So maybe he doesn't like peas after all.

Yesterday morning, we tried peas. Not only did A turn his head away from them, but he also ended up throwing up--actual gagging and all. Today, M tried again while I was at the grocery store and said that A wasn't interested at all. I'm not really sure what that means or how we proceed from here, but it is what it is. I guess we'll try one more time and then move on to green beans!

Cousins

A met his cousins today... my cousin, his wife, and their three kids. My grandmother kept saying that he was going to start yelling and that he always yells when he's with her or my mother (not true on the second one...my mom is just more patient!)

So anyway, not only was he good with my cousin and his wife, but he was also fantastic with the kids. He was fascinated by the oldest girl, who got a big kick out of holding him, and he did well with the second girl too. He was also interested in their youngest's Hess truck (A got one too for XMas--guess we're pulling that out sooner than expected!)

Poor kid won't have any cousins of his own, though. His Mommy is an only and his one aunt claims to never want kids. Ah well--I guess he'll just have to take on the children of his "aunts" and "uncles" as cousins!

And while I'm uploading..

Here are some recent pictures!

It's girly, but it's fun (Future prom date's tummy time mat)!

For your viewing pleasure

Alex's first attempt at rice cereal (he loves the little red light on the video camera!):




Alex's silly mommy can make him giggle!

PEAS!

A had peas for the first time today. I'm all jumbled about whether or not he was SUPPOSED to have peas, but he really seemed to like them. He ate about half the container and was so cute with his little mouth open wide.

I took lots of pictures, but haven't yet uploaded.

In fact, I think I'll go upload the video of rice cereal now.

**SIGH*** Grandmothers.

It has gone from "Are you SURE you're supposed to feed him every two hours? They must have changed it since I nursed your uncle." (COUGH COUGH, 65 years ago...) to "He is clearly spoiled; that's why he won't go to anyone else." Sprinkle in a little bit of "You better wean him before he's a year old because you don't want to be nursing him when you are going back to work," and one begins to wonder if she is thought to be a complete idiot.

Mom, you will love this one. Today, she said, (AND I put it on speaker for M to hear so he will vouch for it,) "I'm not going to tell you what to do."


Self, SHE MEANS WELL, SHE MEANS WELL, SHE MEANS WELL, SHE MEANS WELL.

At least she cracks me up every time she calls his paci a coochie.

First night away from Baby.

So M and I went to Atlantic City to see my BFF and her hubby. We left the boy with his best bud for the night. We were worried--he has been so fussy for such a long time and he was not so great with "strangers" on Christmas Eve that we just didn't know what he would do. Apparently, he missed us for about an hour then was happy to be with Best Bud. Best Bud got some cool new toys for Christmas; far better than Baby Feisty's Dr. Seuss figurines!! HA!

So, we get the boy back home and he is a dream child. He started smiling at us again and we even got a giggle. We need to send him to Best Bud's mommy more often!

He sleeps like his momma.

Rice cereal

Baby Feisty continues to do well with rice cereal. I'm not sure when we move on to the next food, but we're going to continue with this for awhile.

Here's his first try at it:

Christmas...

Well, actually, Christmas Eve, but you get the idea.

He did really well. He did his "I can't take this, there are just too darn many people here" thing for awhile, but overall, he did well.

It is clear that his grandparents plan to spoil him rotten.

Some pictures from Christmas Eve at our house (check out the new wall color!)

Reaching.

Wow. This kid is really starting to get a handle on using his hands. At bathtime today, I leaned him forward to wash his back. He grabbed onto the other side of the tub and was holding himself up that way. Unfortunately, the camera was nowhere to be found because it was very cute!

AHHHH, sleep.

The whole night! He slept the whole night! WAHOO! He fussed a little at bedtime, which is unusual, but I haven't fed him since 8:30. Boy am I paying the price for that little bit right now! He started to cry around 5, and M said the monitor wasn't loud enough so he turned it up, but Baby Feisty went right back to sleep. I'm not concerned because our room is close enough that if he really needed us, he would have woken us up.

Of course, now I don't know what to expect from our morning.

I do doubt this has to do with the rice cereal. Everything I've read says that starting solids doesn't help babies sleep better, plus we gave him the cereal at 10am...almost 12 hours before he went to sleep.

So, a little creeped out that he slept so long, around 6, I went in to make sure he was still alive. His head was in the corner of the crib, he was on his tummy, head turned to the right, thumb in mouth. Soo cute... I have to figure out how to get a picture without waking him!

