My Bunny, My Friend

"Samba the little red bunny is my bestest friend."
"I love to watch him as he goes 'round and 'round."

"Eating my lunch is hard work."

James is fascinated by the little red bunny on his mobile. We have decided to name him Samba. He is very contented to lay there watching Samba, his little head making a circle on the sheet as he follows the bunny in its endless chase. (I think Samba may be running from the gator next to him, but that’s just my theory. It seems logical.)
We've been having a ruff week here. James has been having a lot of tummy problems and its been pretty much decided, after much research on the La Leche League website and help from family, that he is lactose intolerant. I've been avoiding milk for three days now so we hope he'll be feeling better soon. I don't mind cutting out dairy at all, although it is a real hoot going to Starbucks, "Yes, I'd like a tall low-fat, non-dairy, decaf, iced caramel macchiato please." It’s very disheartening to listen to your infant scream for hours not being able to comfort him. He started fussing at about 3:30-4:00 this morning and was still screaming at 7:30-8:00 so I called it the troops. I called Mom and before I even asked her to come help she volunteered and 45 min. later her and Dad knocked on the door. He had stopped crying by then and although he's not completely cured he has had a much better day. Grandpa was more than happy to take him off my hands so I could have a break. After a while James was doing pretty well so Mom and I took him out and ran some errands. Parents are amazing; I don't know what I'd do without them.
James is up now, hungry and making a very dirty bruky for Momma to change.

The Latest News

I love my Fuzzi Bunz
Mommy let me have some kicky time before my new diaper. That's always fun.

Last night we all went for a walk and I stayed nice and taosty.

"Hello everyone."

Yesterday Tim’s Dad was taken to the hospital because of severe back pain. He was given pain meds and muscle relaxers and discharged without a diagnosis. He had been having some pain in his back for a few days and his Chiropractor was helping him, after feeling some what better he started being more active only to find himself in the hospital. He is hoping to go back to his Chiropractor as soon as he can since the hospital was of no help. I just thought I would let everyone know so that you could pray for him.
The day before yesterday I got a breast pump. I was very excited because now I can feed James in the car and leave him at Mom’s should I ever need to. I got to use it twice yesterday and last night I decided to sanitize several of the parts by boiling them on the stove. I filled the pot with water, dropped in the plastic pieces, and “set the timer”. At least I thought I set the timer. Probably a good 45 min. later I heard a little sizzle and realized my little pot was still on the stove. I sent Tim to the kitchen with a dash (I was tending to James). Horror of horrors all the water had boiled out of the pot and all that was left was a big melted mess of toxic waste. I was so upset I started crying, but not to worry I got online and Medela sells replacement parts so all is not lost. I’m quite upset about my pan as well, but my dear husband assures me that he should be able to find some kind of wonder cure to remove the plastic coating my pan now sports. I think from now on I will stick to using the dishwasher for all my sanitizing needs.

Milestones

I am such a happy Mommy. James slept for four and a half hours in a row last night. It may be premature to call it a milestone, maybe it would be more appropriate to call the post "Flukes", but none the less it was very enjoyable. He didn't sleep a lot during the day so he was probably all tired out.
I have to say it feels awesome to sit here in our office/laundry room and post two days in a row. Normalcy seems to be just around the corner.
Tim is enjoying his new job. He is making a few more sales hopefully it keeps increasing. He loves the company so we would love for it to work out. There are lots of fun perks. Because he is selling vacation packages to Branson we get into all of the shows for free and most of the theme parks and museums for a sizable discount. While this doesn't pay the electric bill it is very entertaining. Don't gasp in horror yet we haven’t gone to see any of the tacky music shows that boast of fringed costumes and buck toothed comedians, there are a few other sorts of attractions that we have been enjoying. :)
I must go my laundry and dishes are calling to me.

Three Weeks Old

James is three weeks old today. He is quite a little man. Last week he stayed overnight at Grandma and Grandpa R.'s house for the first time. (Mom and Dad stayed too.) He slept in a dresser drawer, it worked great as a bassinet. Recently he falls asleep, I put him in his crib and about ten min. later he wakes up crying. I have no idea why, he can hardly be spoiled already. He eats constantly, but the little man has been gaining about a lb. a week and is still not chubby so he must need all he can get. I worry constantly that I am ruining him. Its so hard to know what to do...let him cry, hold him, cuddle him...how am I to know what to do. I may be over thinking it a little. I am still amazed at how little I can accomplish in a day besides taking care of him, but I love it. Hopefully things will settle down for a while now and we can establish a flexible routine.
Auntie Kryna left for AU yesterday. Poor James isn't going to know what to do without her. He had so much fun dropping little bombs for her and sleeping on her chest. Hurry back Auntie.
I'm going to get some sleep while my little muncher is supposed to be sleeping. ( note supposed to, he's not slept well today and has been crying the whole time I've been posting. Poor little shaver. It takes all the disipline I have to not melt and go snuggle him. I may anyway, they say you can't spoil a child in the first month. Is it true?)

"Joy to the World and All the Boys and Girls"

The top picture is of me at one week. Below is a picture of Baby Tim. James is in the middle.

There’s been a fair amount of debate on who James looks like. I personally think he looks like both of us so I decided to back up my belief with some solid evidence. I think it’s easier to pick out some of my features in him, but overall he looks very much like Tim. He also has a lot of Tim’s facial expressions.

