Big Blue Eyes

I couldn't help myself. I had to post this picture.

Videos

Right before nap time (doesn't know whether to laugh or cry)

Pre-bath anticipation



Bath Time!

Sensitive tummy+ Sleep training+ Insomnia= NO BLOGGING (and 4 months old!)

Elijah - 2-3 months - Wow, the last few weeks have been a little rough to say the least. But now everything has been great the last few days. Here's the lowdown: Eli has a super sensitive tummy and doesn't nap very well during the day because he is always waking up with gas pains. (Now he is doing great). We do everything to prevent them but his doctor said it's just something he'll grow out of as his system matures. Luckily he's so exhausted by bed time that he crashes and usually sleeps really well. We burp him obsessively, give him gas drops, changed nipples on his bottles, bought a special mixer for his formula so it doesn't get air in it, give him gripe water, we've tried all manner of massaging his tummy and helping relieve gas. He is such a trooper for putting up with it. We considered switching formula but the next step is soy and his doctor said that wasn't necessary and makes most babies constipated. But the last few days have been really good for all of us. He is a super sleeper when you put him down. He usually goes right to bed unless he has a burp he needs to get out. And sleep training has been a breeze for him probably because we've had the same routine for him since he was 2 months old. Now I just need to sleep train myself. After waking up every 3 hours to feed him or pump for the last 4 months, I now have the worst sleeping habits. I can't go to sleep when I should and I can't stay asleep. Lovely. So even when I have a happy, sleeping baby I'm still tired. Matt has been so wonderful taking over when he gets home and on the weekends. I couldn't ask for a better man. And FYI breastfeeding is now over- I went to pump one day and nothing came out. It was decided for me. And I'm so done feeling guilty and crying about it it. Sometimes I can't believe I got so worked up over it, it's not like he's gonna become an axe murderer or something.

Elijah- 4 months

The last two weeks Elijah has really started sleeping well. Most nights he'll sleep from around 8 PM to 4AM and last night he slept from 8PM to 6AM. We were estatic!

Elijah had his 4 month checkup and is growing like a weed. 5 lbs in 2 months, not bad bubba, not bad :) He's growing out of his 0-3 month clothes length wise and fits well into his 3-6 monthers length wise, but still isn't chubby enough to fill them out. So his pants look like floods right now.

( I'm not sure about percentiles, every growth calculator/ chart is different. Our pediatrician says most growth charts are out of date and as long as the child continues to grow well it doesn't matter. Which I actually prefer, so I'm not always comparing him to other kids- a dangerous place to doddle in.)

13 lbs. 12 oz.
25" long
16 1/2 " head

Right now he:

Blows bubbles, coos, laughs
Loves his play-yard
Laughs when we dance with him
Takes 3 naps a day, Sleeps 12 hours at night! 8-8 with only two feedings one at 10pm and one at 5am.
Smiles on command
Loves moving his little arms and legs around
Doesn't have to be swaddled anymore
Loves his binky and softie blanket
Loves having his diaper changed and taking baths
Is the noisiest sleeper I've ever seen
All of his baby hair is about gone
Still doesn't like tummy time, but is getting better

And now for large picture and video post!

This was at about 3 months. He fell asleep playing. Cute and very rare.

I like to sleep like this

Love my play-yard

Hate being taken out of my play-yard

I love to smile and giggle

All dressed up for church- don't mind my Hammer pants:)

I love to read books

I need a haircut

Halloween Poll

Which one is the cutest? We can't decide.

Superman

PeaPod

 

Wonderbread Loaf

And here is a cute pic of the day, thanks for the shirt Auntie Amy!

Picture Overload-Blessing, Museum, Gma and Gpa visit

We had Mom and Dad A. come and visit for the baby blessing. We managed to go to the museum, ate out, and take a ton of pictures. We loved having them here! The baby blessing was beautiful (A baby blessing is similar to a christening in our faith). Matt did a great job and I naturally became teary eyed during it. But here are a bunch of pictures from the Blessing, Museum and cute pics of Eli.

Blessing Day

Getting Ready to Go

All covered so I don't spit up on my blessing outfit. Elijah is known for spitting up in his car seat the second you put him in.

