Brody is 4 months old

Time continues to fly by as Brody is another month older, bigger and smarter.  He's over 14 lbs and around 25-26 inches.  We will know for sure how big he's gotten when he has his four month appointment next week.

He can roll over from tummy to back though its not consistent yet and he still does it more often at daycare than home.  He has rolled from back to tummy but this really involves him turning on his side, which he loves to do, and then accidentally ending up on his tummy.  He's done this in his crib a few times at day-care and buries his face in the mattress.  The teachers know to keep a closer eye on him and they do.

He loves moving and will dance I you hold him in a standing position or be unable to keep his head still.  His favorite pastime is watching other kids, observing facial expressions or just looking around.  This makes it pretty easy to entertain a 4 month old.  Aside from that, he love his Tigger toy.  Its a blanket with a stuffed Rigged head attached.  Of course the thing he loves the most is that he can hold it well enough to stick it in his mouth.  He hasn't truly discovered something new unless he's put it in his mouth.  This includes your fingers, so watch out when he gets his death trip on you!

He also loves mirrors, things that light up, and toys that make a crinkly noise.  He hates getting his nose suctioned.  Since he's been sick with a cold for two weeks and now has a sinus & ear infection, we've been battling over the nose suction for awhile.

He's still a pretty happy boy and smiles at us all the time.  Now that he takes better naps at daycare we get to see his happy face during the week again.  We'll be discussing practicing solids with his pediatrician and getting him ready to start diversifying his diet, though formula will still.provide most of his nutrition for awhile.

We love him more and more each day and I cantnwait o see him develop even more over the next month.  I just hope he doesn't start crawling at 6 mmonths like his teachers keep predicting!  I'm not ready for a mobile child yet, he can stay put!

Wordless Wednesday

Not so fun first

Baby's firsts are always great right? First smile, first laugh, first time rolling over...ah the joys of a little baby.

Well...first cold? Not so fun!! Brody has had a stuffy nose for at least two weeks now. We've been vigorously cleaning it out (which causes him to scream his head off) and just trying to keep an eye on his temp. This is what the pediatrician suggested and it makes sense. There's really nothing you can do to get rid of a cold.


However, we're past the stuffy nose stage and now on to the chest congestion, tiny cough and I can't breathe and suck on my paci at the same time stage. So sleeping of course is a real challenge. The first night after the cold worsened, Brody kept spitting out his paci so he could breathe. Then he wanted it back. Remember how I told you he'd try to get it on his own? Apparently sick-Brody isn't that independent. So that just resulted in crying every 10 minutes until he was in a deep enough sleep not to need his pacifier.

Night two went much better, but he still woke up screaming his head off at 3:30 in the morning. I'm not sure why, but he's much crankier when he's sick. Just like his mommy...

Luckily he's still sleeping well at daycare, he doesn't have a fever and he's still a pretty happy guy. And what did his teachers tell us when we mentioned his cold? Oh yeah, most of the kids in the room have been sick this week. Ugh. Well at least he's working on building his immune system!

Little Mr. Independent

For the last 12 months Brody has been completely reliant on me. He needed me for 9 months in utero, then as a newborn he couldn't do anything without my help. Now he's growing up (you know, he's almost 4 MONTHS old!) and he doesn't need me as much as he once did.

Brody is already exhibiting signs of being able to do things for himself. About a month ago, I reported that he was already trying to hold his bottle, tonight, he held his bottle for the entire time. After letting him feed himself with some assistance from me I was feeling a bit sad and proud at the same time. Then he did something that brought tears to my eyes.

I placed him in his crib after his bottle. He was tired but still awake. So I sat back and watched him put himself to sleep. All of a sudden he dropped his pacifier. Now I've seen other kids at daycare do this and it brings instant tears. But Brody? Nah, he doesn't cry. But he didn't fuss either. What did he do? Tried to get the paci back!

First he rolls onto his side to get his mouth closer to the pacifier. He tried to grab it with his mouth. But his weight shifted and he was on his back again. After two more attempts at this he still wasn't giving up and still hadn't cried for help. He remembered he has two hands that can grab things now. So he picks up his paci and brings it to his mouth. However, he grabbed the part of it that goes in his mouth. Now he's trying to put something in his mouth that just doesn't feel right. Now does he cry for help? Nope, he just happily sucks on the part of the pacifier that you're supposed to hold onto. That's when I step in and fix it for him.

I had to admire how much he's already showing signs of strength and determination. He already has an "I can do it!" attitude. While I do hope this continues into his childhood and I do think self-sufficiency is a good trait to have, but it is sad to not have him need me as much.

Then I look back and remember that he still hasn't figured out how to put his bottle in his mouth. At least I'm good for something!

