sleep

So, I am a 1st time mommy...and my mind is full of questions about my son and the way I'm doing things all throughout the day.  Yesterday was filled with questions about why my son would not sleep.  I was up and down with him beginning at 2am until 8am (when he then slept for 2hrs  in my bed after feeding).  Honestly, the entire day he did not sleep more than 30minute stretches, and most of the time it wasn't even that long.  Every time he was layed down in his bed, he would wake up.  So, the question running through my mind is, "what have I done to cause this?"  I wanted him to sleep so badly...not just because I was tired, but because I knew his 6week old little body needed the sleep.  Lately, I must confess, that during the late night/middle of the night feedings I have been so tired that I allow him to fall asleep on my chest for a bit before getting up and putting him back in his bed.  Has this started a bad habit of him not wanting to sleep on his back in his bed?  (His bed is still the bassinet beside our bed)  I also haven't been as rigid on every 3hr feeding, sometimes it's 3, sometimes it's 2.5, sometimes 2 hours apart.  Have I thrown off his little "schedule?"  Is it even possible for a 6week old to have a schedule?

Well after a long day of very little sleep, the little guy did it.  He slept for 6hrs!  But does this count when his daddy put him in his car seat and walked him around the house in it  to get him to sleep, and then we put the car seat in his bassinet?!  Haha!  *note:  this is the 1st time we have ever done that, but desperate times call for desperate measures*  Are we bad parents?  I thought...is this bad for my son to sleep in his car seat? It was positioned in the bassinet to where he was laying back, not sitting straight up, just in case you were wondering (or worrying).

Today is a new day!  We'll see how it goes...
I got a picture of his sleepy smile with my cell phone yesterday...

5 weeks old

So we had our 2nd check up with the pediatrician yesterday (whom we love!) 
Triston weighed in at 10lbs 7oz and is 21in long.  Dr. Hayek said he's the typical breast fed baby...short and chubby.  Things are going well!  The past two nights he's actually given me (and himself) a 4hr stretch of sleep...very exciting!  He's currently napping so I thought I'd put up a few pictures from the last 5 weeks.

On the way home from the hospital

1st time meeting his cousins Nathanael and Rachael

1st time finding his thumb...at his 1st pediatrician's visit

Just had his 1st bath

Daddy changing diapers

proud grandma!

sitting with his wonderful great grandma

cuddled up with granny Lynn

T D R

Triston David Raisch

Born 2/28/2011

6lbs15oz  21in long

Our little man arrived safe and sound.  We are truly blessed.  Even though he was only 5 days ahead of schedule, both Devon and I were surprised about his arrival.  I was convinced that I was going to be one of those "over due" 1st time pregnant women.  But God had perfect timing.  And now, we are almost 2 weeks into his life out here with us.  Things have been going well, and we have nothing to complain about.  I think we're the typical sleep deprived parents of a new born...on top of that add 1st time parent questions going on in our (my) head all the time.  Is he okay?  Is he gaining weight?  Should he be sleeping now?  Are his nights and days mixed up?  etc.   I am truly truly blessed with my husband.  He's wonderful.  And...He was able to get 3weeks off work!  So, we still have one more week at home together as a family before the reality of work hits.  (Thank you Devon, for being so wonderful and patient with your emotional wife!)

 I've loved noticing Triston's little nuances and thought I'd share a few with you.

1. I love how he smiles when he's falling asleep.  I thought this was just a coincidence, but he does it for us faithfully.  His eyes closed, drifting into his sleep breathing, and then a big smile comes on his face.  It's precious.    I think he's gonna have beautiful smile like his daddy...and maybe even one of his cute dimples!

2. His stretch is priceless.  He throws his head back, arches his back, scrunches his face up, and raises his arms above his head.  I can't get enough of it.

3. He loves to sleep with his arms above his head.  Somehow, all swaddled up, he gets those arms free and gets them up there by his head

I'm sure this blog will be turning somewhat into a mommy blog of sorts.  Thanks for making the transition with me :-)    We've been taking pictures!  So I promise to post some of those soon.  For now, the one above is him only a few hours old.  Now, I'm off to get ready for the day while both my boys are resting...

snow day

Well today is a snow day!  It is truly beautiful outside.  We woke up to probably about 2 inches and they're calling for 3-7 more today and 1-3 more through the night.  Tomorrow might be another snow day for me!  Since I drive an hour to and from work, and some of it on a pretty mountaneous road, snowy days are tricky as far as deciding do I go or do I not.  I don't have any paid time off, so that explains my ponderings.  But, sometimes the stress just isn't worth it.  Plus, patients don't come out on days like this anyway, so I'd drive just to sit and wait for a patient to show knowing that I had to turn around and make the drive back down to Shelby.  OKAY!  So enough about snow day thoughts running around in my head, huh.  Below is a picture I just snapped with my cell phone of the snow out our front window.

