Nicknames

This is the growing list of nicknames we have for Mateo. I realize it's not a very exciting post but since we have yet to buy a baby book for him, I need to write them down somewhere so I can embarrass him when he's older.

Tay
Tay Tay
Tater Tot
Tater
Baby Bo or Little Bo
Taylicious
Bolicious
Baby Matateo (thanks to my mom's boss' 3 yr old)
Houdini (when he manages to get out of his swaddle
Mr Magoo or just Magoo
Little Man
Chunky Monkey/Chunky Cheeks
Sir Stinksalot or Sir Poopsalot (only when we're changing him)

I don't think I'm forgetting any...

Back to work

This time next Monday, instead of playing with Mateo, I'll be back at work. I'm having a super hard time coming to the realization that I have to go back to work. I have absolutely no desire to go back to the office. Ever. For real.

However, student loans and our mortgage require that I go back to work. For those of you with kids, how did you handle going back? Any tips?

Merry Christmas Grandpa, it's nice to meet you

Yes, this is the first time Mateo has met Joe's dad, Grandpa Ray because Grandpa Ray was worried about giving Mateo "germs." Grandpa Ray is very "old-school" and if you know Ray, this is completely in  character to say something like the above and it makes me chuckle.

Well, last night Mateo got to meet him and I've never seen Ray around babies so I wasn't sure how he (or Mateo) would react. Well, Ray was smitten by his grandson and we had a great time. Here are some other pictures from the rest of the evening (we were at Uncle Tony's and Aunt Brinda's). We're off to Great-Grandma Jo's this afternoon. Merry Christmas!!

 Joe, Mateo and Grandpa Ray

 Grandpa Ray, Joe, Uncle Tony, Cousin Anthony

 

Who needs toys...

When you have a mom that will push you around the living room in a laundry basket filled with clean sheets?

Mateo - Two months

Can you believe it? Joe and I have managed to keep our baby alive for two whole months! We must be doing something right...

So, what is Mateo up too? He loves (loves!) to sit in the recliner after he eats and "talk" to me or Joe and gives us HUGE smiles. He's getting so much stronger and loves to stretch his legs and "stand" while he's being held. He doing a fantastic job at holding his head up and is just overall super cute.

On Thursday Mateo had his two month appointment and he weighs a whopping 10lbs 10oz! He also had to get some shots and he did pretty well. He of course screamed and cried (tears even!) but was fine the minute I was able to pick him up. However, he did let us know that afternoon that he really did not like getting shots and was a little out of sorts the rest of the day.

The Dr. (bless her heart) gave us coupons and 6 cans of Nutramigen - I was shocked but yet so happy. She also gave us a can of Soy formula and said that we can start mixing that in with the Nutramigen to see how he reacts. We started that today and so far so good. I figure its best to try it now since I'm still home with him and will be able to tell if he's tolerating the soy or if we need to stick with the Nutramigen.

Here are some more random pictures of the little man just because I think he's so darn cute.

So sad - daddy took pictures instead of making him happy

He thinks it hilarious when I put him in his snowsuit

After the plow

The plows came through around 9 AM this morning. Joe had just finished snowblowing for the third time. The sidewalk got covered up again and it took probably an hour for us to dig out the end of our driveway and we didn't even dig out the whole driveway. Just enough that we could get our cars out.

At some points the snow was up to my hip at the end of the driveway

The sidewalk had been cleared and thanks to the plows, we can't find it. :)

Also, no Vikings game today because the roof of the metrodome collapsed. They don't know when or where they'll play so on a happy note, I now get to see the Packers play today!! GO PACK GO!!

Holy snow!

This is by far one of the craziest storms I've had the pleasure of dealing with in Minnesota. Usually when the weather people start predicting a foot of snow in the metro it ends up being only a couple of inches. Well, they were dead on this time.

Our street hasn't been plowed and those crazy enough to drive down our street are driving on the wrong side of the road because that's where the tracks are. Joe has snow-blowed twice already and will probably have to do it once again in the morning.

