Made in Richmond

Jackson slept from 11pm to 7am last night. Ross and I woke up at around 5am and decided to just see how long he would go. While Ross and Jackson slept soundly, I lay awake anticipating the ravenous wail from his room. It didn’t happen. So, both boys were well-rested and I am currently exhausted. Also: your boobs HURT when you go over 8 hours without nursing.

I’ve started to ease back into actually doing work. While I’m frazzled, I must say that I missed it so.

Starting next Tuesday I will be going into the office twice a week while my mother-in-law takes care of Jackson. I will only be away from him for about 6 hours each day. But, seriously, 6 HOURS WITHOUT MY BAY-BEE SOB.

This.

I had my 6-week checkup with my doctor yesterday. I’ve been officially “released” to my normal life. This means I can exercise! And no longer play the C-section card when trying to get out of vacuuming or carrying anything over 10 lbs. Son of a.

While at my appointment, my doctor asked me when we would start trying for #2. He suggested we start trying in a couple months. I laughed in his face.

Is anyone else completely freaked out by this whole Bromance fiasco?

Oh Lord, that sweet, sweet smile.

Friday: Much cuddling, nursing, and napping. A trip to Target in there. That was really it.

Saturday: Again with the cuddling, nursing, and napping. Did some work for church. Took care of some housework. Reading and bed.

Sunday: More nursing and cuddling before heading to the West End for a family thing. Home around 5. Passed out from exhaustion. Will nurse again in a minute. Hopefully some quality time with the hubs before bed.

Have a great week!

Last week I bought a box of 60 nursing pads that just aren’t working out (chafing is involved).

So, I just used one to dust my bedroom furniture. Then I used one to wipe down the bathroom sink. Both efforts worked out splendidly.

I’m calling it a victory in frugality.

From me, Ross, Jackson, and our sparkly copper fireplace painted by the previous owners of our house.

(Yes, he’s dressed as a reindeer, and no, he’s none too thrilled about it.)

While the coos are getting to be more frequent, this is what we hear most of the time:

Goat baby from Valerie on Vimeo.

Friday: Um. Hmm. Nursing? Diapers? I’m sure that was in there.

Saturday: Up with the baby at around 7:30 to nurse, eat breakfast, and play. Shower and various things before another nursing session and heading out to a lovely holiday brunch. Home to nurse. My mom arrived at around 2:30. Ross and I headed out for a quick bite to eat at Chik-Fil-A and then various errands. Home. Got a delicious dinner delivered to us by Brandon. Puttering and TV watching. Bed.

Sunday: Enjoyed an uninterrupted 6 hours of sleep. Up with the baby at around 7:30 to nurse, eat breakfast, and play. Put the baby down to rest. Back to bed to cuddle and nap with the hubs until 10:30. Nursed the baby again. Went out to run the bulletins for church and stop by Target for diapers and more Christmas lights so we could finally get the tree finished. Picked up lunch and went home. Shower. Nursed and played with the baby. Church. Home to eat dinner. Nursed again. Crossed fingers that we could get through this evening without enduring Jackson’s wicked fussy time. We seem to be doing ok. Decorate the tree. Watched some of Bill Cosby: Himself with Ross downstairs. Had to eventually go upstairs because OMG the dogs won’t let you do anything downstairs without hovering all over you. Hopefully to bed soon.

Have a wonderful week!

As the birth of our wee one quickly approached, some folks of church rallied up to coordinate meals for us.

It was originally planned for us to get meals on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for two weeks. But here we are, almost in week 5 of Jackson’s life, and we are still being blessed a couple times a week with a phone call or email from someone announcing that they are bringing us a meal for the night.

And I must say, we have had some DElicious grub sent our way. (Cracker crumb chicken, I’m looking at you specifically.) But today we got something that just about sent me over the edge with happiness and joy. Here, let me show you it:

Yes, that is an individual serving of Ben & Jerry’s. They’ve made it so I don’t even need to put the ice cream into a bowl. That, my friends, is Christian love.

Jackson had his one month checkup this afternoon. Here are his stats…

Length: 23 inches (from 21 1/2 at birth)
Weight: 12 pounds, 2 1/2 ounces (from 10 pounds, 2 1/2 ounces at birth)
Head circumference: 15 3/4 inches (I’m a horrible mother because I have no clue how big his head was at birth. But hey, C-section, so who cares?)

He’s around the 95th percentile for pretty much everything, so it looks like Ross’s dream of having a child play as an offensive lineman for the Hokies could be a real possibility.

The doctor said he looks great, and all of the nurses came to look at his hair. Jack smiled and cooed through much of the visit, particularly at the one nurse who came bearing part II of his Hep B vaccine. I must say it kind of broke my heart to watch his face go from calm and smiley to that purple, oh-my-gosh-please-breathe crying face. Broke my heart and *might* have caused my milk to let down. That’s right, I JUST SAID THAT. What can I say? My child cries and my instincts make me automatically want to feed him. BEST MOTHER EVAR.

This is what 6 straight hours of sleep gets you.