Rice cereal

Yesterday, we tried rice cereal for the first time. Baby Feisty really seemed to like it--he was reaching for the spoon and leaning forward. I'm not quite sure if I'm doing this right, but I guess I'll have to figure it out... the instructions my doctor gave me weren't fantastic.

I took some video and lots of pictures, but don't know when I'll have the time to upload them.

Amazed.

Once again, the kid surprises me. I had him in his Bumbo chair and we were playing with his Ellie---Ellie Phante. I let him have Ellie, and, huge surprise, he dropped Ellie. I saw him reaching for Ellie, so I said, "Go ahead and get Ellie yourself." Next thing I knew, Ellie was back in his hands.

We did a follow up for the first study in which we participated. It went really well--the woman doing the study said that he was the first baby who was actually participating and the rest of the babies have a high standard to meet.

It was very similar to the SECOND study in that he had a string attached to him and controlled something with his movements. This time, there was a screen with a baby--when he moved his arm, he saw the baby and heard music... I said "Starting him early on tv!" He really seemed to get a kick out of it--the study lady said he was smiling through most of it.

Hey, I know you!

When he sees M or I for the first time in awhile, A will reach out and touch our faces. It's like his way of saying hello.

Well, upon seeing best bud and future prom date yesterday, he did the same thing to each of them. I wish we had a camera handy; it was so darn cute!

Tired.

Looking at the baptism pictures, with eye cream galore on, and I look tired. Under my eyes is very puffy. I've always had puffiness and dark circles there--it goes along with my Italian heritage, I suppose, but wow it looks a lot worse these days.

I don't especially FEEL tired, and my days surely aren't as draining as they were when I was working. I'm loving my life, and I have little day to day stress (of course, there's the "How are we going to live on only one income" stress but that's just not the same).

I have a really hard time getting up in the morning too. Even though A is down to 2 night wakings, the 7am alarm now invariably gets hit as snooze instead of off. Luckily, he is sleeping until at least 9 these days, which allows me to get things done before he gets up. Of course, it also means that I'm not getting to that 9am class at the gym anymore.

Maybe that's why I'm so tired--I'm not exercising!!

A year end retrospective.

Our whirlwind year is finally over. We've said that July 2006-July 2007 was both the happiest and saddest 12 months of our lives, and now it's completely over. So as 2007 comes to a close, the happy things:

• February--closed on our new home!
• April--moved into our new home!
• June--kissed our apartment goodbye!
• July--A made us wait. and wait. and wait some more and then finally graced us with his presence!
• August--A started to smile
• September--A met so many people who love him at our "come meet Alex" party!
  
• October--A started to giggle, A's first Halloween
  
• November--A's first Thanksgiving
• December--A's first Christmas, A was baptized

All through the year, we've been surrounded by love and support and many many helping hands.

We've been "elfed"

A funny silly internet thing. A, his mommy, and his grandparents got "elfed"!!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1509019095

He was also "elfed" with his mommy and daddy!

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1509333124

Catch up

I haven't yet uploaded the pictures from my camera of yesterday's events, but A's grandfather sent me some of the pictures he took. My Godson came to sit up front with us and wanted to know where was his candle. Goodness do I look tired; guess it's time to spend some big bucks on eye cream cause the cheap stuff ain't workin.



We saw A's doctor today for his 4 month appointment... he has lost weight in two weeks. I suspect it was because he hadn't eaten in some time combined with using a different scale today. He's also gained 1/2 an inch.... again, I suspect she didn't measure him really well. So, he's 14lbs 6 oz and 26-1/2" tall.

The world's newest Catholic

What a day today was. We woke to a very white yard... uh oh, this might mean trouble. A's great aunt was the first to call--What's it like there? Well, we didn't get a lot, but it's all icey slushy junk. She didn't want to make the trip; with a 2 hour drive in good weather, it's definitely for the best. Then one of his friends couldn't make it either.

OK, well, the important people were definitely coming--all of A's grandparents would be there no matter what and so would his parents and Godparents. Of course we wanted EVERYONE there, but definitely those people needed to be there. But wait... A's Godfather lives in the Poconos... what were they getting?

Apparently, something like 5 inches of snow. They made the trek, with three kids in two, no less. We were nervous he might not make the ceremony, but got there about a 1/4 of the way through.

