Whew!

Okay, so after fighting (figuratively, of course) with both Photobucket and Blogspot, I finally got my slideshow to look how I wanted it and be positioned where I wanted it.  All it took was for me to manually edit some HTML code.  And multiplying whole integers with fractions.  It was not easy.  But I'm fully enjoying the fruits of my labor!  Anyway...

Bath time tonight was interesting.  This is the first time I've given Wylie a bath completely solo.  Before, I've had people around who could fetch me things I'd forgotten to have right on hand (you know, like a towel, a clean diaper, pajamas, etc.) or to clean up for me while I started in on feeding him (dump the tub water, hang up the towels, throw out the dirty diaper, etc.).  It was also the first time that he hasn't peed in the bathtub.  (Score!)  So, the avoiding-forgotten-essentials thing was easily avoided: simply set things up well in advance of bathtime.  Okie dokie.  I got him undressed and into the tub no problem.  I also found that if I quick wash his face and then lay the warm washcloth over his crotch, he doesn't pee.  So I washed his hair and then simply wiped him down with warm water, foregoing the body wash, to keep his skin from drying out too much.  He seemed to really enjoy it too.  Yay!  Because let me tell you, the first time I bathed him after his umbilicus fell off, he screamed the whole damn time!  But now, he screams when I take him out of the bath.  I don't entirely understand why - the bathroom where we bathe him is really warm, no drafts and he goes right into his hooded towel.  Maybe he's just not ready to leave the bathtub yet?  Maybe he's just like his momma and he wants a nice leisurely soak in the tub?  Well, I'm not about to head down that road yet - I really don't want to clean poop out of the tub.  Yes, I hear that eventually, every kid poops in the tub.  Fine.  I just don't want to have to cross that bridge just yet.

Anyway, I got him bathed and changed without a hitch.  And as much as I hate Chad being gone and really wish that he was here to help me right now, I feel pretty okay about this last week.  I think it's been a good test run for when he's going to be gone again (end of January for about 10-14 days and then probably March or April for a good six months or more).  I'm glad that I don't just have to go cold turkey on this whole fake-single-mom bit, and I still have LOADS of respect for anyone who is raising a child (or, gasp, CHILDREN) on their own.  You are truly super stars!

Gads.  Lastly, I would just like to say, I sufficiently scared the crap out of myself tonight.  I sincerely enjoy watching shows like A Haunting, Ghost Lab, Ghost Whisperer, etc.  Well, Friday night tv really sucks since Psych is on a mid-season break (and is moving to a new night anyway) and so is White Collar, so I was flipping through the channels and I saw The Haunted on Animal Planet.  Usually these shows don't bother me all that much.  But this one in particular focuses on the effects of hauntings on pets.  WTF.  I don't believe my house is haunted (I do believe I've been in a legitimate haunted house before, I can write more about that another time), but I do believe that my cats are crazy.  For pete's sake, I have a cat on Prozac!  But it was eerie to here these people's descriptions of their pets behavior in the midst of the alleged hauntings.  I don't know - I can't really put my finger on it.  But suffice it to say I then watched an hour of That 70s Show and then kind of got roped into watching the first part of an informercial for this that kind of intrigued me in order to kind of clear my head.

Sidenote: That body shaper is intriguing because of the ad - I don't really think I need one just yet.  But I'm totally a sucker for advertising, I've decided.  It's a good thing I don't have an inexhaustible account - I'd buy tons of useless junk, I'm sure.  Thank God I'm smarter than that and don't have throwaway money!

Okay, I have to go get wrist-deep in poopy and feed the baby.  Good night all!

As Promised...

As promised long ago, I created a Photobucket account for the express purpose of sharing photos with all of you lovely people...

Here is the long-awaited link!  First photos of Wylie

You can also purchase prints from Photobucket to be delivered to your house or to pick up at your local target.  Although, according to my mom, it's cheaper to have the photos delivered to your house (9 cents/photo) than it is to pick them up at Target (20 cents/photo).  I haven't tried to do any of that yet, so that's just what my mom has told me....

Enjoy!

PS - you may have also noticed the schmancy new slide show - enjoy it!  (These are all the same photos available in the album thus far.)

Quick journey through the thoughts of a harried woman...

So, I was reading my friend Kristi's blog and noticed that she had a list of freebies she got for her birthday recently.  I thought, WTH, especially since Chad's going to be gone for my birthday again this year.  So I created a junkmail account and signed up for a ton of free birthday offers!  Among some of these are Red Robin, Old Navy, ColdStone, and Helzberg Diamonds!  So I'll have to let you know how successful I was at gaining free stuff when my birthday rolls around (which, btw is May 28, in case you needed to add that to your calendar).

