Random thoughts

Tomorrow marks the end of one week on super expensive Nutramigen formula and we really have not noticed a difference. There are some days when I swear Shane is better on it and then there are the other days... I really do not think the crying fits are food related, but we will see what the doctor says tomorrow. Yesterday was an awesome day and Shane was happy and easily calmed by placing him in his sling. The sling seems to be magical, though I have no idea why. Dan and I have tried to replicate the positioning of the sling with our arms and it does not work. He loves to be bunched up and hanging around our necks. The sling is great for hands free movement, but after a few hours, it gets tiring to have an 11 pound (I am guessing he is at least this weight) bowling ball, I mean baby, hanging from your neck. However, I will do anything to calm him down. This morning he woke up cranky and I am guessing that today will not be his finest. It figures, Dan is working with National Board candidates tonight and won't be home until 10 pm so Shane and I will be alone all day. I am planning on taking him out for a car ride to break up the day. I am getting a bit stir crazy as we have not had nice weather this week. I only take him out for walks when the weather is in the mid sixties or higher and that has not happened all week. I was taking him out for errands during the week (no crowds), but now I am a bit worried about Swine Flu and don't want to expose my little man to any unnecessary germs so a long car ride around the neighborhood sounds good. It doesn't hurt that the car puts Shane in a deep sleep. I think I will go for our drive right around his afternoon cranky time.
As usual I have taken many more pictures of Shane. I have been dressing him in all of his warm 0-3 month clothes even if they are huge on him because hopefully the weather will be too warm for fleece soon and I want him to wear everything at least once! However, I put him in a pair of fleece lined jeans yesterday and there is no way he could wear them! They are beyond huge on him so I snapped a picture and pulled them off. When I looked at the picture, I had to laugh. He looks like a hooligan (the nicest word I can think of to describe my little angels look)!!! No, really - he does! He has a tough guy look on his face and giant pants and his hand is positioned like he is holding up his pants - trust me, it is funny! I also took a picture of his cute little feet in doggy pj's because my little baby will not let me put him in puppy feet jammies forever (as the jeans picture made me realize) so I want to remember how sweet he looked in them! He also has started to grab things and seems to like his first puppy toy! Finally, I have included a naked picture because he is just so cute naked!!!!!

Baby Shower!

Shane's shower was Sunday, April 26th. We all had a great time, especially Shane who made his mommy into a liar by behaving like an angel. He was perfect! No hysterical crying fits, very little fussing, and lots of alert looks and semi-smiles (He is just starting to flash his full gummy grin)! In fact, everyone who read the last blog entry commented on the fact that there is no way our baby could have colic. Dan and I have decided that Shane is just bored with us, this house, and our feeble attempts to entertain him. He obviously is a people person who likes lots of different smiling faces. This is a bit annoying now because Dan and I do not have 50 people over every day. However, this fits perfectly with my master plan of Shane becoming the President of the United States one day (a mom has got to dream big!) He loves crowds, likes lots of attention, listens intently to everyone who speaks to him, thrives on exciting situations, and looks adorable doing it! Now, all I need to do is work on his platform (higher pay for teachers, no more war in Iraq, fighting for human rights around the world, IVF insurance for all, marriage rights for all, stop global warming - anyone have anything to add? His brain is like a sponge so we can help him absorb lots of democratic ideals!) On a serious note, it was great to see everyone at the shower! The gifts for Shane were amazing and so generous. We know he will use and love them all! We are so thankful for all of the hard work that went into the planning and execution of the day! Thanks to Geri and Jorie and Kristine for everything they did! We also appreciated the efforts of Grandma Carolyn who arranged for the shower to be held at her clubhouse, helped set everything up, and made a mean punch! We hope that everyone will continue to participate in Shane's life! Please come on over and spend some time with our little politician!

Cranky

Shane has been pretty cranky the past few evenings. The doctor says it may be colic - NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We have tried a new version of his formula that is hypoallergenic and ridiculously expensive ($26.00 or a 3 day supply!) I am only kind of hoping it works because of the cost. We are supposed to try it for a week and then consult the doctor again. He is sleeping OK at night. He sleeps a little over 3 hours at a stretch and that is very doable. However, he can be so upset in the evenings and afternoons. I am hoping he is just a bit fussy and that it decreases as he ages. He will be 7 weeks old on Tuesday!
I have finally been able to start dressing him more during the day. We are still having the problem of his legs not fitting in most of his 0-3 month pants, but he has a few pairs that fit. I am attaching pictures of the cutest baby in the world in real clothing, not sleepers. I was feeling so guilty about leaving him in pajamas all day and night!
Tomorrow is our baby shower! We are so excited to introduce Shane to our family and friends!!!!

