What a difference

This is a picture of Oliver's hand on the day he was born.
This is a recent picture of his hand. What a huge difference! I hadn't realized he was so skinny when he was born until I looked at these pictures.

 

Snuggling with Daddy

I like snuggling with my daddy - he's so warm and cozy! Mom got this picture when we were taking a nap together.
 

awwww!

He looks like a little adult!
 

chillin'

Here I am chillin' in my boppy. This is a good way for me to practice lifting my head up and moving around. I have lots of fun in the boppy!
 

Thanks Aunt Sarah!

Here is the outfit that Aunt Sarah gave me. What a cute monkey! The shirt is cute too...hehehe!
 

Tips and Tricks...

In the past month I've learned so much about taking care of a baby. Here are a few of the things that have worked for me.

Get a boppy pillow!! This makes breastfeeding so much easier because it puts the baby right at breast level and you don't have to support his weight.

Get a pump!! This helps so you don't have to do all the feedings. It's especially nice at night so Dad can help, or so you can leave the house.

Swaddling - it's hard! I haven't learned to do it properly, he always kicks out. I've started just wrapping him up like a burrito instead - just wrap the blanket around and around.

Cosleeping! So many people say this is such a bad thing, but after your baby fusses and won't sleep in the bed for a few nights you might decide to try it. I lay him longways on my belly (head at my chest, feet at my hips) and prop myself up a little bit. That way he feels secure and I can sleep.

Getting burned out! To avoid this, you have to take time away from the baby. WHAT?!?! TIME AWAY FROM THE BABY?!?!!? Yep, that's right. Even though you are the mommy and probably the primary caregiver you have to take time for yourself. Take a shower, take a walk, go grocery shopping, get out of the house. Looking at the same things all the time and doing the same exact thing every day gets frustrating.

Housework! It has to be done, but when will I ever find the time? Do the most important things first - dishes, laundry, etc. It only takes a few minutes to throw dishes in the dishwasher or clothes in the washer. Dusting and vacuuming can wait. Also, let hubby help!!

Diapers! don't move that old diaper until you are ready to put the new one on. Babies seem to like peeing and pooping on you, their clothes, the changing table, and pretty much anything else.

Bathtime! wait until ther baby has already pooped - poop in the tub is icky. Also, make sure the towel is ready before you get baby wet. They hate being cold and wet! Wash his hair last so his head isn't cold while you wash the rest of him.

Playtime! Get a boppy!! Sit the baby in it backwards and bend him over the edge. He lifts his head and turns it. Sometimes he even lifts up his chest off the boppy, too. Also, thing with sharp contrast. Oliver's favorite is the ball in a gew of the pictures I've posted previously. It's 6 or 8 dollars ay Target.

rocking, swinging and vibration! my glider rocker is my best friend when Oliver won't sleep. I feed him there at night and rock him back to sleep. We haven't tried the swing yet, but the vibration of his bouncy chair is wonderful. It's very relaxing for him and usually puts him to sleep.

Burping! It's hard to get that burp out sometimes. If the over the shoulder patting doesn't work I sit him up, lean him forward and pat his back. If that still doesn't work I just hold him up in a sitting position and he lets it out.

Temperature! How do you know if he's too hot or cold? As a general rule dress him how you'd dress yourself. If you are wearing shorts and a T-shirt then so should he. If you are wearing a sweater and jeans, bundle him up, too.

Sick? How do I know if he doesn't feel well? Well, if he's not eating, not acting like himself, and fussy. If he's hot to touch. Ollie hasn't been sick yet, thank goodness!

Blocked tear duct! His eye got goopy and then crusted closed. Just wipe it with a warm wet washcloth until he can open it again. If it's really thick then drip a little bit of water on his eye and leave it there for a minute to moisten the goop, then wipe it away. Rub down the side of his nose from the corner of his eye to try to clear the duct.

Fussy? Is he hungry? wet? dirty? bored? tired? overstimulated? or just plain fussy? I check the diaper first since it is the easiest. Then I try to feed him. If neither of those work then I try playing with him (playmat or his favorite ball). Sometimes he just wants to be snuggled or talked to. If I was playing with him and he gets fussy then I stop for a while, he's probably getting too much input. If he's just fussy for no reason other than that he likes to fuss I just hold him and rock him until he is ok again.

Oliver's 1 month visit...

He is 9 pounds 2.5 ounces!!! He is 21 inches long!!! WOW!!!

Everything else is normal...he's healthy. He has a heart murmur, but she said that should go away as he gets older. He has a little bit of hernea under his belly button, but she said that will go away by itself too. He had to get a shot for Hep B, and he cried so hard...I cried too - poor baby!

Congrats!!

Hooray for Joe and Elizabeth who had their baby yesterday (on their due date, amazingly). She was 7 pounds 8 ounces and 18 inches long. Mother and baby are both doing well. What a sweet picture!


 

our house...

I have pictures and a video tour of our house. I haven't posted the pictures yet because the camera is missing at the moment. I'm sure Bob knows where it is, but I don't. I have no idea how to post a video. Anyway, we got the keys on Wednesday at closing, but the lady hadn't finished moving out so we gave her until midnight Friday to get her stuff. She said she would leave the keys on the counter when she was done. We went that night and there was stuff EVERYWHERE. Dishes in the kitchen, piles of things in the bedrooms, shelves full of books, closets full of clothes...it was insane! She had even left her poor dog out back. We went back Friday at about 8 and she had left her keys...and dishes in the cabinets, shelves full of books and nicknacks, closets full of clothes, toys, cans of manwich (can you even BUY that anymore?), cleaners, paper towels, tools, an attic full of boxes of miscellaneous stuff and who knows what else that we haven't seen yet. Luckily she did take the dog. What kind of person leaves all that stuff for the new owner of the house to clean up? HOW RUDE!! Bob went over to changed the locks today and to clean up some other stuff. We tore the wheat off the wall...it was apparently wallpaper, but it wasn't on there very well. The place needs a VERY thorough cleaning. I'm here at the apt today because Oliver was congested yesterday and I didn't want to take him out again in the cold and rain and icky. Bob cleaned out his nose really well while I was sleeping today so he's breathing much better.

