Month: June 2013

Weekly Wesley: Thirteen

On June 30, 2013

13weeksold

This week we had a weight check for Wesley. We were suspicious that he wasn’t gaining weight since all he’s still in newborn sized clothes.

weight-check

Unfortunately we were right and he not only wasn’t gaining weight but he’d lost a few ounces. Luckily our pediatrician is very supportive and since Wesley seems perfectly healthy in every other way he is only mildly concerned right now. Instead of pushing formula right away he recommended we give Wesley olive oil at each feeding.

olive-oil

He was not a fan and we honestly didn’t do it for long since I’m convinced he spat out more than he actually swallowed. It was just torture for all of us. I’m doing everything I can to get my supply up and we have a check up in about two weeks so we’ll see if the weight loss was just a fluke or if we have to take more serious measures to get him to gain weight.

A more positive milestone this week was Wesley’s first trip to the zoo.

zoo2

It was pretty hot so we mostly tried to stick to indoor exhibits and we didn’t stay that long. We still had a fun time though.

zoo1

zoo4

zoo3

Not sure how much he could really see but he seemed pretty fascinated by the dolphin show for awhile there. It will be so neat to go when he’s older and can really enjoy seeing the animals.

Other milestones:

We gave him his first bottle in preparation for my night out. He didn’t like it much, and liked it even less when I was actually out. Poor buddy.

firstbottle

I had my first evening away from Wesley. I had a ton of fun at my friend’s bachelorette party, it’s too bad Wesley and Joel didn’t have as good of a time.

bachelorette

I noticed Wesley has really been chewing on his shirt and fingers so I gave him his Taggies blanket and he loves it.

taggie

Wesley gets more animated and expressive every day. Here are a few adorable yet gratuitous shots from the week.

silly-faces

So many expressions.

flicking-off

What’s that son?

daddy-smiles

He loves his daddy.

carseat

How can I mind riding in the back with him when I get to look at this sweet face the whole way? Answer: I don’t mind a bit.

grin

Sweetest little grin.

Weekly Wesley: Twelve

By Abigail

On June 23, 2013

In First year, Motherhood, pictures

12Weeks

After the busyness of last week this week was delightfully low key.

saturday-in-bed

We did a lot of reading and lying around the house cuddling. I also decided to practice Manual mode on our Nikon. I’m ashamed to say I generally shoot on auto… and that’s when I actually pick up the Nikon. I am way too dependent on my iPhone. Bad mommy. Anyway, here are a couple of the shots I got of my gorgeous baby.

_DSC0098

changing-table1

I realized as I was viewing them on my computer that I had the ISO set way too high and I am not great at getting the focus where I want it to be all the time. The focus thing I’m sure is partially my fault and partially because I’m using the crappy kit lens (Who am I kidding? It’s probably all my fault.) I’m pretty happy with the results though and I’m determined to pull out the Nikon at least several times a week. I know future me will appreciate it more than a bunch of crappy instagrams.

In developmental news Wesley is getting better at tummy time all the time.

tummy-time

We get more and more of this ^…

tummy-time-tears

before it turns into this ^. I hate to see him cry like that but I know it’s good for him so I suck it up. Still, baby tears. Oh my heart.

It’s obviously doing some good though because he finally rolled over on purpose.

rolled-over

He was crying and once he got on his back his look of confusion and relief cracked me up.

He’s also really noticing things around him. I can show him toys and he actually looks at them with interest.

toy

He even talks and coos at the mobile on the mamaRoo.

mama-roo-fun

He gets almost as into smiling and talking to that thing as he does with me. My feeling are totally not hurt by that. Ahem.

Other milestones:

I found out he love The Battle Hymn of the Republic. Sometimes it’s the only song that calms him down. So random.
I also found out that in the car just the sight of my face can calm him a lot. He was beside himself and we couldn’t pull over so I climbed in the back and he almost instantly calmed down just by seeing me and me rubbing his cheek. I kind of feel like a jerk for not discovering this sooner.
He turns his head when I call his name. I can also get him to look in a different direction when I snap my fingers.

