The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Everyone says that when you hit 3 months everything changes. When times were tough (especially in the middle of the night!) I kept telling myself there is a light at the end of the tunnel. As Eli's 3 month birthday approached I could see that light getting brighter and brighter. Now that he is three months and two weeks old I can't even begin to list all of the changes we have seen in him! When he was itty bitty I'd hold him and wish he would never grow any bigger. But now that he is this little person with a personality who laughs and babbles and smiles and flirts I absolutely love him at this size. Eli is a total delight. If this little guy didn't have reflux I don't think he'd ever cry. He is so jolly and happy. I must say to myself a hundred times a day that he is the cutest thing I have ever seen. When he looks at me with those "I love you Mom" eyes I melt every time.

We spend a lot of time in the backseat of the car eating. When I first started getting in back with him it was funny and I'd look around to see if people were giving me odd looks but now it's our routine. We run errands and then take a pit stop to eat. He is hilarious- always laughing and smiling at me.

"This is where I sit when Mama lets Jack out. I can't sit up on my own yet but I can be propped up. I like looking around the room. The fan is my favorite thing to stare at."

"If Mama would let me I'd sit here in this swing all day long!"

"This is what Mama and Tata call bed head hair. I like to sit on the Boppy pillow and hang out while Mama gets herself ready in the morning."

"This is me after my dinner and bath. Mama tries to burp me but I am not a fan of it. It hurts and makes me upset. She says it will make me feel better but I don't think so. I tried using a pouty face to see if she'd stop."

Thank Goodness Eli didn't grow as much from Month 2 to 3 as he did from month 1-2!

January 1 month old

February 2 months old

March 3 months old

Tough Love Day 1

When I was pregnant I read everything I could get my hands on. One of those topics included co-sleeping and bed sharing. Everyone has their own opinion on these topics so I needed to figure out what my opinion was going to be. The first thing the vast majority of people will say is that bed sharing is unsafe and you shouldn't do it. They'll also tell you that once your kid is in the bed with you they'll never get out. Contrary to popular belief bed sharing is a lot safer than most people would like to think. It sort of runs along the same lines as thinking homebirths aren't safe either. Just for the record, people all over the world have given birth at home safely longer than we have been giving birth in hospitals. People in almost all cultures but ours bed share with their children. Research has proven there are very positive long term effects to doing this. Anyway, I am getting off on a tangent. Back to my point. Milan and I discussed where we stand on this topic and came to the agreement that we would co-sleep. Basically all that means is the baby sleeps in your room until at least 3 months old. I have files and files of supportive information about the benefits of this but I won't get into that today! :)

Two weeks before Eli arrived we got our bedroom all ready for him. The pack n play was set up next to my side of the bed as were all the other necessities for taking care of him at night. If you haven't been to our house then you wouldn't know that our master bedroom is on the main floor and Eli's room is upstairs. It is really annoying and we hate it. I can't tell you how often I was going up and down at first. Our bedroom now acts as the nursery because it is so much easier.

The first night in the hospital was interesting. Here is the brand new itty bitty baby just out of the warm womb and he is now stuck in that stupid plastic bassinet thing at the hospital. One look at it and I was like get him out of there! Milan and I took turns holding him all through the night. I just couldn't bare the thought of him being by himself. The nurses just smiled.

While we were in the hospital Eli spit up a lot. The nurses said it was common for newborns to spit up amniotic fluid so I wasn't worried. The next thing I know I am now home with no nurses around for support and I have a newborn who is spitting up a lot. Milan was really set against letting Eli sleep in our bed. It took all of about 5 minutes of Eli crying and coughing on spit up for Milan to change his mind. Looking back I think it is hilarious that he made the decision to put Eli in bed with us. I do know though if he hadn't made that decision first it would have happened anyway because Eli was choking all the time on spit up.


So, for the past 3 months of his life Eli has taken naps in his swing, carseat, or on one of us. We have used what is called a wedge to help elevate him when he sleeps so he doesn't choke. We have tried laying him on his side and/or stomach when he sleeps. Some days some things worked and other days they didn't. Even after 3 months Eli still spits up at night and ends up choking. It is nerve racking. But what is also nerve racking is not having a consistent nap routine.


I told myself when Eli turned 3 months old I would turn on the tough love switch and teach him how to sleep on his own in the pack n play. Today was day one of tough love. I have noticed over the past few weeks that it takes longer and stronger cries for me to get frazzled. My skin must be getting thicker! I think as you learn your baby's cries you start to let go of the anxiety and remind yourself that crying is one of the things babies do! So with the advice from my good friend Christy who is a mom to a one year old boy I turned on the tough love switch today.

