Busy Boy!

We had a busy Memorial  weekend.  Grandpa Alan came to visit us from Saturday morning until Monday afternoon.  He hadn't seen Ike since the bris!  Ike enjoyed having Grandpa feed him, read him Goodnight Moon, and help with his bath.  It rained way too much, but that didn't dampen our spirits!  

After saying goodbye to Grandpa on Monday afternoon, we met up with Tia Mary, Tio Steve, and Primo Justin at the Marietta Diner.  We're not sure what was more delicious: the food or Baby Ike!

A bit of a history lesson...

Grandma Lu, Ike's great-grandmother (my maternal grandmother) passed away just recently on May 16.   I was quite close to her and was planning to have them meet in August.  She will be dearly missed.  Grandma Lu got to meet her great-granddaughter (my cousin's daughter) in March.   Ike is named for Grandma Lu's husband, Grandpa Sol, who we called Grandpa Chips.  (that's another story!)

This is what we said at Ike's bris about his name:

J:Ike is named in memory of my father Isidore.  Ike also shares the same Hebrew name as my father, Nissim.  Nissim means miracle and with his other Hebrew name Baruch, he is both a blessing and a miracle.  Part of the naming ritual is that you hope that by naming a son after a relative that they will in some way share the same characteristics.  My father was a man of great personality and character and was a very hard worker.  He also absolutely loved his grandchildren.  He said that being a grandfather is like being a father twice.  I know that he would have loved another grandchild and his namesake Ike.

L:Ike is also named for my maternal grandfather, Sol J.  Grandpa Sol’s Hebrew name was Baruch Selig.  He simply adored his mother-in-law, Lillian Moskovitz, who I am named in memory of.  Grandpa Sol, along with Grandma Lucille, brought me on my first trip to Israel when I was 11 years old.  No doubt Grandpa Sol would have also liked that our son’s first name is Ike (like the 34^th President, Dwight Eisenhower), especially since he was an ardent Republican.

TGIF!

Ike and I went to a play group yesterday at one of the local synagogues.  It only took us about 20 minutes to get there.  He had a good time checking out the new surroundings and the other kids.  He was quite popular, being the youngest one there!  They meet every week, so we will certainly go back.   After a busy day, he enjoyed chillin' with Daddy on the couch last night.

 

14 weeks today!

Ike is 14 weeks old today.  He doesn't go back to the pediatrician until mid-June, but we think he's about 14 pounds.  He loves to lay on his tummy,  hold up his head, and roll over to his back.  He is also smiling, giggling, and cooing.  We are looking forward to a visit from Grandpa this weekend!

Ahhhh....Naptime!

Ike is finally napping peacefully (for the moment!).  We've been trying to have him nap downstairs in the pack & play, but I thought I'd try his crib today.  After a few minutes of crying and putting the pacifier back in his mouth, all is quiet.  Time to break out the monitor!

Meanwhile, I am struggling to find a proper SAHM (stay at home mom) wardrobe.  I only have about 7-10 more pounds to lose, but my body shape is completely different.  I have two pairs of jeans that I can wear out of the house, and one of them is maternity!  I REALLY don't want "Mom Jeans."

Lucky Number 13!

Ike is 13 weeks old today.  Thankfully, he is a healthy baby.   We can't hug him and kiss him enough!

I realize that it's probably best for us to go out every other day for now.  We're too tired if we try to do more than that!  Tuesday was a bit of a tough day because Ike wouldn't nap anywhere but in my arms.  I finally gave in around 3PM and we fell asleep together on the couch.

Yesterday, we met up with some friends from various online sources (the bump, Gwinnett Area Mommies).  We had lunch and chatted for about 2 hours.  We must have been quite a sight in the middle of the restaurant.... 5 moms with their kids and a whole lot of conversation!   Ike and I excused ourselves before everyone else because I needed to get some other errands done.

By the time we got home, it was about 4PM.  I was tired, but felt like I accomplished quite a bit!  We'll stay home today to rest and do laundry.

