Pure, Genuine Love...

On Monday (03/16), CJ will be three months old!! We've hit so many milestones in the past few weeks, I haven't been able to keep up!! The one I am most proud of is his laughter. It is the most beautiful laugh I've ever heard. We hit that milestone March 11 (also, my niece Abby's 1st birthday) right before shower time!! I was blowing raspberries on CJ's belly, and WHAM! a good bit of laughter. Of course it brought tears to my eyes, and Frankie was excited as well! He was on a work call, but he was able to catch some of the laughter's end when he was able to break loose from the call. My biggest realization in these fast few weeks was putting a finger what a mother's love is all about.... It is by far the purest, most genuine love I have ever known and experienced. Everyday my heart swells up even more than I thought it ever could. I'm a big mush, I know. And I'm sure that everyday my love for CJ is going to grow and grow and grow.........

Also, CJ is very adamant about sitting up now. He will pull his head up and not want to lean back anymore. He has to take in everything that is going on. We have a Fisher Price Kick & Play Bouncer. It is probably CJ's most favorite toy... He loves kicking and watching the music go off. If I knew how to upload videos off of my cell phone, I would totally post it; however, I am far from technologically inclined. (This blog, with pictures, is as far as I can go really.) He is also a big fan of His Fisher Price Kick and Crawl Playmat, specifically the inflatable ball with a rattle inside. He likes to hit and kick the ball all at the same time!!! Very talented I think. (Perhaps a future soccer player, or NFL kicker?? Eh, we have PLENTY of time to see about that...) We put a Whoozit on his carseat straps, and let me tell you, that toy is worth every penny... Thankfully, I "inherited" this toy from a family I used to babysit for... A great investment, I think.... CJ loves playing with all the little trinkets that hang from it's sides... A definite award winner in my eyes.

We have a few upcoming events this month... March 14, we have Abby's birthday party. This will be his first party!! And at the end of the month, we are gearing up for CJ's Christening March 28! I have to say, I've always wanted to have a boy. BUT when I go out looking for Christening outfits (or clothes in general), girls definitely win that battle. Yes, boys clothes are cute, but there is SO much more for girls. No biggy though; I found CJ's after-ceremony outfit, and we are working on the actual Christening outfit...

In the next few weeks, I'm planning on uploading CJ's photos from my digital camera onto a website. I uploaded them onto my home PC, and that computer just crashed. Thank goodness I never deleted the photos from the memory card!!! PHEW!! When those pictures are uploaded, I will put up the link to the site. I know many of you are waiting for pictures to be posted. I am pretty bad with uploading/posting... =\ I promise, they will come soon!!

Two months and counting...

I certainly can not believe CJ has reached two months old already! I know it's very cliche to say, but time goes by way too fast. I can't emphasize this enough. To new parents, and parents to be, I have one piece of unsolicited advice to offer you (and I'm far away from being a parenting expert)! If you want to remember the youngest days/weeks/months of your child's life, write it all down. Keep track of everything you think you're going to want to remember and reminisce about: how much s/he sleeps, eats, poops, pees, farts, etc. I assure you, when you say to yourself, "I'll do it later"; Take it from me, it never happens. Monday when we woke up, CJ was all smiles (as he is most mornings). I sat there and I tried to remember the first two weeks we came home. (Granted those two weeks were Christmas and then New Year's, where everything around the holidays in general is a big blur, with or without a baby!) To my surprise, I sadly, and unfortunately couldn't remember much. I do remember always holding him when he would sleep and wait for his sleepy smiles and funny faces. I remember never wanting to put him down. We cuddled A LOT. We took trips to the doctor's office week one and week two. If I didn't write down in CJ's baby book how much he weighed, I never would be able to remember today.

