15 weeks!
Sorry for no post last week!! It was quite a busy week!! Not too much happened with the Brockster last week. On Friday he started a new trick - he loves, I mean LOVES to sit up whenever he can (with assistance of course), so Nick holds him a little propped up and he uses his little ab muscles to not only pull himself up, but he gets top heavy and falls over face forward...LOL! It's a work in progress!
Still no rolling over yet...I'm starting to think maybe he just won't do it. He does plenty of tummy time he just likes to look around, but not really roll too much!
He has now started to stick not just his thumb, but all his fingers in his mouth! And he doesn't bend them, he sticks them straight in his mouth, fingers sticking straight out! Sometimes, he sticks them in too far and ends up gagging himself! It's kinda funny, but I try to pull his hands out whenever I see him doing that!
He had his first full on belly laugh this weekend!! Uncle Drew was tickling him under his armpit and he thought that was hilarious. So I started doing it on both sides and he was laughing harder than I've ever seen him laugh! It was so cute!!
Sadly, we also had a little stomach bug going around the family this weekend. Brock had it we think Thursday and Friday. He was having stomach issues and pains and we think looser than normal poopies. Nick then got it Saturday and I had it Sunday...it was no fun!! But, just the first of what I'm sure will be many more bugs that we share as a family!
We went for a long walk yesterday and decided to let Brock sit just in the stroller instead of in the carset which latches into the stroller. Whenever he's in the carseat, he gets antsy and starts pulling his head up to try and sit up. So, we tried just in the stroller and he seemed to really like it. He fell asleep not too far into the walk, but I think he liked being able to see all the cars, trees, animals, people, etc that were passing us. We took some pictures that I'll try and get posted ASAP!
We also did a little 'fall cleaning' this weekend. I hit a children's consignment sale last week and scored quite a few things for Brock for the fall/winter - mostly pj's. I also went through a bunch of the things we got from Tracy right after Brock was born that we hadn't put away yet. Since our house isn't exactly a mansion, we have to get creative with storage. When Tracy gave us the clothes (and she was wonderful and gave us TONS), we seperated them by size and only put the size he was currently wearing and the size he'd be wearing next away in his closet. The rest went into the basement. Well, he's now wearing that 'next' size and about to transition to possibly an ever bigger size. He's been wearing 3-6 month clothes and mostly 6 month onesies since about 8 weeks old. Luckily, he's still pretty much wearing that same size, but I think by fall he'll be in to the 6-9 month clothes and probably 9 month onesies - I don't know about other babies, but it seems like the onesies are way smaller than other clothes on him so he's usually a size up in those, while he may be closer to on target with other clothes. Anyway, we stored away all the clothes that no longer fit him (to hopefully save for another one someday) and put all of his fall clothes away in his dresser/closet. He's ready to rock!
He's going to be pretty much every night around 9 and is still pretty easy to put down on most nights. Usually I put him down, get ready for bed, get things ready for the next day, and then get to bed. Last night however, Nick and I stayed up in the living room watching TV and I swear Brock knows when we're still up and he's not. It took just a little longer than normal for him to fall asleep! He's still sleeping like a total champ and wakes up just smiling away!
He has really started to grab things and bring them straight to his mouth. He also grabs his blankets, burp rags, whatever is close and pulls them up over his head! It's pretty funny because he can't figure out right away why he can't see anything anymore. He is still just talking, squealing and smiling all the time. He's the most fun baby and EVERYONE who watches him says he is the easiest and most perfect baby to watch!!
Monday, August 29, 2011
Friday, August 19, 2011
Sleepy boy...
14 weeks
As if Brock weren't already a little sleeping champ, now he wants even more!! We're having to go in and actually wake him up each morning to eat around 6:45. So, we've started putting him to bed a little earlier - 9-9:30 ish and he still sleeps like a champ!!
This was one of the most fun weeks we've had with him so far!! My Dad/Pat bought him a little stuffed animal duck that flaps it's wings and sings when you push a button on his foot. Well, I sat down with Brock on the floor between my legs and put the duck facing him. He went NUTS! He was laughing, yelling, talking, just all about the duck! Of course as soon as we turned on the camera to get a video, he got all shy!!
He has a new hobby in the bathtub too - kicking his leg to splash water everywhere. He doesn't necessarily laugh, but he definitely enjoys doing it! He has officially outgrown his infant tub so he's just on a mat in the tub like a big boy! He really really wants to sit up during his bath but he's not quite there yet. He tries to pick his head up off the mat to sit up, but when you sit him up, he doesn't have the balance yet to stay that way.
I think he's definitely on the verge of rolling over. We've been doing lots of tummy time at night and he's getting closer and closer. He has been with Grandma Judy all week and has been perfect!! Their dog Taz loves him...he even likes to lay by him to 'protect' him:
I went to Pottery Barn Kids today and bought Brock some new Halloween books! I can't wait to read them to him and to get him excited for Halloween. I know this year he may not be into it much, but as he gets older I hope he'll appreciate it and love it like I do!!
As if Brock weren't already a little sleeping champ, now he wants even more!! We're having to go in and actually wake him up each morning to eat around 6:45. So, we've started putting him to bed a little earlier - 9-9:30 ish and he still sleeps like a champ!!
This was one of the most fun weeks we've had with him so far!! My Dad/Pat bought him a little stuffed animal duck that flaps it's wings and sings when you push a button on his foot. Well, I sat down with Brock on the floor between my legs and put the duck facing him. He went NUTS! He was laughing, yelling, talking, just all about the duck! Of course as soon as we turned on the camera to get a video, he got all shy!!
