We made it

Well we did it. We took our 6 week old baby on his first flight! It was an experience, but not for the reasons you'd think.

Before we even left the house, my huge suitcase broke. One of the wheels fell off. I was worried that this was a sign of things to come. But the next hour was smooth sailing. No traffic in Atlanta at 4pm. Park n Ride had plenty of space. We checked our luggage curbside with no issues. We got through security quickly - no problem bringing all the baby stuff (stroller, car-seat, meds, liquids, etc.) and no body pat-down or invasive scans.

We rode the train to the A terminal when I noticed i had two missed calls from a 1-800 number and then Mr. Cob had the same missed call. At this point the babe was getting cranky so we sat down for me to feed him and Mr. Cob called the number back. It was Delta. Our flight was CANCELED!! So this was definitely not good. Anger and panic flooded Mr. Cob's face. He continued talking to the rep and this is what I hear.
Cob: "Yes, it's me and my wife."
"and my baby...my SIX week old baby..."
"yes, we have an infant with us."
(silence)

Somehow the woman must have felt for us anode she put us on another flight leaving at the same time as our original flight. Rather than flying into Midway we were now flying into O'Hare. So we got back on the train and rode to he B terminal and checked in to our new flight. I was looking at our new boarding passes and saw that we were priority seating. I then realized, we were now flying first class! A negative turned positive.

So this whole time the baby was wide awake at the airport being a cutie pie and attracting lots of attention. And he fell asleep the minute we sat down on the plane. So momma enjoyed the complimentary red wine and watched Charlie St. Cloud on the flight while Lukas slept. He was perfect! And we landed in Chicago with no problems. My in laws were at O'Hare waiting for us.

So our first flight with Lukas was smooth sailing (err, flying). But then we hit some turbulence. Our bags didn't make the flight. They were en route to Midway arriving three hours later. And wouldn't be delivered to us until the next day. Well it's the next day and still no bags. Supposedly they are on their way. So we're still in our clothes from yesterday, but at least we're here and with family. And the baby is happy, which is what is important. I'm just thankful we didn't check the stroller or car seat. Or we'd still be sitting at the airport!

Hopefully our bags will get here soon. You have to love traveling! It's always an adventure.

Christmas Card Preview

It is 4 days before Christmas and somehow we have mailed out close to 90 Christmas cards!  By somehow, I mean Mr. Cob worked his butt off.  He wrote our yearly letter with his signature footnotes, went out to the store to buy holiday paper to print the letter on, picked up the 40 extra pictures from Walmart (my mommy-brain underestimated how many cards we typically send out), folded the letters, bought the stamps, stuffed the envelopes and mailed the letters. What did I do?  Designed the card and addressed the envelopes.  We would not have gotten the cards out this year if it were left to me.  Thanks Mr. Cob! 

As a sneak peek at our card, here are the photo shoot picture rejects that didn't make the card this year.  Thanks to my mom for her photography skills!!!

Oh, and I realize that there are folks out there who read the blog who don't get our Christmas card - I'm debating whehter or not to share it on here.  I'll have to get permission from the author, but so long as he's OK, I'm leaning towards sharing...it doesn't seem right to not share Mr. Cob's humor with the world.

6 weeks

Today Lukas is 6 weeks old. This means two things: (1) I am half way through my maternity leave [insert very sad face here] and (2) the little buddy is old enough for his first round of vaccines. Seeing as how we're going on the fly fly in a few days, we thought he should get his shots as soon as he was old enough - i.e. today.

So we went to the doc this morning. Lukas weighs 10 lbs 4 oz (25%) and is 22 1/4 inches long (25%). His little head is only in the 10th%! (I think it was like 15 inches). So he's on the wee side, but I've read that this is typical for breast fed babies.

He also got 5 shots! Oh man was he mad! I haven't heard that loud of a scream from him ever! But I immediately nursed him afterwards and he calmed right down. If only all men would be pacified by a boob to the mouth...oh, wait...

I know vaccines are a high point of controversy, but I feel better now that he has had some shots. And I'd rather have him get more shots at once rather than spread them out - he'd simply get pissed off more times! I'll take a screaming baby as little as possible, thank you.

So that's the latest on the babe. I have some great pictures from the past few days that I'll post soon!

Fly Fly

Mr. Cob and I flip flop Thanksgiving and Christmas each year between our two families.  This year, we're spending Christmas with his fam.  They live four states away.  740 miles away.  So we were faced with a dilemma.  Drive in a car for 12 plus hours with a six week old baby or hop on an airplane for two hours with said six week old baby.  We've decided to fly...