This past weekend my twin sister, Annie, and my best friend, Heather threw a baby shower for Devon and me.  They totaly out did themselves.  It was a great group of people and a very cozy environment.  Thank you so much Annie & Heather for doing that for us!  I only have a couple cell phone pictures from the shower right now, as I'm TERRIBLE at taking pictures.  I actually forgot to even bring my camera.  My wonderful in-laws took lots of pictures, so I think I may be able to share some of those with you soon.  Below is the GREAT airplane diaper cake Heather and her husband Jon put together for the shower.  We're gonna try and save the airplane portion.  Isn't it cute!!!

And this is a picture of Annie and me enjoying some good chat time with Heather's family towards the end of the shower.  Thanks Jacqui for texting this to me!

One of my projects for this snow day is to start organzing the baby's room :-)  We're beginning to have things that we'll need for when he comes home.  yay!  Happy snowy Monday to everyone :-)

Christmas

Hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!!!  This was a picture Devon and I took with my cell phone on Christmas morning and texted to our families to say Merry Christmas :-)

We had a truly wonderful few days of Christmas together.  We had several things planned, but the weather kept us from doing 2 out of the 3.  We were able to do our "annual traditional snack supper" with Annie, Robbie, Nathanael, Rachael, Thom, Jacqui, and Julia.  We didn't get a picture of the great spread or great group of people this year...we'll have to be better about that in years to come.  Annie and I decided to make this an annual event to keep the Kelly tradition alive.  Christmas Eve dinner consists of snacks...the most important being the cheese & sausage sent to us from Wisconsin :-)  That is what all of us Kelly's think of when it comes to Christmas Eve dinner...Wisconsin cheese & sausage!

Christmas and the day after were full of Devon and me time!  It was wonderful.  We were suppose to go to Devon's parent's house for Christmas dinner and a movie and then go to my best friend's parent's house for Sunday breakfast...but the snow kept both of these events from happening.  Devon and I did little productive around the house...we just enjoyed each other company, watched some movies, played a couple games, napped, and ate too much food :-)  It is hard getting back into reality after 3 leisurely days like this.  We are both very very thankful for the rest and relaxation!  Especially before our baby boy arrives...in approximately 10weeks! 

Up Early

Well, I'm up early due to achy hips.  Whew.  The good news is, it's usually not this bad in the mornings.  If it were, I don't think I'd ever have a problem getting up on time to get ready for work :-)  I knew I would end up waking Devon up with all my tossing and turning and moving to try and get the achyness to stop, so I decided to go ahead and get up.  It's actually kinda nice getting up early when it's not cause you have to immediately get ready for work.  I've gotten all our Christmas gifts and cards ready for people Devon works closely with, my co-workers, and our neighbors all done and ready to deliver.  This year for Devon's people we're giving them hot chocolate in these cute little tins that I picked up at Michael's and Hobby Lobby.  Our neighbors are getting this same thing :-)  and my co-workers are getting little homemade soaps I picked up a couple months ago during a girls weekend trip to Roanoke, VA.  I really do think it's neat to be able to do a small something for people like this in your everyday life.

Now, I'm sitting here with a fully belly and a hot cup of tea enjoying the Christmas lights while I write this.  Thank you Lord for small treats like this.

I can't believe it's the week of Christmas already.  Where did 2010 go???  It's scary how fast a year can go!  My best friend ,Heather, and I were talking the other day about how long we have known each other and how long ago we graduated from college.  We essentially said it does not make sense!  I mean, we can remember what we have done since the 11 1/2 years ago we graduated from college...but it still just doesn't make sense that that much time has passed.  I still feel like college was a year ago...and that I'm still in my early 20s!  Of course I wouldn't change anything, but it still doesn't make sense.

On another note, Devon and I had our all day birthing class yesterday at the hospital.  We left with a "certificate" of sorts.  I guess we're "ready" to have a baby and then take it home with us...eek!  11 more weeks until the little guys due date.  Again, time is flying by.  Lots to get done before he gets here.  But I don't think we'll ever feel completely "ready."  It's gonna make us rely on the Lord all the more.  Exciting, scary, unbelievable, humbling, responsibility, joy, awe...just some of the emotions that go through this hormone fluxing pregnant woman as the days pass by.

Thank you for reading this definite rambling post!  Blessings on your week of Christmas!  May you truly see God in the details of your days.

a few pics of "the bump"

I'm finally doing what I've mentioned a couple times now...posting a couple pics of the growing baby "bump."  I really don't think you can call it a bump anymore, ha ha!

Overall things are going wonderfully with the pregnancy.  We're 28wks along...so we'll get to meet our little man in 12 weeks!  I'm starting to think about all the things we need to get done before then!

Enjoy the pictures.  They are self taken with my cell phone :-)  If you're wondering about the background...I've taken these while at work.  It gets really slow sometimes while I'm at this office, and since I don't have an actual office or computer or anything, I have to fill my time with something while waiting on patients.  (Don't worry, most of the time I keep plenty busy between the two offices!)

"bump" at 6 months

"bump" at 7 months