Seriously???

Okay, so I'm really not an OCD person in general. I'm pretty laid back about most things. There is one thing, however, that I'm pretty freaked out about and that's germs. I probably owe that to working at a hospital with newborns and using hand sanitizer/washing my hands after everything I do. Before I even start work, I have to do a 3 minute scrub-in and then throughout the shift I am constantly washing my hands. I also owe it to the fact that my son's had two bad viral infections since birth, one that landed us in the ER for a pretty traumatic experience. So I'll admit, I'm a little bit of an over-the-top germophobe. But please, tell me in this situation if I was being ridiculous or if this is a normal reaction.

I took Parker to the Peditrician today for his 4 month well-baby visit. There's this mom with her son who was there for his well checkup and her daughter who was not. The daughter kept trying to convince her mom that she needed to see the Dr. too for her toes. So I'm noticing the girl keeps scratching herself all over her body and I get to looking at her, and she's got some kind of skin condition going on. She had red rashy bumps all over her body. Granted, it could've been some completely non-contagious skin irritation, but I'm not feeling too reassured at this point.

I'm minding my own business and the girl keeps looking at Parker and talking to him and I'm trying to be nice but thinking in my head "please don't come over and start touching him." And of course as I'm thinking this, she walks over and starts touching him. I'm sinking back into my chair, pulling Parker closer to me, and further away from her, hoping her mom will notice my body language and respond like I would think most moms would with "don't touch the baby" or something along those lines. But instead she responded with "just touch him on his head, don't touch his face or hands." I'm thinking "thanks, now my kid could possibly have your kid's skind condition on his head, but at least it's not on his face or hands." So, as the girl's repeatedly stroking Parker's head, the little boy comes tearing toward us with his hand over his head, sippy cup in hand, as if he's going to hit something as hard as he could with his sippy cup. He was going right for Parker's head with the cup, and so I put my hand in front of Parker's face, and his mom comes running over saying, "he has been known to hit kids with his sippy cup." That's good to know, thanks for telling me that. So, then the little girl takes her gum out of her mouth and starts rolling it in her hands and her mom says "that's why we only touch the baby on his head," and I'm thinking, how about "that's why we don't touch the baby at all." Then the girl puts her gum back in her mouth and continues stroking Parker's head. Gross. By this point I'm about having a panick attack thinking about all the germs and who knows what kind of skin disease my child has all over his head, and the girl tries to start kissing him. That's when I said, "let's not kiss the baby, please." At this point I had to get up and walk away.

Then the nurse came and called them back to the room, and as soon as they left, the lady across the room said "okay are you freaking out because I was over here about to have a panic attack for you. You handled the situation well though because I definitely wouldn't have handled it like that." Here's the problem I have: I'm SO not an outspoken person so it's hard for me to say things like "well I actually would rather her not touch him" to the mom after she told her child she could touch Parker, but at the same time, he's my baby and I have to do what I feel like I need to do. But then I think, well am I just being over the top and ridiculous? I don't know, maybe I am.

Any suggestions on how to handle situations like that in a tactful way? But seriously, does this kind of thing happen often? Because if so, I'm really gonna have to get better about being assertive. I have been surprised by some of the things that people do and say when you have a baby. I'll post about that another day...

Chunky Monkey

Tonight I took Parker up to Brookwood to see all the girls at work who have been begging me to bring him up there. One of the girls I work with is getting married next weekend, so we had a bridal shower for her tonight. They could not believe how much he's grown in 4 months and how big he is. They all commented on his chubby cheeks and the rolls on his arms and legs. The lactation nurse even told me I must have pure cream for milk! Anyways, his new nickname at work is Chunky Monkey.. I think it fits him pretty well! He's definitely a big baby, but I absolutely love it and eat him up all the time! I'll post some pictures of the bridal shower as soon as my friend sends them to me. For now I'll post a couple of my chunky monkey:

One Blessed Mommy

I had a wonderful first mother's day! On Saturday, Jay took Parker to run some errands and they came home with a dozen beautiful red roses! I love roses, so that was a nice surprise.
Sunday was such a nice day. Not only was it my first mother's day, but it was also Parker's baby dedication at church. I was a little worried that he might be fussy, but he did great! He didn't make a sound, and he didn't spit up on Pastor Walls either, which I was also worried about (he spits up all the time)!
After church, we went over to Jay's parents house and had both of our families there for lunch to celebrate mother's day and Parker's dedication. It was such a yummy lunch and we had a good time. Jay, P, and I hung out at the house for the afternoon, and then we went to Panera for supper. After that we decided to go to B&N and I read some books to Parker. I found my favorite book when I was growing up and read it to Parker. It's called "Love You Forever" and it's the sweetest book.
After B&N we came home and I put Parker on a blanket for his "tummy time", which he is SO not a fan of, by the way! After about a minute of that he rolled over for the first time ever! I was so proud and started cheering and I think I scared him! His big eyes were about to pop out of his head! It was too cute! Then of course I put him back on his tummy and got the video camera out to try to catch it on video, but he wasn't having anymore of it. He was over tummy time, so we'll have to have the camera ready next time. Anyways, all in all it was a wonderful day, and I loved getting to be with my guys. I'm so thankful for my little man and I love him like crazy! I'm definitely one blessed mommy! :)
Here are some pictures of our day:

