Brian in China (5 months)

Brian left for China the Monday after Father’s Day. He had to go for work. I had been dreading that day. I really did not want him to go but understood that he had to. How was I going to do this? Austin’s care relied solely on me. I was not sure I was ready for this.

We got up Monday morning at 4am so we could get ready. I took Brian to the airport at 6am. Then I took Austin to daycare and I went to work. I wanted to be busy and not think about Brian traveling to China. I could not believe he was going to China. That is far away! Work kept me extremely busy. When I got off work, I felt extremely overwhelmed. I did not know how I was going to do everything but at least I was off work until Thursday.

Austin tried to go with Daddy!


Austin and I got home and we did our nightly routine. Austin had a meltdown around 7pm. Then I had a meltdown about 7:15pm. I wished that Austin could understand that it was just me and learn to be patient at least until Brian got back home. I put Austin in the stroller and we went for a walk. That walk really helped both of us. Once I got back home, I knew that I was going to be able to do this. It was going to be hard but I could do it.

I kept checking Continental.com on Brian’s flight. I missed him so much and he was only gone 12 hours. I slept on the couch that night waiting for him to call me via Skype. Brian finally called around 3am. I was so relieved. I felt better after talking to him. I was sad he did not get to see Austin because he was sleeping but at least I knew he was okay. Since we have our baby camera on the web, Brian was able to tune it occasionally at work because of the 12-hour time difference and see Austin sleeping.


On my days off, I have kept Austin with me. Part of me thought about taking him to daycare, but I wanted to enjoy my time with him. I still feel guilty about working so much recently. Austin being in daycare 10 hours a day was not fair to him. However we have changed that and I am much happier! Some of my days have been really long but spending time with Austin is worth it. My mom came up and spent two nights with us. She was with us all day Wednesday. It was nice because I got a nap in that day. Getting up with him every night (twice a night) is exhausting. I am so happy I am not working much right now because I don’t think I could do it.

Every night Austin gets a walk around the block. The nights my mom was here she went with us. It was nice not to walk alone. My neighbors have been walking with me on the other nights. Being home all the time by myself gets lonely, so it’s nice to have someone to walk with at night.

Brian seems to be enjoying his trip as much as he can be. He has been working a lot. Everything is going smoothly for him though. I talk to him at least once a day most days twice. That makes things so much easier. Everyday I watch the clock waiting for the time when Brian will call. That is the highlight of our days. I feel bad that Brian is away from Austin. I am sure he misses me but I know he really misses Austin. I have been sending him videos of Austin everyday.

Austin is getting so big. He weighs 18.5lb now. He is much more mobile. He is not crawling yet but he can roll all over the place. One day this week, Austin rolled half away through the living room. That is scary because that means I cannot leave him alone even for a minute now. That makes getting housework done difficult. I now lock him in the swing and bouncer seat every time he gets in it. Before I knew he would not move so it was not a big deal. Now he will roll right out of it!

Austin likes to grap and play with things. He can move his rattle from one hand to another. He still tries to put everything in his mouth. Even his big truck!
My mother in law and sister in law are on their way up to Ohio for the week. It will be nice to see them. I have not seen them in a few months. They are going to be shocked how big Austin is now. I keep saying he is my little toddler baby. He looks so grown up. He does not look like an infant. Melissa and I have a lot of plans this week. It’s going to be fun! Plus Brian gets home on Friday! I cannot wait!!

Father's Day (21 weeks)

Sunday was Brian’s first father’s day. I was really happy he was home. We enjoyed our day as a family. Austin got Brian a mouse pad with pictures of him and Brian. Austin wrapped it in a swaddle blanket. Brian was the expert swaddler. I could swaddle Austin but not as well as Brian. I got Brian a picture frame that said First Father’s Day, Daddy and Austin. I thought it was cute. I think Brian had a good day with Austin. Brian leaves for China Monday morning.



Working part time has been wonderful. I am so much happier now. Work is still stressful but at least I am only there a few days a week. I am able to spend quality time with Austin. On my days off, Austin and I have went to the library and went to some garage sales. I was not impressed with the garage sales. I was hoping to find some clothes for Austin but was unsuccessful. I decided to check out Good Will for Austin’s clothes. I found some really cute things for him. Best part is they were cheap. He will out grow them before he has time to wear them much anyway.

Austin is now in 9-12 month clothes. I needed to have a lot of clothes for Austin because when I was working full time I was only able to do laundry once a week. Now that I am off more I will do laundry more but still need cute clothes for him. I love dressing him cute. I get mad every time I go to the store because there are so many girl clothes and limited boys clothes. Don’t stores know that mommies will buy just as many boy clothes as girls? But going to Good Will will help cut the cost of clothes since he out grows them so fast. He is already wearing 9-12 month clothes now even though he's only 5 months old.

I am still pumping 4 times a day. I am determined to make it until Austin is 6 months old with solely breast milk. I only have one more month to go. I have started going though my frozen milk supply. When I first starting using the frozen milk I was sad. I worked so hard to make the milk and now I had to use it. Part of me wanted to save it longer but I had to start using it. When I counted how many servings I had, there were 125. Each serving was at least 4 oz. I find that impressive.

I am sad that Brian is leaving for China. I was never happy with this idea but understood that it had to be done. We were starting to figure parenthood out and now he is going to be gone for 2 weeks. I will be happy when he is back. Working part time will help me because I cannot imagine working full time and being by myself. Like everything we have faced so far we will take things one day at a time. I am trying not to get overly stressed out.



