Friday, September 30, 2011

being a mom, and happy birthday Joseph!



giving birth is such a crazy experience. it's awesome and empowering and humbling. being a mother is wonderful and also hard. it can feel lonely and cut off and very very tiring. but I look down at him and he's so worth it. I created you, Freddie. We made you and grew you and you are a symbol of our love.





He loves having his hands up by his face. how is he REAL? He's so perfectly beautiful and darling. I love him SO much.


thank you so much to friends, family, my mother, my husband, my good kitties, and God for encouraging me, visiting, giving advice, and listening. 

FYI: During and after breastfeeding...SO THIRSTY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Even just taking a nap during one of Fred's naps gives me SO much more energy in the day. 
I'm SO happy, and every other emotion all at once. I cry throughout the day because staying home for a couple of weeks now can be quite lonely. But thanks to peeps, once again, for helping me feel normal. 
I can never have enough BURP CLOTHS. 
I love reading to Fred. I know all the pictures are of him sleeping mostly, but lately he's been awake a lot more. His eyes are SO awesome and intense and sometimes I think he's an alien and he's going to take over my body with his MIND. 
Getting your baby circumcised SUCKS because you can hear him cry all the way up in the front waiting area, BUT at least my husband was with him and he calmed down right away and then nursed and then slept, and CS says the doctor did a great job. "It looks really good." ...........guys are so weird.............
We really like our pediatrician. 
We bought and built 2 bookshelves and started getting books into them. Now the crazy boxes living room will begin to shrink (little by little, mind you).

Fred has been sleeping in our bed in between us since birth, mostly out of convenience for feeding in the middle of the night. AND because cuddling with a baby in bed is the best thing ever. But we know it can't last, plus I want to cuddle JUST Collin sometimes, so we're going to start weaning Fred from our bed into his crib next to our bed. Last night he started off there, but ended up with us. We'll get it eventually. Plus I'm going to start going into his room next door to feed him in the middle of the night so that Collin doesn't have to been woken up alllllll night. He doesn't complain about it, but he really needs sleep if he wants to stay sane/be able to go to work!! plus the couch in there will give me way more back support than our bed.

The new show Up all Night is our favorite thing ever.

I'm so excited for General Conference this weekend. 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Dear Joseph Alan, Money! You are 13, a teenager, an uncle, A Friend.


7 comments:

  1. what a sweet post nikki! i'm so sorry you had to hear freddie crying during his surgery. i can't wait to see pictures of fred's eyes!

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  2. So in love with the close ups!

    Sounds like Fred has recovered from the snip-snip! Poor you! But everything turned out wonderfully, right?

    And remember, we love you and the emotional rollercoaster/multiple personalities (at least that's how it manifested with me) is okay!

    And it's SUCH a tough call moving baby from bed to crib. Man! I love snuggling with my babies in bed. And the ease of nursing just right there are awesome. But I'm with you on the bed not being much back support (the chair in the girls' room is much better for me as well), but then walking all the way in there in the middle of the night.... augh! More than once! Augh! Good luck with getting the snoozes! Both you and Collin! I know how hard it is to feel like you want to protect your husband's sleep but then again, the whole nursing thing is quite the trial as well!

    LOVE LOVE LOVE YOU!

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  3. i'm so glad you are happy! baby is so cute. (do you say "ready freddie?" to him? i have an annoying habit of repeating really cheesy things to my kids OVER AND OVER so i'd probably say it to him every time i saw him.) haha

    i understand about feeling lonely. i suppose i'm rarely "alone" because i'm with the boys for the majority of every day, but i often feel very isolated and cut off from everyone. going to the grocery store is like the highlight of my week. (but that's also because i LOOOVE food....)

    also, feeling insignificant. when people ask me where i work and i tell them i stay home with my children. i know it's an important job but it comes with no title and no pay so i feel like most people view it as a cop-out. i always listen extra hard to the conference talks on marriage and motherhood and eternal families. i need the "you're important!" pep talks. ;)

    good luck and much happiness to you. if you need anything, please let me know. we're here! (literally!) :) love.

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  4. I have been saying Clark is going to sleep in his own bed all night for awhile. At 3 months I said that's it! But at six months he still makes an appearance often in our bed. It is just so sweet cuddling close to him. One of these days he'll be weaned but I think as long as we are both happy then why mess with it.

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  5. Master the laying on your side nurse. Greatest thing ever for middle of the night feedings. Its great to still have baby in the bed with you but you can lay there while he nurses without disturbing your husband while he sleeps, not to mention you can sleep while baby eats. We had the crib that lowered down on one side so we just put that side down and pulled it as close to the bed, so they were still close enough to hear them breathing but we still got the bed to ourselves.

    PS. Sorry for all the mommy advice, I bet you get it all day long...

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  6. I have NO mommy advice. JUST that I love you, and I'm coming to see you next week! I love you, and I'll bring delicious drinks for you to rehydrate on!!!! :) What day is good for you? 5pm or later! You tell me - text me lady! xoxoxoxo

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  7. Such beautiful pictures!!! Fred is so perfect and he is so loved! You are doing such a great job, you are patient and gentle and focused on being the best you can be! That is recipe for greatness :)

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