I can’t believe it…(pardon the long post)

My munchkin is four months old. I can’t believe Nathaniel is that old already. The last sixteen weeks, particularly since I have been back to work, have really been a blur. Over the last eight weeks, he really has become a little man and is making great strides developmentally. It really is amazing all that he can do now. He grasps at things with his hands, can “accidentally” transfer things from one hand to the other, puts things into his mouth, sits up well with support and lifts his head when laying on his tummy. His legs are also very strong and when on his stomach he can lift up his bottom and almost scoots his face across the floor. He gets kind of frustrated that his back end is ready to go, but his front end just isn’t quite strong enough. It really has been fun to watch him grow. The only bad developmental issue that I think we are running into now is that I am pretty sure that his teeth are starting to bud. A lot of people think I am crazy when I say that, but in the last ten days, the volume of drool he produces has multiplied a hundred fold and he chews on anything he can get in his mouth. In addition he is definitely less smiley and giggly than he was a week ago due to the discomfort. We will find out what the pediatrician thinks on April 8 when we go for his four month appointment. And as you look at the following pictures, yes he is a chunker. Last I weighed him he was a little over 17 pounds. I love all his rolls:)

Here he is “watching TV” in his crib

And here he is sleeping.

Her he is with Opa wearing the Hershey Park hat he got for easter.

And lifting his head…

Unfortunately, in other areas, it has been a bad week for me. Right before heading back to work, I started to have really bad insomnia and developed mild anxiety symptoms similar to what I had experienced when I was in college. I figured it was just nerves regarding leaving Nathaniel in day care and heading back to work after three months, but things haven’t gotten better over the last month. Despite the lack of improvement, I kept telling myself I could handle it on my own. When Allen and I decided to try to get pregnant, I was so proud that I was finally able to stop taking the teeny tiny dose of anxiety meds I had been taking since then end of college. After Nathaniel was born I knew that I would be a little more susceptible to postpartum depression/anxiety than your average new mommy, but I was determined to do it on my own. On Thursday the anxiety got to be so paralyzing and physically painful I gave in and headed out to the doctor. It was just too much to not sleep and have the discomfort of having my muscles sit in a tensed position all day. Three days of a teeny dose of anti-anxiety meds later, I am worrying less about stupid stuff and I can finally feel my muscles relax a bit. Typing this at the end of the day is a bit uncomfortable, but it is better than where I was a few days ago. I was totally spent after a day at work and the little energy I had left of course went to caring for and playing with my munchkin. Today was the first time in a while that I had the physical energy to stitch. I pulled out Deb’s RR and worked a bit more on it. Here is what I have so far.

It is a really pretty house from The Workbasket Morbid Pities series. I had a great time working on it today.

Finally a finish

So here it is, I finally finished Bine’s RR. It is the house from CCNs Forest Snowfall. I changed the color of the shutters, but otherwise it is pretty close to the original. I also got Deb’s RR in the mail today and had fun looking through all the goodies she included. I have picked out my piece already and will probably start it tomorrow. I usually like to get these done at the beginning of the stitching window, but had a hard time with this past round because of having Nathaniel. Although I definitely don’t have as much stitching time as I did before, I am typically able to get 30-60 minutes a night. I might even be able to stitch a bit in the mornings if we can ever get to getting up on time.

I wish I could get a picture of it, but earlier we found Cooper sleeping in Nathaniel’s car seat. Now he is having fun playing with the built in blanket which made a bit of a tent when he knocked the seat over. I think Cooper has finally accepted Nathaniel as part of the family:)

No stitching pics:(

I was so proud of how close I have come to finishing Bine’s RR that I was terribly disappointed when I realized my camera batteries were dead. Apparently, Allen drained it and filled up the memory card this weekend taking video of Nathaniel. So we will all have to wait until tomorrow to see pictures of my house. Maybe it will be totally finished by then…yay!

So as not to keep you photo deprived here are some cute pictures.

First up are my “nephew” and new “niece”. They are my sister and BILs dogs Hudson and Ridgley. I finally get to meet little Ridgley at Easter and I am looking forward to seeing how she does with Nathaniel. She is about his size so I am not as nervous about her being near him. I know Hudson would never do anything to hurt him on purpose, but he is so big and he loves to cuddle so much he might accidentally squish him:) Pretty soon I am sure Nathaniel will want to ride around on his back like a horse and Hudson will love it!

Next up is Nathaniel going for a walk. He looked so cute all bundled up. It was a really cool and windy day. He spent most of the walk trying to eat his sweatshirt:). It other baby news, he finally me a big milestone today. He has hated his tummy time so much, I never thought he would ever lift up his head or push up on his hands. He surprised me. Today after work, I put him on his stomach on his big bear. I turned my head for a second to grab my drink and when I turned around there he was with his head lifted up looking at me with a big smile on his face. I think he was super proud of himself!

Nathaniel giggles

Okay, my new mommy/back to work brain hasn’t been able to figure out how to get video up on my blog, but I wanted to share this with my blogging friends. Nathaniel is getting good at his new trick…giggling. It is such a wonderful sound. So, if you want to check it out, visit the video on my photobucket site.

Nathaniel giggle

He just loves to watch Allen act like a fool:)

RR progress

Just a quick pic of my progress on Bine’s RR. I am liking how it is coming along. It will have some snow on the roof and there is snow on the groud, which is why it looks weird. You can’t see the oatmeal colored thread well no matter how I photograph it. It is nice IRL. (ETA…okay, I don’t know why the picture is blurry when I upload it to wordpress. It looks fine when I open the original. Oh well… too late to fix now. Check back tomorrow for a better pic.)

With going back to work, things have been pretty hectic around here. It is going well, but I am having a bit of difficulty motivating myself to stitch at the end of the day once Nathaniel is in bed. It is getting better though. I have adjusted to work more easily than I thought. I think sending Nathaniel to daycare a week early really helped since I was starting to get comfortable with the staff and being away from him once my first day rolled around. So far I have been very pleased with the daycare. All the staff is very affectionate with him and he comes home tired but happy at the end of the day. The teacher also noted that he does well with tummy time for her, which he hates at home. I think it is because several babies are put on the floor at the same time and he likes to look at them. I think that is what makes it tolerable for him. Nathaniel is also giggling a good bit now. I have some video I am trying to edit so hopefully I’ll be able to share soon. It is a fun sound!

Goal!!!!

So I guess it is that time again. Time to review the previous month and plan for the month ahead. I cannot believe that February is already over. It really flew by. Here are last month’s goals
February Goals:
1. Stitch on Butterfly Rest-yes
2. Finish German Garden-yes
3. Start a LHN tea or coffee piece-nope
4. Start Bine’s neighborhood RR-yes
5. Stitch on Alchemical Romance-yes
Pretty good I think.

Now on to March. My biggest goal is to transition back to work without stressing out too much. Hopefully I can make it. I do have two days off for spring break which will be nice, but then no days off again until Memorial Day since I have no leave:(

Well here are my March stitching goals.
1. Stitch on Baby Garden
2. Finish Bine’s RR and mail
3. Stitch on Alchemical Romance
4. Start a LHN piece or CCN’s Sweet Treats if my fabric comes in time
5. Stitch on M9

Here’s to good stitching. Its off to work in the morning!