Sundays With Oliver - Week Seven

Another week, another installment of Sundays With Oliver (yes, the pictures were taken yesterday, I just didn’t have time to post them until today). We had a good week - many trips to the hike and bike trail at Town Lake (I walked close to ten miles with Oliver last week), a reassuring visit to the lactation consultant, Daddy’s first long days home alone (Brian took care of Oliver on Wednesday and Thursday while I went into work), shopping at the Farmer’s Market, and Oliver’s first trip to a bar (we went to Opal Divine’s after Brian’s book club last night and managed to drink half a beer each before Oliver decided it was time to go home). After my whining earlier this week about sleep, the growth spurt finally came to an end and Oliver did some champion sleeping the rest of the week. For the past four nights he’s slept four or more hours for his first stretch of sleep. The last two nights, I only had to get up with him once. On top of that, he’s still taking two good long naps everyday. We’re very lucky but I’m still hoping that by my birthday in a few weeks he’ll be sleeping through the night. I start my buying appointments this week so we’ll see how those go... hopefully Oliver will cooperate.

So Close...

Oliver slept for five hours and forty-five minutes in a row on Thursday night (from 8:30 to 2:15)... so close to that six hour mark that I seriously thought about ignoring him for 15 minutes when he did get up (he wasn’t crying, just chattering and a little hungry). But I went to him and the landmark of sleeping through the night will have to wait for another day. Last night he went four hours so I’m hoping his growth spurt is over and I might start getting more sleep.

Sleeping Trials and Poop Problems

We are lucky that Oliver is a decent sleeper. He seems to have his days and nights figured out so that he’s not up all night crying or wanting to play. He even manages to get in at least two good naps every day which gives Brian and I the chance to get things done (showers, work, eating, etc.). All that being true, however, I’m going to whine now because he has yet to hit that magical six-hour mark that the experts call sleeping through the night. A few weeks ago his first stretch of sleep was lasting four to five hours but that stretch of sleep was in his swing and was starting around 7:30 pm. So, even though he was sleeping almost five hours in a row I wasn’t. (I kept imagining the blog post I would have to make when he hit that six hour mark after going to bed at 7:00 - Oliver Slept Through the... Evening!). But at least he was getting close to the six hour mark and I was only having to get up with him twice a night. 

But the last three nights he’s gone back to waking up every two to three hours to eat - so the opposite of what we’re going for. I’m hoping this is just a growth spurt and that he’ll soon go back to gaining on that six-hour mark. My hunch that this is a growth spurt was sort of confirmed by a trip to a lactation consultant yesterday. I had been having some questions about breastfeeding and Oliver’s poop problems led to a crisis of confidence so we made an appointment for a consultation. She weighed Oliver before, during and after a feeding, observed his feeding behavior and dirty diapers and tested the fat and calories in my milk. 

So, what exactly are Oliver’s “poop problems”? I’ve been skirting the issue since I’m sure not everyone wants all the nasty details but here it is - Oliver’s poop is green... has been for almost two weeks now... for those who don’t know (and don’t care) breastfed babies are supposed to have yellow poop, not green. Green can mean problems - specifically something called a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance when the baby gets too little of the fattier milk that comes towards the end of a nursing session. That’s what I’ve assumed the green poop means and I’ve been freaked out that Oliver isn’t getting enough fat and calories from my milk. This led me to try block feeding (only offering Oliver the same breast for numerous feedings) which was painful for me and made him really fussy. Well, turns out the green poop is more of an aesthetic problem than an indication of anything going wrong with breastfeeding. Oliver is gaining weight like a champ (he’s 11 pounds, 3 ounces... so he’s jumped in the percentiles, an indication that he has been going through a growth spurt) and my milk is crazy chocked full of fat and calories. She tested my hindmilk and foremilk and even my foremilk had more fat and calories in it than average and my hindmilk was off the charts. No imbalance here, just a green pooping baby. No more block feedeing for us. It was so nice to have my confidence restored - Oliver and I are doing great at breastfeeding and he’s getting everything he needs.

Now I can just focus on getting through this growth spurt and hoping and praying for that six hour sleeping mark.

Sundays With Oliver - Week Six

What a week - Daddy and Oliver were sick. Oliver is still having some digestive issues but they don’t seem to be bothering him now and we had a great end to the week. We hung out at Dauphin’s house on Friday night and my parents came in on Saturday. They are watching Oliver tonight so that Brian and I can go on our first post-baby date ... sushi at Uchi! Can’t wait. 