diaper comparison

We got some Luvs at one of our showers, but we had been using the Pampers Swaddlers. Here's how they compare:

The Pampers seem to fit him better, they are more fitted around his legs.
The Luvs leaked! Just about every Luvs diaper we used leaked and I ended up changing Oliver's outfit as often as I changed his diaper!
The Pampers have the moisture lock thing, where it pulls all the wet into the diaper so it's not on babies bottom. I really like this because it makes it easier to clean him up.
The Luvs have Blue's Clues and the Pampers have Sesame Street. Personally I prefer Blues Clues because I can't stand Elmo.

So in conclusion, we are buying the Pampers from now on.

Happy 1 month birthday!

Yep, that's right, today is Oliver's one month birthday. He's very excited. We didn't get him any presents or anything, and he can't have a special birthday meal, but he's going to have a wonderful 1 month birthday anyway.

Things that have changed in the first month:

Size: Oliver was born weighing 5 lbs, 8 oz. Now he weighs close to 8 pounds! We haven't had his length measured again, but he was 19.5 inches at birth and now I have trouble holding him with just one arm. He's grown out of a few of the preemie outfits he got, and he went up to size 1 diapers instead of newborn ones.

Eating: When Oliver was born he hadn't developed his suck reflex so he couldn't latch. Now he's eating most of his meals without a bottle! The only time he uses a bottle is if we go out or if Bob is feeding him. He's eating about 4 ounces at each meal, or 10 minutes on each side (average)

Playing: Oliver likes to play on his tummy. He can turn his head from side to side. He can also focus on objects better and he loves looking in the mirror. He's started to swat and grab at things all the time.

Sleeping: He has longer periods when he's awake during the day. He's finally learned that night is for sleeping and will sometimes sleep 4 hours at a time!

Pic of the day

 

Aunt Rach-O

This is the onsie that Aunt Rach-O made at my shower here in Greensboro. It says "press for burb", "press for spit up" and "press for poop"...very cute. And while I was wearing it I did all of those things!
 

howdy pardner!!

Look how cute Oliver is in his little buckaroo outfit! This one was from Aunt LaDona. He loves it, and it kept him very warm when it was chilly out.
 

A big day!!!

Oliver has a new cousin!! Bob's sister gave birth to Eleanor Regen today. She was 6.06 lbs and was 18.5 inches long. Mother and baby are both doing well. We can't wait to meet her!!

Today was also the day we officially became homeowners. We did the walkthrough at 8am and then I signed all the paperwork at 9:30. So we have a house...a cute little 3 bedroom, 1.5 bathroom house with a fenced in yard and a garage. We'll have pictures up when we get them. 

hooray for hubby!

Here are some pictures of my wonderful husband. He's always been the most wonderful hubby ever, but especially lately with the pregnancy and new baby. I love you very much, hubby! I'm so glad I married you.

 

Mama's visit

I posted this before, I really did. For some reason it didn't show up. Sunday my dear wonderful mother and her husband Dale came to visit. Oliver stayed awake for a long time, he really liked playing with Gramma and Grampa! Gramma fed him a bottle, and then he snuggled up and took a nap with her. They brought him a playyard, a swing, and a playmat from Aunt Sarah. He really likes them! Gramma brought Bob and I some delicious stew (which is all gone now, it was so yummy!) and we ate that for lunch. We had a good time talking about houses and babies and everything. Poor Gramma had a migraine though, so they had to leave a little earlier than planned. Oliver was a little sad, but he went right back to sleep after they said goodbye. Overall it was a wonderful visit! We were all very glad that Gramma and Grampa could come over.

Sorry about the picture, Mama...this is the one I took when you weren't ready. The others came out super blurry so this is the only one I have. Maybe you can email the ones you took?? 

Pic of the day

 

Things about Oliver

Oliver likes:

his brother, Jasper
green, it's his favorite colour
snuggling
taking walks in his stroller
taking walks in his snugli
warm baths
wearing a blankie like a toga
warm milk
being rocked in the gliding rocker
tummy playtime
having his picture taken
Baby Einstein music CD's
having visits
having a clean diaper
looking in the mirror

Oliver doesn't like:

being naked
being cold
being hot
getting swaddled
cold milk
bright lights
loud noises
getting his diaper changed
being left alone
not eating when he's hungry
getting in and out of his car seat
leaky diapers

Oliver can:

turn his head from side to side while laying on his tummy
hold his head up for a few seconds
stare very intently at things
follow an object with his eyes
swipe at objects
hold his hands together
make lots of noise
swim a little in the tub
burp very loudly

What's going on?

Oliver stayed with Kyle and Cindy for a few hours while Bob and I went out to celebrate our wedding anniversary (late, it was 9-4). We also went grocery shopping, which we badly needed to do. Suprisingly, I didn't freak out. We stayed out for about 2 hours and hardly even talked about him.

We haven't officially gotten a closing date for our house, but we're working on it. It should be next week because they sent our loan paperwork to the underwriter last week and the lawyers should get it this week. We're hoping for closing on Friday. The owner lady moved out this weekend so now it's empty and ready for us. We have the apartment until the end of October so we'll be able to get in and do some repairs and stuff before we move in. I can't wait to paint Oliver's room, and paint over the ugly WHEAT in the living room. Not to mention fix the leak in the bathroom and get rid of the carpet...which i guess is more important.