Monday, August 24, 2009
Saturday, August 22, 2009
100 days!
miles is 100 days old today, so happy 100th day of life mr. miles! i have enjoyed each of the past 100 days because i have spent every single one of them with my precious little man. i can't believe how much he has grown! he used to have skinny legs and now they are quite chunky!
then:
now:
then:
now:
more inservice
my mom returned on sunday afternoon to help us with my 2nd week of inservice. and following right behind her...nana! these two fabulous ladies pampered miles while ross and i were at work. i was still able to take extended lunches each day so i could come home and feed miles and also eat lunch out with my friends on a couple of the days. we made it all week with zero bottles of formula! this was a very trying and tiring week and i'm so glad we had such awesome babysitters!
we got to celebrate my mom's birthday at pappadeaux...miles slept the whole time! we also watched movies and went shopping and played games and a lot of just hanging out. miles got a jumper! he's a bit too short for it so we let him jump on top of some computer programming books. he was fascinated by it while ross was putting it together and seems to enjoy it so far. i think he will absolutely love it as he grows a bit older. he's quite the jumper/kicker/wiggler!
bekah came and took over on friday, a definite lifesaver! lucky for her she got to take part in a photo shoot...we went with a photographer friend to a nearby greenbelt and he took pictures of miles. can't wait til they are processed!! also am so glad that next week i start my part time schedule.
we got to celebrate my mom's birthday at pappadeaux...miles slept the whole time! we also watched movies and went shopping and played games and a lot of just hanging out. miles got a jumper! he's a bit too short for it so we let him jump on top of some computer programming books. he was fascinated by it while ross was putting it together and seems to enjoy it so far. i think he will absolutely love it as he grows a bit older. he's quite the jumper/kicker/wiggler!
bekah came and took over on friday, a definite lifesaver! lucky for her she got to take part in a photo shoot...we went with a photographer friend to a nearby greenbelt and he took pictures of miles. can't wait til they are processed!! also am so glad that next week i start my part time schedule.
Friday, August 14, 2009
3 months old :)
dear miles,
today you are 3 months old! you are growing up so fast already, it's hard to believe!
eat
you still love to eat. i'm not exactly sure how much you weigh but one week ago you were 24inches long and 12lb 2 oz. you are starting to go longer stretches without eating. you last 2-4 hours during the day. i started back to work this week so you've been drinking more bottles that i pumped for you. you are fine if its just one or two bottles, but on the third bottle feeding in a row you become quite cranky! we survived this week with only 2 formula bottles, so i think that's not too shabby. you still spit up allll the time and in large volumes. however, your prevacid prescription helps you not be as uncomfortable, which is nice for everyone involved.
sleep
within the past 2 weeks you have started sleeping a 5-6hr stretch at night. once, you slept 7hrs! on most nights you are only waking up once while i am still sleeping, and i can certainly handle that! you still sleep on your tummy and you still do a good job of putting yourself to sleep. you have decided you like to suck your thumb/fist rather than the pacifier now that you are more coordinated to do that. sometimes if you are really tired we use the pacifier because you get frustrated when you can't find your hands. you still take several naps in your crib during the day between every feeding. at night you've been sleeping in your pack n play in our room mostly so i can keep an eye on you! i guess i should move you to your room soon...
skills
you are building up quite the repertoire of skills! you can:
1. roll from your tummy to your back
2. turn towards sounds
3. track people and objects with your eyes
4. smile
5. coo and chuckle
6. hold your head up
7. suck your thumb
things you love
1. bath time. you love to kick and splash. and just chill in the warm water.
