6 Weeks!

As I wrote out the title of this post, I had a flashback to my weekly pregnancy posts.  At least I'm doing a better job at getting these up!  At least I can enjoy a bit longer of thinking of our life in terms of weeks before it transitions to months and years.

We've had a good week, although fairly uneventful.  Trey did go to church for the first time on Sunday, but of course we were late. :-)  I had put him in his seat while I got dressed, and when I came back into the living room, he had woken up and was crying.  Time to eat!  While I was nursing him, he peed, soaking both his clothes and mine.  After wardrobe changes, we headed to church.  He stayed in the wrap most of the time and slept through church and lunch afterwards.  He didn't get to socialize much because this momma doesn't like her boy's naps interrupted!  Makes for a cranky baby (and tired momma) later on!  At this point, it's probably better germ-wise, and since his schedule is still heavy on the sleeping and eating, there are limited opportunities for socializing anyway.

The last few days have been pretty lazy at home.  Trey's been having some tummy trouble that's had him a little out of sorts.  He wouldn't sleep for more than 15 - 30 minutes at a time, and I couldn't lay him down without him waking up.  Thankfully that's better today.  He's taken two nice, long naps on his own, letting me get a shower and do some laundry.  He had also been spitting up after almost every feeding and during naps, but that's also tapered off quite a bit today.  I've had to sleep on the couch with him the last two nights, but hopefully we can go back to the bed and pack 'n play tonight.  Although, he did sleep on me from 12:30 to 6:00 this morning.  That's the longest stretch of sleep I've had since February 15!  I'm not planning on it happening again soon because he still needs to eat more frequently than that.  I think he was just worn out from not getting good sleep the last few days.

Let's see what's going on this week:

• Trey still doesn't like the binky much and is still sucking on his fist.
• He goes to sleep between 11 and 12 at night and wakes up about every 3 1/2 hours.
• He's been wearing size 1 diapers for the last several weeks.
• When he's tired, he puts his fists up under his chin.
• If he's upset, he'll calm down when I put him on his changing pad to get him a fresh diaper.
• He enjoys sitting in his bouncy seat in the kitchen while I fix dinner.
• I can count on a big grin when he sees me after he wakes up. :-)

And of course, here are this week's pictures!  I hadn't taken one yet today, so I snapped one of him napping beside me on the couch. :-)

Busy week!

Trey has had quite the busy week, but as usual, has handled it all very well.  Steve took Tuesday off work, so we headed to Tahlequah so that Trey could meet his great great grandma.  She knew we were coming and was really excited about meeting Trey.  He woke up when we took him out of his seat for her to hold and turned on the charm. :-)  She held him for probably 20 minutes, getting several grins from him.  It really is remarkable that Trey has two great great grandmas and that they are both pretty healthy and independent considering their ages!  We visited for a little over an hour and thoroughly enjoyed the visit!

We grabbed a bite of lunch and then headed back home where Steve had time for a quick nap before we went to the bowling alley for Matt's surprise birthday party.  Since Trey really needed a nap and I didn't want him getting shuffled around constantly, I decided not to bowl and just put him in the wrap.  I wondered if I was crazy for hoping he would sleep at the bowling alley, but within minutes of being inside, he was zonked and slept for about 3 hours.  Thankfully he seems to do well in the wrap when we're out and about!  I think it will turn out to be one of my favorite pieces of baby gear!

Yesterday, we went to the Tulsa Zoo with Mom, Lydia, and Joey, and once again, Trey slept in the wrap the whole time.  On our way there, we stopped at Arby's for lunch where I got to clean up a blowout diaper...front and back.  Yuck. :-)  I also bumped his carseat straps up to the next hole because he was getting too tall.  It fits much better now.  He slept through the whole zoo, only waking up as we were leaving.  The poor guy got a bubble after we got back on the highway and cried harder than I've ever heard before. :-(  Mom had to pull over on the shoulder so I could get him out and burp him, and things were fine again.  I hate seeing him get upset and hurt.  Breaks my heart!  Thankfully he's not a fussy guy, so there's not much to worry about until he turns into an accident prone toddler. :-)

Today has been pretty laid back.  We did run to Springdale to pick up our pictures, but Trey slept most of the time.  On the way out of town, he was kind of fussy, having a hard time getting to sleep.  I put my hand back to stroke his face, and he grabbed my hand and held his face up against it.  He was asleep in minutes.  When we got to Springdale and were waiting for the pictures, he woke up and started crying, so I put my hand back there...same results.  Good thing to know!  Fortunately he falls asleep fairly quickly so that I can get my arm back before it falls completely asleep.

