays so that we all didn't lose our minds, so hopefully we will be right on track when we head down to visit our families next week.

So long story short, we're still here and doing great! Franklin visits the pediatrician again on Thursday, I'm anxious to see how much weight he's gained. Here's hoping we get a good report!

My handsome baby boy....

Franklin had his first professional photos taken this past weekend by Benita Roberts of a Sweet Life Studio... I think the pictures speak for themselves, don't you?

Check out more of Benita's work at http://asweetlifestudio.com/. Isn't he the cutest baby ever??

Things to remember....

Here's a list of fun things I've noticed about my sweet little one during the first week at home with him:

1. He can't suck on a bottle or paci and toot at the same time. Meaning that he'll pause for a sec, take care of business and go right back to sucking. I keep waiting for him to hike a leg.
2. Baby sneezes are extra cute.
3. Franklin sounds like a little piglet when he takes a pacifier. It's pretty funny.
4. He's a great baby, but makes lots of sounds.... some of them sound like kittens.
5. He likes to hold your hand and has remarkable dexterity for a newborn... he can grip the paci with the best of them.
6. He's a good baby... he doesn't wake up in the middle of the night screaming for a bottle, but grunts and coos long enough for me to wake up, get my bearings, and grab him to nurse before he gets upset.
7. I didn't realize how neat watching my husband interact with his son would be. There really isn't anything like it.
8. He already seems to "know" who I am.
9. I can survive on less sleep than I ever thought possible.
10. I really am glad that I read all of those books, did the internet research, and talked with fellow moms before Franklin was born... I don't think you can ever be fully prepared to become a new mom, but I have certainly felt more equipped to handle the daily tasks of caring for a newborn.

Franklin went to the pediatrician for the first time last week, and was back up to 6 lbs 3 ounces and looked great. No bilirubin check necessary. I went to the doctor yesterday morning, and my blood pressure was so good that I can stop taking the medication I've been on since Franklin was born -- meaning that the dull headache I've had is now gone! 110/80 was the magic number, and I expect it will keep dropping from here. Today Franklin and I are taking our first walk outside, it's a beautiful day here and I intend to take advantage of a day without rain. Things are pretty great around here!

Happy Halloween!

Franklin is one week old!

Franklin's First Few Days....

Here's a glimpse at our first few days with Franklin in photos....(including his brief stay in the "baby tanning bed!")