Grant - 4 Months!

Our big boy is 4 months old! He's drooling like crazy all of the time and soaking bibs and onesies all day.  We thought it might be early teething, but after talking to friends and reading online, drooling at 3/4 months is apparently just a normal occurrence.

He loves to stick out his tongue when he's smiling at us. So many of my 4 month pictures have his tongue sticking out! Of course I am always sticking out my tongue at him trying to get him to laugh so he could just be mimicking me too :)

He still HATES being on his tummy, even though he can push up on his arms now.  You can tell in the 4 month picture collage that he is just on the verge of being very angry at his mom for putting him on his tummy lol.

Age: 4 months

Weight:   15 lbs 9 oz

Eye Color: Dark Grey/Brown

Clothes: PJs: 6/9 months, Onesies: Can still squeeze into 3M, but 6M are roomier.

Diapers:  Size 2

Milestones:  *Can follow an object with his eyes
*Lifts head while on his stomach
*On 9/21/14 he rolled over for the first time (front to back)! It was so funny watching his face after he flipped over.  He didn't know what just happened!
 *Purposely grabs toys and puts them in his mouth
*Bears his weight on his legs (he loves to stand up!)
*Turns at the sound of my voice and looks for me in a room
*Started daycare on 9/29/14

Best Moment(s) This Month: He spent his first night away from us and did great! He actually stayed with my parents for 5 days while we went to Cancun for our anniversary.  My mom said he slept great at night and had lots of smiles for everyone :)

It was so amazing watching him roll over for the first time.  I had no idea how proud I would feel!

Loves: *When you stroke his face
*Standing up (with help of course!)
*Chewing on his hands
*Pat-a-Cake song (he loves when you clap his hands together!)
*Taylor Swift's song, Shake it Off - he smiles and smiles when I sing it to him

Hates: *Tummy time (still not a fan, even though he can push himself up now)
*Bumbo
*Being left to play by himself for too long (he lets you know when he's ready for you to play with him!)

Food:  He is still getting 100% breast milk. 

Looking Forward To: Hearing his first laugh.  Thought it was close, but we are still waiting! Can't wait to introduce him to solid foods too :)

His face looks like he is laughing, but no sounds come out! He just smiles really big :)

Sweet boy started daycare this week and he did great! He was all smiles when I picked him up and actually wasn't exhausted or grumpy when we got home.  I'm hoping day 2 of daycare goes just as smoothly.

Nighttime sleep hasn't been going so well.  We were waking up 1-2 times a night and then he hit 3 months and it's been 3+ times a night.  Sometimes he isn't hungry, but just wants me to pick him up and then he immediately falls back asleep.  It's exhausting though.  I'm hoping he goes back to 2 night feeds soon so we can all get a little more rest.

Nothing more peaceful than a sleeping baby.  Even in his sleep he looks like my husband!

And of course I had to throw in a video to show how much he's grown!

3 Year Anniversary - Cancun

David and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary last week.  Can you believe it's been 3 years?  Here's a link to a post on our wedding if you are interested.  I'll start this post with a collage of pictures from our wedding day :)

We started the tradition (if you can call 2 years in a row a tradition lol) of going on a vacation every year for our anniversary.  We've gone to Dallas, back to Maui, and this year decided to go to Cancun.  We weren't sure how we'd feel about leaving the baby, so we booked it at the last minute and only stayed 4 nights.  We stayed at the Hyatt Zilara in an Oceanfront Deluxe King Suite.  We loved it! It had a wrap around balcony, jacuzzi tub, awesome shower and the bed was so comfy!

One thing that I loved about this resort was all of the cabanas on the beach.  Our suite came with a reserved cabana so we didn't have to go out and save one each morning.

The infinity pool was gorgeous!

We were planning on just being lazy at the resort, but we ended up booking a deep sea fishing trip.

My husband caught a huge red snapper and I caught some small fish they used as bait haha

Turtles were coming to lay their eggs during our trip and we got to see baby turtles hatch and make their way out of their nests! We even got to release some into the ocean at night.  It was such a cool experience.

  We really enjoyed ourselves and caught all caught up on sleep.  I FaceTimed twice a day with Grant and we were so happy to come home and see him.  He's been all smiles since he's been home, so I think he may have missed us a little bit :) 

We had a great time and are already planning our trip for our 4 year anniversary!

Grant - 3 Months!

Grant is already 3 months old! He's growing like a weed and changing so much.  He smiles so easily now and I feel like we are so close to hearing his sweet laugh.  He's squealed a few times, so I think laughing is right around the corner.

He's getting too long for all of my favorite outfits, which means this mom needs to start shopping for size 6/9 month clothes soon!  He's finally filling out the 3 month onesies in the middle, but I have to really stretch them to get them buttoned.  He's got a long torso like me, so shopping is going to be difficult for him!

