Some Firsts...

So, yet again, I am way behind on the blog... Surprise, surprise, yeah? :-/

Okay, so my last update (excluding the one about me quitting my job at Walgreens) was on Friday, August 20. I got a text message from my friend from work, Amber, that day. She found out that she was pregnant shortly after I did--we were three weeks apart. During my pregnancy, I found it fun to have someone to talk to who was going through all the same things as I was. Anyway, she texted me to inform me that she was finally in the hospital to have her baby! She was in labor all night. On Saturday, August 21, 2010, she gave birth to a beautiful baby girl! Her name is Cameron. She was 7 pounds, 14 ounces--only 1 pound, 3 ounces less than Max!



Our other friend from work, Noemi, wanted to go with Ryan and I to see Amber, Ty (Amber's husband), and Cameron. Ryan got home from inventory later than expected and it took us longer to get there than we'd planned, though, so we just met her in their room. Their baby is so cute! Congratulations, Ty and Amber! And welcome to the world, Cameron!

On Sunday the 22nd, my Dad invited us over for dinner. So we went over to visit them and eat. My dad has the worst luck with bees... He got stung riding his motorcycle! So he wasn't sure if his throat hurt because of the sting or if he was sick so he didn't hold Max while we were there. :-(



Taking a nap!


Max in his little hat! He doesn't like his hats very much yet!




When we got home that night, it was time to make Max sleep in his own room for the first time ever... It was a hard night! For me, anyway. We put Max in bed around 9:00 and he cried until 11:00. I did my share of crying during that time, too, and I snapped at Ryan more than I should have. He was trying to console me but I was just so upset that my baby was crying! At 11, we figured it was time for him to eat again. So I fed him and put him back in his crib. Then he fell asleep just fine!

We got Max's room all cleaned up before we let him sleep in there. He now has the nicest room in the house!

Max's closet!


The changing area--we keep extra diapers and wipes in the toy box right now, because he doesn't have very many toys yet!


The door! Max's diapers and swing...


The crib!


Mommy and Daddy's chairs!


A couple of Max's stuffed animals! They hang out in the crib when Max isn't in it!


Ready for a diaper change!


Maximus in his pajamas!




Daddy reading Max a bedtime story!


He is sleeping better and better every night. As long as we don't put him in his room before he eats at 11 or 12, he will fall asleep pretty quickly and sleep pretty well through the night. He's gone from five hours of sleep at a time to six hours, and last night I gave him an extra ounce of formula and he went seven hours between feeding times! Though if he goes over six it still makes me nervous...

Here are some pictures from Monday and Tuesday. There's nothing to report for these days because nothing especially interesting was going on...



Bear butt!


What a cutie!






I put one of Max's sleep and plays on him for bed... Apparently he has outgrown this one!


Wednesday was of course the day I quit my job at Walgreens. My boss didn't seem surprised--I think he figured my decision could go a couple of different ways. Max and I visited Daddy at work that day, too, and we went to give my friend Amber the Enfamil we decided not to use.

Speaking of Enfamil... That was a bad idea. It seemed really good at first, but Max kept throwing it all up and it completely changed his poop--it was much more solid on the Enfamil. So we decided to switch back to Similac. We've had quite the week in regards to Max's bowel movements...

Anyway, Ryan started school on Wednesday. I of course had to get a picture of him on his first day of school... He wasn't very happy about that, HaHa!



Daddy picked out this outfit for Max!




On Thursday, we were invited to Seven Peaks by Security Home Mortgage, which is the company Ryan and I got our mortgage through originally. Ryan couldn't go because he had class, but I decided to take Max and meet my mom and her husband there. I misplaced my camera so I didn't get any pictures, but Max and I hung out and talked to my mom and Russ for a couple hours. We didn't do any swimming! We had some drinks and nachos, and then Max and I left so we could go home and make dinner.

On Friday morning, I found Max had gotten his foot out of his pajamas... Granted they are a little big on him still, but I think he's going to one smart little dude...