He has a new hobby in the bathtub too - kicking his leg to splash water everywhere. He doesn't necessarily laugh, but he definitely enjoys doing it! He has officially outgrown his infant tub so he's just on a mat in the tub like a big boy! He really really wants to sit up during his bath but he's not quite there yet. He tries to pick his head up off the mat to sit up, but when you sit him up, he doesn't have the balance yet to stay that way.
I think he's definitely on the verge of rolling over. We've been doing lots of tummy time at night and he's getting closer and closer. He has been with Grandma Judy all week and has been perfect!! Their dog Taz loves him...he even likes to lay by him to 'protect' him:
I went to Pottery Barn Kids today and bought Brock some new Halloween books! I can't wait to read them to him and to get him excited for Halloween. I know this year he may not be into it much, but as he gets older I hope he'll appreciate it and love it like I do!!
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Baptism pics
Proud Parents!
Brock and his Godparents - Mia Cole and David Barbosa
Brock the Baptism Elf
Brock and Father Storey (the same Priest that married us!)
The fabulous Baptism cookies from Dolce!
Monday, August 15, 2011
Jam packed weekend fun
This past weekend was a complete blur, but it was packed full of fun activities!! Friday night we had a cookout at our house for the first Chiefs pre-season game. My dad set up Brock's high chair and he sat in it for the first time while we all ate. He seemed to love it! He was kicking his legs in excitement and I think he felt like a big boy!! He LOVED watching football!! He just watched the TV in amazement! He also got to wear his Chiefs jersey for the first time! Here is modeling it and standing on his legs! He loves to stand up!
Saturday we met up with my Dad and Pat and went out to Olathe for my dad's helicopter ride. Mia and I bought him a helicopter instruction/ride package for his birthday in March where he got 30 mins of ground instruction and then got to ride in AND assist in flying the helicopter. He loved it!! After that was lunch as his favorite place, Oklahoma Joe's and then back home to get some final things ready for the Baptism and luncheon on Sunday. We went over to Gary and Judy's and got everything set up, then met back up with my parents for dinner at Grinder's downtown (Best cheesesteaks ever!!). Brock was , as usual, such a good little guy! He LOVES to pick his head up out of his carseat to look around so it may not be long before he starts stitting in the highchairs at restaurants! He just wants to see everything around him!
Sunday was his big day! He was so tired from the day before that he fell asleep around 9:30 Saturday night and slept until 7 am on Sunday!! He was a total champ and slept thru most of Mass and woke up just in time to get changed into his Baptism gear! He was all smiley and happy until right around when the Baptism started and he was a little fussy. But, nothing a binkie couldn't fix. He was great thru the rest of the ceremony, didn't mind the water on his head, let the Priest hold him and did great for all the pictures! (Will post pictures tomorrow from the ceremony and luncheon). The lunch went great, he got lots of sweet religious gifts and even a little money to start up his own little savings account!
We took a long nap when we got home and woke up just in time for his first 'date' with Madison! Our homes association had an ice cream social and since Kristin, Brett and Madison live in our neighborhood too, we all walked down for some ice cream! We got a super cute picture of the 2 of them and Brock looks like a beast!! Pics to come with that one too!!
We picked up a few new hobbies this weekend too! Along with football, Brock LOVES to watch Cartoons on TV!! We put them on while we were getting ready and he was watching so intently and laughing and kicking his legs. I know he doesn't understand what they are saying, but it's so cute to watch him get excited! I think the colors and sounds must be what he likes. He's up to a full 6 oz now at pretty much every feeding and I think we're finally able to phase out the middle bottle at night. I think just one around dinner time and one before bed should be plenty! He's started getting better control of things if he gets ahold of them. If there is a blanket at the bottom of his carseat, he'll grab ahold of it and pull it up toward (and sometimes over) his head.
Sunday was his big day! He was so tired from the day before that he fell asleep around 9:30 Saturday night and slept until 7 am on Sunday!! He was a total champ and slept thru most of Mass and woke up just in time to get changed into his Baptism gear! He was all smiley and happy until right around when the Baptism started and he was a little fussy. But, nothing a binkie couldn't fix. He was great thru the rest of the ceremony, didn't mind the water on his head, let the Priest hold him and did great for all the pictures! (Will post pictures tomorrow from the ceremony and luncheon). The lunch went great, he got lots of sweet religious gifts and even a little money to start up his own little savings account!
We took a long nap when we got home and woke up just in time for his first 'date' with Madison! Our homes association had an ice cream social and since Kristin, Brett and Madison live in our neighborhood too, we all walked down for some ice cream! We got a super cute picture of the 2 of them and Brock looks like a beast!! Pics to come with that one too!!
We picked up a few new hobbies this weekend too! Along with football, Brock LOVES to watch Cartoons on TV!! We put them on while we were getting ready and he was watching so intently and laughing and kicking his legs. I know he doesn't understand what they are saying, but it's so cute to watch him get excited! I think the colors and sounds must be what he likes. He's up to a full 6 oz now at pretty much every feeding and I think we're finally able to phase out the middle bottle at night. I think just one around dinner time and one before bed should be plenty! He's started getting better control of things if he gets ahold of them. If there is a blanket at the bottom of his carseat, he'll grab ahold of it and pull it up toward (and sometimes over) his head.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
How about a hand sandwich?
As of last night, Brock has a new favorite snack. His fist!! He tries to stick the ENTIRE thing in his mouth!
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
12 week mark!
