Camden's Birthday

This weekend was my nephew's 3rd birthday.  We went to Nashville to celebrate with him and to spend some time with my sister and her beautiful family.  Camden had his party at a bounce house and we all had the best time!  Thomas and his cousins get along so well.  Camden is so sweet and such a big helper.  He watches over Thomas and makes sure he has plenty of toys to play with.  Every time Thomas would throw something on the floor (his new favorite game), Camden would laugh and then quickly pick it up for him.

I was able to take some pictures of my sister, Camden, and baby Eden.  Ben, her husband, had to work so I wasn't able to get him in any of the pictures.  I just love this little family and their warm and welcoming home. 

 

Seven Months and April Adventures!

-First Words: Dada. 

-Foods: Still breastfeeding and making homemade baby food.  I feed him milk about every 4 hours, and he eats three times a day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner).  This can range from 2 oz to 4 oz of baby food per meal.  Tried chicken and apples for the first time last week.  Favorite food so far is sweet peas and oatmeal with apple sauce.

-He started trying to clap his hands to “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” 

-He’s very ticklish and loves to laugh

-He gets so excited whenever daddy gets home from work.  He swings his arms around like crazy when he sees him.

-Sleeps for 10+ hours straight.  Goes to bed at 7:00-7:30 and wakes up around 5:00-5:30 to eat.  After I feed him I put him back down until 7:00-7:30.

-Takes two naps during the day. 

-Almost crawling! He scoots backwards now, but is definitely trying his hardest to figure things out. 

-Loves to stand! (With help of course)

-Bought him his first Sippy cup.  He still doesn’t quite have the hang of it, but its fun to watch him try to figure it out

I’ve fallen behind on my updates.  I completely missed the six month mark (face-palm).  April has been a very busy and eventful month for us. At the beginning of this month, of course, was Easter.  Thomas had a great Easter with his family.  With the help of his cousins he was able to hunt eggs.  I fully understand that a 6 month old doesn't really get the point of an Easter basket, but I got him one anyways, if only for my own enjoyment.  I loved picking things out for him.  I'm such a cheese-ball when it comes to sentimental traditions and occasions.  Thomas also went on his very first vacation to Charleston, SC.  I had prepared myself mentally for a terrible car ride.  I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I had visions of Thomas being miserable, stuck in his car seat for several hours, and us having to stop 100 times.  He, however, did wonderfully!  He only fussed a couple of times in the car, but it wasn't anything a few songs and toys couldn't help.  Charleston was a great place to take him.  We were able to push him around in his stroller a lot, which he loved.  We had so much fun looking at the different homes, shopping in the marketplace, and eating at new places.  I'm sure Thomas will remember it forever (sarcasm, if you couldn't tell).  It was a great family vacation and I can’t wait to go back!  I also found him a pair of adorable sunglasses at a store in Charleston called Babiators.  They are BPA free, really flexible and soft, and they will replace them if they are lost or broken.  I highly recommend them!

Right before Thomas turned six months, I started feeding him baby food.  I started him on baby cereal around four months, but wanted to wait a little bit longer before I introduced other solids.  I really wanted to establish breastfeeding with him, and I read that waiting until six months should help to do that.  Since he has started eating I have been making all of Thomas’ baby food.  Doing it myself has been saving us so much money.  Plus, I know it’s the best for him to have fresh, organic fruits and vegetables, although I have to admit that the money component is a huge motivator.  I bought a steamer pot to do all of my cooking in. I read that steaming is one of the best ways to maintain nutrients while cooking fruits and vegetables.  After I peel, chop, and steam the food I puree it in a blender.  I bought some 4 oz plastic containers for freezing and storage.  I've also found that silicon muffin pans work great for freezing and then popping the food out to put in zip lock bags.  So far I’ve made apples, summer squash, bananas, carrots, sweet potatoes, green beans, peas, and chicken (I may be forgetting some things). http://wholesomebabyfood.momtastic.com/ is a great website for recipes, information, tips, and ideas for making your own baby food.

This month I also gave Thomas his first bubble bath.  I decided I wanted him to have some fun with dinner one night so I placed a bowl of oatmeal in front of him and let him go to town.  It was so fun to watch him grab handfuls and shove it in his face.   Afterwards, we gave him a really good scrubbing in a bubble bath.  And yes, he did eat some bubbles.  There's no stopping that kid. 

I know I'm going to have a very active and busy boy on my hands soon.  I'm mentally preparing myself to be constantly chasing him.  I feel so blessed to have a fun and adventurous son and I've been having a blast helping him experience the world around him.  How do children manage to make you feel so old and so young at the same time?   

Here are some pictures from the month of April

Easter 2013:  

Charleston, S.C.

 

 

First Bubble Bath

 Trying to Crawl 

 

5 Months!

Thomas turned five months on the 26th.  Time is going by so quickly! Some of his new tricks (skills?) include blowing raspberries, sitting up on his own for longer periods of time,  rolling all over the place, and babbling.  He has been rolling over and sleeping on his stomach.  When he first started doing this I completely freaked out.  I would continually go in and try to roll him back or tilt his head.  After multiple times of various failed attempts (and seeking advice from experienced friends), I finally gave up and now I let him sleep however he wants.  He actually sleeps better now.

I am so grateful to have this time with him.  It's such a blessing to be able to watch him grow and change.  I don't want to miss a moment of it! Every day brings new changes and developments.

We've been going to story time on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which has been so much fun.  Thomas loves the little songs we sing, and to hear the books read, but mainly he is fascinated by the bigger (more mobile) kids.  I've also met some great mommas at story time and highly recommend it!

Here are some of Thomas' five month old pictures.  He obviously loves playing with his toys.

