June, 2010

Another month has flown by! Gavin is almost 5 months old (turns 5 mos. this Sunday on 7/5)!!
As a follow-up to my last post regarding his 4 month shots:
I didn't give him tylenol ahead of time (I did for his 2 month) because I was encouraged by the nurse and by a couple others to see how he handled it first and not just automatically give it to him. He wailed when he got the shots but nursed afterwards and settled. He slept in his carseat on our way to play group- played at play group (was pleasant); was pleasant the rest of the day until his afternoon nap. Around 4:30 he woke up wailing again-----very inconsolable! John held him while I gave him generic tylenol and then Gavin was basically nursing for the next two hours (comfort nursing no doubt). :( My poor baby- NEXT TIME I will either give him the tylenol BEFOREHAND or shortly afterwards.
His stats from the appt.: 27 3/4 inches long (95th percentile), 18.10 pounds (>95percentile) and 70th percentile head circumference. BIIIIIGGGG baby! :) Love my chunk-a-monk!

I'll leave you with this thought: banana-cado (banana and avocado) baby food= gross diaper!! HAHAHA....

4 months have flown by!

I can say this now but I would not have believed it those first two to two and a half months when sleep deprivation engulfed our home! Our baby boy is now 4 months old. It's amazing to look at his fingers, toes, finger nails even to think how much they've grown since first meeting him. It's also so neat to watch his personality grow and emerge each day. Watching a new human experience the world around him is such a blessing and a lesson to remember, notice and appreciate the simple things around us.

Adjusting to being a Mom is an ongoing process. Case in point: currently working on remembering to be a wife, too. God's word says that the marriage relationship comes first; I always want to put importance on that. It's a bit of a struggle right now and I often forget that John likes to have adult conversation with me in addition to all of the baby talk and attention on Gavin. We're trying to make sure we have at least two dedicated date nights per month where Gavin has a babysitter.

**I'm finishing this post several weeks later**
Today is Gavin's 4 month appt./shots (eeeeek!!). He is in his 3rd week of the 4th month- Dr. Sarantos was on vacation so his appt. is later this time and not right around his "b'day."
New things Gavin has been doing:
- New sounds: he's perfecting all different octaves of squeals! :)
- In big boy jammies- no more swaddling!
- Easily going in circles in his exersaucer
- Started SOLID FOODS: so far we've tried rice cereal (ick-didn't like it so much); avocado (liked this better); oatmeal cereal (kinda likes this) and bananas (yum for this). I wouldn't say he's scarfing it down for John or I- he's still pushing a good amount of it out but seems interested.
- Spent his second night away from Mommy and Daddy on 6/19 so we could have date night. Robin says he was very interested in the oatmeal with her- couldn't get enough! :)
- Still more interested in sitting and standing than rolling on his own. He's rolled from belly to back probably a total of 5 times on his own and from back to belly none on his own.
- He did start to scoot a bit when I put him on his tummy just yesterday (6/21). Starting to lift himself up higher at times as well during tummy time.
- He's now waking TWICE again during the night to eat- and he does fully nurse one side (part of 4 month wakeful; sign he's ready for solids---??).

**First beach trip with Aunt Laura and Katelyn was from 6/15-6/18 at Panama City Beach. He was better the first day on the beach than the second. I think it's just too hot out there to really get comfortable for his age. He LOVES pools!


More to come soon....

Oh the places you will breastfeed...

Recounting the public places Gavin has partaken of the boob juice:
1. In the back seat of the car- NUMEROUS times and numerous parking lots (some with and some without a blanket hiding us- I'm probably too confident in the tint of my windows).
2. In fitting rooms at the mall (Sears is our store of choice for some reason).
3. In the "nursing" room at the mall: note to self- this is NOT a good set up. Right behind a smoothie place so it is very loud and why the heck would they make one of the walls, the one that people walk past no less- out of those glass blocks??!! (We'll stick to fitting rooms, thank you.
4. At our in-law's house (Mimi and Papa's).
5. At the Hoch's house.
5. At the PARK (I did use the hooter hider cover here, haha).
6. At the new mother's luncheon- MANY TIMES; some with and some without the cover (no big deal there).
7. On the Hawthorne trail (twice now); meal time with Kathryn and Harper. :)

Favorite breastfeeding website: www.kellymom.com This website has been such a wonderful resource to me; I try to tell all Moms about it who are considering or are breast feeding.