12 weeks old
I'm not entirely sure how it happened, but our little angel boy is 12 weeks old today!! I know everyone says it when you have kids, but seriously the time has flown! This is the same length as a pregnancy trimester and I can guarantee none of them felt like they went this quickly! We were just talking the other night how it seems like it's gone so fast, yet at the same time it feels like he's been with us forever! On one hand there are still days I have to remind myself I'm not pregnant anymore (like when trying to eat for two...lol!) and then there are days where I feel like that was so long ago I can barely remember what it was like.
There is no doubt this has been the most emotional 12 weeks of my life. It's been the hardest, scariest, happiest and hands down most fun 3 months! The first few weeks were tough. Getting used to no sleep and trying to adjust to this new little human that needed me for everything. Then at the 4 week mark we started to get the hang of it and by week 6 it was just downright fun!! We were blessed with such a wonderful baby - not very fussy, eats well, sleeps like a champ, so it started to get really fun, really quickly. He started to smile on purpose around the 4 week mark and it turned into bigger 'laughs' by about week 6. Now he laughs at everything and everyone and it's so much fun!!
I had to work from home this morning and it was a little bittersweet. I loved the extra time with him, but it also made me a little sad. It reminded me of being home with him for maternity leave and how even THAT feels like so long ago. I miss those days so much and can't believe it's already been 4 weeks since I came back to work. I would give anything to slow down time and be able to spend more time with him. It seems like there is no amount of time in the world that would be enough!!
My dad and Pat (Meme and Poppy) are coming up tonight and I know they are going to LOVE playing with him for the next couple of days! He's just so much fun!! They don't get to see him as often as his other grandparents so it'll be so great for them to get 2 whole days with just him and then we have a fun filled weekend planned.
I'll end with a few things Brock is up to at 12 weeks:
- He LOVES to play patty cake and have his hands clapped together
- He smiles when he wakes up in the mornings and talks up a storm on his changing table
- He wears 3-6 month clothes (and has been for awhile)
- He doesn't hate bathtime, but it's not always his favorite
- He goes to sleep so well...even if he's not totally tired, he'll lay in his crib and talk and watch his 'stars' until he falls asleep (we do have to go pop his binkie back in a couple of times first). He usually falls asleep within about 10-15 mins of being laid in his crib
- He eats 5 to 6 oz bottles 5 times a day and still has his 4 oz bottles twice a night
- He's not a total fan of tummy time, but he's been holding his head up for so long so he'll tolerate it
- He picks his head up off the back of his carseat and sometimes off of my legs if he's laying on me
- He has started grabbing things near his hands - his clothes, burp rags, Mommy's necklace, Mommy's hair
What we're working on now:
- Rolling over - this one is tough because we don't ever want to put him down for tummy time! LOL! But, I know we've got to let him try so every night we do Tummy Time for at least a little while
- Grabbing at toys - he'll bat at things sometimes, but he hasn't really grabbed on to his toys if they are sitting in front of him. He only grabs things that are already in his hand or near his hands
Nicknames:
- Boo boo/boo boo bear
- Brockie/Brockie boy
- Boogie/boogie bear/boogie boy
- Bubba/Bubs
Here's a picture of my little boo boo bear today:
I'm not entirely sure how it happened, but our little angel boy is 12 weeks old today!! I know everyone says it when you have kids, but seriously the time has flown! This is the same length as a pregnancy trimester and I can guarantee none of them felt like they went this quickly! We were just talking the other night how it seems like it's gone so fast, yet at the same time it feels like he's been with us forever! On one hand there are still days I have to remind myself I'm not pregnant anymore (like when trying to eat for two...lol!) and then there are days where I feel like that was so long ago I can barely remember what it was like.
There is no doubt this has been the most emotional 12 weeks of my life. It's been the hardest, scariest, happiest and hands down most fun 3 months! The first few weeks were tough. Getting used to no sleep and trying to adjust to this new little human that needed me for everything. Then at the 4 week mark we started to get the hang of it and by week 6 it was just downright fun!! We were blessed with such a wonderful baby - not very fussy, eats well, sleeps like a champ, so it started to get really fun, really quickly. He started to smile on purpose around the 4 week mark and it turned into bigger 'laughs' by about week 6. Now he laughs at everything and everyone and it's so much fun!!
I had to work from home this morning and it was a little bittersweet. I loved the extra time with him, but it also made me a little sad. It reminded me of being home with him for maternity leave and how even THAT feels like so long ago. I miss those days so much and can't believe it's already been 4 weeks since I came back to work. I would give anything to slow down time and be able to spend more time with him. It seems like there is no amount of time in the world that would be enough!!
My dad and Pat (Meme and Poppy) are coming up tonight and I know they are going to LOVE playing with him for the next couple of days! He's just so much fun!! They don't get to see him as often as his other grandparents so it'll be so great for them to get 2 whole days with just him and then we have a fun filled weekend planned.
