18 years of Henry

I was just 24 years old in 2005, graduating from PT school, and I wanted to use one of my first paychecks to get myself a dog. I had always wanted a dog growing up but my dad thought dogs were outside pets, destined to live on farms and help with hunting. (Newsflash: my parents got their dog Lucie a month before we got Henry. They did not move to a farm or begin hunting in the process).

When my boyfriend Nate and I drove to Ashland, Missouri to choose a puppy from this Cockapoo litter, I remember a few things. Nate was so allergic to the farm cats that he had to wait outside of the barn. And I remember Henry, the smallish guy with a lot more white fur than his golden-colored siblings, coming over to me in a super chill way as his siblings were bouncing all over the place. He put his head in my hand, then promptly took a nap in my lap. He chose me on the spot and I was completely obsessed with this fluffy boy from day one. I was so incredibly happy to have a puppy to love on, care for, and to treat him like an actual human baby (practice makes perfect, I guess!). Many memories are a blur from this period in my life but the intense happiness of getting my puppy hasn't faded.

His puppy days were....interesting. Nate and I each lived with friends and we both worked full time. I'd come home on my lunch break to see Henry had escaped from his playpen I had set up in my bedroom. I wanted to see how he managed to accomplish such a feat, so I put him back in and he demonstrated his insane pull up skills. He lifted himself up and out of the gates by pulling his chin up and over the top, toppling over the other side and onto the floor. Little puppy was a determined dude. He chewed our shoes, chewed a lot of wooden furniture, and he loved to tear up any stuffed animals (of which there were plenty because we spoiled the heck out of our 'baby'.) I remember when he lost baby teeth and it was so horrifying to find those little needles around the house!

Henry escaped from the fenced-in back yard a few times. He was so incredibly fast as we chased him around the neighborhood, trying to entice him back home. I'm sure he thought it was a fun game we were all excited about playing it, but in reality we were super annoyed to chase this stinker around for what seemed like an hour. He was a naughty puppy and I love thinking back about that type of energy he once had. Many of our present day friends are getting puppies and I just smile and nod and remember those days (with rose colored glasses but also, no). 

When I think about the constant force of Henry throughout our lives, and how important he's been to us for major milestones, I first think about when Nate proposed to me in 2006. I knew a ring was coming and was just a *little* eager to get this show on freaking the road after dating for five years through college. Nate took Henry outside to pee and when they came back inside, Henry jumped up on my bed with a ribbon tied around his neck. I think Nate had to tell me to look closely at the ribbon, and there was my engagement ring, tied around a very proud Henry's neck. 

Every milestone after that moment crashes together in a blink as I look back over our many years with Henry. 

There was the move from St. Louis to Milwaukee, two days after our wedding. Henry rode in the U-haul, or maybe he was with me in my black Mazda Tribute. He always HATED riding in cars and would pant, face backwards in the back seat, and his breath would become so horrible that we could smell his anxiety from the drivers seat. I remember his first time (only time?) swimming in Lake Michigan, too. He was such a trooper with all of our activities for him. I know he went on runs with me, possibly up to 3 miles at a time, but I honestly barely remember any of those miles we logged together. He'd poop at the groomer or the vet nearly all of his life, no matter how long we lingered outside before his appointment. There was just something about those inside rugs that needed to experience Henry's nervous poop. 

All of Henry's dog friends flash into my mind: Sammy, Lucie, Bailey, Sampson, Riley. All of these dogs have gone before him. All of his friends are gone. There were actual dog birthday parties for this crew, complete with birthday hats and expensive dog treats. Henry really didn't mind all of the attention and he knew his spot in our life was as Top Alpha Dog. Oh, he was SO spoiled, you guys.

When we announced my pregnancy with Truman, we told the grandparents by putting a t-shirt on Henry that said 'I'm going to be a big brother, and you are going to be GRANDPARENTS!' He has always been an integral part of each milestone as we've grown our family. Because of course he was. Our best boy.

