In peace

Choirs of angels are singing as Aunt Phillis joins the lucky in heaven. Jim's aunt passed away today in Tampa, after collapsing at the airport on their way home to Detroit. Please pray for healing and comfort for Uncle Ed and Cousin Kristen as they mourn the loss of wife and mother...and also for the Fleming family as they deal with the loss of sister and friend.

Christmas Letter 2009

Merry Christmas to our family and friends!

It is hard to believe that another year has come to an end! It seems like just yesterday I was sitting at the computer, struggling to breathe, writing our letter for 2008! What a wonderful year it has been, with joyous changes for the Florida Flemings.

At 5:12 pm on January 6, 2009, Ian James Fleming made it safely into the world, weighing in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces, and 20.5 inches long. It has been a wonderful year of watching our little man grow, from smiling, to rolling, to sitting, to running around. Yes, I said running! Ian took is first steps at 9 months and has been going ever since! Needless to say, it is not quiet in our house anymore! During the week, Ian goes to “school” and is thriving! While we would love to keep him home, we think this is the best place for him to be. He is learning to socialize and has made many friends.

Jim continues to work for Publix. In May, we got the wonderful news that he had been promoted to Assistant Deli Manager. He is still working at a Publix in Bonita Springs, which makes day care drop-offs and lunch drop-ins easier. After figuring out the learning curve, he is growing in his management skills and hopes to move up to manager in a few years. Jim continues to be active at church, recently being nominated for Education Chair. He hopes to help grow the Sunday school and youth program into a nice group. He does have his work cut out for him!

Amanda is still working at NCH’s Bonita Outpatient Rehab Center as a physical therapist and program leader. After an amazing 12 weeks of maternity leave, she reluctantly returned to work, stepping into the busiest summer she’s ever experienced! She recently was blessed with the added responsibility of supervising the 10 customer service representatives at the various outpatient clinics. Most days, things go well, but some days she wonders about what she’s gotten herself into! Whenever she can find that elusive “spare time,” Amanda enjoys singing in the church choir and spending as much time with her two boys as possible.

Our two dogs, Jubilee and Shakespeare, have handled the new addition quite well. Jubilee enjoys mothering him, often trying to finish the bath we obviously forgot to give him. She is not too thrilled with the fact that Ian is now mobile, but has quickly learned to get out of the way of grasping fingers. Shakespeare is excited that someone will play with him and drop lots of food on the floor. He has taken up permanent residence under Ian’s high chair.

While we admit we are not the best at keeping in touch with our family and friends, please know that you are always in our hearts and prayers. We hope that this year, each and every one of you feel the warmth and love that comes from the birth of Jesus, our Lord and Savior. Remember, Jesus is the Reason for the Season!

Merry Christmas!

The Florida Flemings

Jimandafleming.blogspot.com

Philippians 1:3

Little Drummer Boy

Friday night was such a fun night! The Christmas program was so cute! Ian's group started out the program and Ian led the way down the aisle. The other babies were either carried or pushed in a stroller, but Ian walked down with a drum strapped to him and a jingle bell in his hand. The "awes" were so loud and everyone watched the babies. Ian was the perfect drummer boy.

It made me a little sad thinking about it. I know Ian loves his teacher, Ms. Yazmin. She's been very good to us, and we're only going to be in her class for another 3 weeks. I'm not ready for him to move up to the one-year old room. I'm not ready for him to be one! My little boy is growing up so fast!

Christmas Program

We're going to Ian's first Christmas program on Friday. Jim and I were talking on Saturday, and Jim made a comment that before we had Ian, he was dreading all of the programs and recitals and things that we would now have to go to as parents. He vividly remembers dreading going to his sisters dance recitals, and was not looking forward to sitting through them with his own kids.

But, WE ARE SO EXCITED! We can't wait for Friday, so we can watch our little boy in the program! The "Baby Bungalow" group will start the program, with the "Little Drummer Boy." My son gets to be the little drummer boy! (Mainly because he's the only one in his class that can walk, but still.) We plan on taking lots of pictures, and being "those parents" with the video camera! Check back later for the details!

PS...my son is no longer a crawler. He is a full-time walking boy!

So much to be thankful for...

I am thankful for my wonderful, handsome, awesome husband.

