Happy!

Well, this morning didn't start out that way...I thought something was really wrong with Kyler after I tried everything (except for feeding--he had JUST eaten an hour earlier) that I could think of to calm him down. I woke up at 6:30 and fed him and then decided that because he was wide awake, I'd take my shower. I got in the shower and then dried my hair afterwards the whole time Kyler sat in the bouncy chair in the bathroom with me wide awake. He did however begin to get fussy just as I finished drying my hair so I took him in the bedroom and laid him down in the cradle. He immediately began to scream his head off and would NOT stop, so I took him to change his diaper since I hadn't changed his diaper after feeding him. It was wet, but not dirty. After changing his diaper, I went and laid him again back in the cradle. Again he screamed his head off so I gave him his pacifier to which hee spit out. So, I tried laying him in bed by Nathan. He didn't want that either and kept screaming, so I figured ok, maybe he is hungry and I tried to feed him again however after just a minute of trying to feed him, his eyes shut and he wasn't really sucking or swallowing like he does when he really is hungry, so I took and put him again in the cradle to which he woke up again and started screaming again. I then told Nathan that I wasn't giving in this time. Kyler was going to lay in the cradle and scream for a few minutes if he had to because he was NOT hungry. He was tired. I am so happy though that I stuck to my instincts because Kyler did a TON better today and even managed to almost make it through the church service as well as take another 2 hour nap at home. I am also happy about the fact that Nathan put Kyler to bed again...I know that this will not be happening for a couple weeks here because Nathan is wrapping up his school work and is going to be extremely busy, but I am very happy that he did manage to calm Kyler down and get him to sleep.

One other thing that makes me happy (and kind of laugh inside) is the fact that I stuck to my guns today with Nathan and him taking care of Kyler. After getting home from church today Kyler woke up and Nathan ran to his care...which was great, but then as soon as Kyler started fussing and Nathan wanted to cook something, Nathan wanted to give me Kyler to which I replied figure it out. I manage to eat one handed, cook one handed, and clean one handed...you can figure it out, you're a pretty smart guy. I wasn't rude in telling Nathan to figure it out which I think helped. He kept holding on to Kyler for another hour beyond when he wanted to hand the little man over to me and then finally he gave the little man to me so that he could go do the rest of his homework and I could feed the little guy. Things will be even MORE awesome once Kyler gets into a little schedule...but I fear this will not happen until I head back to school. I'm going to stop now since I am very sad that I only have 4 more weeks off with my precious little boy. I guess it'll do me some good to get back into a routine though...maybe I'll even be able to make it to the gym a few days....or if not at least on the weekends since Nathan will be done with school then too...well, that's it for now...I'll think of more later I'm sure.

Oh, one final last thing...Nathan did give Kyler his bath tonight. He said he'd help me but then came in the bathroom and did everything all on his own other than getting him dressed when he was all cleaned up. Here's a picture of Kyler getting a bath...he's since learned to like his baths...I think it's cause we've warmed up the water more...

another nap...WHAT!!!!

So we're just waiting for Kyler's daddy to get home...and guess what! Kyler's taking his 2nd (2nd holy cow!!!) nap of the day! I wonder how long this one will last. Those darn little pacifiers have made a world of a difference for the little fella...they help him fall into a deeper sleep and he's so much happier...he's giving me TONS of smiles now when he wakes up and it just melts my heart...posted below is the smile of the little man that I'm talkin about. ENJOY!

Naps...WHAT???

So today Kyler and I set out to a huge mommy sale at Sunshine church (with some other moms from my church) and we started off very good...Kyler had slept well, eaten, had a clean diaper...all was going quite well until he started to get a little fussy at the church. I gave him his pacifier though and it held him over til we got home...so all was not lost. I got home around 10:30 and fed him...boy did he eat! After that, we headed over to the Buists for a playdate. I figured Kyler would last an hour tops before wanting to eat again, but he surprised me...I was telling the other moms that Kyler refuses to take naps lately...and guess what! All of a sudden after he had one more clean diaper put on him, he got fussy so he got his pacifier and he put himself to sleep...mind you it was in my arms, but still he was sleeping for more than 10 minutes at a time! I couldn't believe it. He was still asleep when we got home, but I sort of woke him up to take him out of the carseat and I don't think he had had enough of a nap...so I gave him a little more to eat and he's been sleeping now for the past 2 hours! HOLY COW!!! I feel so much better...this nap in the afternoon since we've been home has allowed me to get some bills and things taken care of and I haven't had to hold Kyler the entire time! YEAH. I think Kyler will be a much happier boy once he wakes up...here's a picture of Kyler all relaxed and ready to fall asleep! ahhh

Routines???

