"I love you when you're human!"

Gotta chalk it up to Modern Family...love that show.

Life is good, and we are blessed. It's been so important to remember this as schedules get hectic and semesters get hard and decisions get bigger.

I remember hearing in church as a teenager that i'd be making the biggest decisions of my life in the next ten years...where to go to college, what to get a degree in, who to marry, when to have kids, etc. (Obviously they haven't happened exactly in that order!)

I want this blog to be more of a journal, so i'm trying to write about everyday things, too, not just life's milestones.

My mom and I were in a store when I was visiting KC and we found this mirror for sale. Nathan smiled and smiled at "the baby" in the mirror. It was hilarious! He didn't know it was him--self-awareness doesn't hit until about 6 months old--but it was still hilarious! I pulled my little camera out of my bag and snapped away. It was awesome. I love having a camera on me all the time! He hasn't done it since (another reason i'm glad I got pictures!), but he's very interested in the baby in the mirror. He loves to study his face and is amazed with his expressions! :o)

Nathan's getting on a schedule a bit better, but still sleeps like a teenager. However, he now stays up from about 8 to 1 am, not napping at all in between, so hopefully he'll slowly start moving up his bedtime to at least 10:30 when Mitch heads to bed.

This week my goal is to vacuum, get ready for Valentine's Day, and cook 2-3 new meals. I have the time to experiment with new recipes, so why not? This is going to be the semester where I have the most time, even if Nathan tries to take up most of it. From now on, kids will always be taking my time, so I might as well learn while there's only one in the "little people hogging my time" club!

Speaking of Valentine's Day, i'm going to try and make a really nice dinner for us on Feb. 13th. It'll be Sunday, so a great day for a nice roast or something that can cook for awhile (we get out of church at 4:30 and are completely starved...and our oven doesn't have a timer!). I want to use our nice china that we've never gotten to use, and get out my nice red tablecloth. At my house growing up we dyed everything pink or red, but I don't know that we'll go that far this time! I want to make the famous Dooley woman caramel-bottom rolls (that's what I call them anyway), so we'll see if that works. I want to have sparkling cider, even though we don't have nice glasses, just nice dishes. Oh well! :o) I put Mitch in charge of what to have for the main course; all he has to do is tell me what he wants and I'll do it. I'm not picky, and I know he has more preferences than me! I'm excited, and i'll be sure to post pictures.

Here's a little "subway art" to celebrate Valentine's Day. I want to take some nice pictures of Nathan as well. He has a cute red polo that would work perfectly!

Happy pre-Valentine's Day! :o)

3 months old...already!?

You don't look a day past 2 months, my dear! :o)

I can't believe our little Nathan man is already 3 months old, as of yesterday, Feb. 2nd.

I still go through the day he was born in my head when I go to sleep, as if it were yesterday!
I assume this is a mom thing, and that i'm not the only one who does this!

Our little love has learned how to do so much in his short little life, and we've seen huge changes over the last month!

Here's 10 fun facts about our Nathan:

1. He is still the noisiest baby I know. He's a noisy eater (who makes little piggy eating noises, which still kind of weird me out!), noisy sleeper, player, breather, talker etc. The ear, nose, and throat doctor we took him to with that sleep apnea scare said he'll probably talk in his sleep. He has his overly-chatty mama to thank for all his talking, i'm sure!

2. He loves his hands. He's not quite reaching out to grab things yet, but if something's in his reach (fabric, jewelry, hair) he grabs right onto it. He still does this less than most babies, though, because his hands are always moving when he talks.

3. He is the best cuddler. He has always loved to cuddle, and I hope this doesn't end as he gets older. Although, as he becomes more mobile and can do more, i'm sure it will wane a little. The poor little guy has thrush right now, and the discomfort makes him especially cuddly. Not that he needs an excuse!
4. He is SO curious about everything. He always wants to see what's around him and is learning the little details of his home. We still haven't had him in the same place for more than 4 consecutive weeks (so much travel!), so I hope he knows this is home!

5. He sleeps like a champ at night, and finally likes his crib! He'll usually sleep for 5-7 hours straight, meaning MOM gets REM sleep! :o) However, he makes us earn it and sleeps like a teenager! He usually won't take a break from all his alertness and curiosity until about 1:30 am. Then he'll sleep until 6 or 8 am, wake up to be fed, and wants to sleep again until 10 or 11! So, i'm trying to keep him up after he wakes up between 6 and 8. Not cool for his non-morning-person mother, but it's better than partying all night, which I can NOT do anymore!

6. The poor boy is the worst napper. He sleeps for 20-40 minutes. Usually, in the afternoon, we take a nap together in our bed. I know, it's frowned upon & whatever, but it's not like he sleeps with us any other time. If he's cuddled up to someone he'll sleep for a good 1 1/2-2 hours, so this is the only time I get a nap!

