I Make Three Months Look Good!

Baby Michael here, and today I am three whole months old today! Life is pretty awesome these days. I am getting so big! I hold my own head up (most of the time), I sleep through the night (almost), and I got my drivers license today (just kidding)! I am really good at smiling, and I am getting the hang of laughing. Of course I laugh at random stuff right now, but one day I'll laugh when mommy and daddy are being silly!

My goals for next month- being AWESOME!!

Hi there!

Well, I got lazy over the holidays and it's been awhile since I posted last. I only got to be lazy cause my mom, aunts, and grandmother pretty much allowed me to hold baby Michael only when I was feeding him. They were greedy. Being a mom makes girls even more crazy then they already are- I liked having a break, but I was also super jealous when anyone else held him. Preg brain apparently makes moms stupid AND psycho.

Michael's first Christmas was nice, it's really a shame he won't remember it! He got a whole stocking full of fun stuff, about 763 outfits, a bunch of books (including a personalized book from I See Me, freaking adorable), sunglasses, and cold hard cash. He made out like a bandit! He is so lucky to have such a generous family! (Also, Rob and I are pretty lucky to have them too).

About 6 weeks ago someone asked me if I had big plans for New Year's Eve. I tried not to laugh in their face as I said no, cause I have a new baby. In reality, we did go to a party at our friends house. At 9pm, I though it was 3am. Michael rang in the new year by sleeping through the whole party. He was very thoughtful.

Want to know who isn't thoughtful? UGA's vet school. Rob had to back on the 2nd! Not all of UGA, just the vet school. So lame. I was thinking to myself, I should write a blog post, but yeah, didn't happen.

Quite frankly, I'm surprised I got to write one today. Lil' M woke up at 5:30 and decided he was gonna scream and cry for the next 8 hours. He finally fell asleep around 1:30. Thank God, cause I was starting to lose feeling in my arms from rocking him. Actually, besides today baby boy has been pretty good. He is starting to play with his toys (kinda) and he is talking (kinda) a lot now! He is also holding his head up a lot, this may seem boring to you out there, but once he can hold his head up on his own 100% I can stop worrying that his little neck is gonna snap if I'm not paying attention... Which would never happen cause I am always paying attention. Ever vigilant.

Oh, sounds like I'm up for another 8 hours of crying, gotta jet. Motherhood is so magical sometimes! I'll try to update the picture website soon!

Two Month Favorites and Hates

Baby Michael is 9.5 weeks old, so I thought I would share some new favorite things!  

Diapers: As he gets older, baby boy is (obviously) also getting bigger! At around 7 weeks old, Michael was finally (sort of) big enough to fit into his cloth diapers! We have a couple different brands, but the majority of what we use are Bumgenius Freetime All in One Diapers. They are super simple to use and come in a bunch of cute colors. We have both the snaps and the velcro. They work just like disposable diapers- no prefolding into oragami shapes or pinning! Once they have been "used" we just toss them into the washing machine! I haven't bought diapers in three weeks and that feels pretty good. I think we've already saved over a hundred dollars in diapers and cut out about a million loads of trash!

Leg Warmers: I had a friend tell me about these, and I LOOVE them! First of all, they are adorable. Second, they make changing Baby Boy a breeze. Rob and I use the leg warmers when we are too lazy to put pants on Michael. That way when we change him, all we have to do is unsnap the bottom of his onesie and not have to worry about pulling pants on and off. Third- They keep baby legs toasty warm!  We have four pairs- dinosaurs, monsters, guitars, and red and black stripes (to match his UGA gear).  I have the Baby Legs brand, but my friend has some from little legs.

Pump and Save Bags: Ok, sorry in advance for any guys out there that might get creeped out. I breastfeed. Once you breastfeed you realize that breast milk is liquid gold and you never ever want to throw any away (ask Rob, he hates that our fridge and freezer is so full of milk there is no room for our food).  The problem with not wanting to waste milk is that you run out of places to store it. Enter Pump and Save Bags. These bad boys are freezer safe and can attach right to my breast pump! Seriously, everyone go buy a box of these.

Wet Bags: Moms out there- have you been out and about and your baby has a big blowout or a big spit up and you have gross wet clothes that need to go somewhere without contaminating everything else in your baby bag? Well, Planet Wise makes bags that are PERFECT for that! They are cloth on the outside and waterproof on the inside. So you can throw gross wet clothes (and/or dirty cloth diapers) in these bags and they keep everything nice and separated. they come in three different sizes AND two styles. You can have the kind in the picture with one pocket, or get a Wet/Dry bag- these have two pockets so you can keep clean dry items away from wet dirty ones. I use my small bag to keep little reusable items together- pacifier, bottle nipples, etc. My medium one lives in our diaper bag and holds spare outfits or dirty clothes. I have two big ones, one at my parents house and one at our house that I use as hamper for dirty diapers when we are traveling.  And because I am a total hippie when it comes to diapers- I even have two of their reusable pail liners for my diaper pail at home! I love the bags this company makes! Best part- they are all machine washable and go in the dryer!

