7 Months

Little A is 7 months (and a few days) old!

This will be a quick post to just keep record of a few milestones.

He has been successfully been sitting up sans wobble for a couple of weeks. He prefers to sit up rather than lay, especially in the bath. If he is laying, he is rolling. He can roll across a room so fast, it's crazy. He has serious speed. He is getting on his hands and knees and rocking. He has gone backwards a few times, and inched forward a couple of times. He is SO close to crawling which makes me excited, sad, nervous, and anxious all at the same time.

He is still breastfed. He eats fruits or veggies at breakfast and dinner. He isn't picky, the only thing he doesn't like are grapes and green beans. He loves all fruits we have tried so far. The only new fruit we have added in the past few weeks is blueberries.

He is SO talkative and friendly. He loves to smile, people watch, and talk to anyone who will listen.

This month has a few changes / firsts.

Mr. J is away at his first extended training with the army since deployment. 2 weeks. It doesn't seem like long to a lot of people, but once you go through deployment, anything longer than 3 days and you immediately go into "deployment mode" where you feel like it will be ages before you see them again. We're only on day 3 and Little A is seriously missing daddy. Mr. J calls at night and I put it on speaker. Little A looks at the phone, then at me, then the phone and just grins. He loves his daddy.

We moved into a new house. I am so excited. It's a cute little house with an awesome yard. We love it and its closer to the PD which makes it easier for Mr. J.

that's all for now !!

6 Months!

Half of a year.

Wait, are you sure?

Yes sir, Little A is 6 months old.

He had his check-up, got T.H.R.E.E. unmerciful shots, and has changed SO much.

He is so so so vocal. Whenever he wakes from his naps or in the morning, I always go into his room and say "HIIIIIIII" in a really high mommy-like voice. He is now mimicking me right back when I say it, seriously the cutest thing ever.

He has been eating home-made baby food for about 3 weeks (our pediatrician recommended not making it a watered down puree, but just mashing it up like crazy and letting him play with tiny pieces) and so far he likes avocados, cantaloupe, bananas, apples,  sweet potatoes, corn, carrots didn't impress him much and he really doesn't like green beans or grapes. 

He loves to drink water from my Brita bottle still. If he can see it, he is trying to grab it.

He rolls over both ways and has for a while now but these days, if he is laying down, he is rolling constantly. 

When Little A is in his car seat, he always tries to pull the shade down, like all the way down to his feet. He has pulled it out of place a few times. We hear this "click click click click" look in the mirror and you can see his little grinning face over the shade while his toes are rubbing it. 

Every evening when Mr. J gets home from work, he lays Little A on the bed, kneels in the floor and Little A starts the "inspection" as we call it. He has to grab, pinch, rub, and stare at every inch of Mr. J's face. Feet have now joined the process as Little A wraps his feet around Daddy's neck. 

Little A went to the church nursery for the first time 2 weeks ago. He always does well during church, but as he is more vocal, it's harder for us to pay attention and for the people around us to hear. I was extremely nervous about taking him for the first time, he has never been in the care of anyone else besides us and our parents, but I trusted the workers. He did fantastic. They said he really enjoyed watching the other kids and he was playing with toys and didn't cry at all. Phew, relieved mama moment.

Little A can sit up if I put him in the position, he is still a little wobbly, mainly because he sees something and just lunges straight for it. If he holds your fingers, he can pull himself up. He still prefers to be standing, his legs are so strong. He is trying to crawl. He gets his knees under him and kind of rocks a little bit and has scooted backwards. He is so close to figuring it out. 

His night time routine has changed a little. He no longer wants to be rocked or will allow it. He gets a bath, gets lotioned up, dressed, prayer, eats, and then completely straightens his body out so it's almost impossible to even hold him, so rocking is a no go. We lay him down awake, he grabs his paci and his blanket, rolls on his side and off to sleep he goes. 

We are still doing sign language, he now smiles when we sign, especially if I ask him if he is hungry.

He is still such a happy baby and "talks" to most people. I think it's unbearably precious though when someone is talking to him and he gets bashful and buries his face in my shoulder. 

He started saying "mamamama" a few days ago, he usually says it if I walk out of the room for a second or when he gets mad. I just crumble when I hear it. 