Earth Day!

Shane was so excited about Earth Day (he loves the environment like his mommy) that he refused to go to bed last night until 1 a.m. He obviously wanted to welcome in the holiday with his mother, not alone in his crib. I, on the other hand, feel much more festive when I have sleep. I celebrated Earth Day by recycling the same spit-up covered sweat shirt that I have been in for the past three days. Shane celebrated by wearing an adorable hand-me-down from his cousin Liam. We took some adorable pictures of Shane playing with the globe his "aunt" Kristine gave him. He is also starting to really like some of the toys he received from his buddy Connor. I have included pictures of him from today. Truly, I wanted to do something to celebrate Earth Day. Babies are so anti-environment. They require so much stuff and much of it is only used for such a short time. We have tried to take as many hand-me-downs as possible, but still feel like our house has been taken over by stuff. I also wish I had it in me to do cloth diapers, but I just don't. I am sorry Earth! To make up for it, Dan & I plan on raising a very environmentally conscious young man!

Cubs Fan, Crib Man!!!

Yes, Grandpa Bob, that is a Cubs sleeper on Shane! Doesn't he look great in his Cubbie blue? Don't worry, he has White Sox clothing too, just none that will fit him now. We can thank Shane's friend Connor for this hand-me-down! I am partial to how he looks in blue and red though. I'm not sure he is a back and white kind of kid! Just kidding, in this house, we have learned to cheer on the teams from both sides of the city! That should be evident by the picture of Shane being cuddled by his daddy, a former Cub hater. In fact, Dan commented that he looked adorable in his Cubs PJ's! I love my hubby!!!!
In other HUGE news, Shane slept in his crib last night!!!! I was desperate, you see, he had been sleeping in his bassinet until Thursday night when he refused. This was particularly frustrating because Dan was working with National Board candidates on Thursday and did not get home until almost 10 PM. That meant that I had no break and more importantly, no nap. I was counting down the minutes until bed and when Shane refused to leave my arms, I cried. Yes, literally cried. He would only sleep on me. I was up until 4 AM when he finally went in his bassinet until 6 AM. He would not go back in after his 6 AM feeding and I was so tired on Friday. When Friday night came along I told Dan that I wanted us to try the crib. I fell asleep and made Dan promise to wake me after his 10 PM feed so we could try the crib. Dan thought I needed sleep so he stayed up with Shane and let him sleep on his chest. I woke up at midnight, found them on the couch, and went a bit nuts! I was angry that Shane was sleeping on Dan for two hours instead of in his crib or bassinet and that he did not wake me. Dan then placed Shane in the crib and I was sure he would wake right up. He didn't! He stayed asleep until almost 2 AM! Then I fed him until 2:30 and he went back in his crib until 6 AM! Yay, Shane!!!! The best news is that I was able to sleep in my own bed, not on the couch!!!!
The weather here has been wonderful the past few days and Shane and I were able to go on a walk with Thunder on Friday. I will need to get used to walking a dog and a baby! When Thunder pulled me, the stroller would go flying in that direction! We will work out a system soon. Today Dan and I took Shane and Thunder for a walk and that was really nice! We even stopped in the new CVS by our house an discovered that they had our formula on sale for a price cheaper than Target or Walmart! What luck!
Well, wish me luck that the crib success continues tonight!

Easter Part 2

Here are the rest of the photos!