 

More Eden Pictures

I've gotten into (amateur) photography since having Thomas.  It has been something that I've really enjoyed, especially since my models are so stinking adorable.  Here are some more pictures of my beautiful niece.  

Nashville and Baby Eden

This weekend Thomas took his first big trip to visit his brand new cousin Eden Faith.  He did really well for his first long car ride and overnight trip in a hotel.  We got stuck in Nashville traffic on our way in and Thomas became really tired and hungry.  But, we survived the hour of fussing and Thomas slept through the night in his pack-n-play.   After we put him down, John and I didn't really know what to do.  We weren't ready to sleep, but we didn't want to wake Thomas.  So we made a pallet in the bathroom and put towels and extra pillows down and watched Downton Abbey on our computer, while we ate snacks.  I could pretend that this was a selfless sacrifice and last ditch effort to make the best of a difficult evening, but we actually had a lot of fun.  It has made a wonderful memory of a great time spent together as new(ish) parents. 

I couldn't believe how small and fragile baby Eden was.  I just kept thinking that four and a half months ago Thomas was that size.  It's hard to believe how much he has grown and changed since he was born.  I was so glad that we were able to share that time with my sister, nephew, and brother-in-law.  It brought back a lot of not-so-distant memories of Thomas' first day in the world.

Baby Eden is beautiful.  She is dark haired and dark complected like her daddy.  Thomas just watched her when she would whimper or grunt.  He didn't really have much to say (as if he ever does).    But I'm just crazy about her and can't wait to spoil her. 

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day to my little love bug!

Sleeeeeeep

It's almost Valentine's Day and this year is particularly special because I am able to share it with John and Thomas.  John and I decided to celebrate early, because my niece is scheduled to arrive on the 15th!! We will be taking our first big trip to Nashville to see her.  I'm so excited to spoil her.

 I decided to take some Valentine's photos of Thomas in an adorable big boy bow-tie.  I didn't want to buy one, because I knew he would outgrow it so quickly, so I just made one myself.  Doesn't he look handsome? 

We've been really working on Thomas' sleep schedule and routine.  After a period of not sleeping consistently you begin to refer to sleep as if it is something you once had, loved, and will probably never have again.  It's almost like an amazing meal at a five star restaurant that you tried once, but can no longer afford.  You can't even say the word "sleep" like a normal person anymore.  It has instead become the long drawn out "sleeeeeeep," as if hanging on to the word will somehow get you closer to the actual activity.  Needless to say, sleep is important and becomes even more important the longer you go without it.  Getting it down has taken about a month of hard work.  Now, he sleeps from 7:30 or 8:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m., and takes 3 short naps during the day in his bed.  I have tried various sleep routines, methods, and techniques to get this schedule down.  I know some people naturally have easy babies who sleep whenever and where-ever.  If you are one of those parents thank your lucky stars and quit bragging about it (just kidding)!  If, however, you are anything like me, you have a child who loves to be awake and active.  Thomas doesn't want to skip a beat, which is a blessing and a curse.  I'm so happy to have a child who loves to play, explore, and socialize, but it takes extra special care to get him to sleep properly.  His reluctance to sleep had gotten so bad that he became overly exhausted and (the irony of babies) had an even HARDER time sleeping.  John and I were in a down-whirl spiral of parental misery.  First, we had to break him of being overly exhausted.  This required some gas and antacid drops and just plain ol' rocking for a couple of days.  I had to get him into a routine of sleeping, so I read that after a baby becomes fatigued you may have to rock them to sleep at the same time for three days.  This worked for us.  After that period we were able to put him into his crib at the same time that he was typically rocked.  I had to adjust our routine, making sure to do the same things before naps and bedtime.  This typically consists of a couple of stories, a couple of songs, and then to the crib while he is still awake (that's important).  At night I had to break him of his habit of waking up at 1 a.m. to eat.  To do this I first tried crying it out (at our doctor's suggestion).  It was horrible. Many long nights were spent painfully listening to him cry.  We could never make it to the 30 minute mark, which is what our doctor recommended.  I always gave in much sooner.  I eventually couldn't stand the  CIO technique so I turned to a gentler Ferber method of progressive waiting.  With this I would go back every 3-5 minutes to pat him, give him his paci, sing to him, or hold his hands.  The key was to not pick him up.  After two nights he stopped waking up and would sleep anywhere between 8-10 hours.  Although this method is exhausting the first two nights (expect not to get much sleep), it's a lot easier than having to listen to him cry and it worked like a charm.  He still fights his naps and there are times that he becomes overly tired and then he REALLY fights them.  During these times I do some progressive waiting and go back every couple of minutes while he is fussing to give him his paci, pat him, etc.  After 5 or 10 minutes he usually falls asleep. 

Sleep can be one of the biggest challenges with children.  It requires a lot of patience, prayers, and love.  Continually we are having to re-evaluate and adjust our methods to make things work for him.  I'm not going to lie and pretend it's been easy for me.  It hasn't! There have been moments that I've held Thomas screaming in my arms and I've had to ask for God's grace, peace, and help.  If you want to see yourself at your worst (and who ever would?), deprive yourself from sleep for 4 months, add the normal stresses of every day living, and sprinkle a good dose of screaming, fatigued baby on top of it.  It's incredibly humbling.  These moments are just a wonderful reminder of how much I need God and the love and support of others.  I think that realization has ultimately made me a better mother and a better person.  In difficult and joyous moments, in times of exhaustion and times of rest, in days filled with laughter and days filled with tears, I hope I am always able to remember that God's grace is sufficient.  To remind me of this lesson I've posted the words of 1 Peter 5:10 in Thomas' room: 

" After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, the one who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself restore, empower, strengthen, and establish you."