Ten for July

10.  This month has definitely been a month of phone calls.  With my family spread all over the country, it can be hard to actually find time to talk to them on the phone.  But, with me not at work during the day, it's opened up a lot more options.  I've appreciated being able to stay close to my family over the phone while they are so far away.  It's really made it feel like they've been part of Calvin's early life--and my early life as a mom.

9.  This month we started taking family walks.  The dogs have learned to be wary of the stroller but do really well walking with it.  Calvin seems to enjoy the outdoor experience, too, on pleasant evenings.  Unfortunately, there haven't been enough pleasant evenings as far as we're concerned.  We have substituted the family walk with hanging out on the porch swing during the rain while the dogs stay on the lookout for stray cats.  Thankfully, they are well behaved enough to stay on the porch even if one passes by us.

8.  My favorite errand of the week is still shopping at Publix.  It's probably become even more of an obsession now, though.  We usually make a point to go during the day when the store is a little calmer.  Calvin is always in his Moby Wrap and draws attention from the cute older women and couples shopping, too.  The butcher/fish man has come to recognize us, and has had conversations with us about the carrier.  I've also enjoyed the menu planning and list making leading up to the trip as it's pretty fun to eat without pregnancy restrictions anymore.

7.  Calvin and I survived having a cold this month.  While it absolutely broke my heart to see him with the sniffles (and made me almost cry every time I had to use a nasal bulb), it was actually a great learning experience for me.  I'm grateful that the first time he was "sick" was something pretty minor.  I also feel like I'll be much more able to handle it the next time he is sick.  Plus, I loved all the extra love and snuggles from my little man.

6.  I've had a lot of time to really fall in love with my Kindle this month.  Middle of the night feeding sessions, Devin's late nights at work, and all of Calvin's naps I held him through have given me plenty of reading time.  Devin gave it to me for mother's day for those very reasons, and it's been great!  So far, I haven't bought a single book but am loving all the free ones to which it has given me access.  I've read through quite a few this month, have two currently going, and have many more in the queue for later.

5.  While we prefer to do errands together as much as possible, I've become quite confident in managing and enjoying outings on my own with Calvin.  Devin had to work a couple Sundays, so I took Calvin to church by myself twice.  Also, we've done several shopping trips with just the two of us.  Depending on where we are shopping, I either use the Moby Wrap or the stroller, and it's gone pretty well.  So far, I've been able to hold off meltdowns from happening in the car, but a couple times he's been pretty unhappy for the last part of the drive home.

4.  We made some pretty amazing foods over the month of July.  Our short list of new foods include salmon quesadillas, homemade salsa, baked chicken & potatoes, breakfast burritos, (a better) banana bread, chocolate covered bacon, and cheesy bacon croquettes. We've thankfully been able to still find time to cook together, although much of the cooking still falls to Devin.  I have made a couple meals on my own, too.  Also, we've eaten a lot of sandwiches this month to make up for nine months without lunch meat.  It's been wonderful!

3.  This month was Devin's Emergency Medicine rotation.  This is the specialty he's declared and has wanted to do for years.  So, it was nice that he finally got to get in there and do it.  As we expected, he fell even more in love with it as the month went on.  Not all of it was glamorous (lancing hemorrhoids, anyone?), but he did pretty awesome with it all and made a pretty good impression on the residents and attendings.  He powered through some pretty crazy schedules and dealt with a lot of sleep deprivation like a rock star, too.  Now, it's on to board prep and multiple tests for the next month!

2.  I love that I'm no longer truly "postpartum."  It's kind of nice to feel like just myself again.  While I still have a couple pounds left I'd like to loose, I'm back to a normal pre-pregnancy weight for myself.  I've also packed away the maternity clothes and fit into most of my regular clothes again.  I'm able to exercise once more as well.  Of course, I'm still dealing with a healing tailbone, but that could take quite a while longer to be 100% normal.  For 6-ish weeks out, though, I'm feeling pretty darn good!

1.  The best part of this month has definitely been enjoying our Calvin.  He really is just about the best baby anyone could want.  He's gotten into much more of a routine these days and is growing in leaps and bounds both physically and personality wise.  Lately, my heart has been melting from his happy little smiles he saves for us.  Calvin also started making spit bubbles a couple days ago which has officially been labeled "one of the cutest things ever."  Eating, sleeping, and pooping are still going well making up 80% or more of every day.  It's amazing how much he is his own little person already, though.  I'm loving falling more and more in love with him every single day!