Sunday, June 28, 2009

2 Months Old

My little one is two months old today. Wow, time sure does fly! I clipped his nails for the fourth time, but this time was different. His nails are getting stronger. They're not paper thin any more. He sat in his swing today without crying. Yeah : ) He enjoyed his bouncy chair for a while too. His world is broadening quickly. It's going to be hard to let go.



JT started out wanting to be held by me always. The days go by and he needs to be held by me less and less. I need to treasure every second I get to hold him in my arms. He brings so much joy to my life.

One Day A Year

One day every year, my cousin and I take the day and hang out. I look forward to that day each year. She is a sweet young lady with a good head on her shoulders. Now that I don't work, maybe there can be more of those days or moments : )

My Birthday

I had a great birthday. JT and I spent the day with Mom and Bob. And they made me my birthday dinner : ) Chicken, corn-on-the-cob, corn pudding, corn bread, garlic mashed potatoes, and strawberry shortcake - YUM! I received many birthday wishes via text, email, mail, phone, and in person. I am loved. My husband took me to see "The Proposal" that night. It was good, but it ended to abruptly. Good thing they had the clips in the credits otherwise it would have left a bad taste in my mouth.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

New Views


bath time


First day the mirror didn't scare him : )



First time use of the Infantino. Works great : )


His favorite view. He loves looking at the blinds when the sun is shining through them.

Alex's 16th

We got together last Saturday to celebrate Alex's life. It would have been her 16th birthday. Her mom and I both agreed that she would have been majorly boy crazy. I wonder how tall she would have been. She would no doubt have been beautiful with her long blond curly locs. Her personality would have been much the same it was when she was younger, making everyone near her feel special and accepted. I wonder what her teenage rebellion would be? One thing I do know is that she would completely love my son : ) I pray JT has a bit of Alex's innocent love and compassion.



At the picnic at Mount Lemon Alex's brother Nik was asking for a hotdog without ketchup. Nik and Alex do have a lot in common, but ketchup is not one of them. Alex would have had "chipets" on anything : )

It was my first time on Mt. Lemon. I now know why Alex liked it so much. Now she's enjoying the view from a little higher up : )

Sunday, June 21, 2009

Gurgles : )

JT started talking to us this week. He's cooing and smiling a lot lately.

Now when he cries it's usually due to him being tired. He wants to see everyone and everything. No time for sleep : ) Well, mom is going to have to start adhering to a schedule if she wants JT to sleep well at night.

Help from the Man

Joseph said I can go out dancing any Saturday that he doesn't have a gig, he'll take care of the night feedings and such for JT on Fridays, and we can switch on and off going dancing on Sundays. I don't know how often I'll take him up on the dancing, but it's so nice to have that option : ) I can't wait for Friday!!! I can't remember the last time I had a full nights sleep. My husband is the best : )

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Week with Dad

Wednesday night - Dinner at Blake & Sonya's - Chicken Blake
Thursday night - Dinner at our house - homemade spaghetti
Friday night - just dad and me - left overs
Saturday night - Dad ate with Blake & Sonya - Father's Day dinner
Sunday lunch - Dad, Joseph, JT, and I ate at Macayos - Father's Day dinner
Sunday night - Olive Garden
Monday night - bowling (what fun!)

Dad and I went on quite a few morning walks with JT. Those were great : )
Dad also went bike riding in the heat. He seemed to enjoy it.
Friday, Dad and Joseph went to a driving range.
Saturday, Dad, Joseph, Blake, and Maury (Sonya's dad) went golfing. I hear Joseph is a great putter.

Dad also put a new toilet seat together, installed a door knob, cleared out our backyard, got my bike ready for a ride, etc. I'll have to think of some other things for him to do next time : ) Just kidding.

JT really enjoyed his grandfather. Boy, did JT ever grow last week! He's now 12 lbs.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Week by Week

It has just dawned on me today that every week is different. What works one week probably won't work the next. It takes me about 3 - 4 days to figure out what works. Last week I could lay my baby down on his tummy and he would be out. I laid him on his tummy today and he would begin crying within 3 minutes.