This is (a small amount of) what I've experienced/learned from my two months of being a mommy: Take pictures of everything (crying, smiling, sleeping, laying like a lump, in a swing, in his crib/bassinet, ANYTHING). And make sure you get some pictures with your baby as well. Take family pictures as often as possible. Don't have someone to take a picture? Well, do the old "reach your arm out as far as you can" trick. No matter how tired you are, always take a shower to rejuvenate yourself. Before you go into labor (my suggestion is to do this as early as you want in your pregnancy), go buy some fancy or your favorite moisturizing body wash/body lotion/or some exfoliating shower salt glows or something of the sort. If possible, buy some hair products that allow you to style your hair without having to blow dry it. Put the items away for when you bring baby home. Trust me, you will feel SO much better after having pampered yourself. Even this very short and subtle shower experience post-delivery will make you feel 150% better than you did before; plus it gives you a pretty feeling again!!

CJ had his 2 month check-up with Dr. Katz Friday, February 20... My little chunker is just that, a chunker; a very healthy, happy chunky man. Here are his stats:
Wt: 13lbs, 9oz//Ht: 23inches//HC: 16 inches (His weight was over 75th percentile and his height is just above the 50th... like I said, a little chunker!!)

Prior Stats:
1 month (01.20.09) Wt: 10lbs, 12oz//Ht: 22.25inches//HC: 15inches (75th percentile across the board!)
2 weeks (01.02.09) Wt: 8lbs, 6oz//Ht: 21inches//HC: 14inches
1 week (12.23.08) Wt: 7lbs, 5oz//Ht: 20inches//HC: 13.75inches
Birth (12.16.08) Wt: 7lbs, 8oz//Ht: 19.25inches//HC: 34.5cm

The importance of CJ's smiles

It's no longer important that I don't remember what it feels like to sleep more than 2 1/2 hours at a time... What is important is the look on CJ's face when after I change his little non-existent butt after he wakes up in the morning. His smiles are beautiful...

His smiles in the morning are by far the best (for me at least!) Whether he is wide awake and happy for 15 minutes or an hour, his cheerfulness gets me through the rest of the day; no matter what time we wake up, how much we slept the night before... It all just doesn't matter after he shows me his gorgeous, toothless smile.

CJ is about a week away from being 2 months old (February 16 he'll officially be 2 months). His greatest achievement at this point, I think, is smiling when he hears my voice and sees my face. It fills me up with happiness I never knew existed!! He's also developing well. He's holding his head up like a champ, and he doesn't fight tummy time (as long as we get him on his belly under his terms, he's happy; that is the key to tummy time I believe.) His newest thing is chewing on my finger. He loves to chew on my pinky right in front, and then also in the back of his mouth... He doesn't take a binky from me, which is ok, I'm not against them or for them. If they work, they work. If not, I don't want to force him to take it, but he also chews on those now!! i wasn't sure if it a sign of teething (not very likely, but who knows!?)

We go to the pediatrician February 20 for his two month check up and some vaccines. I'm spreading out his vaccines so he doesn't get more than two at a time. If I can, I will only allow him to get one at a time. It's pretty stressful for him to undergo more than that I think. Yes, I survived the shots and so have many other people. But when he gets one, he tenses his arms and legs up, and putting a needle into a tense muscle doesn't feel very good!!

Anyways, CJ is eating like a champ, he takes a bottle (of expressed BM) for daddy (not for me... he'd rather have the real stuff, I guess). But it is kind of nice just in case I want to or have to go out somewhere, and daddy is watching him. I've gone out to the store for a quick ride, but never out for more than an hour (and I've done that once, maybe twice). And I'm always local!! Never more than 10 minutes away. I'm certainly NOT complaining because I don't think I'm ready to leave him for more than that yet! February 28th I'm heading to a tricky tray and that will be my first night out of the house with Frankie home with CJ for a good amount of time. The doors open at 5pm and the auctions start at 7pm... However, the school where the event is being held is within walking distance (10 minutes max; 1-3 minutes driving (depending on lights). So if I had to get home for whatever reason, I'm REALLY close. I think it's a good planned first night out!!!

