FiVe Months

Five Months - This post is pretty lame because I can't remember things from a month ago and we are 1/2 way through month 6 already.


Stats--

•      Height: 25 inches still (I think)
•      Weight: 14 lbs 2 oz ... I weighed him at the vet when we took Simba for a hair cut. lol
•      Eyes: Dark blue still :)
•      Hair: Getting thicker and longer

What's New:  
Mav can roll both ways now whenever he wants. We practice sitting up every day, but he usually ends up on his face (oops). No crawling yet, but he kicks and wiggles like crazy!! Once that boy gets some traction under his feet, he's GONE. His personality just keeps on getting better and better. This kid has the best attitude and temperament ever. This month I took him to Denver for the NEA Student Leadership Conference (and RA, but that was after his 5 month birthday). He let everybody hold him and play with him. He never cried or complained. Mav had his first cold this month - stuffy nose and a cough. So sad. His little cough sounded fake. It was actually pretty cute. But the stuffy nose and suctioning sucked. Before Denver, we went to a Threshers game and experienced the first thunderstorm. We got soaked and spent about 45 minutes huddled under the awning. Mav experienced his first World Cup. Aside from Kyle yelling and screaming and scaring the living daylights out of Mav, he enjoyed watching endless hours of soccer.

Things He Loves:

-staring at people's faces
-standing up (obviously not by himself)
-playing on his tummy with his toys
-chewing on things - except food. Sometimes I give him little pieces of things he could eat and he doesn't put them in his mouth.
-eating his toes
-playing in his exersaucer (he can finally reach the bottom)

Feeding: My supply is back up. YAHOOOO! That was so stressful. Oy! Mav is eating lots and lots. We haven't been doing the pumping and bottles too much since I'm home for the summer.

Sleeping: We are back up to a 5-6 hour stretch and then a 2-3 hour stretch. Next month we are really going to try to work on sleep training. Most of this month he was up every 2-3 hours. It was horrible! :(

Best thing this month: Still hearing him laugh!

Worst thing this month:Stuffy nose. Hearing him not being able to breathe easily was heart breaking!

Check out Maverick's 5 month pictures on the "Maverick's Mugshots" page.

Four Months

Seventeen Weeks  (or 4 months for normal people)

Stats--

•      Height:25 inches (shot up to the 51st percentile)
•      Weight: 12 lbs 15.5 ounces (dropped to the 11th percentile)
•      Eyes: Still a dark blue color and beautiful! I thought we were out of the woods, but a friend of mine yesterday said her kid's eyes changed when he was like 3 years old!!
•      Hair: Growing back in. No more mohawk. We've got a slight touch of mullet going on. lol

What's New:  
More like what's the same?! Maverick is giggling, smiling, and really starting to have a personality. This month he started rolling over. He first started doing it in his crib. I was amazed when I'd wake up in the middle of the night and he'd be all frustrated because he was on his stomach. I'd wake Kyle up just to look at him before I'd roll him back over. (I'm sure he loved that.) Now he's rolling over during the day also. Not all the time, but he can definitely do it when he wants to. He also found his fingers this month. He has started sucking/chewing on two of his fingers and drooling a lot. I'm thinking we are in the beginning phase of teething. Lord help us. Mav has a strong grib and grasps at everything. I have not had my earring pulled yet and my fingers are crossed. I tried to take them out when I get home, but I don't always remember.

First airplane ride this month! We went from Tampa to Houston, Houston to HAWAII and then Hawaii to DC and DC back to Tampa. He was GREAT. We had plenty of room. The big plane from the mainland to Hawaii and back was United and had 2 seats on each side plus 3 in the middle. Kyle and I had seats on the side, so we essentially had our own row. It was great. PLUS United had free movies, games, tv shows, and music in the back of every head rest. I brought my nursing pillow and Mav was able to lay on my lap facing me so we could play. He also enjoyed some Doc McStuffins, Sofia the First, and the movie CARS. He couldn't hear any of it because I'm pretty sure you're not supposed to put headphones on or in a baby's ears, but he liked to watch. 

