Weeks 15, 16, and 17

Preston has been an absolute gem lately.  I am loving this age!  All of the smiles and the laughter...it makes our days so much sweeter!  He is really starting to develop a personality, and I must say, he's kind of funny!  He is always making us laugh, and just has the sweetest smile.  These past three weeks have been busy ones.  We transitioned Preston from his cradle to his crib around week 15.  The first night we had two false alarms with the baby monitor (it detects breathing, and goes off if baby doesn't breath for 20 seconds) and the second night we had one.  We finally got all of the settings figured out for his new mattress and haven't had a problem since then.  He slept through the night on October 12th (8:30pm-4:00am), but that was a mean ole trick he played on us, because his sleep has been terrible ever since.  We are talking worst sleep yet.  I miss the nights where he was up at 12, 2, 4, and 5:30.  Some nights, he is literally up every 20-30 minutes.  I have been an absolute zombie because I'm not getting much sleep at all.  The only time I get any real REM sleep is from 5:30-7:30 when Kyle takes him.  I can hardly even get out of bed in the mornings to help out with Jaidyn.  I'm not sure what is going on with Preston, except that once midnight hits, he wants to nurse all night long.  He isn't hungry, but he wants to comfort nurse.  So he ends up in bed with me comfort nursing most of the night, so even when he is asleep, I am so uncomfortable.  I don't want him in our bed.  Don't get me wrong, I love snuggling the little guy, but my arm goes numb and I'm so afraid of him being in our bed.  It makes me nervous, which is making it even harder to fall asleep.  The only thing that has been keeping me sane at night is my Kindle.  Some nights I will just lay in bed for hours and read, waiting for 5:30 to come around so I can sleep.  It's getting pretty awful, and some changes are being made, but I will talk about that in the next blog!  I think some other issues are that (we think) he is teething, and some nights he is in so much pain that he freaks out when I put him down.  Also, he gets cold at night.  During week 17, the suspected teething was very bad for a couple of nights.  Lots and lots of screaming.  The only things that would calm him was being in my arms and nursing frantically.  I think it makes his mouth feel better, which is why he is wanting to do it as frequently.  He is chewing on everything he can get his hands on.  He is particularly fond of blankets.  Blankets are so soothing to him.  Sucking on them, chewing on them, rubbing them on his face....he loves his blankies!  Jaidyn was my binkie girl and Preston is going to be my blankie boy!  It's a shame that sleeping with a blanket is so dangerous, because I bet he would sleep better at night.  We bought him an amber teething necklace, and it could be a coincidence, but he's been much calmer since we started putting it on him.  Well, I've pretty much only talked about negatives so far, so on to the good stuff!  

During week 16, Preston started trying to roll over.  We were at youth alive one day and I had him laying on a blanket and he was trying so hard, but just couldn't get past his arm.  On Oct. 24th, we were at our weekly Wednesday morning play group, and he was laying on the floor.  He started to roll over just like before, only this time he had enough momentum that he made it past that arm and on to his belly!  I was so proud, and thankfully daddy was out in the church lobby and got to come see him just moments after he did it!  It was a very special moment.  He hasn't done it since, but that is my fault because I don't give him enough time on his back.  That being said, I have been trying to increase his time on his play mat because he is finally interested in it!  He has started interacting with the toys.  I added a toy elephant to it using one of those rings that is connected to the top of the mat, and he reaches out and grabs onto it.  Then he tries with all of his might to get it into his mouth, and when he fails he gets very upset!  He's also figured out how to turn  the music on on one of the other toys on the mat.  It's been really neat to watch him grow and learn and start to figure things out.  He's a pretty darn amazing baby!     


Week 15 milestones
Moved from his cradle to his crib
Slept through the night on Oct. 12th

Week 16 milestones
Trying to roll over
Loves his blankets 
Lots of giggles (he giggles mainly for daddy)
Lots of babbling and talking

Week 17 milestons
Possible teething, which is starting to get bad
Nursing quite often.  Teething?  Growth spurt?
Starting to enjoy reading before bed.  He is actually very attentive and loves to sit up and look at the pictures.  One night, I was nursing him while reading to Jaidyn, and he kept popping up from eating to look at the book.  Love my little readers!
Has started really enjoying playing and grabbing at toys.  He particularly likes the blue dog/blanket that daddy bought him, and his penguin that plays music.  He really, really likes music.  
Rolled over on Oct. 24th

Well Baby Stats
At his 4 month appointment, Preston weighed 16lbs 10oz and was 26 1/4 in long.  Big boy!  He had his second round of immunizations, and did not like those one bit!  His face turns almost purple from crying every time he gets his shots...I absolutely hate it.  

Special Moments
We went to the pumpkin patch on Oct. 16th.  It was windy, but the temperature was amazing.  We went in the evening so there was hardly anyone else there.  We walked around and enjoyed the different displays, ran through the corn maze a few times, ate pumpkin flavored everything, took too many pictures, and picked out our pumpkins!  It was a wonderful night which ended by watching Hocus Pocus together :)  It doesn't get better than that! 
On the way to bible study on the 29th, Jaidyn said from the back seat of the car, "Mommy, Presty and I just had our first pinky promise!".  I asked her what they promised.  She said that they promised never to leave one another.  My heart melted.  Those two seriously make me cry, they are so sweet together!

