I resolve to get dressed this year!

I've never participated in the "what I wore Wednesdays" blog postings.  If I had, you'd be seeing pictures of me wearing the same worn-out pajamas day after day.

My everyday sweats.  Can you see the spit up/drool on Nate's chin?  P.S. Baby spit up is highly visible on black clothing.  Perhaps I need to rethink my daily sweatsuit.  Maybe a lighter color to blend in with the spit up...

This is actually my Christmas sweatsuit.  Note the red t-shirt?  Nice of me to dress up for Christmas, huh?

Ok. Maybe it's not that bad, bur I do pretty much spend all my time in loose fitting, drawstring pants and comfy tops.  Except on the two days I go to work.  Because on those days I wear loose fitting, drawstring scrub pants with a comfy over-sized scrub top:

Low on style, but high on comfort.

But my point is that I rarely really get dressed for the day.  I would tell you that I don't have anything to wear, or that nothing fits me, but neither of those two statements are true.  Bottom line is I am lazy.  Why put on something semi-decent when I know that in a matter of an hour or two I am going to have either baby puke or worse, baby poop all over my nice clothes.

And since I'm not putting on something semi-decent, why bother putting on makeup.  And since I am not putting on makeup, does it really make sense to do my hair, or even brush it?  And before you know it, I've completely rationalized my way out of taking a shower.

I don't find it particularly necessary to post pictures of cute outfits that I put together (because, lets face it, I never was much of a fashionista), but I would like to get this "what I wore" thing a try.  Maybe it will help me actually get showered and ready for a day.  I might feel more accomplished.  And lets be honest, my husband might appreciate it.

So, my new New Years Resolution is to get dressed.  I may or may not post pictures of me wearing something cuter than pajamas, but either way, I plan on wearing real clothes at least three days a week.

Doesn't that sound like a pathetic resolution?  We'll see how long it takes before I break it.

(P.S. Don't ask me what I'm wearing now.  Austin's old high school football sweatpants and that same black hoodie with spit up all over it.)

I'll start tomorrow.

Will my baby be denied health insurance?

Today was the big weigh-in.

And by "weigh-in" I mean Nate's big 4 month check-up! Before I get to the particulars, I want to share with you something I found while cleaning a few nights ago:

I couldn't figure out how to rotate this photo, but it's a newborn diaper.  

 I held this diaper up to Nate and I can't believe how small he was when we brought him home.  He is so big now!  Here is another picture of the diaper compared with a glue stick.  Crazy small:

Wish I could get the picture rotated... But you get the idea.  Small.

And Nate wasn't even a tiny baby when we brought him home; he weighed 8 lbs and 3.5 oz and was 20.5 inches long.  At his two month check-up he was near the 90th percentile for weight and only the 20th for height.  So we were happy to find out today that he was starting to grow in a different direction than just "around."  (Although he is doing plenty of growing around his midsection too!)

Nate weighed in at 17 pounds and 14 ounces and was 24.5 inches long.  He was in the 93rd percentile for weight and the 60th for length.  So he's starting to catch up!

Now, to the title of my post: will Nate be denied health insurance coverage.  According to a news report from the Denver Post, a 4 month old who weighed 17 pounds and was 25 inches long was denied health insurance for being "too fat."  (Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,564501,00.html#ixzz1iS5GDqmD)

I have to say that Nate is chubby, but babies are suppose to be and Nate is just the right size for him.  I love all of his cute little baby chub.  He is adorable.  

Even when he is crying (which he is doing now).  I blame the tears on the three shots my big boy had to get today.  I think it's time to cuddle the little chub!

Hats off to moms everywhere!

So...it's almost been 6 weeks since Nate was born and things are starting to settle down.  By settling down I do not mean that we've got things figured out and things are going perfectly, just that we are settling into a "routine." And by routine, I don't mean a schedule.  I wish things were that easy.  No, I've just come to notice some consistency in Nate's everyday routine.  Like, for instance, his most alert times are in the morning-usually 6am-9 or 10am-and in the evening-10pm...just when I want him to be winding down...