Grant has been going to work with me since he was 5 weeks old, but we are starting to think about transitioning him to day care at some point.  I'm so thankful that I was able to bring him to work with me for this long.  Some days are challenging, but it's been so nice to hear him coo and play while I work on payroll.   :)

Grant loves going for walks in our neighborhood!

Age: 3 months

Weight:  14 lbs (big boy!)

Eye Color: Dark Blue/Grey

Clothes: We are squeezing into 3 month pajamas at this point.  6/9 month fits much better length wise.  Grant is just so long! 6 month onesies are baggy on him, but 3 month onesies barely button.  I'm stretching them at this point to make them fit.  I can already tell that he's going to be hard to buy clothes for.

Diapers:  Still in size 1, but I think size 2 is right around the corner.

Milestones: It's so easy to make him smile now.  Just smile at him and he grins right back.  It melts my heart.  He has discovered his hands and loves to put them in his mouth and suck on his fingers.

Best Moment This Month: He finally likes the swing! When he's tired and fussy, but is refusing to fall asleep, I just pop him in his swing and he falls asleep in about 5 minutes.  I'm so glad he finally likes the swing.  It frees up so much more of my time so I can clean or get ready for work in the morning.

Loves: His pacifier, bath time, going for walks, his mobile, the Momaroo.

Hates: Tummy time

Food:  He is getting 100% breast milk.  In the first few weeks we supplemented with formula a handful of times, but now we only give him BM.  I pump 5 times a day and bottle feed him.

Looking Forward To: Hearing his first laugh.  We've had some squeals, but no laugh yet.

He is fascinated by his crib mobile.  It is the Fisher-Price 2-In-1 Precious Planet Projection Mobile.

He loves to stare at the toy balls on the mamaRoo swing.  It's like he's in a trance!

And here's a video of Grant "talking" :)

 

Baby Must Haves - Newborns

Before I had my son, I had no clue what to buy for a baby shower.  I actually avoided most of them because I was completely clueless about babies!  Once I found out I was pregnant, I scoured the internet trying to figure out what all I needed once he was born.  He is now almost 3 months old, so I have compiled a list of my "must have" items that got me through these first months.

1.  Diapers.  Buy. A. Lot.  Let me rephrase that: STOCKPILE!  I think we started buying diapers when I was 6-7 months along and we'd buy a package whenever we went grocery shopping.  One tip I have though is to not buy too many newborn diapers.  Buy maybe 2 boxes to get you through a couple of weeks, but don't count on your baby staying that small for long.  Grant was 6lbs 4oz when he was born and was actually too small for N, but by 1.5 months he was in size 1. Oh and from my experience so far, I prefer the Pampers Baby Dry diapers.  Huggies have leaked every time I've tried them and Pampers Swaddlers stick to the skin and it just looks uncomfortable!

2. Wipes.  Same scenario as above: buy a TON! I bought so many wipes that I still have a closetful 3 months in.  It's so nice to just go grab a package from your closet instead of having to load up a baby and run to the store.

3. Changing Table.  I read a lot of conflicting opinions on whether or not a changing table was necessary.  I actually wasn't going to buy one, but happened across one on clearance at Target for $30 and thought, "Why not?".  I love that thing.  It makes changing diapers a breeze.  No bending over or getting poop on your bed/couch.

4. Munchkin Diaper Duty Organizer. I found this at Target and it's been so helpful to have all of my diaper changing supplies handy and organized.  I keep diapers, wipes, lotion, and diaper rash ointment organized in this. 

5. Gripe Water. This is a MUST.  I had never heard of this before and once someone told me about it, it saved my sanity.  There will be times your baby is crying and you cannot figure out why.  Just a tiny bit of this in their mouth and they immediately calm down.  It's sweet and I'm pretty sure the taste distracts them from whatever they were upset about.  It also really helps with gas and tummy troubles.

6. Bottle Warmer. If you have tap water that heats up quickly and gets pretty hot, then you probably don't need this.  Our tankless hot water heater doesn't get the water super hot (and it takes forever to even get hot) so it's nice to be able to warm bottles of breast milk up in this. 

7. Bouncer. Love. This. Thing.  I have the exact one pictured and my son LOVES it! It is the only thing he would sleep in when we brought him home from the hospital. We tried everything else first and he ended up loving the bouncer.  He sleeps in his crib now, but he will sit and play in this thing for 30+ minutes.  He's a big fan of the orange monkey :) 

8. Halo SleepSack.  My husband can swaddle with blankets, but I never could get it tight enough and he kept breaking free.  This sleep sack works perfect!  He's started getting strong enough to break out of it though, so I think our swaddling days are winding down.

