"He doesn't do anything in a small way"

That is Nanny's quote about Carlin.

We had an action packed weekend with the grandparents. Saturday we went to Walmart for a few items and picked up an adorable outfit for Carlin which you will see next week in his holiday card. Saturday night Nanny and Grandy babysat Carlin so Ryan and I could go to Rya's house for a little bit. All day Sunday Ryan and I caught grief about how we got home before curfew and were only at Rya's for an hour and a half. Grandy put up our Christmas tree on Sunday and I helped with the lights and added all the ornaments. I'm glad my parents came to town because if they hadn't I doubt the tree would be up and I wouldn't have gotten the outfit for Carlin. We had a photo shoot with Carlin and it really made me feel for all those baby models. He wasn't too impressed with what was going on but we got some great pictures. Grandy also got a picture of Carlin smiling at me. He's gotten so talkative and he also laughs and smiles a lot now (Carlin, not Grandy). I added some photo's to the picasa album but not the one that will be on the card because that takes away from the excitement :)

Pictures Galore

The camera was actually in our diaper bag. I've added the photo's to the picasa album. Enjoy!

Happy Baby

Carlin had a wonderful time this past week. Not only did he get to meet a lot of his family at Thanksgiving he also started focusing on his mobile, sleeping in his crib in his room, and my favorite...GRINNING!

Monday morning I swore he grinned but then convinced myself it was my imagination because 6 weeks was too soon. But he did it again on Monday and has done it a few times since for me and his Papa. I'm not talking about the gas grin either. He 'talks' and then gives a huge toothless grin! He is a heartbreaker!

A lot of people asked how much the big boy weighs so I weighed myself at Rya's house and had her hand Carlin to me and then subtracted the weights. Our little champion is 12 pounds and 4 ounces! True story, if I feed him and stop or have to move him he will start snort crying...like a little piglet!

I left my camera at Rya's house so no updated pics. Nanny and Grandy come to town tomorrow so I'll be getting the camera back for their visit and will post pics this weekend.

Carlin's Cousins

Carlin got to meet his New York relatives for the first time today! Aunt Valerie and Uncle Aaron both took turns holding the little guy while he was sleeping. Aunt Valerie was holding him when he woke up so she got the pleasure of feeding him. She and I took turns trying to burp Carlin and after a couple minutes Aunt Valerie pulled the hand off to Uncle Aaron and within a minute Carlin burped. Ada and Lewis, the cousins, were impressed with Carlin's foot size. Uncle Aaron asked his two how long they thought it would take for Carlin to beat them on the tennis court and then said by age 6. It's weird to think of Ada being 15 with her 12 year old tween brother Lewis in the car as well as their cousin Carlin headed off to the tennis court.

We have a bunch more firsts this week. Tomorrow we are going to the mall with Carlin's cousins family, Thursday Carlin's family is headed to the Sheehan's for Thanksgiving, and then Friday we have Thanksgiving with my family.

Happy 1 Month Carlin

Today is Carlin's 1 month birthday! It also happens to be the 9 year anniversary from when Ryan and I first went out. Thank God we have something to show for it now! Just kidding of course.

Carlin's neck has gotten really strong over the past couple of days. When I burp him he will sit up straight in my lap for about a minute before slumping over. Yesterday I was holding him in my arms and showed him a picture of a rotten faced Carlin and the pacifier dropped out of his mouth. It was the funniest thing ever! Like it really surprised him that he could look like that.

Well, Ryan went and caught himself a cold. He started to feel sick yesterday so no more baby for him. Carlin and I are staying in the nursery for the next few days and we are sad to say that Ryan won't be able to hold or kiss his baby for the next 3 days. :( We just can't risk the little guy catching a cold this early. We did have a big weekend planned but looks like those events are cancelled. Hopefully baby and mama don't catch the cold so we are nice and ready for all the family visits next week!

Carlin's Weekend

Carlin's grandma said that he was as good as gold and also told Ryan that he was not that good when he was a baby. Jessica's event started at 8 and that's about the time we left our house after packing the back of the explorer with the pack and play, diaper bag, tote bag, about 1000 wipes, and boppy. Grandma didn't laugh at the Carlin Cheatsheet document. We left the baby for a little under 3 hours and it felt like an eternity. I'm sure it will get easier but he's just so sweet now it's difficult to not be around him!

Carlin's first play date with David went well despite the Skins losing. David was very interested in Carlin and was staring at him for a good 3 minutes. Carlin was more interested in Matt and Kim. David is the first baby he has been around. I added pics of Carlin and his 4 month old friend to the Picasa album.