Weeks 9 and 10

Wow has a lot happened during these two weeks!  I am amazed at how my baby boy is changing!  We are getting into such a great daily routine together, which is something that I'd hoped would happen once Jaidyn went back to school.  Our daily routine goes something like this:
Preston wakes up anywhere from 5:00-6:30 am, and I feed him.  Then daddy takes him until 7am when I get out of bed to help get Jaidyn ready for school.  Jaidyn eats breakfast, gets dressed, gets her hair done and teeth brushed, prepares her book bag, and is out the door anywhere from 7:50-8:00am with daddy.  School starts at 8:10am and is basically down the street from our apartment, so on the days that they leave at 7:50am they walk and when they leave at 8:00am Kyle drops her off on his way to work.  I usually eat breakfast after she leaves, then I swaddle Preston who is ready for his morning nap.  Generally I nurse him to sleep, and put him in his swing once he is asleep.  He sleeps from around 8:30 or 9am to 11:00am.  Sometimes instead of the swing, I will hold him and we fall asleep on the couch together.  I love our morning naps, but try to limit it to once or twice a week, otherwise I don't get much done.  I generally don't do much during his morning nap, because I myself am not a morning person.  So I use this time to facebook, blog, watch tv, research things online, etc.  Then I try to whip up a simple lunch for myself before he wakes up, but this doesn't always happen.  He has a lovely habit of waking up when I'm in the middle of it.  After he's awake and I have eaten, we have activity time where we "play".  Preston obviously can't do much yet, but on September 1st he gripped his first toy!  It was little bunny rattle that came with his snuggabunny swing.  I, of course, was super proud and had to tell daddy right away!  I love the little things that we get excited about :)  So, anyways, we work on grasping for different toys, have tummy time, play on our play mat, sing songs, etc during our activity time.  Tummy time has gotten slightly easier since I started propping him up on the boppy for it.  It's much more comfortable for him.  Around 1:00 or 1:30pm or so he is ready for another, smaller nap.  I usually wake him up by 2:30pm so that I can change his diaper and feed him before we go pick up Jaidyn from school.  We pick her up at 2:50, and again, sometimes we walk when Prest is in a good mood and the weather is nice enough.  Once we get home I look at Jaidyn's school work and get her a snack while she does homework.  Then she goes off to do her own thing (watch a little tv, play some educational computer games, read, play, etc) while I clean.  Preston is usually in a pretty good mood and will sit in his kickin' coaster in the kitchen while I do dishes, prepare for dinner, clean up, etc.  Pretty much from the time Jaidyn gets home to the time he goes to bed he takes small cat naps.  Sometimes he will fall asleep on his own, other times I need to swaddle him, bounce him, nurse him, etc to get him to sleep.  He generally naps in his swing, but will sometimes nap in the kickin' coaster.  He won't start napping upstairs alone until he's around 6 months old.  Daddy comes home around 5pm.  Sometimes I will be making dinner, sometimes it will already be made, and other times we cook together.  I love cooking together.  It gives us the chance to talk about our day, talk about the future, or just talk about whatever!  We are busy several nights a week.  Monday night is bible study, Wednesday night is Jaidyn's gymnastics, Friday nights are often youth nights or we have some other random activity going on.  Starting soon is a Thursday night bible study, so we are often very busy!  Thankfully Preston does very well (most of the time) when we are out and about, but it is getting more difficult because his bedtime is much earlier, a change that he himself made that I am very happy about!  He used to consistently go to bed every night around 10:30pm, and I would stay up until 2am doing my own things, or spending time with Kyle.  Now he takes a bath at 8pm, we read a book, and nurse to sleep.  He is usually down by 8:30pm.  I am usually in bed by midnight, rather than 2am, which is so nice!  He wakes up anywhere from 1:30-2:30am, usually at 2:00am though.  It's amazing how on the dot he is sometimes!  I change his diaper and nurse him back to sleep.  Here is where things get tricky.  Preston loves being swaddled.  In fact, it's the only way he will sleep.  But for some reason after his 2am feeding (usually around 3:30am), he tries desperately to break free from it.  I will lay in bed and hear him ferociously trying to get out of it, and he succeeds every single time.  Once he gets unswaddled, he stretches out, and gets his arms stuck in the craddle slats.  This makes him super angry, and he will scream until I pick him up.  I reswaddle him, "nurse" him back to sleep, and put him back down.  (I saw "nurse" because Preston is a huge comfort sucker, so he doesn't always eat, but just uses me as a binky for comfort.)  This goes on at least once (but sometimes more) an hour until he finally wakes up for the morning.  The only way I actually get any sleep is when I bring him into bed with me, which doesn't happened often, but some nights I am so exhausted that I don't have much of a choice.  He will sleep for hours snuggled up with me.  It's not the most comfortable situation for me, because it means I don't get to sleep with a pillow, my arm goes numb, and I can't pull my blanket up very far on me when I'm cold.  But, it works when we need to do it.  Well, there you have it.  Our schedule in a nutshell! 

I am very much enjoying my days with Preston.  He is so smiley and happy.  My favorite part of the day is when we sing songs.  I especially love to sing him to sleep.  I feel like it's our own special thing that we do....our secret time together that no one else knows about.  When I sing him to sleep, I sing The Moon Song, Somewhere Over the Rainbow, or Baby Don't You Cry (The Pie Song).  The pie song is his favorite.  When I sing it to him, he smiles so big.  And he will keep on grinning until his eyes get heavy and he falls asleep.  It will always be our song :)  Jaidyn's favorite has always been The Moon Song, and to this day she still asks me to sing it to her when she is sad or upset.  That one will always be our song :)  Preston and I also sing songs for fun.  We sing during our play time, or when he is upset and I am walking him around the apartment.  We like to sing How Much is That Doggy in the Window? over and over again.  My Great Grandmother Allen used to sing this song to me when I was little.  So when I sing it to him I always picture her sitting at her piano, swaying back and forth as she sang it to me....so gorgeous, with a big smile on her face.

