Thursday, March 1, 2012

Recap on the Last 4 Months

Ok, I've said it before and I'm saying it again...I'm not good at keeping up with the blog. When life gets crazy-busy, the blog gets neglected. I want to do better...so I'm going to try really, really hard. :)

So, first things first: Owen is 6.5 months old now! I honestly can't believe it. The time is flying by and I'm trying my best to document everything about his life so that I can always remember these sweet days.
6 month picture taken by Aunt Laura with Roots Photography
A lot has happened since the last time I posted back in October...I went back to work (the hardest thing I've done- I cried for 2 weeks every time I dropped him off), we celebrated our first Thanksgiving and Christmas with Owen, took our first trip with Owen to Florida where my grandparents and aunt and uncle live, Owen saw his first and only snow this year and we've enjoyed a very mild winter with some fun time outside. This boy loves going on walks in the stroller. :)
He wasn't very impressed with the snow...maybe next year!
We have transitioned into solid foods and Owen has loved every minute of it. So far we have tried squash, carrots, green beans, peas and zucchini. The only thing he is not a huge fan of are the peas. But I can't blame him...they're not my favorite either! The first time I gave him squash he looked at me like "you've been holding out on me, woman." At his 6 month check up, the doctor told us we could start introducing the sippy cup. He has caught on really well and he can hold it in his hands and take the cup to his mouth. He hasn't figured out the tilt-your-head-so-the-water-can-come-out part yet, but he sure thinks he's doing something when we hand it to him.

Another exciting milestone in our house: Owen has 2 teeth! His first tooth (bottom right) popped through on January 23rd. Just 10 days after his 5 month birthday. I was so shocked to see it pop through so fast, especially after reading that babies can teeth for MONTHS before seeing a tooth break through. His second tooth (bottom left) finally popped through on February 9th. For awhile Owen would just rub his tongue back and forth over his new teeth trying to figure out what in the world was in his mouth. Those little teeth definitely change the look of his little grin and it makes him look much older now. But those teeth are the cutest little teeth I've ever seen. :)
You can see a faint little pearly white in this weekly photo :)
Owen still sleeps through the night. We are so blessed! He goes down between 7:30 and 8:30 and we wake him up around 7am in the mornings to nurse and get him ready to take to the sitter's house. When we put him down at night, he goes right to sleep (unless he has already fallen asleep while nursing) and wakes up with a big smile on his face. So far we haven't had to do the cry-it-out thing at night to get him to fall asleep. He's a pretty easy baby and loves his sleep. He is napping 2-3 hours twice a day and takes a 45 minute to 1-hour nap in the evenings during supper time. Little Buddy just can't make through the evening without a power nap. This actually helps me out so much because I can get things ready for the next day and cook supper.

The girls have really been wonderful little helpers. They take turns waking Owen up in the mornings on the weeks they are with us. They love going to get him and it has been really fun to watch them with Owen. They are so nurturing and very natural with him. In fact, just this morning, Peyton asked to get Owen up for me to feed him and when I walked in his room, she was changing his diaper for me. I don't think she will ever know what a big help that is. I never push that sort of thing on the girls because I know just having a new baby in the house is a big enough adjustment but they continue to surprise me with all the things they want to help with. Now that Owen is eating vegetables in the evenings, they both beg to help feed him. We are getting into a really good routine with the girls and the older Owen gets, the easier life with 3 becomes. But man, those first few months were hard!
with big sis Peyton
I know I'm missing some things that have happened over the past 4 months, but these are some of the highlights and memories that really stand out right now. When I look back at the pictures of when Owen was first born, I am sad to see how much he has changed already in just 6 months, but I am SO excited for our future with this sweet baby boy. He has been nothing but pure joy so far and it really does keep getting better and better. I am loving seeing life through his eyes as he figures new things out.
6 months
Spring is in the air here....I'm looking forward to evening walks with my family and preparing for a larger garden this year. So many exciting things to come and I'll do my best to blog along the way. :)


Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Time

This is my last week of maternity leave and the time is flying by too fast. I can't believe it's been over 7 weeks since Owen was born and that it's almost time for me to return to work. I can't stand to think about it. I've already told the sitter that I'll probably cry all week next week and she agreed that I probably would. I don't want to leave this face:
sweet baby boy

















Luckily, he will be staying in someone's home and I know he will be taken great care of. Selfishly, I just don't want to be away from him. I know I'm not the first woman to return to work after having a baby, so I'm forcing myself to look on the bright side and be positive....but until I have to go back, I'll be spoiling my baby boy and holding him as much as possible. :)

Please Lord, let this week go by sloooooooooowly.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Happy Baby

Owen has been "talking" for a few weeks now and he is starting to become more and more expressive each day. He is making parenting so much fun. I was able to catch a little video today:


Oh....one more thing....I think we have a thumb-sucker...


















We'll see if he sticks to the paci or if he switches to his thumb in the coming months.

Sleep Is Good

Go Gators!

























Owen did it again! We have slept through the night 2 nights in a row! Our nightly routine seems to be working so far. My next goal is to start gradually moving his bedtime to an earlier time, but the 10pm-6:30am schedule is a great start!

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Brag Moment

I am so proud to say that Owen slept through the night again last night! He has done this a few times before and every time it happens, I have to check the clock twice to make sure I'm not dreaming!


















We're trying to establish a more consistent nightly routine since I'll be returning to work in 2 weeks. Last night, I bathed Owen, fed him and then laid him down at 10pm. He didn't wake up until 6:15am this morning! And the best part when he woke up: He had a huge smile on his face!


















I'm going to try this routine again tonight and hope for the same results. :) I am finding that a swaddle blanket is the key to keeping him asleep....sometimes he wakes himself up when he is dreaming, however he is really good at putting himself back to sleep. 

It's amazing what a full night of sleep will do to a mama. Owen typically only wakes up once around 4am in the night, but that still takes a toll after awhile. But I can't really complain. He has done so well in his first 6 weeks of life. :)

Keep up the good work/sleep Owen!

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Check-Up Time

Owen had his One-Month check-up this morning and he was a good little patient. My mom and I have been trying to guess his weight for awhile now and I was excited to see just how much he is weighing now. My mom guessed over 11 pounds and I was thinking more like 10.5 pounds.

I moved his arm 3 times and he kept putting it back on his face...silly boy.

















We had an 8am appointment so luckily we were in and out fairly quickly. His stats for this visit were:

weight: 9 lbs. 14.5 oz. (55th percentile)
height: 21.5 inches (50th percentile)

I was surprised he wasn't over the 10 pound mark, but he is certainly growing! His doctor said he is "growing beautifully" so that's all I needed to hear. Basically he is an average sized baby for his age but of course we think he's perfectly sized (I know, I know.... I'm a cheesy, proud mom).

Anyway, this visit was easy. The next one won't be. Owen will get 4 shots and I'm not looking forward to it. Hopefully he'll do better than I do with shots...we shall see.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

"O" Happy Day

Happy One Month to my sweet baby!
I love this baby more and more every single day. I'm a very proud mama. :)