Sick Ward

It’s been a rough week at the Contine household. On Monday, Brian was taken out by either food poisoning or a twenty four hour stomach bug. At the same time, Oliver started having diarrhea which made my Monday all about caring for my two guys and meant sleeping on the couch Monday night so that I could keep an eye on both of them. Brian was feeling better on Tuesday (albeit a little dehydrated and really hungry) but Oliver was still having issues so I took him to see the doctor. He wasn’t running a fever and he didn’t seem like he was sick (he was still happy and smiling away) but I wanted the doctor to take a look at him just in case. She said it wasn’t a big deal and that diarrhea could last as long as a week. She gave me a list of things to watch for to make sure he wasn’t getting dehydrated and sent us home.

Oliver continued to feel fine despite the diarrhea on Tuesday but yesterday and today have been rough. He’s been crying what feels like nonstop. If he’s awake he’s eating and then he’s crying (sometimes he’s doing both at once). It’s the first time I’ve seen him crying inconsolably for a long period of time and it’s been really hard on me. We can only manage to calm him down for about an hour or so and then he’s off again (ironically, once the sun set on Tuesday and Wednesday he was able to sleep four or five hour stretches and then eat and sleep some more throughout the night so at least Brian and I are still relatively well-rested). It was so bad yesterday evening that I was convinced it was the c-word - colic, my biggest fear. But then it was bad again this morning so I’m pretty sure this is a temporary thing - just a stomach bug that must run its course. But it breaks my heart (and tries my patience) to hear him scream like he’s been doing so I hope this passes quickly and we get our calm, collected baby back soon.

Sundays With Oliver - Week Five

Oliver’s had a busy week - a doctor’s appointment, a few trips to the bookstore, hanging out with Laurie and Lydia, and a trip downtown to Town Lake. He’s discovered his love of swinging, did some good sleeping, hung out on his activity mat and looks like he put on some weight. We’ve confirmed that he now likes baths (turns out I had the water way too cold for him) and he’s taken a bottle (which means I might gain a few hours of freedom). It’s been a great week.

Brian and I had a blast taking this week’s Sundays With Oliver picture. Brian kept making funny noises and Oliver just smiled and smiled. Of course, I only managed to capture a few of them on film.

Back to Work

This time of year is the busiest time for me at work since it is the time that I buy all of the frontlist titles for the fall season (aka, the fourth quarter - where we make our profit). The list that each publisher puts out is huge and preparing for appointments takes forever. There is the holiday catalog to think about, displays to plan and, on top of everything else, we do our store wide inventory in the middle of all this mess. So, despite the fact that I’m still pretty sleep-deprived I have had to start working the past few weeks so that I don’t fall so far behind that I can’t catch up. I’ve been working from home when I can but this week I had to go into the store to get on a conference call. So, Oliver and I packed up and headed into my office. This summer I will be bringing Oliver in when I go into the store so this was a nice little trial run to see how things would go.

Brian came with us and watched Oliver while I took the call but then he headed off to take his Spanish final and Oliver and I stayed so that I could do a little more work. We were there for a little over five hours and I got some (not a lot, but some) work done. I kept having to take breaks to feed or change Oliver so it wasn’t the level of productivity I was used to. It will definitely take some adjustment for me to figure out how this whole working/mothering thing is going to work out. I realized that there are certain baby items I need to procure for my office (a changing pad, a diaper genie, etc.) to make us as comfy as possible. Once we get those creature comforts it will be much easier to care for him at the store. And luckily, I have great coworkers who are always willing to hold/watch Oliver if I need to take a call or meeting. And my mom will come up this summer to watch Oliver so I can get more work done. It will be an interesting summer work-wise but I’m sure it will all work out. I’m pretty anxious to get back to work since while this is the busiest time of the year, it is also the most exciting and rewarding for me (plus, a little more adult human contact would be nice).

Mommy's New Favorite Thing

When we first brought Oliver home we tried out the swing we had bought for him a couple of times to try and calm him down when he was fussy. He hated it. So, we put it away until last night. I was talking to my mom yesterday evening about how Oliver’s likes and dislikes change from day to day and she reminded me that I hadn’t tried him in his swing any time lately. So, about thirty minutes before Brian and I were ready to eat dinner, we set up the swing, placed him in it and let it rip. At first, he wasn’t too keen on it and kept fussing. But then I wrapped him up in the t-shirt I had been wearing that day (it’s the grey thing you see in the picture, not the shiny green thing) and he started to nod off. Three hours later he looked like this:

Doesn’t look too comfortable to me but he seemed content. When he finally woke up, I took him into his room, fed him and put him to bed and he slept another three hours straight (he only woke up twice last night). It was awesome. I am now a huge fan of the swing (in fact, Oliver is napping in it as I type this up - wrapped up in one of my sweaters). Hopefully this means more hot meals for Brian and me.