2. diaper changing time. you love to watch your sailboat mobile and smile at whoever is changing your diaper
3. sitting up/standing. you like to practice sitting and standing when someone is holding you
4. the morning! weird, i know. when you wake up in the morning, i feed you and then you lay on your back and look at the fan, kick, coo, laugh, and otherwise entertain yourself until you get sleepy again. i then just turn you over onto your tummy, you suck your thumb and then fall back to sleep for a few hours! it is so cute and one of my absolute favorite times of day because you are so smiley!
things you did
we had a very busy/eventful 3rd month of your life! the month started off with a trip to the hospital ER and a quick visit from your grandpa. after a few weeks on your medicine, you became a much happier boy again and we were all so glad for you. your daddy was traveling for work near the end of the month so we got to take a trip up to big papi's and grandma's house.
while we were there we took a quick road trip so you could meet your aunt bree (and her dad! hiii val!!) who was here from london. after that we took your first airplane ride up to portland, oregon to visit friends for a few days. when we came back i had to start back to work, but your grandma and 3 of your aunts all came to take care of you and you had an absolute blast with them. phew! that's quite a month for such a little guy!
you are the sweetest little baby. most of the time you are awake you are handing out tons of smiles to whoever is looking. i love holding you and "talking" with you. when you sleep your long stretch at night i sometimes miss you and i'm so glad when you wake up so i can hold and cuddle you! i can't wait to see all the things you are going to do this month!
today you are 3 months old! you are growing up so fast already, it's hard to believe!
eat
you still love to eat. i'm not exactly sure how much you weigh but one week ago you were 24inches long and 12lb 2 oz. you are starting to go longer stretches without eating. you last 2-4 hours during the day. i started back to work this week so you've been drinking more bottles that i pumped for you. you are fine if its just one or two bottles, but on the third bottle feeding in a row you become quite cranky! we survived this week with only 2 formula bottles, so i think that's not too shabby. you still spit up allll the time and in large volumes. however, your prevacid prescription helps you not be as uncomfortable, which is nice for everyone involved.
sleep
within the past 2 weeks you have started sleeping a 5-6hr stretch at night. once, you slept 7hrs! on most nights you are only waking up once while i am still sleeping, and i can certainly handle that! you still sleep on your tummy and you still do a good job of putting yourself to sleep. you have decided you like to suck your thumb/fist rather than the pacifier now that you are more coordinated to do that. sometimes if you are really tired we use the pacifier because you get frustrated when you can't find your hands. you still take several naps in your crib during the day between every feeding. at night you've been sleeping in your pack n play in our room mostly so i can keep an eye on you! i guess i should move you to your room soon...
skills
you are building up quite the repertoire of skills! you can:1. roll from your tummy to your back
2. turn towards sounds
3. track people and objects with your eyes
4. smile
5. coo and chuckle
6. hold your head up
7. suck your thumb
things you love
1. bath time. you love to kick and splash. and just chill in the warm water.
2. diaper changing time. you love to watch your sailboat mobile and smile at whoever is changing your diaper
3. sitting up/standing. you like to practice sitting and standing when someone is holding you
4. the morning! weird, i know. when you wake up in the morning, i feed you and then you lay on your back and look at the fan, kick, coo, laugh, and otherwise entertain yourself until you get sleepy again. i then just turn you over onto your tummy, you suck your thumb and then fall back to sleep for a few hours! it is so cute and one of my absolute favorite times of day because you are so smiley!
things you did
we had a very busy/eventful 3rd month of your life! the month started off with a trip to the hospital ER and a quick visit from your grandpa. after a few weeks on your medicine, you became a much happier boy again and we were all so glad for you. your daddy was traveling for work near the end of the month so we got to take a trip up to big papi's and grandma's house.
while we were there we took a quick road trip so you could meet your aunt bree (and her dad! hiii val!!) who was here from london. after that we took your first airplane ride up to portland, oregon to visit friends for a few days. when we came back i had to start back to work, but your grandma and 3 of your aunts all came to take care of you and you had an absolute blast with them. phew! that's quite a month for such a little guy!
you are the sweetest little baby. most of the time you are awake you are handing out tons of smiles to whoever is looking. i love holding you and "talking" with you. when you sleep your long stretch at night i sometimes miss you and i'm so glad when you wake up so i can hold and cuddle you! i can't wait to see all the things you are going to do this month!