We made it!

Ike and I survived our first day together without J.  We went downstairs with Daddy to see him off.  J sang Ike the "Good Morning" song (from "Singing in the Rain"), which was so sweet!  Ike's face always lights up when he hears it from his dad.

After we both had our breakfasts, we ventured out to a local park to meet up with another mom and her little one.  I found her on thebump.com.   Her name is also Lauren, she's a teacher (now stay at home mom), and her son is only one day older than Ike!  We walked around the park for an hour while the babies slept.  She told me about an area group that she belongs to that has all kinds of activities for mom and kids of all ages.  I already joined their online community.  I'm going to meet up with her (and some other moms) again later in the week.

After the park, we made a quick stop to the library.  Ike slept the whole time and was such an angel.  We spent the rest of the day at home.  Ike didn't sleep much in the afternoon, but his morning nap was so long that I figured he wasn't too tired.

We were both glad to see J get home around 6:15.  After dinner and a little TV, we went upstairs at 8 for Ike's bath.  The evening was quite short!  :(    I fed Ike at 8:30 and was in bed by 9:30.  I was tired, but happy.  I think we'll stay at home today.

J's B-day/Mother's Day

Our first Mother's Day was kind of a mix of emotions.  While I was thrilled to to be able to celebrate as a mom for the first time, the day was our last one before J goes back to work.  :(

Since J's birthday is May 9 (the day before Mom's Day this year), we went for dinner on Saturday night.  We brought Ike and he was an angel.  He only woke up once and was his usual adorable self.  We were going to get ice cream on the way home, but Ike was a bit fussy.  However, when I was changing Ike's diaper and getting him ready for bed around 8:15, I heard the faint sound of an ice cream truck on our street.  It was particularly amusing to me because J and I recently spoke of the lack of ice cream trucks around these days.  

We were both in our pajamas, but I told J to go and get some anyway.  I figured it was some kind of sign.  It was his birthday, he's a new dad, etc.  When he hesitated, I went to hand him Ike and go myself.  When J seemed okay with this, I said "Really?  I don't even have a bra on!"  

We looked outside and we saw that the truck had stopped for some of our neighbors.  J quickly put on some shorts, grabbed his wallet, and went to join the line at the truck.  I followed, with a camera and  Ike in his post-bath towel.  (see photo below)

A cookies and cream drumstick ice cream cone was $2!   But I think it was worth it!

Ike for President

Ike is named in memory of J's father, Isidore.  Everyone called him Ike.  Ike isn't a very common name, which is one of the reasons why we like it.  Another reason is that it's the nickname of our 34th president, Dwight D. Eisenhower (aside-I attended Eisenhower Elementary School).   Take a look at this video of one of Eisenhower's campaign commercials.  J often sings it to our little man!

What's in a (nick)name?

Even before Ike was born, he had a nickname.   We didn't tell anyone what his real name was going to be, so his Aunt Leslie was calling him "Nephy" or "The Neph."    Now that he's been with us for a while, we've started to develop some nicknames.

"Pudding"- I started calling him this soon after we got home from the hospital, maybe even while we were still there.  I'm not exactly sure how I came up with it.  Maybe it's a reference to my sister, who had "big brown eyes like chocolate pies."  I started with "chocolate pudding" because Ike has big brown eyes too.    Or perhaps it's a southern thing.  (I really love bread pudding.)

"Sweetness"- J has been calling Ike this quite often.    It's from the movie "Roll, Bounce."  The movie stars Bow Wow (AKA Little Bow Wow) as a roller-skating pre-teen battling for celebrity status at the roller rink.  His biggest competition is "Sweetness," a truly memorable character with his big afro, shiny cape, and cooing female entourage.  Every time he enters a scene, the music changes and bright lights seems to shine around him.  It's hilarious.

