Four Months!

Lucas turned four months old over the weekend. For the first time I really, truly believe it, and am excited about the growth that has happened instead of sad that he is not my soft little squish anymore. I cannot imagine my life without this little guy in it, smiling at me every single day.

There have been SO MANY CHANGES this past month. I really feel that in these past few weeks, he has gone from a little tiny baby to a little tiny human. His personality is bigger than ever and his progress continues to amaze me. His laugh is getting bigger and louder, and he will often spend quite a bit of time doing nothing but laughing and talking to himself. In fact, I had the pleasure of listening to him squeal and giggle at nothing for 30 minutes this morning. It would have been even more adorable if it hadn't been 3:30 A.M. but it was cute nonetheless.

We still struggle with tummy time -- it continues to be one of his least favorite things to do. But where he lacks in that, he is excelling in so many other things. He is so strong and can often push himself up from sitting with some support from mommy & daddy. He isn't quite rolling over yet, but I blame that from the kick-stand that is his arm. If he would ever take his hands out of his mouth, he may be able to get over just a tad farther. But we are working on it, and it will happen in due time!

Lucas is so curious all the time. Within the last week even, he has started to reach for objects. He is fascinated by what his hands can do and will explore whatever he can get his little fingers on, whether that's any of his soft plush animals or mamma's lips. Of course, as soon as he gets his hands on it, it's straight to his mouth. He tries so hard and you can see the determination in his face when he tries to master something new. I think he takes after mom on that one!

We also took a huge leap and moved from the bassinet to the crib this past month. This one was not quite my doing as much as it was pressure [but not really] from M. I don't know why I felt the need to keep him in the bedroom with us for longer, other than for completely selfish reasons. His nursery is right next to our bedroom so even having him in the crib doesn't mean a much farther walk. But it meant he was getting bigger, and you better believe that as soon as I put him to bed that first night, I may or may not have burst into tears. He, of course, slept most of the night with zero problems.

Since then, we have started the unswaddling process, and are currently dealing with one arm out. The first couple of nights went off without a hitch, but the past two have been a little more difficult. I am hoping that this is a quick phase and we can get him unswaddled before he starts rolling over. Again, swaddling him this long was mostly selfish [it REALLY helps him sleep longer stretches at night] but he also enjoys it. The big goofy grin that shows up when I start rolling him like a burrito does not lie!

We did also venture into rice cereal this past week. Little guy is eating a ton, but whether we give him four ounces or six ounces, he still wants to eat every two hours. Which gets old, really fast. We have tried spoon feeding him a very runny version of rice cereal, but the two times we have done that, he wasn't quite that interested. I'm not in any rush to start spoon feeding him, since he JUST turned four months old, so we will likely wait a long while before we try that again. Besides, all he wanted to do, of course, was put the bib in his mouth.

However, on the advice of our pediatrician, we are doing a formula/rice cereal mixture in his bottles. Hopefully we can find a mixture that works well for him and helps spread out his feedings to three or four hours apart. I definitely know my amazing nanny/sitter would appreciate it!!

This weekend we ventured off to Florida for a much needed looooooong weekend away & a mini-family vacation. But that's a blog post all on it's own & I am working on writing that one up!

I am continually amazed by what a beautiful, wonderful blessing we have with Lucas. He is the perfect baby and every day I am in awe of how much he changes. I love this kid a little more every day, and every day I shock myself with how much love there is for him. Life is a surprising, exhausting and exciting roller coaster.

But life is so good because of it.

We love our jumper!

I have posted some of these on facebook already, but not everybody can see those. Enjoy the cuteness!

Three Months!

Three months. Holy cow, my baby is three months.

I am really not quite sure where all of this time is going. It still feels like yesterday that this little guy came into the world with a bang. And now here we are -- Thirteen weeks later and no longer a newborn.

This guy is straight up a little man. It's amazing to me the changes that have occurred in the past month. He continues to grow every single day, and makes strides in his progress. I swear this kid is days away from walking. Ok, not really, but I would not be surprised if we had an early walker. All he wants to do is either sit up or stand. Our [and by that I mean his] favorite game is to sit down. stand up. sit down. stand up. Repeat over and over again. His legs are unbelievably strong. It is only a matter of time before this guy starts moving on his own. He has started rocking from side to side just a bit when he is on his back, and he kicks his legs like crazy when he is on his tummy.

His personality also continues to shine! We had our first real giggle on Father's Day, and I do everything I can to make him do it again on a daily basis. Hearing that sweet little laugh [because it is still little!] melts my heart! We are working on grabbing and holding, and he is every so slightly getting the hang of it. His favorite toy is the sweet giraffe rattle that he has in the above picture. It's just small enough that he can get his hand and arm around it. Of course, his favorite thing to stick in his mouth is his hand. He cannot get enough of those things.

Little man is still sleeping in our room with us, in his bassinet. This one is completely on me. With me going back to work three weeks ago, I am not ready to have him in his crib yet. I get so few hours with him a day that I find comfort knowing that he's in the room with us, even if I'm not holding him or spending time with him. I don't know when I'll be ready to give that up, but I do know that M is pushing for it sooner rather than later. We have a one story home, and his nursery is right next to ours, so there is no reason for him NOT to be in his crib yet. It's totally personal preference and comfort on my part. I'll get there when I get there, but I'm not pushing it yet. Although, it will have to happen soon. I find him squished up at the bottom more often than not, which is impressive considering we are still swaddling pretty tightly.