7. Nathan is very social. He loves to smile at people and mimic their expressions. However, he still always looks overly concerned about something! He doesn't like to be left alone in a room when he knows we're doing something in another one, especially if he can hear us. About a week or two ago he had an explosion of noises and has been jabbering nonstop ever since! If we're talking he can hear the tv "talking", he's talking right along with us. I'll put up a great video I got when I find the cord to our camcorder!

8. We can't quite leave him alone on the couch anymore. If he's left sitting up he'll either rock forward too much and faceplant, or fall to either side. (So we have to be careful not to leave a blanket or jacket on the couch where he can bury his face in it) He tries to sit up on his own all the time and not lean on whoever he's sitting with. Although, if he's tired enough, he'll fall asleep sitting up: in his bumbo seat, on the couch, wherever. This is a picture I just snapped this morning of him on the couch: I left for 2 minutes to brush my teeth, only to find him fallen over and dead to the world! (Don't worry, he got moved to a more comfy position!)

9. He loves his daddy! He's always looking up and smiling at Mitch, making noises to try and get his attention. I think it's because i'm with him all day, but daddy goes to school and work, so being around him is a bit more of a novelty. I love watching Mitch with Nathan: they are so cute! I'm so glad he has a son to have fun with and "teach him how to be a man!", as he puts it.

10. Nathan is starting to outgrow his colic. I think it's due to a mix between a wonderful chiropractic adjustment he had that left him much happier (one of his hips was completely out of place and another was off quite a bit, too!), and just getting older. Man, has he taught us patience! I'm hoping he's our only colicky baby, but I'm sure we won't get that lucky!

We love you, little Nathan! We can't believe you've been with us for three months, and we can't wait to see what else you have in store for us!

Analyzing the Little One

It's no secret that I love to do this. I love trying to figure out which of their parents' characteristics babies have. Especially our baby...I mean, I think I know him better than any little kid I've ever met, and I know I've stared at him more than any other baby! I found baby pictures of Mitch and I and I want to know what you guys think!

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Answers & Blessings

Lately we've been trying to get answers about our little man's sleeping habits and breathing.

On Tuesday we took him in to see the doctor. I was really nervous that i'd get walked all over, "oh, you silly first-time mother" etc. I'm not very good at standing up for myself or being confrontational. Especially when people assume i'm some high-maintenance, overbearing helicopter mom.

It turned out that Tuesday was the day that the BYU-Idaho nursing students come to practice being nurses and learning the routines of different doctor's offices. This little 18 year-old with NO children was told me that she could tell I was just a paranoid first-time mom. She told me that, to my face! Of course I just laughed and said, "haha, yeah, probably"...like I said, I suck at standing up for myself!

Once the doctor came in and I explained everything (snoring, gasping, sleep apnea in the family) he completely understood my concerns. He referred us to an ear, nose, and throat doctor in town and we had an appointment set up for Thursday: today.

We finally got answers!

And I got permission to stop worrying!

When we went today we started all over, explaining everything. He said it might be tracheomalacia (tray-key-oh-Malaysia), a harmless condition where the cartilage in the trachea and throat is soft instead of hard, which causes noise when he breaths in and out. He said if the snoring and gasping that wakes him up every once in awhile becomes more frequent we'll test for sleep apnea. So, hopefully all of these weird breathing episodes won't become more frequent and we'll be fine to continue normal life!

His advice was to turn up the baby monitor, check on him at night or during naps if he seems congested that day, take a bulb syringe to his nose as often as necessary, and just keep tabs on him. We are so grateful that our little boy is healthy and happy. He's growing like a weed and I feel like I take more pictures than I ever imagined I could take! Oh well, all to keep extended family happy, right? :o)

Speaking of sleeping, I was blogging and playing on Facebook last night when Nathan started fussing a bit. He's very much a "computer baby", so I grabbed his binky and tried to finish the comment I was leaving. When I looked down next, he was fast asleep! I love this kid. :o)





















Here's another picture Mitch took yesterday...we think it looks like he just saw a monster!
His faces just crack me up!

Worrying the Night Away

That's all i've been doing these days. Worrying at nighttime.

We're concerned about Nathan's breathing. Sleep apnea runs in our family; Mitch's dad has it and Mitch has shown signs of it. After doing research and talking to a specialist that works for a Children's Hospital here in Kansas City, i've learned some signs of sleep apnea in infants:

1) Won't nap for extended periods of time, meaning longer than 30 minutes or so.
2) Coughs, gags, or chokes during everyday tasks (sucking on a bottle or binkie, or nursing).
3) "sings" while sleeping (can also sound like humming)
4) wakes up coughing or gasping for air.
5) clears their throat multiple times, often while falling asleep.
6) Stops breathing for 20 seconds or more, usually while asleep.

Well, the only sign I can't confirm is #6, because I'm still getting a little bit of sleep and i'm not awake timing his breathing.

