11 Months

If someone could tell me where the last almost year of my life has gone that would be great.

How is our sweet, smiley boy 11 months old?!  

I have no idea where the time went but I do know it's been fun and seeing our little nugget grow up and learn is just the best.

I think he is around 20lbs right now and he is wearing 6-9month clothing.

At about 10.5 months LM decided to was time to crawl and he took off and hasn't stopped since.  He is always on the move.  He plays very hard and crashes harder.

 He's now well on his way to figuring out how to pull up.  His mattress has officially been lowered the lowest setting after finding him pulling up in his bed a few times.

He was become a HUGE blanket lover (not in bed of course) but just about everywhere else if he's sleepy he grabs his blankie and shoves his thumb in his mouth (with supervision).  He kneads his blanket in his little fingers as he falls asleep and it is just the cutest.

We adjusted his routine lately and transitioned to one bigger bottle at night and an earlier bed time...so far so good!

He has 6 (!) teeth!!  He got 4 on the top just about all at the same time.  And boy are they sharp!

He has been eating anything and everything we hand to him.  He finally got the grasp of being able to pick food up and he tends to shovel it in his mouth as fast as he can.  He seems to love fruit and yogurt melts and will eat just about any puree we give him.  He also loves cheese, smart boy :)

Earlier this month we traveled to Charlotte to see our friends and it was his longest road trip to date.  I am very happy to report that he did GREAT.  We moved him to his big boy car seat and he seemed to be very comfy and did well the whole way there and back.  He was also so happy there were 2 doggies to follow around.

While in Charlotte he discovered his newest skill...screeching.

It's a new level of sound and I'm pretty sure he's just figuring out his voice but my goodness we got some looks while out to dinner.

He is really picking up on imitating sounds and starting to babble more and more.

He gets sillier and sillier all the time and makes us laugh every day.  He is still pretty stingy with his laughs but we can usually get a couple out of him most days.  What makes him laugh one day does not always work the next. 

He does think fake coughs are SO funny (no idea why) so those are always a winner.

We've been to the pool quite a bit and he loves it and splashes all around in the tub.

We have entered the stage of starting to whine and trying to climb if he wants to be picked up and you happen to not be paying attention.  He still hates waiting for his bottle and food.  Once he's hungry, he is hungry! 

Overall he is very happy camper and every day is a new adventure.  We are loving this stage of life with him!

9 Months

Last weekend we celebrated LM being 9 months old!!

9! How did that happen?

I feel like a lot happens each month but I really feel like the time between 8 and 9 months SO much has happened and SO many firsts.

More and more we are seeing LM's personality shine through.  He is definitely silly like his Papa and has the cutest gummy smile. 

In the past month LM's firsts have included: vacation, sitting up unassisted really well, saying 'dada' (and I think working on saying 'hey'), giving open mouth slobbery kisses, tooth!, swim lessons and swimming at the neighborhood pool, blowing raspberries, ear infection (that he never really showed any signs of!), sucking his thumb, going from sitting to on all fours (on the verge of thinking about crawling).

LM has also had some food adventures lately too! He's tried avocado, banana, frozen peaches, puffs and yogurt melts. He seems to love all purees and takes his afternoon one down like a champ.  We are working on getting more meals in him and introducing some more food all the time!

He loves to shove anything and everything in his mouth and is an expert grabber.  Especially when that involves precisely 3 strands of mamas hair. He's doing well playing with more toys, these are a personal new favorite (truthfully for everyone in our house).  And he's starting to get the hang out of this fun guy now that he can sit up so well!

(always on the move!)

 

We had our 9 month check up and the doctor said he looks great and is doing well developmentally for his adjusted age.  He weighed in at 18lbs 6.5oz and 27.5" long.  

 We are in mostly 6 month size clothes.  Mama has had to pick up some new jammies lately though because he is getting too long for all of his.  Don't fear the dino feet ones have been ordered in all sizes and these monkey's arrived and I am in love.

LM still doesn't really love the time of day between 9 and 9:30 but we are working through it.  Otherwise he is generally a very happy camper.  He lights up when his Papa walks in the room and thinks Floyd is so funny. 

