2 months

My my my! I feel like a lot has happened since my last post! Has it really only been a week?

Probably the most important thing that has happened is Bryce had his baby blessing at church on Sunday. Scott's Uncle Jay and Aunt Dorthy flew in from West Vally, Utah for the event. They were here for a week! I really enjoyed seeing them again and spending time with them. Scott gave a beautiful blessing to Bryce, I teared right up! I'm not usually like that, but now that I'm a mommy I cry so easily.

I'm really struggling to fall into my new roll as a working mother. All I do is wake up (5:30), breast feed, get me and the baby ready, work, pump, work, pump, come home, breast feed, play with Bryce, cook dinner, clean up dinner, breastfeed, make sure the diaper bag and everything else is ready for in the morning and then go to bed about 9. Rinse, wash, repeat. Forget keeping up with the endless to-do list or even the most basic grocery shopping. There is about 17 other things I could be doing right now instead of blogging.

So here is Bryce's 2 month update:

Diaper Size: Size 1 (getting close to outgrowing these)

Clothing Size: Mostly 3 months. A couple of 0-3 month things.

Height/weight: 23 1/2 inches and 10 lbs 10 oz

Firsts: started supplementing formula, first day at daycare, first shots, first time getting "sick", first time sitting in the bumbo chair, and FIRST TIME NOT CRYING DURING A BATH! About the bath- I just finally decided to fill the tub with what I would label as hot water (by baby standards). I gently put him in and he didn't scream or cry. I started washing him and still no crying. I washed his hair and still no screaming!Not a cry, not even a whimper. Weird right? I guess he just likes his bath water really warm. Scott and I were in shock. Bath time has been heartbreaking for all involved for the past 2 months, so we are really relieved we got this figured out.

Milestones: I mentioned alot of his milestones in a previous post. He lifts his head, smiles, and coos all the time. Just this week he has started watching his hands and feet. I even watched him track his hand all the way to his mouth. Working on that hand/eye coordination! If I pick him up and try to put his legs on my lap, he will push back for a second. He still hates tummy time. I think he gets frustrated that he cant sit up, roll over, and lift his head all the way so he just gets mad.


Here are some pics from his 2 month photo shoot!

Poor poor baby

So we have been to the Dr. 3 times in the last 7 days. Poor Bryce he's had a rough week!

First it started with green poop. His poop went from mustard yellow to green over night and has been since. I thought this was unusual for him. Then I heard things like it could be the Rotavirus. So I called the Dr. They assured me green poop was normal for a breast fed baby.

The next day Bryce wakes up with his eyes all full of goop. I didn't think anything of it, just cleaned it out and sent him to school. They said they were constantly cleaning out his eyes all day. So I call the Dr. We brought him in and turns out he had an infection of the tear duct. Completely normal for babies. We got this lovely tube of ointment to squirt IN his lower eye lid. That was NIGHTMARE. I dont think any of it ever made in into his eye, just sat on his eye lids. On the bright side, I got to stay home with him for a day since it is contagious.

My skinny 2 month old!

Then to my horror I find bright red in his diaper the morning I stayed home with him. I called my mom crying before I called the Dr. She calmed me down. Said I couldn't call the Dr. for every little thing and to wait to see if his next diaper had what we assumed was blood in it. Well later that afternoon there was a brownish red "mucus" in his diaper. I was terrified. I called the Dr and we rushed right in at 6 o clock. I brought in the diaper in question and they ran a lab test to test for blood. Well it came back negative for blood. So no answer for what that could have been. Bryce was perfectly healthy by all standards: alert, smiling, no fever, wasn't in pain, etc. The Dr. sent us home with a lovely stool sample collection kit so we could test for salmonella and all sorts of other horrible things, although she was sure these would come back negative.