He is just such a happy baby. Every week he gets more and more interactive and I’m loving every minute.

smiles

Weekly Wesley: Eleven

By Abigail

On June 17, 2013

In First year, Motherhood, pictures

11Weeks

This is late going up because Sunday was Father’s Day. It was a packed week full of firsts though so better late than never right?

One huge thing we did this week was take Wesley to his first Cubs game.

first-cubs-tee

And of course we had to to get him a “My First Cubs Tee” shirt for the occasion.

wrigley

Our little family in front of Wrigley.

nursing-cubs

Baby’s gotta eat too. Fist bump for nursing in public.

Wesley was super popular. Everyone was oohing and aahing about how cute he is and how little he is. The guy sitting next to us even told us about the certificates they give out for your first visit. So of course we had to get one and take a picture with it.

group-cubs-crop

The reason we went, other than to take Wesley to his first Cubs game, was as a birthday present for my little brother. My brother is such a cool kid… well, at 16 he’s barely a kid anymore but yeah. One of my favorite things was watching him with Wesley. He is a complete natural with him.

wesley-and-david

And Wesley clearly adores him too.

wesley-and-david2

Wittle baby rolls. Looooove.

Another thing we did this past week was take Wesley to the drive-in. I’ve been dying to see the new Star Trek movie but taking Wesley to a regular movie theater was really intimidating to me. I knew he might do well. He might just nurse and sleep through the whole thing. Or he might not. I was really concerned it would be too loud for him, especially since it’s action movie with explosions and such. The drive in was the perfect alternative.

drive-in

We arrived a little late for the first movie (Epic) and I fed Wesley and then walked him around outside until he fell asleep. We could control the volume and the tiny bit of fussing he did didn’t bother anyone and neither of us had to miss any of the movie. The only downside was how late it started/ended. Of course that can’t be helped but getting up the next morning was a bit rough.

We ended the week by celebrating Father’s Day. I already wrote about that a bit but I didn’t mention that we got to have breakfast with Joel’s dad.

fathers-day

We didn’t get to see my dad which was a bit of a bummer but it was a super nice, relaxing day which is I think, exactly what Joel wanted.

Lastly, I have to share this gorgeous photo I took while we were watching a thunderstorm this week.

thunderstorm

I hope our little guy keeps liking thunderstorms as much as his dad and I do.

First Father’s Day

By Abigail

On June 16, 2013

In Family, First year, pictures

Letters to my boys on Joel’s first Father’s Day:

Dear Wesley,

Your daddy loved you long before you were born.

fathers-day

In fact, I think he let himself love you before I even could. He just could not wait to meet you.

He never dealt with many babies before and I knew he was nervous, but he took to fatherhood like he was born to do it. He was the first one to change your diapers.

diaper-change

The first night you were alive he stayed up most of the night with me just to stare at your face and make sure you were still breathing.

holding

He so clearly adores you.

fun-with-daddy

I’m pretty sure you adore him too.

daddys-lap

I’m so proud of what an amazing father he is to you. If mommy’s milk doesn’t do the trick he puts you to sleep better than anyone, even me.

thumbs-up

Your father is an amazing man who loves his family and would do absolutely anything for us. He is brilliant, creative, a hard worker, tender, loving and extremely passionate. He is my rock and I know he will be yours too. I hope you grow up to be just like him.

-Mommy

Dear Joel,

Happy first Father’s Day. I couldn’t have asked for a better partner to raise our son. You amaze me every single day. I absolutely could not do this without you. I can’t thank you enough for all that you do.

baby-wearing

Nothing sexier than my man wearing my baby. I love you.

-Abigail

Weekly Wesley: Ten

By Abigail

On June 9, 2013

In First year, Motherhood, pictures

Week10

This week Wesley is obviously going through a big growth/development spurt because it was equally parts hard and awesome.

There is way more of this than I liked.

image(7)

Well, let’s be honest, who likes any of that?

Still, there was way more of this…

image(2)

and this

image(5)

and this

image(1)

than the screaming so I can’t complain too much.