Wordless Wednesday

You know you're a working mom when...

Your laptop bag holds not only a laptop and paperwork, but also a onsie, baby pants, a thermometer and a bib.

It's a glamorous life I lead.

Push Present

Did you know that there is something called a push present? Apparently, your husband is supposed to get you a gift for having a baby. Okay, I get it, I did go through the pain of labor and the awful recovery, so it is nice that some husbands choose to recognize that with a gift. But for me, Brody was enough.

But this did get me thinking about what Jason did do for me after giving birth. If you know Jason, he isn't the type of guy to just do anything I ask him. He's helpful for sure, but he makes it very clear that he's not here to wait on me, just as I do not wait on him either. We are partners.

However, after Brody was born the recovery harder than I expected. With no hesitation, Jason took over everything I didn't do. In the hospital he ran out to get anything and everything I needed. Once home he took over the cleaning/cooking/diaper changing/dog care etc. With non-stop visitors he was also in charge of entertaining and coordinating schedules. Since I was breastfeeding, Jason made it possible for me to focus solely on that and recovering.

After about a week of this, I started to feel guilty. I realized that he had changed more diapers, given more baths and played more with our dogs than I had. In my sleep-deprived, emotional state, I started to doubt myself as a mother. Shouldn't I be doing more? I knew deep down that healing quickly would help Brody in the long-run, but it was still difficult to let Jason do so much. (In case you haven't figured it out yet, I'm also a bit of a control freak)

Looking back now, it was the best thing he could have ever done for me. Within two weeks I was feeling great and by the time he went back to work I could handle it all on my own. And 3 months later, I can guarantee I've changed more diapers than him.

Happy Mother's Day

Today was our first Mother's Day as a family. It ended up being a little bit of a Mother's Day weekend, due to family schedules. Friday night Brody brought home a picture of himself framed with a frame and a mat decorated with his handprints. His teachers at daycare had helped him put together the gift. It was adorable. And it explained why his hand was blue when he came home from daycare on Tuesday!

Saturday morning we had breakfast to celebrate with my Mom and my Nana. Also, my Papa, Aunt and sister joined us. I absolutely love going out for breakfast, so this was a nice treat for me.

Sunday we spent half the day as a family of 3 and the second half the day with Jason's family. In the morning, Brody and I spent a lot of time playing together, while I just enjoyed my baby boy. In honor of his mommy he wore his "bananas over mommy" onsie. That after noon His brother and sister-in-law were generous enough to host a barbeque. All in all it was a relaxing and fun day.Along with a latte from Starbucks for breakfast, Jason also brought home some beautiful daisies to brighten my day.Happy Mother's Day to all of my mothers and the many other beautiful moms out there. Here is a little sentiment from a Hallmark card given to me by my mother:

"Being a mother means knowing that whatever else you did or didn't do, you gave the world something beautiful"

The day we knew it was all beginning...

From here:

To Here:

One year ago today, we found out I was pregnant. It was a great, exciting, shocking day. A year later it seems so far away. We're now "parenting pros" (haha!) set into a routine of raising and loving our baby boy and working to provide the best for him.

I can honestly say, yes my life has changed a lot in the last year. My priorities changed, my love for Jason has changed (for the bettter), my body has changed.

But I can also say, that our family of three seems like the most natural thing we've ever done. It feels like we were always meant to have Brody in our lives.

I'm going to start sleeping with my camera

because I really wished I had it last night!

Brody has started sleeping on his side. We lay him on his back and about 20 minutes later he's on his side. This was one of the first signs that he's getting strong enough to move the way he wants.

Then, last night, I woke up in the middle of the night. Thanks to our really awesome video monitor, I peeked in on Brody. What did I see? An EMPTY crib! Or at least that's all the video camera could see. I dashed out of bed and ran to his nursery.

He was peacefully sleeping on the other half of the crib with his feet facing to the top of the bed and his head towards the bottom. I just sat there thinking, how the heck did he get like this?

Then, a couple hours later, I heard him. He was just making noise in his sleep, but I checked the monitor just in case. All of a sudden he looked like his head was towards the top of the crib. So I lay there in my sleepy state, thinking, "did he really turn around again? or was I imagining it a few hours ago?"

So I went into his room. He was now sideways in his crib! Then I realized I was looking at the monitor wrong, his head wasn't at the top, it was on the right side of the crib (it's hard to think straight at 3 am!)

This morning Jason and I were wishing our video monitor also recorded. It would have been hilarious to see how he managed to make his way around the crib last night.

Just like his daddy

He'll fall asleep anywhere! His teacher did assure us that they put him in his crib right after snapping a quick picture.