Wednesday, Oui? 3 weeks!

Mister Man is 3 weeks old today! I can't believe he has been here that long! When I sign into Facebook and see my profile picture (one of the maternity ones taken when I was pregnant with him) it's so weird to think that just THREE weeks ago he was all snuggled up in my womb and I didn't know what he would look like.

It's also funny to think about how much I thought I loved him then. Yes, I loved and adored him so much when I was pregnant but, it was NOTHING compared to how much I love him now. Unbelievably, I love him more and more each day. Everyone always told me, "You will love him more than you ever thought possible" and it's completely true.

Here are some Toby updates:

• He's eating like a champ. We fluctuate between feeding him 2 to 2.5 oz. of formula after each breastfeeding session. (We found out that I don't have very many working milk ducts so, I have no choice but to give him a supplement along with breastfeeding, or he'd starve!) 
• I've pumped about 20 oz. of milk out of my breasts (besides what I've fed him!) I'm dang proud!
• He's sleeping a little bit longer at night; sometimes giving us 4 hours in a row! Thank you, Toby!
• He has had 138 diaper changes.
• We put him in his baby swing for the first time and he loved it!
• He still only cries when he needs something. He is so chill (knock on wood!) I've heard all these horror stories about "My baby cried, and cried, and cried (colic) and there was nothing I could do to soothe them." That has not been my experience.
• He gets the hiccups more than any person I've ever known.
• Last Thursday, we (I) thought he may have had a temperature so I beckoned Aaron out of the shower to help me (I hadn't done a rectal temperature before.) As Aaron was holding him (Aaron was in just a towel) Toby decided to poop and pee all over Daddy. I couldn't stop laughing because it was dripping down Aaron's naked chest onto the towel. All Aaron could say was, "Just take the temperature so I can go back in the shower!!"
• Toby met his Iya, Uncle and cousins over the weekend. It was really cute to see Sarah and Xander hold a tiny little baby. They were really good with him! However, I had to check my sister's bags before she left my house to make sure she wasn't trying to confiscate Toby. She loved him.

Updates about Mama & Daddy:

• I've packed away all my maternity clothes with the exception of a few pairs of maternity pants. I'm at that terrible "in between" where I don't fit into my maternity, or my pre-pregnancy clothes. Thank God for yoga pants. I swear, that's all I can wear right now.
• I'm tiring less easily so I know my body is almost fully recovered from labor. I can stand and walk for longer periods of time which is nice because now I can run errands and get out of the house a bit.
• Aaron is taking advantage of his paternity leave; getting a lot of things done around the house and yard! Aaron's last day of work was May 22nd and, being a teacher, he can take all of his sick days for paternity leave. He had over 40 days and only needed to use around 20 to get him through until summer came. So, he doesn't have to go back to school until the fall and he will still have about 20 sick days when he goes back!
• We have yet to drop Toby off with anyone for him to be "babysat." I just can't bring myself to do it. The other day I wanted to go to Michaels to pick up a custom framing order (I had some of my maternity pictures custom framed) and it took me about 4 hours to leave the house and I cried a little bit. Crazy!
• I'm spending A LOT of time with his baby books, photo albums and scrapbook. I don't have those things from when I was a baby so, I am documenting everything and putting it all together in nice books and albums for him. It will be great to look back on the little details and say "Oh yeah, I remember when that happened." Or if/when I have another child I can remember how old Toby was when he did this or that so I have a baseline for milestones.

You know you're a new Mama when:

• In a moment of pure exhaustion you dab your baby's bottle to your wrist to check the temperature of his formula, then rub your wrists together and touch them to your neck out of habit... forgetting that you're dealing with milk... not perfume.
• You take a rolled up pair of yoga pants from the hamper, eyeball them and smell them before deciding they are safe to wear just one more time. You're not going anywhere and you don't have time for laundry anyway.
• You know what time is it just from hearing what's on the TV playing in the other room. "In the case of Baby Elijah... Devon.. you ARE the father." Okay, thanks Maury, now I know it's 11AM.
•  You have this conversation at the dinner table and think absolutely nothing of it.

A: Did Toby poop recently?
J: Yes he did (proudly). Just before lunch. Why?
A: Because (trying not to laugh) it's on your neck.
J: Hmm. I wonder how it got there. Oh well, I'll clean it up after lunch.

• You remain shirtless for a good hour after breastfeeding because it's only a matter of time before you need to perform your duties as milkmaid again. Anyway, dressing and undressing is just too much work. 
• You have to check your cell phone to know what day of the week it is (maternity leave messes with my internal clock!)
• You put the baby to sleep and settle down to watch a movie with your husband but end up like this before the opening credits.

Sound asleep

(Disregard my giant milk-jugs, please)

Postcards from the Bump

Pregnancy is truly an amazing thing. What the human body, or I should say, a woman's body can do amazed me throughout the entire 39 weeks I carried Toby. I loved being pregnant. Granted, I didn't have the easiest time with my gestational diabetes and a severely restricted diet but, every single second was worth it to get the reward I received at the end of it all. I really enjoyed watching my body change. (Don't confuse that with enjoying the changes my body underwent.)

Overall I gained 29 pounds (by my calculations) 24 pounds (by my doctor's calculations.)

I did not get one stretch mark!!! (Thank you, Burt's Bees)

I didn't get that ugly pregnancy line

Weirdly, I got a few new moles/freckles

My hips are now wider

I loved sharing my body with Toby and I'm a little sad to be "alone" now. Don't get me wrong, I love, Love, LOVE having him here but, it was kind of nice to not have to share him for 39 weeks. He's the only person in the world who knows what my heartbeat sounds like from the inside and we will always have a bond that I will never have with another person (unless he has a sibling.)