James is having a fussy day today, not that it’s still that bad, but probably the fussiest he’s been. We have another Dr’s appointment today. I’ll be really glad when that’s over; we had his week check-up last week and two trips to the hospital, now I have one today and James has one tomorrow. It gets tiring. I just am not that fond of medical clinics, although I do love my OB Dr.
Isn’t it funny, I’ve turned into one of those people that talks non-stop about their kid. What else do I have to talk about right now? He takes up a lot of my time. Rest assured though that I don’t think I am the first person to have a baby or get to experience these things. Ok, till next time…

Bad Things Happen to Good Babies

Yesterday as it turns out was not the best day for James or me. Tim had to work and I was to take James to his one week check up. At the check up he was to be circumcised. As you can see the day was already not shaping up so well for James. I made it to the Dr.’s office just in time and only slightly frazzled, a little proud of us because this was James and my first trip out alone. I was slightly uneasy about the procedure, but after it was over (I left the room because I knew I’d cry more than him) he seemed to be only slightly unhappy. The Dr. said everything went well, but that he was quite jaundice so he was sending us directly to the hospital to have his Billiruibin (sp) level screened. Poor James, a nip and now he had to endure needles too. Tim met me at the hospital after my first attempt to breastfeed modestly in public (not an easy task for a new mother, I assure you). By this time I was quite exhausted and after they drew his blood James had had enough. His level was very high but we didn’t have to be admitted, just come back for another screening today which was lower. (YaY!) When we got home from the hospital James and I both crashed, it was later that the real horror came. When we woke up it was time for another diaper change and to remove the bandage. While Tim started to remove the gauze James kicked, hitting Tim’s hand, causing the gauze to jerk off which started a whole new round of bleeding. James howled and I went into hysterics, crying uncontrollably, knowing I was a terrible mother. Very providentially Mom and Dad and Bert and Kryna came shortly after. They were just the support I needed (Tim was doing wonderfully, but sometimes there is power in numbers). I am happy to report we are all doing MUCH better today.

I was meaning to post some pics of the baby room earlier but since I went into labor a few hours after we finished it I never got a chance so here they are. Of course I had to throw one in of Mommy's little Peanut too.

Sweet Baby James

"I'm such a good boy. Last night I slept the whole night in my crib, I only woke up three times. I like to spoil Mommy"

Hey Aaron, I think he was thinking: "We Classics majors are problem solvers". Actually he was probably thinking: "Am I hungry? Hmmm...yeah I think I am."

Life is good at 624 S. Cifford. We are adjusting to our new life quite well. Its amazing how fast things can change. It seems so odd to think that last week this time I was still pregnant. I have the hardest time looking at James thinking "you were in me". On the other hand it's amazing he's almost a week old. He's already growing up too fast. :) Mom has always assured me that with children you always think "it can't get any better than this", but it always does. I love him more every day, I'm sure all you moms and dads know exactly what I'm talking about.

Thanks to all of you. You've all been so wonderful. We love all the comments and e-mails. I'll be catching up slowly. :0) Love to you all.

James Timothy den Hollander

All day Tues. Kryna and I fixed up James’ room, that night Mom came into town and we went out to dinner and got a few things at our Mecca, Wal-Mart. By the time we got back to my house I was absolutely exhausted. Even though I was worn out I had the overwhelming urge to pick up the mess in my house from remodeling (some are sure I was once again nesting). I finally laid down on the couch to wait for Tim to get home from work and low and behold my water broke. Later I found out Mom left my house, looked at Kryna and said “She’s gonna have that kid tonight.” Apparently that old saying “Mom knows best” is really true (I knew this but it continues to amaze me). It was 10:45, Tim’s shift would be over in only 15 min. so I called Mom to see what she thought, then called the hospital to let them know we would be coming and then Tim to alert him of the excellent news(also warning him we had plenty of time and not to get a speeding ticket). We got to the hospital at about 12:15am, contractions were still only about 10 min. apart so we settled in. Mom and Kryna came right away because they knew they wouldn’t be able to sleep anyway. By 6:00am my contractions were still only about 5 min. apart so (get this) my Dr. sent us out for breakfast. Yes, out for breakfast to a café downtown. It was her plan to get me going faster and harder. She’s quite brilliant. We came back to the hospital an hour later and although the contractions were not yet 3 min. apart they were stronger. By 11:00 they were murderous I was dilated to 7 ½ and the nurse never left my side after that. Somewhere between that and when I started pushing at 12:20ish James decided to change positions, he went into the OP position which means he was face up I am told, making my labor twice as hard(once again going on what the Dr. tells me because I’ve never done this before). He was born a little over an hour and a half later at 1:42pm Aug. 30. All this mind you without so much as a Tylenol, while the Dr. was still cleaning James she was telling me how much the baby appreciated not having those meds and I told her the next one might not get to have the same appreciation. She was quick to assure me the next would be much easier. There is absolutely no way I could describe how I felt the first time I saw him, it was the best feeling I’ve felt in life and it just keeps getting better. I have to go for now but I promise to keep updating and adding more info later.

James' first bath, he was not convinced that it was a good idea.

After his bath he was perfectly happy to soak up some rays.

His little ID band said "Male den Hollander" with Mommy's name on it too.

This was one of the first times Grandma got to hold the "Peanut" Auntie K. soon to follow.