Running

During the summer of 2008 Kevin and I took up running. Not usually together but both of us were running consistently about 3-4 times a week. Now anyone who knows me knows that running is not something that I ever really enjoyed or did. I tried to take up running the summer I was in the Dominican Republic but that was short lived. But the summer of 2008 I actually started to really enjoy running and could often be found lapping around our apartment complex or running on the Monon. I started off barely being able to run 1 mile but by the end of the summer I could run between 3-4!!!!...but then school started again...it got cold....I got pregnant...and the running stopped. While I was pregnant with Nolan Kevin and I did a lot of walking and mapped out several routes around our subdivision. Throughout my pregnancy i would get these urges to go for a run so when I got my OK from my doctor at my 6 week postpartum appointment to return to all physical activities I decided to give the running another try. I did a couple walk/jogs with Nolan in his stroller along one of the routes Kevin and I had been walking towards the end of my pregnancy. It felt so good to be out running and when I got home I would crave going out again. i even enjoyed running outside as it began to get colder and enjoyed looking up longer runs at www.mapmyrun.com. I was surprised at how quickly I was able to get back to running 3-4 miles. Then one day I got this crazy idea that I would like to run the Indy mini marathon that takes place every May on race weekend. This is something that I thought would be cool to do at some point but not something that I had ever thought seriously about. I have several friends who ran it last year, which i obviously couldn't do being 6 months pregnant. Kevin also recently started running again and so a few weeks ago we decided to register for the mini!!! It is now too cold for me to run outside and so Kevin has added me to his gym membership so I can continue my running on the treadmill. I think the training will be much more enjoyable when it gets nicer/warmer out again and I can continue my running outside. At times we wonder what we have gotten ourselves into ( running just over 13 miles) but overall I'm really excited about it and am looking forward to the accomplishment. :) Encouragement and training tips are welcome!!

Sweetest sound

Tonight Nolan giggled for the first time!!! It took place on his changing table after bath time (I remember Kevin telling me he thought Nolan's first giggles would take place on the changing table because he has always seemed to enjoy being there). He loves bath time but usually does not enjoy the time immediately after as we dry him off and put him in his pjs. However, tonight he wasn't crying and seemed to be somewhat content. As I was getting ready to put on his diaper I saw his little tummy and thought of my brother Jon who has just been waiting to blow on it, so i decided I would give it a try and...out came the first little giggle....so I did it again...and again I heard the giggle. I called for Kevin who didn't believe me until I did it again and sure enough another giggle. The look on Nolan's face was as if he didn't know what was going on but he seemed to be enjoying himself. We have been waiting for these giggles. Many times when he flashed us one of his huge smiles we thought one would slip out and tonight it did...and it sure was one of the sweetest sounds!!! :)

The Latest

We have had a lot happen over the last few weeks....life just doesn't slow down and neither does Nolan. For Thanksgiving we hosted my mom, Julia, Josh, and Jeffrey. Unfortunately Nolan and I were both sick and I even spiked a fever of 102 on Thanksgiving morning. This was the first holiday that Kevin and I have hosted as a married couple and the first turkey that Kevin has ever cooked. Despite being sick we had a wonderful time and the food was all quite tasty. We sure did have a lot to be thankful for this year. It's amazing to look back over the last year and realize all that has happened and the many blessings we have received....finding out that we were expecting Nolan, Kevin turning 30, my graduation from graduate school, buying our first home, grandma (great grandma) Baines and cousin Helen coming to visit from England, finding a job that is flexible and that I love, having a trouble-free pregnancy, the birth of Nolan...I could go on and on (but perhaps I will save that for our Christmas letter...:)).

As I mentioned we have had a lot to be thankful for and most of all at this time I find myself being thankful for our beautiful, sweet, baby boy Nolan. It is hard to put into words the joy and love that he has brought into my life. I can't believe that he is 3 months already!! He has grown and changed so much in the last three months and while I wish that the time was not flying by so quickly I enjoy each new day with him and seeing what new things he will do. He is pretty focused on his hands right now. He hasn't figure out how to suck on just one finger but seems to prefer the whole hand or a number of fingers at once. It's pretty cute. He also continues to work on the rolling thing and if not swaddled to sleep we often find him on his side when we check on him. He hasn't given us a true giggle yet but his smiles will melt your heart. He also seems to be discovering his voice and is becoming quite the chatter box, especially in the morning. At times he seems so serious and focused as he is making his noises....I wonder what he is trying to tell me. Needless to say we are enjoying Nolan and can't imagine life without him.