The End of the Milk Maid Journey

I mentioned in my 8 month update on LM that 8 months marked the end of my pumping journey.
And while I've documented most of my journey in some capacity here, I surely could not leave out the end.
I will say, the end and deciding it was the end, was not a decision that I came by lightly, quickly or easily.

Mister and I had a LOT of conversations, tears (just me), prayers and thoughts that went into the decision.  Funnily enough, most of these happened while I was pumping.

From the beginning (and because our feeding journey did not begin or continue as I had thought it would while being pregnant), I said I would continue to pump until I could not stand it. While providing the upmost and best nutrition for LM is our top priority, so is Mama's sanity and quality of life.  I do not and never had anything against formula.  My train of thought was always 'why not give him breast milk as long as I can and when that's no longer an option we make the switch.'  The adage 'fed is best' is forever true and the best thing you can do for your child.

Around 6 months I began to think about when I wanted to stop pumping.  At the beginning I wanted to pump until he was a year but because I started out exclusively pumping 8x a day for months, I began to scale back that time frame as there were days my sanity began to dwindle.
For many, many days and months it was a lot of work.  Work I am VERY happy I did but still work.

Once LM was more mobile, fun and active I felt like I was beginning to miss out on bits of his day and interacting with him.  With his age and the warming weather we were out and about more but that always had to revolve around my pumping schedule and what time of the day it was, where we were going to be, etc.

 Who wouldn't rather hang out with this smiley babe?

At 7 months I decided I would start to scale back and start the process of slowing down and eventually stopping.  I have a post planned on how I actually went through that process.  I found there is not a lot of good information out there on that process and I feel the need to dedicate an entire post to that.
So with that decision Mister and I began a lot of conversations on the pros and cons and what stopping looked like.  I went back and forth approximately a million times on whether to actually stop or not.  What kept ringing in my head was 'why would I stop making this thing that is 100% perfectly made for my sweet baby?'  And I could not get that out of my head.
My mom said 'you've grown that boy from 3lbs 5.6oz and that's incredible.'  Mister kept saying 'we have freezer milk to use, he's had SO much of your milk and you've done so much work, it's really okay.'  Mister was (and is) 100% supportive in all facets and especially pumping.
And while he is my biggest cheerleader, I think he was ready to have his semi sane, not hooked up to a machine wife back ;)
As I've said and documented I was lucky enough to have freezer milk stored up.  While we knew it wouldn't last forever or be enough for him to have freezer milk completely, it did help knowing we had that.

I could probably talk about this for hours but I'll spare you ;)

Fridays with Floyd : Snuggle Buddies

First, Happy 6 MONTHS LM!!!

When tummy time turns into snuggle time...

Then my heart exploded into a million piece of happiness.

Don't worry, both boys were very supervised while catching a quick snooze on their bellies ;)

Weekend Wrap Up : Oh Hello!

Oh look a non centered baby post! I do remember how to write those!
I can't promise this isn't full of baby photos though...

I promise guys I'm trying (and want to!) blog more but our days and evenings are jam packed and snuggles are always calling my name.  I have a whole host of blog posts in my head but finding the time to write them has been tricky.  One I am excited about though is a post about pumping at work...more to come on that!

Friday :  LM's grandma had been at our house visiting and watched him for a few days last week with us.  I think they both really enjoyed it ;)

Friday we got wild and crazy and went to the grocery and then picked up pizza.

We also spent a good 5 minutes swooning over this shirt

Are you guys following Fiona the preemie hippo?! She's here at the Cincinnati Zoo and we are OBSESSED with her!  Clearly we have a soft spot for preemies in our house and add that on top of a baby hippo and I am done for.  Check out the videos on the Zoo's Facebook page, I could watch them for hours.

Saturday : Busy busy day!! 

LM and I did some light reading and watched the snow in the early morning.

I went and FINALLY got my hair cut and highlighted, shamefully I had not been since before LM came home.  Then we had a birthday party for LM's daycare girlfriend. It was his first party and homeboy couldn't hang.   I was bouncing him on my leg and he fell asleep sitting up!  Never mind all the noise going on, he wanted to nap and nap he did.

We really wanted to start Big Little Lies but going to bed at 10 sounded way more fun.

But dying to start it soon! 

Sunday :  We cleaned up the house (LM sleeps through the vacuum and its amazing).