All in all, everything is going well. Transitioning to parenthood can be a challenge. Don't get me wrong, Frank and I have had some up's and down's over the past almost 8 weeks, but everything has been up for the most part! I'm pretty much exclusively breastfeeding, so Frankie doesn't necessarily have to get up at night. I'm a little quicker with changing diapers, so I take care of them at night... It keeps CJ sleeping rather than waking up!! Plus, CJ has an innate sense of who is changing him, and he usually pee's on Frankie 2 out of 3 times when he changes him!! We agreed that during the night, I'll change him so we ALL can get some more sleep... Silly daddy!!

Mommyhood = Exhaustion

Reading through the Sunday Star-Ledger when I first wake up: Out.
Being stuck in the LazyBoy all day watching Lifetime Movies: Long gone.
Waking up at the butt-crack of dawn: Good morning, sunshine!
Cleaning a poopy diaper every 20 minutes: Embrace change.
Feeding a 5 1/2 week old during a growth spurt: Farewell, my body.

I gain a few things (seeing how fast the sun rise) and I lose a few things (a couple ounces as CJ feeds). It's all part of the whole package I signed up for. Not that I am complaining, because being a mommy trumps all, just never realized how tiring it really is. Frankie is a huge help if I need an extra ten minutes in bed just to collect myself. I have a new respect for parents of newborn multiples (and to think, I was praying for twins!!)

The past couple of days have been rough, I must admit. CJ has been very fussy. He hasn't wanted to sleep unless he's being held, or in his swing (which thanks to Aunt Gabby has saved my arms and my sanity!!). He wants to constantly move; and just can't sit still. He fusses when he eats sometimes; latches on, cries a little, latches on some more, cries a little more. Sometimes he doesn't. When he does eat, he eats quite a bit. Burps some. Farts some. (He burps like a grown man. And farts just the same... amazing). I came to the conclusion last night that he has to be going through a growth spurt... His sleeping "pattern" is a wee bit off... Babies are very difficult to read; sometimes I get very upset because I can't figure out why CJ is doing what he's doing, or what he wants when he is fussy... I know sometimes it just happens, but I feel so helpless!!

From what I understand, growth spurts can last 2 -3 days, or up to a week... I'm hoping that by the end of tonight, I have a better outlook for the week...

I wouldn't be able to get through the day without Frankie around! He has been there for me every step of the way. Sometimes he gets CJ to calm down and relax when I've exerted all my efforts, and then I feel somewhat bad because Mommy couldn't get him to calm down. I don't get too down on myself, maybe CJ just needed Daddy time, who knows??

CJ is sleeping upstairs. Daddy is doing laundry. And Mommy is just going to relax for an hour until the cow bell cries.........

It's been a while...

Well, it's been a while since my last post, and now that CJ is sleeping (for the night) and I don't have laundry to fold, or beds to make, or anything else on my list to do, why not update my blog?

A quick run-down since my last posting....

CJ was born Tuesday, December 16 @ 8:11am after I was induced at 11pm Monday night... The results of my 24-hour urine test came back with too high of a protein level for my doctor's liking and decided to induce me before I ran into kidney problems... It was a very harsh labor, but nevertheless, it was fast! 9 hours total. The resident OB broke my water at 5:30am, and at 8:00am, I started pushing (even though i was ready at 7:30am... not very happy....) CJ received 9's on both his APGAR's (good boy). He was born with a cephalohematoma (fancy word for bruising on his head). The pediatrician said it could cause him to deal with some jaundice, sure enough, she was correct. My poor monkey man spent a total of 2 days under the bili-lights... Rather then go into the details of my fights with the nursery and the pediatrician, I'll just say, St. Barnabas is a hospital that I will never deliver another baby at. (Their NICU is one of THE BEST, but regular nursery, that could use some help, or perhaps a new staff.....). Anyways, we brought him home Saturday, December 20 in the morning in yucky weather! We made it home safe and sound, and here we are 5 weeks later...