The following are some recent photos including his 3 month pictures Kevin took and some from our Christmas photo shoot!

Getting my roll on

Well...Almost!!! Last weekend Kevin and I made the decision that it was time for us to stop swaddling Nolan at night. This is proving to be a difficult transition with Nolan going from sleeping 7-8 hrs at a time to only a few hours at a time (waking up at least 4 times during the night instead of once)....but since we have stopped swaddling him he has started to work on rolling over. I always lay him down on his back (I am a prenatal education coordinator after all and must practice what i preach...back to sleep..front to play... :) ) but often find him on his side. We have seen him in action and it is quite adorable. He throws his legs up in the air swings them over to the side and uses them to propel the rest of his body over to his right side (he seems to prefer the right side). Today he would look at us, give us the biggest smile, and then the legs would swing and he would roll to his side...and repeat. I know it won't be long before we are finding him on his little tummy....now if he would return to his previous sleeping routine....

Blessed

I am continuously reminded about how blessed I am. Nolan is such a blessing and I feel so lucky to be his mom and to have him in my life. Here are a few recent pictures that make my heart happy.

Like a Weed!!

Nolan is growing like a weed!! I can hardly believe that my little man is already 2 months! Last Friday we took him for his 2 month doctor's appointment and found out that he is quite average...50th percentile for weight, length, and head measurement. He now weighs 12lbs 2 1/2 ounces and is just shy of being 24 inches long. He did not get his shots last week because we found out that he had his first ear infection (poor guy is doomed with the history kevin and i have of ear infections as little ones). We went back today and got the shots, which was just horrible (I cried with him). He was a bit more cranky than usual this evening but mostly seemed to be wanting to be close to his mommy and nursed on and off pretty much all night after we got home until it was time for bath time and bed.

He is changing in lots of other ways as well. He is a much happier baby and is more interactive than even a few weeks ago. He smiles ALL the time and I know there are giggles just waiting to burst out. He has also recently discovered his hands/fingers and they seem to be quite tasty. He doesn't suck on any one finger (or arm :)) but it's pretty cute and is a sure sign that he is ready to eat. He is so much fun and I look forward to all the new things he will learn and do..it's all so precious!

Oh, and Nolan had two nights this week where he slept for 8 hours!!! :) Now we need to work on sleeping without being swaddled and then moving into his own room!!

11 Years Ago

On this day 11 years ago my family's life was changed forever with the death of my dad, Keith (where Nolan got his middle name). Today I grieve not only the loss of my dad but also the loss of Nolan's grandpa. I grieve the fact that Nolan will never be held by his grandpa Gingrich, will never play catch, be tickled, or get to tug on his grandpa's great beard....however, while these are all great losses I know that my dad is present with us and with Nolan in a very special way. I look forward to being able to tell Nolan about his grandpa and through the stories and the many pictures we have Nolan will know his grandpa Gingrich and feel his lasting presence.

Fall and Halloween

On Saturday the sun was out and so we decided to take a family trip to a local park to take some fall pictures. As you can see Nolan didn't think it was such a good idea. He was fine in the car and in the stroller until we found the place where we wanted to take the pictures...and then the screaming began and didn't stop until he was eating in the car.

We decided that we wanted to dress Nolan up for his first Halloween so one day when Kevin was out running errands he found this cute red chili pepper costume and thought it was the perfect costume for our little guy. Isn't he cute?!?!

He fell asleep right before we headed out to the neighborhood block party

He was not impressed with us trying to take so many pictures, but he did tolerate the costume better than I thought he would.

It seems that a lot has happened since my last post. One of the biggest happenings, and the thing that has required a lot of adjusting to, is that I started back to work on October 19. It has been two weeks now, and while I continue to enjoy my job and the wonderful people that I work with it is still so hard to leave Nolan in the mornings!!! The six weeks home with him after he was born were so precious and passed way too quickly. I wish I would have been able to take more time off or better yet that I could be a stay at home home, but that isn't part of our reality at this point in time...so for now he spends his days at Angie's. Angie and her family live in our neighborhood making dropping Nolan off before work and picking him up after very convenient. Angie has a 3 year-old and a 1-year-old of her own and also watches several other children between those ages making Nolan the youngest. He seems to be doing pretty well and I know he gets a lot of attention. Avery (Angie's 3-year-old daughter) adores Nolan and loves helping us take him out of his car seat, putting him in his car seat, and making sure he has everything that he needs. She often gives me a play by play about what he did for the day and whether or not he smiled at her. I am lucky that work is only about 7 minutes away so I have been going to Angie's during my lunch break to feed and spend some time with Nolan. Avery will often ask to see my keys and she enjoys helping me take a picture of Nolan on my phone to send to Kevin. Nolan often has a smile waiting for me when I get there at lunch (if he isn't sleeping), which I love arriving to. I'm sure that as more time passes it will get a bit easier, although I'm sure I will always wish it was me taking care of him all day....

