Grandparents

This past few weeks - D has gotten to spend some time with both sets of grandparents, which is so great!

A few weeks ago my parents came up for a weekend getaway. They stayed at the AMAZING Herrington Inn. Just visiting their room was like a getaway for me. That place is SO relaxing! Anyway, with a few days in Geneva, we got to sneak in some quality time. We hung out in the hotel for a bit Friday night. Saturday we went for a walk along the river in Geneva - then did some shopping and had a nice dinner. It was great! Here's D with Grandpa Dan and Grandma Susie before they left on Sunday.

Dain's parents live in the area - and get to see D usually once a weekend. It's always SO nice to be able to stop in over at their house and let D unwind in a different environment for awhile around so many smiling faces. He had a great time Saturday just hanging out on the floor and being admired.

We are so lucky to have D's grandparents all within driving distance. He really loves his time with them.

Shots Like This

Where was this when Dain and I were at BU?

(March 23rd, CIT Quarterfinal)

5 Months & Not Sleeping

I can't believe my little (well, not so little) man is 5 months old today! Time is flying!

He has decided that he's getting too old as well I think, because he's back to being in newborn sleep patterns! He's been up about 3-4 times every night lately! Luckily I just rock him or feed him a little and he'll go right back down...but not for long! :) Just when he was consistently sleeping 6-7 hours at a time this happened, and now it's only 2-2.5 hours! I think he's getting a tooth, and I think he's just too busy of a kid to sleep that long these days. Seriously - he doesn't nap longer than 20 minutes at a time for me anymore. He's just got too much to do and see!

Some recent photos:

In the Bumbo chair borrowed from cousin Adam:

A rare nap on a walk:

Looking handsome:

Survey #2

A while back I posted a survey about whether or not 2 siblings with first name aliteration should have the 3rd sibling follow suit. (AKA Should my sister name the 3rd baby growing in her stomach an "A" name since my niece & nephew are Amelia and Adam).
The results were 10 votes for "No - Who Cares" and 9 votes for "Yes - Continuity". Oddly enough every time the yes category was up a vote or tied - the no column grew mysteriously. I think my sister was stuffing the ballot box for the no's.
Anywho - she's decided she's not going with an "A" - not that she's revealing any ideas anyway...

New survey up now. Vote early (but not often Theresa).

Moving Man

D is changing and growing and moving!

Not only has he found his "voice" and not stopped using it, but he's ROLLING OVER both ways and CREEPING! Yep - the creeping started the other night - and although we've only seen it a couple times - - he's definitely able to move.

Of course when we saw him creep for the first time - we both burst in to song...Dain with Dr. Dre I believe...and I bust out this classic hit

Baseball Season

My husband, like many other red-blooded American males - is getting pumped for the start of baseball season.
Here's a shot of the shirt that D rocked at Great Grandma Meyer's birthday party today:

Large & In Charge

Did I mention our big boy finally had his 4 month doctor appointment on Tuesday? (Even though he's 4 1/2 months!)
My big boy is 16 pounds and 26 inches long! Wowzer!

I think he's starting to change his routines, just when I thought he had one! It's harder for me to get him to nurse (which I think is because he's hungry less often and I still think he wants to eat all the times he used to) and because he's so alert and SUPER distracted by everything. I think he's also starting to get a tooth - as he's drooly-droolerson and chewing his hands ALL the time! He still sleeps well, thank goodness!
I don't mind that everything is changing - I just can't believe how fast time is flying and how big he's getting! It seems so crazy that he's almost 5 months old! I used to look at the 5 month olds in breastfeeding group and thought I'd NEVER get to that stage!

Speaking of which - I'm meeting some of the girls from breastfeeding group on Sunday at a new little coffeehouse in Batavia - and I'm really excited to see them again. We e-mail eachother when we have questions and concerns - - but there are so many things that are starting to concern me with all this nursing stuff that it will be nice to be able to talk to people that are going through it too! Plus, I love seeing how all the babies are growing and changing - just like D! (Last time we met it had been awhile since they'd seen him and couldn't believe he was the same baby!)

Happy weekend all! I'm SO glad it's here!

Welcome Dylan

Dain's cousin Jessica and her husband Luke welcomed their baby boy into the world on Sunday morning! Dylan was 7 lbs. 11 oz. and mommy and baby were both super healthy and happy. He is super cutie with a full head of hair!
We stopped by the hospital to visit him on his literal date of birth - and there was a room full of others there as well. I was so happy to see Jessica so welcoming...I was NOT like that 8 hours after giving birth!
We brought D to meet his new little cousin...and realized just how HUGE this boy of MINE really is. MAN, he was smaller than Dylan at birth - and at nearly 4 and a half months he's a giant in comparison. Here he is with the baby, being held by my father-in-law (the proud great uncle) and Dain. HA - that's three Dain's and a Dylan in one photo!