Today we went in for our 2 month check up and get his shots. He is 23 1/2 inches long and weighs 10lbs 10oz. He is in the 75 percentile for height and the 25 percentile for weight. I've been really worried over how skinny he is. I mean, I can see his ribs. When was the last time you saw a baby that you could see their ribs? I see other babies that are his same age and they have rolls of fat on them. The Dr. said she thought he was a "little thin". She said we should start supplementing 1 oz of formula and mix it with my breast milk.  Then it was time to get his shots... I was traumatized! I held his little hands while they stabbed both legs simultaneously with needles. He silent screamed for about 5 seconds and then he screamed a scream I've never heard him make. I didn't even know he could cry like that. I swooped him up and I was a blubbering mess. His face was so pitiful. :(

 I felt like I was leading a lamb to the slaughter. He had no idea what was coming

He was kicking and smiling. I still haven't caught his smile on camera!

So off we were to school straight from the Dr. He had such a horrible day at school. I ended up clocking out for about 30 mins just so I could hold him and calm him down. He was fussing and crying like I've never seen him do. It was really more like screaming. He was just inconsolable. He had a fever from the shots (I gave him some Tylenol) and he had horrible gas and tummy ache from the formula. Apparently the first time you give a baby formula it upsets their tummy. Just more reason to keep breastfeeding. I felt so bad for him, like I had failed him. My body is supposed to give him what he needs and it isn't.


I pray the coming week is better for the little guy!

Little Bryce is growing up too quick! I saw a 2 week old baby at church today and I thought "Bryce looks huge compared to that baby!" Sad part is he was that little not that long ago.

Bryce is really starting to blossom. He smiles all the time now. I've tried to catch him on camera but haven't been successful. He has started to "coo" also. We've even heard a slight giggle a couple of times!

His neck is getting so strong! He can hold his head up for a few seconds when I hold him up against my chest.

He loves sitting propped up too!

The most newsworthy thing from this week is I went back to work and Bryce started day care. I feel so lucky and blessed to be in the position I am in where Bryce can come to school with me and be just right down the hall in the baby room. I love coming in on my lunch break to feed and hold him! He isn't old enough to cry when I leave him, which is such a tender mercy. In fact, when I bring him in the baby room in the mornings, he just smiles so big, like he is excited to be at school. He hasn't taken being at school like a champ. He sleeps, eats, and swings all day. They say he loves being in front of the mirror!

Scott got more good news this week too! He got invited to assist in the grand opening of a Chick-Fil-A in Texas. He will be gone about a week and will get to rub elbows with a bunch of corporate people. He is real excited about this opportunity!

And as for me, I'm surviving. It wasn't easy going back to work while sleep deprived, but I just keep telling myself that this phase of life will pass. It will be over and gone too fast.

Big week!

Well its been a very big week for us!

Many of you know Scott works at Chick-fil-a. He aspires to own one one day. Right now he is working part time while he is trying to finish up a history degree at UALR. Chick-Fil-A just requires thier operators to have a degree. So Scott has been working as a team member while finishing school. However, he really needed some sort of promotion within the company to further him on his road to being an owner. After 2 years of waiting, he was promoted to Team Leader! We are so very excited about this! Its just a bonus that he also got a raise.


Also, you may have heard that we were looking to move. We got notice when we brought Bryce home from the hospital that our rent was going up $50 a month. This may seem like no big deal to some of you, but $50 in our monthly budget is a lot to us. Not to mention that we just had a baby and will be spending a small fortune in diapers and childcare. We aspire to be homeowners one day. We also aspire to be a 2 car family. So we gave notice that we planned on moving out in June when our lease was up. I was not looking forward to moving at all. This would have been our 4th move in 3 years. The good news is, the aprtament complex told us that they decided that they were not going to raise the rent after all! I guess too many people said they were gonna move out! So now that monkey is off my back


Speaking of monkies...... I have the cutest little monkey you have seen!

Snowcones!

So I have a goal for this summer. Its just for me. Something to look forward to every week. I have decided that I will try every flavor of snow cone on the board at the Purple Penguin snow cone stand.