Another big milestone this past month was starting cloth diapering! We eased into it as we found brands that we liked, but we are full time now, and I am LOVING IT. I am so happy that we decided to go this route, and I am already working on a post on the ins and outs of cloth diapering from a newbies perspective. But I LOVE our pocket diapers and Lucas seems to have no problem with them, either. Plus, they are just so dang cute. I can't wait to share my experiences on what we have learned and our processes with them.

Also, my photos have been shit lately. I don't know what it is, but I'm vowing to take BETTER photos of my kid. It may be the fact that I am horrible about even picking up my camera, when I have my nice little iphone to do the trick. I literally have a thousand photos on my iphone of him. I MUST stop that habit! Because I know I will regret not having more photos of him down the road. And these photos, as cute as they are, just won't cut it :)

I am looking forward to the next month and all the new milestones that we reach! He is growing up so quick before my eyes. I can barely stand it!

Two Months: So Big!

I have been horrible about blogging lately. I swear, things will change. I promise! This two month update is a little late (by like, two and a half weeks) but I needed to get something down. My goal is to put all of this into a book at SOME POINT. Yeah, we will see if that ever happens!

I officially went back to work this week, which means the couple of weeks leading up to it were spent getting in as many snuggles as I possibly could. This week has been rough on many levels, but I know that my little guy is in amazing hands with our sitter/my friend and is being well-loved. So much, in fact, that he has gone to sleep almost an hour earlier than normal each night from just being plain worn out.

With his two month checkup, he weighed in at a whopping 13 lbs! THIRTEEN. There is no doubt about it, my boy loves to eat. He was so skinny when he was born, even though he was 8lbs, because he was so dang long (21.5 inches). He definitely needed some fat, so I'm glad that he has plumped up. Chunky babies are adorable. And he is so healthy, which is always a plus.

We have also very much established a routine at this point! He has become even more consistent with his sleeping habits, which has been wonderful. We have started working on our sleep training skills [which, this book right here, is amazing. LOVE IT and cannot wait to dive more into it!]. He has been pretty good about going to sleep around 9:00 every night [earlier this week because of all the excitement during the day!] and we are working on putting him down while he is still slightly awake, allowing him to fall asleep on his own. I know that schedules are not for everyone, but for us they are so important, especially with both M & I working full time. He is also, for the most part, continuing to sleep through the night, or close to. We are only doing one feeding over the course of the night [usually around 4am], which makes for a very happy mama. And his naps during the day are becoming more and more consistent.

Physically, this kid is a power house! Aside from his obvious weight gain, he is growing so much. He is standing with help and wants to sit up all the time. We had to break down and buy a bumbo chair [which we love, by the way!] because he just wants to be up and see the world. If we lay him down on the boppy pillow, he strains to try and sit himself up on his own. We let him do that for a while to help him build up his tummy muscles until he gets vocally frustrated, and then we put him in the bumbo where is a seriously happy camper. This kid is advanced, and I have no doubt in my mind that we will have an early walker.

All in all, this kid continues to be amazing & a wonderful part of our lives. I have so much love for this kiddo. Being at work kills me, although I know that I am able to provide so much more for his life this way. I also really do enjoy my job [another post for another day] and while being away from him all day is hard, it makes the time I do have with him in the evenings that much sweeter.

On my end, things continue to go well. I have lost 40 pounds since giving birth [the 18 lbs gained during pregnancy and an additional 22 on top of that!] and am continuing to work out when possible. So new moms out there, it CAN be done! I have found that making time for yourself is just as important as taking care of your little one. Now that I am working full time, it will be a little more difficult, but I am determined to lose the additional weight that I need to lose by the end of this year.

All in all, life is pretty good. I'm looking forward to this new chapter as I figure out the work situation & routine. And I am completely lovin' my little guy!! (Last picture courtesy of Kayla J Photography!)

Pictures!

I have a couple of update posts to write (including his two month post, even though we are a couple of weeks past that ... whoops) but I'm transitioning back into work, so the past couple of weeks have been crazy. I wanted to get as much snuggle time with the little man as I could before coming back, and this week we have been working on a new routine & trying to figure out what works best in the mornings.

BUT, while we were in Seattle, we did get some photos done by the always great Kayla. Here are a few of my favorites!

Six Weeks: So Vocal!

This past Thursday, Lucas hit the six week mark. Every week I am in awe at how fast the time goes and how much he changes. And how BIG he is getting. We are officially out of newborn clothes (aside from a couple of cute things that I still squeeze him into because I can't bare to put them away yet!) and growing every day.

Six Week
He has also become so much more vocal than last week. Last week we started to see the cute little coo's in more volume, but this week he has been a little chatterbox. We've heard a couple of beginnings to laughter, but nothing that I would consider his first laugh yet. He also hates tummy time. We don't last more than a couple of minutes before he starts an all out fit. Needless to say, I think we're a little behind in that aspect. But his head control is amazing, and has been since early on. He'll make up for it.