I'll end with a few things Brock is up to at 12 weeks:
- He LOVES to play patty cake and have his hands clapped together
- He smiles when he wakes up in the mornings and talks up a storm on his changing table
- He wears 3-6 month clothes (and has been for awhile)
- He doesn't hate bathtime, but it's not always his favorite
- He goes to sleep so well...even if he's not totally tired, he'll lay in his crib and talk and watch his 'stars' until he falls asleep (we do have to go pop his binkie back in a couple of times first). He usually falls asleep within about 10-15 mins of being laid in his crib
- He eats 5 to 6 oz bottles 5 times a day and still has his 4 oz bottles twice a night
- He's not a total fan of tummy time, but he's been holding his head up for so long so he'll tolerate it
- He picks his head up off the back of his carseat and sometimes off of my legs if he's laying on me
- He has started grabbing things near his hands - his clothes, burp rags, Mommy's necklace, Mommy's hair
What we're working on now:
- Rolling over - this one is tough because we don't ever want to put him down for tummy time! LOL! But, I know we've got to let him try so every night we do Tummy Time for at least a little while
- Grabbing at toys - he'll bat at things sometimes, but he hasn't really grabbed on to his toys if they are sitting in front of him. He only grabs things that are already in his hand or near his hands
Nicknames:
- Boo boo/boo boo bear
- Brockie/Brockie boy
- Boogie/boogie bear/boogie boy
- Bubba/Bubs
Here's a picture of my little boo boo bear today:
Monday, August 8, 2011
New Favorite Game
Brockster has a new favorite game as of this past weekend. Patty Cake!! He absolutely LOVES IT!! He thinks it's hilarious! He loves the clapping part the best. Even if you just take his hands and clap them together like you're cheering, he just cracks up!
He is talking and laughing more and more each week and it's so much fun! I didn't realize you could have so much fun doing nothing but I could sit there all day and make him laugh! It was the best way to spend a Saturday afternoon!!
We went to Michael's this weekend to get some things for his Baptism and they had out their Halloween and fall stuff!!! Brock was NOT a fan of the scary skull I showed him, but he really liked the friendly ghost I was making dance in front of him...lol!
We've got a BIG week coming up - my parents are coming in town Wednesday night to watch him for a couple of days. The first Chiefs game is on Friday night (just a pre-season, but Brock has his jersey ready), Poppy has his helicpoter ride Saturday and then Brock is getting Baptized on Sunday!! We've got a fun little luncheon planned at G'ma and G'pa Barbosas after the Baptism!
He is talking and laughing more and more each week and it's so much fun! I didn't realize you could have so much fun doing nothing but I could sit there all day and make him laugh! It was the best way to spend a Saturday afternoon!!
We went to Michael's this weekend to get some things for his Baptism and they had out their Halloween and fall stuff!!! Brock was NOT a fan of the scary skull I showed him, but he really liked the friendly ghost I was making dance in front of him...lol!
We've got a BIG week coming up - my parents are coming in town Wednesday night to watch him for a couple of days. The first Chiefs game is on Friday night (just a pre-season, but Brock has his jersey ready), Poppy has his helicpoter ride Saturday and then Brock is getting Baptized on Sunday!! We've got a fun little luncheon planned at G'ma and G'pa Barbosas after the Baptism!
Friday, August 5, 2011
TGIF
It's Friday!! WOO HOO! So ready for the weekend and to get to spend 2 full days with my little man!! Weekends have taken on a whole new excitment. Not just for sleeping in anymore and being able to run errands or lay around and be lazy, but to spend all day with my little family!!
Today started off as just 'one of those days'. Bad hair day, bad outfit day, running late, Brock had a wet diaper I had to change while getting ready, it started POURING down rain JUST as I was going to take him to the car to leave, just one thing after the other. Things that usually would have put me in one of those 'why me' bad moods for the rest of the day. But, as I was driving to drop him off at my mom's this morning, he was just in the backseat smiling and laughing away. How in the world can you be in a bad mood and let little petty things get to you, when you have such a miracle in your backseat?
It really made me put things in perspective and turned my what would have been a year ago bad day and bad mood, into a great day! Everyday with that little man can be nothing but great. As cheesy as that sounds and I know there will be tough days ahead, I just feel unbelievably lucky and BLESSED to have the chance to be his mommy.
He takes happiness to a whole new level and I mean, come on, how can you NOT smile and just LOVE this face?
Today started off as just 'one of those days'. Bad hair day, bad outfit day, running late, Brock had a wet diaper I had to change while getting ready, it started POURING down rain JUST as I was going to take him to the car to leave, just one thing after the other. Things that usually would have put me in one of those 'why me' bad moods for the rest of the day. But, as I was driving to drop him off at my mom's this morning, he was just in the backseat smiling and laughing away. How in the world can you be in a bad mood and let little petty things get to you, when you have such a miracle in your backseat?
It really made me put things in perspective and turned my what would have been a year ago bad day and bad mood, into a great day! Everyday with that little man can be nothing but great. As cheesy as that sounds and I know there will be tough days ahead, I just feel unbelievably lucky and BLESSED to have the chance to be his mommy.
He takes happiness to a whole new level and I mean, come on, how can you NOT smile and just LOVE this face?
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Chillin' to the max
11 weeks old...
So Brock has a new 'pose' he likes to do. He just started it a couple of days ago and it's HILARIOUS! Sometimes he just puts one hand behind his head, sometimes it's both, but either way, it's so funny and cute!!
It already looks like he's posin' for the ladies!! Love this little man!
So Brock has a new 'pose' he likes to do. He just started it a couple of days ago and it's HILARIOUS! Sometimes he just puts one hand behind his head, sometimes it's both, but either way, it's so funny and cute!!
Monday, August 1, 2011
Memorable Moments part 1
While there have been more memorable moments than I could ever count in these first months of having my little man, I wanted to compile a list of moments, things, places, etc to always remember this magical time:
1. The first time I heard him cry the day he was born. I hope I don't ever forget that sound because it was the best sound in the world. I still think about it and get choked up!
2. Seeing our families meet him for the first time. There was such an overwhelming amount of joy and love in that hospital room. The entire hospital stay was wonderful between all the family and friends who came to visit and the amazing nurses at St. Luke's South who took such good care of us!
