Project 366 {week 4}

Judd {3 months}



Judd, you are no longer a newborn, sweet boy. You are now THREE MONTHS OLD! I cannot believe how fast time is flying by. What a wonderful three months it has been!

3 Month STATS

15.5 lbs

probably 24 inches

-You wear size 3-6 months clothing

-You are in a size 2 diaper, but we are slowly moving to cloth diapers as you cannot help but blow out of disposables every. single. day! I am switching between g disposable inserts and g cloth throughout the day and you wear Pampers 2's at night.

-You sleep from 8:30 until 8:30 with a feed at 5:30 or 6:00, but every once in a while you will wake up at 2:00 or 3:00 if you are extra hungry. I'm hopeful you will begin sleeping all the way through soon, just like your sister did around months 3 & 4.

-Your naps are pretty inconsistent as the part of your brain that establishes regular naps is still developing. You go down after no more than 2 hours of wakefulness and take about an hour long snooze, four or five times a day. I have noticed that your morning nap is the longest.

-You take 7 ounces of milk, every 3 hours. Sometimes though, even an 8 ounce bottle doesn't fill you up. What on earth, little boy? I can tell you will be eating solids VERY SOON!

-Your eyes are greenish brown at the moment.

What are you up to?

You are SUCH a happy baby and are very social. You love to smile when anybody talks to you. We call you a little flirt. You also LOVE to talk and hear your voice. You coo and squeal so much and it melts us!

Your favorite person is most definitely Ava. She can make you smile from ear to ear and you LOVE talking to her. Mommy is a close second after sister.

Your favorite "toy" is your red baby bjorn bouncer seat. You kick your legs a ton and so this makes the bouncer bounce and you love the movement. You also love to be in the swing.
You roll over from belly to back just as soon as we put you on your belly. Your first time to roll over was at 9 weeks, just like your sister!

My favorite thing that you do at this age is when I put your car seat in it's base in our car, you immediately look up at yourself in the mirror and grin SO SO BIG! Every single time!! I LOVE THIS about you.

You love routine and predictability and I try to give you that as much as I can, with exception to the three days Ava has school. We are in the car more than I'd prefer, but I'm hoping this makes you a flexible baby.

We love you so very much and you have brought so much JOY to this home. Ava gets so sad when I put you down for a nap because she thinks you nap too much. Ha! She wants you to be around us at all times. I agree with her, little buddy! We both get so excited and run to your room when we hear you wake up.

I am so happy you have recovered from your rough start at life and look forward to what this next month has in store for you as you continue to grow bigger, explore new things around you, and develop your sweet little personality right before my eyes!

Project 366 {week 3}

Project 366 {week 2}

I am so enjoying doing Project 366 this way! Thanks for reading up on a little piece of our week.



























Here's to week 3!

Project 366 {week 1}

I am jumping on the project 365 bandwagon as I think it's an awesome idea and I take so many iPhone pics as it is. Usually the pics I take tell a story of something funny that took place. I will tweet it or Facebook it but rarely do I recall what went on in that picture 6 months later. So this is where I'm hopeful project 365 will help me!
I learned about displaying my pictures in the templates below from my talented friend Sarah. The girl seriously is a Jane of all trades!! If you'd like to learn too, go read her tutorial from today! Her blog is called Life {sweet} Life and it's on my blogroll to the left <-----. Sorry, I'm on my phone & can't link to her. Week One.

Judd's 2 month stats

Judd is 10 weeks, or 2.5 months old. Sweet baby had his 2 month checkup today.
Here he is before we left for the appointment.

I always look forward to these appointments but dread them at the same time. I get excited to see how much my babies weigh and how tall they are, and to get the percentiles. But those shots. Oh the shots. Not a fan of those boogers at all.

He weighed 14.5 lbs. BIG BOY!! He is in the 95% for weight. I am so thrilled to have another chunky monkey. As for height, he was 23 inches, which put him in the 60%. I think it's funny because he and Ava were the exact same height at 2 months. Ava weighed 11 lbs and was in the 75%. Does this make Judd short and squatty? Haha! And as far as his head circumference? 80%. Homeboy's got lots of brains up in that noggin!
So, overall it appears that little Judd is having no problems in the physical growth department. He is happy and healthy. He is also doing great cognitively. He smiles all the time and coos so much. It seriously makes me weak in the knees, y'all. Ava never did coo all that much. She was a much more serious baby. This little man just loves to sit and coo all day long....when he isn't eating that is.
He also rolled over from front to back 5 times yesterday.
SLOW DOWN LITTLE FELLER! He was just born like yesterday! They weren't kidding when they said the second child's infancy goes by so much faster.

