Lunch date

It was so nice to get together with Shoshana for lunch today and we were very lucky to meet another beautiful baby girlfriend. Mikaela Vernick was born a few days before Brex on February 11th (7 lbs/10 oz and 20 inches long). The babies behaved like perfect angels in the restaurant and collected loads of compliments from the other diners.

Looking in the mirror

Brex is starting to get more alert and he seems to be focusing on the people/objects he is looking at.  At first I thought it was a fluke that he was looking at himself in the mirror, but now he checks himself out every time we lay him on the activity gym. 

Saturday Night Dinner Date!

Mike & I enjoyed an awesome dinner at Carnival which was also our 1st meal outside of the house post pregnancy. Brex also had a great time hanging out with Jen & Joe and we were very thankful for their offer to babysit!

 

Running errands

How lucky are we to get 2 days of sunshine in a row?  It was time to pull out the jogging stroller because we had some serious errands to 'run' before it was time for the next feeding. We started with a visit to the corner coffee shop that I went to almost every day on my way to work. The employees had watched my belly grow throughout the pregnancy and they were all genuinely excited to meet Brex.  From there we hit the grocery store, 7/11 (for a Slurpee!) and the bank...made it home with 20 minutes to spare before lunch!

Going Strolling...

Finally the temperature was above freezing in Chicago and we were able to get outside for Brex's 1st stroller ride.  We tried the lite stroller today and made a very important stop down the street to get mommy's crazy eyebrows taken care of...

1st Playdate

Tonight was our 1st playdate at the Bluhm's house.  It was so much fun to get together with good friends and see our 3 babies together. 
Quinn Stallings was born 2 weeks before Brex on January 30th, 2010 (6 lbs, 14 oz and 20 inches long)
Ava Bluhm was born a few days after Brex on February 19th, 2010 (7 lbs. 9 oz and 19 inches long)

It was great to go through pregnancy together with Michelle and Anna. It's also comforting to have 2 brand new mothers so close to us for support!

Three Pregnant Girls...

 

Three Happy Mommies!!!

Auntie Shawn and Auntie Jen came to play too!

1st REAL bath

This is one chilled out baby. Brex slept through all of his sponge baths as we carefully navigated around his healing umbilical cord and circumcision, so we were anxious to see how he would take to the full submersion in water. Much to our surprise, he just sat there and yawned as if we were boring him. At one point, he tried to eat the washcloth, but other than that, he was very mellow as we scrubbed him down.

Bath Videos:

Old wives tales

I learned a lot about old wives tales throughout my pregnancy. 
A few were true for me:
1.) I was carrying low (which meant I was having a boy)
2.) Girls cause morning sickness (I never felt sick)
Others were false:
1.) The 1st baby -especially boys- arrive after their due date (Brex was almost 2 weeks early)
2.) Heartburn means baby will be born with hair (he had a head of hair, but I didn't have heartburn)

Wanna say hi Brex

Brex stare down

Becoming Babywise

We are loosely following the 'Babywise' method which is a repetitive routine cycle of sleeping, feeding and activity time. Instead of letting Brex fall asleep during or right after a day time feeding, we have some sort of activity to help him digest before he takes his next nap. This prompts him to wake up hungry and ready to eat and then play again. So far, so good. He has been feeding every 3 hours during the day and sleeping for 4 hour stretches at night.


*Warning: this video is shaky and may cause nausea.

Brex becomes Champ Jr.

Brex was eyeing up his Big Brother, title and all...

Things escalated and Champ Jr. put little Brex in a headlock...

Brex would not be denied- 1,2,3...We have a new Champion!!! (Jr Division)...

It's official, let the regalia parade begin...

Grandma and Brex

Grandma Stacey practicing with Champ Jr. before holding Brex

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BREX!

We were surprised and overjoyed when Brex cut our wait for his arrival short. 
Brex Michael Stacey was born Monday, February 15th, 2010 at 5:31AM
Weighing 8 pounds even --- Measuring 22 inches long

Brex's first sneeze and yawn

Preparing the Nursery

We transformed the guest bedroom/gym into Brex's nursery. The walls were already painted a deep navy blue color and we added a green turtle theme to his room. Moving the treadmill was not as simple as we thought it was going to be. We started by removing the door, but it turned into a much bigger project and required disassembly to move it into the office about 8 feet away. We found the best space saver desk/drawer/file cabinet piece of furniture and slowly continued to get our home organized.

Textbook Pregnancy

I was one of the lucky ones that felt great for a majority of my pregnancy. I've always slept on my side, so I didn't have to get used to a new position and it was actually refreshing to be hangover free for so many months. At the recommendation of my doctor, I kept up my work and workout schedule. Yoga was my lifesaver and I firmly believe my practice prepared me both mentally and physically for an easy delivery.

Showered with Love

This little boy was spoiled well before he made his debut.  Family and friends showered us with fabulous parties and gifts to prepare for Brex's arrival.

CLEVELAND SHOWER -- December 27, 2009

CHICAGO SHOWER -- January 9, 2009

Babymoon in Switzerland

Mike & I love traveling and we try to take a major vacation each year.  We have been fortunate to visit many cool states & countries and we are really looking forward to continuing our world tour with Brex.  Our original 2009 trip plan was Paris and Munich, but it would have been torture to pass up French wine and German beer.  So we went to Switzerland instead.  We hiked the Swiss Alps and had our fair share of pregnancy approved chocolate and cheese.