Mommyhood has been the most rewarding experience (and I'm only 5 weeks into it all!!) I never wanted to have a baby born in the winter because it would be too cold to bring him out, bad weather, fear of being stuck in the house during a snowstorm, etc. HOWEVER, since I have experienced it, I think it might just be the best time to have a baby. You are basically forced to stay in the house because of the weather and nest with your baby. If it was warmer out, I would be more inclined to go here, and go there. No, I'm not saying you should stay all cooped up with a baby because you can't take them out... But, I'm not much of a home body, and these past 5 weeks have been great. The weather isn't so favorable to go out in, so CJ and I have spent a lot of time together getting to know each other.


I am very biased, but when he smiles, it's beautiful. Sometimes I find myself filling up with tears when he does (I know, blame it on the raging/unbalanced hormones). He used to only really smile when he was on the verge of falling asleep, but since Monday night (which was when I received my first official smile while he was completely wide awake), he has been smiling quite often.

Tuesday (01.20.09) CJ had his one month check up with the pediatrician... here are his stats:
Wt: 10lbs, 12oz//Ht: 22.25inches//HC: 15inches
(75th percentile across the board!)

Prior stats:
Birth (12.16.08) Wt: 7lbs, 8oz//Ht: 19.25inches//HC: 34.5cm
1 week (12.23.08) Wt: 7lbs, 5oz//Ht: 20inches//HC: 13.75inches
2 weeks (01.02.09) Wt: 8lbs, 6oz//Ht: 21inches//HC: 14inches



So, as you can see, CJ is gaining weight like a champ (an for any mom that is breastfeeding, I like to say, props to the mommy!!! so yay me!!) He's latched on great the first time we tried, and since then, he is munching down his num-num's like a professional!! I had one little incident with mastitis (OUCH!!) but spoke with a lactation consultant, laid in bed and nursed all day long for 2 days... by the end of the first day, my fever had subsided, and the mastitis took care of itself and there was no need for me to go on antibiotics!! (Boo to the doctor who told me to stop breastfeeding... shame on you!!)



Now that CJ has put himself on somewhat of a routine, I should hopefully be able to keep this blog updated regularly (semi-regularly) now. As I said earlier, and I can't express it enough, these past 5 weeks have been more rewarding than anything else I have ever experienced. I am so thankful that CJ is healthy, happy (most of the time), and here in my arms. My husband and I are so thrilled and filled with so much love for him and even more for each other now. I have to say, when my son was born, a new love developed for his daddy! That new love for my husband was a completely unexpected feeling, and hit me pretty hard. It's kind of like I fell in love all over again with him, but at the same time, like I was meeting a new person. He has done great with CJ, and I knew from way back when (I can't say since the day I met him, because I met him when I was 9) that he was going to make a great father. I couldn't be happier with my new family.


The pictures I posted were some pictures from my phone. I haven't even began to tap into the camera yet.... Eventually, my life will get back on track and I'll be able to keep up (as best I can). I just love spending all my time with CJ!! I can stare at him sleep for hours; I can lay next to him and coo back and forth. I can sing to him and dance around with him all day!! I just love being a mommy....... I love it. I love everything about it..........

Patiently waiting....