9. Footie Pajamas.  My son's hands and feet are always freezing, so footie pajamas are great for sleeping and just playing at home.  I love the Issac Mizrahi pjs pictured!

 

10. Bottle Cleaning Supplies.  I said I'd be using the dishwasher to clean my bottles when I was pregnant.  I quickly realized that is not feasible and it's much quicker to just wash them by hand and let them air dry. I love this bottle brush (it has a spongey part on the end) because it fits in the Medela breast pump bottles.

Grant - 2 Months!

Grant is 2 months old today! He's grown so much from the day we brought him home from the hospital.  He started out so long and skinny and he is finally starting to plump up :)  At his 2 month check up, he weighed 11 lbs and 9 oz! His chubby little cheeks are absolutely adorable and I love to attack them with kisses!

He smiles so much now, especially in the morning.  He wakes up and stretches and then just smiles at me while I change his diaper.  It totally makes my morning.

He is also getting much better at holding his head up.  When he's sitting in your lap or you hold him over your shoulder he has great neck control.  He hasn't quite mastered lifting it when he is on his tummy though, since he HATES tummy time!

Age: 2 months

Weight: 11 lbs 9 oz

Eye Color: Dark Blue/Grey

Clothes: 3M

Diapers: 1

Milestones: Talking more, Holds head up much better!

Best Moment This Month: All of the SMILING! I love his precious smile!

Loves: His pacifier, bath time, eye contact, looking outside, "Stay Awake" from Mary Poppins (falls asleep quick!), sitting in my lap, hanging out with Daddy

Hates: Burping, tummy time, hiccups, changing clothes, traveling

Looking Forward To: Him being able to hold his head up by himself and sit by himself.
 

He has started to "talk" more and is making new sounds.  I love listening to him coo!

Grant - 1 Month & What I've Learned

 

Grant is already 1 month old! Where did the time go?  I couldn't believe it was already time to start the "monthly pictures" process.

Things to note about Grant:

LOVES:

Being Swaddled (loves, loves, LOVES!)

Going outside

Putting on his PJs

Rocking

Looking at Mommy and Daddy

HATES:

Taking a bath (he's warming up to this now)

Being naked

Changing clothes/diaper

Getting the hiccups

The carseat

 He's weighing in at almost 10 lbs based on my weighing with and without him on the scale at home.

Can we take a second to just appreciate how adorable sleep smiles are?  They are so hard to catch on camera, but I managed to get this one! I can't wait for his social smiles to start, but I love seeing this little smirk when he's sleeping.

Now here is my rundown of what I've learned in the first month and my advice to new/expectant parents.

1. Buy gas drops and Gripe Water before you go into labor to have ready when you come home.  I wish I had it at the hospital! Grant had major gas pain at the hospital and when we came home.  I didn't find out about these two products until we were a week in.  They will save your life! Trust me on this.  I just bought 3 bottles so I could have one in the diaper bag, one in the nursery, and a spare.

2. SWADDLE! I cannot stress this one enough. It calms him down and will double his sleep time.  Grant is a wiggle worm and always has his arms flapping around.  The swaddle keeps him from waking himself up.

3.  Wear your baby! Grant loves it! I thought it looked ridiculous, but it makes him happy and it leaves my hands free. 

4. Schedule and Track! I downloaded an app that helps you track feedings, diapers, naps, etc.  I'm so tired that I can't remember when I fed him last and it helps me know when he is crying out of hunger.

5.  Get ready to do laundry.  I do laundry at least once a day.  It's smaller loads, but you can't make it through a day with clean clothes (mom or baby).

6.  If your baby won't stop crying, walk outside.  This has calmed Grant down every time.

7.  Breastfeeding is hard.  I BF for about 3 weeks before I broke down and started pumping and using bottles.  I could never get Grant to get a deep latch and I was in so much pain that it hurt to carry him against my chest.  Don't feel bad if you have to bottle feed.  It actually speeds up feed times and gives you more time to play with the baby or it's quicker to put them back to sleep at night. 

8.  Try to keep the baby on a schedule.  I read Baby Wise and used it as a basis to plan our day.  The book says to feed every 3 hours, but Grant eats every 2 so I just modified it to fit our needs.  I feed Grant (15 mins), have a little bit of awake time to talk and "play" (about 30 minutes), and then put him down to sleep (his naps range from 45 mins-1.5 hrs). This repeats all day except at night (after 8pm) there is no awake time and he goes right back to bed after eating.

9.  Another tip I found online is to skip diaper changes at night.  This has drastically improved my sleep situation.  Grant hates having his diaper changed and would completely wake up and scream during this process.  By skipping it at night, he stays drowsy and falls right back to sleep (most of the time anyway!) I always change his diaper first thing in the morning though, even before feeding him.  