I think I'm in complete denial about this trip.  It takes me twenty extra minutes just to get out the door to go to the grocery store with Lukas and I inevitably always forget something, be it a bag for dirty diapers, an extra set of clothes, a pacifier or his hat.  So by that calculation I should've started packing weeks ago for this trip, but I have not done a thing aside from wash some clothes (note, I said "some"...this means there are plenty more clothes to be washed).  So yea, I'm spending the next couple of days getting ready for our trip.  But we're really excited to see Mr. Cob's family and friends and show off our little man some more. 

There are so many things I have questions about that I didn't give a second thought to pre-baby:   I'm nervous about managing security at the airport - can we take the stroller through?  How much extra time should we allow?  What if our flight gets delayed and I run out of diapers?  Do they sell diapers on the concourse?  Does my diaper bag count as one of my carry on items?  I've heard to give the baby a bottle on takeoff - so I guess I need to pump milk to have some bottles ready to go.  Or can I just breastfeed him - will that have the same effect?  Or is there something special about the bottle/plastic nipple?

This is sure to be an adventure...

Anyone have any tips for traveling with an infant????

One Month Old

Today Lukas is ONE MONTH OLD!  It's hard to believe a month has already passed since he was born.  He's already changed so much in this month.  He weighed 8 pounds when he was born and then dropped to 7 pounds 3 ounces when we left the hospital and he's now up to at least 9 pounds 10 ounces!

Here are a few pics of our little man...

This morning while he was getting some tummy time, I grabbed the video camera in hopes that he would roll over onto his stomach (he had done this last week and no one believed me because it's a little early for him to be rolling over, and of course he wouldn't do again when I tried).  Well he was mad enough about being on his tummy that he decided to take matters into his own hands and flip over onto his back!  And I got it all on camera!!!! 



Furry Kids and Real Kid

So five years ago I got my first furry kid, Bailey Ann (our cat) and a little over a year ago we got our second furry kid, Wrigley (our dog).  It's taken a good 10 months or so for the two furry kids to get along, and by get along I really mean tolerate one another.  Well, Wrigley loved the cat from day one, but the cat was very unsure of the dog.  They now aren't quite "friendly" but they do play and sit next to each other.  (I have high hopes that they'll snuggle one day...) And I think they're now realizing they need to stick together since our "real" kid has arrived and the furry kids have taken a bit of a back seat.  I wish it wasn't true, but Wrigley hasn't gone on as many walks and Bailey doesn't get as much love as before.  Don't get me wrong, they're still loved on (and fed and taken care of), it's just that they aren't our only kids at home anymore.

Before we brought Lukas home, I was very nervous about how the furry kids would handle his arrival.  Bailey Ann has been no surprise by completely ignoring Lukas. as she does with most humans.  She has recently jumped on the back of the couch when I've been nursing Lukas and kind of stared at him in wonder.  I think she has no idea what is going on.  But I'm happy with this outcome.  Part of me was worried that she'd be aggressive and try to swat at him like she swats at the dog (and an occasional human)!  So far, this has not been the case.

Wrigley, however, has been amazing as we thought she would be.  Mr. Cob introduced Wrigley to Lukas the first night we brought him home and Wrigley has immediately taken to him.  I think she knows he's a new member of our pack and has taken it upon herself to protect him.  She sniffs him and licks his head and ear often.  If I'm nursing Lukas on the couch and there's even a sliver of couch left, Wrigley will jump up and sit with us, often putting her nose right next to Lukas.  If Lukas is in his swing, Wrigley will come up to the swing and peek her nose in to check on him.  She's really been sweet around him.  Let's hope she continues being sweet as he grows up and starts pulling her tail!

The Truth

So here's the deal.  I gained over 60 pounds during my pregnancy.  You: Huge Gasp.  Me: I know.  "They" say that you should gain between 25-35 pounds during pregnancy.  Well, when have I ever done what I "should" do?  No, in all seriousness, I'm convinced that your body does what it wants to do.  Now I'm sure if I'd been a psychotic calorie counting fool during the 9 months I was carrying Lukas, I could've kept the weight gain down a bit.  But I ate when I was hungry and allowed myself to eat some things I normally don't eat (ice cream for example, or the occasional chicken biscuit for breakfast).  However, I was by no means eating fast food and junk food for every meal, or even every day or week.  I tried to eat lots of protein and fruits and veggies.  And for at least the first 4 or 5 months, I was still working out regularly and then towards the end I tried to fit in short walks whenever I was up to it.  So this is a long winded way of saying, I didn't just say to hell with it, let's get as fat as possible.  But in the end my body decided I needed to gain all this weight anyway (and by body, I really mean my booty and legs).  And my doctor never said one word about the amount of weight I was gaining (aside to assure me that it was fine when I asked her), so I decided not to worry if she wasn't.