Thank Goodness For Rice Cereal

So four months ago today my little man was born - that is SO hard to believe! The time has absolutely flown by and it kind of makes me sad. But at the same time, I love the stage he's in right now. He's so responsive and always smiling at me, which is the best feeling ever! I can't wait to watch him learn and grow - I'm having so much fun with him!

Two nights ago we started giving him rice cereal. In case you haven't seen Parker, he is a big baby boy and he loves to eat! He's got a huge appetite and I've never seen a baby that likes to eat as much as he does. He hadn't been sleeping through the night at all since he was born, so I decided to try a little rice cereal with his night feeding. That night he slept from 10 pm until 6:30 am which is a huge accomplishment for us! Last night he did the same thing, and I think we're onto something great! I'm so happy to finally be sleeping again!

Our only problem now is that he's not napping well at all during the day. He went from napping all throughout the day to nothing! What's up with that? Today he cried for an hour and 15 minutes and I finally caved! I couldn't take it anymore, I just felt awful for him. Any suggestions on what to do about that? I'm such a first time mom - always questioning everything I'm doing... I'm hoping that improves with time! Anyways, here's a picture of Parker that I took on our walk the other day.

25 Things About Me

Since I'm just starting out on this blog, I figured I'd share some facts about myself. I'm gonna try to get 25 facts in if I can think of that many...

1. I grew up on the island of Papua New Guinea as a missionary kid. It was such a neat experience and one that I'm very grateful for.
2. I love love love hot weather.. I cannot stand to be cold.. it really makes me ill!
3. I love the beach and wish I lived there year-round.
4. I'm deathly afraid of snakes and I remember the day before my wedding my friend and I were getting ready in the bathroom.. all of the sudden she let out a huge scream, and there was a huge snake right behind me.. we ran outside and screamed all the way as we ran to the house next door!
5. I'm a huge animal-lover, especially dogs. Our dog, Molly, is my first "baby".
6. I've never been on a cruise, but would love to go some day.
7. I love to eat.. I pretty much munch all throughout the day.
8. My favorite restaurant is P.F. Changs.. I always get their lettuce wraps and Kung Pao Chicken - delish!!
9. I'm a sucker for a good chick flick... such a hopeless romantic!
10. My ideal date night is getting take-out, watching a good movie by the fire, in my pj's, with a glass of wine... I'm totally a cheap date!
11. I don't really like to dress up.. I just feel so confined and uncomfortable.. the second I get home I resort to my sweats and a tank top or t-shirt.
12. I love sports - in high school I played soccer (my all-time fav), volleyball, softball, and basketball. I was going to play soccer in college, but didn't want it to consume my whole life in college.
13. I really like to cook, but don't do it that often.. probably because of my wierd work schedules the past few years, and now being consumed by the newborn.. I'm getting back into the habit, though.
14. I absolutely hate confrontation with every bone in my body.. I run from it at all costs.. it's not such a good thing.
15. I'm such a people-pleaser.. I want everyone to be happy at all times.
16. I love my job.. working as a nurse at Brookwood with mom's and newborns - it's so much fun and I love the girls I work with!
17. I'm so thankful for my husband, Jay.. I love him like crazy and can't imagine my life without him.
18. I've always wanted to be a mom, and I'm so thankful for the gift of my baby boy... I'm absolutely in love with him and can't imagine my life without him, either.
19. Since I've had Parker, my relationship with God has really grown... I know how much I love my child, and it's not even comparable to how much God loves me - I'm so thankful for His unconditional love and acceptance!
20. I'm a very sensitive person who feels things very deeply.. sometimes I wish I didn't feel things so deeply!
21. I do NOT like change.. it makes me very uncomfortable!
22. I wish I was more outgoing - sometimes I have a hard time making friends because I'm pretty shy.
23. I love jeans.. there's nothing like finding the perfect pair of jeans that fit just right... unfortunately, I can't fit in any of mine right now... ugh!
24. I never really realized how much I love sleep until now since I haven't slept all through the night in the last 4 months.
25. I love Starbucks, or coffee in general, for that matter. I always have to start my day with a cup of coffee, but I usually put more flavored creamer and sugar in it than actual coffee. My favorite Starbucks drinks are white chocolate mochas and chai lattes... yum-o!