Checked out a home and garden show and then took a stroll around the park with Floyd.

 I promise he smiles

I do my best to get ahead for the week and began prepping dinner and set out mine and LM's clothes for the week.  Every little bit of preparedness helps during those busy week nights.  

Nursery Tour

I've been meaning to get this post up for a while and finally got around to taking pictures last week so here you go! 

Mister and I had so much fun planning and decorating Little Mister's nursery.  It was my goal to have things mostly squared away for our shower in September and clearly it was a good thing we did!

Granted it was obviously a little while before LM came home but knowing that we could focus on him and not trying to paint or something in the evenings after being in the NICU all day was so nice.

Our plan was to have a loose travel/adventure theme in the nursery.  We both love to travel and want to pass that to LM.  The main design is grays and whites with touches of navy thrown in.  I love how clean and crisp everything is.  I'll put a list at the bottom of the post for all the resources!

Huge shoutout to Mister for painting and assembling, to LM's Grammy for making his window treatments and to Floyd for giving up his room to his brother ;)

 We had our 4 month photo shoot the same time :)

The room is actually quite small so we tried to do our best and use it in the most efficient way we could.  I have to say I think we did a pretty good job! 

 

 That hippo is pure MAGIC and everyone needs one.

No that isn't actually Floyd but it looks SO much like him we had to have it.  It is actually the perfect lumbar pillow or to prop under my arm when rocking LM.  

I just love the way everything turned out!!

I'm sure over time things will change (that is life with a designer) but for now we really love it!

Crib: Walmart

Sheets: Target | Love these too 

Rug: TJ Maxx | Similar

Window treatments (made by LM's Grammy): Fabric.com

Window treatments trim (made by LM's Grammy): Amazon 

Light fixture: Amazon

Night stand: Ikea (we painted white)

Glider: Target

Pillow: Boutique | Similar 

Blanket: Target (no longer available)

Humidifier: Buy Buy Baby

Angel Care Monitor: Amazon

Dresser: Ikea

Changing pad: Amazon

Changing pad cover: Amazon

Diaper basket: Target

Globe: TJ Maxx

Nest cam: Amazon

Toy basket: Home Goods

Closet system: Amazon

Hippo: Amazon

Bookshelves: Ikea (we painted white)

'G' (not pictured): Hobby Lobby

Adventure print: Marshalls

Koala print: Etsy

Atlas print: Gift | Similar

Cincinnati print: Etsy

Frames: Target

Hello Handsome: DIY by mama

Fridays with Floyd : Big Brother Role

Lately the second most common question we've been getting (besides how's Little Mister?) is, 'how is Floyd doing?'

And I am happy to report, he's doing well!

It's not secret around here that Floyd has always been #1 top dog (human if you ask him) and we were not sure how he would react once we brought Little Mister home.

In short, he's been great!

Once Little Mister was home we brought home a blanket of his, his hat and when he started wearing clothes in the NICU I would bring his previous days outfit home each evening for Floyd to sniff.  I have no idea if this helped or not but I am thinking maybe it did.

When we came home with Little Mister, I made sure to come in and grab Floyd and we all walked in the house together.  Again, no idea if this helped but I sure think so.

And now that we've been home for a few weeks, he has really fallen into his role of big brother.

I do think he is exceptionally tired because he is not getting his 8+ consecutive hours of sleep during the day but he's adjusting.  And beginning to learn to catch snoozes when he can.

When he's not snoozing, he will follow me in the Little Mister's room and sit right behind me while I change his clothes and diapers.  Or sit at my feet while I feed Little Mister.  Or in my lap while I pump...I would file that one under jealously and taking advantage of a free lap.

There are definitely times when Little Mister cries and Floyd looks at us like 'can you puhhhlease make him stop doing that?'  But overall he tolerates all the new noises very well.  He's only gotten up and gone in another room a time or two.  I think those big ears are coming in handy for blocking out sound.

He walks really well with the stroller and seems to strut a little down the street...'hey guys, did you see? I have a new brother!'

When we come back from doctors appointments and I sit the car seat down, Floyd comes running from his crate and makes sure Little Mister is still in there...and usually gives him a quick lick across the face.  

