Who's Who?

I was playing around with pictures tonight and I thought I'd share these too adorable pictures of my lovelies...

2 months of awesomeness

My sweet little Monster is 2 months old today! Like his brother, he has a knack for vomiting. Beautiful, yeah, I know. Seems that he also enjoys mocking a geyser each time he's stripped of his diaper. That's ok though. It keeps us on our toes during feedings and changes and improves our reflexes.

Tomorrow morning Liam goes to the doctor for his 2 month well-baby. And so it begins again. My fight between me, the pediatrician and the CDC. I alter the recommended vaccine schedule for my boys. I don't agree with the amount of chemicals they inject all at once. I think it is absolutely absurd to shoot up a 12 pound infant with 8 different vaccines within a matter of 90 seconds only to let them all attack his developing brain. So, without going further up on my soapbox, I'll just say that Liam will be getting 2 shots tomorrow.

As far as development, he's doing great. He's just a smiley baby. He's very intrigued by Ryan and the dogs. He loves to snuggle and he's such an awesome sleeper. He's already sleeping through the night!

A few fun 2 month stats:

Diaper size: 1
Clothing size: 3 months, but can wear several 3-6 month outfits too. Porker!
Feedings: 6oz every 4 hours
Sleeping: 2-3 hour naps during the day when he's at home, cat naps at daycare, 8-12 hours at night, sometimes waking up once to eat.
Eye color: still blue... I've started calling him "Big Blue" or just "Blue"
Hair color: dirty blonde
Playtime: He's alert and makes eye contact very well. He follows sounds and gets excited over rattles and lights.
Likes: eating, his bink, hanging out and watching big brother, watching football & spongebob on tv (yes, my baby watches tv... I'm bad, I know.), Jack Johnson, car rides, being in his Ergo and/or Mai tei, and sleeping with mommy.
Dislikes: diaper changes, baths, lotion, and zantac.

Here are some of is 2 month pictures with his monkey...

My life

I was cleaning up diarrhea from Ryan (I know, not a pleasant thought) and Brett randomly asked me if I had thought 10 years ago that I'd be doing this now. My answer? Yes. I was made to be a mommy. I love everything about it. I love the hugs and the kisses. I love baby snuggles. I love when Ryan asked me, it his sweetest most innocent voice, to lay with him at night... even though half the time I refuse because I feel like he needs to learn to lay by himself to go to sleep. I love when Liam buries his head in my chest when he's so tired that he can't hold his eyes open anymore. I love baby smiles. I love picking Ryan up from school and he yells "MOMMY!" and comes running. I even love it when Liam wakes up at 3:30 in the morning to eat and will only go back to sleep if he is laying snuggled up next to me. I love when Ryan helps me cook dinner. I love that we have taught Ryan about compassion towards others and to be mindful of their feelings and I love when people notice it and comment on it. I love taking them places to experience new things; the museums, the park, the pumpkin patch, etc. There are so many things that I love about my children... you'd be here for days reading them all.

I've been thinking a lot lately about how much my life has changed over the past 6 years and how amazingly it has all sort of fallen into place. 6 years ago I met Brett when he interviewed me for a job at his golf course. At that moment I knew I had met the man I was going to marry. I even called my mama and told her. From then until now has been a whirlwind that has been spinning so fast that it's hard to grasp it all. 5 moves, 4 cities, 2 dogs, 1 house, 8 jobs (combined) 6 cars (combined), 2 kids and 1 new business later, here we are. It amazes me. We've had at least 2 life-changing events for each year we've known each other. There were times that I just threw my hands up in anger and frustration and others when cried happy tears. After Ryan was born, I told Brett and myself that I wanted to have a year just to "be". Well, that certainly wasn't the case. I would have never been able to write my life out the way it has been written for me. I have figured out that "just being" isn't in my cards. Change is inevitable. You either embrace it or run from it only to be overwhelmed by it later. I love my life and all it's craziness. I love being a mommy and a wife with a "real job" on the side. This is what I was made to do.

Back to reality...

