2 Month-iversary!

Baby Brady turned 2 months old this past Saturday, September 26th! We celebrated with a few shots, but not the fun kind; Brady got his first immunizations! He was more of a trooper than I because I waited in the hall while Zach held him for the shots. Brady cried out with each poke, but was over it pretty quickly. By the time we were dressing him to go home, he was all smiles again. What a big, strong boy! He was definitely sleepy the rest of the day, but no aches, no fever, nothing. The only signs that he even saw the pediatrician are the 2 crayon Band-Aids at the site of the shots on his little legs. We're still giving him small doses of Infant Tylenol (this kind was not part of the recall) because the doctor said he could show symptoms of a reaction up to 48 hours after the fact, but so far, so good.

As of his 2 Month-iversary, Brady weighs 11 pounds, 14 ounces and is 23 1/4 inches long. That means from his last visit, he's gained almost 2 pounds and grew one full inch! He's definitely growing out of his clothes; I put a pair of PJs with footies on him the other day and wondered why he couldn't straighten out his legs. The thing was way too small! I've had to dig into his 3 month outfits already. At this rate, he'll be sharing pants with his daddy next week :o)

Since the beginning of the school year, we've settled into a really nice routine here at home. Brady is still waking almost every night around 2:30 or 3, but then goes back to sleep until about 6:30 or 7. He's all smiles every morning, so some of the pictures I posted here are ones I snapped the other day around 7 am. He all of a sudden loves to be changed and bathed; a month ago, both of those events elicited screams so loud that the entire neighborhood could hear! In other fun news is the baby carrier. I strap Brady in and he's secured close to my chest without me having to hold him. It's nice because I get a lot done that way and I think he likes it because it's similar to being in the womb feeling all of the movement and hearing all of my sounds. To date, his favorite carrier activity is running the vacuum, which comes in handy having 2 big, hairy dogs. Some things haven't changed, though: he's still fascinated with ceiling fans and lights! He especially likes to look at them while he’s “dancing:” Zach holds him upright and moves him back and forth on the counters and tables and he just loves it! Brady is also still a social butterfly; he loves attention, mostly from his grandparents! Today, we went to Aunt Debbie’s to see my cousin Kenny who is home from Iraq, but heading back in a few months. Unfortunately, Brady slept the entire visit, but at least Kenny and his wife Sam got to see him. And let’s be honest, seeing Brady is enough to fall madly in love with him :o)
An update on the clogged milk ducts and broken breast pump: they’re fixed and so is the pump. Actually, it’s come to pass that the pump was never actually broken. Long story short, in sheer desperation and extreme pain, I went to Babies R Us with the intent to buy whatever part would fix my pump. The saleswoman told me I would have to contact the company to get what I needed, and then laughed and said, “I hope your pump is actually broken and you didn’t just forget to charge your battery pack. So many women do that!” Oops. Needless to say, all is now well with pumping.
We’re in the midst of preparing for Brady’s Baptism, but no one from the church has returned our calls, and we’ve been calling since before he was born. So, we’re faced with quite a dilemma at this point: do we keep trying with our church or do we branch off and find another? Between that and Brady’s first Halloween costume, there are many decisions to be made in the Jankowski household!
Until next time, enjoy the new pics!

Boobs, Sweat, and Tears

I'm pretty excited about this post's creative title, so allow me to address those things first!

If you believe after labor and delivery the pain is over, you are sadly misinformed. Quite the contrary, actually, as the recovery is pretty intense not to mention if you've opted to breast feed, there is always the possibility of engorged, sore breasts with clogged milk ducts (in both breasts at the same time, of course) that all of the painful massage AND your recently broken pump cannot relieve. If you haven't guessed it already, that's my life story right there. I've suffered through a few other clogs in my 7 week endeavor to sustain my child's life via my body, and I do believe I've come to the end of the road. For the past day or so, my pump has lost almost all of its suction--which makes expressing milk next to impossible--and just for kicks, I'm all backed up AGAIN. I've taken this as a sign from above that it's about time to tap into our frozen supply and slowly but surely ween Brady (and me!) off of breast milk. I feel like a quitter to a certain extent, but then again, I'd like to be pain free and healthy, please. It hurts to hold him close and when those little hands of his start flailing, it's all I can do to not toss him out of my arms and hold "my girls" instead! I contacted my doctor and she said that because I have almost 24 hours of this pain behind me, I should invest in a good sports bra (like I didn't buy one of those MONTHS ago!) and just wait it out. Super-dee-duper. And that covers the "boobs" part of the title; on to sweat.

It's been a bit toasty around these parts lately, but that's not what had me sweating this past Sunday. My mom, mother-in-law, and I went to a friend's baby shower and the hostess insisted we bring Brady (because he's so darned cute, obviously!). I didn't think twice about it because it worked out with his feeding schedule and a car ride always puts him in his "car coma." Well, not this time. I think my little man was irritated that he wasn't watching football and instead watching women fawn all over another baby while sipping champagne punch. As a result, he fussed the entire time, forcing all of us to go to great lengths to keep him as quiet as possible. That was a chore in and of itself, and it definitely stressed this new mother out! I didn't want to ruin this girl's day! Luckily, another feeding was in order, and that hushed him for a bit. But then he opted to poop the biggest poop in American (and quite possibly World) history. Through his diaper, onesie, shorts, blanket and onto his leg. By the time we made it to the restroom where I had the good fortune of changing him on a bench made for a mosquito, it had run into his socks as well. This, too, stressed me to the point of perspiration. However, I've learned two very valuable lessons from Brady's Poop-capades 2009: 1. When given the opportunity to socialize with other adults outside of the pediatrician's office, I shall do so sans baby. 2. I have upgraded my diaper bag and it now includes 2 of everything I own. I tried to shove Bella in for good measure, but there just wasn't room.