The baptism went really well. A did great through it all--he was so happy and "talking" to my dad behind us. For whatever reason, our family was in the first family row, so they didn't have anyone but the Godparents blocking. It was fantastic. We thought the ceremony was very nice, and the best part was that our whole family was able to crowd around the baptismal font to see! My Godson must have gotten bored and came up to sit with us during the ceremony. It was very cute.

A looked great in his little sweater vest and cords. A woman in the store told me that cords were no way dressy enough for a baptism, but I think it was just great (even with the cargo pockets in the cords!

Our restaurant choice was PERFECT...so much food and everyone really enjoyed eating family style. It was great to see everyone and spend time with them too!

In all, a wonderful day.

Every day

Every day, I...

• Give A at least 100 kisses
• Make A giggle
• Get a smile that melts my heart
• Say I love you at least 20 times
• Am amazed at what my little 4 month old can do!
• Am amazed at what I can do with my little 4 month old
• Am perplexed when my little 4 month old acts unusual

Merry Christmukkah!!

The little one loved the Hanukkah lights. He was just staring at them. He looked so cute when we took the pictures!

Yesterday, A's best bud and his mom came over to help us paint. We put the boys in A's crib for a nap at the same time, as we often do, and here is the result:

That's right... I went in to check on why A was screaming, and he was getting kicked in the face! Poor guy!

Later, we found them asleep like this:

Light a candle for Jack

Click here to "light" a candle for Jack.

A whirlwind weekend.

On Friday, A went to see his Grandpa. It was A's first time "lighting" the Hanukkah candles, and M said he was just fascinated. We have been far too busy here to do them, but I got out the menorah so we could take a picture of A for his "First Hanukkah."

Saturday, we ran errands and banged out a bunch of Christmas shopping. Then we had a Christmas party that night. A screamed basically the whole time we were there. We even had to leave early because it was just too much for him. He probably could have handled it if it wasn't such a long day or if it wasn't so close to his bedtime. He slept the whole ride home and barely moved when I took him out of his carseat and into the crib... and I even changed him! At least he got to see Grampy and Grammi, though!

Sunday, more errands, and more screaming too.

The problem seems to be that he is having a tough time napping in his crib. Right now, he is napping in his crib and went to sleep with almost no crying or problems at all, but otherwise, we've been having a very tough time. This, of course, leads to a very unhappy baby.

Funny things this weekend--When I went to get A up for the day, both on Saturday and on Sunday, I went in to find him on his tummy. I definitely didn't PUT him on his tummy, but there he was. I watched him do it at another time--he was getting himself onto his side and then using his feet against the crib rails (I haven't yet washed the peed on bumper) to turn on his belly.

Jack.

Jack seems to have taken a turn for the worse. Megan said that he might not ever be taken off his vent, which means they will essentially let him die...this depends on tests they will do this week. Aside from that, there is something muscularly wrong with him.

SNOW

We got some serious snow yesterday (more than a dusting), and it's stuck around. I took A out with me yesterday to get the mail. We put on his new jacket (6-12 months size--too big!), and hat and mittens set (also 6-12 months size--the hat is too big!) and took a picture of him in the snow.

This is the best one of both of us, and you can see the snow whizzing by our faces:

As I think I said in a post yesterday, it was a big scream fest yesterday. He wasn't happy being bundled up, but once we were outside, he didn't yell or scream at all. Dunno if the house was too warm or if he just really loves to be outside, but if today's screamfest continues (and it's only 9:30), we'll do it again.

Deliberate.

For a long time, I've been saying that A is playing with this or doing that, and M tells me that it's not on purpose.

Today, he is definitely doing things on purpose. I held him in his crib and he was at eye level with the monkey on his mobile. He reached out and batted at it. He turned away, and I said "Do it again," and swung the monkey. He batted at it again and then grabbed on to its leg.

Unpredictable schedule

First, A was very predictable. He woke at the same times at night as well as for the day. Lately, he's been waking for the day around 7. Today, M came in to say goodbye around 5:30, and asked "How many times did he wake up last night?" I said, "Oh my God, none!" I freaked out a little bit and asked M to go check on him. He returned and said, "He's still breathing, and somehow, his legs are sticking straight up." A woke a little later, ate a little bit, woke an hour after that, ate a little more, and then woke for the day around 8.

All this after he was waking around midnight, 3:30, 5:30, 7 for the past week.

Silly me.

I hoped for a good day today.

15 minute naps and screaming the rest of the day means not so much

Feeling a little bit better

At least, A is sounding better. He seemed to be doing better yesterday... he took several naps curled up with Mommy on the couch (and Mommy took a nice one too) and his congestion seems to be easing.