3. Our first trip to Target - He was not quite a week old and I had been struggling with the 'Baby Blues'. I had barely eaten or slept for a few days. So after one night of full sleep, I woke up feeling refreshed and a little stir crazy. We loaded Brock up and took him to eat (McDonald's - the first time I had an appetite and it sounded SOOO good) and then to Target to get some baby essentials. I was such a nervous wreck, but he was a perfect angel and slept through the whole thing!
4. The first time he met Oscar. Our dog Oscar has never been a fan of kids and has always been our baby. He's a 7 year old chihuahua so he's had lots of time to really work on his 'only child' routine. I was so nervous at how he would react to the baby and I couldn't have been happier than when he sniffed his carseat and licked his little hand right when we brought him home. I was so proud I cried!
5. His first road trip - When Brock was a month old, we traveled to Wichita to visit my parents and for Brock to meet his Aunt Teea, cousins Brigdon and Tatum, and Great Aunt Mollie and Great Uncle Delmar who were visiting from Oklahoma. He was wonderful and slept all 3 hours there and back without a peep. He turned on the charm for all his admirers and as usual, was such a good baby!
6. Peeing all over Mia and I during my post-op doctor's appointment. I had just told her how he hadn't gotten me when changing his diaper yet and that was all it took. He started spraying us and the entire room not once, but TWICE! We were laughing so hard we could barley get it cleaned up!
7. Snuggle days with mommy - Knowing I would have to be coming back to work, I took at least one day every week of maternity leave to do nothing but lay on the couch and snuggle with my little man. I will miss those days for as long as I live! They are never that little again.
8. His first bath - Nick and I decided to give him his first 'at home' sponge bath. He was crying and so unhappy with the whole process, then proceeded to pee and poop on the bath mat he was laying on. We couldn't help but just crack up!
9. Party Rock by LMFAO - this isn't a 'moment' as much as it is a reminder of being home with him. We watched LOTS of music videos while I was on leave and this one just happened to be popular. I changed the words to 'Party Brock' and sang it to him all the time!
10. The Casey Anthony Trial - this is sadly not a happy memory. The trial started the week I went on leave and the verdict was reached the week before I came back. My mom and I were glued to the coverage and watched it daily!
11. Tornadoes!!!! Our first night home, right as we were settling in to go to bed, the tornado sirens went off! We slept half of the first night in our basement. Luckily, it was a false alarm. Then, just over a week later, on my first day home by myself with the baby, we had another scare. This one was a little more 'real' and there actually were touchdowns very close to our area. I was huddled under the stairs on a blanekt in the basement with a half naked baby (he was mid-feeding when they went off) and very scared chihuahua.
There are so many wonderful memories I have of our time together while I was on maternity leave and things that have happened since I've gone back to work, but these few really stick out to me! I hope we are blessed enough to have a lifetime of memories watching this little man grow up!!
1. The first time I heard him cry the day he was born. I hope I don't ever forget that sound because it was the best sound in the world. I still think about it and get choked up!
2. Seeing our families meet him for the first time. There was such an overwhelming amount of joy and love in that hospital room. The entire hospital stay was wonderful between all the family and friends who came to visit and the amazing nurses at St. Luke's South who took such good care of us!
3. Our first trip to Target - He was not quite a week old and I had been struggling with the 'Baby Blues'. I had barely eaten or slept for a few days. So after one night of full sleep, I woke up feeling refreshed and a little stir crazy. We loaded Brock up and took him to eat (McDonald's - the first time I had an appetite and it sounded SOOO good) and then to Target to get some baby essentials. I was such a nervous wreck, but he was a perfect angel and slept through the whole thing!
4. The first time he met Oscar. Our dog Oscar has never been a fan of kids and has always been our baby. He's a 7 year old chihuahua so he's had lots of time to really work on his 'only child' routine. I was so nervous at how he would react to the baby and I couldn't have been happier than when he sniffed his carseat and licked his little hand right when we brought him home. I was so proud I cried!
5. His first road trip - When Brock was a month old, we traveled to Wichita to visit my parents and for Brock to meet his Aunt Teea, cousins Brigdon and Tatum, and Great Aunt Mollie and Great Uncle Delmar who were visiting from Oklahoma. He was wonderful and slept all 3 hours there and back without a peep. He turned on the charm for all his admirers and as usual, was such a good baby!
6. Peeing all over Mia and I during my post-op doctor's appointment. I had just told her how he hadn't gotten me when changing his diaper yet and that was all it took. He started spraying us and the entire room not once, but TWICE! We were laughing so hard we could barley get it cleaned up!
7. Snuggle days with mommy - Knowing I would have to be coming back to work, I took at least one day every week of maternity leave to do nothing but lay on the couch and snuggle with my little man. I will miss those days for as long as I live! They are never that little again.
8. His first bath - Nick and I decided to give him his first 'at home' sponge bath. He was crying and so unhappy with the whole process, then proceeded to pee and poop on the bath mat he was laying on. We couldn't help but just crack up!
9. Party Rock by LMFAO - this isn't a 'moment' as much as it is a reminder of being home with him. We watched LOTS of music videos while I was on leave and this one just happened to be popular. I changed the words to 'Party Brock' and sang it to him all the time!
10. The Casey Anthony Trial - this is sadly not a happy memory. The trial started the week I went on leave and the verdict was reached the week before I came back. My mom and I were glued to the coverage and watched it daily!