Going through pregnancy and labor helped me to realize just how strong, physically and mentally, I am. I really surprised myself with the amount of strength I had throughout my pregnancy. I've always believed I could do anything I set my mind to and this was no exception.

Below, find the final installment of "Postcards from the bump." :(

I began taking pictures at 10 weeks all the way to 2 weeks post baby.

I'm getting there! 9 more pounds and I've lost all my baby weight... 19 more and I'm at my goal. (I carried about 10 pounds more than I would have liked to before I got pregnant.)

So, for now, bye-bye bump and hello Toby!

Rod Stewart, a spider web in the face, and other arguments

Aaron and I have a saying/comparison we often use: "That's like a spider web in the face." This all started a while ago when we both figured out (after years together) that we are of the same opinion regarding one of the very worst things that can happen to a person.

Are you ready?

In our opinion among the worst is getting a spider web in the face. I know y'all know exactly what I'm talking about. It happens when you walk between two objects, like a tree and your car (usually first thing in the morning). You see, overnight a spider has worked its ass off building that invisible string; bridging the gap between the two objects. Then you come along, like a big dummy, blindly walking right through it getting the spider string across your face and neck.

And then you're not the same for the rest of the day.

The original conversation, in which we made this mutual discovery, went something like this:

Aaron: "How was your day?"
Jessi: "Eh, completely uneventful, except I got a spider web in the face."
A: "Huh?"
J: "I walked between your truck and my favorite tree and I got that stupid spider string across my face!"
A: "OH! I know what you mean. I hate that. It happens to me all the time when I ride my mountain bike in the woods. Spider strings are everywhere. That is the worst!"
J: "Isn't it?!"

Anyway...

I am super competitive. It's bad. I become a (playful/obnoxious) monster whenever I get the "game on" signal or, if I think I'm right.

Below, I've supplied some evidence:

This particular conversation happened a couple of years ago and we still talk about it often.

Aaron: (quoting the lyrics of a Rod Stewart song, but using an English accent.)
Jessi: "Why are you all English?"
A: "Rod Stewart is English."
J: "No he's not!"
A: "Yes he is."
J: "Um, no."
A:"Well, (in disbelief) where do you think he's from?"
J: (with a tone of absolute certainty) "Um, California."
A: "When we get home, we'll google it."
J: "Oh, yes we will!"

Okay, so it turns out Rod Stewart IS English! Did you know this? Dang. That's a spider web in the face if I've ever seen one!

Then, just a couple of days before I gave birth I told Aaron I needed him to get the purple storage bin out of the closet because I wanted to put a few gift bags in it (we store tissue paper and gift wrap/bags in this Tupperware.)

A: "It's not in the closet."
J: "Yes it is."
A: "No, it's not. I just cleaned that closet out."
J: "Yes, and I watched you slide it waaayyyyyy in the back corner. It's there."
A: "No, it's not."
J: "Okay, Aaron. It's not. It's gone. Lost forever."

So, I left the gift bags on my dresser for a few days because the Tupperware was M.I.A. Then, one night, I noticed they were gone and I panicked (I hoard gift bags and wrapping paper.)

J: (Slight worry in my tone) "Hey, where'd you put those gift bags?" (Hoping he didn't throw them away.)
A: "In the purple thing."
J: (Sigh of relief followed immediately by suspicion) "And where was it?"
A: (sheepishly) "In the back of the closet."
J: (grinning) "HA! I told you!" (then I strutted off like what I thought looked like a proud rooster.)
A: (playfully and laughing) You know, Babe, gloating about being right then waddling off massively pregnant isn't very effective to prove a point."
J: "Yeah, well.... Rod Stewart is English, you know!"

Wednesday, Oui: 2 Weeks Old

My little man is 2 weeks old today! I can't believe it! Time has flown by and I have relished in every single second of motherhood.

Here are some updates and pictures of our little piece of perfection:

• He is now a whopping 6lbs 10oz.
• He sleeps in 2-3 hour intervals (Mama and Daddy do too!)
• Yesterday, his belly button cord fell off and I died on the inside a little (yes, I kept it.)
• His temperament is awesome.
• We have changed his diaper 83 times since we brought him home from the hospital.
• In terms of percentile: His weight is 11.6% (peanut) Head = 40% and length = 60%
• Friday, our family photographer, Nate, of Nathan Moreau Photography is coming to take some pictures of Toby in our home. We can't wait to get this little guy in photos.
• Toby is starting to focus on our faces and even seems to respond to our voices.

Mama and Daddy are doing well too.

• I've officially lost 20 pounds of baby weight. 9 more pounds will bring me to my prebaby weight, 19 will bring me to my goal weight.
• I feel pretty good in terms of healing. I had five stitches (more on that later) and I am in less and less physical pain daily.
• Nursing is going okay. My milk is stubborn but it's all about supply and demand so I'm working with a great team of lactation consultants, drinking 3 cups of Mother's Milk Tea daily and taking Fenugreek vitamins 3 times per day.
• Did I mention how much I love my husband? He is the best partner I could ever ask for. I have never (EVER) had to get up in the middle of the night without him getting up with me. He caters to every little thing either of us need. Every time I look at Toby, and the amazing gift he is to this world, I fall in love with Aaron all over again.

Here are some pictures of the delicious little devil:

Three generations of Molloy Men (three of my favorite men alive)

Meeting Auntie Q

Meeting Great Grandma

Meeting my best friend from high school (Auntie Steph)

That's all for now as Mama duties, again, call.

 (I may officially change my name to Milkmaid Molloy, thoughts?)

We'll keep you posted on this delicious little creature. Oui?