I think I know what the problem is today. My son is presenting me with messy diapers ALL day long and refuses to take a nap longer than five minutes in protest of his grandpa leaving. That settles it. Grandpa needs to move in with us : )







Thursday, June 11, 2009

Colicy & Sleeping

Colicy - burp during the feeding when baby becomes agitated and for ten minutes after each feeding; put Gripe Water in bottle during dinner feeding; if baby wakes up within an hour after he falls asleep, burp again for ten minutes

Sleeping - if baby won't sleep during the day for more than 20 minutes at a time, place him on his belly. You'd be surprised how long he can sleep. Baby will often be cranky if he is over tired. Trust me. I know from personal experience.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Grandpa

My dad's in town for a week. He flew in yesterday : ) After I picked him up from the airport we went to The Cheesecake Factory for lunch with Sonya and Colin. Last night we all went to FEZ's for dinner except Joseph. FEZ's is really yummy. Their lamb chops are the best. Delicious strawberry shortcake too : ) It was made like I've never had it before. JT decided he wanted to eat during lunch and dinner too. I was smart and brought a bottle for dinner. He did better than I thought. I still had to walk and bounce him during both meals though : ) Grandpa got to dote over his grandchildren. He was a big help.

New

Sunday, May 31 JT started taking a pacifier and grabbing things with his hands. First time grabbing mom's hair : ) He's now holding tight to fingers. He especially likes Grandpa's fingers.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

We started JT on a schedule last night.

Night time = 7 PM - 7 AM - I let him sleep a little longer today. Don't know that I should have done that. Oops.

Nap 1 = 9 AM - 10:30 AM. I think (He's finally asleep after making noises every once in a while. It only took 40 min. ugh) I wrote too soon. He was asleep for about 20 minutes. Do I get him up or let him be?

Nap 2 = 12 PM - 1:30 PM, hopfully

Nap 3 = 3 PM - 4 PM, preferably

What do you with your little one during awake time other than change, feed, and burp him. I just started reading to mine Monday. He's five weeks old now.

Gripe Water

I gave JT a bath at 6:30 PM then fed and burped him and gave him some Gripe Water. I laid him down about 7:00 PM. He began to cry right away. I knew I needed to let him cry for a bit, but it was hard. About 7:15 PM I realized there was a strange sound, one I didn't expect at that time. Silence. When they say silence is golden, they must have had a colicy baby : ) He woke up about 1 AM. I changed, fed, and burped him and put him right back to bed, no rocking or anything. He was out like a light. He woke again at 4 AM which surprised me. MYSTERY. His bed was wet and so were his clothes, but his diaper was dry and his face was no where near the HUGE wet spot. I have no idea how he got wet, but I would have been crying if I were him too. I changed his clothes, fed and burped him and wrapped him in some receiving blankets. I put him down expecting him to kick out of the receiving blankets like he always does. Nope. He went right back to bed on a dry part of the bed : ) He's still wrapped nicely in the receiving blankets and sleeping soundly. Wow! I need to go get him up. I definitely learned that GRIPE Water is the bible for colicy babies.

Pic to come. JT is awake and happy, not screaming... waiting patiently for num nums : )

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Scared!

I was burping JT when he spit up a bit of milk and brownish red stuff. I quickly called my pediatrician's office that was closed. Then I called three other people. I finally got a hold of my aunt. By that time I was completely distraught. She calmed me down a bit simply by offering to drive over. What a sweet heart! I said I'd wait and see if a nurse could releave me of some anxiety or not. The two other people called me back when I hadn't even left a message. I am loved. Soon after the nurse on call called me. Nothing to be concerned with just probably some irritation in my milk ducts. I looked at the spit up again. It was just a little brownish red stuff not the enormous amount I first saw. Wow can a mom's mind play tricks on her when she thinks something might be wrong with her little one. Praise God all is good : )

Firsts

Baby grabbed my hair Sunday and started taking his pacifier the same day.
I put him down at 7 pm after a bath, dinner, and some Gripe Water. He cried. Then all of a sudden there was nothing : )

What I've Learned

When baby is...