Meeting his cousins Eli and Maile was such a treat for him. They all LOVED each other. Eli said, "He's a pretty cute baby!" Maile and him both gave lots of loves. Kylah was in Hawaii with us too and she was a great "babysitter" when I had to take a shower. All the kids played and played. Even though Mav just sat in the bouncy chair, they still included him and he had a blast.

Other firsts:
-Tampa Bay Rays baseball game and tailgate
-Mother's Day (first for mommy!)
-movies (It was a horrible movie--Fed Up, so we left early. But he was great.)
-zoo visit (At the Honolulu Zoo--Thanks Grandma Pete!)

Things He Loves:

-Still loves Logan the Lion
-Still loves TV (We've expanded our viewing channels to 1106 AND 1109. My favorite is Super Why. Mav likes everything!!)
-Being LIGHTLY tossed in the air or held up high above your head.
-The Itsy Bitsy Spider is constantly in our heads or coming out of our mouths these days. 

Feeding: Doing great! Eating about every 3 hours (except when going through brain leaps and growth spurts, then it's like 1 1/2 to 2 hours). He occasionally grabs for my food when I'm holding him, so starting solids might be in the near future for us...Or so I thought everything was going great. Come to find out my supply took a huge dip. Maverick isn't gaining weight as fast as he should, which is why he dropped so much in the weight percentile. I'm having to pump every 2 hours during the day (and at 3am after he wakes up and nurses--UGH). It's so frustrating...I'm barely getting 2 ounces sometimes. I used to get like 11 ounces in one sitting. We are trying to bottle feed him 6 oz at a time as much as possible through the day to get him to sleep through the night. That hasn't happened yet.

Sleeping: Well...we were doing GREAT. Mav was going to be between 8:15pm and 9pm and not waking up until like 4am! I was in heaven. Then all of a sudden we went back to waking up every 3 hours. This week we are back to about 5-6 hour stretches. I think it has to do with the brain leap he's going through. I'm praying it's not sleep regression and if it is that it doesn't last FOREVER. I'm thinking we are going to try some sleep training this coming week. My summer schedule is so crazy, I don't know when a good time to do it is. But I neeeeeeeeeed sleep.

Best thing this month: Giggles. He's hilarious.

Worst thing this month:This little fussy period we are going through right now. I hate seeing him upset.

Check out Maverick's 4 month pictures on the "Maverick's Mugshots" page.

THREE Months

Thirteen Weeks  Happy 3 month birthday...weird how that works out!

Stats--

•      Height: 23.25 inches
•      Weight: 11 lbs 4 oz
•      Eyes: Blue! They haven't changed and I'm thinking they are going to stay. They are a dark,   grayish blue. Beautiful!
•      Hair: There is a dark patch in the back, some times it looks really light, and when the sun hits it just right there is a reddish tint to it.

What's New:  
I thought Mav had a lot of smiles last month. HOLY COW! This kid could melt the iciest heart with his little toothless grin. His one dimple is SOO CUTE. He's starting to get a dimple on the other side.

He babbles, coos, and has whole conversations with us. There is even an occasional laugh in there. I feel like every day we hear new noises.

Maverick can hold himself up on his stomach and lift his chest off the ground. He rolls over from his belly to his back. This is mostly courtesy of gravity, but he does it consistently and leans while kicking his leg over to get started. 

Things He Loves:

 -Logan the Lion (a hanging lion that sings and lights up) He just lays and stares at it forever.

-Channel 1106 ... well I should just say TV in general. He is totally mesmerized by it. He watches sports with his daddy and cartoons with his grandma and I.

Feeding: I've been nursing in public like crazy. I don't care where we are...I just put him on and he's a happy camper. He still nurses on one side each feeding except for occasionally at night. He hit a growth spurt and was nursing like crazy the last couple of days. He takes bottles like a champ when daddy, Naura, and Grandma Ally watch him during the day. He is currently eating 3.5-5oz every 3-3.5 hours.