We did have a scare on Sept. 6th.  Preston had been acting weird since about 3 am.  Crying in a way that I'd never really heard him cry before.  But I brought him into bed, nursed him, and he fell back asleep in my arms.  He was restless until we finally got out of bed around 6am.  He was screaming by this point.  We changed him, fed him, bounced him on the ball, and nothing worked.  I could tell that he was in pain by the way he was crying, but I couldn't tell what was wrong.  I just happened to look down at his little hand while Kyle was holding him and trying to calm him, and I saw this ring around his middle finger.  He had a hair wrapped so tightly around his finger that is was cutting into his skin and beginning to cut off circulation.  Thankfully I was able to get it off easily, and I could tell that he felt much better after that.  We gave him some tylenol in case he was still feeling any discomfort.  I couldn't stop thinking about it for the rest of the day.  It still makes me sad now when I think about it.  I hate that he was in pain and had no way of telling me what was wrong.  That's the worst feeling in the world.  I check his little fingers and toes constantly now to prevent it from happening again.  After the incident, he held onto my finger so tightly, and just wanted to sleep in my arms.  I realized in that moment how much of my heart that little guy has.  I love him so much, and just want to cry thinking about him being in pain.  I can say the same for Jaidyn, who had her surgery on Sept. 10th.

We arrived at the hospital for the surgery around 7:45am.  After a bit, I went back with Jaidyn where she was prepared for surgery.  She got into a hospital outfit, had her vitals checked, etc.  We had quite a bit of time, just the two of us back there to chat.  She was worried, and scared, but was also very brave.  I sat on the bed with her and tried to reassure her, but I won't lie, I myself was worried.  The procedure was simple, but I hated the fact that she was being put under.  I wanted to cry, but had to be brave for her.  The procedure was explained to me, and then someone brought her some medicine to take to "calm her down".  Basically, it made her incredibly loopy.  She got pretty funny, which I guess helped both her and I with our nerves.  She kept saying that I had two eyes, and there were two mickey's on tv, and silly stuff like that.  She was a goof!  It took her quite awhile to tell the nurse her name and birthday before they took her back, because she was so out of it by then.  As they wheeled her down the hall, I called out "I love you" to her and she said "I love you too!"  I was grateful that she was able to say it back, being in the state that she was in, because it made me feel better about her going back for the surgery. I hated not being able to go back there with her.  I was worried that she'd be so scared, and she's want me, and I wouldn't be there for her.  But I guess that was one of the purposes of the drugs they gave her.  Kyle, Preston, and I were sent to a private waiting room to wait for the surgery to be completed.  It only took about 30-45 minutes before the doctor (Mike Smith, a friend of ours) came in to let us know that the surgery had been a success.  I had to wait until she was in the second stage of recovery before I could go back to see her.  When I finally was able to go back, my heart broke.  There was my baby, sitting alone in a hospital bed, eyes puffy from crying, tears on her face, and blue lips from eating a snow cone.  She looked so sad, and I just wanted to break down crying.  She was very emotional, and cried many times.  She was upset because she couldn't see well (she was coming off of the many different forms of anesthesia she was on), she was upset because she wanted to go home, she was worried that her class mates would make fun of her face, and she cried so hard because Preston wasn't allowed back there and she so badly wanted to see him.  After a few minutes, she wanted to see daddy, so I sent him back and Preston and I went to the gift store.  We bought her a cute little kitten whom she named Honey, and I brought it back to her.  She snuggled it tightly until it was time to go home.  By the time we got home, she was back to her old self.  But I must tell you, my heart absolutely broke that day.  Both before and after her surgery.  I am so grateful that everything went well, and I pray that I never have to go through that, or worse, with either of my babies again.

9 week Milestones:
Gripped first toy on Sept. 1st, and started gripping blankets on Sept. 2nd.
Laughed for the first time on Sept. 3rd
Kyle swears he whined "mommy" when I left the room on Sept. 3rd.  Of course we both know that isn't possible yet, but he still whines "Maaaaaaa! Maaaaa!" sometimes when he is crying and I like to pretend he is calling out to me :)
Started sleeping a 4 hour stretch at night, and did a 5 hour stretch on the night of Sept. 3rd.  Now consistently sleeps one 4-5 hour stretch each night (either in his swing, or cradle). 

     
10 week Milestones:
This is a sad one....Preston cried his first real tears on Sept. 5th.  I could do without see those again anytime soon!
Also on Sept. 5th was when we started "playing" and he began enjoying tummy time a little bit more.

Preston at 6, 7, and 8 Weeks

Mr. Preston is like a new little baby these days!  He's not my little newborn anymore :(  He is really starting to develop his own little personality :)  He's been a lot less fussy since right around 6 weeks...either that, or we are just getting better at soothing him.  The first few weeks, I felt like I was tied to the rocker...constantly feeding, and rocking, and soothing my little guy (I'm not complaining though, I loved holding him all day long!).  But now I am able to get things done around the house.  I have more time to cook, clean, do laundry, etc. with my little one just feet away from me in his bouncy seat!  I've also been able to spend a little more time with Jaidyn, which both she and I have needed.  We went to see the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid movie on the 13th.  It was so nice to hang out, just the two of us.  She sat on my lap almost the entire time.  I missed it so much!  Preston is such a good baby.  I'm so glad that I'm able to leave him home with daddy for a bit every now and then.  It wouldn't be possible if Kyle wasn't such a good dad and if Presty wasn't such a good boy!