I've been tasked with shoveling the sidewalk up to the front door and the steps. The first time was super easy and I was done in no time. The second time I had to go out, well, see for yourself.

I am absolutely dreading when the plows come by because I have no idea how we'll get out of our driveway.

Surprise, surprise!

Auntie Amy came to MN on Thursday and was planning on leaving Saturday morning. Friday night Amy mentioned that Mateo and I should go back to WI with her since we were planning on going to WI on Wed for Thanksgiving.

I said no because that would require lots of packing on short notice and Mateo was already in his room for the night. Well, Mateo had other ideas and Saturday morning he woke up at 4 am and wouldn't go back to sleep. I finally realized about ten to 5 that he was awake for the day and fed him and then he passed out in his swing while I was wide awake. So I started to pack and decided we would go home with Auntie Amy.

Now, Nana Sal and Papa Scott didn't know that we were coming home and going to be staying with them for a whole week, not just a couple days. Here are their reactions:

Mateo - One month

This post should have gone up 2 weeks ago..oops!

It's hard to believe that Mateo is already one month old. It feels like he's been here forever and yet not. We've had our share of ups and downs this past month but now most of the kinks are worked out.

This week has brought big smiles from Mateo to mom, dad, nana, papa, Auntie Amy and everyone else. He's waving his arms, learning he can  suck on his fists and talking up a storm. Mateo has a good set of lungs and lets us know when he doesn't like something. The evenings are usually a little fussy but once he's in his bath tub, he's a happy little camper.

Yeah - he was sick of the all the picture taking

 (trust me, there were more than just these 3)

If it's not one thing...

Ok - I'm being super whiny right now but I really don't care. Mateo's bum is still super awful despite using calmoseptine and changing brands. Today I noticed white stuff in his mouth and I briefly remembered thrush from one of the baby books I had read.

So I look it up and low and behold thrush can also cause a super bad diaper rash. Joe tries to hold Mateo so I can try to "wipe" the white stuff in his mouth to see if it comes off easily (a sign it is NOT thrush). Well Mateo was having none of it and to the doctor we went.

Yes, my baby now has thrush and we are to start the drops tomorrow. The doc swabbed his mouth with some stuff that lasts 24 hrs hence why we start tomorrow. He also gave us some other stuff to help with the diaper rash. On the plus side, he saw that we were using Nutragimen (this is a different doc since our ped is out of town) and gave us two more cans since "it's pretty expensive in the store."

This marks his 4 week birthday and we've been to the doctor for the past four weeks. Hopefully we can start not visiting the doctor every week from now on...please, please, please.

Dare I say?

Could it be we have our baby back? He's so much calmer than earlier in the week which makes a calmer mama and daddy too. He's been eating, sleeping and pooping like a champ this weekend (wow - is this what my conversations have become?). No more shrieking after every feeding, just being fussy when he has to be changed and burped which is normal for him.

Thank you Nutramigen for giving us our baby back!!!

Happy Halloween

No trick or treating this year for Mateo but Daddy and Papa made sure he had a pumpkin...

Here are a couple of his Halloween outfits he's been sporting over the weekend as well...



HAPPY HALLOWEEN ALL!!

Keep your fingers crossed...

I'm trying to work on a post that recaps Mateo's birth, however, this has been a very trying week to say the least. Mateo was circumcised last Thursday and a little cranky last weekend which I chalked up to the circumcision and Auntie A and Uncle Luke were here so it wasn't terrible.

However, Sunday he was definitely cranky and by Wed, he had gone off the deep end. I called the peds office Wed evening and Gail, the most wonderful nurse ever spent 30 minutes on the phone with me. I called back Thursday morning to make an appt for Friday because holy crap Thursday morning was awful. I again spoke with Gail and upon hearing the screaming got us in Thursday afternoon instead of Friday.