Our First Month

Oliver is one month old today. While it feels like this month has flown by, our life before baby seems like forever ago. Oliver is growing so quickly. Just in the last week he has started following us with his eyes and responds to our voices. He is now making happy noises and not just the angry or hungry noises he made before. And, I swear he’s starting to smile - not just gas smiles but real smiles (I’ve got some video to back up that claim that I will post later). 

To commemorate Oliver’s first month, Brian and I spent some time talking about all of the things we’ve learned about our little boy in the last four weeks. Since he is still so young all of this is apt to change but here’s a snapshot of Oliver as we’ve known him in his first month:

• He loves the outdoors. When Oliver is fussy nothing calms him faster than walking outside with him. He quietens instantly and stares intently at the leaves as the breeze blows through them. You can just see him taking in all the sounds and smells. 
• He hates four o’clock - am and pm. Oliver definitely has a “witching hour.” At four o’clock in the afternoon and four o’clock in the morning, Oliver gets fussy. If he can be asleep when that hour rolls around he’ll sleep right through it. But if he happens to be awake then it takes the full hour to get him to calm down. We don’t know why he hates four o’clock but we’re hoping he grows out of it soon.
• He loves speed. Or, more accurately, he hates red lights. Oliver conks out as soon as the car starts moving but is apt to cry when we stop for pesky little things like stop signs and red lights. He’s a highway baby.
• He hates baths? We’re still not sure about this one. He has seemed to hate every bath I have given him at home but loved the bath he took at Grandmama’s house this weekend. We’re going to try bathing him in the kitchen sink and using warmer water to see if we can’t get him to enjoy baths at home. 
• He can sleep through the dogs barking (even if he’s in the same room) but wakes up instantly if I sneeze.
• He loves Townes Van Zandt. By the second bar of Pancho and Lefty, Oliver is calm and his eyelids are starting to droop. He also loves to be sung to - even if Brian and I are doing the singing (we’re both tone deaf). 
• He loves to fall asleep in our arms but wants Brian and I to rock him to sleep differently. With me, Oliver wants to be chest to chest and with Brian he wants to be face to face. 
• He hates green chiles. 
• He loves company. When people come to visit they almost always comment on how calm and quiet he is. He saves his crying and fussiness for Brian and me.
• He’s a decent sleeper. He’s no rock star in the sleep department - we are still a long way away from that magical six hour mark - but Brian and I know how fortunate we are that he sleeps as well as he does. We can usually get six to eight hours of sleep a night (of course, that sleep is broken into three or four naps).
• He won’t sleep, however, if he’s not swaddled and no mere mortal swaddle can contain him... it takes a miracle (blanket). Oliver won’t even go down for a good nap without being swaddled. I’m sure he’ll grow out of that as the summer gets hotter but for now, it’s swaddle (and swaddle tightly) or no one sleeps.
• He has always hated tummy time but in just the past few days has come to start tolerating it. Plus, he’s started playing on his activity mat and staring at his mobile - totally entranced. That’s been an awesome development - we can actually “play” with him now - it’s not all just eating, sleeping and pooping.
• He loves being in the sling but sometimes gets overheated. So, while wearing him usually buys us an hour or two of quiet, it often ends with him going from zero to screaming when he realizes he’s warm or uncomfortable.
• He’s got a sixth sense for when food is ready. Whether it’s placing the top piece of bread on the sandwich or me picking up a plate full of food for dinner, Oliver can sense it and chooses that time to demand his next meal. I’ve gotten to eat only about ten hot meals in the last month.
• He loves to dance - he demands movement from all who hold him. Oliver is rarely content sitting still but loves to be rocked, bounced and swayed all over the house. If you hold Oliver, be ready to move and groove. He will eventually fall asleep if you two step around with him but you’ve got to work for it.

We are so blessed to have such an awesome, healthy and happy little boy. We still have so much to learn (and relearn and unlearn) about our son and we’re so looking forward to it.