Anyway, Wylie is so adorable.  But he's weird too, which I should have expected, especially because he's a combination of both Chad and myself.  Ergo: WEIRD.  For instance, when he's feeding, I'd say at least once a day he clamps down on the nipple, starts grunting and pulling his head away - with the nipple still in his mouth.  So I unlatch him and put him up to my shoulder to burp him, but that's not what he wants either.  I don't know - maybe he's just going nuts?  It's so weird!  And his smiles are so cute!  Still trying to get one on film, but he's too fricking cute people.

On a completely different note: I LOVE the pack'n'play!  I finally, FINALLY put the batteries in the little electric things that come with it.  One is a bassinet vibrator and the other is the controller for that/the sound maker.  It totally keeps him from screaming when I put him back in it after a changing so I can wash my hands.  And when he wakes up about 5 am just for kicks and giggles, I pretty much just have to pop his paci in his mouth, turn on the vibrator and it usually lulls him right back into oblivion.  I'm TOTALLY kicking myself for not having done that earlier.  It's for sure a godsend.

And tonight is going to be my first experience bathing the boy by myself.  Should be a good time all around.  If I remember, I'll maybe post about that later.

Lastly, I'd like to apologize for the grotesquely unorganized, stream-of-consciousness posts lately.  But if you've ever been in my shoes (i.e. New Mother), you know how it is.  Deal.  :)  Happy Friday!

Some Observations from the Other Side

ONE
I finally changed my blog picture.  Yes, I know it's now six weeks old.  But that's the best I can do because blogspot is being weird and won't import a photo from facebook that I wanted to use, so I had to make do with one that Chad had sent me and I have already uploaded to my computer and exported for use online.  I STILL don't know where my camera charger is (I finally caved to Chad pressuring me and have agreed to just get a new one, even though I still like my old one).  I do have some photos in my inbox from my mom from when they were visiting, but frankly, I haven't uploaded or exported those yet.

TWO
I have a profound new respect for single mothers.  Holy shit.  Chad left on Sunday for WA and will be there until the 19th.  Sunday went alright, but Monday.  People, Monday sucked.  I ate 1.5 meals.  THAT'S IT.  I was starving, but that wasn't the worst part.  The worst part was then that Wylie refused to actually sleep Monday night (or was it Sunday night?  I don't even remember now).  I think I got a solid 45 minutes at a time.  Sigh.  Things are better now.  Yesterday I was able to put him in his bassinet twice in order to quick inhale some waffles and then get dinner started.  Today, I'm on my third time with him sleeping in his bassinet.  But I still cannot wait for Chad to get home.

THREE
On the 19th, Chad gets home, his mom flies in, and our friends Mike and Saranya arrive as well for a visit.  They're all flying in to Denver: Chad first, his mom an hour later, and then Mike and Saranya about an hour and a half after that.  So Chad is going to hang out until everyone arrives.  Which means that over this next week and a half that is left while Chad is gone, I have to somehow make sure that house stays in company ready condition.  Right.

FOUR
Wylie is finally growing.  Well, not that he wasn't before, but it's a palpable growth now.  At first, the newborn onesies were getting tight in the crotch area, so I decided it was time to start using the 3 mos. onesies.  Well, today, he wore his first complete outfit in the 3 mos. size.  It's adorable - it's one that Sharon (MIL) bought for him.

FIVE
The last time I shaved my legs was in August.  It just got too hard to shave them.  I kept telling myself, once I have the baby, then I'll be able to shave them.  Yeah, right.  I don't even get to wash my face twice a day every day.  I will just say this: I'm at Man Status.  Ew.

SIX
As much as I want Chad to come home, it's so nice to have the bed to myself and not have to worry about whether he gets back to sleep okay when Wylie wakes up for a nighttime feeding.  Calvin likes it too.  Silly cat resumes sleeping with me while Chad's gone.

SEVEN
I have my six week postpartum checkup next week.  So far, I'm feeling pretty good about things.  Yes, I'm tired.  Duh.  I love my baby and feel close to him.  (BTW: he smiled at me for the first time yesterday.  I thought I was going to melt, people!)  I feel pretty okay about my postpartum body (though my stomach looks like crepe paper and I sincerely vow that my midriff will never again see the light of day in public) - I am already weighing less than I was when I first got pregnant (at least that was the case the last time I was weighed at the doctors).  Chad helps around the house as much as he can.  Though, I will say that I really, really miss my family and friends from back home.  I kind of feel like the pregnancy totally embittered me toward Colorado.  Yes, it's pretty here and I do like it, but I really just feel pretty resentful toward Colorado a lot of the time now.  I hope that passes some - spending the next three to four years feeling like this is going to be rough.

Alright, the baby is stirring, so I must be off.  But I just wanted to update some :)

And here are some more photos....

 This is a blanket sleeper that Grandma Sharon bought for him.  She loved this one (it was in the box of clothes she mailed to us) - it was her favorite.
















In most of these next pictures, he's still jaundiced, so you can tell these are older.  These are when he's between 1 week and 3 weeks of age...

He's so precious!  And I love the faces that he makes!