We survived Ike!

Chillin in his cousin Lana's swing
Cute bear outfit
Ready for sailing
Enough of the overalls already, mom!
Talking to Grandma on the phone

We made it through the hurricane okay; just a little water damage in one corner of the living room; the roof looks okay but the adjuster will be here on Saturday to check it out. The most difficult part was not having any electricity from the 13th until the 22nd. Changing diapers and making bottles by flashlight was NOT fun.



Hope everyone enjoys the recent pictures of Eli. I've been putting him in his cute outfits before he gets too big for them! He was 10lb 9oz at the doctor's offlice last week!

Pictures for Daddy

Cute Baby Feet!

Eli sure does miss his daddy... He's being all cute and smiling these days.

9lbs 8.5oz

He has definitely gained some weight! I don't think we have to worry about him not eating good now! He's napping again, so I think I'll see if I can't do the same!

It's 6:30am....

and Eli has been asleep since around 10pm last night... WOW! I know that baby lotion said it would help babies sleep, but they must have put some Benedryl in it or something! We did have a very rough day yesterday and he didn't sleep nearly as much as he usually does. Maybe he was just worn out from being a fussy boy all day, who knows? I wish I had been able to sleep that long too, but I had to get up twice to pump out milk and had trouble going back to sleep wondering if he was okay. I made Jason go check on him as soon as his alarm went off this morning; I was just too afraid to. I thought for sure something bad had happened with him being quiet that long. He's stirred a couple of times since I've been awake, but just for a few seconds. I don't know if I should wake him or just enjoy the peace and calm. He does have to be at the doctor by 10, so I have already managed to eat breakfast and shower before he does decide to wake up. I figure it will be another day of him being up most of the time. It was very frustrating for me yesterday and I sure hope today goes much better.

One Month...

Wow... Where did the first month go already? It seems like yesterday that we were going every week to the doctor, waiting on those 9 months to be over. It has been a very trying month, but we all survived. I wish people were more open and honest about how difficult breastfeeding really is, or how rough those first few weeks at home really are. I have struggled with the knowledge that I'll never be able to exclusively feed Eli myself, but I've slowly accepted it and am trying to give him as much breast milk as I can produce. I have finally stopped stressing over it so much and realize I can only do what my body will allow. I have to be thankful that we were even able to have a child without going through a lot of medical procedures; I will always owe Weight Watchers that much!

I've never felt so helpless and incompetent in my whole life, nor have I experienced so many mood swings! I hope my emotions are starting to become more stable, but I still find myself crying for no reason sometimes. I have had *THE* best support system anyone could ever hope for though. My mom stayed with me for 3 weeks and was constantly doing things in the house or watching Eli so I could rest. Jason has been the best dad EVER and I have fallen even more in love with him now that I've watched him with our son. Eli is a very good baby and I can't complain about him at all. He slept for 5 hours straight last night!

All in all, things are going great now. Jason is working a couple of extra days this week and will be going to Cleveland next week. I do get overwhelmed when I'm alone for extended periods of time, so these next 2 weeks will be a HUGE challenge. I know I'll either be worn out from trying to do too much, or the house will be a wreck!