Work More = Less Stress??

Is it possible that working more hours in the office could reduce my stress level? Two weeks ago, I switched my schedule from alternating days in the office and at home. Now, I’m working 3 days in the office and then just a couple hours at home on Thursdays. It's reduced my stress level quite a bit because:
- I know I'm getting my work done and not trying to lug my files and laptop back and forth every day.
- I’m leaving the office a half hour earlier on the days I do work, so I’m racing to get to daycare on time.
- We LOVE our daycare, so it doesn't worry me that Owen’s spending a bit more time there. In some ways, I feel the interaction with other kids may be good for him.
- When I’m home with Owen, he gets to be my focus. On Thursdays, I can get my work done during his naps.

It seems to work for us to settle into our work routine for 3 days at a time and then enjoy 4 days at home. I really feel for those moms that have to work full time or don’t have a flexible employer. How do they do it? No matter how you look at it, being a working mom is HARD.

First Snow!

I guess it's been a while since I've posted anything new. Both families were here for Thanksgiving, so we were busy prepping and recovering. I'll post some photos from the weekend soon. In the meantime, we had our first snow here in town yesterday. Owen and I only ventured out for a few minutes, but today we're going to bundle up and go walking with a couple of my mom friends.

Owen's also been trying rice cereal a couple times/week. He seems to love the IDEA of eating - everything else goes in his mouth these days anyway - but not much actually goes down the hatch. We're not in a hurry, but I am looking forward to making some of my own baby food once he figures it out.

Thanksgiving pictures coming soon!

Feeling Better

After last week's awful, awful days of vomiting, I wanted to post an update. Owen is doing MUCH BETTER this week. He started doing better on Sunday, and has had very little vomit since. Scott thinks it just took a few days for the new medication to build up in his system. He's still spitting up a fair amount, but as one of my mom's group friends said today, "That's the smallest amount I've ever seen come out of him after a feeding." It's a huge relief to me to know that he's feeling better. Plus, he's not coughing as much at night and the congestion he's had for the last month is subsiding. Both are signs that he's not refluxing as much or getting liquid into his air lungs. Hooray!

4 months - The Happy Spewer

Things Owen Loves at 4 months old:




Dad's guitar








His Ball - Yum.







"Standing"





And of course, HIS BATH! We have a great video I'll have to post.


Things Owen is not so sure about at 4 months old:




Cisco the Cat




Things Owen does not like at 4 months old:
Tummy Time
VOMITING

We're excited that Owen has reached the 4 month mark. His nickname is officially, "The Happy Spewer" because the Axid medication has really helped his comfort level amid the vomiting. However, he's showing increased respiratory distress (coughing, gagging, straining to clear his airway - yikes!) so we've switched him to a stronger medicine. It's been a rough couple days while we wait for the new meds to take effect. Owen is pretty unhappy and I was so soggy by noon yesterday that I decided NOT to change clothes - might as well catch all the vomit on one set of clothes each day instead of adding another pair of pants to the hamper...gross.

Sooo... After today's visit with the doctor (we were there yesterday, too), we decided to stick with the Prevacid a few more days, add Reglan to try and move the food out of his belly faster and re-evaluate next week. Let's hope we can get this under control. The vomiting is messy, but manageable. The gagging and choking is downright scary.

Good news, at 11 lb, 12 oz, Owen is charging along in the 3-5 percentile. At least he's still gaining weight and SLEEPING LIKE A CHAMP thanks to Scott's new swaddling technique.

Happy Halloween

Neither Scott or I are much into Halloween, but after seeing all the kiddos (and teachers!) dressed up at daycare, I can see why this holiday is much more fun with kids. We didn't invest in the baby Halloween costume (though they are darn cute!), but I did make sure Owen celebrated the holiday in style. We took Owen to a couple friends' houses, but then shut our lights off at 7:30, so the doorbell wouldn't wake the baby. Lame? Maybe, but we'll be more into it next year.