Friday, December 12, 2008 @ 11:00pm: Call my doctor's office because I thought I might have had a slow amniotic fluid leak. He says to go to the PET unit (Perinatal Evaluation and Treatment Unit) to get it all checked out... I call my mom to come with me, let Frank know, and tell him to hang out and relax until I know what's going on. He was ok with that. If something was wrong after being tested, my mom was there and Frankie was just a phone call away. The first-year resident comes in with a med. student and does an ultrasound to check the levels of amniotic fluid. He said everything looked good with the fluid pockets. Then he does an internal. Checks my cervix everything feels ok, and he informs me that I'm between 1-2cm dialated!!! Horray! He said that's some good news. The nurse came in, Lacey (a great nurse, btw!), came in to hook me up to the fetal monitors and take my blood pressure. Baby's heartrate is good, no contractions on my end... Well, my blood pressure was quite a bit high. 161/87ish... The continue to cycle the blood pressure cuff to take it every 15 minutes... It is still up 157/85ish, 155/85ish... Well, I get the results from the amniotic fluid testing, and there is no sign of leakage!! Just normal pregnancy stuff going on... The resident speaks with my ob/gyn who in turn is not happy with the high BP, considering I'm usually under120/78ish... Everything is ok with the fluid and CJ, but my high blood pressure earns me some blood work and a urinalysis. They lay me on my side in hopes to lower my BP... it starts heading down. YAY! Blood work comes back fine, but there is protein present in my urine. The protein indicates my kidney's are having a bit of a hard time functioning. Possibly due to a conditoin called Preeclampsia (pregnancy induced hypertension). My BP goes down, and my doctor orders a 24-hour urine collection (what fun!). They do that in order to quantify the level of protein to the amount of urine. They say start at anytime, and bring it back 24 hours later. Follow up with Dr. Victor on Monday. He will decided whether of not to induce labor if you do have preeclampsia and give you more information when you see him... It's 2:15am and I get discharged and head home with my lovely container and a potential induction on my mind...

Saturday, December 13, 2008 @ 9:00am: Ring ring ring... "Good morning, this is Dr. Dresner (the on-call OB at the group I see) calling." He went into the hospital to do his rounds, and looked at my chart. He didn't like the numbers on the chart and didn't want me to wait until Monday to see Dr. Victor. He asked me to go into the hospital that night between 7 and 8pm to get monitored again. Sure no problem. I get up there around 6:45pm, register with the PET unit again, get my loads of paperwork (again) and go into the room. The nurses tonight weren't as pleasant as Lacey was the night before. Thank goodness their shift was over at 7:00pm. (I was in the room at 6:58 after registering. Only 2 more minutes. AMEN!) They had NO idea why the doctor would send me back in to get monitored... Either way, they hooked me up and the BP was NORMAL! 121/80... How perfect. They do more blood work, that comes back normal. But again, still protein present in the urine... They discharge me at 8:10pm and my mom and I grab a bite to eat at a local diner.

Sunday, December 14, 2008 @ 7:00am: Wake up time! Collect my last specimen and head up to St. Barnabas again. Drop of the container and give one more blood sample. Head home, and I'm back to sleep around 9:00 just because I'm insanely tired...

So here is what all of this means... I see Dr. Victor in the office tomorrow for a regular visit, as well as the follow up and receive the results of the 24-hr test, and discuss the options of there is still protein present. From what I was told by the Dr. Dresner Saturday morning is that if there is still protein present, Dr. Victor may want to induce labor and make sure my kidney's are functioning properly. High blood pressure puts strain on the kidney's which in turn can complicate things for me. High blood pressure can complicate things with CJ, too.

Personally, I'm not sure how I feel about an induction. Everyone has a pre-set ideal on how they see their pregnancy, labor and delivery... THIS was not certainly something I saw coming, and honestly, I never even gave one thought about it. Rather than worrying, I'm going to wait until I see Dr. Victor tomorrow afternoon and see what his thoughts are. Who knows, he can say, "Everything is fine to progress on it's own", or "You need to be put on bedrest," or even "You're going to be induced." Whatever the case, all I want is a healthy baby and a healthy delivery without complications. Wish me luck at the doctor's office tomorrow, and I'll be sure to update when I know more!!! =) Till then, enjoy the waning hours of the weekend!!!

Welcome to my first blog, Supermommy In-Stinks!!

Welcome to my first blog ever!! After a bit of thinking and asking for suggestions, I finally came up with a name... Obviously "Supermommy In-Stinks" was the name that I choose... I had some help from friends on http://www.sodahead.com/. I posted a little blog on there asking for some suggestions and I mixed it up a bit. This won't be the best blog ever, but I will certainly try my hardest to keep everyone informed about what is going on with my soon to be present baby...