"oh you want a pony?" 

"mamamama" 

"your wish is my command little one", 

we may be in serious trouble.

I seriously fall in love with this kid more every day.

• Weight - 16 pounds 8 ounces (25th percentile
• Length - 26 1/4 inches (50th percentile)
• Head circumference- 16 1/4 inches (25th percentile)
• Diaper size - Just switched to 3
• Clothes size - he can still wear his size 3 months sweatpants,some 3/6 month things, mostly 6 month
• Favorites- being mobile in any form, talking, playing with mommy's phone, and doing the helicopter and horse ride with daddy
• Mommy's favorite moment/s this month- Him mimicking me and saying mamama my favorite, I love hearing that sweet little voice trying to say what I'm saying.

eating avocados 

waiting for Dr. B

5 months

5 months.

5 months.

5 months.

I was hoping the more I said / typed it, would help it sink in that my baby is 5 months old!!! Geez, slow down there, little one.

Little A doesn't have a check-up this month, which also means NO SHOTS! Praise the Lord! We weighed him a week ago at my grandma's house and little man is a whopping 16 pounds!! Insanity gives me a run for my money but holding Little A definitely brings the burn by the end of the day. 

His personality is developing. He is so friendly, he is always smiling at people and tries to "talk". At church when Paw-Paw Mike is preaching, Little A hollers back, everyone says he is preaching back at him. He loves to be tickled, the "helicopter ride" with daddy, putting his toes in his mouth, his johnny jumper, rolling over (he can now roll from his back to his belly, so he just lays down and rolls continuously), holding our hands and standing. 

Little A now sleeps in his own room. We rock him for a minute or so and lay him down awake and he may fuss for a minute but then goes right to sleep. He goes to bed at 8:30PM, usually wakes up around 5:30AM to eat, then back to sleep until 8:00AM. He sleeps on his side and has to have his blanket to snuggle.

He is still exclusively breastfed, which is going great. He eats every 2 hours. We are beginning to play around with some real food. We steamed some carrots, pureed them, and gave him a bite but he isn't too sure about it yet. One thing Little A does love is lemons. We gave him a slice thinking we would get to see him make a funny sour face, and he just went to town sucking on it. He cried when we took it from him. When he sees us drinking water from our Brita water bottles, he immediately tries to grab them, so we put it to his mouth and give him a few drops, he loves it.

He is so curious it's hard to keep him in his car seat if he is awake and we are out. He would much rather sit on our lap or be held so he can see what's going on. When we go for walks, he prefers just being in the stroller facing out, not in the carseat hooked into the stroller. 

And little man definitely has some strength. When he is on his playmate, he will grab the rings that hang and do a pull up to try to get up. Ironman in the making?

We have also added in some sign language recently. The signs we are teaching him are hungry, eat, thank you, please, mommy, daddy, grandpa, grandma, tired, all done, bed, and diaper. I have a few friends who taught their babies sign language and love the idea of Little A being able to communicate with us earlier about his needs. 

5 month stats:

• Weight - 16 pounds
• Length - no doctor appointment this month so not sure
• Head circumference- "         "
• Diaper size - 2 
• Clothes size - 3/6 month, and some 6 month things like jeans and PJ's.
• Favorites- Loves to talk, smile at people, his teethers, books (playing with them and mommy reading them) johnny jumper, and rolling around.
• Mommy's favorite moment/s this month- I love how friendly he is. He smiles at everyone, talks, and enjoys interaction with other babies, especially his cousins. 

Pick Your Poison

As a mom, and a new one at that, I have received TONS of advice, opinions, thoughts, and "don't do's".  I always appreciate advice, there is wisdom in the multitude of council, BUT some "advice" is more bossing and judgement based.