  
I asked Kyle how he would describe Mr. Preston's personality, and he said "He's very relaxed, but he definitely lets you know when he needs something.  But once you figure out what he needs, he melts like butter and becomes the happiest baby in the world."  You see, Preston let's you know, very loudly I might add, when he is discontent (as all babies do, of course).  It's always one of four things.  He's hungry, he's wet/dirty, he's gassy/has an upset stomach or is just generally uncomfortable, or he's sleepy.  We've become very good at figuring out what he needs by his cries, or the way that he is acting.  There is never any question about whether or not Preston needs his diaper changed....he will scream and cry like you've never heard!  It's a little bit over the top if you ask me ;)  When he is in pain or uncomfortable, his cries are completely different.  When he is hungry, he sucks on his little fists or roots around.  Once we figure out what is wrong with him and take care of his needs, it's like someone flips a switch and he is back to being cool and calm Preston.  If I could describe Preston's personality using one word, it would be 'serious'.  He is a very serious baby, which is funny because when Kyle and I would talk about him before he was born, we both said that we thought he was going to be a very serious, laid-back baby...the complete opposite of his crazy, outgoing sister! 

     

Our nightly schedule hasn't changed much.  Preston still goes to sleep around 10:30pm, and eats around 2, 4 and 6am.  He still sleeps quite a bit during the day, but is awake much more than before.  He usually takes two long naps during the day (2 or 3 hours), and then takes little cat naps in between.  When he is awake, he spends some time in his swing his, his bouncy seat, or in his new kickin' coaster!  He also spends lots of time in mommy's arms, or bouncing on the exercise ball with me.  He likes to spend time just laying flat on his back too.  Tonight as Kyle and I were laying in bed, he laid in between us on his back for over an hour just looking around and cooing until he fell asleep.  Such a good little boy :)  He's not a fan of tummy time at all, so we don't do it much (or at least not traditionally.  I like to put my feet up on the ottoman while sitting in the couch, and lay him across my legs on his belly.  Then he is elevated as he looks over my knees, and he seems to like that better.  He can look around instead of having his face buried in the carpet!).  He's got incredibly good control of his neck and head, and is very strong, so I'm not too concerned about missing out on tummy time every now and then.  He is smiling all the time now!  I used to have to work to get him to smile.  I'd stand with him in front of the mirror and talk baby talk to him.  Once he notices himself in the mirror, he grins so big!  Now we don't have to try so hard to get him to do it.  Sometimes I will look down at him and he will be grinning back at me.  I love it :)  He is so adorable!  Around the end of 8 weeks, the amount of smiles we were getting was crazy!  He smiles all the time now!  Another thing that Preston loves to do is look around.  When we are sitting on the couch, he likes to look over my shoulder at the black and white pictures hanging on the wall.  Around 8 weeks he finally noticed the spinning birdies on his swing.  Now he will sit in his swing and stare at them!  Sometimes he grins and coos at them, other times he quietly watches them until he drifts off to sleep.  He loves being out of the house, and loves looking around at his new surroundings.  We go to the JAC once a week, and went to the skate rink as well recently.  I'm so glad that he's a good baby and I can get out of the house with him without much fuss. 

  

I had mentioned above that Preston has been a lot less fussy.  That was certainly true a week ago.  You see, I write these blogs over the course of two or three weeks (depending on how many weeks I cover in an entry) so some things change by the end of the two or three weeks and I have to add in some edits.  Weeks 7 and 8 were slightly fussier weeks.  He's been a huge mama's boy.  He wants me constantly, and wants me to hold him against me so he can rest his little head on my shoulder.  He's started snuggling up against my neck with his face.  He will rub his nose back and forth over and over again on my shoulder.  I think it's the sweetest thing :)  He's started doing it to Daddy now too, which makes mommy kind of jealous!  I am definitely starting to realize why having a son is such an amazing thing, and you wont find this mom complaining about having a mamas boy!  I'm truly enjoying every minute of it!  Everything he does amazes me!  And did I mention that he has the most beautiful dark blue eyes??  I get lost in them!  And I just can't stop kissing those chubby cheeks of his!      

Highlights and Milestones: Lots and lots of smiles, tons of cooing, very alert, and loves to look around at things!  Preston is a chunker....and I LOVE it!  I don't know why, but I love chunky babies, and when Kyle and I talked about what we hoped he would look like, that was definitely something I had hoped for!  Well, I got my wish!  At his 2 month appointment, he weighed 13.13 lbs (90%) and was 23 3/4 in long (80%).  He is the size of an average 4 month old (crazy!!).  Him being so big makes me feel like he's a very healthy boy, which I love!  Another thing that I forgot to mention is that Preston has discovered that he has hair.  He will feel it and play with it.  So cute!    

Likes: His binky....finally!  He just started taking his binky, and that is one of the reasons why I can get things done these days.  He doesn't take it often, but he will every now and then and it's been great.  His swing.  He spends a lot of time in it, and loves to listen to the music and watch the birdies go around and around.  It puts him right to sleep!  Also....kickin coaster, smiles, baby talk, snuggling with mommy, hanging out with daddy, "playing" with sissy, baths, music, and milky!

Dislikes: Wet and dirty diapers, being too hot or cold, being in his carseat, and being put down for too long.  He's a cuddle bug!

In other news, Jaidyn started 1st grade on the 21st!  So far, she is absolutely loving it!  She loves her teacher and is already making new friends.  It still hasn't clicked with me yet that she's back in school...I have to remind myself every night.  I miss her already, but it's been nice to try and get a routine going with the baby.  She has homework this year, which is pretty exciting :)  She's growing up way too fast!