Also on Friday, Ryan got out of work early to do something with his youngest brother, Josh. Josh is going to BYU-Idaho and starts school next week so we're not going to get so see him a whole lot. Ryan and Josh wanted to go bungee jumping before Josh left, but they couldn't find anywhere in Utah that does it anymore. So they went to the Gateway Mall and ate chocolate covered crickets and grasshoppers, and they indulged in cookies... This would probably be better for Ryan to write about since I wasn't there, but he's not one for blogging, really... But, I guess they had fun, anyway!

On Saturday Ryan had school again in the morning. I cut Max's fingernails for the first time ever. It's not as scary as I thought it was going to be. What's hard is when it's not your own nails you're cutting, you can't feel if you have skin between the clippers or not. So you have to look really closely before you snip! He did good, though! No blood! No tears! When Ryan got home from school, we headed to his mom's house. She wanted to do a family picture and one last dinner with the whole family for Josh before he left for school, so I got to organize the photo and then we ate. Poor Max had a couple accidents. We had poop go up his back for the first time ever... :-(

Ryan had more fun imitating Max that night and made me get in on it, too... ;-)











On Sunday, we went to visit my grandparents and my Uncle Hal. After that, we went home and Ry tried to get our hot tub cleaned out so we can start using it again. We both could use some more relaxation some days!

Max is smiling a lot more. We're still trying to get him to smile back at us when we smile at him. I think he's getting close! He is starting to make new sounds, too. It sounded like he said "Hi" on Saturday night, but obviously we can't count it as a first word yet! Just a sound he made that sounded like a word. He also is pretty funny sometimes when he loses his binky. It falls out of his mouth and he'll turn his towards the binky and try to suck on it!

Anyway, I've got lots to do today and have been pretty lazy so far, so I'd better go!

Hope everyone is doing well!

-Aubrey

Blessed

So I know that there are other events that I have not yet logged here, but I've had this one in particular on my mind the past couple days, so I'll fill you in on the rest of the stuff later. Also, that gives me a chance to find my camera so I can upload some pictures to go with the other events of the week...

I quit my job at Walgreens on Wednesday. It was a difficult decision to make, and I hope that it was the right one.

Ryan and I both have had medical insurance through our work places this year. It's been a little costly, but I think it's been worth it what with all of my doctor appointments. Anyway, when Max was born, we both added him to our insurances, thinking it would be good to have him double-covered until we had time to make other decisions, such as whether I would return to work full-time or part-time and whether or not we needed to keep both insurances.

We have both thought that you could cancel your insurance at any time, and that it was signing up that had to be done at certain times. We decided that if I was going to go back to work, I would go part-time. In working part-time, I would lose my insurance, so I figured that there was no sense in keeping it while I was on unpaid leave because if I did keep it, the money for the insurance would come out of my paychecks upon my return to work. Six weeks of insurance would cost me about a month's salary if I returned part-time. So, I called the insurance company to cancel our insurance on Monday.

Turns out, you can not cancel your insurance at any given time at Walgreens. It has to be done either within 30 days of a life event, or during open enrollment. It also didn't matter if I was returning to work full-time or part-time, I'd have to keep the insurance during the next six weeks until my return and then be forced to have the insurance money taken out of my paychecks. The only way out of it I could see was to return to work now (which I was not and am not ready to do) or to quit.

Another concern I have had lately is Ryan's return to school. I love that he is going to school and that he is on his way to becoming who and what he wants to be, but it is very time-consuming for him. He's decided he wants to go into radiology now rather than psychology, and he needs to maintain a good GPA to get into the radiology program. I believe in my husband. I believe he can do it. But if I were to return to work and he were to watch Max while I was working, I feel it would mean that either his grades would suffer, or Max's sense of well-being and importance would suffer.

See, I'm one of those moms who like to read up on their babies... In my recent readings, I've learned that babies whose cries are not responded to within a couple minutes most of the time seem to feel like they're not important and that what they have to say is not found important by others. This can lead to emotional and psychological problems later on. I know Ryan loves Max as much as I do, but Max needs a lot of time and attention dedicated to him. Therefore, as I said before, someone loses; or, more likely, everyone will lose--at least somewhat.

