Volunteer Day

Today was Declan and Mommy's first day volunteering at the Church to watch children while their parents attend Mass. There were about 12 kids there and tons of activity. Declan was poked and prodded several times, many of the children thought that he was a toy to be played with. I had to remind the kids several times to use soft touches. It was interesting to say the least.

I am looking forward to doing it again, hopefully not over the weekend that I have duty again, it was rough and I did not get a lot of sleep this weekend. I would give just about anything for 3 straight hours. Soon hopefully, maybe tomorrow I could get a nap in.

Declan has his doctor's appointment tomorrow. I hope that all goes well, and I will make sure that I post the results.

There are always better days ahead

Today, Declan was a lot better. We had a repeat performance of a few nights ago when he bounced himself asleep. I managed to post a picture of the final product, but there was nothing like watching it again. he is starting to smile a little more and more each day, but still showing no signs of wanting to crawl or even be on his little tummy. Maybe in the next few weeks he will start to progress that far. I am afraid that this little kiddo is going to walk before he ever crawls!

I wish that his stomach issues would get better, but I am not sure how to fix it for him. I hope that they can figure out what it is bothering him. I think that all of this will get better over time.

I keep thinking about how big he is getting every day and wish that Chris was here to see it. I know that today is an especially rough day for him on the ship and I only hope that things are going to get better for him as the days go on. There still is not a set date on when he is coming back, but I hope to figure it out soon so that I can have a countdown date to look forward to.

Yesterday in the ER

Declan spent yesterday evening in the ER only for them to tell us that he has Colic. Yup, tell me something that I don't already know! I just wish that his tummy would not hurt so bad. I know soon we will come up with something or he will at least be able to tell us what is wrong with him. Sometimes I really wish that he could talk, and all my friends with kids tell me to let them take their time with talking because their favorite word is going to be "No" anyway.

The dogs are bouncing off the walls today, can't wait until Declan is big enough for running around with them to help burn off their energy. I think that he would also sleep better. Speaking of that I hope that tonight goes better than the past week. He has not been sleeping well at all.

On a happier note, he is 17 weeks today! Already!

Bounced himself to sleep

Declan can be a bit of a challenge at times. Today he was just fussy at feeding time. Momma had to polish her shoes for a big meeting tomorrow so I placed him in his bouncer. Poor Decky bounce himself to sleep. I wish that I could have pulled out the video camera for it. He would bounce a little and his eyes would slowly close...then he would suddenly open them to start bouncing a few more times. I felt bad taking him out but could not let him sleep that way. It was too cute. I was able to finish up some things before I did put him to bed.

We are trying cereal in the bottle now and it seems to work well. I have heard mixed things about it, but if it keeps him happy then that is fine with me. I am just careful in the even that he might choke on it. Ms. Marney (his daycare) says that he does great with it.

I miss Chris dearly, but I know that it will all be over soon. I miscalculated his return and am further out than I first thought. Today, however, is two days down. It feels like about a billion more, but I am sure that I will be fine. Friends who have been through this before said I will settle soon into a routine, I hope it happens sooner rather than later.

Well, if Declan is sleeping, then I should sleep...or is that just when he is a newborn?

Over 200 days to go

Declan and I got up this morning to take Chris to the ship for his seven month deployment. I was not happy that we had so short of time to say good-bye, but sometimes quick good-byes are good, other times I think I would have cherished another 45 seconds!

Declan has proven to be a little bit of a handful today. Seems to be fussy most of the time, but I think that we will manage. I have him in the bouncer now and he seems to be doing a little better. The little guy doesn't want to be on his tummy at all, I am afraid that he is going to skip crawling and go right into walking! Maybe I will try more and more tummy time.

Poor little Declan won't realize Daddy is gone right now. Well, maybe when he realized that he has to wait another few moments before Mommy wakes up at night. Chris was awesome with those late night feedings and diaper changes. Now it's all me!

I am going to try to keep up with this...and chronicle Declan's adventures at least every other day. I am sure just the two of us will be fine.