Recap...

Nine days since my last post? Guess that I have been busy with the little one. Here's what's been going on in my oh-so-exciting life...

*Harrison and I went out with our friends Carmela and Connor last Wednesday - we did some shopping, visited the Easter Bunny and ate at the Cheesecake Factory (fun!)

*I had my six-week checkup last Thursday, so there are no longer any excuses for me not to eat healthier and work out, so...

*I rejoined Weight Watchers last Friday - and owned up to the number that's on the scale - at least I am a Lifetime member, so there was no registration fee (let's just hope that I lose some weight this week)

*Last Friday was our "baby reunion": four couples from our childbirth class got together to catch up, share stories and see the babies - Harrison had fun hanging out with Connor, Asher and Max

*I went shopping with my Mom and Nana yesterday - now I have some non-maternity jeans to wear

*Harrison had his first pictures taken this afternoon - I wasn't really crazy about them, but I still managed to spend $60 (what a sucker...)

Not too exciting, but I have definitely been keeping busy. I hate to admit it, but Ireally love being home with Harrison. He will be seven weeks tomorrow, and it pains me to know that my maternity leave will be coming to an end before I know it. I really love my job... thankfully... I don't think that I would be able to handle going back if I didn't.

Being a mommy is one of the most rewarding - and difficult - jobs out there. But the times where your little one is sleeping all snuggled on your chest (like Harrison is doing right now) that make all of the sleepless nights, stinky diapers and projectile spit-up worthwhile.

So, if I am not around as much these next few weeks, I'm just busy savoring every moment I have wih the little one...

Who's your daddy?

It seems that a judge in the Bahamas has finally ordered DNA testing to determine the true father of Anna Nicole Smith's daughter, Dannielynn. As a refresher, the cast of characters is as follows:

• Howard K. Stern: listed as the father on the baby's birth certificate
• Larry Birkhead: the man that many believe is actually the father
• Frederic von Anhalt: Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband, who claims to have had an affair with Anna Nicole
• J. Howard Marshall: Anna Nicole's late husband - another theory states that she was artifically inseminated to ensure that she would receive part of his fortune

Given the fact that this has become a true media circus, I think that the father of Dannielynn should be revealed by Maury Povich on a show entitled, "One baby, four men... who is my father?" I envision the results being read as follows:

Maury: "Howard K. Stern, you are NOT the father!"
(Howard goes ballistic, falling to his knees and crying over the loss of Anna Nicole. The camera pans to Larry Birkhead, who is smiling.)
Maury: "Larry Birkhead, you are NOT the father!"
(Larry's face falls. Howard pulls himself off the floor and starts jumping around, yelling, "In your face, Birkhead!")
Maury: "Frederic von Anhalt, you are NOT the father!"
(A murmur falls over the audience, with people asking each other, "Who's that?")
Maury: "J. Howard Marshall, you are NOT the father!"
(The camera flashes to an urn resting on the stage. No comment from Marshall.)

And it's back to square one. For some strange reason, I hope that Howard K. Stern is the father. He devoted a decade of his life to Anna Nicole - he truly loved and worshipped her (and yeah, I am sure that the money didn't hurt, but whatever).

Who do you think is Dannielynn's daddy?

Fight the power!

So, we received our hospital bill today for Harrison's birth. Imagine our surprise when we saw that it was over three thousand dollars. That has to be a mistake on the part of our health care provider, right?

Wrong. Turns out, our insurance company (which shall remain nameless... for now) does not cover private room hospital stays. Our hospital only has private rooms in their maternity ward. What was I supposed to do, request a roommate? Deliver the baby in the hallway or the waiting room? Sleep outside in the car?

My doctor - who only delivers at Saratoga Hospital - is in our network, so this should not be an issue. But it is. Hubby has already filed an appeal, so we will see what happens, but the customer service rep told us that if we don't win the appeal, we will have to retain a lawyer and attempt legal action. Ridiculous.

Any advice out there?

Weekend in review...

Hubby, Harrison and I had such a nice weekend together.

After our playdate on Friday, the snow started falling, so we enjoyed an evening snuggled indoors. We ordered a pizza, watched some TV and just spent time together. Harrison was thrilled.

(Yawn.)

Saturday was St. Patrick's Day. Harrison dressed in the first of his two St. Patrick's Day outfits (this one was from his friend Dominick) and after cleaning the house, we ventured out to run some errands:

(I'm 1/8 Irish - and loving it!)

We went to Toys-R-Us to buy some "baby necessities" and out to lunch for fish fries and lobster rolls.

That evening, Hubby and I spent time together away from Harrison for the first time - we went to a St. Patrick's Day party at a neighbor's house while my parents watched the little one. We were gone for an hour, but it seemed like an eternity. It was nice to meet some of our neighbors, though.

This morning, we met my parents and brother out for breakfast, which was fun. We were meeting friends out for dinner tonight, so we gave Harrison a bath today. Here he is, post-bath, with Mommy:



Dinner was great - our friends just started their own blog too... I will put up a link to it soon.