We saw a different ped since ours was on vacation and he gave us a can of Nutragimen to try and a prescription for a reflux med. The doc said something is obviously bothering him so we are to try the Nutragimen until Monday. If that doesn't work, then we are to go back to the other formula we were using and fill the prescription for the reflux meds and see if that works. If that doesn't work, then its back to the doc.

So far it's been 24 hrs on the Nutragimen and I think my baby is starting to reappear. He actually napped today for 2 hrs and is now napping again. Hopefully he'll wake up happy/content instead of screaming. Keep your fingers crossed that this helps so we don't have to try the reflux meds. We should know by tomorrow afternoon as I've heard that it takes 48 hrs for you to see a change...we're praying this works.

Thoughts on Motherhood

I wasn't expecting it to be this hard but I'm told it will get easier. Thankfully Mateo is a pretty easy-going baby but the whole getting up every 2 or 3 hrs at night is catching up with me.

If we have another baby in the future and that baby is a boy, Joe will be taking the day off too when it comes to getting that boy circumcised. Thursday was an incredibly long day filled with meltdowns by both Mateo and mama.

I honestly have no idea how single moms do it. I cannot imagine how single moms go through pregnancy, labor and bringing baby home by themselves. Yes, I know they have (hopefully) family/friends to help but it's not the same as being able to hand baby to your partner and saying "your turn."

Even though motherhood is harder than I thought, Mateo is so totally worth it. I love how he sneezes, his big yawns and how he shakes his head when its time to eat. I love watching Joe taking care of his son - there's already a fabulous bond between them and I can't wait to see how that grows. Yes, motherhood is hard but it's so totally worth it when you get to look at this:

Introducing...

Mateo James Falbo!

He was born at 3:31 AM. He is 6 pounds 9 ounces and 20 inches long. Everyone is doing well and more details to come but for now, we're going to take a nap.

40 Weeks

Well, the due date was Saturday (10/2) and Baby Bo is content to keep hanging out where he's been for the past 40 weeks. I ate a lot of spicy foods this weekend, cleaned and helped Joe out at work Sunday morning. We walked around Menards, Ikea, Costco, etc. all weekend and nada. Oh well...we're finding out he's stubborn like his mother.

As of last Thursday's appt with the midwife, here's the plan:

10/8 - Ultrasound and check up to make sure everything is a-ok.
10/11 or 10/12 - Another check up to see what's happening
10/14 or 10/15 - Start inducing...

Keep your fingers crossed that he decides to make an appearance before 10/8 or at least before 10/14!!

Wordless Wednesday: Baby Shower #2

A HUGE thank you to Anna, Sandy and Nikki. You ladies outdid yourselves and I had a fabulous time. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Sandy's fruit creation

Me with the "other" Joe

Nikki made this!! I'm still trying to talk

her into opening her own cake shop

Sandy, Nikki, Me, Anna

Love you ladies!!! Thank you so much for the fabulous day!

Today I should be...

Getting my hair done
Helping Kari get into her dress
Calming Kari down
Wearing a fabulous strapless brown dress
Getting ready for pictures
Calming Kari down
Trying not cry
Calming Kari down
Getting ready to walk down the aisle
Trying not to cry as Kari and her dad walk down the aisle
Giving a toast to Kari and Bryan at their reception

Instead...

I'm sitting here hating the fact that I live five hours away, am 2 weeks from my due date and had to miss out on my best friend's wedding day. If only I was still living in WI so I could be there for their special day.

Wordless Wednesday: The MN State Fair

The perfect camper for Luke and Amy*

Another perfect camper for Luke and Amy*

Chicken fried bacon

Chocolate dipped fried potatoes - skip it

Deep fried cheeseburger - Amazing!!

Honey ice cream with sunflower seeds - yummy!