Last night, however, was a little rough. M and I are sleeping on our bed (which is basically an upscale air mattress), on the floor in the spare bedroom. We expected our new bedroom furniture to be delivered today (long, stupid story on that one) and so had to move everything out. So sleeping in a completely unfamiliar environment, with my tissues and water OUT of arm's reach was just really strange.

A woke around 12:30 last night. And then he woke again. And again. And again. And again. And then after the 6th time out of bed, I finally said frig it and fed him. He woke again around 3:30, I think? I don't remember. I know I didn't feed him again until he woke at 5:30. I know I heard him crying again around 6:30 (or so I'm guessing--I have no clock I can see with my wonderful eyesight) but didn't wake fully and he went back to sleep. He's still sleeping now (8am), which is close to his OLD schedule rather than what's happened the past 2 weeks.

We're still getting the occasional smile and have had a few giggles since he's gotten sick. :)

4 month appointment

So, we didn't get a three month appointment. We were told at the two month appointment to come back in December... I asked, "What about a three month appointment?" and was told to come back at four months. Apparently, we WERE supposed to have a three month appointment and there was some kind of mix up. So we technically had the THREE month physical and shots today and will have the FOUR month physical and shots in two weeks.

Anyway, A weighs 14 pounds, 12 ounces (50%). He is 26" long (75-90%), and has a head circumference of 16.5" (50%). The doctor thinks A is going to be tall, based on his height now.

She recommended that M and I get the flu shot, since A is too young to get it. Probably a good idea--who knows what M will bring home from work.

She said his cold isn't too bad, and that it could be to blame for his night wakings recently.

Last night, he fell asleep on M around 7:30. We took him to bed at 8:30 and fed him. He woke again a little before midnight. I went in and held him and put him back in the crib still awake. He was very quiet and went back to sleep. At 3:30, he woke again and I fed him... right back to sleep again. He woke at 5:30, and once again I cuddled him, and he woke for the day around 7:30.

Sick :o(

I have been dealing with a sore throat for about a week. It really felt like the canker sores I often get in my throat, so wasn't too concerned. On Friday, I started with soreness on the other side of my throat and it developed into the sniffles. We were at the mall and I had to stop at CVS for some Lotiony tissues.

This morning, we woke up and M said, "He's been coughing an awful lot this morning." Sure enough, our little boy has his first cold. His nose is so gunky (and it's CERTAINLY due to that snot drop on his shoulder the other day!) and he doesn't want to sleep alone for long at all. We're lucky to have gotten ONE good nap today.

He's napping on M's chest right now, and it's so sad listening to him breathe. My poor little guy is so tired too. I don't know what kind of night we're in for tonight.

Last night, we continued with Cry It Out (CIO), not knowing he was getting sick. He did well, except for his 3:30 waking. He cried for 45 minutes (with us periodically checking on him) before he finally fell back to sleep. It's hard to listen to him cry, but hopefully this will teach him to put himself back to sleep when he awakens at night. We're going to have to stop this process and start again later when he is feeling better, I guess.

We also have a pediatrician's appointment tomorrow morning. Hopefully, A is doing well on his growth charts and is on track to be 6' tall (HA... maybe when pigs fly).

In other news, we have primed three of the four walls in our family room. I hope to get more done tomorrow or Tuesday and then start painting the walls! WOOHOO; this project should be finished in time for Xmas!

Speaking of Christmas, the menu is planned, some of our presents are purchased (we have a few people completely finished) and lots of presents are on their way (ahh, the beauty and wonder of the internet!).

OK, time to move

All the pregnancy stuff is cluttering up the page. Time to get that big round lady off the main page and leave it all here so it will disappear into Archived Posts oblivion.

So, here's the lovely slideshow of my ballooning!

Here's a 3-D ultrasound picture:


Here's an ultrasound picture from 20 weeks:

Our first picture of A:


Finally, here we are in Key West, soon after telling Grammi and Grampy!

Update on Jack

Jack is doing better, but still isn't out of the woods (this refers to my Thankful post below).

Our little online group made a collection for them just to help Megan and PJ out while they have to stay in Philly.

Check them out at: multiplebaby.blogspot.com

FOUR months!!

Wow, here we are at the four month mark.

What has A learned this month?

He has started teething. This has changed his sleep schedule a bit--he's no longer sleeping for a 6 hour stretch.

He is starting to pull himself up to sitting. When he sits in his bouncer, he kind of does a little sit up. He likes to pull on the monkey part of the bouncer and put it in his mouth.