I am thankful that I have a sweet, loving, HEALTHY baby boy.
I am thankful that I have a mother that is my role model.
I am thankful that I have a wonderful relationship with my older brother.
I am thankful I have sisters that I truly call my own.
I am thankful I have loving in-loves that raised a good, Christan man.
I am thankful that I know my daddy is in Heaven.
I am thankful that I have friends that understand even if we don't talk, I still love them.
I am thankful that I have a job that I love most days.
I am thankful that all of my needs and most of my wants are continuously met.

And above all...
I am thankful that I am a child of God, perfect because of his sacrafice on the cross.

Nubbins!

Finally, after nearly 11 months of being toothless, Ian came home from school on Wednesday with the start of two teeth. And, of course he couldn't be normal about them. Usually, the first teeth that come it are the bottom two front teeth, and then the top two front teeth. Ian decided that all he wanted for Thanksgiving was his two top front teeth. The left one is just peaking through and the right one is just behind it. Hopefully they'll be completely out soon. He isn't showing any signs of discomfort with them, he's just extra drooly. (We didn't know that was even possible!)

So, enjoy the picture. And yes, Ian is screaming in the picture because he doesn't like to show them off!

Colorado Trip

On November 11, Jim, Ian and I hopped a plane to Colorado to see Neena. Ian did pretty well on the two flights from Florida to Colorado, pretty much sleeping the entire time. We got in pretty late Wednesday night and spent some time talking with Neena before bed.

Neena had to work the next day, so I got up early to take her to work. Jim, Ian and I then went to the grocery store to buy some bread making supplies and other things. Jim tried so hard to make potato bread, but wasn't able to successfully adjust for the altitude. (However, we secretly think it was Neena's oven that was the true culprit.)

Friday, Neena took the whole day off to play with us. We went to the park for Ian's first trip. He wasn't too sure about the slides, but had a blast on the swings. It was a pretty day out, but very windy. Baby drool and wind do not work well together on poor baby cheeks. We did go out to dinner with some of my mom's friends from work. They are very nice, and I'm glad she has them.

Saturday was not very nice. It was cold, windy and sleety. However, we powered through and did some all-important shopping.

We woke up Sunday morning to about an inch of snow. Ian wasn't sure what to think of this strange white stuff, and tried to shake it off his hands when Daddy stuck them in it. We braved church and then went out for breakfast.

Monday, we just hung around the house until we had to leave for the airport. Neena took a half a day off from work, so she got to get some last minute cuddles in before we left.













I need to take this time to express my frustration with security at the airport, specifically the Colorado Springs airport. It took us 40 minutes to get through security. The same diaper bag (with the same items) that was perfectly fine leaving Ft. Myers (and Detroit, for that matter) was completely torn apart in Colorado Springs. They wanted to toss my diaper cream, my teething gel, my hand sanitizer and the baby Tylenol all because they weren't in the plastic bag, despite the fact that on the security web page, this is stated as not necessary. They even made us take Ian's bib off when we went through the metal detector. Jim was allowed to wear his hat, but a baby bib needed to come off. Also, they did not say a single thing about the baby Tylenol that was in my purse. It was just so frustrating because no airport is the same. One thing might be completely fine one place, and cause a huge deal the next place. I told the security person this, and she (rudely) stated that it's a national policy and every airport was exactly the same. I laughed and said that wasn't true. Oh well, we made it through and had no problems the rest of the way home.

Okay, off my soap box.... Overall, we had a wonderful, if not too short, time in Colorado. Thankfully, Neena will be in Florida soon for Ian's first Christmas! We can't wait!

Walking boy.

So, on October 6th, Ian took his first steps. He was 9 months old! Now, at the ripe old age of 10 months, he's walking about 50% of the time. He usually starts out walking, gets halfway and either falls, and then crawls, or gets frustrated and then crawls the rest of the way. He looks so proud of himself. It's a great thing to watch my baby grow! Now, if he could just get some teeth!

This video is from sometime between 9-10 months. I don't know what day exactly, but closer to 9 months. Please ignore my lovely "mommy" voice. Enjoy!

Up to my eyeballs!

I don't know how we end up with so much laundry! I have a pile of dirty clothes in the middle of my bedroom, a pile of clean clothes on the bed ready to be folded and a load in the washer right now. Oh, and I have a load of Ian's clothes to be folded in his room. I hate laundry!

So tired....

I don't know if I will ever be rested. I am so exhausted! Jim's been working a lot this week, and he'll be working a lot next week, too, and there's just so much to do! My house is a disaster area, but I don't know what to do about it. I try to keep things picked up, but since I'm at home with Ian most of the time, I can't get down and clean. Jim works 50 hours a week, and his schedule constantly changes, so I can't count on having him home to help with the cleaning. If Ian is awake, he either wants to be held or is busy tearing things apart. If Ian is asleep, I can do the little stuff, but not the heavy duty stuff because I don't want to wake him up. When Ian is napping, I nap, too. Being a full time working mom is really hard!