And my reality is good! I am blessed to be part of the 45% of Americans who enjoy their job. I am also blessed to be willing to welcome the truth this time around. The truth is... I HAVE to work. I have to work for my sanity and I have to work for the income. When Ryan was born, I hated my job. Combine that with a brand new baby and irregular hormones, I was a basketcase when I had to go back to work. Today, though, I was excited and excitement is a good feeling. I was stoked to go back to the office, but it was bittersweet to drop Liam off at daycare. I knew he would be in good hands, but would they hold him the way he likes, would they feed him the way he likes, would they lay him down the way he likes. Well, probably not... at least not the way *I* do it. But, I'm his Mommy... no one is supposed to do it they way I do it. That's what makes me like no other in his eyes. :)

Overall, we both did well. I exercised my mind, entertained many 6 week old questions, and wished for a "do not disturb" sign all day. And he succeeded at eating, sleeping, pooping, peeing and, of course, spitting up with his new "friends" at daycare. I picked up a happy and very tired little boy at the end of the day. He catnapped all day long, which isn't his normal routine. I'm guessing the new surroundings had everything to do with that. He stayed awake through dinner, but now has been asleep since about 6:45. I'm sure his belly will wake him up soon.

In Ryan's world we have some exciting news! He is already moving up to the 3's classroom. He is starting the transition this week and come November 1st he will be a permanent member of that classroom. His teachers have shared that he's quite advanced and ready for the move. As a proud mother, I have to agree with them. His association skills send my jaw to the floor. On Saturday, we went downtown to The Chocolate Lady (a small chocolate shop). He got his usual, a chocolate covered twinkie. I got ice cream and a few pieces of chocolate to bring home. On Sunday morning I walked into the kitchen to make muffins for breakfast. I found Ryan had broken into the chocolate bag and was happily eating a piece of Tiger butter, which is white and milk chocolate swirled with peanut butter. It is in the shape of a peanut butter cup and even sits in the paper cup wrapping like a peanut butter cup. I said to him,

"Bubs, what are you doing?! We don't eat chocolate for breakfast!"
He said, "Mama, I'm just eating this. It's like a muffin!"

I was left speechless.

Yes, my reality is so good.

Confessions of a second-time mommy

Everyone knows that babies aren't born with handbooks. However, second children come with a little bit more than the first: confidence... for the parents. With Ryan, I felt like every decision we made for him needed to be validated by at least 2 other people. I wanted to be the best of the best mommies for him. Of course I called the doctor's office for everything, but on top of that I made sure I followed "the rules" to the T. It was a must that Ryan slept on his back, had his diaper changed every 2 hours, had sterilized pacifiers, was never introduced to any sort of solid until 6 months of age, and had his clothes washed separately from mine and Brett's in baby detergent. I'm sure there were more requirements, but I can't think of them at the moment. As for Liam, well, I guess he's the typical second child. Of course we love him no less than Ryan, we're just more laid back and confident in our choices for him. He sleeps on his stomach for naps, *GASP!* and he's gone up to 4 hours without a diaper change. I dropped his bink on the ground at the park, picked it up, wiped it off and stuck it back in his mouth. I put rice cereal in his bottles and his clothes are washed with the rest of ours and not in baby detergent.

My babies are formula fed and I am in no way ashamed to say that. There is so much pressure put on mothers to breastfeed their babies. Point blank: I don't want to breast feed and I have no other reason than that. No one should be concerned with how Brett and I feed our children as long as they are being fed, are healthy and happy.

My children go to daycare (well, Liam will start on the 25th). Even if I wanted to and was financially able to, I could not be a stay at home mom. I am a better mother when I have the opportunity to exercise my mind outside of the home in a profession that I enjoy and Ryan is happier when he is able to go to school, play with his friends and learn from the preschool teachers who were trained to teach him. However, that doesn't mean the learning stops when he leaves school. We are forever teaching him at home about everything from cooking to colors to manners. I do my best to make everything he does a learning experience, but I am no teacher and could never offer him the education and socialization that his preschool does.

These are my confessions. I am far from the best of the best mommies that I set out to be when Ryan was born. However, I'm the best mommy for Ryan and Liam and that's good enough for me and I no longer need anyone to validate it for me. I am thankful for that!

Happy 1 Month to Liam!

It's hard to believe he's a whole month old. He's accomplished a lot so far! He's gained over 2 pounds (as stated in my previous post), he's really good at holding his head up for several seconds, he responds to sounds by moving his head towards them, he has mastered the bink and his thumb, he's drinking 4oz bottles every 4 hours, he's sleeping all night except to wake for eating and changing and believe it or not he rolled over from his belly to his back once... omg!

He's a chill kid. He's happy to hang out in the swing or in his bouncy seat. He's not interested in his baby gym yet, but he loves the fan, the lights on the ceiling and the sounds of the vacuum, hair dryer and shower. Thankfully he doesn't freak out over sudden noises made by Ryan or the dogs barking. He's not a fan of bath time or diaper changes. I'll have you know that Ryan NEVER peed on me during a diaper change... Liam has certainly made up for that! I wonder if that's a foreshadowing of the future?