He can get his big toe into his mouth.

He giggles often.

He (if he's in the mood) will giggle when you tickle his feet.

He gets upset if I am not looking at him and smiles when I do.

He prefers to sleep on his side.

He likes to suck on his index and middle fingers and prefers the left hand.

He can roll from stomach to back.

He likes his Jumperoo and his Exersaucer.

He's starting to blow raspberries, and loves to do them when he gets changed!

These days, he is waking for the day around 7am and napping around 8:45.

The Bad Mommy Chronicles, V 2 and 3

Let me preface all this by stating that I am getting a cold. That plays a factor in each of these stories.

We are doing what's called "Cry It Out," sort of. We let A cry himself to sleep--if he is getting too upset, I go in to help him out. If he cries for more than 4 minutes, I go in to help him out. The idea is to get him able to go back to sleep on his own so that if he stirs at night, he doesn't need to call us to help him get back to sleep.

Last night, he woke around midnight. I fed him. Around 1, he woke again. I let him cry, heard him stop and figured he was back to sleep. At some point, he started crying again and I just fell asleep while timing him.

I'm alleviating my guilt (and this is true, so I'm not lying to myself here) by telling myself that if something was wrong or if he really needed us, he would have yelled loud enough to really wake me up. In truth, this is how cry it out works.

So that's today's story 1. Today's story 2:

I was really congested in my nose so decided a hot shower was in order (plus it was time for me to get started on my day). I started to strap A into his bouncy seat, as always, and feel a trickle coming out of my nose. Before I had a chance to do anything about it, I dripped snot on his shoulder!

This poor kid!

The Bad Mommy Chronicles...

My son is right now in his jumperoo, parked in front of the television, watching The Price is Right. He loves the colors and it is the only thing I can do to stop him from screaming ALL the time that doesn't include me holding him. I need to eat lunch!

Teething.

Teething means A screams a lot more than normal. It also means he wakes up at night a lot more than normal. Orajel has become a Godsend--I dunno if they put a sedative in it or if he goes to sleep because of the reduction in pain, but it is truly a wonder drug.

I'm debating whether or not to retake A's Santa picture. A friend of mine called the mall on my behalf (yeah, she's a little nuts like that!) and asked if it would be a problem to redo it. They said no problem. I just don't know when I'll have the time to go back to that mall...

We're also trying to take holiday photos here in "the home office." We tried last night, and A had a dazed expression on his face. Couldn't get him to smile... he was definitely sleepy at that point and a little hungry, so maybe we'll try again tonight.

So thankful.

I am so thankful for my healthy and happy boy. Please keep my friend Megan's son Jack in your thoughts and prayers. He is a triplet and is not doing well at all--he's in the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's NICU. Look here, but know you will probably cry.

Yesterday was a MUCH better day. A slept like a champ during the night after the day from hell--7ish-3:30, 3:30-5:30, 5:30-8. He napped from 10-10:30, at which point we left to run some errands. He slept in the car and stayed asleep until lunchtime. He did get very fussy in the early evening--we gave him some Orajel and he went right to sleep (around 7:15) and stayed down till 11.

Who is this demon child?

...and what did he do to my smiley, happy boy?

Today is, perhaps, the worst day of A's short life. He woke up a whole lot more than normal at night (and when he wasn't crying, Catcher was...). It got to be so bad, at 5:30, I went in and brought him to bed with us. At that time, he was ready to get up--gurgling in bed, smiling, and kicking... he was ready to play. I fed him and he finally went back to sleep.

Already exhausted, we get up to a very happy and smiley boy... for a few minutes. Not long after I got out of the shower, he started screaming... and it felt like it didn't stop until just recently (2:44pm). We've tried everything--walking around the house, feeding, playing, cuddling, burping.... the only thing we haven't done is put him in the car and drive around for awhile.

He just made the loudest and longest (and apparently, stinkiest) fart ever over on M... maybe that has been the problem all day.

But this kid just will not nap today!!

(Of course, it doesn't help that I have a to-do list that is a mile and a half long to get the house ready for Christmas. But that's neither here nor there...)

Happy Thanksgiving!!

A's outfit is so cute, but taking the pictures with it on didn't work so well! Hopefully we'll get some good ones on Thanksgiving!

Santa.

SIGH. My big smiley boy--I thought he would be so great on Santa's lap. He was, but he just would not smile on his lap.