11. Tornadoes!!!! Our first night home, right as we were settling in to go to bed, the tornado sirens went off! We slept half of the first night in our basement. Luckily, it was a false alarm. Then, just over a week later, on my first day home by myself with the baby, we had another scare. This one was a little more 'real' and there actually were touchdowns very close to our area. I was huddled under the stairs on a blanekt in the basement with a half naked baby (he was mid-feeding when they went off) and very scared chihuahua.
There are so many wonderful memories I have of our time together while I was on maternity leave and things that have happened since I've gone back to work, but these few really stick out to me! I hope we are blessed enough to have a lifetime of memories watching this little man grow up!!
The first 11 weeks
This will be a long blog post, but since I'm a little later getting this started than I planned on, I'll try and get everyone up to speed on Brock's first couple of months!
We were blessed with the most beautiful baby boy on Wednesday, May 18th at 10:14 am. He weighed 8 lbs, 12 oz and was 20.25 inches long. For those of you who didn't follow my pregnancy blog, Brock was born via scheduled c-section due to his estimated large size. Everyone has their opinions on how a woman should give birth, but I totally trusted my doctor and to this day feel we made the right decision for our family.
My recovery was very fast and I was lucky to have minimum pain. Breastfeeding was our first (and biggest) challenge. Brock was such a calm, patient baby from the beginning. He didn't really get frustrated with working for his food, however, he would wear himself out. He would end up falling asleep everytime he nursed. And not just a little snooze, we're talking passed out, nothing could wake him up asleep. Therefore, he was wanting to eat all the time as he wasn't filling up when he did eat.
Eating:
When we left the hospital his weight had dropped (as all newborns do) down to 8lbs 4 oz. He was a little dehydrated and had lost a little more than the nurses like to see, so they had us supplementing with pre-mixed Enfamil formula bottles. We used a tiny tube on the end of our finger to 'simulate' a nipple and try and prevent nipple confusion that can come from using a bottle. When my milk started coming in, I was so engourged at first so he was having a hard time getting anything out. By his first doctor's appointment at almost 1 week old, he was down to 8lbs even. The doctor wasn't overly concerned as that may be his 'bottoming out' point, but she wanted to see him back in another week.
At his 2 week weigh-in, he was only up to 8 lbs 2 oz. Usually they like to see babies back up to their birth weight by 2 weeks, so this caused a slight amount of concern (especially for me as the mommy!). To encourage his weight gain even more, they had us start a pretty rigourous program. I really wanted to give breastfeeding as much of a chance as possible, so we started the following: 3-4 feedings a day= nurse, then pump (to encourage milk supply), 3 feedings a day nurse, then supplement with forumula (to encourage weight gain) and 1-2 feedings a day supplement with strictly formula and pump. I felt completely deflated and overwhelmed. As a mother, there is no worse feeling than that of feeling like you aren't fully satisfying your childs basic needs. The fact that I wasn't making enough milk to feed him (when I felt like all I was doing was nursing) was extremely frustrating. As we got almost a week into this process, we started to find comfort in the feedings where we supplemented or gave him formula only because we could see how much he was eating and knew he was getting enough. Pretty soon, he started gaining more of an appetite, but on the flip side also got a little too used to the bottle.
By his 3rd weight check during week 3 he was back up past his birth weight! He gained 11 oz in one week and was finally on the right track. By this point, we had also decided that nursing just wasn't happening for him. He was still falling asleep so hard he wasn't getting much food in his system. We talked it over with our doctor and decided to go to 100% bottle feeding and do half pumped breastmilk and half formula until I built up a bigger milk supply. This was a huge relief for us because we knew he was getting what he needed. However, I found that the process became extremely time consuming and drastically more so than nursing alone. Every feeding was - feed, pump, clean bottles. This was on a repeat cycle 8-12 times a day! Eventurally, he started eating more at each feeding than I was pumping and we never truly got to the point where I was makng as much as he was eating on a consistent basis. However, I was proud of myself for sticking with it up until the 8 week mark. It was shorter than I had hoped before I had him, but longer than I thought I could make it once I started.
Sleeping
Getting the feeding problems solved was the first step in getting him to sleep more. Once they told us he was at his birth weight, the doctor told us we didn't not have to wake him up every 3-4 hours any longer to feed him at night. This was the point we could not wait to reach! We let him sleep as long as he wanted at night and it was usually at least 3-5 hour stretches. He would eat around 10-10:30, wake up at 2 am and then again at 6 am. From hearing other moms stories, this schedule alone was a dream!
However, I really wanted to try and eliminate the 2 am feeding before I went back to work full time. So at about the 6 week mark I started doing some research on how to do this. I read an article that said feeding them every 3 hours during the day and then feeding them every 2 hours after 5 pm (cluster feeding) would help them associate daytime with eating and nighttime with sleeping. It also was important in getting more calories in him during the day so he wouldn't need as many at night. We started this at 6 weeks and all it took for us was 2 days and that 2 am feeding was gone! We started very strict with the 3 hour schedule, waking him up at the 3 hour mark if he was asleep during the day, etc. Now we are able to be much more flexible and let him lead us more now that he sleeps through the night.
(DISCLAIMER: While this schedule worked really well for us, there are a few things to consider. 1. He was already sleeping in longer stretches at night, 2. He was bottle fed -- the cluster feeding may be harder when nursing, 3. He's a big boy so he can go longer without eating. I think it's so important for moms to share what works best for them, but also be realistic and not assume their tricks will work for everyone. If there's one thing I've learned being a mom it's that you have to do what works best for your family and no family is the same!).
He slept in his bassinet next to our bed until last week (10 weeks old) because Mommy wasn't quite ready to let him go to his big boy bed yet. I was afraid it would be a rough adjustment, but as usual with Brock, it was a total breeze! We are so lucky that he's so easy going and has been a total champ with everything!