Sleeping: I really lucked out. Maverick definitely takes after his daddy! He goes down between 8 and 9pm and then sleeps for anywhere from 5-7 hours. Then he wakes up feeds and goes back down for another 2.5-3 hours. During the day he takes 3 naps. They usually last for about an hour, but sometimes we get lucky and get a 2 hour nap! He gets swaddled when he sleeps still, but wiggles out by the time he wakes up.

Best thing this month: Getting to learn his personality and listening to him babble. I know this will continue to get more and more prevalent, but it's been so fun so far!! Also the longer sleeping is AMAZING.

Worst thing this month: Hands down...going back to work. SUCKS. I hate pumping. I get so busy and work or I don't want to stop what I'm doing to go find a closet, bathroom, office and pump for 30 minutes. Blah. But I love being able to give Maverick the very best, so I don't mind.

Check out Maverick's 3 month pictures on the "Maverick's Mugshots" page.

TWO MONTHS! (Switching to monthly posts)

Eight Weeks  (and one day because I forgot!) I can't believe Maverick is TWO MONTHS old now. Officially, the two month mark is on Saturday, but 8 weeks is pretty much the same thing.


Stats--

•      Height: I measured with a ruler and it was about 22 inches.
•      Weight: Somewhere between 9 lbs 6 oz and 10 lbs. April 6th is his doctor appointment.

What's New:  
Coos, babbling, laughing, and smiling galore! The first hour that Mav is awake every day is the most fun hour of any day. He makes me crack up. 

His neck is getting stronger every day. I tried to put him in the Bumbo already but he was fussy and didn't like it. But he loves being held upright and just holds his head up and looks around at everything. 

He "rolled over" this week. I put him on his belly propped up on his forearms and he threw his head to one said, kicked is leg, and wound up on his back again. He was very please with himself and my reaction. haha

I went back to work on Friday and Mav stayed home with Daddy. They had a great day. I didn't feel bad about leaving Mav. I would much rather stay home with him, but I more so have decided that I don't like my job; I'm not sad to be away from him. I did miss him of course though.

We also went to the beach, set out Mav's tent and had a blast. By have a blast, I mean he slept the entire time until he woke up hungry. I nursed him in the tent and then it got cold and we left. lol Mommy enjoyed it though!!

Feeding: I think we finally have it down! It only took 8 weeks but I don't hurt on a regular basis, he doesn't cry hysterically before latching, it is wonderful. It still takes him a little while to latch and a lot of tries sometimes, but WAAAAY better. I even feel comfortable feeding him in public now. I have been extremely lazy and haven't been pumping. I'm hoping it doesn't affect my supply.

Sleeping: Night time sleeping is great. About 4 hours (4.5-5 hours between feedings) then back down and another 3 hour stretch. Day time naps are sucking royally this week. He goes down for like 10 minutes and then wakes back up crying. Not sure if he has gas or if he just wants to snuggle or what. Car naps have been a god send though.

Best thing this week: Every first hour of every day this week. I lOVE playing with him in the morning. It makes it easy to get out of bed when I'm exhausted.

Worst thing this week: Fussiness at night and non-nap taking days. I feel like I have so much to do and so I stress when he doesn't nap because I can't get anything done.

Check out Maverick's eight week pictures on the "Maverick's Mugshots" page.

Seven Weeks

Seven Weeks  


Stats--

•      Height: umm...13 days worth of growth passed 21.75 inches
•      Weight: 13 days worth of bulking up plus 9 lbs 6 oz. He did go through his 6 week growth spurt, so I wouldn't be surprised if he gained a good amount of weight.

What's New:  
We are starting to get on a schedule!! :) :) Up between 5am and 7am. I stay up and start to be productive. He gets up around 8am and eats and plays until 9, when he eats again and then goes down for a nap for 1-2 hours. Then we play and he naps again around 1pm. That's as far as we have gotten on the schedule so far. The afternoons are unpredictable and a lot more awake time. Makes getting dinner ready quite the challenge. Although the sling carrier is a life saver and I have managed to have dinner ready every night so far!