The day we brought Truman home from the hospital is a day I'll never forget. Not because we brought our first born baby home to begin our life as parents, but because of what our first-born fur baby did in response. Short version of the story is that he completely freaked out, lost his mind, and we did the same. Nate slept with Henry in a headlock in our bed. I slept on the couch with newborn Truman. Henry was yipping and whining all night long and Nate just kept squirting him with a water bottle with crazy eyes, saying 'I think it's working!' while Henry shook out approximately 12 ounces of water from his fur. 

With each subsequent baby we brought home from the hospital, Henry mellowed more and more. And in fact, he started to really enjoy the kids when he realized they all drop people food from their highchairs. Henry began a steady diet of goldfish crackers and puffs, and even graduated himself to stealing chocolate, pizza, and loaves of bread on the countertops. 'These little humans aren't so bad after all,' I could almost hear him say to me with those serious eyes. He definitely jumped up on our dining room table several times, proving that he was agile and very driven by people food and didn't care about our stupid rules.

I remember experiencing sadness like I'd never known before, when we went through my miscarriage between Truman and Cece in 2011. Coming home from the heartbreaking ultrasound, I sat on the floor and just sobbed. Nate was consoling me of course, but I won't ever forget my fluffy white dog who sensed my pain. He walked over to me and cuddled up on my lap while I cried, similar to what he did as a puppy in that barn when he chose me. He's always been my constant friend and to say that we will miss him is a severe understatement. My heart is breaking again just thinking about this next chapter without our Henry.

All of our passwords still contain his name. The sound of his nails clicking on our hardwood floors won't be another constant in the soundtrack of our lives. His puppy attacks, his yodeling, chasing the kids around the house and barking, his love for playing fetch for about 3 throws before he was over it.....all of these memories spill out of my brain. It's also been so long since *that* Henry lived with us; the energetic, younger version hasn't been with us in years. 

I don't remember when he stopped jumping up on our couches and our bed. I don't remember the last time he stole food right out of a kids' hand. I don't remember the last walk we took together, or when he last barked at a stranger.

Looking back at photos helps put the last 18 years in perspective. He used to make eye contact with us for photos. He used to hear us when we said his name. He used to get so excited when he'd hear our car pull into the driveway and would greet us with a wagging tail. He used to take walks and runs with us, and would bark at leaves that blew past our house. He was always so skittish around guys and would tuck his tail when a new person came to our house. 

None of this happens now. Henry is just sort of existing, because he's still here physically but he's a shell of a dog at this point. He can't see because of full cataracts. He can't hear us say his name. He can still smell but it's not anything like it used to be, so when we drop food he doesn't pounce on it and needs to be guided to his loot. He's falling down our stairs, and peeing on the landing nearly every night. I remember him being so embarrassed if he had an accident 5+ years ago. And now, we don't even think he knows when he's going. There's been so much pee and poop lately and I hate myself for getting frustrated as we clean it up, yet again. 

When I try to pet him he will allow that for a few seconds but then he usually pulls away and gets back to pacing around each room of our house. He walks right into us and into the walls sometimes. He will stare at the back door for no reason at all. He sleeps probably 20 hours a day, getting up to move from his bed in our room to the kids' bathroom floor mat. Pacing, pacing, pacing. He doesn't quite know what to do with himself anymore. I realize these are all signs that he's no longer living his best life but it's killing me to even type this out right now.

In June of 2022, Henry had a big scare that we think was a major seizure from a brain tumor. We really thought that was it for our guy. But he pulled through and has been living on borrowed time for the last year and a half. Looking back at photos tells the story of our best boy, steadily declining ever since that summer. And still, he isn't making it easy on us to decide when enough is enough. (THIS IS SO HARD, how do people do this??).

In my mind, any obvious red flags would be a no brainer to let him go. If he's in pain, we will say goodbye. If he stops eating, we will say goodbye. If he can't walk, or get up and down our stairs anymore, we will say goodbye. But none of these obvious red flags have happened. And yet, all of the yellow flags are waving hard at us. He's here but he's not. He is so so old and so so tired. 

