Random Updates on Life

Oh my goodness, I cannot believe that it has been a week since I've blogged and given you guys any kind of updates!  Life seems to fly by when you are trying to sit still.  Ethan and I are enjoying every minute together, and we've even survived a night alone!

Jason has changed job positions within his company (huge plus for us, especially him).  Rather than designing t-shirts for hunting (something Jason knows nothing about), he has transferred to a sports department (totally his area of expertise).  He will be designing all specialty basketballs for the NBA.  For those of you that aren't sports nuts, this is a huge deal.  He is so excited that his design work will be used for the All-Star Basketball game and other big events.  He will also do some other smaller sporting projects, but the NBA account will be his main line of work.  We are so proud of him!   Anyway, because of this transition, he had to travel for a couple of days to visit some of the factories that produce the basketballs he will design.  Ethan totally went easy on his Momma that night and was a perfect angel.

Our birth announcements came in! Although I'd love to send one to each and every one of you, I'll just share on here.  This is a Jason Orlando original design as well.  I can't help but love having an artist for a husband and coupons for printing services! We managed to score 70 completely FREE birth announcements to send out!

Feeding Ethan is going extremely well.  I'm not going to lie, breast feeding is extremely painful to get started.  I have been nursing and pumping (just in case I have to go back to work part time sooner than I would like) and working up a good freezer stash.  This made my milk supply absolutely insane, and I began to fall short on pumping as much as I needed to in order to keep my breasts from being so engorged. Hello mastitis.  The first few days of last week were horrible with the chills, exhaustion, aches, sore breasts, and keeping up with Ethan.  I felt horrible. The antibiotic kicked in quickly and thankfully I am feeling much better now.  Thankfully, I have had virtually no pain nursing Ethan since getting over that infection.

Gasp. We introduced a bottle.  I hated to do it this early, because I wanted to exclusively breast feed for at least 6 weeks.  However, after discovering that Ethan gained 1.2 pounds in 12 days and discussing it thoroughly with my pediatrician, we feel that nursing has been established well enough to introduce the bottle.  I want Ethan to be comfortable with both nursing and a bottle in the event that I do have to return to work.  Anyway, he takes a bottle of breast milk at bedtime, and switches back and forth from the breast to the bottle like a pro.  I actually feel that his latch has improved on the breast since introducing the bottle.  We definitely want to stay away from formula for as long as possible (if not completely), but I'm so glad that Ethan is comfortable enough to nurse and take a bottle.

Thank goodness for my Mom and Dad, who came over for a few hours each day while I was sick to help me get my house back in order while I nursed and rested.  That's real help.  Sidenote: It is a pet peeve of mine for people to offer to "come hold" Ethan while I do my housework and other chores.  To me, that's making me feel like I have to entertain guests when I really need to be getting things done.  It's more helpful to me to have someone come help me fold laundry while I nurse him and get him situated.  I'll be happy to share Ethan with anyone that wants to love on him (well, almost anyone), but coming over to help does not mean come over and gush over the baby while I'm still running around like a chicken with my head cut off.  Anyway, thank goodness for my parents who understand that.  I don't feel like I have to entertain them, I don't feel like I have to sit and visit (although I really enjoy hanging out with my parents, they're actually a lot of fun), and I don't feel like I have to have it all together for them to come into my home.  They will come, give me real help, visit for 30 minutes or so, and head home.  

I am officially 7 pounds away from my pre-pregnancy weight.  I'm not too concerned with getting back to the specific "number," I just want all my clothes to fit again.  Sadly, I think my hips spread enough that even if I do get back to the specific "pre-pregnancy number" that most of my pants won't fit.  I'm back in a few pairs of pants, and ALL of my shirts and dresses, but I think I'll have to do some major jeans shopping later this year.  Either way, I'm very happy and feel extremely lucky with how quickly 23 pounds came off, and how most of my "shape" has returned.  However, I think at least 5 of those 7 pounds are in my boobs.  They're enormous now, and I hate them.  I'm glad they are doing what they are supposed to do for my sweet boy, but I hate the look of how big they are now!  I tell Jason they are out of control, who laughs at me and tells me it's like Mardi Gras in our house, since my huge boobs are constantly being whipped out.  He swears he's going to figure out a way for Ethan to give me beads when I nurse one day.  That jerk ;)

Ethan can officially roll over to his side like a pro.  I'm so not ready for his mobility.  I have a feeling we are in for one extremely active child.

I hope everyone is having a fantastic week! And hopefully I won't go another full week without blogging again! You forgive me, right?