10. Enjoy your baby! The time goes by so fast. It seems like I just had him yesterday, but he's already a month old.  Cherish all the snuggles and sleep with him on your chest.  Don't worry about spoiling your baby, just give him lots of love and affection and soak in every second.

He's Here!

 

 

This post is very late, but Grant made his debut 12 days ago on May 29, 2014 at 6:33 pm.  

 

 

 I've been a little busy taking care of the little guy, so I'm just getting around to recording his birth story.  I wanted to write it all down before I forget everything that happened.

 

So on Tuesday, May 27 I went in for my 39 week appointment and my doctor stripped my membranes.  I was only 1.5 cm dilated at this point.  The plan was that if I didn't go into labor myself by Monday June 2, that he would break my water after my 40 week appointment. 

 

All Tuesday afternoon I anxiously waited to feel contractions or some sign that I would go into labor, but nothing happened.  Wednesday rolled around and I started to feel a little crampy and lost my mucus plug that morning.  I went to work like normal, but was feeling pretty tired and left around 3pm.  At this point work was really a chore.  The chair hurt my back, my feet were so incredibly swollen, and I had to take a million bathroom breaks.  Anyway, so I left work a little early and came home and tried to take a nap.  My lower back was bothering me too much to sleep though and I gave up after a fitful 30 minutes of in and out sleep. 

 

David and I decided to go eat Jalapeno Tree for dinner where they sat us in a booth that my belly was too big for.  I ate a delicious dinner however even though I was still feeling kind of crampy.  We came home and did our nightly ritual of walking around the neighborhood to get my dilation going.  After walking I bounced on my exercise ball and noticed that I seemed to be having small contractions (feeling like period cramps) all throughout Catfish (we love that show!) As soon as bedtime rolled around though I noticed that they had stopped and I was disappointed that once again I was going to go another day pregnant.

 

However, as soon as I got in bed at 11pm, my lower back started really aching off and on consistently and that the pain was 10 minutes apart.  I tried to sleep, but I was just too uncomfortable laying down.  I tried sleeping in the recliner and after a while the pain was coming 7 minutes apart lasting about 30 seconds each contraction.  David was asleep during all of this since there was nothing he could do to help at this point and I figured at least one of us needed to be rested if this was actually labor!

 

I had already decided I wanted to labor at home as long as I could, but once my contractions were coming 2-5 minutes apart and lasting 45 seconds, I was in some PAIN.  These contractions HURT.  No sooner had one ended, another one started and I ended up throwing up from the pain.  At 3:00 am I decided that this must actually be labor and let David know we needed to head to the hospital.  The drive there was awful (you think that at 3am there wouldn't be any traffic) because we hit road construction where it was down to one lane.  The whole drive I was having constant contractions and doing my best to stay relatively calm so I didn't freak David out.

 

We finally made it to the hospital around 3:30 am and my worst nightmare came true.  I was only 2.5cm dilated.  I knew you had to be 3cm to be admitted and I did not want to be sent home only to turn around and drive right back.  They called my doctor and they told me to walk around for 2 hours and they would check me again.  Walking while having contractions is horrible.  They are so much more painful when you have gravity pushing the baby down too.  I kept having to take breaks and sit in the waiting room.  The whole time I was wondering how women go through this without an epidural!  At 6:00am they checked me again and I was at 3cm which meant I was in active labor and progressing so they admitted me and at 7:00 am gave me and IV with some pain meds to take the edge off a little.

 

At 8:00 am I was 4cm dilated and they gave me the epidural!  20 minutes after the epidural was administered I was still feeling the contractions so they upped my dose, which turned out to completely paralyze me from the waist down for the next 8 hours - but at least I wasn't in pain anymore!

 

At 11:30 am I was 8cm and I was able to start pushing at 3:00 pm.  The pushing was near impossible because I was completely numb and couldn't move my legs.  David and the nurse had to actually hold my legs with each contraction.  After pushing for 2 hours the epidural had worn off enough that I could hold my legs myself and I felt like I started to make more progress.  However when the doctor came in and checked me, he told me that Grant was posterior and hadn't moved down at all in the 2 hours I had been pushing.  He said a C-Section was more than likely at this point, but I really didn't want to do that after laboring so hard for so long!  He told me I could push for 30 more minutes to see if I made any progress.  Well after another hour of pushing (3.5 hrs total!) Grant was born!

 

I had been running a low temp the entire time I was pushing (around 100), and after he was born they checked and my temp was 103.  My temperature caused Grant to be born with a fever, and this meant more testing for him to make sure everything was fine.  Luckily everything came back perfect and we were able to come home 48 hours later.

 

It definitely wasn't an easy labor or how I imagined it would go, but we are both so happy that he is here and healthy!