First two weeks of life - baby eats, sleeps, and poops
Let him eat and sleep as much as he wants.
Don't attempt to put him in a swing, bouncy, or anything of the kind.
Take any help you can get.
It is better to have a sane mother who supplements when needed, than an insane mother who nurses all the time. If mom needs a brake pump or give the baby formula. Pumping is less painful than a baby who has not learned how to latch properly but still ensures the baby is getting the good stuff : ) Bottles with slow flow nipples work great.
A BreastFriend pillow is a life saver especially during the first couple weeks of nursing.
Listen to all the advice even when they contradict each other. Then find what works for you and baby.
My baby's pediatrician told me never to wake a sleeping baby. I think that works for the most part with an exception being after the schedule is made, see 4-5 weeks old.
Most importantly, know that you are a good mother even when things don't go as you expected.

GRIPE water may not be needed right away but it works when needed : )

2-4 weeks old - baby eats, sleeps, poops, and begins to use his eyes
The swing and bouncy may be introduced. If baby doesn't like it at first, try it again tomorrow. My baby is five weeks old and likes them but only for five to ten minutes once a day.

4-5 weeks old - baby now begins to be awake a lot more and resists sleep at times
Begin a schedule. Lay the baby down. Do what you need to for him to sleep at night and takes naps three times a day. During a growth spurt the schedule will be set aside. Let the baby eat and sleep more often during those times.

Example schedule thanks to a good friend, Carrie : )
Sleep 7 pm - 7 am (change him and feed when he wakes up, then put him down again)
Nap 1 8:30 am - 10:15 am
Nap 2 12 PM - 1:30 PM
Nap 3 3 PM - 4 PM
(remember the schedule should be made by you and baby - follow his lead for naps, then stick with it)

Exception to never waking a sleeping baby:
Once a schedule is in place and the baby is not going through a growth spurt, only let the baby sleep at most 1/2 hour past his scheduled time. If he sleeps longer, it could throw the entire schedule off. Trust me, it's not pleasant : (

Monday, June 1, 2009

I'm beginning to feel like a woman again

I just got rid of the hair on my legs : )

I'm Back...

Continued from previous post...

He was hungry, so I fed him and put him back down just for him to wake up a couple minutes later. The following seems to work to calm him down:
Lay him on his left side. The left side is very important for JT. His right side didn't work at all. I digress. Lay him on his left side with his head in my hands and body on my legs, lightly jostle him by slightly moving my legs back and forth, and give him his pacifier. Yes, he finally decided he will take a pacifier, well at least some times : ) Those ideas all came from the dvd I previously mentioned.

Check out the website thehappiestbaby.com if you're interested. Also I picked it up at Baby, Mother, & More in Gilbert. Their website is milksmile.com. Great store!!!

Well, he's sleeping for now at least. I better finish cleaning the bathrooms. It's amazing what you miss after having a baby. I miss being able to chose what day and time I do my cleaning. Now I'm begging for a time.

Quick Before He Wakes Up

I just had to jot a quick note before he wakes up.

JT has been cranky/fussy for the past week. I've been losing my mind. Last night it was bad. I tried everything to put him to sleep or so I thought. I even bout a dvd, "The Happiest Baby on the Block", on Saturday in hopes that would help. He didn't like being on his side or stomach nor being lightly "jiggled" or in his swing. He was awake from about 1:30 PM - 11 PM. The only reason why he fell asleep at 11 PM was out of sheer exhaustion on both our parts. I laid him down in bed next to me and fell asleep. When I awoke he was asleep. Then this morning he wakes up at 6:30 AM. Ok. No problem. Well, after being changed and fed and enjoying his bouncy for about 5 minutes, he started being cranky/fussy all over again. He was fine in the swing for a 3-5 minutes then screamed bloody murder. I put him in the Moby and after about 15 minutes he calmed down. Then about 15 minutes later he woke up. Uh. OH!!! He's awake. I'll finish later. Pray for me and him : ) Thanks.