We are worried about something happening to make our goodbye more traumatic and stressful than it needs to be. What if one of these falls down the stairs means a broken leg? What if his 'stable' tumor on this thigh busts open? What if he has another seizure? What if he goes into a crisis when we are out of town and our sweet dog sitter, or my in-laws, have to handle it? If he stops eating, or is in serious pain, will that make things easier for us to decide or somehow much harder? I don't want to be selfish keeping him around because we are avoiding the inevitable. But it's just so hard. 

Talking to Nate about all of this, he said that if he is 126 years old and this is his quality of life, he wouldn't want to live anymore either. (I guess we should add that to his will?) But what more could we ask for in our dog? He's had a wonderful life. He's been our best dog, our only dog, and more special to us than we could have predicted back in 2005. He's been our constant. Our companion. He's lived 18 wonderful years with us. I'm so sad to let him go. He can never be replaced, so please don't ask if we are getting another dog--I cannot go there mentally right now.

The average life expectancy of a Cockapoo is 12-15 years. He's given us 18.5 because he's a freaking wonder. The kids all wanted him to break the Guiness Book of World Records, which I'm told is 22 years (not a chance). I wish we could have another 18 with this guy, but I do feel like he's already gone in a way. I've been a wreck ever since we made the decision, in case you can't tell.

Telling the kids our plan for the at-home vet to come to the house was another awful experience. They are all so sad to say goodbye. We've never done this before and it's already excruciating to begin the grieving process. I hate this. 

But I love you, Henry. Thank you for giving us these memories, and all of these years with you as our number one. There will never be another dog like you. 

-------------

On April 6th, with sunshine streaming through the windows of our home, and surrounded by all of his favorite people, we said goodbye to our best boy. It was peaceful and heartbreaking. It was time but it was so incredibly difficult to let him go. The kids, Nate, Tony, Lois and I all gave him so many hugs and kisses before sending him over that rainbow bridge to run and play again. 

 

Aug 5: Family Pet

The other night I was tucking Truman into bed and Henry walked into the room, as he usually does. T and I were laying on the ground, as we usually do (lately). And Henry plopped his furry butt down in between our shins, on top of the sheet, and he sighed as if to say, 'I'm totally spent, dudes.'

Truman giggled and said, 'Doggie!' and we both sat up to marvel at our silly Cockapoo. As soon as we pet his side he rolled onto his back and spread his lower legs apart, begging for a thigh rub. His doggie junk was sort of on display at this point, so I figured I would give Truman a canine anatomy lesson.

'This is his penis.'

'His peeeeee-nissssss?'

'Yes.'

'But where is his butt?'

I reluctantly pointed to Henry's nether region and Truman said, 'Oh, just like those goats at the zoo!' Yes, son. The goat that pooped right in front of you, bringing about the look of fear and curiosity and wonder that only a three year old boy could have when it comes to goat poop. Just like a goat butt, our dog has a butt. Big on the butt talk over here.

So then we pet Henry for awhile, rubbing his belly and his ears and marveling at his big black paws. I told Truman that when Henry was a little puppy, his paws had pink spots on them. Now they are all black. Now he is almost eight years old. For some reason it hit me then that my beloved Henry is aging faster than any of us and I had to fight back a tear thinking of those puppy paws he used to have.

'Truman, even before you were in my tummy I had Henry here with me. He's almost eight years old, buddy, can you believe that?'

'Henry the dog, or Henry the boy?'

'Henry the dog, Tru. He's getting older...'

And I stopped there because there is no need to go all Marley and Me right now, imagining a day when Truman has to say goodbye to his doggie. But right then, on Truman's floor, I saw how much he adores old Hankster. Henry obviously loves Truman just as much in return, laying there with his tail waging, soaking up all the attention like it was the best part of his day. Even better than when Henry scarfed Truman's graham crackers. He looked more content laying on Truman's floor than I've seen him in awhile.

I told T that I would go down and get daddy now, and Tru said he would keep petting Henry. I informed Nate to bring his phone upstairs and try to get that moment on film. Because how freaking sweet, right?



Nate also got a video but then Truman accidentally deleted it from his phone. Whoops.