Thursday, August 13, 2009
back to work
after spending 3 weeks on bedrest and then the past 12 weeks enjoying miles, monday arrived. i had to go back to work. it was my choice to return and i am very blessed to have what i anticipate will be an incredible part time opportunity....but it was still hard to walk out that door without my baby monday morning!
i had to bring in reinforcements! my mom, jennifer, and rachel came down sunday evening to take care of miles all week. its easier to leave him when i know he is in familiar and competent hands. bekah joined in the party on wednesday. miles has lots of babysitters this week! this week and next week i am having to work all day long for meetings and preparation for the start of school. so i figure if i can survive the next 10 days or so, my actual part time days at school won't seem so bad! so far i've had a really relaxed schedule and have come home for long lunches to feed and cuddle miles. starting tomorrow, all the teachers return and the actual inservice meetings start (this week was just coaching stuff and a few meetings), so i have to hang tough all day long.
we've had a good time with our babysitters! we've played some tennis and volleyball, played ps3, watched movies, gone shopping, walked the dogs, gone out to lunch, and cooked dinner each night.
miles is being a great sport and he has been doing really well (at least that's what they tell me and they are standing by it). sometimes he does get a little tired of bottle feeding, but it really won't be too much of an issue after next week (i'm hoping) so i'm not too worried about it. i can't believe how much i miss him even when i'm just gone a few short hours. i come right home and cuddle him! i am very blessed that i will be able to spend my afternoons with him AND do something that i enjoy in the mornings!
i had to bring in reinforcements! my mom, jennifer, and rachel came down sunday evening to take care of miles all week. its easier to leave him when i know he is in familiar and competent hands. bekah joined in the party on wednesday. miles has lots of babysitters this week! this week and next week i am having to work all day long for meetings and preparation for the start of school. so i figure if i can survive the next 10 days or so, my actual part time days at school won't seem so bad! so far i've had a really relaxed schedule and have come home for long lunches to feed and cuddle miles. starting tomorrow, all the teachers return and the actual inservice meetings start (this week was just coaching stuff and a few meetings), so i have to hang tough all day long.
we've had a good time with our babysitters! we've played some tennis and volleyball, played ps3, watched movies, gone shopping, walked the dogs, gone out to lunch, and cooked dinner each night.
miles is being a great sport and he has been doing really well (at least that's what they tell me and they are standing by it). sometimes he does get a little tired of bottle feeding, but it really won't be too much of an issue after next week (i'm hoping) so i'm not too worried about it. i can't believe how much i miss him even when i'm just gone a few short hours. i come right home and cuddle him! i am very blessed that i will be able to spend my afternoons with him AND do something that i enjoy in the mornings!
Friday, August 7, 2009
voting time!
i'm going to try to have a weekly poll to see your opinions on certain topics. this week's topic: rap music. last night on the way home from small group, miles was crying in his car seat. as i flipped through the radio channels, he stopped crying when there was a rap song on. we listened to the rest of the song, and then he fell asleep. so, this weeks' question is would you listen to rap music in the car if it kept YOUR (possibly hypothetical) baby from crying? be sure to cast your vote in the poll on the right hand side of the page! you can add comments to this posting if you would like to explain your vote or lobby for a certain answer!
2month shots...ouch!
yesterday miles got his 2 months shots...finally! he is almost 3months old by now! but his prior appointment fell right after his hospital stay so we had to delay until his esophagus was healed up and we were sure he was 100% healthy. in fact, the medicine seems to be working wonderfully! miles is a happy little boy and he smiles a lot! he is starting to sleep longer too, usually 4-6hrs at night. miles still spits up all the time, so the dr is planning to continue giving him the medicine until he is 6months old or until he stops spitting up.
the nurses were parading him around the office saying he looked like a baby model and had the softest skin. the doctor seemed so happy that miles was feeling better, he thought he looked great, was holding his head up well, and was developing a personality. he is 24 inches long now...we have a 2ft long baby!! and he weighed 12 lbs 2 oz. he is right on the growth curve, about the 30th percentile...a far cry from the 2nd percentile he started out in!