Now, if only it was acceptable and exciting for me to gain weight. Blech.

Judd {1 and 2 months}

I cannot even believe that it has been 2 months already that my sweet little man has been here with us. What a wild 2 months it has been. I feel horrible that I didn't blog about his 1 month stats and update but around that time it was so crazy. Let me catch you up.

ONE MONTH

 -At one month old you had just been through a whirl wind and your little body was recovering from a scary ordeal. When you turned 2 weeks old you started vomiting. I thought maybe you had a stomach bug and was watching you like crazy to see if you developed any kind of fever. You never did, but your vomiting did not let up. As we got to week 3 I thought you had major reflux. We visited the doctor several times in a week. We switched formulas, held you upright for an hour after each feeding, gave you smaller amounts of milk less often; we did it all. After tweeting with some moms on twitter I was informed about a condition called Pyloric Stenosis. I was also told to NOT google it as it would scare me, but to watch you closely and consider getting you an ultrasound if the vomiting got worse or more frequent. Well, the vomiting got worse and more frequent and I googled it. I read that PS is a birth defect that takes place in 4 out of 1000 white males and causes their pyloric muscle at the end of their stomach to enlarge, causing the food to be ejected from the stomach upwards and therefor not digest into the intestines. The only treatment? Surgery.

Needless to say, it eventually got to the point that you were throwing up every bottle, all of the bottle, and we took you in to get the ultrasound of your stomach. Within an hour it was determined that your sweet little tummy indeed needed surgery. You had Pyloric Stenosis. You were one of those 4 out of 1000. Lucky little guy. NOT.

What a scary night. I never thought I'd have a newborn who would need to have an IV, or need to be put under. I never thought I'd have a newborn having surgery at just 21 days of age. But, guess what? That surgery proved to be a success and you gained 3 pounds in the 2.5 weeks after your surgery.

-By the end of your first month you were up from 8.11 lbs to 11.4 lbs. You were back on regular newborn formula and continued to nurse before each feeding. You took about 3 oz of formula and 1 oz of breastmilk per feed.

-You smiled for the first time at 6 weeks and we noticed you had two little dimples at the top corners of your mouth. MELTS ME!

-You woke up twice a night most nights with an occasional once a night wake up or thrice a night wake up.

-You continued to grow and thrive, which was more than we could ask for!

TWO MONTHS

-At two months you are weighing an impressive 12.14 lbs!! YOU LOVE TO EAT! Mommy and Daddy (and Dr. Halpenny too) are so proud of your growth since your setback.

-You wear a size 3month clothing and are very close to wearing 3-6 months

-You wear a size 1 diaper and love to blow-out at least one diaper a day

-You take about 5 or 6 ounces of formula every 3 hours and nurse in the morning, before your naps, and at bedtime. You are starting to be over nursing as you know it's much more work than a bottle. In fact, I am fairly sure we are done nursing this week. I thought today would be your last time, but I did notice you wanted to nurse before your nap this afternoon. It may be that you only nurse once a day for comfort, or that you give it up completely. Either way, I am going to be okay with it because I was never nursing you for nutrition, sadly. Mommy just doesn't make enough to provide.

-You love your swing the best and you HATE car rides. I have become SUCH the homebody since you were born mostly because I dread getting in the car with you. Thanks for helping me spend less money. Haha!

-You got RSV AND an ear infection in your right ear at 9 weeks old and are still recovering from it. Poor boy can't catch a break but I am certain you are a tough little guy and have already almost fought this virus off completely.

-You smile and coo so much and we just love you to pieces!!

-Whever you sneeze you always finish it off with a loud coo. Your sister and I laugh every time because it is the SWEETEST sound.

-Your favorite times of day are tummy time in the morning and bath time at night.

