Peedie

My sister is moving to Puerto Rico... this Saturday!! :( She is moving down there because... well, because she can. While it pains me to say it... I think it's pretty cool. We've got our fingers crossed that she will start up her own blog so that we can follow her journey. She's an incredible photographer (she's the one that's taken all of the awesome pictures of Cole) so we hope she'll post some photos as well.
Have fun, Peedie!! We'll miss you big time!!

Loss

I have been staring at the computer for about 20 minutes trying to figure out what to write here. I guess I will just start at the beginning.
About 2 weeks after Cole was born, I was checking an old email account that I rarely check. I saw an email from my high school alumni association with a name I recognized in the subject line. I opened the email and read that one of my closest friends in high school had passed away a few days before Cole was born. Her wake was the day after he was born and her funeral was the day we came home from the hospital. I read this, stunned. I closed the email and walked slowly to the couch to sit next to Wyatt. He took one look at me and immediately sat up straighter and said, “What’s wrong?” I said, “I just found out that a good friend of mine passed away.” He nodded sadly and said, “Rachel.” I could not figure out how he knew about Rachel to begin with, let alone that she had died. He hugged me tight as he explained that my very best friend from High School (we’ll call her “M” since she might not want to be plastered all over my blog) called my mom the day Cole was born to tell her about Rachel. The 3 of us were inseparable in High School – we were the 3 musketeers I guess you could say. Anyway, M called my mom to tell her because she knew that I was in the hospital and she didn’t want to darken that special day. My mom pulled Wyatt aside as they were wheeling me into the recovery room and together they decided to hold off on telling me. What an incredible family I have. They know me so well and knew that I would have truly struggled with morning Rachel’s death while celebrating Cole’s birth. It would have been too much. Also, what an amazing friend I have in M – to be so aware of what was going on in my life. I have to say that once we went off to college Rachel, M, and I grew apart. I was not a great friend to either one of them and I will truly regret not keeping in better contact with Rachel. M and I were talking the other day and while we are heartbroken that Rachel is gone, we are grateful for the times we shared with her, the laughs, the tears, the stories, the memories – and now we are thankful for her again for reminding us to love and cherish those that are important to us… even if it has been too long since we’ve spoken.
Be at peace, Rachel… and thank you.

NABLOPOMO

You are probably asking yourself, "What in the world does NABLOPOMO mean?" You are also probably asking yourself, "What has gotten into Catron with all of these blog posts?" Well, one thing answers both questions:












Basically, the goal is to post something everyday in the month of November. I got a bit of a late start so I may have cheated a little... but I'm going to give it my best shot. I negleted the blog so much after Cole got here - I owe it some attention.
Enjoy!!

A big first!

Tonight was Cole’s first night away from us. My dear friends Ashley and Jeremy got married… in Charleston, SC! I debated whether or not to bring Cole and finally decided that it would be a really good thing for Wyatt and I to get out of the house and just have some us time. We dropped Cole off with my parents in the morning and then hit the road for the 4 hour drive to Charleston. The ride down there was so fun – just honest to goodness one-on-one time. I hadn’t realized how much I had missed that. The wedding was at the Doubletree Hotel in downtown Charleston and it was beautiful. All of the events were at the hotel so once we checked in; we didn’t have to go anywhere else. We walked around for a little bit, hit up the grocery store, and then went back to prepare for the wedding. The ceremony was totally their style, complete with 95% of the guests drinking beer during the ceremony! The reception was a blast and Wyatt and I tore up the dance floor. Cole spent the day with my family at my Great Uncle John’s Celebration of Life. Mom said he was a perfect baby and that everyone loved meeting him. I hate that we missed the Celebration of Life but I’m thankful that Cole was there to represent for us. We definitely missed him like crazy, but it was a very much needed moment for the two of us. Congrats Ashley & Jeremy!!

YAY!! I made it!

I made it through my first week back at work. It went by faster than I expected. I am so thankful to be off on Fridays though. My husband is the greatest ever for agreeing to work with me on this new schedule (and resulting pay cut) so that I can have 3 days off with my little man.

Kinda yucky...