I laid Eli down in his pack n play with those heavy sleepy looking eyes. I just knew this was going to work. I could feel it! I turned on his lamby (actually it's called a Sleep Sheep but we call him lamby), gave him his paci and lovey, kissed him, and walked out of the room with the monitor. He fussed and went silent. I was quietly jumping up and down in the kitchen! This was going to be easier than I thought. Next thing I know Eli is screaming. What in the world happened? I go to the door with the monitor in hand and find Jack with his head peering into the bed. The dog pushed open the door and decided he should be in there with Eli. Now I have to start all over! I get Eli settled, I shoo out Jack, and leave the room. Within seconds Eli is crying again! Ugh. Christy told me to set the timer for however long I think I can take the crying. I set it or 2 minutes. After that I went back in and rubbed Eli's back, gave him a kiss, and left again. Here he goes again crying. Ugh. I set the timer for two more minutes. I go back in and repeat the process. I leave and he cries. Oh my gosh this isn't working!!!! I set the timer for 3 more minutes this time. He slowly stopped crying, rubbed his eyes, snuggled his lovey, and passed out. Woo hoo!! Mission accomplished. He slept for 25 minutes.

I am so proud of myself. I don't think either of us are ready to be seperated at bedtime but at least we are off to a good start. What a good little boy Eli is!

This picture is for my Kuma Nicole. When her kids were babies I was obsessed with watching them sleep on the monitor. As of today I am officially obsessed with watching Eli on the monitor. I even keep it plugged in so I can see continuous video so the screen doesn't go out after a couple of minutes. Please tell me this obsession will pass!

The Flight Home

After 6 long days of traveling it was time to head home! All my fears and anxiety about traveling with my little man had diminished. Even if he got sick this time I knew what to expect at the airport and felt like I could handle it. Again, Eli was a trooper. He slept, slept, slept. Which is of no surprise considering what a week he had visiting with everyone. He is so lucky to have so many people who love him and want to meet him. We had such a great time seeing all of our friends and family. It was so bittersweet being home with him. Living away has always been hard but now it is much more difficult. It is so sad when the days pass and we are the only ones who can enjoy in all of Eli's newness. Each and every day brings something new as he grows and changes.

The airport went as smooth as it possibly could. That was until we pulled away from the gate and the captain announces the weather in Atlanta has us delayed 2 hours. Milan and I looked at each other in disbelief. All I could think to say was "you have to be kidding me!". Thank goodness Eli was exhausted and we had books to read. Eli slept and ate. He fussed a little bit while we were waiting as if to say "um don't you know there is a baby on this plane and we need to get a move on people!". By this point I didn't care if people were annoyed by a crying baby because there was nothing I could do about it and they should have a little sympathy for him and us! Finally we took off and headed home. We arrived safe and sound without a single problem. Now if only every trip in our future would be this easy!

I have to add here that the single greatest invention known to any mom has to be the baby carrier. I wear Eli everywhere we go. In the house doing housework, checking email, writing blogs, cooking, you name it. I wear him in the grocery store, the mall, restaurants, the neighborhood. Naturally the best place to wear him was the airport. He absolutely loves being in it. He sleeps like a champ and looks around at the world like he is in total awe. We get a lot of attention when we are in public and I can't help but wonder what people are thinking. I watched so many parents in the airport struggling with their kids and carseats and strollers. My hands were free and we were all so comfy. I get asked a lot if it is uncomfortable and it is honestly the most comfy way to hold him. He grew out of the sling around 6 weeks old. I know he can be in it up to 30 lbs. but there was no way I could support him with my weak upper body. My new carrier is a lot bulkier by sight but it is the best thing ever. When he is strong enough to sit up he will come out of the infant insert. At that point he will ride facing me, on my hip, or on my back. I can't wait to try that! For now though he has to stay put in his insert. He is the cutest thing ever. And to date, he has only christened it with his milk one time!

Eli's Christening

I found a fun new way to share pictures on my blog. Turn on your volume so you can hear the music. You should be able to click play and go straight to the slideshow. Eli's Christening was perfect. As usual, I worried. I didn't want him throwing up all over Sam and I didn't want him to ruin his new little outfit. Eli barely made a peep during the entire ceremony. He cried a little when Father dunked him but other than that he was a perfect little angel. Afterwards at the restaurant he slept and looked around the room. Again, perfect little angel. His outfit stayed spotless until 4:00 when I fed him. He decided it was time to stop holding it all back. He had milk everywhere! Luckily my dress was made of thin cotton so it dried quickly. The other good thing is the milk is clear and thin. His outfit was soaked but you couldn't tell! No stains. Hooray. I feel like the luckiest Mama in the world to have such a content baby. He is such a sweet boy. We just love him to pieces.