Other things that have happened since the last post:

• Nolan started sleeping between 5-7 hour stretches at night (he will wake up after this stretch of sleep to be changed and to eat and will go back to sleep for another 2-4 hours depending on when we have to get up in the morning).
• We started a bedtime routine of taking a bath (which Nolan LOVES), swaddling, nursing, and bed. We decided that although Nolan is probably still too young to pick-up on this routine we wanted to get ourselves into a routine that Nolan can fall into once he is old enough to. It is nice because we usually start this routine between 7:30 and 8:30 depending on what is going on and when he had is last nap. This puts him to sleep between 8:30 and 9:30 leaving me and Kevin with some time to relax together before going to bed ourselves.
• We attended Grandpa (Great grandpa) Gingrich's 93rd Birthday gathering in Goshen. We made the quick trip up to Goshen last weekend to spend time celebrating with family. All of my aunts and uncles were there along with quite a few of my cousins and even some with their own children. It was wonderful to be able to spend time with family that we hadn't seen since our wedding and to introduce Nolan to the extended family. My only wish is that we would have had more time.
• We bought and carved Nolan's first pumpkin (also the first time that Kevin and I bought and carved pumpkins together).
• Nolan dressed up in his first Halloween costume (red chili pepper) and we all attended our first Crickwood court block party.

Here are some pictures from the last several weeks. The ones of our little chili pepper will come soon.

My Boys

The above is a picture that i took of my two boys one evening this week. Nolan can be quite fussy in the early evening and to give me a break from feeding (which often seems to be the only way to soothe the child) Kevin swaddled Nolan and began singing softly in his ear. Now I'm not exactly sure what song it was (it could have been a DMB song or one of the many songs that he makes up special for Nolan) but whatever it was it put Nolan right to sleep. Doesn't he look so sweet!?!?!? I love seeing these special moments of father and son...melts my heart every time. Kevin is such an amazing dad and you can tell that Nolan loves his daddy so much already. Kevin has taken an active role in taking care of Nolan right from the beginning and for this I am very grateful. I often wonder what I would do if kevin wasn't here or willing to help in caring for Nolan. I love both of my boys so much and can't wait for all the moments that we will get to spend the three of us, just me and nolan, and for the special moments that kevin will get to spend with his son.

Nolan's 1st Trip up North

Ok, so here are some pictures from our amazing visit up north. We spent the first Friday at Kevin's mom's. We enjoyed a chili dinner with them and relaxing in the evening. On Saturday we went to the Mennonite Relief Sale where we ate lots of yummy food (oh the apple fritters!!:)) and ran into lots of friends and family. On Sunday we went to church where we only spent about a total of 15 minutes in the service but Nolan was quite the hit after church meeting lots of our Waterford Mennonite family. During the week we spent a lot of time hanging out at my mom's house. We made little trips out to visit friends and family. One of our trips out was to my cousin Carrie's house where we had lunch and met her son Tyson who was born not even two weeks after Nolan. We were able to take some pictures of the 4 of us and look forward to watching these two little guys grow-up together at family gatherings. Other visits included going to see great grandpa Gingrich, visiting my friend Nichole and her darling children Jackson and Avenlea, Laura Myers and her son Luke (who loves babies and giving them kisses) came by my mom's one afternoon, and having dinner with Mary and Emery (unofficial grandparents). The last weekend we were there was spent celebrating Matt and Erin's wedding. Kevin was the best man so he and I went to the rehearsal dinner on Friday while Nolan stayed at my mom's where he was taken care of by his grandma, great grandma, uncle Jeff and Britta. Saturday was the beautiful wedding. Nolan again stayed at my mom's during the ceremony and then I picked him up to take him to the reception. He did really well during the reception except for the part when he cried all the way through Kevin's speech! :) He slept most of the time even with all the loud music and being passed between friends. On Sunday Kevin (along with some help from others) cooked a wonderful lunch which we shared with Kevin's mom and dad. I believe there were 13 of us (including Nolan) around the table that afternoon. All in all it was a great trip with lots of wonderful memories that of course went by way too quickly.