Carlin's Big Weekend

This is a big weekend for Carlin! Ryan and I are going to a group dinner to celebrate Aunt Jessica's birthday on Saturday so Carlin is being babysat by his local grandparents. Anyone that knows Ryan and me knows that we are laid back...well, Ryan still is. I hope my parents in law don't think I'm a freak when I show up with my two page document of Carlin's habits, ways to soothe him, feeding and napping information, etc. It's silly considering Ryan and I are accessible by cell phone but after deciding to go it made me feel better to create the informative document. In preparation I also gave Carlin a bottle today to make sure he would drink from it and he did like a pro. Ryan will be happy to know that now he won't have to wake me up for feedings ;o)

Also going on this weekend, we are bringing Carlin to the Lim's for the skins game! He's going to meet his future bff David for the first time! They are both adorable babies and will probably be heartbreakers. I'll post the pics next week as proof.

Perfect 10

Carlin is back to his birth weight! We took him in for his appointment on Friday and he weighs 10 lbs 2 ozs so he's actually a little over his birth weight. Ryan and I are both very proud of our big eater. He's been pretty good about a schedule lately. He eats every 3 hours pretty much on the dot. He's been sleeping really well too except when he has gas. I swear he sounds like a grown man sometimes! We have him in bigger diapers and there have been a lot less leaks and poops up his back.

Ryan made me go out on Friday night and paid for it. I was gone for a total of 2 hours visiting Tina and the boy peed on him and cried for an hour and a half of the 2 hours I was gone. I knew it was too soon! Just kidding, it was Carlin's tummy, not me leaving him. Carlin loves his papa. We've discovered this past week that he loves hearing running water and looking at the foilage.

Another Milestone

Yesterday morning Carlin lost his umbilical cord! It still blows my mind that just 2 short weeks ago we welcomed him into our lives. On Saturday I tried to put him in the shirt they had him in while we were at the hospital and it wouldn't button. Proof that the boy is definitely gaining weight. We have an appointment on Friday at 1:30 where we'll get him weighed. I'm pretty certain he'll be way over his birth weight which is reassuring because he lost a lot of weight the first week! I added more pics to the album.

Ryan's Boy

I've been meaning to update folks sooner than this but couldn't really find the motivation to get online. Shocking! Carlin has been doing really well. Nanny and Grandy left on Monday morning so Ryan and I have been on our own with the little guy. He is a really good boy. Not fussy at all unless he is hungry or needs a diaper change (which is VERY often). I entitled this entry as Ryan's boy because on the 3rd day of Carlin's life he rolled onto his side when I had him on the changing table. He has done it quite a few times since then. He is a really strong and coordinated boy! Last night he was in his crib just hanging out wide awake by himself and smacked his pacifier out of his mouth. I was in his nursery but wasn't watching. I heard the sound and told Ryan (who was in our room) and he said, "That's what that sound was?" Then he fished the pacifier out from under the crib. I've added some pictures to the Picasa album.

Welcome Home Carlin

We were finally discharged from the hospital yesterday around 2:00. Carlin got to see his new home around 3:00. Nanny and Grandy Highfill were a great help last night and let Ryan and me sleep this morning (and afternoon for Ryan). We definitely needed it! We've been having some issues with feeding but things seem to be getting better. There have been a lot of adjustments for all of us to deal with and Carlin has been a real trooper. He is very patient with Ryan and me. Some of his favorite activities are: falling asleep to Nanny's singing, burping, hanging out in the man cave with Papa, and staring intensely at Mama.

As you can see in some of the pictures it looks like Carlin may be a little jaundiced. We have a pediatrician appointment tomorrow morning at 8:40 and will keep you posted. Apparently the bad bruising Carlin got on his head when he came out "sunny side up" is like a double whammy on the chances of him getting jaundice. He was checked out yesterday before we were discharged and was fine so we aren't too concerned.

I added links of pictures on the right side of the blog. If any of you have photo's uploaded that you would like me to link, please email me the website and I will add it.

Carlin Thomas Sheehan

Ryan and I are excited to present to you our beautiful baby boy. Carlin (Gaelic for the little champion) was born at 4:11 pm weighing in at 10 lbs and with a length of 23.5 inches.

Ryan and I would like to thank our families for all of their love and support today. Each of you made the most special day of our lives better by being there. We especially want to thank Grandma Sheehan for spending almost her entire birthday in the hospital waiting to meet her birthday twin and first grandchild.

Today is the Day!

I started having contractions at 5:50 am today! They have been sporadic so we haven't headed to the hospital yet. We actually just got finished having brunch with Ryan's parents, sister, brother in law and grandma. The contractions are intense when they happen but are so spaced out there's no alarm or need to get checked out yet.

