Vacation Leave

I've reached the point in my maternity leave where I am now using "vacation" instead of sick leave. By choice, I have taken 6 additional weeks of leave beyond the 6 weeks that are mandated. Although I am being charged vacation time for these additional weeks, it would be a misconception to think that maternity leave is any sort of vacation. Sure, it is time away from work, but "vacation" implies sleeping in...no household chores...leisurely meals...and fun adventures. Maternity leave is far from any of these things: it's catching a cat nap in between nursing; it is doing lots of laundry and constantly cleaning; it's eating standing up or one-handed while bouncing a fussy baby; and it's spending more time at home than anywhere else. I say all this not to complain, but to simply debunk any notion that maternity leave is easy. It's only at the end of maternity leave that things become a little less chaotic and a little more predictable. I remember these last weeks with Emmy when I was finally feeling more confident as a mom...and then my world was rocked once again with the transition back to work. I've been staying somewhat connected to work with daily emails and text messages, but even so, it will be a harsh reality to return to the 8-hour workdays and the rushed mornings and evenings. I am trying to savor this time with Eli and with my family of four. Since I am using up all of my vacation leave anyways, we are squeezing in a little bit of fun with the daily grind of running a household. Our adventures lately have included: 

- Lunch at the Graham Soda Shop & Grill, followed by a sweet treat from the Tasty Bakery next door

- Dinner at Forsyth Seafood Market & Cafe, another restaurant featured in the Our State magazine

- Girls' brunch at Mae's Vintage Kitchen in downtown Kernersville with my mom's best friend, Ramona

- A day trip to Statesville for lunch with Shawna, my childhood best friend

- Chick Fil A date with our friends Lyla and Stephanie

- more Chick Fil A with the cousins (and Emmy's first time having an ice cream cone!)

- Visits to see Great Grandma Nancy

- Cuddles and dinner with Caro

 

I am continuing to go to the Baby Cafe breastfeeding group on Thursdays, and today was my fourth time attending. I am enjoying getting to know the other moms there, and the weekly weigh-ins are so helpful. When I return to work, sadly I will no longer be able to attend, but I have liked going during these weeks of my maternity leave. At today's Baby Cafe, I was thrilled to see double digits on the scale. Whooo hoo! Eli weighed in just a tick over 10 pounds. Here are a few pictures from this week of our growing boy!  

Two Months Too Fast

Mother Nature has been quite confusing these past few weeks. We've seen temperatures as low as the 20s and as high as the 60s. Throw in a little wind and rain, and there you have January in North Carolina. Keeping everyone healthy and dressed appropriately has been a bit of a challenge. Last weekend on a rainy Saturday, we enjoyed some indoor fun at Kaleideum Downtown, a museum and play space for children of all ages. We had previously been to Kaleideum in the summer of 2018 when Emmy was 1 1/2. It was fun to return again now that she is a little older. She loves playing make believe, so of course she was particularly drawn to the doughnut factory and grocery store. She and Boomer also enjoyed drawing and creating things in the prop studio. Eli slept for most of the outing, but he was otherwise content in his car seat. After spending a couple of hours at Kaleideum, we ate lunch in downtown Winston-Salem at Alma Mexicana. It was our first time eating there, and the unique blackberry salsa and Surf & Turf tacos were delicious. Boomer and I traded bites of each other's tacos. As we were heading back to our car, I couldn't resist snapping a photo of Super Daddy carrying both kids.    

When we went to Kaleideum, Emmy and Eli matched for the first time. As a birthday present, Emmy received a set of DIY shirts that say "Big" and "Little." On a different rainy day in January, Emmy used the special fabric markers to color her own design on both shirts. She loves doing any crafts with crayons, markers, paints, or stickers. Don't mind Eli's face in the picture; he loves matching his big sis! :)

The very next day, temperatures warmed up to close to 70 degrees! After church and naps, our family of four walked up to the neighborhood park for some exercise and fresh air. Emmy was a protective big sister holding on to the stroller as we walked. 