Right now, I should be dusting my living room. Or unloading my dish washer, or folding the laundry. But, I'm sitting on the couch, updating my blog and debating whether 9:15 is too early to go to bed. I'm thinking not.

Trying to post a video

This is a little old, but I don't have any recent videos ready for posting. I hope this works! I believe this was the 2nd try with rice cereal back in May when Ian was 4 months.

A new beginning...

So, I've been having trouble keeping up with my Live Journal blog, so I thought I would start something new and fresh here on Blogspot.

It's kinda bittersweet because I have some great things written over on Live Journal, but maybe I'll slowly transfer them over. I don't want to give them up...moving into our new house, getting our first puppy, my dad getting sick and dying, and the birth and subsequent growth of Ian. We'll see.

Regardless, this is a fresh start. Starting over and starting fresh. Enjoy!

Halloween 2009

Of course, Jimmy picked out Ian's costume. Jimmy is a HUGE Star Wars fan, and we saw this costume in the store and thought it would be perfect for Ian. We even had his nine month pictures taken in his costume! On October 29, we went up to Gulf Coast Town Center for Trick-or-Treating. All of the stores were passing out candy, so it was a safe, fun place to spend Halloween. Ian ended up scoring Mom and Dad, I mean getting, a lot of candy. We did let him have some, but we saved the majority of it for after he went to bed. Enjoy the pictures!

Ian's 9 Month Stats

Weight: 19lbs 8oz (25%ile)
Height/Length: 29 inches (75%ile)

Ian only had 2 shots this time, including the flu shot. We only got the seasonal flu vaccine because that's all we wanted (and all our pediatrician recommended). He'll have to go back in a month to get a second flu shot. He cried for all of 1 minute. He's a champ!

Milestones: WALKING!

Walking Boy!

It's official! Ian is a walking boy. He took his first steps today, fueled by the need to grab Momma's cell phone! I guess this is it. My little boy is officially growing up and life as we know it will never be the same. Baby proofing the house just got a little more important, especially since his reach has now doubled!

Transitions?

Ian has been sitting up on his own for a while now, but tonight, he went from lying on his belly to sitting up. I can't believe how big my little boy is getting!

Crawling!?!?

Ian started crawling for the first time today. He has a pretty mean army crawl. He's not very fast, but he can get where he wants without too much frustration!

Ian's 6 Month Stats

Ian James

Weight: 17.7 pounds (50th %ile)
Height: 28 inches (95th %ile)

Milestones:

• Sitting up on his own
• Rolling front to back and back to front
• Rocking on his knees
• Getting up onto his knees

4 Month Stats

Ian turned 4 months on May 6, but we finally saw the pediatrician today. Here's the info:

Length: 26.2 inches (95th %ile)

Weight: 15.1 pounds (50th %ile)

We get to start solid foods today. This evening we'll try some rice cereal and go from there. I hope he takes to it pretty quickly, however I'm not too optimistic, as his tongue thrust reflex is still very prominent. But, we'll see what happens. I plan on taking plenty of pictures and video, so please look back later for action shots!

Ian's Two Month Stats

Weight: 10lbs 15.5oz (50%ile)
Height/Length: 24 inches (75-90%ile)

He also had to have 4 shots today...the polio vaccine, HiB vaccine, a pneumococcal vaccine and the DTP vaccine. He cried for about 10 minutes and then he was done. Jim came with me today, just in case, but Ian did very well. The doctor is pleased with is progress and we'll see her again in 2 months, when we start talking about rice cereal and fruits/vegetables. Also, I asked about supplementing Ian with formula while he's at day care, just in case I don't send enough breast milk, and she said that was fine. He'd still be eating breast milk the majority of the time, and we don't want him to be hungry.

One Month Well Baby Visit

Well, Ian and I saw our doctors yesterday. My appointment went well. I have developed an infection in my incision, so she put me on an antibiotic, which was free from Publix! I was completely stoked about that! Also, she's requesting to extend my disability time because of the infection and because I'm not allowed to lift over 10 pounds, and my job requires me to lift 50 pounds. It's up to my case manager to decide it that's acceptable or not. I also found out that I gained a total of 32 pounds in my pregnancy and I have lost 22 pounds already. 10 more to go to hit my pre-pregnancy weight, but I'm not going to stop there!