I rock my baby to sleep. Yup that's right, I spend anywhere from 5 minutes to, a couple times, 1 hour rocking my sweet little chunk cheeks to sleep. Go ahead, judge away. So many people told me, "whether you snuggle him to sleep, hold him, rock him, or any method other than self soothing from birth, you're picking your own poison" or "don't you even start the habit of rocking your baby, you will spoil him and have to do it for the rest of your life." Yes, Little A is used to me rocking him to sleep, and he depends on it. Do I regret starting it, there are a few nights when I wish I could lay him down and he could just slip into a sweet dream-filled sleep, but at the end of the day, my baby is only a baby for a short time. When he is 10 years old, will I look back and say,"Man it was so nice to lay him down while he put himself to sleep" most likely not. My baby is growing SO fast and I want to cherish every single second. I prayed and prayed and prayed for a baby in God's timing, (and who am I kidding, I wanted a baby RIGHT THEN!), I welcomed the thought of sleepless nights if it meant kisses sweet baby cheeks. I want to look back on Little A's infancy and know that I soaked up every single second, snuggle, and kiss that I could have. 

Whether it's putting your baby to sleep, your method of feeding, what clothes you put your baby in, whether you homeschool, do preschool, or let your kid eat bugs, at the end of the day YOU are the mother of YOUR child. God gave us mothers instinct specific for our own child. Every baby is different and every mother is different. 

I have friends who parent very differently than I do, is it my place to judge? Absolutely NOT. How different would your time with other mom's be if you stopped judging? Of course I understand there are some situations when some intervention is necessary due to the safety and well-being of a child, in that case, by all means, go ahead mama bear. If it's not a matter of life or death, let that mama be mama. 

Give advice when it's asked for, be a good friend, but let's take the judgement glasses off and just enjoy our babies while we can. 

Be sweet y'all! 

4 Months!

My little bug is 4 months old already! He had his check-up, along with 2 more shots a few days ago (does this part every get easier?)

He is changing so quickly!!! These days, when he goes to sleep, he has to pull his blanket up to his face, usually covering one cheek. He loves to talk, when he wakes up, I know he is awake because he starts "talking" and kicking his legs, he doesn't cry.

Little usually goes to bed around 9:30. He wakes up between 5-6 to eat while Mr. J is getting ready for work, gets some kisses from him, then goes back to sleep. He wakes up again around 9 to eat, and sometimes goes back to sleep for another hour. He always conks out for a nap at noon, sleeps for about an hour and a half to two hours, then takes an hour nap around 5.

He is still nursing every 2 hours, which is a little more difficult sometimes because he is too nosy, I mean curious to sit still long enough to eat.

Little A also had his first unscheduled doctor appointment. He had a fever. not really eating well, runny nose, and cough for 2 days. I called the doctor, she said to just give tylenol as directed to keep him comfortable. After 2 days I couldn't take it, I took him in. They said it was a virus that was going around and since it was viral, they couldn't do anything. It made me feel better to know it was nothing more serious and it wasn't an ear infection or anything else but I hated they couldn't do anything.

He still has a cough but we're putting baby vicks vapor rub on his feet at night and it's helping him not cough so much and clear out the congestion.

Little man was born with dark hair, now what hair he does have is light, looks like he will be a blonde baby, maybe it will turn dark again when he is older just like Daddy.

Look Mom, I got my toes!

After his appointment, those shots wear him out.

Look at those eyes!

Loves his johnny jumper

Working HARD to blow bubbles

His shirt says dreamboat, seriously though, I'm melting over this face

• Weight - 14 lbs. 15 oz. 50th percentile
• Length - 24 and 1/8  inches long. 50th percentile
• Head circumference- 16 1/4". 25th percentile.
• Diaper size - 2 
• Clothes size - 3 months, and some 3/6 month.
• Favorites- He is more vocal, lots of cooing and "talking". He discovered his toes, he always has to grab them. He is enjoying his play mat a lot more now. 
• Mommy's favorite moment/s this month- It's so hard to pick but I think it's that he learned to blow bubbles with his mouth, he does it all the time, absolutely precious.

Baby Gear

I remember when I was pregnant, tons of my mommy friends came to me and said "When you make your registry, don't forget to add this and this and this." and I heard, " I was told that I couldn't live without such and such items but I never used them, don't waste your time." So I'm going to make a short list of some of the items we have found essential.

1) Boppy- This wonderful pillow has been a life saver. It was a huge help at the hospital when I was getting used to nursing, and we still use it all the time for feedings and tummy time.

2) Nursing Cover- Obvious reasons right? BUT I will add, get one with the hoop at the neck, makes it easer for you to see your baby while still being covered up.