4 and 5 weeks

I can't believe that my baby boy turned 1 month on the 26th!  Wow has time flown by!  And wow has he changed so much, even from when I wrote my last entry!  As far as our daily routine goes, not too much has changed, except that we are trying to work on getting on more of a schedule and he is awake more throughout the day.  When he is awake, we try to do different things so he doesn't get too bored.  He will now sit in his swing and bouncy seat while he's awake, but only for a short period of time (he used to cry unless he was asleep in one of them).  We try to have some play time followed by a little tummy time on his play mat.  He's not a fan of tummy time though.  We do little leg exercises each day, which he really seems to enjoy, along with some massage.  He likes it when I carry him and walk around from room to room so he can look at different things.  He stares at lights, at pictures on the walls, at his sissy, etc.  He loves looking around!  Preston is a very serious baby, and you can see it in his facial expressions!

As far as our evening routine, now that he's a little older, and his skin is less sensitive, we have worked a nightly/every other night bath into our evenings, followed by a massage with California Baby lavender oil to help him sleep.  He is enjoying his bath a lot more these days, which is wonderful!  After his bath I take him into my bedroom, read him a story, turn down the lights, and rock him/nurse him.  The first night we started this at 8pm.  Ha!  He finally got to sleep at 10:30pm, so we've pushed the bath back to around 9pm.  He still doesn't want to go to sleep until around 10:30pm though.  It's amazing how they set their own schedules and follow them so strictly.  At almost 10:30 on the dot every evening, that boy is asleep!  He's been doing so great at sleeping in his cradle, that I hardly ever end up having to bring him into our bed.  He then wakes up at 2am, 4am, and 6am to eat.  6am feedings are perhaps my favorite time of the day.  He is so wide eyed and bushy tailed, and he and I get to spend some time together, just the two of us.  I talk to him, and he coos at me.  Occasionally I will get a half of a smile from him.  Sometimes we just lay and look at each other.  It's our special time, and I just love it!  After we spend some time together, he goes downstairs with daddy and mommy sleeps for a little bit longer, usually until he's ready to eat again.  I honestly don't mind that he gets up so many times a night.  It's actually a relief to me, because then every couple of hours I am reassured that he's okay!  And at his 2 and 4 o'clock feedings, he is barely awake.  I change his diaper, and then he eats half asleep.  Lately he has decreased his feeding times, both at night and during the day.  He used to eat for about 20-30 minutes, now he eats for about 10-15 minutes.  I've discovered that some nights after I rock and nurse him, he needs daddy to actually put him to sleep.  Otherwise, he wants to continue to nurse even though his belly is full, which leads to him being fussy and he starts to tug and clamp down, which just isn't fun at all!  Sometimes I wish this child would take to his binky like Jaidyn did, but I'm lucky if I can get him to take it once a day...you should see the look on his face when I try!  We will keep trying this out and hopefully he will catch on, but if not, that's okay too.  I'm willing to do whatever is comforting to Preston, and whatever makes him a happy baby! 

Something I've come to discover about Preston is that he hates being cooped up in this apartment just about as much as mommy does.  He is a cranky pants at home, but wonderful when we are out (most of the time, that is).  We spent a few hours over at a friends house for dinner the other night, and he was so perfect.  We've also been to the Jac a couple of times and he's been very well behaved.  He loves being outside.  In fact when we are home and I can't get him to settle down, I take him outside and walk up and down the sidewalk with him.  He calms right down.  I wish it wasn't so hot out so we could spend more time outside, but Fall is on it's way and I can promise you we will be outside a lot!  The little guy just likes to have a change of scenery, and I don't blame him at all! 

Oh!  I almost forgot that we started cloth diapering.  Our all in one diapers are still too big for him, but we ordered some pre-folds and covers so that we could go ahead and start.  I must say, Kyle is a cloth diapering master.  He is so good at it!  I'm the one that cheats and uses sposies every now and then, but not him!  He is all about it, and I am so proud :)  We are using yellow edge Green Mountain Diaper pre-folds and a few different covers.  The covers we are using are Flips, Thirsties, Bummies, and Swaddlebee's Capri's.  So far I am very happy with them.  We have had zero leaks, which is more than I can say for the Lil Joey's which I'm sad to say did not work for us at all!  They were cute, but leaked every time.  I may do a cloth diapering post once we start all in ones and find out what works for us.

  
Highlights and Milestones:  Mr. Preston smiled for the first time on the 26th, which just so happened to be his one month birthday!  He hasn't smiled at us again since then (except for in his sleep), but I did manage to catch the very end of the smile on film! (edit: We've managed to catch a few more smiles here and there!)  Jaidyn and I both saw it, but poor Daddy missed it, much to his dismay!  Soon enough he will be smiling all the time :)  He has also started to coo, which is just so sweet!  He is much more alert, which means that we get to see more of those beautiful, blue eyes!  I LOVE it when he looks up at me with those pretty eyes while he's nursing.  He's such a sweetheart, and melts my heart!  Preston had his one month checkup.  He had to get a shot, which definitely wasn't a highlight...but his stats were!  He is up to 10lbs 11oz and 23 1/4 in long!  I am in awe of how quickly that boy is growing!  He is in the 65th% for weight, 95th% for height, and somewhere in the 50's for head circumference.   I am loving my chunky baby!! :)  We've heard from some friends as well as two pedi's that Preston is a very strong baby (I guess since he's so big I shouldn't be surprised that he's so strong!).  When you hold him up he will push on your legs with his feet, making himself jump up and down.  So that is pretty cool!  

