4 months old...

   My baby boy turned four months old on Friday. Has it really been that long? Four months?! So much has happened and he has changed so much since he was born. He's currently working on sitting up. He's getting so close! The other day I had him sitting on our bed and holding on to my hand and he got so excited that he was having to only hold my hand to sit up. It was the funniest thing because he started kicking and squirming like he does when he gets excited and then toppled right over on his side. I think he might have it down by the end of this month! I can't wait!
   It's so much fun to watch him grow up and learn new things. He's also been trying to roll from his back to his stomach. He can get onto his side and then turn his head and shoulders, now he just has to figure out how to get his legs over. I can't wait to see what else he will accomplish this month!
   Anyway, I took a few pictures today of him on our couch and thought I'd put them up on here. Enjoy!

Last time I took a picture of him like this was when he was 2 months old...

He is such a happy kid!

 

I can't believe how well he sits up on the couch now!

I love his smile! 

He was trying to sit forward on his own.

Mmm... fingers!

   And that's all for tonight! Until next time... :)

darn layouts...

   I've been trying to figure out some kind of really cute layout for this blog. I've tested out a few very basic ideas and so far have not been happy! I'm hoping that is about to change since I downloaded Photoshop. After a lot of thinking (and blog-stalking) I think I have a pretty good idea of what I want for this page! So please bear with me as I make changes to my blog and get things situated... I know it's not too pretty right now (except for the pictures of Jack) but I promise I'll having looking nice soon! :)

mommas boy...

   So lately Jack has been a HUGE momma's boy! He likes taking his naps on my chest or with me sleeping/laying next to him and the same thing for bed time too. I'm guessing this is a phase he's going through because he wasn't this clingy before! Although I have to admit, I do like snuggling with him! This past weekend we had to go out of town for Zach's guard duty. We had what was pretty much a company Christmas party to go to one of the days we were there and the only way Jack would fall asleep was with his head on my chest. The next day, we were at the armory waiting for Zach to get off work and the same thing happened... Jack wouldn't take a nap unless I was holding him and he had his head resting on my chest. I did get a few good pictures though!

I know I'm biased, but isn't he precious?! :)

He was pretty tired. That's the only time he falls asleep with his mouth open like that!

I love this one! He looks so peaceful...

I had to take one where you could see his hair. It was actually laying flat for once!

Ohhh yeah! He is DEFINITELY a momma's boy!

   I love those pudgy little cheeks so much! And I have to say, as much as I love holding him and staring at him and sleeping next to him, I would really love it if I could put him down and get some work done! Oh wait! That's right! That's what my Moby is for! 

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE this thing?!

   I guess I'm going to have to start carrying it around with me or just flat out keep him in it! Anyway... It's very late (or early, depending on how you look at it) and I need to get some sleep! I'm still getting over whatever it is I have. I had a fever of 101.3 F last night and it was down to 99.6 this morning... now it's gone and I feel a ton better already, but I still need my rest! Until next time...

December 6th...

   It's hard to believe that date is right around the corner! It marks two major things in my life; number one being mine and Zach's six month anniversary (woo hoo!), and the second one being the day I found out I was pregnant. I can't believe that was almost a year ago... it seems like it was just yesterday. I guess time really does pass by with the blink of an eye. That was such a life changing day for me.

   I was a few days late, which really wasn't anything out of the ordinary for me. But the latest I'd ever been was about 3 or 4 days... this time, it was more like 6. I really wasn't even concerned about it at all either, but figured I'd go ahead and pee on a stick. I never would have guessed what it would tell me.

   It was the morning of December 6th, 2009. I woke up, walked out to where Zach was with the test in my hand and said, "What do you think? Should I take it." He told me, "Sure. Go ahead." I took a deep breath and walked down the hallway. I had been holding my pee (and my breath) for quite awhile at this point. I looked back at him, he smiled, and then I shut the bathroom door.

   In case you didn't know, those tests tell you to pee on the one end, lay it on a level surface, and wait 2 minutes for accurate results. Well, I didn't even have to wait the full 2 minutes. As soon as I laid it down, there was the little pink plus sign, staring back at me. Most girls I know would have cried, either from joy or fear, but me... I just thought "Well, okay... here we go!" 

   I walked back out to him in the living room, pee stick in hand and said, "Guess what?" and showed it to him. We just looked at each other like we couldn't believe it. He kept saying "Well maybe it's not right." - they are the same type pee stick tests the doctors use... they're pretty darn accurate. - "Maybe you should take another one before we tell anyone." - if you really think so... then okay. 

