Back to work

Hi all,

I went back to work this week. It actually went better than I thought. Derek was able to stay home on Wednesday so it made my day much easier. My mom took Harrison on Friday and that went well. He was all smiles when I dropped him off, I was like "hey! can you be a little sad or something?" Kids these days...

All my coworkers were super supportive and empathetic to me having to come back!! I was stressing out because I had just started the job in October and I barely was feeling comfortable before I went on leave. I thought I was going to have to completely relearn everything again. As it turns out baby brain isn't as bad as pregnancy brain so I am able to catch on a little quicker than I could before. Yippee!! I have hard time with short term memory and with stuff like phone numbers, but I am getting the bigger stuff easier now.


I took pictures on my last day of leave with him to commemorate the event. He is starting to fit into his 3 months clothes now so I can start dressing him in all the adorable outfits people bought us at my showers. I of course find this to be oodles of fun!! He gets cuter everyday and so grown up.

We had a bit of a mishap on Saturday, I was at work and Derek was with Harrison. He was cutting his thumb nail and ended up clipping his skin. This did not make Harrison very happy and Derek had to perform some first aid.

Poor little guy! Looks like his thumb is in a cast! I ,of course, noticed this as soon as I walked through the door. I made it all better with kisses. This was the closest we have come to killing him the ten weeks since I had him SO I think we are doing pretty good!

Love,

Mama Panda

Happy 2 Month Birthday Harrison!!

Harrison had his two month check-up today. He was a bit fussy this morning and he did have a slight temp of 100.1 at the doctor's but he looks healthy so the doctor wasn't worried. She did comment on how LONG he is. Harrison weighs 12 lbs and is 24 inches long!! Jinkies. That is almost double his birth weight which was 6 lbs 13 oz. He also got his first set of shots. I had been dreading this for a week, I thought I wasn't going to be able to handle it but we did okay. He only cried for a bit but we'll see how he is tonight....

I am heading back to work next Wednesday and I never thought I would say this but I wish I could just stay at home!! I'll miss him so much. My mom is going to watch him. I really don't think I could handle using daycare anytime soon. I am hoping that we can juggle Derek being home with him or one of the grandma's watching him. I have to find out what my work schedule will be before we can decide how we will handle it all.

Harrison is very close to rolling over. It would be early if he did it soon but we think it will be very soon. He gets closer everyday. The nurse at the doctor's office couldn't believe it when I laid him on the table and he almost flipped over!! He also smiles a lot at people and gave a laugh to the nurse at the doctor's office too. She was also surprised he did that already too!

Lots of bragging rights for momma and grammie!!

My sister Jen was playing with him on his tummy time blanket and he was mirroring her movements. She was helping him try to roll over by putting her arm in the air and moving her body. Harrison copied her movements perfectly!! It is not just me that saw it, Derek said he saw it too!! It is so exciting to watch how he changes everyday.

My Aunt Betty sent us some booties from Michigan. They are so freakin cute!!

Harrison loves them and he wears them all the time!!

We watched the inauguration together but I don't think Harrison cared too much. I tried to explain to him what a big deal it was but he just took a nap. Oh well. I know we witnessed history together!!

Love,

mama panda

Birthday Blessings

Thanks to everyone that wished me a happy birthday! My birthday wish last year was to have a baby. This year I got to blow out the candles with Harrison on my lap. That meant the world to me.

My birthday wish this year is also a big one (no it is NOT another baby) we'll see what happens!

I officially put my maternity clothes away last week. I also added a few newborn sized items that Harrison has outgrown in the same tub. It was a bit sad, mostly cuz some of it is so cute I hated putting it away!! I went to the midwife for my 6 week checkup and I was about 15lbs above my pre-preggers weight. I am actually content with where I am now. Breastfeeding really does help a lot to lose the weight! It also helps that I rarely have time to eat breakfast or lunch! I am jeans that were a little big on me before that fit me now. I'd prefer to keep some extra weight on me but we'll see were my body wants to end up.