(But actually, last night wasn't so bad.  He only got up once and I got 4 consecutive hours of sleep!  I feel like a new woman right now!)

Another exciting thing is that Nate is becoming a lot more animated and is smiling, cooing and very alert; eyes wide open, checking out his world.  So fun!  Unfortunately for my "to do" list, since Nate is a lot more active and alert (and wants to be held more...), I can't get anything done!  And, to be quite honest, I'd much rather be holding and playing with him anyway!

And that brings me to my realization: being a mother is a full-time job!  As I was preparing for Nate's arrival and looking forward to spending 12 weeks as a stay-at-home mom, I came up with a very extensive list of things that I wanted to get done.  You know, since I would have lots of free time...

Among the "to do list" was to complete several scrapbooks that I've been meaning to work on, complete Nate's baby book, do some decorating around the house, put together a cookbook full of my great grandmother's recipes...and the list goes on...   It's been almost 6 weeks and do you want to know how much of that list I've accomplished?  NONE.  In fact, at this moment I haven't showered in 3 days. And please don't judge, I've gone on two runs in that time (thanks to Austin watching Nate for awhile so I can get out to the trail), so I'm probably due for a shower but every time I get a few moments to get some things done, there are other things that seem to be more important.

My mom was (and still is) a stay-at-home mom (in fact, she home schooled me and my four siblings), but I always kind of admired women who worked full-time and had kids.  I mean, they have so much on their plate.  They must be superwomen!  But now, I am starting to realize that I don't care about being a superwoman.  I want to be a super-mom to Nate and any other children that the Lord may bless us with.  Staying at home, being a wife, and taking care of an infant isn't easy and I can imagine that it gets more difficult and time-consuming as the number of children increase.

So if the Lord gives me the opportunity to be a full-time stay-at-home mom I will accept it happily. Right now I have to work part-time and I realize many women are faced with the need to work outside the home and there is no shame in that. I also realize that some women choose to work instead of staying at home, and that's fine too.  I'm just saying that women should not look down on other women because they choose to be a stay-at-home mom or because they choose to work outside the home.  It's a personal choice and for me I hope to be able to choose to be a stay-at-home mom sometime in the near future.

So, "Hats off to moms everywhere," being a mom is the most important job I can think of!

Date night

Austin and I made a few changes to the country song, "Just another day in paradise" by Phil Vasser.  And here it is:


Nate screaming, phone ringing
Anna barking at the squirrel and they're bringing
That stack of bills - overdue
Good morning baby, how are you?
Got a half hour, quick shower
Take a drink of milk but the milk's gone sour
My funny face makes you laugh
Twist the top on and I put it back
There goes the dishwashing machine
Baby, don't kick it.
I guess we just won't wash it
even though there's many things...

Well, it's ok. It's so nice
It's just another day in paradise
Well, there's no place that
I'd rather be
Well, it's two hearts
And one dream
I wouldn't trade it for anything
And I ask the Lord every night
For just another day in paradise

Thursday, cat hate (*I'll explain that one later*)
Guess we'll never make our dinner date
At the restaurant you start to cry
Baby, we'll just improvise
Well, plan B looks like
Pancheros burritos at your parent's house...



So Thursday night Austin and I had arranged for my mom to come over and watch Nate for a couple hours so that we could get out, grab a bite (without it being interrupted by a nursing session) and chat.  It wasn't going to be anything big.  We were going to go to Pancheros or Panera...nothing fancy, but I was looking forward to a little Austin and Cailey time.  Things had been hectic at the Oates house lately.  Nate has been more fussy after eating, Anna (our dog) is feeling a little left out and has been going CRAZY in the backyard (thankfully both of our next door neighbors are gone for the week), we got a few unexpected bills, and the dishwasher started making strange noises.

