Saturday, May 23, 2009

Hello my name is Mindy...

...and I'm a caffeine addict. :(

When I was in college, I was SUPER addicted to Pepsi. I can't tell you how many I'd have per day. It was embarrassing. Right before I got married, I switched to Diet Pepsi, and still had probably 6-8 a day. SO, when we started trying to get pregnant, I realize I had to kick my caffeine addiction. Addiction is totally the word because I would get headaches when I didn't have it. A can of pop would knock it right out and I'd be on with my day.

I went cold turkey, and within a week, no more headaches. I switched to caffeine-free Diet Pepsi, as I still had a soda addiction and couldn't give it up COMPLETELY.

So fast forward to the birth of baby Noah. Before Noah, I enjoyed my caffeine free pop and decaf White Chocolate Mochas or frappucinos at Starbucks, and the *occasional* caffeine spiked beverage. But once he was here and we were getting 2, 3, maybe 4 hours of sleep at night, I became a regular morning coffee drinker. I would feed the baby while Ben made the morning brew before leaving for work. I became dependent on that morning coffee, and on the days I didn't get it (and even sometimes when I did), Noah and I would take a trip to Target to shop and hit the Starbucks... (By the way, Target carts *really* need cup holders...)

Again, fast forward to the present. I've been back to work and the daily grind for awhile. Most mornings, Ben makes coffee but if he doesn't or if I need to leave before he makes coffee, I find myself NEEDING it. I was going the grande route for awhile, but now I need a venti for it to do the trick! UGH!

On the upswing, my addiciton now is different than three years ago. I don't get the headaches, and I don't need it throughout the day. I still only drink caffeine free pop, unless of course I'm out and can't get it. But anyways, the moral of this story is that my maternity leave caused a readdiction to caffeine...

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On the Noah front, his cold has finally subsided. Still the occasional cough or sneeze, but we did go to the doctor on Monday and he confirmed it was just a cold - no ear or sinus infection, thank goodness. We ran the humidifier and propped up the mattress and it seemed to do the trick.

Noah LOVES being outside. Now that the weather's nice, I'm so excited to get out more with him for walking and outings. I got home early from work yesterday and took him for a long walk and then we played in the grass while waiting for daddy to come home.

Speaking of daddy, his 33rd birthday was this week. We had a low key day, but will probably do something fun to celebrate on this LONG weekend. Yay for Memorial Day - I get a three-day weekend AND get to spend two of those days with both my boys!

We are going to go look at flooring this weekend. We got a quote for labor to put hardwood in our main level of the house (through the kitchen, dining room, living room, and entryway). Now we just need to get the flooring and rip up the carpet and we'll be good to go! The house has been in royal disarray since Ben painted back in mid-April, so I'm eager to get the new floors in and get things back to normal around here!! It's going to be beautiful when it's done... but until then...

Check out this video of Noah. He's teething pretty bad, and I think his goofy tongue made it feel better... I don't really know because there's no rhyme or reason to when he does this...



It cracks me up every time!!

Friday, May 15, 2009

**Happy 7 months Noah!!**

It is incredible how time flies!! I can't believe my little man is seven months old already! Sometimes it feels like yesterday he was born, and other days it feels like he's been with us forever!!

May is already half over, and it's been quite a busy month for us!

Since around the beginning of the month, Noah has taken to rolling onto his tummy to sleep, and usually there are no problems. However, one morning (I think Weds the 6th), he woke up with his eye almost completely swollen shut. I wish I had a picture of it, because he just looked so pitiful! It wasn't bothering him at all, and definitely improved as the morning wore on, but just to be safe I called the doctor. Turns out it was nothing. The doctor that it was probably a collection of fluid from sleeping on his face, and it was nothing to be concerned about. Later that day, we also had a follow up head ultrasound. It went well, and the doctor called later that day and said everything pretty much looks the same.

Last week, Ben, Noah, and I went down to Bloomington for two days for Katie's regional softball tournament. Noah did so good in the car, at the hotel, and at the ball park. It was on this trip that we started the transition to formula. Now he gets two formula bottles and two breast milk bottles per day, and he's doing great with that. On top of that, we've moved on to Stage 2 baby foods, and he loves everything so far! He enjoys mealtimes so much, I can't feed him fast enough.

Daddy & Noah at Katie's game

Anyways, the weather was great for the first day of the tournament. We sat right in front of the press box, so we were totally in the shade the entire day. The second day was overcast, and we sat in the same spot. I guess I thought we'd be "shaded" again, even though there was no sun. WRONG. Poor Noah got his first sunburn, which left mommy feeling BEYOND guilty. That Friday night back at home, he had a mild fever and slept *terribly*. He woke up in the middle of the night (very unlike him) and just seemed so uncomfortable. I gave him a bottle of water to help rehydrate, and he fell back to sleep, poor baby.

Sunday was my first Mother's Day, and I truly could not have asked for a better day!! First of all, mommy got to sleep in a bit, and while I showered, Ben got Noah ready for the day. We had breakfast with my mom & Jeff, and Julie & Scott, and it was worth the 45 minute wait. Delicious. After breakfast, Ben & I went home to feed Noah and from there headed out to enjoy the beautiful weather. We first went to Cosley's and saw all the animals. There were some brand new baby goats (like a week old) that I think Noah enjoyed watching... they were about his size. I had told Ben that all I wanted for Mother's Day were photos of Noah and I together, so after Cosley's, we went to Adams Park for a "photo shoot". I am SO happy with how the pictures turned out. I can't wait for Ben to edit them so I can post some and have prints made.

After the photo shoot, Ben took me to Dairy Queen (yum!), and we headed home so Noah could finally get a good nap. Ben & Noah got mommy some pretty plants with pink flowers (azaleas? I can't remember now), and Ben has since planted them in the yard, continuing the "fence" of shrubs. Pictures to come!

Once Noah woke up, we all headed to dinner at Ted's Montana Grill, and it was fantastic. I had an amazing cocktail, awesome Cobb salad with a Crab cake on top, and a delicious dessert. After we got home and got Noah to bed, Ben gave me a massage to cap a great day. I'm such a lucky girl!!

Monday night, baby Noah came down with his first cold, hacking cough, runny nose and all... I openly blame my sister, who was coughing all over and blowing in his face on Mother's Day. Monday night was rough. He woke up three times, and we could just tell he was out-of-sorts. He couldn't breathe and sounded like he was snoring all night. I contemplated calling the doctor, but decided to wait it out. It's been a few days now, and while he's still coughing and boogery, it has gotten MUCH better. Throughout the course of it (with the exception of the first night), he's been his pretty happy-go-lucky, typical self, so I'm not too worried. I do find it interesting that just days after cutting his breastmilk intake in half, he gets his very first cold... coincidence or correlation????

Noah has finally started sitting independently! I can even walk away for a few minutes and he'll just be chilling, playing with his toys. Here's a picture from Steph's graduation party at the beginning of the month.