It did make me sad a little, in the midst of all the joy. There was Jessica and her husband and baby and all these joyous visitors in a mother-baby room where the baby got to stay as well as the mommy. I never had that. I didn't get to share my baby with so many people, and didn't get to experience that joy/relaxation/etc in the hospital where you spent time getting to know your baby and recouping for your time when you'd get to go home. My days at the hospital were spent in total fear and pacing back and forth between my room and the NICU just waiting for the next chance to hold my little man, and hope that they'd tell me he was doing okay and could come home soon.

Okay - I don't want to be a martyr - that's not what I'm looking for. Just recording my thoughts here peeps. I'm SUPER excited that my little boy will have a little boy cousin to play with so close and so close in age. Maybe they'll even be in the same school together someday!

And - the ultimate cheer-up...look how cute this booger is:

Little Developments

D is feeling much better. Behold the power of antibiotics, Albuterol, humidifiers, fresh air and plenty of love! :)

Now Dain and I have colds of course - - and I lost my voice today...NO good. D keeps looking at me as I'm whispering to him like "Uh lady, you used to be a lot louder".

He's seeming to change more and more every day...and he's acting like such a big boy, standing on our laps and laughing and I think getting ready to cut his first tooth. (LOTS of drool and chewing of the fists).

It was so nice the other night that we took him for his first walk around the neighborhood - and he LOVED it. Here's a photo of his cuteness right after we got back:

Today he spent some time playing with Dain on the living room floor with a new mirror we have for tummy time. Here's a cute shot of them:

And finally - tonight we're hanging out together and I'm reading (well, whisper reading) to him and I managed to capture a picture of how much he LOVES books.
I'm so happy - because I've got so many more I want to buy for him! (Again, mostly from my youth).
-In A People House
-My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes
-The Teeny Tiny Woman
-The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night
-George & Martha
-In the Night Kitchen
-The Little Duck
-A Very Hungry Caterpillar
-Harold & the Purple Crayon
-Cricket in Times Square
-Mother Mother I Feel Sick, Call for the Doctor Quick Quick Quick (it's real)
And MANY more, a lot of which are out of print!!

Anywho - we're doing well. He's so much fun these days...I'm going to go play with him now!

Sickie

After 3 doctor appointments in 4 days...we realized his diagnosis is..."I don't know."

We had to take D to the hospital for a RSV test in the lab, and a chest x-ray in Radiology. Basically it came to...he has crap in his chest but no RSV and no bronchitis or pneumonia thank goodness. However - the doctor is treating him like it was RSV, with antibiotic and albuterol.

So he's getting better slowly. He's really sleepy - but I guess that's just healing taking place.
The sad RSV test and the chest x-ray were hard to watch. Poor guy doesn't know why we're doing all this to him. But, the good baby that he is just smiled at me after both :)

Frustrated.

I'm frustrated.

D is sick...again! He's got another cold. The last one lasted a month...and now this has been around for several days.

We even went to the doctor on Saturday - and shock of all shocks...my UBER laid back pediatrician told me it was just a cold and to keep up with the humidifier and the saline drops and just watching him for any signs of worsening...
Then came last night...after a long day of car rides - he was tired early last night. He hadn't eaten much at all yesterday - but we all figured it was because of the drainage from the cold. Then he got up at about 2:00 to eat, but he barely ate. I laid him back down and he was up again at 3:00 and not hungry but fussing and coughing which was choking him. I rocked him for 2 hours - he slept on and off and so did I. At 5:30 we laid down in bed and he slept maybe 15 minutes til I knew he felt warm. Took his temp (under the armpit) at it was 100.5. I called the doctor, and he thought I should bring D back in since it may have settled in his lungs now...but I'd have to see the other doctor.
After Infant Tylenol and struggling to get him to drink most of a bottle, we headed out. Of course when we got there D was smiling and laughing and talking to the doctor, and barely even sniffed while we were there. The doctor said there's a little bit of something all over in his lungs but not even to worry about - and if it were pneumonia or something - it would be localized. So, GUESS WHAT? "Keep doing what you're doing" was uttered by the other UBER laid back doctor.

I'm so frustrated. They didn't tell me what to watch for, suggestions or anything. Our doctor had said he could have a little Benadryl to dry things up if he needed, but we haven't done that. I just wanted to know what was a warning sign or what I should do or not do. Or why he's so tired and not eating. I guess it's all common sense...but sometimes it would just be nice for them to placate this paranoid new mommy!

On top of everything else - he graduated out of the bassinet last night into the pack and play - which is wedged between my bed and the wall - but it doesn't allow me to get to D easily, nor did it allow me to get in and out of bed easily. I guess its only for a little more time...but I'm considering buying a smaller pack & play/co-sleeper since this one is on loan from my sister...

AND he won't eat...poor thing. But, it's making my milk supply all messed up because of his lack of eating...AHHHHHHHHHH