I did discover a trick for getting him to sleep the other night purely by accident.  He's still been having trouble getting to sleep at night.  He falls asleep either during or after he nurses, but as soon as I lay him in his bassinet, he wakes up, eyes wide open, moving all over.  Several times it was a few hours before I could get him to sleep again.  Last night, I had put him in his napper on the pack 'n play, and within minutes, he was awake.  I picked him up and sat on the bed, but he was flailing his arms and kicking his legs.  It's like he's extremely tired but can't get his body to cooperate.  I think swaddling might help except that he doesn't seem to like having his arms held down, and he gets SO hot.  It may be something we try eventually, but anyway, I went to shift how I was sitting and briefly held him really tightly up against me, similar to how he must feel in the wrap.  It was hilarious.  It was like he melted.  Instantly, he stopped fighting, held still, and closed his eyes.  I rocked and patted him for about five more minutes and put him on his tummy in the bassinet, and he slept for four hours.  Nice. :-)  Last night, we tried the same thing...bingo!  He didn't sleep as long, but it definitely helps in the getting him to sleep process!  Especially as I get closer to going back to work, I really enjoy all the time I get to spend with him, even if it is the middle of night. :-)

5 Weeks

Thoughts of the week:

• Trey is doing a really good job of holding his head up and gets his shoulders off the floor sometimes.
• He has started sucking on his hand when he sleeps.  I think if he could figure out how to get his thumb out of his fist, he would suck on it.
• He cried his first tears this week getting his nose cleaned out.
• The little guy doesn't handle me having milkshakes or dairy very well.  Lots of crying, gassy tummy in the evening.  No problems at all when I avoid it.
• He's started getting a little confused in the evening and stays awake after his late evening nap (ends at 10-11ish) until about 1:00 or 2:00 am.  We've been taking a morning nap together!
• He's still wearing newborn pants but mostly into 0-3 month onesies.  His newborn onesies still fit, but they're a little tight getting off and on, but the 0-3 months are still a little baggy.  0-3 month pants are a little too long and are still too big around his belly.

Here's this week's pics!

Working Out

Trey's brain and muscles have been getting quite the workout lately!  The last few days have been really fun as he is starting to smile and interact.  He was fun before, but it's just getting better! :-)  We have started holding his toys up for him to see, and he does a really good job of tracking them, as well as our faces.  He smiles a lot when I say "Hi" or when I say "Boo" in a low-pitched voice.  He also seems to enjoy it when I sing to him.  It cracks me up when I sing to him when he's nursing because he tries to talk back while he's eating.

Steve and I took him for a walk in the stroller on Saturday.  It was a little windy, so we kept the stroller closed up since Trey doesn't like the wind.  He also wore his snazzy hat.  A customer of Steve's gave it to him, and it is pretty cute!  He dozed off and on, but I think the newness of it made it hard for him to stay asleep.

Sunday was his first time out to church, but we just made it out to the potluck afterwards.  He slept pretty much the whole time, of course!  He does pretty well getting out and about and doesn't seem too bothered unless he's not able to get good naps in.  Interrupted sleep seems to be the only thing that really throws him off too much.

Today has been a pretty lazy day at home.  We did have a diaper this morning that necessitated a bath, but he seems to enjoy the bath just fine.  It was a little chilly when I got him out though, and the poor little guy's gums were chattering!  Later this morning, we tried out his floor gym.  He started out on his back, and seemed pretty interested by the toys.  At one point, he actually hit one of the toys and made it play music.  I would say that our kid is just brilliant and did it on purpose, but I'm pretty sure it was just an accident due to flailing arms. :-)  He spent a few minutes on his tummy, but it was about time to nurse and take a nap, so he was a little tired.  He didn't really fuss about it though.  We'll try it out again tomorrow.

I'll end this with a picture from his sleeping on Steve's chest last night.  It doesn't look comfortable, but when we try to move him, he just wiggles back down into the same position, so I guess it works!

Say cheese!

This week in pictures

Happy Birthday, Baby!

One month ago, I was one tired momma who was ready to go home from the hospital!  It's hard to believe it's been a whole month, but at the same time, it seems like we've had our little man forever.  It's been a wonderful month full of new things!

Trey's been staying awake more lately, but it seems to be after his evening nap that he decides to stay up!  The night before last, it took three times of rocking him to sleep and laying him down before he stayed asleep.  Even after I've held him for a while, his sleep is just still really light...eyes moving, "talking," wiggling around.  He seems to be sleeping for shorter intervals and eating more frequently, so maybe it's just a growth spurt?  I tried last night to let him sleep on his tummy on the bassinet part of the pack 'n play, and he seemed to sleep better.  I know they say not to let them sleep on their tummies, but he definitely prefers it, his neck muscles are pretty strong, and the bassinet pad isn't very thick.  I covered him with one of his light muslin blankets, so I wasn't worried about letting him sleep on his belly.  I figure it's no more of a threat than him sleeping on his back and choking on his spit up like he's done a few times.  Here's an example of him sleeping as I type:

It's hard to tell in the picture, but he's almost falling off sideways because he's so scrunched up.  He wiggles down that way though, so it seems to be what he likes, silly guy. :-)  It's almost like a flashback to this:



Trey apparently doesn't realize that today is a special day, or maybe he does, because all he's done today is sleep, sleep, sleep!  I worked in his room while he napped in his crib earlier this morning, and when he woke up, we had to try on his shades.