If the baby comes after midnight he/she will share their birthday with Grandma Sheehan :)

Will post more later...

Patience is a Virtue

I had my weekly check up yesterday afternoon. My doctor was impressed with how ready my body is and wanted to schedule me to come in next Monday or Tuesday so she could break my water and we could head over to the hospital to deliver. The temptation was there but after talking it over with Ryan we decided we would wait it out and let the baby come when he/she is ready. I must admit I'm getting kind of annoyed with my doctors insistence on scheduling the arrival. I don't know if it's for her convenience or if it is just habit because she is so used to doing for all the other expectants. Either way, it's frustrating knowing that we can go at any time and have this baby when we want to as opposed to letting nature take its course.

I am listening to everyones advice and have been taking advantage of this time before we are "in for it after baby arrives". I took a 3 hour long nap this afternoon and earlier in the week got a pedicure and hair cut. I watch 3-4 Family Fueds, 2 Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and Bringing Home Baby each day. Today I got an alert about a 3 br/2.5 ba ,12 year old, brick front, end unit townhome in Bristow for $179k so I've been entertaining myself with thoughts of buying our first home hopefully by February/March.

That's all I have for now!

Baby Maybe?

I have a coworker that predicted today as the due date because it's a full moon. I did a little bit of noodling aound on the world wide web this is what I found:

"The theory is that the moon's gravitational pull effects the amniotic fluid in much the same way as it effects the water in the sea, rivers and even the water that's otherwise found in our bodies.
As a woman's body prepares for natural childbirth, the amniotic sac becomes distended so the point where it will easily burst if put under pressure. Under normal circumstances, the pressure of labor contractions bursts the sac. During a full moon, the pressure caused by the moon's effect on the water inside the sac can cause the same things to happen, but without the accompanying contractions." The Moon's Effect on Natural Childbirth by David Rose

"One study looked at 5,927,978 French births occurring between the months of January 1968 and the 31st December 1974. Using spectral analysis, it was shown that there are two different rhythms in birth frequencies: --a weekly rhythm characterized by the lowest number of births on a Sunday and the largest number on a Tuesday and an annual rhythm with the maximum number of births in May and the minimum in September-October. A statistical analysis of the distribution of births in the lunar month shows that more are born between the last quarter and the new moon, and fewer are born in the first quarter of the moon. The differences between the distribution observed during the lunar month and the theoretical distribution are statistically significant." Guillon P, Guillon D, Lansac J, Soutoul JH, Bertrand P, Hornecker JP. Births, fertility, rhythms and lunar cycle. A statistical study of 5,927,978 births Journal of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology. (Paris). 1986;15(3):265-71

So, is there really a correlation between the moon and childbirth?

Being that it's a Tuesday and a full moon, today could be the day! Keep your fingers crossed and say your prayers. I will be :)

Big Brother

Dexter has already started to adjust to the idea of having a human baby brother or sister. Around 3 or 4 months pregnant he stopped sleeping on my stomach because I assume he could feel or hear the baby. That only lasted a couple weeks until he realized that his bigger mama, with the baby inside, gave off more heat so he went back to laying on us. Ryan and I are both real interested to see how things change with the boy once baby comes. We're assuming Sassy will still be the same. She definitely doesn't "need" as much attention as Dex.

No Change from Last Week!

I just got back from my weekly doctors appointment and there is no change from last week. I was certain the doctor would tell me that it should be any second now. My doctor predicted that the baby is a boy and actually wrote it in my chart! The whole pregnancy I've thought this baby is a girl so if it is a boy, I will be blown away. Ryan thought up until about month 7 that it was a boy and then had a vivid dream that the baby was delivered a girl so we'll see!

My induction is scheduled for October 28, which is 10 days after my due date, but I'm sure that our child wouldn't be THAT late! If baby hasn't come by Monday, October 27th we will check into the hospital that night and then the induction begins at 7:00 am Tuesday, October 28th. When I got home to tell Ryan about the appointment I said that if this is a boy and takes after his papa, his birthday may in fact be October 28!

The Beginning

One of my brand new mom friends created a family blog to keep loved ones updated on her new families goings ons and I thought it was an awesome idea so I created Sheehans Saga. I plan to update this with details and pictures of our new family.

As most of you know, yesterday was my last day of work so I'm sure there will be plenty of entries until the little (figuratively speaking) one arrives. I will do my best to be consistent with updates after Mary Gwenith or Carlin Thomas makes his/her grand appearance as that is what you are all really interested in reading about! But until then, enjoy updates on Ryan and me :)