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.