-You go to sleep every night at 9pm and wake around 2 or 3 for a bottle, and then again around 6. You are up for the day at 9am every morning. I am so happy you are on a routine and hope to improve the routine in the day with sceduled naps as you get a little older and I learn more about you and your needs.

One and two month comparison pics. Look how much you have grown and filled out! Wow!

We love you so so much little boy and we all are crazy about you! You have brought so much joy to all 3 of us and we don't really even remember what life was like without you. You fit perfectly into our family like a glove. We look forward to watching your little personality form and you grow into an ever sweeter (and chunkier) baby boy!

Happy two months, Judd Richard!

Christmas 2011

Here it is 10 minutes until 2012 and I'm barely getting our Christmas post blogged. I'll make it quick with mostly just a bunch of pictures. They speak for themselves though, don't they?
We had a great Christmas and I feel like it came and went just a little too quickly. It was definitely a different one with just having Judd. I feel like Christmas shopping was so random and sporatic, I was exhausted much of the month of December, and it was hard to get out and spend much time with family and friends with a newborn. However, it was a very special Christmas in that this was our first Christmas in our new home and as a family of four. We made many great memories, started a few new traditions, and just really enjoyed being with eachother; just the four of us.
And? Christmas in the eyes of a 3 year old? It's just something I cannot explain. SO magical and joyous.
We went to Aaron's grandparent's house for Christmas Eve. We have been going there every year since we first started dating and we always have such a good time visiting with all of his family. That first Christmas there was only two babies. This Christmas there were 9. Here are some pictures from that night. Ava had a great time running around with her cousins. Mee Maw loved holding Judd. We ate way too much food, opened presents, and made our way home to prepare for Santa!
                                  
This above picture is my favorite picture of the entire month of December. I love that they are both looking at the camera, that Ava is actually smiling, and that they look so festive and matchy:) Makes this mama smile!!

                                                     Christmas Eve 

We got home and did our traditional Christmas Eve of opening one gift from eachother of matching pajamas. This year I waited until the last minute so we went with non-Christmas and not really matching as much as coordinating. The theme was gray. Ha! I'm really into gray lately and I found all but Judd's pjs in one quick Taget trip. I got Judd's online at Carters.
                                

Here we are Christmas Eve and Christmas morning. Santa was good to the kids this year. Judd's big gift was the Pottery Barn anywhere chair and Ava's big gift was a Disney fairies bike. They also got a "reading tepee" and some puzzles, books, and a few other small things.

Aaron got me a gym membership for the year. He actually got us a family membership which is just awesome because this gym has so much to offer, even an indoor water park for the kids!! That baby starts up on January 2nd. CANNOT WAIT to hit the elyptical. Yeay, operation lose this baby weight is ON!

Ava had so much fun opening presents this year. She really got into it and wanted to open everyone's gifts, little stinker!!

Our third Christmas was at my mom's house on Christmas afternoon. We went over and got our stockings, a tradition we still continue from when we lived at home, and opened presents. We also had a very yummy dinner of steaks, baked potatoes, and cherry pie. I also made a very tasty Pineapple Pretzel Salad. Thanks, Erin, for that recipe! I love the picture of my mom with her three grandchildren. And I especially love that Judd is crying. Ha! It's real life, huh?

I think Aaron's favorite gift was these pretty little babies. Redneck wine glasses. Have you ever seen such a thing? Mason jars on what looks like candle stick holders. Hilarious!! I think my mom bought these for him since he drinks cheap wine. Haha! He isn't a big drinker at all, and he doesn't drink liquor or beer so wine is his drink of choice. Only thing is? He prefers it to be cheap. And? He is not one bit ashamed about this. Love it!

What a wonderful 2011 it has been! Exactly a year ago on this very night I took my first Clomid pill, hoping to get pregnant with a second baby, and we were sitting around with my cousins talking about potential boy and girl names. It makes me smile to look at how blessed we were to welcome a sweet little baby boy into this world 10 months after that night.

(This picture makes me laugh so hard. Looks like Judd is wearing a hair piece.)

God's plan is perfect and his timing is better than any of us can ever imagine. I thank him daily for my life, my family, my friends, and all new blessings that come with each new day, each new year.
Happy New Year to you and yours. I hope this year is your best one YET!