I am trying to work more on my integration paper so I can officially complete my master's in psychology. I am so close but it is hard to finish. All I have left is my paper and the oral exam. SOOOOOO close....I would like to have a finished first draft by the time I go back to work in two weeks. It is a matter of time and energy. I have definitely gotten my motivation back though. Wish me luck.


Love,

Mama Panda

Visiting the Deustermans

I stole some pictures off Robyn's website of our recent visit. Robyn's parents also came so we could celebrate Ma'am 's birthday and my birthday. Dan and Robyn made us Beef Stroganoff, it was excellent!! Harrison got to meet Ma'am and Sir (or Grandma Ma'am and Grandpa Sir, cuz really that is what they are) and Ma'am dubbed Harrison "Little Sir". Here are some pictures

visiting the deustermans

I go back to work on the 28th so I am trying to enjoy the next two weeks. I do feel like I am ready to go back, even though I am sure I will cry when the day comes! It starts to get kinda boring after 6 weeks.

I went to Station 77 at Southdale last week and saw my old friends. Ssia is coming to eat lunch with me for my birthday on Wednesday!! I loved being able to see my old friends. I miss them all so much. Mike held Harrison and he was a natural! he was the only boy that held the baby at all while I visited. I think the others were afraid they'd get their girlfriends preggers if they did. He told me afterwards that Harrison was the first baby he ever held, way to go Harrison!! Mike is a strict Freudian so it kinda killed me to have Mike hold him. Harrison is very oral ( he has loved his pacifier since the day after he was born) and Mike loves anything that proves Freud is THE ONLY theory that is true. Dammit. Okay I'll give him THAT one but I am still a believer in Jung and Frankl!!


Harrison is 7 weeks old now and is starting to sleep for longer and longer at night. I am hoping by 12 weeks he will be off night feedings. It could even be before that at this rate!! That is exciting! He is a good baby, I think we are very lucky with this one. AWWW, my special little guy.

Love,

Mama Panda

Date night

Derek and I got to go out on a date on Saturday night!! Grammie and Grampa watched Harrison for us while we ate dinner and did some shopping at the Mall of America. It was very nice to get out but I missed Harrison so much. Grammie was nice enough to keep a picture of Derek and I next to Harrison while we were gone. I asked her to make sure he didn't forget about me while I was away. Thanks Grammie!

Well we have hit the 6 week mark and I am starting to come out of my new mommy coma. I am beginning to feel like my old self again instead of living in a blur all the time. This comes with some down sides though. I am not at all a good sleeper. Haven't been for four years now. When we brought Harrison home I was adjusting to feeding him at night so of course I wasn't sleeping but when he slept I crashed along with him. Now I am having a hard time sleeping at night, again, so I am up when he is sleeping.

not good.

i don't know what to do about this. I have a midwife appointment on Friday so I suppose I could ask them but I don't know what they can say. I can't take any sleep meds because I have to be able to wake to feed Harrison and that whole "just relax" thing never works.

Sigh

Maybe someday I will be able to get a decent night's sleep again.

Tomorrow I am planning to visit my old job at Southdale to introduce Harrison to some friends. I am so excited to get to see my old buddies! Halima just got engaged and I LOVE weddings so I can't wait to hear all about it!!

I don't have any new pictures of Harrison to share so here is a picture of my cousin Erin's dog Bella
I met her at Christmas and she is the sweetest thing ever! She was so interested in Harrison and was so sweet with him. Really gentle and motherly. She will make a great caretaker when Erin and Eric have a baby!! I love dogs so much and both Erin's dogs were a treat to be around at Christmas! My family is big on dogs and all of them have been really good with the baby. That is a relief. I don't usually worry about animals and babies but you never know. Harrison has to get used to being around pets because he has two cats already and I am a big believer in having pets.

Grammie and Grampa Schille's dog Rascal is a bit weary of Harrison. He gets jealous and apparently if you say "Harrison" around him he gets all worked up. Poor little guy doesn't like not being the baby anymore. Don't worry Rascal-we all still love you. Here is a picture of him


Love,

Mama Panda