Thanksgiving Weekend

I'm so thankful for my family, my parents and siblings, and of course my new family including my precious baby, Zayd. This weekend has been so meaningful to me. I have gotten so much quality time with my hubby and my baby! I am truly blessed!

We decided we probably should join the ranks of adulthood and make a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for our family. Nick did most of the prep work and the cooking for that matter, and it was a huge success. It was too bad we couldn't share the goods with Zaydo, but he had his own Thanksgiving dinner ;). We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing and visiting with friends with a few trips to the Lakeshore trail in between. Here are the highlights for those who are interested.

Wednesday, I spent the morning bonding with Zayd, Nick came home early from work, and his aunt, uncle, and cousins stopped by on their way to the beach. Just as a reminder, Zayd slept through the night that night!


Thursday, we got up and went for a walk. The weather was perfect and Zayd loved it! Then Nick spent the rest of the afternoon preparing our dinner and I hung out with Zayd. I helped out too, a little. We had an awesome Thanksgiving dinner with Faris and watched Funny People. We had to pause it about 30 times to work with Zayd, but then he finally went to bed. He woke up once that night, which kind of burst our bubble.

The Spread

Nick Carving the TurkeyEnjoying the Meal

The "Kids Table"

Friday, we braved the mall. It was chaos. The only thing we managed to do was get coffee from Starbucks and walk around a little bit. Zayd was in his favorite place, of course, and he got a lot of attention for it. People were staring and pointing. We heard one lady say to another, "it's a baby! I didn't know what it was at first either." Really?! What else would it be, a baby sized tumor? Anyway, that afternoon we all watched the Iron Bowl and ate leftovers.
That night, Ed and Forrest came by with a delicious dinner. Ed and Nick played Super Mario Bros. for the Wii, while Forrest and I chatted. It was awesome to hang with them! Zayd was slightly on the fussier side however and not the most pleasant to be around. Perhaps it was because he wanted some of Forrest's famous white chicken chili (can't blame him).

iPhone Pic at The Gap

Saturday, we hung out at home, again, then went over to Julie and Lance's house. We'd all had enough turkey by this point, so we ordered pizza. It was delicious, and Zayd did great. Of course, I had to wear him in the sling and stand up almost the whole night, but it was worth it for him to be quiet and get a good nap. Incidentally, we got our 3rd full night's sleep that night, woohoo!

Sunday, we hung out at home. I was feeling sad that the weekend was almost over. We took Zayd on a walk and had dinner with Uncle Faris. I had sushi (granted, from Publix) for the first time in probably a year and Zayd slept from about 10 to 3:30 then woke up at 7:20. It was really hard to leave him this morning, but off to work we went. He'll understand one day.

The whole weekend was wonderful. Nick and I got some much needed rest. We ate some great food, saw our best friends, and even made time to play some Wii! In short, I think we will remember our first Thanksgiving as a family for years to come.

Zayd 2 Months!

I can't believe it, Zayd's 2 months old! We had 2 full night's sleep in a row, now we're back to getting up at 1 a.m. But, I'm an optimist, so I'm taking it as a preview for things to come. I mean, no baby just sleeps through the night 2 times and then never again, right?

So, the real question: Zayd, what are you up to now that you're 2 months old?

1. You love the bouncy seat, most of the time. Somehow, last night when our friends, Ed and Forrest were here, you wouldn't have anything to do with it. Shocker.

2. You hate the swing. Not only does it NOT calm you down, but I'm pretty sure it pisses you off. Sorry for the language, Zaydo, but there's not other way to say it.

3. You love the bath. It chills you out instantly, but it's a lot of work, and risky because you sometimes get cold and pee everywhere. That was a real problem when I was bathing you in the kitchen sink...

4. You don't really love the car. We are getting much better with that, and I can't blame you, facing the back makes me a little car sick too.

5. You LOVE the sound of the hairdryer. It hypnotizes you. I wish I had that power.
We used to run it on cold all night to get you to stay asleep. I know, that's a little crazy. But don't worry, because being tech savvy as we are, we figured out how to record it and play it from an ipod dock, much safer. But it's so loud, I'm pretty sure all of our neighbors can hear it too.

6. You live for the sling. It's our go to, on walks, at other people's houses, the mall, even at our own house. If you ever lost interest in that, I'd truly have nothing left.

You wear size 1 diapers, you're still getting breastmilk exclusively, you sleep (at the most) 12 hours a day, and you've still never left Birmingham, but I think when you do, you're gonna love it!