One Month Wellness Visit

We took Oliver in for this one month checkup this morning (yes, he’s one month old already... more on that later today) and everything looks great. He is weighing in at a little over ten pounds now (he gained a whole pound in the week and a half since his two week visit) and is measuring 22 1/4 inches putting him in the 55th percentile for weight and 75th percentile for height. His head circumference is in the 60th percentile so except for that height thing (don’t know where he got that) he is pretty proportional. The doctor was really happy with his growth and the nurse told us his rapid weight gain might bring really good news for us since in her experience babies who gain weight faster start sleeping through the night earlier (she said she thinks it’s the twelve pound mark that coincides with that huge milestone which would put us about a month away). Let’s hope she’s right! We were also quite proud of how well he did when the doctor placed him on his stomach to look at his neck strength. Last time she did this Oliver just face-planted on the table and laid there. This time he immediately picked up his head and turned to look at her. Tummy time is paying off! His neck is getting strong and no flat head yet!

The doctor checked out his acne/rash on his face. Turns out it’s a case of cradle cap (I didn’t know it could spread to the face and chest) and is nothing to worry about. It will go away on its own. It looks worse when he nurses because the exertion of nursing causes the blood flow in his face to increase which just makes the bumps that are already there look redder. It’s a relief to know it’s not an allergic reaction to anything I’m eating. 

We asked a few questions about how to keep him safe and comfortable in the heat of the summer. He loves being outdoors so we wanted to see if there was anything special we needed to do to protect him from the sun and mosquitos. Turns out he’s too young for bug spray or sunscreen so we need to be careful about having him in the direct sun. But, she said we should take him out as much as we like - just don’t overdress him and watch him for signs of overheating. 

His Baylor screen came back normal but we are still waiting for the results of his basic newborn screen. They should be in soon. There were no shots or needle pricks at this visit which was a relief to us. Oliver’s been a bit fussy the past couple of days and I was not looking forward to dealing with the side effects of any vaccinations when he was already in a bad mood. We go back in another month. I hope we hit that twelve pound mark before the next appointment! 

Mother's Day and Oliver's First Road Trip

Mother’s Day and my mother’s birthday always fall very close together so when we found out that we were having a baby in April we decided that on Mother’s Day/

Mom’s birthday weekend we would bring the baby to San Antonio and have my grandmother come down from Midland so she could meet her first great-grandchild. After my first full week of being home alone with Oliver during the day I was more than ready for the weekend and was looking forward to having lots of people around to cuddle with Oliver.

We woke up early (as usual) on Friday morning and went to eat breakfast at Dan’s (I can’t go a whole week without my biscuits). We then headed home to start gathering up the supplies. I was amazed (not surprised, but amazed) at how much stuff we had to pack for Oliver for just three days. We had six bags of stuff plus bigger things like his bouncer, stroller, breastfeeding pillow, etc. Even with all the stuff my mom has down at her house it was a car full. Plus, we had to take the dogs down to Dog Camp for the weekend so we had to get both of them and their stuff into the car. Here’s a picture of everything (except the baby and the dogs) before we put it in the car:

We started off heading south and dropped the dogs off at Dog Camp and then continued on to San Antonio. The dogs were awesome. The were in the backseat with the baby and just laid down and went to sleep. Oliver was great on the road - he slept the whole way. 

We got into San Antonio around 12:30 and my grandmother arrived around 2:00. She walked in and quickly grabbed Oliver to hold him and love on him.

She seemed so happy to finally meet him. I know the last four weeks must have lasted forever since she wasn’t able to see him. 

Friday night Oliver got to meet a whole bunch of our good family friends in San Antonio. They were all so sweet to bring him lots of cute gifts. It was like an impromptu baby shower. It was so much fun and Oliver was fairly well behaved. He got a little fussy but I think everyone had fun trying to calm him down. Everyone just wanted to hold the baby - fussy or not. After all the excitement of the day, we got Oliver to bed around 10:30 and Brian and I quickly followed. This wouldn’t be notable except for the fact that Oliver didn’t wake up again until 2:30! Four hours! It was awesome. It’s the longest stretch of sleep I’ve had since he was born. I was very impressed especially since he was sleeping in a new place.

Saturday was my mom’s birthday and we celebrated by doing absolutely nothing but staying at home and watching the baby. I think it was exactly what my mom wanted. She changed every dirty and wet diaper Oliver had all weekend. Not exactly how I would want to spend my birthday but she seemed happy. Richard cooked us all an amazing dinner of beef wellington, green beans and mashed potatoes. It was delicious and I enjoyed it (even though I had to wear Oliver in his sling while eating it... at least I managed to avoid dropping any hot food on him, probably because Brian cut my meat up for me). Saturday night couldn’t have been more different from Friday night, though. Oliver was up every two hours all night long. Not the start to Mother’s Day I had been hoping for.