Crop art

A beaver made out of trash from the Mississippi

Deep fried pig's ears - not such a fan

Deep fried pickles - my fav...I forgot to take a picture

until we were almost done

Deep fried cheese on a stick

Deep fried bologna on a stick - it was pretty good

*If you've seen Luke and Amy's house, you'll get it. If not, you'll have to ask Amy to explain...I don't want to get into trouble...

Long overdue

After quite a few busy weeks at work, weekends traveling and being exhausted I realized that it's been far too long between posts. This will be a long one (you've been warned) to update on the craziness that was July and almost August (I can't believe summer is almost over).

Baby shower #1/New house BBQ/Turning 30 - July 10-July 12
Baby shower #1 was thrown in ET by Auntie Amy and Nana Sal and they did a truly fantastic job. It was great to see everyone and we received lots of fabulous gifts. (THANK YOU...and the thank you cards are finally in the mail...sorry!).

After the shower we cleaned up and headed over to Auntie Amy's and Uncle Luke's new house (they closed in May but this was the first time Joe and I saw it) for a BBQ with Luke's parents, siblings (and their fams) and mom and dad. Their house is adorable and there was more food (thanks Dad and Joe for taking over cooking for both parties) and it was a ton of fun!

We headed back to MN on Sunday and Monday marked my 30th birthday. It was pretty uneventful and really wasn't that big a deal. The highlight was Anna stopping over Monday night with a fabulous DQ ice cream cake!!

ET Wedding - July 23-25
Joe and I headed down to ET again to celebrate Chad and Cathi's wedding. It was a hot and humid day with the ceremony being outside. Thankfully, it managed to cool off enough for the ceremony and there was a beautiful breeze. Cathi looked lovely and it was wonderful to watch them get married.

Chad's family from MN was down as well and it was amazing to see all of his aunts, uncles, cousins again with their own families and they were an absolute hoot on the dance floor!!

Anniversary - August 11
Wednesday marked our 3 year anniversary and if it had not been for Kari's email to me Tuesday night, I (and Joe) would have completely forgotten. I blame the baby for my memory loss but I'm not sure what Joe's excuse was. Anyway, after work on Wednesday, we went out and had a nice little dinner to celebrate the fact we didn't forget and then ended up getting the exact same anniversary card from Amy/Luke and Mom and Dad...what are the chances of that?

Nana Sal/Papa Scott visit - August 13-15
Last weekend mom and dad came up so Joe and dad could figure out our heating situation. For the past three years, we've had great heat in the living room/bathroom but all three bedrooms freeze...like we finally broke down last year and bought a bad-ass space heater (2 to be exact) that we would turn on to heat up our bedroom. Well, with the baby's pending arrival, Joe and Dad figured they should probably try to fix the issue.

While the boys did that mom and I took off for the Just Between Friends sale in Eden Prairie. I realized about two weeks ago that I'm going to have a baby born in the fall and he has no pants, just short sleeve onesies so I thought I better do something about that.

Mom and I found a lot of great clothes, although the woman channeled Grandma Lu and wouldn't let me pay for anything and if I found an outfit, I'd hold it up for her to see and she would grab it and say "I don't know" and then put it in her bag. I finally stopped handing her clothes so I could buy my child something. I also kept telling her, she was going to have to deal with Joe when he saw all the clothes that were purchased...

By the time we got home, the boys had fixed the heating issue and all is good. We also hooked up the baby monitor that Nana Sal and Papa Scott bought which has a video monitor and it is just cool! THANK YOU again!!

So, in between our busy weekends Joe and I were still doing tons of laundry for Baby Bo, organizing his room, trying to find childcare for him, etc. This weekend will consist of packing up a bag for the hospital (just in case) because this Saturday (the 21st) will mark 6 weeks until the due date. On that note, I've also entered the world of every other week dr appts and Baby Bo decided to slow down in the growth dept and I'm now measuring just a smidge big instead of "quite a bit."

Here are some belly pictures (I look like I've stuffed a basketball under my shirt!) and what Baby Bo's room looks like...

28 weeks

31ish or 32 weeks