It's been awhile!

It's been almost two months since I've posted anything. Sorry, I've been horrible at blogging and posting pictures on Facebook. We've been incredibly busy!

So I have a little notebook where I've been keeping a list of things I've been meaning to blog. Tonight, when I went to make a note, I had to write on the side of the page and draw a little line to indicate it came next chronologically (you know, like you did when you were frantically taking notes in college)! At that point, I realized I was pathetic. I either needed to update this thing or delete it. So update I go.

Tyler is 4 1/2 months old now! We went to the doctor last week (Tyler got sick), and he weighs 16 lbs. 3 oz. He is learning new things every day. I love watching him play with his toys, picking them up and pulling on the hanging ones. He loves to roll around, over and over again. He sleeps 10 hours straight now! I never thought we'd get to this point, but little boy surprises us every day. He has the cutest personality, still very laid back. But he sure loves to talk and laugh at us!

Since I'm not about to type 33 separate posts, I'll just give you the bullet-pointed version of the past two months. There are pictures to accompany most of these, but I know if I attempt to upload them, I'll really never get this published.

October:

• We went to lunch with the girls from Free Market Foundation, my first post-college employer.
• We went to another playdate
• We went to the pumpkin patch at the Dallas Arboretum with Danielle and Jake
• Chad and I took Tyler trick-or-treating with the Baylor Mama Bears
• Tyler's first Halloween was so much fun! He dressed up as "Baby Bear," since that was Chad's nickname for him when I was pregnant. We had a little party, went to the neighborhood carnival and hayride where Tyler got his face painted, went trick-or-treating on our street and passed out candy to all the kids! It was a very busy day!
• Chad did a 3-month photo shoot with the little guy. The pictures turned out great. I'll have to post those eventually!

November:

• Tyler started rolling over (from front to back) really well!
• Our little boy started sleeping seven-eight hours straight! He would wake up to eat and then go back to sleep for another three hours!
• Tyler figured out how to use his voice. He started "talking" and making all kinds of sounds. We read that we need to ask questions and pause long enough for him to respond. That teaches children the flow of a conversation. And now, little buddy carries on "conversations" very well.
• He started reaching for toys and actually grabbing them to play. He also knows how to grab his paci and remove it. Hopefully, he'll master putting it back in, soon!
• The jumperoo is the best thing I've bought, by far. Tyler absolutely loves it! He just sees it in the morning and gets excited from across the room. He jumps so hard, I actually think he is breaking the metal legs. He'll jump for probably four hours a day.
• He's also really good at following objects and our voices. He can always find Mommy's voice!
• On Chad's birthday (11/15), Tyler rolled over from back to front. By Nov. 30, he mastered his new trick.
• Tyler celebrated his first Thanksgiving. Chad and I hosted and had our moms over for a big turkey meal. Chad fried the turkey, and I made my first stuffing ever. Tyler had fun playing with the grandmas!
• We got Tyler's hair cut for the third time! This time, we went to a baby salon in Allen. She did a really good job. Tyler actually fussed a little, but he was quickly laughing again once we got past the clippers.
• Tyler went to his very first Baylor football game! We took him to the Cowboys Stadium to watch Baylor almost beat Texas Tech. It was so much fun. Tyler loved watching the big screens. He didn't cry or even frown once, despite being surrounded by 76,000 people for four quarters of football. He was seriously happy ... looking around at all the people and watching the game! He dressed up in his "Future Baylor Bear" shirt and BU pants, and he got so much attention. Everyone stopped to talk to him, even the Red Raider fans!
• Tyler had a really good visit with Dr. Becker for his 4-month check-up. He weighed 15 lbs. 13 oz and was a little over 26 inches tall. His head measured 16 inches. He's still in the 75th percentile for weight, and he is in the 90th percentile for height. Dr. B said he's the average length of a 6-month-old baby, which explains why everyone always thinks he is older. He has reached all his milestones: babbling and cooing, recognizing voices, smiling and laughing, moving his eyes from one side to another, lifting his head, neck and chest off the floor, rolling over and controlling his head when in sitting position.

December:

• I have a former co-worker and friend who takes professional photos. We met up with him downtown Dallas for a Christmas photo shoot. He took some cute pictures that you'll soon see on our Christmas cards.
• Tyler started growling, which momentarily turned to squealing. Luckily, he is back to the low-pitch growl now. That one is cute!
• He is really starting to have a personality. He gets very frustrated when he's hungry and someone other than mommy is holding him. But most of the time, he's very laid back ... even when other kids are pulling his hair!
• Tyler loves holding things now. The lizard spinning toy on his jumperoo is his favorite. He will stand there and spin that for 20 minutes.
• We took Tyler to California! He flew on an airplane and took a picture with the pilot in the cockpit! Tyler saw a blizzard in the mountains, a wind storm on the beach and rain in the foothills! It was a wild geography lesson! The trip to visit family and friends went really well. I'll try to post these pictures, along with a longer description, later.
• Tyler rolls over multiple times now. Pretty soon, I'm going to need to baby-proof the house because he is really starting to move!
• Tyler started sleeping nine hours straight about two weeks ago. And this week, it turned into 10 hours straight! He wakes up to eat after 10 hours, and he usually goes back to sleep for another two hours! I'm so glad he is like mommy and daddy and enjoys sleeping in until 9 or 10 a.m.!
• Tyler had his first cold and ear infection. Tears.
• Our little boy absolutely loves to eat. Every time I feed him, he eats for about three minutes and stops to tell me thank you. He'll talk to me for a few minutes, eat, talk and eat some more. This makes feedings take a lot longer, but it's absolutely adorable. Even when he is eating, he smiles every few minutes. We've captured this on video a couple times. I know I'll cherish these when he starts solids in two months!
• Since Tyler can roll so well now, he has turned into a stomach sleeper. We asked the doctor, and he said it was fine since Tyler was so mobile. He could always roll himself back over, if he needed to. It's cute watching him sleep on his tummy, just like mommy!
• This rolling around has also made Tyler lose a little hair. He definitely has the "cradle cap" going on in the back. I'm not sure I like this look too much. Hopefully, all his curly locks will come back quickly.
• Tyler loves his room! He'll stare at his curtains and just laugh! And when he gets near his crib, he just looks down and smiles. I'm so glad he likes his bedding!
• And tomorrow ... we are going to Breakfast with Santa at the country club. I'm sure I'll have a lot more to share about Christmas. I can't believe it's next week! And hopefully, I can be better about posting in the new year!

No supplementing!

I've learned the most important lesson of being a mommy: stop getting stressed out. As Dr. Becker told me today, "the moment your first child is born, you will never sleep well again. Not because he is awake, but because you are worried about him." I guess it is normal to worry, but I definitely need to tone it down just a bit! :)

We pumped all day on Sunday and did bottles. Tyler did okay until about 1 p.m., and then all he wanted was mommy. I realized that babies actually do like the bonding of breastfeeding, and it made me feel very special! I had to "nurse" him twice during the 24 hour period, both times for comfort, because I had already pumped and nothing was left. At the end of the day, Tyler had only eaten 22 ounces, and I had pumped 23.

I called the doctor first thing this morning and rushed in for an appointment. I was told he needed to be eating 30-40 ounces a day, so I was very worried.

Turns out, those amounts are for formula-fed babies. It is impossible to measure the calories in breastmilk, since every mom's milk is different. And thus, the amount per day is based on each babies growth pattern. According to Tyler's weight and height, he only needs to be consuming 20 ounces of breastmilk a day! So we are perfect! Tyler measured 14 lbs, 13 ounces and 25 inches long, which is the 75% for weight and 90% for height. So he is still growing at the same pace! That is the most important part; doctors don't want to see any accelerations of decelerations in the pattern.

The doctor told us that we don't need to supplement at all anymore! This is a very good thing since Tyler HATED the formula! You should have seen the faces he was making when we tried.

As far as how often he eats (every 2 hours during the day), the doctor said it is nothing to cause concern. It is actually perfectly normal. He shouldn't be expected to go longer than 3 hours until he is 4 months old! He said that the Academy of Pediatrics just changed their recommendations, and they suggest demand feeding and sleeping until 4 months of age. So it is very good that we are allowing Tyler to make his own schedule!

I also asked him about rice cereal and starting solids. The Academy also changed the recommendation because they found that solids before 6 months of age can cause diabetes and allergies. Breastmilk alone supplies a baby with everything they need until 1 year of age. And the Academy does not recommend any solids (even cereal) until 6 months, at the earliest. Even then, you should only start if the baby demands it, as it is more of a developmental thing--not nutritionally necessary. So it looks like I'll be breastfeeding for 9 more months!

Here are a few other things the doctor said during today's appointment:
1) His birthmark is still fine. No worries at all.
2) He is ahead of schedule on his motor skills! More head control and arm strength than expected by this age.
3) Keep up the reflux medicine until at least 6 months, possibly even 1 year or longer. He was not happy that we were trying to take Tyler off of it.
4) Since Tyler is so mobile, we can't leave him alone on the couch or bed anymore.
5) His eczema is almost completely gone! Thank you hydrocortisone ointment!

I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER! I love our doctor. And I'm very glad we found someone who can calm me when I go first-time-mommy crazy!

The story of rice formula, to be continued

We finally called the doctor yesterday, since everyone was telling us something was wrong. No one thinks Tyler should be eating every 2 hours during the day (a total of 10-16 times a day).


He's been like this since he was born, and I've been losing weight from nursing ... so I wasn't complaining. I don't know anything different. Plus, I'm home with him. So I really don't mind. I've learned the secrets of getting things done quickly, between feedings. And I'm a seasoned pro at feeding in public.