Those are the things I loved in month two! My title makes mention of what I hated. Well, what did I hate you ask? Two month shots!!! Michael had to go to the doctor for his two month check up. Good news- Baby boy is up to 9lbs 14oz, and is at 22inches. He is moving right along developmentally, and should be smiling at us ON PURPOSE any day now!  Bad news- still has heartburn, even had his medicine dosage raised, and he likely has a bit of colic.  All in all- it wasn't a bad visit UNTIL.... the shots.  He had to have 3 shots. It might as well have been 3,000,000. He cried SOOOOO hard. Guess who else was crying? Mommy. And the nurse. Wait, let me go back. After his first stick he didn't cry right away. Not cause he was brave, because he was holding his breath gearing up for the loudest scream EVER. Rob said it was louder than when he was born.  I am not looking forward to our four month check up. More freakin' shots. I'm making Rob skip class that day, because there is no way I am going alone.

That's it for now. I am very excited for Michael's first Christmas early next week! He hasn't visited Santa yet this year... not sure if I want him sitting on some lap a billion other kids have sat on. I'm torn if I want to take him or wait til next year. Thoughts?

(oh, and I'm scrambling to finish so I can feed baby, so AGAIN, I apologize for typos or poor grammar!)

(Conversations)

This has absolutely nothing to do with our baby, but I found it hilarious nonetheless:

Scene: Driving to the farm discussing the possibility of Rob doing field research on big cats.

Stephanie: I can see you darting lions in Africa and studying their reproductive or migratory patterns. Wait, do lions migrate?

Rob: No they don't; but it would be cool.

Stephanie: Which big cat do you want to study? Lions? Siberian tigers? Sumatran tigers-

Rob (interrupting and dead serious): Sumatran tigers, cause I could dart them while riding on an elephant.

Stephanie: Um, yes. Yes you could...

Rob (continuing to geek out): Also, I would get to wear a mask on the back of my head, ya know, cause tigers attack from behind...

Two months: Part Deux

So, today is December 10th, Michael's two month birthday. Or is it? Last Wednesday was eight weeks since his birthday. So was that his two month birthday or is it today? This ridiculousness reminds me of a blog I wrote when I was preg: pregnancy is 9 months (36 weeks), but full term is 40 weeks, and the first two weeks you aren't even pregnant! Seriously, it's no wonder I was awful at math growing up. It makes no sense! Anywho, here are Baby Boy's two month photos, he was not a happy camper.

Baby cries = Daddy cries

Yesterday we took our Christmas family photos. Thanks to my friend and favorite photographer- Skot! The photo shoot took place at my father-in-laws house cause it's a big beautiful victorian, and we live in a tiny apartment.  Baby Boy was fussy the whole time, but we did get some cute shots. Here are a few of my favorites:

Look at that frowny face!

Hopefully I can get Christmas cards printed up and sent out before it's to late, although, I don't seem to have time to clean my tiny apartment these days! Thanks again Skot! Once I order my favorites, I'll upload these and more to our photo website so everyone can see them. 

If you talk to Rob over the next two days, be sure to wish him luck on his last two finals- Farm Med and Zoo Med. I can't wait for him to be finished! While we're on the subject- good luck to all my favorite students down on the island of St. Christopher on your finals too! (and if you're a VIP on the Rock, good luck dealing with your students this week!)

Back to being a mommy! Til next time... 

2 Whole Months!

I can't believe baby boy is two months old already! It feels like he has been around way longer than that.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled blog for this late breaking {Conversations} segment:

Scene: Right after baby bath time, during baby massage.

Rob (in bedroom): CRAPPPPPPPP!
Steph (in kitchen): What's the matter?!
Rob: Baby massage really relaxed him...
Steph: Did he poop?
Rob: Yes...
Steph: In a diaper?
Rob: No...

Right before bath time I got peed on. Wait, let me elaborate: My face got pee on it. Having a baby boy is dangerous. Thank God he doesn't have a cannon shooting out poop too! Yes, it seems way longer than two months.