And now onto the "Tears" portion of my clever title: Brady has them! I'm not sure when his tears came in, but this morning when I went to get him (took me a little longer than usual thanks to my grotesque breast predicament), his little eyeballs were full! Not good that he was on the brink of bawling, but too cute to see those tears just standing there at the brim. He's just so stinkin' adorable--and developing so quickly. He smiles up a storm, laughs (only at my dad thus far...no fair!), reaches for things that catch his eye, and cries real tears. Oh, boy--tomorrow he'll be asking to borrow the car!

Enjoy the most recent pics of our little guy. You'll see he's still sleeping a lot during the day, but he's not too shabby at night either. We usually get about 4-5 consecutive hours out of him. Good baby...when he's not pooping on me in public :o)

Brady's First Labor Day!

The long weekend has come and gone, and with it, Brady's first holiday celebration. He was a social butterfly with all of the picnics and parties we went to. It was a bit hectic, but still nice to see everyone, some for the first time in a long time! On Saturday, we went to Aunt Elaine and Uncle Duane's where Brady met some new friends and Chloe, the dog that never stops barking. But Brady was very good about the annoying little thing; he chose to sleep right through her yapping. At the end of the evening, it got a little chilly outside, so we bundled Brady and he ended up looking like a little thug. There are pictures here of his sideways hat and "do' rag"--pretty entertaining :o)
Sunday was very nice; Uncle Derek and Aunt Kim came to visit and Brady got to hang out with them on the deck. He enjoys the warm weather and blue skies so much--most of the time, that's all it takes to calm him down if he's crying. That is, if he's not wet or hungry! After that visit, we hiked it to the Wexford area where Brady got to see his aunts, Sandy, Jess, and Lisa, again. AND he got to meet some new people like Sandy's parents and sister and in-laws. Everyone was so kind and gave him gifts (my personal favorite: an outfit that says, "My mom is a fox!"; Zach's favorite: a baseball paper weight with Brady's birth info on it!) and wanted to hold him. That worked well for Zach and I because we actually got to sit down and eat and get in a game or two of corn hole. It was a long day and Brady eventually fell asleep in his stroller AND slept the whole way home, so we were worried that he wouldn't sleep through the night. Nope. He was wonderful. He normally wakes up around 2:30 and 5:30, and if I'm not ready to wake up for the day at that point, he'll usually go back down until 7:30 or 8. Have I mentioned that he's wonderful?
Today, Labor Day, we went to my parents' for dinner. Brady just loves Pappy Barone--he always smiles for him. There are some pictures here of their time together on the back porch; you'll see that Brady listens intently to everything Pappy says!
Other pictures in this post are from a great visit with Gram Scalzott and Great Grandma Barb. They were kind enough to visit with Brady (and introduce him to Elmo and Cookie Monster!) so I could get some grad work done--THANK YOU! During the visit, Gram took some awesome pictures AND Brady finally got to meet his Great Uncle Ted and his wife Theresia. What a lucky baby to have so many people care about him :o)
Tomorrow was supposed to be my 6 week check-up (yes, that's right--Brady is six weeks old already!), but my dad has been having so much trouble with his eyes lately that he needs to see a doctor ASAP and I just don't feel comfortable with him driving. My mom has an appointment, so I'm canceling mine to take Pappy Barone. Everyone please say a little prayer for him; this all happened so suddenly that I can't help but worry. Here's hoping it's something simple and is fixed by my next post. Until then, enjoy all of the Brady pics!

Growing Boy!

Brady had his well-baby appointment this past Tuesday and I'm happy to report that all is well! He's gained over 2 pounds (now weighs 10 pounds 6 ounces), grown over 2 inches (is considered "tall" for his age at 22 1/4 inches!), and everything is developing normally. The doctor commented on his good vision and threw a guess out there that his eyes would stay blue. He asked about mine and Zach's parents' eye colors and when he heard that we both carry the recessive gene for blue eyes, he predicted Brady's would stay. We shall see! It's just fun to watch him grow and change, although it's happening a little too quickly for this mommy. He was a trooper, too; normally, he's not a fan of being naked, but he was so quiet and observant during his whole check-up. He didn't fuss once--what a good boy! The next appointment is at the end of the month and those are his shots, so his demeanor may change a bit then. Poor kid :o(

I did learn a valuable lesson while waiting for Brady to be called into his appointment, though. Babies are an attraction for everyone--not just the elderly at Giant Eagle. I had to fend off the toddlers in the waiting room because they all wanted to look, which really meant touch and poke and prod. One mother didn't help me any because she kept allowing her two sons to get close to Brady (who was sound asleep mind you) and yell right in his face! When she told one to back up, he SPIT on my son!!! There was actually spray visible on Brady's little face and his car seat. I was livid. Even though I wanted to crack the kid (and his mother), I just moved Brady (and his car seat!) onto my lap. I figured the next kid that wants to "see the baby" is going to have to get through me first.

Brady has also begun smiling a bit more which is wonderful! Pappy Barone always seems to elicit one; I think Brady likes his deep voice or something. Personally, as a teenager growing up under his roof, I found his voice terrifying! But I'm sure that baby Brady isn't being talked to in the tone that I was; then again, Brady isn't a mouthy 15 year-old either :o) As soon as I can catch him, I'll be sure to get a million photographs of that gummy grin!