The rest of the week has consisted of working on Eli's smile. He is becoming more and more expressive and vocal. Boomer is the best at coaxing out his smiles and those sweet baby coos. I've tried to capture some of the smiles I get when it's just the two of us during the day or in the early morning. 

Eli is 2 months old today, and since it is a Saturday, Boomer and Emmy were home to help with the photo shoot this morning. We have moved on from the newborn clothing, and Eli is now wearing 0-3 month clothes. He is in size 1 diapers, and at this week's Baby Cafe, he weighed 9 pounds, 6 ounces. We are finding a routine with morning, evening, and dinnertime naps. Naps are often in the car seat as we go from one place to the other. After several nights of 7-hour stretches of sleep, we've regressed to about 5 hour stretches. I think I bragged too soon that he was sleeping through the night! I am trying to figure out the right amount of milk for his nightly bottle; sometimes extra ounces mean extra sleep for everyone, but sometimes not. There doesn't seem to be a direct correlation. Eli's favorite activities right now are "talking" to Daddy, gripping and grabbing onto objects (especially Mommy's hair), and looking at lights and ceiling fans. We are still swaddling him at bedtime, and I often find him with his head at the opposite end of the crib in the morning. We see a lot of similarities between Eli and his sister, but he has a distinctive cry and a small dimple in his chin. We've loved getting to know him over these last two months!

 

 

In addition to these 2-month photos from my iPhone, my sister-in-law Darby came over this past week to take some better professional photos of Eli. Darby is so talented, and she captured several sweet moments. After being wide awake for most of the photo shoot, he fell asleep in my arms at the end. I wish Boomer and Emmy had been home to be in the photos, too - I hope to do family photos with all four of us soon. I'm thankful for these pictures to remember Eli at this very precious age!

Update 1/23/2020: Eli had his 2-month appointment on Tuesday. He weighed 9 pounds, 6 ounces and measured 22.5 inches in length. His head measured in the 88th percentile at 16 inches. Dr. Albright looked him over carefully and said that he looks great. And apparently his ears are a "doctor's dream" because Dr. Albright could easily see through the ear canal. Eli did have to have a few shots, which he wasn't too thrilled about. He got some cool Spider-Man band-aids to show off how brave he was!

A Day in the Life of Eli

I've enjoyed looking back at my posts from 2017 when Emmy was the same age that Eli is now. When she was about 2 months old, I wrote a post in early January of that year called "A Day in the Life of Emmy" as a way of documenting the days of my maternity leave. It is funny how my two maternity leaves have paralleled each other. While there are a lot of similarities, there are several differences this time around, as I juggle an older sibling along with a newborn. It is impossible to write "A Day in the Life of Eli" without also mentioning big sis Emmy. But in fairness to the second child, I want to be able to remember this precious season of life, so here is a snapshot of what the days look like for Eli and me.  

Eli and I have been waking up between 4AM and 5AM, and after nursing and pumping, I then get Emmy ready and out the door with Daddy. With Emmy back in the routine of daycare, it means early wake-ups for everyone. It's hard not to miss the more leisurely mornings of Christmas break! She and Boomer leave the house around 6:30AM. Although Boomer could handle getting Emmy ready on his own, I am glad to see Emmy before she heads off to school and also ease the burden from him as he is getting himself ready too. Most mornings after they leave, I am able to go back to sleep for an extra hour or until Eli wakes up around 8AM. 

After nursing him for about 30 minutes, Eli stays awake for a couple of hours, and we enjoy some Mommy-son time. He is the most pleasant in the morning, and I generally try to snap cute photos to send to Daddy and other family members.  

If we have any plans for the day, mid-morning is usually our time to venture out of the house. Eli will fuss initially when I put him in the car seat, but it is often here that he takes his morning nap.  