As I mentioned earlier, Maverick went through his 6 week growth spurt. It was an entire day of sitting on the couch. He nursed every hour on the hour ALL day! Keep in mind he nursed for 30-45 minutes each time, which means I only had a 15-30 minute break in between. At one point he was frantic for some boob, I whipped off my shirt and stuck it in his mouth only to realize that now I'm stuck in the corner of the couch about a foot too far from reaching my yogurt and spoon, 5 inches too far away from my phone, and about 4 feet too far from reaching the remote control. So I just sat and stared at him. I got smart after that. That was Monday; it was really bad. Tuesday was better, but still growth spurty. Today was pretty good, but he still ate pretty often. I think a paci is in our near future. 

Maverick went to the beach for the first time. Except we really didn't go down to the beach. We were up at the pool, but there was a sand area and we were right next to the beach. He didn't even feel the sand, so maybe it doesn't count?! Apparently it is frowned on to take babies under 6 months out in the sun and/or in the water. I tried to find a bathing suit or swim diaper, bucket hat, rash guard, and sunglasses for a newborn. NO DICE. So I bought all 6 months stuff. Yeah, epic fail. Way too big. But it was fun playing with them. It made for a few good pictures and I saved myself some shopping in the future!

So sad...Mav started growing out of some of his newborn outfits! Into storage they go... :(

Feeding: Guess I covered that above in the growth spurt from hell update. He's eating pretty good and pretty regular. Grandma Ally gave him her first bottle today. He's taking them well and still nursing well. That's a win.

Sleeping: None of this applies to growth spurt days...but...He is going down between 9 and 10pm and waking up between 2 and 3am! It's so nice. Then he gets up in the morning and I stay up. So I'm only getting up with him once in the middle of the night! Whoop whoop.

Best thing this week: Getting on a schedule. And family time this Saturday and Sunday. I love hanging out with Kyle and Maverick! I'm so sappy.

Worst thing this week: the growth spurt from hell

 Check out Maverick's seven week pictures on the "Maverick's Mugshots" page. And I finally posted his one month old pictures. Scroll up on the Mugshots page to inbetween 4 and 5 weeks.

Things to look forward to (from Similac.com)
By the end of 2 months, he should

• Smile when you touch or talk to him check. I LOVE HIS SMILES!!
• React to loud sounds by startling, crying, or getting very quiet Yes, but not dramatically. Which I think is a good thing. I don't want a screaming baby every time there is a loud noise.
• No longer keep his hands in tight fists He is opening them more and more each day
• Begin recognizing you and your partner as the parents He better!
• Be able to lift his chest off the floor using his forearms for support This kid has a STRONG ass neck. He is always looking around and holding his head up when we are holding him. He plays on his tummy and lifts up a little but mostly his neck. He doesn't use is arms too much.

Six Weeks

Six Weeks  
Waaaaaaa! I can't believe it's already been 6 weeks. I am so not looking forward to going back to work and am SO HAPPY I had to have a c-section and can claim I need to stay out 8 weeks. haha


Stats--

•      Height: As of 3/6 he was 21.75 inches. He's grown 1.75 inches since birth.
•      Weight: 9 lbs 6 oz. oink. oink. (Not really, all of his percentiles are really low. My little peanut!)
•      Head Circumference: 14.75 inches

What's New:  
Well let's see...I finally got it straight in my head about this whole posting about what has happened the whole last week and all of that. I think... So during his 6th week of life:

Mav got is first bottle from his daddy! He took it like a champ. No problems, no nipple confusion, no nothing. I will say, I bought expensive ass nipples for these bottles and the more we use them, I'm not sure they are worth it. 

 On Saturday, we took our first trip to Satellite Beach. Which also included attending his first birthday party. He loved hanging out with his cousins Kylah and Tanner (first time meeting the Tan Man) and seeing his Grandpa Rodney, Grandma Pete, Aunt Claire, and Uncle Brad! 