   I spent the next hour or so chugging liquids - water, milk, juice... you get the idea. I thought I'd have to wait awhile before I had to go pee but it turns out that when you're pregnant, you have to pee more often! So I grabbed the other pee stick and back down the hall I went.Yeap. There it was again. That blaring pink little plus sign. I walked back out to him and said, "Well, I guess we're having a baby!"

   It was hard for me to believe. I'm pretty sure it was hard for him to believe too. But doesn't it make sense that if you have sex, you might very well end up pregnant? You'd think people would know that by now, since that's been the pattern for years and years. But it was still hard to comprehend.

   A baby? You mean this little person who is half of you and half of them? Someone who is going to depend on you for the rest of their lives? Another mouth to feed? How do you raise them? What lessons do you want them to learn? How can we afford this? Where are we going to live? All these questions and so many more pop into your head all at once the moment you find out you are having a baby.

   We weren't in the best of situations then. I won't go into detail, but just know that things were rough. But we somehow had to figure out a way of life that would work for us. We didn't think too hard on this right away because we still had another 8 months to go. If I could go back in time, I would have started planning right away! 

   And here we are now, almost a year later. Our baby boy is here and he is almost 4 months old. He has learned so many things, and so have we. Like how to keep him covered up while doing diaper changes so we don't get peed on. Wait a few minutes after he's pooped before changing him, because there just might be more in there! Bibs work better than burp cloths, but only when they're older because when they are newborns, you need more material to work with. Other wise, you'd be changing bibs every hour. 

   I have also learned that entertaining an almost 4 month old can be very hard work. You have to constantly mix things up! And that it's okay for me to take a nap/shower/do laundry/do nothing while Zach watches him for a little bit. Toes and tongues are apparently the coolest toys there are and Charlie's face feels and looks funny. Bath time is the greatest thing ever. And umbrella strollers are much easier to work with than travel systems!

   They say that when the child is born, so is the parent. But the also say that the children raise the parents. I believe 100% that your children raise you to be the parent you are because without their guidance, what would you have to go on? You have to go by their cues. When they're hungry, you feed them. When they're tired, you put them to sleep. When they're not feeling good, you comfort them. Yes this is all common sense, but you get better at it the more you do it. 

   Not to mention that before they came along, things were very different! You had the freedom to go out whenever you wanted, no need for a babysitter, you didn't have to think about someone else's needs first... but now you do. You want to go out? That takes planning. You want to buy something new? Think again. That money could be spent on diapers! That is why I believe your children raise you.

   Right now my little boy is sleeping. I think I'm going to go join him, seeing as how I've gotten so little lately. I just wanted to share the story of how I found out my whole life was going to change... and for the better. Goodnight...

sleepless in carolina...