(I swear I didn't stage this though my heart did burst into a million happy pieces)

Yesterday Little Mister was having a rough reflux-y day and was finally chilling in his bouncer and I walked into the kitchen to make bottles and Floyd hopped down from his nap spot on the back of the sofa and over to the ottoman to stare down and look over Little Mister.  I could be totally making up his intentions in my head but it really seemed like he was watching over him while I was a few steps away and concerned with how upset he had been all day.

And then there are also days when he looks at him like 'oh, I see you are still here...'

Overall he's handling his new role exceptionally!

I think he may even secretly be starting to love him...

Homecoming

These posts may be a little out of order but I needed a little more time to process (and take a million photos) before I was ready to talk about Little Mister coming home.

About a week before Little Mister actually came home they started talking about the process with us.  At that point it was really up to him on when we would be bringing him home.

On top of being healthy, keeping his body temperature up and gaining weight, the main goal for him to come home was to conquer eating which included successfully suck, swallowing and breathing while eating.  The part of the brain that masters this develops between 34-36 weeks gestation so a lot of it was based on his maturity and simply growing.

They wanted (and needed) him to be taking all of his feeds via bottle and/or nursing.  

Starting a few weeks prior, I was nursing him for at least one meal a day and then he was started on bottles as well.  

Little by little the number of bottles a day he took increased.  Eventually he went from taking a few bottles a day and the rest through a feeding tube to us asking him to do 100% of the work.  He would have good days and not so good days were he would tucker out for a few feeds.  The doctors explained it to us that it was like running a marathon one day and then being exhausted the next.  That really helped us understand the whole process.

They then gave him a 'shift minimum' of millimeters they wanted him to take on his own per 12 hour shift.  No matter if it was a little less one feed and a little more the next, as long as he hit that number for 24-48 hours we could be on the path home.

Thankfully I was prepared for this process because of the friendship I had struck up with Preeti. 

(A longer story for another day but Preeti is also a local blogger, whose water broke early and had her sweet little man on the exact same day we did...at the same hospital...SMALL world.)  They were able to go home a few days before us so it was nice to know what milestones Little Mister had to hit once they started talking about discharge.

As anxious as we were to have him home, at the same time, we didn't want him home before he was ready and we had to keep reminding ourselves of that.  

Step by step we (and him) were getting closer.

On Wednesday of the big week, Mister arrived for his visit and they took out his feeding tube.

He sent me this photo:

and I immediately cried because it was the first time I had seen my baby without a tube coming out of his face.  I mean just LOOK at those sweet cheeks.  I kiss them approximately 97 times a day.  

When I was there that same Wednesday they had told me that if Little Mister did well with his next few days of his feeds we could look at going home Friday afternoon.  We were internally jumping out of our skin with excitement but also being cautiously optimistic.  Because it was up to him and his stamina we knew things could change.   

A few days before discharge the hospital does this awesome program called 'rooming in'.  They offer to have the parents stay the night with your baby all on your own.  (The nurses are just a call away and bring the baby's feeds in.)  The experience is to be just as if you are at home, alone, with your baby.  We kept saying if we would have had him in a more normal manner we would have had a night or two alone at the hospital with him and this was an amazing opportunity.

From the moment we had heard about rooming in we knew we wanted to do it so when the time actually came we were SO excited.  We kept talking about having a slumber party with him ;)

So room in we did and it was SO fun.  

We slept about 0% of the night but that was okay.  We were just happy to be with him.  Thankfully that night he did well eating and continued his awesome streak the next day.

That Friday I called to check on him after his morning feed and the doctors had been by and the nurse told me he could GO HOME!  Cue all the happy (for once) tears.  I immediately called Mister and we just could NOT believe it.  Thankfully by time I had talked to the nurse it was time for me to go home from my half day of work because there was no chance of me concentrating after that.

As soon as we could Mister and I headed (with a car seat!! finally!!) to the hospital to collect our little man!!  That time the drive there seemed to take about 4 hours but finally we were there and practically ran into the NICU.  We arrived at his bedside and started packing up his things and cleaning off his board.  I (clearly) had an outfit picked out for him and changed him. 

 (onesie from here)
Then the nurse started taking off his wires and leads, it was such a dream to seem him not connected to any thing.  We were in an overjoyed daze of happiness.

(I think his face says 'are you guys really sending me home with them?!')