On Monday, we went to one mall and tried twice... all we got was a kind of blank stare. On Tuesday, another mall, two tries. Smiling and giggling in the line and as soon as I took him off Santa's lap, but not a one on the lap.

I felt pressured to buy and I really should have chosen a different picture. But anyway, here's the one we got :(

The best parts

The best parts of being A's mom...

1. The awesome "I'm so happy to see you!" smile I get when I get him up for the day.
2. The grins he gives me when he "finds" me after not knowing where I am.
3. The snuggles when he's sleepy and sucking on his paci.
4. The giggles he gives me when I raspberry his tummy or dance with him.


Those are the highlights of my days. Sure, there's lots more that's great about being with him, but those four things are just the absolute best.

I can't believe it's 3 months already!

My goodness, how time has flown. I was thinking this morning that A is 14 weeks old and at 14 weeks in the pregnancy, we had told everyone about it. Goodness!

We are doing ok with the time change so far. A went to sleep at regular time last night. He woke up for a feeding earlier than normal, and then every two hours after that. He woke up an hour early (so two hours earlier if you eliminate the time change--he usually wakes around 8:30, but woke up at 7 now time), so I brought him to bed with me, nursed him, and he fell back asleep in my bed. I put him in his crib and he slept until about 8-8:30.

Boy--a year ago today, I was already pregnant but didn't know about it yet.

Wow; progress this week!

We got a giggle or two or three starting on Thursday. It's kind of a squeal of happiness, but I'm counting it as a giggle! It was so neat--the first time he giggled, we were dancing to "It Takes Two" by Rob Base...one of Mommy's favorite songs!

Today, A rolled from his belly to his back! He's getting great at holding up his head too.

Such an exciting week!

This kid looks like...Marc?

I was told yesterday by people who know us both that this kid looks just like his dad. At least in this picture, I think A looks just like me! It's so funny how these things go. I told M the other day that it will all come down to whose nose he gets. So far, it's looking a bit like my nose, but we'll see if he gets his dad's nose or not.

Two nights ago, we had the worst sleep since bringing A home from the hospital (err, at least, A and I did...his dad didn't even know he woke up--he had gotten up super early the day before to get in to work early). He only slept for 2 three hour stretches (9-12, 12-4), then was up every hour after that. I'm not sure if the change in weather is affecting him, if he's gong through a growth spurt and needs to eat more, or if it's something else altogether. He was back to VERY normal this morning, so I guess it has passed.

A day in the life of A's mom

A's feeding schedule was a little off last night, so he went to bed later than we've been putting him down the past few days. He ate at 8, again at 9 (to put him to sleep) and was asleep in his crib by 9.

He must have had a bad dream because he woke around 10:45. M went in to calm him down, and then A slept until 4am. He woke again for a feeding around 6:30, and woke up at 7:45 or 8.

I decided that I was sleepy and hit the snooze button a few times after it went off at 7am. I ended up getting out of bed at 7:30. I went downstairs and pumped my very engorged boobs... I got almost 5 oz from the side he hadn't used most recently. As I was pumping, A started to wake.

I went in and changed him, said good morning, and sang to him while I changed his clothes. We then went in the bathroom for Mommy's shower. A loves to sit in his bouncy seat while I do so--I think the exhaust fan in the bathroom is comforting to him, as is the running water. I usually sing to him and tell him what we're going to do for the day.

By the time I was dressed and dry, A was getting sleepy. His new swing is amazing--he must be so comfy in it because he's happy hanging out in there even when he is awake.

While he napped, I made my grocery list and planned out our dinners for the week. I also made my lunch. As it cooked, he woke again. I put him in his Bumbo seat, which he also likes as long as he is wide awake, and ate my lunch. I heard the TELLTALE SOUNDS of poop. When I was finished my lunch, I picked him up and began to feed him... forgetting about those TELL TALE SOUNDS!! As I curled my right arm around him, I felt something STICKY... sure enough, he had pooped out his diaper, through his onesie (although there wasn't much actually on it!), and through his pants. Ugh. I had to figure out how to burp him without getting crap on the Boppy pillow all while thinking how I was going to get these nasty clothes off of him without having to give him a bath. I managed, though, using about 50 wipes.

And we were off to the grocery store. Alex fell asleep in the car, and as usual, woke as I was heading to the checkout lane. He always screams in the checkout lane.

Home, Jeeves!! As we pulled out of the grocery store, he was asleep again. I pulled in the garage, took him in and started to unload. With the first trip in, he was yelling again. **SIGH** I got everything in the house, threw the refrigerator stuff in there still in bags, and tended to my screaming child.