A little boy and his dog, resting together before bed. The dog getting some serious TLC and a light-bulb moment from his owner: even when he drives me batty with his barking at slamming car doors three houses away, and even when he is eating the kids' food in lightning speeds he is still my Henry. He was my 'first born' and is still a huge part of our family.

And although he's slipped a bit in the ranks of our clan, going from top dog before kids to a little further down on the totem pole, he still has a pretty sweet life. We love our buddy even if he doesn't get the attention and blog posts and 2:1 human to dog time he used to get. And I'm pretty sure he loves us right back. Actually, I know he loves us. And I pray he will be around forever, somehow.

From our current Henry-dog to our puppy Henry...

Miscellany

So many things to blog about lately. Let's hit as many things as possible in one post, deal? Numbered lists, and go!

1. I've decorated a bit for Valentines Day this year, something I've never done before, but (again) this is our first year with a mantel and it's just too much fun to dress it up. I also never know if it's 'mantEL' or 'mantLE' and I see it spelled both ways, so forgive me if I'm wrong today. I bought a cute felt heart-garland at Target (and 'Be Mine' was our first dance song at our wedding, as I gently reminded Nate), then found felt heart 3D stickers at Joann's for 50% off. Added those to some pipe cleaners, and a few to a ribbon. And voila!











2. Also, made a few new prints to put in frames around our house. Finally made the 'important date' one that you see on Pinterest everywhere. Made Erin one, too, because she's wanted one for years and it was an easy birthday present.  :)







3. My son is almost three years old. And he is painfully handsome with his newest haircut, if you ask me. And he is obsessed with those smoothie pouch thingies. Like, he could eat 10 a day if I let him. He is also obsessed with Nutella on waffles lately, hence the chocolate smears. Love sneaking in some veggies with the pouches. Love his dimples. Love this boy.




4. My kids are obsessed with Henry dog. And the feeling is quite mutual, since our seven year old first born is now the recipient of TWO portions of people food falling from the table. Caught Cecelia playing with Henry on camera and almost died of the cuteness. Especially when Henry kept licking her face, shaking her hand, and then flipped onto his back in order to get belly rubs. What a freaking ham. Love that Truman will say, 'Where's my Henry? I missed Henry today!'. He is such a good doggie, even when he is driving me nuts by his protective bark when someone enters our house. Even when he drops a stealth pee in the basement. He's still an awesome family pet and so good to our kids.






5. I am in love with with running to Justin Bieber's 'Beauty and a Beat'. And Taylor Swift's 'Never Ever'. Truman actually loves that song by Taylor, too, and does a really cute rendition of it yet to be caught on camera. But yeah. I'm 31 years old and love the tween stuff for running. No shame.

6. I never shared our Instagram book on the old blog! My philosophy on photo albums has been: doing a pregnancy album for each baby, then a yearly album for each child (probably just the first two years for each kid, I think). Before kids I'd do a family album every year but now I figure that the kids' albums do the job nicely. But this year, now that I'm heavy into the IG fad, I figured that using my iPhoto pictures in a family album would be good----and then Cecelia's first year album will hold all of our 'real' pictures and all of my appropriate blog posts. And so? I used Blurb, as always, and LOVED how this baby turned out. No text, very straight-forward, and 196 pages. I had to edit my photo selection way down, too, because even though I joined IG less than a year ago I'm completely obsessed. The book (with our last name covered by a hair bow. Random.)














Also, it should be noted: I totally tried to sell myself to Blurb. I wrote them and said that I've made 27 books using their company before, I am obsessed with them, and I have a fairly popular blog. Then I tried to make the stretch that maybe they'd want me to review a book for them and I could get a big fat discount (ie free?) book out of the deal. The customer service people were super nice and said they'd forward my email to their marketing folks. Did not hear back from them. However, the nice rep DID give my a coupon for 20% off so at least I got something out of the deal. I really do love Blurb even if they didn't want me to blog for them;)

7. Speaking of photos, my computer was giving me a 'warning: start up disk full' signal which is never a great thing to see. I checked my hard drive and sure enough---I had 95GB of images on iPhoto. Whoops. I cleaned up a few other applications first and then I knew I had to tackle the beast. So I FINALLY pulled off all of the images from my computer and put them on our external hard drive. Since I also put all of the 'good' pictures on Flickr as a back up, I don't get too panicked about putting the images on the hard drive, but I SHOULD because if something ever happened to Flickr and if my computer crashed I'd be screwed. So anyway, 10,000 images came off my computer. And that was only since Cecelia was born.