Sunday, Mav got to see his first Japanese dinner show. It sucked. Royally. We had our entire meal on our plate in about 5 minutes. There was no "show". So, I'm thinking we can have a do over on this first. 

Monday, we went on a walk to the park down the road with our new friends Aleah and Gavin. We had lots of fun. Maverick even had his first swinging experience! I put a blanket behind him to cushion the swing and make sure all the holes were plugged up and stuck him in it. He wasn't quite sure what to think about the whole thing, but he didn't cry--he must have loved it. 

Not sure when the official first social smile happened, but boy oh boy this kid is smiling up a storm. It is the CUTEST thing EVER. He will be smiling so big and about every 5 seconds and as soon as I take the camera out, it's gone. Back to the serious, worried, thinker face! (All his smiles are just for me.)

His neck is sooo strong. He's staying awake longer and holding his head up for longer. He LOVE LOVE LOVES his little elephant sound making mobile thing on his bouncing monkey chair (or whatever toy he's in because he LOVES it). He stares all around and takes it all in. Today he was even watching TV while I cooked dinner.

An finally, today, I think we are facing the first cold! He caught it from his daddy. My poor little boys are sick. AWWW. Mav's little congested breathing is so pathetic and sad. It breaks my heart!

Feeding: Thursday was eh. Friday I went to baby cafe and felt like I had to go back to breast feeding 101. Then since Saturday it's been a freaking breeze! No sore nipples, no crying hysterically before latching, no nothing! Yaaay! Occasionally when I'm not sure what's wrong and I try to feed him just because he cries and doesn't latch, but that's because he isn't hungry. Duh.

Sleeping: As I was singing his praises on Monday about how great it's been at night and how he gets up between 1 and 3 and then again between 5 and 7, latches, eats, and goes right back to sleep...He decided that Monday night he would scream his head off from 3:50am until about 5:15am then eat and go back to sleep. He had the worst gas and tummy ache :( I felt HORRIBLE for him. But since then we are back to sleeping great. Poor thing is a little sick-I think-so we'll see how tonight goes. Guess you'll have to wait for his seven week report to find out!

Best thing this week: All the family time! It was so fun seeing all the cousins together.

Worst thing this week: Watching Mav have all of that tummy trouble. Poor baby :( :( And tonight, listening to him try to breath with his stuffy nose... pathetic. I feel horrible for him.

 Check out Maverick's six week pictures on the "Maverick's Mugshots" page. 

Mommy Update:
Went to the doctor today. Everything is back to normal. I have lost 22 lbs. 15 more to go to be pre-Mav weight again. I started weight watchers back up on Tuesday and am doing good so far. Fingers crossed this last 15 falls off pretty fast! Anybody that ever wants to walk give me a call!! Also, I had my first beer this week! It was DELISH. I only had 1/2 of a Pliny the Elder. But I LOVED IT! :)

Five WeekS!

Five Weeks  
I almost didn't get to blog today because we were sooo busy! Whoever says they get bored staying home with a newborn is either Super Woman or has a dirty house and a bored baby. lol Today Maverick and I woke up (duh), he ate breakfast and I ate a banana. I pumped while I played with him laying on the bed. Then I put him on his playmat and put the dishes away from the dishwasher. Then we played for awhile in his bouncey seat. He laid down for a quick nap while I showered (score!), made the bed, and started laundry. After that he woke up and ate again. We swept the whole house and steam mopped, followed by vacuuming the carpets. He loved being in the sling for all that movement. (I did think he was going to fall out a few times though.) Of course, he ate again after that. We ended up doing 3 loads of laundry all together. Robyn and Lindsay came to visit for a little while. And then it was already 6:30!! Time FLIES. I started dinner and waiting for Kyle to come home while I played with Maverick on the couch, read our mail, and wrote thank you cards for the last few gifts we just received. I'm sure you really wanted a play by play of our day, but SERIOUSLY I love being home with him and can't believe how fast the day goes.


Stats--

•      Height: We find out tomorrow. Stay tuned for next week's blog.
•      Weight: Same ^^
•      Head Circumference: Apparently his head has grown a lot this week! We'll find out that tomorrow too.