Also, you're beginning to coo and make noises other than screaming bloody murder, grunting, and screaming bloody murder. That was really all there was before this point. You smile some, but I think you do it more when we aren't looking. We'll catch you one of these days, and when we do, we're gonna photograph the heck out of it!

My Staff Holiday Party

The holidays are the best time to share your love and appreciation for the special people in your life. In my case, that would be my family and my wonderful staff. We had our second annual holiday party in the party room of my condo building. This year Adrienne (my assistant) and Zayd (of course) were our new additions.
I am very thankful for these three ladies. They all contribute to the practice in their own special way, and I could not do it without them! When I was off for maternity leave, I never once worried about how things were going, and that peace of mind is truly priceless! Not only that, but when I returned to work, I felt like I was going to my second home. Needless to say, I love these ladies like family, and I am very lucky to have them! Here are some pictures from the evening.

Me and the Special Guest, Zayd

Me, Zayd, Nunna, and Jido

Family Picture
The Spread

My Staff, Susie, Diane, and Adrienne
My Staff and Me

A Thanksgiving Miracle

To say that Nick and I are sleep-deprived has become an extraordinary understatement. I have referred to this in several other blog posts, so I'm not going to go into that again. No, this post is meant to signify a new era in the Gaxiola household. Yesterday (and the day before for that matter) was not so good for Zayd and his caretakers. Last night in particular, he was very fussy even while eating. I was exhausted from a long day at work and holding a screaming baby in my arms, and Nick had taken over for the last feeding. Zayd fell asleep before even finishing his last bottle around 10 p.m., and overall had had one less bottle that day than usual. 5:30 a.m. comes around and I shot out of bed like, wait a minute, where is my child? I asked Nick if he got up with him, and he said no. We went back to sleep only to find that Zayd did not wake up from his deep sleep until 7:30 this morning! You can pick your jaw up off the floor now...

As with my birth story, I was at my breaking point when Zayd decided to come through for me. I was just so tired of being tired, and beginning to think he may never sleep through the night. It didn't help that I had been hearing horror stories like a baby who had to be medicated to sleep through the night at a year old, but I digress.

This may have been a one night affair or the beginning of a new era for Zayd and us, either way it was much appreciated and needed and for now, we are going to refer to it simply as a Thanksgiving miracle!

Zayd Loves the Weekend!

I feel like I have been giving Zayd a bad rap, and that's not fair because when he's sweet, man he's sweet! He and I spent most of Friday together and on Saturday we went and visited our friends Glenn and Shereen and their little girl Zayna. She is only a week old and sleeping 10 times more than Zayd ever thought about sleeping. She didn't fuss for a second while we were there. Zayd must have been feeling competitive because he was sweet the whole time too! He even did well in the car (which is a rarity). I will have to attribute that to the fact we now keep the windows down (I can't take credit for this trick, as Susie, who works with me, suggested it). Anyway, he loves the fresh air and the white noise puts him right to sleep! Note: this paci thing is also new and only works occasionally. After trying about 7 different kinds, we have settled on this one, which is the one they give for free in hospitals. Go figure!


On Sunday, he ate well and took pretty good naps all day. He was great for my friend, Julie who brought lunch over. He was calm the whole time we were chatting. Then, my mom and I took him for a walk on Lakeshore. He stayed in the stroller for about 1 mile, then we had to stop so I could tie him up in the sling, where he stayed for the next hour and a half while we walked and went to the mall.The whole weekend he went 3 hours between his feedings, slept pretty well during the day, had consistent 5 hour stretches at night (usually followed by a 3 hour stretch) and was just generally good company.

I am also loving this new thing he is doing where he wakes up, usually around 6 or 7, we unswaddle (yeah, that's a word) him and he just hangs out in the bed with us, looking around, kicking his legs and just generally enjoying life!

I'm not sure what has gotten into him. It may be that he's getting his reflux medicine 3 times a day now, or maybe that he's 7 weeks old. My mom seems to think it's because he got to spend so much time with his mama (I'd like to think that was the case). Whatever it is, I like it, and I hope it continues!

These pictures we took on Sunday. This outfit is 3 month, and I have been waiting to put him in it, well now it's almost too tight. He's getting a little chub!



Here he his after his bath, which is still one of my favorite things to do with him. He is starting to outgrow the sink, however.

Men...

I've been trying to decide how I was going to write about the peculiar things that Zayd seems to like, then it dawned on me, he's just a typical man. He wants me to cook, clean, and look nice. Let me explain. My child, as I have referred to in previous entries, does not sleep easily. We have now discovered the following things calm him down/make him go to sleep.