8. I should be writing Cecelia's 8 month post right now (happy 8 months, baby!) but I'm doing this one instead. Why do the monthly posts stress me out? Can't believe I did them all the way through age TWO for Truman. Yikes.

9. Speaking of Truman, I just realized the other night as I looked at all of the photos in the past year, that he is no longer obsessed with tattoos. I think last year at this time he was at his PEAK of needing to have one tat on each hand at all times. I remember taking fresh ones along with us when we both flew to Missouri for a wedding last February. Because I knew that if his current ones started to wear off while we were away the world would end. He had tattoos on when CC was born and last summer, too---but since then he hasn't requested any. Why does this make me so sad?? I mean, it's not like wearing temporary tats is the cutest thing ever and it was kind of annoying to ALWAYS be replacing them. But it just goes to show that phases pass quickly and something that was so important a year ago doesn't matter to him anymore. Makes me sad to think that sometime soon he might be 'over' trains---maybe that will be an even bigger pill to swallow, since I feel like his trains are such a big part of his personality right now. Obviously, kids grow up and their likes and dislikes change. But wahhhh--I don't want him to grow up and trade in his trains for video games and girlfriends!

10. I have a fun project that I'm making for Truman right now, inspired by this on Pinterest. I was actually just going to buy that daily calendar instead of making one, but then I found myself wanting to make ours a little bit different. And I haven't really worked with felt before and wanted to give it a shot. It's proving to be pretty time consuming but I think the end result will be worth it. We HAVE to figure out a way to teach Truman about the concept of time. Everything in the future is 'after my nap' and everything in the past is 'last time'. Not sure this calendar will even help but it's worth a shot!



(crafting with a toddler is a dangerous sport for toys)




11. Have I mentioned that I love Craigslist? Because it's my favorite place to buy furniture, apparently. We found our awesome dining room chairs there, I got Truman's cool 'big boy' dresser there, and we found the changing table and also our crib on CL. Add to the list this adorable dollhouse bookshelf for Cecelia!



It is by Pottery Barn (apparently, not sure I ever believe people when they say that) and is 6 years old. I think we got a pretty good deal on it because it's real wood and the price is basically the same as what we paid for the dresser and the changing table before. I might try to paint the 'roof' and the little windows, trading the light green for a pale pink (of course). But we'll see. Now Cecelia will have a place to put all of her books and it will make the nursery feel a little more complete! Just have to coordinate a time for Nate to get the bookshelf and then we might have to rearrange the entire nursery to make it fit next to the rocker. I have a thing about wanting the bookshelf RIGHT next to the chair in there--not sure why that is such a big deal to me, but whatever. Can't wait to see it in person. Thanks again, Craigslist!

12. I have become a bad commenter on other blogs lately. I usually read Google Reader while nursing Cecelia at bedtime, then I mark the blogs 'unread' so that I can go back and comment later when I'm on the computer. Which seems to be a LOT later than I anticipate. Why isn't it easier to comment on blogs on my phone? So many steps and passwords and redirections on that tiny screen. But anyway---commenting on blogs is on my ever-important To Do list!