But enough about us...I know that Debby, Laura and Brighton have all been enjoying vacations in beautiful Florida this past week... how was everyone else's weekend?

Play date!

Today was Harrison's first play date. We met up at Starbucks with my friend Carmela from childbirth class and her son, Connor, who is a couple of weeks older than Harrison.

Don't tell anyone, but I think that this "play date" was more for mommy than it was for baby, but Harrison didn't mind. He had a good time just chilling in his car seat until the bitter end, when Mommy wanted to take a picture to remember the day:

(He's the crying one on the right...)

Of course, once we left Starbucks, he cheered up again, as if to say, "Mommy, why would we want to hang out there?"

In other news, Harrison is five weeks old today - check out his five-week picture:

(Hi.)

And we are expecting a major snowstorm today into tomorrow. It started snowing around 1:00, and when all is said and done, we should end up with 12-20 inches.

What is up with the holiday snowstorms? We ended up with 2 feet on Valentine's Day, and another 1-2 feet on St. Patrick's Day. If it snows on Easter, I am going to scream.

My little angel

Harrison rocked bedtime last night! He slept for almost five hours before his middle-of-the-night feeding, then fell back asleep for another 4+ hours.

We have had a productive morning, filled with tummy time and story time and a nice long walk around the neighborhood.

God, I love him (and he loves his mommy too!).

(I'm cute!)

I'm no Superman.

I am tired. I have been up since 3:00 with the incredible non-sleeping baby, trying everything short of bribery to get him to fall back asleep. Feeding, diaper changes, swaddling, rocking, begging... you get the idea. I finally decided to bring him downstairs and put him in his swing to give my arms a rest for a few minutes.

I love Harrison to pieces, but the combination of sleep deprivation, hormones and what feels like a complete loss of your former self can be extremely frustrating.

Pre-baby, I never left the house without my hair done, my clothes ironed and my makeup on. Now I have been walking around the house in sweatshirts and sweatpants, or just my robe, as all of my sweaters that actually fit have been at the drycleaners for over a week, since I haven't had 10 minutes to pick them up.

Yesterday afternoon, I went upstairs to take a shower - not even to wash my hair, just to freshen up. Barely 10 minutes later, hubby is calling me to come downstairs as the baby is fussing. I know that there is nothing he can do if the baby is hungry, but mommy would like not to stink every once in awhile.

When you figure that Harrison is 30 days old, and eats between 8-12 times a day, that's between 240-360 feedings since his birth. Hubby gives him a bottle (of milk that I pumped, thank you very much) one time so I can run to the store and pick up another nursing bra, and everyone acts like he saved a family from a burning building or rescued a kitten from a tree or something.

Part of me is going stir-crazy, but the other part of me is getting to the point where I don't even want to leave the house. We are supposed to go to dinner with some friends of ours tonight - nothing too exciting and we will be taking Harrison with us - but I don't feel like going anywhere. Same thing for Saturday - we are invited to a neighbor's house for a kid-free St. Patrick's Day party, which I know will be fun, but I am really hesitant to go and leave him, even for an hour (my mom offered to watch the little one for us).

Just needed to vent... sorry. Despite my crankiness, I am lucky to have the little one and hubby in my life.

(Sleep is for sissies, Mom.)

One month...

So, today is my baby's one-month birthday. It feels like I was pregnant only yesterday (and I think that hubby feels the same way... he went to touch my stomach this week, then realized that my pregnant belly is no longer there).


While spending some quality time with Harrison late last night (seriously, the boy was not into the whole sleep thing), I thought back to the day of his birth. It's crazy... I can remember almost every moment of it like it was yesterday.


How I woke up around 4:00 am and watched an episode of "Roseanne," too excited to sleep. How I was so very hungry that morning (and not allowed to eat or drink a thing almost that entire day). How we stopped at Stewart's on our way to the hospital and bought newspapers to remember his birth day.


Sitting in the hospital room, waiting for the surgery to start... praying that maybe the little one flipped, discussing potential names, watching paternity test results on "Maury."

Watching hubby put on his scrubs, knowing that he was going to be sitting in the operating room with me in just a short time. Walking to the OR and being prepped for surgery. Having hubby sit and chat with me during the c-section, knowing that they were performing the surgery (and the fact that I was practically naked) and not really caring all that much. Listening to the doctors as they pulled him out - first his feet, then his bum, then his head and torso. Hearing them say: "It's a boy... a big boy with lots of hair!" at 2:15 pm.


Waiting and holding my breath until he made his first cry. Seeing him for the first time, hubby holding him in his arms. Going into the OR with the name "Elijah" all picked out, only to look at him and say - "it's a Harrison."


Getting all stiched up while hubby went to the nursery with Harrison - and feeling okay with that. Being wheeled back to my room, where I got to hold and cuddle and feed my baby for the very first time, and spend some quality time with hubby - our first real moments as a family.

Our first visitors - my mom and dad, my brother, my nana and papa - and seeing them all excited to finally meet Harrison.