Well fast forward to today.  Lukas was born exactly 4 weeks ago.  As of yesterday, I have lost 28 pounds.  For all you math majors, that means I have at least 32 pounds to go.  Big sigh.  And I can't start working out for at least another two weeks, nor can I "diet" since I'm breastfeeding.  Bigger sigh.  So what's a girl to do?  Well, for one, I'm trying not to worry about it or let it bother me.  I'm honestly amazed at how quickly my stomach has shrunk - I now just have this small pooch...definitely not my old flat stomach, but not a glaring "you just had a baby didn't you? stomach".  I know it took me 9 months to gain the weight, so it's not going to magically disappear overnight.

But here's the problem: clothes.  I have the hardest time getting dressed every day.  My maternity clothes are too big and look ridiculous on me.  But my regular clothes are still way too small.  Even my tee shirts are too tight given the new enlarged set of knockers I have due to breastfeeding. 

The first few weeks I was just wearing sweat pants and nursing tank tops.  But then my mom came over one day and asked if I was ever going to "get dressed" again.  She mentioned that I might feel better if I stopped dressing in sweats every day.  As usual, she was right.  So the next day I wore my maternity jeans and an old button down of Mr. Cob's that's way too small for him.  (Yes, this outfit was a step up from the sweats).  But now the maternity jeans just don't work.  I'm constantly hiking them up and feeling like they're going to drop to my ankles at any minute.  The song "Pants on the Ground" keeps ringing through my head.  Pants on the ground, pants on the ground.  Looking like a fool with your pants on the ground. 

So this weekend I decided to go shopping.  I left Lukas with Mr. Cob and armed him with a bottle of pumped milk and told him to call if they needed me.  And I headed out to Ross.  I swallowed my pride (err, actually my ego) and tried on jeans in sizes I'd never seen before.  And I am now the proud owner of a pair of $15 size 14 Levis.  And as my BFF told me, at least they aren't a size 16.  Gotta love your girlfriends.  So that's where I stand people.  30+ pounds to lose and size 14 Levis.  But at least I now have a pair of jeans that aren't maternity jeans and that make me feel as good as possible in my new figure.  And I can't wait to burn these jeans and move on down to a size 12 baby. 

And on the bright side, my boobs are way bigger than ever before.  So there is a silver lining.  Oh yea, and the baby is super cute, so that helps!

Baby Boy Pictures

Pictures from the past few weeks...

We're a little obsessed with the little man.

Hormones, Yes, It must be the Hormones

Yesterday I had a mini-meltdown.  I partly blame my hormones.  And I partly blame my mother.  Wait, its not what you think.  Let me explain.  I woke up yesterday extremely tired.  Waking every 3ish hours to feed a baby will do that to you.  So I was exhausted.  I hadn't left the house since Sunday.  It's really cold in Atlanta and had been torentially down pouring the previous day, so not exactly ideal conditions to bring a three week old baby out in.  I was getting cabin fever.  And the house isn't exactly spic and span.  The laundry has piled up and I hadn't washed my hair in four days.  (Note: I had showered, just not washed my hair, which is big for me because I'm typically a wash your hair every day sort of gal.)  Mr. Cob was at work and the baby, while sweet and oh so adorable, wasn't providing me with the social stimulation I craved.  All of this sort of hit me at once.  And then the phone rang.  It was my mom.  She was calling to check in on us and see how we were doing.  And that's when I lost it.  I started crying.  It's something about talking to my mom and just feeling like I could let it all out to her.  I knew she'd understand.  I knew she'd try to make it better.  So I cried to my momma as I held my baby boy.  A girl still needs her momma even after she becomes one. 

And you know what, momma helped.  She suggested that I get dressed, get the baby in the car and drive out to the suburbs for the afternoon to see her.  So that is what we did.  Me, the baby and the dog all piled in my car and went on an adventure.  (Yes, traveling 35 minutes away to grandma's house is an adventure when you have a three week old and rarely leave the house.)  It was exactly what we needed.  Grandma watched the baby while I went to Target (another grand adventure) and tried to find a pair of sweat pants to replace the maternity sweats I've been wearing and buy more diapers.  You can never have enough diapers.  We were enjoying our day out so much that we even stayed for dinner.  And then when I drove home I realized I'd never driven in the dark with the baby.  I was very nervous especially since I couldn't see the baby mirror in the dark.  How was I to know he was ok?  I kept turning on the overhead light at every stop light and looking back to make sure he was still breathing and was OK.  But once we hit the interstate I had to just go on faith that he was sound asleep and would be just fine until we got off at our exit.  And he was.  He sleeps soundly the minute you turn the car on.  And we got home just fine.  And you know what, I was a happier wife last night after having gotten out for the day.  So I'm now resolved to not sit in this house every day for the next 8 and a half weeks.  Maybe just every other day.

And someone has now woken up and needs to eat.  I'll have to upload the latest pics during another nap...so is my new (fabulous) life.