Sick Days

August has been sick for the past few days (since Thursday, when he registered a 102.1 fever), so we've been taking it easy around the Diego house.  Nothing too serious; our doctor just thinks he has a baby version of a sinus infection, and his fever is gone as of this morning.  There is a lot of coughing and nose stuff happening, though, so most of my attention has gone to the little man.
What to do with a little man who is under the weather?  Our play dates were canceled, dinners with adults were rain checked, and we've hunkered down inside the house.  I've got a few tricks up my sleeve, though!
-Bubbles!  We've got tubes of them around the house (near the high chair, living room play area, upstairs nursery, diaper bag), and they are perfect for distracting a fussy kid.  I can usually get at least 15 minutes to contented play out of them.
-Outdoor time.  I've got two picnic blankets (one in the car, one near our backyard door), so we can head outside to listen to the birds, watch Mia sniff around, touch all the leaves near the stairs, and swing!  We can be outside for up to 30 minutes without complaint.
-Baby gym. More than anything, August just wants to be mobile these days.  With adult supervision and guidance, he loves crawling/walking up our stairs as many times as our legs allow it.  He also loves to scurry over pillows I lay on the living room floor, pull himself up and 'cruise' along a furniture 'obstacle course,' and find me as I hide behind corners in the house.  The more active he is between naps, the longer he sleeps!
-Story time.  August absolutely adores books, and we have piles of them around the house for his perusal.  We do a few 10-minute story times, including a couple of songs, throughout the day.
-Drive-through outings.  Sometimes, I just have to leave the house, if only for a drive around.  August and I like hitting up the Starbucks and enjoying a treat at a park, or sharing some frozen yogurt in the back seat when I park.  He really doesn't mind his car seat, so we can be out for 30 minute increments.
-Mama workouts.  As much as I love going to classes at our YMCA, I can't leave August in their daycare while he's sick like this.  When his fever is down, though, I love taking him for runs in the stroller around our neighborhood.  He likes getting out and checking out the scenery, and I love that I don't feel like a bum sitting around the house all day.  We're usually out for about an hour this way.  Mia usually joins us, which keeps August extra entertained!
-Lots of snuggles.  Need I say more?

The Basics about August

I'm so excited to have a little 'baby week' here on The Lovely Prelude.  We'll start with some info about August, move onto what's been surprising about the first month with a baby, and close it out with the whole story about our 31-day-early delivery.  Fun stuff!

What's in a name?
While I was pregnant, JP and I had an ongoing list of names in consideration for our baby.  Unfortunately, I'd been told that 'The Churro' was inappropriate for an actual child, so we had to start from scratch.  Because of JP's Spanish heritage, we knew the name should be easy to pronounce and sound the same in both our languages, which knocked out some of my favorites (Thaddeus was high up there).  We've also had 'Augustine' picked out as a middle name since March; how could we not show some appreciation for the city that brought us together?  If not for St. Augustine, FL, this whole saga would never have started!

I kept telling JP that we would decide on the name while I was in labor, anticipating the standard 18-hour delivery time for a first-time mom.  "It'll give us something to do," was my mantra.  Well, my delivery time was significantly shorter than expected, and we had NO time to discuss a name while I was pushing in the labor room.  Our son was born first name-less!
When we got to our recovery room, we couldn't stop looking at our blank slate of a baby.  Our children will grow up with the Diego last name, so JP's family is honored in that way, and we loved the idea of representing both of our families.  David, my dad's name (and his dad's), goes just perfectly with Augustine.  We decided on the name when August was 5 hours old.
Oh, and David means, 'dearly loved,' while Augustine is, 'majestic dignity.'  Pretty awesome combination.

Why did he come early?  Is he really a premie?
My doctors insisted that there was no reason for him to deliver early; he just did.  Even though he is a generally healthy baby with all his fingers, toes, and major organs accounted for, August was born with a pretty low birth weight compared to other babies born full-term (the royal baby was over 2 pounds heavier than our kid).  He was 4.5 weeks early, so his sucking/latching skills for breastfeeding weren't fully developed (we're pretty much okay now), and we had to take him in for some additional tests that most babies don't have to do.
I haven't had my 6-week post-partum check-up yet, so maybe there will be more info then.  Despite tons of research into the topic, there's actually no agreed-upon reason for babies to be born when they are.  Only 5% of us are born on our scheduled due date, so August is definitely in the majority with this one!

How is Mia doing with a baby in the house?
Goodness, this dog is in love with August.  She is a protective and concerned older sister, sticking close to him when he cries, trying to clean his feet with her tongue (we do our best to dissuade it), and watching us closely when he's getting a diaper change.  The first week with both the baby and Mia at home was really stressful; she's not used to babies, and he wasn't used to, well, anything.  Now, one month in, Mia and August are both doing really well.  Mia has calmed down a bit, and isn't quite as up in his business.  We're all adapting pretty well!

So, how is August?  Does he do anything other than sleep?  
Contrary to popular belief (I'm looking at you, Aunt Nesi and Grandma in North Carolina!), August does have his moments of alertness!  He's definitely awake more now than he was at just a few days old, which gives us more opportunities for tummy time (which wears him out- see below), singing little songs, and 'chatting' with him.