Sometimes Eli will nap right through our morning fun, usually sleeping from around 10AM to 11:30AM. One morning activity this week was big sister's very first dentist appointment. We went to a dentist here in Kernersville that was recommended by my sister. This first visit was simply an examination and fluoride; we will return in July for a more-thorough cleaning and possibly X-rays. Emmy was very cooperative during the visit, opening her mouth when she was suppose to and laying very still in the chair. I am happy to report that she is cavity-free! Although she was very cooperative during her exam, she wasn't so cooperative for photos afterwards. We had a hard time coaxing a smile out of her to show off those pearly whites. If you ask her, her favorite parts of going to the dentist were the kitchen set in the waiting room and the bouncy ball that she got afterwards. Doesn't she look cute in the pigtails that Grammy did in her hair? :)  Grammy tagged along to stay with Eli in the lobby while I went back with Emmy. Grammy is always such a big help! After a successful dentist visit, Emmy was all smiles later at Chick Fil A when she got some ice cream as a treat. 

 Oh, back to Eli! Our morning activity today was going to Baby Cafe, a support group for breastfeeding moms. Lactation consultants are at the meetings, and they answer questions as well as weigh the babies. When we arrived, Eli had not eaten since his 8:30AM feeding and was quite hungry. He weighed in at 8 pounds 15 ounces. After nursing, he weighed 9 pounds 1.6 ounces! I was very happy to see 9 pounds. I plan to go back a few more times before I return to work. The advice and reassurance was very helpful! For our other morning activities, we've enjoyed meeting up with my mom friends for walks at the mall, for coffee, and playdates. Sometimes the morning activity is a bath...

...or swinging and hanging out at Grammy and Grandpa's house. 

After being awake for a couple of hours midday, Eli will fall asleep again in the midafternoon. If I am visiting at Grammy and Grandpa's house, I will get a nap during this time, too! Otherwise, if I am at home, I will catch up with chores like laundry, emails, bills, blogging, etc. I am trying to motivate myself to workout with a DVD during this time, but it's only happened once so far. Working out has fallen way down on the list lately. My sister and I have already registered for our 2020 half-marathon, so I hope to get back into running soon!

All too soon, naptime is over, Eli is ready to eat again, and then it is time to pick up Emmy from school. Grammy and Grandpa have helped with pick-up several times over the last few weeks. (Thank you!) If I am picking up Emmy, Eli and I load up in the car around 4:00PM to head to the daycare. Once I have both kids secured in the backseat, we head home for dinner and the rest of the nightly activities. 

While I am making dinner or cleaning up afterwards, it is not uncommon for Eli to be buried underneath toys as Emmy empties the toybox to "share" with him. 

 The evening hours from 5PM to 9PM are still a little tricky. Eli becomes quite fussy if he is not being held. We are all happy when Daddy gets home around 5PM. The extra set of hands is so helpful! I have attempted to wear Eli while making/eating/cleaning up dinner, and it was somewhat successful. 

Sometimes Eli will catch a little cat-nap between 6PM and 7PM. Inevitably Boomer or I will have to put him down, and the crying will resume, so we trade off holding and bouncing him, while also getting Emmy ready for bed. After reading 3 books ("because I'm THREE!") Emmy's bedtime is between 7:30PM and 8PM. Immediately after leaving her room, I head across the hall to nurse Eli in my rocking chair. Then around 8:30PM, I pass him off to Boomer for Eli's one bottle of the day. We are giving him around 3 ounces of pumped milk to fill up his belly before bedtime. Last night when Boomer stayed late at school for sports, I had to do the nightly bottle for the first time. A little nervous that Eli would get confused and later refuse the breast, I put on one of Boomer's hoodies to hopefully trick him. Luckily Eli was still great at nursing again today, whew! 

Boomer was back home tonight, and I was glad he could resume his bottle duties. After the bottle, Boomer swaddles Eli and puts him into his crib for the night around 10PM. I'm always somewhat glad to see this sight at the end of the day! 

I am trying to cherish each day of this special time with Eli. I know that very soon, my maternity leave will be over and I will be returning to work. I am so thankful for this time to focus on being a mom and to learn about my little man.