   The past few nights, I have gotten very little sleep. This is because of a few different things. One being that entertaining a 3 and a half month old takes up A LOT of time! Especially right now. He is at the age where is is becoming WAY more aware of his surroundings and wanting to take it all in and discover new things. He is constantly grabbing his toes, losing interest in toys in about 5 minutes, wanting to stare at the TV, play with my cell phone... you name it, he wants to conquer it.
   Some of his most recent discoveries include: discovering his tongue (which is quite hilarious), pushing buttons on my cell phone (it's a touch screen, but still!), watching movies/TV, pulling his pacifier out of his mouth and trying to put it back in (he hasn't gotten that last part down quite yet...), and he has decided he likes looking at books/magazines. In fact, I was reading a book on the Kindle app on my phone last night and he was laying next to me, moving his head from side to side as if he were reading too! It cracked me up! Then today, Zach was reading a magazine and Jack started getting fussy because Zach wasn't showing/reading it to him. I believe we are going to have our hands full with this one...
   As thankful as I am for all these wonderful new developments, they are starting to wear me out! I have come to the conclusion that Jack is going through what they call the "4 month wakeful period." Doesn't it just sound like a joy?! Well, it is very true to it's name! Basically, babies around 4 months old start waking up in the middle of the night. Not just "my-paci-fell-out-please-put-it-back-in" kind of waking up... I mean kicking and squirming and wide awake and wanting to play. Plain and simple: it sucks.
   I have been reading about this period online to try and figure out what on earth I can do about it. I've seen a lot of sites that say "let him cry it out," which pretty much means what it says. Let him cry. They say to check on him after a few minutes, but not to pick him up or talk to him or anything like that. Well let me just say that first of all... HE IS 3 AND A HALF MONTHS OLD! If he is crying, there is more than likely a reason for it. So OF COURSE I'm going to pick him up and soothe him! Sorry if you are a fan of the "cry it out" method, but I am NOT! I just can't imagine letting my 4 month old baby lay there and cry. It could be gas, maybe he's hungry, or heck... he could just want his mommy because he had a bad dream! And yes, I believe he has bad dreams. I have seen him make sad faces in his sleep and even heard him start wailing in the middle of his sleep and wake himself up from it. It's not like he can tell me what's wrong. So "let him cry it out," is not an option.
   Finally I came to a site that made perfect sense of the situation! First of all, if you did not know, Jack is exclusively breastfed. This site that I found has an article that was written by a lactation consultant. In the article, the LC talks about how during this time, babies are developing a whole lot (tell me about it)! Because of all their new developments and wanting to take in their surroundings, breastfed babies eat less during the day. I had never thought about it until I read that article, but it has proven true for Jack!
   This is a quote from the article that describes exactly what breastfeeding a baby around this age can be like:
"Has NO ONE stopped to consider the developmental stage of the breastfeeding baby that begins at about four months and can go on to 6 or 7 months? Think about your four month old breastfeeding -- what are they doing? This baby is on and off the breast -- so interested in the world around him he can hardly stand it. "Oh look! There's the dog! Hi, Mommy, I love you SOOOO much! The phone?! A car went by. The TV is on. Big sister comes into the room....hey, there's just too much going on for me to concentrate on eating. I think I'm full now. I'll see you later.....'"
   She then goes on to discuss how so many people tell new moms that "the baby can't possibly be hungry -- just let him cry it out," and how this is not the approach to take. She also talks about how bottle feeding babies don't wake up as often around this time because mom is able to hand the bottle to the baby and they can sit there and eat AND watch the world around them. This all made perfect sense to me.
   HOWEVER... the past week or so, Jack has been napping less during the day and the past 2 nights, he has woken up at about 3:00 AM and not wanted to go back to sleep... even after eating. So, needless to say, I have been getting very little sleep! Normally, I would get things like laundry and dishes done during Jack's nap time or even get in a nap for myself. But because of the lovely 30 minute cat naps he has been taking during the day, it is almost impossible for me to get much done! Therefore, I have been attempting to catch up at night once he is asleep, which happens by about 10:30 PM. By the time I'm done, it's 2:00 AM and Jack wakes up within the next hour. I'm then up until almost 5:00 AM. I JUST WANT TO SLEEP!
   Prior to this phase, Jack was going through his lovely 3 month growth spurt. Then he wanted to be attached to me ALL THE TIME! He wanted to nurse every 2 hours and sometimes every 30 minutes! He went to sleep at 10:30ish, woke up at midnight, and then again between 2:00 and 5:00 AM. This stuff is killing me! It's like he's gone back to being a newborn... minus the long naps!
   But the upside to all of this is getting to watch my little boy discover SO many new things! Like the day he found his tongue. I swear, it was the funniest thing ever! He had been fussing because he wanted his paci so he stuck his hand in his mouth to suck on it and then all of a sudden, you could see the look of "what is THAT?!" come across his face. Then he pulls his hand back out, kinda looks at it, pops it back in his mouth, grabs his tongue, and his eyes got HUGE! He then spent several hours with his hand in his mouth, playing with his tongue, and has been doing it every so often ever since. He even figured out that both Zach and I have tongues too. I stuck mine out at him the other day and he grabbed it and started playing with my tongue. Do you have any idea how weird it is to feel little fingers grabbing your tongue? Not only is it weird, it's just flat out funny because they are SO fascinated by it!
   Anyway, I believe I have written enough for tonight. I believe this post has made up quite a bit for the fact that I haven't written in awhile. As you can see, I've been very busy with the discoveries of tongues, Charlie, cell phones, etc. Good night! 


(For those of you who are interested, here is a link to the article I was talking about:
http://www.kellymom.com/parenting/sleep/4mo-sleep.html)

my $10 investment...

