Momma Babble V004



Well, it's that dreaded time.   No, really. It's not THAT bad.   It's time to go back to work.   *sigh*   ...Well, okay. Let's be honest. Maybe it's not going to be as easy as I thought.   I have one more solid day with my baby boy before I return to work full-time. The last 103 days with Jesiah have been absolutely amazing. I can't believe he's almost 15 weeks old! Crazyness. I've been so blessed with the timing of his birth, that I didn't have to return to school for the remainder of the school year (he was born on May 1st - literally six weeks to the end of the school year - PERFECT timing, aka God's timing). God must've known that I wouldn't be ready to go back to work after just six weeks with this angel. I mean, LOOK at him! Who wouldn't want to stare into these baby blues all day long?!  

taken today, 8/12/13

Do I want to go back to work? Of course not. But you know what? For having to go back to work, I've got a pretty good set-up. First of all, being a teacher, my schedule allows me to be home evenings, weekends, holidays, an entire week over Christmas, and all summer long. So if I have to work, I'm pretty blessed that I'll still be able to have so much time with my baby. Secondly, the people caring for my sweet baby boy are the only people in this world who love our baby as much as we do - the grandparents! My mother is going to keep the baby Monday-Thursday, and on Friday's the baby will go to his other grandmother's house. My mom is only 20 minutes from where I work, and I love that he'll only be a short distance away from me during most days. I have a little bit of anxiety about him being so far away on Fridays (he'll be about an hour away from me), just because he's never been more than 20 minutes away from me, EVER. I'm sure the mommy's out there, young and old, remember what that feels like. But I know he will be in good hands regardless of where he is, so that helps to ease my anxiety. Jesse is going to love growing up and being close to his grandparents. :-)

 

There is a part of me that is looking forward to being back in the classroom. So much of my identity pre-baby was the "Mrs. Caudill in the classroom." I'm excited to learn a whole new class of kiddos and be their second grade teacher. I just hope that I don't grow resentful that I spend more time per day with my students than my own baby :-( Here's the kicker... I actually have a "Jesse" in my class this year - first time I've ever had a Jesse in my class! I hope he's a good boy... LOL.

 

Thankfully, my administrators have been absolutely supportive in my wishes to continue breastfeeding and the need to pump throughout the school day. I also recently ordered a TON of prints of Jesse to hang around my classroom, so I'll be able to see his sweet face all day long. I'm reading up on freezer cooking and hoping to have a cooking day sometime between now and the beginning of September to freeze several meals to take a little bit of stress off of my evenings. Is it horrible that I've actually considered hiring a clean lady? :-/  I know I'm just going to want to spend my time in the evenings with my baby, so I'm nervous about everything that is going to need to be done. I'm going to have to make it a point to use my planning time productively at school so I don't have a ton to bring home in the evenings. I know once the week gets rolling and we fall into a routine, things should fall into place *hopefully*.

 

So, keep me in your prayers as I start back to work this week! Pray for a smooth transition with minimal anxiety. Thank you!

 

Post cards that I sent to my students in the mail today:

 

 

 

 

 

Jesiah - Three Months Old

On August 1st, you turned three months old! I can't believe how much you've changed over the last 14 weeks.

 

 

 

 

Loves: You love to lay in your crib and watch your mobile. You wave your arms at the animals as they go 'round and 'round. You love to eat, still. :-) You now love bath time. Splashing and kicking in the water are your favorite things to do. Sometimes Momma gets so wet when she's giving you a bath that she's not really sure who gets more clean. You love to play on your play yard. You love your Binky and your Taggie Puppy.

 

 

 

You happily kick and grab at the hanging toys. You love to look around and really take in your surroundings. You love it when Momma and Daddy make silly noises - you smile really big. When you smile really big, you stick your tongue out when you smile... it's the cutest thing ever.

 

 

 

You're sooo close to letting out a big belly laugh, but for now we just get some chuckles out of you. You love the mornings! You are at your most happiest, smiley-ist point of the day in the mornings.

 

early morning smiles

 

You love to look at patterns. Momma bought you some high-contrast board books for story time. They have mostly black and white pictures on each page and they really get your attention. You love listening to music and hearing chimes. You're not a fan of tummy time. When I lay you on your belly, you get pretty angry. If I prop you up on my Boppy pillow, you push up on your arms and legs and all but crawl right over it.

 

 

 

 

Eating: You are still exclusively breastfed. You eat approximately every 2 hours or so during the day. When you take a bottle of pumped milk, you finish 3-4 ounces at a time. You're becoming so much more aware of your surroundings, and when it's time to nurse, you love to look me in the eyes. Sometimes when I smile down at you, you have to unlatch because you smile so big back up at me. You've also started grabbing onto Momma's shirt when you're nursing. Sometimes if you're all wound up, you'll wave your arms and kick your legs while you nurse. It can get pretty interesting sometimes! It can appear as tho I'm wrestling an alligator under that nursing cover sometimes. Other times, you like to just pacify yourself and drift off to sleep while holding onto my finger or my shirt. I cherish these moments with you!

 

 

 

Sleeping: You have an "off" night on occasion (and by "off", I mean you wake up once during the night to nurse), but for the most part you continue to sleep through the night. You usually get really sleepy around 8pm, sometimes to the point of being over-sleepy (read SUPER FUSSY). By 9:00, you have usually passed out. Daddy or Momma carry your sleepy head back to your crib, and you snooze the rest of the night away. You usually wake up sometime between 5 and 6am. You nurse, and then usually go back to sleep until 7 or 8. Momma always lays you down on your back in your crib, but recently you have started rolling over onto your side. On Momma's birthday, when I went in to check on you that morning, you had completely rolled from your back to your belly through the night. Your bottom was sticking up in the air, your little legs tucked underneath your body. Sweetest. Thing. Ever. I managed to capture a picture of you on the monitor a few nights later :-)

 

 

 

Fun Facts: On August 1st, you weighed 14 pounds exactly. You are wearing size 2 diapers and have officially moved into size 3-6 month clothes. You still have those gorgeous baby blue eyes. :-) You are doing MUCH better with napping in your crib! Now that you're rolling over onto your side and belly to sleep, you fall right to sleep much easier. Your hair is growing in on top of your head, and it sure is light... I think you're going to be a blondie like your daddy was when he was little.

 

 

 

Firsts:  Rolled over from back to belly (7-24). Swam in baby pool. Took a bath in the big tub with Momma. Sat on Poppy's motorcycle.

 

Jesiah Blaine, you are the absolute love of my life. You bring so much joy... I had no idea how much love my heart could hold until you came along! You're growing so fast, and it's so neat to watch you learn new things every day. Can't wait to see what fun we can have over the next month! Love you, baby boy. <3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 My sweet, sweet baby boy. Be still my heart... <3