Back to Work I Go

Today is my last day of maternity leave. Tomorrow I go back to work. I'm trying VERY hard to be excited so here is my pros list. I'm not going to write a cons list.

• Stop facebook stalking people... I swear I've memorized most people's pets, kids and job locations 
• Get back to a normal eating schedule 
• Shower everyday instead of when I remember to
• Adult conversations... no more repeating everything I say five times
• No longer having to hear the same songs over and over again (from Cole's mobile) 
• Will no longer smell like formula mixed with baby spit
• High heals! 
• My morning coffee will be made for me 
• Smaller chance of being peed on
• Will have something to add to dinner conversations besides what Cole's poop looked like and what happened on Gilmore Girls 

I'm sure more pros will form after this first week.... I'll keep you posted.

Shake It If You Got It

It's pretty blurry but here is a video of Cole moving and grooving Friday night... He's got the whole kicking and talking thing down! 

Hope everyone had a great weekend - Enjoy the Oscars tonight!

Just Because

Because my previous post leaves you feeling pretty sappy-sad...

It's Been 74 Days

It’s been 74 days and I still can’t believe I have a son. His pout face makes me giggle, his eyelashes make me jealous, and his coos make me melt. I have this lil’ man in my life who is growing up before my eyes and I still can’t believe it.

It’s been 74 days and I still can’t nap. Luckily I have a 74 day old baby who sleeps through the night. Well, most nights.

It’s been 74 days and I’ve mastered doing (almost) everything with one hand. I can type, cook, make a bottle, clean… all with one hand. You should see my left bicep!

It’s been 74 days and I’ve only worked out twice. My back has been a recurring problem and has prevented me from getting back in shape. I promise this is not an excuse… If you could see the drastic tilt in my hips you would feel bad for me. What does this mean? Besides being in pain and frustrated, it means that this weekend I will be going shopping for some work clothes… something I did NOT want to do.

It’s been 74 days and I’ve finally started to figure out Cole’s different cries. Mind you they change weekly but most days I can tell which is an “I’m bored” vs. “I’m really tired but you’re so much fun I want to stay up” cry. There’s also the “I’m HANGRY – where’s that bottle?” cry and, of course, the ever popular fake-out cry. This one is usually smashed between some smiles and coos… again, fake-out!

It’s been 74 days and in 5 days I have to go back to work. This day always seemed so far away. In the beginning I never thought it would get here… I was anxious for it to get here. Now I’m begging for a few more weeks. A few more days. It’s not that I don’t want to work. I do. I’m not the stay-at-home type. I applaud those that are. It’s just that I don’t want to leave him. My lil’ man. I don’t want to miss anything that he does. I don’t want to miss the first time he rolls over or the first time he actually holds his nuk in his mouth. I don’t want to miss his naps. I love watching him sleep. I don’t want to miss the noises he makes. His grunting when he eats. The squeals when he lies under his mobile. The cries when you put him down to nap… and then how quiet he is when you pick him back up.

I haven’t even left him yet and my heart is breaking.

I know all the people at daycare will be wonderful and take good care of him… but I just don’t want them to. I want to. But I want to work.

I knew this would be hard. Everyone said this would be one of the hardest things I’ll ever do. I didn’t believe them. It’s been 74 days and I do now. 

Chatting with Alfred the Elephant

Cole LOVES his elephant. We put him in his big-kid chair and set Al in front of him and he just sits and chats away. It's very cute but also frustrating if you've been trying to get him to talk to you for the past hour! 

Bragging Rights: Cole slept from 11pm - 6:00am last night! He had two night cries which I woke-up to but nothing big enough to get me out of bed! I know I'm jinxing us by writing this but I can't help it... I'm just so excited! 

Not-Bragging: I have to go back to work next week. I'll be writing a longer post later in the week about this but to say I'm sad about this would be an understatement. I get completely teary-eyed every time I think about it... 

Party Man

Our little man has decided to take his shirt literally the past few nights... I'm tired. 

Family Time

The past two weeks have been busy with lots of family time.

Jason's grandparents from Montana were in town last weekend and Cole was able to spend lots of time with them. He showed off how cute and loud he can be!

Cole's aunty Jenna is also in town - She got more of the loud side Friday night!

My aunts Lindsay and Steph also got to meet Cole but for some reason those photos aren't uploading properly... will add later!

Last night Jason and I celebrated (late) Valentine's Day with massages and dinner. With my back still doing numbers on me I was hoping a massage would do the trick... Not so much. Though the deep tissue massage was nice at the time... the bruises on my hips this morning are not!

This morning the three of us read the paper (ok, I read People and Cole played with his elephant) and managed to snap a couple cute pictures.

Enjoy the snow!