We got him all packed up and then LEFT.  

After 42 (very, very long) days we LEFT the NICU with our baby.

It was nothing short of a miracle.

I think I will remember the walk down the hallway and that elevator ride for the rest of my life.

We dreamed and dreamed of the day when we would walk down that hallway carrying a car seat with him in it and it was finally here.  

We then drove home on pins and needles and took Little Mister to meet his puppy dog we had told him so much about.

 I came in the house and grabbed Floyd and we then all walked in the house as a family :)   

We let Floyd sniff on him, he gave him a welcome lick across the face and we settled in.  

And then we had the best Friday night just being at home, all together, as a family.

(this picture melts my heart in 100 pieces)

 

There will NEVER be enough thank yous to express our gratitude to our friends, family, the doctors and nurses that helped us through this journey (and the one we continue to be on).  As hard as it was to leave every single day we knew that Little Mister was in THE best hands.  Every nurse we had was nothing short of amazing and he received the best care that helped him to be on the road to coming home. 

One Week Home

If you are following along on Instagram you know by now that Little Mister is now HOME!

I think that event in itself deserves its own post so that is coming soon.   Plus an update on how Floyd is reacting ;)

For now, we are just excited to bask in the happiness that he has been HOME for a whole week.

While it's been crazy and slightly sleepless, it has been just downright great!   

While being home we have:

done LOTS of snuggling

celebrated Halloween

 tried to figure out Little Mister's schedule (he likes to switch it up every day to keep us on our toes)

went on a few walks

 snuggled some more

slept a little

went to our first doctors appointment

read some books

some of us napped

 tiny laundry

and lots of staring at his cute face

Happy Weekend! 

One Month

The past 4 weeks have been the fastest and slowest of our entire lives.

Clearly this whole experience has been the ultimate surprise but if you would have told us 31 days ago this is where we would be today, I would have laughed in your face.  

The amount of emotions, smiles, tears, fears and whole new world of knowledge we've experienced in the last month has been unreal. 
That being said, we are so happy Little Mister is here and makes us smile multiple times a day.  

I mean, he's super cute so that counts for something ;)

In one month 

-we've gone from pregnant to having a baby

-Little Mister has grown from 3lbs 5.6oz to 5lbs 1oz (!!)

-started nursing

-started taking a bottle

 -learned a WHOLE lot about NICU life and have a whole new appreciation for doctors and nurses

-been showered with immense amounts of love, support, meals and more from our friends than we could have ever imagined

-discovered preemie clothes are not the easiest thing to find (but can be done! post on that soon!)

-learned how to give a bath in a small pink hospital bucket

-learned what all the beeps and boops and noises within the NICU mean

 -enjoying celebrating milestones no matter how big or small

 and much, much MORE

A New Arrival : Part 1

If you follow along with us on social media, you may have noticed that we've had quite the eventful past couple of weeks.

Short story....Little Mister is here!!! (10 weeks early)

Long story...keep reading ;)
I apologize in advance if this is long but I want to make sure I capture all the details that I can recall- especially considering how quickly everything transpired (I apologize if any of this is TMI). 

Thursday September 15th - Mister and I spent the morning at our 30 week appointment.  Everything checked out fine and we were on our way.  The doctor did mention that I was at the point in my pregnancy that if Little Mister really kicked me in the bladder, I may pee my pants.  (I promise this tid bit is important.)  We laughed, said okay and chalked it up to another pregnancy symptom.

Friday September 16th - I had the day off work because I was picking Kait up from the airport, Casey was coming into town as well and our baby shower was the next day.  I spent the morning prepping for house guests and the shower.

That afternoon I headed to the airport to pick Kait up.  On the way home we stopped at Wendy's for a bathroom and Diet Coke break.  I stood up out of my car and (what I thought) peed my pants.  I looked at Kait (and it's a good thing we are besties) and said 'I'm really sorry but I'm peeing my pants.'  We laughed, said okay and went home to change clothes.  I was fully convinced I had peed my pants solely based on what the doctor had said to us.  And also because I was 30 weeks pregnant, it really seemed plausible.  

Later that evening I had some increasing back pain but, again, didn't think too much of it because I was 30 weeks pregnant, I had been on my feet cleaning, running around and working out all day.  