Milestones:
So far, Brock has been about a week or more ahead on all of the 'what your baby should be doing this week' charts. He has been lifting his head up since literally the day he was born (obviously with more strength and control now). He is so alert and as long as he's not wet, is such a chill, happy baby! We are unbelievably blessed with such an amazing little man! He LOVES to smile and laugh! He has some little animals that hang on the mirror in the car that he looks at in his carseat and he thinks they are hilarious!! He is a morning baby for sure and loves to laugh and smile on the changing table. He is starting to 'talk'/coo a lot! He is especially talkative after his nightly bath! He smiles at almost every one. His new favorite activity is to sit in his Bumbo chair and look at and try to reach for his toys! He has started reaching his hands up to be picked up, standing on his legs (with support) and grasping things with his hands.
Challenges:
Diaper changing - He hated getting his diaper changed, probably because it was cold. Well, our wonderful baby photographer, Mrs. Rebecca Peters showed us this genius trick she uses when photographing newborns. She turned on my hair dryer when he was a little fussy during his first photo shoot and it worked like a charm. The combination of the heat and the noise helped him fall right to sleep and totally calmed him down. So, one morning when I was changed his diaper and he was wailing away, I propped the hair dryer in the corner of his changing table - and it instantly quited him down. NOTE - the hair dryer was on the low/warm setting. Now, it may not be the 'safest' thing (don't worry - it was no where near touching him and it was in a surge protector AND it was a new hair dryer) but as all us moms know - sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. This also worked great for cutting his nails! I'd set him on the changing table, turn on the hair dryer and go to town.
Leaking - As a newborn, he'd go through sometimes 3 or 4 outfits a NIGHT from leaking. He hated to be wet so he would let you know if he was unhappy! Once he was big enough for size 1 diapers - we switched over to Pampers Baby Dry diapers for nighttime. They aren't as soft as the Pampers Swaddlers he was (and still is) wearing during the day, but they are a lot more heavy duty and he rarely leaks out of these or even wakes up for a wet diaper.
Gas problems - Brock didn't suffer too badly with gas, however, we did buy the infant gas drops (at the suggestion of our doctor) and gave them to him on days where we could tell he was having stomach issues. They seem to help almost immediately.
Car seat - he used to HATE to get into his carseat. He would cry everytime we even set him in there. Well, when I was breastfeeding I gave him Vitamin D drops (as encouraged by our doctor) every day. They smell sweet so I think they may taste a little sweet as well. If there was a day I knew I'd be going somewhere and having to put him in the car, I'd wait until he was in his carseat to give him the drops almost like a little treat. It always calmed him down and before long, he stopped crying. Now, I don't think that was TOTALLY because of the drops - I think he just started getting used to it, but I know they helped him stop crying so I could get him strapped in. Formula fed babies get their recommended daily vitamin D from the formula, but our doctor said extra drops couldn't hurt.
Hopefully the little tricks I used can help other mommies! If nothing else, hopefully I can look back on this if we are blessed with more babies and can remind myself what worked!!
We were blessed with the most beautiful baby boy on Wednesday, May 18th at 10:14 am. He weighed 8 lbs, 12 oz and was 20.25 inches long. For those of you who didn't follow my pregnancy blog, Brock was born via scheduled c-section due to his estimated large size. Everyone has their opinions on how a woman should give birth, but I totally trusted my doctor and to this day feel we made the right decision for our family.
My recovery was very fast and I was lucky to have minimum pain. Breastfeeding was our first (and biggest) challenge. Brock was such a calm, patient baby from the beginning. He didn't really get frustrated with working for his food, however, he would wear himself out. He would end up falling asleep everytime he nursed. And not just a little snooze, we're talking passed out, nothing could wake him up asleep. Therefore, he was wanting to eat all the time as he wasn't filling up when he did eat.
Eating:
When we left the hospital his weight had dropped (as all newborns do) down to 8lbs 4 oz. He was a little dehydrated and had lost a little more than the nurses like to see, so they had us supplementing with pre-mixed Enfamil formula bottles. We used a tiny tube on the end of our finger to 'simulate' a nipple and try and prevent nipple confusion that can come from using a bottle. When my milk started coming in, I was so engourged at first so he was having a hard time getting anything out. By his first doctor's appointment at almost 1 week old, he was down to 8lbs even. The doctor wasn't overly concerned as that may be his 'bottoming out' point, but she wanted to see him back in another week.
At his 2 week weigh-in, he was only up to 8 lbs 2 oz. Usually they like to see babies back up to their birth weight by 2 weeks, so this caused a slight amount of concern (especially for me as the mommy!). To encourage his weight gain even more, they had us start a pretty rigourous program. I really wanted to give breastfeeding as much of a chance as possible, so we started the following: 3-4 feedings a day= nurse, then pump (to encourage milk supply), 3 feedings a day nurse, then supplement with forumula (to encourage weight gain) and 1-2 feedings a day supplement with strictly formula and pump. I felt completely deflated and overwhelmed. As a mother, there is no worse feeling than that of feeling like you aren't fully satisfying your childs basic needs. The fact that I wasn't making enough milk to feed him (when I felt like all I was doing was nursing) was extremely frustrating. As we got almost a week into this process, we started to find comfort in the feedings where we supplemented or gave him formula only because we could see how much he was eating and knew he was getting enough. Pretty soon, he started gaining more of an appetite, but on the flip side also got a little too used to the bottle.