miles did really well drinking the oral vaccine, then the nurse gave him 3 quick shots in his little thighs and gave him army camouflage band-aids. he cried a really sad cry that i've never heard before while she was poking him. but right when she handed him to me, i gave him his pacifier and held him close and he quieted right down. yesterday he seemed a little sad, whimpering occasionally, but otherwise seemed just fine. i never did give him any tylenol or anything because he seemed to be feeling okay. vaccinated...check!
the nurses were parading him around the office saying he looked like a baby model and had the softest skin. the doctor seemed so happy that miles was feeling better, he thought he looked great, was holding his head up well, and was developing a personality. he is 24 inches long now...we have a 2ft long baby!! and he weighed 12 lbs 2 oz. he is right on the growth curve, about the 30th percentile...a far cry from the 2nd percentile he started out in!
miles did really well drinking the oral vaccine, then the nurse gave him 3 quick shots in his little thighs and gave him army camouflage band-aids. he cried a really sad cry that i've never heard before while she was poking him. but right when she handed him to me, i gave him his pacifier and held him close and he quieted right down. yesterday he seemed a little sad, whimpering occasionally, but otherwise seemed just fine. i never did give him any tylenol or anything because he seemed to be feeling okay. vaccinated...check!
miles rides an airplane!
ross was STILL out of town for work, so next i took miles up to portland to show him off to all my friends there. also i got to have one last fun adventure before i head back to work on monday :(
miles was an awesome traveler and i had a great, refreshing trip. here's some things i learned...
1. while you don't have to pay for a "lap child" you do need a flight coupon for your infant. if their name isn't showing up on your travel reservation, DO call the airline the day before and wait on hold for 20min so they will add him. i'm not sure if it would have caused problems the day of the flight, but it was certainly easier to have his coupons print off with mine then trying to get them added while checking in.
2. while you apparently have to pay $20 to check a stinking suit case now, you do NOT have to pay to check the car seat, they will do this for you free of charge. and rightly so. by the way, this fee means even more people than before try to bring carry on luggage that is obviously too large.
3. the people aren't staring at you because you have suddenly grown a second head. they are looking at the baby! or trying to figure out what i have in that sling...its a baby people!
4. put your baby in a sling! this allowed me to strap the diaper bag handle onto the suitcase and roll that with the arm i have my purse around, and still leaves you a free hand to hold the car seat with, baby comfortably perched in the middle. once you've checked your bags, it makes it easier to walk around the airport with free hands. also, i call mine the magic sleep sack, because anytime miles is in there he just sleeps! all the way to portland!
5. buy really good diapers. i'm still using free diapers people gave to us (yay!), but for the trip i went ahead and bought a pack of pampers swaddlers. why? because i have never experienced a leak or blowout with them! i'm glad i did this, especially when on the first leg of our return trip miles had a major poop fest about an hour and 20min into our 2hr flight. the diaper held its own until we landed. i didn't have the courage to change the diaper on the plane, but next time i would definitely put a diaper and wipes into my purse, since i put the diaper bag in the overhead bin and didn't want to have to drag it out. the lady with the toddler in front of me couldn't do the same, swaddler diaper or not.....toddler poo reeks!
6. bring lots of baby clothes. normally i keep one spare outfit in the diaper bag. for the trip, to avoid even more baggage costs i stuffed all of miles' clothes into his diaper bag. on our way up to portland, miles spit up in huge volumes everytime i changed his diaper. we were on outfit #3 before we ever made it to portland!
7. planning to breastfeed? rest assured you will ALWAYS be sitting next to a man, never a woman! just use a blanket and don't worry about it too much. surely they prefer that you feed your child over him crying! in fact, during my trip i breastfed in a lot of public places. not a fan, but you do what you've got to do. and it sure is easier than "declaring" all your liquid bottles at security checkpoints. the best part was when i found an open area at the phoenix airport with about 100 empty seats and i started breastfeeding miles in a deserted corner. a young teenaged boy came and sat right across from me. at first i found it strange but then decided he (hopefully) didn't realize what i was doing. if he did...creepy! at one point miles pooped really really loudly and the teenager gave me a terrified look. i thought about saying "uh that was the BABY" but didn't think i could convince him such a loud noise came from someone so small.