Despite the rough start, however, my first Mother’s Day was lovely. Brian made us all eggs benedict (my favorite) on Sunday morning and then we all spent a relaxing day watching and playing with Oliver. Sunday afternoon, my best friend, Seema, came over with her parents to meet Oliver. Seema was scared of the baby but did seem to think he was pretty cute. I’ve known Seema since middle school and, for some reason, having her come over to meet the baby made it really sink in that I’m a mom now. I look at the pictures of Oliver, Seema and me and I think of all the pictures I’ve got of Seema and me from high school and the juxtaposition is striking - there’s a baby in these pictures and he’s mine... it’s still weird (wonderful but weird). 

Oliver gave me some great Mother’s Day gifts. Turns out he’s a good shopper. I got a nice side table and some great wine glasses (I had complained earlier that I didn’t like any of the wine glasses that we have) and a first edition of Me Talk Pretty One Day (one of my favorite books). Richard cooked us another amazing dinner that night. Great day. 

Last night was another rough one. Oliver slept one long stretch but then woke up at 3:30 and was super cranky and wouldn’t go back to sleep no matter what we tried. He managed to wake up the whole house (including my poor mom who had to be up to go to school this morning - although she didn’t seem to mind since it meant getting to see more of him). He finally got back to sleep around five and let us all sleep another couple of hours. Those kind of nights are rough when they’re happening but when I look back on them I realize how lucky we are. Oliver is a good sleeper and a generally happy and healthy baby. He usually only fusses or cries when he needs something or is in pain (gas, upset tummy etc.) so after those nights have passed I am thankful that there aren’t more like it or that they aren’t worse than they are.

We got back into town around noon today and have slowly been unpacking. Tomorrow is Oliver’s one month birthday and his one month doctor’s visit. I can’t wait until we can go to the doctor’s office. Oliver has gotten baby acne this week which in and of itself is no big deal but when he nurses it gets really irritated and his face gets red and blotchy. It doesn’t seem to bother him but I want the doctor to check it out and see if we can’t do anything to take care of it. I also can’t wait to see how much weight he’s gained!

Sundays With Oliver - Week Four

We took this installment of Sundays With Oliver on the road. We are in San Antonio celebrating my mother’s birthday and Mother’s Day. My grandmother is in town from Midland to meet her great-grandson and it’s been an amazing weekend.

Oliver continues to amaze me with how quickly he is changing. He has started following my movement with his eyes. It’s so cool to have him watch me as I talk to him and move around the room. He’s also becoming more used to tummy time and is getting good at lifting his head. I also feel like we’re just days away from his first real smile. There have already been a few that I don’t believe are only gas. I can’t believe he’ll be a month old in just a few days.

Here are more pics from this Sundays With Oliver. My mom and dad made the blanket he’s lying on for me when I was a baby. It was the blanket I played on. It’s hand embroidered with Disney and other cartoon characters on it.

Remember That Room?

So, remember how much work we put into the nursery? The painting, the new floors, the new fan, the crown molding, all the sewing my mom did? It turned out pretty cute, right? So, why aren’t we really using the room now? Because Oliver has been sleeping in our room in his pack and play since we came home from the hospital. Having him in our room makes the middle of the night feedings so much easier and I like that he’s right next to me so that I can check on him whenever I feel like it (which is a lot). We use the nursery to change his diapers and clothes and I will feed him in there from time to time but for most of the day and the entire night the room goes unused... until last night. 

I have been using the room regularly just twice a day. He sleeps in there after his 4 am feeding so that Brian’s alarm doesn’t wake him up at 6 (of course, sometimes he’s up before or with the alarm anyway) but mostly I’ve been using the nursery for Oliver’s last feeding before going to bed at night. I take him into the nursery, turn off all of the lights except the low light of the lamp on the dresser, swaddle him, feed him and then rock him to sleep to the soothing sounds of the Oliver’s Sleepytime Playlist that I put on my iPod. After this twenty to sixty minute process I then make the trek to our room as quietly as possible and put him down in the pack and play hoping against hope that all of the movement and the light of the living room and the noise of the rest of the house doesn’t wake him up. Then about an hour later, if he’s still asleep, Brian, Coltrane and I tiptoe into the room (truth be told, Coltrane sucks at tiptoeing) and try to slip into bed without waking Oliver. Last night it struck me that this whole process was a little silly when I could just place him in his crib after I rocked him to sleep (yes, it took until last night to figure this out... I haven’t slept more than three hours in a row in four weeks, remember?). So, that’s what we did. I rocked him to sleep and put him in his crib and then went out to the living room, baby monitor in hand to see how this new experiment would work... Fifteen minutes later, Oliver was crying. Experiment failed, right? Nope. Brian went in, rocked him for another ten minutes and then put him back into his crib. From then on, silence. (And, yes, I did have to sneak in there a few times to check on him... silence scares me).