13. Picky toddler at mealtime, anyone? Wow. Truman is actually getting a little bit better about trying new foods for us but it's always such a battle to get that kid to eat anything healthy (see above point about giving him glorified baby food in a squirt container). For the past two nights, we have had some...events at the dinner table. We make him try something new. He obeys. And then he gags and seriously ralphs all over. Tonight I made him a 'T and C' sandwich----not calling it a 'turkey and cheese' sandwich because I knew he'd tell me he doesn't like turkey. But I called it a T and C---for Truman and Cecelia. Cute, right? He was all about it. I had cut off the crust, made tiny cute little bites, and when he plunged into that first little bite his face dropped. He tried to play it off acting like it was all good and then....he gagged. And couldn't stop puking. Awesome. This is about the 5th time in his life that he has gagged on my food. The night before it was on shredded cheese which he usually loves so whatever. The child has a WEIRD sensory/tactile thing going on I've decided. Anything crunchy or super smooth is good. Anything with variable textures? NO. Again, he really showed me what I could do with my beloved T and C sandwich. He cried and felt badly about it, and I know he didn't force himself to vomit everywhere. But man. Kind of hard to push new foods when I know I will be cleaning them up later...

And what a way to end a post! ;)

Fifth Birthday

Remember when this entire blog was basically about my dog and running?

Ahem. Cough. Ahem.

What? Have things changed around here?

Because I promise you that on Monday morning, October 18, I glanced at the calendar on my way out the door to work and nearly scraped my jaw off the ground. It was Henry's fifth birthday and I seriously almost forgot about my first born!! What have I become?

My how times have changed. I remember his first birthday involving an actual party with other dogs and gourmet treats and what not. His second birthday was when I started the tradition with the birthday hat. We had just moved to Wisconsin and I think we might have taken him swimming in Lake Michigan for the first time as a treat.

His third birthday is chronicled here and his fourth birthday chronicled here ; both posts make me smile. Ah, little Henry. Remember when you had a voice on the internet? Not so much anymore, huh?

I'm still his mom, no matter how distracted I've become, and I still have the right to embarrass him in photo shoots:)






I still love my little fluff ball even if my attention is slightly diverted towards my human son these days. Sometimes I feel bad for Henry because of how much his life has changed in the past year....going from the king of the castle on every piece of furniture, sleeping in bed with us, endless photo shoots and attention....to being second place to Truman, never on furniture, and lucky if he gets a walk around the block. Sometimes I'll look down at my feet and see every single dog toy laying there as if to say, 'Mom, do you like any of these enough to throw them around with me?' So sad.

But then again, he still has a pretty sweet life and he knows we love him to death. I really do think he's better adjusted and more settled now compared to last year before his training and he really does love Truman, too. He got his peanut butter plate again this year and therefore he forgave me of all my sins. :)




We love you Henry. I know this last year has been a challenging one for you at times but you've handled it fabulously (well, except for our first night home from the hospital but we'll forget about that night). You are the best little doggie in the world bud. And don't worry, you still have 62 posts on this blog with your name on it and so far Truman is only at 54. You win for now! Let's go for a long walk today, okay? Just as soon as I change Truman's diaper...

Anyone else have a major shift in priorities when it comes to the family pet and a new baby? I don't think it's a bad thing, necessarily, because Henry is still happy and healthy and loved. But he just doesn't rule the roost anymore, that's all. :)

One Week!

I cannot believe it's been a whole week since Truman came into our lives. But on the other hand, it's hard to remember the days before he was with us because he's pretty much the center of our universe right now.

So some updates, along with tons of pictures of T-man throughout his first week of life:

1. Today Truman and I ventured out for a car ride to the Pediatrician's office. It was my first time driving with T all alone and I was a little nervous but it went just fine. He was a superstar at the office and didn't even pee on the doctor:) His weight is up to 7.6 from the 7.4 he was at discharge and the doctor has no concerns after a full exam. I guess that means breastfeeding is working!