This list makes me worry.

Especially because his insurance is only accepted in Idaho, which means I have to wait until Tuesday to take him into a pediatrician, which will lead to x-rays, then an appointment to a pediatric sleep specialist if needed. We've been told that a pediatrician can tell us with about an 80-90% surety what it is and what specialist we'll need to see, if any.

Sleep apnea would sure make a lot of sense, and would explain his loud sleeping. Apparently infants can use noises in their sleep to keep breathing, using air passing over their vocal cords as a defense mechanism to keep airways open. Also, lots of SIDS cases end up being traced back to sleep apnea or an underdeveloped airway.

All of this means pretty much no sleep for me, because I worry that he's not breathing. Luckily, he and I are sleeping in the same guest room in my parents' house so I can keep him close and listen to him at night.

DISCLAIMER:
I tend to be mostly public about life, but randomly private about some things. This has been one of them. Don't be offended if you think I should have mentioned it to you in person, because only Mitch and I have really known about it. We don't want to get everyone concerned if it's nothing. But, I also couldn't keep it to myself any longer because my concern is only growing!

Nathan has an appointment with his pediatrician on Tuesday at 1:30. Keep us in your prayers! We want nothing more than little boy in good health.

...and our insurance covering all this would be very helpful as well! Living on financial aid is hard enough!

Putting on the "Alaina" Hat...

Well, hello blogland. I wish I had pictures of my little man to put up, but I don't have a camera cord with me in this state, so it'll have to wait till I get back home to Rexburg.

As some of you know, I've been visiting my family in Kansas City and showing off our son to them. My mom and Camille have met our Nathan, but no one else has. So, when my parents couldn't meet him over Thanksgiving break, they decided to put the gas money they would've spent driving to fly Nathan and me home. I've been here since the 12th and go back the 24th.

The sad part was that we had to leave Mitch behind, because he's in school full-time and working part-time. Yup, too many obligations to embark on a fun, two-week trip halfway across the country! It's been very fun, but weird not having Mitch here!

This trip has left me with time for self-reflection. I was thinking about the "hats" we all wear. I have a daughter hat, a sister hat, a wife hat, and recently added a mom hat to my collection (this, however, doesn't resemble mom jeans in the least!). However, the hat i've left behind is the ALAINA hat. The ME hat.

I don't know how to focus on myself when I have a squirmy, colicky, yet charming and adorable little guy depending on me for everything. When we're both hungry, he gets food. When we're both tired, he gets rocked to sleep. (That reminds me...he should be waking up hungry soon!)

Not that i'm complaining, or at least not intentionally. This is only one of the things i've wanted my entire life! There is nothing more rewarding than seeing my little Nathan smile up at me with the big, dimpled smile that he reserves for his mom :o) It's the best!

I'm just wondering how to work on myself while devoting all my time to Nathan...any suggestions?

Christmas...only 2 weeks late!

So sorry I haven't posted much about our Christmas! It was Nathan's first and I (almost) completely skipped it in blogland!

Nathan (or as I call him, Mr. Squirty Pants...) slept peacefully all through present opening. He was very generous and let his mom and dad open all his gifts! What a great kid! He got several toys from grandparents, a toybox from us, and a beautiful framed embroidery for his room from his "GG Dooley" (aka Grand Goddess...). He also gets a late Christmas present in getting to meet his aunts, Natalie and Melissa, and Grandpa Larson for the first time! (And it'll be like he's meeting his Grandma Larson for the first time, too, since he remembers very minimal amounts of things...)

Mitch got the last part to his AR-15 rifle for Christmas! It has been drilled into my head that this is a "toy gun"...it isn't for home defense or hunting, specifically. This one's a toy. Yay, 7 months' worth of plasma donations! (and 1 Christmas budget's worth!) Since he chose to build it himself and earn each piece at a time, he got to customize it to make it do exactly what he wanted.

Here it is in all its glory; we call this picture "Mitch's babies." Mostly, Nathan is there for a point of reference. Ignore the stripped mattress, Nathan probably threw up on our sheets 7 times while we were in Gillette!
I got a huge surprise for Christmas! Mitch went in with his parents and got me a Sony Handycam! I've always wanted my own video camera (what kid doesn't!?) but now that I have a kid of my own, I guess it's time to actually get one! I've wanted this for so long, and this video shows my surprise, and pretty much tells the whole story.

(When I mentioned "second night without sleep" I meant "second night without one MINUTE of sleep"...Nathan had an ear infection, poor guy, that we found out about on Christmas Eve, so he was miserable and didn't sleep at all. He'd cry b/c of the pain, which would aggravate his ears, which would hurt, which would cause him to cry more...poor little man!)

It was a fantastic Christmas. We can't wait to get use out of our new toys! We loved celebrating with Nathan, even though he won't remember a minute of it.