Chatting With Dad

Its time for another episode of "Chatting with Dad" starring Mr. Cole Bridger Rogowski and Mr. Jason Rogowski... enjoy!

A big CONGRATS goes out to Meghan and Ryan Bahr - they added a baby girl to their family this morning!!!

2 Month Stats

Cole had his two month doctor visit this morning. He was adorable and talkative until those damn needles came out. I held it together but I'm VERY glad they only need shots every two months.

Stats:
Weight: 13 lb. 10 oz. (95%)
Height: 25" (95%)

More photos

Cole and I visited my work (Campbell Mithun) today. He, of course, slept the entire visit but it was great to see everyone and catch-up. Once we got home Cole was wide awake so I decided to do another photoshoot.

2 Months Old

Cole is...

• Sleeping 6-7 hours a night
• Talking and smiling more and more
• VERY aware of his surroundings
• Eating about 30 oz. a day
• Rocking side to side when he lays on his back
• Holding his head up with very little bobbing
• Batting at his mobile (I think it's on purpose but maybe not)
• Developing an adorable sad face: full on lower lip pout and alligator tears
• Oddly in love with getting his diaper changed
• Loving baths but hating getting out after
• Wearing mostly 6-9 month clothes due to his long body
• Starting daycare in two weeks
• Making Jason and me laugh on regular basis

Cole and his Teddy - 2 Months Old

Behind the scenes of the 2 Month Old photoshoot:

"I have a suggestion"

"Where do you want me to look?"

"My right side is my good side..."

"Hi Dad... don't think you're dressed right for this shoot but maybe later"

"We have how many more of pictures to take?!?!"

My how he's grown...

We've Got a Talker

Cole is starting to "talk" more and more these days. Most of the time I remember to grab the flip too late but last night I grabbed it in time.

Here is a snippet of Cole talking to J:

Note: After watching the video (after posting it) I noticed that half of the screen is cut-off... sorry about that... will work on editing later!

Who Won?

I have a very happy husband...

The Packers won the Super Bowl!!!

Jason's Favorite Trivia:

1) Cole was born the same day that Favre missed his first start of his career

2) Cole has never witnessed a Packer loss

We have a busy week with lots of family in town - Pictures to follow!

Hope everyone had a great weekend and fun watching the Super Bowl (or Glee which I just watched this morning - amazing!)

Tummy Time

Yoga Side Note

If you read any of my prego-posts you would know that the one thing I missed the most was yoga. I did prenatal yoga and even got certified to teach it but it didn't totally satisfy my cravings. I'm a hot yoga addict; both traditional Bikram and Power Vinyasa, and though my doctor said it would be fine to keep practicing I just couldn't do it. The phrase "bun in the oven" always popped into my head - didn't want to overcook the little Papoose!

Needless to say, I was excited to get back to it and jumped into a Level 1 class a few weeks back. Bad idea. According to my chiropractor, I went back a little too early and that's why my low-back has been so messed up. So instead of practicing I'm writing this post... maybe venting about how I miss it will strengthen my core faster so I can get back to it. Probably not but I can only do so many hip lifts...

So here are two yoga side notes: The first, my goal pose for 2011 - Scorpion

The second, a funny description of how some people (including myself at times) approach yoga...

Oh, and if you're wondering about J's yoga journey... that's also been put on hold as Lifetime never replaced my Sunday morning class and I haven't really fulfilled my promise of teaching him at home. With his Flatlander (ski) trip coming up in a month I think I will have to make that a priority so he comes home in one piece!

Playtime for Mom and Cole

I think Cole can read because after my last post his sleeping patterns have been SO much better! We are back to longer night shifts with little to no fussing at bedtime. I am a very happy girl! I also think Cole is a lot happier as he has been awake more during the day and has been much more interactive. His smiles and coos are some of the cutest things in the world. I still haven't been able to capture a smile with the nice camera but here are some pictures of Cole playing under his mobile.

Today also starts Mom playtime... What this really means is mom's get-your-butt-back-in-shape-time. My back is feeling a million times better so tonight I will be venturing to the gym for the first time... and I also ordered a workout DVD that should be arriving next week!

Hope you all have a great weekend - Below is what my house will be filled with if the Packers don't win on Sunday...

Come On Cole!

Everyone's favorite bundle of joy has decided to NOT sleep at night. We were on a great schedule of putting Cole to bed between 9-11pm, depending on his feeding schedule that day. Like a champ, he would get swaddled and fall asleep... and sleep soundly until around 2-3am. The past two days this has NOT been the case!

Papoose has been a little fusser/wide awake and crying at night... and not sleeping as soundly... leaving J and me confused, tired, and a bit frustrated. How did his sleep schedule get so messed up?

Please feel free to leave suggestions in the comment box -- I've read the books and pretty much every blog to get some ideas but nothing is standing out.