At one month old, he likes having his hair washed, napping (obviously), laying tummyside-down on our chests, and eating.  He does not like diaper and outfit changes.  

He's a pretty good sleeper and isn't super fussy unless there's a reason (dirty diaper, gassy, hungry).  Right now, we're nursing on demand, which means about 5 hours of me feeding him throughout the day, and one or two feedings at night, depending on his 'schedule.'  I can't wait until he's a bit older so we can have a routine, even just at night.  I hear things get a bit calmer and easier to predict at 3 months, so we're 1/3 of the way there!

Does JP help out?

Seriously, I could not have asked for or created a better partner in all of this.  JP was made for fatherhood: loves kissing August's little cheeks, volunteers for skin-to-skin time with him, and takes over one of the night feedings.  Oh, and he's back to work (took a couple of weeks off to be present at home), but still finds time to visit August and I at home during lunch 3 days a week.  

Beyond how swoonworthy he is with our son, JP has been an amazing husband.  He's helped out in the kitchen, watched August so I can take a nap, and is unbelievably patient with my incessant baby talk.  Even during labor, he was encouraging and so sweet.  It's a cliche and probably obvious, but I'm even more proud to be his wife since we brought August home; I married a great man.  August and I (and Mia!) are lucky to be part of this family.  

Come back on Wednesday for more on our baby!

Abbi's Week in Photos (well, photo)

The churro and I are bumpin' it!  I've been living with 'ice cream belly' for a couple of weeks now, so it was wildly refreshing to have a few people at work (and Haley via FaceTime) finally confirm that this is a 'baby belly.'  It feels really good.  The churro is growing and (surely) getting cuter by the day!
I bought a new phone this week and, have exactly 9 photos on it.  This is one, along with the 6 pictures I took of furniture samples in Atlanta, and 2 more accidental photos of my shoes taken this morning.  Needless to say, this has been a slow week.  Can I interest you in a brief pregnancy update?
I'm close to the end of the 14th week, and officially in the second trimester, which is supposedly the golden era of growing a person.  I will say that it's nice to have some physical evidence that stuff is happening in utero, and my mood has drastically improved.  This most likely has something to do with breaking down, accepting that my body is changing, and buying some a few new wardrobe pieces for my rapidly expanding waist and bust-line.  All of me is breathing easier now that the high-waisted skinny jeans have been put into temporary retirement.
My hormones are legit all over the place- I'm crying at Miley Cyrus songs ('Party in the USA;' something about her being okay when she hears her favorite song- dude, I've totally been there), and got emotional about this week's episode of New Girl (which should really have its own post because it was so awesome and well done).  In a moment of just 'let it all out,' I even made the mistake of watching the first 10 minutes of UP.  I'm surprised there is any fluid left in my body after all of this.
I'm starting to feel better and more confident about planning for this next chapter- looking into cribs, cloth diapering, birthing options, and lots of books.  There are currently 6 taking up residence on my nightstand, and my wonderful cousin (who happens to be a doula) is awesome about answering my probably inane questions about natural childbirth.  I'm getting really comfortable saying 'uterus' and 'lanugo.'  These next 6 months are sure to fly by.

2013 Plans/ Oh, baby!

On the day of our 7-years dating anniversary, let me tell you the story about the past 10 months of my married life with John Paul:

From our first year in DC, 3 years into this journey

It's been wonderful.  I cannot be happier for John Paul to be my husband, to share his last name, to finally legitimize Miss Mia.  He is endlessly sweet and, even when we're both having bad days and dinner was a wreck and neither of us wants to man up to take the cute pup out on a walk in the cold, he makes me smile.  We've gotten better and better together over these last 7 years; I honestly thought life couldn't get much better.
On our honeymoon last March, we looked at each other over margaritas and decided we wouldn't make any major decisions for the rest of the year.  The wedding was a pretty big endeavor, and we wanted to take some time to relax and get used to being a married couple.  In 2013, we would tackle the big stuff and come up with a plan for being grown-ups.
Well, in October, JP was completely jaded by his job prospects in DC, and decided to switch things up.  A job offer in project development came up in Atlanta for early March, so he's done a 180 with his career goals.  And we're moving to Georgia next month.  Two decisions made.

That's our new home!

We thought we would probably rent an apartment for a year in the city, to acclimate ourselves with the neighborhoods before settling down in a larger space.  Now, we've officially bought a home.  Like, a grown-up home.  (It's really cute, and I can't wait to see it come together!)  The reason why follows, but, regardless, third decision done. 
The biggest, most exciting, and somewhat unexpected decision we made came to fruition way sooner than we thought it would:

In late July, we're officially going to be parents!  We're calling it 'The Churro.'  I'm sure you'll hear a lot of that name in the coming months!
It was loosely planned, and we are just totally psyched.  I'm currently in my 12th week, and feeling pretty good.  Still running (just not crazy distance- 4 miles top) and doing light weights, just tired a lot (I hear that's normal...).  John Paul has been an absolute saint, and makes me breakfast each morning (egg sandwich and sometimes a smoothie), hasn't said anything about my hot fudge sundae indulgences (we're dangerously close to a Ben&Jerry's; thank goodness we're moving soon), and says I look better than ever.  What more could a woman ask for?
So much for no big decisions in 2012.  We'll have to use 2013 to get our acts together on that one.