Lucas also looks more and more like a little boy every single day. Not that there was any doubt that he was definitely a boy (you know what I mean!) but his growth is changing everything. And sometimes I look at him and just think, wow, where did my newborn baby go? I know I'm a little biased, but I happen to think I have a pretty darn cute baby, and every day he surprises me with a new look or a new action. He's growing way too fast. 

The dogs, I think, have finally accepted that Lucas is here to stay. Lucas is definitely much more curious of them than they are of him, for the most part. They are cautious of him on some days, and protective on others. And, every once in a while, they sneak in the occasional lick when we can't shoo them away quick enough. But they are all such loving dogs and a huge part of our little family. Neither of us can wait for the day when Lucas is up and running around, old enough to really play with them. In a weird way, it is something that we are really looking forward to. Our dogs were (and still are) like our children for the longest time. We're happy to be bringing both those worlds together.

Tomorrow, Lucas & I head to Seattle for a week to visit family & friends, so that everyone can meet the little guy and see what an adorable kid we have. I'm nervous about the trip because we are doing it solo, and I have a lot of logistics to work out. M isn't able to get the time off work, hence just the two of us going out there, but I'm hoping that it will be smooth flying for us. I'm not so much worried about Lucas on the flights, because he is a pretty easy kid and as long as I keep him fed he will be happy. I'm going with a "whatever happens happens" attitude, and hoping that people will be sympathetic to me being solo. Although Lucas is a generally mild mannered kid, and I don't think we will have any major issues. At least, my fingers are crossed. But wish me luck. We will definitely need it! I am looking forward to the family time, as this will probably be our last vacation before Christmas.

Have a great weekend!

Five Weeks: All Smiles

What a change this past week has been with the nugget! Holy cow! For the past two weeks, Lucas and I were solo as Daddy was out in the field for some Army training. With no help, we were left to figure thing out on our own, and I will admit, it was kind of nice. It also means that this little man is turning into a serious Mama's Boy, much to M's dismay!

But this week has been all about the smiles! Lucas has finally figured out how to smile on his own, with out the help of his little farts to do the work, and it has become so easy to get that big, cheesy grin from him! In fact, aside from the morning snuggles, getting this guy to smile has become my favorite thing to do. Seeing that big grin first thing in the morning, when he sees me to come pick him up, makes my heart melt a million different ways.

But now that M is back home this week, I've been doing my best to let him handle more situations. Since we've been on our own the past two weeks, we've gotten a pretty good routine down. I know his cries, and his timeline, and essentially, what he needs at any given point during the day. M does not, not that it's his fault. I spent 24/7 with the kid so it only makes sense that Mama Knows Best! But Dad needs to figure it out, too, no matter how hard it is to hear him cry when I know exactly how to rock him/sooth him/hold him to make him feel better. It's a learning process for him, and I need to not let my anxiety get the best of me in those situations. As much as I say that I could use some alone time during the day, when it comes down to it, I love this little guy so much ... I really don't want to let him out of my arms!

He is also growing SO MUCH. He is no longer my tiny little baby we brought home from the hospital. I had to accept the fact that we were moving to a bigger diaper this week, and some of his pajamas's and little pants are getting a tad snug. He's still in newborn size onesies, but we've had to break out the 0-3 month clothes for some other things. It makes me sad that he is already growing so fast. I want him to stay little forever! But Lucas eats like a horse! We cannot put enough food into his belly, which doesn't help my supply issues as he is gradually getting more formula than boob juice, but we are lucky he is such a good eater.

His schedule has also become a little more predictable. His days are still a little varied, and one day can be completely different than the next, but he seems to be falling asleep around 8:00 every night. Aside from a couple quick wakeups for some food (once around 10:30 and again around 2:30) he sleeps very soundly through the night, and we are both up and starting our day around 7:00 am. Because he is such a sound sleeper and is typically very quiet, I'm sleeping pretty hard in those four hour stretches (or so). So with that, I am feeling pretty good these days. Although not as good as I'm sure I will feel when he first sleeps through the night. Of course, it's not all roses and rainbows, but most of the time, it is. I really have no complaints about this kid.

Aside from almost daily walks, there still isn't a lot of physical activity on my part, but I am looking forward to changing that this week. I am going to start working out on a daily basis, thanks to some long walks planned and some home workouts that won't take up too much time. I'm still taking it easy, but I am itching to get into shape and lose some more weight. I'm lucky that I didn't gain much during my pregnancy, and am weighing less than I did when I got pregnant, but I'm still feeling blah. At five weeks post partum, I'm looking forward to being a little more active. I'm stir crazy at the house and feeling antsy, so hopefully this will ease some of that for me and make me feel a little better.

All in all, things are pretty good these days. My maternity leave is half over, and while I am looking forward to going back to work in June, I can't imagine leaving this guy. I'm preparing for it, but getting in all the snuggles I can. We have a trip to Seattle in the very near future to visit family & friends, so I am looking forward to that as well. I can't wait to see how this kid changes in the coming weeks!