By his 3rd weight check during week 3 he was back up past his birth weight! He gained 11 oz in one week and was finally on the right track. By this point, we had also decided that nursing just wasn't happening for him. He was still falling asleep so hard he wasn't getting much food in his system. We talked it over with our doctor and decided to go to 100% bottle feeding and do half pumped breastmilk and half formula until I built up a bigger milk supply. This was a huge relief for us because we knew he was getting what he needed. However, I found that the process became extremely time consuming and drastically more so than nursing alone. Every feeding was - feed, pump, clean bottles. This was on a repeat cycle 8-12 times a day! Eventurally, he started eating more at each feeding than I was pumping and we never truly got to the point where I was makng as much as he was eating on a consistent basis. However, I was proud of myself for sticking with it up until the 8 week mark. It was shorter than I had hoped before I had him, but longer than I thought I could make it once I started.
Sleeping
Getting the feeding problems solved was the first step in getting him to sleep more. Once they told us he was at his birth weight, the doctor told us we didn't not have to wake him up every 3-4 hours any longer to feed him at night. This was the point we could not wait to reach! We let him sleep as long as he wanted at night and it was usually at least 3-5 hour stretches. He would eat around 10-10:30, wake up at 2 am and then again at 6 am. From hearing other moms stories, this schedule alone was a dream!
However, I really wanted to try and eliminate the 2 am feeding before I went back to work full time. So at about the 6 week mark I started doing some research on how to do this. I read an article that said feeding them every 3 hours during the day and then feeding them every 2 hours after 5 pm (cluster feeding) would help them associate daytime with eating and nighttime with sleeping. It also was important in getting more calories in him during the day so he wouldn't need as many at night. We started this at 6 weeks and all it took for us was 2 days and that 2 am feeding was gone! We started very strict with the 3 hour schedule, waking him up at the 3 hour mark if he was asleep during the day, etc. Now we are able to be much more flexible and let him lead us more now that he sleeps through the night.
(DISCLAIMER: While this schedule worked really well for us, there are a few things to consider. 1. He was already sleeping in longer stretches at night, 2. He was bottle fed -- the cluster feeding may be harder when nursing, 3. He's a big boy so he can go longer without eating. I think it's so important for moms to share what works best for them, but also be realistic and not assume their tricks will work for everyone. If there's one thing I've learned being a mom it's that you have to do what works best for your family and no family is the same!).
He slept in his bassinet next to our bed until last week (10 weeks old) because Mommy wasn't quite ready to let him go to his big boy bed yet. I was afraid it would be a rough adjustment, but as usual with Brock, it was a total breeze! We are so lucky that he's so easy going and has been a total champ with everything!
Milestones:
So far, Brock has been about a week or more ahead on all of the 'what your baby should be doing this week' charts. He has been lifting his head up since literally the day he was born (obviously with more strength and control now). He is so alert and as long as he's not wet, is such a chill, happy baby! We are unbelievably blessed with such an amazing little man! He LOVES to smile and laugh! He has some little animals that hang on the mirror in the car that he looks at in his carseat and he thinks they are hilarious!! He is a morning baby for sure and loves to laugh and smile on the changing table. He is starting to 'talk'/coo a lot! He is especially talkative after his nightly bath! He smiles at almost every one. His new favorite activity is to sit in his Bumbo chair and look at and try to reach for his toys! He has started reaching his hands up to be picked up, standing on his legs (with support) and grasping things with his hands.
Challenges:
Diaper changing - He hated getting his diaper changed, probably because it was cold. Well, our wonderful baby photographer, Mrs. Rebecca Peters showed us this genius trick she uses when photographing newborns. She turned on my hair dryer when he was a little fussy during his first photo shoot and it worked like a charm. The combination of the heat and the noise helped him fall right to sleep and totally calmed him down. So, one morning when I was changed his diaper and he was wailing away, I propped the hair dryer in the corner of his changing table - and it instantly quited him down. NOTE - the hair dryer was on the low/warm setting. Now, it may not be the 'safest' thing (don't worry - it was no where near touching him and it was in a surge protector AND it was a new hair dryer) but as all us moms know - sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do. This also worked great for cutting his nails! I'd set him on the changing table, turn on the hair dryer and go to town.
Leaking - As a newborn, he'd go through sometimes 3 or 4 outfits a NIGHT from leaking. He hated to be wet so he would let you know if he was unhappy! Once he was big enough for size 1 diapers - we switched over to Pampers Baby Dry diapers for nighttime. They aren't as soft as the Pampers Swaddlers he was (and still is) wearing during the day, but they are a lot more heavy duty and he rarely leaks out of these or even wakes up for a wet diaper.
Gas problems - Brock didn't suffer too badly with gas, however, we did buy the infant gas drops (at the suggestion of our doctor) and gave them to him on days where we could tell he was having stomach issues. They seem to help almost immediately.
Car seat - he used to HATE to get into his carseat. He would cry everytime we even set him in there. Well, when I was breastfeeding I gave him Vitamin D drops (as encouraged by our doctor) every day. They smell sweet so I think they may taste a little sweet as well. If there was a day I knew I'd be going somewhere and having to put him in the car, I'd wait until he was in his carseat to give him the drops almost like a little treat. It always calmed him down and before long, he stopped crying. Now, I don't think that was TOTALLY because of the drops - I think he just started getting used to it, but I know they helped him stop crying so I could get him strapped in. Formula fed babies get their recommended daily vitamin D from the formula, but our doctor said extra drops couldn't hurt.
Hopefully the little tricks I used can help other mommies! If nothing else, hopefully I can look back on this if we are blessed with more babies and can remind myself what worked!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)