Ian's appointment went much better. The doctor had been concerned that he wasn't gaining weight as fast as she would like. After our last appointment, she stated that she wanted him to gain an ounce a day. It was 10 days between appointments, so Ian should have been 8.3 at the appointment yesterday. He was 8.6! She was very happy and everything is back on track. She doesn't have to see him weekly anymore. We'll go back in a month for his 2 month check up. He did get his second hepatitis shot yesterday, and took it like a champ. I think he hated having the band-aid pulled off more than actually getting the shot. The next visit is going to be very trying for me, he has 4 shots scheduled! I'm going to have to take medicine before that one!

I guess that's about it. I'm sad that I only have 7 more weeks at home with my baby. I can definately see the appeal of being a stay at home mom. I do miss work a litle, but not that much. Maybe, in the future, I can be a part-time worker and have the best of both worlds!

Enjoy a few pictures!

Ian's One Month Stats

Weight: 8 lbs, 6 ozs (25 %ile)
Length: 22 1/4 inches (95%ile)

Ian James

Ian James Fleming

Well, Ian James has made it safely into the world. It was quick, and painful, but so very worth it in the end. Jim and I went into the hospital Monday night to start my induction. I received my medication around 8:30 that night, and at that time was not dilated at all. Around 2:30 Tuesday morning, I started having contractions. Not bad at first, but they definately got stronger and closer together as time went on. They gave me some medication for the pain, and I was able to get about 3 hours of sleep. Around 6:30 Tuesday morning, the medication came out and I was able to walk the halls. This really helped the pain of the contractions. I started Pitocin at 7:30, and at that time was 1 cm and 80% effaced. I had another drug push and was able to get another 3 hours of sleep. By 10 o'clock, the pain was really bad. My doctor came in and tried to break my water, but it wasn't happening, so she said she would try again later. Around 10:45, my water broke on it's own. I told Jim, "I either wet myself, or my water just broke." Jim was very good with helping me breathe through the pain. They talk about having a focus point, but Jim's voice was mine. Finally, I asked for an epidural around noon. By this time, I was 3 cm dilated and Ian's head was down in my pelvis. The epidural really hurt. They had to do it twice, as the first one was not in the right spot. I jumped and probably screwed it up. After that, I didn't feel any pain, but I did feel the pressure every time I had a contraction. My doctor said I was contracting nicely and we'd keep an eye on me. At 4:30, she checked me again and I was still only 3 cm dilated. She decided at this time, I should go in for a c-section, because she thought he was too big for me to deliver. So, off I go for my c-section. I was scared, and did cry a little, but it was so worth it to see my little guy in the end. Apparently, everything went text book.

Ian was born at 5:12 pm, weighing in at 7 lbs, 7 ozs and was 20.5 inches long. He was much smaller than we all expected, but my doctor told me that sometime in the past week, he had flipped over and was facing up instead of down, and that his head was going back instead of tucked down and that he wouldn't have been able to be delivered vaginally anyways. So, it was a good thing I went ahead and had the c-section instead of laboring for so long and then having to have a c-section anyway. We all got back to my room and got down to being a family.



Overall, the c-section hasn't been too bad. I have pain, but I have to keep reminding myself that I had major abdominal surgery. I definately feel it when I've been lying or sitting for too long, It takes me several steps before I can stand up straight and I can't jump out of bed to care of Ian as quickly as I would like. Our hospital stay was okay, some nurses were really good, others were not good at all, but I'm really glad to be home. It would seem that we'd just get Ian quieted down and someone would barge into our room, turning on lights and wake him up and make him mad all over again. We've been home about 8 hours and we haven't had the huge crying/wailing/bloody murder that we did last night. We'll see how tonight goes.

Ian really enjoys being swaddled and loves his pacifer. He also loves being held on Mommy's or Daddy's chest. Breast feeding is getting better each day. And, it's nice to not have a nurse standing over my shoulder telling me I should be supplementing with formula because my milk hasn't come in yet. Ian does have a bit of jaundice, but the pediatrician isn't concerned about it, telling us just to set him in indirect sunlight to help. Both of us have follow up appointments with our doctors on Monday. I think that will be Jim's last day off, which is good, since I'm not supposed to drive while I'm taking the Percocet.

Ian's Birth Stats

Weight: 7 lbs, 7 ozs (20th %ile)
Length: 20.5 inches (90th %ile)