My entire pregnancy I CRAVED snow cones. Unfortunately, the snow cone stand was closed for most of the time I was pregnant. So, I have been very excited about the fact that the snow cone stand is now open. The flavor I craved the most? Pina Colada with cream. Last week, when they opened, I was there standing in line for my sacred pina colada. It was then, by suggestion of our friend Nancy, that I should try them all! And so I shall!

There are 55 flavors listed here, but there are more "regular" flavors and a few more cream flavors down there at the bottom. There is roughly 20 weeks until September. That means 2.75 snow cones a week! A pretty lofty goal! We shall see!

Oh and Sally, my mother in law, bought me this jiffy snow cone maker. I have yet to get it out of the box yet, but I can't wait to start making my own concoctions.

Little Moments of a Little Family

One morning this week, Bryce was awake and fussing. Mommy and Daddy were not ready to get up. So we laid Bryce between us in the bed where we could take turns popping his paci back in his mouth whenever it fell out and he began to fuss. In the early morning light, I looked across the bed at my little family. The man, who I fell in love with 6 years ago, who I still love today, and my precious little baby. I soaked it all up. This is what I had wanted all along. A family of my own. I couldn't help but think how more complete the picture would look if there was a little sister in the bed with us....but Bryce is more than enough joy for now. I feel so lucky, so blessed, so grateful to be happily married, have a healthy baby, and to have so much joy and happiness. Our life is far from perfect, but it sure is beautiful.


Scott and I have been coming up with nick names for Bryce. Bryce-a-roni, Bryce krispy, Bryce cake. I sometimes call him Rooty Tooty when he fills his diaper! :) Bryce got to meet our dear friend Dylan. Dylan thinks his nick name should be lemon! It was a precious moment.

Bryce is getting fatter and fatter everyday! I put his pajamas on last night and they barely fit. Time to retire the new born clothes :(  I've even noticed that he doesn't look near as tiny in his car seat anymore. Gosh they grow up too fast! I know I'll wake up tomorrow and he'll be asking for the keys to the car.


Did I mention he rolled over from his tummy to his back? It was by complete accident. He was mad about his paci falling out was really kicking around about it. When he rolled over it scared him to death and he cried. I'm not gonna give him credit for it until he does it again.

1 month old!

Bryce is 4 weeks old! He is such a big boy now!


Weight: 8 lbs 8 oz

Diaper size: I just graduated him to size 1 yesterday. The newborn size still fits, Im just too cheap to go buy more diapers when I literally have hundreds of size 1 diapers.

Clothing size: Still in Newborn clothes. 0-3 months fit him length wise but the neck, arm, and leg holes are monsterous on him.

Milestones:

•  He smiled yesterday!!! He has been smiling in sleep for a couple of weeks now, but this was his first awake smile. I can't describe to you the joy it filled my heart with. Probably second only the moment I first layed eyes on him.
•  He can roll on his side. I just know he is going to roll over any day now. Most times when I go into his room at night he is sleeping peacfully on his side.
• He can almost lift his head. He lifts his head all the time when I hold him against my chest to burp him, but if I lay him on his tummy he can't quite do it just yet. He can turn his head side to side while on his tummy.

Firsts: LOTS of first this month. First bath, first trip out of the house, first dr's visit, first Sonic Happy Hour, first Easter, first trip to church, first ride in the stroller, first trip to the Big Dam Bridge, first time heard and was scared by thunder,


Mommy's Favorite Moments:

• When he falls asleep in my arms, I love watching all his facial expressions. I wonder what he is dreaming about.Sometimes when he is making his faces I think "Oh you just looked like Uncle Harvey whe you did that". He looks just like my dad when he grins only on one side of his mouth. He looks like Grandma Sally to me when he puckers his mouth out and sometimes he even bats his eyelashes like Great Grandma Zela. Of course, his temperment and personality reminds me so much of Uncle Cody. Just a sweet, tenderhearted, easy-going, little boy. Never makes much a fuss about anything, unless he is hungry :)