Nothing But a D Thing: Week Recap: Jack Updates and Pics!

Its been a bit since we updated - whew! What a week. This is a long post.
Early last week we went to Target to grab some items. We saw that the generic Target brand of formula was $10 cheaper than the Enfamil that we currently use and we go through at least a container a week. So we decided to try it and mix Jack's formula half and half of Enfamil and generic to ease Jack over. We noticed that Jack got a lot more fussy the next day but hoped that it would go away over a few days. It didn't and we ended up just using Enfamil again - failed experiment. Jack just has expensive taste and we are happy to oblige.
In addition to the formula fussiness, Jack had a very hard time with the lower dosage of Zantac. He cried and cried and cried, which was very hard on Mom and Dad. We think that it was the acid coming back in his stomach. That other Dr. prescribed so much that Jack's tummy didn't have much acid left and then when it started coming back it made him very uncomfortable. Finally by Thursday, I had enough of hearing Jack be miserable and called the Dr. to see what I could do. I talked to a nurse and explained the situation. She said "Your baby has reflux, this is just how it going to be for 6 months." What a terrible thing to stay to a 1st time mom who is obviously calling because she is worried. Yes, tell someone that they should just expect their child to cry constantly for 6 months, because that is helpful. I thought she was rude, but I was steadfast about explaining the needs of my child and needless to say, we got our medication fixed. They switched us to Prevacid so hopefully it works. My sister said that this was the miracle drug for all 3 of her children with reflux. So far, Jack's been doing okay. He's stopped crying so much. but he's having a bit of difficulty getting used to the new drug. He's only been on it 5 days and from what I've read, it can take 2 weeks for a child to get used to it. Side effects include a lack of sleeping and an upset/gassy tummy and we definitely have both of those issues. He's also started spitting up a lot more which he didn't do before. I'm going to give this drug the full 2 weeks before calling the Dr. because he doesn't seem to be too uncomfortable. I hope this drug works and is worth it, it costs $120 a month - eek.

On Saturday we needed to run some errands so instead of going separately (as we have been doing) we decided to take Jack covered up in the stroller. It went well! We haven't Jack out much for several reasons: the bitter cold, his lack of vaccinations (he gets them 3/20!) and it is cold/flu season and we really don't want him to get sick as we are having a hard enough time with his colic/reflux, adding a cold would be terrible. So, we got to run to the post office (to mail our birth announcements), Macy's (Mommy was out moisturizer - ack this dry winter, no wonder- and Lancome had a good free gift), had lunch at Chili's (courtesy of a lovely gift card) and went to Sam's to pick up a few items. Jack was a champ! He was nice and easy for Mom and Dad and even slept through our lunch at Chili's. The stroller worked really well and Mom got some good practice with it. Saturday night, Colin and I had plans to go out for our friend's birthday so we lined up a babysitter who is one of my old RA employees who is student teaching, she's fantastic! We were a little nervous leaving him, because our past baby sitters have been family or close friends - but it went well. She said Jack was very good - no crying! That night we went out to a Hibachi grill - that was really fun and the food was great! Afterwards we went out for drinks and had a blast! As much as I missed Jack, it was really nice to get out, see friends and have adult conversations. I've been getting pretty stir crazy at home, so I really enjoyed it. It was also a nice time for Colin and I to reconnect a bit. When we are at home, about 50% of our conversations are about Jack and work so it was a nice flashback to our old "pre-Jack normalcy" of being silly and fun vs being tired and spit up on. Although Colin and I had a lot of laughs when we were out running errands earlier that day, and it was nice to be able to be goofy with the baby in tow. As Jack grows up, I think it's important that he sees his parents having fun and that we have fun as a family - I think it sets a good tone for the family (and laughing is awesome).

Monday I found out exciting news! I got offered a new position! When I return from maternity leave, I will be the Coordinator of Conferences and Special Events here at the U of I. I'm very excited. When the position became vacant, I waited for it to be posted and it got held up a lot so when it finally did, I was 8 months pregnant and was unsure if I should apply do to me being pregnant - I didn't want to add the stress of interviewing to my already hormonal state, but I got a lot of encouragement to do so (which I am VERY appreciative of). So in December I did a phone interview and later that month, learned that I had a finalist interview (1 of 3 finalist candidates). Since I was very pregnant, the dept pushed back the interview as far as they could. So 2 1/2 weeks after having baby Jack, I completed a day long interview in front of my peers. It was stressful, but I prepared a lot and really felt ready - I really wanted this position. I'm really excited about this new role! During the summer, will be working to make sure our summer conferences run smoothly (summer conferences generate a lot of revenue for the dept). This is a great opportunity for me professionally because I will be able to learn a new aspect of Housing (which will make me more marketable in the future) and it is a promotion from my current position. I've been a Residence Director here for 6 1/2 years. It is also a great opportunity for our family - we will get to move out of the residence hall (I've never lived somewhere where I've needed to pay rent or mortgage, it's always been part of my compensation for my line of work), I won't be on duty for students anymore (although, I'll be on call for my new position - but won't be called nearly as often and it will only be during conference season (end of May - early August), and I will no longer have nighttime commitments (my 1st 8-5 job). This truly is a blessing. Colin and I are planning on renting a house for a year, and then perhaps buying a house soon after. We will probably be staying in Champaign for awhile - which is nice, while I'd like to move more north, Champaign really is a nice town, we have a good group of friends here, we both like our jobs, we have daycare set up for Jack and it'd be nice to be able to have our 2nd child here (God willing) since my insurance plan is really good. I negotiated to stay in Weston until May 14th so we have some time to find a place, buy furniture, etc. It's really nice of Housing to allow me to stay for an additional 2-3 months. We are super excited! Between Jack being born, Colin getting a promotion and my new position, 2014 is really the year for us!!