At some point in the afternoon, we read Green Eggs and Ham upstairs. Around that time, I changed A and accidentally wiped poop from his diaper on his onesie... Outfit #3 made its appearance!

Eventually, it was naptime again. This swing is definitely my salvation, since I cannot get this child to take a nap for longer than 15 minutes in his crib.

I mopped most of the floors downstairs using a real mop rather than the Swiffer Wet Jet. Ewww, dirty mop water. Guess the Swiffer WetJet isn't doing its job well enough. I also vacuumed the family room carpets. YAY--all my chores for the day were done and then some. At some point, we went upstairs for some downtime--A hung out in his Bouncy seat and I read my book.

As the last of the floors was drying, M came home from work. Soon after, A woke up smiling. we chatted for awhile, then I went to make dinner. Midway through, A wanted to eat, so M finished cooking.

A schedule

I never thought I'd figure out his schedule, but I definitely have. Whenever he cries and we are out, women say "Oh, he must be hungry." I think in my head, "your kids are probably obese... a crying baby is not necessarily a hungry baby!" Of course I have far too much couth (HA HA HA!!!) to say such a thing out loud, and just smile and nod.

When he fusses, he's usually tired. We were out at the mall today, and I fed him and about twenty minutes later, he started fussing. Clearly, the poor kid was tired, even though his eyes were wide open. By the time we walked to the car, his eyes were drooping and he was sound asleep by the time we left the parking deck.

There's a theory that one can learn a baby's cries to tell what he needs. I felt that I knew my Godson's hungry cry pretty well, but have been pretty much unable to figure out A's. But I guess there's something to be said for instinct, and I DEFINITELY know his tired and cranky yell.

Mid-October

I cannot believe how time has flew. My boy is almost 3 months old!! I'm supposed to go back to work in a few short months! Christmas is right around the corner!!

***GAH!!!***

So, after the initial "He slept ALL night!," A is back to his schedule. We have, however, changed his bedtime to an earlier time, after noticing he was very fussy and hungry around 8:30. It was just easier to feed him and put him to bed then rather than waiting another hour. At first, he was waking at 1:30, which was sort of strange but made sense because that was the 5 hour after bedtime mark, but now he's back to waking around 3-3:30.

He's getting fantastic head control. He can pick it up and hold it up for a while when he's laying on his tummy. Here's a picture of him in his Bumbo, which doesn't have head support:
This device is great, because it's helping him build trunk strength plus his head isn't against anything...hopefully this will help combat his bald/flat spot.

I'm starting to get my booty (literally) back into shape. I go to the gym on Monday, Tuesday, and Friday for an abs course, and the booty is a big part of the routine. The Bosu ball is my new best friend. I'm starting to see the outside of the ole six pack coming back. Yeehaw! The skin on the tummy is still pretty jiggly, but underneath is starting to be really hard again. I'm hoping that as the skin becomes firm again, the stretch marks will go away too, but who knows.

A seems to have discovered the TV this week, and will look at the screen in fascination. I got him a rattle because all his toys were too thick for him to hold. This one is great because it has a stuffed lion on top in addition to various textures. He seems to like holding it and shaking it, although I'm not sure if he realizes he's the one making all the noise yet.

I had him on his side in his crib this afternoon, and he rolled onto his back. I'm not sure if that's something significant or not, but based on his eating pattern yesterday, I think he might be going through a growth spurt.

So, we keep chugging away.

Sleeping through the night

A has been "sleeping through the night" since Labor Day... that is, if you define sleeping through the night as the baby experts do--5-6 hours.

Last night, however, my incredible boy slept from around 9:30pm-5:30am! WAHOO! This could be because his little tummy was overloaded with milk; he normally has a feeding before bed, but he was due for a feeding at 8:30. I fed him at 8:30 and then again around 9:30.

Hey, I guess it doesn't matter if he slept all night and isn't a little pudge!

This is my favorite picture from this week. I submitted it to Gap's casting call, so I HAD to put him in his one piece of Gap Baby clothing!

The cutest caterpillar EVER

This is A's Halloween costume! I can't believe he's so agreeable in it; doesn't he look soo big in the headshot?

Unpredictable!

The baby was on such a regular sleep pattern for such a long time, that it's tough right now! I suppose the changing seasons has something to do with it. He was sleeping from 9:30ish-3:30, then waking every two hours after taht until 8ish. Yesterday, he woke for a feeding at 1:30, 5:30, and woke for good at 7. Today, he slept from 9:45-3:30, woke at 7, and went back down!