That night the pain kept up and I didn't sleep very well.  That was due in part to the hours I was up googling.  The googling did nothing to ease my mental or physical pain.  Seriously Google access should be revoked from pregnant women.

Saturday September 17th - When we woke up the pain was still there and I had this underlying sense that something just wasn't quite right.  (Keep in mind this was the day of my baby shower...) I laid on the sofa for a while and eventually started watching the clock and could tell the pain was coming in waves about every 10 minutes.  This started to freak me out.  We finally decided to call the on call doctor and just ask some questions.  

I explained to him what was going on and he said 'nothing you are telling me is alarming'.  

Okay, sounds good, Doc!  I must just be pregnant!

Well the pain continued and we made a quick decision to just run to the hospital real quick, get checked out and be back home in time for the shower.  I knew that maybe I would be late for the shower but I would still make it.

Fast forward to about 10am and being checked into triage, getting hooked up to an IV and being checked out.  Now my back pain was getting even worse.  They had the diodes on my belly looking for contractions but were not detecting any.  The doctors finally decided to check me and take some swabs.  Once checked it was determined that I was 1cm dilated.  Not ideal at 30 weeks.  They also determined that I was/had leaked amniotic fluid.   Also, not great at 30 weeks.  Turns out what I thought was peeing my pants was my water breaking.

The first plan of action was to give me a steroid shot to boost Little Mister's lungs in case he were to come early.  The second step was to stop any labor progression that was going on.  The plan for this was that most (very) likely was that I would be transported to a different hospital and would stay there for at least 4 weeks until I was 34 weeks along.  Obviously we would do anything that needed done but this crushed me.  The idea of staying in the hospital that long was terrifying, scary and full of unknowns (plus what would Floyd think?!).  

As time progressed, my back pain continued to get worse and worse.  Mister was timing them and the waves of pain were coming about 7 minutes apart.  This pain was excruciating.  I would not wish it on anyone.

A few hours later, the ambulance was there to transport me.  I've never ridden in ambulance and this was not the most enjoyable first ride.  

I arrived at the second hospital about 3:00pm and was whisked into triage.  At this point I was in so much pain I could barely speak.  The doctors there checked me and I was then 3cm.  They told Mister and I that they would do what they could to stop the labor but there was a good chance that the train was coming down the tracks and we may not be able to stop it.  I was so delirious and in pain I am not even sure that this registered with me.  I just wanted Little Mister safe and for my back pain to go away.
Thankfully within the next little bit I was able to get an epidural.  I was SO excited for my back to stop hurting that the pain and awkwardness of the epidural did not phase me.  About 60 seconds after it was administered I FINALLY had some relief from the back labor.  It was glorious.

The next glorious thing was that a crew of my besties came barreling in the room.  I was SO overjoyed.  I knew they were in town for the shower (which I clearly wasn't making it to/had missed) but I had NO idea they were at the hospital.  

After the day we had already been through, seeing their faces and being able to hug their necks was truly lifesaving.  They even brought me the best gift bag of goodies and treats including my new favorite robe.  

After visiting for a while it was time for me to be checked again.  

At 4:30pm I was checked and I was now 8cm (!!!).  You could say the train was coming down the tracks.  I heard the doctors say his head was really low a few times and they looked at us and said it was go time.  Mister and I looked at each other and said, '9/17/16, we're having a baby!'.  The doctors and pediatrics team fully whisked my room into a delivery room and a warming bed for Little Mister.  

(Side note, I could dedicate a whole post to this but our doctors were BEYOND amazing.)

By 4:50pm it was time to push.  This is where I slightly blacked out but I do remember pushing quite a few times and at 5:09pm Little Mister was here!! 

 To say we were in LOVE, shock, awe, amazement would be the understatement of the of the century.  Up to that point, the whole day had been such a whirlwind, we were in complete shock but our baby was here and healthy.  He was 10 weeks early but he was here and by all accounts, doing quite well.  He APGAR was 9,9 and he came out screaming at 3lbs.56oz and 15.59" long.

We were able to hold him for a few minutes before they took him to the NICU.

After that Mister and I finally had the chance to look at one another and breathe and cry and be even more overjoyed.  