Maybe I'm a little preemptive in posting this, but Kyler is FINALLY starting to settle himself into a little bit of a routine (as am I for that matter!). I am back to waking up at 5am most days which is good. I want to be able to set my alarm and feel confident that I will get up with it feeling refreshed for the new day ahead as well as feeling confident that I will make it out of the house with Kyler in time to drive to Muskegon! Oh I'm dreading it already...but I know that everything will go well...especially since Kyler will be in good hands when I go back to work. My husband will watch him one day a week, I'm hoping my dad will watch him one day a week, and then my grandma and cousin will watch him the other days along with a couple days thrown in with my mom, my mother in law, and my aunt. Oh I cannot wait til summer time when I get to spend more time at home with my little man...at that point he'll be doing the fun stuff (hopefully) like smiling, laughing, and sitting/rolling over! Oh I cannot wait...but I suppose I should cherish each day I have with him right now as my days are quickly coming to a close...I only have 4 weeks and 2 days left of my maternity leave...it's a lot but I know that it will go VERY quickly as we are almost into April right now too...well, I have a few more things to read and answer for my bible study (which I LOVE might I add) before Kyler wakes up...so I'll finish those and then if I get time this afternoon, I'll come back and post a few new pictures...I keep trying to get Kyler to smile for the camera, but as soon as the camera comes out, his smile disappears...I do have a couple smirks though, so we'll see, maybe I'll post those! anyways, that's it for now.

Well, Kyler is now 5 weeks old and my maternity leave is already half over (BOO!!!). He's doing great at over 10 lbs. He also does pretty well sleeping at night. We've worked ourselves into a little routine of eating around 10pm, 2am, and then between 5 and 6am. It all depends on when he falls asleep. I also have been getting some good 3 hour stretches of sleep which is VERY nice. I still am in need of an afternoon nap while Kyler naps, but unfortunately I don't get that most days because Nate is still in school and can't take care of Kyler crying and fussing if I am asleep...but I don't mind. I'm just a little more tired that's all. I'll catch up on the sleep eventually, but for now I just try to eat right and get sleep when I can. Even if it's just 5 minutes, it's better than nothing. I don't really have too much to write today, but I do want to post that Kyler is FINALLY over his cold. No more nasty mucous and no more coughing!!! YEAH. That was miserable as a mom to listen to him breathing and knowing that I couldn't really do anything to get the mucous out for him...but the pediatrician said I was doing great with him that his appetite didn't really drop, he wasn't that much more fussy, his ears looked great, and his newborn screener came back from the hospital as well and she said that that was all normal, which is excellent! Kyler is still gaining weight as well so we're doing wonderful. Now if this dumb weather would cooperate a little more while I'm off with my little man so that I can take him on some walks, I'd be a very happy mommy! I guess that's all for now. Maybe we'll have more later on this week.

Kyler is 1 month old...where did time go?

Well, Kyler made it to 1 month...and he's doing pretty well other than the cold he's still trying to get over...I took a few pictures of him wearing a new outfit...enjoy.

Kyler looks just like his daddy did when he was little (despite what Nathan says!)...and he even acts like him too! Kyler has decided he doesn't like to take naps. He wants to stay awake and watch EVERYTHING! This afternoon he woke up around noon to eat. I fed him and then like usual I went to put him down so I could get myself something to eat, and he would NOT fall asleep...so I took him in the kitchen in his bouncy seat while I got my lunch. He fussed and did NOT want to be sitting in the seat, but I left him for a few minutes while I got my lunch together. After I had my lunch made, I picked him up again and I tried to sing him to sleep as well as rock him and he just did NOT want to fall asleep. I even tried to feed him a little more thinking a little more milk would put him to sleep...but NOPE, this boy is a stubborn one. He doesn't want to miss anything I guess. I'm ok with him staying awake during the day and wanting to be held so that he can watch what's going on, but at night, I am SO tired. I guess maybe I should get into a habit of taking naps when he takes them so I can get caught up on my sleep and stock up on it for over night, but I have so much to do in the house...laundry, dishes, groceries, as well as things for school and paying bills...oh there's so much to do as a mommy...hopefully we'll get caught up with it and have it under control before I have to go back to work...luckily I will only have to work for about 6 weeks before summer vacation. I can't wait!!!

oh NO!!!

