Keegan is getting so big!  Tommorrow is his 5 month birthday, so we’re pretty excited at all of the milestones he’s made.  He’s rolling over, babbling nonstop, playing with and grasping toys, and knows his name. I know that for those of you that don’t have children, that sounds kind of lame, but for those of you that do have kids, you’ll understand why we just sit around and freak out when he does any of these things.  Babies are awesome.  I wouldn’t say that I’m ready to be pregnant again, but it’s an awful lot of fun being a mom.

We have workers in the house today.

 I was feeding Keegan the old fashioned way.

They called me into the living room to ask a question.

I interrupted Keegan’s lunch and got up to answer the guys.

I, um, didn’t put away the lunch “equipment”.  Oops.

I’m still trying to figure out if they noticed, as Keegan was partly covering it up, or if they are just really polite people.

This week we’re working on the yard and getting HVAC estimates.  We’re really hoping not to break the bank there.  I have a good idea of what it should cost, but the first estimate was insane.  Sort of like our first  kitchen estimate.  WOW.  I’m also hoping to have lunch with my friends and maybe even get to the Replay one afternoon after Sean gets home.

I think Keegan is gaining weight, so I feel a lot better about our nursing schedule… we’re pros now.  Who knew really how hard it could be? 

I’m off to shower and go to my breastfeeding group.  Yes, to answer your question, we DO sit in a circle and breastfeed our kids.  But it’s really more of a Q&A thing with a nurse and lactation specialist at the local hospital.  I really enjoy the cameraderie and I like hearing other people’s issues.  I’ve learned a lot. 

We’re so happy, and very much in love.  We’re also very much tired at this point, but trying hard to maintain a normal life.  The kid loves to eat, which means most of my time is spent on the bed feeding the little one.  I enjoy that time so much and I’m so happy it was so easy for Keegan and I both.

Birth story is nothing much to tell… easy labor until the MAJOR contractions set in, they suck, they are horrific and terribly painful and I’ve never felt that kind of awful pain.  I even have a generally high tolerance, and seriously, they sucked.  But I made it to 7 cm before the lovely lovely lovely epidural doctor came in and rocked my world with the most wonderful pain relief EV-AR.  Once I had that juice of heaven coursing through a hole in my back, it was smooth sailing.  I had to have a little pitocin as my labor slowed after the epidural,  but that was no big deal, I felt nothing.  They finally asked me if I wanted to push, and I said yep, and we were rolling… I pushed for a very short time (this time is anywhere from 45 mins to 25 mins depending on who you ask) and Keegan was here!  Labor was really cool, actually, cause they put him on my stomach right after he came out.  He was all covered in the vernix, and screaming, but really was (and I hate to sound cheesy, but I can’t help it) the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.

After he was born we had some jaundice issues so Keeg had to spend a couple of days under the bililights, but they did the trick and he has been a dream baby ever since.  He cries only when wet or hungry, and otherwise is a very alert little dude with a major interest in anything he can stare at.  Sean and I just love to watch him. He loves his swing and Sean will just put the swing in the living room and play video games, all the while talking to Keegan, and Keeg just sits there swinging, happy as can be.  It’s all very cute.

Recovery for me was a breeze, I guess it’s hell for most but for me it was a couple of days of being uncomfortable.  I was off the pain meds after the second day.  No dirtly details to share, but people ask, so I’ll keep it delicate… I didn’t have to get stitches, so my recovery was super easy. 

I miss work and my friends, but more than anything I’m thankful to stay home with my sweet boy.  I think quite often about if I could stay home full time, and although the idea is great, in all practicality, I’d go insane which would not be healthy for the boy.  I love what I do, my career is my hobby, so I think a healthy, happy, productive mother is much more in line with the kind of parent I want to be. 

I do kind of miss being pregnant… but not enough to have one for another few years.  If we have another, we’d like to do it soon, but I’m enjoying new parenthood right now.  That, and red wine with dinner (no worries, I pump milk for the little guy, he gets none of it!).

Plans for this summer include trying to get to Chicago to see Grandpa Jack Derning and that side of the fam, and also getting to Tennessee to introduce the boy to my extended family.  We can’t wait for everyone to meet him.

 I went into early labor on Friday night, and I don’t want to rehash the story, but if you’re pregnant, and you have contractions that hurt, you should try the stadol.  Seriously.  She said it would feel like I had three martinis instantly, and she was totally right.  It was NIIICE. 

 Another thing about Friday- my best friend Elizabeth told me that contractions felt like being poisoned and then shot.  And she was totally right!  The nurses thought that was a pretty funny and apt description.