Brian is going to Shanghai which is where we bought this blue stuffed animal which we named "Shanghai". It was the mascot for the 2010 World Fair. Now it is a pillow for Austin.

Going Part Time (20 Weeks)

Starting Monday, I will be working part time. Brian and I decided about a month ago that it was best for us if I went part time. We were unable to make things work with our current jobs. Many days Austin was in daycare for 10 hours a day. That is not fair to Austin. I really want to enjoy time this time with Austin. With our crazy work schedules, I was not able to do that. I am very happy I will be spending more time with Austin. He is only this age once and I don’t want to miss it.





I have been extremely stressed about work and being a new mom. I am thinking things are going to start getting better when I am not working long days everyday. My current schedule has me getting up at 5am so I can pump and get ready before getting Austin up. I wake up Austin every morning at 6am. He is always sleeping so soundly when I get him up. I hate it. I change him then Brian feeds him while I pack the car. I have to pack my pump, work bag and the diaper bag. Austin arrives at daycare before 7am so I can be at work at 7am. I work until 4-5pm. I pick Austin up and we go home. Once at home, I want to spend time with Austin but I need to get bottles washed and dinner prepared. I do not really cook much these days. We eat very simple meals or Subway. Brian comes home and we eat dinner and play with Austin. We walk around the block every night too. We enjoy that family time every night. Around 9pm we get Austin ready for bed. Brian usually feeds him and reads him a story. Austin goes to sleep.

Austin was better this week with sleeping through the night. He got up only once most nights. When he gets up at night he eats, gets his diaper changed, and goes back to bed fairly easily. Brian and I on the other hand don’t fall back to sleep as easily. I usually take the night shift on the weekends and one or two nights during the week. Brian does the rest. This week Austin stopped sleeping on his back. He now immediately rolls onto his side to sleep every night. He decided to make the switch abruptly one night and has stuck to it ever since.

Things are going to get a lot easier now that I am not working everyday. I will be able to handle the night shift more. I will also be able to have chores done by the time Brian gets home. Brian will be able to spend time with Austin and we will be able to enjoy our time together as a family. I am thinking my stress level will be significantly decreased.

Brian will be going to China in a little over a week for work. That is going to have its challenges I am sure. I think I am nervous because I am so use to working everyday that I don’t fully understand how much better things are going to be soon. This week will hopefully make me realize it. I am going to miss Brian. Brian is going to miss Austin. But it is only two weeks and then we will be back together again. We will be using Skype to talk to each other. This way he will be able to see Austin and Austin will see him. Everything is going to be fine.

On Monday, we took Austin to the pediatrician for his 4 month check up. He received 4 vaccines again. Brian was able to calm him down immediately by walking him around the room with him (facing outwards). As long as Austin is able to see things, he is happy (even if he just got 4 shots seconds earlier). Austin weighs 17 1/2 pounds and his 17 1/4 inches long. He is so big! He is 99 percentile for height and 89 percentile for weight. Oh he's so cute!

The only concern the doctor had was he has a flat spot on his head. It is from laying on his back for sleeping. She thinks it will get better as he starts to sit up more. Austin is now able to sit up with help right now. We are working on not having him always on his back. Luckily Austin does like tummy time too. Plus he loves his excersauser. Austin is also able to stand with help. Our little boy is growing so fast.

We are going to enjoy the weekend off together as family. I am very excited for this new week!

Austin Videos

Late Saturday after I wrote this, Austin started sitting up on his own. We shot this video on Sunday:



Austin got bored looking at stuff in the house, so Brian propped him up to look outside:



And finally, now that Austin is sitting up he can play with his toys. Watch him laugh as he watches his little toy truck drive by.

Things coming together (19 Weeks)

Austin is already 19 weeks old. Where has all the time gone? I was just thinking I barely remember my maternity leave. Everyone says once you have kids life goes by fast. They are right! Austin is growing up fast.

I am still working full time. It has been extremely hard but I have done it. On Friday I was at work for over 11 hours. We knew it was going to be a long day for me so Brian made plans to pick Austin up that day. It was a good thing since by the time I left work, the daycare was closed. Brian has been working a lot too. He is currently looking at flights for China for work. He will be leaving in two weeks.


Austin now likes to sleep on his side. We always put him to sleep on his back but he goes to his side immediately. He is rolling over more now too. Pretty soon he is going to be moving everywhere. Austin is also able to stand well with assistance. He really likes standing.

We got Austin a pool. Yesterday Brian and I took Austin swimming in his little pool. It was a lot of fun. Austin was not too sure of it at first but later loved it. He liked playing with his floating toys in the pool. Today we washed down the house. Austin napped outside with us while we did that. Brian and I still do what we would normally do. We bring Austin along and he does just fine.


Tomorrow Austin goes to the doctor for his 4 month check up. He is going to get some shots. Poor Austin! I took the day off to be with him. Brian is going to swing by for the appointment too. I am looking forward to my day with Austin. The weather has been great. Austin gets to go on a walk every night. I love summer. It is great the days are long and the weather is beautiful.

I was nervous when I found out I was having a winter baby. I thought it would be hard to be inside all winter. I was so busy with him at first I did not want to leave the house much. Having a winter baby worked out perfectly for us. Now that Austin is a little older and the weather is nice we are outside with him a lot. All of our neighbors like it when we walk around the block too so they can see Austin. Everyone loves Austin!

Recent Austin Videos

Daddy making Austin laugh

Mommy making Austin laugh

Austin on his playmat today at 19 weeks

...compared to Austin on his playmat back at 5 weeks old


Swimming in the pool

Playing with toys in the pool