Preston's Likes: Preston loves being in the K'tan baby carrier.  Every time I put him in it, he falls right asleep!  We went on a long grocery trip the other day (all four of us), and he slept the entire time in it!  We also spent a couple of hours at the park when Jaidyn's dad was visiting, and again, he slept the whole time.  He loves sleeping in his swing.  He will sleep for hours at a time in it during the day!  I will be writing more about the swing in another post :)  He still loves to be swaddles, but I have been swaddling him less and less during the day.  He is always swaddled at night though, otherwise he wont sleep for long at all.  We are still in love with our miracle blankets!  Preston has different things that he likes me and daddy to do.  It's so funny that he knows the difference.  I will do the same thing that Kyle does to calm him down, but it won't work, and vica versa.  He likes it when daddy swaddles and does the side hold and shake and he likes it when mama bounces him on the exercise ball, especially when I turn the music to his swing on.  He also likes going to daddy when he's got hiccups....dad has the magic touch!Presty is also still very much liking white noise in the car or when he's in bed.

Preston's Dislikes: His carseat, being too hot, being too cold, being put down when he's awake (most of the time), having a wet diaper, having his diaper changed, getting dressed and undressed, not getting enough milk from mama, and hiccups.

In other news, miss Jaidyn had her very first sleepover!  Her bff from kindergarten, Olivia, stayed the night.  They were up in her room most of the evening playing, watching movies, doing makeovers, doing crafts, and who knows what else!  We made them come downstairs around 10:30pm to get ready for bed (they slept down in the living room).  They had brownies and popcorn and watched Princess and the Frog, and finally fell asleep sometime after 1am!  Jaidyn went to church with Olivia's family the next day, and returned home crying because she wasn't ready for their time together to end.  Jaidyn got registered for school this week and sadly they aren't going to be in the same class this year.  But she is wanting to join girl scouts which Olivia is a part of!  I can't believe how much Jaidyn has grown up over the Summer! *tear*

Note:  I have recently decided to password protect my blog because I was sadly reminded that their are really sick people in our world.  Long story short, it was discovered that one of the members of my June mommies group was married to a sex offender, who has been convicted twice of child pornography.  She is no longer a part of the group, and I am not worried about him seeing my blog, but it was a good reminder to be careful with what you put on the internet.  The purpose of this blog is really for me, so that someday I can look back on it and remember all of the wonderful things about my pregnancy and about my family.  Therefore, it's not really necessary for it to be out there for everyone in the world to read, although I certainly don't mind if family and close friends read it, as it's a good way for them to keep up on what's going on in our lives.  That being said, you will have to type in a password anytime that you'd like to read it!  My families protection is the most important thing to me.  And remember...be careful with what you put out there!

Preston at 2 and 3 Weeks of Age

I got to spend my first ever birthday with my two kiddos on July 10th!  That day also marked Preston turning two weeks old!  We snuggled a lot that day, which is all a mommy could ask for on her birthday!  Jaidyn made me a lovely card, and daddy got mommy her favorite for lunch...thai!  Mmmm.  I've been horrible about writing things down for the past couple of weeks, so I am going to try my best to remember everything.  The days are such a blur, and time is going by faster than I ever imagined it would! 

Our days pretty much go as follows (I will start with late evening):
Preston generally goes to bed anywhere from 11pm-1am.  It all depends on how awake he is.  He will take a few catnaps during that time, but isn't ready to go to bed until pretty late.  Around 2 weeks of age it was closer to 2am, now it's anywhere from 11pm-1am, but getting earlier, thankfully!  I let Kyle go to bed whenever he likes, and I hang out up in the bed with Preston.  I usually watch netflix, get on the computer, or play with him depending on how alert he is.  He tends to be very awake from  9-11pm most nights.   Anyways, so he goes to bed and usually sleeps around 3 hours, which is his longest sleeping stretch of the night.  So, let's say he went to bed at 11pm.  He will be awake and ready to eat around 2am.  He goes back down around 2:45am or 3am after eating, diaper changes, re-swaddling, etc.  His second stretch of sleep usually lasts for about 1.5 hours to 2 hours.  So in this case he would be up by 4:30am or 5am.  If it's really early, I will bring him into my bed, do side lying nursing, and he and I will fall back asleep in bed together (we follow bedsharing rules very strictly!).  When he gets to bed a little later,  he usually wakes up for the day between 5:30am and 6:00am, and I feed him again.  Then Kyle takes him downstairs and lets mommy go back to sleep until he's ready to eat again!  This works really well for us because I am a night person and Kyle is a morning person.  So I take the night shifts, and he takes the early morning shift.  Honestly, I am very pleased with this schedule.  It's working out great for us.  There hasn't really been a day when I think to myself, "I am just too exhausted!  I can't do this anymore!"  Things have been going swimmingly.  We spend most of the day downstairs in the living room.  Preston eats about every 1.5 - 2 hours, and usually falls asleep for an hour or so after he eats.  Sometimes I will hold him and rock him while he sleeps, other times I will put him in his bouncy seat or swing.  He's in his swing sleeping now, which is about the only time I have to type these days.  Instead of getting a blog done in one sitting, it usually takes several days!  Kyle is on diaper duty when he is home, since I do all of the feeding.  Lots and lots of diapers get changed throughout the day!  We are still using sposies because he is too little for cloth at the moment.  I try to eat when he is sleeping, but I'm getting pretty good at getting things done while holding him.  He pretty much eats, sleeps, and poops all day long...like any other baby!  He is becoming more alert, which means his wake periods are becoming slightly longer.  During this time I like to talk to him (I'm a huge baby talker), sing to him, turn on some music and dance with him, put him on his playmat, have tummy time, etc.  We also spend tons of time bouncing on the exercise ball.  Jaidyn loves playing with him on his playmat, but she pretty much keeps herself entertained these days.  She's found her independence...good timing, but still hard for me to deal with!  Kyle has been great at keeping the place clean and cooking meals while I am with the babe.  Currently, he works from home in the morning and late evenings, and goes into work after lunch until around 4:30-5pm.  Our evenings are very much like our mornings and afternoons, except that we like to throw on a family movie or attempt to do something as a family.  Last week we went to the Jac in the evening for about 30 minutes.  Then we head upstairs around 10 or 11pm.  We are really making things work, much better than I had anticipated in fact!