In other pee and poop news, Michael has started wearing his cloth diapers. So far they have been great- easy to use and easy to clean. they also received stamps of approval from both Rob and my mom. Right after we started using them I accidentally washed a (clean) disposable diaper. Um...... so gross. I wish I had thought to take a picture. Here are two I found online:

wet diaper v new diaper.
The diaper I washed was so full you couldn't even fold it like the one in this picture.

And here is a glass full of the nasty chemicals that so efficiently absorb in disposable diapers.
GROSS

If I wasn't already using cloth diapers, seeing that nasty chemical wasteland of a diaper would havebeen  enough to make me switch. If that diaper rips, your kid could suffer a chemical burn! Holy crap- no thank you!

I don't have to much else to share since my last post on Saturday. The meds are definitely helping Michael's acid reflux, and it is very clear if we wait to long between his doses. This week has been pretty quiet so far, especially since Rob has his first final Friday and two more next week. Baby and Mommy have been trying very hard to be quiet. Sunday we are going to be taking Christmas pictures. I think they are going to turn out really cute, and I can't wait to share them with everyone!

Ok, time to run- crying baby is calling! (sorry for typos, no time to proof read!)

Airplanes, Thanksgiving, Weddings, and Acid Reflux

Oy vey, what a week and a half it's been since I posted last! We were getting ready to head to Arizona for my sister in law's wedding and the Thanksgiving holiday and I was having crazy anxiety over flying with Baby Michael.

Turns out, Michael is a great flyer! He slept through take off, had his pacifier during landing, and only cried as people were getting off the plane. To be fair, he was pretty hungry. He was even better on the flight home. He again slept through take off, and he was awake during the landing- no crying! I wanted to cry when we got off the plane in Atlanta and Delta gave me back a broken stroller! They freaking destroyed my poor Peg-perego stroller- snapped a wheel off, broke the handle, and bent the frame. Delta is sending us a check for a new one, but I was still super mad and upset. Oh well.

The rest of the trip was great! Thanksgiving was loads of fun complete with loads of yummy food! Rob's grandparents LOVED little Michael, but who wouldn't? In fact, Michael was VERY popular last weekend. I think everyone in the state of Arizona got to hold him! Ok, I might be exaggerating a tiny bit... :)  I was excited because I got to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade with my baby- something my mom did/does with me and my brother every year. I love traditions!!!

Saturday was Shelly and Nathan's wedding. Shelly and her bridesmaids (myself included) got up early, got our hair and make up done (we all looked freakin' beautiful, especially Shelly), got our pretty dresses on and headed to the Japanese Friendship Garden for the ceremony and reception.  The site was  really pretty and serene, I think it fit Shelly and Nathan perfectly (good thing they picked it!). Since I was a bridesmaid and Rob was an usher, his great-aunt Ruth was on baby duty. She was so funny- she came prepared with her sneakers (for traction- safety first) and her softest sweater for Michael to cuddle against. Michael thoroughly enjoyed his first wedding- and he was polite enough to not cry at all during the ceremony, and minimal crying during the reception. Probably because everyone was loving on him- he had nothing to cry about!

Sunday morning came too soon, especially since we had a 7am flight. Luckily babies wake up at the crack of dawn, so getting Michael up and out the door was easier than getting me and Rob up and out the door! And, as I said before he was great on the plane.

I was hoping to write this blog post earlier (i.e.- not Saturday, the last day of the week), but Michael was so fussy this week. At first I thought he was just worn out from the trip/holiday/wedding, but as the week went on, I knew something wasn't right. Michael would be very fussy after eating, especially at night. He wouldn't be able to fall back asleep, and would cry if you tried to lay him down flat on his back. Several times when I tried to feed him, he would pull away and just scream and cry, but he would still be hungry. We started taking his temperature to see if he picked up a bug, but nothing. On Thursday morning he had a slight fever and had been up ALL night the night before. I decided it was time to call the doctor. Rob and I took Michael in, and turns out he likely has acid reflux! Before you ask what I've been eating, the doctor told us that unless I eat a lot of dairy (I don't) or cabbage (gross), it's unlikely that it's my diet, and loads of babies get heartburn. Turns out it's often misdiagnosed as colic. Since I am anal about making lists, I had written down of all the symptoms I noticed throughout the week- glad I did, cause baby boy got a prescription of Zantac for heartburn instead of mommy being told that he has colic and to just muscle through it.

He has only had three doses so far, but it seems to have started working. Thank God, cause the night he was up all night crying, I was hating myself for not being able to calm him down. In fact, he woke Rob up screaming, and when Rob asked what was wrong I started crying as hard as the baby. Being a mom is hard. So, yeah, that's why the blog is late this week!

I have uploaded lots of new pictures to the website http://threeisntacrowd.shutterfly.com/, so check them out!