1. The stove fan. I didn't figure this one out by cooking, obviously, but my mom did.
2. The washer/dryer/vacuum cleaner. No explanation needed there.
3. The hairdryer. I discovered this one day when I decided I was tired of doing nothing to my hair.

So, in conclusion, Zayd's way of telling me he wants me to be a good little housewife is by calming down only when these common household appliances are in use. Typical...

Some New Activities

Nick and I thought Zayd might need some additional stimulation, so we decided to get out some of his toys. He loved them!

Boo Boo in his bumbo (the bib is a tribute to my chi o sistas ;))

The Activity Mat

Well, I guess he reached his limit

4 Week Visit, Almost 2 Weeks Late

We had our 4 week doctor visit today. Yes, he is almost 6 weeks old. It's not exactly easy coordinating appointments when I am working, and my doctor is only there 3 days a week. Anyway, to get to the good stuff, he is 22 1/4 inches long (75th percentile) and weighs 10 lbs. 7 oz (60th percentile)! For those of you keeping up, that is BIG! So, mommy was proud, but we started talking and realized that Zayd just may have reflux. The doctor said he should be consistently going 3 hours between feedings, which he isn't, even when he's taking bottles of pumped milk. Long story short, this could be the reason for his previously unexplained fussiness and for the excessive weight gain. She seems to think that he is feeding to relieve the pain... Poor baby!

She gave us a script for Zantac to try for a couple of days, and we are going to see if that helps. I am not expecting any miracles here, but if it gives him some relief, then it was worth the trouble!

On a brighter note, he behaved really well at the doctor. He was very calm and didn't cry much, until that mean old nurse gave him his hepatitis B shot. I have never seen him that upset! He even had tears in his eyes! These pictures were taken before said shot.

Sleep?!

Though it may not be any time soon, one day I will be getting a full night's sleep again, so I thought I should write about this time just in case I forget what it is like to be chronically sleep deprived (not likely). As my labor story reported, I labored through the night. That's where it all began... Of course, once the little man arrived, I was too excited and hopped up on adrenaline to even think about sleeping. It wasn't until Sunday night when all the visitors left, the adrenaline wore off, and Zayd began screaming that I realized sleep had become a thing of the past and arguably two precious nights too soon. The first week home from the hospital, I'm quite sure I didn't sleep more than an hour at a time, and I never slept during the day. Everyone tells you to sleep when the baby sleeps, which sounds great in theory, but I have a baby that only sleeps half and hour here an hour there, and he has to be bounced or held in order to even do that, not exactly the recipe for a good nap.

I used to sleep a lot, even before I got pregnant. I took for granted the ability to doze off any time I wanted and to go to bed early, something I never seemed to do even though I could. Now, if I get 5 hours in a row, I celebrate! An on that note, the other night Zayd slept for 5 hours straight in his crib in his room. I couldn't even enjoy it because I kept waking up and saying it's been 3 hours, it's been 4 hours, oh my God it's been 5 hours. At which point, I got up and did the requisite check to make sure he's still breathing thing. Then, he woke up. But, I fed him, changed him, and put him right back down for another 3 hours. This happened 2 nights in a row! Once again, I have to give Nick credit for this new pattern. The night of the first day I went back to work, I was so tired, I could barely walk. Zayd woke up to eat, and I could not even lay down to nurse him. I went to the bed, and the next thing I knew it was 1 a.m. and Zayd was asleep in his room (he had been sleeping with us) and Nick was asleep on the floor next to him. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. I was just so happy to have gotten some rest and to see that Zayd was sleeping alone! So, that broke us of our habit and started him sleeping in his room and for longer stretches! Thank God! Let's see if it continues...

I used to dread nighttime. I knew I was going to be so sleepy, he was going to wake up non-stop, and there was just nothing good about it. Now, I don't dread it at all because I know the night is still when he sleeps for the longest amount of time with no stimulation and it's all very manageable. I say that's progress.

Great Expectations

I love Halloween. I mean what's not to love? Candy, costumes, everybody gets to be somebody else for one day. During one of our pre-birth shopping trips to Babies R Us, I noticed the baby costume section and could not resist. I pictured what Zayd would look like in his little cat outfit for months, then the day arrives and between feeding him and keeping him swaddled, it never even happened, but I was determined, so we put him in it the next day, and I have to say it was even more adorable than I had imagined. He was even cute when he was melting down on the Lakeshore Trail!