2. Speaking of breastfeeding: it's going really well. I might have mentioned that the Lactation Consultant at the hospital said Truman was one of her star patients with a great latch from the beginning. Well, a few days ago he started getting a little particular with his latch and likes to re-attach a few times before he settles in for the long haul. He's feeding anywhere from every 1.5 to 3 hours and I'm basically just letting him guide me for when he needs to eat. There are SO many theories out there about breastfeeding a newborn and I've decided to let him eat whenever he gives hunger cues for now. I mean after all, he is a growing baby boy and even if it's just a short little feeding session I know that is better than nothing at all. I'm still intrigued with trying a schedule or routine of some sort once he gets a little older but for now we are just pretty much winging it. I used to wake him up every 3 hours or so to feed because he was so sleepy those first few days but now he's much more awake and ready to chow all the time! :)


3. Sleeping: Remember how I was all, 'Oh the baby will sleep in his nursery from the first night because we don't have room in our bedroom, and the nursery is only steps away from our bed' before he was born? Yeah, totally not ready to put him in the giant crib so far away from me! Our first two nights at home I slept on the couch with Truman in the pack and play next to me while Nate dealt with Henry in our room (more later). Then we decided to buy a co-sleeper bassinet and just did some rearranging in our bedroom to make it work. The rearranging included Nate and I switching sides of our bed which is a HUGE deal, if you ask me! I mean, after 8 years together sleeping on 'our' sides we've switched it up....but it's totally worth it to have the whole family in the same room. It makes nursing him a lot easier on me right now, when we are still figuring everything out. I don't want him to stay in our room for too long because I don't want it to be hard on him to wean off the co-sleeper but for now it works and it helps me get at least a little more sleep. He wakes up anywhere from 2-4 times in a night and usually settles down right after he eats, so I really can't complain!


4. Temperament: I know it's still too early to say, especially since Truman was two weeks early, but I really feel like he's being TOO good to us. It's awful to think that way, but I keep waiting for everything to change, for him to get really cranky and inconsolable and it totally freaks me out. It makes me feel anxious just imagining him crying for any long period of time. Right now he is still so sleepy that when he's awake he is very relaxed and content. I know it's not likely to continue like this forever but I hope it does! :) Basically, I'm trying to take it one day at a time (have you ever heard me say that before?) and not get too far ahead of myself. If he does end up getting more crabby I'll just have to tackle it as it comes. But boy, right now we sure do have a great baby boy on our hands.


5. All things green and crunchy: First, cloth diapering--we tried it out for the first time on Saturday. I loved how the prefold soaked his 'heavy wetting' like it was nothing. But I did not like that the prefold and prowrap cover kept bumping his little umbilical cord and made it ooze a little bit. Nate and I decided that we'd just wait to start cloth diapering until it falls off which will probably be in the next week or so. I tried to research different ways to fold the prefold so it doesn't irritate the cord but Truman always has his legs moving around so much that it is just bound to bump it. So for now we are still on the disposables and going through our supply we got for shower gifts. I'm hoping we don't have to buy a single pack of them but we'll see.

Secondly, baby wearing! I busted out the Moby wrap after our second day at home and I must say that I love it to death. Truman likes it a lot, too, I think. I've only put him in it when he's passed out after a feeding but he seems to stay asleep pretty easily in it. And just look at what I can do with two free hands!


6. Push present: A long time ago, I joked with Nate about how it's all the rage for husbands to buy their wives 'push presents' for pushing out their children into the cold, cruel world:) I thought the idea was kind of silly, actually, since the baby itself is a pretty amazing gift. Well my sweet husband took it upon himself to get sneaky and bought me this gorgeous white gold and diamond necklace the day before my induction. It's called 'Love's embrace' and he got it from Jared's. We should be on a commercial, don't you think? :) I was shocked when he whipped out the box at the hospital because it's not like Nate to do sneaky things like this. I am absolutely in love with it and also with my husband for being so thoughtful. Oh, and I love the little man next to my chest, too:




7. My husband: Nate has absolutely risen to the occasion of being a daddy. He had to go to class on Thursday but was off Fri, Sat, and Sun. Then he went back to class today. He's been such a help and is usually in charge of most diaper changes and swaddling so that I can rest after a feeding. Because PPD runs in my family he is really watching out for his wife and will ask, 'How are you feeling today? Are you feeling down at all?' and then will go on to say things that melt my heart like, 'You are a good mommy, baby.'

I can honestly say that there is nothing like watching your husband hold your son in his arms with a look of pride and satisfaction that is undeniable. I think my love for Nate has grown in the past week just watching him morph into his role as a daddy. I know he must be tired, having to go to class in the mornings, but he's juggling it all like a champ. I'm a very lucky woman, for sure.