On the evening of our date night we decided to do a little housework and tear up the carpet in the basement because we were thinking that the cat had started peeing down there.  So Nate and I are upstairs eating again and Austin is in the basement.  Before long I hear him calling up the stairs and to make a long story short, we had to vacate the house for a few hours to let things air out.  The problem was alot worse than we thought.

So I called my mom and cancelled our date night and Nate and I left the house and went to Austin's parents' house.  Austin hauled out all of the old carpet, bleached the floor, opened all the windows, ran the furnace for a few hours and joined us at his parents' house.  Austin picked up Pancheros burritos and we ate our dinner on his parents' couch by the light of a football game on tv.

Just another day in paradise!

But seriously, even though something always seems to be going wrong, life is beautiful.  I am reminded  of that every time I look at my sweet little boy.

I wouldn't trade it for anything!

Where have I been?

You may be wondering what I have been up to this past month (actually, you probably haven't, but in case you have been wondering), well I have been busy laboring, birthing and learning to be a mother to this precious little boy.  Introducing Nathaniel David Oates:

Nathaniel David, 1 day old, in Daddy's arms

Little Nate was born August 31, 2011 at 0133.  He weighed a whooping 8 lbs 3 oz (that's whopping when you consider that my doctor told me that my baby was going to be small- "maybe 6 lbs") and was 20.5 inches long.  I won't go into the details of labor and delivery, but I have to say it wasn't that bad.  It definitely wasn't what I had expected.  When you are pregnant (and I am learning it doesn't stop when you have a child) everyone has an opinion and a story to tell, and it seems like a lot of people enjoy telling their "horror stories." I was expecting labor to be like in the movies, but mine wasn't.  Not that it is something I want to do often, but things went pretty smoothly for me this time.  I worked an 8 hour shift through what I now know were contractions (I thought it was just back pain....and yes, I am a nurse.  I think I was in denial) and didn't go into the hospital until I was 6 cm dilated and 90% effaced.  Part of that was because as the back pain continued throughout the day I called labor and delivery to ask them if they thought that my symptoms sounded like labor and they said (twice, in fact) that "you will know when it's labor."  So I stayed at home alone (Austin was working an evening shift) until I was 6cm and 90%.  First thing I told the nurse that was checking me in was "I'm sorry I came in.  I'm probably not in labor; you will probably send me home, but my husband is at work and is making me come in to get checked out."  And low and behold, a few minutes later the nurse says, "you are going to have a baby tonight."  (I actually didn't have Nate before midnight, but I would have if I had let them break my water sooner...but I wanted to wait for Austin to get to the hospital).

So, to make a long story short.  Nate was born.  And life has not been the same since.  It's amazing.

Fast forward 4 weeks (time really does fly).  Nate is getting big (last week he weighed 9lbs and 5 oz.), and I wish I could say that we are on a routine and I am getting a full nights sleep, that he is nursing perfectly and that I love nursing him.  That is just not the case.  The first two weeks were actually pretty good...Nate slept most of the time and I actually had to wake him up to eat but now it's a different story.  He seems to have a routine, but it's just not the routine that I would like.

Well, that's all the update I have time for right now.  I've got so many things that I should get done while Nate sleeps, but I almost feel guilty for not spending every single moment with him.  This weekend I am throwing my sister a bridal shower and I have lots to still get done for that AND the laundry needs to be done AND I think the dishwasher may have broke, so I may be handwashing dishes now...

But I will leave you with a couple of more recent pictures of Nate:

The picture I took for his birth announement.  About 1 wk old.

Going on his first walk with mommy and daddy (Doesn't daddy look proud?)

Look at those cute rolls...

Taking a break after some fun playing with the activity gym

And I feel bad for posting this, but this is a picture of Nate getting mad during tummy time and lifting his head WAY off the ground.  And when he was only 13 days old!  Must be the protein shakes Austin keeps sneaking him...