8. enjoy the moments! one of my friends i was visiting had a 15month old boy. i spent most of my time staring at miles wondering how he would go from his current self to THAT talking, walking, food eating cutie in one short year.
9. the plane rides go much faster when you are holding an infant (i imagine they seem twice as long once the child can walk or is otherwise desiring to be mobile). i got to sit and stare at my precious little sleeping boy for hours and they just flew by as we flew to/from portland. i'm glad i got to take such a fun trip with my little man!
miles was an awesome traveler and i had a great, refreshing trip. here's some things i learned...
1. while you don't have to pay for a "lap child" you do need a flight coupon for your infant. if their name isn't showing up on your travel reservation, DO call the airline the day before and wait on hold for 20min so they will add him. i'm not sure if it would have caused problems the day of the flight, but it was certainly easier to have his coupons print off with mine then trying to get them added while checking in.
2. while you apparently have to pay $20 to check a stinking suit case now, you do NOT have to pay to check the car seat, they will do this for you free of charge. and rightly so. by the way, this fee means even more people than before try to bring carry on luggage that is obviously too large.
3. the people aren't staring at you because you have suddenly grown a second head. they are looking at the baby! or trying to figure out what i have in that sling...its a baby people!
4. put your baby in a sling! this allowed me to strap the diaper bag handle onto the suitcase and roll that with the arm i have my purse around, and still leaves you a free hand to hold the car seat with, baby comfortably perched in the middle. once you've checked your bags, it makes it easier to walk around the airport with free hands. also, i call mine the magic sleep sack, because anytime miles is in there he just sleeps! all the way to portland!
5. buy really good diapers. i'm still using free diapers people gave to us (yay!), but for the trip i went ahead and bought a pack of pampers swaddlers. why? because i have never experienced a leak or blowout with them! i'm glad i did this, especially when on the first leg of our return trip miles had a major poop fest about an hour and 20min into our 2hr flight. the diaper held its own until we landed. i didn't have the courage to change the diaper on the plane, but next time i would definitely put a diaper and wipes into my purse, since i put the diaper bag in the overhead bin and didn't want to have to drag it out. the lady with the toddler in front of me couldn't do the same, swaddler diaper or not.....toddler poo reeks!
6. bring lots of baby clothes. normally i keep one spare outfit in the diaper bag. for the trip, to avoid even more baggage costs i stuffed all of miles' clothes into his diaper bag. on our way up to portland, miles spit up in huge volumes everytime i changed his diaper. we were on outfit #3 before we ever made it to portland!
7. planning to breastfeed? rest assured you will ALWAYS be sitting next to a man, never a woman! just use a blanket and don't worry about it too much. surely they prefer that you feed your child over him crying! in fact, during my trip i breastfed in a lot of public places. not a fan, but you do what you've got to do. and it sure is easier than "declaring" all your liquid bottles at security checkpoints. the best part was when i found an open area at the phoenix airport with about 100 empty seats and i started breastfeeding miles in a deserted corner. a young teenaged boy came and sat right across from me. at first i found it strange but then decided he (hopefully) didn't realize what i was doing. if he did...creepy! at one point miles pooped really really loudly and the teenager gave me a terrified look. i thought about saying "uh that was the BABY" but didn't think i could convince him such a loud noise came from someone so small.
8. enjoy the moments! one of my friends i was visiting had a 15month old boy. i spent most of my time staring at miles wondering how he would go from his current self to THAT talking, walking, food eating cutie in one short year.
9. the plane rides go much faster when you are holding an infant (i imagine they seem twice as long once the child can walk or is otherwise desiring to be mobile). i got to sit and stare at my precious little sleeping boy for hours and they just flew by as we flew to/from portland. i'm glad i got to take such a fun trip with my little man!
over the river and thru the woods...
to miles' grandparents house we went! last week ross was traveling for work so i took miles, peyton, and brady up to my parents house for a few days. this was quite the endeavor! i underestimated the amount of work it would take just to load up baby, dog, and mom stuff...without even mentioning the actual 4hr drive each way!
