The Murphys: Week 12 & 13

Week 12

Most women that go back to work have to go back by 12 weeks. I am fortunate that I still have more time, not much time but at least a few more weeks. I go back to work the beginning of January and although I can not imagine leaving my son already, I do realize the time will be here shortly and I am trying to appreciate every moment that we have together.

It's hard to believe how much Kieran has changed, looking back he's a different person, he has changed THAT much. He is also quite big. Kieran started the week off at 8 lb 9 oz, (Amie's birthweight) and ended the week at 9 lb 0.4 oz. He hit the 9 lb milestone!

Kieran and I are still enjoying going to the breast feeding support group, it's more like a social hour though and Kieran likes hanging out with his buddies.

Kieran and Nick dress like cows at BFG

Thursday was Thanksgiving, and we have a lot to be thankful for this year. The obvious thing is the birth of our beautiful son, but we can not forget family especially when my sisters both decided to come out for the holiday and to meet Kieran. They may say they came to see Sean and myself as well, but let's be realistic, we all know the baby was what got them out here. I've lived here over 4 years, and this is the first time Stacy has been here to visit. I don't mind though, I'll take my sisters any way I can get them.

Stacy arrived earlier in the week while Amie arrived on Thanksgiving.

Kieran all dressed up for Thanksgiving, waiting for Amie's flight to arrive.

He gets a good nap in on his Aunt Stacy

Time to go to the airport!

Not even home 2 seconds and Amie is ready to get the little (I mean big) guy out of his car seat

Hey buddy!

Kieran got a lot of bottles this week while I spent a lot of time in the milking parlor

Only people that truly love Kieran change his diaper....this was a special diaper that Kieran prepared especially for Amie.

We are thankful for good friends, Jami not only shared Thanksgiving with us but shared some special time with the little guy.

Ryan aka the Baby Whisperer enjoys his first Kieran squeeze

The Petersons look pretty good with a baby!

Jami had a special gift from her parents especially for Kieran. We shouldn't have been surprised. It was Kieran's very own Vikings Jersey. Jami's family is from Minnesota so it's only appropriate. Even though Kieran is really a Giants fan the jersey is just too cute, he loves it and being a size 18M it should last him awhile!

Hey guys!

Thanks for my jersey!

It's great having all the sisters together!

Had to get a nice photo of the three of us and the little guy

and one of the entire gang

This is how we are...CRAZY

but sometimes we can be serious

Kieran gets some snuggle time from Aunt Stacy

and snuggle time from Dadddy...what a spoiled little guy

but such a cutie...who could resist this guy

Stef and Sharon came to visit and give the guy a squeeze

With the decreasing temps his bundle me has been put on his car seat, it seems to keep him nice and warm.

Snuggle time with Dadddy is the best especially when Daddy has been at work all day.

Passed out!

Week 13

With week 13 comes new expectations. It is December 1st and I will be back at work in a month whether I want to believe it or not it is happening. Because of this, and also because I almost have a 3 month old I decided that we better get this little guy on a consistent routine. This is mainly his night routine since his days are pretty predictable. I really want him to be sleeping through the night, or close to by the time I go back to work.

The first step to this routine was getting him to sleep in his crib at night. He doesn't mind his crib at all, although it makes it much harder for us, ie. if he wants his pacifier in the middle of the night we can't lean over the side of the bed and simply pop it in his mouth, when he's hungry I can't half asleep pull him into bed feed him and than put him back in his bassinet. I have to actually get out of bed and feed him in his room. We are making use of the baby monitor and the joy of getting up and down up and down up and down.

It's getting better and realistically I don't think it's that bad. Yes I would love for him to sleep through the night, or sleep more than a few hours at a time but I understand that even though I have a 13 week old, gestationally he's still only about 7 weeks old.

Currently a typical night looks like this:

7:00 pm Feed
7:30 pm Bath
7:45 pm Story time (with Dad)
8:00 pm Bedtime
11:00 pm Wakes to feed (I tried the Baby Whisperer technique of doing the dream feed a few times but he usually either wakes on his own or the one time he was actually passed out and I tried to feed him, he was too sleepy to eat except for a few sucks and was then up 30 minutes later wanting to eat).
2:00 am Wakes to feed
4:00/5:00 am Wakes to feed
6:30 am Thinks its time to wake up, and I have to go in and out of his room and let him fuss so he learns it's not time to wake up.
7:00 am Time to wake up and eat again.

Also there are a few times in the night where he wakes and wants his pacifier so we have to go in and stick that in his mouth. He spits it out when he falls asleep but if he wakes in the middle of the night he wants it to suck on to sooth himself back to sleep. Since he is still being swaddled (even though he breaks out sometimes but can't settle without it) he can't self sooth with his hands. I don't have a problem keeping the paci now since it is the only thing that will sooth him, besides my boob and I don't want him to be a comfort sucker on there. That's just not for me.

Some nights he can be up every hour wanting something where most are as I've outlined above. All in all each night is getting better and I am definitely sleeping more soundly now that he is in the other room.

His weight this week has gone up as well. He started at 9 lb 0.8 ounces and was about 9 lb 8.6 ounces. I can't believe that he's going to be 10 lbs by Christmas. Maybe even by the end of next week. Crazy!

Kieran is definitely getting a lot more social. He loves the mornings when we play together. He doesn't mind tummy time anymore and just loves to lay on his mat and stare at the animals attached above. He is starting to swat at things now too which is fun to watch. His smiles brighten my day and definitely make me glad to be a mom.

Kieran learns how to facebook thanks to Aunt Stacy

love the toes!

What do you mean you're leaving me Stacy?

Ok Kieran I'll stay one more day.

Thanks!

I'm sure no one is surprised that Kieran is still going to just as many races out of the womb as he was in the womb. This past Saturday Sean ran the Surf n' Santa 10 miler down in Virginia Beach. Kieran was so excited to watch his Daddy race again!

My adorable blue eyed boy

It was very cold so we had to make sure he was bundled up and stayed warm

After the race we hung out inside, love this shot of our family!

He sure loves his Daddy!

This past Sunday one of our friends organized a CPR class at their house. Even though the Children's Hospital made me take a brief infant CPR class before Kieran was released I wanted to have some more practice, plus Sean hadn't taken CPR in a long time. We learned Adult, Child and Infant CPR along with what to do for choking. Let's hope we never have to use it.