I went to the dermatologist about a week ago for my yearly checkup. I had a freckle on my stomach that had started to look kinda funny – especially after all the stretching my belly endured baking Cole. I showed the doc and she agreed that it looked funny and decided to take it off for testing. I left the office and thought nothing of it again until yesterday when I got a call saying that it was an abnormal mole with abnormal cells that needed to be removed and I could have it done in the office or have a plastic surgeon do it. (Read that run-on sentence really fast and it’ll sound the way it did in my head.) I didn’t hear much more of the conversation because all I could think about was when my sister was 14 they found a spot on her shoulder and it ended up being melanoma. That and the whole plastic surgeon thing… how big a hunk were they talking? Was I going to have to track down Dr. McSteamy so that I wouldn’t have a gaping hole in my stomach? I survived the birth of a child with no holes in my stomach but give me a little freckle and BAM, holey stomach, batman. After a bit of a frantic laugh fest about Dr. McSteamy and batman I went into the freak-out mode. Thankfully it was close enough to the lunch hour that I could go to my mom’s house (where Cole was) and talk to my mom & Phoebe about it while holding my baby tight. If Wyatt & my daddy had been there too it would have been the most comforting place in the entire world. Mom, Phoebe, and Cole were great though. They talked me off the worse-case-scenario ledge and I was able to call the doctor back to get more details. Turns out – on a scale of 1-5 with 1 being the best and 5 being the worst (i.e. melanoma), my spot was about a 3.5 meaning it was not technically cancer. Thank you, Lord! It still has to come out and that will take place on November 30th. I will have the surgery at the dermatologist’s office – apparently the Dr. McSteamys of the world don’t take out as much “stuff” around the bad spot as dermatologists do. I figure, if you are going in there to test the margins then make sure you get enough margins to know we are in the clear. What’s the point of a small plastic surgeon inspired scar if they don’t take out enough and we just have to do it again. No thanks. Plus, I saw the plastic surgeon and he is no Dr. McSteamy. Damn.Fingers crossed for a clean bill of health and nothing but a belly hole come Nov. 30th.

Wordless Wednesday

Favorite Things/Must Haves!

Opinions are like bellybuttons - everyone has one. That being said, here are the things that (in my opinion) have been great for us these past 3 months. I realize that each baby and each family is different so what worked for me might send your child into the demon spawn screaming fit that we all try to avoid. However, since my belly button is still in recovery, I am sharing my opinion.

Nursing Tanks - I pretty much live in these!
Swaddleme’s - I was hesitant at first - Cole is a big fan of his hands. I tried it one night and he slept straight through for almost 12 hours. He has been swaddled and sleeping ever since!
Dr. Brown’s bottles - These are the best! We have had no problems with gas or colic. They are a bit of a pain to clean because of all the parts but its worth it.
A good pump - It's a must if you have trouble BFing in the beginning like we did. It's also a must if you plan on still providing breast milk after going back to work. If you're going to be using it as often as I use mine, make sure you get a good one. I've got the Ameda Purely Yours Deluxe and it's great!
Dishwasher baskets - for those nights when I just don't have the energy to wash all of the bottles
Microwave steam bags - love them! For those nights when running the dishwasher is not an option.
Fisher Price My Little Lamb Cradle n Swing - Cole loves this thing! He naps in it and is perfectly content to play or just chill in it. There is a mirror on the mobile part and he thinks the baby in that mirror is hysterical!
Baby Legs! - there is more to come on this new and wonderful find
Receiving blankets - you just can't have enough. I use them to swaddle, as blankets, as spit rags, as a spare cape when I'm playing supermom, as sun shields & rain guards... they are wonderful.
Avent pacifiers - Cole did not like the Soothies - they covered his whole face and kept hitting his nose - not a fan. The Avent pacifiers seemed to be the only ones he could keep in his mouth.

So there you have it. I'm sure there are things that I have forgotten but what's new!

First day back...

Well, it’s here… my first day back to work. It has helped that it’s at the beginning of the month because as long as it was October, November seemed like a ways off. But now we are here and I am slightly heartbroken. I know that I need to go back to work for Cole and for Wyatt and for myself – we wouldn’t be able to manage if I didn’t go back… I still don’t want to though. I feel as comfortable with his daycare plan as a mother can feel – he will be with Wyatt or Wyatt’s mom on Mondays (depending on Wyatt’s schedule), Daycare on Tuesdays & Thursdays, with my mom on Wednesdays, and then home with me on Fridays. He’s not actually starting daycare for another 2 weeks – he’ll be home hanging with his daddy those days. I have just grown so accustom to being the one to give him food when he’s hungry, giggles when he’s funny, hugs and kisses when he’s precious, and all the love I have when he’s upset. In my head I know that Wyatt, my family, his family, and the daycare are all perfectly capable and willing to give him all of these things… it’s just the convincing my heart that is the hard part. My heart thinks that he’s going to cry and wonder where his mommy is because she’s supposed to fix everything. I know this sounds super selfish and conceited - like I am the only one able to provide for him. I think it’s just a natural feeling for a mom leaving her baby for the first time.
Now, having completed my first day, I can say that it was not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I dropped Cole off at my mom’s this morning and he hung out with his Aunt Peedie until lunchtime. I was able to swing by at lunch to feed him and love on him. Wyatt got there around the same time and took him home for the rest of the day. It was a great thing for Cole to be able to spend some time with Wyatt alone. When I’m home it’s just too easy for me to grab him up when he cries rather than let Wyatt work it out. This has been a learning experience for all 3 of us. Wyatt is an amazing father and his son truly loves him. It’s a joy to see.

Delicious Cookie Dough

No words needed.