And finally getting to eat (yeah, I have my priorities). First some Jello and ginger ale, then a full meal - roast beef sandwich, chips and a cookie. Nothing can stop my Italian appetite.

Just for comparison - here's Harrison, just a few hours before he was born:





A few moments after his birth:







His first day:




And today:

By the numbers...

38: number of thank you notes I have written since Sunday
6: number I have left to write

-4: the temperature in upstate NY this morning
1: the temperature right now

370 million: tonight's Mega Millions drawing
2: number of tickets we have purchased for the drawing
70: the temperature in Orlando (where we will be going tomorrow if we win Mega Millions)

67: number of birth announcements that have been assembled, addressed and stamped (thanks to hubby for all of his help!)

4: number of hours Harrison went between feedings last night
1: number of hours it took him to get back to sleep after eating

25: number of days since Harrison's birth
2: number of times I have been out of the house alone since that time

1: number of crying babies in the house that need to be fed right now - gotta go...

More about me...

Received this from a friend... feel free to borrow!

1.Name three people who made you smile today? Hubby, Harrison and Maury Povich (pathetic, I know)

2. What were you doing at 8:00 this morning? Watching Fox News with Harrison, getting the latest on the Anna Nicole funeral.

3. What were you doing 30 minutes ago? Checking work email (bad Amber!)

4. What is something that happened to you in 2006? Lots, but finding out that I was pregnant was most exciting!

5. What is the last thing you said aloud? Probably something along the lines of, “It’s okay, Baby H…”

6. How many different things did you drink today? 3 – Water, Diet Sierra Mist, Diet Coke

7. What color is your hairbrush? Black and purple

8. What was the last thing you bought? Thank you notes from Hallmark

9. What was the last gift you received for your birthday? Can’t quite remember what hubby
bought me (my birthday was 11+ months ago), but I got an antique Mickey Mouse planter from my parents

10. What color is your front door? Red

11. Where do you keep your change? In my purse

12. What was the weather like today? Snow/sleet/freezing rain… but it looks like the sun is trying to come out!

13. What is the best ice cream flavor? Chocolate peanut butter cup!

14. What is something you are excited about? Harrison getting to meet his Auntie Marie in a couple of weeks!

15. Do you want to cut your hair? Yes – just a trim, though

16. Are you over the age of 25? Yes – currently enjoying my last month of my twenties

17. Do you talk a lot? It depends…

18. Do you watch The O.C.? Never!

19.Does your screen name have x's in it? Nope!

20. Do you know anyone named Steven? Our NJ real estate agent…

21. Do you make up your own words? Definitely not – I was an English major, after all!

22. Are you ticklish? Yes

23. Are you typically a jealous person?Not really, but I guess that it depends on the situation

24. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter "A": Alyson

25. Name a friend whose name starts with the letter "K":Karen

26. Who's the 1st person on your received calls list? Not sure, probably my mother…

27. What did the last text message you received say? Something about mullets – it was from my brother

28. Do you chew on your straws? Yes

29. Do you have curly hair? Nope

30. What is the next concert you're going to? Not sure – we don’t have anything planned

31. Who is the rudest person in your life? No comment – the blog has eyes…

32. What is the last thing you ate? Soup and an English muffin

33. Is marriage in your future? I hope so, considering I am married and would like to stay that way

34. What is the best movie you've seen in the past two weeks? The Devil Wears Prada (probably because it’s the only movie I’ve seen in the past two weeks!)

35. When was the last time you did the dishes, be honest...? Just a few minutes ago

36. Are you currently depressed? No

37. When was the last time you got drunk and danced on a bar? Never (as far as I can remember) – but I have gotten drunk and danced on a stage (but we won’t go there…)

Happy March!

The month of February has been a blur of feedings, naps and stinky diapers... but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Hubby and I fall more in love with Harrison every day - when he looks up at you with his beautiful blue eyes, your heart just melts.

Anyway, some happenings in our world:

* The public health nurse came to visit us yesterday - a nice perk for mothers in New York state, especially first-time mothers and those who are breastfeeding. Harrison weighs in at a whopping 9 pounds, 11 ounces - gaining a whole pound since his birth! She also weighed him pre-feeding and post-feeding to see how much he is eating, alleviating my anxiety that he is not getting enough to eat. It was totally worth it.

* It has been like Christmas around here - it seems like we are getting packages in the mail every day, and the UPS guy is starting to know us by name. Baby Harrison loves all of his new clothes, toys and blankets he has received, and I can't believe all of the food, pies, flowers (and even manicure/pedicure gift certificates!) that have arrived. Thank you notes will be going out shortly.

* I have left the house 4 times in the past 20 days - mainly for doctor appointments. Needless to say, I am getting a little stir-crazy. So, since the weather is so nice out today, hubby and I will be taking a walk around the block with Harrison (yes, it's okay - we checked). And once hubby is done with work and the baby is fed, I am going over to Hallmark to pick up some cards! Woo hoo!

* Hubby made waffles for dinner last night - enough said.

More photos of Harrison to come soon...