Eli's First Plane Ride

I worried about traveling with an infant before Eli was even born! Ya know, one of the many things we mothers allow ourselves to worry about way ahead of time. So of course the anxiety over flying with Eli kept building as the trip to Chicago got closer and closer. In bed at night I would lay there imaging the different scenarios that could take place. Let me just say for the record that having a baby with reflux adds so much stress to an already stressed out Mama. Reflux babies spit up constantly when they are not eating and throw up puddles of milk after eating. So let's see... it's an hour and 15 minutes to the airport, then we have to park and take the bus, then we have to check in and go through security, then we get on the tram, and finally we arrive at the gate way ahead of time. Then you have to board the plane first which means sitting there for at least 30 minutes before take off. Finally you take off and fly for 2 hours. Then of course you get to wait on the plane until everyone gets off, you trek down to baggage claim, and finally you get in the car that is waiting for you. Only then do you realize it is rush hour in Chicago which means at least an hour ride to the house. So all in all it ends up being about a 7 hour trip before you are there and settled. Do you know how many times Eli will spit up and throw up in 7 hours?! A Lot!

So anyway, I prepare for this monumental event by packing the diaper bag full of burp cloths, bibs, baby wipes, and changes of clothes. Carrying the bag was heavier and harder than carrying the baby. I knew I probably needed to bring along a change of clothes for me as well since my shirts never stay clean for longer than an hour but there was just no room for it. Oh well, sour milk makes for a nice scented perfume on airplanes anyway. It's not like the other passengers will have to look far to figure out where that lovely scent is coming from.

In addition to Eli being the king of spit up I also worried about his new game called see how loud I cry for no apparent reason. He used to cry because he was hungry or because he just ate and it hurts but since we started the meds that has stopped. Then one day out of the blue it was as if he flipped a little cry switch to see how loud and how long he can cry before making his Mama go insane. I figured with all of the traveling we were putting him through that he would decide the airplane would be a great place to play that game. I packed 3 extra pacifiers in the bag because there is no way I was going to end up losing a pacificer and not have a mute button for his little crying game!

For 3 days before the trip I mentally ran through a to do list about 100 times. Milan always teases me about my actual lists and my mental lists. It must be the teacher in me. Now you mothers out there will be able to relate to what I am about to write. Why is it that men worry about nothing but themselves when it comes to traveling? Mom on the other hand is the one writing the "don't forget" list. She does the laundry, she packs her things as well as the baby's, she gets herself and the baby ready, she packs the diaper bag, she remembers the books and snacks for the plane. She plans dinner around what is left in the fridge because she doesn't want food to go to waste, she cleans up the house so it is neat when we return, she arranges for the dog to be taken care of as well as the mail. I need a vacation from the vacation preparation. The morning we left I was up at 7 am and didn't stop running until we got in the car at 12:45. Milan showered and packed within an hour and we were out the door. I just don't get it. While we were on the plane though something occured to me. These things are my job because if I had to explain it all to him it would take twice as long to get done and I'd probably go back and redo it the way I wanted it anyway!! :) Ahh, love and marriage. It's such a balancing act. To Milan's credit though, he was getting work done on his computer the morning we left and couldn't really help me anyway.

Ok, back to the trip. I planned Eli's eating and sleeping the morning of the trip quite well. My goal was for him to sleep in the car and I would be happy. He was asleep immediately. Hooray. Little did I know that he would sleep through everything we did. He finally woke up 10 minutes before we boarded the plane. This was good and bad. I was glad he woke up in a good mood but he then screamed for food. The people waiting were glaring at me like "oh great this lady and that baby are getting on the same plane as us! Please don't let me get stuck sitting by them." Since I only nurse Eli I knew I wasn't going to be able to stick a bottle in his mouth so all I could do was settle in and feed him right there at the terminal. This was my first "real" in public feeding event. I just kept praying that my little man wouldn't play his new game called yank the blankie off of Mama and then laugh. He was so hungry he was grunting and slurping while he was eating. It was hilarious. So now it's time to board the plane. I have two options. 1. Remove Eli and listen to him scream and run the risk of him throwing up everywhere or 2. board the plane while he is still attached. Superwoman that I am decided to try option 2. So there we go waiting in line to board while I have Eli's feet dangling out of the blanket and he is just guzzling away. The stares I got for it were much more comical than the ones I would have got if he were screaming and throwing up! We boarded the plane and Eli just sat there happily looking around and smiling. He was getting his usual attention from people passing by. We took off and he fell asleep. We arrived and he stayed asleep. We put him in the car and he slept through rush hour. He ate again at 7:30 that night and slept the longest he has ever slept in his entire life. He went to bed at 10 pm and didn't eat until 4 am!

Here is the best part of this entire story. Eli NEVER threw up at all. I never changed his bib or outfit. I only needed 1 burp cloth. Who would have ever imagined this trip would go so smoothly? I know worrying about things never helps but I just can't help myself. I was so relieved that he traveled so well. What a little sweetie.