Four Generations

Visiting great grandpa

Nolan with Laura and Luke

Meeting Tyson

Tyson and Nolan were not excited about taking more pictures

First time having a bath being put directly into the water (didn't like it at first but he warmed up to it). This is now part of our new nightly routine.

We like uncle jonny

Jon's girlfriend Rachael

Where Nolan slept at Grandma Sue's :)

Cousin Helen who traveled over with Grandma...great to see her again!!

Bottle Frustrations

I promise to post more about our wonderful week up in Goshen with lots of pictures but right now I need to share my frustrations and stress with the bottle. Last week while we were in Goshen we decided that it was time that we start to introduce Nolan to the bottle. We felt that this was a good time since it would give us 3 weeks before I went back to work and might also allow me to participate in more of Matt and Erin's wedding weekend activities. The first few days we tried we didn't have much luck...lots of screaming. We tried different bottles, different nipples and my mom talked to a lactation consultant at Goshen hospital...finally last Thursday night I was able to get him to take a bottle after baiting him in with the breast. Friday night I went to the rehearsal dinner with Kevin leaving Nolan at my mom's where he successfully took a bottle. He again took a bottle on Saturday and Sunday when we got home, which was the last bottle he took. I'm starting to stress out because I have to go back to work in a week and a half and next week I have a two day training when he will need to be fed with a bottle. I never thought that getting him to take a bottle would be so difficult. It makes me think that maybe we should have started earlier, although we were told not to use a bottle or pacifier until 3-4 weeks to establish breastfeeding. We have tried getting him to use a pacifier at times as well, which he also did for a few days but has refused again today. I don't want to get him completely confused and I hate hearing him cry so hard while Kevin tries to give him a bottle. I just want to know that he is going to be ok while I'm gone. I already am not looking forward to leaving him to go back to work and him not taking a bottle is making the thought even more difficult. Your prayers and suggestions on this concern would be greatly appreciated.

Nolan and Great Grandma Baines

This week Nolan and I are spending time in Goshen hanging out with friends and family. One of the family members that we are happy to see is Nolan's great grandma from England. Grandma Baines had originally said that her last trip to the States was going to have been at the time of our wedding, however after hearing that she was going to be a great grandma for the first time she decided that she needed to make another trip. She arrived last week along with my cousin Helen. It is truly a special time...4 generations all in the same house. We have some pictures of me as a baby with my mom, grandma, and my great grandma. I look forward to taking this picture with my son, my mom, and great grandma.

Here are a few pictures that we took today of Nolan and his great grandma!

A few new pics

These are a few recent pics of our little man that I absolutely LOVE.

He continues to grow and to amaze us more each day. He is now up to 9lbs 4 ounces (as of Friday) and is definitely starting to engage with people more. Kevin and I have even gotten a few smiles out of him while he was looking straight into our eyes..melts a momma's heart!!

He continues to eat well (cluster feeding in the early evening and some in the morning) and is still sleeping 2-4 hours at a time during the night (which means we are actually getting some sleep too!! :)). He is also still spitting up quite a bit but since he is gaining weight I guess it is something we will just deal with.

I will post again at some point this week with updates on our time here in Goshen. So far we have enjoyed spending time with family including aunts, uncles, grandmas, great grandma, great grandpa, and meeting lots of church family at Waterford and the Relief Sale.

SLEEP!!!

A quick update...Nolan has been sleeping on his own at night this week! the first night he slept on his own was Saturday night. We have this snuggle nest thing (looks like a cute, padded box thing) that is meant for safe co-sleeping that he has been sleeping in. We bought it because we thought maybe he had too much space in the pack and play and if he was in a smaller space it might help..and it seems to be. We hadn't planned on having him in our bed with us, and don't plan on keeping him there for long, but right now it has been working well. I didn't like the idea at first because we preach that babies should have their own sleeping place at work but I feel ok about it with him being in the snuggle nest. It also makes it easy for me to get up in the middle of the night for feedings. Sunday was a rough night but the rest of this week Nolan has slept anywhere from 2-3 hours at a time during the night. It has made such a difference!! Hope it continues!!