From April 27, 2009

Ike has grown SO MUCH!  He was 10 lbs. 3 oz. at his 2-month check-up.  He probably weighs more now, but we don’t go back to the doctor until his 4month check-up.  He is:

-holding his head up really well

-waking up just once at night for a feeding

-eating almost 7 oz. at every feeding

-tracking objects with his eyes

-cooing, smiling, & laughing

 Leslie, Matt, and Mike came over yesterday to watch Ike while we went out for sushi.  He was such a good baby!  Tomorrow, we go to Portrait Innovations to get some pictures taken.

From March 6, 2009

Things have been up and down since my last entry.  While Ike is now doing great, we have hit a few bumps in the road.  Breastfeeding became EXTREMELY difficult, and Ike wasn’t getting enough to eat.  We decided to start supplementing with formula.  His weight increased, but then we noticed a pimple-like blemish on his right nipple.  It turned out to be Mastitis.  Later, I found a lump on my inner thigh.  Both turned out to be staph infections, and we will both be finished with antibiotics in a few days.   Ike has enjoyed the bouncy seat and play gym immensely.  We can’t believe how much he’s changed in just a short while.

Here goes nothing...

Welcome to my first attempt at weblogging.  I am hoping this will be a place for me to chronicle my new adventures in parenthood and keep my brain from turning to mush.    Of course, my most favorite subject is our son Ike, but I won't limit myself to him exclusively.

From Feb. 22, 2009

My iron levels are up, but I will be on iron pills for about 3 months.  Ike is doing well, and he is working on getting back to his birth weight.   We started supplementing the breastfeeding several days ago.  He wasn't getting enough nutrition, probably because of my lack of health.  I start each feeding by breastfeeding him, and then J (or my mom) follows that with a bottle.  I am also "exercising" with a breast pump, hoping to get my milk up to high-test grade.  :)

Birth Story-written 2/16/09

J and I went to the doctor on Wednesday, 2/11 for our 38 weeks (and 2 days) appointment.  The doctor said I was measuring 39 weeks, and  the doctor asked if we wanted her to "swipe the membranes" (or something like that).After some careful thought/discussion, we agreed, made an  appointment for 2/18, and went home.  The doctor said that my water could break in the next 24-48 hours.

I was awoken at 5:45 (5 minutes before my alarm was to go off for   school) by a rush of water.  Some was on the bed before I could race to the  bathroom.  My pajama bottoms were soaked, and there was also some on the floor of the bathroom.   I called the doctor, and she told me to go to the hospital.

We ended up leaving the house around 7:30 after I took a quick  shower.  We arrived a little after 8:00 and went to a room to get comfy.  The nurse, Vita, introduced herself.  She seemed very serious, but warmed up  later.  I  was 2-3 cm dilated and 90% effaced.  After a little bit of time, the  doctor recommended pitocin and things started moving.  Soon I was 100% effaced and 4cm.  Around 2:30PM, I was 7 cm.   By 5:00, I was 10cm and we got the go ahead to start pushing.  My mom, sister, and brother were outside waiting by this  point.

Pushing lasted from about 5:00 to 7:05PM!   The epidural was AWESOME and I'm so glad I had one.   Holding your breath and pushing is like running  a mile holding your breath.  Ike was out, but my temperature had spiked to 101.  They took him  to the NICU since he was warm too.  Turns out, he was fine.  My blood pressure dropped A LOT and the placenta was not being very cooperative.  The doctor got most of it out, but I was still losing a lot of blood.  An U/S machine was brought in, and they found a piece of placenta and some calcified material (?) that needed to come out.  I was given another epidural to help with the pain.    J went to see Ike at some point, but quickly came back to be at my side.  He told me how great Ike looked.

J and I were finally able to hold our son around midnight.  He  spent the night in the NICU since our hospital doesn't staff their nursery at   all. They don't have enough births yet for that.  Then they took him back out so we could sleep.

I had to get 2 units of blood the next day, but I was able to start breastfeeding and have been going ever since. We came home around 6PM on Saturday and are so grateful for the  health and happiness we are enjoying.  The only pain I have is in my "new feeding machine," for which I am so thankful.