Poop

I think my child's first word will be "poop." He does plenty of it and it is always a topic of conversation between Jeff and I and other family members. How many times did he poop? What color was it? Etc.

First of all, who knew that one diaper change could turn into three or four diapers? We begin with the original diaper that clearly needs to be changed. It gets replaced with a new diaper. The Desitin gets applied, but in the process, Grant decides to pee. If we are lucky, we get a hand over the stream and save the outfit. But, diaper #2 now needs to be replaced. Moving on to diaper #3. Inevitably, Grant decides that it is time to poop again. Thus, the diaper is changed yet again. This happens at least once a day. A very expensive habit.

Poop also entertained the entire family on Mother's Day. Aunt Jessie decided that she was finally ready to try and change a diaper. Calmly she followed directions. Just as she lifted the legs to apply the Desitin and thinking she was home free, Grant rocket pooped hitting Jessie's leg two feet away.

The latest and most disgusting incident was yesterday morning. I was sitting on the couch in my new shorts. Grant was on my lap and I was feeding him a bottle. Suddenly my lap was filled with something warm and wet. In shock I waited a moment before checking to find out that indeed, I had been pooped on. Somehow, the diaper had failed to do its job, my shorts and the couch were covered in yellow, horrible smelling poop. Sick! Good thing he is cute!

A little piece of heaven

I love my gym and missed it terribly the last two months. But, our time apart is over! Saturday morning I woke up and had two hours before Grant needed to be fed again. I decided that I couldn't wait any longer and I left to spend a blessed hour exercising. Although I haven't received the go ahead from my doctor, I figured I was smart enough to take it easy. It is amazing what a good sweat does for you. It was like I had entered back into a world that I had forgotten existed. There were other adults there! So, I am now re-energized and ready to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. Luckily, when you only have a five and a half pound baby, you don't end up with much to loose. No longer am I counting down to my due date, I am counting pounds. 6 to go! And, this time I won't be sending out belly pictures...

How life has changed

First bath at home


First walk in the Bob


Looks like trouble


All hooked up but still cute as can be

Grant (or, as Jeff calls him, Wee Man) is now 14 days old and has been home just a week. But, it is amazing how quickly you forget what life was like without him. Our lives now revolve around a three hour schedule. 9, 12, 3, and 6 o'clock, day and night, we wake Grant up and try to force as much food down him as we can while he tries his best to remain asleep with his lips locked. Jeff was full time bottle man, while I hooked up to my breast pump. Now, Jeff is back at work, so it's just me and my little guy. Unlike my life that consisted of lengthy "to do" lists, my goal now is to accomplish at least one thing each day. For example, one day, I was pretty excited to put out my bird feeders. Today, I hope to update Grant's baby book. Other than these tasks, I spend my day feeding, pumping, and washing bottles. Wow, how things change! But, it is all worth it, because Grant is just adorable and I can't get enough of him!

Who are you and what did you do with my husband?

The last few days Jeff has tackled many of the items on my "to do" list that clearly I cannot do from a hospital bed. He decided to take pictures to document his handywork. I am so proud!

Cleaned off the patio furniture


Put together the glider


Cleaned up the front yard


Cleaned up the back yard


Washed out the garage

Day Number 4

Well, I definately didn't wake up on Monday prepared not to be back home for a while. Noticed a few things out of the ordinary and decided to call the doctor once I got to school. Luckily, Jeff and I had just had our hospital tour the night before, because the doctor said, "We are sending you to labor and delivery, do you know where that is?" During our tour, I was thinking to myself that I could do without hospitals. I figured two or three days would be bad enough. Well, now, it looks like I will be spending the next week at "Hotel Riverside Methodist" and then be back an aweful lot to visit our little guy in the NICU. So far, I am well taken care of, and the baby is still doing fine. And, asside from leaving a huge "To do" list undone at home and a lot of loose ends at school, I am looking at the bright side:

• hospital food (not good, but at least I don't have to worry about cooking it)
• smaller baby means less stretch marks?
• hopefully, before I know it, I will be home enjoying spring with my little boy
• we had to pick a name...Grant Michael Schultz
• at home Jeff has become familiar with the washer, dryer, and dishwasher again
• more time to get back in shape for Jessie's wedding

We will continue to pray for Grant to be healthy and grow as much as possible before deciding to make his appearance. Thanks to everyone for all the love and support!

Eight More Weeks

We had our last ultrasound on Friday. The little guy was 4.5lbs and was too big to fit on the monitor. In this picture of his profile, you can see his little hand up by his face. I think he is doing a limp wrist thing that I tend to do when standing around. Or, maybe he is getting ready to scrape his knuckles across my stomach as he seems to do quite often these days. Yes, the little kicks were adorable, but now I think he is just trying to drive me nuts. He clearly gets this from his father.

Whales

The bump exposed!

Our close whale encounter

Jeff, baby, and I at El Arco

We got away one last time before the arrival of the baby and enjoyed a long weekend in Cabo away from all the snow! The timing was great, it's whale watching season in Cabo. Yes, although some might argue that I was the whale, we did get to see plenty of actual whales. The highlight was our whale watching/sunset cruise. We saw a whale the size of a bus jump completely out of the water about thirty feet from us. Jeff is incredibly proud of the picture he caught (see above).