Just when I thought everything was working itself out (despite the lack of sleep!) another thing happens. I should have guessed it was coming, but I guess I NEVER would have guessed it would be like this. Last night Nathan had a soccer game for a team he plays on with people from work. Everything was going great--Kyler was there watching (well, rather sleeping) and not making even a peep! The game was almost over when all of a sudden I looked up from staring down at Kyler and noticed Nathan was being carried by 2 teammates...at first we thought he was laughing and the people were just carrying him to be funny, but then as he came over to the side of the field that I was on, I soon realized that it was more than just being funny. He had such a grimace on his face and immediately I thought, uh oh...what now? When Nathan made it outside of the playing area, he said that he rolled his ankle. One of his teammates went and got him a bag of ice while I helped him take off his shoe and sock. He sat on the sidelines with the ice until the game was over. His team/workmates all asked if they could help. Because we are such a stubborn Studer family, Nathan would barely let anyone help him! I wanted to either leave his car at the place and go back for it today or let one of the people he works with (and also lives nearby) drive his car home, but Nathan had other ideas. He had rolled his right ankle (his driving foot!) but said that he would be fine and could drive home with his left foot. Well, I decided to just let him be and he drove home. He did however let me help him a little once we got home. I had Kyler, his diaper bag, Nathan's soccer bag, and my purse in one arm and then I helped Nathan walk with the other to the house. Once we got inside, I helped Nathan get into the shower so that he could clean up while Kyler slept in the carseat in the bathroom to help more with his cold. After Nathan got out of the shower I made him some tea, got him an ice pack, elevated his foot, and got him some motrin. I ended up making it through the night somehow (nursing Kyler and all!!!) and made it through to this morning when I got up, fed Kyler, made Nate breakfast, got him another ice pack, more motrin, washed the dishes, ate a banana, and even managed to feed the cats and clean their litter boxes. I keep wondering how on earth I'm going to make it when I go back to school with nursing Kyler and if he gets up every 2 hours at night (since the past few days I have been completely exhausted!) but then I think, thank you LORD for giving me the stamina when I've needed it most. Thank you for allowing me to provide for both of my boys and thank you for giving me the health and strength to be able to do so! God is so amazing isn't he? Well, Nathan is up, Kyler is waking up, so I better sign off. Wish me luck as I try to make it through the day!

Poor Kyler

Well, it's been 3 weeks and my baby got his first cold. Thank goodness it's nothing more than a cold...but it's still miserable seeing him have to deal with the crud in the nose! It all started on Wednesday night. Kyler started breathing a little differently than normal, so I took him to change his diaper and tried sucking out his nose with the nasal aspirator. To my surprise he had a big glob of yellow gunk stuck in there. Over the next day and a half I watched his symptoms and talked with my mom and mother in law (since they are both in the medical field) and they said to watch his temp. He didn't have any temperature whatsoever so I figured nothing of it...however Saturday afternoon he started a cough which later led to some wheezing (or what my mom and I thought was wheezing!). I ended up calling our pediatrician's office and they paged the doctor that was on call (Dr. Kort--who also seemed very nice!) and she told us to take Kyler in to the GRAPES clinic (which stands for Grand Rapids Area Pediatric Evening Services) because she thought his symptoms sounded like some infection in his bronchioles which she had seen in the office a lot lately and she said better be safe than sorry...so around 7:30pm on Saturday night, we took Kyler to the clinic and a Dr. Sarver checked him out. First Kyler had his temp taken (98.6--normal!) and then he was weighed (8lbs. 11oz.--still gaining weight--GOOD!) then Dr. Sarver looked in Kyler's ears and said they looked good, and then he checked out his nose and throat. Dr. Sarver said looks to me like a normal cold...then he asked about the wheezing that my mom and I had heard. I tried to explain it like a wheeze that I sometimes experience when I have my asthma triggered, but it was kind of difficult to explain. I said Kyler was by no means gasping for air as far as I could tell and so then Dr. Sarver told us we had a kid with a cold and some things we could keep doing to try and help Kyler breathe a little better--saline drops in the nose and then using the nasal aspirator (both of which we were already doing!)--and then if we noticed Kyler developing the wheeze and it was like he was gasping for air to definitely call back or bring him back in to be checked out. What a relief to find out all this was just a silly little cold, but still miserable to hear the poor thing breathe since he still trys to breathe through his nose even though it's quite clogged!

On a brighter note, I took a picture to give my mom for St. Patrick's day to have on her desk since she had made a comment that she wanted a new picture for each month of the year to put in some calendar she had gotten...so on Friday morning I dressed Kyler in his St. Patrick's day outfit and we took a picture for all of Kyler's grandparents. Here he is all ready to celebrate mommy's favorite holiday!!!