Highlights:  So, for most of week one and two, Preston would only sleep in my arms.  I could occasionally get him to sleep in the pack n play downstairs for 30 minutes to an hour or so.  But when we officially moved upstairs, he wouldn't sleep anywhere but in the bed with me.  I would put him in his cradle, and he'd almost immediately start to cry.  On July 15th, he slept for 3 straight hours in his cradle!  He was in the bed for the rest of the night, but I was so proud of him!  For the next couple of days, he would sleep in the cradle for the first stretch of the night, and then in the bed for the second.  On July 19th, he officially started sleeping in the cradle all night long!  He gets up for his feedings, but will go right back down.  Sometimes I will even put him back in there when he's still somewhat awake, and he will fall asleep in there!  If you know anything about how Jaidyn was as a baby, you will know why this is such a big deal!  That baby girl would never, ever sleep anywhere but my arms.  It's nice to have him right beside me in his cradle, sleeping so soundly, and letting mommy sleep soundly too!  We all know that I am super paranoid about SIDS, but we have an awesome baby monitor that detects Preston breathing, and if he stopped it sets off an alarm.  That, and the fact that he sleeps in his cradle less than a foot away from me, has really put my mind at ease at night.    
On July 18th, we took Preston to his new Pedi (who is awesome btw) in Charleston to establish care there, and also to check for thrush (no thrush, thank goodness!).  Preston was up to 9 lbs 6 oz!  I was stunned!  I'm very pleased that he is gaining weight at the rate he is, because it tells me that he's getting what he needs from me, and also...I love a chunky baby :) 
On July 21st, Preston made it through a bath without screaming the entire time!  In fact, he didn't cry once.  It was fabulous!
We've also managed to go out and about successfully with Preston recently.  We went to Los for lunch on Saturday, bible study Monday, and to the JAC one evening!  Speaking of the JAC, Jaidyn and I finally got to have one of our dates, just the two of us!  It had been a month or so since our last one, and it felt so nice to get some time alone with her.  She had her usual cinnamon roll, and we read part of a chapter book called Up and Down the Scratchy Mountains together!  I love that Kyle is such a great dad, and that I can trust him to look after P for an hour or so while I go out with Jaidyn.

Challenges:  We've been having some nursing issues, but thankfully we are getting them worked out.  My supply was low, so I've been taking fenugreek (and now I smell like an IHOP, google it).  Now that my supply is up, I may have a milk imbalance.  This means that Preston isn't getting enough of the good fatty milk.  We are now block feeding, and seeing some improvement.  Hopefully things will sort themselves out very soon!


His likes: Being swaddled.  He is swaddled almost always, except when I put him in his play mat so that he can wiggle and kick around.  I normally wouldn't keep him swaddled so much, but he's very happy that way.  If he is crying, swaddling almost always helps to calm him down.  And it's the only way he will sleep.  He also loves it when I bounce him on an exercise ball.  He still likes for daddy to hold him in the side position and gently wiggle him.  Kyle started doing this thing where he holds him in that position and uses the baby to spell his whole name in the air.  It's cute, and it makes P happy :)  He also still really, really likes his milky!  And he's starting to like his binky a little better, but will only take it from me, which I'm surprised by.  P is very fond of white noise as well, especially when we are driving in the car.  

His dislikes:  Having a wet diaper, having his diaper changed, being dressed and undressed, and waking up in his swing/bouncer/etc and realizing he isn't in one of our arms!  He loves being held!  Oh, and he's not a fan of being in the carseat.  He gets too hot!


Nicknames: Stinks (I don't know why, but I call him this more than anything else.  I don't know where it came from, and her certainly doesn't stink :) but I like it!), Presty Westy, Preston Weston, Mr. Preston, Mister, Beauregard, and we also like to say "Preston Beauregard" in a fancy accent, because when we hear his name we picture some richy walking around his mansion in a fancy robe smoking a pipe.  Yep, we are strange, and I wouldn't have it any other way! :)




     

Our Newborn and Breastfeeding Essentials

I enjoyed putting together my pregnancy essentials blog post, so I thought I would make another one!  Preston is almost a month old, which means he's almost not a newborn anymore :( so I thought I would write about some of the things that have been essential to his first month of life!  I also thought I would write about some items that have made breastfeeding more manageable for us!

1.  The Miracle Blanket.  This thing truly is a miracle!  Preston loves to be swaddled!  It's the only way that he will sleep, and sometimes the only thing that will calm him when he is crying (check out the Happiest Baby on the Block 5 S's).  This blanket is wonderful because it makes swaddling easy, and he has a hard time breaking free from it.  When we swaddle with anything else, he is usually able to get his hands free, which defeats the purpose of swaddling him!  Another good thing about it is that you can easily get his legs free if you need to (to strap him into his swing or bouncy seat) without unswaddling the rest of him!  It's a little pricey, but we ended up ordering a second one this week because we think that this is what's responsible for getting him to sleep in his cradle at night, and we wanted to have an extra one on hand!  


2. Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders Soothe and Glow Seahorse.  I got this as a gift from one of my June Bugs, and Preston loves it!  He is too little to play with toys, obviously, but he loves to lay and stare at it!  It plays songs and lights up, and he adores it.  Jaidyn used to play the songs for him when he was still in my belly!  


3. White Noise Baby iPod app.  This has saved us every time we've been in the car since he was about 2 weeks old.  He will sit in the back of the car and scream at the top of his lungs.  We will plug the iPod into the cars sound system and turn on the "white noise" option, and within seconds he is silent.  It has worked every single time.  It's really obnoxious having to listen to the sound of white noise really loudly while driving, but it's better than listening to a screaming baby!  We really only get use out of this on the road though, because the iPod itself doesn't get loud enough to make him happy unless it's plugged into the sound system....and our dock at home is broken :/  


4. What to Expect Baby Tracker iPod app.  On this app you can keep track of sleeping, feedings, diapers, and vaccines.  We only use it for his feedings, but I couldn't live without this thing.  You simply choose which breast your baby is on (or choose bottle if bottle feeding) and then time each feeding.  If I didn't have this thing, I would never remember which breast he should be getting or how long it's been since he last ate.  This is especially useful in the evenings when I am a zombie. 


5. Newborn sleepers...the footy ones of course!  Even though it's super hot out right now, we keep it pretty cold in the apartment.  I love putting Preston in sleepers because they keep him warm and they are absolutely adorable!!     


6.  Aden + Anais swaddle blankets: Liam the Brave set of 4.  These are also great for swaddling!  We use these daily, and take them with us everywhere we go!  They are huge, so they make swaddling easy, and they are made of lightweight muslin, so they are perfect for summer babies!  We also drape these over his carseat and stroller to block the sun from him when we are outside or in the car.  Expensive, but well worth the money!  Not to mention the Liam the Brave prints are adorable!! (they have some super cute birdie ones for little girls too!)  He is currently wrapped up in one and nursing as we speak!  


7. Cuddle-U nursing pillow.  This is basically a cheaper version of a boppy.  We use this for breastfeeding but also to prop my arm up on when I am holding him and it starts to get tired.  Perhaps one of the biggest uses I get with it is laying him down on it.  He loves laying on it because it hugs his body and keeps him warm and comfy!   


8.  Earth Mama Angle Baby shampoo and body wash.  If you want your baby to smell like Heaven, I would recommend this!  I used this on Jaidyn when she was a baby, and now use it on both kids.  It smells so darn good, and it's all natural!  Plus, it's a shampoo and body wash in one.  Can't beat that!  All of EMAB products smell delightful!  


9. Graco Pack 'N Play Playard with Bassinet in Pasadena.  We originally decided that we wouldn't get a pack 'n play until Preston was older and mobile, but last minute changed our minds.  I'm glad we did, because this is one of our most used items.  This sits in our living room and is used for all kinds of things....a place for him to nap, a changing table, somewhere for us to safely place him so that we can run to the restroom, get something for Jaidyn, etc.  And when he is older we will lower the bassinet and put him in it to play, nap, etc.  When we were sleeping downstairs our first couple of weeks home, he slept in it every now and then at night.    

1.  Lilypads.  These are reusable silicone nursing pads.  The thing I like best about these, is that unlike the disposable nursing pads, these don't stick to you to the point where when you pull them off it is super painful.  These stick to you, obviously, but they come off nicely and easily, without causing you pain.  They aren't so good at preventing leaks though.  So if you leak a lot, I'd either go with something else that catches the milk, or use a disposable pad on the outside of these.  I enjoy these though, especially because if you wash them properly, they can be used for a long, long time.  


2. Earth Mama Angel Baby Nipple Butter.  I brought this to the hospital with me and I'm very glad that I did, because those first few days of nursing were some of the hardest.  This is a cream you put on after nursing, and it has prevented any kind of cracking and helped a lot with the pain.  It's all natural, so you don't have to clean it off before feeding your baby or worry about what your baby might be ingesting.  It makes your sore nipples feel much, much better.  I haven't been using it as much since Preston has improved his latch, but these saved me the first couple of weeks. 


3. JJ Cole Nursing Pillow.  For about a week after I gave birth, my stomach was so tender that wrapping the boppy-like nursing pillow around my body was very uncomfortable.  When we saw a pedi/lactation consultant who helped me with Preston's latch, I used a similar pillow that they had at the office to nurse him with.  It was firmer than a boppy, so it was easier to support his body, and it didn't wrap around me so it didn't hurt my stomach.  After his appointment, we picked this pillow up.  It was very helpful for the week that Preston and I were working day and night at perfecting his latch.  I don't use it as much now, but it's handy to use every now and then for nursing, and also makes a great arm rest when I am nursing or holding him!  


4. iPod touch.  Nursing is a wonderful bonding experience, but most of the time, Preston's eyes are closed and he ends up passing out.  So, at times it can be very boring.  Also, if you have a baby like mine, who wants to nurse every hour or hour and a half, you are basically tethered to a rocker or couch all day long.  My iPod saves me from going crazy!  I facebook with my junebugs, watch netflix, or surf the web a lot while he is eating!  Also, I use those handy dandy apps that I already mentioned above!


5. Cuddle-U nursing pillow again.  Since this thing can be used for many different things, I thought it was worth mentioning again.  Now that my stomach is no longer tender, and Preston is a champ at nursing, we use this more than the other nursing pillow because it's more comfortable.  I love this pillow because it supports both my arms and his body while he is nursing.  And after he is done nursing and has fallen asleep, he sinks down into the comfy pillow and takes a little nap while on my lap!


I know there are probably a few things that I left out, but I'm going to post a blog later about all of Preston's baby gear.  You get the gist of it anyways!