Also if I returned to work, I would only get to see Ryan for about eight hours a day, one day a week. That also means that we would only have that same amount of time every week for us all to spend some time together as a family.

So we made a big, scary decision--I would quit my job at Walgreens and try to find a stay-at-home job so I could be there to make things better for both of my boys.

And I don't know... Maybe I have underlying, selfish reasons for not wanting to return to work. I probably do. The recent management changes at work were causing me a lot of anxiety and frustration. I was terrified to go back knowing Walgreens is open for holidays--Halloween is on a weekend this year so I was guaranteed to miss Max’s first Halloween, and I was terrified of missing his first Thanksgiving and Christmas, too. I love being with Max all day and I love being with Ryan and Max together as a family. These things are just so important to me.

I know we could make things work if I went back to work. I know that I should go back and that this is probably a very selfish decision for me. I know Ryan knows we'd be fine if I went back to work, too. And I know we both know that my not working is going to take some very, very big sacrifices. But I really appreciate how good Ryan has been about this decision. We both know that it is going to be hard for him to be the bread-winner (he already was, of course, but now he's the ONLY bread-winner) as well as going to school and trying to make time for his new family.

The more and more I think about this, the more I realize how truly blessed I am. I have a husband who is willing to let us try this just for the sake of my happiness and despite my selfishness. The fact that I am married at all still amazes me. When I was younger, I didn't think I'd ever even have a boyfriend, let alone a husband. I didn't think I'd ever find someone who could love me for who I am, or even anyone who would take the time to get to know the real me. I never thought I'd have kids. I thought I'd be alone forever.

But look at me--I am married to the most amazing man I have ever met. And he loves me. I know that he loves me. To have that connection with someone--to know that they really do love you--is an incredible feeling. He loves me exactly the way I am. He lets me be emotional. He lets me make mistakes. He stands by my side, whether I'm right or I'm wrong. He lets me be me. I love him so deeply and am so lucky just to know him.

And now this wonderful man and I have this wonderful little family together. We have this perfect little angel named Maximus who is such an incredible blessing to us. I can't believe how much I love him. My son makes me feel so much more complete. I love his sweet little eyes and how tightly he wraps his arms around my shoulder when I burp him. I love when he holds my finger. I love knowing I can soothe him when he’s crying. I love how connected I feel to him, how much it feels like we are part of each other. And I know I'm lucky to have him in my life.

Diabetics have been told over and over again not to have children in the past. I am so lucky that we have the technology and information we have today. I feel that I am lucky to have diabetes rather than some other less manageable condition. Having diabetes has helped mold me to be who I am today. And I generally like who I am today, so I'm glad that this has been a part of my life.

I am blessed to have my family in my life. My immediate family, my step-families, and my in-laws are all a big part of my life. I love every member of my HUGE family. I may not always get along with everyone. We will always have disagreements. I will be mad at them from time to time. But I do love them and I know they love me.

I look around at all the amazing and wonderful things I have in my life and know that I am spoiled. I have a home. I have a car. I have lots of clothes and lots of shoes. I have a TV, a laptop, the internet, a dishwasher… I have a million things I don’t truly need. And I would gladly give up all these wonderful things for the only truly important things in my life--my husband, my son, and our families. I am so very blessed to have so many people in my life who love and care about me. And I hope that every one of them know that I love and care about them, too.

I know that I am not perfect. I'm not the best housekeep and I'm not the best cook. I make terrible decisions and I know I’m not the greatest at anything--being a wife, being a mom, being a daughter, a grand-daughter, a sister, a friend… But I am so grateful for the opportunity to try. I am so grateful to have all this love in my life.

I am so grateful to be so very blessed.

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- Aubrey

The Nelson Family This Week!

Here's what's been happening this past week!