We tried to take a few pics of him earlier today, but it was pretty windy and bright.  He was dozing and didn't seem to mind the sun too much, but he really didn't like the breeze.  I got some pictures by the tree, but the way I had him sitting, there was quite a shadow cast on his face.  We got a few more cute ones on the porch though before he let me know that he was ready to go back inside to eat.

We went for a bit of a walk this afternoon, but it was still pretty windy, so we didn't stay out for long.  Even with the breeze and barking dogs at every other house we walked by, Trey got in a good nap.  It was a very nice way to celebrate our special day!

A Walk in the Park

Saturday was a fun day with the fam.  The Beckers came down to meet Little Man, so he and I went to Bella Vista to hang out with them for the day.  After we ate lunch, we headed to the walking trail down by the lake.  I didn't have the stroller, but I did take the wrap, so we bundled up the sleeping boy in the wrap and headed off.  It was pretty bright and sunny, but it didn't seem to bother him too much.  I did pull the outer part of the wrap down though because he was getting really sweaty.

When we got back to the parking lot, Mom ran over to Walgreens to get a few things, so I thought I would change Trey's diaper.  He's had a bit of rash and was a little dirty, so I thought I'd get him in to a clean diaper.  I laid the changing pad on the floor of the van and got his diaper off.  While I was grabbing a wipe, I hear Lydia say, "Emily, Emily!"  I look back at Trey, and he's pooping on his onesie.  I get the wipe to get him cleaned up, and he SHOOTS poop all over my hand, the van, and the parking lot. Nice.  Needless to say, everyone thought it was pretty hilarious.  We used up the rest of the wipes getting everyone/thing cleaned up and got the boy put back in his carseat.  So much for trying to keep the fella clean!

We spent a little while longer hanging out at Mom and Dad's house before the Beckers headed home.  Trey and I headed home a while later (after finding my keys) and popped in at Gentry for a few minutes.  The Shafers/Hayes had come down to check on Pawpaw, so we visited with them for a few minutes.  Trey was a pretty popular fella with all of his relatives!  We can't wait until he gets to meet the rest of them!

Happy 3 Weeks!

I really do have intentions of writing more frequently, but it seems like I don't think about it until we're ready for another weekly post.  The last week has been fairly uneventful, but we have been out and about a little more.  On Sunday, we went to a hotel in Bentonville to visit with the Diazes and a few other families from CC.  It was nice to get to visit with them, and being around other people forces me to share Trey. :-)

Steve took Tuesday off, and we ran out to do a few things in town.  We didn't have a set schedule, but by the time Trey finished his morning nap, ate, and I got his things together, it was 12:30.  We ran to Pea Ridge first so that Trey could meet his Mammaw.  He didn't sleep the whole way over there, and even after we got there, he seemed a little out of sorts.  He didn't want to eat, and he didn't want to sleep.  We left and ran by Sonic for lunch, and Trey started crying, so we stopped in an empty parking lot so I could nurse him.  He finally ate a little and dozed off, so we headed to Sam's.  He was really good in Sam's (sleeping) until he had a dirty diaper and we got our first diaper change in a public bathroom.  I took him on out to the car and nursed him a little more, and then we headed over to the PD to see the family.  We didn't get home until after 6, and Trey slept all evening.  The poor guy was worn out!

We've been a lot more productive today, and it feels pretty nice!  I worked in the bedroom for quite a while and packed up my maternity and winter clothes and got out my skirts and capris.  Hopefully we won't have another big snow!  I don't go back to work until mid-April though, so surely it will be decent by then.  While I'm here at home, I'm pretty much living in sweats and tshirts. :-)  Trey has napped really well today though, so that's made it much easier to get things done.

Let's see...a few things we're learning/noticing about Trey:

• If you lay him down while he's napping, he prefers to lay on his tummy.  At night he sleeps on his back in the pack 'n play napper, but if I'm able to watch him while he naps through the day, I put him on his belly.
• He sort of likes his pacifier.  It works really well when we go out and he's trying to sleep in the car.  He also seems to doze off better with it, but a lot of times, he'll spit it out and not want it back.
• He seems pretty hot natured and gets sweaty and warm pretty easily.  If it's not too chilly, I put him in short sleeve onesies with pants, and that seems to help.
• He has a pretty consistent schedule of eat, sleep, stir around trying to poop, sleep, poop dance with cheerio face, fresh diaper.  Repeat.  Sometimes he stays awake for a little while after he eats, but it just depends.  After his long nap this morning, he stayed awake a little longer after he ate.
• When he stirs around in his sleep, he sometimes makes wimpering or laughing sounds.  He also moves his fist like the sign language for "yes."
• When he nurses, he usually takes his outside hand and puts it on my chest or holds on to my shirt or tank top with it.
• You can tell when he is ready to eat because he starts chewing on his fist.  Until he starts doing that, he typically won't eat.
• He nurses for about 15 minutes on one side usually.
• He usually sleeps for 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hours at a time.

Here's this week's pictures!

(I love this last one because he's holding on to my shirt.) :-)