on saturday (the 25th), miles woke up and ate from 6-6.30am. i got right up and spent the next few hours loading the car (i had already packed), for a 9am departure. i drove up to DFW for a quick stop at some friends' house. miles slept the ENTIRE way, close to 3hrs!! i could have enjoyed it even more if i hadn't ben so worried that he would wake up any second. we spent almost 2 hrs with my friends. it was so good to see her new baby! i was also able to feed miles and change his diaper.
refreshed, we began the last 1.5hr leg of our trip. miles was not too thrilled to be back in the car. i stopped about an hour out of graham and pulled into a sonic, because miles was screaming. i got him out of his seat and fed him a small bottle snack and i ordered a drink. miles was so happy to be out of his seat he couldn't even drink his bottle...he just kept smiling at me. sadly, he had to go back in the seat. he cried for awhile longer, until he fell asleep about 30min outside graham. all in all, i thought it went well. the dogs did great, except for being super hyper at my friends' house!
when we got there, we got to hang out with big papi for awhile and then my mom and bekah and jared and rachel got home. we stayed until wednesday morning. miles did great sleeping in his pack n play, he was starting to feel better from his medicine and he gave away lots of smiles! it was so nice having so many helpers...i definitely felt like i was on vacation! big papi grilled out for us 2x and we all walked the dogs every day. there was clouds and some rain most of the time so it kept things slightly cooler than the triple digit heat we've had just about the entire summer.
wednesday morning we drove straight through, without the stop in DFW. about 2 hrs out of graham, miles woke up and so i pulled over at a mcdonalds and fed him. he then slept the rest of the way. well, almost. about 16 miles from my front door, he woke up...hungry of course. i figured this was a point of no return, preferring to just go ahead and press on and feed him in the comfort of home and with the dogs in the backyard, not the back of the car. as miles made his way into full scream mode, i began to regret my decision, but at that point i was so close i REALLY didn't want to stop. when we did get home, miles wanted me to hold him the rest of the day! he was not too happy about the long ride in his car seat. but he WAS happy about his first trip up to this grandparents house! such fun :)
on saturday (the 25th), miles woke up and ate from 6-6.30am. i got right up and spent the next few hours loading the car (i had already packed), for a 9am departure. i drove up to DFW for a quick stop at some friends' house. miles slept the ENTIRE way, close to 3hrs!! i could have enjoyed it even more if i hadn't ben so worried that he would wake up any second. we spent almost 2 hrs with my friends. it was so good to see her new baby! i was also able to feed miles and change his diaper.
refreshed, we began the last 1.5hr leg of our trip. miles was not too thrilled to be back in the car. i stopped about an hour out of graham and pulled into a sonic, because miles was screaming. i got him out of his seat and fed him a small bottle snack and i ordered a drink. miles was so happy to be out of his seat he couldn't even drink his bottle...he just kept smiling at me. sadly, he had to go back in the seat. he cried for awhile longer, until he fell asleep about 30min outside graham. all in all, i thought it went well. the dogs did great, except for being super hyper at my friends' house!
when we got there, we got to hang out with big papi for awhile and then my mom and bekah and jared and rachel got home. we stayed until wednesday morning. miles did great sleeping in his pack n play, he was starting to feel better from his medicine and he gave away lots of smiles! it was so nice having so many helpers...i definitely felt like i was on vacation! big papi grilled out for us 2x and we all walked the dogs every day. there was clouds and some rain most of the time so it kept things slightly cooler than the triple digit heat we've had just about the entire summer.
wednesday morning we drove straight through, without the stop in DFW. about 2 hrs out of graham, miles woke up and so i pulled over at a mcdonalds and fed him. he then slept the rest of the way. well, almost. about 16 miles from my front door, he woke up...hungry of course. i figured this was a point of no return, preferring to just go ahead and press on and feed him in the comfort of home and with the dogs in the backyard, not the back of the car. as miles made his way into full scream mode, i began to regret my decision, but at that point i was so close i REALLY didn't want to stop. when we did get home, miles wanted me to hold him the rest of the day! he was not too happy about the long ride in his car seat. but he WAS happy about his first trip up to this grandparents house! such fun :)
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