But the doctor said he was a little worried that Tyler wasn't eating enough at each feeding. He thinks he may be snacking to pacify himself. Or he may just not be getting enough food, period. Since he is such a big boy (the average size for a 5 month old), he may just need a little more than breastmilk. This makes me very sad, because I've been a little proud of myself for sticking through the hard part of breastfeeding and keeping it up even though Tyler eats 1,000 times a day! But oh well, we do what's best for our children, right?!


So, we picked up some sample cans of Enfamil A.R (for added rice) from the doctor. The plan is to supplement 1-2 ounces after each feeding.


And I have to pump for 24 hours and give Tyler bottles this weekend. We need to make sure he is getting at least 30 ounces per day, which is impossible to measure from breastfeeding. He should be eating between 5-6 ounces at a time. So we also need to see if he can eat more at each feeding, since he only eats 2-3 when we give him bottles normally.


At this point, Tyler still won't touch the formula. We've tried four times now, and he makes a disgusted face and spits it out. I actually tasted it to see how bad it was! I wanted to experience what he had to go through. It doesn't seem that bad, but he wants nothing to do with it. The stuff is thick! We had to use a level 4 nipple just to get it to come out of the bottle, so maybe that has something to do with his dislike.



Anyway, this story is TO BE CONTINUED, because we're not sure how things will turn out. Will Tyler learn to like the formula? Will we keep supplementing after each feeding? Will he learn to eat less frequently? Is he even getting enough food? So many questions!

So much for rice cereal

Tyler is still on his 5 & 3 schedule, which doesn't bother me that much. I've become used to feeding him at 4 a.m. and burping him in my sleep!

But we thought we'd try the rice cereal trick, since he'll be 3 months old on Friday. I've had the box in the pantry, just waiting for that day to arrive. I had the expectation that it was going to be a magic mixture of sleep-filled nights and fully-rested mornings disguised as clever cereal flakes.

So much for that!

Tyler didn't mind the bottle. We took 3 ounces of my precious frozen milk and added 1 tbs. of cereal. We waited patiently, thinking we were going to put him down at 8 p.m. But no ... 1 hour and 20 minutes later, he was starving again. So I got brave. I added 3o ml of rice cereal to another 3 ounces of milk. He drank. He burped. He slept. And he woke up 4 hours and 59 minutes later to eat again.

I need to learn to love 5 & 3!

Learning to jumperoo

We got the jumperoo out this week. Tyler tested it out at Danielle's house, but we hadn't let him play in one at home yet. I was planning on waiting until his official 3 month birthday on Friday, but Chad wanted to start the leg exercises a few days early. So out came the Rainforest jumpy seat!

It took Tyler a couple tries to figure it out. You'll see by the pictures. At first, he was just bored. He liked chewing on the fabric more. But then, he learned that the lights came on when he jumped. And the fun begins. He still has a lot more learning to do, but I'm proud of my little guy for catching on so quickly.

Salon of Mommy and Daddy

Tyler needed another haircut, badly! So instead of paying $20 for a speciality kids cut, we thought we'd do it ourselves. We bought some fancy scissors, and tested out our styling abilities.

I attempted it first, and it wasn't going so smoothly. So Chad gave it a shot, while I held the baby. I think Tyler liked it, actually. That's because he can't tell in a mirror how badly we butchered his do.

Big Day Saturday

Tyler had such a big day today! I have to tell the whole story, chronologically, just so you can experience the feeling we did. It was one of pride and excitement, yet a tiny bit of sadness, because he is growing up so quickly!

In the morning, we all headed to Firewheel Shopping Center. Tyler was wearing his "Future Baylor Bear" T-shirt since it was Homecoming at Baylor. He looked all grown up, and it reminded me that in 17+ years, he'll be in college!

We had to exchange an outfit my mom bought him before we knew he'd be in the 95th% for height and 70th% for weight! We went to the boutique, and the only size that would fit was 18 month!

Next, we wanted to walk around, and Chad thought we should try the big boy stroller (without the carrier attachment) for the first time. Tyler loved it! He was sitting up, all strapped in and looking around at everything. He looked like a toddler!

Then, we went to the grocery store for diapers. I had to buy size 3, which didn't seem like a big deal until I realized they were marketed to crawling children! Oh goodness ... are we getting to that point already!?!?

So after the Baylor t-shirt, the 18 month clothing exchange, the big boy stroller and size 3 diapers, I had witnessed enough firsts for one day.

BUT TYLER WASN'T DONE SHOWING OFF FOR US! We got home, set him on his tummy to play, turned around ... AND HE ROLLED OVER!!!!

This was as much of the moment as we were able to capture:

Right after he rolled over (and off the mat)

Trying to do it again

He was happy and tired at the end!