Another first: Trip to Aunt Tootie's

Me and Gavin went to Jax. to see Aunt Tootie and Matt this past Saturday. We spent the night with them. This was also the longest trip in the car for him. He did fine; gave him some baby "crack" (gripe water) and timed both rides after he'd eaten, played a bit and was ready to nap. It's also great that he can now self-soothe since he's found his fingers. Those little sausage fingers must be good because he loudly sucks on them. :)
I probably packed wayyy too much but wanted to make sure I had everything for him. I did not pack well for myself because I forgot plenty of essentials including a TOOTHBRUSH and toothpaste! :) The sleeping part of our trip: Gavin has not slept in our room since he was 3 weeks old; I am just a very light sleeper and wake to every sound he makes (which are numerous). I think I woke every hour and ended up with a neck/head ache. He slept half the night in the pack&play bassinet and the second half in the bed with me- woke up at 6am (ugh)! So, neither of us got the best sleep.
He was a very good baby for the whole trip and again- I thank God each night for such a good baby!! :)

First pool experience

Today was Gavin's first experience in a pool- well, and in water colder than his bath water, too! :) I wonder what temperature amniotic fluid is....weird thought but worth asking.
So, off we go to get some sunblock and then on to Huntington Lakes apts. pool. Gavin is awake the whole time. I get him out of the car in his car seat and he's asleep!! :) He ended up waking up so he got to experience the water. He wore a onesie (diaper) and a hat we bought from Gap (a cute old south florida man hat). :) He liked it, didn't draw up or cry, etc. What a cutie pie he was with his hat on; such a good baby! It's amazing to realize that all of these experiences are his firsts. I'm so blessed to be in the position and have a wonderful husband that supports me being home with him for these first 6 months of his life.
God's blessings are abundant!!

Milestones- Gavin

This week (and late last week): Gavin is consistently grabbing on to his round link toys. He has grown a bit bored with the polar bear toy that came with the play mat :( He was so cute with it when he first starting playing!! John and I bought an exersaucer toy from Weecycle yesterday- he was a bit overwhelmed and it has too much room for him to lean forward- not quite ready for it yet. :)
At the new mtoher's luncheon on Tuesday there was a speaker from the Library about story time for babies---he LOVED listening to her and she read a book---he was the one baby that was VERY in to it!! :) Such a cutie pie! I guess we'll be going to story time!
Today we went for our 2nd trip to the Possum Creek park (the one by our house) and sat under the tree with my lunch. He fell asleep again after playing and observing for a while. :)

Motherless mother on Mother's day...

Being a motherless mother on my first Mother's Day; what a bittersweet feeling. As with all milestones in my life (wedding, graduations, pregnancy, etc.) and even the least eventful days when I'm missing my Mom- TODAY- mother's day (well, it was actually yesterday), is a bit hard to swallow. I just imagine my Mom holding Gavin and talking me through my fears and celebrating and giggling and being just as excited as I am with each new thing he does. She was such a wonderful Mother to my brother and I and I know that if I can be HALF the mother to Gavin that she was to us- all will be well! :)
I love my Mom so much and miss her each and every day. I'll never forget how much she genuinely believed in me and was so encouraging with each endeavor I set out towards. She believed I could be the first female president- FOR REAL- she really did---knowing that is priceless in what it does for a child to know how much their parent loves them and believes in them. I'm thankful to God for the 20 years he gave me with her and I hope that in some way, she's able to "see" my little family and smile and know that all is well.
I love you Mom!