Thursday last week, we all went to a work party for Ryan. The president of the company, Doug, told me that Ryan is one of the hardest-working employees at the company and that they really like having him there. He said they're trying to find a way for Ryan to be able to keep climbing in the company. Little Max and I are so proud of him! One of the girls Ryan works with had her baby five days before Max was born, and she brought her baby girl to the party, too. Her baby weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces when it was born--2 pounds, 3 ounces heavier than little Max! Max looked SO big compared to her!! We were at the party for almost two hours before we decided it was time for Max to go home.

Max cried on Thursday when I tried to get some boogers out of his nose, and for the first time ever, he actually cried tears! He cried actual tears twice that day. It was sad!

Amost got the smile...


Max's helicopter jammies from Aunt B! He's only had them since March, HaHa!


Ryan imitating Max... It was pretty funny!!


HaHa!








A tattoo Ry got out of his Spongebob Cream of Wheat box... HaHa!


The little guy cracks me up! If he had more space, I bed he'd wind up pulling off a complete 180!


On Saturday, we went to Babies "R" Us to get some diaper rash spray. We checked out the clothes while we were there and found some shirts and shorts all around $2 each! So we got a couple outfits for little Max. We also found a really cute leather jacket I wanted to get, but it was kind of expensive, so we passed on it.

Look at him lifting his head!!


Tummy time!


Little Max is always trying to be so independent. Look at him holding his own bottle! He put his hands up and didn't want me to hold it! (I did, of course, after I snapped a picture!)


On Sunday, we needed to pick up some groceries. First, though, we went to Smith's Marketplace. My sister, Brooke, texted me to tell me that there were new Halloween costumes there for babies. So we swung out that way to check them out. Max started getting really fussy while we were there, though, so we didn't stay long. When we got home, the poor guy just wouldn't stop crying. I held him and tried to comfort him, but nothing I did was working. I had him in my lap and I was looking at his sad little face. He looked like he was in pain. Finally, a little toot came out of him and he got this look of relief on his face for a moment, but then he looked like he was in pain and started crying again. So we decided he must have gas pretty bad. We gave him some medicine, but it didn't work for very long. I sang to him and cuddled him and rocked him for so long that evening. I felt so bad. He obviously didn't feel very good.

Ryan had the day off work on Monday because he has to work on Saturday--they have inventory at his work this weekend. So, we decided to go to IKEA for fun. Max did so good! He only got fussy when he was hungry. He seemed to be feeling a lot better than he did the day before. We got a picture frame so I can put up our own family picture when I get one printed and we got a couple of garbage cans--we need one in the laundry room. Ry grabbed a second one that doesn't have a home yet. I'm thinking we can put it in the office as soon as we get it set up!

We decided to go visit Ryan's family that evening. Ryan's dad and his wife went out for her family reunion last week and they brought back a gift for Max--Converse socks! They are so cute! There is a green pair and a black pair. They're adorable! Melissa, Nixon, and Jaden came over that night, too. They'd just gotten home from a trip with Ryan's mom to Colorado. It was fun to see everyone. When it was time for us to go, Nixon gave me a hug. He didn't hug me for long and as soon as he was done, he ran to his mom. I'm pretty sure I heard him tell her he thought there was another baby in my belly! HaHa! I got a kick out of it! It's funny that he would notice my still-bulging belly at his age!

Just missed his smile!!


Mommy's little cuddle buddy!


Max in one of his baseball outfits... It's a little big!!


On Tuesday, my dad came over with Michelle, Sean, and Chainda to visit Max. After they left, Ryan and I tried to get Max's footprints on paper. We both decided that we want to get a footprint tattooed somewhere on our body. Mine is going somewhere on my back. Ryan says he wants one on his chest. We also tried to get Max's handprint, but he keeps his fists clenched so tight! And when they're loose, he wakes up and clenches them as soon as we put them on the ink pad! After that, we took Max for a walk in his stroller before coming home and getting ready for bed.

Ready for bed!


