No nipples!

Well, today is my first day of maternity leave...with my baby at home. So far, so good. I even did the night shift without too much discombobulation. Now, I am home for six weeks, so I am certain I will get more blogging in. And I am sure that there will be a milestone in those two weeks. We had our first milestone this weekend. I decided to take Mason to see my grandma. His first trip out of the house that was not a visit to the doctor. I bundled him up and loaded the diaper bag. As we were riding down I-40 my brain began to function. That's when I realized that I packed 99% of the essentials. What's the 1%? Nipples. I packed bottles and no nipples. I panicked. What was I to do? Do I feed au natural? Turn around? By a cheap-o bottle? So I did what made sense... I called Pat. He was no help. He suggested a natural feed, I was not interested. Luckily, Babies R Us was the next exit. So, Mason got to take his first trip to a public place. Of course I was paranoid to take a newby to a place as such. After finding the most convenient, yet cramped parking space we went in. I decided to keep my car seat cover on, and not contaminate my boy. Of all the days I have gone into this store, this was the most crowded I had ever seen it. And everyone in there was in the bottle section. I kid you not. Next lesson, bottles are more expensive than I'd anticipated. After spending twice as long as desired, I bought a bottle, squeezed Mason back into car, and headed to Grandma's. Whew. Lesson of the day? Check, double check, and triple check that diaper bad. 'Cause stoppin ain't worth the headache.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzz 2.0

Let me preface this post by apologizing for any typos. However, I HAVE to dedicate another post to sleep. I'm sleepy right now, but I wanna be the old Jan who stays up late 'cause she knows school has been canceled tomorrow. Yet new Jan is questioning every keystroke I make and wondering why I've opted to blog instead of hit the sheets. As my fellow followers know, I took the night shift this weekend. How did it go? Put it this way, I have never been so ready for the work week to start. I knew that having the work week begin meant that Pat would be back on the night shift and I would be in dreamland. I love my son (we all know that a "but" comes with this sweet sentiment ), but I don't like waking up to feed him. I can handle the 12am, I can tolerate the 3am, but that 6am is a doozy! As soon as you get settled in from the 3am, BAM! time to wake up and do it again. Not to mention the diaper changes. And Mason is a crier when he needs his diaper changed. I have been trying to figure out how to lace my milk with sleep aid so he can sleep through the night. JOKE! Please don't report me. Meanwhile, I'm yearning for just a moment extra of sleep and he's gettin 16 hours of the precious stuff. In addition, Mason is a party animal from the hours of 9pm-6am. So, if I don't return an email, or stop texting you mid conversation, or have a mumbo jumbo conversation with you on the phone, please forgive me. I'm just a little sleepy.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Let me begin by saying that I have tried three times to write this entry, but I'm sure you can guess why I was unable. Yep, Mason...directly or indirectly. I had the cutest set up for a New Year's entry, but he wanted attention. They are sooooo demanding. Anyhow, what's the newest haps on parenthood? One word: sleep. I have always loved sleep! Now, I love it even more. After all, you always want what you can't have. I have not been deprived to the point where I wanna cry. This is mainly because Pat has been a trooper. He does the night feedings so I can sleep. But  even when I am in bed, I still hear him and wake up. This makes for the most absurd dreams because my sleep is put on pause. (I had a dream my sister was contemplating Rupaul as a nanny and I also dreamed Pat was working for Santa Claus). I have even tried to figure out a way to pump and sleep. I'm open to suggestions. Mason ain't hurting for sleep, however. And if anyone can tell me how to "Sleep when the baby sleeps." tell me. 'Cause I can't figure out how to do that and get laundry done and bottles cleaned. Wait...Mason's sleep...why am I bloggin? Nitey nite.

Apology

I used to ask people "When are you gonna have another?". That is the rudest questions EVER. I am sooo super uninterested in having another child right now. And I despise anyone who parts their lips to ask that question to me. So to the people I asked that: I apologize.

The First 48

The good news is Mason is home and we're adjusting. The bad news is we're adjusting to him. If I want to eat and he's hungry, guess who wins? If we are in a deep slumber at 3 a.m. and he wants to get up, guess who wins? If I want to talk on the phone or check email and he's "crying", guess who wins? So the unofficial score is Mason-more, Pat and Jan-less. He's winning, but hopefully not for long. He's a pretty easy going baby, thus far. (Knock on wood). What get hims the most riled up is a dirty diaper. Luckily, the hospital could not give him undivided attention, so he's self sufficient. He generally just wakes up and will lie in his bassinet.  We'll hear his lips smacking or a small coo and know that he needs something. I am becoming a bit nutty due to my new sleep schedule. The dreams are bizarre because I am in and out of consciousness. Last night Pat randomly asked me for a bowl as he was going to sleep, he too is nutty. I can only imagine that it will get nuttier. I think it's best that I sign off now and go catch a few winks before You Know Who makes a demand.

24/7 365

So this time tomorrow I'll be a full time mommy. Well actually maybe in twelve hours give or take a couple. It's surreal. You expect to go home with your baby when you plan your pregnancy out in your head. So, I had planned that part. I'd have contractions, we'd pack up, there would be some heavy breathing and a couple of pushes, Pat would cut the umbilical cord, they would discharge us, and we would go home as a family. All in a matter of three days. Wrong. We have waited fifty days and now the time has come.  I'm not scared. It's kinda like the first day of kindergarten. You know how you wait all summer of what to expect? You've visited the school, bought your backpack, met your teachers; however, you still need to see for yourself. So if you have asked me if I'm ready and I said "Sure", just think about how a five year old would respond on August 19th if you asked if they were ready for kindergarten. We're prepared. We're ready,  just anxious to jump into full time parenting.

Deuces

The glow of your skin. The flutters in your belly. The week by week inching out of your belly. Ahhhhh...pregnancy. I have heard women say they miss being pregnant. I'm baffled. 'Cause I do not miss it. I don't miss the constant doctor visits. I don't miss my middle finger that just stopped functioning and started hurting continuously. I don't miss my feet that began to swell to the point where I had to go buy new shoes. I don't miss the excessive tiredness. I just don't miss being pregnant. I feel like a new woman now that I am not preggers. I can see the lower half of my body. I don't need a nap after work (however, this will soon change), I can wear my old shoes. My middle finger works again. I can dance...or try to at least. It's great. So, until we meet again I'm happily throwing up the deuces to pregnancy. One of ya'll can go on and have it.