The Only Girl in Our Home

Thursday, July 28, 2011

The Second Month

Some events to remember during the second month...

Edward's Zantac stopped working after a week so we added a compound medicine that worked with the Zantac. Both medicines worked for another week. He ended up on Prevacid at 6 weeks old.
He continued to nurse every 3 hours and every 4-6 hours at night.
He met his Great Nana and Great Papa at 4.5 weeks.
We made a road trip to Austin for my cousin's baby shower and then went to Aunt Melissa's for the first time in Arlington when Edward was 5 weeks old.
His first smile was right at 6 weeks. It was the best feeling ever!!!
Edward got his first shots at 8 weeks. He only got two at a time with a week in between. Some shots I didn't allow him to get yet.
I don't have his exact weight, but I'll get it next time we go to the doctor. :)

Three weeks old. Chris' mom took this picture when she was taking care of him the day we bought our van.

Edward is a mover! Already at three weeks, he was all over the bassinet!

His first visit to Aunt Melissa's house.

Had to post this! This is my niece, Grace, having her breakfast and making a mess! Too cute!

I'm going to try and do a blog for each month. The first few months won't be much because like I said in the previous post, I haven't written down very much. I'll be blogging what I can remember.

Edward was born weighing in at 8lb 6oz and 20 inches long. At his first visit to the pediatrician, he weighed 7lbs 15oz. She reassured us that the drop in weight is both normal and expected and that his weight will be back up in no time! By our next appointment, he'd gained the appropriate amount of weight. I did have to supplement with formula until he was 6 days old because my milk hadn't arrived. He quickly became a breastfeeding champ and we haven't had any problems since then.

Edward was 10 days old when we had his newborn photos taken. They turned out perfect! Tiffany with Mulberry Dreams did such and amazing job. I've attached my absolute favorite below!

When Edward was about two and a half weeks old, I noticed some changes in him that made me worry. He would cough/choke anywhere from 20 minutes to as much as an hour after feedings. While he slept in my arms, he'd make a gurgling noise and then get a look of pain on his face. He always had to be in my arms. If I put him down, he'd cry! He'd be sound asleep but wake up crying the minute I put him in his bed. I did some online "research" and self diagnosed him with acid reflux, but dismissed my gut feelings as, "He's just spitting up." Then he began to get very cranky during the day. I noticed this during our first trip to my dad's house in Waco when he was three weeks old. During his 4 weeks check-up, I mentioned the symptoms to his doctor and she said, "Acid Reflux!" He even had an episode in the office so she saw for herself. I felt terrible!! I should have followed my gut and taken him in much sooner. All this time, he'd been in pain and I didn't do anything about it. She started him on liquid Zantac and I immediately saw a difference. He slept so well for the next several days!! This taught me to always follow my motherly instinct. I didn't know it was there, but it had arrived!!

As far as his food intake during the first month, he nursed every 3 hours and was up every 4-6 hours at night.

He made his first trip to Waco at three weeks. We went to see my family, but the reason was to see my brother, Uncle Alex, when he came home from boot camp for a few days. The family went to San Diego to see him graduate, but we didn't get to go. He understood. I went looking through my camera for pictures of this trip and do I have any? NOPE! I'm sure my dad has hundreds, so I'll get some from him!

Below are a couple of pictures of Edward during the first month.

My absolute favorite newborn picture!!

My other favorite. Honestly, they were all my favorite!

Sleeping baby! We had to keep socks on his hands because the mittens fell off.

Bright eyes!

Edward lived on my chest for the first month! It was his favorite place.

Looking Back...

I'm sitting here looking through pictures of when Edward was first home, and I can't believe how much he's changed. Looking at him everyday, I don't see it! He's just my sweet little man. But these pictures are crazy! He looks so different now than he did when he was first born. Here are some pictures from the first couple of weeks he was home.

His sweet little feet! 5 days

Sweet, Gus, protecting his new brother.

I'm obviously smitten and so in love! He's 5 days old here.