I think he looks like Matt in this pic. He wore Matt's blessing outfit. He looked so cute in it. Matt was a big baby so it was a little big on Eli, but Mom A took a seam up the back to make it fit just right. And I didn't realize til that morning that I didn't have any white booties for him, oh well blue will have to do.

The bonnet. I die every time I see him with it on.

"Grandma I'm sick of taking pictures, get that camera out of my face!"

The Houston Museum of Natural Science

Terra Cotta Warriors Exhibit

We got to pretend to be weatherman/woman

Yes that is fossilized poo

Looking like a big kid in my bumbo

The next generation of tongue to nose touchers

I fell asleep on Grandma's lap like this

Why is everyone laughing at me!?

I'm sleepy

1st diaper blowout-guhross

Excuse the horrible video quality, we are now on the hunt for a new camera. Any suggestions?

2 months old!

Well actually last Friday he was 2 months old but we've been a little busy lately. It feels like the time has flown by, but at the same time gone soooo slow. We got his shots yesterday and I was surprised I wasn't really emotional when he cried. Probably because that was the type of crying he was doing when his reflux acted up so I was use to it after hearing it for several weeks. We got him on some medicine that has made a HUGE difference. He actually will let me put him down now and he just smiles and coos then falls asleep all by himself. I love how fun he's getting. He will just stare at me and give the biggest smiles you've ever seen. I can honestly say the last couple of weeks were rough but they make the happy moments so much more special now. I love him. He's seriously packing on the pounds now that we are feeding him 1/2 formula 1/2 breastmilk. He's been sleeping a lot better too now that his congestion is clearing up. He slept through the night on Tuesday. We put him down at 10 and he didn't wake up til 4! My internal alarm clock woke me up when he would normally awaken, so when I checked the monitor and he was still soundly asleep I was sure he had stopped breathing or something. But nope, he was just catching up on all the lost sleep he'd had over the last few days. On Wednesday I was hoping he would do it again but it was just a fluke. Oh well. I'm hoping he sleeps through the night in a month or 2. We shall see, I'm learning that things don't always happen the way you want them to. No matter how much you try to make them that way. Sometimes God has a different path in mind that will turn us into better people. Our camera's been freaking out so I don't have any good pics to post, but I hope to have some soon.

Stats:
8 lbs. 12 oz.
22 inches long
15 inch head

Expect the Unexpected

So I had a huge post all typed out about the events of the last few weeks but I think I'm going to keep those feelings to myself and put it in my written journal. But in a nutshell this is what has happened:

*Elijah was very fussy and sleepy for a whole week.
*Found out he's not putting on weight as well as he should.
*Found out I haven't been making enough milk for him due to a bunch of compounding factors.
*I cry and curse damn formula everytime I have to make it.
*I've been pumping like a crazy woman and taking a nasty herbal supplement that makes me and Eli smell like rotten maple syrup. Hope this increases my milk supply.
*The fussiness continues.
*We go to the doctor. Elijah has acid reflux. He is deemed a scrawny screamer.
*Now he's on meds and sleeping like a baby :)
*AND now he has a cold due to the congestion caused by the acid reflux.
*Poor baby. Saddest thing ever.
*Wonderful hubby lets me take off and go see a girly movie all by myself. Bliss.
*Wonderful hubby takes over night shifts on weekends so I can sleep. Again, bliss.

*This is what we do all day- Feed breastmilk in bottle, if still hungry feed formula in bottle, burp after each ounce, change, play, swaddle, put down for nap, pump, try to get something done, repeat.

*Needless to say we have been very tired and our house looks like a bomb went off.

Just cuz

My current wardrobe of choice: spitup

Pope of the ducks

Adorable

Who's your daddy?

Update

Holding onto bunny for dear life while getting his diaper changed

Cooking with mommy

First time in baby bijorn

Getting a head massage while my hair is washed

First time at church

Photo Shoot

Favorite sleeping position during the day

Elijah is getting better about getting his diaper changed, he only screams a little bit now:)
He always has to have something in his mouth, a pacifier, his hand etc.
He smiled at me today.
His hair is out of control.
He's finally filling out his newborn clothes.