Ryan thought Max was so cute laying like this! Though it's an awful picture of me... :-P


On Wednesday, I ordered my insulin and test strip prescriptions to be refilled at work because we're cancelling my insurance and are going to have to find a new pharmacy (Ryan's insurance isn't contracted with Walgreens, apparently), so I figured I'd fill them one more time to give us some extra time. So I tried to hurry and get ready to go, but my little sweetheart just wanted to cuddle with me all day. He cried the whole time I was in the shower and I had to hold him while I was doing my make up. I didn't even try to do my hair, HaHa. If I put him down, he started crying immediately and would not stop unless I held him! He fell asleep in the car on my way to Pleasant Grove.

First we stopped at Ryan's work so he could see Max for a minute on his break. Then we headed to my dad's house to get a letter from my bank. I had to call my brother, Corbin, to come watch Max in the car for a minute for me--I forgot my dad put up a gate so the dogs can't get upstairs anymore...

After that, we headed to Walgreens to pick up my prescriptions. My boss had texted me the day before to let me know that one of my regular customers, Mrs. Walker, had brought me a baby gift. So I picked that up while I was there, too. I don't really miss working, but I do miss some of the people I work with and some of my customers. I can't believe that one of them actually brought me a gift! It was really nice of her.

Next we stopped at my mom's house. She held Max for a while and he made her arm fall asleep!! The little guy is getting so big, HaHa! We finally went home and made dinner. Max's Great-Grandma and -Grandpa Leonard came over to visit him that night, too. They'd gone out to dinner for their 48th anniversary and wanted to come see him while they were out.

Little punk in his Beatles shirt and his Converse shoes!


I can totally see his Daddy wearing the exact same outfit! We need to find him a matching shirt!


The cute little Converse sock Grandma and Grandpa Nelson got for Max!


Yesterday, Max finished off one of his big containers of Similac formula. This week, we found some Enfamil on clearance for $5.88 at the Walgreens my sister, Brooke, so we decided to try it out. We started Max on it yesterday. He seems to be doing well on it so far. He may even be doing better on this than he does on the Similac, which is kind of unfortunate, because the Enfamil is typically more expensive... But oh, well. We will do what we have to do to keep the little guy healthy and happy!

I also had my six week postpartum check up yesterday. I wasn't exactly thrilled to go for obvious and less obvious reasons... But, regardless, the appointment went well. I saw the nurse practitioner, Casey Sullivan, instead of Dr. Glenn. She was really nice. She said that everything looked good and that my incision was healing well, and that the scar would fade to a lighter color eventually (it's still a dark reddish-purple color). She also set me up with a new birth control prescription. I asked for the NuvaRing, which is what I was on before I got pregnant. I was happy to hear that I can get a coupon from the NuvaRing website that will save me $15 a month for six months for my prescription. It is a little weird to go back on birth control now. It's been such a long time since I've had to worry about it! But I guess it's probably smart to get back on it--I had a dream the night before the appointment that I went to the appointment and found out that I was pregnant again!

Yesterday when I left for my appointment, it was also the very first time I've ever left Max. Ryan made sure he got home in time for me to go so he could watch Max. It was kind of hard to do, and it made me sad to look in my rearview mirror and see an empty carseat base reflected back at me in the baby mirror... I was only gone an hour, but it was a relief to be back home with the little guy!

Cute little nose!


Cute little eye!


Cute little lips!


I love when he stretches!


Mr. Max in one of his cute new outfits!


In other news... Ryan goes back to school next week. And he's changed his major! He's decided he wants to go into radiology. Max and I are very proud of him! Ryan is really excited about this, so I'm happy. I just want him to be happy in whatever career he chooses!

Also, we've decided that we are probably going to stick to Huggies diapers from now on... Luvs are terrible--as soon as they get wet, they sag, so when Max poops, the poop goes out of the diaper and down his legs. Two pairs of his pajamas are now ruined thanks to Luvs. The straps on Pampers are weak--they rip while Max is wearing them. Parent's Choice rubs pretty bad and makes the poor little guy really red. So, Huggies is what I think we're going to stick with!

Ryan has inventory at work today and tomorrow, so little Max and I don't get to see him until it's time for bed. :-(

Anyway, until next week, I'm sure... HaHa! Hope you all have a great week!

-Aubrey