   I believe my child is the only one I know who HATES his car seat. It seems like every story I've heard from family and friends about their children is about how much their kid loved riding in the car and how it always made them pass out. Well... not mine. In order for you to even PUT Jack in his car seat, he has to be either asleep, drowsy, or in a REALLY good mood. Even then, he will sometimes start crying. And even if he's awake when you put him in his car seat, there is no guarantee that he will fall asleep while you're driving around. In fact, sometimes he'll start crying once the car is moving.

   This really sucks because it means that you have to plan around his nap times! Even if it's just a trip to the grocery store... forget it. He's gotta be full, dry, happy, and/or sleepy/asleep. Oh... and if he's REALLY tired and you stick him in that thing... ha! He starts screaming bloody murder! I mean his face turns red and sometimes even purple and next thing you know, you're having to take him out of the darn thing and calm him down. But the only reason he's calmed down is because he's worn himself out from screaming and crying! (Poor baby!)

   However, my son LOVES his toys! He has several that he just adores playing with and every time I get him in the car seat, I stick one in his lap. Only issue with that is that he's still learning how to really hold on to things and pull them towards him... you know, that lovely thing called "control." Well, if his toy slides down where he can't reach it or he loses his grip, you have to either pull over or do the whole one-arm-behind-you-blindly-searching-for-the-toy-while-trying-to-tell-them-it's-okay thing.

   And yesterday, I came up with a solution.

  

This is Jack's new favorite toy. I call it "Mr. Frog"... aka the Bright Starts Hop Along Carrier Toy Bar!  

   Notice the extreme look of concentration on his face... he has finally found something that distracts him from the fact that he is in his car seat! And I love it! Happy baby = happy mommy :]. Anyway, this lovely toy attaches to his car seat handle and does not move! (If you are wondering, yes. I have tried hanging links and other toys off his car seat, but he just doesn't find them as interesting!) This is right at his eye level. the frog plays music, lights up, and spins. The turtle is a rattle and spins as well. And that red thing (not really sure what else to call it) has a mirror on one side and spins as well! I am SO thankful I found this toy! Hopefully it will help to make car rides (and trips out and about) a little bit easier! Here are some more pictures of him with his new found love:

This just might be the best $10 investment I've ever made! 

   Anyway... once again, it's pretty late and I need some rest! Not exactly sure what We'll be doing tomorrow, but I guess we'll figure out something! My mom is visiting for a little bit... it's been about 3 weeks since she last saw Jack, so I'm guessing we'll probably just hang out at home! Goodnight!

life as we know it now...

   Yes, I do realize that I am starting this blog 3 months after Jack was born... but hey! It's not like I had any time to start it right after! Anyway... I'm going to do my best to keep up with this. I'll try to post pictures and updates on life as often as I can (translation: during nap time or after everyone else is asleep). Hopefully this will be a way for me to keep our relatives in the loop. It seems like pretty much everyone is scattered all over the place (or will be soon). We have family in Oregon, Washington, California, Texas, Nebraska, New York, Georgia, Florida, and Mississippi! And there are TONS of us! Which means a lot of people to update on Jack, Zach, and myself... well, life in general.
   So if you haven't heard already, my husband, Zach, and I have a wonderful baby boy named Jack! He was born on August 10, 2010. He's currently 3 months and 5 days old, although some days it doesn't seem like that long and others it seems like much longer! He has changed so much since we brought him home from the hospital. I can't even think of all the changes!
   To list a few: sleeping longer at night, grabbing his toys, holding toys, pushing buttons, "talking" like crazy (I have NO idea where he gets that from! :] ), smiling, laughing... the list goes on and on! His most recent discoveries include his toes ("What are these things and how do I get them in my mouth?!"), our boxer Charlie ("HEY! You're kinda prickly and furry and you LICK my face! What are you?!"), and the newest one being his fingers ("Whoa... I can make these things wiggle! Whenever I want! COOL! Now let's see what they taste like...").
   I have to say, watching your child learn and grow is by far the coolest thing ever. I love being a mom! It's definitely the best job I've ever had! I really wish that you could just slow time down sometimes... maybe then I'd have enough time to really take everything in. Right now it feels like he learns one thing and then "oh, hey!" it's on to the next! Then there are the times that I am just so anxious/excited for him to be older! I want to see the funny faces he's going to make when he tries new foods, watch him crawl and get into things (I know, I'm crazy...), learn to stand/walk and fall over doing it, hear his first words, etc.
   Anyway... it's pretty late here and I think I'm going to attempt to get some sleep. I have another learning filled day ahead of me in the morning! Goodnight!