3)  Shout - Seriously, I love this stuff, never really used it before little A was born, but for those times when he has a blow out diaper while wearing a white onsie, which don't they always happen when they are wearing white?, I just squirt some of this stuff on there and let it sit for a little bit before washing, and VIAOLA, white and crisp all over again. 

4) Arm & Hammer diaper pail- I was kinda skeptical about a diaper pail honestly. I've heard moms talk about the oh so magical Diaper Genie, but I read not so great reviews about it. Hubby decided we just HAD to have a diaper pail on our registry, and after reading reviews, we went with the Arm & Hammer. Hubby was right, I love this thing. Who wants their nursery to smell like poo? Not this girl. This baby takes out any fowl scent from dirty diapers and holds a ton of diapers.

5) Jogging Stroller- Our stroller is the BOMB! It was amazing while doing Christmas shopping in a super crowded mall and having to do hairpin turns. Seriously this baby is smooth and drives just as well  as a Lexus (I'm guessing, never driven a Lexus before?) Being that Little A was a winter baby, the weather hasn't given us too many opportunities to actually go jogging yet, but the 5 or so times we have, I was impressed! Worth every single red cent!

(This is the travel system we bought, but we got the green one)

Well that's all for now, love on those babies and have a great weekend!

Que the emotions

3 months always seemed like just another short segment of time to me, that is of course until I became a mother.

Little A will be 3 months old next weekend.

Today he is wearing an outfit size 3 months for the first time, and it fits. Que the emotional reaction and dramatic shed of one glistening tear.

I held up his little sleeper that was a size newborn and couldn't believe he was once that little.Everyone always told me "time flies", I thought I had a grip on this concept, I was sadly mistaken.

Everyday I am beyond thankful to be a stay-at-home mommy, but days like today, with the realization of just how quickly time is passing by, words couldn't express my gratitude.

 

He is just as surprised by how quickly he is growing

By the way, in this picture, Little A is laying on my Dad's baby blanket. My Grandma gave it to me at my baby shower, she had saved it for her first grandson.The most cherished baby present I received.



Little A's 2 month check-up!

 Well I have successfully been unsuccessful at posting more, one of my New Year's resolutions. Little A is growing and changing so fast, I need to be better at writing down the little cute things he is doing so I can keep record of them. 

Any-who, little munchkin had his 2 month check-up a few days ago. I was quite surprised by how much he had grown, which I shouldn't be, he loves to eat, still nursing every 2 hours. Which reminds me, munchkin seems to not tolerate dairy very well. He was spitting up a lot, and after research and talking to the doctor, that seemed to be the culprit so I cut it out completely, then tried to slowly wean it back in per the doctor, but it always leads to an extremely fussy boy, so almond milk it is! Any-who he had to get more shots, 2 this time, and an oral vaccination. Once again, as soon as the needle touched his legs, this blood curling scream came out of his mouth and the tears started coming out of both of our eyes. Oye, will this ever get easier? His legs have little bruises from the injection site and he was not feeling very well the 2 days after, but thankfully, he seems to be his happy little self once again. 

My last sonogram during pregnancy showed that Little A had an inflamed kidney due to what they think is urine backed up in it. They thought it would go away once he was born and could use the bathroom. At his check-up, his doctor could feel with his hands that it is still inflamed and he wants Little A to have an ultrasound to see if we can figure out what's going on. He said not to worry it could be absolutely nothing, something that will fix itself or it could be something where we need to take some action for it. Best thing is to figure it out now. So please be in prayer for him.

This past month held many exciting first. Of course, his first Christmas, where he was spoiled by everyone. His first New Year, where little Mr. didn't want the party to end and stayed up until 3AM, his way of saying happy new year mom! His first trip to Salisbury NC to his great-grandparents house. Side note, Little A is a wonderful traveler. He does so great on long car rides, sleeps the whole way, which is awesome so we don't have to stop. Luckily it only takes us 3 hours so it isn't too awfully long. Little A's first live sports event, we went to see my little sisters friend wrestle. His eyes were wide open the whole time. He was smiling and looking around at all the people. He loved it.