On the eating...he still loves to eat. This is probably the area that causes us the most frustration at this point. In the morning and then again early evening he just can't seem to get enough and wants to eat almost every hour and can eat for 30 minutes + at a time. This can get tiring and we are working on trying to figure out other soothing techniques to keep him satisfied between feedings. It's like he just can't get enough, although I think at times it's just more of a comfort thing than a being hungry thing. I also started pumping a little this week and hope to introduce the bottle to him this weekend so Kevin can help with night feedings and to get him ready for when I go back to work. This is another thing I have to figure out...difficult to figure out when to pump when the little guy is eating all the time! :)



He is definitely becoming more alert, spending more time awake during then day. We bought a bouncy/vibrating chair this past weekend which he LOVES!!! I can put him in there and he will just look around, moving his arms and legs, making faces, and some interesting noises. He is soooo CUTE!!!! I could watch him doing this for hours. We have also found that when he is fussy at times this chair also works in calming him down.



I will post more pictures soon. We are headed up to Goshen for the weekend for the relief sale (and to see family). Then Nolan and I are going to stay at my mom's for the week. My grandma (now great grandma baines) has come to visit along with my cousin Helen. We are so excited that they were able to make the trip and look forward to spending the week with them. It will definitely be a very special week. Hope Nolan travels well!!! :)

Irish Fest

Saturday afternoon we met up with several friends (Dori, Tom, and Laura Beth) and went to the Irish Fest downtown. We had never been and thought that it would be fun and a good opportunity to get Nolan out and about. We have gone on several little outings and figured that the only way that we were going to get used to getting all ready and managing being out in public (with diaper changes and breastfeeding) was to get out and do it!!! We had a blast and Nolan did sooo well!!! We ate some good food, listened to some music, watched some dancing, and enjoyed walking around doing a little shopping. Nolan was perfectly happy riding around in his stroller for the majority of the time. We had a few feedings using the hooter hider (thanks Lori) and a diaper change. He definitely wasn't afraid to let us know when he was ready to go home which was fine because I think we were all ready to head home as well. All in all it was a very successful day and I look forward to more family outings!

In other updates Nolan slept on his own last night in 2-2 1/2 hour chunks of time!!!! It was wonderful!!! Kevin and I were both able to sleep and only had to get up to feed and change diapers. We hope that this will continue.......

Here are some pictures from Irish Fest....

Huge Irish dog (don't remember the actual name...but they were HUGE)

Nolan and Laura Beth

My Little Man

Nolan is becoming more alert every day. This picture was taken the other day when he was practicing his many faces. I told Kevin to grab the camera and start snapping pictures and this is my favorite that we were able to capture. I LOVE it!!

A little update...we are growing!! Today Nolan and I went to our first breastfeeding support group at the hospital. It was awesome. We met lots of great moms and babies and received some good advice. It was great to meet other moms and to hear their frustrations and tips on what has worked for them. It is so easy to feel alone in the middle of the night and I can't seem to keep Nolan satisfied so it was nice to hear that other moms are experiencing the same struggles and feelings I am. There was one mom with her 1 1/2 week old twin boys as well as moms with babies the same age as Nolan all the way up to 13 week old babies. Besides getting to share our new mommy stories and feed our babies we also had the opportunity to weigh our babies before and after feeding. Nolan weighed in at 8lbs .08 ounces before feeding and 8lbs 12 ounces after feeding (and a very full diaper!! :)). So despite all of the spitting up he is gaining weight. I can't wait to go back next week!

Two Weeks!

Nolan is two weeks old today!!! Hard to believe it has been two weeks already. It sure has gone by fast and is kind of a blur (probably lack of sleep making things a bit hazy! :)) There are no major updates since the last post. Nolan continues to enjoy eating and sleeping pretty much only when being held. He also has this lovely ritual of spitting up after most feedings, which in turn makes him want to eat...AGAIN! I have talked to the lactation consultant who suggested a few things which we have tried but don't seem to have solved the problem completely...I guess it's pretty normal? I plan on attending the breastfeeding support group this week and also want to start pumping so we can start storing up for later and so Kevin can help with feedings during the night.

Kevin goes back to work on Friday, which could make things a little interesting around here with another adjustment to make...but I'm sure we will find our way. We continue to appreciate all the love and support that we have received from family and friends...keep it coming!!

Moms out there...any suggestions on how to get the little guy to sleep on his own or will he one day just decide it's ok?