8. Clothes: OMG, I cannot get enough of dressing Truman up in his little outfits. Exhibit A:

I don't love the actual process of changing him because he screams when he's half nekkid and cold, but I can tell we've gotten faster at changing him and so it's not as traumatic as it was a few days ago. This boy will go through 2-5 outfits changes in one day because of peeing out a diaper, spitting up, or mommy leaking on him. Yes, the laundry has gone up exponentially but the little clothes are just too darn cute to be stressed about it.

9. We got our BOB stroller! Whoo hoo! We were all set to wait until the end of this month when our REI dividend arrives but Nate went in and talked to them and they said we can get our discount applied after the fact if we want. And thus, we are now proud new owners of this gorgeous beast, including the infant car seat adapter and the drink holder. All in all, when we put the car seat in the stroller, we are pushing around one expensive device my friends:)


10. Photos: before the days of Truman I would edit each picture I'd post on the blog, then I'd shrink it down to be an acceptable size for Flickr before posting it. I learned very quickly that I do not have the time or energy to do any editing right now. And thus, I just plug in my camera and let it pull every single picture (good, bad, ugly lighting...who cares). Then I upload the giant files to Flickr and walk away, letting the computer do all of the work. Genius, I tell you!! Why didn't I think of this before? So you'll have to ignore some imperfect pictures for now:)










11. Henry. Oh, my Henry. So you saw the video of our homecoming but what you did not see was that Henry began to whimper, squeak, and freaking lose his mind that afternoon. We could not get him to calm down no matter what we did. He was happy to see Truman because his tail was wagging and he kept sniffing him, but he was visibly upset, too. We called our dog trainer within the first hour of being home (nothing like spending quality time with the baby as we get home, right?) and she gave us a few ideas but poor Henry was just beside himself at that point. I honestly think that since we were gone for four nights, my parents came and stayed here, then we brought home this new little being he thought we might be leaving him for good and he was losing his position in the family. It was bad my friends. Very bad.

I was already tired and nervous and didn't feel that great so to have our dog--whom I obviously love dearly--act so out of character was awful. We did not prepare ourselves for that reaction because we truly thought timid little Henry would just cower in the corner and pout. WRONG! While I rocked Truman in the nursery, I could hear Henry whining and Nate trying to correct him non-stop in our room. This went on until 3 am when we just couldn't take it anymore and I decided to move Truman and I into another room and Nate did the unthinkable and let Henry sleep in bed with him to calm him down:) It did work pretty well but obviously didn't solve the problem.

The next day it was just me, Henry, and Truman and Henry was immediately better. I think he realized that Truman is not leaving and neither am I so he calmed down a bit. Now he's morphed into a great big brother who is still curious about mister man but does not whine even when the baby cries. He needs lots of extra belly rubs and attention from his mom and dad, and we happily oblige when we can. That seems to keep him satisfied for now and we constantly praise him for being a good boy.

Basically, it will go down in history for us that our first night home with our newborn was hell but NOT because of the baby. In fact, Truman was a dream. It was because of our spoiled first born canine but all is much better now. Henry is lucky Nate didn't put him in the garage or take him to the pound. The worst he got out of the deal was getting totally doused by a water bottle for correction from Nate. We usually don't have to resort to that but our first night home, I walked into our bedroom to find Nate with crazy eyes holding the squirt bottle like a gun saying, 'It's working! It's really working' like a mad scientist. I had to hold back a little laugh when Henry started to whine within 10 seconds and I almost lost it all together when Nate finally let Henry out of his crate and the poor baby had to shake off enough water to make a puddle on the ground. He got a shower for sure that night and I thought Nate might have gone certifiably insane. Ah, the memories. I'm so glad we all survived.


I plan on doing a post all about me and my recovery at one week postpartum. It might take a few days but I'll get there! Truman and I are both celebrating one week post-delivery for sure as both of us have to recover and adjust. So let this be Truman's post and mine will be later.