Little A is such a happy baby, everyone always tells me how happy and content he is. He is constantly smiling, "talking" and squirming around. He likes being tickled, and being naked, who doesn't right? I love seeing him become more interactive with us, it's so much fun. 

2 month stats:

• Weight - 12 lbs. 12 oz. 
• Length - 23 and 1/4  inches long 
• Diaper size - 1 (we had to go up a size a few days after his 1 month post)
• Clothes size - Some newborn stuff still fits (his jeans which are my absolute favorite, and several newborn onuses) but the majority of what he is wearing is 0/3 months, but some of that swallows him.
• Favorites- he loves when I load him in the jogging stroller and we go for a run, still loves bath time, and his singing Snoopy stuffed animal. And of course, when Mr. J does "the helicopter" with Little A, you can see his smile from across the room, too cute!
• Mommy's favorite moment/s this month- I love playing with him and seeing him smile back, and giggle and "talk". He is paying more attention now to our dog Charlie and smiles when Charlie licks his toes. Christmas would have to be my favorite from the month. 

Cousin time with MaryAnna and Charlie supervising 

Little A's first live sports event, watching my little sister's friend wrestle

Laying on the table at Dr. B's office

So sweet

Cousin time with MaryAnna 

Austin is 1 month!

That's right, my sweet baby boy is 1 month old (and a few days now that I'm finally getting around to posting this). He had his 1 month check up a few days ago... let me just tell you the story.

Our morning started off a little rocky as we overslept because our alarm didn't go off so we were rushing around like crazy and if you know me at all, you know rushing and being late absolutely kill me. I can't stand to be late. Thankfully we walked into the doctor's office only a few minutes late and they were behind anyways. I'm still figuring out how much time it takes me and little mister to get out the door. Getting me ready is a breeze but feeding, burping, and changing him is all good until he spits up last minute and absolutely soaks his clothes or has a blow out diaper as I'm finishing getting him dressed can add just a few minutes to say the least.

Little A was born weighing 8 pounds 1 ounce. His discharge weight was 7 pounds 6 ounces. I was so anxious to see how much weight he had gained. He had a check up 2 days after we left the hospital and he was up to 7 pounds 9 ounces. Once we got him on the scale, I couldn't believe my eyes. My little chunky monkey now weighs 10 pounds 1 and a half ounces!!!! Guess those newborn clothes will be packed up sooner rather than later! It was such a relief though, breastfeeding is a job and I worry sometimes whether he gets enough, but his weight proved he definitely was!! His doctor was very pleased with him and said I get an A+ in nursing! Whewww, sigh of relief!

I have always had quite the relationship with shots, I am terrified of needles, but watching your baby get a shot makes you absolutely LOATHE shots, I'm talking Jim Carrey in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, loathe! 

Little A was looking in the mirror beside the changing table smiling and looking around, then the nurse stuck him. His bottom lip poked out and then, it happened. The most heartbreaking sound ever, he screamed this high pitched, blood curling scream and starting bawling. And as any mother would do at the sight and sound of this, I started crying too.

It felt like forever before the nurse told me to pick him up. When she finally did, Little A buried his face in my neck and held on to my shirt so tight and wouldn't let go. It took a few minutes to calm him down, and for me to suck it up and be ok too. But we pulled it together and besides our heartbreaking shot experience, it was a great appointment. Little A's pediatrician just couldn't stop bragging on him. Of course I know our boy is perfect but it's always nice to hear confirmation from a professional.

1 month stats:

• Weight - 10 lbs. 1.5 oz. (50th percentile)
• Length - 20 and 7/8 inches long (25th percentile)
• Diaper size - newborn
• Clothes size - newborn
• Favorites- bath time, laying on daddy's chest, looking at lights
• Mommy's favorite moment/s this month- while I'm not a fan of this warm weather in December, it did bring about the opportunity to get out the stroller and go for a few long walks. And of course, watching my baby boy change, grow, and develop. His little cheeks are filling out

Here are some pictures of Little A's first month !

This may be my favorite picture ever, he was just a few days old

 waiting on Dr. B at his check up, look at those sweet cheeks 

After the check up. Notice him holding my shirt, he would NOT let me go

Flannel never looked so good