Once the dust settled a little, our families came in and here came my girls AGAIN! Again, I had no idea they were still there along with Kait and Casey.  It was so great to have so many people we loved there with us.  In a way it worked out that our shower was scheduled for the same day because we were able to have so many people around us amidst the absolute craziness.  

I think that's a good stopping point for Part 1.  

Part 2 to follow ;)

Fridays with Floyd : Salty or Sweet

As I've mentioned, Floyd is just about the first question out of our friends mouth once they find out we're expecting. 
It was ours too.
 

I've read plenty of stories about dogs and their intuition and protecting their mamas once they know they are pregnant.

Early on, there were a few times that I knew Floyd could tell something was up.

But more so here lately, his senses are definitely heightened.
It really warms my heart to know that he feels the need to protect me.
To a certain extent ;)

A few occasions lately Mister and I have hugged/kissed and Floyd comes barreling around the corner and barks at us.  I told him we were not starting that habit and to cool his jets.  

'Stay aray from my mama!'

If it is just Floyd and I out on a walk, he has been known to bark and lose his cool if we pass another dog that he normally would have just walked on past. 

'Stay aray from my mama!'

And on the flip side of his multiple personalities, he has actually been really, really sweet lately.

That or his jealously is already building and he is stocking up on snuggles...feel free to weigh in your two cents.

Lately when it is just him and I on weekend mornings, I make (decaf) coffee and sit on the sofa and read.  He has been coming and snuggling with me and laying his head on my stomach.  And then I die of cuteness.

 Last weekend I was in Little Mister's room sitting in our glider and here he came to investigate and then laid down and just snoozed while I was in there.  Precious.

   So it's really a toss up, but I hope we are leaning towards the sweet side.

The #1 Question

Once people find out we are expecting, the first question we immediately get is 

'How is Floyd going to handle this?'

Is it really that obvious had bad we spoil him?!

Don't answer that...

Truth be told, Floyd was one of our very first and most thought out concerns when we were discussing having a child.  

How would he do?

Where would his crate go?

Would he be so mad at us he wouldn't snuggle us anymore?

 

I think it is pretty clear that it has always been us three musketeers and we have been concerned about upsetting the pack in Floyd's eyes.  

Currently he definitely knows something is up.

He knows his room is different and will randomly go in there and just sit and look or lay around.

'I'll miss you Closet...'

And the biggest change is that he knows his crate (house) has been moved.

We relocated him to our bedroom and after a few rough first days, he is actually doing okay in there.

He has never been a fan of change and we knew that we wanted to initiate this change of moving him sooner rather than later.  

We have done quite a bit of research and read books/articles concerning bringing a baby into a home with a dog and they have offered a lot of great advice.

With that being said, we actually think it will go well! (All of our fingers crossed!)

Whenever we have friends with babies over, Floyd usually gives him one good sniff (and sometimes a lick across the face) and then trots off.  He doesn't seem phased by them or overly concerned about them.  He does not love crying and will tilt his head back and forth.

 And so far, he doesn't seem to mind when I hold a baby.

We are really just hoping and praying (seriously I pray about it every day) that the transition goes well and as smooth as possible.

I think armed with the knowledge we've read and advice from friends, things should go pretty smoothly.  We believe that once Floyd realizes the baby isn't leaving he will become used to the idea and hopefully they will be besties in no time ;)  

Some of the things we are going to do to make this transition easier are:

-send home a baby blanket from the hospital before we come home for him to sniff and snuggle

-make him a part of the coming home process

-continue to work on Floyd staying in his 'place' while nursing and/or tending to the baby

-continue to spoil and love on him as much as we do already :)

We know that there will be a lot going on and a lot of change but we want to make things as smooth as can be for all of us in the pack.  

Any advice for us on making this transition smoother would be greatly appreciated!

Fridays with Floyd : Project Manager

Why is that short weeks take the most out of you?

I promise I had a more posts planned for this week but (nesting) life kept happening.

We started cleaning out Floyd's room/closet over the holiday weekend.   This quickly steam rolled into painting and a new closet system. 

So safe to say, this week has been full of nesting type activities and cleaning like a mad lady.

Per usual, Floyd has been ultra helpful.

He's the #1 project manager in our house.
You can see he is VERY strict.

While Floyd is cracking the whip, I am going to go hang up little things on little hangers.