Since this is my first posting, it may be a little long, but it's here to give you some background information.... My husband, Frank, and I are expecting our first bundle of joy on December 31, 2008. We are so VERY excited about his arrival, and are very grateful that all the ultrasounds, bloodwork, ob/gyn appointments, etc. have brought us nothing but good news about a healthy baby on the way.

Our first baby is going to be a little man!!! We have chosen a name after months of debating... We have chosen the name CJ Eichenlaub. CJ stands for Charles Joseph. He will NOT be raised as a Charles, and we will be calling him CJ, or he will go by his middle name, Joseph (or any form of it). Here's a little background on the name. My father's name was Charles. He passed away November 16, 1999. This year was probably one of the most lifechanging years I have ever experienced. I found out I was pregnant April 30 at 6:15am. My husband (boyfriend at that point in time) and I were both ecstatic and a bit nervous... I scheduled and Ob/Gyn appointment immediately to confirm the positive home test. A couple weeks later, we decided to get engaged because Kay's was having a HUGE sale. Well, June 20th, Kay's had a resetting event and my father-in-law passed down his aunt's and mother's engagement and wedding rings. We got my engagement ring made special, and bought basic wedding rings. July 11, we were married at Boldt Castle in the beautiful 1000 Islands. Now back to the reasoning for the name: As you can tell, this year has been extremely full of life changes. During the month of October, I was a bit under the weather, and it took me a while to realize why. After doing some internal and mental digging, I came down to the realization that I was pretty upset about not having my dad present during this past year. I asked myself what can I do about it now though? I can't be upset forever; death is a fact of life, and I have accepted my dad isn't here. Frank loved the name Wyatt Charles, as did I. But it just didn't "feel right". Anytime I would look at my belly, and call him Wyatt, I couldn't smile. Finally, one night in the shower, I was doing some thinking and I looked down at my belly and said, "Hi Charles Jospeh. How are you doing tonight CJ?" And he kicked a bit, and I smiled, and he started bouncing around somemore. I was overwhelmed with joy, that I cried (because that's something I've become REALLY good at). I told Frankie about my experience, he made it a bit difficult, because he was still in love with the name Wyatt. He wasn't crazy about CJ. Well, I tried to explain to him the meaning of the name and why I felt so strongly about it. Joseph was his grandfather's name (and Frank's middle name as well). He and his grandfather were very close when he was younger. His grandfather and him loved to watch Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, walk down to the train tracks and spend lots of time together. He passed away in 1988 when Frank was 7 years old. It took a toll on him from what I was told by my in-laws. He stopped playing with trains for a couple years, and that was something he LOVED to do as a kid. Well, all in all, my feeling was this was a PERFECT name for a first child. It holds so much meaning that it just "felt right". On Thanksgiving this year, Frank had agreed with the name I fell in love with after much debate and thought. I called my mom and texted my best friend, Angie. It was one of the greatest feelings in the world. My little bean now has an identity, and I couldn't be happier.

I am 37 weeks pregnant today, and that means CJ is considered full term. I am super anxious to meet him and hold him in my arms. His bedroom is all decorated and set up, as well as his bassinet in our bedroom. The hospital bags are almost packed. CJ's bag is ready with his blankets, coming home outfit, Boppy pillow (for breastfeeding in the hospital), and some diapers. My bags are close to being packed. It's still kind of surreal to me. As excited and anxious as I am, it still amazes me that I'm going to be a mommy soon!!! HAHA! I'm crying now just thinking about it.

I apologize about the long, jumpy first post. I'll be sure to make them a bit more direct from here on out, but I wanted to share this before CJ arrives this way, you can subscribe and follow my postings and stay updated!!! =) Thanks for reading and I can't wait to share photos, stories, and whatever else may pop on up!!!!