What's New:   (So I keep changing this section. I don't like how it's turning out... Maybe this will be better?)
Well this week (Friday & Saturday) Maverick and I had our first road trip together. We went ALL THE WAY hehe to Orlando by ourselves for an FEA Young Educators' Meeting. This in turn caused us to have our first hotel stay, first dinner meeting, first day being away from mom besides feeding time, and first time meeting all my wondering FEA friends and family! It was quite exciting. Maverick was a champ!! He did awesome during my meetings and was a great for his Grandma Pete in the hotel the next day. 

Kyle and I went on our first date since Maverick has arrived. We went to Shoot Straight to shoot my 9mm Smith & Wesson that he got me for Christmas 2 years ago. Ladies shoot free on Mondays, so it was fun and cheap. PERFECT. In honor of date night, I shaved my legs for the first time since Maverick was born. One perk of the pregnancy is that my hair grows in a lot lighter and a lot thinner now (well it has been, let's hope it stays that way). Sidenote: Since we are talking about my firsts and being all cleaned up, this week was the first time I didn't have to wear a pad!! I have finally stopped bleeding. Thank goodness. 

Tasha (Kyle's sister in law) texted me at the perfect time this week to tell me about this new app "The Wonder Weeks". It tells all about brain development and the "leaps" they make and when. So this week he started making his first leap in brain development. I'll try to summarize how the app describes this leap-- It's called the World of Changing Sensations. His metabolism, organs, and senses mature rapidly during this week (between 4 1/2 and 5 1/2 weeks). He's more interested in the world--looking around, being able to see things farther than he has been able to before, and responding to me, touches, and sounds more. He is getting SO FUN! Random: He produces for the first time/much more real tears when he cries (breaks my heart).  

Maverick had his one month pictures taken this past week. He was so fussy. But keep your eyes peeled for when I post them. It'll probably be in a separate post instead of on the "mugshots" page.

Feeding: Half of this week was rough and half was great. The only rough part was his latch--it was pretty shallow and was kILLING my poor nipples. He is latching a lot better though and eating without crying forever first. We are even on a pretty good schedule/pattern. I started pumping on Sunday and stocking away milk for when I'm at work (so not looking forward to going back to work). During 3 weeks there was a growth spurt going on that made Maverick want to eat EVERY freaking hour. It happened AGAIN this past week. This is another reason I was thankful for Tasha texting me with that app. The brain leap he is making, causes babies to want to eat more and be held more/comforted. I was very happy for a reason for his fussiness and excessive eating.

Sleeping: Got much better this week. We are on a 4 hour, 2-3 hour, 2-3 hour schedule. He is going back to bed a lot faster feedings in the middle of the night too. Thank goodness!

Best thing this week: The sweetest thing ever--Kyle gave Mav a bath all by himself. He was so proud and did such a good job. I needed a nap, so he took over. When Justin and Courtney came home, I could hear him telling them that he did it by himself and all of that. It was great! Monday night he asked me to get him a book to read to Maverick!!! I freaking love how much he loves him. SO CUTE.

Also, Sunday was an all around AWESOME day. We had lots of family time. We played outside in the backyard (on Maverick's play mat). We also got the garage cleaned up and organized. I felt very accomplished and happy we had a good family day.

Worst thing this week: I don't have a debbie downer story this week! YAY. The hurting nipples suck, but what else is new?! lol

 Check out Maverick's five week picture on the "Maverick's Mugshots" page. 

NEED HELP: I'm not loving this blog...I liked the questions I answered every week during my pregnancy, but I don't feel like this blog is very exciting or consistent. I also forget a lot of stuff and get confused about the timing. All of the stuff I wrote on this entry happened while he was four weeks (and x amount of days) old. Now he's officially five weeks and will be this whole week. Then I'll write about it, but it'll be titled 6 weeks... ugh. Should I change the titles of each entry? Anything else I should add that you want to know about? or take out?  text me, call me, email me, leave me a comment...ANYTHING!