As for special events and outings, Liam has been shopping on numorous occassions to Target, Babies R Us, the grocery store, the mall and of course Brett had to take him to Best Buy! He made sure to tell him that he would appreciate the store a lot more as he got older. :) He went with us out to eat to celebrate my brother, Michael's, birthday on September 17th. Brett, Ryan, Liam and I also went to the Museum of Life & Science on the 17th as well. He wasn't much into the exhibits though! :) He was the guest of honor at his own "Welcome Liam" baby shower given by Terry & Lindsey Dixon on September 26th and he also went to church that day. He accompanied Brett, Ryan, my mom and myself to Susan and Patrick's wedding on Oct 2. He's also been to Wilson for a birthday party. Needless to say, he's well traveled and socialized for a 1 month old!

Here's a few 1 month pictures. Enjoy!

Well, HELLO!

Good Morning Friends! No, I have not forgotten about you or my blog. The dynamic of the Dippolito circus has changed a bit (duh!), thus my blog has suffered. As crazy as it sounds, I'm hopeful that when I go back to work on the 25th it will allow me to establish some sort of new normalcy so I can function like a normal, working mother. Right now, I'm being lazy in the morning. By the time I get up, get both kids fed, feed myself, change both kids and get Ryan to school it's already 10:00am, sometimes later. That's half my day! Then there's a house to keep clean, diapers to change, laundry (oh, the laundry) to do, a baby to feed, more diapers to change, more laundry to do, dogs to let out to pee... oh, and dinner... Whoever came up with the new mommy tip, "sleep when the baby sleeps" is full of elephant dung. This may be true for FIRST TIME new mommies, but for second, third and so-on mommies, well... we're just S-O-L. Maybe if my chef, maid and nanny would ever show up for work I'd be able to get some shut eye.

Today was Liam's 1 month check up. I was guessing he'd be about 11lbs at this point. I wasn't far off. He's 10lbs 6oz, which is in the 75 percentile for growth...however, the doctor told me today that he's still not big enough. At his 1 week appointment he was down to 8lbs 14oz from 9lbs 4oz at birth. This was due to a milk-protein intolerance, so we switched him to soy formula. 1 week later he was back up to 9lbs 14oz; a whole pound in 1 week! Whoa! Then...thanks to Similac and their spontaneous choice to manufacture bug parts along with their formula, we switched formula AGAIN to Target brand soy. He's not tolerating the way I'd like him to. He's still spitting up with almost every feeding; not too much, but enough to be an issue. So now, we'll start adding cereal into his bottle to treat what is thought to be a bit of acid reflux. If that doesn't work, then we'll switch formulas again, but hopefully the cereal will work. Oh the joys of finding the right formula!

Both boys also got shots this morning. Ryan unexpectedly joined us at the doctor's office this morning. I was running late and didn't have time to drop him at school before we went. Since we were all there, I went ahead and had him get his flu shot. I think the last time Ryan got a shot was before he was two. Nonetheless, it's been a while. I'm one of those vaccine freaks. I totally go against the CDC's recommended schedule. I think it's bogus. I spaced all of Ryan's shots out to no more than 2 per month. I also denied the rotovirus, chicken pox and flu shots. Call me crazy, but then go take a mircobiology class and do some research and let me know where you stand when you find out what all those chemicals do to the developing brain when you shoot them up all at once. Anyway... I'll step off my soap box. Regardless, Ryan received his first flu shot and Liam got the first of his Hep B series. After a bit of screaming, a couple bandaids and some hugs & kisses all was well.

I'm down to 135lbs according to the scale at the ped's office. Ryan refused to step on the scale this morning, so I held him and weighed us together, then put him down and weighed myself. He's 31 lbs and I'm 135. Not bad for 1 month post-partum. I was at 152 when I delivered Liam. I have 9 more pounds to lose to get down to my pre-preggo weight. I'd like to be at my wedding weight, which was 124... so that's my goal.

In other news... Brett's business, 3D Golf Instruction, is kicking off well. For those of you who aren't clear about what it is, he teaches golf lessons indoors at Omni Health & Fitness here in Fayetteville. He uses motion analysis and video to teach as opposed to teaching out on a golf range. He still has his full time job at the country club, but we hope within 6 months to a year he can venture out and 3D will be a full time gig. Prayers are appreciated! :)

That's all I've got for now. I'm off to mix some rice cereal into a bottle and feed my little monster! :)