While we were in town Eli finally got to meet so many people! Here are just a few pictures.

Sam & Nicole, Eli's Kum and Kuma. It seems like just yesterday that Sam & Nicole were standing with us at our wedding. Now they have 2 boys we are Kumovi for and we have our Eli for them to Christen. This is such a special tradition being carried on.

Dave threw a pre-Christening party. Here are all the Hayden boys. Eli finally got to meet his Cica's (uncles): Daniel, Luke, and Adam.

It is a tradition to roast a lamb for special occasions. Dave roasted this lamb in honor of Eli's Christening. Here are Dave (Grampy) and Bato (Deda) admiring a job well done. They can't wait for Eli to able to eat the lamb with them. What a lucky boy he'll be!

Eli got to meet his cousin Luke for the first time. Cica Adam and Tata are so happy that their boys finally met. There is lots of fun waiting to be had once Eli can walk and chase after Luke. We can't wait to meet the newest addition when he or she is born in July. Look at this family grow.

Happy Birthday Milan!

Milan turned 35 this year! I keep teasing him that he is half way to 40! He says he was half way to 40 when he was 20 and that he is actually half way to 70! Technically we are both right I suppose! My guess is it's easier to think 70 rather than 40. Where on earth does time go? Milan and I met when he was 17. That was 18 years ago. Holy crap we are getting old! :)

Are you looking at this beautiful cake and wondering where I bought it? Well let's just say this cake is another tribute to my housewife in the making role. Each year for his birthday Milan requests a dessert. Last year was coconut cream pie. That was simple! So when he requested coconut cake this year I figured it couldn't be too hard! We both love Paula Deen recipes so I found hers for coconut cake. I made the cake and frosting from scratch. It was what I now call a "labor of love"! It took all morning. It is quite interesting trying to juggle a baby and it's needs along with a three layer cake with filling and homemade frosting. I was so proud of this cake when it was complete. Who knew making your husband a birthday cake could be so rewarding? He says he loved it and I believe him since I caught him drooling while eating it. :)

How cute is the balloon? It says Dad on it. I was so excited to find a balloon saying Happy Birthday Dad. What a great memory for Milan on his 35th birthday. Is there any birthday present better than a new baby and coconut cake? I doubt it.

Happy Birthday Honey, we love you! xoxo

A Frozen Little Peach

Who would have thought that Eli's first snow would be here in Georgia on March 1 no less? On Saturday night we heard it was suppose to snow on Sunday. Milan and I just chuckled thinking people in Georgia consider two snowflakes snow. As the rain came down on Sunday morning we continued to chuckle at the "snow." They were predicting one inch and we overheard Kroger was busy with people stocking up on food and water. I'm sorry but that truly is funny! Around noon I decide to look out the window at the "snow" and suddenly the sky is just dumping snow like crazy. Milan is all giddy yelling open the door and show Eli! I hate the cold so I gave him the you are out of your mind look and took Eli to the window to see his first snow. After an hour of constant snow it started sticking and I began to believe we just might get that inch of snow. My Mommy guilt kicked in and I realized I better get us bundled up and head out for the first snow pictures. Milan loves the snow as does Jack so off we trek down to the field to play ball. This snow was WET not fluffy. It was cold and yucky. The minute we step foot out of the car Eli is screaming. The snow hit his face and he was mad! I took him home after 2 minutes. That was long enough for me anyway. When we got home I saw the neighbors outside enjoying this rare occasion. I get us bundled up again so we can enjoy this memory with friends. The street reminded me of something Norman Rockwell would have painted. Kids and adults were out in the street laughing and smiling. We live in the sweetest neighborhood in America.

I'm not sure how much snow we actually did get but if I had to guess I would say somewhere around 4 inches. That is unheard of around here. We lost our phone, internet, and tv. The power flickered on and off for hours. It truly was a "treat" and made us feel like we were "home" even if it was only for a few hours.

This is what a Frozen Peach looks like!

Our first family snow photo! How sweet is this!

Jen, Cassie, & Eli

Patrick, Jen, Eli, and Ryan

"Mama is right! This stuff is wet and cold. Yuk!"

Jack finally gets some much needed attention and exercise.

Why are you smilin' Mama when you know I'm so unhappy out here?"

Everyone hanging out at our house enjoying this crazy Georgia snow.

"Burr Mama, what is this wet stuff on my face? I don't think I like it."

I heard Mama tell Tata to wear a coat but he didn't listen. He says this stuff makes he feel like he's at "home." We are home aren't we? I don't get it? Our friends thought he was crazy when they saw him and they were all dressed in snow gear!

Mama and Baby Eli