I can't give him enough kisses!

I Should Have...

I truly wish I were a more sentimental person. For if I were, I would have written down all of Edward's "firsts" and I would be taking pictures more often. But unfortunatley, I'm not!! I forget all the time! I tell myself, "Write that down, you don't want to forget." But do I? NO! Here are a couple of MAJOR regrets I already have. I don't have a picture of Edward and I on my first Mother's Day or any pictures of Edward for his first Easter. How terrible!!!

So...tonight I'm going to do write several blogs and remember everything I can!! I don't care how long it takes. Enjoy his first five months in fast forward!

Father's Day

It's been awhile since my last post. I'm going to try and catch everyone up on what we've been doing. I'll start with Father's Day!

We decided to make a trip down to Galveston and went to the state park. Chris and I like the state park because it's usually cleaner, has restrooms, and showers to rinse off before you head home. Chris' family came along, too. I was excited to take Edward to the beach for the first time. Chris and I love the beach so we're hoping to pass our love on to Edward.

I've seen many people put their babies in the BUMBO while they're in the shallow part of the water. I brought Edward's and put it at the edge of the water. Most of the waves weren't even making it to his feet. Those that did were cold and he fussed a little, but nothing big. I noticed a wave coming and thought, "I think that one may reach us." Then I quickly realized that this wave was much bigger than I'd originally thought. I didn't have enough time to react. The wave came crashing into us, right over Edward's head. I scooped him up out of the BUMBO and it went floating away. Luckily Nana was close by and grabbed it. Edward obviously didn't enjoy the crashing wave in his face. He was crying and gagging up the saltwater. He had a nice layer of sand in both ears. The hubby, not too happy!!

I took Edward to the shower and rinsed him off, got him changed, nursed him, and we returned to our canopy on the beach. He ate and then slept the rest of the time on a blanket. Such a tramatic experience for my little guy.

I felt terrible! I know that there will be times when he'll get hurt or be sick, but it sucks to know he was put in danger by me! We will wait on the beach until he's a little older. :)

Hopefully Chris enjoyed his day at the beach along with the other dads. Happy Father's Day!

Edward and I before the wave.

A little wave...

No wave for awhile...

HUGE wave for a little boy...

Edward yelling at me for letting the wave get him!

Poor guy! Mommy feeling guilty!

After his little nap the beach mat. Chris' dad kept telling him to smile. Chris was telling his dad, "I am!" HEHE!!

Monday, June 13, 2011

Mommy, Edward, and Stroller Strides!

This morning was our first time at Stroller Strides. It's a group of moms that get together with their babies to exercise. There's an instructor that leads the group. While we exercise, we sing songs to our babies as we do squats, lunges, etc. There's lots of walking and jogging. This class kicked my butt. I don't think I'll be able to walk tomorrow, but we had so much fun! Chris and I bought the car seat adapter for the BOB stroller last weekend so that Edward wouldn't have to sit in the stroller, because he's still a little small. I was worried that he wouldn't sit in the seat the entire class because he's not a huge fan of the car seat. He has been much better, and the instructor, Chellie, assured me that this is all about the babies. If I needed to stop and tend to him, it's perfectly fine. However, he totally shocked me!! He sat in the seat the whole time and was a happy camper. He smiled and giggled at me while I made a fool of myself in front of him. He's such a good sport!! I'm so glad that I found a way to exercise 3 days a week with the baby. He's too small to go into a childcare setting at the gym, so this class fits perfectly into our schedule for the summer. Perfect body, here I come! Well, maybe not perfect, but better!

Until next time...

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Our First Bath (A Little Late)

I promise I didn't wait 4 months to bathe my child! Our first bath was a couple days after we came home from the hospital, I just haven't had time to blog until now. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing and was so nervous. My mom was with us, and walked us through it. Edward was NOT a fan of the sponge bath. In fact, he hated bath time until we were able to put him in the tub. He likes it now, until you wash his hair. :)