A will be in a study!

Actually, we're signed up for two studies. The first is about physiology and emotion. The women are going to be here today. Unfortunately, because A had his shots yesterday, his schedule is thrown off and he didn't wake when he normally does. Luckily, their office is right in New Brunswick, so they will come back when he starts stirring and it will only be about 10 minutes.

The other study is being done through Rutgers and it will look at memory. I think that will begin when he is 3 months old.

So exciting!

2 month appointment!

A is now 24-1/4" tall, and weighs 12lbs 6 oz!!!! He's such a big boy and is right on track.

He had some shots today--DTaP and Comex (I'm not remembering what she said well, and I don't know where I put the folder with the schedule of shots). He cried...wailed, actually, but that was also partially due to our long wait to see the doctor--he was overdue for a feeding! He now has a Tweety Bird Band-aid on each leg. Jen would be so proud!

A's fussiness continues... the doctor says it's colic, but.... well, everything I've read about colic says that it's defined as crying nonstop basically (and they give a certain amount of hours for so many days a week), and he doesn't do that. He's just uncomfortable and gassy. Ehh, either way, it'll go away eventually to be sure.

We have a date for Baptism... now we just have to ask his Godparents if they'll do it and find him an outfit. Sadly, he is too big to fit in either mine or my mother's gowns (is that grammatically correct? I think so, but it seems weird...).

A is making more and more friends, as am I. It gets us out of the house and doing stuff besides looking at the four walls of the house... and I feel less obligated to clean every single day. We've been to the Jackson Outlets, the Point Pleasant Boardwalk, and malls all across Central NJ.

Wow, this boy is growing so fast!

I can't believe the difference only one month makes.

8 weeks later.

I figured I'll keep this thing going, just for my own fun and for Grammi's fun too (HI MOM!). Alex is now 8 weeks old. He smiles for women (even strangers!), but only sometimes for Daddy. He's doing great at holding up his head and has started kicking like a madman. I can't wait for him to get head control just a little bit better to put him in the Jumperoo.

Today, A both LOVED and HATED his mommy. He loves me because he slept like it was his job... that's right, he was "workin' 9 to 5, what a way to make a livin'". At two months, this is really impressive, especially for a breast fed baby! He woke again for a feeding at 7 (which is when I get up to pump, shower, eat, etc), and threw up all over (including up Mommy's nose!). He went to sleep for an hour--just enough time for me to pump and get my hair wet in the shower)--before waking up hungry again. Poor kid! But after eating again at 8, he's sleeping (for now).

Poor, Sweet Mitten

41 week belly

Who knew... I COULD in fact get bigger!

Non Stress Test

The good news is that Feisty is moving around and has a good heartrate. I'm having contractions, probably one every ten minutes or so.

Today's internal--fingertip dilated and about 50% effaced... so sort of backward movement from Monday's internal.

**Sigh**

So on Monday, I'm scheduled for another internal, but that might change so we can get a "Biophysical profile," which will be an ultrasound to see if everything is going ok in there. And that's when we'll talk about inducing.

I guess this kid isn't coming out without medical assistance.

Baby Pool Info

To guess in our baby pool--gender, size, date of birth--go to expectnet.com and enter game name Baby_S_07!

Try this link: BabyPool

We've got progress!!

After waiting for an hour to just get in a room (!!!), the doctor said that I am about 80% effaced and 1-2 cm. Baby's position is -2 (I've never heard of this before, so I'm not really sure what it means...)

If still pregnant, in 3-4 days, I will have a "non stress test."

Come on Baby!

Tried methods of eviction, and a story

So far:
1. Spicy food
2. Walking the mall

A story:

When we sat down at dinner last night, I went straight to the bathroom. M told me that a woman at the next table said (now, our tables were less than a foot apart!):

"When I was pregnant, we had to cover our bellies. These girls today just let their bellies hang out all over the place." (or something along those lines.)

A. I guess she didn't get the notice that I don't care.
B. It's not like I think I'm Rachel Greene or something... NOTHING FITS!!

WTF. I got really poed about it too. Of course he told me after they left, probably knowing that I have this problem of not having a filter on my mouth that has gotten 100x worse in the last few months of pregnancy.

40 weeks!!

It's July 21st... the estimated date of delivery, based on baby's size at ultrasound. July 24 is the EDD based on last menstrual period. Any day now...