Brian and I watched a little TV and then made our way to bed without fear of waking Oliver up. Coltrane bound onto the bed and I didn’t have to yell at him to keep it down. I opened and shut the squeaky bathroom door numerous times without holding my breath to see if Oliver would sleep through it. It was great. And the best thing about it was that Oliver slept for three and a half hours straight. For the past few weeks he’s been waking up every two and a half hours on the dot to eat so that extra hour was nice. He seemed to sleep really well in his own room... much better than I slept. I kept waking up to obsess over the monitor but I know I will get used to it in time. I did learn that a little fussing is no reason to swoop him up into my arms and feed him. With him in our room, I respond to the first or second sound he makes. Last night, he would start to fuss a little every once in awhile but then go back to sleep. Lesson learned.

Of course, after that first stretch of sleep I did move him back into his pack and play for the time between feedings since it is much simpler on me to just roll over and feed him but I think we will start slowly moving into his own room full time. Hopefully I’ll get used to sleeping without him right next to me. 

Sundays With Oliver - Week Three

Oliver is growing and changing so quickly! Everyday he is more alert. He is focusing on objects and faces now and will sometimes turn his head towards a noise to see what is going on - he especially does this while sitting in his bouncer. He’s also packing on the pounds. He hit the nine pound mark this week and his tummy, arms and legs are starting to chub up. Here’s the latest installment of “Sundays With Oliver.”

Two Week Wellness Visit

We took Oliver to the doctor for his two-week check up on Thursday. Not exactly the best week to go to the pediatrician’s office what with all the hype surrounding the swine flu but that’s when our appointment was. Any kids who came in with a cough were immediately given a mask to wear. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. When we brought him out to the scale to get weighed all the nurses commented that he looked more like he was there for his one month visit than his two week. Apparently he’s a big boy! We weighed and measured him and he is up to nine pounds and has grown two inches since birth. The doctor seemed really impressed with his weight gain. Oliver and I are obviously breastfeeding champs. They took some blood for his newborn screen (we’ll have the results in a few weeks) and the doctor checked him out. The jaundice is completely gone and Oliver is looking good. She put a little silver nitrate on his belly button since he still had some cord gunk going on but it’s nothing to worry about. And Brian and I got some shots. We figured it was only fair since he got stuck with a needle. Our doctor recommends that new parents get a whooping cough vaccination since the ones we get as kids wear off. By getting vaccinated ourselves, we can help protect Oliver from whooping cough (which is a good thing, since I read in the paper the other day that there is a whooping cough outbreak in Travis County). The doctor also assured us that all of the common sense things we already do to protect Oliver from getting sick (washing our hands, not taking him out in huge crowds, not letting people touch him without washing their hands) will protect him from the swine flu as well. So, no worries there. We go back in a few weeks for his month check up. Can’t wait to see how big he’s gotten then!

SlingEZee

On Monday I went to Special Addition to buy a sling for Oliver and I to use. We have one that I love but Oliver needs to be a little bigger before we can use it so I wanted to get one that would fit us in the meantime. Oliver has days where he just wants to be held and I needed a sling to make those days easier on my psyche, my wrists and my back. So, I took the very generous gift certificate that Robin and Laurie gave us to Special Addition and had them help me find one that is right for us. The salespeople there are so helpful. They spent over half an hour with me showing me the slings they sell and how to use them. I found one that I love (it’s a SlingEZee) and Oliver and I tried it out. We both fell instantly in love. We’ve used it a bunch since we bought it and it’s great to be able to meet Oliver’s need/desire to be held while still managing to have my hands free. In fact, he’s asleep on my chest as I type this post, something I never could have done before we got the sling. I’ve also managed to get some reading done. I know the sling will be a lifesaver when I go back to work and need to soothe Oliver and look at catalogs, work on the computer or meet with a sales rep at the same time.