Easter

I know, I am behind on the blog. Life has been crazy here! Shane had his first Easter and he looked so adorable! We had a "My First Easter" Onesie and matching bunny boots for him, but he could not fit into any of his 0-3 month pants so Dan and I went to Babies R Us and had to buy him a pair of newborn pants. Our little man must have short legs - I wonder why???? :-) The outfit looked perfect. Shane goes for his one month check up today. Unfortunately, Shane can only wear PJ's because all of his 0-3 month outfits are too big (at least from the waist down) and his one pair of newborn pants need to be washed. Oh well, he is baby. I wish I could wear PJ's out every day!
OK, on to Easter! We had a great time and a house full of family. Dan's parents, my parents, John, Geri, Danny, Joey, Colleen, Bill, Liam, Jorie, Jorie's Jason, Melissa, and Melissa's Jason. We had a ton of food and Shane was perfect! He even started to hit the toys on his bouncy seat for the first time!!!! Did I ever tell you that my son is brilliant? Well, he is. John and Geri and Colleen and Bill showed up with Easter baskets for Shane. He is so lucky to be so loved! Geri even snapped a picture of Shane in an Easter basket!!! When she sends it to me I will post it!
In other news, Shane slept for 3 straight hours, two times on Tuesday night. I was so excited, but it did not carry over to last night as we were back to two hour sleeps. Oh well, he will grow up and sleep more soon enough! He is already getting so big!
I have so many pictures, that half will need to be in a second post. I am including pictures of Shane with the Easter bunny, Shane and Grandma Carolyn and Grandpa Bob, Shane with Grandma Judy & Grandpa Irwin, Shane with Aunt Geri and Uncle John, Shane with Colleen, Bill & Liam, Shane with Melissa & Jason, Shane with Jorie's Jason,Shane with Joey and Danny, and Shane with his mommy.

Happy Passover!

Shane celebrated his first Passover this week. He was too young to read the four questions, but he was still the star of the sedar! We celebrated at my cousins house and we took lots of pictures! It was the first time Shane met his Great Aunt Joan, cousin Andrea, Cousin Brad, and Cousin Eric. He will need to wait to meet his cousin Alex who was at college. Aunt Joan's good friend Antje was there as well. I have included pictures of Shane with Aunt Joan, Andrea, Antje, his Aunt Jorie, and Grandpa Irwin.
In other news... we will be celebrating Shane's first Easter today and are expecting a house full of family! I will post more later!

Shane is 4 weeks old!!!!!!!

It seems impossible to believe, but our little peanut is 4 weeks old today! Time flies when you are having fun! We celebrated the day by attempting to take Shane's one month pictures. Unfortunately, it is Spring Break and Easter week so many of the studios were full so we decided to head over to Walmart and give them a try. This was not our best decision. The photographer did not seem very experienced with newborns. She kept trying to pose him and position him in crazy ways. Dan tried to explain to her that she needed to just start snapping pictures as soon as we put him down, before he started screaming, but she did not operate like that. We finally got a few good shots that we ordered, but we will be trying again on Thursday. We capped off the busy day by voting in our local township elections where two of our friends are running for office! Go Maureen and John!!! We are anxiously awaiting the results and Shane is crossing all of his fingers and toes for a good democratic victory! Tomorrow Shane will attend his first Passover Sedar and Sunday will be his first Easter!
I am, of course, posting more pictures of Shane. Dan says I/we have taken 500 in his first month!

Spring Break!

Today I am celebrating a Monday morning with Dan at home! Spring break is a wonderful thing! Shane is loving having his daddy at home and so am I!!!!
In Shane news, he slept some in his bassinet last night. I really want him in the best possible sleep environment and that is the bassinet. However, he still does not like it... Who knew this could be so hard!
Shane is starting to be more alert and I feel like he is looking at me and interacting some - that is so exciting! He is such a beautiful baby. I love my little man!!!!!
Our good friend Debbie came to meet Shane on Saturday! It was wonderful to see her and Shane loved meeting Aunt Debbie! She came with gifts for Shane (way too much!!!!) and even had presents from some people from my school! Shane is so lucky to be so loved!
I am including pictures of Debbie and Shane as well as several Shane shots from my daily photo shoots! One is Shane in my favorite newborn outfit (it says Daddy's All Star) which he will probably not fit in much longer!

Happy Anniversary, Dan!

Yes, I know, this is Shane's blog! However, when he looks back over these posts years from now, he should know how much his mommy loved his daddy! Dan and I have been married 5 years today and it has been an amazing 5 years! We have experienced pure joy and the worst type of loss and we are still here! The funeral director who planned Madeleine's burial told us that the loss of a child often leads to the destruction of a marriage. I feel that the trials of our marriage have only brought us closer and made us better parents to our baby Shane! Today I am seriously sleep deprived (We are desperately trying to make the bassinet work at night), but so thankful for my hubby! Dan is the best father and the best dad to Shane! He comes home after a long day at work and always asks about my day. After dinner, he instantly takes over so I can sleep before the long night of attempting to get our little guy to sleep! He is forever patient with Shane and me! I am more in love today than I was 5 years ago!
Here are some more pictures of our little miracle!