This week he made a huge leap in his neck strength. It seemed like overnight he went from fighting the weight of his head to holding is head up for ages like it was nothing.

image(4)

Part of what helped the neck strength I think was that I finally tried the Moby wrap for the first time. We looooove it.

image(9)

I was so intimidated by it and now I can’t figure out why. It’s really not that difficult to put on and it’s really comfortable.

With the Moby we’ve been going on walks every night this week.

image(8)

It’s a great time to talk without the distraction of electronics and it’s got the bonus of being exercise.

evening-walks

Wesley always seems to really love being outside.

outside

he’s fascinated by all the sights and sounds.

Other milestones:

Someone asked me to cover myself for the first time while I was nursing in public. We were at an event for a friend of the family and a grandma type lady wanted a picture of the group of us so she said, “Cover yourself, I don’t want anyone to think I’m doing pornography or something.” I sort of adjusted the fabric of my wrap slightly but I did not throw a cover over my baby. I mean, this is how much you could see:

So basically an inch or so of skin… I really don’t think she meant to be rude or ridiculous. She’s just old fashioned.

Wesley finally discovered the mobile on the mamaRoo. It really shows how much more aware he’s becoming of his surroundings.

mamaroo

Wesley’s starting baby gymnastics… while he nurses. It cracks me up how wiggly he can be or what awkward poses he twists himself into sometimes.

I can’t say I’m sad this week is over. I’ve been more exhausted and frazzled than maybe any other week. Thankfully as soon as I’m ready to just lose it either Joel steps in and gives me a break or Wesley turns it around and flashes one of his dimply grins at me. It’s impossible to stay in a bad mood when I get one of his smiles or coos.

image(10)

Impossible.

Weekly Wesley: Nine

By Abigail

On June 2, 2013

In First year, Motherhood, pictures

nine-weeks-web

This guy gets more and more personality each week.

This week we hit the big milestone of 2 months old. The official 2 month photo and stats are here but I thought I’d add some of the outtakes in this post.

wesley-and-phoebe

Phoebe is getting a little more nervous of his grabby hands. I’m wondering how many more months I’ll be able to bribe her to sit next to him… and how many more he’ll be undistracted by her.

The faces I make to get this face….

Sometimes get a face more like this. Obviously he thinks his mom is crazy already. (He’s right)

With turning two months came a check up. Wesley is a happy healthy boy. There was one awkward moment that I have to share. Wesley is really fair skinned. Not surprising considering his parents. Anyway, while the pediatrician was examining him he was checking his diaper area. He pointed out there was a little redness down there. He said it’s not a rash, it’s just because his skin is thin so it gets red easily because of moisture.

Pediatrician- “Same thing happens to me sometimes.”

Me- blink blink

I’m sure he didn’t mean to immediately give me a mental image of his junk… but yeah. Awkward.

Also with the two month check up came shots. I’m positive they were harder on me than they were on him. It was especially hard because he was in a good mood and was smiling and cooing at me right up to the moment the needle went in.

pre-shots

The look of shock and pain on his face when that first needle went in will be forever etched in my memory. Horrifying.

shots

I cried. Yup, I was that mom. It was awful.

post-shot-nursing

Thankfully it only took a minute of nursing before he forgot all about it. Magic boobies, ftw!

He ran a bit of a temp for a little bit of the day and was extra cuddly but by the evening he was back to his old self and had obviously forgiven me for those mean old shots.

forgiven

Mommy really does love you, little man.

Other milestones:

I took Wesley out to lunch with friends without Joel. We only have one car so we have to specifically plan for me to have the car if I want to go places while Joel is at work. Wesley was great, he slept the whole time and I had a nice lunch visiting with a couple friends.

kisses

Wesley’s baby acne has officially cleared up. I’m not positive that happened this week actually but this week someone pointed out that it was gone and I realized they were right. Yay for perfect soft baby skin.
Wesley has started smiling at me while nursing. One of my first memories is looking up at my mom while nursing and smiling at her. It melts my heart to see my son do the same to me.

booby-smiles